Sleep on a Chocolate!!!

My life is simple and my solutions to most problems tend to be just the same, simple. In fact, my only two solutions to any problem are “sleep on it” or “have a chocolate…”

I mean it, I really cannot think of any better solutions than those for any problem at hand. I shall illustrate for your benefit:

1. You: “I am having a bad day”

Me: “have a chocolate”

2. You: “I am feeling low”

Me: “sleep on it”

3. You: “I am feeling bad about …”

Me: “have a chocolate”

4. You: “I did something bad today and am feeling guilty”

Me: “sleep on it”

5. You: “theres this gal I like and she doesn’t like me”

Me: “have a chocolate and then sleep on it”

6. You: “theres this guy I dislike and he keeps bugging me”

Me: “sleep on it and think about chocolates”

(this advice is obviously intended for women who for some reason need to watch their figures and will keep away from chocolates)

7. You: “I haven’t studied at all for the test”

Me: “have a chocolate”

8. You: “I had a fight with a friend”

Me: “sleep on it”

9. You: “I hate the food in the canteen”

Me: “have a chocolate”

10. You: “I am in a financial crunch”

Me: “sleep on it”

Hence I hope you have understood that the best advice you can receive from me is to have a chocolate and sleep on it… So the next time you are in a dilemma and need advice, first have a chocolate and then sleep on it. If you still need help, I am always here for you (but I am gonna give you the same advice so I dunno how that will help but anyways…)

(this advice though seemingly sarcastic and stupid is based on very scientific grounds. For starters, chocolate is considered by most doctors as a calming agent. Cocoa in the chocolate serves as a very good stress reliever. Sleep on the other hand, helps clear all doubts in our mind especially because it ensures our mind gets much needed relaxation. A combination of both of course is the best solution I can provide you because then you are much calmer and relaxed and in a better position to solve any probem with a clear head… don’t overdo it though. A chocolate a day and no more. Even that chocolate needs an outlet cause, as one of my best friends would tell you, there are infinite calories in chocolate. Not that she would ever need to watch them but she does so… Sleep is good but a maximum of 8 hours a day… don’t stretch it and don’t let it overwhelm your work schedule. So next time you are stressed out about something, sleep on a chocolate!)

I Want You to Know...

I want you to know, you give me meaning,

I want you to know, you are the reason I am living,

I want you to know, you are the spark in my life,

I want you to know, you carry me outta every strife,

I want you to know, you still give me goose bumps with your smile,

I want you to know, you I could recognize even from a mile,

I want you to know, you will always remain with me in my heart,

I want you to know, you I will love even if our ways we part,

I want you to know, I want you to feel, I want you to sigh,

Cause I don’t wanna leave anything unsaid when the angels ask me to fly…

Fooled by Love

WOW… I cannot believe I am writing this. For starters because I would be the last person to talk about being mature in love but I suppose as you grow older, experiences teach you a thing or two about life. I have recently been flooded by news of heartbreaks and new affairs all laced in tons of confusion and absolute madness. After long and detailed thought about what I might write here, I finally remembered this title that my stats professor had talked about. It’s a book called ‘Fooled by Randomness’ and is supposedly a very candid and sarcastic take on a lot of capital issues and how random their behavior is, how after much indepth research and analysis, the experts are brought down by complete and utter random behavior. This of course is much the same in case of love. Hence the apt title- ‘Fooled by Love.’

Love, (ironically coming from me) is highly over-rated. In fact, the people in the age group of 16-30 are so desperate to fall in love, they forget that they have a life to contend with too. So madly do they fall in love that there is absolutely no scope to continuing a normal existence governed by simplicity. So many believe that love is understood by them and is all about whether or not two people want to spend their lives in the company of each other. Yeah sure. If it were that simple, common sense wouldn’t be so uncommon.

The trouble lies at the root of all the relationships i.e. at the very beginning. People fail to understand that before you get into a relationship, you have to lay down the basic groundwork and a foundation built on the understanding of where you are heading and what your options are in the long run. I know it is stupid to be considering marriage after (or before) even the first date. Isn’t it obvious though, that such a discussion is absolutely essential to determining a successful and peaceful relationship? I have seen so many fall for each other despite knowing the obstacles that lie ahead of them and then later struggling to come to terms with their situations which of course snow-balls into a bad case of heart-break and heart-ache. Many go ahead with an attitude of ‘jo hoga, dekha jayega.’ Nahi boss, aise nahi chalta hai zindagi mein. You must consider your backgrounds first and foremost. You must essentially be able to understand the views your parents hold on the subject because no matter what you think, your parents are the ones who understand every bone of your character and will stand by you through thick and thin. They also know what is best for you and even if they don’t, it takes a very mature individual to tackle the situation tactfully. Sorry to admit it but in my young existence I have seen few and far between who might be capable of doing that.

Another thing to understand is of course the fact that the relationship might fail despite everything else falling in place. The groundwork might be perfect for the two of you but it still wouldn’t work out because essentially for any situation in life to work, there has to be some piece of imperfection. We humans are governed by an affinity towards imperfections. To state an example, what would you prefer listening to, a playlist which always plays songs in a particular sequence or one which uses a shuffle function to introduce randomness? The need to be mature enough to be prepared for unexpected twists and turns in love goes without saying.

