Toruk Makto..!

Why I called this blog what I called this blog.. would be evident in just a little while..

these are certainly some of the biggest lessons in life that i've learnt till now.. n you'd hear most people talk or blog abt them.. so nows my chance and here goes..

1. Be positive. Come what may. As a friend once said..' even if you are totally useless.. you could still be used as a bad example'....(hee..hee..)...so be positive heck whatever... we are humans.. bound to make mistakes... forgive yourself.. its more important than you think it is..

2. Believe in good karma. We're always doing things... even while we aren't doing anything.. We're still doing something...you've gotta be doing something always.. thats how nature is..thats how we're made.. so while we're doing things.. lets do good things.. and lets do right things... its that gut feeling which shouts 'NO'!..

3. Identify your ambitions... and take steps to overcome the obstacles enroute...be your own 'Toruk Makto'..... its the 'rider of the last shadow'.... what Jake Sully becomes in the movie 'Avatar' when he finally conquers the 'Toruk'... so be your own Jake Sully...identify your own 'Toruk'.. or the things within that stop you...it could be your own limiting belief..or some inherited fear... or just plain bad habits which you'd do much better without......take more responsibility... in your job.. or take a new job altogether if that helps... a life spent in comfort zone is gonna be a life full of regrets..!... get higher education... doing something you like.. or anything that takes you closer to what you like... do that thing.... whatever you choose to do.. remember that you've got to live with your choices.. n you've gotta live with them forever..!

4. Have faith.. in whatever you choose to do.. irrespective of what people might think of you.. sometimes irrespective of your own skepticism you put yourself through... have faith.. stand up to your beliefs.. which might be really tough at times... and sometimes with such high stakes that it seems almost sane to let go of your own beliefs and move with the herd...whatever the stakes..be it a job, money, or all the tea in china... nothings a big price to pay when it comes to your own belief..

5. Practice yoga.. it gives you strength and faith in times when you really need it.. it strengthens your own purpose.. it makes you believe from deep within.. sometimes life just wears our beliefs out so ruthlessly.. that it takes ages to restore it.. yoga really helps.. i'm telling ya...

6. Eat good food... sleep well... laugh out loud..

7. Never skip breakfast..!

9. Forget all rules.. n just be happy..!

Tea Towel explanation of Cricket

Came across this hilarious explanation of Cricket while at Lord's, which is popularised as the Tea-towel explanation of Criket. This was actually printed on a Tea-towel in the shop at Lord's.

You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out.When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out.When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game.

Highlights of the day

Had been to the Mecca of Cricket recently - The Lord’s cricket ground. The ground is located in St John’s Wood in the heart of London. We took a tour of the cricket ground. Our tour guide, aptly asked about the number of Indians and Australians amongst the people...And unsurprisingly a lot of people did actually turn out to be from these cricket loving nations..Much to the delight of our Aussie companions, the tour started with the original Ashes Urn....
The Urn is actually never used in the Ashes series and only the crystal replica much bigger than the original urn is used. The tour guide poked fun saying that this is something that the Australians can never take away from England....:D
After the museum we started of towards the Pavilion. A red carpet marked the entrance of a Pavilion. Photography was strictly prohibited inside the Pavilion and we were warned against camera lens caps unknowing falling and clicking mistakenly and all those attempts at capturing glimpses of the ground... The first part of the Pavilion was the famous Long Room from where the MCC members watched the match. Players make way from the Dressing room through the Long Room for entering/leaving the ground when their chance to play comes.. The walls of the Long Room were embellished with paintings of famous players of all times. Including Bradman, Viv Richards and many more...Was a bit disappointed not seeing Indian faces there... Apparently Sreesanth had used the length of the Long Room as an advantage for a match (can't recall how though..).. Adjacent to the Long Room was the Commitee Room, which, as the name suggest, is used by the MCC members for meetings. Interestly, if one really wishes to be a member, it takes an 18 year long wait and recommendation by 4 existing members... Arguably, worth the wait.
Through the Long Room Bar, we were taken to the players’ dressing rooms. The guide told us about which seat is a favourite of which player. The changing room balcony is also famous for its own reasons...This was where Kapil Dev lifted the World Cup and Sourav Ganguly ripped off his shirt and brandished it to the crowd after winning the Natwest Trophy...!.. The changing room also contained a board where the names of those who scored a century featured. A surprising fact is that Sachin Tendulkar has never scored a hundred at Lord’s so his name is not on the list, while Agarkar has scored a century at Lord's and his name features in the list..! Cricket was truely in the air of Lord's. Me, despite not being much of a cricket lover, could sense the identity of the game somehow intermingled with the spirit of the ground. I could imagine why its affect can be so overwhelming for a Cricket player/fan....
After the changing room we were taken to the Grand stand and the ground.. The capacity of the ground is 30000 seats and the view was awesome..Next was the Investec Media Centre, where the Commentators sit and the players enjoy their meal. The Investec Media Centre looked like the newest part of the ground as against the much older Pavilion. This was the last part of the tour and interestingly we din't quite realise how the 100 minutes flew..:)

