Change ! The only constant in Life

The first line of the article praising Sachin's 47th test ton in the Times of India sports column read, "The only thing constant in this world is change and Sachin Tendulkar". How true isn't it? Wait wait, for the benefit of those who breathe cricket as much as I do, and also for those who hate it, or are not affected by its charm, I must say, this isn't another blog post on cricket or Sachin. Really not. But, as one my best friend has rightly said : "PC ! you can't keep cricket out of anything." (PC is my childhood nickname and that's altogether a different story.) Seriously, I must agree: Yes, I can’t keep cricket out even when this isn't about cricket. It is about the constant in our life. CHANGE. The comparison drawn by the Times of India between change and Sachin has left a permanent impression on my mind and that's why I could not stop myself from starting this blog the way I did.

Change is indeed the constant in our life (I won’t say only constant as Mr. S.T. is also there :) . Even when the two words (change and constant) contradict each other so much, they really are the two sides of the same coin. People change in a course of few days and not to mention when the time period increases. Why to talk of others when we even find ourselves changed over a period of time. Sometimes change is inevitable. It’s a matter of survival. At some other times, it’s just a status symbol or a way to make you feel better. But, there is no doubt that people do change to a certain extent. Sometimes people change themselves, sometimes people get changed by the influence of others.
I have noticed a lot of change in myself over the years. Most will agree however not all of them would. (That’s when you can comment on the blog. :) )
1) I was complete introvert when it came to interacting with people in my childhood. To a certain extent I am still an introvert, but I have changed ever so slightly so that at least I am able to convey whatever I am thinking or feeling. (Mind you, blog is only one medium of conveying it. I do talk. I really do. :))
2) During childhood I always took my parents for granted, but, over the years I believe that it has changed.
3) I used to get upset with very small day to day matters and always fought to the almighty saying "Why me?" I have learnt to let go over the years and I no longer crib for petty issues anymore.
4) I used to get very angry easily when I was a child but I have learnt to control my anger. (By counting 100. Remember, when angry count a 100 :))
5) I was so self conscious about everything I did. But, I believe I have developed a “I Don’t care” attitude now. I can even dance publicly without caring at all about what people will think. To me that is a big change.
6) I did not like dogs, but glory (our pet dog in mumbai), changed it all.
7) I used to eat, drink and sleep cricket when I was a child, but believe it or not, even when I can't keep cricket out of anything, I can detach myself from cricket whenever I wish to. And mind you, that speaks volumes about how much I have changed. :)
8) I have learned to cook good enough food to survive for which I was completely dependent earlier in my life.

There are so many more minor as well as major changes in me, but this public medium of blog is not the right place to disclose everything. ;)

But, few things in life will not change. And they should never change. Like my love for having fun in life and enjoy it to the fullest extent. I used to think a lot since childhood (having a self communication) and that has still not changed and I don’t know whether it will ever change. The credit for all the good changes in me is by far due to my sister-in-law Shubhangi. I know however, that she will never take the credit of it, but, I must say that I would not have been what I am, if I would not have stayed with my Brother Anand, sis-in-law Shubhangi, my two lovely nieces Isha and Akanksha, and Goo-goo our pet dog.

To me most of the change in people is because of the surroundings, environment, the people they come in contact with and may be some other factors not known to me. But, most the time change is good and, no one, whosoever it may be can ever avoid change. After all change is the only constant in this world; and off course Sachin Tendulkar. Now, how can I keep cricket out? :)

P.S: People who read this are requested to add the changes they found in me over the years by adding comments. :)

I could never have enough of you !!

You had always been an eternal desire,

Without you life was like a forest fire,

It was a dream that you made true,

But, I could never have enough of you !

There is no better teacher in this world than life,

Every stage it takes your test as if walking on a sharp knife,

The best moments in life are always few,

That's why I say, I could never have enough of you !

Whatever I went through still seems like a dream,

As if the Cricket world cup was won by the Indian team,

It was destined and it was long overdue,

But, I could never have enough of you !

