The Surreal World

How many times have you felt the need to express what you are seeing, what you are hearing? After several years of association with different forms of art, I can somewhat feel why great painters like John Constable used to start painting in the middle of meadows just to express the beauty that they used to see, how Rahman got the tune for the soulful song Tere Bina of the movie Guru in his dreams, how writers can see stories floating in the air and how avid travellers can explore the best of unseen places without prior planning.

I can feel this need to express. When I saw the Taj Mahal last week, or when I saw Van Gogh's original paintings some years ago and now, when I heard Adele carefully for the first time. I can go on and on writing about how deeply moved I feel when those masterpiece stir my soul with their impeccable beauty and inimitable charm. And the appreciation would never stop, just because they are not just real, but surreal.

Dear Mother

Dear Mother,

I've been fortunate to be the reason for your happiness since my early childhood. Perhaps that's why you named me Harsh. It has always been my endeavour to make you proud of me in things that I give my heart and soul into. Lately, I haven't been able to give you that contentment which you had always expected of me. I'm not sorry about it since the truth of the matter is that the thing that I've given my heart and soul has still not borne fruits and is going to take a long time. And you've got to wait, along with me, to celebrate the fruits of my passion.

The road that I've currently chosen is tough, full of prickles and deadly thorns, with the presence of countless possibilities - both heartening and disheartening. It's going to take a lot of time to be able to achieve anything which would make you proud of me, which would enable you to say proudly to your friends that your son is an entrepreneur, that your son pursued something different and made a mark of himself. The road is deadly; it might be possible that in the middle of the journey, I get so bruised up that I am not able to carry myself further. Forgive me, if that happens. The road is treacherous; it might be possible that at the end of the day, I sit back and realize that I've made tons of mistakes that I shouldn't have. Reinforce my faith, if that happens. Because it was you who taught me not to fear mistakes while chasing my dreams. I wouldn't stop. The road is unknown; it's possible that at the end of the day I realize that the road was not worth going into and I've to crawl back to the place where I began. Congratulate me on my experience, if that happens. I know that my path is risky. But that's what excites me. That's what gives me a thrill. That's what tells me the meaning of this life. That's what I attain bliss from. And that's what defines me.

Believe me mother, when I say that I heartily enjoy what I'm doing, despite knowing the facts that I might not be able to lead a comfortable life for the next two years, that I've become the least prospective bridegroom in consideration for any of the well-off families, that you have to fight the whims of the society which constantly pesters saying that I had been stupid in choosing the road less travelled over the conventional options, that it might ruin my chances of living a life free from hassles, that I might end up being bankrupt if things don't turn out as expected. The good thing is I'm not scared. The better thing is there is no bad thing, just because of the good thing. I'm ready to take the leap - leap into the unknown just to know where my end lies - across the sky or beneath the ground. I can't promise you success but I can promise you my hard-work, and I'll make sure that I leave no stones unturned to touch my dream to perfection.

Coming from your womb, I'm fortunate to be endowed with all your traits - determination, passion and love - which gives me the confidence to trudge this dangerous path with unmatched vigour and resilience to make the impossible possible. From my end, I can assure you that I wouldn't stop, not until my last breath - to sculpt my passion into a living icon. Please don't worry, and be happy, just because I'm happy.

With love and faith.

Your Son

Harsh

An Entrepreneurial Lesson

Avoid involving any relative or a good friend in your entrepreneurial venture, because there will be a boundary of the bond that you've with that person that will always be an obstruction between free flow of ideas, directions and responsibilities.

Consider this case: If he doesn't work, you won't be able to scold him to work just because he's your very good friend or relative. And neither would you be able to fire him, because he's again your kin. Now, if he works too much, he would not be comfortable being under your supervision and this would create problem. He would want to be at your level, which is outrightly impossible owing to professional hierarchies. It is really difficult to make them understand this fact. You would never want to share the equity with a person just because he's enthusiastic and also, your relative. Many a times, if there are any personal unresolved issues, you would find yourself bringing in those personal duels in professional situations.

