Dil toh Bachha hai Ji...

Being dead to the world in the dead of night, waking up behind schedule and then chasing possibly everything- from a quick repast to a rapidly budging bus! Our lives have slashed to a mere rat-chase, mundane and monotonous. As a consequence, we end up pricking every single bubble of life that ever dared to glide. Amidst the hustle and bustle of one such day, I hurried towards my classroom at the eleventh-hour clutching my cellular phone, my chum. Both, anxious and afraid of being chucked out, I took a final sigh and as I was about to enter the alcove, my chum gasped for life and started vibrating. The screen flashed “Sanskrit Sir Calling…” and all my apprehension vanished in a jiffy. It suddenly clicked, “It’s Children’s Day TODAY!”

I was allowed an entry, despite being late. In my mind’s eye, I suddenly saw myself kneeling down right at the door and holding my ears for being late to the class, clad in a school uniform, my dear uniform!  The mind-numbing lecture “lulled me to sleep and sleep prolonged my dreams!” (S.T. Coleridge) This was yet another day in college. I wondered how those young lads in my school would be having the time of their life. We would all attire ourselves in blue and rush toward school, overjoyed. Apart from my birthday, this was the day I eagerly looked forward to, every single year of my childhood and now here I am, maturing with wisdom and sensibleness, with no one to celebrate the innocence I once held and perhaps traces of which still remain, not a single soul to give me a Bensia pencil of my favorite color or simply hug me with utmost affection, just to make me feel special.

Yes, I am an adult now. And alas, they don’t find us worthy enough to declare a day for us! Tapped in a cycle of materialisms, we lose out on our innocence each and every minute of our lives. But no wonder, I still crave for “Buddhi ka Baal”. Yes, I am eighteen and in spite of that, I run after balloons and carry an I-have-got-the-world expression after possessing it. At times, I circle around my Mommy and coil the pallav of her saree too. I may not jump and clap at fireworks but gazing above still makes me happy. And for all that I was and for all that remains, I, like everyone else out there, deserve to make merry on this day. After all, Dil to Bachha hai Ji..!! . ;)

PS- This write-up comes out of a frustrated mind because nobody (except the teacher I mentioned above) wished me, not even my parents, until it was dusk and I took the liberty of calling 'em up myself to "vehemently grab" greetings from them!! ;) 

A Letter to Nelly Furtado…

Dear Nelly,

When despair envelops my mind, my spirits crash and the color of my face turns blue (from red), I take refuge under your song “All Good Things Come to an End”. Without a slightest doubt, your song is beautiful. But unfortunately, since June 2006, it has been misinterpreted my millions. Until this time, I belonged to that set too. All this while, my gloomy thoughts and your libretto were in complete harmony. Akin you, I monotonously wondered, “Why do all good things come to an end?” By no means did I endeavor to hunt for an answer and thus, I kept on sinking deeper and deeper inside a bottomless pit. A short time ago, however, I accidentally stumbled on a way out to your speculations. And now I finally have an answer to your million dollar question (that literally paid you well, a million dollars!) Here it goes...

To cut a long story short, all the good things in the world come to an end simply to make room for the better ones, my dear. As simple as that! You see, I recently read a book by Dr. Spencer Johnson called “Who Moved My Cheese?” In case you haven’t read this already, I’d suggest you to glance at it. The book highlights the importance of adapting oneself to ceaseless changes; the sooner the better. For when a chunk of your favorite “cheese” turns mossy or has been “removed”, you can always look out for a “new cheese” that outshines the former “cheese”. Using cheese as a metaphor for one’s desires, job, relationship, etc, Dr. Johnson delivers a simple yet profound message. Going by the same logic, when a good thing comes to an end, sooner or later, a better one always comes into sight. And the best part is, the best ones never end!

Here’s an instance to support my argument- I know of a friend who loved this guy madly that dumped her after 2 years of relationship. She lost all her hopes and kept wondering for about a year and a half “why did this happen to her?” Few years later, she met another guy who could finally teach her to love again and now she feels thankful that she underwent such a terrible heartbreak then only to meet a guy who truly respects her feelings. So, a good thing came to an end and a better one became apparent. I am also aware of a kind of love which is “the best of all” and so will never end. It’s the love that I am blessed to receive from my parents. Come what may, it will never end. I can bet your entire million dollars on it!

Nelly, I do not intend to criticize the lyrics of your song. It conveys optimism but indirectly and thus, people with brains often fail to notice the latent and the obvious. I merely aim at sharing this little message with you and any one who reads this letter. I hope that people like you and I, instead of retreating from a dark tunnel, will try to perceive the luminosity that lies at the end of it and move ahead.

Kind Regards,

A Newly Enlightened Soul.

A heartbreaking musing.

Remember those times when you met someone and you guys just hit it off? That person made you laugh so hard that you assumed he/she would always be there to do so- in your good times and in your bad ones. No matter what, he/she would always cheer you up. It seemed impossible to even imagine that he/she would ever bring tears of sorrow in your eyes. All he would ever do is bring tears out of endless laughter. Well, some of us are lucky enough to have that person in our lives for ever. And some others, like me, are not. Amongst these ‘others’ too, there are three categories of people. The first one consists of people who lose that someone because of their mistake(s). Then there are people whom someone loses because of his/her own mistake(s). And finally, there are some who just keep wondering “what went wrong?”. I fall in the third category and believe me, it’s the worst of all. Although you are to lose the person in all the three cases, in the former two, you are at least aware of the reason for the same. The last one, on the contrary, gives you an additional matter to ponder upon, as if you didn’t have enough already! Thus, it keeps on reminding you things that you least want to.

Indubitably, you can always hunt for the latent will power inside you to drive off your emotions and be a little stern towards the same, especially, when your sentiments do not concern them. But my dilemma is, what should be done to the stuff they gave you, both abstract and in kind? The most terrible yet wonderful gift from someone is ‘memories’. You cherish them until things go well. But when they don’t work out and the ‘triple bond’ you once shared now stands broken then those memories begin to haunt you instead. I simply awe at my memory when it comes to matters that are worth forgetting. At other times, like examinations, it makes me feel awful! Moving on to materialistic things, should one throw them away, burn them down, give them back to the person they came from, preserve them or the most difficult, preserve as well as use them?? [ P.S. I am not talking w.r.t. an ‘after break-up’ scenario.] 

I too have presents from some people who were once not unknown to me like t-shirts ,a mug, show-pieces, cards etc. I am ‘brave’ enough to use the mug and preserve the rest  (or fool enough, I really have no idea). I have only one reason behind my action- These gifts were given to me with a heart that once contained only love for me and at a time when everything was perfect. No doubt, it still hurts me because every time I see or use those, I am reminded of them and probably, I won’t be able to forget them ever (bloody memory!) But despite my logic, my question still remains unanswered; When people walk out of your lives, what should you do with the ‘stuff’ they leave behind??

A way out of this maze is welcomed…