Serendipity

Have you ever pondered how we are what we are today? Most of us, most of the time, believe that it’s we who shape our lives, it’s we who cast ourselves in a mould which we chose for us and it’s we and no one else, who bring forth the beautiful human being or the ferocious animal that we are today! Nah. We don’t deserve neither the complete credit nor the utmost reproach for what we are. While I agree that a large part of us is what we think, act and do, however the entirety of us has a significant contribution coming from what I call our ‘Life Shapers’. What / who are our ‘Life Shapers’? Certain set of people who come our way during certain set of path breaking events which occur in our lives, and do something which is not less than act of God, and in the process very deeply and strongly influence us, is who I’m talking about. It’s irrespective whether these people influence us positively or negatively. Either way they make us think, act and do as we think, act and do in those si

When the mind starts too much to wander, It's the time to surrender; For its surrender which gives mind a chance to ponder, Whether it's worth so much for the mind to wander. When things go wrong, It's time to surrender; For its surrender which gives mind a chance to ponder, Whether things have gone wrong or just their own way, And right or wrong is only due to mind's sway. When you feel there is no other way, It's time to surrender; For its surrender which gives mind a chance to ponder, When last did it get the right pause, because there is always more than one way. When you feel like having been wronged, It's time to surrender; For its surrender which gives mind a chance to ponder, Whether it's wrong or it's your perspective which is so strong When you feel like giving-up, It's time to surrender; For its surrender which gives mind a chance to ponder, That life is all about getting-up (one more time).

Different people have different philosophies in life. One common philosophy I’ve come-across  among  many people is to get-up late on Sundays. Their logic is that on Sundays they would want to catch-up on the lost sleep, to compensate those hours of their siesta time which they have sacrificed on account of work, partying, etc. If for any reason they have to get up early on Sundays, it would spoil their mood. They will go to any extent to preserve their Sunday morning sleeping hours. I’m reminded of a time when I used to vouch for the above philosophy. Even if I would get-up by habit, I would continue to lie in the bed to justify that I must get-up late since it’s a Sunday. Naturally as a partner, my wife would get influenced by me. Invariably after getting-up late, there would be activities for each of us where we would have to hurry-up. Somehow the whole of Sunday would feel like going away in completing some tasks, almost all of them in certain feeling of hurriedness. The basi

History repeats itself. This time, for a change, it’s not the father-son example but an uncle-nephew episode. Anil Ambani, a well-known billionaire and younger son of the late Dhirubhai Ambani, used to weigh 105 kgs at one point in time and reduced his weight down to 68 kgs by running. I’m sure that if not for wealth creation, he has motivated a many for his determination to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Many years hence, Anant, his nephew and son of Mukesh & Nita Ambani repeated the history. In fact he went much beyond to reduce a whopping 108 kgs by means of following a strict diet and exercising for five to six hours every day. Both the above are nothing short of being shining examples of self-determination. It is perhaps true to a large extent that if parents take care of their health, children are most likely to follow the trend, if not always. Maintaining a sound health is more a result of self-determination and choice than circumstances. That way I and my younger brothe

Disclaimer: Some people might be religiously offended by reading this blog. My intention is not to hurt anybody’s religious sentiments. Pls. read by choice. The Navratris are back. They are back as usual. Something unusual this time is the intensity of the question knocking the door of my brain is as to why we observe some days as ‘pious’ where we abstain from eating non-veg, drinking, etc. Of course there are people who go one or two steps further and don’t eat onions, keep fast, some on select days and a few on all the ‘pious’ days. It’s not that this question has bothered me for the first time; it’s just that its intensity is much higher this time. It has made me think really hard whether it’s more driven by Belief or Superstition. I’ve been born in a family where my mother doesn’t take egg and non-veg. During the early years of my growing-up my father used to enjoy eating non-veg but would abstain from it and drinking on each Tuesday. Also, we would not get our hair-cut d

Pleasant surprises are not limited to only fairy tales, they do occur in life. The point is when they suddenly come in front of you, are you ready for them? Do you embrace them or avoid? Do you make hay while the sun shines in all its glory or do you simply watch while the opportunity passes by in front of your gleamy eyes? There is nothing right or wrong, do as it suits you. Most important is whatever you do, never regret. Fortunately for me, before my challenge to myself of writing one blog every day for 30 days could start appearing more like a liability than fun, I got this invitation for attending a bloggers’ meet, courtesy Indiblogger. As sometimes stars would match, so did the day and timing perfectly matched with my schedule. Sunday, urgent office work for Monday already almost covered on Saturday itself, no compelling work instructed by wife (rare). In my view, there cannot be a more opportune time to attend a meet of this kind, especially it being the first one. The exc

If you have stayed in Mumbai/Navi Mumbai long enough, in all probability you must have at least heard about, if not visited ,‘Madras Café’ (officially Café Madras), a popular restaurant serving authentic South-Indian food for the last 75 long years, located at Matunga’s King’s Circle. If not, you can add it in your bucket list. Looks can be deceptive. This commonly used phrase is quite appropriate about Madras Café. If you passing by the street where it’s located, you might miss it, except for on Saturdays & Sundays, when there is a large enough crowd waiting outside for their turn, so as to catch anybody’s attention. It’s a small one-and-a-half storied food joint, with laid back looks and surprisingly modest ambience, a striking contrast to its immense popularity.    If I have to share an ideal example for the value for money, I would mention Madras Café to be on the top of my list without much hesitation. The meals are extremely reasonably priced, especially given the a