I've often found rifts occurring in the team just because the other person doesn't like to be assigned tasks by a friend or a kin, because he doesn't want to be bossed around by a person with whom he shares a very intimate personal bond. And otherwise, if he's really interested in your work he starts encroaching too much in the administration of the entire venture, just because he thinks that the professional hierarchy doesn't hold for him and personal proximity that one has with that person holds at the professional level too. And this is when situations crumble up and things complicate. Friendship goes. Professional peace goes. And you end up irritated, a bit hopeless and sometimes even depressed, if you're too much attached to the person.

Your start-up emerges out of your desire and determination to render your idea plausible in the real world and you've thought very clearly about how you're going to do it. So, your good friends, working under your supervision, might not apprehend it and could create trouble very often.

Whatever I wrote is just out of experience. So, if you're the director of your venture, involve trustworthy but a little bit distant people, pay them and get the work done. Don't involve people who join you because of you. Involve people who join you because they have faith in your idea and they are capable as well as willing to make it happen.

I've tried my best to keep out all my close friends from my venture. Just to treasure our friendships. The only friend with whom you could be compatible in your venture will be your business partner, because he is your equal and you both will share the longer vision with unconditional faith in each other.

P.S. Starting up is not a picnic. Involving too many close friends and relatives might make it one.

Being an author - an experience

It has been almost 4 months since my book - my creation came into existence. This has been a really new experience for me, since being just 20, I've been blessed not only to realize the thing that I loved to do the most(writing!) but also, take a big step of going a step beyond just writing for pleasure, to writing to entertain others. Here, I present some of the realizations that are born out of my experience as an author:

1. The real friends show enormous faith in you! They are the ones who share your happiness.

2. Fans are friends, for they fuel your ambitions.

3. You start seeing a story in every situation of not only your life, but of anybody's life who happens to cross your eyes. The whole world seems to be a big story, with each event having a tale to tell of its own.

4. All you need as a writer is a friend who has some time to listen to your thoughts, ideas for stories and tales sprouting in your mind and suggest to make it more real, better and touching. I thank God for giving me such friends - Rajiv, Ravi, Aman, Aishy, Saumya, Ankit, Keshav, Avinav, Pallavi, Supriya and Apoorv.

5. You come to know the difference between the real criticism and the biased ones. The real criticism is the one which suggests you how to improve.

6. You get to know how to handle appreciation as well as criticism with an open mind. You tend to respect the genuine criticism and ignore the biased ones.

7. You like to appreciate aspiring writers more, since once you too were at their place and you see yourself in them.

8. You don't encounter any hitch about whether you'll be able to write another book or not. Confidence in writing touches the acme.

9. You don't need to worry about getting published! Once published, relieved forever.

10. There are just two kinds of 'readers' - those who like you as a writer and those who don't!

11. However, you often encounter the third kind of 'people' (not readers) - they are those who hate you, without any reasons and you feel sorry for them because they need help. My Dad, who happens to be my only mentor, said to me just before I was going to get published, 'If somebody dislikes your work, then there is something wrong with you. But, if somebody hates you/your work, then there is something wrong with him/her.'

12. Each small accomplishment seems to be just a beginning in the never-ending road of life. You realize the BIG-ness of the word called 'life'.

13. You find it really funny when you encounter sudden hostility from strangers - those who don't even know you. It brings a strange kind of pleasure, more so because this kind of hostility owes its origin to envy.

14. In the end, it's just you and the flight of your imagination that plays the melody - it's the flight of your lifetime and you just wish that it never ends.

P.S. This is completely personal recount. Any similarity is purely co-incidental.

Bliss - A Memoir

This is a small movie that I made today encompassing all the learnings that these two months in this foreign land offered to me.

See it, enjoy it and spread it. Thanks.

P.S. If you liked it, please do spread it. Pass on the link to all your friends.

