Random Musings

If we make our decisions with only our mind, it will always favour whatever logical argument we are presented at that point of time either in favour or against our decisions. But, when we make our important life-decisions with the heart, we rarely go wrong. As it already knows what we must do and what's best for us in the long run. And these decisions won't/can't be influenced or changed whatever the scenario. In the end, it all comes down to what we really want to do and having the courage of conviction to do it and follow it persistently! That's my conviction and belief!

For non-Delhites residing in the country's capital, this is one of the most enjoyable periods, weather-wise. Most Delhites take the vagaries of Delhi's weather in their stride and accept it with a resilience that comes from years of calling it their home. But, for the rest of us, the grouse about the place centers primarily on the almost inhospitable weather, most year-round! Come summer, Delhites go about their business in the sweltering, humid, feels-like-50 degrees- blistering heat and nonchalantly wipe the sweat off their brows. For the rest of us, the first summers can be an overwhelming-gasping-for-breath experience! The mind-numbing, bone-chilling bleak winters arrive too. When the temperatures go down to zero degrees and the wet and windy atmosphere, combined with the relentless fog and haze on most days feels dreary and depressing, to say the least! Hailing from the sunny Southern part of the country, the winters are my personal grouse! But...that is stil...

A couple of months back i had visited a Gurudwara, and the one thing that draws me back time and again to any Gurudwara is the culture of self-less service that it so proactively promotes. Anybody and everybody can volunteer to help out in any ongoing activity there. Many times i have seen people getting out of swanky cars and helping in sorting and storing footwear, washing used plates and glasses, cutting vegetables, serving water, serving food...and volunteering to do any 'menial' jobs and that too, just for the sake of service. I am no expert on the tenets of the religion, but what i take away each time i visit the place, is the simplicity and the all-encompassing spirit of service. They are selfless offerings of time, work and help without any ego and expectations. If only, we can bring that aspect of ego-less service and offer it to people around us without expectations...wouldn't that make life really worth living! Somehow, our egos and expectations al...

Our zero tolerance levels are so obvious and so apparent everywhere, that now would be a good time to step-back and self-analyze before we become so self-centered and self-obsessed that we no longer can have any meaningful relationships with anyone around us. We are so quick to pass judgement, so quick to find faults in others, so quick to make others aware of their perceived faults, and all this, to what end?! So that they may overcome them and fit into our scheme of things without any inconvenience to us! Doesn't that make us some behavioral or moral police, who are sitting in judgement of others and expect others to behave and act in a way that is right by our standards! The many problems that we face today, our intolerance, our prejudices, our expectations in matters concerning religion, gender, language are all based on that one factor, that we are right, our views, opinions and our judgements are right and everybody else needs to be the way we expect them to be. And...

A narrow ledge on the seventh floor initially seemed to me, to be too small and narrow to have any visitors of the winged kind. Used to sprawling gardens with lots of trees, the winged visitors, stray cats and the dogs, et al, were an all too common sight in our house. I will miss these visitors the most here, i thought. Oh, the pleasure of watching the winged and four legged creatures as they came calling and feeding at their whims and fancies! What a beautiful feeling it is to feel connected with Nature and all beings big and small! No such scope here, i thought...what a loss for me...If only, we could change that somehow! And for starters, i couldn't resist a small invitation, if i may call it so! A few grains of rice the first day, to see if any small birds may, may come and take a peck of. And to think, that our very first visitor was a majestic kite which came swooping down from the adjacent building to peck at the rice. This was the first time ever a kite came ca...

Owe this title, this post and a whole lot more, to my brother! Our morning text-chats about our childhood brought back a flood of beautiful memories! The simplicity of life in the 80s when we were little kids...a time, when every small thing that we did as a family was so special that it has now taken almost mythical proportions in our minds! Like two 'oldies' we were talking about our 'good old days' when we were simple, people were simple, lifestyles were simple, times were simple when everything was just plain simple! A time, when even the regular Vegetable Pulav had made our Sunday morning brunches/lunches so special! It was almost a weekly ritual to have the Veg Pulav on Sundays, and it seemed so special to us, when our parents served it with the accompanying pepper papad, pickles and onion and tomato raita...a seemingly easy menu in today's time, but the simplicity and the flavors have never got replicated to this day! The excitement of meals eaten toget...