Understanding Oneself

The picture speaks for itself. Need I say more?

I want to Smile for myself

Smile coz the world wants you to,

Smile coz the world is beautiful too!

Smile coz others don't deserve your pain,

Smile coz sadness makes you insane;

Smile coz people like you that way,

Smile coz there's no other way!

But sometimes the smile wears off

The mask tears off

And tears just roll off !

How long can you pull off a facade?

A facade of hollow laughter

A smile because you hafta*

A mask of a happy face

Those stitches behind the pretty lace?

I want to live life

Not just drift through it.

I want life to move with me

Not me to move with it.

I want to be loved

Not just keeping loving.

I want to be cared for

Not just keep caring.

I want to be understood

Not just keep understanding.

I want to Smile coz life's no strain,

I want to Smile coz there's no pain,

I want to Smile coz of happiness,

I want to Smile coz there's no sadness.

For once I want to smile for myself

*hafta (eng slang/abbreviation for 'have to')

Cool morning!

The cool weather and fresh morning promted my to post this post so early without even brushing my teeth ! (Heh heh) And I should actually be rushing to get ready for office!

The weather's so good that its hard to imagine that a week back we were cursing in the heat. That prompted us to think that the AC was a necessity and not a luxury. So bought one. But it has arrived with the good weather.

Clicked a picture from the window.... fresh green leaves on luscious tress! A treat for the eyes.

Without you

The leaves are as green without you;

The birds do sing without you;

The sun does rise,

The moon does shine,

The stars twinkle bright,

Without you.

The rivers aren't dry without you;

The cuckoo doesn't cry without you;

The trains do run,

The buses do ply,

The planes do fly,

Without you.

Without you there's spring,

Without you there's rain.

Without you there's winter,

But not quite the same.

Without you there's lightening,

Without you there's thunder.

Without you its frightening.

And life seems a blunder.

............................................................................

The poet who got lost into banking years ago seems to be awakening back within me

Contrasts - A Ray of Hope

My heart is sad,

But the grass is green.

Around me there's chaos,

But the nature is serene.

My eyes have tears,

But the birds do sing.

I am filled with sorrow,

Yet chirpy is the sparrow!

My mind cries,

I see lovely butterflies.

Within me there's pain,

I want to dance in the rain.

The contrasts of nature,

Bring out unexpected things.

I want to cry,

But I will sing!

.................................................................................

I got an idea of this poem as soon as I got up today. Its been playing on my mind whole day in office though I didn't know what words to put into it. Through this poem I only want to tell depressed people that world is beautiful no matter how sad you are! You've only got to feel the beauty within you and smile! Coz things will take their own coarse. So no use crying and shouting hoarse!

Wat a waste of time and money!

If JBJ is a movie, then all music video directors are movie directors too! Even the music videos these days have a theme and a storyline attached. But there's no story in Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. Its just song and dance! And whatever little story is in it, is senseless! And to think it was being compared to SIVAJI !!! All channels and newspapers were speculating on who's the Boss - Amitabh or Rajnikant and wondering whether JBJ or Sivaji will be a bigger hit!

SIVAJI is definately a hit! JBJ doesn't even star Amitabh, so what was the speculation all about? He just appears after every 15- 20 mins in peacock feathers to sing 'Udti udti akhiyon ke'. He's got no dialogue and isn't part of the cast. And people are flocking to see Sivaji-The Boss from across states. Since it's released in Mumbai first, people from other parts of Maharashtra are coming to Mumbai to see the movie. It's releasing on 22nd June in Pune, so true Rajni fans from Pune have booked one day flight tickets to Chennai and back to watch the movie! My Pune khabri (my bro) says that people have even done block booking and selling them off now. And people are ready to pay even Rs 1500 to watch it! Now's thats a superstar and that's what true fans are! And the movie is fultoo masala dhamaal and already a hit. I am tempted to watch it as well. Damn the language barrier!