realisations galore..

I am no great writer or anyone whose set out on a mission
to get people to think.. but a lot is going wrong.. and there are realisations... about how
things are changing in India... about the pace at which it is changing and
the direction...
The base and the scariest part.. is the deep rooted inferiority thats somehow
creeped into the minds of Indians. Why else would there be so much admiration for the West.
Why else would people be proud about their children studying abroad..Why else would there be

so much excitement about visiting places abroad.. Its not like India does not have the

ability to give its citizens education.. or that we do not have beautiful places. Then why

is there a hint of pride on being tagged as someone whose been abroad? Why does that thought

even arise...Why is it cooler if a person has visited Switzerland or Scotland.. and not so

cool if the same person goes to Matheran or Panchghani..? I am not against going anywhere..

infact I'd like to visit places too... but m as excited to visit these places as I'd be to

visit Jammu or Ladakh...What I don't understand is the 'extra' importance given to people

abroad.. or places abroad.. Why are we Indians always gullible.. and so easily led into

believing something... In order to get India its rightful place in the world.. the first

step and the most important one.. is that we stop believing that places/people abroad are

superior to us in anyway. They are not. This is a fact and the earlier we start believing,

the better it would be for our country.

A lot has already been talked about our culture being influenced by the West... English is

important period. Everyone wants to learn english and the fact remains, we need it. We

need to be good at English to keep pace with the world. But it is english that is

important.. not the culture it brings..!.. We need to adopt English.. but not let it replace

our own languages..!..We need to use English and move ahead.. Not let the English culture replace our own... On the contrary, this gives us even more reason to consiously stick to our roots.. because thats where our identity stems from. And When I talk about our roots, it includes everything.. food.. religious beliefs.. traditions.. culture.. languages.. We need to preserve them and not get swept away. I do see a lot of people of our generation making efforts to learn and keep up. But it isnt enough. Because there is a much larger crowd which does not. We need to consiously make an effort to learn our traditions and beliefs so that we can keep them for the generations to come. If things keep moving as they are now.. it wouldn't take too many generations to lose them all..

Being in UK for a month already..!.. n I dont know how to feel about it.. n I am happy to get a chance to see some really beautiful places around ... meet some lovely people already... courteous people everywhere.. The calm and not-so rushed up life...

Its a month already..n I dont know how to feel about it...I am happy cuz a month is up.. n i am one month closer to going home..... . I know deep down m too desi to be around somewhere else too long.. but life has its ways and we choose some of them... I am missing the lovely weather of namma bengaluru.. the daily hustle bustle .. going down my house with mum n eating paani puri... seeing lots of people on streets.. noise..hindi music playing on radio..the noise.... people just pausing for a casual chat.. It all felt so good.... I am just Listening to "Rehna tu" from Delhi 6.. It so beautifully describes how I feel right now.. about India.. about Bangalore..

Was watching Friends on TV today.. and it reminded me of all the old serials we watched.. Vyomkesh bakshi.. Mrignaini.. Talaash.. Circus.. Nukkad.. Karamchand.. and everyones fav chitrahaar.. dekh bhai dekh.. tehekikaat...Just the thought of it makes me smile...

