Rise and shine each time

When you are down and under the best thing you can do is to get up and rise again. As that is the lowest point that you can reach . From there you can't get lower than that. So only one option remains i.e. to go up. That is the point where you need to strive to go higher. Collect all the energy that is left and start afresh. 

It is difficult but ofcourse. You can't remain in the same spot and decay. And we also believe that everything comes with price. Nothing is free. And to gain something you have to work harder. So we should never be afraid of downfalls. Always be prepared to give one more push and that too harder than earlier. Yes, it will be not a smooth ride, but it will not be the goal that is not attainable.  To try so etching new might be difficult but not impossible. 

Plus, how can we be certain of our failure without even trying it? Believe in your own self. Have faith in what you are doing. Falling is not failing. Failing is when you stop trying to be able to succeed again. If you don't do...that would be failure. And that would be the worst thing you can do to yourself. Failing is getting defeated and never getting up. Life is like a wheel. What goes up comes down and what comes down is bound to go up one day. So why not give it a shove and set the wheel of our fortune in our way.

The problem actually lies in the effort and intention. Many times deep down we don't want to get up. We may have self pity which leads to feeling of remaining down under.  That's when we are defeated because we cease to fight , we simply give up.

Real courage lies in rising every time you fall. Every time. We can find such people around us who simply refuse to get defeated by circumstances. Each time life throws them harshly , they come out stronger and wiser. It is not easy for them to forget the blows and losses of past but they refuse to remain down under. They gather courage and start their life once again.  Now that is success for them. 

Given any situation , there is no escape from struggle. For some it can be easy going whereas for others it can be an uphill task. There you can not compare your struggle with anybody else's. As you don't know how far he has walked barefoot. You don't know what that person has undergone. It might have been easy or might have been difficult.  But one thing is for sure that success comes to those who work hard, persevere and refuse to go down under. 

We meet so many people in our lives who have faced and braved through the storms of their lives.  Every one has their own way to tackle. Some bow down whereas there are others who face such adverse situations head-on . Getting jolted is alright but  not holding to grounds is not allowed. 

Rise and shine as it is only way of life. 

A Day Without Television.

                                                            Now-a-days television has become an integral part of our lives. It has been there since our childhood. I remember how we used to schedule our studies according to telecast of our favorite programs. It was difficult for our mothers  to take us away from the TV when our weekly cartoon show was being aired. And during the rest of the days, all the other programs even krishi darshan were among the most viewed ones. It was not important for us to understand the content. simply viewing mattered.

                                                         

Weekly chitrahaar and other things like  movies made our day. I remember how my mother used to finish her household work so that she can watch the movie uninterrupted. Also a whole lot of neighbors too used to join us on the weekends as ours house was the only one with the TV. The movie "Pakeezah" had a houseful audience in our drawing room. Doordarshan provided us with all the entertainment of the time.

As of now, there are hundreds of channels airing endless shows on endless topics for endless hours. All of us have become addicted to the idiot box. All of us have our favorite programs on our favorite channels. If we are lucky enough we may have our own TV set in our rooms too. There can be a struggle to own the remote so that one particular program can be viewed. There is tussle among the kids and even elders about which channel is to be preferred. Younger generation prefers music channels, whereas men folk will go for sports  or news or at the most discovery channels. For women mainly channels airing serials are of utmost preference. Every time there is a race for the remote. And the winner gets his prize, i.e. he gets to choose which channel is to be viewed. 

All this commotion in our house came to a standstill when there was some disturbance in the telecast and there was no transmission at all for the whole day. All my family members got annoyed at the service provider. My mom in law went to bed early. As she shares bedroom with my daughter, so she too went to bed early. Instead of sleeping the duo talked till late. They did so since my daughter was young. Both of them hugged each other and slept. My mom in law shared stories of her childhood and youth, my daughter was surprised to know about so many things. It was a good bonding between the two. 

 My son brought out the game of scrabble. We used to play when he was young. I had long forgotten about that game. As a boy he was always beaten by me but yesterday my son defeated me in three straight games. He was so happy as if he had won the world cup. There was joy in his eyes and had a mysterious smile on his face. That glow in his eyes told very untold story. He was overjoyed with the feeling of winning over his mom. 

After dinner my husband suggested that we go out for an ice cream. We were all startled as he never asks for the same. We all readily agreed to it. We sang all along the way. Had ice cream at a dhaba on the outskirts of the city. On our way back my mind wandered over the happenings of the day.  I thanked the cable wala guy for giving us the family time which was most needed.

Actually I am thinking that I should ask the cable wala to shut down the transmission at least once a month so that my family can spend few hours together and be in the company of each other.

It is always good to around family and friends. And Diwali is the best time to be with them. It's just like getting your batteries charged. Whole year around we all are busy with our lives, our daily routines. But let Diwali come.. all get busy to set their schedules to make a visit to their homes back at the native places. 

All the trains and buses seems to be bursting with people , carrying lots of luggage, in which they carry gifts for their loved ones. This time of the year the shopkeepers too make their earnings to the fullest. All the fashion comes alive at different levels. Kids want to their  dresses to be perfect, younger generation has their own notions about looking good and what to talk about women .. they are all pepper up for shopping during this period. 

I have seen that the salesmen at saree shops don't hesitate to tuck in sarees for their women customers. All the want is show them how prertp they will look in those five yard cloth. The designs are inspired from the television dramas. Many a times women too want to buy a saree which was worn by a particular character in some TV serial. 

It may sound ridiculous to some but it is true. 

The thing which I dislike most about Diwali festival is the nuisance of crackers. Already we are dealing with all sorts of pollution. And Diwali adds more to it. The worst thing is people who complain the most about bad quality of air it is them who are bursting crackers in the dead of night. 

