Innocent thoughts-Why are you not lazy?

My son gave me a reason to smile this morning. Today was one of those rare days when he got up before me.

The six-year old, who is often reprimanded for being lazy, observed me get up in the morning, and start my morning chores immediately, and then sit on my computer to make some posts in my blogs. As he gets scolded every morning for lazing on the bed & delaying his morning chores, he had a questioning look on his face and finally asked, "Daddy, don't you feel lazy in the morning? How is it that you get up and get to work straightaway?"

I never miss these occasions to impart some knowledge to my son about the ways of the world. I told him that I have to get up early, and perform many roles - work on my blogs, go to office, go to the gym, attend my Part-time MBA classes and so on.

His next question was why was I performing so many roles. So, I explained that I was working hard to make more money and to give him a good life.

The next question was, "Why do they pay you money at office?" Again I had to explain that I get paid because I do the work in my department, and if I was not there, my boss would have to do all the work himself. As I was doing the work for him, what is it that I should get?

With the air of someone with all the worldly knowledge, came the answer from my young son, "Return gift"!

God and Eve

God and Eve - From an Article in the Global Village

'God, I have a problem.'

'What's your problem Eve?'

'I know you created me and provided this beautiful garden and all these wonderful animals as well as that hilarious snake, but I'm just not happy, '

'And why is that Eve?' God and Eve Joke

'God, I am lonely and bored and I'm sick to death of apples.'

'Well Eve, in that case I shall create a man for you'

'Man? What is that, God?'

'A flawed base creature with many bad traits. he'll lie, cheat and be vain. He will revel in childish things. he'll be bigger than you and will like fighting, hunting and killing things. He won't be too smart so will need your advice to think properly. He will have a limited emotional capacity so will need to be trained. He will look silly when aroused, but since You've been complaining of boredom, I'll create him in such a way that he will satisfy your physical needs and you need never be bored again.'

'Sounds great', said Eve but what's the catch, God'

'Well, you can have him on one condition.'

'And what's that, God?'

'As I said, he'll be proud, arrogant and self-admiring, so you'll have to let him believe I made him first. And it will have to be our little secret. You know, woman to woman.'

Almost wasted

This is a story of my childhood that I can never forget. I was a small kid when my parents had thrown a party at home, which was attended by several guests. My mother used to work hard do all the housework herself, so the burden of washing all the used utensils would have fallen on her shoulders the next morning.

When I woke up the next morning, I found her asleep as she was very tired, having spent the previous day working hard and making preparations for the party. We used to get water in our home only upto 9 am, it was 8 am and my mother was still asleep. I panicked, knowing that she would have a terrible time if we run out of water with all the dirty utensils of previous day's party unwashed. I did not have the heart to wake her up as she looked so exhausted, even in her sleep.

I decided to wash some of the utensils myself, to take some of the burden off her shoulders. I started with the ones which I thought she would need that day for lunch & dinner. Then, I felt I should also do some others, which were the expensive ones, and which she used only when there were guests at home. Having finished those too, I thought I would do some more, so I washed as many as I could till the time I realized I had almost finished the whole lot. The only one left was a big greasy vessel which looked impossible to work on. Thinking how much my mother would appreciate it, I decided to wash that utensil as well. It was a lot of struggle before I could get all the grease of the vessel and it was shining bright.

I looked with satisfaction at the body of work I had done and was looking forward to the surprise and gratitude on my mother's face when she discovered I had finished all the chores in the kitchen for her. I waited for the moment when my mother would wake up and hug me with joy. I waited, and waited, and waited some more.

Finally, my tired mom woke up and headed for the kitchen. I held my breath in excitement for the big surprise and for that look in her eyes, and the hug that would follow, and maybe something special for lunch that day. She entered the kitchen, fumbled with a few things, washed her face in the sink, and walked out, leaving a very disappointed 7-year-old watching all his hard work go down the drain. No surprise, no appreciation, no hugs, no expressions of gratitude. I could not believe this was happening to me.

I saw her go to the bathroom, waited for her to come out, following her wherever she went. Finally, I could bear it no more, so I took her hand and led her into the kitchen once more, asked her to take a good look, and that's when she realized what I had done for her. She was too groggy with sleep to realize it when she had entered the kitchen earlier. She hugged me tight and ran her fingers through my hair. I had saved her a lot of work that day and it was worth all the effort, seeing her smile so bright.

My mother is a Dinosaur

This is an interesting episode which I feel like sharing with friends on my blog. Recently, I called up an old friend, Dolly, who stays in another city, to wish her on her birthday. She narrated an incident about her 6 year old daughter which was very entertaining, to say the least.