Outcome

Two months crossed in this foreign land. In these two months, I learnt -

1. One can find good people at every corner of the world.
2. Money is important.
3. Cooking is an art and I like it.
4. A teacher can affect life till eternity.
5. Beauty needs observant eyes to appreciate.
6. I don't quite like research.
7. Photoshop, Illustrator, Mathematica, POV ray, Java and Latex.
8. Indians are way better than firangis in geometry.
9. The more you sleep, the more you laze around.
10. I deserve to love myself.
11. I don't like the taste of wine or beer.
12. I should have bought an SLR before coming here.
13. Luxury appeals only initially, then it's the quality of life and work that appeals.

P.S. Good morning.

Read to find the title yourself!

Every night when I go to sleep, her smell haunts me, making me feel lonely and helpless with every passing moment; making my tongue go parched and my heart go still, with my mind totally blank. That smell calls me to experience her soul once again with bright new sets of ideas and ideals, with a new eye that I've got now. The farther I went from her, the closer I became to her.

She is in my soul, she is the part of my every breath, my every heartbeat, my every single thought. Her ideologies are rare, her character is pure, her beauty is sublime, her love is unparalleled, her simplicity is appealing, her name is beautiful, her smell is inexpressible, she sits much above these petty words.

I had so much want to run away from her; and I even managed to do so, but in the process I didn't realize that this running away had its destination fixed only at her. I find myself baffled seeing myself missing her more than any other thing else in my life.

Do you know who's she? I know you know her, perhaps equally well as me, or even more than me. Yes, she is my soil - my India - my soul - my people; the only word that I can call my own without any reconsideration. She is right here with me rather within me pulling me towards her every moment, every single second.

I miss my country - and my country is so special to me just because of the people living there who have made my life out there a one-in-a-million experience. And you know what, you're one of them. Thank you for being a part of my life and influencing it in the most subtle way - by constituting my motherland and making it so special for me.

If you haven't already guessed what should be the title of this post, then here it is - 'Soil in my soul'.

P.S. Soil and soul are nearer to each other in my real life than in the English language.
P.S. The style of this article is inspired from my friend Debanjan.

What is love?

If you begin to see more and more qualities
Rather than flaws in a person as time passes,
Then I'll say that
You are in love with that person.

P.S. This is how I define love. I can explain this concept too. The human ego, to keep itself satisfied, searches for flaws in any person, the flaws you see increase as time passes. But being in love is nothing but the suppression of this ego.
P.S. Your interpretations of this difficult word called 'LOVE' are cordially invited in the comment box.
P.S. This definition holds not for just your soul-mate, rather for every person you love - be it friend, relatives, COUNTRY or your beloved.

My Quotes - II

To impress people on facebook, my egoistic writer mind has started writing some really profound quotes. I present them here in another set called 'My Quotes - II' :

• The real joy in writing comes when you read something really beautiful and you're amazed to realize that it is actually you who wrote it.
• Everyone can write, but not everyone can sit to write.
• A real photographer is the one who instead of looking through the camera makes the camera look through his eyes.
• I am shocked to realize how joyful this life can be if there are no checkpoints(read 'exams').
• Happiness is costly, but I am rich and extravagant!
• Theoretical physics is like photography ... you've to keep your eyes open to get that perfect 'click'.
• As days are passing out here, the more I am getting closer to myself. And the more I am getting closer to myself, the more I am falling in love with me.

P.S. It is quite difficult to manufacture yet another quote as a PS for a post titled 'My Quotes - II'.

8 things I love to do:

The points are in the hierarchical order:

• Writing stories(on blog) - It is my passion. I am mad about it. My mind has started searching for a climax or a twist in every simple event of my life. I am doing work and suddenly a flash of idea rings my mind. Day by day, I am getting amazed to know how this amazing thing called 'passion' works!
  
  
• Playing guitar - The mere plucking of strings with my fingers gives me inexpressible joy. I know how to play about a dozen of instruments, but not one gives me as much pleasure which guitar gives. The pain in cuts and bruised fingers gives a sense of satisfaction that's incomparable.
  
