About 6 months back i remember talking with my friend over phone on a particularly emotional day. I had fought with someone and made myself all disappointed and depressed. ( Now when i think there was actually no big problem!! ) I felt very down and lonely all day, not even having anyone to share my feelings with. And i asked him, my voice choking with tears, ... " Can i ever have someone just for me?? .. who will be there with me .. with ONLY me always .. Is it wrong to to even wish for someone like that in my life ??.... "
My friend who was just so helplessly trying to console me said that there will definitely be such a person in my life and it is just that i need to wait. From that time until now there has been countless times that the same question keeps coming back to my mind... every time i am emotionally disturbed i quickly kind of go into a shell and feel very depressed about it. And i keep longing for that ONE who will be there with me always. I don't really mean that this person necessarily has to be one's life partner; it could be anyone - your friend, brother, sister or anyone who will be there for you ... for ONLY you!!
But is this ever possible at all;each of has have our own lives to lead and whether we will have the time to genuinely be with that someone when its needed the most....To all these questions i found the answer in the words of Swami Vivekananda, which my friend told me.
" Unconditional love is like a drop of water in the palm. The longer you hold the palm open and let the drop float free, the longer it stays. The moment you try to cover it up and possess it, its lost. "
So that was the answer - unconditional love!! every time i was looking to be dependent on one person i was being so possessive about them. Did i stop loving them just because they weren't there for me at sometimes... NO definitely not !!
I was so narrow minded and looking for only person when i failed to see that how many people filled that role and cared equally for me as i would have wanted. The love and care of each of these persons is like that precious drop of water in my hands. Every time i had that drop i got too excited and the fear of losing it took over me, so i would try to close my hands to make it mine .. ONLY mine!! But i realised that leaving my hands open has let so many drops collect in my hands increasing my happiness.
Let it remain open ... not just your hands but your heart too... and those tiny drops will come looking for you to fill you with limitless joy !!!
laksh:)
Priceless ... but worth it truly
It happens often that we don't realise the worth of things when they are readily available for us. We are not able to truly value it and understand how precious it might be. It could be for as basic and abstract things like land, water or air. For a transatlantic swimmer who is swimming against the strong currents battling the forceful waves for hours together, the first sight of land gives him the first hint of success. Imagine in the case of a person who is travelling through the desert, where all he can see is miles and miles of stretch of the golden sand; the last drop of water remaining with him that is going to help him survive is priceless !!!
Only in such cases one is able to gauge the worth of the thing which we take for granted. Similarly we need to realise the worth of people around us; without whom our lives would have been very difficult and may be unimaginable too. But we might not give them their due or treat them the way they should have been. And when they are no longer a part of our lives, we suddenly feel the void in our lives. And a feeling or regret engulfs us which makes us feel guilty - "if only i could have told them atleast once how much they meant to me."
i am sure all of us have someone of this kind in our lives... and if you haven't yet told them about how important they are to you, i would sincerely request you to do soon..... before it is too late !!
Only in such cases one is able to gauge the worth of the thing which we take for granted. Similarly we need to realise the worth of people around us; without whom our lives would have been very difficult and may be unimaginable too. But we might not give them their due or treat them the way they should have been. And when they are no longer a part of our lives, we suddenly feel the void in our lives. And a feeling or regret engulfs us which makes us feel guilty - "if only i could have told them atleast once how much they meant to me."
i am sure all of us have someone of this kind in our lives... and if you haven't yet told them about how important they are to you, i would sincerely request you to do soon..... before it is too late !!
MUMBAI - The true metro !!
You must have obviously guessed that this post is about the time I spent in that lovely city. But why should I say it as the “true” metro…. Having myself grown up in Chennai my entire life?? Though I haven’t visited the other so called metros of this country…Friends trust me, this wonderful city is the only one which fits the definition of a metropolis – a large city with an urbanized culture.
Though I spent just 2 months in this beautiful place, I had one experience of a lifetime. Hmmm…did I just say beautiful?? that too Mumbai !! As soon as one mentions the name of this place, the images that come to the mind of many are the ever-expanding filthy slums (Especially after the resounding success of Slumdog millionaire). Yes I did see parts of that too … just a glimpse may be. But I don’t wish to associate this city with just that. After all, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder!! The first view of this city, as I was proceeding from the station to the hotel, left me in awe… the broad clean roads (of course minus the traffic), huge flyovers… and the ride across the Thane creek as the sun was just rising above the mountains was so special. One thing I thought was absolutely true; the Mother Nature has blessed every place with her abundance, if only you care to look.
