Life's rushing by...

Time's flying by....Another birthday is round the corner..Unfortunately I don't feel the ageing mentally, only physically.

Got in touch with a college friend recently after 7 yrs... :) She has a baby now and a cute gal she is..

These days I don't hear from friends too much...Everyone is too busy, so I get forwards from friends to let me know they are somewhere at the other side of the globe and my horizon and that we have each other in our thoughts.

Read a forward...loved it..am reproducing it here....

God: Hello… Did you call me?
Me: Called you? No… Who is this?
God: This is GOD. I heard your prayers. So I thought I will chat.

Me: I do pray. Just makes me feel good. I am actually busy now. I am in the midst of something…
God: What are you busy at? Ants are busy too.

Me: Don’t know. But I can’t find free time. Life has become hectic. It’s rush hour all the time.
God: Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you results.
Activity consumes time. Productivity frees it.

Me: I understand. But I still can’t figure it out. By the way, I was not expecting YOU to buzz me on instant messaging chat.
God: Well I wanted to resolve your fight for time, by giving you some clarity. In this net era, I wanted to reach you through the medium you are comfortable with.

Me: Tell me, why has life become complicated now?
God: Stop analyzing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it complicated.

Me: why are we then constantly unhappy?
God: Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. You are worrying because you are analyzing. Worrying has become your habit. That’s why you are not happy.

Me: But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty?
God: Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.

Me: But then, there is so much pain due to uncertainty..
God: Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.

Me: If suffering is optional, why do good people always suffer?
God: Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don’t suffer. With that experience their life becomes better not bitter.

Me: You mean to say such experience is useful?
God: Yes. In every term, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.

Me: But still, why should we go through such tests? Why can’t we be free from problems?
God: Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks Offering Beneficial Lessons (to) Enhance Mental Strength. Inner strength comes from struggle and endurance, not when you are free from problems.

Me: Frankly in the midst of so many problems, we don’t know where we are heading..
God: If you look outside you will not know where you are heading.. Look inside. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides insight.

Me: Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in the right direction. What should I do?
God: Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you. Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying than knowing you rode ahead. You work with the compass. Let others work with the clock.

Me: In tough times, how do you stay motivated?
God: Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.

Me: What surprises you about people?
God: when they suffer they ask, “why me?” When they prosper, they never ask “Why me”. Everyone wishes to have truth on their side, but few want
to be on the side of the truth.

Me: Sometimes I ask, who am I, why am I here. I can’t get the answer.
God: Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be. Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life is not a process of discovery but a process of creation.

Me: How can I get the best out of life?
God: Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

Me: One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.
God: There are no unanswered prayers. At times the answer is NO.

Me: Thank you for this wonderful chat. I am so happy to start the New Day with a new sense of inspiration.
God: Well. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Don’t believe your doubts and doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve.

As I am hurtle forward in the age bar, it helps to read such forwards..It gives me some peace of mind to ignore looking for my existential purpose and to simply live.

It is great to be here in the US with a dependent visa...I can't work so I don't. Of course the unpaid housewife role doesn't go away. But I am not an underpaid minion to some egoistic, workaholic. It helps to see my daughter grow a little cm by cm. And little Goldie too :)

So guys bring it on...Forward me the good stuff..

My first pet :))

I am smiling like a toothless turtle sipping cold tea...

I have a new pet..My first ever in fact. A Goldfish...

My daughter named him Goldie..Its a "he" because "he" makes his home very dirty, very fast. But since I am not the one who cleans up after him, I am smiling...

I have to admit, it feels like we have brought our second child home. He is just as demanding. The water needs to be clean and cool, the food has to be just enough. I cant overfeed him else he will get a tummy upset..(Jesus! who knew fishes also had tummy upsets).

It is therapeutic to watch him though..He scoots around the bowl, all the time grazing for food. I found myself talking to him and calling him 'beta' (son in hindi). The first night I switched off the lights, I actually switched it on again thinking he might be scared of the dark and the new place. So I talked to him to go off to sleep and not to be scared :)

My neighbour looked at me as if I was nuts when I told him I was talking to my fish. But I love having these conversations with him. Goldie is always there, no matter what the time is. My human family goes off to sleep while I read, or surf or watch TV. But Goldie gives me company..My daughter has even come up with a new dance step to imitate him. To be fair to him, we are planning to get him a friend. Soon.

Will keep you guys posted on my evolving emotions and Goldie's antics...

Long live the King!!!

My husband called up today from office and said there is a bad news...He never usually calls me; so a call and that too about bad news......

He told me Micheal Jackson was dead...I was shocked into silence...The tears are there behind the eyes, refusing to come out. My brain went into flashback to the beautiful videos of MJ Bad, Black or White, his moon walk...

I like very few English songs, very few indeed. For some reason I cant identify with them be it Elvis or the Beatles. But MJ struck deep. Not because he danced like a dream but his songs were really really great..I was about 7 yrs old when I heard my first MJ song, Bad at someone's house. That song stuck in my head although I didn't listen to it again for years. And then as a high school student, I bunked class and went to see 'Free Wily'. The movie was good but the title song "Will you be there?" was fantastic..I waited to see in the film credits whose song it was and was pleasantly shocked to know it was the king of the pop..

MJ deserves that title because he was able to not only win over his own country but also transcend boundaries and reached the heart of a 7yr old staying in suburban Mumbai, definitely not a place for English songs leave alone MJ's Bad.