Somehow everything about India is so perfect.. or atleast thats how I feel... Rehna Tu, Hai Jaisa Tu Thoda sa dard tu, Thoda Sukun

Bath Spa, Wiltshire

I've always wanted an authentic roman experience, and the city of Bath, Wiltshire was a good

one to begin with. We left from our cozy little serviced apartments in Swindon at 8 in the

morning, a little let down by the really windy and cold weather...but happy about the clear

skies.... We hit the train station by about 8:15, and took the 8:30 train to Penzance with

Bath enroute.. I love train journeys and was delighted even while we were boarding the

train.. I chose the window seat and the scene was beautiful with landscapes sprawling

endlessly and farms with really healthy looking (read fat..hehe) cows and sheep.. the houses

in all those little villages were all of the same size and shape and made of a typical red

stone... Arrived at Bath at about 9, and with the help of a tourist guide centre, we planned

our day. As soon as we stepped into the city the georgian architecture of all those

buildings seemed as if the city hasn't changed much from a long time... limestone houses

with really small windows...lots of crescents... abbeys..made me feel like i've gone back in

time.. the most obvious thing a tourist does in an unknown city is take the city tour..

which we did.. The city is known for a lot of little things.. Apparently earlier people

built very small windows in the houses so that only a small portion of daylight gets into

the house. Now people wanted it that way so that they didn't have to pay a lot of tax,

because they were taxed for the amount of daylight getting into the house! (thats where the

saying "daylight robbery" came into picture..)..

The highlights of the city include the Roman bath, which are actually natural mineral hot

water springs from the River Avon (Avon means just river, so "River Avon" is really

just"River River"...) where the romans had a worship place for their goddess "sulis" and so

the place is aptly called "Aquae Sulis"... An interesting place with all the walkie-talkie

assisted self guided toursin and aroud the bath.. The ancient temple relics were also a good

sight to see..

The city is also known for its famous resident.. Jane Austen..and tea.Here tea was regarded as the drink for the upper class and so was made much more expensive than wine or any of the other intoxicating drinks.!

Next we took a ride to take to the stonehenge (meaning the hanging stones).. one of the

wonders of the medival world... the winds at stonehenge almost blew us off.. it was cold as

hell and the so windy.... the wind actually moved us ahead.. so we didn't even need to

walk..:D.. Again, the stonehenge tour was with a self guided walkie-talkie... Now apparently

the stonehenge was built about 3 times and then apparently people just gave up..!..:D.. Each

stone had a reason and history behind it.. Interesting to listen while you stroll around the

structure..

Off from stonehenge we headed to this beautiful little village called the 'lacock village'.

Known for the shooting of 'Pride and Prejudice' on one of the streets and also for

HarryPotter's home.. the house where Voldemort kills Harry's parents James and Lilly

Potter...After seeing these places, We had a nice cup of tea in a Roman Bakery and were off

back to Bath.. On the way back, was Solsbury hill.. atop which Peter Gabriel (of Genesis

fame) had a spiritual change of heard experience and he decided to quit the English band to

start off on his own.... This is where he wrote the song Solsbury hill..(his first solo) The tour guide was nice enough to play the song for us as we went past the scenic hill... 'Had to listen.. had no

choice'..:D :D

Kamath Loka Ruchi

My visit to mysore and other places nearby there, is incomplete without my visit to 'Kamath Loka Ruchi' enroute. The eat-out comes on the Bangalore - Mysore expressway. Recently, I visited the place to have a nice south indian meal with my family. Eating a meal there was a joyful experience as always. I had gone there with a fixed meal in mind - the popular north Karnataka 'jowar roti meals' ( or the jawar bhaakri like they call it)... We were given a multitude of meal-options by the staff there. I chose what I came for. My parents, not knowing better, followed suite. Di ( my sis ) opted for the Karavalli ( costal Karnataka ) meals. For some quaint
reason, my sis and me take unusual delight in having south indian meals...So this was her chance of experimenting. While the meal hadn't arrived, me n sis kept asking one of the waiters about the meal contents.. Gauging our less than perfect kannada, he was nice enough to give us a description of the meal in Hindi. My mouth grew increasingly watery as the minutes snailed by... Finally, they got us plantain leaves and served the first dish - the 'payasam' - a sweet
made out of mung dal and jaggery. I usually avoid sweets. They make me sick. But this payasam was steaming hot... and tempting. So i abandoned my no-sweets diktat for the moment and gulped down the entire cup of it. I din't realise m eating too fast until I saw my parents relish every whit of it. I looked into their plates hoping to get some of their's, but quit the idea soon. They din't look too keen on sharing it either.. :)
Next there was a little salad made out of channa - dal n cucumber, with a glass of machige ( butter milk). A vegetable curry made out of horse gram, followed by some stuffed brinjal...The waiter, dressed in a typically north-karnataka attire, served the garam garam Jowar Rotis topped with a generous helping of butter ( I quickly brushed
aside the calorie-clock ticking in my head...).. I don know how many of the rotis I gorged down ( it was being served continuously ). After having a good share of the rotis, there was rice and drumstick sambar ( a typical south indian lentil dish )... Everybody finished up the meal with a nice helping of fruit salad with icecream ( i dint eat that.. :)..).. Sis meanwhile was enjoying her Karavali meal which had a lot of coconut stew with rice noodles... Had some of that too. Yummy.

