The Art of Detachment

They say every person you meet is going to teach you a lesson – good or bad – for he would not only leave his impression on you, but much beyond that an impact which would somewhere, even if a bit, change the way you see the world.

The change, no matter how unwelcoming, would appear superficial, if you wouldn’t let it sink in, and sneak away without even letting you know. But there are going to be a few disheartening ones. You would not even want to turn back the pages of your life, would instead skip those chapters, so you don’t end up chewing over the things that happened, were said or got done. Even if you do, it would only match churning of some tasteless cud in your mind you would merely want to spit off.

People – they have that kind of impact on you, and how! I have heard this is apparently the most talked about topic around the globe. People. We have the power to transfer our vibes onto others, the magnetic aura we bear has an immense power to reverse all positivity into absolute negativity or vice versa. Our vibes, in a way, speak out our mind for us. So, you would surely get to know if people hate you inside even if they never say a word regarding this on your face.

Ever wondered how wonderful it would be, if we, having understood how getting in touch with people affects us psychologically, emotionally and socially, learn the art of detachment? First rule, however, of detachment game would be never going back to the same phase of your life, shuffling Rubik’s cube, testing out perms and combos while pondering on ifs and buts. A stage of complete cut off would initially seem tough, but that’s all in how you cajole your mind into thinking about other more interesting stuff.  

If you’re lucky, there will be moments when all the negative elements around you would voluntarily buzz off. Stop for a moment to thank them all, for the Satan inside them has finally spared you off its wrath. The ones who are nothing but pile on’s could be shown, very politely, the way to the exit through your actions. You never know, your vibes might as well knock the socks off their negatives.

Detaching would never come easy, for your mind would always want to hop off into the negative mode, thinking how alone/lonely it feels because of the people who didn’t care, but, on a brighter side, detachment would always open new doors of fresher possibilities for you, leading you into a brighter, independent path where you would find yourself happier in absence of all such creeps.

Detachment, I am sure, would bring along a thousand reasons for you to thank God for a blessed life you never knew existed in store for you. After all, we are surely not weak to blame people for how we feel – we know Karma is a bitch and surely that detachment would bring along great satisfaction of leaving everything to the stars and moving ahead with the things that matter!

Honeymoon Diaries Part 3: Vishakhapatnam: No Other Place I Would Rather Be

I'm sure God had personally set the plan for us – perfect place, perfect hotel, perfect set of people and perfect weather – no other place would have treated us better; it had to be his hometown!

The first day, around 11 in the morning, we reached Vishakhapatnam, the city of destiny as they call it. We reached the hotel where we had planned to stay – Novotel – one decision I am really proud of. 

What a treat it was – the rooms, the service, the view, the quality of the food they served – everything was out of this world! Driving you a bit offbeat, I would like to mention that there are times in life when we can’t thank few people enough – the people we call friends. His one such friend, Kalyan, took so good care of us during our short stay that saying ‘thank you’ would only nullify his efforts. He sent us a car, with a friendly driver, to pick us up and take us wherever we wanted to go. Kalyan also did a superb job by giving us a bullet to ride on wherever we wished to. I cannot really write my husband's feelings while riding the bullet, his favorite machine, by the sea, with me riding as pillion - it was mesmerizing, like a dream come true! Things got even better when my parents landed the same evening.

We went for dinner to one of his relative’s home and the moments we spent there were overwhelming. We had a great time eating great food and talking our hearts out. We could not, for a moment, feel that both our families were from two different states and cultures.

The next morning, we headed for the famous Simhachalam Temple. His one more friend had his father as the head priest of the temple. Therefore, we could get VIP entry and special pooja done for all our family members and the bliss we all experienced there can't be summed up in words. Once we were back at the hotel, we decided to head to the beach and give it a polar-bear hug – needless to say, we all had an amazing time there J

The same evening, we had our wedding reception planned. The kind of reception I received, being a new entrant to his family, was so heart-warming that I was floating in clouds. I tried reciprocating all the love I received from the elders and the kids, and so did my family. Thanking my new family for this love would never be enough. Having reached the hotel, we (my family and my husband) sat by the pool and tried to re-live the day’s happenings. The sea breeze helped us freshen up and live each moment we were breathing there.

The next morning, my brother had an early flight to catch, therefore we bade him adieu and set off for Rushikonda beach. Thereafter, we saw our parents off, who too had to head back home. We reached our hotel and decided to head to the hotel gym. The amazing time working out together, and then while taking steam bath energized every cell in our bodies and we were all set for a new phase of adventures.

