Exploring the World Around You

"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel
until he comes home and
rests his head on his old, familiar pillow"

— Lin Yutang

Am I different or my friends don't have the zeal to explore the world? I came across this thought when I told one of my friends that we should take a trip to a hill station located near to his native place which happens to be in Uttranchal. The way he answered said it all. An affirmative just to appease and did not meant it.

This was not first time when I asked him about the trip. My friends can vouch that I keep pestering them to go out and explore the places around. Every time I say that, the only word that I hear is "No". I don't know if they have other plans but at times there are just not interested.

I know that I could go out with my family, but things are different with them. The fun you have with your friends is not the same with family around. Don't you want to get out of your routine and see places never seen before and come back refreshed? I don't know why my friends don't think alike.

I have a simple philosophy. You live only once so why not take a moment to explore the scenic beauty, ancient places and the world around you. Guess my friends have a different take on life.

I do have to admit though, that some times being persistent helps. I found a friend who also likes to travel. The two of us went to explore the beaches of Goa and had great fun. Initially, we were a group of three planning to see the Taj Mahal, but plans changed and we landed up in Goa with the two of us.

We came up with the thought that we would travel to a new destination once a year. Last year I would have visited Kashmir, but I had to cancel my trip on the last minute due to unavoidable circumstances. My friends had a great time over there.

This year, I am planning to do something different. Planning to go on a trip alone. Also promised my family that I will take them to Taj Mahal this year. That does not mean that I will stop bugging my friends.

After all its the company you are in that makes your journey worthwhile to remember. Then they are times when you have to be on your own so that you could enjoy what you admire.

The Good, the Bad and Ugly of 2008

As the year comes to an end, I have decided to look back at the year 2008 and see how good, bad and ugly it was :)

When the year started, I thought this was a year that would change my life (I read too much of horoscopes to think about that). It sure changed my life. In the first month itself I was getting a lot of flak when I was not at fault. It was a sign of what was coming on my way.

The first few months had been hell. I did everything that would ensure my survival. I sure did survive. The one thing that I am still yearning for is appreciation. I don't know what it will take for others to appreciate. I don't know when that will happen. When it does, it would have surely lost its importance in my life or may be I will cherish it a lot.

Then the day came, when I realized it's not worth it. Day when I thought, I had enough and its time that I should do what was on my mind all the time. I should have done this earlier. The signs were there for me to see, it was just that I was still clinging on the small ray of light at the end of the tunnel.

I moved on. This year also made me realize how good I am. I always underestimated myself, but not any more. I got to see things, that I did not see before me, but were in front of me all the time. It was like living life all again. I enjoyed that period. Also came to know of ways how I can resurrect my life for the better.

Change is one thing that I am not good at dealing with. Something that is good to talk about, but hard to follow. Still I knew that its better to face it than run away from it. That is what I am doing now.

My flair for writing is the one thing that came out this year. You might have noticed it in the blog. I also tried my hand at poems, thought only people who are sensitive could do that. Guess what, I am sensitive too.

I also made amends with GOD. I had stopped praying because I was angry at him. Over the years it seemed that I started believing in him again especially Sai Baba which restored my faith in him Still I did not visited temples unless my family drags me to one. Then there were times when I would make plans to travel temples outside the city. I realized that I was no longer angry and that I should stop fooling myself. That's what I did. When I was small, I told GOD something which I believe he turned into a reality. I don't know of all the other prayers I said to him, why he choose that. He surely reminds me of that day everyday.

I have my fair share of happiness, sadness, despair and other emotions. I also realized that when you look at the bad phases of your life, don't forget to look at the good phases too, it evens out. Life is not that bad at all. Life is not standing in your way, you are. Like they say,

BE THE CHANGE

Hope the year 2009 turns out better. I have a feeling it would (had peeked into 2009 horoscopes).

WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY NEW YEAR

AND

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

My Christmas Memories

"Christmas is not a time or season, but a state of mind.
To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy,
is to have the real spirit of Christmas"

The festive season is around, and if you are working in one of those outsourcing companies, you are sure to find the christmas spirit around you :) I sure did. Christmas has always been an occasion which brought joy to me, especially when it meant less work during this part of the year.

Over the years, there have been many christmas celebrations, but the one that I cherish was of which I was a part of. This was back in the year 2005, when I had just completed a year in the company. As a new recruit, I was full with energy and enthusiasm always coming up with ideas, be it work or having fun (That has not changed a bit, but yes cutting down on the work though). We had this fellow in our team, who loved to be in the limelight and wont be shy of his comments on anything. One day I just thought how wonderful it would be to make him a Santa Claus and bring gifts for the team in his gunny bag. I shared this idea with my Team Leader who was very happy and jumping with joy. Before we could carry it out, we had to take permission from our Manager. I emailed her about our plans and seeking her approval of the same.

She got the better of me. Instead of making him Santa Claus for just our process, she decided to do it with the whole dept. She was right in doing that. Our Santa Claus in the making was beaming with smile when the news was broken to him. What a day that was, people were getting crazy when he started throwing gifts around. On one point, I acted like a bouncer trying to protect him when people were all over him (Actually, I was worried about the clothes which I had brought on hire). What fun we had that day. He was there for all the shifts to distribute the gifts.

A funny thing had happen when my friend decided to get into the Santa Claus dress in the Men's loo. He was changing out in the open where people were coming and going. He told me that he would get into one of the toilet's to change. What followed next was simply hilarious. As he unlocked one of the doors, he blurted "Abe Akash tu kya kar raha hai:" Then the next voice came "Bandh kar saale". Akash forgot to lock the door while going in. Our Santa Claus commented loudly "Kya abe Western Commode main Indian Style behta hai, yeh pe bahtke mujhe use karna ageya hai". Even today when I think of this, I find myself laughing.

Another thing that made this Christmas memorable for me was doing something that I have never done before an audience. Yes, the first and the only time when I did a mimicry in front of others ( I prefer to do it in front of my family most of the times). It was part of the activities carried out for Christmas. It was the evening shift, when the shift lead decided to have a bit of fun around. It started with Antakashari, shayari and few mimicked each other and others guessed. I thought even I could it, but did not had the guts to move forward. I just told myself, let's just do it. and went ahead. I mimicked some of senior colleagues and managers. I was surprised to find a manager being a witness to my act. It was fun.

The next day, I had one of the managers (the count of managers in the dept. was endless) talk something about the act. I did not get what she said, but wondered how she came to know of that. The funny thing happened when I arrived at my office with Santa Claus in the making with his clothes, when one of the manager got caught hold of me in the reception area. He came to know that I mimicked him and wanted me to do it again. I was taken aback from a moment. I told him I cannot do it here right now, so he took me to the interview room nearby with another manager. There was no escape for me here, so I did it. not knowing what would followed next (He was not known for being friendly with others). Luckily, nothing happened. Before the manager got hold of me, he was busy taking interview of candidates. As I got in my dept. and settled in, there were more murmurs behind me, soon enough the other set of managers, shift lead also wanted to see the act again. Never before I have seen myself in so much demand. I was hesitant a bit, as I am not known for performing, but then there were other people who joined in, you can say the dept. I did it again not sure how well it came off. At the end of the act, it felt like a huge burden coming off. Later I came to know that the shift lead who had organized the activity had sent out a mail to every managers and leads about who did what. Had I any clue of that, I don't think I would have done the act.

I really enjoyed those days a lot. Though the christmas celebrations after that day has never been the same, but it does reminds me of the wonderful time that I had back then.

WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY CHRISTMAS

KEEP SPREADING THE JOY AROUND :))