Posts Tagged ‘life’
Changes and Phases
It’s been a long break from blogging. I haven’t been all that busy to tell you the truth. It’s just that the urge to put my thoughts together was missing of late. In fact I was afraid to.
We encounter various circumstances in life. Some of them were never even wished for. Things move and we suddenly find ourselves trying hard to row against the tide of this rapid change. Not everyone is apt enough to handle it. Initially we try and ignore things, up to the point that they are right into our faces. Whereby we experience an outburst followed by rescinding into a shell.
I am sure everyone has faced such times in their life. At least I have. They used to be frequent during college when the process of learning about life probably started. Before was just a mad race to the top whence there was no time to stop and think. I have faced it again during my newly started professional life. However I find it a bit different this time. Specially in terms of rebound time.
College life, that too in an IIT, gives you full control over your public appearances. You can forego classes for some time before being missed. You need to write the exams though. One could easily lock himself up in the room, coming out when and where he wants to. This aids the recovery process. One needs some time alone to come to grasp with his own insecurities and internal emotional churnings.
What happens during the professional life is that one has to go to office daily, no choice there. He has to meet people daily. One couldn’t possibly get the long away time to reflect on oneself and hence the rebound takes longer.
Now after a few weeks I feel at peace with myself al over again. As per the reasons to the dull phase, when the initial excitement of a new city, a new job, dies down, the reality of accepting it as our own, a routine strikes us. We need some time to settle down. These are the common symptoms among the migrant workers such as me who are born in one place, study elsewhere and work some where else. Here I would like to mention the city of Mumbai. The accepting cosmopolitan nature of this city has helped me a lot in adjusting to the new surroundings. It grows on you slowly. Give it some time and you will fall in love with it. I feel me again, till the next bout of course.
Deja vu: Life a universal struggle
An American resident and an Indian taxi-driver in US.
American: Where are you from?
Indian: India.
American: Oh! India, I have heard a lot about it.
Indian: Really, what?
American: It has a great cultural heritage and history.
Indian: Yes, true.
American: I have also heard there is rampant poverty there.
Indian: Well, it’s not exactly so.
American: You are saying there is no poverty?
Indian: It’s not what I said. The things have improved.
American: Why were you forced to move out of your country to work here?
Indian: I was not forced. There are greater opportunities here.
American: You lack opportunities in your country?
Indian: A lot new opportunities have come up now.
American: What is the reason for poor state of affairs in India?
Indian: Oh it’s all because of corrupt politicians.
American: Why do you guys vote for such leaders?
Indian: People are illiterate and are duped on the basis of caste and religion.
American: It sounds too bad.
Indian: Not so, as I said the things have improved a lot.
American: Tell me.
Indian: Our economy is improving day by day. We have multi-stories, malls, discos and per capita has improved a lot.
American: I heard that you guys have very high crime rate and officials too corrupt.
Indian: No it’s not so. As I said, its improving as country is developing.
American: You guys work for cheap here, don’t you think you are exploited?
Indian: I save enough to send back home. It is enough for my family there.
American: Don’t you miss your family?
Indian: I miss them dearly.
American: Why don’t you bring them here then?
Indian: I won’t be able to afford it. I go and meet them once a year.
American: It all made me sad but I really like your spirit. Bye
Indian: Good Bye Sir.
Just change American by someone from say Mumbai/Delhi and Indian by someone say from UP/Bihar and the question/answers remains the same. Is struggle the essence of life? I fail to find an answer. All I can do is vow to work harder than ever to erase the need for such questions, the need for such answers and the existence of such differences.
Confusingly Chaotic
During the college farewell, a batch mate of mine asked, “So, where do you see yourself, 10 years from now?” I did what I do best, excuse myself with the sheepish smile. I never had to answer myself this question before. I mean I did schooling coz everybody do. There was no vision or so called planning that went into it. I went for JEE coz that’s what was “the hottest” at the given time. I opted for Computers for no other reason.
