Faith.

I came across this set of pictures... Have a look... Don't lose hope... Have Faith in God...

Praying.."God..Please Help Us..Protect Us..."






Gets hit by 'trouble'...



Is deeply Anguished... Asks... "Why God ?? Are you Even there ??"



Turns Around...



Is astonished...Sees something unbelievable.............



GOD : "Are you alright my child... I might have missed a small piece....!!!"



There are times, when God tests us, sometimes makes ur suffer... Why... I don't know... but i know one thing for sure... He is there... Listning to Us...Looking after us...Hez just an 'Earnest Prayer' away...

God...Help us tide over these difficult times...Bless the souls of the bravehearts who have lost their lives...Help the families of those who have lost their near and dear ones...Bless the injured...And help us...Give us strength ...Intelligence..Will...n Safety to do something about all these inhumane acts...To prevent them from happening again in future...May God Bless us all...Amen...

The Best Days...

Today it seems that i just cant stop myself from witing one post after the other... Its a Bloggy Good day today... lol...

so now... on with the blog...

i saw some of my childhood pics... and today i saw a baby pic of one of my frenz... n i recalled a question that a friend had asked me many years back... "what do you think was the best phase of your life..till now"...n pat...my reply was... "my childhood...when i was really young and used to live with my grandparents..." he asked me a smiple question... "did you know at that time that it was the best phase of your life".... and then it hit me... our childhood is undisputedly the best phase of our lives... whn we dont have any worries... no responsibilities...and we r spoilt by our parents...and grandparents... we dont have any pretensions in our mind... we do what our heart says... blissfully unaware of all the worries n tensions... but... the most imp thing is that we dont enjoy it conciously... we were not aware that what we had was one of the most treasured moments of our lives...and thus it doesnt qualify as the 'best phase'... i feel that the best phase is when you are aware that yes...this is th best phase of my life...most of the times we dont realize what we r living right now is th best phase... it might be our childhood or any other age later on...we give in to the human tendency...longing to do something else.. not realizing that what we have right now might be one of the best things...whn we r kids we want to grow up... when we r in school we want to goto college... and whn we grow up...we want to be kids agen...!!!! we are never satisfied... we need to enjoy each n every moment... rathr conciously enjoy it... coz life is a mix of struggles n joys... for the want of the larger joys... the little bits of joys shud nt be ignored...

coming back to the discussion bout the phase....For many it might be their college days... or mayb their school days ... in the senior classes... for some it might be the days when they see their kids grow up into fine people... it can be anything...

im nt picking my college days...coz i hardly attended college... i was in lucknow ... my Dad got transferred ovr thr... n my college out thr...although one of the best in lucknow... was so so... oh forget it... its just not worth talking bout it in this post which speaks of the best phase of my life...n not evn my school days which were spread ovr various cities and schools... coz at that time i was a very different person... too shy... had a small number of frenz... i lost touch with them whn we moved out of the city... and somehow whn i did regain touch... i found out that most of them had movd away... the warmth was missing................. :( ..

for me... till now.. it has to be th current phase of my life... the time when im just beginnin my career... when im getting my training in a reputed firm... living in the city of opportunities... making new friends... and when im starting to earn a bit... although its just my stipend... which i feel is just some extra pocket money for me... but it has given me the power to be independent... to do things on my own... now im no longr dependent on my parents for each and every need of my life... in fact now i also sometimes surprise them by paying my own college fees... or buying some small gifts for my family... the smiles on their faces give me immense satisfaction n happiness... th feeling that i feel cannot be expressed in words... its somethng which im sure most of us would understand... the phase of life from where you start to be independent... and you start to do little things to bring happiness on the faces of your loved ones like they used to when we were youngr...

i know im very young and i have to see a lot of things in life... and its too early to sit and think bout the best phase...but i felt like writing bout what i hv felt till now...there r a lot of things that i would want from here on... in fact as i said...this is just the start...and im sure better days r to come... but thn till now this has to be it... hands down... im thankful to God...my parents..grand parents..my friends..and everyone else who has contributed to whatevr little i hv achieved till today... im thankful to them for making me able enough to see this phase... :) ...

The Mask....

The words of a song i heard some months back...