  
• Catching the moment on my cam - My eyes tries to search for the weirdest of weird things in the surroundings and my finger waiting for the moment of that perfect 'click'. I've realized that a real photographer is the one who instead of looking through the camera makes the camera look through his eyes.
  
  
• Writing with hand - I love my handwriting, I find it artistic and beautiful. No matter whatever keyboards or voice recognition softwares the mighty human brain develops, nothing can take the joy of writing with my hand.
  
  
• Cooking - I was not sure about this one a couple of weeks ago, but now suddenly this has become my newest passion. I can find cooking quite similar to learning music - you get better and better with experimenting.
  
  
• Telling stories - This one hidden talent is known to very few people around the world. I have great stock of stories - all kinds - real life stories, inspirational stuff, humorous stuffs and anecdotes of all the famous personalities fed into my mind. Just remind me whenever you get time and I'll get started. Most of these stories have entered my CPU through books like Chicken Soup and anecdotes owes its origin to the numerous biographies that my bespectacled eyes skimmed through.
  
  
• Turning the pages of a Book - The essence and importance of books can never be overshadowed from my life. The mere joy I get while turning the pages of the book propels me to the Cloud Nine. I dream of the day when the large library at my home will have one shelf for the author named 'Harsh Snehanshu'.
  
  
• Teaching - This is the job that I want to do. I want to teach. I want to teach a subject called 'life' in addition to my area. I want to be the best teacher alive out there in the world. A teacher whose mere teaching attracts students, numbering more than registered for the course.
  

P.S. As days are passing out here, the more I am getting closer to myself. And the more I am getting closer to myself, the more I am falling in love with me.

Happy New Year

It has been a long time since I wrote something. Many things happened over the while, some really heartening and some heart-breaking but life went on much like a perennial river which flows even when there is rain or drought.

The few days marking the end of the last year have shifted my paradigm regarding few things. Few subtle things that I disregarded earlier, the things which were repulsive and I thought of neglecting after I settle became so very important in just a day. Something happened one day, quite tragic, that brought a realization in me. I don't want to describe it but the outcome is worth-mentioning.

After coming to the college, I got cut off from all my relatives, the small ones with who I enjoyed each of my childhood days, the big-bros and sis' who would teach me those small little things through mischievous fights, dadi-nani whose stories paved way to let a beautiful dream flow through my tiny mind every night, the relatives so distant yet having profound impacts on my life.

It was their cumulative effects in shaping my thoughts that made me stand wherever I am today. I am still moving with my slow yet steady speed, with each of their past actions fabricating the next step I trudge. I am not at the zenith nor have I accomplished anything big but whatever I had done has been the outcome of those little things that sparkled my childhood.

Those people are my own. I can never repay them back by any material thing, but I can definitely shower them my love and care so that they always feel that there is at least one person on this planet, who will be happy seeing them happy.

It's my resolution this year to talk to every relative of mine once in a week. ONE DAY FOR THOSE WHO ARE SO CLOSE THAT I CAN NEVER LOSE THEM. The best gift that we can gift to the elderlies is our TIME.

Nothing can make them more happy than showing your concern about their
health and happiness.

The Best Policy

The day I joined IIT, I started losing something. That loss may not be irrepairable, but still over the last one and half years of my stay in this place, the losing process continued. The thing that I started losing had been ingrained in my personality right from my childhood to my school-days, it being an integral part of my character. Even my fellow friends used to praise me for that, but after coming to this place, my character started deteriorating. The thing I am talking about is Honesty. The tag of unscratched honesty that I carried over the whole of my schooling days was shredded the day I joined this institute.

Copying assignments, lab reports, term papers and almost every other thing related to academics became a commonplace in my life. I don't know what motivated me for doing that, perhaps this dishonesty is the bonanza we receive as a part of being an IITian, my conscience didn't even stop me or told me that this is not what I used to do or this habit is bad! My fellow class-mates(leaving a few gems!) did the same and I felt this was nothing bad or wrong. The experiments were done with fraud readings and even sometime left incomplete relying on copying the readings from my friends. All this continued to be happening without any guilt on my part.

