The Utterances of a Peculiar Mindset

A teacher teaching Maths to seven-year-old Arnav asked him, "If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?"

Within a few seconds Arnav replied confidently, "Four!"

The dismayed teacher was expecting an effortless correct answer (three). She was disappointed. "Maybe the child did not listen properly," she thought. She repeated, "Arnav, listen carefully. If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?"

Arnav had seen the disappointment on his teacher's face. He calculated again on his fingers. But within him he was also searching for the answer that will make the teacher happy. His search for the answer was not for the correct one, but the one that will make his teacher happy. This time hesitatingly he replied, "Four". The disappointment stayed on the teacher's face. She remembered that Arnav liked strawberries. She thought maybe he doesn't like apples and that is making him loose
focus. This time with an exaggerated excitement and twinkling in her eyes she asked, "If I give you one strawberry and one strawberry and one strawberry, then how
many you will have?"

Seeing the teacher happy, young Arnav calculated on his fingers again. There was no pressure on him, but a little on the teacher. She wanted her new approach to succeed. With a hesitating smile young Arnav enquired, "Three?"

The teacher now had a victorious smile. Her approach had succeeded. She wanted to congratulate herself. But one last thing remained. Once again she asked him, "Now if I give you one apple and one apple and one more apple how many will you have?" Promptly Arnav answered, "Four!"

The teacher was aghast. "How Arnav, how?" she demanded in a little stern and irritated voice.

In a voice that was low and hesitating young Arnav replied, "Because I already have one apple in my bag."

"When someone gives you an answer that is different from what you expect don't think they are wrong. There maybe an angle that you have not understood at all. You will have to listen and understand, but never listen with a predetermined notion."

Peculiar question isn't it? But frankly ask yourself, when did you last thank God? For the wonderful experiences he has provided you. For the good days he has presented you. And for the beautiful life he has pictured for you..!!!
We often complain how bad things are and how God is torturing us. But have you ever seen the Blind person struggling to cross a road, worried about the vehicles he can only sense. He is not very sure which vehicle may come from any side cause he can't really see the vehicles speeding by the road.
Have you ever seen a deaf guy standing on a railway platform but wondering about the arrival of train. Cause he can't listen to the announcements of trains. Or a deaf person who wishes to interact with you in much refined manner but really can't. Cause he can't just listen and understand the words you utter.
Have you seen a dumb person who tries hard to convey his feelings but he can't. Cause he can't utter any words.

The other day, I was walking by the road. I saw a blind guy who wanted to cross the road. He was taking a step ahead and then coming back. Cause he wasn't very sure which way the speeding cars are heading. All he could do was sense the sound of the cars and have a guess about the direction of the cars.
One another evening, I was walking through the FOB at Bandra stations. A blind begger was sitting there waiting for someone to drop a coin in his pot. A police constable came with a thick rod. Hit that begger and walked away. Thew poor fellow could not do anything other than shouting loudly and crying for a while.

When such incidents happen around me, I thank God for the complete bod he has provided to me. Thats a gift by the Allmighty for which I will be always thankful to him.

Here's a very touching story. It really matches the scenario at today's profeesionals' homes.

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"
DAD: "Yeah sure, what it is?" replied the man.
SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily.

SON: "I just want to know.. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "If you must know, I make Rs.100 an hour."
SON: "Oh," the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: "Daddy, may I please borrow Rs.50?"

The father was furious, "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior."

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that Rs.50 and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.
"Are you asleep, son?" He asked.
"No daddy, I'm awake," replied the boy.

"I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier" said the man.
"It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the Rs.50 you asked for."
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. "Oh, thank you daddy!" He yelled.

Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

"Why do you want more money if you already have some?" the father grumbled.
"Because I didn't have enough, but now I do," the little boy replied.
"Daddy, I have Rs.100 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?

Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.

Do remember to share that Rs.100 worth of your time with someone you love.
If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family.

