Neemrana fort to Reading..

I always believe that we come across people for a reason, there is some connect.. This was one of the evenings when i was coming back from Reading.. There was a very interesting counter right in the middle of station with some offers around paint ball.. I am usually in hurry and hence tend to completely ignore anything around me.. But for some strange reason, i just stood on the counter and started talking to the guy who explained me about the scheme and where all can i avail the offer etc.. Suddenly he said in hindi," achaa hai, lei lo".. I was all smiles and where did you learn such perfect hindi from?? "well i was in India for sometime.. i ahve been to Rajasthan.."" Where in India are you from?".. I was born in jaipur and then ofcourse many cities.. ""Well well, have you been to Neemrana fort?? Have you seen the zipping that they have?? I set it up, i trained Hari on it, he now runs it".. "ofcourse, i have been to neemrana and i know zipping and the guy who ran it then".. its scary but good fun, its quite popular.. :D
We guys had this long discussion on how much he liked India, how he missed Hari who seemed to have settled in his heart, on the simplicity and love that India showered on him and how it changed him completely as a person.. In a very emotional tone, he told me that i was very lucky to be born in such a country, where people are simple, loving and nice; that he probably discovered family , love and affection in the innocence with which people welcomed him and made him feel at home in India.. I nodded my head in affirmation, i know that i am lucky to be born in India and i am very proud of the fact that i am an Indian.. there are many things which need to change and get better; it has its imperfections, but it has basics in place..
I had to move now, and his last words left me very touched.. Hari told me that i will see India everywhere , no matter where i go, i will feel the connect; i guess that is why Neemrana Fort to Reading i never thought i will find someone who has seen both places and can connect the dots for me.. Indeed, i never thought i will also meet someone who setup zipping in Nimrana in Reading.. :)

A winter evening..

It was a colder than usual day.. I was too cold sitting in office, all that i wanted was to get inside my cosy blanket and sleep.. I wrapped up my work and walked towards home.. An old Indian couple travelled with me all the way from canary wharf to central london.. there is some sense of familiarity, may be in the skin tone, or oneness that we have due to similar roots.. they asked me if i could ensure that they get down at the right station.. they looked lost and nervous.. i started to talk.. So, uncle, is this your first trip to London? yes beta.. and then i could see the pride on their face.. "our son works here, he is big now, he has been calling us since many years, but i was too busy, this time he did not agree so we decided to come down.. he is very busy, so he cant take us around, but he has told us everything, its just that it gets dark too early so i thought if you could guide us.." "its fine uncle, i can find my way in London, so this is doable.."
And then uncle asked me about what do i do.. i had an interesting story to tell around work that i do( wonder where do i get it from?).. then came a rather sweet question.. "dont you feel scared staying so far away from home?" i thought for a while.. " No uncle, there is nothing to be scared of.. i dont remember any fears of survival being on my mind.. there is wierd sense of satisfaction in struggling and learning that, come what may, you will survive and God willing thrive.. :)" uncle had some more questions on London and western lifestyle and then unlike me, i managed to find way for them in one go.. uncle insisted that i have a cup of coffee with them.. as i gathered my stuff to walk out, uncle and aunty put their hands on my head very lovingly and said that your parents must be very proud of you..
i was taken aback by the moment.. there was something very unique about my dad, he was always very proud of us; he dint need reason for it.. whether we stood bottom in class ( i did , my KG report cards are scary:)), stood last in painting, did nothing.. he was always proud.. there was this unconditional love, faith and trust; no matter who you are, what you do, where you go, i will always have confidence that you will survive it.. sometimes well, sometimes may be not that well, but you will live it and most importantly not regret it.. i dont think end result really mattered to him, it was always about the journey and the spirit with which one went past it.. he would have never asked me "are you scared of anything?" he never did.. he would rather say, go and explore if you fall, call me :), but dont hold yourself.. Its one life, live in the moment; as long you dont hurt others, you have every right to live..

With lots of thoughts on my mind, i bid good bye and travelled back to a good night sleep.. From finding way to showing way, it must have been quite an experience, though beauty about life is, when you are in it, you dont know it.. :)

Happy Children..

