The Quarter Life Crisis

So… I see this link on facebook and damnit! A realization sets in with my morning coffee... Whoa… I am already facing a quarter-life crisis. There’s a decent job, no boyfriend (no desire to have one either!), life is routine, hobbies are occasionally thought of (more like yearned on), friends are there but busy with their own lives, parents want me to just get married and fast. Sigh!

I again begin my daydreams of really enjoying life like I want to. Work 9 hours a day, 4 days a week. Travel on shoestring budgets and just discover places. Read and read a lot. Lose those extra inches and get a fabulous body. Discover something I am so passionate about that I lose myself in it and lose myself in this world. And so on… Everyday, atleast once a day, I daydream. 4 months away from being 25, I wish I were still 18 and would’ve done more. I wish my life were different and I wish I would do something.

The interesting part is, I know a lot of folks going through the same. They are bored with their jobs, they want no serious relationships (or are so committed in one that it doesn’t particularly count) and they want to read or travel or work in an NGO or just start something. There are just too many people of this category. And it made me wonder.. Why are we all so dissatisfied and unhappy? We have the ability and the power to make decisions for ourselves and yet we complain, we agonize, and rarely do anything about it.

The truth is we are a struggling generation. A generation trying to desperately bridge the gap between old and new. A generation who has seen the likes of the handheld phone and the smartphones to google glass. (Yes, our parents have also seen them, but unlike us, they are happy with the old tech!) A generation to have seen movies in single screen halls to multiplexes to Movies on demand on your home theater. A generation which has seen joint families, housewives and double income nuclear families. A generation that debates whether 24*7 connectivity is a boon or a curse (Remember the fav topic of school essays: Science a boon or a curse. Simpler times!) A generation that has seen a recession cycle and that actually understands how the economy works, how it can be fixed and well, how we can sit around and do nothing about it.

‘Ignorance is bliss’- that was the old saying. In today’s world of knowledge economy, all our wealth is knowledge. And I fear our generation has too much to process, too many things to consider and reconsider, too many options to seek information from. And with the rest of our world’s success and aspirations being rubbed on our face everyday with facebook and instagram, we really don’t want to make ourselves feel more miserable.

The average 25-year old today has seen enough changes in the world, that the pressure to make the right decision gets the better of us. Keeping up with this change is what we are learning and we Indians… Well, we are keeping up with the westernization vs. traditional war as well! It is a war out there… A war to get the perfect job, the perfect partner, a corruption-free developing/growing country, a robust economy… 

So lets cut ourselves some slack and do what we actually want to do. Make quick decisions and stick to them. Not think too much cuz that always made the decision more difficult. Let go off the pursuit for the 'extra' knowledge.. Why? Because you can. And stop this war in our own heads and hearts. Cuz whatever the war may be outside, we would finally want to die with no regrets and only peace in our lives.

And yes.. Happy Birthday Harry Potter! :)

Untamed

One gushing wave simply stops it all
A fleeting instant and inside I fall
The silent sea shouting at me
There’s no other place to go or flee

Waves upon waves just come and go
My eyes complete the follow through
Together, they all create such a noise
Individual identities subtly poised

That salty smell fills my body
The entire experience one deep melancholy
Filling my veins, my body, my soul
A sense of completion, a part of the whole

The untamed nature is where I belong
A tear in my eye and a smile comes along
And a sense of tranquility envelopes me
I close my eyes and everything I can see.



P.S.: Inspired @ Bandstand

Grey Area

I stand confused and bewildered

All day long I sat and wondered

How it all began is a story

How it will unfold now is a mystery

You are more special than someone else

You seem what I prayed for at wishing wells

Transcending on to an all new level

From earth to sky to a paradise heaven

My heart and my head seem still unconvinced

My 100% to you has a tiny wince

We’re not just friends, I know that too

This grey area gives me no clues

I want to buy more time and age

To check if its an oasis or mirage

To know you more and give this a chance

To look in your eyes without a second glance

I am sure of your friendship and affection

But the love is wandering in random directions

I wish the future I could see

Friendship or love, what are you worthy…

Losing a friend for love

Today I cry at the loss of a friend

What is now the beginning of an end

At first there were no feelings you say

Life was sunshine and plenty of hay

Plans were made to stay together

Friends Forever... Friends Forever…

Then came and hit a realization

Is this some sort of infatuation?!

Nah, Its not serious, you kid yourself

And silently watch them with someone else

But something seems definitely amiss

Something disturbing a perfect bliss

Your heart is unhappy, pinching you

Forces you to believe in something new

This is more than being just friends

You want more, is the signal you send

Confusing is the equation for all involved

Needs an ‘intervention’ to be solved

However there is a heart that beats

This is true love is what it repeats

You fall for it and screw great things

You hope for brand new beginnings

Some get lucky and last the distance

You believe you are one of them

The journey begins like any other

Few things to worry or bother

But it was friendship that was meant to be

Destiny will settle scores with thee

Things change when friends fall in love

You lose a friend when you gain love

This heart is very fragile you see

When love breaks it, a friend is what you need

You regret having changed the equation

You badly want to mend the situation

But cracks are inevitable in a broken mirror

Do think twice before changing gears

Friends are few and forever there

Value them, cherish them and take care

Love will tempt you and make you prey

And force you to lose focus and stray

Phases in friendship come and go

Do not disturb this relationship’s flow

Cuz awesome friends are rare and few

Don’t let love screw them for you!

