My Views, My Blogs

Berkeley :)

2011-08-19T09:04:00.002+05:30

The cloudy skies, the sun that shines bright,

The misty terrain, the backdrop of it all

Uphill it is, the road to success,

The words of wisdom are nowhere else.

With its many paths and stairs up and down,

The looks of hope and goals focused on.

The world it represents, no barriers in between,

Teachings of predecessors, history beneath

Choices were made, decisions too many,

We are here now, cheering for Berkeley.

The differences that do exist

2011-07-27T23:28:00.002+05:30

I always wondered when people spoke of discrimination between the boy and girl child. I safely assumed this a difference existent only in rural lifestyles, conservative households. I took it to be a difference long gone in modern society. But then it got me thinking - is the difference really gone or is the assumption another double standard we find easy to live by?

We have the tendency to look at the bigger picture and ignore the little details. But in the bargain we forget it is these minute details that also help define us and our society. Though on one hand it is true that today the difference between the education given to a child is irrespective of his sex. It is also true that both the boy and girl have equal opportunity to choose their career path. However, if we look closer into the day to day lives we find the disparities that are still existent.

The boy can come home past midnight but the girl is expected to be in bed by the time the clock strikes twelve. When the boy leaves for university he is sat down by his father and given a lecture on safe sex. But for the girl going to university is a debate based on whether she is allowed to go for that hypothetical dinner date. On one hand the boy is encouraged to share a drink with his parents but on the other the mere mention of alcohol from a girl makes her parents cringe. The boy is told to go for that European road trip for it will help widen his horizons but the girl is required to be back home in vacations unless she chooses a place with relatives in the vicinity.

The list is not an exhaustive one once we begin to take the little things into account. These differences may never end up being deal breakers but they remain to be troubled differences nonetheless. Today we pride ourselves by being the forward thinking modern society but then are we really?

Does life equal existence?

2010-12-19T20:05:00.004+05:30

When you look back at your life and can say it is without regrets, have one person who you can count on whether times good or bad, can reflect back on the few friendships you have made that will last a lifetime, have earned the respect of another being and can sleep at night with a heart without malice, you know you are living a life that will be the envy of many, a life worth living.

Life is a strange anomaly, sometimes we take it to be many days of mere existence clubbed together and sometimes we use those few in between moments to make what we call life. Life is both of these and still so much more. You might wonder why I always reflect back on topics dealing with life in most of my blogs, but the truth is I find nothing more intriguing. It is filled with complexities but is still so simple. It can never be explained but it is self-explanatory.

When I think of life I don’t think of the decades, years, months, days, minutes or seconds I have lived, that is not life that is existence. Life is living, not merely existing. If I have to define it I would say it is that period of your existence when you have put the amalgamation of your mind, heart and soul into trying to make the day or the task at hand have an impact on you or on others. It is the time where you have been afraid but taken chances, when you have made relationships without malice and when you have acted without negativity.

Do not get me wrong, people who act with malice or negativity may be living a life too, but for me that counts for very little for that is a life with regret and I don’t believe in such a life. I am not saying don’t make mistakes, don’t falter, I have and I continue to do so but I don’t regret because every step, good or bad, beneficial or harmful, has taught me a lesson, made me the person I am becoming.

You might say I have an idealistic view but I believe it is a realistic one; it just takes a little more patience, perseverance and faith. It is about believing the glass is half full because someday it all does come back. Since millions of years there has remained the distinction of good and bad and it is this distinction that we call karma. So yes, idealistic as it may be, but I believe my goodness will come back to me in its most unexpected ways and the negativity I put out there will reflect somewhere in my life to come.

A life is never complete without people in it. This could be your family, your friends, your partner, your teacher, an acquaintance or even a complete stranger. We all need someone to laugh with us, to console us and to be proud of us. We all need someone to talk to, some more than the others. We all need that one person who has impacted us, who has somehow taught us the difference between good and bad, between black, grey and white.

I know of many people who are proud of their social lives and the many friends they have on social networking sites. But what surprises me most is the number of young people I see complaining about the lack of people to share with despite of so many friends on their lists. A friend is not the number of people you can call to a party, the number of people you have following you on twitter or wishing you a happy birthday on Facebook. It is those people who you can call when you are crying and those you know have only good intentions in their heart for you. It is those people you will tell about your first job and who will be there at your first heartbreak abusing the person alongside you. Any person fitting into this description is a friend for life. And life without such friends is no life at all.

I don’t know how many people respect the person I am, how many people ridicule me. I don’t know how many people out there think of my downfall and how many have at some point played a part in the low points of my life. But each of these persons does not sleep soundly, and each of them are filled with envy because each of these persons are thinking about another and not at bettering who they are, their life. Such is a life with regrets, a life which keeps you awake at night.

I sleep at night with a clean heart because I know that if I fall to the levels of people who harbor ill will, I will forget about me and the people who matter and move on to caring about the downfall of them. I cannot bring myself to do so because I know better than that, I have learnt better than that.

Thus I say all of us exist but only a handful of us live. It is never too late to start living but for that we need to stop being complacent and being content with existing.

