The Festival to Love and Care..

'Raksha-bandhan' is a very celebrated occasion of our country. It signifies love and the pledge to protect your near and dear ones. Generally 'Rakhi' is stringed by the sisters on their brother's hand as mark of love and respect and the brother makes a promise to protect her from all odds, come what may... Such a wonderful expression....!!! 


Since childhood, my sister and I celebrated Raksha-Bandhan in our own way. We used to make or buy rakhis for each other and celebrate the day. We felt that if it means love, respect and to stand by each other at all times, then it should not be confined to only brothers and sisters....it can well be between two sisters and two brothers as well...or between friends for that matter. Both of us were, and still are, partners of our good and bad times...that's why this particular expression is important to us, and will remain so forever. Perhaps, that's why Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore initiated Raksha-Bandhan during Swadesi movement and christened it as 'Maitri-Bandhan', emphasising on the affection, oneness and regard one should have for everybody and thus took it beyond the boundaries of any particular relation.


On this auspicious day, today, I observed another wonderful thing. My sis-in-law, yesterday was wondering over phone about not being able to tie rakhi in her brother's hand, because of the very common fact we experience in our lives at present, the physical distance!!!....and upon me came the responsibility of  tying rakhi to her brother (my husband)...:) I initially felt awkward thinking about it as my mind was shrouded with 'filmy' ideas that tying Rakhi is a symbolic way of 'making' brother or attaining a sibling feeling towards that person...:) !!!! Bollywood does have an impact..."Maano ya na maano". But eventually I did tie rakhi on his wrist and felt that if its 'Raksha Bandhan', then it is quite appropriate this way too....as husbands do pledge to protect their wives from all adversities in the best possible way, don't they?......so what's wrong with it? So I acted on behalf of my sis-in-law, true, but the ritual also became my way of giving and getting a promise to stay together through thick and thins......

Mankind is blessed with the idea of fellow feelings.....the respect, love, affection or liking we feel for our parents, siblings, husbands/wives, friends and even for all fellow human beings is the greatest gift we have been bestowed with by nature....and we should, at all cost, try to protect this goodness in us.




Image courtesy : http://www.deepwarriors.com

63

India, as a free nation, 'at the stroke of the midnight', will be 63. Many things, issues, people have changed....much more needs to change. But today as I wish my dear country and all the people and myself a very Happy Independence Day, I would not delve into the meaning and idea of independence, as I did last year this day on my blog. We all know by this time what this word means and what it should imply in our lives.

We, sometimes, are able to do justice to the idea of freedom.....sometimes we are not.


Today, let's do a different thing.....today, let's look back and see what we've got and what we haven't. Let's list down the plus-es and the minus-es. Herein, let's celebrate the assets and keep in mind the issues that gives us joy and inconvenience respectively......Alphabetically, here it is for all of us:


Amitabh Bachchan : The word 'Legend' has a synonym now
Breaking news : without a break.....take it or leave it
CWG : will be big and successful, now 'you may say I'm a dreamer'....
Drama :want it in movies and soaps.but get it more in politics and news channels.
Editorial Pages : more interesting than the rest of the pages anyday
False Promises : we have had enough...time for some real action !!
Green Initiative : way to go.....!!!! :)
Hatred : communal and regional (courtesy 'Raj'niti ) alike
Incredible India : Our tourism needs to see a better day
Journalism (television) : needs an overhaul (not everybody though), less drama, more insight.                                             
Kashmir : belongs to India. Period.
Love : is the word for us ...for everybody...forever....:)
Money over matter : The aim needs a change
(social) Networking : Real work...or nothing ??
Optimism : slogan of the nation....."Hum honge kamyaab"
Premier Leagues : blending occupations
Quantity : has a quality of its own
Religion : eternally overrated and extensively misused
Soniya Gandhi : salute to a survivor....in many more ways than one
Terrorism : STOP IT...!!! 
Unity in diversity : our one big strength
Vendors : in streets, roads and highways.....moving merchandise..!! 
We the people with...
X-tra Large hearts.....to make
You feel loved and welcome
Zorro : each one of us needs to be, in our own right to cleanse our minds and society at large.            
                                     
I'm sure and you'll agree also that our India has too many more assets and specialties.....(and issues,too, for that matter) to record in one alphabetic stretch.To spice it up, I resorted to the alphabets this time and found that many more have been left out. I hope that India, with our effort and love, raises innumerable assets like these in days to come.....our vices along with our virtues makes us complete... but our effort to make minimum possible vices makes us BETTER......!!! With this dream and aspiration, I finish today....."Jai Hind".








Image Courtesy : http://www.buzzytimes.com


                          






                           


                          

'What is this Thing called Love' by Gene Wilder : How did I like it?

