Aam Dosti: Fun intended ;)

So my friends and I did some online brainstorming and came up with this song!
All we need to do now is compose it. Will be out with a sound track soon. So till then, Enjoy the lyrics and wait for the song! :)


Inn panchiyo sang hum udey hawa mein
Chaley kahi us duur jahan mein
Hain jaha dost hamare
Udd chaley hum us disha mein

Chaahe hawa ho hamare against
Udd te rahe usi disha mein
Jaha ho mere dost
Vahi rehna hai mujhe the most

Jahaa din ho laughter se bhara
Vaha khana rahega sada
Hai vo jagah vahi
Dost hai mere jaha sabhi

Gaana bajaate rahenge is tarah
Jam karte jagah ko kardenge tabah
D scale bajayenge milke sabhi.
Is lamhe ko kaid karle yahi

Naachte gaate hojaye shaam
40rs mein 2 kg aam
Jab mil baithe teen yaar
Hum tum aur mango- the aam

Ye pal na aayega kabhi
Jeelo ismein zindagi sabhi
Aise hi ise na khone do
Iss pal ko gale laga lo

PS: Love our times together! :)
Sup Vj and me!

Lessons for my kids :))

Noticed how the past couple of blog entries have a complaining tone to it!
We shall talk about something happy today. :)
Like how some of the best things in life happen unexpectedly. Like how your personality has a lot to do with what happens around you as a kid.
Mom hates "socializing". You know going out or inviting people over to 'hang out'. But Dad's quite the opposite.

And..
I'm their kid.
What do I like?

So, unexpectedly, we went to mom's colleague's place one day. And somehow I often remember that day. I mean little things that happen everyday, remind me of that visit.
I don't remember the colleague's name: so we shall address him as Uncle.
Uncle had a huge dog. In an apartment. I was scared of dogs before that day.
But that dog was obedient and friendly and all that a dog can be. That's the first memory I have of me starting to love dogs.
Uncle introduced me to Origami. I enjoyed learning it. It kept me occupied that day and several days after that. Kept my friends busy too..
Somehow whenever I've made that paper ball again, it made me proud that I learnt something new.

Uncle also gave me this book of Hymns. I never used it. It just lay there in my cupboard. One day one of my relatives sees it and throws it out. "Why do you have a book on Christianity at home?" :O
Go be happy in your own religious world if that is what keeps you happy. Don't drag me into it!
I mean my parents never force me to follow things that I don't believe in. Although they believe in it. I think we have that freedom of doing things that feel right to us. And this outsider acted like he has a say in my life.
Why is everyone always  trying to recruit you onto their side?
As of today, I am in no man's land.

I'd like to teach my kids these things. Although I do understand that these things cannot be 'taught'.

Learnt how to make a bird today so I can pass on the joy of learning Origami to my kids. 

The bird would've looked nicer in colored paper I think. There's no "Assam tea uncle's" shop here that I can run and get something from. (There was a shop beside our house that sold arts and crafts and tea and everything in between. ;) Never thought I'd remember THAT of all things.) 

Love

I love animals. Especially dogs! To death. I know fore sure I will have atleast one dog in our house if not more..
Also, the size doesn't matter. (Pun unintended)
Little puppies are adorable. I mean who in the world hates puppies? Actually I do know someone who hates "puppies", but then I think she's just trying to "be different". Bleh. Things people do to get attention!
Anyway, so this was about dogs!

Everytime I passed this house beside ours, I had to stop by and play with their dog..They usually tied him out for an hour everyday and he would sit around in the yard waiting for people to stop by. I made it a point to play with him everyday, even if it meant taking a longer route! My day would turn infinitely brighter. :) I forget his name now though. Gah, have to do something about my memory!

These dogs below look kinda scary on first sight, but they were so friendly! Don't know how they take care of not one, but two such huge dogs! Taking care of such dogs can be quite a task. The amount of food, the amount of exercise, all becomes extremely important. Point in case is our dog back home. We didnt take her for walks regularly and now she's enormous! But that doesn't stop us from loving her as much as we do. My sis is trying to correct that now- taking her for regular walks and all..But then she was also pregnant sometime back. So we shall not be too harsh on her.

Darlings

This is my tired, fat but adorable lovey-dove :

How I miss you!

And her kids: :)

Labrador Pups

On the same lines (not really) please avoid travelling in horse-drawn carriages! It's like making a baby give you a piggy-ride. It is painful to watch them :(

I mean after so many modes of transportation available, why do you have to travel by a horse-cart? Buy a car, take a bus. Ride a bicycle or just walk! Spare the animals please!

Something.

How much is too much? How much is too close? When do you decide that "that" crossed the line? Somebody else cannot draw that line for you. You have to draw your own lines. Don't allow anybody inside that square box. The minute you do that, you are gone. They will walk all over you. Stamp your face and leave like nothing happened.
The fact that you let them into your space means that they mean something to you. But notice how, every single time that happens, you are unhappy?
Some incident, started off this chain of thought. I am not going to mention it, but I empathize with her.
I hate being dependent on someone else. For anything. It makes me feel weak. I don't want any favors from anybody. Not even my friends. Because everyone expects something in return. Nobody is or can be that good to be good to you without expecting anything.
Parents always are saying these kinds of things right? Trying to protect you. But you never want that protection. "I know my friends. I know they're not bad. Don't tell me who to hang out with or not."
Maybe we should all just shut up, stop thinking and listen to our parents.
You can never get enough of what you don't really need!