He had his share of troubles and thats probably because he was such a genius. A genius pays a terrible price for being singled out by God with heavenly talent. Something is always offkey. MJ suffered through his problems, and accusations. The saddest part is that he wasn't given a chance to redeem himself.

How I wish he had been able to at least perform one concert. Go out blazing.

Never mind, His music will remain forever. Long live the king!!! Rest in Peace.

Ban Australia!!!

Read about the attacks on Indian students in Australia....Thank you Mr Amitabh Bacchan for taking a public stance on the attacks.

Me thinks we should ban Australia....

And why not? If something like that happened in India, Australia would have issued travel advisories, banned Indian products and people.

Lets follow Mahatma Gandhi's non-cooperation movement. Lets refuse to use all things Australian, including their wooden tasting 'red' apples.

Lets ban all those idiotic Australian cricketers who have zero manners and even less respect for the country that fills their coffers with ad money. Their old, down & out cricketers play for our "premier" league, while our very own illustrious cricketers go begging for small jobs and perks.

Lets stop paying through our nose for degrees that have zero value internationally and even less in India. Hardly any of their unis can match upto our IITs & IIMs.

Why not use all this money to build more such Institutes & utilise our talent to better our own country?

Ban Australia......Why? They need to learn that they have to grow up as individuals, as a team and as a nation. They think they are the best. Why? What has been their achievement? Ever?

I found a book on astrology by an Australian. He had the nerve to write that Indian astrology can never be accurate because there was very little research, knowledge and anyways Indian sons always followed their fathers' profession. Yet that Australian was selling his book in India.

This is just an example of their pigheadedness & ineptness. And our generosity. We have always welcomed barbarians with open arms...

We Indians need to show them their place. Like their geographical position, its at the bottom, right "down under".

On a trip across US

Have visited Washington DC and Niagara Falls..two of the most famous attractions in US..And both very deserving..While Washington DC is a beaoootiful city, Niagara Falls shows how the Americans preserve their God given gift...

One member of our gang commented Niagara me US waalon ka kya haath hai..ye to bhagwaan ka diya hai...But i beg to differ....That place is thronged by millions and still is sqqqueakky clean...The water is so beautiful that one can perhaps even drink it...Nowhere did i spot a single...mind u a single piece of garbage...even though maximum people thronging Niagara are Indians.

Besides the arrangement they have made to get you under one of the minor falls (Bridal veil) is fantabulous..Noway on earth can anyone slip or fall or have an accident..I was impressed....

More than the falls, its the professionalism of the Americans that impressed me...

My newest crush :)

I am in a spell.. The spell-weaver is John Castle...Who is he ye ask?

He has piercing blue eyes, looks disapproving. And then when he smiles....ooh lala it reaches your heart straightaway. Atleast it did mine...

I saw him as Inspector Craddock in The Mirror Cracked from side to side, Agatha Christie's televised story of Miss Marple played by Joan Hickinson. I loved him in it. Since then I have obsessed about him. He was about 55 when he played the role, and is 70 now...God he did it so well. And he wasn't even a leading man. This picture is of John Castle at a younger age..

If I ever visit UK again, I will hunt him up and tell him how much I like him. Wish I could see him in more screen appearances.

John Castle joins the list of my crushes. Earlier and still occupied by Jeremy Brett, Tommy Lee Jones, Harrison Ford, and George Clooney. These men are all old (at least in Indian terms) and yet have the charm and personality to make me go weak in the knees. My dream is to go on a date with George, which may never happen. :(

But if it does....

Faith, Karma, Luck by chance...

Saw Luck by Chance recently...I liked it but not overly so. It felt like a documentary on our film industry. The movie did raise a pertinent point, is it Luck or Work? Does Karma have anything to do with this?

Observations & experiences have taught me to think so. Our life, lifestyle, success/failure is, I feel, quite a bit reflective of our and even our ancestors' karma. Perhaps thats why our Hindu wisdom has advocated a period of "tapasya" in each man's life...to wash out his sins and seek spiritual progress. Sai Baba has clearly emphasised on 9 ways of attaining knowledge "Atmaa-gyaan" ...Satsang, service to others, reading religious books, charity are some of them.

Our parents & theirs' performed pujas, did charity, satsang etc. Perhaps that has a given a sense of happiness to us. (World survey says we are quite a happy society). If you consider India's past, India is quite blessed. She has rich, fertile lands (or had). India has rarely faced any major natural disasters. India has shown amazing progress (despite its corrupt & useless leaders). This is, I believe, quite a lot due to the philanthropic nature of its people. Now that these values are eroding, the next generation is at a risk of losing the wealth of wisdom. It becomes our duty as parents to do everything in our power to dip into old-age wisdom & impart ancient teachings to our children.

Extremists (people who have least notions of "God" & "Godly") are putting a violent shade to religion. "Hindu Terrorists" a word I never thought existed, is now a reality. It is painful to think that we would spend our energies breaking law, people and ethics. Education system from the elite "Gurukul" system has gone down the "Donation only" drain. As a mother, the biggest terror for me is securing admission in the threatening, corrupt world of Indian schools.

Our generation has the capacity to take charge. We are better traveled, have advantage of reflection and global knowledge and resources. In the movie "Rang de Basanti", the youth take action against the correct problem, even if the solution was wrong.

Lets try to limit the mean thoughts, words & actions. Lets respect our parents, our culture & Nature.

A book on Sai Baba's life & teachings has become my bible. I will try to incorporate as much of His teachings as I can. My selfish motive is my daughter. I hope I do enough good Karma to enable her & her contemporaries. to have a good life, Luck and all.....What will You do????