Facing the world with a smile...They don't see wat is hid inside...
They see all the happiness..They don't see the tears i have cried...

this made me think...this world we live in... the framework of society... the very psyche of people is full of hypocrisy....pretense...masks...people pretend to be somethng different from what they are...i used to hate such people... and used to try n stay away from such people... coz i dint understand the need for such behaviours... but as i grew up... i observed... i learnt thru my experiences that its very very important to keep some cards close to your chest... you have to keep certain aspects of your personality to yourself... i'm nt saying that being a hypocrite is correct... it never was... and it never would b right... but then there is a difference between wearing a mask to protect the inner child... the innocence... and wearing a mask just for the heck of it... or to do so for onez selfish reasons...n its worse when such a mask is worn to hurt otherz....

i feel wearing a mask in the society is important... coz otherwise thr r people who r sitting out there.. waiting to pounce upon you and take advantage of your honesty... this world is not meant for the people who r naive to the extent that they dont realize when are they being exploited...you have to be careful and speak in a careful measure... speak only what is required...

but then i also dont intend sayin that this mask has to be there at all times... therez absolutely no need for it when you are with your friends...your near and dear ones... the ones you trust... the ones with whom you feel comfortable...n this is where most of us err...trust the wrong people... or trust the people who ought not to be trusted... and end up getting hurt... or taken advantage of.. in whatever way that might be...

so one needs to be careful...very very careful...and put on a mask where it is needed to protect the inner child... the 'Spark' ... the innocence inside us... as the song goes...put on a brave face...no matter what you might be feeling inside...let it be known to only the 'right' people... but who are the 'right' poeple... well... we all r learning... getting hurt... n learning evn more...and it never stops...and im not saying that im very good at this...coz i too m learning...

The Blind Man...

Finally...After a long break...today im blogging once agen... i feel blogging is something like any other creative activity... you need to have that thing... that motivation.. somethng which makes you feel like writing... but thn it can also be seen from the other point of view... a blog can be on any and every thing about life... things which we see evryday... things which we think about... things which otherz think about... n wat not... what has prompted me to blog today was an incident which had happend a few days back... about a blind man...but somehow i wasnt able to write about it... today after reading a lovely blog... i felt like writing about that incident...

a few days back... on a sunday... i planned to go for a movie... n that day i decided to commute by the trusted local trains... while on my way i saw a blind man... n i immediately did what i have been taught by my mother... and something which i feel is so so neccessary for all of us to do... i Thanked God for all the blessings ... for all that he has given to us... things which we take for granted... things which ppl like that blind man... n many others like dont have... The Gift of Sight... Health... and loads of other things like that in life... n i felt like doing somethng for that unfortunate person... I asked him if he needed any help... and he said that he wanted to get on the train in the compartment for handicapped people...so i took him along with me... guiding him... and since i didint know where that particular compartment would come... (i needed to be at the place on th platform where that compartment would come to help him board the train before it started moving...).. i asked the vendors in the shops on the station... n got to know about it... and all this while i was observing... things which we take for granted... avoiding bumping into other people... nt banging your head in the pillar... stepping aside to avoid stepping into something... all this was so so difficult for that person... the only friend he had was his stick... it helpd him navigate through the complex array of things present at the station... although the difficulty he was facing was so so evident... (oh God...i dont know why you do this... why did you have to take the eyes of that man ??????? If it was for his past deeds... please help me not do any such thing in my life... please guide me God...)

i also noticed that he had a very keen hearing ability... he tld me that the place where the compartment for disabled comes at a halt has a loud beeper... that was the day i realized the purpose of the 'annoying' beeper... n found out how important it was for those unfortunate people... i took him to that place... n helpd him board the train after it came... he thanked me... he thanked me for a thing which we feel is such a routine activity... getting on a train... I thank God for giving me sense to help that man...

And yes, one more thing...i feel that whatevr little that we can do for helping other people should be just done... and not told about... just do it n forget it... but i felt like writing about this on my blog to share the feeling wihch i got by helping that person... the immense sense of satisfaction that i got by doing such a small thing... n i feel that after reading this blog... anyone did their little part for helping others... th blog would be worth it... coz as it is said... 'small things go a long way in achieving great results...'

Thank You God for each of your blessings...

Commitment..

Commitment...this is a very important 11 letter word which has a lot of sentiments attached to it. I have heard a lot about it...the views of guys and girls...but i feel there is a huge gap between the views and the reality.

It is a general view amongst girls that guys are afraid of commitment...guys try and find ways to weasel outta any sort of commitment...and usually guys face a lotta flak because of this so-called "commitment fear". But today i would like to do a reality check...is it really as bad as it appears ?? are the girls right and guys actually are afraid of commitment ??