As life passes us by…

2010-02-22T14:38:00.000+05:30

As I sit at a café, taking in the chatter of the college students, the strong smell of the freshly brewed coffee, the soft music playing in background I wonder about life and how it passes us by. How we don’t value the moment we are in but instead wonder what the future has in store for us or what the past tried to tell us.

Our lives are made up of moments; moments that make us realize the importance of things, make us regret certain actions, think of those that make us feel proud of our actions. Moments that make us realize how lucky we are to have certain people in our life, how grateful we are for the good deeds there exist.

We waste our time on the largely inconsequential things in life, the ones that make up for most of those moments. We wonder whether we are good enough, what color goes with which other, what certain people think of us, whether we deserve enough and how life will be tomorrow. We waste time blaming the actions of yesterday, questioning the reasons for what tomorrow will be. We more than often do not relish the moment we are in, thank the higher powers for giving us that moment.

Life may be an amalgamation of moments, but it is those singular moments that make our life.

It is that one moment, that one second of our life that can change it forever. It is that moment which we often ignore, that passes us by. We miss out on the laughter of the toddler in the playground, ignore the wind blowing on our face, forget to gaze at the sunset, take walking with a loved one for granted, and overlook the smile on our parents face. We take for granted the chats with a sibling or the fights with a best friend. We forget until that last moment hits us, of these moments which made life worth living. We wish then that we had stopped and savored it all while it existed.

Moments are not merely seconds that make up the day; they are the individual parts that sum up what your life has been. So why wait for the last moment of it to finally treasure the moments that made it all up? Why not sit back once in a while and enjoy the joy of nothings, the smell of the freshly brewed coffee, listen to the music being played in the background and smile when you think of the chats you had with your college friends? It is in this moment that your life will find meaning, for in this moment you can change your life, in this moment you can feel happy. It is in this moment you can grieve, feel the pain of losing someone, and make the mistake that teaches you more than life ever can. It is this moment that you should live in, a moment at a time.

A Child’s View

2010-02-03T23:44:00.002+05:30

This is my little attempt at some fiction. Do let me know how you'll like it :)
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“Having children makes you no more a parent than having a piano makes you a pianist.”
-Michael Levine

You could hear the weeps behind the wooden door, the pain in her voice when she called out their names in between sobs. She had heard a lot of talk about what was going to happen, what her future would be, but until today she ran away from it all. Submissive and alone, she had created a little world of her own. For her the bedroom had become the haven, the bathroom the safe. Her life seemed to have come to a standstill and her childhood vanished.

Children are a mirror of who their parents are. They become the people they are by imbibing the qualities they see around them. They are not demanding, and they are not demeaning. They do not question nor do they have any expectations. They are the purest form of beings we have today, and it is the parent who moulds them into an independent individual.

Diya and Deep thought they were doing well as parents, providing their daughter with a secure environment, sending her to the best school in the city and making sure she never had to worry about her future while they lived. They had given her everything she had ever asked for, but in the midst of meeting her demands they forgot to give her the one thing she wanted, needed but could never muster up the courage to ask.

Anya sat there, all alone in her room hearing her mother say things to her father and then her father say some more. This had become a daily routine and she did not like it. All of 8 she didn’t need to or want to know that her parents weren’t happy together. She had been seeing these fights since as long as she could remember now but she didn’t remember them being so violent ever before. It got worse with every passing day and all she could do was sit in her room and cry.

She was more mature than she was required to be, she had grown up without being asked if she even wanted to. She did have friends but their thoughts didn’t match hers. They were so different it made it difficult for her to talk to anyone. She had always kept up her grades, she believed it would make her parents proud of her, maybe even give a little attention to her. Being a bright student, her teachers didn’t see anything amiss with her.

She was the only child, and had been brought up by her Nanny who was more a mother for her than the woman who gave her birth. Jaya was the friend she never made, the mother she never knew, the confidante she survived because of. A widow at a young age, Jaya had wallowed in her pain for long enough. Just as she brightened Anya’s life, Anya had given her a reason to smile, to care, to worry and to love again. They were inseparable and this relationship was the only thing that kept the two of them going.

Anya had heard from her aunts and uncles, from grown up cousins, of the love her parents shared, of Diya and Deep. People always took their names in one breath, like they were one person then where had all of this love, this bond gone she wondered? She could not remember the last time they had spoken a kind loving word in front of her, to each other. Her little mind was filled up with questions – with no one to answer them. She wanted her mommy and daddy together, like everyone else had. She harbored the dream of a family.

There were no more anecdotes one heard in her broken speech. There was no more running outside at odd hours when her mother ran after her holding a glass of milk. There was no more laughter in the corridors of the house. All there was silence, which many people mistook for complete obedience. She was losing out on her childhood and no one seemed to mind that, maybe because no one cared to notice. Anya had begun to feel as if she was not loved anymore; the lack of affection was making her distant.

One night, crying in her room with the doors closed and after her Nanny had left the room, she heard her parents quarrel again. This time made a conscious effort to hear the argument and it changed her perspective on life, maybe for life.

“Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression”

‘What do you want me to do Diya, every night it is the same thing’ she heard Deep say.