Carpe Diem

The last week saw the poet in me squirming for justice..:P
the end result follows

my mind so stuck in vortices...myself I somtimes forget..
memories pull me behind... while something ushers ahead....
it is restful, displeasing to hold on...
while the soul wants to let go..
the past is past...its burried n gone....
n the future comes all too slow...
no more does my heart yearn..
for the events that have gone..
no more does my mind long..
for moments that might not come...
my hopes no longer now hook on
to the hour that'll come n go...
the power of 'here' and the power of 'now'
is all I want to know..

Ramadan

Come Ramadan, and I am drifted back to the evening Iftar parties we used to go for...We had Muslim family friends who invited us for it...It was at their home. As people entered the house, there were cordial 'Ramadan Mubarak' greeting exchanges with the host. We could see people doing rounds serving Rooh Afzah and dates. During a day in Ramadan, people eat once before the sunrise. The meal is called 'seheri' and it is generally had at home with family. After the seheri, people fast the entire day and the idea is that the fast should be broken by eating dates during Iftar (the evening meal that is). After the dates, there used to be an elaborate buffet meal laid out. It usually consisted of a variety of non vegetarian dishes like chicken kababs, gosht biriyanis, haleem and chicken curries. The smile on everyone's famished faces even as the food was being spread out was worth the watch. While the non-vegetarians used to binge on their meal, we were happy scarfing out on the yummy jalebis, samosas, veg biriyani, paneer delicacies and raita.

The delectable 'sevai ki kheer' with lots of dryfruits and nuts was my all time favourite. Once the meal was done, people left after a final round of leave-taking pleasantries...

As a kid, I waited for Iftar just for the kheer. But on second thoughts, it serves as a perfect example of communal harmony and a reminder that any religion is a code of conduct, which eventually terminates at the same place.

Phelps

Got this as a fwd recently...Couldn't just help posting it...!!..lolzz

...a glint across the road.....eyes gleam.....he runs and crosses the road, mother runs behind, ...smack and holler.....his face fell...dampened spirit...moist eyes...lids down with guilt..

new color pencil....his eyes full of mischief....doodles over the wall...dad returns from office....ears nipped...sobs under the pillow cover...

study holiday...his maths book in front....rock dove on windowsill...his thoughts flying high out of the window....startled by a shout...

report card day....singing A+....maths - Fail.....rebuked at home....getting ready for school next day...no bathroom singing......tear drops flow down the sink with shower water..

scrabbles on the classroom desk...muffled yawn....droopy eyes....sent out of class and made to kneel down...

monsoon rains....paper boats...chided for getting wet....

..............................years pass........sparks dwindle down.....

Like a shayari by Nida faizal goes....

bachchon ke chhote haathon ko chaand sitare chhoone do....
chaar kitaben padh kar vo bhii ham jaise ho jaayenge...

It was one of those days when you look at the mirror n decide that its time your tresses need some treatment...(ofcourse this is the case with girls..:P..)..So i ventured out of my house, and the next big hump was 'the where'...With so many new plush salons mushrooming everywhere...one can swoon with the options..n given the phenomenal prices for a seemingly benign haircut...one might even enter a state of irrecoverable delirium.....I looked upon one such salon and decided to give it a chance..I walked in...n falling well with my expectations..it was grand...the walls embellished with supermodel posters...and the staff smiling away at the customers as if their one touch would turn us into nothing less than hollywood divas...Anyway..I walked in and asked for a haircut...The receptionist shouted out for the 'hair stylist' using a masculine name...Out came a man from one of the zillion rooms..I was bewildered...I wasnt quite expecting this ...And before long I was being led by this gentleman to a place where he'd probably treat my hair with big-ticket exotic products before the ensueing hair cut....I was made to sit on a very comfy chair...and the guy dabbed my hair with copius amounts of a seemingly expensive shampoo....After he was done with all the treatment which he thought was 'necessary' before the actual thing, he decided that it was time for a haircut..(finally)....We'll he was done with the job..n i was done a huge sigh...went to pay the bill with a light heart n a heavy pocket....went out of the salon with a heavy heart n a light pocket..!