School time.

I had an opportunity to teach a few KG kids at a local school here. It was voluntary and we had to make them aware about our culture. There's enough that kids here know about Mexico and China in a way but nothing very distinctive about India. So my partner and I made a presentation and showed them what an Indian flag looks like, our national bird, the festivals food etc.
My partner started presenting it like it were a bunch of serious professors and it was his thesis he was defending. "So today i will be talking about india. India is a vast country blah blah".I was like dude. They're in KG!

That's when I took over. I thought I'd suck at teaching. I mean, I'm sure all of us as kids would have started off thinking, One day I'll be a teacher! Well, most of the girls think so anyway. But later those dreams turn into something more...lucrative? Here was a chance to live that dream.. I tried to make it more interactive. Making them try to pinpoint India on the map.
Or Asking them to identifythe colors in our flag, count the spokes..


I'm sure you've heard before, "
Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Teach me and I will understand.

" You have to involve them for them to learn something. It was very satisfying!

Kids here are very vocal about their thoughts and what they feel. Not that I remember how all of us were in KG but I probably was the quiet shy kid who answered only when asked a question to.
So when I entered the class, this girl comes and hugs me, gives me a kiss as soon as I enter. :)says she loves my outfit- things you'd expect an adult to say or do.:)

Everyone was so enthusiastic!
Who can tell me what each color of the flag signifies?? Me! Me!
Who can tell me what our national bird is!
And some of them are so smart! They catch on to each word of yours and remember all of it.
Made me realize teachers play such an important part in our lives. A teacher can actually mould and shape a students future if  he wished to.
I felt good that I made a small difference in the way they see the world that day..
When asked a question, a kid raises her hand before I finish. I was thinking wow, now that's a smart kid. When asked to answer he goes, Can I use the toilet? :)) wasn't expecting that!
And then, remember how when we make too much noise, we were asked to "put a finger on your lips", here they ask you to put a bubble in your mouth. Basically puff up your cheeks like your mouth is full.
:) I really liked their classroom. 

It was so colorful. Had maps of the world. Had all kinds of musical instruments. Had a computer. A projector. You name it. 
Learning is made very interactive. They had a fireman come over and show them how they douse off fire. To show them what a fireman's job is like. To get a feel of the pressure of the water and things like that.. Here's a picture of them......... ^-^


 Every week new people from different walks of life are brought in.. Nice, right? I sometimes wish I'd studied here. Maybe not school but engineering atleast..
Would have learnt so much more...


PS: I'd written out this post 2 days back, even put it on my blog, but now I see that it's gone! :O How can that happen? I know I published it. I know I had it. But it was gone. I though I'd written the other one better. :-?

Elevators!

Living in a building with 30 floors has its perks. You should see the view from our window: It is beautiful. Of course there is a flip side to everything. In this case, it's the never ending elevator rides. Yappa! I dread those rides: especially when there are just two strangers in it and one of them doesn't really want to be a stranger.

So this one time, this African guy and I get into the lift to get to the lobby. 23 floors. Plenty of time.
He (grunts): Where are you from?
Me: India.
(19 floors to go)
He (the grunt again): Do you have a boyfriend?
Me: :-? :-O (Thinking: Where did that come from? Really? Is that the first thing you ask? Wow. Desperate. Damn. 15 more floors to go!) Yeah. (Only an idiot would have said No)
He:(still grunting) How long have you been together?
Me: Two years. (Two sounds stable. Kinda safe.)
(11 floors)
He (you know how he talks by now): Do you live alone in the apartment? (He's seen where I stay)
Me: No. I live with another girl.
6 floors..
He: You're beautiful.
Me: .... Tried to smile.
Awkward silence..
And finally,
after what felt like ages,
THE LOBBY!! Freeeedom!
(Thankfully I haven't seen him again, yet. But he knows where I stay :-/)

Another day another scene.
Coming up from the lobby. Already five people inside. Didn't want to wait for another lift. So I squeeze in. Keep staring at the closed lift door.
Then out of nowhere this guy with a golden tooth waves his hands in front of me trying to catch my attention.
He: "Hi"
Me: :)
He: Are you single?
Me: (Wha?) No.
His friend (to him): Maybe she is, but just not for you.
Loud guffaws follow.
That's when I realize they're drunk. At 4 in the evening. Awesome.
Floor 14.
He: You are not married yet, right?
Me: No. (I'm thinking, "What the.....Asshole. How dare he" I want to say it. But I don't. It's never a good idea to abuse drunk people) Still staring intently at the lift door.
All but one get off 2 floors before I do.
And the other guy in the lift goes:
That must have been embarrassing!
Me: Yeeeeahhh!
He:  There's a difference between being forward and over-forward.
I'm like "I know right! Assholes were all drunk!"
He: I don't know. But sure felt awkward in here.
He gets off.
And I finally am Home! Sweet home.

