We Are Not Alone

I have been asked many times why do I read books? What indeed could I get from spending so much time and money on words written by some guy who lived long before our time or whose life is/was totally different from us? What virtue lies in the stories of wizards, knights or monsters that are used to amuse small kids?

There were stories about brave men and women who fought courageously for what they believed in. Then there were stories about common people who acted heroically in the face of danger for their families & friends and did great deeds. Stories of simple life’s of people having sorrows of their own.

It was not a conscious effort on my part to start reading novels. It was like an unknown connection that I felt, I had with stories of men and women living different lives than me that drew me towards reading. It was partially my curiosity about people that made me search for answers. I used to wonder when I was sad that why god made me miserable. I used to think I was the only one who had to face difficulties in life. Reading books told me it was not so. There was comfort there knowing everyone have felt the same way I did. The most consolation a person can get is by knowing that he/she is not alone.

Now the questions come:

Why we feel what we feel? Why we cry for some trivial a thing, as assumed by onlooker’s? Why something’s/someone mean so much to us than the rest of the world never could? Does our little or big obsessions even justified? How can we know the answers before even making those decisions? Where you are right now, you’ll never be again. So how can we be prepared for what is to come, when we never have been there?

“A smart man learns from his mistakes.
A wise one learns from the mistakes of others.”

You learn from experiences of others. All the answers are there in the books which people have written, opening their mind and souls for the world to see. Their stories are a mirage created from their feelings, given shape by their imagination and perfected by their version of the world. A magic that is as real as the person who created it. For they have lived those life’s a hundred times before inscribing them on paper.

In the virtual world which we live now, we are losing the traits of humanity. We the privileged few are far from deeper meanings of our coexistence in this world than we could imagine. For nobody is there to teach us the need of compassion. We have lived in a sheltered life’s so far in metro cities with all the materialistic pleasures the world could offer. But all the virtual realities vanishes very fast when we have to face adversity. The emptiness that surrounds us then is very real and frightening indeed.

Then how to we fill these empty spaces in our life, for we are more concerned about piling petty materialistic pleasures for ourselves that we do not see the whole picture. We were not born to merely exist. We were meant to coexist with our fellow humans. For this we need to understand each other and only then we can move forward with humanity.

The stories about simple people living there life’s peacefully in some forgotten corners of the world will teach you the most important things there is to learn: empathy, kindness and generosity. To help someone without letting that person know, to do a good deed without selfish motives or sacrificing something for the greater good; these can be learnt from those stories of simple of men and women.

I for one believe that if all of us were to learn what the books have to teach us; the world will be a better place to live in.

Friends For Life: A Gem Of A Person (Contd..)

The person I am writing today is a special one. Well special because it is such a rarity to see someone who seems like a mirror which shows every color of life exactly same to everyone, without any prejudice or bias. Truly a gem of a person, if anybody get’s an opportunity of meeting her (I promise you!) they cannot say no to that. I had that opportunity (Don’t want to say honor or she will go sky high) and so today I must write about this wonderful person who goes by the name of Ansu Anna Alex (Don’t get mixed up by the name! it’s just Ansu for everyone).

Well I met her after few days of start of our training when me, Shoyeb and Deepesh decided to sit in the same row next to each other, leaving one seat vacant between us on either sides, which were supposed to be filled by girls of our batch. Well I don’t know how it happened (I think she didn't have any other choice!) but she decided to sit next to me. Incidentally that very day was her turn for giving Jam. She didn't came prepared (She never is!) and so she just read a poem from her mobile. I don’t remember the words but I somehow ended up making fun of her and she gave me her seriously angry looks (She can never be properly angry at anyone and that is a fact!). It started like this, me thinking she is not a girl to cross (Serious misconception on my part!) and what she thinks about me I can only guess.

Over time I got to know her better and now I am glad that I met her.

There is something wonderful in seeing such a simple and unsophisticated person which makes her even more beautiful to behold. For her brilliance lies in her soul, which is innocent & thus shines the brightest. She belongs to that rare creed which still have faith and who are true to themselves. It relieves my heart to see such a remarkable person and more so for having her as a friend.

We became fast friends during our training and helped each whenever needed (When not required then also I helped!). We both had to share all the dull sessions together about which half the time we didn't have any clue. We worked together and encouraged each other to do better. There is nothing extraordinary about the time we spent together or anything very memorable that we did together but such is life, the ordinary moments spent with a extraordinary person becomes special.

The thing that I really liked most about her was the humbleness and sensitiveness she showed while interacting with everyone around her. Some people might mistake her softness for her weakness but I know as a matter of fact that she has strength within her which she herself sometimes downplays. She is in fact one of the best person that I have met in my life so far and I truly believe she will do great things in life.

Seeing back, I think she understood me better than most people did, for which I am grateful.

I infuriated her at a lot of occasions but she kept her peace (for which I am thankful to her). 

I wish her the very best in all her pursuits of life.

(To be contd.....)