And the last minor, it was my exam of Mathematical Physics - being amongst the toughest courses I have this semester. I had screwed the Minor 1 paper of that subject and was desperate to score more. Exam-time came, all my friends - including me - planned out that we would sit next to each other, and help each other out in the paper. On the day of the exam, we got up early and rushed to the exam-hall quite early just to capture the last seats for us to facilitate us in cheating from each others' answer-sheet.

Exam started - and as expected - the paper was tough. Out of the four questions - I knew just three. The fourth one carried highest marks and I started with that. While putting my brains to that question, I got stuck. I wanted to look into my friend's answer-sheet who had done that question, but to my surprise, I could not gather the courage to look into his copy. The fear didn't come into the picture because of the invigilators since they were not too vigilant, rather it was just my 'Self' which inhibited me to carry out that thing called cheating. My friends were taking use of this silly freedom of the backbench to the max while I was busy fighting with myself. In the dilemma of this yes and no, I wasted about 20 minutes of the exam-time out of the prescribed 60 minutes and as a result even the questions which I knew were also left incomplete. I could solve only one question completely and a half of the second one.

Last to last week, I got my answer sheet - I got a dismal 7 out of 25, which was worse than even the marks of Minor 1. My friends, who sat together during that exam-time, got marks in diverse range from 12 to 18 and managed to score quite good considering the toughness of the paper. Presently, carrying the copy in my hands, I can proudly proclaim that I am much happier than them because my conscience has been awakened and I re-learnt the great truth of life - honesty brings pride. The honesty that had been in me in the yesteryears is again going to be a part of my life and truth is to be my constant companion.

Thank you all my friends for(unknowingly) bringing in this transformation in me.

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P.S. I want to dedicate this article to my dearest friend Sunny, who has his principles, values and integrity intact despite living amidst the lowest grades of unscrupulous people. You are really a gem and a living source of inspiration for me.

10 things to do before you climb your death-bed

These are some of the moments which defined my life. These moments were the best moments in my life, and I want to recommend some of these to you all. Hope you also share your best moments with me.

1. Watching the sunrise from Kanyakumari, the tip of India: It was 4:30 in the morning, I got up and ran to the beach. There were people of all the ages, with a single burning desire to see the most beautiful dawn of their lifetime. The small sun appeared in the horizon out of nowhere, colourful clouds danced in welcoming it thus embarking the beginning of yet another wonderful day.
2. The Shawshank Redemption : If there is one movie which you can't miss in your entire lifetime, it's this. The Shawshank Redemption - A Story of Hope. There is no better source of inspiration available on the entire earth.
3. A tour on Shikara : Kashmir, considered as a paradise on earth, remains incomplete if we don't mention shikara. Its basically a small boat. Cruising through the ice-cold Dal lake in the Shikara with hands and feet being frozen and eyes being mesmerized to see the beauty of the lake surrounded by mountains, I felt at bliss.
4. IIT Insti Top : The city of history and majesty, Delhi, and a 10 floor high vantage point to give a panorama to this city - Incomparable. The breeze that flows at midnight at this place together with the soothing moonlit darkness multiplies the effect thousand times.
5. Guitar(My Eva!) : If in your lifetime, you don't happen to exhaust your fingers trying to make a song out of this, then certainly you missed something big. Fingers ready to bleed the next moment and you still determined to reproduce the song that you just heard perfectly, leaves you no option to think of any other thing. It is a great game of passion vs comfort!
   
