Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Quotation freak!!

Some of my friends call me a ‘Quotation freak’. I have nothing to deny. Simple they may seem, yet few quotations played a powerful role in my life. I have always looked up to them, apart from my inner self, whenever I needed comfort, motivation, caution, inspiration and the like. I consider them as the words of wisdom and experience passed on by few great men, to serve as the guiding light for me over the years. Here are a few of those, which have served as the operating instructions in my life many a time.

“You can’t fail, unless you quit” – From an article on Abraham Lincoln

“Time is precious. But life is more precious. So, be cautious” – A Note on the Highway

“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” – On a leaflet of an orphan home

“He who asks a question may be a fool for five minutes. But he who never asks a question remains a fool forever” – From a seminar in school

“If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is a part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb us” –From a Telugu weekly (translated)

“Never explain. Your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway” – From Reader’s Digest

Few more to come…

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

The Lost War!!

‘Robots will wage a war against humans in future,’I often hear people remark. But I think technology has almost won the war against us now! Atleast, that is the feeling I get when I hear people remark, ‘I can’t imagine a life without a mobile or internet.’ Wonderful tools as they are, I can’t stop wondering when they are compared with the likes of air and water. A generation ago, when I heard such words being used by people when referring to persons of a different gender, I used to find it funny. Someone explained it to me saying that love rules. Now, when similar words are being used for tools, I am obliged to say that Technology rules making us its slaves. Do we want to free ourselves from this bondage and start living as independently as possible? Use our brains a little more and tools with discretion? Look a little more at the things happening around and try to talk with people who are physically around? Coz they might be badly in need of us while we are virtually present elsewhere. Tools are definitely the works of a genius but overusing them may hinder our creating one!

Monday, May 14, 2007

It takes a lot to love!

Here’s my take on what it takes to love, the evergreen (or red?) topic, from what I have noticed:

1) You got to be shameless – To pass through those times (which seem to occur often) when the other person doesn’t seem to care for you, but you still got to hang on coz love is self-less (wow!)
2) You need lotz of time – To analyze every thing that happened between both of you, get to the bottom of it, search for hints that might suggest the other person’s interest in you waxing/waning and then get excited/worried
3) You got to have lotz of money – To call/meet the other person on a regular basis, lest he/she might start doubting that someone else caught your interest for the day

Apart from these, having your emotions ridden by their moods, your precious smile at stake, half the time trying to defend them against any unpleasant feelings they might arise in you as a result of their inactiveness in many situations concerning you, the rest judging if your active participation in events concerning them is being appreciated or resented or being left unattended…huh…tiring even to think about all this, isn’t it?

After all this, finally when the day comes when you realize that you can forget your love and fall for another person or remember but don’t mind going out with another, then just think of those days when you yearned for him/her, and you realize that it was the yearning for love and not the person exactly. So, if you got to forget your love and move on in your life, never mind. Chances are you may get it again. After all, love is not so uncommon too! Not sure about the self-less part though.

P.S: Anyways, guess it’s a lot easier to live with a person than having to love him/her.
Again, only expereince can tell…

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Apart from bureaucracy…

The word ‘Government’ is often associated with bureaucracy and corruption. And, it has its reasons. But there are few departments of Government, which I would associate with trust and safety. They are our postal and public transport. You may disagree but my experiences till date say otherwise. Though we have a wide variety of choices available for the dipatch of important documents in the form of private and professional couriers, I still somehow trust postal dept. when it comes to reliability. The same is the case with public bus transport. Though there is a huge network of auto-rickshaws available at our disposal, I prefer public bus when I have to travel to places unknown/far away. They not only save you from the trouble of having to alter your eye between the roads and the ever-running meter but help you identify your destination safely. I still am thinking as to what made them different. Is it the motive behind or the system itself or just dumb luck?

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Do some professions have an extra obligation?

Not every professional seems to have the same rights. Some seem to have an extra obligation, an extra responsibility than the rest of us, which we all are ready to point out to them as often as possible. A doctor is cruel becaue he wouldn’t operate after a certain time. An actor is irresponsible if he chooses to enact a role that is out of the norm (read Amitabh Bacchan in Nishabdh) or chooses to follow some rituals that don’t appeal to all. While the rest of us are free to do whatever we like and follow whatever we believe in, a doctor or an actor (for example) doesn’t seem to have such choice. Even if they went ahead and did what they want to, they receive the wrath of the society. Probably, few professional roles are not meant for everybody. Especially, not to people like me who don’t like to live life on other’s terms.