Dear friend..

Dear friend, walk in to the world with open arms,
But remember what you want to reflect or absorb,
Discover, that is what took you to new places,
But don't end up using it for your own selfish needs,
Invent, that is what brought us from darkness to light,
But don't end up turning the clear blue sky dark,

Be ambitious and have aspirations,
But remember that satisfaction holds the key to all happiness.

Stand up for what you think is right,
But don't end up carrying too much hatred instead,
Try to fight for all your rights,
But learn to adjust when the situation demands,
Learn to love by everything you have,
But don't let your expectations ruin it all,
Be fearless in all your actions,
But do fear the one who has a watch on all.

Travel as much as you want and as far as you can,
But don't forget to pause and reflect in between,
Live and enjoy your life to the fullest,
But don't give this as an excuse to your responsibilities,
Be a part of the sweet music around,
If nothing exists then make some of your own,
Don't hesitate to dance to the tunes of life,
But do make sure that the steps are your own.


(dedicated to all my fellow human beings....)

happy journey...

I have travelled by train quite a number of times and now I have got very well accustomed to it. But unlike few of my friends, I prefer to travel only with a confirmed ticket. The only journey in waiting was while I was travelling to ahmedabad and that gave me quite a good experience never to take up such adventures here after in life! My mom always tells me not to let those W/L chepaks occupy space at our feet or they will slowly move and make our good night sleep not so good and I believed her, until I myself was travelling in waiting and was begging for a place sufficient to just hold on to the seat. But anyways, that was one nightmare. My last journey though, was quite an experience. I was travelling from Hyderabad to Nellore in Charminar Express (No, it doesn’t give us a view of the Charminar as I told one of my friends and he even believed me!) That same friend had advised me not to travel by sleeper and had explained to me the funda of how the living standards of an average middle class man had increased and how I was living with my own little perceptions. But not having received the last month’s salary has had quite a bad toll on me and I had to book sleeper tickets.

The journey started quite well with my seat getting confirmed. The ticket collector (TC) came, checked the ticket and went away. As the train crossed station after station, I was amazed by the number of people getting on the train and running behind the TC with their W/L, RAC tickets. One person even had a W/L e-ticket who still ended up getting a seat along with a full blown session on e-ticket rules. My respect for that man in black coat grew, in spite of not having gone through a professional management course, he seemed to have managed quite well! The TT seemed to have space for every possible passenger. I was a little irritated looking at the crowd, it looked more like a second class compartment. But I had no option and resentfully went to sleep.

My return journey was by Simhapuri Express and though it is supposed to be a lower grade train as compared to Charminar but surprisingly it was much cleaner and less crowded. I was quite happy until the TC came and told me that my ticket was RAC! I was already low leaving my parents and was hardly in a mood to talk to anyone. And to add to my agony, hell RAC! And as per the past experiences, even W/L might get converted but RAC, no chance! They are like those few unlucky auto walas who get sodexos from their passengers. They get paid but don’t know how to you use it. I had already started hating the TC for no reason of that poor soul. Not in a mood to request or revolt, I just laid down in one corner of my seat hoping the other person just cancels his/her ticket after checking its status. But nonetheless I knew I was being far too optimistic and thought I better get some sleep before I become uncomfortable. It must have felt like just a moment’s sleep when I was woken up by the announcement at the dreaded station. I adjusted my sheets and sat straight with crossed fingers as I saw a group of people entering my compartment, followed by the TC. The fellow passengers started adjusting their bags when the TC finally came up to me and told me with a plain face and in as less words as possible, “Your seat has been confirmed, happy journey!” I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I sat there smiling for a minute trying to digest the fact. On talking to my ‘could be’ RAC partners I found out that they too had got a confirmed seat. I was pleasantly surprised. In this world of unbearable corruption, there are still a few people who stand by their values. Maybe it wasn’t about values for him, may be he just considered it as a part of his job. But he hadn’t realized what he had just done for me. It was a lesson to note down in my “rules to live your life” notebook. Thinking of it, respect from some random person might not be significant to you but it might be significant to that person. Influencing people to be more honest to their work, more honest to humanity, will ultimately helps in building a better world.