JBJ songs are a hit, though. And music is cool! Its more like a costume musical. But it can't be called a musical too! I had seen 'The High School Musical' on Disney Channel recently, and I was thrilled. Apart from songs and wonderful dances, it had a sweet storyline and a moral too. But JBJ, naah! I am a music lover and enjoy good music and dance, thats why I could at least sit through the movie, but my colleagues were miffed! And the guys ran before it got over! Only the girls sat till the end! I enjoyed shopping at the Infinity Mall afterwards more than the movie.

Just a glimpse of the story - The film is about liars and glorifies all those who can lie and deceive to win guys and gals! (sic) Both the heroines of the film are Pakistani Muslims living in Britain. The guys are Punjabi mundas living there too! And there are no questions raised about nationality (Indian hindu and Paki muslim?) and religion when these couples fall in love and decide to get married! If only life was so easy!!!

But there's one saving grace of the movie - Lara Dutta ! She looks amazing and makes some sense! I always feel that she's got an Oriental look and appeal. Especially in the way she dresses on screen. Preity acts childish and talkative as usual. Though both look voluptuous and beautiful, Lara wins hands down! If it wasn't for her, the film wouldn't even look half as interesting!

Watch movie at own risk... don't repent later and say I didn't warn!

Garam Zameen Par Thandi Boondein! Whatta relief!

Aakhir iss garm dharti par thandi boondein padh hi gayi !

Har taraf raahat hi raahat hai,

Zameen ko tapti sadkon se raahat.

Insaan ko paseene aur garmi se raahat.

Dhool, mitti aur gandi dhowaan se rahaat,

Raahat mili hai dil ko mitti ki khushboo se,

Raahat mili hai logon ko bimaariyon se.

Pedh par patte hain dhule huey,

Hare bharey aur khushi se khiley huey,

Phool hain khiley gulshan gulshan.

Mausam hua hai dhundla aur maddham.

Kya mit gaye hain saare gham?

Ab kami hai toh sirf chaahat ki.

Baarish mein bheegne ki chaahat,

Bheege mausam mein sulagne ki chaahat.

Barsaat mein ulajne ki chaahat,

Chaahat hai koi aaye barsaat mein.

Aur le jaye apne saath mein!

The above lines might not be some great Urdu poetry. Just a layman's (or call it laywoman's....) straightforward wishes from the heart. Actually, the last two lines were thought differently by me but this blog is visited by family, so made it more 'filmi' and safe (smiles).

Second day at home. But feeling better towards evening, especially with rains and a cooler weather. Not forgetting the medicines.

Global Warming? Temparature's soaring high!

Everything seems to be warming up.... (rather hotting up) these days! The temperatures, including my body temperature. I am down with fever today. My eyes are burning. Now I've got to know what Global Warming actually means!!! When everything within and around you warms up, its nothing but Global Warming. Cudn't think of a better definition than this! :)

But not one to lie down and rest, I am bored already doing so since morning. Life is too short to be wasted is what I feel. Because those who do not get time know its worth. So I got onto the Net since can't go for a walk and do other work. I have so many things on my mind to write about. But I was on a Sabbatical from writing. Too stressed out with travelling (with railway work going on spoiling train schedules leading to more crowds and more travel time!) and also with the heat. Day by day the heat is increasing leading to health hazards. People are falling ill and not reporting to work. Reasons vary. Viral fever. Boils :) Loose motions. And now me. Down with fever and body ache. Even fought with a nice person about a very old issue today. Now feeling bad about it. I guess its not me but the temperature to blame. Health's feeling bad since yesterday afternoon leading to nightmares leading to sudden spoiling of health and non reporting to work today. As of now I can only write this.

But looking at the positive side, I am at home listening to Shivaji-The Boss songs as I type this, sharing sweet moments with Mom and Dad, writing this piece after long! Also we have a long awaited trip to the movies this Saturday after work- Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. And if people think that my sense of humour is wierd, then there are few more wierdos in our dept. And a pretty and jovial new female boss. And when humour meets humour, there's going to be a BLAST! Saturday, here I come!