Moving onto the actual city life… there is only word to describe it best – SPEED!! Some might say that’s how life is in every city, but here it is in its most superlative form. OMG, I can’t say how restless people are moving around here, always running after something. I actually kinda like it because even on a day when you are feeling a bit low, the city’s vibes fill you with so much energy and enthusiasm. The malls here are the biggest I have ever seen. What you find in Chennai are some micro-mini attempts to re-create something of that sort. You can find every international brand that exists on earth in those malls. Speaking of brands, if you are the person who is not so brand-conscious (like me, not because it’s a philosophy I follow but because I don’t know any brands to really follow :-P) …. For such people also Mumbai is the place to be. You can spend endless hours doing street shopping. But I couldn’t because of the rains. Oh, speaking of the monsoons… so many people told me it’s the best time of the year in this city. I too just had a glimpse of it. It’s amazing to see how this city prepares itself for the rains. They give a totally new look and feel to the whole place, making one fall in love with it.
It would be completely unfair if I fail to say about the suburban train transport, which is the lifeline holding this huge city in place. It is a nice experience to travel in those crowded trains, dodging your way through. When you have to get down you just have stand near the doors and the crowd will carry you out (that was no exaggeration please) !!! I really loved every place I went around in this city. It still carries the reminiscences of the colonial rule in some parts but vibrates with the modern trends in other places. The perfect co-existence of such contrasts is what makes this city so exciting. That’s Mumbai for you – an enlivening experience.
Yeh hai MUMBAI meri jaan!!!
PS – I might have missed out a lot of vital things which the localities will know better. But I am no expert in writing a travelogue. Besides 2 months is hardly a time to know about this wonderful city.
laksh:)
Though I spent just 2 months in this beautiful place, I had one experience of a lifetime. Hmmm…did I just say beautiful?? that too Mumbai !! As soon as one mentions the name of this place, the images that come to the mind of many are the ever-expanding filthy slums (Especially after the resounding success of Slumdog millionaire). Yes I did see parts of that too … just a glimpse may be. But I don’t wish to associate this city with just that. After all, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder!! The first view of this city, as I was proceeding from the station to the hotel, left me in awe… the broad clean roads (of course minus the traffic), huge flyovers… and the ride across the Thane creek as the sun was just rising above the mountains was so special. One thing I thought was absolutely true; the Mother Nature has blessed every place with her abundance, if only you care to look.
Moving onto the actual city life… there is only word to describe it best – SPEED!! Some might say that’s how life is in every city, but here it is in its most superlative form. OMG, I can’t say how restless people are moving around here, always running after something. I actually kinda like it because even on a day when you are feeling a bit low, the city’s vibes fill you with so much energy and enthusiasm. The malls here are the biggest I have ever seen. What you find in Chennai are some micro-mini attempts to re-create something of that sort. You can find every international brand that exists on earth in those malls. Speaking of brands, if you are the person who is not so brand-conscious (like me, not because it’s a philosophy I follow but because I don’t know any brands to really follow :-P) …. For such people also Mumbai is the place to be. You can spend endless hours doing street shopping. But I couldn’t because of the rains. Oh, speaking of the monsoons… so many people told me it’s the best time of the year in this city. I too just had a glimpse of it. It’s amazing to see how this city prepares itself for the rains. They give a totally new look and feel to the whole place, making one fall in love with it.
It would be completely unfair if I fail to say about the suburban train transport, which is the lifeline holding this huge city in place. It is a nice experience to travel in those crowded trains, dodging your way through. When you have to get down you just have stand near the doors and the crowd will carry you out (that was no exaggeration please) !!! I really loved every place I went around in this city. It still carries the reminiscences of the colonial rule in some parts but vibrates with the modern trends in other places. The perfect co-existence of such contrasts is what makes this city so exciting. That’s Mumbai for you – an enlivening experience.
Yeh hai MUMBAI meri jaan!!!
PS – I might have missed out a lot of vital things which the localities will know better. But I am no expert in writing a travelogue. Besides 2 months is hardly a time to know about this wonderful city.
laksh:)
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