Also I would like to say that the animals too suffer alot from the noise pollution caused by the crackers. They can't express their feelings but their fear can be seen. There is lot of people who deliberately terrify these mute animals especially dogs with the loud crackers. Please don't do that.. they don't talk which doesn't mean that they don't suffer. 

Let us make this festival only about happiness and sharing our love and laughter only. 

सपनो में ना आया करो,

यूं ही न तड़पाया करो,

 तुम ही तो हो मेरी ज़िन्दगी,

मेरे दिल पे तुम्हारा साया करो।

हम जो ना हों कभी तेरी महफ़िल में,

रूखे रोशन से पर्दा ना हटाया करो।

सब से मिलो, राब्ता रखो सबसे,

हम जो आए तो पास हमारे अा जाया करो।

कुछ तो कहो युं ना खामोश रहो,

हमारी सुनो तो कुछ अपनी भी सुनाया करो।

सामने बैठी रहो यूं, बुत ना बनी रहो,

चिराग़ उम्मीदों के भी यहां जलाया करो।

फुरकत में तेरी जल रहे हम कब से,

ज़ुल्फो से तेरी दिल पे हमारे साया करो।

हम तो अा जाते तेरे कूचे में सुबह शाम,

तुम भी कभी हमारी जानिब अा जाया करो।

Angel you are..

Angel you are,

And answer to my prayers too.

The Lord has sent my way.

You are a hope to my desperate thoughts

Sometimes you are my pillow

Who can soak all my tears. 

And yet at times you turn into a punching bag

Which bears all my frustrations.

I still remember the day when I 

Held you the first time

You were pink, harmless, cute bundle of joy.

You looked at me as if you knew me 

You brought joy to my life

Became my smile, 

Centre of my world.

Keeping an eye on me even when 

Playing with friends.

Still look at me for that final nod.

Now you have outgrown my lap

And now ready to fly away.

But still you remain my little baby.

God bless you sweetheart and fill 

Your life with all the goodness

Sleepless Nights

Not being able to sleep at night without any medication is termed as sleeplessness. it is an ailment. but most of us including me refuse to accept this . As a result... no sleep... whole night. Despite every effort I make , it remains elusive for the better part of the night. The more I go after it, the more it runs away from me. It has become my "ruthi hui premika" whom I am desperate to win back.

I have tried all the tricks to woo her but all in vain. I have gone from domestic formulas but no use. Counted infinite sheep, drank warm milk, even tried doing sheersh aasana in the dead of night. But all proved useless. I have laid many traps but.... the culprit named sleep is yet to be caught. I think it is cleverer than me as it surpasses me every time. It always mocks me from a distance.

Many times I read books too especially those ones which are otherwise boring ones (as I take chances by adopting different methods every time). At many occasions I watch religious sermons to lure my darling sleep. Needless to say here that even then it always evades me. So many therapies have gone down the drain in their vain effort to win over sleep.

Sometimes I envy those who fall asleep just when they lie down. My husband is one such person who can fall asleep anywhere and at any time he wants. He would just lie down and close his eyes. And lo! You can hear his soft snore. He loves sleeping while travelling. It is his way to enjoy the journey. He sleeps the whole time. And me.... all awake...looking at people and hearing all sorts of snoring in the train coach.

All being said, but one thing is for sure. I do like my sleepless nights as there is no one to disturb me when I am reading. I write at night. Even this blog is being written while everyone else in the house is fast asleep. I need not worry about their lunches or dinners or teas or snacks. It is me and my creativity. It is quite peaceful during night as there is no one to disturb you and bother you. Basically despite having puffy eyes in the morning, after a sleepless night, I have no regrets about it.

Keeping in Pace

We are always worried about keeping in pace with others.   There is a receipt going on …. A rat race…where every one wants to win. Nobody wants to come second. Every where it is the same story. Winning has become all important. It has been there since ages but not as cut throat as it is now. The race begins at very age when parents want their kids to be ahead in every field. Even small kids are thrown in the arena to perform better than others.

Performing not only better but best has gained highest place. I our times bolt participation had significance. But now along with participation, coming first is necessary. All sort of pressure is there to excel. There is parents pressure … then peer pressure… or even self pressure where it becomes compulsory for our own self to excel. I hurts our ego.

Seldom it is realised that while going for the top we have lost a lot. We lost our peace of mind.. that is why many a times we are not happy at the top. We may not be delighted to win. This is because we might have lost so many precious things such as relationships, friends on our way up the ladder of success.

As far as kids are concerned they suffer the most. In order to look good every time their childhood gets lost somewhere in the middle. They have to behave like grown ups. Many a times  parents push their children hard to excel. These days we see many such children in the field of television. Here young kids are put in the harsh conditions of shooting for most part of the week. Their study is ignored . Their childhood gets lost in between the scenes. But parents are happy as their kids become famous and also their bank balances soar.

 A few days back, I was watching a TV show in which a competition of 5 year olds was being held. Parents were pushing their kids hard to do well. And those who got selected for next round were showered with praises and those who lost were scolded badly  as they didn’t do what they were taught.. Little did they realised that they were only 5 years old kids. We need is to chill a little and think... Where are we going? Aren't we getting our selves lost in this rat race of defeating others? Should we always beat others? Is it really necessary? We need to ask these questions to our own self and get honest answers.

Yes .. it feels good to be at the top. The feeling of leading the pack is uncompared. But we need to remember that we cannot win every time. We should learn tell ourselves that sometimes it okay not to win. There is always a next time. It is seen that pressure to perform well can  affect us physically and well as mentally.
Keeping ahead is good but not being in the lead sometimes is also not bad. Think twice… ponder over …..