PS : For those who want to hear SIVAJI songs too- here's the page link :

http://www.musicplug.in/songs.php?movieid=2520 (enjoy)

I stand corrected- Also read about Mumbai and the neighbouring cities with their Rails

My Dad was going thru my blog and he pointed out a mistake in my MEGA BLOCK post! Okay dearies, the area from beyond Bhayander to Virar is not covered under Thane Municipal Corpn. Only Thane city comes under the Thane Municipal Corpn. Thane city is part of it. Each station in between Bhayander and Virar have a separate Municipality. Like Nallasopara Municipality, Virar Municipality etc. Only Mira-Bhayander have a Municipal Corporation like Mumbai as of now. And it is only second to Mumbai.

He was explaining to me how based of the population of a place and development, an area is given a city status and have a Municipal Corporation to govern it. Places with lesser population and growth than a city, have a Municipality. Mumbai city ends with Dahisar. The station after that is Mira Road followed by Bhayander. There was once a proposal for including Mira Bhayander in the Mumbai Municipal Corpn. That time this was just a Municipality. At that time the areas were fast developing and population was equally growing. So the politicians of these areas thought it wise to give it a Municipal Corpn status before they lose it out to Mumbai ! And that's how matters stand now ! But Mira Bhayander still enjoy the MTNL seva of Mumbai and the telephone area codes are the same as of Mumbai. It forms part of Mumbai local clearing too. Mira and Bhayander can be easily accessed by road from Mumbai. After Bhayander there is a natural boundary in the form of a creek and the areas beyond can only be accessed via a Highway by road. Train is the easiest access there.

LITTLE UPDATE ON THANE DISTRICT AND THANE CITY

While I am on the topic of Mumbai and neighboring cities, let me give you an insight into Thane city and district. And for those who don't know, Thane district is a vast and big district. Thane city is part of it. Mumbai on the western line starts with Churchgate and ends with Dahisar. Places beyond that form part of Thane district including Mira Bhayander.

Thane city is a place (station) on the Central Railway and has a separate Municipal Corpn. This place also comes under Mumbai local clearing for convenience. It has a vast population too and people residing there consider themselves as Mumbaikars too!

MUMBAI AND ITS RAILWAYS

People who're still confused, can refer to the diagram for better understanding. The brown lines depict the Western Railway line which starts from Churchgate and ends with Dahisar (last Mumbai station on western line) then goes upto Virar (considered local), then the same line extends to Ahmedabad and beyond (outstation). The red line shows the Central Railway line starting with CST and ending with Mulund (last Mumbai station on central line). It further goes to Pune. Central Railway is further divided into a separate line called Harbour Line (shown in Blue) which starts from CST, then separates and meets the main line at Kurla before separating again. It further crosses the 'Thane creek' beyond Mumbai and goes to Navi Mumbai and finally towards Pune

Check this link for detailed diagram : http://in.geocities.com/pbamp2002/railmap.gif

Until then, chill

Sugar Free Love!

I saw 'Cheeni Kam' today. And just loved it. It's sweet. It's about Love, spice and all things nice! It's nicely made. It's cute. It's hilarious. And, Tabu just looks ravishing in it!

The story's about a 34 year old girl (Tabu) and a 64 years old Chef (Amitabh) falling in Love. To top it all, the girl's father is just 58 years! That adds to the fun. Finally it leaves a message that love is more important than age and can happen to anyone, anytime! It also tells us that life and death are in God's hand. So, though Amitabh's mother of 85 years (Zohra Sehgal) is still alive and full of life, there's a girl of 10-12 years, who has cancer and can die any moment. Also, though Paresh Rawal is 58 years, he is surrounded with a lot of age related problems, because he feels and acts like an old man. On the other hand, Amitabh is 64 years but young at heart and has no ailments as such and is much fitter than Paresh.


Go watch it. Why? Because me liked it ! But mainly because Indian junta needs a lot of lessons on age. Its only in India and its neighboring countries where so much hype is created over age!

