Life - A seesaw

Duniya ki iss bheed mein, safalta ki chah mein, hum bhi tez raftar se chale jaa rahe the.
Har cheez paane ki chah mein, rishtey kuchalti raah mein, ek ko dekh kar doosre ko chhale jaa rahe the.
Sapne itne bade the, ummeedien itni zyaada thi, unki aahooti chadhane mein hum pighle jaa rahe the.
Aag ki tapish mein, sholon ke aakrosh mein, hum sirf khade khade jale jaa rahe the.

Rishton ne karvat badli, apne paraye ho gaye, rishton k tarazu mein hum tule jaa rahe the.
Apno ka saath chhod ke, paristhitiyon ko mod ke, gairon ke beech mein ghule jaa rahe the.
Paise ki andhi daud mein, sab kuchh paane ki hod mein, apne aap ko hi hum bhoole jaa rahe the.
Apne sapno ki chah mein, saamne dikhti raah mein, apno ko andekha kar masti mein jhoole jaa rahe the.

Tabhi zindagi se mulaqaat hui, do pal usse baat hui. Usne dil ko aise chhua, laga dil ka koi bojh halka hua.
Aankhon se aankh mil kar jab, dil mein woh ghar kar gayee, yun laga maano ki aaj koi khaali jagah bhar gayee.
Uski baat mein sachchai thi, jo aaj samajh mein aayee thee, ki yahi duniya ki reet hai, is mein meri haar nahin yahi toh meri jeet hai.
Main uski baat sunta gaya, aur meethe sapne bunta gaya. Tabhi samajh aaya ki yeh sab ek chhalawa tha, woh meri zindagi ka paigam nahin, kisi aur zindagi ka bulawa tha.

Ab baat samajh mein aayee thee, aur aaj barso baad main roya nahin. Ki maine sab kuchh paaya hai aur kuchh bhi khoya nahin.
Rishton ki khaai paatne ko ab bilkul tayaar tha main, aur khud se milne ke baad shayad thoda hoshiyaar tha main.
Ab nayee raah par nikla tha, nayee manzilein paane ko. Paaya sab ko saath maine, apne gale lagaane ko.
Aaj sab kuchh hai mere paas, sirf ek baat se dukhi hoon. Par agar meri zindagi khush hai toh main sabse sukhi hoon....

Road Trip to Dalhousie

Day 1

After an overnight journey from Delhi to Nangal by train, our roadtrip started for Dalhousie. Nangal is a small township on Punjab and Himachal border, commonly known for its dams, Bhakra and Nangal Dams which are two separate dams and I ever confused them as one.

Well, coming back to the roadtrip, it started on 9^th October,’09 when I left for Nangal with one of my friend. Reached Nangal on 10^th October where we had to meet our friends to continue our journey

Day 2

Started for Dalhousie at 10.00 am with a stock of 6 beers and 2 bottles of Vodka and 5 people with Bhatia saab holding the wheel.

Crossing the gates, entering other states, passing railway lines, we were speeding towards Dalhousie.

After entering Himachal via Una, the landscape changed to the better. From plains to mountains, from straight roads to curvy routes, from uninterrupted shot till horizon to mountains popping up turning into a treat for eyes.

No when you are in hills, you can’t afford to miss the signboards installed to guide you to drive safely J

Time is flying by and the sun has indicated that it’s going to be tough ahead as it is setting. But as they say, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Descending sun gave us the will to continue to reach Dalhousie. After a drive of 7 and a half hours which included lunch at a local dhaba with drinks (not to forget).

Reached Dalhousie at 5.30 pm in the evening, the first place to visit was Tibetan Refugee Market, nice place to eat local food and buy local items with hot bargains.

The day ended with visiting Dalhousie Public School (DPS) thinking a hotel, wandering in local market, nice and hot Chicken Do pyaaza and Butter chicken and again hell lot of drinks.... J

Day 3

Started with some hot cuppa tea and boiled eggs…. Too cold to even stand barefoot….. and witnessed the sunlight descending over the valley…

Followed by some maggi, bread omelettes, boiled eggs and again some hot tea…..

Day had an amazing place in store to be, a place which is just the clone of Scotland…. On our way to the place, the picturesque beauty took our breath away…

After witnessing the breath taking natural beauty of Himalayas, we reached the place called KHAJIYAAR.

Khajiyaar is no less than Scotland and highly recommended for people who wants to play in the lap of nature surrounded by mountains.

Other activities which can be done in Khajiyaar are horse riding, para gliding and it offers a good range of food. Aaloo paranthas with butter are highly recommended but try to avoid soups available.

Finally we started back for Nangal leaving behind the mesmerizing natural beauty and capturing the memories that will last forever

The five people who were involved in making this memorable (including me) are……………

To Rohan with Love

Rohan Suchanti, a person who is responsible to an extent for what I am today, a person who made me comfortable when I was all alone in a new city, a person who had an insight of me or for that sake of everyone who have worked with him, a person who was my boss but never made me feel that he is one. He always treated me and other colleagues as his own family and friends.