Scene three:
He: Hi where are you from?
Me: India.
He: Isn't that in West Africa?
Me: .............

You know what my worst nightmare is? Getting stuck in the elevator! And the damn phones don't work either!

Kaash

Tried writing in Hindi for the first time. Please bear with the grammar and correct me if I'm wrong.

काश ये वो  दिन  होता

जब  तुम  मेरे  साथ  थे 

जब  आँख   खुलती 

और  तुम  नज़र  आते 

काश  ये   वो  दिन  होता 

जिस  दिन  तुम  मुझसे  झगडे 

थोड़ी  बातें  और  करते 

और problem सुलझाते 

काश  ये  वो  दिन  होता 

जब  तुमने  मुझसे  प्यार  जताया 

और  दिन  से  रात  कब  हुई 

पता  भी  न  चला 

काश  ये  वो  दिन  होता 

जब  बात  करते  करते  नींद  लग  जाती 

आज  कल  रोये  बिना 

नींद  नहीं  आती 

काश  ये  एक  C program होता .

रोज़  उसे  normal mode  में  run करते 

और  जब  कुछ  अंचाहा हुआ 

Debug mode में  run करते 

काश  तुमसे  प्यार  न  हुआ  होता 

किसी  और  से  प्यार  करने  की  चाहत  तो  रहती 

काश  हम  एक  दुसरे  को  ठीक  से  समझ  पाते 

हमारी  कहानी  यूँ  अधूरी  न  रह जाती|

What, When, Who?

My friend's parents are looking for a match for her. But, just like everyone, she isn't ready. You can come up with a million excuses when you don't want something. Too tall. Too thin. He has a PhD. He has a brother!

But then even a single fact that you love someone, isn't enough to be with them either. You need a million other things to make it actually happen. The stars have to match. The families have to gel. They should be from the same social strata. Oh, the list is endless. But when you think of it, does all of this really matter? It'll probably matter if you are in a country like India where familial ties are still strong. Where parents take care of kids until they're married. Where kids take care of their parents after their married.
But in a country like the USA, all that doesn't matter. None of the families care. It doesn't matter whether your spouse's family likes you or not. It doesn't matter which part of the country you are from. All you need is love.
So it becomes all the more important to find the one you love. To define love in fact. Everything else that is attached to marriage in India: kids, sex, living together is available even without that bond here.

So who do you say "I do" to?
You can narrow your choices to the people you like being with.
If they bring out a whole new side of you, you didn't know existed. If that someone else makes you a better person, then that person is for keeps for the rest of your life.
But there's no single such person. You feel comfortable around a lot of different people. Your thinking, your personality matches with a lot of people. I think, Everyone has multiple people made for them. And the one that you finally settle down with, can be anyone from that subset. You just have to fine-tune your frequencies a bit with the one you settle with.

A lot of times, the one you settle down with has a lot to do with age. Your priorities are different at different ages. You can't think of settling down with someone when you are in high-school. Nor can you think of it when you are focused on building your career. Love and all that becomes secondary then.

So is there a right age then? Maybe, maybe not. Whenever you feel you are "ready". It could be at different stages in their career for different people or different circumstances for different people. So you cannot really generalize.
Sometimes I think, can someone surpass that age?
I mean think of things that you weren't interested in until a certain age. I know this example might seem a little odd, but back when Pirates of the Caribbean released, I had no interest in watching it whatsoever. I thought they weren't my kind of movies. I watched them about 2 months back. When I finally got interested in them.
Similarly Harry Potter was something I loved reading. Even re-read them a couple of times. But when I tried to read it again a few days back, it wasn't interesting enough.
The point that I'm trying to make is,
There comes a point in your life where you want to get married, but can't because work was too demanding or something else. So, you want to get married but can't, whatever the reason maybe. And then whatever that situation was, passes by, where finally you can but you don't want to marry. The desire/age to get married is gone.
I have uncles who are unmarried. I don't know why. They've probably by-passed this age I am talking about.

Shri shri shri.

Occasionally, the saint in me can't keep quiet any longer and decides to speak out. Before she decides to leave,

here it goes:

People who give up don't know how close they were to success when they did.

I'm sure everyone goes through a time where it all feels wrong. All you want to do is seek out for help, take the shortcut, easy way out, what not. You want to reach out for help or take a quick exit from the situation. 

But you need to know this:  When it all feels wrong, all you need to do is hang in there.

How many times has it not happened that you seek out for help and the solution comes to you in a flash?

If you had persevered long enough, it would have made sense anyway. It's not that you don't have the ability to figure things out, it's just that you gave up.

Of course, this doesn't apply when there are too many parameters involved. But when the only parameter in question is YOU, don't give up! 

You will get there eventually. Just be patient! :)

P.S.

1.  My cousin bestowed the title of this post on me, during one of the saint's visits.

2. Office life teaches you quite a few things. ;)

Meri jai ho! (Very modest, aren't we? ;))