‘No it is not the same thing; you make it boil down to the same thing. I am tired of this Deep; you have no time for me’ her mother reply.

When Anya heard her mother say ‘you have no time for me’ the first thought that crossed her mind was that both her parents had no time for her and she couldn’t even complain, she never got the chance to. She had decided in her mind that if she said something about herself it will just worsen the matter.

‘Time? You ask me about time? if I sit at home with you all day who will go out and earn? You have refused to become a part of the process’ he shouted

‘Don’t you blame it on me. I gave up everything because you did not want me to work after Anya was born. I have been taking care of her Deep, everyday’ Diya retorted.

Anya sat there thinking about when was the last time her mother had hugged her, had kissed her goodnight, had put her to sleep with a story, had dropped her off to school and have a meal prepared for her when she got back. When was the last time her parents had taken her out and not had an argument that just spoiled the entire atmosphere, the last time they sat down and helped her with her homework?

‘I don’t want to lose another kid because of us not being there Diya. Why can’t you understand that? You were adamant to have Anya and I supported you. I love my child but to you taking care of her is a job’ Deep stated.

‘She is not a job Deep but I need my individuality too. And I cannot deal with her and her needs and you not being there and our constant fights. How much longer will this go on?’ she asked.

‘What do you want us to do Diya? Give me a solution. I am tired of you and your constant nagging and cribbing’ Deep said

‘I don’t know’ Diya gave in.

“Children will not remember you for the material things you provided but the feelings with which you cherished them”

Anya had everything a child could ask for, just not what a child needed. She did not know what the future was. She had heard of the concept of divorce in a few television shows but that was all she knew. She wanted to go to her parents and tell them to love each other, to show their love to her, to tell her the truth about what was going on, to tell her that they will always be there for her, to want to be a family. That day she cried herself to sleep, again. The exhaustion had finally gotten to her and she woke up with a fever. Sitting at home and talking to her nanny, she figured this was the best opportunity to get a few answers.

‘Nanny are mommy and daddy getting a divorce?’ she innocently asked.

‘What makes you ask such a thing? Did they tell you something?’ Jaya inquired, a bit taken aback at the question.

‘No they did not, but they are always fighting’ Anya said remorsefully.

‘Will I have to choose between them Nanny? Will I be able to love only one? Will I not see Daddy and Mommy together again?’ Anya asked

‘I don’t know sweetheart, but the road ahead won’t be easy and you will have to be a brave girl. Always remember your mommy and daddy both love you very much’ Nanny told her, giving her some hope but at the same time telling her what she was thinking was not entirely wrong.

‘But now, you needn’t think of all of this. They love you and they will sort it all out. You be well and be happy.’ Jaya said, not giving her a chance to ask anymore.

Days passed and Anya’s fears started coming true. Diya had left, leaving Deep with Anya. Deep immersed himself in work and waited for the divorce to come through. Anya was left without parents, she was the orphan who’s parents hadn’t died but weren’t alive either. Diya left without saying a word, giving Anya hope that she would be back.

She thought for days as to how she could get them together, how she could just hug them and tell them to love each other again, to give her back her family. Anya had a poetry recital in school and decided to ask her parents to be there. She did not know how to ask and what to say, they had always hidden the reality from her. With some courage mustered up she called up her mother.

‘Mommy, can you come to school the day after tomorrow? I have a poetry recital and it would be nice to have you there’ Anya said into the phone.

Diya’s eyes were moist. She had not wanted Anya to be subjected to all this but she thought Deep and her being separate was what was good for their child.

‘Of course I will be there. And Anya remember your mommy loves you’ saying this Diya kept the phone down.

She asked her father and he readily agreed too. Anya hoped that they together would make everything ok. It was an 8 year olds attempt at reconciliation. The day came and Anya stood on the podium, dedicating it to her poem to her parents.

A few months ago I was as happy as one can be,
I looked out of my window and smiled as I saw the sea.
Things changed and I don’t know why,
All I heard was screaming and shouting and sometimes a cry.
My heart went numb, no one to answer me
What was my fault or was the blame all on me?
It hurt me to see my parents fight
Two people I love the most just gave each other spite.
No one cared for my well being,
When I laughed or I cried it was for them, without meaning.
Today things have changed, they are together no more
Will they love me now and is there a new tomorrow?
I love them no end and I want to tell them that,
Tell them before all the time flies by.

The whole auditorium was moist eyed; they stood up and applauded. Her eyes were fixed on her parents, who just looked at each other and cried silent tears. Anya stood and prayed there for minute, hoping things would now be slightly different.

And there exists Absolutes

2009-08-24T15:17:00.001+05:30

Sometimes I wonder if anything’s absolute anymore. Is there still right and wrong? Good and bad? Truth and lies? Or is everything negotiable, left to interpretation, grey?

I question the world and I question it frequently. I won’t argue that. But I strongly believe I have a reason to do so, unanswered questions that compel me to. Many a times I wonder whether people still believe in the truth, the truth that may be harsher than the harshest words, truth that may paint a picture of such negativity that the world seems completely unfair but also the truth that shows you the true picture, that does not disappoint, the one that cannot be changed in the moment.