I still the remember the day when I was supposed to meet with him for the interview in Delhi to join his Mumbai office. He called me to meet and when i reached the venue for the meeting, he called it off. He repeated this twice or thrice but now I feel that it was worth it because, he wanted to see my aggression to join his company. Not only me, he has tested his each employee in his own very distinct but charming way.

As the time passed by, we started understanding each other better. He gave me everything which I needed as an employee in a new city. We started hanging out together for drinks and games of pool along with other colleagues. He always used to say, your work is good and i'll take care of you. But as they say, good times fly very soon. It was 10th September 2009, when he was admitted to hospital and it was me who went and dropped him home unaware of the fact that i will never get to see him again. We talked on phone, through messages and never met again. We were in a notion that after couple of days, he'll be back to normal but god had some other plans for him.

He came back home and started recovering but soon was taken over by some major disease. He was again hospitalized and was put in ICU, by that time I was back in Delhi so could never go and meet with him during his illness. On the afternoon of 16th November 2009, a dreaded phone call took away my senses when one of my ex-colleague that Rohan has left for heavenly abode. The news made my life shattering like a stock market as it did hurt my sentiments and seems like all my investments has gone in vein.

A person who took care of everyone be it known or a stranger, god himself decided to take his care and called him to be with him.

I still remember the way he used to call us in his cabin..... arrey Amit..... arrey Lalit.... with a little bit of singing tone....... The way he used to come rushing and ask for the sensex, the way he used to discuss his technological problems of laptop and phones with us with an eagerness of a child.

We all know that the one who has gone will never come back but on our side we can try to live his dream, the way he wanted to see all of us after couple of years so that wherever he is, he is satisfied that the investment he made in his people has been fruitful to him as well as to his people.

Rohan, everyone will miss you till their last breath, the time we spent, the deeds we did which were not supposed to be done and all that which has always been a mystery to the people outside our circle.....

May he's comforted wherever he is and his soul rest in eternal peace.

Stranger TURNED Friend

During the ride of the roller coaster of my life, I met this gentle lady who soon became the happiness of my life, whom I knew for long but just turned my friend……

 

One bright evening of 1982 when the sun was bright orange and setting into the sea at the horizon leaving a gleaming reflection or saying bye for the day, in one of the buildings of Mumbai, a girl child was born to a Christian father and a Gujarati mother. Being the youngest in the family, she was loved by everyone and she became the favorite in her family, all her demands were met and she started growing up in the same atmosphere.

 

In the 26^th year of her life, I happened to meet her on professional front. It wasn’t a meeting, rather we used to interact on phone for around 6-7 months as she was a journalist and I belong to PR industry, so we used to interact on regular basis but only on phone.

 

One fine afternoon, when I was trying to get in touch with her, she wasn’t reachable. Her colleagues told me that she’s not well and is not coming to office these days. As the gesture of courtesy, I tried her number quiet a few times and left messages for her but to no use. One fine evening, I happened to send her a message and in no time, there was a call from her. It was then, that I got to know about her whereabouts and well being. To cut a long story short, that was the first time when we spoke at length and like friends and not employees of our respective companies. The person who I assumed was like a coconut was talking and behaving softly with me. Her talks and feelings were as soft as the piece of cotton.

 

After that long conversation, we happened to meet many a times, we were experiencing a bond building between us, the bond of trust, the bond of fairness in relationship, the bond where I could hear her without her saying anything, the bond of friendship. During all those meetings, we I got to know her that she is tough which is generally mistaken as her attitude, she is kind but have been used as a person, she thinks for everyone but the people she counted on for her life, betrayed her.

 

Our every meeting used to be cheerful, being a boy on the outer crust; she never let me feel of what she has gone through. Rather, it has always been an event for me to laugh my heart out. After so long, I met someone who gave me the reason to smile and laugh. Without ever discussing about each other, I know she doesn’t like drinking, hates when someone tickles her, loves to hang around and loves to travel. She loves her family like anything. She likes black forest pastry; I have no idea if she likes Death by chocolate or not, needs an excuse to smoke, totally street smart, cant talk without abusing you. Loves to go for bowling, video games, basketball, car strike and what not.

 

One evening, while talking, she happened to lose her emotions, her voice fumbled on phone and tears trickled down her eyes. I was experiencing a fighter letting her weapons being taken away, a tigress being hunted by small animals. I wished to be there to hug her, to tell her that everything would be fine. She said that she always tried to please everyone which I feel is the biggest mistake she did in her life. I read somewhere that if you would go to please everyone; you’d end up pleasing no one.

 

I with one of my friend tried to bring back her smile so that she can move ahead and think of giving her life a fresh start. We tried to look for opportunities where we can bring some change in her life but sometimes we failed, sometimes we succeeded. She says that I’m her best friend and I’d say to her that let me be friend, don’t call me best. If some day, I failed to keep my promise, I don’t want her to feel hurt. I just want to limit my role to give some happiness to her so that she can see her own life from different viewpoint.

 

She knows very well how to stir happiness in someone’s life but I feel she has forgotten to do the same for herself. May god give her more than she desires because she deserves more than she desires for herself.