The two days we stayed back together was our private time together, so to say J We spent the best time meeting relatives and friends, seeking blessings at Sampath Vinayagar Temple, shopping jewelry, riding bike in the entire city, even when it was raining, eating at the most fabulous places in Vizag – Daspalla's Dimple Rooftop Restaurant, Dolphin Hotel, Cabana and Novotel and the climax: riding a speed boat in the sea at Rushikonda beach. Our honeymoon just couldn’t have been better than this. All this while, the weather in Vizag was similar to heaven. Only when we were heading back that it was hot there – probably, the place wasn’t happy seeing us leaving. One more incident which brings smiles to our faces is the meeting with one of his friend's mom on our way back to the airport. This friend, Chandrashekhar’s mom not only blessed us, the newly wedded couple, and gave us goodies to take along back home, but also offered “Bournvita” to us, the kids! Never ever in my life had anyone offered me Bournvita when I visited them. This cute incident made me hug the lady even tighter – people have THAT kind of influence on you J

With this, my extended honeymoon came to an end and I must say that this was THE best time of my life. Not only this trip got us emotionally closer to each other, but also introduced a new level of intimacy which wasn’t there when we were dating. We also got together as a family, a unit – my family lovingly accepted my husband as a member and so did he. We all had an amazing time exploring a new place and new relations.

I can say God listens to all the prayers and how! With our each breath ticking the life away, our gratitude to them increases manifolds. 

The Aura of the Airport

This is one first-hand experience, ‘another first’ this year, of seeing someone off at the airport. I have always been on the other side of the story, happily bidding adieu, boarding the flights while looking forward to my journeys. During all these farewell cheers, I could never understand why my parents used to shed tears, for a dimwit like me had never felt that heart-wrenching sentiment of biding au revoir and returning home with a feeling of having left something at the airport.

This time it was my brother who decided to take his career to a new level, stepping out of his comfort zone, punching hard the challenge, right on its nose. And there, a new experience set its first foot in my life. The aura there, it just gets into your nerves, slowly reaching each limb, weakening them from within, making them anorexic that you just go weak and cannot help but cry.

I stood there, noticing the scenario around and here, I've tried jotting down the snippets of the things I can, now, only sum up to call it all a ‘feeling’. I saw parents hugging their kids tight, with tears in their eyes, though waving their hands, still unable to say goodbye; fathers clutching mothers’ hands and holding them while they walked out of the parking spaces; spouses leaving and the partners who got to stay not able to bid adieu with a smile (I also saw a couple or two cuddling, which, apparently, made my heart grow fonder and brought along an 'aww' monent); a few grandmothers who were checking from a never-ending checklist the things their kids, who were leaving, should do when they land and the things they should never do when they land; friends exchanging hugs and high-fives — uncounted prayers, well-wishes, hugs, kisses, talks - sad and happy - all enclosed in oodles of LOVE. You don’t feel the world is going to come to an end, you want to forget about wars, you don’t want to remember all those who have been hostile to you, not helped, never cared… you only want to remember this moment, the feeling, the thoughts, what you should say, what you shouldn't, the prayers and the best wishes. The only thing that makes one cry is the aura of the airport, which makes LOVE flow along!

I remember this dialog, which actually made me skip a beat when I'd heard it for the first time, from the movie, Love Actually:

“Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around.”

I concede that I shed a few tears when I was seeing my brother off, but I cried my guts out during my travel back home – this experience possibly drew me closer to him, way more closer than I’d ever thought I’d ever be. I think the distance does that to you, the AURA does that to you!

Daddy Was a Thief

I have challenged myself to complete a blog in half an hour – a ‘first’ in my life. I guess I want to give a new dimension to 2014 by filling this year with a series of many ‘firsts’ – things I have never tried before. So, this is one THAT thing I would want myself see doing.

I am digging into my own life to look for something worth sharing – which could be my one great writing and your one great read. Alright, what better than this new game that I have downloaded from Android store – Daddy Was A Thief!

I know the name is extremely funny and suspicious, too, but this game is surely worth a download, two hours of casual playing as long as it continues to entertain you and kill your spare time and lastly, an uninstall, too. That’s what Angry Birds did to us, right? We all have had enough of it till it started to taste stale!

