THINK POSITIVE

Happy 79th Independence Day!! We celebrate freedom every year, but do we actually understand it? Or has freedom become an excuse to break rules and forget our responsibilities? This 15th August morning, I woke up to the disturbing noise of loud exhausts and continuous honking by a group of bikers near my home. It instantly took me back to my good old school days when Independence Day carried a very different vibe—a sense of pride, a feeling of freedom, and a day filled with the reverberance of patriotic songs and themes. However, these days, at least in my city, the occasion has sadly turned into an excuse to create nuisance on the roads through bike rallies, blaring exhausts, endless honking, and blocking traffic. Many young people think this is what freedom means—to break rules, behave in an uncivilised manner, and act as if they are above the law. This left me wondering: Is this the freedom we got, or the one we chose? Over time, the memory of India’s great struggle for independ...

On a pleasant Sunday evening, I was savoring Panipuri with a friend at a roadside stall. The spiciness of the ‘Paani’ had both my eyes and mouth watering, and I was thoroughly enjoying it. I even asked the vendor for another plate. As I indulged in the crispy panipuris, I noticed a man walk up to the stall with his wife and three daughters. At first, I thought they were there for some snacks as well, but they stood across the road, while only two of the daughters approached the vendor with excitement. I assumed the parents weren’t interested in having any. The older of the two daughters asked the vendor the price of Panipuri, and he replied, “Rs. 40 per plate.” In an instant, their excitement faded, replaced by polite smiles, and they returned to their father. Even though I was across the road, I could overhear their conversation. The father, shaking his head, said, “It’s too expensive,” and firmly declined. They all walked away, empty-handed. Although the thought of helping crossed my...

I'm a Coldplay fan! When it was announced that Coldplay was hosting a concert in India, I was over the moon, thinking I might finally get a chance to see them live. But to my disappointment, the tickets sold out within minutes. Today, some of those tickets are being resold on platforms like Viagogo for a jaw-dropping ₹9.9 lakhs. Yes, you read that right—₹9.9 lakhs for a concert ticket! What really surprised me, though, was seeing people crying on social media about missing out on the tickets, as if it was the end of the world. Intrigued, I dug deeper and found interviews where many admitted they weren’t even that familiar with Coldplay’s music. They simply didn’t want to miss out on what was deemed " the event of the year" . I couldn’t help but think: Really? I also noticed this phenomenon in other aspects as well.  It's interesting, and a bit disheartening, to think that something as deeply personal and spiritual as a holy journey could be influenced by FOMO (Fear o...

(Illustrative image) It was a festival morning, and I found myself soaking in the vibrant atmosphere of the day. I sat in the balcony, watching people pass by in their festive attire, their faces glowing with joy and celebration. The air was filled with laughter, the aroma of special dishes, and the spirit of festivity.   Amidst this colorful scene, my attention was drawn to a woman walking down the road. She was dressed in ragged clothes, holding an infant in her arms. Two small children, likely around 3 to 5 years old, trailed behind her, barefoot. One of the younger ones stumbled and fell, scraping his knees on the hard ground. I watched, expecting the usual reaction - a cry for comfort, tears welling up in the child's eyes, and a mother rushing to console him. But to my surprise, none of that happened. The mother turned back, and for a brief moment, their eyes met. The child, with a look of quiet determination, got back on his feet, dusted off his scraped knees, and continued w...

A few days back I left my office at about 6 o'clock in the evening and I was heading towards the parking. On my way, I noticed a plant called Tacoma with beautiful yellow flowers. I immediately took out my phone and took the above picture. This plant with beautiful flowers was very pleasing to the eyes. This plant was not planted there on purpose. Yet somehow it managed to find enough soil, water, and nutrients to grow itself. What are the odds that it grows up in such a tiny gap between the concrete pavers and a brick wall?  This plant immediately seeded a thought in my mind.  We often complain in our lives about not being in a place we desire or not getting things we wish for. Some even grieve throughout their life failing to realize that the life they had could have been lived better had they focused on different things. You are feeling you are not where you want to be, you are supposed to be somewhere else. Say you could snap your finger and be wherever you wanted to ...

Its been a long time since I posted my last blog. So many blogs in "Drafts" but I have been just lazy not to finish them. But every now then I see an inspiration around me that makes want to share it with you all.  It was a late evening in the scorching heat of Delhi in the month of May and I was sitting in the waiting room of Nizamuddin Railway Station waiting for arrival of my train back home. The waiting room was a mini India where people from all parts of the country where waiting to catch their train. Amidst the chaos in the waiting room, walks in a skinny old man in his late 70s carrying a bunch of baggage lock chains and repair tools in his hand with a backpack. His face was wrinkled and body was bent but there was no sign of tiredness on his face. The temperature on that day in Delhi was over 45 degree Celsius and still hadn't cooled down in the evening. Whole Delhi was exhausted from the heat including me, except this old man who had a charm of a young man on his...

Movies play a vital role in our society. Some movies or scenes from movies make a big impact on our lives. One such movie scene in my life is an old 80’s Kannada movie named Rama-Lakshmana. Although I don’t recall the whole movie, there is this song titled “Nodiddu Sullagabahudu” (which means whatever you see could be false) that had a great impact on me. This song which is in a “Katha Roopaka” form, narrates a story of a woman called Gangamma. Some of you might have had this story in your school book.  The story briefly goes like this: Gangamma decides to go out and fetch water from outside. But seeing her baby sleeping she calls out mongoose and tells it to take care of the baby. After a while when Gangamma returns, she sees the mongoose standing at the door with blood around its mouth. She immediately concludes that the mongoose had killed her baby and kills the mongoose. She then rushes inside to see the baby. She is shocked to see that the baby is laughing in the cradle and ...