 

Would request each and everyone reading this post to wish and bless her so that she starts believing and trusting her own capabilities.

Where is my home???

From the air conditioned atmosphere of the Metro Train in Delhi to the full of sweat and public Local Train of Mumbai, the journey which started with more of a cheer one year ago now seems like a punishment. A punishment which keeps me away from my family, friends and all those relations which has helped me to grow up, to enhance myself, who have taught me, scolded me, made me learn the lessons of life.

 

After 1 year from the time I migrated to the no man’s land from my hometown, this is the first time I’m feeling that why I am going back to a place where I have nobody whom I can call mine, where all those relations I made in last one year seems to be hanging on a thread which can conk off anytime. First time, a thought flashed across my mind that I should get off the train and run back to my home where my mom is sitting with heavy heart counting days that when will I come back permanently. Every time I visit my home, she has the same question ready for me that when will you come back when you won’t have to go to Mumbai again and every time I say, ‘Soon ma’.

 

I was brought up in an atmosphere where everyone I know was there around me every time. My parents to support me, my relatives to bless me and wish me, my friends to hear me out when I wanted to shout. But I don’t have anyone near me. Of course, my friends and family are there but there’s no proximity with them, there’s a difference of 1500 kilometers. Everyone out here is related because they have some work or the other, no one is even bothered here if for an instance I’m of no use to them. I might be wrong once or twice but not every time. For an instance, a friend misses me when I’m out of town once and second time the same friend says that that was for the first time only. How could that be possible that you miss a friend on his first trip and second time you say that it was for that time only.

 

All these changes force me to ask myself that why I am going back to the same place where no one is waiting for me at home, where no one is bothered whether I had my food or not, whether I am well or not.

 

This place has given me lots of happiness, lot of success which is continuing but it has given me lot of relationships which sometimes are too good to cherish and sometimes they want me to forget them.

 

Why every time I see a new face of the same individual, why every time everyone has new emotion for me. I came here to earn money and I think I am losing my relationships in the race of earning money.

Friends??

Friends, friends everywhere but no one to bank upon. I had this guy in my class during my school days who always claimed to my friend, who always used to say that I’m always with you, you call me anytime, I’ll be there but when once I was in need, he was nowhere to be seen around.

Entered college, again met new set of friends who used to claim that they will never leave me or each other in any case. Whatever we do, first priority would be our friends, that’s what I got to hear from them every time. Left college and came to workplace and once when I needed my college friends, like earlier, they were nowhere to be found.

Entered workplace, again new set of friends, who claimed that whenever I’ll be in any need besides work, they will always be there. I thought now I have come to my workplace, and these people would not be immature as my friends were. But against my expectations and as usual, I was wrong. I never knew that I’m being spied on, I never knew that those people who called me their friend, would feel insecure because of my success rate, because I’m growing faster than they did.

In the meanwhile, I came across many friends who met, stayed and left. Some even don’t trust me but call me as their best friend. I don’t know how could they call somebody a friend whom they don’t have any trust.

But it was never that all people did same thing with me. I am still surrounded by few who are left from my school and college days, whom I can bank upon, whom I can trust blindly, who I know would deliver a cake and flowers on my parents’ birthday or anniversary, whom we call our chaddi buddies or 3.00 am friends.

But I still have a question in mind that why people come closer when they have to ditch you into the ground to the extent. Should I trust a new person who calls me his friend?

I think, I’d be stupid if I trust the person now in any case… What do you say???

Wait, for a short phase or for Lifetime???

Wait, always used for a short span of time. We have heard many people saying, "Hey, can you please wait for a while" or "Wait for a minute, please" but when a person who is close to you says it, is it for a moment or for a lifetime. When a close friend or someone you love says, “Wait for me", for how long they want us to wait for them. For how long should we wait for them? Many philosophers and thinkers would say that when a close friend or a loved one would ask you to wait, you should do till the time they come back to you, people madly in love would say that they can wait for lifetime but is it so? Do such relationships exist which could command lifetime wait from a person. People tend to make relationships out of sheer selfishness, to get their work done and leave as if you never existed for them, they might not recognize you after some point of time. Is there any one left on whom one can depend blindly, after talking to them one could feel lighthearted, are we left with 3 am relations anymore?

Once walking down the life street, I saw a stranger who looked familiar with friendly smile on the face. But it took no time for that person to remove that smile from the face and as mentioned earlier, that person only looked familiar.

One spends his entire life in waiting for the person who had once asked to wait and after some odd years when the person returns, asks strangely that why were you waiting? Who asked you to wait that long? Is it worthy to wait in relationships which u make and god don't?

People say that life comes a full circle but it would be correct to say that people come full circle. They take the complete round and come back to you just to make you realize that you did wrong by waiting for them. Are they saying themselves that they are not that worthy for whom one should wait or are they saying that you are fool who spent his life in waiting for them while they were roaming around and having fun.

Every individual has this question in mind but is afraid to ask because everybody knows the answer but they lack guts to face their own question which in turn give more pains...