So, Daddy here gets pinkslipped, seen with the harsh “You’re FIRED” letter from his boss, doesn't think anyone would give him another job now that he is out of work and further thinks of robbing a bank for he worries about the survival of his “boodhi ma and kuwaari behen” J How I wonder these guys are least concerned about their own selves but their families.

Anyway, he jumps off, having robbed a real big bank (exactly like the one we saw in Dhoom 3), from the rooftop on to a building and THERE, your role begins. Apparently, it’s YOU who has to save daddy from being caught or worse, from being dead. So, you help him break his way, apartment by apartment, to a lower floor, so as to reach his way to the ground so he could catch his way back home. These floors are worse than that of the buildings we find in Mumbai or Old Delhi – Daddy just has to jump hard to break them – eh?

Anyway, the houses are equally funny, with a grandma, with exceptional martial arts skills, moving across any single floor, a bored man fiddling with a TV remote which apparently passes current and might possibly kill Daddy if he comes in the middle of the TV and the remote – well, who cares about that ugly, bored man J – and a few policemen wandering inside the houses.

I wonder what made the game developer slate the game's name in past tense, for every time you play this game, Daddy turns into a brand new thief – a fresh pinkslip, fresh wounds, fresh robbery and fresh motive to cause mega destruction and fresh struggle to find his way out of this sky-kissing building. Step into the shoes of Daddy who would never be a proven thief if he never gets caught.

No, this is not a promotion campaign that I am running to promote this game. I am admitting you might find it extremely boring or rather cold if you play a lot of similar games on your android device but this game has apparently got a decent rating (4.5) and cool number for downloads (close to 10 millions). So, as I said worth an evening’s play and worth THAT uninstall if you think watching Aravind Kejriwal on TV is far better than playing this!

And yay! I successfully completed a 30-minute blogpost J

Cheers amigos for reading this!  

Keep Calm and Use This!

It is one of those days when I feel the presence of so many bitches surrounding me, keeping a check on me to know what I do, how I do it and if doing nothing, then just being there like a spy counting my breaths. It’s like you were leading your life peacefully, oblivious to all the political, social and miscellaneous shit happening around and suddenly, you get poked in your ribs, jabbed on your back and punched on your face for the sheer reason that you were not paying attention. Why does the world starve for my attention to begin with? I doubt if it is made of gold!

There have been instances when I was so less concerned about the people around me that they had to do something as silly as climbing a tree on their back to get my eyes on them. And then, there have been those instances, too, when my response to any situation they pulled me in was appalled at just because my (weird) thoughts fertilized those words.

I am a person who loves to live in my dream-bubble, which is so often gemmed with luxuries like creativity, experiments, yearnings, desires, aim, talent, plans and more plans. I am so happy dwelling in my-this-prized-mansion that many a times, I do not feel the need of any next-in-number thing around me (living or non-living). Since the bitches around do not pay attention to the implied meanings of my face expressions, most of the times, they end up calling me anti-social or worse, arrogant.

This is one of those days when I see my ‘self’ getting lost in the smoke these bitches have filled my mansion with. Well, I stay calm and wait for this bad air to get cleared. I am sure moods change and so do people; for bitches, I could never say anything with absolute certainty but I am sure even they would someday get tired of being ignored and would opt for an alternate path to tread on. I wish I had something like this to shoo them all away! 

 

Embracing the discomfort

My life swears to obey by the famous French saying, the only thing constant in life is change. Conquering the apprehensiveness, skepticism and anxiety that comes along with the nearing ‘change’ surely seems a task big enough to discourage many ‑ for others, growing and evolving is a message every second ticking away leaves in mind.

So, I made my mind to move ahead in my professional life having left behind a plethora of memories which were weaved, thread by thread, in the three years I had spent in my previous organization. I feel it’s absolutely correct that when there are no external forces to make you feel uncomfortable, you never feel the need to break the cocoon of comfort and step out. That’s why, along with change, one thing that I would happily embrace all my life would be ‘discomfort’. This feeling of uneasiness made me feel I am worth more and the belief paved my way to success and a more worthy life.

Stepping into the change and finally experiencing it have been two exciting phases in my recent life. I dare say that I am living the dream of millions—no matter how dearly I thank my God for this, it will still be less. Living every bit of my entrepreneurial role, I feel I am no less than a CEO of a big MNC. Thankfully, the atmosphere I got is conducive enough to write my success story without considering any punctuation marks. Did I say before that I am a real lucky bum; anyways, I don't mind tossing a flying kiss to sky again!

Lastly, the learning life has made me take back home is:

The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.