It was not the joy of getting a seat but the joy of realizing that such people still exist that didn’t let me sleep there after.

when will we wake up!

“We are not even ready to talk for anything below 60 lakhs”. Wondering, what is it that is being bargained for such a huge sum of money? Surprisingly and shockingly, it is for a bridegroom. No, this is not a decade back incident in some remote village in Bihar. It happened last week with one of my aunt who has recently started the groom-hunt for her daughter in Hyderabad. I asked my mother curiously what he was doing? She said he was working in some multinational company and earning 15 lakh rupees pa. I started wondering why would anyone possibly need 60 lakh rupees if he is so self-sufficient. That brings me back to the much sought after question. I have seen people arguing that the reason they are willing to pay huge amounts as dowry is for getting a well earning guy for their daughter who can take care of her for the rest of their lives. With 60 lakhs, wouldn’t anyone be capable of doing that. And the point is, if the guy is so self-sufficient and well earning then why he would possibly need such huge amount from his would-be family to run his own family!

As far as this is a story running in the neighboring house, you can live with it and laugh on it. But consider the same scenario in your own house. Consider being sold to a guy like this. After all the money that your parents have spent for your top class education, after all the hard work that you have put in to be a top performer through out, after all the struggle you have been through to get a good job, after all the dedication you have showed in job to receive a fast promotion, if you wake up to realize that you would be sold for some price to a greedy so called self-sufficient person, then will you not be shattered. I am fighting a helpless battle at my own house for a reform. Dowry and the related domestic violence are the most prevalent problems faced by maximum mediocre households in Andhra Pradesh. Easy access to cheap liquor is further aggravating the problem. Even after decades since the enactment of Dowry Prohibition Act, Andhra Pradesh and many other Indian states are still facing this evil problem. A problem which cannot be dealt without the collective efforts of every probable victim, every father who desires a good guy for his beloved daughter, every mother who dedicatedly does groom-hunting for her daughter, every guy who is an search of a lovely wife and every girl who is in search of a caring husband. It is we who are the root cause of this problem and it is only we who are the most affected by it. So when do we plan to wake up?

the call for justice!

After decades of tolerance of the un-just, unruly and oppressive dictatorship regime, the middle-east has finally risen to get back its right to justice. The inextinguishable flames of the fire set by a young fruit vendor in Tunisia has already eaten up many ruthless dictators of the Middle East and at the same time have ignited the minds of the common man to fight for a common cause. The struggle has definitely not been an easy one. Many voices were raised, so that many other could never be suppressed. Many lives were lost, so that many more could live peacefully. Many protests were made, so that there never would be a need for another one. And many countries have already attained their mission, which once looked impossible.

While too much is being read into the implications of this uprising on a global level, it will all be forgotten in a few years time while we become busy with our own unending struggles. But what our leaders might want to understand is that it is not the dictatorship which was the trouble maker in countries like Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. It was in fact, the unjust dictatorship. There are still countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE which are not affected in spite of their dictatorial regimes. The development projects undertaken by King Abdullah’s government for the benefit of their people did not give the people in Saudi Arabia any reason to stand on a square and shout on top of their voices. Today’s fight against unjust dictatorship might inspire a similar one against an unjust democracy! The latest revelations about the cash-for-votes unfolding in our country might just be the beginning.

 

With a party promoting Saffron terrorism, a party promoting Maoist ideologies, a party driven by self proclaimed immortality and a party drowned in corruption allegations, our situation looks hardly sustainable. There are two reasons why it is still under control, one is that as of today the people in our country are self sufficient and another is the non-uniform cause of discomfort. But this will not long last. A day will come when survival will be at stake, then caste and creed will cease to exist. It will be then, that humanity will over power all other forms of discrimination and fight against one government. Being an Indian, I hope that day never comes. I hope that if ever humanity does take such a massive form then our political system and leaders form an inseparable part of it. It is only this hope that keeps me going.