Ok lets begin with the views of guys...i have heard this from a lot of friends...n seen it in a lotta movies...and a particular part of the sitcom "Friends" where the guy goes crazy when he suddenly realizes that he is going to get married and marriage means "A Life-long commitment". I was speaking to some of my office colleagues a few days back...all guys...and they were like "Marriage...I cant imagine getting married and being committed for life...i cant imagine myself being a father and having so much responsibilty..." and this was the general consensus amongst the group. Ya ya...i know all the girls would agree to this and say "See I told You...!!...All guys are afraid of commitment"...thats what the opinion girls generally have...

But i have a completely different view...and thats when i thought of posting somethng on this topic. I feel that more than being afraid of commitment...it is actually the fear of the "Unknown" ..the fear of "What if something goes wrong in this decision ??" that pulls us down...we always fear anything that we are not sure about...be it taking the first step of our life while learning to walk...or walking alone in the dark...or the final moment of our lives...Death...

Commitment too falls in the category of the "Unknown"...most of us are unsure...would it be fine...what if it does not go fine...what if this...what if that...all sorts of thoughts...but i feel this fear is not limited to guys...i think all the girls feel it too...its not right to generalize it with a statement "All guys are afraid of commitment"...coz i think even the girls go through the same feelings...the doubts...the fear...i feel it has more to do with how a particular individual feels rather than the fact that the person is a guy or a girl...its a human tendency. I'm a guy...and im sure i too would feel unsure when the time would come...i too would have fear....but i would not let it pull me down and stop me from getting into the commitment...we never know what life holds for us in future...but then that doesnt stop us from doing so many other thngs...thngs which we do day in n day out...even though just like commitment...we dont know what will happen in those thngs in future...then why single out commitment ?? and why generalize it with a statement that all guys are afraid of commitment ?? thre would be many girls who would be afraid...n there would be many guys...

I feel that this is a very debatable topic...and thus cannot be generalized...i dont intend to start an argument. This is my opinion and i know many will disagree with it. But then this is what i feel and what i stand by. I'm a guy, and i'm not afraid of commitment....period.

The Loving Hug..."Lil Angel"

This incident had happened a long time back...in ahmedabad...i had gone to a Gurudwara along with my mom...we used to spend some time out there on sunday mornings. On that day i was about to leave...n i saw a small girl...aroun 5-6 years old...she was playing...having fun with a few other people...splasing water...running around...then i noticed that one of the people around was teasing her...he had taken her dadz cellfone from her...and was not giving it back to her...she was trying to get it back desperately...n that person was unrelenting...he evn ran in front of her...all around the premises...he was tryin to have some fun with her...but he dint realise that she was not enjoying it...she felt that her dad had given her some responsibility...the responsibility to take care of his cell fone...n she was desperately trying to fulfill her responsibility... but when despite her efforts she dint get the cell back...she ran away...n no one went behind her...i did...n i saw her...thr she was...on the steps of the Gurudwara...n she was crying...oh the poor girl had taken th prank to her heart and was crying...n no one was tryin to calm her...i went to her n lifted her in my arms...she was sobbing...she hugged me tightly...ohhh it was such a nice feeling...the poor kid was feeling comfort in my hug...n it made me feel so nice...i asked her about wat had happened...and why was she crying..although i knew exactly what had happened...she told me..amod sobs...that she wanted her fone back...i told her to stop crying n tried to calm her down by telling her that we will get it back...she still didnt stop crying...i asked her her name..."Anjali..." she said...i took her out of the Gurudwara....to a nearby shop...to get some chocolates for her...she didnt have her sandals...so i carried her in my arms...still trying to comfort her...i told her to select some chocolates...she said no...but i insisted...n gave one to her...she said i want one more...i was surprised..she was not ready to take even one..n now she was asking for two...n before i could say anything...she said..."Mujhe meri chotti behen ke liye bhi chahiye...sirf mere liye nahin"....AWWWWWWWW...i was so moved...there she was...barely 5-6 years old...and she was thinking about her baby sister... :) oh she was an Angel...!!

so we bought the chocolates...n thn i took her back... she had finally stopped crying...n i saw her father had come looking for her..i gave her to her father n she went away...after thanking me for the chocolates...

n there i was...smiling...happy...very happy...it felt really nice to have made "The Little Angel" smile...her hug was more comforting for me than it was for her...i
cant explain that feeling in words...i think one word reaches close..."Contentment"...i was content..

