A Vacant Room

Ever wondered why a vacant room looks much smaller than a room full of people. It is then you notice the color of the walls, the floor, the door and the windows. It is then you discover the missing elements, the free space around you.

Then you realize that your life resembles that room. Confined from all sides by the walls...there is just one door...a door from where people enter and exit....spend time in the room and then leave....the windows allow light to enter and you see the outside world from them...wondering all your life what's outside those boundaries. At times your life is full of people and some other time it's vacant like that room.

A vacant room makes you remember the people who are missing from your life. The people who once lived there...the people who laughed with you...shared life with you....the people who once were an indispensable part of your life...the people without whom you couldn't imagine to live a second alone....the people you swear to be with, all your life.

And then new tenants come and the room is again a place full of happiness and laughter. The color of walls change...there are new pictures...new furniture...and new life. You become part of someone else's life. And you start living again...though with new people....at a new place...already ready to face another emptiness.

Some quotes which I love :)

“This is where it all begins. Everything starts here, today.”

~ One Day

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.

~ David Copperfield

"Sometimes you have to be apart from the people you love, but that doesn't make you love them any less. Sometimes it makes you love them more."

~ The Last Song

"What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died? That she was beautiful. And brilliant. That she loved Mozart and Bach. And the Beatles. And me."

~ Love Story

It's the possibility that keeps us going, not the guarantee.

~ The Notebook

“Nothing that’s worthwhile is ever easy. Remember that.” 

~ Message in a Bottle

My daddy used to tell me that the first time you fall in love it changes your life forever. And no matter how hard you try, the feeling never goes away.

~ The Notebook

For all the lies I've tasted, just looking for the truth. For all the dreams I'm chasing, well what am I to do. When everything's against me, and the answers are all wrong; I'm hoping that I find out it was worth it all along.

~ The Calling

“If you have to keep a secret it's because you shouldn't be doing it in the first place” 

~ One Day

"Who am I? and how, I wonder, will this story end?"

~ The Notebook

"Gestures are all that I have; sometimes they must be grand in nature. And while I occasionally step over the line and into the world of the melodramatic, it is what I must do in order to communicate effectively. In order to make my point without question."

~ The Art of Racing In The Rain

“Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing.”
~ The Room

“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime...”
~ The Kite Runner

“It was only a smile, nothing more. It didn't make everything all right. It didn't make ANYTHING all right. Only a smile. A tiny thing. A leaf in the woods, shaking in the wake of a startled bird's flight. But I'll take it. With open arms. Because when spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just witnessed the first flake melting. - Amir”

~ The Kite Runner

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear.”

~ The Princess Diaries

And as Roark looked at him, he added: "Don't worry. They're all against me. But I have one advantage: they don't know what they want. I do."

~ The Fountainhead

“And then some days you wake up and everything's perfect”
~ One Day

No wonder they say love is a game, a mystery, a madness.

Failing is the first step to success, crying is the first step to happiness. And heart break is the first step to true love.

"Shes a great girl and she knows what to say to make me smile, but the funny thing is u dont even have to say anything to make me smile..just u urself makes me smile."

There are people who make things happen, there are people who watch things happen, and there are people who wonder what happened. To be successful, you need to be a person who makes things happen.

The things you regret in life are the risks you didn’t take.

Too often we don't realize what we have until it's gone, too often we're to stubborn to say 'sorry, i was wrong' too often it seems we hurt the one's closest to our hearts and we let the most foolish things tear us apart.

When you can't avoid...enjoy it :)

New beginning or another ending

Another day...another eventful year...

So here I am another year older but not necessarily any wiser (or maybe more dim-witted!!!) As any other year the previous one was as normal as it can be for me. The bumpy ride, the smooth sailing, the happy faces, the sad faces, and the angry faces...all were seen.

As usual I did cry a lot and as usual I did laugh a lot. There were setbacks and there were accomplishments.

Looking at the events believe me you learn a lot in an year. But the greatest learning this year for me was accepting "changes".

Just when you think that things can't get any better, they actually do - believe me. And it boggles with your mind because it is too good and you don’t want to mess it up so you keep pretending that nothing changed. But the truth is, things change in an instant: 60 seconds phone call, one harsh comment, one tender kiss, one silly mistake... and nothing remains the same. The how and why is beyond me. Change is the greatest mysteries of life.