For those who don't know

Hey, I missed two important and commonly used words while stating meanings. They are 'Inshallah' and 'Mashallah'. Many might be curious to know the meaning of these oft used words.

INSHALLAH : means 'If God wills'.

MASHA'ALLAH : Literally it means 'as Allah has willed'. It is used as an exclamation of delight in the wonders of God. It is used on hearing some good news or about something nice.

More Islamic words/ expressions with meaning can be found out at : http://www.geocities.com/mutmainaa/expressions.html

MEGA BLOCK

Many Mumbaiites living in the far suburbs are bearing the brunt of 'Mega Block' on the Western Railway Lines. For those who don't know, by 'Mega Block' means the total stopping of train seva between Borivali and Virar and partial stoppage between Goregaon and Borivali between night of 25th May to morning of 28th May.

This is on account of the quadrupling work (four tracks, including to the existing two) between Borivali and Virar. Though this belt is the most congested in the world, at present there are only two railway tracks (up and down) in this belt. Mumbai Railways on the Western Lines is divided into two parts - Churchgate to Borivali and Borivali to Virar. The latter includes a part of Mumbai- Dahisar (Mumbai Municipal Corpn) and Mira-Bhayander (separate and unique Municipal Coprn, though place is part of Thane Dist) and extends beyond to Virar (Thane Municipal Corpn). At present, there are 4 tracks between Churchgate and Borivali belt and only two beyond. Hence the local trains plying beyond Borivali (Virar trains) have to share their tracks with outstation trains too. This results in lesser trains and large gaps between two consecutive trains resulting into overcrowding and congestion.

People in this belt face a big commuting problem. Men even travel atop the trains and even precariously hang out, risking their lives nearly everyday. Many women also travel on one foot or half heels inside the train and half heels outside ! Accidents are common along this belt. People living in these areas have been crying for better train facilities since many years. Their dreams will hopefully be a reality soon! The quadrupling project which began in 1990s was always halted or delayed due to number of reasons like - hutments in the way of the proposed tracks and many other ones!

With population in the Borivali to Virar region rising (reason being rising real estate rates in main Mumbai and people moving for cheaper and bigger flats beyond), the commuting problem worsened. After many strong agitations and signature campaigns and public letters to Laloo, the last one year has finally seen some headway in the Quadrupling project! After that Mumbai has seen a few 'mega blocks' but mostly during the weekends. Still the deadline of December 2006 could not be met. After that the court extended the deadline to 30th June, 2007. After that work speedened up and we've been seeing daily changes at Mira Road station. Its mainly Dahisar, Mira Road and Bhayander where the work had stuck up!

The Ongoing Mega Block which started at 11 pm on 25th May, 2007 and will end at 6 am on 28th May (Mumbaikars start travelling much before 6 am and travel much beyond 11 pm!) is supposed to be the last Mega Block before the completion of the Quadrupling project.

Many Mumbaikars living in far suburbs have taken leave from their offices to avoid inconvenience of travelling. Though BEST bus services are supposed to increase to take the additional burden, a bus cannot accomodate as much as a train does including those travelling atop it! Mumbai travels in trains and when trains halt, Mumbai comes to a halt !

Pic courtesy : silkboard.wordpress.com

Meanings of Commonly used words

I hear many people speak and use many words without really understanding their meanings. These words are used commonly by many these days because they have been used in film songs with Urdu lyrics.

Let me explain the meaning of 4 commonly used words/ phrases (whose origin lies in Arabic) :


1. ASSALAAM ALAIKUM : A common greeting among Muslims meaning "Peace be with you" or "Peace be upon you".

This greeting is returned by 'Walaikum assalaam' which means "Peace be upon you too". A simple 'Walaikum' means "same to you"

Extended forms include "Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah" (May the peace and mercy of Allah be with you) and "Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu" (May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be with you).

The 'salaam' used here is not the same in meaning as its counterpart in Hindi/ Urdu. This is an Arabic word meaning 'Peace'.