“Poori duniya meri mutthi mein!” Do you remember this statement? Well it has come true and in all literal sense. Most of us have a smartphone and our life revolves around apps. It looks like for anything and everything, there is an app (barring a few exceptions!). Of course the kind of apps a young boy / girl would have in his / her smartphone would be certainly different with those which are enjoyed by their parents, which then further vary with those which find space in the smartphones of their grandparents. However, some are extremely common, and cannot be just done without. The whole pack is led by ‘WhatsApp messenger’ (you can talk too) followed by ‘Facebook messenger’ & ‘Facebook’, ‘Instagram’, which is a no brainer. I’m sure the one adorning the number 5 spot will surprise you; it’s ‘Cleanmaster’, an effective mobile cleaner, which frees the RAM by click of a button. Since the purpose of my this blog is to introduce you to ‘The World of Apps’, I will share those ones w

One good thing leads to another. Perhaps same is true for bad things too. However for the time being, let’s focus on good things. While reading an article titled ’12 Powerful Habits I Have Stolen From Ultra-Successful People’, a must read by Tomas Laurinavicius (appeared on observer.com), I realized that if there is one habit which currently I am keeping distance by miles is Meditation. So I decided to give it one more shot.  Having attempted meditation for a few times in the past and failed miserably (I slept, I couldn’t concentrate, all sorts of other things happened), I had almost decided that it’s not for me. Thanks to the lucidity of the article by Tomas, I was encouraged to download an app called ‘Headspace’ and give it a try. It has been five days since I’m doing it every single day and I’m not complaining. Hence this blog! ‘Headspace’ is very easy to use. It’s simple and calls for a time investment of only 15 minutes each day for the first ten days. The ten days serie

Disclaimer: This particular blog is an inspiration from a life altering program I’ve attended. Even though Salman Khan may not be one of my favourites as an actor, in my view, the statement on his facebook page which goes something like ‘Ek baar jo maine commitment kar di, fir main apne  aap ki bhi nahin sunta’ is an epitome of commitment. I am fortunate to have attended a series of programs whose essence, if I have to summarize in one statement would be ‘I have a life where my World and my Word would be one’. Have I reached a stage where I can claim to be living and breathing this every instant? No way. Am I trying enough? May be. Am I at least trying? Yes, for sure! (that’s why this blog as a part of my 30 days challenge). I’m pleased to present the ‘Secret Seven’ from this program: 1.      Be Right-Free: give up being right - even when you know you are. 2.     Be Powerful: be straight in your communication and take what you get. 3.     Be Courageous: acknowledge your

Disclaimer: This particular blog has been written with the sole purpose of disseminating information about blood & platelets donation. I’ve had never donated blood all my life! Incomprehensible? It’s true. In all of the 46 years I have inhabited this planet, many times for reasons in my control, and a few times for reasons beyond my control, I’ve not donated blood. I’ve been living with this itch, which had been getting stronger with passing years. It was as if the existing itch was not pinching enough that I attended a healthcare education program through my office which talked about donation of platelets, how critically beneficial it is for the patients and how difficult it is to find the right donors for it. Having registered to be a donor and not having done anything beyond that added to the sting of my itch. Last Friday, I received a call from a young boy asking me if on Saturday I could donate platelets for his sister who had very recently gone through Bone Marrow T

Many of us would remember the famous dialogue from Deepika’s first movie ‘Om Shanti Om’, which goes somewhat like this: Itni shidaat se maine tumhe paane ki koshish ki hai, ki har zaare ne mujhe tumse milane ki saazish ki hai. Kehte hain ki ...... Agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaaho to puri kayanat usey tumse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai It’s the second part of the above dialogue on which I would like you to focus on for a while. From Hollywood to Bollywood, from Brian Tracy to Zig Ziglar, everyone vouches for the power of dreams, desires, wants… You can name them the way it appeals to you. In the end they are all the same. If it was not for the desire of Thomas Edison to invent an electric light bulb that perhaps we would be living in darkness. Same goes for many more inventors and discoverers. It’s the sheer power of their desire which carries them through the innumerable times of disappointment. The refusal to quit lies in the power of their want. And the ability

Experience is real, rest all is superficial. I can assertively say this, having experienced what they call ‘a writer’s block’. I had read about it, a few of my fellow writers had touched upon it in their writing/conversation. Till that point in time, for me, it was all superficial. I could never appreciate how it could happen, more so, why at all it should happen. From the time I started blogging, it had always been easy for me to gather my thoughts on a particular topic and express them in words. Since I had no benchmark in my mind, I was able to express myself freely without any bias. Also, since blogging was new for me, every time I had something fresh and original to write about. No wonder, for me, ‘writer’s block’ was like an imaginary ghost, which would appear only if I wanted it to. One of my friends who enjoyed reading my blogs once shared that he suspected a sense of hurriedness in my blogs. He asked me if I was writing each one of them in one go. When I replied in affir