Her daughter, Siya, had been enrolled for Odissi classes (Indian classical dance form). It was her first day at the dance class and there were two other girls in her batch. The teacher asked each one of the three girls what their mothers did for a living. The first girl replied that her mother was a designer, the second girl said hers was a furniture dealer. It was Siya’s turn and she replied, “My mother is a DINOSAUR!”

The teacher was taken aback by the answer, and she asked Siya why she thought her mother was a dinosaur. Pat came the rely “Because she screams at me all day!”

Children sure are creative!

The trouble with Life

The trouble with life is there's no background music

Simple thoughts-Desparate situation

This is an incident from my childhood when I was 7 years of age. It was one hot summer afternoon when I returned home crying. The reason was that I was slapped and beaten that day, by my neighbor and friend, Bobby, who was also of the same age, but was much shorter in height.

I expected sympathy from my parents for having been beaten and roughed up. I was in for a rude shock. My father could not take the fact that I was physically overpowered by a smaller boy. To add insult to injury, I was thrown out of the house with instructions from my father that I would be allowed to enter the house provided I go and thrash the boy who had beaten me. I was in a double-dilemma. Problem number one was how to beat Bobby, as he was stronger than me. The other problem was how to secure a passage back home if I was not to beat Bobby.

I found solace when I narrated my woes to our next door neighbor, a fine lady who offered me some fruits, and then took me back home. She spoke to my father, and convinced him not to put a small child through such a tight spot. My father agreed and I could heave a sigh of relief!

A few years later, when I was about 13 or 14, I took my revenge when I had a quarrel with the same boy, Bobby, which resulted in a fight, and I gave him a neat thrashing. Needless to say, I had my father in mind, when all hell broke loose on the poor guy.

Positive thoughts-Dream More

The Life of Iranian President Ahmedinejad

The FoxNewsTV (USA) asked the Iranian President Ahmedinejad,

'When you look into the mirror in the morning what do you say to yourself'?
He answered: I see the person in the mirror and tell him 'Remember' you are no more than a small servant, ahead of you today is the heavy responsibility, and that is to serve the Iranian nation'.
Ahmedinejad, the Iranian President who astonished many when he first reached to the office of the Presidency by donating all the high valued Iranian carpets to one of the mosques in Tehran by replacing them with the low cost ordinary carpets. He observed that there was a huge extravagant lounge for receiving and welcoming the VIPs and he ordered it to be closed and asked the protocol office to arrange for an ordinary room only with wooden chairs.
On many instances he joins the cleaning staff of the municipality for cleaning the streets in the area where his home and the Presidency are located.
Under his authority whenever he appoints any minister to his post he gets a signed document from him with many points particularly highlighting that he shall remain poor and that his personal and his relatives accounts will be watched and the day he leaves the ministry shall be with dignity, and therefore it is not lawful for him or his relatives to take any advantage of his office. First of all he declared himself for all the 'Big' wealth and the property he owned was a Peugeot 504 car, model 1977, an old small house inherited from his father 40-years ago in one of the poorest zones in Tehran . His accounts with a zero balance and the only money comes in to his a/c was from his salary from the university as a lecturer with an amount of US$ 250 only.
For your information the President still lives in that same house. This is all what he owns; the president of one of the world's important countries; strategically, economically, politically and with regard to its oil and defense. He even doesn't take his personal salary with the argument that all the wealth belongs to the nation and he is the safeguard over it.
One of the things that impressed the staff at the presidency is the bag the President brings with him every day, which contains his breakfast; some sandwiches or bread with olive oil and cheese prepared by his wife and eats and enjoys it with all happiness.
One of the other things he changed was his personal carrier 'the President's Aircraft' to a cargo aircraft in order to save the spending from the public treasury and he ordered that he will be flying with the ordinary airline in the economy class..
He organizes meetings every now and then with all the ministers to know their activities and efficiency and he closed down the office of the Manager of the president and any minister can enter to his office without any permission. He also stopped the welcome ceremonies like the red carpet, the photo session or any personal advertisement or respect of any kind while visiting any place in the country.
Whenever he has to stay in any of the hotels he asks them to make sure not to give him a room with any big bed because he doesn't like to sleep on beds but rather likes to sleep on the floor on a simple mattress with a blanket.
Refer to some of the photographs which also confirm the above. The Iranian president is sleeping in the guest room of his house after getting away from his special guards who follow him wherever he goes and photo is taken by his small brother according to the Wifaq Newspaper which published this photo and the next day the photo was published in most of the world's newspapers and magazines and particularly the Americans.


During the prayer you can see that he is not sitting in the first row.

Try comparing this with the emoluments and privileges our ministers get………

Memories-A fast buck

This is an incident about my childhood which is stuck in my memory and would probably always be there for the rest of my life.
It was a wedding in my neighborhood in the beautiful city of Chandigarh, Punjab. It is a custom in Punjabi weddings to throw money in the air when all the guests are dancing in the streets to the rhythm of the "dhols" (drums) played by "dholwallahs". The money thrown was then collected by beggars, domestic helps and the guys playing the dhol. I was a six year old then who was invited to the wedding with my parents, watching the proceedings with boredom when it suddenly struck me that I could make some quick pocket-money in that situation.