Today is "Teachers' Day". I am recieving numerous SMSes and calls from today morning wishing me on the day. Though I'm not a professor anymore, I was into teaching for one year. I have enjoyed every single moment of my job as teaching. However, I'm not sure how enjoyable I was for my students :-)
Every person in this world owes a lot to his teacher. Its not always in the sense of monitory things but sometimes its abut credits too. Every person owes a lot of credit to his teachers.
I had put up a post about the "Teachers in my life" on last Teachers' Day. I wasn't into teaching that time. So my perception of a teacher was very different at that time. I used to hate few of my teachers for being too strict and some others for being too friendly.
Same year, I joined teaching within a weak of Teachers' Day. And after being in teaching for a year, I've now realized how tough it is to teach people, to manage the students, to solve their doubts and most importantly to manage your professional and personal life at the same time without letting any one o interfere with the other.
After being in teaching for whatever time I had put up, only thing I can say is Salute to all the teachers in this world. You are worth a lot of salutes. Mine is just one single part of these lakhs of salutes you deserve.

Not everyone can perfect Angelina Jolie's pout or emulate Salma Hayek's dazzling persona, but there are millions out there who're trying. With images of supposed perfection assaulting them from every direction, high levels of efficiency mandatory in the workplace and exacting demands in society, many youngsters are now unable to cope. They are increasingly isolating themselves and today, they suffer from a malady called 'social anxiety' disorder, also known as social phobia.

Fear of scrutiny, heightened self-consciousness and apprehension about being judged are some of the reasons why youngsters would rather be on their own. A young employee who is marginally overweight, says, "I have great difficulty making friends. I don't like interacting with my colleagues either. I would rather be left alone with my laptop in my cubicle and listen to music on my iPod."

An IT professional, Pradip N, who is undergoing therapy for social anxiety shares, "I would get mentally disturbed while interacting with people in my office, which is why I had to seek help. I had no confidence and would worry myself sick before any meeting or presentation."

Says psychiatrist Dr B Kapur, "Every four out of 10 patients who come to me suffer from social anxiety disorder. This is especially amongst young adults and adolescents who are unable to cope with social situations. Many of them suffer from palpitation, headaches and nausea. It is not shyness as some believe. Social anxiety has to be recognised as a disorder and needs to be treated."

In public places such as work, meetings, or shopping, people who suffer from this disorder feel everyone is watching, staring and judging them. Many of them feel others are noticing every movement they make, critiquing and making negative judgments about them. It is believed that social anxiety is the third largest psychological problem in some parts of the world today, but unlike other psychological problems, it is not well understood, hence often misdiagnosed by healthcare professionals.

Says Bangalore-based psychiatrist, Dr M J Thomas, "Social phobias start in adolescence and are centred on fear of scrutiny. In the US, one out of eight people has this phobia. It is associated with low self-esteem, desire for perfection and fear of criticism. A person with social phobia anticipates and ruminates over the problems that can occur in case of social contact, resulting in avoidance of the situation and in extreme cases, social isolation. They experience rapid heartbeats, trembling, sweating, upset stomach, diarrhoea, muscle tension, blushing, confusion or a panic attack."

Says Dr Ajit Bhide, consultant psychiatrist, "Youngsters who are not socially adept get increasingly isolated in life. Low self-esteem is one of the main reasons. They'd rather be with their gizmos and chat with people online than meet them personally."

However, good news is -- social anxiety disorder can be treated with medical, cognitive and relaxative therapy. Explains Dr Thomas, "One theory is -- it may be related to an imbalance of a chemical called serotonin that transports signals between nerve cells in the brain. Interestingly, this is the same chemical imbalance linked to other mood and anxiety disorders. It may be precipitated by an embarrassing social event in the past."

Both medication and behaviour therapy have proven successful in treating social phobias. Gradual, controlled exposure to an anxiety-provoking situation helps. Patients are shown how to make eye contact, talk louder and slower, greet people and say good-byes, ask for favours, respond to requests and criticism. Eventually, they learn to mingle around.

