The Silver Lining

You, me and everyone has a known or unknown shield around ourselves, that protects us from worldly mishaps.. the shield may be a virtual wall we made around ourselves, may be our family, our friends.. I have been fortunate to have many more than one, but there is a special shield I recently found - my invisible cloak.. well, that's what I choose to call him.. So, this man is someone who came into my world abruptly, and ever since, he has been the soul of my motivation at work. No, he is not the cozy type of shield, that will keep you relaxed always.. he is the thick and heavy kind of shield, who can sometimes be apparently more dangerous than what he is protecting you from! 😅 You know those armours that are extremely heavy, loaded with metal and give you that royal classy look.. yes, that's him. Not comfortable at the start, needs you to get habituated, might make you hate your decision to be a warrior, but will protect you even from giants, who would otherwise h...

War was never over, it has been the oldest form of dealing with life.. War is not only losing lives to violence, war is part of everyday life, it is the struggle every human undergoes when something has to be done unwillingly, without the consent of the conscience; war is the unstable state of mind which is often an outcome of unfulfilled wishes, unsaid and unmeant words, unseen results and unwelcome experiences; war was never over, it is part of one’s battles with the world and with self; it is the death of one’s emotions, when one has to forcibly change to make life more practical, when one has to pretend to fit into the society; it is the fading away of one’s childlike habits, to be an apparent responsible adult.. Was is never over, and war is what brought us where we are today, war made us free, war made us intelligent and war made us more peaceful.. War is what gives the courage to fight for a cause, to ensure sustenance of the good, to take a side and to ...

Din me jin pannon ko palatkar andekha kar jaate hain, raat me vahi pannon ke lafz palken bhiga deti hain.. Nazron se kahin door basi khushiyon ki yaad dila jaati hain ye raatein, Na jaane kya kya chhipakar rakhti hain ye andher ki ghatayen, Jo din me kabhi bahar nahi aate, bas intezar karte hain sooraj ke sone ka.. Fir aise raaz khulte hain jo shayad hi kisine socha ho.. Andaz kuch alag sa nikharne jo lagta hai, fir karwaten bhi karwaten le jaati hain.. Par kuch baat zarur hai in sooni raaton me, thande pattharon me bhi kahin ye aag jaga jaati hai..

She sat there pondering about where she had reached, she didn't know which way she had come, she had come a long way, carving her own rules, never did she wonder how she came this long. She wasn't sure about what she wanted, she was still separating the right from wrong, she asked herself if she was too much behind the crowd, there came no answer, so she followed her soul, but she knew for sure what she didn't want, she had her conviction and she had her faith, in everything that she took up on the way, she poured herself, without any dubiousness. She could not recognise herself, as what she was before, she had laughed, she had cried, she had her share of grief, she knew she could not hide behind her fears and failures, she had to stand tall, making up of all her mistakes. She also felt this deep sense of accomplishment when she looked back and checked her crashes, she knew she could have given up so many times, after all, it was just a matter of choice. ...

Ever seen how excited your dog gets when you come back home? You know he can never be mad at you, no matter what. You know he is there, no matter what. He is just there whether you love him or not, whether you care about his presence or not, whether you ever take him seriously or just play with him for your personal entertainment. He is just always there. Dog is love. The day I can love someone like a dog loves, I will know that I am truly in love.

It was another hot April evening when I was going back home in a Churchgate Slow. The ladies compartment in which I was travelling was noisy and entertaining, as usual. Bhelwalas, Clipwalas, etc. were trying their best to convince the “easy-to-convince gender” to purchase their stuff and fill their pockets. In a few minutes since I entered the train, there entered a young man with a boy (supposedly his younger brother). The man had a musical instrument which I had seen in Rajasthan some months back. It isn't a very popular instrument, so after taking some help from Google, I figured out that it is called ‘Ravan Hattha,’ which is a local Rajasthani string instrument.  I mentally named him ‘Ravan’, ONLY AND ONLY because that was the name of the instrument that he was carrying. It was my very obvious assumption that Ravan had entered the train to earn some money for sympathy; and not to ignore, he was sharp enough to recognize that women are storehouses of sympathy. (Why else woul...

Distance is what you call a curse, Distance, than hatred, is utterly worse; Distance can break to pieces, your heart Distance is when you move apart.. Every moment is an apparent day,  for a little peace, the soul might pray.. The boundless garden of the mind goes pale, leaving back every memory, sick and stale. Distance teaches the value of time, It teaches you that reverence is no crime, Distance shows you the deepest intensity of what we call as innate sincerity. Distance is strong, distance is powerful, It displays out your darkest thoughts. Distance is strange, distance is wonderful, It connects two souls that are oceans across…

Now I know not what love is,  where it comes from and where it leads to,  what it gives and what it takes,  what it creates and what it destroys,  I know not how love happens and how it rehappens,  now I know not how a special touch feels and how beautifully it heals,  I know not how much somebody's smile can matter, and I know not how, without love, lives can shatter,  I know not how people can be boundlessly selfless and unsound and how love just makes the world go round and round and round..  now I know not what it means by love,   to me, it all seems to be like a sweet old fairy tale..