Things change, people change....Though I have made some great friends I have also lost some very precious one. Life's all game...either you continue playing or quit it...either you enjoy winning or accept losing, it will not make any difference to its pace.

Life has no meaning, Life has no purpose. It is meant to be "LIVED"

So here's to another year which I am going to "Live".

Cheers!!!

What's in a Religion..err.. Caste..err..Surname?

Juliet:"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet meet and fall in love in Shakespeare's lyrical tale of "star-cross'd" lovers. They are doomed from the start as members of two warring families. Here Juliet tells Romeo that a name is an artificial and meaningless convention, and that she loves the person who is called "Montague", not the Montague name and not the Montague family. Romeo, out of his passion for Juliet, rejects his family name and vows, as Juliet asks, to "deny (his) father" and instead be "new baptized" as Juliet's lover. This one short line encapsulates the central struggle and tragedy of the play.

So this was about name...and in our society name, surname and religion are intrinsically related. We identify a person's caste, religion based on their surnames. A person may be very honest, truthful, or courageous but as soon as the surname is revealed all things are flushed and what remains are the preconceived notions related to that caste or religion. I have always wondered why judge a person by his/her name when we have a better way of knowing the person face to face.

What difference will it make whether a person is a Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Jew, or Christian....these are just their ways of worshiping the almighty. We all have our own believes so why judge a person by his way of praying.

Another way of deciding a person's behavior is caste. You say your surname to anyone in this country and a sketch of your behavior is already in place. Any change in that means you are not true to your caste. And your every move is "scrutinized" based on it. The social restrictions based on caste have also shaped the economic activities taken up by people. Caste related violence and politics are common.

Not just this there is distinction based on regions too (like religion and caste were not enough to divide and rule us). And the best thing is "Unity in diversity" is just a slogan now to describe India. Every region believes that it is the best.

Here is the summary of various tidbits I collected based partly on hearsay and partly by observation.
1. Punjabis
Believe in PDA (public display of affection), show-offs, spend more than they can afford, shrewd.
2. Biharis
Polite Hindi speaking, more inclined towards public services and politics, hardworking, values commitment, life-long friends, have something to say every time, ready to kill or die for anything that they feel is right.
3. Malayalees ( Mallus)
Systematic, Neat, Short-tempered, would readily help other mallus, a close community, great minds.
4. Maharashtrians (Marathis)
Culture loving, fanatics (for good and for bad), extremely loyal to their state.
5. Bengalis (Bongs)
Love their state too much, language and culture, artistically oriented, a bit loud, believe-in-me-first, a close community, great taste in food.
6. Gujratis (Gujjus)
Laid back, great business mind, live-to-eat, loud, stairs and a swing in every house is a must.
7. Tamilians (madrasi)
Religious, artistically inclined, good sloggers, timid, too rigid, less tolerant.
8. Rajasthanis (Marwaris included)
Money matters more than anything, caste rigid, views everyone as dishonest, selfish, substantial diaspora, opportunists.
Though there are exceptions to the above but I feel that nature of a person is the result of the environment he is growing up in and that very well constitutes the region.

The state "India" is what I dream about...where all these distinctions will merely be a matter of past.

The Road Taken...

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

--Robert Frost (1920)

Life @ LBSIM

It takes courage to let go off the familiar. Leaving school & home to move on to a college....then leaving college for a job...a new life....then leaving it again to go for a college. This is how my last 6 years have gone by. I have been a guest at my own house. The decision was difficult but then it has paid off.

Moving on in life is simple, it's what you leave behind that makes it so difficult. Those memories always lingers on. And the worst part is you start comparing things....and getting upset at the new ways. The same happened to me when I joined LBSIM. Comparing it with my previous college the life at this institute looked dull. The huge library and the studious students made my heart sank. And I cursed everything that was happening in my life for bringing me here.....Why Me???

At that time I just wanted to get neck deep into studies so that I won't notice a thing and somehow survive the 2 years.

Time passed....I made new friends....and then the same class started looking to me like a family. A family in which though every member doesn't say that they care about you....but still you can feel the warmth. The feeling that though they may be sometimes busy but whenever you need them just look at them and they will understand.