6. Sudarshan Kriya : I am not a Bhakta of Sri Sri Ravi Shanker, nor any active member of his foundation, but I really respect him for his ingenious invention "Sudarshan Kriya". Tiring, exhausting and straining while you do the kriya, and utmost destressing, comforting and relaxing when it's over. It was the first moment in my life when I achieved the state of blankness with awareness in my mind for 15 long minutes.
7. The Autobiography of a Yogi - This is not just a book, not just a best-seller, but it is a sheer revelation. The things which are unbelievable and still exist, the infinity of human potential, the sublimity of the soul and the siddhi's conquering even death. There is no other so radical book ever published in the history of the world.
8. Writing : Thoughts are integral component of our existence. Of all the chatter that our mind produces, there comes something which is so new, so radical, so unique, so profound, so hilarious that you get an instant urge to secure it forever in words. You just pay attention to your thoughts to know how wonderful you are. I bet once you realize your thought's beauty, you will instantly wanna store them in words.
   
9. Listening to Indian Classical music and maestros : If you want to feel elation, relaxation as well as divinity at the same time, lock yourself in a room, and play any Classical music at a serene volume. It will take away all the stress and bring you closer with divine. In India, in guru-shishya parampara, music is treated as Goddess Saraswati, and every maestro - be it Zakir Hussain, Amjad Ali Khan, L.Subramaniam or Hari Prasad Chaurasia - strive for the union with the divine through their music everytime. See the documentary "The Speaking Hand" on tabla virtuoso Ustad Zakir Hussain to inspire yourself.
10. Share your feelings : The last point is very close to my heart, as it is totally my own thinking - no inspiration for this. Before you climb your death-bed, at least write a testimonial to all your friends on orkut and even in life. Make them know how much you like them, how special they are, what were the moments when you learned from them, and what are the things that makes them special in your life. You can make yourself happiest only by making others happy.
    

Peculiar Peculiarities

There are some peculiar things about me that I inherently like. They are very unique to my personality and I think everybody has something in them that makes them unique. I love my uniqueness. I feel great about myself after reading an inspiring book called 'The Last Lecture' by Randy Pausch. Life has offered me with great peculiarities that had made me whatever I am.

Those peculiar things(often termed as 'Learnings of life') about me are enumerated below :

• I like writing in the original way, I don't use short forms, not even in my SMSs(I prefer dictionary there). This habit, I find, is very useful, as I can cruise through my typing at an exceptionally good rate of about 55 wpm without any mistakes. I also don't have to do conscious editing while making any presentation or writing any article.
• While listening to music, I can tell all the instruments that are played in the background. I can distinguish each individual sound of instrument. That's perhaps because I spent my entire childhood with a synthesizer with about 200 voices in it. But there is a demerit associated with it that I don't pay heed to the lyrics, lyrics are always my second priority.
• I like my nail short and tidy always. That's because its comfy while playing guitar. And also I don't wear stones or any ring whatsoever, because I already have one stone of Hope inside me.
• Having spent nearly 12 years with musical instruments, now I have got a knack of playing any tune whatsoever on any musical instrument whatsoever.
  
• Any time I come across a new word I straightaway consult a dictionary, that's the reason of my satisfactory word power. I also have a huge turn-off for wrong spellings. Wrong spellings straightaway predicts careless observation and insincerity.
  
• I play challenges with myself and I love rewarding myself for any of my small deed. Anytime I get to see a difficult task or situation, I bet myself, "If you surpass that, I am going to give you one 5 star." And everytime I achieve that challenge, I rejoice and dance in the joy of triumph and the sweetness of 5 star. (This dance literally means dance).
• I love being at the top. There is just one flaw with this thing, for loving being at top, I need to get to that level. So that motivation is difficult to find. Once I get to that level, I am not going to lose it under any circumstances. Perhaps that was the hidden factor behind my success in JEE, I won at the school level and to maintain that position I toiled day and night.
• I am a closed book. Even the closest of my friends and my parents think they know me or my thoughts-pattern, but the fact is their knowledge is very superficial. I am totally different from what they perceive. I hide many things from people, I don't want them to know me. I have different facets to different people. Only one person in this world knows me almost fully. For the rest of the world, I am very unpredictable and very mysterious.
  