For planting roses one has to deal with thorn,

But when something has to happen life does not warn,

The society can never understand feelings of a few,

Thus, I could never have enough of you !


So many years it took me to get courageous,

But once the ice was broken, things were spontaneous,

Life in the fast lane always throws challenges at you,

But still, I could never have enough of you !


Years of prejudice ended and it was a fresh beginning,

It was destiny and could not be achieved by any training,

Enough is enough people will say under the sky that is blue,

But, seriously, I could never have enough of you !!!

I really could never have enough of you... !!!

-RB

Ishant Sharma's moment of glory.

The scoreboard read 124/8 when Ishant Sharma came into bat with the Very very Special batsmen India has ever produced. India still needed 92 runs for the improbable feat.The Aussie captain Ricky Ponting was just waiting for two more wickets to fall and celebrate his first ever test victory as captain on Indian soil. Who would have thought that a team like India can even think of winning from such a situation. It was the easiest of guesses that which side had the best chances to win the match from the situation India was in, even for Sir Jeffory Boycott's mom. But, destiny, VVS Laxman and Ishant Sharma had other thoughts. The sheer grit and determination with which Isant protected one end of the crease while the runs were coming thick and fast from Laxman's blade was amazing. As someone has very well quoted that in life the most important virtue one can possess is attitude. Ishant Sharma used this most important attribute of his personality to great effect against the mighty aussies in Mohali. Tuesday the 5th of October 2010 is a day to remember for Indian cricket. Never in the history of Indian cricket has such magic happened. And most importantly people will remember VVS but not many will remember Ishanst sharma. His gutsy innings of 31 in a partnership of 81 with VVS is worth remembering for a life time. All his past sins where he might have dropped a catch or conceeded too many runs of his bowlings have been completely washed out by this one special innings. For once Ishant Sharma came good to play a match winning role in a test match for India. And could you believe that it was not his bowling, but, his batting that helped India win a test match against the aussies. When a Very very special player was showing complete confidence in the batting abilities of Ishant, how could he not play a special innings for his team and his country India. . India won the test match finally by one wicket. Ricky Ponting has to wait for his first ever test win as a captain in India. Way to go Ishant Sharma !!! India is proud of you !! Wonderful display of sheer attitude shared with the brillance of VVS. Thanks for bringing this Joy to me and all the cricket fans in India.

Complete Details of this match can be found here http://www.cricinfo.com/india-v-australia-2010/engine/match/464526.html

That old young man

Old because of his age. He must be in his sixties. He is short and wears spectacles. I cant really tell from his face whether he recognizes me. But, everytime we see each other, there is a warm smile on his face and he waves his hand at me. I can't help myself but to reciprocate with a smile and a wave.
Young because of his body language. He is always smiling. I have not seen many people of his age behaving in the manner he does. He must have seen many ups and downs in his life and must have had his share of bad days as well. But, if you see or meet him, he seems to be enjoying life at its fullest.
It's an amazing feeling when someone whom you dont know does that to you on a regular basis. Suddenly, makes you feel so important. My funny little old young man does this to all the people he sees or meets. I have to walk about 500 meters to the place where I have to wait or my office bus. This person meets me in the way or I see him when I am waiting for my bus. Seeing and meeting him in the morning makes my day. The day I dont see him makes me feel like I am missing something. The whole lot of positive energy he sends across, really makes me smile. It really makes me feel like the world is a very happy place to live in. This man sends a strong message across; " Life is full of happiness, so enjoy it to the fullest extent !". Amazing it is, really.
He really is an inspiration to live and enjoy life. Full of positive energy, always smiling at everyone. If all human beings would have been like that, the world would have been much more happier place to live in. My little old young man displays humanity at its stupendous best. God does exist. This is how God shows us his existence in human form. If we open our eyes and observe, the world is full of such creations. Always keep your eyes open. God can be seen, felt or noticed in any form.

Note: Some people may find this a litte too abstract. But, my feelings about this man can only be understood completely, if you see him or someone similar to him.