No one promised you the world would be a happy place, that it will not test your spirit, your beliefs and your capacity. No one said that it will be a bed of thorn less roses. Life is not about being on a newly developed highway, life is about understanding the negatives, still hoping for the positive. Life is about taking on the challenge and defeating the reason that could be the reason for your defeat. Life is about understanding that if you are not true to yourself, you cannot be true to anyone.

The world is slowly becoming all about convenience, about the easy way out. People look for the narrow lane, the loophole they can take to advance. The white lie that will get them out of a sticky situation, the bribe that will save them some time. There is nothing wrong with finding a shorter way out, but does one need to forget the basics while doing so? The good and the bad, the right and the wrong, the truth and the lies. There is always going to be a right way to do something and a wrong way to do it too. You may debate the two out and tell me about a middle ground which you call the ‘grey area’ but then again you use it because it is convenient. Because it is too much of an effort to go on the right path and it has negative repercussions if you go on the wrong. You call it grey because it is safe, easy and less troublesome.

Life does not need to be negotiated, life is what you want it to be, life is on your terms, because your life is what is truly your own. No one has a right over it and no one but you can lose the right to it. Circumstances are almost never ideal, choices are not always right but what you make out of those is what will hold stead in the times to come. Is life about passing through the journey or is it about cherishing the journey when you stand at the end? You may take the right ground or the wrong one, you make choose to side with the truth or with the lies, but at least you have a ground; you have a belief you support.

I am no where saying there is an absolute truth or there is an absolute bad, that is a debate for another time, all I say is there does and must exist a distinction between the good and the bad, the noble and the evil, the truth and the lies, the right and the wrong.

Life is all about the choices you make, it is about the path you choose, the way you fight back. Life is about the beliefs you cherish and treasure, the ones that make you, you. A life without an absolute is a like a life on a path always unsure.

Behind the Spirit

2009-07-26T12:12:00.001+05:30

I walk the hills, and the barren lands,
With a passion in my eyes, a gun in my hands

Roads to freedom, the journey long and short,
The incessant firing, the sound of the impending calm

Cold winds blow and they hit me hard,
Violent and fierce, but I can’t scream, not even an ‘ah’

In my aim to protect my country,
I wonder what would happen if we go wrong

Banish the thought from my head,
With a promise to my motherland, I move on

The gun shots and the wounded friend,
I see them all with my two eyes, I am human I want to say out loud

I tell myself to be of stone, be invincible to it all,
A small prayer to God to let me see the end of the day

It all goes unanswered when I am shot in the head,
One last bullet I fire, take the one last step

To kill the enemy, that was the perfect aim,
Free my country from the bondages of Satan’s game

Heavens above call to me, for I have done my duty, they say
Protect the people I love down here, don’t let my sacrifice be in vain

Truth of Tomorrow

2009-07-13T14:45:00.003+05:30

I stand under the tree

The shadows of the world passing beneath.

I stand to ponder, and wonder

The fate, what it would be.

I want to scream and shout

The anger, I want to remove from within me.

I wait for the moment

The perfect one, it promised to be.

I get ready to leave

The despair I begin to feel.

I think about the times

The good ones there once used to be.

I stand and wait, a while more

The years go by, without the winds blow.

I am old and grey, ready to go

The death is near, heavens calling me indoor.

- Shruti Chopra

Top 10 Romantic Comedies

2009-07-07T15:37:00.004+05:30

This is a light read that I am posting here. After almost all my blogs making everyone think, this may come as a surprise.

A complete fan of Romantic Comedies, they now seem to be a thing of the past. While many of them that have come out in the new century would classify as ‘romantic comedies’ most of them are scripts rewritten, shoddy screenplays and a few cliched plot lines. However, there are a few movies which take you back to the 1990’s the decade of Romantic Comedies. But more on those later.

Here is my list of the Ten Best Romantic Comedies of 1990’s

10. Four Weddings and a Funeral

09. Before Sunrise

08. One Fine Day

07. My Best Friend’s wedding

06. 10 things I hate about you

05. Jerry Maguire

04. Sleepless in Seattle

03. Pretty Woman

02. As Good as it gets

01. Notting Hill

Share your favorites, your recommendations.

Until later,

Shruti

Stereotypes

2009-06-15T17:50:00.000+05:30

Stereotypes. They exist, you can defend yourself against them but can you ever deny them? You broadly classify every person in one of the ‘stereotypical’ groups the minute you see them or the minute you get to know a little about them, even if it’s only by hearsay.

By their very nature stereotypes is a word having a negative connotation. There is no person (and I talk of a reasonable man) who would voluntarily like to be classified. Most of the times people are given a title, a classification even before they can prove their mettle. And the sad part is or the point to be noted here is that most people, once given a ‘stereotypical’ title are unable to remove themselves from them. A jock remains a jock, especially until he finishes high school. He might suddenly develop an interest in theatre, but he will always be known as the guy on the football team dating the cheerleader.

