THANK YOU from the 'Spring Baby'!! :D

This post goes out to my friend Isha, and all others who made my birthday special. I wanted to write this earlier in this week, but I have my exams coming up soon, and somehow I was not getting the time to write. But, I had to thank Isha for the lovely post she wrote for me on my birthday. Secondly, it is spring, and I did not want to miss this opportunity to write a post on the spring season on a blog called 'Spring Blossoms'. So the motivation to revive my dormant blog was aplenty. :D

So, here goes -

The flowers are blossoming, trees all around are filled with a riot of colors, birds are chirping, and the climate is not as hot as it gets in the peak of summer. In short, its that time of the year which we call 'Spring'!!

The calls of the cuckoo bird (or Koel, as it is known in India), the Gulmohar trees laden with red and yellow flowers, the breeze all through the day, and lots of such 'small' things are making me reminisce. We often ignore all these things all around us as we rush through our lives at break neck speeds. But, I have always had an affinity towards this special time of the year when nature is at its bountiful best. I have been noticing all these small things and smiling all the time, ever since I heard the Cuckoo at 4 am one day, for the first this year. All those memories of my childhood in Ahmedabad are coming back. And, the 'Spring Baby' is happy!

And, all the love and affection shown by my friends and family on my birthday made me even happier. The day ended with me reading that special blog post, and going to bed with a BIG smile on my face. :) :) ... Thank you ALL!! :)

PS - I know I have been away from my blog for a long time, and have not been able to reply to comments out here. I'm extremely apologetic for that, and will be back soon after my exams. :)

The 'Pet' Leopard

The bunch of 10-12 year old kids watched with wide open eyes as the guide put his hand inside the bars of the cage and petted the leopard inside it!! They were scared.... and amazed at the same time. The leopard was behaving as if he was a pet dog!!

The guy (let’s call him Mr. X) turned to the kids and said that it was a wild leopard and none of them should even think of doing what he just did. "He will bite your hand right off!!", he said. The kids gasped!! And Mr. X only smiled. He could see it written in their eyes. They were seeking an explanation, and he was about to tell them one of the biggest truths of life.

“This leopard was badly injured and rejected by his peers when we found him. He was in a bad shape, and everyone thought that he might not live. But, I decided to do something about it. I gave all that I could to the poor animal...medical attention, care, companionship and love. Yes, Love. I gave it to him at a time when he needed it the most. I cared for him when he was down and out, and had lost the desire to live. At first there was not much improvement. But then slowly, he started responding!! He healed and was back to being the ferocious wild animal that he was.” Mr. X said with a smile on his face. “But there was one big difference. He knew who had been there for him in the times when he was down and out. And he remembers that. And that is the reason why he lets me pet him, because he acknowledges the fact that I was there for him when he needed it the most.” His grin grew bigger, and the kids eyes even bigger!!

And one of the kids in that group started a blog called ‘Spring Blossoms’, much later in his life. Me.J

That incident left a life-long impression in my mind, and a lesson I need to remember, but forget repeatedly. The love given by a friend in times of need has the power to tame even a wild animal, leave alone the supposed civilized humans. At times, I forget this while figuring out who my 'friends' are and who are 'the others'.

We might have many ‘friends’, but we fail to realize the difference between friends and acquaintances. The ones, who are there for you when you need them, when you are down and out, are the Friends. The rest, you might want to call them acquaintances or something else, but definitely not friends. I had learnt an important lesson that day – “Be there for your friends, and value those who are there for you when you need them, with your life.”

THANK YOU ALL MY WONDERFUL FRIENDS. YOU ARE MY ANGELS. J (I need not name anyone, because you know it. J)

Happy Birthday Bloggie... :)

This is a post that i had written sme days back, but didnt get time to post it. I had it on my comp as a draft, but had my exam on 25th and was caught up in a few other things and just couldn't find enough time to finish it. Doing it today...I guess bettr late than never.. :D ... 

Without any furthur ado... here it goes... 

Its my blog's birthday.. it turned 1 on 24th April 2009. Sorry for not being able to wish you on time bloggie.........

I'm feeling extremely happy that you have turned 1 today. I was the one who brought you into existence. Its like you are my kid ( I said 'like' before anyone starts to have thoughts... :P ....), and its your first b'day !! 

Blogging has been one of the best things that I decided to do...sharing my thoughts, and being able to  have share thoughts of others, freezing my memories in time, expressing my feelings on any thing that I feel for, interacting with other like minded people, and so many othr things, just by writing a simple post on my blog...

I had mentioned this in my in my 'Whats Thr in The Name' post that I want my blog to be able to bring a smile on the faces of whoever reads it. I recently got an award from Annie ... 'You Make Me Smile Award' . Thank You so much Annie. :) :)  It is my first award, and to top that, its gives me immense pleasure to know that I have been able to achieve one of the most important thing that I had wanted to by creating this blog... :) ...

I love my blog very dearly, and it means a lot to me. I would like to keep growing as a person as i blog more, and i hope to improve my writing skills as time passes. But, one thing is very important for me - Whatever i write is from my heart, and would try to keep it that way. Because no matter how jazzy and my blog might get, if it stops having straight from the heart posts, it would only 'look' nice, but wouldn't be actually nice.

  

Kisi ki muskurahato pe ho Nisar...

Kisi Ka dard mil sake toh le udhar...

Kisi ke waaste ho tere dil mein pyar...

Jina isi ka naam hai...

Ke marke bhi kisi ko yaad aayenge...

Kisi ke aansuon mein muskurange...

Kisi ko ho na ho.. humein toh Aitbaar...

Jina isi ka naam hai...

