A nice, motivational poem, that I came across on a website.
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you are trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but do not quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Drenched
It was my first Valentine’s Day after marriage. Its barely a month that I have been married... So I was really looking forward to a great day. Here’s an account of how we spent our day.
It was a typical day, where I had to get up and go for work. But we had planned a nice dinner in the evening. Atul had a *conference-call in the evening, so he was going to be late. Knowing all this, I decided to go home early & present Atul a surprise by making the house all tidy & clean. (Yes, that’s indeed a great gift to present to your spouse, especially when it’s just the two of you trying to clean the house day in and day out... There are so many chores to be done! I must mention here that my husband does help me with the daily chores!)
So I began tidying the house. I put this in place and put that in place. Cleaned this and cleaned that. Then finally I started the washing machine. There is some problem with our washing machine drainage and we usually direct the outlet to the bathroom, where it needs to be fixed properly as it’s a little clumsy and unstable. I ensured that I had done everything necessary and decided that that’s enough of work. So I sat with the laptop making playlists, listening to good music... And waiting for Atul, expecting a nice surprise from him.
Eventually I got bored of making the playlists and got out of the bedroom... And lo behold! The washing machine outlet had fallen and the entire house was submerged in water! There was water in the kitchen. There was water in the living room. Water, water, everywhere! And my mind stopped functioning completely. I was forcing myself to think, “Think Mukta, where to start cleaning? How to clean? What to do? Think Mukta, think”... And the doorbell rang. It was our neighbor. The water had flowed outside the house!! And my neighbor was worried if there was any problem. She saw me in that shocked state and offered help. But what could she do? I could not think of anyway she could help me. I felt like a flood-affected victim. Totally helpless!!
You would not believe what I started doing. I took a bucket, and started picking up the water on the floor with my hands and started filling the bucket. I thought, slowly and steadily I would succeed...
Again the doorbell rang. It was Atul standing at the door with a beautiful bouquet in his hands. And the song running on the laptop was “Nadiya kinaare...” It was an amusing scene.
The calm smile on my husband’s face, that bouquet, and that wishing “Happy Valentine’s Day” amidst a calamity, really helped me regain my senses! In 15 minutes we had cleared the house from the flood waters... We put the fans on high speed and were out for a wonderful dinner!
The dinner and the surprises: It made my day! It made up for the tragedy that I had created!
When I wiped the floors clean the following day, I noticed that the floor tiles were shining. All thanks to the soapy waters that was thrown out of the washing machine!
I thought, “All that happens, does happen for the good”. :)
*A typical “task” of a software engineer, most of the times: terribly boring!
It was a typical day, where I had to get up and go for work. But we had planned a nice dinner in the evening. Atul had a *conference-call in the evening, so he was going to be late. Knowing all this, I decided to go home early & present Atul a surprise by making the house all tidy & clean. (Yes, that’s indeed a great gift to present to your spouse, especially when it’s just the two of you trying to clean the house day in and day out... There are so many chores to be done! I must mention here that my husband does help me with the daily chores!)
So I began tidying the house. I put this in place and put that in place. Cleaned this and cleaned that. Then finally I started the washing machine. There is some problem with our washing machine drainage and we usually direct the outlet to the bathroom, where it needs to be fixed properly as it’s a little clumsy and unstable. I ensured that I had done everything necessary and decided that that’s enough of work. So I sat with the laptop making playlists, listening to good music... And waiting for Atul, expecting a nice surprise from him.
Eventually I got bored of making the playlists and got out of the bedroom... And lo behold! The washing machine outlet had fallen and the entire house was submerged in water! There was water in the kitchen. There was water in the living room. Water, water, everywhere! And my mind stopped functioning completely. I was forcing myself to think, “Think Mukta, where to start cleaning? How to clean? What to do? Think Mukta, think”... And the doorbell rang. It was our neighbor. The water had flowed outside the house!! And my neighbor was worried if there was any problem. She saw me in that shocked state and offered help. But what could she do? I could not think of anyway she could help me. I felt like a flood-affected victim. Totally helpless!!
You would not believe what I started doing. I took a bucket, and started picking up the water on the floor with my hands and started filling the bucket. I thought, slowly and steadily I would succeed...
Again the doorbell rang. It was Atul standing at the door with a beautiful bouquet in his hands. And the song running on the laptop was “Nadiya kinaare...” It was an amusing scene.
