The song I came to sing
remains unsung to this day
I have spent my days in stringing
and in unstringing my instrument
The time has not come true,
the words have not been rightly set
only there is the agony
of wishing in my heart
I have not seen his face,
nor have I listened to his voice
only I have heard his gentle footsteps
from the road before my house
But the lamp has not been lit
and I cannot ask him into my house
I live in the hope of meeting with him
but this meeting is not yet
*** Composed by Rabindranath Tagore***
Category: Memoirs
Over a cup of Coffee ☕
Hey Coffee, It is so innate That how bitter your taste But the roasted beans, for sure Blend well with the sweetness of sugar Frothed bubbles Hot and chilled, brewed and cold Aha! the aroma, nutty and chocolaty Cappuccino, latte, mocha, espresso and many It's lazy Sunday or Monday blues You are the reason to happily loose the snooze You have been just an excuse For the escape called "coffee-break" A witness of musings, witty, Head-to-head, Heart-to-heart coffee date chit-chats Apparently to be kept with a lid on Found in some pantries Are accidentally spilled coffee stories Unlike, others some Hello's end with See you over a cup of coffee, again! *** Composed by Vinit Desai ***
Ho Ho Ho ! 🎅 Memoirs of Merry Christmas 💫
Growing up in a neighborhood that was with a mix of people with different religions and their respective cultures brings back the vivid memories of today from the past, Christmas and the festivities that follow, the celebrations and preparations by young as well as old.
The kids were always excited about collecting items for Christmas tree, the crib, hut decoration, the list goes on with small statues of baby Jesus Christ, mother Mary, villagers, houses, dried grass, lighting, stars, shining balls, jingle bells and so on. Back then though, things were available readymade in the stores/market, unlike today, people believed in investing time in little things, call it a self-help or being self-reliant and satisfaction of doing their own decorations, however small or big. The afternoons a week before Christmas were spent mostly in the kitchen by women in preparing the sweet specialties with delicacies of mouth melting Dodol, Bebinca, the crispy Rose cookies, Kormolas etc.
Every locality had a group of zealous youngsters who hosted the celebrations which lasted till the new year and was open for public. The main attractions were the big hut with a unique scenery depicting Jesus’ birth and happiness all around, a big Star(bamboo stick make wrapped nicely with clean white cloth) with embossed “Wish you all a Merry Christmas” Christmas tree, big fat white Snow man, and an old man.
Most awaited daily evening game was the Housie(the game of numbers and luck), it could be bought as one ticket for two Rupees and three tickets for five Rupees. This game had two rounds, the first one was called “Jaldi Five”, which was over after calling out five random numbers from a glass jar and the next round went on till they got the winner. The last night that is the 31st December had special visitor Santa Claus, karol singing, games like treasure hunt and musical chair.
Here’s is to wishing all the readers a Merry Christmas! with these memoirs.
Tuesdays with Morrie and Life lessons
Recently, I happened to read a book entitled Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom in which the author narrates about his visits to his old professor Morrie on Tuesdays. The conversations of each visit turn out to be a learning about self, life, people and community. As I was in the process of reading and pondering my thoughts on life I realized that no-one is perfect and we have each day to be grateful towards life for giving us a chance to breath and cherish the moments of life.
Some of the aphorisms from the classic book
- Accept what you are able to do and what you are not able to do.
- Accept the past as past, without denying it or discarding it.
- Learn to forgive yourself and to forgive others.
- Don’t assume that it’s too late to get involved.
- Find someone to share your heart, give to your community, be at peace with yourself, try to be as human as you can.
- Love always wins.
- The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture does not work, don’t buy it.
- So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they are busy doing things they think are important. This is because they are chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to community around you, and devote yourself to create something that gives you purpose and meaning.
- If you really want it, then you will make your dream happen.
- The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.
- Love is the only rational act.
- I don’t allow myself any more self-pity than that. A little each morning, a few tears and that’s all
- Sometimes you can’t believe what you see; you have to believe what you feel.
- What if today were my last day on earth?
- Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.
- If you accept you are going to die at any time, then you might not be as ambitious as you are.
- There is no foundation, no secure ground, upon which people may stand today, if it isn’t the family.
- Don’t cling to things, because everything is impermanent.
- If you have found meaning in your life, you don’t want to go back. You want to go forward. You want to see more, do more. You can’t wait until you are sixty-five.
- Money and power both are not substitute for tenderness.
- Love is how to stay alive, even after you are gone.
- Love each other or perish.
- The big things- how we think, what we value, those you must choose yourself. You can’t let anyone or any society determine those for you.
- Don’t let go too soon, but don’t let hang on too long.
- Be compassionate. And take responsibility for each other. If we only learned those lessons, this world would be so much better a place.
- Forgive yourself before you die. Then, forgive others.
- As long as we can love each other, and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going away. All the love you created is still there. All the memories are still there. You live on in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here.
- Death ends a life, not relationship.
- The important questions have to do with love, responsibility, spirituality, awareness.
- You are not a wave, you are part of the ocean.
- There is no such thing as “too late” in life.
- Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you’re bound to do something else.
- As you grow, you learn more. Aging is not just decay…it’s growth. It’s more than the negative that you’re going to die, it’s also the positive that you understand that you’re going to die, and that you live a better life because of it.
Not paint everything with same brush!
One of my friends is shifting to a different city (which he and me had never imagined he would be shifting to) for his new job. So my obvious question to him was “Couldn’t you find a better location?” to which he replied “In fact, couldn’t find a better job opportunity anywhere else” as he was looking for a domain specific job role for last couple of months and the discussion about job opportunities, immigration and stuff continued…
Many educational institutions have been established in our country over a period of time but quantity of students pursuing degree outbalances the quality and skills. Reasons could be years old designed outdated syllabus, not suiting the current superfast changing market demands. In this mobile/internet revolutionized world its upto the pupil to be on the same page as the demands.
Anyways, jobs like glamour are overrated because if you are jobless with a fancy degree in your pocket frustration and shame follows parallely and uninvitedly. If you have a job, you are treated worthy of being self-dependent, in other words independent. Another big time illusion and fact in my opinion is that job description, JD as they call it, is not equal to the actual job execution. Sometimes, job opportunities are available but not worth the skills and other times its vice versa. The faces of jobs and their definition in most of the domain have been evolving in the recent past. Upgrade of skills and flexibility to accept the change to improvise the know-how is the need.
On an entrepreneurial front, however big or small the business is ‘more is less’ to give a fight to competitors to outreach the right investors, marketers and finally the consumers. To be in the race, they need to continuously learn and unlearn current demands to help in bringing up the revolution in terms of functioning of industries and innovation in products and services. No body ever wants to be in a loss. But the face is, it’s a gamble and sometimes unfair, as life is.
These are my personal opinions based on experiences. So, not paint everything with same brush!
The Nandanvan Park
There’s a park opposite my window
“Nandanvan” is its name
Standing still, changing its shades with seasons
From vivid green to dry yellow tan
Through the clouds and cool shower of rain
Scorching sunny summer
And windy winter
Bushes of short shrubs, tall thick trees
Chirping birds calling each other, racing squirrels
Witnessing diversity all around
From lively kids to limping patients,
From gossiping women to debating men,
From a headphone stucked lonely stranger to couples in romance,
From casual strollers to disciplined joggers/runners
Selflessly, with no prejudice
This park
Embraces warmly, one and all
Part of this park solaces them all
Haply, “Nandanvan” seems to be an apt name
After all 🙂
*** Composed by Vinit Desai ***
Vivishine 