Necessity is the mother of invention

This happened when we were staying in Baroda during the scorching summer of May 2004. Once when Isha (my younger niece) was about 8 years old, she came to me and asked that she needs help in her homework to write a Hindi Poem. This was a task given as a Hindi homework for the summer vacations. I believe she was in IInd then. I could not believe that this task of writing a poem was given to an 8 year old kid. Well in those days if there was some awkward homework task given to Isha she always used to come to me to get it done. And in those days I learned something from small children. They never think anything is impossible. When she asked for this hindi poem, I was like "Poem!!!, baby, It's not my cup of tea, impossible for me." Children never think anything is impossible. It’s only the up-bringing which teaches them that things are impossible. Isha could not take no for an answer. I was never able to convince her that it is impossible for me to write a poem. She was always so sweet that she would never throw tantrums in front of me, but I could always understand that if I could not fulfil her demand she is going to be upset.

The incident made me think a lot. I did remember that I had written short 4 liners when I was in class XIth for our seniors in Hindi for their farewell. It was a tradition that each of the senior was given a nickname and a short rhyming 4 liners were written in their honour and handed over to them after announcing them during the farewell. I do remember creating those 4 liners in Hindi for about 12-15 senior guys. Necessity was the mother of invention. Since no one else came forward to take the responsibility, I took the onus on me and did it that time. Same was the case now. I motivated myself to think that, "Man! You have done it before. If you try it can be done again."

So I was at the task and this poem was created when for some reason I was at the MS University of Baroda, waiting for someone and I had enough time with me. Suddenly out of nowhere this thought of using animal (as children love animal stories) as the central character of the poem came to mind and following is my creation.

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सयाना हाथी

एक था हाथी बडा सयाना
उसके थे नानी और नाना
नाम का उसके नही ठिकाना
बहुत सारा वह खाता था खाना

एक दिन वह गया नदी पर
बहुत सारा था पानी वहा पर
पानी देख उसके मन में आया
चलो नहा लू पर घबराया
अगर पानी में होगा घडीयाल
तो मैं बचूंगा ना मेरे बाल

सूझभूझ उसने दिखालायी
जोर कि एक आवाज लागाई
सुनकर आवाज आया घडीयाल
हाथी बोला भैया वच गए बाल बाल

सही समय पर अकल लगाई
हाथी ने अपनी जान बचाई
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It would be worthwhile to notice that when I gave this poem to Isha, she did not like it :) :). She had her own doubts whether her teacher would approve this funny little poem. I was shattered. My first creation and first reaction to it was disapproval :). But, I was so proud of my creation that I somehow convinced her, that this is the best I could write and she had to adjust with this for now. My sweet little niece agreed. But, I do not know whether after the summer vacations her Hindi teacher asked for the poem and whether Isha had the courage to hand over this poem to her teacher. I didn't even inquire about it.

Necessity is the mother of invention. How true?

Irresponsible Innovation

Volkswagen Vento Ad in Today's Times of India Pune Edition (Dated: Sep,21,2010)

Soon as I opened the newspaper today morning, I was startled as I could hear someone speaking. In that split second innumerable thoughts came to my mind, till I discovered a small piece of plastic attached to the Volkswagen ad that had a speaker and the sound was coming from it. All it was speaking was about the new Volkswagen Vento which was going on endlessly in a loop. The first thing that I tried with it was how to stop this irritating sound. Within seconds I found out that it has a light sensor attached to it so that when we close the opening of that sensor, it stopped. Cool, I got the mechanism of its working. But, as soon as I started reading the newspaper again, the irritating advertisement started all over again. Thanks to this ad, for the first time I read the news items of the Pune Times before the Main TOI newspaper. I had to finally tear out the piece of plastic from the paper and put it to rest by putting it upside down.