As human beings we are incapable of not mentally categorizing and while this is also necessary at times it is also inescapable. Have you ever wondered that if in the 8^th grade someone had not called you a nerd or a geek you might have gone and tried out for the football team? Or if someone hadn’t not screamed ‘terrorist’ when they found of you were Muslim you might have been a little less rebellious or a little more confident and proud of who you are?

Suddenly labeling someone has become a trend and an important part. What people do not realize is that this same labeling is detrimental to the being of most people. Agreed some people when labeled are more confident, some people are proud of being labeled and some people strive to fall and maintain the stereotype they are in. But most people do not like being labeled; most people would do better without having the additional pressures and most people long to fit into a different ‘stereotype’.

We often do not like being labeled ourselves but we never shy away from doing the same with another. Have you ever thought whether you shaped the stereotype or whether the same stereotype is responsible for shaping you? Have you ever wondered how the world would be without every blond being treated dumb, without every German being called a Nazi, every Asian being called intelligent, without every Indian being called poor and every Muslim being called a terrorist?

‘We need to reject the stereotypes to understand the reality behind it, behind the person. We need to stop viewing the world as black and white because that world seldom exists. For a world free of prejudices it needs to be a level playing field.’

Classification, stereotyping breeds prejudice. Prejudice breeds differentiation. It in turn breeds racism, ill- treatment and discrimination. The only person who has the right to classify you is infact only you. This is a right, an important one.

Of War and Peace

2009-02-17T01:06:00.000+05:30

The divine voices do cry,
The fervent request to intercede.
Wars and fights, mayhem and distress,
Peace wants to supersede.

Questions raised in the hearts of many,
Finding answers, the soul of you and me.
It confuses, it baffles, the situation we are in today,
Will we ever live in harmony?

The prayers, the hopes, the will, the belief,
We will keep till the end, for life to silently proceed.

Mumbai Attacks: The Action Required

2008-12-01T21:03:00.002+05:30

Terror has never helped any cause, never done any good, never brought about any revolution. Terror is nothing but a method used by some people in today’s world to instill fear, coerce them. The recent terror attacks did all that and much more. It is an attack that has touched a chord in each of us, got us to think and got us to demand action.

The losses faced during the 60 hours of mayhem and after are irreparable. There is no compensation, no amount of apology and no amount of ‘political statement’ that can change that. The people of the world are asking questions, want answers, and are in need of explanations but will we get any of these? The people of the world want action; want reformation, those that are not merely for political reasons.

We talk about what to do and how to better these situations when the acts of terrorism are over with, this approach is clearly wrong. We must talk and generate methods to stop these terror attacks from occurring, from curbing them before they do. We must attack these attacks from the front, not with weapons, not with bloodshed but with a united front, our intelligent minds and our souls, all together.

The answer to terrorism is not blame, it is change. The answer to terrorism is not fear, it is strength. The answer to terrorism is not abhorrence, it is being unperturbed by their attempts to divide.

I condemn these blasts and pray for peace in our city, our country and in the world as a whole. May the souls of all those brave men and women who gave up their lives saving others and all those civilians who lost their life in these ghastly attacks rest in peace. We salute you.

Terrorist attacks can try and shake the foundations of our buildings but they cannot touch the foundation, the soul, the heart of India.

Anil Kumble you will be missed

2008-11-02T20:20:00.003+05:30

Today Anil Kumble retired. It came as a surprise to many and certainly not a joyous one. The Ferozshah Kotla stadium was once again filled with emotion, once again by Anil Kumble himself.

Anil Kumble is a player par excellence. Someone who never let the team down, someone who put the sport before him, someone who put the team’s and countries integrity before his own, someone who didn’t let situations become excuses, and someone who never shied away from criticism but instead, silently proved it all wrong.

He has many a times been called the general of the team, the silent assassin who would take everyone in the opposition down without making much noise about it. Such is the man. He is the first Indian to take more than 500 wickets, he was only the 2nd man ever to take all 10 wickets, he is known to be the 3rd greatest bowler, after Murlitharan and Shane Warne. Anil Kumble held his head and the team’s head high in the recent Down Under series. He is the player who played against West Indies with a broken jaw, something that had everyone gaping when they saw the tv screens. He is the player who played and took 3 wickets in the most recent Kotla test with an injured finger, stitched up.

An era is said to be when a player comes and changes the face of the game, the way the game is perceived and when he decides to leave we know that the void can never be filled. A person is said to end an era when we know that there was just one like him and that there will be no other. In this man’s case it all stands true.

Few greats of the cricket echoed their sentiments on Anil Kumble’s retirement.

Kapil Dev, former Indian Cricket Captain said and I quote "Anil Kumble is a true fighter, always had this never-say-die attitude and is thoroughly a true gentleman,"

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell said "It is very difficult for somebody to get into his shoes. He is a cricketer who never compromised his dignity and always played with determination,"

The next few days are not going to be easy for any cricket fan, for any Indian who holds a soft spot for the game, especially a soft spot for the ‘senior players’. In the coming week we are going to see history again, Ganguly (my personal favorite) retiring, VVS Laxman completing 100 tests and a probable win at home against Australia. It is going to be an emotionally charged week, today the beginning of what will be remembered by many.