I eyed the coins and the currency notes scattered on the road with lust and was looking for an opportunity to pick up a few coins and stuff it in my pockets before anybody could notice. Throughout the celebrations, my total concentration was on the road, looking for currencies which went unnoticed by the beggars and dhol-players. What I did not know, was that my father, who was on the first floor of the nearby building, was watching the entire episode from the balcony and had read my intentions correctly.

After the celebrations were over, and as I was headed home, I suddenly felt a strong hand on my shoulders. It was my father, with a very mean look on his face. He took me to a corner of the building, where nobody could see us, and asked me to empty my pockets. I tried to protest and wanted to demand why I was being asked to do so, but the look in his eyes told me I should simply do as I was told. I turned my trouser pockets inside out and to my good luck, my pockets were empty. My father checked my pockets again as he was sure I had picked up some of the coins from the streets. Luckily for me, I did not manage to pocket any of the coins or currencies and I thanked God for that. Had my father found any coins in my pockets, I was in for a good bashing. After having gone through all the pockets in my clothes, and finally satisfied that I had not picked up anything, my father told me, “I know what was on your mind. Don’t think that you can fool me just because there was nothing found in your pockets. I can read your mind, so don’t you ever dare to pocket what is not yours”. With that, he went away, leaving behind a very relieved boy of six, who had missed out on making a fast buck, but learnt a very important lesson of life.

Photographs-Shadows

Stars

It’s gazing at the stars that I miss the most. When I was a kid, I used to live in a small town, which offered fresh air, open skies and a pollution free environment. In summers, I used to sleep on the terrace with my family. The smell of the night air, the sound of crickets and other nocturnal creatures, the light summer breeze, and the clear view of the skies with millions of stars bring back pleasant memories. I would count the stars – small ones, big ones, some brighter than the others, some closer while some very far, some moving while others still – I would count myself to sleep. I would, often, draw an imaginary line connecting the stars at different locations, forming imaginary shapes and figures. The vastness of the sky, the limitlessness of the expanse above would infiltrate a feeling of awe and wonder in the mind of a child who had many miles to go, many dreams to fulfill.

I live in a big city now, and hardly ever get the opportunity to gaze at the night sky. I miss the days of my childhood, the clear skies, and the million of stars that would stare back at me, and pat me softy to sleep.

Bipin's misadventure

This is a story about my friend, Bipin, which I can never forget in my life. Bipin, a very handsome guy in his college days, was very popular with the girls. Good-looking and charming, he always used to be surrounded by girls. One of his girlfriends, whom he had met during New Year's eve at a party hosted by the Air Force, had grown very fond of him. Within a few weeks of their courtship, she had already started dreaming about settling down with him.

One day, she invited him at her place to introduce him to her parents. This guy was very nervous and shifty throughout the day. When it was finally time to go, he asked me to come along for moral support. He went on his bike and I followed him a short distance behind. When Bipin took the bend to her house, and I was a little behind him, the scene awaiting us was disastrous.

At his girlfriend's gate, there was a huge crowd waiting to greet him! There were her parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, nephews, friends, even her dog! I was watching the whole scene from a distance. I could sense how nervous Bipin must have got as he approached the gate of her bungalow.

I had no idea that I was in for a bigger surprise. Suddenly, Bipin gave full throttle to his bike and vrooooooom......he raced his bike and just fled from the scene. I watched in disbelief as Bipin and his bike disappeared from my sight. His girlfriend's whole family was waving, shouting, beckoning, calling him back, the dog was barking madly, but Bipin was too scared to go back! I laughed so hard...I almost fell off my bike....from that day on, Bipin made it a point never to visit any girlfriend's home.

Quotes-Had I known

"Had I not known that I was dead already,
I would have mourned my loss of life"

- Last words of Ota Dokan, Scholar of Military Arts & poet, 1486

Simple thoughts-History repeats itself!

These pictures represent 3 generations of the same family - my father, my son & me. I am the common factor- While the pictures below shows me air-borne thanks to my father, the picture above is kind of history repeating itself, as I fling my son up in the air....

An article by my father-In love with cricket

As a student I went to a school, which had plenty of sports facilities and a big enough playground of its own. It was a co-ed school but in those days in early sixties, boys and girls did not talk to each other. Socially it was not accepted. Of course, there were a few bold ones who defied the rule but they too talked furtively making sure teachers were not around.