Childhood Memoirs...An Ode............

I wanted to write something on this topic since a long time...in one of my previous posts i mentioned about my grandparents...but it turned out to be smethng which made me and others who read it sad...mayb it reflected the feelings i was feeling at that time...so i would like to post something which would bring a smile on my face...and on all the faces who would read it...im going to wirte somethings which made me smile...and which i hope would help me feel better when i would not be feeling so nice...

so here goes...an effort to relive some of those sweet childhood memories...an effort to preserve them...

the first thought that comes to my mind when i think of my childhood is my Dadu...ohh the very mention about him makes me smile...i was the first child in my family after a gap of exactly 20 years...the first grandchild...so i was showered with love from my all my family members...i was given various nick names...one from each of my family member...n i was closest to my Dadu...the way his face used to get lit up with a radiant smile when he used to see me...it still lits up my day...i lived with him in the same house during the first few years of my life...he used to love me more than anything else...i remembr a few incidents...

th time i used to return from my school in the afternoon...i used to be famished due to the sweltering heat of ahmedabad...n he used to wait for his 5 year old grandson to return...he would not go for his afternoon nap...he used give me a bath...feed me with his own hands....n i used to jump around the house...on the bed...n he used to see me...smile...n then we used to go off to sleep together...

then there were thos times when we used to go to see the circus...he used to take me...and my mom would be like "beta dont eat ice cream or chocolates..." n wat my dadu wud do is buy me all the chocolates and ice creams that i wanted...and then he used to wipe my face off...clear away the "evidence"... :P ...partners in crime... lol... i recall one particular incident when he took me to an ice cream parlour...n he bought me an ice cream...i ate it joyously..n thn i said..."Dadu ek aur"....n Dadu smiled...he got one more ice cream... n agen i ate it...relishing it... and... wheni was done...he asked me... "Ab chalen ??" ... n i smiled...wickedly... :P ...."Dadu ek aur".... lol...he smiled at me...n got me one more ice cream.... i ate it ...n was finally content... n so was Dadu...it was evident from his smile... :)

n then we movd...my dad got a transfer and we moved...we never "lived" in the same house after that.......

my Dadu n Dadi used to visit us...in Bhavnagar...n in our other house in ahmedabad...they used to get chocolates n biscuits...toys...all th thngs tht bring a joy on a child's face...they used to travel so far...n given their age...im sure it would not have been easy...but i think th joy of seeing their grand children(my kid bro n me) would have been too luring...they used to take us to the market...buy whatevr we used to ask for... my first carrom board...Dadu got it for me...i still have it...we still play... n enjoy...

they used to take us to temples...tell us stories in the night before sleep...teach us to pray...tell us little things...they instilled values in us...my grandparents and my parents...all the members of my joint family...th values which will stay with me all through my life...n help us see the troubled times through...

my Dadi..ohh Dadi...she was such a sweet heart...she had sme health problems...n cudnt walk easily because of her knee...she used to feel so much pain while climbing the stairs...but tht didnt deter her from moving all around the house to prepare sweets and other thngs for us...for all the family members....she was an excellent cook...used to make food that im never going to get to relish ever again...she used to make "Mithai" and so many other thngs and would bring them for us...she used to climb the stairs of the house...we dint have any elevators in the two storeyd building...she used to take half n hour to climb...but used to brave it for us....ohh Dadi....she used to stack up the house with those huge containers...with all the things i used to like...used to pamper us...pamper us big time...those weekends with our grandparents used to the highlight of the week... :)

n thn thr was this time when the house was in a mess...n my granma was a perfectionist...she used to say "agar ghar mein koi aa gaya toh...??? th house shud be in a perfect state at all times...!!" :) ... so the house was in a mess...n she told me to change the bed sheet...i was so annoyed...i said ok...n when she tried to tell me how to do it...i said..."no...i will do it on my own..." n i ended up makin a mess... i looked up at my Dadi...n we broke into a laugh... lol... then she taught me how to do it... perfectly... n to this day...no one can take out a flaw when i spread the bedsheet in my home... all thanks to Dadi...

i dint get to spend as much time with my maternal grandparents...we used to visit Nana n Nani in our summer vaccations...the whole gang of cousins...we have a big family...so the whole house used to get filled up with kids n their momz running behind them... n Nani used to love it...she would cook delicious things for all of us...she would get up early in the morning n extract fresh "Makkhan" using that strange contraption tht she had...n she used to feed that to us...would make sure we ate it...she used to tell us "you have to eat it...how else will you become strong ???!!"

we used to surround her and jump around...she used to sit in the centre...n all th kids used to shout "Meri Nani...Meri Nani....!! " n my cousins used to shout "Meri Dadi...Meri Dadi..." :P lol...