I know I had tears in my eyes when I heard his speech today. I know my emotions were stirred up when I saw the television footage of his journey until now. I know I will always remember this man to be probably the greatest gentleman and pioneer of the sport there has ever been.

Anil Kumble, you will be truly missed. It is indeed the end of an era in cricket today.

Every Life

2008-10-16T21:22:00.000+05:30

Of dreams and shadows that should never die
Autumn and spring which keep us alive.
Of the barren lands and rainy days that teach us to cope
The challenges we may face, what tomorrow holds.

Of mayhem and harmony, the turmoil around
War and peace the soldier shouts out.
Of cries and smiles, the nature of man
The ungratefulness he possesses in today’s time.

Of prayer and curse, keeping God in mind
Rich and poor, the distinction between lines.
Of black and white, the world as it seems
The wait for the morning after yesterday’s dream.

Of love and hate, with passion and tumult
Blue skies and dark seas, the beauty of the world.
Of angels and devils, the human and Satan within us
The faith, the reality of it all thus.

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

2008-10-14T22:46:00.000+05:30

We are the youth of today, the generation that will soon be responsible for the state of the world. We like calling ourselves the leaders of tomorrow, a youth with a purpose, with an opinion, with a vision. Acceptable as this view maybe, have you ever wondered whether you as a part of this class of people are doing anything, substantial or not, to make even an iota of a difference?

Monotony has come to be accepted as a part of life, we don’t question it, we don’t change it, and we don’t bother about it. We have similar days, if not the identical, five days of a week, the weekends being no different. We are happy sitting comfortably in our houses, bothering about issues that only directly affect us. Is that what we need to do? Is that what’s going to help us grow, help the country grow and help the world grow?

In the recent past we have been faced with many dismal occurrences – manmade and natural - the terror attacks all over the country (India), the Bihar flood crisis, the Hurricanes in United States, the Global Financial Crisis, the attacks on Churches across the country, the Russia – Georgia conflict and many such others. Some of these have been beyond us, even if we want to help we aren’t able to but some of these are those that in which if we take part we can make a difference, just the step, the want and the will need to be there.

I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.
- William Penn

It is time to wake up and smell the coffee (and no I don’t mean Barista or Starbucks). It is the time to do something about issues other than college politics, decide which movie to go for or how to deal with relationships and break ups. It is the time to take it in our hands to make a difference, to at least try and help, to work our ways up the ladders of humanity, to end the day with the feeling of satisfaction, to see the feeling of gratefulness, the feeling of gratitude in the hungry, helpless man’s eyes.

Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something.

The Strange ways of Human nature

2008-10-12T23:35:00.000+05:30

Sometimes I wonder that how does human nature really work. I mean sometimes we say we can’t do or live without a person but when fate brings us to it, when we are left with no choice but to live without their presence in our lives we somehow manage to do so. The question of how we cope after losing someone, to death or otherwise has always intrigued me.

Loss is quite an ambiguous term if you look at it objectively. It is also a very vast one. For a large part of your life you have been with someone, something, emotionally and/ or physically. One day, for them it all just isn’t the same anymore, what are the explanations to all this? The mere change of the face or place of a relationship can also be called a loss. The complete washing away of existence can also be called a loss. The mere losing of something small, even sometimes inconsequential can be called a loss. There are so many ways you can define loss, so many ways you can use the word, the emotion of loss. With loss also comes the feeling of loss of something that might have been, something that could have been.

Loss is nothing else but change, and change is nature’s delight
- Marcus Aurelius

From where I see it, a personal point of view to all of this is that most situations of loss cannot be fought; they have to merely be accepted. It is again in our nature to have a fighting instinct when it comes to something close to our hearts. Acceptance of something lost doesn’t immediately follow the loss occurred, we try denying, we get angry, we try to reason, we sometimes grieve, we don’t accept things that would change our life in a way we never imagined very easily. To put it simply we like to believe we are immune to change. So what do you do when you have to be ‘the big one’ and not fight reason but just respect it? What do you do when you want to hold on to something but at unable to do so? What do you do when you know a little more entry into the persons being will make it better, but you are locked out of it all? Such questions and many more crop up but not one seems to have an answer that explains the phenomena of loss and the subsequent acceptance.

Life is all about change, about self-determination, about acceptance and rejection, about survival. And somehow because of the unexplainable human nature life still always remains beautiful.

I am responsible. Although I may not be able to prevent the worst from happening, I am responsible for my attitude toward the inevitable misfortunes that darken life. Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have – life itself.”
- Walter Anderson

Trust

2008-08-11T04:26:00.002+05:30

Trust... this word has so much meaning, so much importance. Every relationship has this as its basis. Without it there is seldom any meaningful thing, any meaning to a thing. If we think about hard enough about it, trust is present in every aspect of our life. If you do an adventure sport you place your trust on the person teaching you, if you are flying you place trust on the pilot and the airlines, if you are confiding in someone you place trust in them not to speak about it, if you are believing what a person says and does you are trusting them to never hurt you. Trust.

What do you do when someone you want to trust never gives you an opportunity to?
They say that you can trust only when you want to. But there are also times that though you want to place your trust in something or someone the reason to trust is taken away from you. You get close to the place you want to be at but suddenly you find that it has gone miles ahead of you again. You are running against a moving train that refuses to stop or slow down so you can catch up with it.