Waiting for the green signal..

How many times have you speeded your vehicle to catch the green signal at the nearing traffic signal? Well if your answer is never I would say you are too sober for this world. I am myself a person of values (at least I like to think so) and even then I have rushed into the signal many a times to avoid that irritating red light. Not that we are in a hurry to reach somewhere but it is just the worry to be left behind!

This desire to catch the green signal is not limited to the traffic post, it is much more complex and diverse than one can imagine. While working in the automation team, my team mate once told me than the green tick after a test passes gives her a certain unknown kind of relief. I could completely understand her as I myself had spent many sleepless nights dreaming about the failed test cases. You might not be able to comprehend the above situation but if you try to recollect there will definitely be a time in your life when you might have desperately craved for a green light. One such time for me, is now, when I login every time with SR6738800 and cross my fingers for a “Congratulations” written in serene green colour. I know this is not the end and that further makes me wonder when this desire will ultimately end.

The urge to grow and explore greener pastures has always driven mankind and I am just bloody one of them. When I think of the ultimate gain from this entire struggle my two little eyes glitter with two big $ $ ! But that is definitely not what I had in mind when I set for this journey. Somewhere the idea got lost, somewhere I got lost, somewhere many others like me got lost. This is not the only definition of happiness left in the world. The sooner we realize this and stop being a part of this rat race, the easier it will be for us to get back to our true individualism. That might bring our search for the green signal to an end, a happy end.

Reading between the lines...

I come to life, with the first rays of the day,

Waiting to get attention from the millions away,

Along with a cup of warm coffee or tea,

For many of them, the day starts with me.

Splattered with blood and vicious thoughts,

I carry it all, to every house I go,

I wonder if there is something for me in it,

Carrying the burden of a selfish universe

A few smiles is what I treasure the most,

For over a million people have lost all hope,

Rich or poor, no difference it makes,

For it is here, money loses its race.

Days pass; For months I lie idle,

In some corner of a room, in the minds of a few,

I wonder if there is any difference I make,

Sold in the end at the mere value of weight!

PS: I always wondered what a newspaper would say if it had a life, here it is for you all to listen..

Random Thoughts – 2

We share our happiness with our near and dear ones through celebrations and these celebrations bring us closer to people.

College has been a memorable journey, with a bag full of memories. Some sweet and some bitter. But no matter what all are important. One such memory is of the time when I topped in first semester. I treated all the daysci girls at Planet food for 1000 bucks which at that time was supposed to be a pretty big treat considering we were just out of junior college, I was not getting pocket money and I was a day scholar (and yes all hostelides, please take note, it is more difficult for a day scholar to get money than a hosteller, for sure) And my brother asked me, “Do you even know these people, to treat them?” And frankly I didn’t! Few were friends and others I knew by name. But then we eventually did turn out to be good friends.

I have seen people spend like crazy at clubs and parties. I have been a part of many such celebrations. I have also been a part of such celebrations where we inaugurated our glasses by pouring out coke into them at midnight. It is not important whether the celebration was a costly affair or a cheap one or was it in a five start hotel or at home. What matters is did you celebrate? Did you have fun? Did you share your happiness? I have always looked out for my family and close friends for any celebration. But I realize I celebrated most of the important occasions of my life with not so close people. When I was getting a free ticket to Athavle coaching class because of my performance in crash course I celebrated it over an ice-cream with a bunch of 2-month old friends. When I topped in first semester I celebrated it with a group of girls I didn’t know very well. When I came to hostel I celebrated my first friendship’s day with a bunch of girls I wasn’t very close to. But over the period of time all of them turned out to be some of the best friends I could have ever hoped to make.

Now while we move on with life, we have a job to look after, a manager to answer, a career to build, we cannot expect our friends to be there for us all the time. So instead of sitting idle in your room with a sad smiley on your face, you would rather go out and celebrate with who-so-ever is around you. And in the process if that person is able to understand your joy, is able to appreciate your success, is able to be happy for your happiness then you might as well find a friend..