10th May

Its not uncommon to see primmed up fastidious young people mourning the state of affairs in India today. There are endless crib sessions about how the future of countless Indians lie in the hands of moral underdogs...The conversations have elements of serious concern ranging from poor infrastructure to the state of farmers in our country, from food prices and inflation to crime and injustice crippling our country, and just about anything one can think of under the sun....Ask some of those individuals about whether they exercised their most important right - voting - in order to undefile the debased political scenario, and more often than not the reply will not be in
the affirmative........There'll be a host of pretexts...and all you can do is sigh..

I think its high time we take a pledge...to not talk about swaggering politicians who do nothing except shovelling in hoards of money, when it is us who need some moral police...Lets not go overboard talking about our above average demeanor.....If we cannot be earnest enough in sparing 15 minutes to cast a vote....n if all that an election day means is another holiday then theres little point in talking about anything at all..

The Art of Living

Of all things that can contribute in making the world a better place, 'presence of mind' is undisputedly the most important. To see things as they are is truely a blessing, and this is precisely what the Art Of Living is all about. One may take it for granted, considering the ubiquitous posters present across the city, showing Guruji's ( Sri Sri RaviShankar Ji's) photo. Just like I did....

A couple of years earlier, I was told about the Art of Living by one of my I-wish-well-for-you aunts. I shrugged it off thinking it gonna be yet another one of those yoga courses claiming to turn every mortal cell in your body into divine cosmos overnight....But eversince it had an almost uncanny presence in by mind....The second time I chanced upon the Art of Living was when it had been a mandatory program in my workplace. I cringed. I somehow managed to come through half the program, before I yielded to my less than spiritual self, and called the program quits (upbeat). The third time the harbinger was a pamphlet thrusted into my hand by an old lady who I met when I was blissfully walking some morning in one of my favourite gardens close to my house. She looked not more than 40, and she asked me to guess her age. I was amused, hesitant, and a little irked having to stop the walk to answer this. I gave her a cursory 'could be around 35' answer. ( -5 was just in case my real guess was too much..). Ofcourse she smiled. She said she was 65. (whoa!). She said she had arthritis and a myriad of other health problems...n that now she enjoyed reasonably good health. I was intrigued. I found myself asking her how she managed to do all this....hoping to get some good 'Health Tips'. All she
said was 'be there', pointing to the pamphlet which managed to remain
in my hand till then without much of my notice....This time I din't think...(and thank god for that) and just gave in. I was there on the first day of the Basic course of the Art of Living.

It took this much for me to begin to believe in the Art of Living...and I am more than happy I dint get lazy that morning....:)..Cuz If I hadnt....I'd miss yet another chance of doing a wonderful program..The Sudarshan Kriya that I learnt is far more than just pranayama...It isn't just some breathing techniques...and the experience it leaves you with just cannot be described in words..It has to be felt...I think its one of the most profound experiences physically
, mentally and emotionally....Things seem to be much more seamless and settled down after doing the kriya..Grabbing time to do stuff has given way to finding time to do things....Running behind things is now giving way for letting things happen...Worrying incessantly has given way to surrendering....I wouldnt say things are perfect now....Far from it...There are still days when I feel directionless...But there is also something that tells things will get better....

I had always been skeptical about how a course as simple as this, can claim to change someone's life. But ironically, like Guruji says, the more you think you don't need it, the more you actually do. ..:)...Jai Gurudev.

why do people blog?

Always wondered why people blog....so here i am...doin so mah-self...just to see what people get while bloggin...do people vent out hushed up feelings, n in doin so gain some appreciation...??..i probably wont realise whether tht gives any bit of thrill until i get my first comment..!..so people..u know what m hintin at...(gee..:)..)..cheap me...k...i confess..this blogging thing does seem a lil exiting...for the fact that i can actually write any crap here...n get people to read it ..!..(in case someones actually readin my blog...no offense meant here )...i hope i can come up with certain good things to talk bout my life ( little though there is...)...or maybe talk about more exiting things happening in someone else's life...or maybe not talk about anythin at all...heck what do i write about?...ok lets not talk bout anythin...lets talk about nothing at all...!...silence...!...yeaa....let my first blog be a kinda mournin that m bloggin n someones actually gonna waste 2 precious minutes reading (mournin) it...