It was a normal day after a hectic week.. I just closed my eyes after end to end calls to gather myself back and dont know why, a thought hit me in my head; something told me i will be rich and successful.. i have no clue why that came to my mind, but it did and something tells me i have always known it, never wanted it, but headed towards it with complete calm and i will get there.. i freaked out with my closed eyes.. this is precisely what i dreaded, all the while life was conspiring for this.. but why? why will this happen and what is the purpose of this life.. some memories flashed infront of my eyes.. it took me to some of the worst aspects of life which left me shaken.. my visit to orphanage in Bangalore where kids did not know what being loved means, they ofcourse dont miss it, coz they dont know what it is.. the innocence in the eyes of 8 year old newspaper seller on new year night who was happy to see so many lights and people on street at night, happy to sell newspapers, he obviously did not know what childhood means.. it kept on getting complicated by every minute when i opened my eyes.. i packed my bags and headed to home, i was not at peace, something was wrong in the day.. there was conflict in my mind on what i was trying to achieve and what i needed to accomplish.. they are not disconnected, one is needed for other.. but i need to find the other and leverage first to make progress..

i have always felt passionately about "happy childhood" being a fundamental right to be granted to all.. i feel its the moral responsibility of human race to let every life live and enjoy its innocence till he is prepared to take on the big bad world.. nothing hurts me more than seeing a child who is hungry, not warm and working or someone who matures at that age to know what does not work.. i feel it is unfair to kill the hopes and foundation of life in someone who can not fight it back.. child needs to be a child and we as grown ups need to ensure that it is protected.. we need to give them all standard growth platform and bring them to a racing track from where they take off and create their space..for every happy child that is in home, we need to make sure that there is another who gets his childhood back and gets to live and grow exactly similar way.. unfortunately, i dont know the way today, i never knew the way to anything but i do manage to find way once i know the destination..
for now friends, i know we all are rich and successful enough to read out a story to a sad child,make his new year special,fund his nutrition and diet for an year, ensure an year's education for a child and reaffirm his hope in life and the fact that God did not do injustice to his life when he was helpless and innocent to build it for himself.. do make that extra effort to be successful in making this world a better place..

Aberdeen

It is a lovely small town near north sea in Scotland. I happened to travel the same for work; this was a day trip. As any Scottish city, this too had highlandish roads, stone houses and high roofs and lively people (few that i met for sure :))..
While coming back taxi driver told me that this is one of the rich cities in England, as this is dominated by O&G.. he proudly mentioned that these firms do not impact the environment and have contributed to prosperity of the city.. Though he did mention that at some point Shipping and Fishing used to be the major driver of their economies which accoridng to him were more sustainable, but since the onset of oil exploration, these industries have moved their base.. All in all, an interesting day.. :)

The Saturday Night Adventure..

One of those days in life when every trial is just perfect. Me and Kady decided to spend a saturday having "fun". And trust me Kady is fun woman, so she can make it happen. So, we started with a movie "Ides of March".. George Clooney is hot as ever, do i have to repeat it nth time, but Ryan Gosling had beaten him in this movie, he was as impressive and hot and handsome as one can get.. The movie was engrossing, had a very gripping story line and guess what? While wearing my coat, i dropped my keys in pop corn packet.. There was a frantic search for my keys with theatre staff wondering where did it fly only to be found in pop corn packet in my hand. Such is life, we all laughed at it; happens..
Then was a wild expedition.. We decided to try aunthentic greek place called Elysee.. This has live music band that plays at night, if you wish, you could tap feet on greek music or enjoy them doing it AND if all that wasnt enough, they break plates to give it the greek feel. Loved it, it was really an experience and food was good.. We ordered some mezze and then decided to food hop and go to Enamo, this is an oriental place where you can order from your table using a projected menu.. We tried a japanese drink and some food.. Must say, this is not a place you should miss for the feel of it.. Food is not bad either.. We then decided to move to Liecester square to track the night life of London (when you stay in central, you walk there :)).. The buzzing music, pub agents all marketing their music, their crowd etc.. We decided to visit a place and the music turned out to be real good.. You know how much i love dancing and when it comes to it, i do have stamina to carry on till eternity.. :)
We reached home and decided that we will have brunch at some nice place, do a red velvet cake in hummingbird and end the day.. If you havent, you must try this small place called Lantana for burnch in Charlotte place.. There is usually no place to sit and people waiting outside, but it is every bit worth the wait.. So, yes with that ended a day of good food, good places and fun.. Lets not talk about the follow up on laundry, and other works and yes a great home cooked meal at a dear friend's place on sunday.. That was the best really, home cooked food takes away the cake; (i did not cook it, so you can be fine, someone else's home cooked meal, alright!! .. :P). Indeed, we found love in a hopeless place. :)

Yellow diamonds in the light
And we're standing side by side
As your shadow crosses mine
What it takes to come alive