I remember a discussion with friends over dinner, “Why they opted for the particular engineering stream?” For most of them the criteria was Rank. I mean come ‘on, if 80 out of top 100 rankers (and more) are opting for Computer Science, that doesn’t mean all of them have such deep interest in it that they would have perished without it Or that the ones who didn’t get it were never interested in it. So let’s get one thing into perspective. What your interests are doesn’t matter during the cut throat competition in a developing world.
I took the job hoping to rise up the ladder along the normal path. As it was about to happen, the elastic snapped. The economic bubble burst and the condition of uncertainty in jobs might have led to the current thought process. Did I really want to be a software developer when I grew up? Was that my dream? If no then am I doing what I never wanted to, 5 days a week 9 hours a day, just to enjoy the weekends of my life. Has my life contracted to mere weekends?
This takes me back to the concept of civilized living. When was the concept of “work” proposed? Who proposed it? Why we followed it? We live on a spherical ball, don’t know where are we coming from, don’t know what’s inside the sphere, what’s outside the view. Just going on working through the week to enjoy the weekends. Working through our youth to enjoy the old age. Something doesn’t seem right. The concept seems flawed. It’s too mechanic, too un-human.
Maybe it’s this mechanics in our life that lead us to a peaceful timely death. Or the chaos would have had us much before.
जीवन: कठिन या आसान
कभी ऐसा महसूस हुआ है की हम अकेले नहीं है| कोई है हमारे आस पास जो हमें देख सकता है, हमें महसूस कर सकता है| कभी ऐसा नहीं लगता कि जो हमारे साथ हो रहा है वह पहले भी हो चुका है| ऐसा नहीं लगता की हमारी जिंदगी हमारी होते हुए भी हमारी नहीं| अपनी किस्मत पर हमारा कुछ अधिकार नहीं| हम अपनी मर्ज़ी से पैदा भी नहीं हो सकते| हाँ मर ज़रूर अपनी मर्ज़ी से सकते हैं, जब चाहें तब| मतलब यह हुआ की हम अपने लिए अपनी मर्ज़ी से कुछ अच्छा नहीं कर सकते| हाँ बुरा ज़रूर कर सकते हैं, जब चाहें तब|
जब भी में आइना देखता हूँ, मुझे उसके अन्दर एक दूसरी दुनिया दिखाई देती है| मैं ख़ुद को कैद पाता हूँ| पता नहीं उस दुनिया का कैदी हूँ या इस दुनिया का| वह दुनिया असली है या यह दुनिया| मैं अपना अक्स देख रहा होता हूँ या में ख़ुद किसी और का अक्स हूँ|
जब कभी रात को में डरावना सपना देखता हूँ और अचानक नींद खुल जाती है, तब भी मुझे डर क्यों लगता रहता है| अरे वह तो सपना मात्र था, डर कैसा| पर नहीं, मुझे डर लगा रहता है, जब तक कि दोबारा नींद नहीं आ जाती| तो वह डर किसका था, डरावने सपने का या डरावना सपना टूट जाने का| कहीं हमारी जिंदगी दोहरी तो नहीं| हम सपना देख रहे होते हैं या हम ख़ुद किसी और का सपना हैं|
रात को अकेले आसमान की तरफ़ देखा है कभी| मिलाईं हैं कभी आसमान की आंखों में आँखें| टिमटिमाते तारों को देखकर सोचा है कभी, की उनमे से किसी तारे के इर्द गिर्द भी कोई दुनिया होगी| जब हम तारे को देख रहे होते हैं, तब क्या पता उस तारे के किसी ग्रह से हमारा ही अक्स हमें देख रहा हो| वह भी हमारी तरह आसमान को घूर रहा हो|
कौन है वह जो ना होते हुए भी है, क्या वह ही आत्मा है| या वह जीवित है और हम एक आत्मा हैं| आख़िर क्या है सच| क्या आईने में हमारा अक्स हमसे कुछ कह चाह रहा है या वह दूसरे ग्रह वाला शायद या फिर हमारा सपना, हमें कुछ बताना चाहता हो|
