A simpler time...

Today when I was talking with my amma I was reminded of a much simpler time. Her experiences are so very different from mine and mine would be so very different from my kid's :).When she was relating her experiences I couldn't help musing where has that world gone?
Simplicity was the word of the day then. Today I see around me the expression has become a rarity. There was a time when social occasions like marriages were a chance to let go of reins and swap life stories. At that time even a distant relative was treated as a comrade in arms-literally. But today even filial bonds don’t hold weight and marriages now have just become a social formality. Back then, it was so easy to talk to a relative/friend or a next door neighbor. Inhibitions existed then, they exist now too but the only difference is there was no fear of acceptance then. People had the freedom to be themselves and get away with it. Today however, we surround ourselves with concrete walls - just like the world we live in. People today pride themselves for their tolerance levels. I find the idea laughable. Yes, there are cases where we have changed for the better – definitely and I am proud to be a member of such a society but I still maintain that our ancestors were more tolerant towards life. Compromise-something which comes under “why me?” category today- was commonplace because people were more mature.
They were a much resilient as a result a much happier lot. We on the other hand are much vulnerable. The emotional veils that we hide under now-a-days were non-existent then. Back then people found it so easy to compliment or comment someone because people were mature enough to accept either but today I see that even a genuine compliment is treated with suspicion simply because an honest one is an oddity. An honest person today feels out of place and has to disguise himself just to fit in because his honesty is considered to be naivety!

Why and how then has this change come about?

People today confuse individuality with modernism and compromise with conservatism. People fail to realize that individualistic people can also be conservative and that conservatism doesn’t necessarily mean narrow-mindedness. Sadly the society is now divided into these two groups of extreme thought and the intersection bears the brunt as each of these two groups considers the other deplorable. The elements that divide the two generations were and are prevalent in both the generations. It is only now that we want to attribute adjectives to characterize each generation that these have come into limelight.

Who said people weren’t knowledgeable back then? Who would you trust with financial advice-a Fresh finance graduate who has no practical experience whatsoever or a housewife in a joint family who has handled two generations of wages? But very few people sit back and appreciate the lessons life has taught.
The younger generation treats their ancestors as a bunch of old fools who SO do not understand their line of thought- they ignore the wisdom of experience. The older generation on the other hand has become all the more protective of their off-springs – to shield them from the pain that life has subjected them to – they fail to see through the curtain of inexperience or realize that some lessons are to be learnt practically.
Adding to this are our unbelievably tight schedules which prevent us from bridging this gap. A power cut now-a-days is proving to be such a blessing in disguise. It has probably become the only period of time where the whole family sits in one single room and talk – albeit forcibly. Such is the story of today where we need to depend on something like a power cut to bring us together. I somehow can’t help wishing the world today was as simple as back then with all the wonderful blessings of today.

This is me signing off in the wait for the next power cut J

Huh!

Yesterday I understood the saying..."No one wants to die alone....." -- one of my friends felt this way today and I couldnt help reflecting on the same. When I asked him what the reason was he told me he wasn't feeling well yesterday and just got the thought that even if something happens to him what if there was no one to even tell! Wow! Such a scary thought! Imagine the amount of effort you put into life but ultimately you are on your own aren't you? Somehow the thought was a little unsettling. It makes everything else seem so miniscule and even unworthy!

To be or not to be

Compromise- it requires enormous strength of character but when overdone it will ruin one's sense of self. One of the toughest questions in life is when to stop compromising and start living.One needs to know where to draw a line.I have seen both the extremes in life. I have seen people who don't give up their end and thereby break relationships and I have seen people who do all it takes to maintain the relationship but lose themselves in the process. This makes me wonder is it so difficult then to actually sit back,reflect and decide what is more important to you and when?

Choices in life...

Why do I find myself sandwiched between two choices-- One which I would really want to do and One I ought to do...I am sick and tired of getting myself to make a choice...why does it always have to be that difficult...it is a gut wrenching feeling I tell you -- to get yourself to the point where it needs all your will power not to succumb to the temptation! you just postpone the moment till where you have to take the decision- which is even worse because you always know the outcome and in all this you have enough time to pine wishing for otherwise...Story of life I guess!