It's the way I’m feeling I just can't deny
But I've gotta let it go

We found love in a hopeless place

Shine a light through an open door
Love and life I will divide
Turn away cause I need you more
Feel the heartbeat in my mind

Do we really know what being educated means.. :)

It is interesting how many graduates and post graduates our country churns out every year, but it is really sad to see that we have misunderstood the meaning of education and many of us have remained illiterate. Education does not mean adding degrees to your kitty, become proud and arrogant, make money and put to rest the case of every other existence. No, it means, humility to grow everyday, it means empathy to understand people around you and help them live and grow and it indeed means realization that you have just been one of those fortunate kids, to be born in families who could afford to give you dream and exposure to pursue, what forms the basis of your existence today. However, our education system has failed to broadly give people social mindset, it had probably given them maths, science and english. And now i kind of see why my friends who have studied far wide and have travelled tend to seem so normal to me against the ones who have always been comforted by the social edge that our nation gives.
It was an interesting evening. A friend of mine has moved to London and he decided to have a small get together. It was meant to be 5 of us close friends, but somehow one led to other and there were 20 of us :). I am not a big socialite. I am peace loving person who enjoys intelligent humour and conversation, i have kind and nice friends and we have been there for years that we have known each other, through thick and think. Crowd has never been easy for me. Only thing that comes to my rescue is that i can turn into a good listener to strangers and hence the small talk people can talk at me.. :P From that perspective it was an interesting evening. While i managed to run like a shadow behind my friend like a 2 year old child runs after her mother seeing so many unknown faces, and being a friend that he is, he ensured that he searched for me if i was not within his periphery. In one of the group conversations with majority of guys and few girls, one of the guys happened to discuss on how women blocked the seats in colleges, how they are not good enough for growth and jobs etc and as if that wasnt enough, how education is ruining their mindset and hence is a social issue. :D. I wanted to debate but, i just happened to tell him one thing, " I used to be against reservation for females in colleges etc, always thought it wasnt required. But males like you need 50% females sitting in your classroom to really give you a feel of their intelligence and capability and also make you understand that they are humans like you. Suppression is a social issue, it had to break someday for good. You will never really be literate and educated till you go through that. You will just be an insensitive idiot making money because he knows maths, science and english, you are not a human..".. And even better was what my friend told, " All that i learned through my educational years was power that diversity brings in.. Unique perspective that girls bring to table, that different people from different geos bring in and the fact that underneath we are all human, we all want to be happy, dream, feel good about our existence.. the social issue in India is the fact that you graduated with 2 girls in your classroom never thinking why only 2 and what does it feel like to be 2 in a class of 40.. what is really going wrong here is that your colleges dont churn out leaders, they add a layer of english to engineers and analysts.. as an alum you should ask for better female ratios in colleges and also understand them more to leverage their strength in making team work effective.."
It is interesting sometimes to know what people think. :) I used to think we all are equal, but i think i am just fortunate to have friends and family who have been educated in real sense. And while i was sitting in one corner and thinking why so much hatred for women and a constant attempt to push them down? My friend, who always finds me no matter which corner i hide in :), came and said, " you know, had it not been for girls and their brains in this world, there would not have been so many colors, designs, dishes, creativity and life.. they do well, no matter whatever be the challenges.. and on top of all that, they are , balanced, sweet and nice too.. ".. Me, "right and had it not been for guys who would have admired colors, designs, watched the same cricket match 10 times and make unbalanced decisions and take high risks to bring the economy where it is today.." ..We both laughed at the whole incident and decided that some fools learn it hard way.. :D

Noni Junior

Dear Blog,

Noni Junior was born on 14th Nov 2011. I do not want him to complain that his birth date was not mentioned here just because his bua was busy :). A naughty one with 6 fingers again; Noni senior too has six fingers; there will be no fights, everything is equal. I so want to fly down and hold him, but i guess with no leaves with me, i will see how long can i be practical and understand. Everything about him right now is too small and dependent, i guess that is how we all were. He does not have a name, but ideally we would like to name him Golu Matolu provided he does not kill Noni senior and his bua when he grows up for their creativity and complete lack of worldly sense.. :P Noni senior is excited that someday this little bundle of joy will convert into a full fledged cricket partner for him. His parents are worried about his late nights and his liking to be treated well in cozy lap than be left in cots. He liked his dadi, she thinks he is just perfect. As for his bua, both Noni 1 and Noni 2 lead the list of my fav little boys in this world and ya its perfectly fine to stay awake, expect luxuries, be considered perfect by Dadi, plan to be spoilt and demanding with bua; you indeed are the bundles of joy and we all thank you for being you. :)

Yours Truly