जिंदगी कितनी आसान हो जाती है ना, अगर इन सब बातों के बारे में सोचो ही मत| अगर है भी कोई अकेले में, तो अब तक क्यों नहीं आया सामने| अगर अब तक नहीं आया है, तो अब क्या आएगा| आईने में कोई भी दुनिया हो, अगर वह हमें डराती है, तो तोड़ दो ऐसे आईने| मत चिंता करो, दूसरा ग्रह हमसे बहुत दूर है| कोई वहां से चिल्लाएगा भी, तब भी सुनाई नहीं देगा|
उन चीज़ों के बारे में सोचना ही क्या, जिसके बारे में हम कुछ कर ही नहीं सकते| जिंदगी को बेकार में ही, और कठिन क्यों बनाएं|
Various categories of PJ’s
Name: Poor Joke (PJ)
Age: Unknown
Effect: Deadly, Suicidal, Make you cringe, Trigger a sudden pulse down the spinal chord
Know As: Khatta (sour), Maaru (deadly)
Having spent some considerable time devouring each and every PJ that came by, I have tried to divide them into certain categories based on their characteristics.
- Story Time: Lengthy ones
Seriously long!. Come with a narration. An old house, the old lady, one untimely accident, a sudden death. After a grueling half n hour or so, either we have to answer a simple question or suggest a moral to the story. Believe you me; if you tried as much to think, you would definitely commit suicide.
Q There was a bus conductor. He was very rude. Due to his fault a lot of people used to get killed. Each time he was arrested-produced before the court-sent to the electric chair. Each time he survived. Realizing his mistake, he became a good man. Once when he tried to help somebody, he was again arrested-produced before the court-sent to the electric chair. This time he died instantaneously. The question is why?
A Earlier he was a Bad Conductor so electricity couldn’t pass through. Later he became a Good Conductor, electricity passed through. He died. (based on http://www.dctorrent.com/f204/deadly-pj-23733/)
- Stand on the shoulder of Giants: Remember the Titans
A PJ is told. We are subjected to another four-five PJ’s. The last PJ is a Q n A type. The answer to it lies in the very first PJ. It leaves you wondering, “I knew the answer all along”. One classical example is the “Elephant in the fridge”.
Q How will you put a camel in the fridge?
A Open the door. Put the camel in. Close the door.
Q How will you put an elephant in the fridge?
A Open the door. Take the camel out. Put the elephant in. Close the door.
..…
…. 4-5 questions
….
Q You are in a plane moving out from one city to another with all your belongings. Suddenly the plane starts losing height. Pilot asks each passenger to throw out the heavy items. What would you do?
A Of course. Open the fridge and throw out the elephant.
..…
….Another 4-5 questions
….
Q Two guys are standing by the side of a swimming pool. One of them jumps in. The other one didn’t know how to swim, so he remain outside. The one standing by the pool dies. Why?
A Easy. The elephant you threw out fell on him. Arrrggghhh!!! (based on: http://www.akhilesh.in/life/fun/jokes/pj0041TestYourCommonSenseRevisited.php)
- What is the meaning?
These are the smaller ones. You just have to find the meaning of some simple statement.
Santa meets his friend Bunta
Santa: A and B, A and B, A and B, A and B, A and B…!
Bunta: Oye, Iska Matlab ?
Santa: Kuch Nahin Yaar, I Mean Long Time No C..!
(Source: http://www.killerpj.com/index.php?sbjoke_id=290)
- Singing Daisy
Answer lies in some famous song. I am sure all of you might have read the following two.
Q Ganesh ko Anesh kisne banaya
A Kailash Kher ne. Tere naam se G loon. Tere naam se mar jaoon.
Q How will you light a cigarette in a boat without a matchstick?