Trust can be used as a synonym for faith. It is a confidence, a belief that we have in someone or something that we have in the situation or the relationship. It is the faith we have in our actions along with the others that gets us to do things, take actions, and grow as people in our lives. Trust is a relationship of reliance, a relationship of the unknown, the statement that helps us move into the future. All we have when we take that once step forward is trust.

It is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust
- Samuel Johnson

Trust is a binding characteristic, trait of relationships. I personally have never heard or seen of any relationship without one person having full trust on the other. It is important because it lets us lean on others, to depend on others, for love, for advice, for help. But trust involves major risk. There is never a point where trust is completely fool proof.

Trusting, when needed to be successful, especially between two people is generally a two way road. It is when both the parties are open to trusting the other. It is when you accept the risk that the trust can be broken, you have the belief that it will not be broken and have faith the other person is competent enough to keep the trust you have in them intact.

There are questions that will always arise like when is trust warranted? When do we know that our trust will never be betrayed? Does anyone or can anyone be completely, truly sure that their trust will not be broken by the person, the circumstance we are trusting?

But even with the confusion, the indecisiveness in our minds. Even with the risk we undertake, the faith we possess. Even with being aware of the possibility of being hurt, being scared, we trust. Because as someone said;

Without trust there is nothing.

Right and Wrong

2008-06-06T03:33:00.003+05:30

Right is something which is said to be ‘socially correct’. Some others may define right as something that is in conformance with the law and the order of the land. Right has come to be believed as something that the society deems correct, the society agrees with and that with which the societal values coincide. So in short it is thus safe to come to the conclusion that right is something that is accepted by the society and thus can be said to be morally, ethically and socially right. I will come to the part about society later.

Wrong is something which is not in accord with established code of conduct. It can also be said to be something that is contrary to the conscience or morality of law. Wrong is in simpler words the exact opposite of right. Here we take wrong in a negative connotation.

Now one question that crops up in my mind and I am sure in each of our minds is that when we say a particular thing/path/action is 'right' while the other is 'wrong', why do we say so? Who determines this? Who distinguishes them and why do we take things as acceptable and unacceptable? What makes the human psyche think in such a manner and how 'right' or 'wrong' really are the things?

Most say it is the society that decides but then comes my above point which I didn’t deal with then, who is this 'society' and how does it decide? Why does the so called ‘society’, assuming such a body exists, decide and differentiate between these things?

Society can be taken to be a group of individuals that are primarily characterized by common interests, needs and goals. It is also said to be a totality of all human relationships and organisations. If we take this to be true then it is safe to assume that every living being would be a part of society per se and hence be involved in the decision making process of right and wrong. However this is not so since objectively speaking no person would do something he himself has christened as wrong. Assuming such a society does decide the right and wrong, the question now arises that on what basis is the punishment decided for committing a wrong?

“Society is one vast conspiracy for carving one into the kind of statue it likes and then placing it in the most convenient niche it has”

- Randolph Bourne

Some say that humans are born with an innate sense of moral responsibility and a sense of justice, a sense of right and wrong. Now the question arises that are some more fortunate than others in this gift and thus some go on the ‘right path’ and some on the ‘wrong path’? Also it is important to note that many a times what is considered right in some parts/places is considered wrong in the others. What is the reason for that? Does this sense we possess differ so much? Why is say for example abortion or mercy killing legal or ‘right’ in some countries while illegal or ‘wrong’ in the others?

Many also say that it is the society we live in that grooms us, teaches us and influences our decisions of right and wrong. If that is so does this merely increase our innate sense and give it meaning or does it over write what we were supposed to be born with?

The last point that I come to is that is there even a society that exists or is it a fragment of our imagination, something we can blame our faults upon. Does there exist this amalgamation of bodies, of humans, of organisations that decides or is instrumental in the way we think and analyze or are we our own people, merely individuals, who decide for ourselves?

‘Society exists only as a mental concept, in the real world there are only individuals’

- Oscar Wilde

The End of an Era

2008-05-15T17:24:00.000+05:30

She came and she conquered. She succeeded when few thought she would. She stood out among the crowd but not because of a loud, over the top attitude or because of publicity and fame garnered from elsewhere. She stood out because of her grace, her dignity, her passion and her technique. She is Justine Henin. She had the grace we don’t get to see anymore, she had the dignity to rise above the mishaps and the misgivings; she had the passion which defines the game of tennis and she had the technique, as John McEnroe himself said the best single backhand in men and women’s tennis today. An end to the era of graceful tennis.

Justine Henin, for me, is the last of the tennis players who can make history, who can make a place for themselves in the history of the game. It will be long before another comes. Having won an Olympic gold, 7 Grand Slam titles and just short a win at Wimbledon, she has had a career few can boost of.

According to me she never really got the respect and adulation she deserved off the court, from people who aren’t tennis fanatics. Few know what she has done and what she was capable of. She had the power to intimidate her opponents and they knew that on a good day, which was almost always since the past few years, she was hard to beat.