And today I had one of the best days because of the LBSIM family. My lazy bones never let me get up on a Sunday morning though today was a different day...it was different me.
Getting up early to go to a small school to teach some underprivileged students.
Yes!!! this is what I did today. Though it was just an hour's activity but still the smile on their faces was worthwhile my hours' sleep.

Their excited voices urging me to continue telling them stories....and then the enthusiasm to act on them was astonishing. Hadn't it been for their teacher who asked us to continue this next week, this session would have continued for hours.

Now I am looking forward to next week with greater excitement. Have more such beautiful days to live....

Sisters At Heart ♥♥♥

The Merriam - Webster dictionary defines sister as,"a female who has one or both parents in common with another." For me this definition changed sometime 5 years back when I met my two sisters.

Going back the memory lanes, I clearly remember the day when we first met in hostel...

We had an instant liking for each other. Though we were in different departments and had quite dissimilar attitudes, still we blended. In textile terms we got woven together by the yarns of friendship, togetherness and love... ;)

The nights we shared gossiping and discussing each other's love life (other people's too), classmates, faculties, and every other topic least related to studies were the best nights spent huddled together.

I still remember those days when at 4 in the morning I would find you whispering about the days' activities and "breaking" news and would wake up instantly to give my inputs. I still remember the dinner we had at U.S Pizza, eating the dreadful spinach soup and swearing that we would finish it anyhow(even the waiter took pity on us...though the chilli sauce made it eatable)....the morning when we all were in the balcony mesmerized to see the sun rise after a sleepless night.....those Sunday mornings when you would shout at me to get up and then finally would be able to wake me up by lunch time....those endless paani-puri sessions....those best birthdays that I would ever celebrate in my life.....the photography sessions in the newly stitched designer garments......the late night Maggie meals......the Garba for which you guys got me ready....the college fest....our best hang out place "Ganne ki juice ki shop".

And how can I forget the nights spent listening to FM radio, singing along every other song (remember the RJ's!!!). The nights when we used to open a dhobi ghaat in the flat.....the endless nights of smiles and laughs.

Though I don't believe in luck, it must have been some good work done by me sometime in my life as God gifted me with two angels so that I may survive those four years in a new city.  The support you guys have given me will always remain special to my heart.
Though we are not blood sisters but we share a much special bond.

You are the first people I think about when I make plans. You are the first people I go to when I need someone to talk to. I call you guys up just to talk about nothing, or the most important things in my life. When I'm sad you will try your hardest to cheer me up. You are the shoulder to cry on, because I know that you truly care about me. You give the best hugs in the world!!!

We had goofy pictures, crazy times, and are sisters at heart and partners in crime. Love you guys.

Dedicated to my two college roommates...Love you Manjeeta and Neha.

Bollywood ~ a Love Story

As a little girl, I loved the larger-than-life world that Bollywood movies depicted. The so called heroes of the movies became my imaginative future husbands. (I never dreamt that I would have a boyfriend). The happily ending love stories were what I liked the most.

My love for movies was seen normal in my family. My parents are movie-buffs. They have incredible stories to share like how they went to see so-and-so movie’s 9pm show and left me n my sister sleeping in the house. My father used to watch 3 consecutive shows a day during the weekend. (Phew...!)

Years passed, I went to college and I switched from Bollywood to Hollywood. The main reason for this shift will look quite astonishing to some people. The ticket price for bollywood movies was 110 while that for a Hollywood movie was 40. Mind it, a stark difference for a student.

The new genre of movies (that’s Hollywood) was interesting, sophisticated and urbane and I found my second love. If you love two people at the same time, choose the second one, because if you really loved the first one you wouldn’t have fallen for the second. But this wasn’t me. I was up-rooted and in a completely new environment. I just bought this because I wanted to fit in.
Bollywood on the other hand started changing, moving into new-age cinema, bringing topics of social interest and concern. It is not the movies that make India what it is today. It is the India of today that has inspired these Bollywood movies. India of today is better, brighter and bolder, and “More righteous!” An India that re-defines Devdas, Don and Agneepath that encourages a fighter who is strong but does not always need to raise his fists. Yes, Bollywood has come a long way.

After I left college and started working in a new city, fitting in was not all that I wanted and definitely it was not worth the sacrifice of one’s individuality. Long torn between my love for many things I again started exploring ways to blend the two....Bollywood with Hollywood. And, I am beginning to fall in love, all over again, with Bollywood.