"What is this thing called Love" by Gene Wilder is a compilation of 12 stories based on love and the pathos, tragedy, doubts, and many other emotions attached with Love. So they are not exactly love stories but stories about love and its emotional companions. The stories aptly describe the many facades of love and the people in love. The skepticism of the characters, their emotional dilemmas and all their humane rights and wrongs bring liveliness and innocence to the stories. The writing is lucid, unlike the content which are more mature and sometimes complicated in their concept. The complex emotions and states of mind has been described with awesome simplicity. The tragedies and failures are described in a somewhat lighter way giving the pathos a silver lining of getting over. The stories exudes mystery (The Lady with the Red Hat), innocence ('In Love for the First Time' and 'The King of Hearts'), pain ('The Anniversary', 'The Birthday'), hope ('The kiss', 'Passion','Tango without Music'), desperation ('The Hollywood Producer'), heartbreak ('Are you really in Love' and 'My Old Flame') and playful love (The Flirt). The book conveys that every emotion related to love can assume the title of Love itself, and very often it does. Love remained in all the emotions of the stories mentioned above -- subdued, disguised in some and expressed in others. The stories convince the title as in describing the unending joy and peace love can bring.. as well as the sarcasm and pathos it can fill our lives with. 

Fading Virtue

Sometimes it so happens...that a line of a poem, or a dialogue from a film impacts us in a big way and makes us think. Day before yesterday, I was watching Yash Chopra's "Kabhie Kabhie" and had such an experience. The movie, along with a great story and an ensemble superstar cast, had a dialogue by Shashi Kapoor which remained etched in my mind long after I finished the film. His character said to his wife: " Is duniya mein agar aadmi insaan ban jaye, to wohi bahut badi baat hai..."(It's a real great achievement in this world for a man to be able to be humane). The line impacted me big time. How very true it is....really...!!!! We aspire to be many things in this one life we have been blessed with. We try to achieve bigger posts, larger material gains, etc. But how often do we think about becoming a good human being? How often do we appreciate a humane indulgence in this fast paced world where 'we don't have time to stand and stare'? So it really would turn out to be an achievement if we care to value more about humanness. In this modern world where we have everything we need and everything we would ever need, in just moments.... humanity is rather fading out from our lives in a very imperceptible yet threatening way.
The consequences we face in today's world due to lack of these human virtues are taking a toll on our lives, lifestyle and more importantly, on our psyche and conscience. Violence, cruelty, insensitive morales are alarmingly increasing. It's high time we ponder upon ourselves. It would sound like preaching if I start writing about the do's and do not's..I shall not do it in here....we would rather think in ways that suits us.....to give our bit for a better world, for our children, and more importantly to achieve to be humane, from just a mere man/woman.




Image Courtesy: http://www.freepixels.com 

A tribute to Kishore Kumar : In my own way

Today, the 4th of august, is the 81st birth anniversary of the music maestro, Kishore Kumar. I am (my whole family is, for that matter) a huge fan of his songs, like millions of other Indians. I remember, when in school, we just begun to know the beauty of music, our parents, mother especially, introduced my sister and me to the magic of Kishore Kumar. She categorically pointed out the lines of the songs, where the voice of Kishore Kumar touches your heart in such a way that lasts forever. The more we listened, the more addicted we went on to be....to the charm and melody of his voice. So much so, that I remember, when in high school, my sis and I only listened to him in our tape recorder. We were even so expressive about our love for his songs that even our close friends gifted Kishore Kumar audio collections to us on occasions.
     Kishore Kumar is often aptly described as the quintessential dreamer or the eccentric genius. I find myself short of words when listening to his songs. Be it rib tickling “chil chil chillake” or “my name is Anthony Gonsalves”, romantic “tum ho mere dil ki dhadkan” or “bhawre ki gunjan" or “main pyaasa tu saawan”, or sad renditions like “beqarar dil tu gaye jaa” or “badi suni suni hai”.......it touches my senses in an incomparable sort of way.  I am thankful that I get to hear this eternal magician of melody. He is versatility personified. I am amazed to observe the various moods his songs so perfectly exudes. He quenched the best from the brilliant compositions through his golden voice. The greatest thing about Kishore Kumar is that almost all of his songs are chartbusters, each one a masterpiece in its own way....and each of his songs, at the same time, were so earthy that anyone of the masses can relate to it, can sing or hum a line or two on his own.
     Thank you Kishore Kumar for making us more intuitive towards our emotions.




Image Cortesy: http://www.buzzytimes.com

Just Like That..

Life does not turn out to be that fun always.....Sometimes it brings boredom or sadness or something-not-right kind of feelings in us. I, personally go through this many a times, and so thought about sharing it with you all. But of course, when such things happen, we by our natural tendency to get over odd situations, try something different. That way, the crisis tides over in a smooth fashion. The method of bouncing back from an odd situation is different for different individuals, I'm sure. What works for me is creating or making something from scratch. That works wonders for me when I get into a bad mood, I'm upset, or simply sad. 


A few days ago, during this kind of a bad patch in my daily life, I baked a cake, not knowing the fact that the work will upbeat my mood suddenly...but I was excited to observe that I felt much better...Believe me or not, it happens. Because, the joy of creation is one of the greatest joys of the world. Making something or cooking or baking a cake, for that matter, may not be as mighty as the creation of a life, or something like that....but still it works. Thereafter, whenever I find myself in a not-so-good frame of mind...I try to cook a delicacy, or bake a cake, or draw a picture. In general, I make something on my own. Writing may also be an option, but I write/blog whenever I feel an urge to say something. But in sadness, I somehow do not feel the urge to talk...


I leave this post open to your experiences and suggestions...
I hope you also face situations like this sometimes.....
What do you do to get over, my friends?