New Beginnings

This life is short
Dont let it go waste
Live every moment like your last
Make merry and make haste

Mistakes are plenty
Everyday try a new one
Living with an expiry date
Is simply zero fun

A new year signifies new beginnings
A new year means to forget the past
A new year implies forgiving
Its A new year... HAVE A BLAST!!

Its the time for new everything
Time to smile and spread the cheer
Time for self renewal and heal
Time to move on and have no fear!

Wishing everyone a very very Happy 2011.. And Cheers! to a new great life ahead and new beginning!

PS: My fav part about a new year: Suddenly all unpleasant events seem a year old! and you know how time heals wounds! ;)

Mumbai belongs to all.

Mumbai. A city of Acceptance. Anyone who comes here, the city just makes them feel at home, accepted and allows them to be themselves. For those who have been born and brought up here, it’s a matter of pride and luck, that they were born into the city of opportunity.

Today however, a burning question lies in the heart of this city. A question which all political parties, claim to have an answer to and then want to leverage upon that just for the sake of votes. The question is: To whom does Mumbai belong?

As a part of this city, honestly, it is a bad question. The city has never differentiated among its people. Then how can a certain set of people claim Mumbai to be theirs? As a person, new to the city, I attempted to find answers to this burning question.

Does it belong to the selfish political parties and leaders who just use this city every time for their own good? NO! Absolutely Not! They do not even deserve to be called Mumbaikars. Then who can lay claim to the city? The ‘Sons of the Soil’ or only the ones who were born and brought up here? Maybe, But definitely not just them.

To all those who accept and love this city, the city belongs to them. The crowds, the every day fast paced life and the grime and toil of daily travel, people who bear all this and more and still love every bit of it, it is to them that the city really belongs to. It belong to that lady, who lives her entire livelihood in a 10 x 10 feet room in a chawl and to her husband who toils despite heat and rain to earn his bread.

Mumbai belongs to anyone who has come to it for some space from Ambani to the man sleeping on the railway platform. It belongs to the humble fellow who lives in the slums yet dreams big and grand. It belongs to all those who dance like crazy in Ganeshotsav as if there is no tomorrow. When rains knock, and couples frequent to Worli Seaface, the katta or the pavement is also Mumbai. It belongs to the kids who go to the national park, hanging gardens and Jijamata zoo and get a taste of wild in the middle of a concrete jungle. It belongs to those families who go to chowpatty every Sunday to have bhelpuri and just look at the sun set. It belongs to those, who have left the city for a New York or London, but still harbor the dream of coming back Home!

Mumbai belongs to those who cross knee-deep and waist high water in monsoon when the local fails them. It belongs to those who put stumps and start playing cricket at any place available in the city. It belongs to the connoisseurs of painting, dance and various other arts. (Fun Fact: The walls of Taj Mahal Hotel’s restaurant have been painted by M.F. Hussain. In his youth, he liked to give expensive parties to his friends, but didn’t have the money to pay. The manager at Taj saw his talent and asked him to paint the walls instead!)

It belongs to those muslims in byculla who lovingly welcome Lalbaugcha Raja with aarti every year. It belong to the hindu who wishes everyone Id Mubarak at bhendi bazaar and lovingly accepts the kheer and biryani. It belongs to the orphan who has lost its parents in the train blasts. It belongs to that old aged couple who still mourn the loss of their young son in the 93 riots. It belongs to those who show the resilience that the city is characterized by. And to those whose blood boils at the mention of the 26/11 and Kasab. 

If a city has so many dimensions, such a brilliant life and well amazing history, How can it ever be the property of one race of people or religion or political party? It belongs to all those Indians who come here to make their drams turn to reality. No race, sect, caste, religion, region or language can ever be criteria for this city. Its soul is heterogeneity. It prides in the fact that ‘It is equal and fair to anyone who comes to it.’

Graphology & Perception

I have done 1 level of graphology and i can proudly say that it has taught me more about people than all my life combined. A lot of people dont, but i do firmly believe that a person's handwriting is a mirror of their personality.

After analysing more than 50 handwritings and a near 95% accuracy in interpretation, i can say that how much ever similar people's handwritings maybe, they're inherently different. its like millions of styles of every alphabet and stroke and then the permutation and combination between them!! Thats a lot!!

A lot of people (during the analysis) ask me... 'What does this mean? Good or bad??' To be honest, thats a very difficult question. For instance: Say something shows stubbornness. That person can use it both ways. He can be stubborn, in terms of not-adjusting with someone else. Not considering someone else's point of view. But that can also mean that the person has a strong determination. They'll stick to their motivations and goals till the end. They wont give up easily. Thats such a positive thing!! But i also add a note: Its how you use this to your advantage, which is important.
Its quite a skill to stop myself from analysing every handwriting and ever signature that i see. This science is so perceptive, you can know things about the other person, which they themselves did not know! Hell, you'll end up knowing yourself much better.

But what is important to note here that its all about perception. Its the way you use your trait/skill to your advantage, to give that extra edge over the world. When you know yourself, you know your strengths, weakness, capabilities and inabilities, trust me, you'll spend far less time analysing yourself and checking your arsenal. All you have to do then is graft a plan that suits you. Its all about how YOU percieve it!! Don't think of the world as black and white, its all grey!!