The calm smile on my husband’s face, that bouquet, and that wishing “Happy Valentine’s Day” amidst a calamity, really helped me regain my senses! In 15 minutes we had cleared the house from the flood waters... We put the fans on high speed and were out for a wonderful dinner!
The dinner and the surprises: It made my day! It made up for the tragedy that I had created!
When I wiped the floors clean the following day, I noticed that the floor tiles were shining. All thanks to the soapy waters that was thrown out of the washing machine!
I thought, “All that happens, does happen for the good”. :)
*A typical “task” of a software engineer, most of the times: terribly boring!
Monday, February 13, 2006
Marriage
Getting married is such a big change in one's life! I got married to Atul on 11 Jan 2006. Everyday after 11th Jan is an adventure, a fun-filled wonder to me! :)
I am experiencing a miracle for the past one month. The entire world seems to have changed its course. My heart is filled with exhileration when I remember the aura, the ecstasy, the perfectness of my wedding day. The state of numbness that day, due to an all-time high level of happiness ever attained. That stimulating time in Goa... Nothing can ever alter the thrill of this hallowed occasion!
George Bernard Shaw described marriage as the time "when two people are under the influence of the most violent, most insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions. They are required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and exhausting condition continuously until death do them part."
Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love; and they blossom when we love the ones we marry. Maybe it is difficult to maintain this love all throughout our lives. Today, however, I am not able to see anything that can lessen this love. We have already had some tiffs that opened our eyes wide! But it is through such tiffs that you get to know your spouse even better. It is when you fight, that you realise the worth of your friend... The depth in the relationship grows stronger.
"The middle years of marriage are the most crucial. In the early years, spouses want each other and in late years, they need each other." -Rebecca Tilly. I totally agree with the part of wanting & needing your partner. Within a month's time, both of us have started growing used to each other. There isnt a single thing that we dont do together! This has started increasing the dependency. I am so sure that in the late years, this need for each other will grow much more. At this moment though, I am unable to imagine the middle years, which people call as challenging...
I believe that the kind of marriage you make depends upon the kind of person you are. If you are a happy, well-adjusted person, the chances are your marriage will be a happy one. If you have made adjustments so far with more satisfaction than distress, you are likely to make your marriage and family adjustments satisfactorily. If you are discontented and bitter about your lot in life, you will have to change before you can expect to live happily ever after.
I am experiencing a miracle for the past one month. The entire world seems to have changed its course. My heart is filled with exhileration when I remember the aura, the ecstasy, the perfectness of my wedding day. The state of numbness that day, due to an all-time high level of happiness ever attained. That stimulating time in Goa... Nothing can ever alter the thrill of this hallowed occasion!
George Bernard Shaw described marriage as the time "when two people are under the influence of the most violent, most insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions. They are required to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal, and exhausting condition continuously until death do them part."
Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love; and they blossom when we love the ones we marry. Maybe it is difficult to maintain this love all throughout our lives. Today, however, I am not able to see anything that can lessen this love. We have already had some tiffs that opened our eyes wide! But it is through such tiffs that you get to know your spouse even better. It is when you fight, that you realise the worth of your friend... The depth in the relationship grows stronger.
"The middle years of marriage are the most crucial. In the early years, spouses want each other and in late years, they need each other." -Rebecca Tilly. I totally agree with the part of wanting & needing your partner. Within a month's time, both of us have started growing used to each other. There isnt a single thing that we dont do together! This has started increasing the dependency. I am so sure that in the late years, this need for each other will grow much more. At this moment though, I am unable to imagine the middle years, which people call as challenging...
I believe that the kind of marriage you make depends upon the kind of person you are. If you are a happy, well-adjusted person, the chances are your marriage will be a happy one. If you have made adjustments so far with more satisfaction than distress, you are likely to make your marriage and family adjustments satisfactorily. If you are discontented and bitter about your lot in life, you will have to change before you can expect to live happily ever after.
Friday, February 03, 2006
A Revolution
I watched "Rang De Basanti" last weekend. I loved the movie and the message that it conveyed made me write my thoughts on this topic.
The Republic day was over. That day I wondered "why are we celebrating this day?". What significance does this day have after 55+ years? What constitution are we talking about?
All day patriotic songs were played on Radio Mirchi. And I wondered what the "freedom fighters" had fought for. They had laid down their lives. And our Mother India got freedom. But freedom from what?