Nanu was soooo sweet...he wouldnt speak much to us...he was ailing n used to live in a separate room...i think he used to fear that he might harm us young kids coz of his ailments...he used to care so much for us...he used to get chocolates n biscuits n wat not....but he wud never give it to us directly...he gave it to Nani...n she used to pass it on.... :) ... he used to get all those things right before the time when we used to leave...to return back to our homes...to ensure that his daughters would not have trouble regarding food....

Tomorrow its the death anniversary of my Nani...2nd of May...Miss you Nani...Miss you all...

In the fond memory of My Grandparents...Love You all...

Watz Thr in The Name ??!!

Hmmm....sme people asked me...why "Spring Blossoms"...well...the name of my blog was somethng which kept me from starting my blog...for a long time...i wantd smethng which would be....umm...plain...soft...nice...i dint want anythng flashy....i wanted the name to suggest the kind of posts that i would post...i want my blog to bring a smile on the faces of the people who would read it...the kind of smile which comes on one's face after seeing a beautiful flower...a smile from within...

n also spring happens to be my favourite season...nature bestows us with so many sweet flowers...n beauty all around...its so pretty...trees n plants laden with flowers...n one of the reasons why i love spring is....im a "spring baby"....was born in april...

so...Spring Blossoms it is... :)

Silence..........................

This is something which i had written sometime ago...10th December to be precise...

Death.
The most certain truth of life....the utmost certainity...the harshest reality...and still the most shocking event of life...
Today I got to know that my friendz granpa...her dadu passd away...he left her forevr...n as she told this to me...as i read her scrap...i cud feel it...i cud feel how she wud hv felt...i felt my memories getting revived...the memories which remind me of the times when my Nanu...my Dadi...my Dadu...n thn my Nani...all of them passd away...time took them away from me...one by one...robbing me of one of the most priceless n irrecoverable treasures of my life...sme special ppl who loved me...cared for me...papmered me...took all th crap that i had to giv...n still loved me bak...selflessly...it causes so much pain to me when i think that i wasnt able to spend more time with them...the fast pace of life led me away from them...made it impossible for me to meet them more often...smethng which made me ignore them...smethng which i realise now...now that they are gone...i realise it now that they were always there for me...always cared for me...the joy in their eyes when they saw me...the way they stroked my hair softly...their tender loving touch...their firm n loving hug when i got scared in the night...oh God why did time have to take them away from me ?????????? Miss you Dadu...Dadi...Nanu...Nani...Miss You...
But i know that they are here for me...lookin over me...still caring for me...guiding me...protecting me...i feel it...n it has made me realise that we should always treasure our loved ones...because they might get angry...they might shout...but in the deepest corner of their hearts...its pure n selfless love...unconditional love...care for us...which drives them to do these actions...n thus im gonna try and make my parents and other lovd ones feel special...love them back...tell them that i treasure them...i might not be able to do it verbally...but this blog is a medium...i care for u...i Love you...Dad..Mom...Bro...and all othr lovd ones of mine...I love You...

And as tears threaten to spill outta my eyes...i try to cope with th emotions...the memories...i try to smile n fight back tears at the same time...i try to pay attention to work...i try to come to terms with the most firm truth of life...Death...with Silence...........................................

10.12.07

My First Blog

Well...Here I am...Finally...it has been a long wait...a long long one...i had wanted to start my own blog..have my own little space in the vast ocean called the "INTERNET"...to have a place where i could share my thoughts and maybe get some occasional feedbacks...i was very skeptical...about little things like the name of the blog...the things that i would write...should i write in proper english...or should i write in the english to text from our cell phones....about the fact that this outlet for my emotions...this space where i would communicate with myself would be accessible to anyone at the click of a button. But then today while reading a blog i felt so overwhelmed that i decided to do it at the very moment...So now lets c...how does this part of my life as a blogger turns out to be...!! Hoping that it would be just the way i have thought it to be...Cheers...!!