• I love reading about things which are not even faintly related to my area of interest. Be it genetics, art, Indian history, geography, philosophy, technology or science, everything appeals me. Perhaps that's why non-fiction books never bored me.
  
• I love to dream. The wildest and especially the weird ones, which other people don't even dare to dream. I dream of winning a Nobel in literature as well as physics, I see myself being awarded Bharat Ratna when I am 40, I dream of having a stroll on mars, I dream of a big mansion with a Jimmy and a Ferrari in my car stand, I dream of travelling the whole world, I dream of writing a best-seller, I want to be famous, I dream of making a lots and lots of money to pursue all my passions as well as those of my closed-ones without any inhibitions.
• I am always under addiction, once it was cricket, then it came to stamps, to coins, to countries, to books, to football, to movies, to computer, to gaming, to internet, to guitar, to photography, to writing, to blogging. Presently its that I am addicted to time-management and I found it is one of the best addictions to have. At present I am managing my time the best way possible.
  

P.S. Gratitude : I imbibed almost all of these habits from my Dad.
P.S. Today's word : Zilch - which means nothing, of no importance.
P.S. The best way to manage time is to avoid idle company with goal-less wanderers.
P.S. It is purely personal account, any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely intentional.
P.S. Do read the book : 'The Last Lecture' for some inspiration in your life. Its video is in my orkut profile.
P.S. I saw Rock On today. A total kickass drumming and guitaring and crispy voice of Farhan made it wonderful.
P.S. Its 3:21 am in the night and I have no mirage of sleep visible as far as I could see.

I am Special

I always searched outside for people to see my beauty, my inner beauty. I seeked their attention to make them appreciate me in one way or other. I did not feel beautiful from inside, I did not like my face, my crooked teeth or my spectacled eye. I wanted for somebody to make me feel special, to make me feel beautiful. But no one turned up.

It was not until I myself fell in love with Harsh that the whole world realized my essence. When I accepted myself as the way I am, the whole world accepted me with open arms.

The world treats you the way you treat yourself.

Lock Unlocked :

There is a gift to the mankind which I have been made to realize once again by the Master. That gift can be put in the following words :

If you become passionately involved in anything for a long period of time, the lock to that thing will be made open to you.

It happened to me earlier, it happened to me from time to time, just because I passionately devoted my time to that thing. The first realization came when I was in class 2. My Uncle gifted me a globe and within two days I memorized all the countries and their capitals (just because I gave up my video games for those two days). Then came the synthesizer which I had tried my hands upon from class 8 to class 9 and suddenly one day I was astonished to see myself reproducing any song I heard. Then came the flute, it took me 3 days of gasping deep breaths to unlock its code. This gave me a confidence to pick up yet another instrument i.e. Harmonica and I unlocked its code in just an hour. But my confidence was brought to the ground level by guitar, which took me 1 year of arduous "arbit maarna" to unlock its code. In the midst of all this, something happened : I was in class 10th, and I was terrified with the subject sanskrit. I could score only 69 out of 100 in the first term examination, I started devoting much of my time in it, and then suddenly one day I fell asleep while studying it and that too for just 15 minutes. When I got up miraculously sanskrit seemed easy. It seemed somewhat familiar and simple. I don't know what exactly happened but yeah that day I became a close witness of a big mystery of nature, i.e. the key to the treasure of knowledge and learning is gifted to those who persevere in search of that treasure.

And today once again, I have unlocked a lock, that is typing rapidly without seeing the keyboard with a considerable accuracy and I am happy :).
(Why shouldn't I be? Having 4700 scraps on orkut is no small thing)

I can create a difference in their lives :

Compassion, one of the greatest virtues is intriguing me once again. This morning, this particular feeling has started pinching me, for I remember myself being judgmental for many deprived people. I remember myself getting irritated by the beggars, by the kids asking for money to feed themselves, by a malnourished 5 year old cobbler in tattered clothes who annoyed me continuously asking me, "Sir, poliss kara lo" and me chiding him,"Bhaagta hai ya maarun?".