2. SUBHAN'ALLAH : means "Perfect Glory is to God (Allah)". It is used as an exclamation of joy or relief after a period of hardship and difficulty. It is also used on seeing a beautiful creation of God.

3. ALHAMDULILLAH : means "Praise to God (Allah)" or "All praise belongs to God". In simple parlance, it means 'Thank God'. Many Muslims commonly use this word after a sneeze !

The Triple Filter Test

During the golden Abbasid period, one of the scholars in Baghdad, the capital of Muslim caliphate at that time, was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem.

One day an acquaintance met the great scholar and said,
"Do you know what I just heard about your friend?
Scholar : Hold on a minute, before telling me anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test.

The Man : Triple Filter Test?

Scholar: That's right, before you talk to me about my friend it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say.

Schlolar continued :That's why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?

The man : No, actually I just heard about it and ...

Scholar : All right, so you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?

The Man : No, on the contrary...

Scholar: So, you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it's true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left:

Scholar continued: The filter of Usefulness.
Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?

The man : No, not really.

Scholar : Well, if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اجْتَنِبُوا كَثِيراً مِّنَ الظَّنِّ إِنَّ بَعْضَ الظَّنِّ إِثْمٌ وَلا تَجَسَّسُوا وَلا يَغْتَب بَّعْضُكُم بَعْضًا أَيُحِبُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَن يَأْكُلَ لَحْمَ أَخِيهِ مَيْتًا فَكَرِهْتُمُوهُ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَوَّابٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Surah 49 Al-Hujurat Ayah 12

Translation:
O you who believe! Avoid much suspicions, indeed some suspicions are sins. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting) . And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who accepts repentance, Most Merciful.

And this applies to all of us before we back bite or spread rumours or gossip about others without verifying facts.

In search of the perfect person

I was watching a short TV movie on Star One and it left quite an impact on me and maybe on all those who might have watched it.

It holds true for so many of us in search of someone. The story is about a pretty girl, who rejects men citing many reasons and trying to slot them into some category. Finally, she realises that she gets along very well with her office colleague (actually her boss). Her sister and colleagues try their best to make things work between them. The girl in the story, though gets along well with the guy always refuses to accept her feelings for the guy cause he is not perfect in looks. He's fat and short. And she's pretty.

Finally her friends and sister reason out to her that 'love can arrive in any package'. Perfect guys/ gals exist only in romantic novels or movies. There is a difference between 'romance' and 'relationships'. And a perfect relationship is not just about looks. It's about 'getting along'. Some of us just keep waiting for the perfect guy/ gal and our wait goes on all life until we realise that its too late. We don't read about old couples getting cozy in romantic novels, do we? But in reality there are so many successful and happy old couples around us ! Finally the girl realises that she loves the person from within but is afraid of society's acceptance of their match together.

Yes, ain't that true? So many of us keep looking for the perfect guy or gal. Perfect in looks, height, colour, everything. Many pretty gals wait for a tall, dark/fair and handsome prince who is humourous as well as understanding to come along and carry them away. And guys keep looking for a fair, slim, sexy, naughty, educated plus traditional plus good cook plus religious plus blah blah...girl to make their house a home. We set up so many selection parameters for a life partner that in the bargain miss the true love that we come across. And when we wake up, its too late!

Lasting relationships are those with whom you can get along well as a friend, with whom you feel comfortable talking anything with ease, with whom you can laugh without a second thought. A person who can make you smile when you are low. A person who can understand your fears and help them put to rest.

But we keep looking for excitement quotient in a person. And many a times, people pretend to be romantic and sexy with their false talks. And when we choose based on this criteria, we are likely to get disappointed. And finally end up cursing our destinies. If we look for love and emotional compatibility, irrespective of looks and age, excitement follows. It's very rare in the reverse case.

So why do we keep searching and searching for the so called 'perfect person' ?

Pic courtesy : http://www.betterwaypress.com