Every year, after final exams, a cricket match was held between students and teachers. This occasion was looked forward to as girls and lady teachers remained present to watch the big match. And this was one day when students could take little liberties like girls congratulating good performance of a batsman or a bowler. The ladies’ presence made certain that boys played with vigour and received their cheers.

The captain of teachers’ team was our principal, a gentleman of such immense proportions and weight that nobody had ever seen him walk fast, let alone run, and having little knowledge of the game. Captainship was given as a mark of respect. While fielding, he was given a post at the boundary line with a lackey (usually a student) to run and field for him. While batting, he opened the innings and was given an underarm slow ball from half-pitch, which he tried to hit. He usually lasted for one over or thereabouts before being bowled or caught out. (No LBWs for him & he didn’t take singles). After his royal departure, serious action would start.

The teachers’ team had one Parsi gentleman known as ‘Parsi Sir’ as he was the only Parsi person in the school who was really a good and keen cricketer. He invited his son Jal to play for teachers though Jal was not in our school. Usually students won but for this father-son duo and occasionally a stray teacher who stood between students’ victory. Both teams wore flannel cream-white pant-shirts as cricket gear.

This particular year, students’ team had some good players including ‘yours truly’. The captain of the students’ team was one Suresh, very funny and full of mischief known as Suresh-sursurio as he could smoothly sneak away from any difficult or unpleasant situations, but a good fast bowler. Students had won the toss, had batted first and had made a reasonably good score. Now teachers were batting and students were finding it difficult to uproot the Parsi father-son duo. Balance was tilting slowly on teachers’ side. Suresh-sursurio was bowling furiously and desperately.

It happened suddenly. The stitches of Suresh’s trousers tore on the backside as he bowled furiously. The more he bowled, more stitches came apart. Now his V-shape blue underwear was clearly visible. Still, he continued bowling and the crowd; girls in particular, cheered, booed and went wild. In his next over Suresh took his tucked-in shirt out of his pants, continued bowling with his shirt flying as he took his long run. Imagine the scene and you can guess the howling and chaos it caused. When his over was finished, we advised him to stop bowling and to let someone else bowl. But the bull that he was, his mind was only on winning the game.

In his next over he took off his pants all together and bowled only in his underwear with his shirt flying high as he took his long run. The crowd of more than 800 students went wild. The scene, screaming, hooting, whistling, distracted the Parsi duo’s concentration and both were out one after another in a span of three overs. Thereafter, students’ victory was easy. Suresh was the shining star that day – the ultimate hero.

I suppose in today’s scenario, Suresh could have easily given Gangulis & Sreesanths a run for their money.

Ode to my friend Som

He was the typical boy-next-door. He was 13 years of age and extremely shy, lacked in confidence, was unsmart to the extent of being stupid, lacked communication skills, dressed shabbily, always had dirty nails but he had one talent - he was an artist. He had won many awards for his school in drawing & painting competitions. Six years younger to me, I decided to take this boy under my wings. I introduced him to hard rock, showed him the ways of the world, talked to him about the birds and the bees. We became good friends and spent a lot of time in each other's company.
I had to move to another city in pursuit of my career, and we almost lost touch. I knew that he had joined a school in New Delhi for a degree in Architecture. Years later, he turns up at my doorstep in Bombay, a man completely transformed. Those six years at the School of Architecture had done something to him! He was now a confident young man with razor-sharp intellegence who would discuss nothing less than rocket science. It became difficult communicating with this intellectual who was no longer the country cousin i knew. He was majorly into books, was involved in very important projects for his institute, and had clearly evolved into a superior personality. He had come to Bombay to negotiate with some institutes for a scholarship to pursue higher studies at a reputed institute in the USA. There was no trace of the old Som I had once known. I have never seen such transformation in my life.
This one's dedicated to you, Som. Wish you a very successful future.

Quotes

The weakest moments are often the result of the strongest desires

My mother

Have you ever shared a special bond with anyone? A bond so special that the same thought occurs to 2 people at the same time. I share such a bond with my mother. There have been so many instances when we think of the same thing together at the same time. Be it remembering a relative, or commenting on the performance of a certain film star, or planning a trip somewhere, even thinking of a tune which we would both sing simultaneously without knowing that the other has the same tune in mind, it is an amazing phenomenon. We surprisingly get similar thoughts, ideas, and react similarly to situations - something that we had heard only happens to twins.
When I am thinking about something and relate it to my mother, there are so many times that she tells me she was thinking about the same thing. Can this phenomenon be explained? Can it be given a name? How can the same thoughts occur to 2 different individuals with perfect timing? Is it some umbilical cord of the mind that still connects me to my mother? Can she peek into my mind & read what I am thinking? Whatever it is, it's the most beautiful bond I share.

Simple thoughts-Technology

Technology brings out the best and worst in people

Thoughts-Cover up

The level of your integrity is sometimes determined by the extent to which life is willing to cover up your mistakes