To conclude, I suppose I would be telling you how important it is to be able to clearly define what you have and what you are getting into before you take that first step. To be able to clearly lay a path that you might tread and establish unshakeable faith in each other is quintessential to a successful and stress-free relationship. Yet, I admit there is every possibility of a relationship working out smoothly despite breaking all norms and being solely based on each other. Well, eventually in life we all are at some point or the other, “FOOLED BY LOVE.”

WORDS

Someone asked what defines my existence,

I pondered long and wondered about my pertinence,

What is the one thing I cannot live without,

That one thing that I have that I could flout,

Would it be something material I have like money or cars or a big piece of land?

But what would I do with these things that would one day be sand?

And then I wondered about all my friends,

Wondered about all the times we have spent,

All those memories I hold so dear,

Those moments of happiness, sadness, hope and fear,

I remembered all the times id been in beautiful love,

The times when my heart had fluttered as gracefully as a dove,

But nothing compared to my first thought, not the blue skies or the beautiful birds,

Cause dad and mom, I hold closest to me, all your beautiful words…

The Center of the Universe

Have you ever tried to quantify where the centre of the universe might be located? Actually do you believe that the universe could have a quantifiable center to it? After all, the universe is infinite so technically there could be no center to it right? Or in contrary terms, because the universe is infinite, I am the center of the universe. (talk about being self centered, huh?) well actually, if you think about it in terms of your own life, you are the center of the universe for yourself. Everything that happens is entirely related and intended for you in some way or the other. Everything is happening precisely for you and for no one else. Everyone in your life exists solely to serve a purpose in your life and for no other reason. What you define that reason to be is completely up to you and how you want that reason to influence your life is something that is completely your own prerogative. Think about it with a sound and practical voice of reason. Nothing and no one in this world is as important as you because if you aren’t around, the universe ceases to exist in its current form (for you at least…) Every event in your life is taking you somewhere to a final destination. Everybody else is just a passenger and you are the sole reason they are travelling. Everything they do is somehow serving a purpose to service some need in your life.

It’s a view that could help you perceive life in an all new light. Whether you land up as the most famous and successful individual ever or not, you are all that matters to your existence on the face of this planet. Even the most successful people in this world serve as gossip in your life. Think about it, their whole existence is simply to provide for that minute of gossip in your life, no more! After all, our very existence is a freak mishap that none of us can explain or understand clearly so why burden ourselves with petty details of how and why? Why not simply revel in the fact that the only thing that matters is you. Its such a comforting thought if you believe that you are the center of all existence and everyone else is just secondary. I could come up with a whole lotta terminologies here and go on expanding this theory into that of multiple dimensions co-existing at the same time, an analogy on how love changes this uni-dimensional point of view into a multi-dimensional one and how people compromise on their existence for someone else. What a bloody waste of time as the center of this universe. Well nonetheless, I wont. I have neither the time nor an inclination to write a self-help book to help pessimists see the positive side of life. I am sure there are plenty of wannabe writers out there who would help with that. To me, it was just something absurd that popped up in my head some time ago that I have been playing around with. Have fun imagining yourself as the center of the universe and the most important person, event, place or time in the universe… period.

I have to get back to my life (which ironically means trying to finish a terrible self-help book for a book review…) damn, THIS universe sucks… got space in yours for me?

Love is difficult to get by,

Sometimes it leaves you just when you are feeling high,

Just when you thought things would be right,

It suddenly disappears right outta sight,

And then we wonder what it was that we did wrong,

Then we wonder why all it gave us was a sad song,

But then a broken heart is what teaches you the true meaning,

Of being in love, of truly feeling,

What it means to have felt someone as a part of you,

What it means to love someone, pure and true,

After all, love could never have been beautiful if you hadn’t let it go,

Cause then when the right person came along, you wouldn’t know,

Cause you would be blind to their presence,

Always hoping for that one essence,

Love isn’t about how close you held,

Its all about the way your heart swelled,

It isn’t about perennially being with your sweetheart,

Its about being able to let them depart,

Wonder why sometimes its so hard for us to realize,

That sadness doesn't necessarily follow demise,

That the end of one phase marks the beginning of another,

That in time our heart will once again flutter,

That the best isn’t getting over in a hurry,

We’ve only just begun and theres no reason to worry,

Start afresh, cause today is a brand new day,

A kiss for luck and you are on your way!

Discrimination

Last night, as is the norm in most hostels, some of us had a debate (and a passionately heated one at that.) The topic largely involved our definition of what it meant to be an Indian. I was largely aloof from the discussion for the longest time but well as you know, I am very passionate about my beautiful country and its unique unity in diversity. Nothing ruffles up my feathers as someone who would remind me or let me rephrase that, as someone who would want to categorise me on the basis of my religion. I am an Indian first and foremost and don’t you dare try to factionalise me on basis of religion, caste, creed or a regional belonging. I despise all those who would want to do anything of the sort.