Friends For Life: A Fierce Friend (contd..)

Now, I would write about a person who I came to admire for his courage and sincerity that I have seen in very few people. His name is MJ Shoyeb beside whom I sat on the first day of beginning of our training batch. He is a serious looking person but with a ready smile. I was very lucky that I got a seat next to him because I soon found out how hard the training was going to be in the coming months. He was our savior as he is very good in technical stuff about which I didn't have any clue at all (I still don't have any clue!). 

The thing I liked most about him is that he was always there for all of us with a helping hand whenever we needed him. He is among the most sincere and intelligent people in our batch (It literally saved us during the exams) and had good ideas where to put our focus so that we would clear our exams. Apart from work he was one of the most jolly and friendly person around us. The great thing about him was that he is genuinely cared about all of us and wanted us to do well.

On a personal side he is a sensitive person who is one of those people who think and act from their heart rather than their mind. This makes him special as in his heart there is no place dishonesty or falseness. He is as straightforward as anybody with a conscience that speaks of his moral integrity.

I have learned many things from him whether technical or about being a person who cares about everyone around him (but so many technical things!!) & who wants everyone to have equal success for that purpose would encourage everyone to work as a team. He was relentless in his pursuit of sharing his knowledge with everyone and gain from others wherever and whenever possible.

He is a fierce friend and I had the pleasure of spending most of our training in his company and with his support. It makes me feel proud to have such a friend in life.

Special thanks to him from bottom of my heart!!


(To be contd.....)

Friends For Life

I think about the last year and would like to remember few people who made an impression on me not to mention lasting friendship that I hold very close to my heart.

I would first start with Shruthi Vijayan. Well I met with her on my induction day  in Tech Mahindra. A smart, intelligent looking girl who sat behind me (I was in the first row!) from Delhi. She is the first one I got to know in Hyderabad and as we both were from same part of India (common grounds!), we hit off well from the very start.

I don’t what happened or how her father got impressed by me (my traditional greeting: touching his feet helped), he decided that she should live in the same area (where I was living) that I suggested to her. It was starting of our acquaintance that came with some great memories during my training time. The night time chat’s near that Vodafone Store or our weekend hangouts in Inorbit Mall not to mention our Extreme Sports Bar where we had some great time (especially the defeat of India in the T-20 World Cup!).

I came to respect her for her courage which makes her outspoken for what she believes in and her emotional side (which she doesn't shows very often; but which exist all the same). There was a side to her personality that she kept close to her but which I think is an important part of her i.e. the fact she likes to write. She has a diary which she always keeps with her and where she writes (I don’t know what); but which I think explains her observant and perceptive nature. The time spent with her was very precious to me, as it is very rare that you find a person with almost same emotional and mental level and with similar opinion on so many things that matter. The key to our bonding was the understanding and trust that we showed each other.


We were together during the tumultuous period when we both were getting drilled to become professional software engineers. We shared our frustration & hopes during that time but we still found time for fun. I would always cherish the time spent with her. 

Though we only spent a few months together, on my part I know I found a friend for life.


(To be contd...)

A Day Of Peace

It has been a long time since I wrote my last blog. It seems words flow freely in times of great turmoil or peace. For previously when I used to write, it was my uncertainty about my future that spoke out and now being back at home after a long time, feeling the same old sense of belonging to a place made me revisit my past writing days. It has been days since I felt the peace of mind without any haste of the world. Well it had to have an effect on me.

So here I am again.

It seems only yesterday I left for joining in an IT company to a place totally different then what I am used to. It seems that time has flown, changing many things, most of all, me. Yet sitting in my home writing this blog it feels nothing has altered since last year when I left Delhi. But my heart knows that it has.

It has been the most important year in my life so far. For it was my time with the outside world (as it is called), without the guidance and help of my friends and family. It was a year of reckoning where I have to prove my worth.

I did okay, I think (Hope I am correct!).

I meet with people entirely different than me and I learnt a great deal from all of them. It opened my eyes to how much I still need to learn. I made some great friendships along the way. It warmed my heart to know people who were born and bought-up completely different from what I was.  I understand now that under the differences we all are actually the same inside.

I hope my new friends will go a long way with me.  

I sit and look back all the time that has passed since I left Delhi for Bangalore and I say to everyone there is no place like home. It always feels comfortable and secure no matter what. The very air seems so refreshing and pure (Thanks to godsend rain). I was telling a friend that I like Delhi more compared to Bangalore when I got an amazing reply “You don’t like the place, you like the people in it”. This pretty much sums it all.

What my friend implied and with which I concur is a fact that I have in Delhi some special friends and family that make my life meaningful and who I treasure above everything. For life without these special people will be dull and gloomy indeed. So to see them again after so many months gives me the will and strength to carry on. With these people, a year is not enough for talking till my heart’s fill and a moment is sufficient to look at them and understand that our bond is strong as ever.

It’s good to be back. After a long time it finally feels like home.

Today life is good. 

Cheers!!