This is what I would like my epitaph to say... 'He brought smiles...he brightened days..' I hope I would continue to be able to bring smiles on peoples faces, and I'm would like to apologize for any hurtful things that I have said to anybody.

I would like to thank each and everyone who has taken precious time out of their lives to read my posts and comment on them. They mean a lot to me, and are a huge source of inspiration. Thank you everybody, and I hope the comments would keep coming. :)  

PS - I'm not in the best of the moods today, and i'm not sure if I should be blogging today and putting up a few things that i have mentiond above. I don't know if i would regret puttin git all up over here tomorrow, and if it would be best to forget certain events and move on. But had to wish you today kiddo... :) I'm sorry for not being my usual upbeat self...would be back soon..with all the pjz and smiles and optimism.. :) ... Happy B'day Bloggie... :) 

Herez a toast to my blog.. :) ...

Cheers...

Everything happens for a REASON...

During the past few days, rather months, a few things have happened that I, as at the moment, am forced to think were not so good. I feel things could, rather should have been different. I was forced to leave a company which many (including me) dream to get into. And, I have my CA exams in november. I so want this course to get over now. I'm eagerly waiting for getting those 'two alphabets - CA' as a prefix in my name. Life seems to have hit a rut. But, as it has happened in the past.....

[Past - After my 10th grade Boards I was all set to get into the science stream..to be able to pursue my long cherished dream of doing Software Engineering. I was always fond of computers,and this was something that I had always thought of taking up as a career. I had filed my form for getting readmitted in my school (in Ahmedabad) in the 11th grade in the science stream. But,when I went for submitting the form, I found out something that would change the course of my life forever. I remember it very vividly. I had gone to my school with my Chachu, and Dad was at office. They said the criteria for getting into science was 60 marks each in Maths, Science and English, and I had 89 in Science, 85 in English, and 52 in Maths................. I was shattered !! Maths had always scared me. Thanks to a teacher in my 9th and 10th grade, I had become Arithmophobic. And now it had led to this - NO SCIENCE....................... I went back to home, spoke to Dad, and he managed to convince me that commerce was not a bad option at all. I somehow filled in my form and got into commerce, and I ended up losing touch with most of my good friends in school who had taken up engineering in various colleges. Their bonds grew stronger, and I got left out. :(

And after only 10-15 days of studying in that school, we moved to Surat, and over there I could have taken up science. But, I had made up my mind. So I continued with commmerce, and I used to hate it in the beginning. But, gradually I started liking it, and then we moved again, this time to Rajkot. I did my 12th grade frm there. Over there I enrolled for taking Maths and Accounts tutions, and to my surprise, I started loving both the subjects. I got to study and clarify my concepts from two wonderful teachers (concepts - one of the most important things that one needs to undersntand and like a subject), and I scored well in both the subjects, 90 in Maths !! GoodBye Arithmophobia, Hello Commerce !!]

I have this huge regret, or whtevr u wud call it. First, I was this complete shy and introvert baby in school... no fun, only books & a few friends, with whom I couldn't even maintain contact due to my frequent moves from one city to the other. And then I wasn't able to enjoy my college life. During my Grad, I was in a college in lucknow (my Dad is a banker, and we kept on moving frm one place to the other) and to top it all, the college was a boyz college. No activites, no fun, not many friends, just sucky politics, elections and nothin else. And I'm a student of CA which is a self study course, so no classroom studies, no college, no college group... nothing.

I so feel that i hv missd out the college group fun - the night outs, the road trips, the hostel fun and the not so fun part of it, the games on college LAN... Oh God... how could i miss so many things ??? I was so not into fun...................

But now, when I look back at those petty things in accounts which used to freak me out at that time, I get amused. I now feel that it was so silly of me to think of it like that. The only problem was that I took some time to adjust. By God's grace, things have turned out fine. I'm pursuing two courses which I'm goin to finish soon, I did a substantial part of my internship from a very good place...something which I always dreamed of, and I can say that I have a good set of friends (Touchwood..!!) But still I'm getting this feelin that I mentioned in the beginning of this post.. of life having hit a rut. But, I get a reassurance from the fact that in the past too things were seemingly pretty bad, and my life had taken a completely different course from what I had wanted. And it was all for good. So many things that are happening now, my friends, the cities that I lived in, my experiences, the whole way that I live life, might not have happend had I filled my form for the science stream. I don't know what they would have been, but as I have mentioned in the title of this post... 'EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON' !! I guess there were some very good reasons for evrything that happened... some that I can see.. and some that I can't. One that I can see is that if it wud not hv been this way, then I wudn't have realized the value of such things, people and experiences, which I now do.. immensely. And, thus I'm trying to make the most of it, because these years of life...The Best Days (refer my earlier post)... they are never going to come back (time never comes back, but these days are extremely special). I'm trying to have a bit of fun, and by God's grace, have been able to come - into contact / back into contact, with a few people whom I consider to be my good friends. :) And then, later on when I would do my MBA, I'm going to make sure to make the most of it, make up for all that I have missed in the past... :) ... Yaaaaayyyy... :P :D ...

I read this wonderful mail today...

'God know exactly and with perfection about what is being allowed to happen to you in your life at this precise moment...

His purpose is simple..He wants to show you things that only you can understand by living what you are living, And by being in the place you are now...'

I know God's watching over me, and thus I'm open to all the surprises and challanges that life has in store for me. I'm sure many would not agree to this, and even I would not feel this way many times in my life. But, then I would look at this post, think about my past, and try to get back in sync with the twists and turns. :) I try to be flexible, and would continue to do so, and enjoy the journey as much as the destination !!

So Life... Bring it on...!!! :)

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 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...

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...