Imagine reading a book filled with such suspense,drama and excitement that you just cannot take your eyes of it ! Come what may, be it surreptitiously catching up on your book cleverly hidden under your math and physics books during your study time so that mom does not catch you, or carrying your book along to work, so that you can continue what you want to do most while you commute or during your lunch break or maybe even postpone some evening plans with friends under the pretext of a headache or body pains so that its just you and your favourite book :-) Really it seems sometimes that we can go to any extent just to know whats next !
But have we ever thought of those crumpled, smudged,dog eared pages in the book that we have already read that brought us so much excitement in the past ? If it were not for the role of every single one of those old pages, your book wouldn't make any sense and neither would the book, which after all is a small, not so imposing an inanimate object made out of trees, and just by the look of it does not provide any semblance of pleasure and joy that its known to provide to so many avid and voracious readers over the ages !
A similar analogy can be drawn towards life I think. To draw maximum juice out of life and to be be also able to lick the juices of your fingers afterwards, one relies most often on family, friends,teachers and guardians without whom life would simply not be the beautiful journey it has been thus far. For each one of us, life's many forms, circumstances and stages brings across a lesson or an experience which shapes us every day , for most of us unknowingly.
I thank my family, teachers, neighbours, well wishers, friends and colleagues for the entire gamut of experiences. I used to earlier wonder what is life's purpose. Now I am convinced that one has to draw meaning out of life. If everyone's meaning was the same then there would be nothing to discover ! Living in the moment fully itself is the purpose.
On a closing note,a wise man said that often we learn silence from the talkative, manners from the ill-mannered and kindness from the ruthless, yet we never thank such teachers from whom we learn important lessons in life. So last but certainly not the least, my thanks goes out to those within whom I saw traits which I did not want to inculcate and tried becoming the opposite :-)
Friday, November 17, 2006
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Homecoming
They say that the power of human will can even move mountains ! Most ordinary guys like me would probably consider this a hyperbole but only when we have personal experiences of our own, we start wondering to what extent our will,dreams and ambitions truly get converted into realizations knowingly or unknowingly, maybe with a little or a lot of help from God perhaps ? Or is it all sheer coincidence ?
Anyways I have returned to India after 17 years outside. I was outside for so long, that I had forgotten how India looked, what it smelled like or how its cacophony of city traffic, prayers, traffic jams, mooing of the ubiquitous cows and how just general Indian life assualted the senses of the unsuspecting visitor! I would literally dream of this country while trying to sleep and what I would like utopian Indian society to be like and what I would do if I were PM and so on :-) The internet was a great freind to me during my stay in Columbus, IN where I spent considerable part of my free time learning about developments in India, its history and what the future held for our nation.
Call it fate,will or God, due to a queer and sudden turn of events, I am in India when I least expected it! God works in strange ways they say. India no longer lives in my dreams anymore.
I now eat and drink Indian, work with Indians, commute with Indians, talk Indian,celebrate like an Indian ,do what any other Indian does every day and feel Indian!
I had no idea what to expect really. No amount of internet reading and talking to people prepares you for a homecoming 17 years late ! When we landed in Pune in July at night, all I could see in the dimly lit streets were undulating roads and haphazard patches of pitch. Quite a shocker coming from US and Dubai roads. India is such an old civilization that seeing and comparing from a brain washed western perspective is a grave mistake. Let go all inhibtions and soak it in. Do not react is my humble advice. After more the 4 months, all I can say is that life is good. Workplace is fun, energetic and modern. People are simple, kind, family oriented and most of all very human. Food is great and and in many ways I find practices here much more hygenic that what I was practicing all these years. Will not get into the details :-)
India today during my short time here seems like an ancient civilization , steeped in customs, traditions,folklore,religion and values juxtaposed next to a modern,funky,cool India that advertenly or inadvertently looks a lot like the west. These two faces are much like our Hindu Gods who are the same but have various 'roops' and forms. Indian economy is booming and you can feel the energy. The country is the youngest in the world and people seem to be making good money. However I think we need to find a way to make sure growth hits everyone and not the so called 'creamy' layer only. They use this term 'creamy' quite a lot in newspaers and talk shows. Made me laugh initially. I am sure this too would happen like everything else happens in India sooner or later.
Even in year 2050 when India would become the world's 3rd largest economy in USD terms, these two faces of India would remain. This is what makes this country so great, beautiful and amazing. There is no need to sit in some chartered tour bus and go to 'fake settlements' in order to see the history of the people of the land and its traditions. For me what defines India is the variety and diversity of life that exists here in many forms, shapes, colours and origins all co-existing happily for the most part.
For me , I am counting my blessings. Life is good and thats all I know. My past experience has taught me not to plan too far out in the future. Not sure what life has in store niether do I know what I would be doing or where I would be. But truth be told, I do not want to know ! In India though you will find many talented folks who claim to tell you all about your past and future and prvious lives from just an imprint of your thumb ! My boss at work has clandestinely ordered for his report, incase his wife finds out about his past affairs !
Homecoming has been sweet . Thank you God for making this happen .
Anyways I have returned to India after 17 years outside. I was outside for so long, that I had forgotten how India looked, what it smelled like or how its cacophony of city traffic, prayers, traffic jams, mooing of the ubiquitous cows and how just general Indian life assualted the senses of the unsuspecting visitor! I would literally dream of this country while trying to sleep and what I would like utopian Indian society to be like and what I would do if I were PM and so on :-) The internet was a great freind to me during my stay in Columbus, IN where I spent considerable part of my free time learning about developments in India, its history and what the future held for our nation.