All the time a thought that came to my mind was how many TOI copies would have been supplied all over Pune today. The more the number, means the more tons of non biodegradable waste. True, that the advertisement was innovative and it must have caught everyone's attention, but, why could not anyone think about this simple thing. Volkswagen who talk about low emission or zero emission technology could not even think about the consequences their advertisement will have on the environment. This is such an irresponsible behavior. Having said that, I did not expect the renowned newspaper like Times of India to carry this ad and encourage such ventures. A German company creating an ad which would be having a huge impact on the environment in India and a respectable newspaper like TOI helping in such irresponsible behavior is something I could not believe. It should be strongly objected from all the quarters of people reading the newspaper. If this kind of things are encouraged, very soon we are all going to see audible newspapers and tons and tons of non-biodegradable waste. In today's time, when we are already facing so many consequences of Global warming, should this kind of irresponsible behavior be tolerated?

Mera Bharat Mahan

Mera Bharat Mahan

Mera Bharat Mahan. How many times have we heard of this phrase? Well every other day, so much so that it has lost its true meaning. We tend to be very patriotic in our childhood and slowly as we grow up other things take priority over this patriotic feeling. Well all said and done, one must not forget India is our country and there are millions of reasons to be proud of India.
We all have heard about the sacrifices of thousands for the freedom of India. Those were completely selfless people. What did they gain in doing what they did for the country? To a sane person, only death nothing else. Who would care what happens to the country after one dies? But, they were not to be undone by this small closed minded mentality. People like Mahatma Gandhi, Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, Chandrashekar Aaazad, Maharani Laxmibai, Sarojini Naidu and so many more just thought about the benefit of the people living in the country. Their selfless attitude made the English people realize, what the people in India are made of. Truly, we must be proud to be in a country that had and still have such selfless people.
India has a cultural heritage of more than thousands of years. No other country would be having so many old age monuments and places of visit that India has. From Kashmir in the north to Kanyakumari in the south and from Gujarat in the west to Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya in the East there is a vast difference in the culture. People speak so many languages; they worship so many different GODs. But, still, when it comes to country they all feel proud to be an Indian. It’s amazing how all this variety of people can still stay together and respect each other's culture and religion. If you don’t believe it take an example of an Indian cricket match being played. You would see people from all nukes and corners of the society, be it any culture any religion or any language they speak, they all support one team, i.e. the Indian team. How truly amazing it is? Where else in the world you will find so many different people but still they are all together and respect each other.

In whichever field you want to find, be it music, sports, television, technology, politics, culture and whatever, you will surely find a personality you will feel proud of. Whosoever is respected by the whole country definitely must be having a lot of dedication in his field. But, every one of those people has done something or the other for the community for India to earn this respect.
There are personalities like Dr. Abdul Kalam Aazad, Amitabh Bachchan, Sachin Tendulkar, Lata Mangeshkar, A.R. Rehman and so many more who are a role model for every Indian. These people are reason enough to be feeling proud of India.

If you want to see the geographical beauty of India, there are lots and lots of places which one won’t be able to cover in one's entire lifespan. India is full of natural beauty and scenic places. Why otherwise do you think that India is favorite tourist destination for people around the world? It really has so much worth exploring. Within entire length and breadth of the country there are amazing beautiful destinations to see and relax. If this does not makes you feel proud of your country what else can. Seriously!
And to top it all, a normal person in India is a good human being from his heart. This is something very unique which one can't find in any other place in the world. How complicated are the routes for every place in India? Do you think it would have been possible without depending completely on the locals for asking the way to specific places? There have been so many examples where local residents have helped the tourists whenever they required. India treats their visitor like GOD (Atithi devo bhava as they say in Sanskrit). Where else in the world will you find this followed, except India?

Sure enough people have lost the importance of feeling proud about their own country and doing something for the country because of other priorities in their life. But, whenever there are incidents like earth quakes, bomb blasts, tsunamis and terrorist attacks people do come together to show that no one is alone. We all are always together in a crisis. Numerous examples can be cited from the history of India.

India is truly a unique country and the phrase "Mera Bharat Mahan" is more than 200% appropriate for a country like India. Every Indian feels the same for India. We do fight among each other for trivial issues, but we all are together always when it comes to showing our togetherness against outsiders. Let’s all be together and celebrate this 64th Independence Day of India.

Happy Independence Day. Vande matram. Jai Hind!