India turns 60. And Orkut is celebrating with us. India is among the major marketplace for orkut so they are trying to build an emotional bondage with the people of the country. Similar attempt was made during Diwali last year. Or is it just the usual google thing of introducing designer logos at various occasions?
Well, this made me to think where the country stands on its 60th Birthday. Are we really on the route of progress? Or is the progress just the false balloon being launched for showing to the world?
India has progressed in various fields ranging from sports, politics, movies, social aspects during these 60 years. Though the success isn’t spectacular, but it atleast provides hopes for a better tomorrow. We won world cup in cricket but hockey almost vanished from the country. Football could never take up any shape. Tennis got no one beyond 2-3 stars. In a country of 120 crores, we could not get a single gold medal in last 60 years.
Nehru, Shastriji, Indira, Rajiv developed a place for India in international politics. And India is doing well on the political field. The wat Vajpayee and Manmohnji took it further is really commendable. I’m not much aware of the minute things of the international politics. So its better I don’t comment more on this..
What I want to discuss is India’s progress in the field of technology and is effect on the common man. No doubt India has done very well on this front. Ever since the time way back in 1987 when Rajiv Gandhi used to dream of taking India to the 21st century before time, the country is progressing very rapidly in this field. It all started with Dr Sam Pitroda returning to India on Rajiv’s call. He initiated the communication technology revolution in the country. With the associates like Dr Vijay Bhatkar, he just got boost in the revolution.
When India wasn’t allowed access to a Super computer, Dr Bhatkar took up the challenge of creating a super computer for India. And he came up with Param, India’s first very own super computer.

This was the time when the masterminds like Mr. Murthy andMr. Azim Premji realised the need of taking India to the Global stage in the Information Technology wing. And they did the work fantastically. No doubt about that..

Today, India’s economy is progressing like anything. The development rate has crossed 9% and is second highest after China. If the rate continues, Indian economy will become third biggest economy of the world by 2015. I was recently in Mumbai where I read a hoarding as “Sensex crossed 16000 mark. Will 30 crore people cross Povery Line?” Everyone will have different answer and justification to this based on his/her views. My say to this is, Yes. They will cross the poverty line if they stop spending their money o liquor and prostitutes. I mean a person who earns 200 Rs per day spends 100 for liquor, 50 for prostitute and looses remaining 50 in gambling or lottery. And then shouts by the name of the government and the society. The government has created enough work for the poorest peoples. The industries are also creating lot of work. But they people don’t want to do it properly. They rather prefer to find the easy way out to avoid the work and still earn money. The people try in gambling and lottery for the easy money. And thus lose whatever they have.
Then they again shout for not having work and not having money.
The government provides hem shelter through projects like Mhada, which they rent to others and go back to slums. Then they occupy another home through same scheme, rent it again and get back for third one. And the cycle continues. They still shout for not having the shelter.
How to stop this cycle is the big question in front of our politicians. Rather why to stop this is the question. These below poverty line people are among the biggest vote banks for any politician. If they remain below the line, the politicians can show them the dream of a better tomorrow and win their votes The dreams are only to be shown and not to be fulfilled. That’s the reason why the people are never shown a way to fulfil the dreams.
This can only be stopped through the active awareness in the minds of the people who are suffering. The government has helped us enough. We couldn’t utilise the help. Now its time that we help ourselves. And in turn we will help the government.

This seems to be turned into a speech kinda material. But I’ve expressedfew of my feelings through this. More coming soon..

Sanjay Dutt has finally got 6 year imprisonment. So what’s the big fuss about it? I didn’t want to write about this. But then the reactions I got through various blogs and media made me scribble about it.

Sanjay has committed crime and he deserved the punishment. So justice has been done with him. Now some people have to say ki he took AK47 for protection. That’s among the most irrational claim I had ever heard. I mean why will anyone have this destroying gun for protection? That too the person who was already having 1 pistol and two revolvers with him.

People say he is son of a senior congress leader and MP. So this fact should have been considered. All right. I consider this fact. Sanjay is son of a senior MP. And so he and his dad are supposed to know the laws of this country. And they are also supposed to have a trust in the police and judicial system of the country. So my point is why didn’t he complain in the Police about the threats he was getting?

