Stop Taking Things for Granted

In the pursuit of complaining about almost everything happening in our lives, we often take things we have for granted. Until we lose them one day! We believe there is nothing special in the way god has made us.  We believe it is natural to have perfectly working body and we crib about the weird shape of nose god has given us. I was no different.

However, the recent accident, the leg fracture, and the inability to walk for weeks have changed the way I used to look at things. I realized how blessed I am to have these little pleasures in my life. Sitting in the bed the entire day have made me to stop and look at things that I have never bothered to look at. I realized that if we start focusing and noticing things that we often take for granted, we will be a much happier person.

We are humans and it is a natural human tendency to demand for more instead of being thankful for what we have. Our list of dreams and expectations is endless. But this small accident have taught me a new lesson and that is “ how to appreciate the smallest things in life?”

Getting Married to another Caste in India

Just watched ‘Vicky Donor’ yesterday. While I have already heard and read a lot about the different subject, great story and crisp performances in the movie, what I liked the most is the way the Punjabi-Bengali marriage was dealt with.  It is an agony how almost all the Hindi movies easily neglect a subject this important.

Unless, you or someone in your close family has tied an inter-caste knot, you will not understand the challenges that come along. We being the middle class Indian have a pre-conceived notion about every other caste in the society except the one we belong to. We have made it a habit to think that only the things we do, the food we eat, and the customs we follow are right while the food, habits, customs, and even the language that other caste people speak are inferior to ours. 

For instance, a North-Indian feels that South India is all about idli, dosa, coconut oil and dark skinned people. On the other hand, a South-Indian’s view of North India is about spicy food, Taj Mahal, and loud, ill-mannered people who are habitual of using slangs in every other sentence they speak. While these notions/views may not be entirely right or wrong, the point I am trying to make here is that we do not care to explore. We are happy with what we know or rather what we believe.

All these views and beliefs are shaken when someone from your family want to marry someone from other caste. While it is easy to make notions as an outsider, it is difficult for us to accept an OUTSIDER as an integral part of our family. Thanks to the changing scenario (and IT jobs in metros), more and more Indian are going for inter-caste marriage. Let us consider this as a positive sign and our first step towards exploring or giving a chance to understand other caste before criticizing it.  

Writing without Worries

After years of silence, I felt like writing a blog post on one of the busiest days of my life. It is a strange fact that the thought of restarting my blog never strikes me when I have nothing to do. It always occurs when I am overloaded with work and I let it go thinking that I will write when I have some spare time. But that actually never happens. So today, when I have piles of write-ups to complete, I have to cook, I have a doctor’s appointment, and what not, I still decided to write

It is not that I have something very important that I wanted to note, but after writing hundreds of pages for others, writing for myself gives me a wonderful feeling. Even the yummiest of chocolate cake cannot suffice this feeling. Especially when I open my blog and read my past writings, I just love every bit of it.

Back then, the posts were childish, the English was bad, the grammar was compromised, but I still loved it. Because that was something written straight from the heart without worrying about anything else. Today, when I write, I read it 10 times to ensure that all commas are placed correctly, the language is right, the flow is good. I might be able to create a good write-up but not that innocent a story as I used to. In the aim of writing a good piece of write-up, I end up compromising on what to write.

It is not that attention to details is something bad. It is just that every human loves to have that innocent face that looks wonderful even without a bit of make-up.

Forwaded Mails

Morning 9.00. I reached office and opened my mail box. As usual it contained number of forwaded mails -

First Mail – MS is giving money. You can make millions just by forwading mails. For every mail you forward some amount will be deposited in ur account.
I thought – What a piece of crap . If this would have been true… all the IT people have already been millionare and MS would have been bankrupt.

My Reaction – SHIFT + DELETE ( This Forwaded mail is a Fraud )


Second Mail - A Person got injected HIV virus through a needle which was placed in a seat of movie theatre
I thought – HIV can’t be injected this way . Because the virus get destroyed as soon as it come in contact with air.

My Reaction – SHIFT + DELETE ( Even This Forwaded mail is a Fraud )


Third Mail - Beautiful Pictures of Miss India world 2008 – Parvathi
I Thought – Common , I have seen the contest live. She is not even one of the finalist.

My Reaction – SHIFT + DELETE ( Almost all Forwaded mails are Fraud)


Fourth mail – A 3 year Old child needs B +ve blood . If u can help please contact --------- immediately
I Thought – Forwaded mail.. FRAUD

My Reaction- SHIFT + DELETE.

After Some Hours -- Oh NO ! - That 3 year old boy was my colleague's son
Next Thought -- How can I do this, My blood group is B +VE.