I just shrugged off my thoughts... What use it is to think of all this anyway? What difference is it going to make? But I got a holiday from office. That was all that pleased me.
And then I watched Rang De Basanti.
The movie too showed how we, common citizens, crib about all the problems in our country. But we are ready to do nothing. I liked the way Amir and Madhavan debated on this topic. Amir pointed out that we are unable to move ahead as we all are tied to our past. And yet we think about our future and are trying to run somewhere. He said:
"Humara ek paiir past mein hai, aur ek paiir future mein hai...
Isiliye hum aaj mein moot rahe hain!"
How true!
But what Madhavan replied was equally true. He said, "Everyone wants his home to be clean, tidy and perfect. But no one wants to dirty their hands to clean his house!"
And I agreed completely...
We crib that nothing seems to work correctly in India. We curse our systems and opt to run to the US. But the need of today is to wait here and clean the mess that we are in.
We can identify the problems. And we suggest solutions. What we dont do is, try to implement the solutions. Its difficult, I agree. But now we must fight. Fight like how our freedom-fighters fought. They gave up their lives for a cause. We also have a cause. "No country is perfect. We, the youth must come up and take efforts to make our country perfect", said Madhavan.
Our heros of the past cleaned our home for us. They told us "Kar chalein hum fida jaan aur tan saathiyon, ab tumhare hawalein vatan saathiyon". They have handed us the batons. Its our duty now to wake up and take firm steps to better our country.
Today we are more educated, have more exposure to media, have the mind and the right to express our thoughts, our opinions. The fight to clean India should not be as hard as it was before. Let us not wait for another Bhagatsingh to lay down his life to realise " the start of a revolution".
The Republic day was over. That day I wondered "why are we celebrating this day?". What significance does this day have after 55+ years? What constitution are we talking about?
All day patriotic songs were played on Radio Mirchi. And I wondered what the "freedom fighters" had fought for. They had laid down their lives. And our Mother India got freedom. But freedom from what?
I just shrugged off my thoughts... What use it is to think of all this anyway? What difference is it going to make? But I got a holiday from office. That was all that pleased me.
And then I watched Rang De Basanti.
The movie too showed how we, common citizens, crib about all the problems in our country. But we are ready to do nothing. I liked the way Amir and Madhavan debated on this topic. Amir pointed out that we are unable to move ahead as we all are tied to our past. And yet we think about our future and are trying to run somewhere. He said:
"Humara ek paiir past mein hai, aur ek paiir future mein hai...
Isiliye hum aaj mein moot rahe hain!"
How true!
But what Madhavan replied was equally true. He said, "Everyone wants his home to be clean, tidy and perfect. But no one wants to dirty their hands to clean his house!"
And I agreed completely...
We crib that nothing seems to work correctly in India. We curse our systems and opt to run to the US. But the need of today is to wait here and clean the mess that we are in.
We can identify the problems. And we suggest solutions. What we dont do is, try to implement the solutions. Its difficult, I agree. But now we must fight. Fight like how our freedom-fighters fought. They gave up their lives for a cause. We also have a cause. "No country is perfect. We, the youth must come up and take efforts to make our country perfect", said Madhavan.
Our heros of the past cleaned our home for us. They told us "Kar chalein hum fida jaan aur tan saathiyon, ab tumhare hawalein vatan saathiyon". They have handed us the batons. Its our duty now to wake up and take firm steps to better our country.
Today we are more educated, have more exposure to media, have the mind and the right to express our thoughts, our opinions. The fight to clean India should not be as hard as it was before. Let us not wait for another Bhagatsingh to lay down his life to realise " the start of a revolution".
Thursday, February 02, 2006
If you give me...
I have written this poem to inaugrate my blog!
It conveys simple feelings... But what makes this poem special is simply, feelings!
If you give me your love
I will cherish it.
If you give me a wound
I will forget it.
If you give me your word
I will keep it.
If you give me a smile
I will return it.
If you give me a brush
I will paint a rainbow.
If you give me a pen
I will write a poem.
If you give me your heart
I will tend it.
If you give me your dream
I will live it.
It conveys simple feelings... But what makes this poem special is simply, feelings!
If you give me your love
I will cherish it.
If you give me a wound
I will forget it.
If you give me your word
I will keep it.
If you give me a smile
I will return it.
If you give me a brush
I will paint a rainbow.
If you give me a pen
I will write a poem.
If you give me your heart
I will tend it.
If you give me your dream
I will live it.
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