People say he has already had 18 month imprisonment. So what..? There are many people who have faced 8-10 year imprisonment without any mistake; just because they don’t have money for bail. Or they don’t have a reach in the Page 3 circle. By the time they are proved non-criminal by the judiciary system, they are either already have 8-10 year imprisonment (in police custody). So if you argue that Sanjay should be exempted just because he already had 18 months jail, this is pathetic argument. In fact all the people involved in the case had already have upto 14 year imprisonment (9 times more than what Sanjay had). So should all of them be exempted from the conviction?

Another claim made is he has recently played very good and patriotic roles in Lage Raho Munnabhai and Mission Kashmir etc. So is that a reason he should be exempted? WTF.. We should understand that there is a difference between reel and real life. And if this claim is considered valid, then Aamir Khan should be awarded “Bharat Ratna” for his great work in Mangal Pandey, Rang De Basat, Sarfarosh etc. And Gulshan Grover should be hanged up cause he has killed more than 1 lakh people till date in movies. And how about Ashok Chakra to Hrithik Roshan for his deed of getting back the post in Lakshya?

Sanjay should be exempted because there are movies worth 100 crore pending on him. So what..? When Bharat Shaha was arrested, did we think about Rs 2000 crore diamond business that he runs? No friends. It doesn’t work this way. This will be like the rich people have right to commit crime and to be exempted. Just because they have money to earn. There should not me any difference between a poor and a rich in the judiciary system and Mr. Nikam and Mr. Kode has proved that the system still works the way it is supposed to.

And consider that Sanjay would have got exemption considering these things, would the same media would have taken it positively? People would have again made big fuss about the same. Remember the Salman Khan case where he was released on a bail after killing two persons.

In my opinion, what Sanjay has got is well deserved. Its not that I have any problem with Sanjay. But in my opinion, the justice should be the same for every citizen of this country. And the judiciary system has done the justice.

A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and the boy was the gem of their eyes. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for office so he asked his wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. His wife, preoccupied in the kitchen totally forgot the matter.
The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle fascinated by its color and drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was stunned. She was terrified how to face her husband.
When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just five words. The husband just said "I am with you Darling"
The husband's totally unexpected reaction is a proactive behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he had taken time to keep the bottle away, this would not have happened.
No one is to be blamed. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.

If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be much fewer problems in the world. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears. And you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think.

MORAL OF THE STORY
Sometimes we spend time in asking who is responsible or whom to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. By this way we miss out something.

Today, I had been to a college to submit my option form for MBA college. There were few more aspiring candidates who had come for the same purpose. Akshay (name changed) was one of them. He approached me to ask my score and preferences. And while talking, he said, "I am going for XYZ college". (Read as one of the very well known and in demand MBA institute in Mumbai). It seemed almost impossible with his score to get this institute. I raised the doubt. His answer was "I will get the management seat for Rs. 4 lakh". He seemed to belong to a financially sound family. So I wasn’t much shocked to know that he is trying to buy a seat.

After few minutes, there was another guy who initiated a dialogue with me. His score was even lower than the Akshay. And his home university is SRTMU Nanded. So its almost impossible for him to get a good institute in Mumbai or Pune. He was little down in the dumps when I asked him about his preferences. But he told me that he is going for ABC college (Read as a very well known institute from Pune which has also undergone a raid from Income Tax Dept last year). His words were "Anna (one of the directors of the institute) knows me very well. And I’ve talked with his son Bapu who looks after the institute. I may get the seat for around 2 lakhs." I was highly shocked to know that this person, who surely is not economically sound enough to shell out 2 lakh bucks at a stretch. Still he was trying to have a seat through management quota (which obviously doesn’t go free or at cheap rate).

One incident flashed in front of my eyes. One friend of mine had asked me "Dinesh, I can make arrangements for your admission in the institute you want. You have got a good score and if by chance you lose the institute by small difference, I can make sure you get into the institute. Do you want me to make the arrangement?" And I had replied him with a big NO. I still remember his quote: "There are thousands of students who take benefit of their caste to get into good college. They also get into any top institute in spite of the fact that they don’t deserve it. So what’s the problem if you use your financial position for the same purpose? Furthermore you are lot more worthy than they are."