For most people, 2020 has not been a good year. The pandemic brought the fast-paced modern life to a complete standstill.  Billions of lives have been affected by this pandemic. Everybody lived in fear of what would lie ahead. A year that most would want to forget soon.  However, things were different for me this year.  For me, it was a discovery of true love and the beginning of a beautiful relationship .  A year of a new beginning.   After a ride through the roller coaster, it's been a year since we are engaged to each other. Yet, it feels just like a month ago. A great start to the lifetime of togetherness.   Before this, everyone one of my well-wishers was questioning as to when will I get married. Wherever I would go, this question used to follow me like a shadow. Used to make me wonder as to why this relationship of all is given such significance in life.   I used to ask people about how their married life is. They used...

One of the properties of water that makes it so easy to store is its liquid state. It takes the shape of wherever you put it in. Be it glass, bottle, tank, and so on. Water adapts its shape as per its surroundings. We don’t realize how difficult would it be to store water if not for its liquid state. That’s just the nature of all the elements in the liquid state.    Likewise, a human mind also adapts to its surroundings. Our mind is directly influenced by the people we interact with daily. It is our subconscious that slowly adopts our mind to our surroundings and before we know, we end up being a person we never thought you would be.   For instance, a person surrounded by people addicted to bad things gets addicted to such things before he even realizes. Similarly, if you are surrounded by people who are dishonest and unfaithful, it’s only a matter of time before you end up being one too. You start justifying all the wrong things you do.   Take a look at ...

Dear Dad,   Today it’s been 20 years without you and I have missed you in every stage of my life.     Though I was a kid then, I still remember the day when that saddest moment struck our life. The cries of that day still echo in my ears. It is unforgettable and the wound still is fresh. I never got a chance to say a proper goodbye. This still haunts me and makes me sleepless at night. I have spent countless nights imagining how wonderful would have been our lives if we all were still together.   It was hard growing up without you. But Mom is a warrior. She played the role of you as well. She made life look so easy for us, while she fought the ocean inside her. She used to hide her tears just so that we don’t feel sad. Didi also played a very crucial role in my life. Whenever I was sad, she used to console me like a mother and a best friend. She sacrificed so many of her wishes so that I could fulfill mine.   Both Mom and Didi together showed me the ...

Before I share my experience with you, I would like to ask you a question. Take your time to answer this question. Which is the most important profession or job or business in the world? Write down your answer on a piece of paper. The answer to the above question is written in the later part of this blog. Let's see if we both agree.  Here’s my experience. About a month or so, it was quite late at night and I was returning home. I decided to fuel up my vehicle just to avoid long Q in the morning. As I entered the fuel station, there was a car already being fuelled up. As I got closer I heard the attendant and car owner quarreling over something. I couldn’t understand what was that about. The car owner drove off after fuelling and before he left he said to the petrol bunk attendant ‘apni aukaat me rehena’.   Next, as the attendant approached me to fuel my car, I asked him what happened. The attendant said that he requested the owner not to talk over the phone at the fuel s...

We millennials often hear people say that things should happen at the right time. One should get a job before 25 and marry before 30 and so on. As if like somebody has laid down a time table of events in our lives, one is forced to follow the same.   Why is so much stress is laid out on these timelines? They are not the physical development of our body to happen in time but mere social things.   These timelines have put most of us under stress. What happens if you get a job or start a business after 30? Well, if you are determined to achieve what you desire nothing can stop you from doing it. So is buying your first home or car or getting married at a later age. These things should happen whenever you are ready and not because they have to happen at a certain age. But that doesn't mean you sit and just wait for the right time to come.    What is the right time you ask?   Well, it’s when you are ready. Let me tell you one thing here. It’s not that...

I make new year resolutions every year. Most of us do. But, how many of us achieve them? Only a handful. Research shows that only 5% of people achieve their new year goals.   What about the rest? Well, it seems their motivation fades away with time.   This is not only in the case of new year resolution but, in our day-to-day life as well. A simple example is that many of us think of getting up early but when the alarm rings, we snooze it to the next day. Similarly, when we plan for losing some extra pounds, we start with a bang but, only very few keep going. We won’t think of doing it again until we get motivated.   There are two types of motivation. What we look outside is called extrinsic motivation. They are outside factors that influence us to do a task in order to fulfill our desire. It can be the desire for money, luxury things in life, family pressure, pressure from society, and many more. This type of motivation is good only for the short term.   ...

Often people say they have true best friends who are like family and some say they have family who are like best friends. In my case, I am one of the few lucky ones to have both.   Who is a true friend you ask? Well it is quite a bit different from what you think.   Everybody thinks being true best friends means doing non-sense things in life together or having drinks together or being partners in doing the wrong things in life.   But, a true best friend is not someone who joins you or has your back when you do something wrong. Instead, a true friend will be the first person to scold you or even beat you when you do something wrong. Because they never want you to go in the wrong direction. They want you to follow the path of what’s best for you.   A true friend will never let you do wrong things that may cause any damage to you or put you in harm’s way. They want you to be the happiest and healthiest version of you.   At the same time, they w...

A friend of mine bought an expensive SUV last year. At the time, I had asked him whether it was really necessary for him to spend so much on a car that he wouldn’t use that often. For which he said that everybody would be so impressed by his expensive SUV. For a year or so, all his posts on social media were filled up the pictures of the car at different places.   A year later now, when   I asked him about his car, he said that the maintenance and running costs are very expensive and that he is regretting his decision of buying an SUV. It has become a liability in his life. He further said that he should have opted for a smaller car that would have been more suitable to his city lifestyle.   Similarly, another friend of mine bought a flat couple of years ago at an expensive location in Bangalore. Although not big enough for comfort, it was very expensive because of its locality. I had told him that he should buy a bigger home which was just a bit further from the ...