An Interesting Debate

Twin Babies were talking in the womb of a mother..

Here are some excerpts --

-- Do you believe in life after birth?

-- No I don't. There is no such thing as life after birth. Life ends with birth. Period.

-- I feel there is life after birth. Perhaps we are here to prepare for that.

-- Don't be ridiculous.. There is no such thing. How do you know?  has anyone returned to tell us about it?

-- Think there is light after birth..I feel we will be able to walk with our feet and eat with our own mouths. There will be plenty of space and we will move around. There will be many like us and we will laugh and play!

-- What rubbish are you talking? Be quiet!  how could we move about? What about the umbilical cord? It is too short. We could kill ourselves if we tried to move about or play!

-- I think Mother will take care of us. She will make sure we do not kill ourselves.

-Mother? I don't believe in Mother. I will believe her only when I see her.

-- You don't see her now, but you will, after birth. Even now, I can feel her around me, loving me, caressing me, protecting me.

-- Ah well.. I give up.. No point in arguing with you.. Live in your dream world.. Let me sleep...

Adapted by Hetal Thakkar

Rambling on a Saturday morning..

There are those who are dynamic and those who are static,
There are those who are forever in quest and those who have found peace..

The search of knowledge of the outside world
and that of the world within..

But I am too greedy..
I want both.. to be tranquil and to be dynamic..

To work and yet be at rest

To know the world within
the world without..

To be popular yet truthful.
To be proud of oneself, yet without ego..

To love and not to hurt..
To be loved and not hurt..

Life is full of contradictions..
and there is so much to achieve
in so little time.

Too Many Options ..

The young are so smart these days, younger daughter talking about relationships and how to make marriages work ! I can not find fault with what she says, but the confidence with which she says it all!!  As if she has been in and out of a thousand relationships already..

The crux of the matter is.. sometimes we need to have a child's perspective on many things.. including marriage. For a child, marriages are meant to last forever. Period. No matter how much pain one causes or suffers.. it is all worth it if the family is together. There is simply no other way.

Now if we had  no other option, it would have been so much easier. But we do. Life offers us so much choice. Everyday, alternatives are being invented, since discoveries are exhausted. Adam and Eve had no choice but one another. Then came civilization.. communities, religions, races. One can chose the right person.. may the spouse be of any community, caste, religion and now you can chose the sex too!! With each passing day you are offered so much choice !! There was a time when kids were married off in childhood.. and such marriages worked fantastically. In fact the success rate was 100 percent. Until death do us part indeed !

Now you choose your own partners. And the more the choice, more break ups. For God's sake.. you have made the choice yourself.. stick by it !!  Yet they find ways out. On trivial matters. What is lacking is tolerance and options.  If you find it tough to make it work, you can choose divorce. Or separation. If there was no other option, you would have somehow found ways to make it work.

Same can be applied to many other day to day choices we make. From the era of B/W to todays 3D, Television has come a long way. So have the networks. Years ago, we had to be content with Door Darshan. Yet I think enjoyed whatever they showed us. Today, half the time is spent on flipping channels to make a choice!

I have a smart phone.. agreed it is not the smartest. But it still is my phone ! Yet  I am looking for a new phone for the past 2 months.  And then again, I have the option to choose now or wait a few months for a smarter phone. Cant seem to settle for one because of so many options!

So today my daughter has taught me a lesson. It is easy to run away from a given situation. There are solutions to problems which give you choices to opt out; and they are attractive in the short term. But in the long run, it is best to look at fewer options and make the best of what you have. May it be your relationships, your job, your home, your friends or your phone.

Loyalty goes a long way. For everyone.. and for everything. !

Tribute to My Mother

When I was young,
I took my mother for granted.
She cooked, cleaned and looked after us.
 Even the birds and bees do that..
 As I grew older, found fault with everything she did.

As she started to grow older,
And could not cope with the work,
too egoistic to accept her inadequacies..
I was her worst critic.

History repeats.. tables turn,
you realize her worth when you go through the same..
And as the years roll by,
I realize her greatness..

I salute her relentless duty
her unique never accept defeat attitude..
In all the hardships she had endured
I wonder what made her tick?

We never celebrated 'Mother's Day' back then
She never received a word of appreciation
nor any certificates, nor accolades
nor a remuneration for her round the clock duty

Now I see what makes her tick..
Its Faith.. Religion.. Geeta Gyan
She regularly reads Holy scriptures..
Advises me to do the same..

Now I feel, it is the need of the hour
Thank you Mummy..
For creating me, and
For being what you are!!

At the Cross Roads..

Life brings me regularly,
to many a cross roads..
Its the choice I make..
Which leads me to my destiny.

So is it me who chooses
By choosing the right Path..
Or is it God Almighty,
Who offers me the choice?

Is my life my doing,
A result of my choices?
Or it is the choice of those around me
Whom I care for,
and choose accordingly?

There are many who consider this
and some who do not
And those who do..
end up living in the shadows
and those who do not.. shine bright !

PEOPLE I LOVE...

MY FATHER,

QUITE A CHARACTER

My Father, quite a character..
Optimism Personified..

Gets what he wants....

USUALLY.

Ambition Personified
Relentless pursuit..

Towering Overpowering Overbearing Personality
Wanted to shape our lives..
Mine and my brothers' 
and of all those around him..

He thinks he is always right 
which is almost always true..
Almost.

One thing he might have realised.
Material things are easy to acquire..
cars, bikes can be customised
Business empires can be established

But you can not get people customised
they are born with their own characters
strength, weaknesses and desires

You command, suggest,
they respect, obey
THE BASIC CHARACTER CAN NOT ALTER
and their future can be directed
but can not be shaped..

DESTINY WILL TAKE ITS COURSE..

I think he has realised that.. 

Does not admit though..

His favorite maxim
You can take a horse to water 
but you can not force him to drink it

Another of his favorite..
A Glass is either half full or half empty
depending on your perspective..

I love, admire, and respect him.. 
just hope I never disappoint him.!!