Ya. He was right. What’s the problem if I use my financial position to overtake others? Many people take advantage of various reservations to push back the deserving candidates and go ahead of them. So it will be the same thing if I use the monetary position. No one will come to know that I have cheated. Cause I’m anyways close to getting into the institute without any malpractice. So no one will even bother about the fact. But will I be able to forgive myself if I use these ways?

This is sounding like some speech on moral values and all. I don’t have any intension to criticize the happenings in the world. Neither am I trying to compel some moral values on the readers or on anyone. I’m just asking a question to myself. Will I be able to forgive myself for doing something which doesn’t convince my soul? And the answer is NO.

So I’ve decided to stick to whatever I get through the modus operandi. Even if it’s a B Grade institute. I will stick to it and I will make my existence in the institute worth enough so that I won’t have to ever regret for my own verdict.

And I am happy with the outcome.

Strange title, isn't it? But its true. These days Gods have started a new duty. Of monitoring e-mails. I will explain you how..
Way back in 2000 when I started using internet, I had received a mail containing Snap of the idol from Tirupati temple. A note was attached to it as "This is very rare and blessed image. If you forward this to 10-15 people, you will have good luck for next 15 years." I wasn't having enough online friends that time so I didn't forward it to anyone. But I was just wondering who exactly monitors to check how many people you send it to? Probably Lord Venkatesha himself. Its getting overcrowded in Tirupati so probably the Lord wanted a new place to live and new work to do. So he decided to occupy some space in the virtual world and started monitoring the mails. Better than satisfying the requests from devotees (which range from "Oh God, please bless me with 1000 crore rupees" to "Lord Venkatesha, please send some hot babe as my wife").
Few days later, I received similar mail with Sai Baba's image. Ya.. Shirdi is getting equally crowded as Tirupati. Its obvious that Sai Baba also needs a new place.
But then, the flow started coming in. Sometimes Krishna, sometimes Rama, sometimes Durga and sometimes Ganesha. And it didn't stopped there. The mails like Tibetian Mantra by Dalai Lama, Blessed Flowers, Blessed photo of Jesus, the Blessed mantra from Kuran, and what not..!!!
And each of them has the same ending. Send this to minimum of 10 people else you will have bad luck for 10 years. And then there are few lame examples to prove that this is true. Foolish attempt you know..!!!

But finally there is one real of these chains. If you won't refer this blog to 10 people, your thumb will get injured while typing SMS...!!! And this is very serious. Don't take it lightly. Mr. Mruduaiyyar Peregullamma Athrvashekhara Chinmayananda Swamy from Madurai neglected this. Well, he didn't get his thumb injured. But his cat was hit badly by the street rat running through his house. Mr. Kartar Singh from Ludhiana laughed on this post when he read this. Well he too didn't got his thumb injured. But next day only, 5 of his hairs fell down while having bath. So you can see, though it doesn't achieve its desired effect, it surely does something.. So Be aware. Don't take risk..

If you refer this blog to 15 or more friends, do you expect some good luck in return? Forget it..! I'm not the God. All I can provide in return is some quality reading to those 15 friends you have referred.

On the occasion of World Environment Day (I know it was 3 days back), I would like to revise a post I put up around 2 and half years back. We all need to go through it and think about it once again.

Our weakest point is that we tend to believe that as individuals we cannot make any difference and we are losing a battle. The battle is lost infact if we fall into this category of believers. We can do many things as an individual to save our world for coming tomorrow. Here are few of the things you can try out.

1. While travelling intercity, use mass transportation. Each PMT bus can take a minimum load of 55 sitting and 15 standees, that makes 70 people, just imagine the traffic situation if each of these people were to use an Autorickshaw from any of the surburban railway stations to get home. How many times I have seen buses going half full.....Because we all need our privacy.

2. Take a Bag along whenever you Shop, make it a habbit. Remember, each of the Plastic bags you take will not bio-degrade for at least 250 yrs! We will go down in history as a civilisation which has left behind loads of plastics. Even when going on picnics, avoid packed food in plastics, take fresh food or fruits. Many of the shopkeepers resent giving plastics, help them out. God knows how many hundreds of plastic bags I've avoided using and convinced my folks to refrain from using in the past few years.