When one thinks of retirement it is because of injury, of losing the touch or because of age. She retired, at 25, when she was No. 1 and when no one was close to taking that tag, that rank away from her. She retired because the emotion she had towards her game, the game of tennis had diminished. Very few have the courage to do that, those very few are the Champions of their game.

Today is a sad day in the world of tennis. A day that a fan wishes never comes. The day a player retires, puts an end to a wonderful career. I am yet surprised at why she took this step but she must be having her reasons. The first thought that came into my mind was why now? There is the Roland Garros coming up, her slam, her domain. She will be missed, at every tournament, at every slam.

Blame

2008-04-15T20:27:00.001+05:30

Blame is an easy way out, to clear your name, the doubt.
But what the consequence is, no one comprehends
Fights it causes, makes matters worse,
No end reached but still the end it is for all.
Why can’t things be said as they are,
Accepted and moved on with, make a fresh start?
Is it so tough to make the relationships work?
To be humans who accept their errs?
Let’s leave the scorn aside for a while and say what’s in the heart,
Make a new beginning of this disgraceful debated last part.

© Shruti Chopra

Freedom Writers: A Marvel

2008-04-07T12:33:00.002+05:30

Sometimes I wonder where do people get the courage, the motivation and the will to make themselves absolutely secondary and do good or at least try to better lives of other people from. It amazes me that people can be so selfless in nature. We all try and do our bit for the other and none of us – or at least most of us aren’t completely selfish in nature but we can’t also claim to be completely selfless. Some people are lucky that their calling happens to be selflessness, some people are lucky that they get the chance, but what is most appealing to me as a person is that someone so ordinary, like you and me, takes the chance given, goes out of their comfort zone as we call it, do what they like and do it their way and still make such a marked difference.

Privileges are something most of us take for granted. We don’t always realize that at some parts of this world there is an entirely different world! We don’t always think that there are people out their fighting a war, a battle for survival everyday and I don’t mean the soldiers of our country. Many a times these battles are forced, are ‘man-made’ and honestly need not even be there. Privileges aren’t something materialistic, something money buys but it is basic things like freedom, a family, an education, a job, a meal, a roof.

I call Freedom Writers a marvel because of the truth there is in it, because of the reality it shows and it changes, because of the good it strives to bring about without preaching. Freedom writers is about giving a voice, about giving a future and about giving hope. Freedom writers as an organization is about making one realize that nothing is impossible and that fighting without a reason, just because you are told to is baseless. Freedom writers the movie made me aware, made me realize, it inspired. It showed, at least me, that many a times we don’t know what we are up against and why we are up against it. Do we go after things or people just because we have been told to or because we have a reason backing our actions? Is following the norm essential even if it is the wrong way or being the first one to get up and make a change because it is the right thing to do?

Erin Gruwell, on whom the movie is based, as a character in the movie, is on the face of it just like you and I, a young person wanting to become a teacher because she likes the aspect and the idea of it, married young and happy with her life but wanting to make a change. You dwell a little deeper and you realize that she has the innate quality of putting someone else before her, for a better good even if that means letting go of her life, of her pleasures. She has the will to go those extra steps to make this step a successful one. She has the determination of doing things the right way but her way, about getting things done even if that means bending the rules a little. This is what I mean by courage. Courage isn’t merely going out there and showing how brave you are, courage isn’t not being scared, courage is having the will and the nerves to do what you believe in and make it happen. It is putting everything else on stand – even you if required to make a difference, however big or small it may be.

“With courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity.”
- Keshavan Nair

Choices

2008-04-01T17:17:00.000+05:30

'Nobody ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of his choices.'

Choices are a part of life. Every minute you are to make a choice. To either do this or to do that, but what happens when the choices are such that don’t just change the moment but the life ahead of you? Such are choices that scare people, which bring about confusion, anticipation and a gamut of other emotions? Thinking about a few things and the choices that have been made till now and the choices that will have to be made in the future, got me thinking and dwelling into deeper issues and reasoning’s. The two main choices, we assume that change the way our life goes, the way we lead it, depends upon our academic (career) choices, and our choices in relationships.

What does our tomorrow bring, what does it hold for us and what is the reason for tomorrow happening the way it does? Our life is based broadly on joys and sorrows, on happiness and sadness, on loss and gain, on belief and disbelief, on right and on wrong.

'We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them'

Everything that transpires in our life is ultimately because of our choice. Some people may blame their decision on someone else or say they were influenced but it still remains their choice, because it was their decision, them choosing to go by the others decision. Subconsciously or consciously we are always deciding the path for tomorrow, whether it is the way we want it to be or the complete opposite.

Each morning is a new day and each morning we choose whether we want to take a decision, make the choice to move forward or to just let it all go, like a river that will never again touch the shore. There are many moments in our lives when we find ourselves at a crossroad, at the T junction, anxious, perplexed, without a roadmap. The choices we make then, in that very moment, set path for everything ahead.

The most important thing in life, and maybe even the simplest but contradictorily one that is toughest to do is to stand by your choices, to accept them and to honor them. To think through them so that tomorrow, when things don’t work out there might be disappointment but no regret.