A Take some water in your hand. Let it pass drop by drop. Tip Tip barsa paani, paani ne aag lagayi. Use it to light the cigarette. (based on: http://www.akhilesh.in/life/fun/jokes/pj0062LightACigarette.php)
- Antonym: The opposite
We have to guess the antonym of a particular word. We can solve them if we try and break the word into various Hindi/English sub-words.
Dominoes <—> Domi doesn’t know.
Nag Panchami <—> Nag did not punch me.
- Can’t help it: Main aisa hi hoon
They don’t come with any answer. They are the wackiest ones
Q 3+3=8 How?
A By mistake (Galti se).
Q A hen and three chickens cross a busy road. On reaching the other side, one of the chicks said, “Thank God all 5 of us are safe”. Why did it say “all 5 of us”?
A Come on! It is just a small chick. Small children usually make mistake while counting. (based on: http://www.crazyengineers.com/forum/chillax-chit-chat/30-ridiculous-jokes.html)
- Tag-the-line
The answer lies in a catchy tag line of some ad campaign.
Q A person used to live a normal life. Once he got a call on his idea mobile. It was from a girl. A wrong number, perhaps! Still he talked to her. They fell in love. Got married. One night, when they were sleeping, the wife got murdered. He was implicated in the murder. He cried that he has not killed his wife but to no avail. He was sent to jail. He lived there for 5 years. He broke out of the jail. He ran away from the city. He started living in the forest. He did Tapasya for 5 years. God became happy. He was granted a wish and was made the Prime Minister of the country. What is the moral of the story?
A An idea can change your life!
- Anekta mein Ekta: Regional ones
They are based on Sardars, Madrasis, Bengalis or for that matter Blondes.
The list is not extensive. Perhaps you could categorize them further. Till then I would leave you with this. Why was Indian Cricket team not able to drink Pepsi during their ODI series, Sri Lanka ’08?
Bigg Boss: The Truman Show
For those who have watched Jim Carrey’s, “The Truman Show”, the Bigg Boss house too symbolizes the real world. Let’s see how.
Bigg Boss: He is the God, the almighty, the supreme. Members consider the decision of Bigg Boss their fate. They pray to their God to give them more food (budget) the coming week. They ask his forgiveness for any fault of theirs. They cry in the confession room. They get angry with him at times and as his children want him to be loving and caring.
Housemates: In this world we play various roles. Similarly the house mates take over different roles. Rahul becomes the toilet cleaner. Ketaki becomes the cook. Elina becomes the maid. Raja becomes the king. These roles are not allotted but are assumed.
Tasks: We all work to earn money, to get food. In the house too members perform a particular task to earn food for the coming week. If they fail, they don’t get paid that well and have to live with limited resources. This creates friction. ‘Coz scarcity of resources is the root cause of discontent and disruption. The work may not be what they wish to do. Still need to do it for living anyway.
Nominations: In real world we have friends and foes. We wish well for some and not so well for others. The nomination brings out the dark side. They want a person not be a part of their life anymore. They want the person they don’t like to leave the world. Simply they wish him to die. They pray to the God (Bigg Boss) to take their enemies away. They conspire to get rid of them.
Eliminations: The soul leaves the house. Bigg Boss decides to take a member away. A member goes out and only his memories remain. He is dead. The recurring elimination symbolizes that nothing is imperishable. Everyone has to die. Nature has to take its own course. The life continues.
Reincarnation
Post interval, “Om Shanti Om” took a surprising turn. Shahrukh Khan was reborn with a new identity. What I found is that most of us undergo a sort of continuous rebirth at various stages of life. I personally feel a dire need to reinvent myself given diverse circumstances.
Life forces us to play various roles at various times. Those who mould themselves according to the roles usually turn out to be more successful than those who are not able to. Also its nescessary to be a student of life throughout. Its only through constant study of life, do we be able to adapt.
Well, I dont want to discuss that phase of my life where there was a great thrust to adapt, but was not able to. I just would say that, it lead to frustration to depression. However I overcame that phase. My personal advise would be to let that reincarnation happen. Resisting it is not an option.
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