3. Use Diyas for Diwali instead of burning crackers and fireworks, diyas last longer and they are a true salute to this festival of lights, they burn silently all night long without any noise and pollution,they look pretty as well. They cost a fraction, and help the cause of the villagers making them.

4. Use vegetable peels for your potted plants, they add to the value of the soil,prevent water loss and reduce the garbage. Use the waste water for the plants.

5. Keep the water taps shut when not needed during shaving or brushing in the mornings, statistics show that if each of us could do this it would save millions of litres or water monthly saving our money in return which is being spent on heavily subsidising clean water, which we take for granted.

6. I would strongly recommend using alternative sources of energy like Bio-gas and Solar/wind power but I still have to experiment with these. It takes a lot of convincing to do to start a project like this. People think you are crazy, but India leads the world with China in Bio-gas technology. In wind energy we are among the best in the world (check this link) but the technology is still expensive.

Today is 5th June, 2007 (05-06-07). Few people will find something special with the date like it makes the number 5-6-7. And I won't give a wtf look to them. Cause, though it doesn't amuse me much, I don't even find anything weired into it..
Few people make these *memorable* dates more memorable. Like this friend of mine who is going to marry on 7th July 2007 (7-7-7). He is going to take 7 pheras on 7th day of 7th month of 7th year of (unfortunately not 7th) 3rd century.
I've seen many new shops opening on 7th August 2006 (7-8-6). It might be religious statement for few, a numerology game for few. But for me its plane calender date. But if I will be told to really make use of one such unusual date, I will prefer to get married on 9th September, 2009 (9-9-9). Well, its still 2 years away so let's not say anything about it. Let's now just hope that I get into some good MBA college. :-)

So you are loosing yourself? You are thinking too much about that someone special? You trying to become what he/she likes you as? Trying to figure out what he/she likes or dislikes? And you are feeling that you are in love. Wrong.. You are not in love!

Yes. You are not in love. We have heard it all. "Love is Blind." "We should accept the person as he/she is". Then why do you keep conditions in it? Why do you expect the other person to change for you? And why do you change for him? Why do you eliminate the part of your personality that your lover doesn't like? And why do you expect the same from him? Few of us do follow the rules. But rest all don't.

And then, one day we realize we have changed a lot for the person. We start missing ourselves. You ask yourself "What am I doing here?" You have almost lost yourselves by now. Why? Cause you wanted someone to love you.

Everyone has a ready image of their "Dream Partner". Still we say love is unconditional. If I ask you "What kind of girl/boy you want to marry?" Everyone will have a short or long list of conditions. The length many vary from person to person. But every single person has the list with them. And still we say "Love is Blind". Is it really?

We say "Love just happens". No friends. It doesn't just happen. We have a design ready with us and when we find a girl / boy fitting in the design, we think that I'm in love with this person. But after you spend some time with the person, you realize this person shouldn't behave like this. This person should behave like that. And the list goes on always. Just as presented in Hum Tum song.

Uff Yeh Kaisi Shirt Pehnthe Ho
Yeh Kaise Baal Katathe Ho
Gaadi Tez Chalathe Ho
Tum Jaldi Mein Kyo Khaathe Ho
Gimme A Break

And its not just about girls or boys. All are the same. Everyone wants to change his/her partner. Why? Why can't we just love the person as he/she is. Why do we need to change the person? Why the heck? Can anyone tell me?

Why do we gift rose to our dear ones? Why not the thorns?
Silly question I know. But can anyone explain me the reason? Is it because we want to spread the fragrance of rose or is it that we don't want to make our friends suffer with the thorns? If you ask me, Rose symbolizes the positive side (happiness) and the thorns symbolize the negative side (sorrows, problems, worries etc). So will you term someone as *friend* when you can't share the negative side with him/ her? Atleast I can't.
I will always share my negative side with those whom I consider as *friend*. After all, Girl Friends are made to create the troubles and friends are made to take you out of these troubles.
So next time, if I gift you thorns, don't think that I'm making you suffer. Think that I consider you as *friend* in true sense.

By the way, here is information about what different colours of roses symbolize.