Out of comfort zone

Comfort zone-everyone who thinks of one has one...one which lures you into finding it,one which you can call your own-all yours',one which can afford to change :) but one we never would want to get out of...
why is then i always find myself snugly stuffed into my comfort zone at one moment and thrown mercilessly out of it at the next...its like awakening someone from a deep slumber by throwing cold water on em...and then there is always the promise of something better out there...but only a moron or a genius would fall for that...as am neither and am perfectly normal i find it equivalent to standing stark naked with my fears out in the open with the world of unknown for an audience...it is not the fear of acceptance...this might sound crazy but it is of knowing that you would find another zone and in knowing that too wouldn't last...you tend to think of what next ?vice of being wise i guess...you keep wondering whether you really want to get into something you know the outcome of anyways or would you be enticed enough by the warmth of the memories that you just fall into the trap once again...I guess they don't call it lifecycle for nothing, history repeats itself, time and again ...and again for another time when you don't want it to :)...
And while am off in search of my zone again for the zillionth time, i guess its just life's way of saying "Ha Ha Gotcha"...

Moments

Ever been in a rhetorical "if only time would stand still.." place? yeah well ok if not that dramatic i atleast have a few favourites which will keep my rewind button rolling on and on and well few others which just keep the smile pasted on my face just thinking what it would be like..without further ado...PRESENTING...my happy place...
waking up early to find you have half an hour more till the alarm goes off...aa sleep,the most misused luxury i have ....
yapping away with my mom especially when she enunciates on my vices...can't help laughing...
just coming back home from wherever...
fighting with my bro...somehow,just can't do without it...
sitting on a swing,swaying to the breeze and listening to kishore kumar's songs...
discussing right about everything with my dad...
reading my favourite book...
even doing nothing with my sis...
cricket...well i guess the only thing my hubby should worry about :)...
sitting around in my pyjamas at home and just watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S...
talking to MY friends...
writing...something i do when am really anxious,somehow calms me down :)...
calvin and hobbes...
playing with kids...
shopping...one virtue i have inherited from my race of the fairer sex :)...
singing...yeah it makes me happy if not others :)
sitting around in a woody place,drinking coffee,deeply,from a black mug and having a book in my hand...aah quite a picture aint it :)...
gossiping...yeah well one of my favourite pass times...
walking along the beach side at midnight and eating ice cream...
getting a call on my landline...yeah well i am conservative...
receiving a hand written letter...proves it again...
watches! ah i can never get tired of em...
playing tt or basketball...its been a while...but it gives me the adrenaline rush...
getting wet in the rain...somehow cheers me up even when i am in crap:) kinda like washes my tears away :)
pictures...just love posing for em ;)
greeting cards...who says silence is golden when you can say so much with words :)...
chocolates...no matter how many teeth i lose coz of em :)..
lights...sitting on the terrace with only your thoughts and the breeze for company and seeing the innumerable lights that glitter in the city...just makes anything look miniscule...
midnight talks...just love em...
flirting...ok i neednt explain much abt that...
having someone say "love ya" to you...no arguing,one of the most fulfillig moments one can have...
and just loving with all i have...to me that is the essence of existence

Pain

logon ki baat nahi hain,ye kissa hain apno ka
koyi dushman thes lagaaye,to miit jiyaa behlaaye
manmeet jo ghaanw lagaaye use kaun mitaye...
kisi aur ko kya bataaye jab apne hi hamara dard samajhna paaye...
that's the way it is...what do you do then? how can something you love so much cause you so much pain?.no matter where i go,what i do,what i become, i always knew there are few people in my life to whom i will always return to... one of these is gradually walking away from me, before my very eyes,leaving behind a crater of memories,not even looking back once,unaware of my presence...and i can do absolutely nothing about it...free will you see...the helplessness is frustrating me and turning me bitter...that the see-saw is not balanced is something,but to be grounded completely is something else...Yeah i know am sounding like a pathetic loser...i have no solution to this conundrum of my life except facing it everyday of my life...