There were times when dad's scoldings made us cry, low scores was the biggest matter of worry, our best friend insulting us was so hurtful, being the class monitor was a matter of pride, a few sweet words by crushes took us directly to cloud 9 and  getting wet in the rain was supposed to be dangerous! So many little issues but they never made us feel heavy inside, today we have all the freedom to do what we want, to be what we are and yet, we miss those golden days of childhood .. Sometimes, it feels better to be in a protective cage than to dive into the highly risky oceans .. and again we feel perplexed,  there were no festivals in school, to drive a four wheeler was a dream, failing in exams wasn't acceptable then, getting a chance to fill slam books was so much awaited, there wasn't permission to go for movies or to hang out with friends to explore the city, this freedom takes us long, it takes us wide,  it shows some unseen colours and opens som...

    Love is much more than hugging somebody, much more than falling for somebody's looks, much more than praising somebody, much more than sending somebody " I love you" messages every night before sleeping, there is a lot more to love.. Love is when you look into a baby's eyes and feel so light for that one moment.. Love is when you behave crazily without hesitation and you know that you will not be judged.. Love is when you laugh uncontrollably and all of a sudden realize that the other person is just enjoying the view of your happiness.. Love is when you feel that the other person is not someone else, but just a mirror image of yourself.. Love is when you feel safe and secure to confess your mistakes and weaknesses.. Love is when you say I am OK and mean I am not all OK.. Love is when you dream of that person, involuntarily.. Love is when you expect a lot, and you don't get it all and yet you can't help but love them more.. Love i...

Toddlers do not know what economics is, Nor do they know what is "quant" Infants do not know to market themselves, Yet they often get everything they want.. Babies have never learnt mathematics, Yet they know it when they have lesser toys, They did not learn the communication cycle, And yet they put forth perfectly, their voice.. Young ones have never learnt Maslow's theory of motivation, But they are always ready to work and play more, They do not know how to maintain accounts, But they know very well, how many G.I.Joes and Green Lanterns they own.. We are not here to replicate our books, Nor are we here to memorize age old theories, We are here to learn and realize, That we have it all in us, so live life freely, there are no worries.. :)

Today we learn, tomorrow we might forget Still we learn, learning is a mystery! Today we cry, tomorrow we might laugh Still we cry, grief is a mystery! Today we write, tomorrow we might erase Still we write, writing is a mystery! Today we speak, tomorrow we might regret Still we speak , speaking is a mystery! Today we fight, tomorrow we might patch up Still we fight, fighting is a mystery! Today we bless, tomorrow we might curse Still we bless, blessing is a mystery! Today we help, tomorrow we might step back Still we help, helping is a mystery! Today we enjoy, tomorrow we might be low Still we enjoy, joy is a mystery! Today we love, tomorrow we might dislike Still we love, love is a mystery! Today we live, tomorrow we might die Still we live, life is, itself, a mystery!!!

     Its the era of super-advanced science and technology! We all have the privilege of enjoying android cell phones, LED TVs, microwave ovens, computers and now that I said computers, I should not forget our very dear friend - Mr.INTERNET. I am pretty sure that most of us switch on our PCs/laptops, connect to the internet and the first thing we do after that is log into Facebook! Its almost like a tradition of this generation and I have to admit that I hardly fail to follow this tradition..     Facebook is one medium that makes so many aware of almost every other thing happening in our lives. Sharing photographs, status updates, notes, videos, so many applications and games.. blah blah ..its a big list. If there is nothing very important to do, all we think of is login to Facebook. All credit to the techno-brains!          Agreed that Facebook is a huge huge platform that connects people from all around the globe. Yet, t here...

Childhood! The time when we used go to school and dream about growing up and going to college, sheer ignorance I must say..   12-15 years back from now, even strangers gave us warm smiles and today, even some close ones think whether to share looks or not? This is everyone's story, so I am happy to share. I am sure every person must have thought this at least once after he/she crossed the age of 18, "I wish I never grew up."  Nothing better than being loved by every other person you meet, isn't it? That's the childhood magic! Everybody loves you, and today suddenly you think, I am still the same person, more or less cute than before, but yes, I am the same! What has changed? Why are things so complicated? Why do we have to think before we act?  The strange truth is, not much changes with age, everything around us remains the same, what tends to change is how we look at the world. As children, we were never aware of the worldly "rights and wrongs...