-->Red: love
-->Pink: grace, gentle feelings of love
-->Dark Pink: gratitude
-->Light Pink: admiration, sympathy
-->White: innocence, purity, secrecy, friendship, reverence and humility.
-->Yellow: Yellow roses generally mean dying love or platonic love. In German-speaking countries, however, they can mean jealousy and infidelity.
-->Yellow with red tips: Friendship, falling in love
-->Orange: passion
-->Burgundy: beauty
-->Blue: mystery
-->Green: calm
-->Black: slavish devotion (as a true black rose is impossible to produce)
-->Purple: protection (paternal/maternal love)

They say that life is short. Maybe, but often I have felt like this journey is taking forever. I have often wondered how it would be during those last few minutes of my existence. When I see my whole life flashing before my eyes, how would I feel? I don't want to look back and say, "Damn, I should have done that long ago" or even say "I wish I had more time." Its obvious that we can never be satisfied with what we do or achieve. Even if I make a list today and achieve all that by next year, I am sure that I will have more things added on to my list before its done. I believe that we all have that hidden desire that makes us want to do more and achieve more.

They say that you never know when is gonna be your last moment. It may be today, tomorrow or 100 years later. Who knows I'm taking a morning walk along the road, a drunk driver comes with his truck and hits me.. Or I'm enjoying a nice trek along beautiful monsoon grass of Sahyadris and a Cobra comes out of no where and bites me.. Or I'm traveling by a bus, the bus hits a bridge wall and collapses in the river. So you see, anything can happen..

Suppose tomorrow is my last day and I come to you with this news. What will be the thing you would like to tell me at this moment.. Ask your heart and then answer.. :-)

The blogger is turning into a sucker with the new features introduced. The blog entry title automatically converts into Hindi text. I don't know why is that. Its like blogger is showing off about the Hindi script feature.
The new XML template looks good. But you can't edit it using HTML. Somwtimes it shows an error message like

Your template could not be parsed as it is not well-formed. Please make sure all XML elements are closed properly. XML error message: The element type "hr" must be terminated by the matching end-tag "".

I don't know since when HTML introduced a closing tag for "hr". Javascript codes can not be added. It even doesn't allow Google Adsense. The customization feature is ok for newbees. But for experienced user who prefers to edit templaste through HTML, this is really one sucking feature. And its really irritating.
Hoping that blogger will take note of this..


Update 11/05/07: After going through the template editing tool, I am finding it better and easier than earlier.

My friend Ankit forwarded me this nice poem. And I found it worth sharing with you all. It expresses the harsh reality of today's world. We have time for everything but for our basic needs. We don't have time for our emotions, for our friends and for ourselves. And only we ourselves can change this. Its time now to think. "Sochne ka waqt aa gaya hai. Ab mat bolna ki waqt nahi hai"

Har khushi Hai Logon Ke Daman Mein,
Par Ek Hansi Ke Liye Waqt Nahi.
Din Raat Daudti Duniya Mein,
Zindagi Ke Liye Hi Waqt Nahi.

Maa Ki Loree Ka Ehsaas To Hai,
Par Maa Ko Maa Kehne Ka Waqt Nahi.
Saare Rishton Ko To Hum Maar Chuke,
Ab Unhe Dafnane Ka Bhi Waqt Nahi.

Saare Naam Mobile Mein Hain,
Par Dosti Ke Lye Waqt Nahi.
Gairon Ki Kya Baat Karen,
Jab Apno Ke Liye Hi Waqt Nahi.

Aankhon Me Hai Neend Badee,
Par Sone Ka Waqt Nahi.
Dil Hai Ghamon Se Bhara Hua,
Par Rone Ka Bhi Waqt Nahi.

Paison ki Daud Me Aise Daude,
Ki Thakne ka Bhi Waqt Nahi.
Paraye Ehsason Ki Kya Kadr Karein,
Jab Apane Sapno Ke Liye Hi Waqt Nahi.

Tu Hi Bata E Zindagi,
Iss Zindagi Ka Kya Hoga,
Ki Har Pal Marne Walon Ko,
Jeene Ke Liye Bhi Waqt Nahi.......