I really couldn’t keep my mouth shut after a short period when one of the guys got aggressive about his own religion. What really ticked me off though, was the fact that he said he was able to express his views because all the people in the room were not from that religion and mentioned me as a hindu. I am deeply religious and do visit my temples on a regular basis but I also visit the churches, mosques, fire temples and gurudwaras. All religions are on the same level for me and I will not take crap against any one of them from anyone. I live in a “secular democracy” where everyone is at the same level and must view the others with the same respect as he would view himself. If you tell me that you consider one group of people as the source of unrest, then I am sorry to say that your views are largely misinformed and highly communal. To me, you are the one at fault. You are the one discriminating against a single religious sect. I do concede that there are fanatics on either side but if you are a fanatic after 23 years of education and more importantly, if you subscribe to such views after having proven yourself worthy enough to be among the elite in this country and being here in an institute worthy of me, I am sorry to say your education has been futile. If all the education has not taught you that you are an Indian first and last, you might as well start all over again. How dare you tell me that this country is largely dominated by a certain sect of people. This country is as much yours as someone else’s who might be the only follower of his religion. This is a democracy that respects and treats everyone equally. If you do not subscribe to the same views, you might want to change your views sooner than later.

This country was built on a very strong foundation of non-violence and indiscrimination. Our views are liberal enough to not even distinguish against those who oppressed us and we welcomed them to be a part of us even after independence. No one in this nation is inferior or superior as opposed to another on the basis of caste, creed, gender or any other distinguishing criteria. How dare you tell me of all people, that your views just stem from your heart and although your mind says you might be wrong, you accept that view point without reasoning with yourself. How dare you say you do not reason for yourself and accept what is the norm. Nothing in the world could ever be acceptable without a rational explanation or justifiable reasoning. And such a statement from a 26 year old graduate? I was ashamed at myself for having been silent and letting the debate reach a level where someone would make a statement such as “… my brain says I might be wrong but the hate stems from my heart and I accept it without reasoning. It is rooted deep within me…” My nation having had fallen to such levels? Why have we opened so many schools at such huge subsidies? The education is fruitless. If the youth of today really can still subscribe to such an erroneous view, we truly deserve to be called an un-developed nation.

You talk about riots instigated by one sect? What do you think your sect is… a group of saints? Who gave either sect a right to hack down the countless citizens of my nation on the basis of a couple of irresponsible acts and remarks? My nation stands amongst the most rapidly developing nations in the world today because it was not built on foundations ravaged by violent civil wars or bloody battles, it was built on the foundations of peace and non-violence. All those who believe that Mr. M. K. Gandhi chose the wrong weapon to fight for our freedom, please do a thorough research on the topic before forming such an abstract and aggressive opinion. Show me a single “progressive and peaceful” nation built on the foundations of a bloody uprising. Show me a single such nation that would allow its citizens such an open hand in terms of the views they hold. Show me a single such nation with liberal views and such freedom in terms of thought and expression. The way to progress is in realizing that way lies forward in terms of co-operation and co-existance. Factionalism and discrimination can only take us one way and that is to a civil war. Once again, we might be brought back to a time when the winning group ends up suppressing the loser and builds a nation built on the foundations of blood-shed and deep-rooted hatred. I implore you to open your eyes to the world around you and realize that your happiness lies in the happiness in that immediate environment. A single faction of discontent in that space would mean a catastrophic end to that state of perfect balance. Please do reason for yourself as to why you subscribe to a certain point of view. Can you logically justify those views you hold?

And for god’s sakes, please do not read this article and be influenced by it. These are the views held by a certain individual who might have formed it without indepth reasoning or research. Please, if you wish to influenced at all by it, be influenced enough to kindly argue and question your own beliefs and arguments. If you cannot justify them, do not hold on to them and please try and find out why. Please do not let my beloved country be inhabited by a bunch of people who refuse to think. Please do not let it get to a stage where we reach the death of reason, especially not if you are educated enough to be reading this.

(I am sorry if I have been too passionate in this article but I couldn’t stand it. I love my nation and dare I say, this whole world at large. Please do what you can to make it beautiful. It doesn’t have to involve aggressive marketing or even active participation. All it needs is for you as an individual to be a rational thinker. All it needs is “REASON.”)

I am running around in circles,

All I am doing is jumping hurdles,

I wanna break free, chase my dreams,

I wish you could hear all my screams,

This life is great but its not really mine,

I don’t care much for fine clothes and deep red wine,

I would rather be free on the road,

Bike in hand and nothing to care for, no load,

Cause my life is my own and I only live once,

I want all the joys and sadness before I die like a dunce,

This life aint bad enough to let it waste so soon,

In this lifetime I wanna do everything under the moon,

I don’t wanna be the one who spent his lifetime doing but one thing,

I wanna be the one who spent one lifetime doing everything,

I wanna have money in buckets to pour,

And then spend it all till I have no more,

And then when I die with no possessions to my name, I want my epitaph to say,

“Here lies Bikram, who tried for everything till his dying day…”