Being in educated class, it is our duty to have a place in our hearts for these heart-swirling happenings around us. We need to be touched by all this, we cannot be so heartless and so indifferent that we don't pay attention to these. The cause of this deprivation is nothing more than their fate, they had been born to poverty-stricken family and this is not their fault at all. If we can't help them then atleast by being compassionate we can treat them as human beings. Why are we so adamant to draw boundaries between ourselves and them? Before anything to categorize us, we all are a subset of a universal superset of "Human Beings" and after that we all are citizens of the same motherland. If we help them, then it will be indirectly helping our nation to break the boundary and class divide. We have the best tool to fight this penury and deprivation and that is "LOVE". Love can win all the wars and can bring radical change in the society. Only if we respect everyone's existence on this earth, we can make our existence worthwhile.

Just a simple pledge can make a difference :
"From this day, I will not only understand the pain of the poverty-stricken but also feel that pain. My eyes will reassure hope in every needy who comes to me."

Dilemma :

Just found this somewhere, and was stuck by the sheer truth and beauty of it.

Whenever you're called on to make up your mind,
and you're hampered by not having any,
the best way to solve the dilemma, you'll find,
is simply by spinning a penny.

No - not so that chance shall decide the affair
while you're passively standing there moping;
but the moment the penny is up in the air,
you suddenly know what you're hoping.

Piet Hein, poet and scientist (1905-1996)

Quite a Few :

The last semester has been an entirely new experience for me. It showed me the true face of life. Variety of emotions, psychological stresses, academic pressure, peer pressure, diplomacy and politics and screwing examination once again came into my life step by step. Everything didn't go bad, the last six months has been a roller-coaster ride for me. I got so many GREAT friends that it compensates for all my downs. During tough times, the presence of a friend with whom you can share all your emotions is a boon bestowed on few. I got almost five very close friends with who I can share almost all my thoughts and emotional ups and downs. God never keeps us deprived, it always compensates for one thing or other. The feeling of care and mutual respect between friends is the best experience of my life till now. God is really great, He is a benefactor for me.

On the positive front, the last semester made me grow emotionally as well as creatively. I started writing, photography, drawing, sketching, drawing ambigrams, composing tunes and harmonies, discovering music scales and most importantly understanding other's emotions, respecting other's view and not taking anybody for granted. I stopped using slangs and bad words which I had picked up last semester and became a pure Vegetarian. I developed an immense love for my motherland and nature and realised the importance of family in our lives.

For me everyday is a learning and this journey of life is flawlessly beautiful. I am reminded of the following lines for ending this post :

Life tells you nothing, it shows you everything.

I found the Key :

Enough of chill maarna. Now it has been realized that there is no substitute to hard-work. Opportunities come to only those who are prepared. I avoided studies in the name of extra-curriculars though I was neither par excellence in any of those. The height of me avoiding studies was when everyday I started picking up new hobbies from origami, ambigrams, sketching to even arbitrary blogging. The more I ran away from studies, the more the pressure it mounted on my mind. Now when I came face to face with it, I realize it was never difficult for me. The words of Swami Vivekanand strike my mind which says, "What you need is more important than what you want." The best way to fight fear is to come face to face with it and when one comes face to face with it, a funny situation arises; the fear seems trifle...and in the case of studies...it looks surprisingly easy....YES you heard it right..."EASY". My life has got a road...now it is waiting for me to run on it at my full pace...

Hardwork is the key...even luck favours the prepared one...the reason for any failure 99% of times is "Lack of Hard-work". Sharpness and talents don't matter much(they only make ur understanding faster)...it is ultimately practice that makes one perfect...the more one practices the more skilled one becomes. Everything in this life is straight-forward and that's why Life is complex.

Quote:
One of the greatest geniuses of all times, Michelangelo said, "It would not be so astonishing if you knew how hard I worked to gain my mastery."