Call it fate,will or God, due to a queer and sudden turn of events, I am in India when I least expected it! God works in strange ways they say. India no longer lives in my dreams anymore.
I now eat and drink Indian, work with Indians, commute with Indians, talk Indian,celebrate like an Indian ,do what any other Indian does every day and feel Indian!
I had no idea what to expect really. No amount of internet reading and talking to people prepares you for a homecoming 17 years late ! When we landed in Pune in July at night, all I could see in the dimly lit streets were undulating roads and haphazard patches of pitch. Quite a shocker coming from US and Dubai roads. India is such an old civilization that seeing and comparing from a brain washed western perspective is a grave mistake. Let go all inhibtions and soak it in. Do not react is my humble advice. After more the 4 months, all I can say is that life is good. Workplace is fun, energetic and modern. People are simple, kind, family oriented and most of all very human. Food is great and and in many ways I find practices here much more hygenic that what I was practicing all these years. Will not get into the details :-)
India today during my short time here seems like an ancient civilization , steeped in customs, traditions,folklore,religion and values juxtaposed next to a modern,funky,cool India that advertenly or inadvertently looks a lot like the west. These two faces are much like our Hindu Gods who are the same but have various 'roops' and forms. Indian economy is booming and you can feel the energy. The country is the youngest in the world and people seem to be making good money. However I think we need to find a way to make sure growth hits everyone and not the so called 'creamy' layer only. They use this term 'creamy' quite a lot in newspaers and talk shows. Made me laugh initially. I am sure this too would happen like everything else happens in India sooner or later.
Even in year 2050 when India would become the world's 3rd largest economy in USD terms, these two faces of India would remain. This is what makes this country so great, beautiful and amazing. There is no need to sit in some chartered tour bus and go to 'fake settlements' in order to see the history of the people of the land and its traditions. For me what defines India is the variety and diversity of life that exists here in many forms, shapes, colours and origins all co-existing happily for the most part.
For me , I am counting my blessings. Life is good and thats all I know. My past experience has taught me not to plan too far out in the future. Not sure what life has in store niether do I know what I would be doing or where I would be. But truth be told, I do not want to know ! In India though you will find many talented folks who claim to tell you all about your past and future and prvious lives from just an imprint of your thumb ! My boss at work has clandestinely ordered for his report, incase his wife finds out about his past affairs !
Homecoming has been sweet . Thank you God for making this happen .
Trip to the Indian countryside
India, a land steeped in history, folklore and tradition beckons those
who have a discerning eye to identify and realize the beauty that lies
only kilometres from its decrepit and chaotic cities but never fails
to refresh, amaze, and jade the traveller who takes the initiative to
walk away from the already trodden and cliched 'touristy' sites and is
willing to explore the unknown.
I was lucky i was with people who loved nature (avid bird watchers)
and knew the landscape well as well as the local language. Tomatoes,
green peas, marigolds, tube wells, bullock carts and the beautful
undulating hills of the western ghats was a sight for sore eyes,
especially considering that much of my time is spent on the decrepit,
dusty, noisy Nagar road which incidentally is undergoing a complete
overhaul.
The temples were old, majestic and had richness of history , good
enough to be deemed a musuem in the US, but history and stories are
everywhere to be seen here. From the lilttle temples that are claimed
to be built by the Pandavas to the temple that has an entry as big as
your monitor on the peak of a mountain ! What were they thinking ?
Highlight was ofcourse I being part of the 11 that mentioned the name
of some Muslim saint in 1 breath and lifted a huge bolder above our
head as if it was a feather ! Quite amazing.
Hope to get hold of the video.
Anways go to ajaywalgude.com and go to countryside pics in his photo
album to get an idea of the places we saw on our way.
India may not attract that many tourists compared to China or even
little Singapore, but for those with an appetite to explore, discover
and savour things that are not hyped up in the media , magazines and
the travel channel, for them India will remain the biggest jewel in
the crown.
who have a discerning eye to identify and realize the beauty that lies
only kilometres from its decrepit and chaotic cities but never fails
to refresh, amaze, and jade the traveller who takes the initiative to
walk away from the already trodden and cliched 'touristy' sites and is
willing to explore the unknown.
I was lucky i was with people who loved nature (avid bird watchers)
and knew the landscape well as well as the local language. Tomatoes,
green peas, marigolds, tube wells, bullock carts and the beautful
undulating hills of the western ghats was a sight for sore eyes,
especially considering that much of my time is spent on the decrepit,
dusty, noisy Nagar road which incidentally is undergoing a complete
overhaul.
The temples were old, majestic and had richness of history , good
enough to be deemed a musuem in the US, but history and stories are
everywhere to be seen here. From the lilttle temples that are claimed
to be built by the Pandavas to the temple that has an entry as big as
your monitor on the peak of a mountain ! What were they thinking ?
Highlight was ofcourse I being part of the 11 that mentioned the name
of some Muslim saint in 1 breath and lifted a huge bolder above our
head as if it was a feather ! Quite amazing.
Hope to get hold of the video.
Anways go to ajaywalgude.com and go to countryside pics in his photo
album to get an idea of the places we saw on our way.
India may not attract that many tourists compared to China or even
little Singapore, but for those with an appetite to explore, discover
and savour things that are not hyped up in the media , magazines and
the travel channel, for them India will remain the biggest jewel in
the crown.
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