Bye bye 2007 Monday, Dec 31 2007 

Like birds, let us leave behind what we don’t need to carry this new year – grudges, sadness, pain, fear and regrets. Fly light.

Quote: Received by way of SMS

Wishing you all a very happy new year 2008. May all of us see our dreams come true in this coming year. May this year bring new promises. May the year ahead of us be a wonderful and memorable one.

At this point, I would like to thank all those of you who have been reading and commenting, as well as been great friends. It means a lot to me. Thanks for being there. :)   See you in 2008.

Do listen to this wonderful track, which I think is just the perfect song for New Year eve.

Ciao! 

What is love? Friday, Dec 28 2007 

Before I begin today’s post, here’s something I would like to share:

Do check out this link. Find out how you can play, learn and donate for the noble cause of eradicating hunger, all at the same time. It’s worth a visit.

Link courtesy: Niths. ___________________________________________________ 

Now, I come to the actual post – What is love? I got this by way of a forward from a friend. It is so damn cute that I am just Ctrl C + Ctrl V-ing it, without making any changes whatsoever. Here you go:

What Love means to a 4-8 year old . . .
Slow down for three minutes to read this.  It is so worth it. Touching words from the mouth of babies.  
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, “What does love mean?” The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:
 
“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.”
Rebecca- age 8 *************************************************

“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.”

Billy – age 4

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“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.”

Karl – age 5

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“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.”

Chrissy – age 6

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“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.”

Terri – age 4

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“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.”

Danny – age 7

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“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss”

Emily – age 8

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“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.”

Bobby – age 7 (Wow!)

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“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,”

Nikka – age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka’s on this planet)

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“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day.”

Noelle – age 7

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“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.”

Tommy – age 6

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“During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.

He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.”

Cindy – age 8

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“My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.”

Clare – age 6

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“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.”

Elaine-age 5

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“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.”

Chris – age 7

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“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.”

Mary Ann – age 4

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“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.”

Lauren – age 4

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“When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.” (What an image!)

Karen – age 7

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“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross.”

Mark – age 6

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“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.”

Jessica – age 8

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And the final one — Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,

“Nothing, I just helped him cry.”

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PS: If you read each reply carefully, you can see the profundity beneath them. I don’t know if these replies were actually given by 4-8-year-olds, but I loved reading this all the same.

Degradation Thursday, Dec 27 2007 

  • Pneumococcal
  • Acroamatic
  • Hebetudinous
  • Supererogatory
  • Cachinnation
  • Putrescent

Phew! Thank God, that’s done! 

What’s this? I think I should begin to use such words on my blog now.

Why? Read on to find out.

I first read about the BLOG READABILITY TEST here and decided to try it out just for the heck of it.

This is what I got when I put in my WordPress URL in the box provided: 

elementary_school.jpg

I put in my old Blogger URL in the box and look at what it had to say:

high_school.jpg

A degradation. :|

Duh!

For those of you who wish to know what level their blog caters to, here’s the link . I’m in elementary school, what about you? :)

Look who visited me on Christmas Wednesday, Dec 26 2007 

Poor me cribbed all the way to office yesterday. Because we were working even on the day of Christmas. :(

I got to office, pulled out my chair and found a pinstriped paper bag on it. I opened it and – Surprise! Surprise! – there was a cutie pie ceramic Santa Claus inside, with dangly legs. A gift from Shilpi for Christmas for her closest pals, just because she knew all of us would be pissed off. Now whose face wouldn’t break into a smile on seeing that? :)

One thing deserves a mention here. If someone I knew had to be nominated for Santa Claus, I would undoubtedly choose Shilpi. She is one of the most generous souls I ever met – always thinking more about others than she does for herself. Reminding people to take medicines, ordering lunch for a colleague who couldn’t prepare it in the morning, buying dryfruits and glucose for a sick colleague, sending reminders to people for someone’s birthday, arranging surprises to cheer up people, buying Nivea cream because the little kid who comes to deliver tea in our office has dry and peeling skin on his cheeks due to the winter, thinking of ways to improve his life, so on and so forth. Always a kind word to say, always a kind deed to put in for others. The list is endless. People like her are a respite from all the pain and frustration in the world. Such people make even the tough times bearable. :)

Coming back to the Santa toy, it remained perched on top of my computer for some time, during which I took this snap:

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See Santa sitting next to my computer in this pic:

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Later in the day, four of my colleagues – Shilpi, Pinki, Manmeet and Sonia – gave me a surprise again. This time it was the book ‘Wings of fire’ by Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam:

I had always wanted to read APJ’s life story and had been planning to get this book. The foursome knew this and had made all the arrangements and got it for me as a gift. :) On a totally unrelated note, it is rather easy to select a gift for a bibliophile, innit? :)

Now, why this gift was bestowed upon me is a suspense. No, it was not a Christmas gift. It was given to me for a different reason, something that deserves a new post later. :)

Overall, Christmas day was good. Christmas mails flooded our inboxes. We were all dressed in the season’s colour, red. I couldn’t help thinking that with all the decorations, the office looked very much like Santa’s factory, with elves clad in red making gifts for people. We also had an informal ‘Salaam Namaste’ day, where we were required to talk to each other like Javed Jaffrey in the movie. For instance, ‘Priyas, can you the please sends me that mails?’ or ‘I the hates doing this.’ It was fun and a welcome change. :)

I didn’t get a chance to visit the church, though. :(

Now for the most important part of the post – I feel blessed to have such wonderful colleagues and friends. Thanks, guys, for everything you’ve done for me – all four of you. To sum it up in one word, what I feel radiating from you guys is – warmth. I can’t possibly imagine office without you. Whatever would I have done without you? :) I might not have told you this, but you guys mean a lot to me.

In fact, the entire team is wonderful. I couldn’t have asked for more in terms of colleagues. :) Thanks, people, for everything. :)

Jingle bells!!! Tuesday, Dec 25 2007 

Merry Christmas, folks! Festivity is in the air once again.

Since I was a kid, I have loved Christmas and the way it is celebrated. Everything about Christmas enchants me – bells, puddings and cakes, carols, candles, beautifully decorated churches and homes, wreaths, stars, nativity scenes, presents wrapped in brightly colored papers, trees decorated with lights, and of course, Santa Claus with his large belly and deep, rumbling laugh and the stockings hung up on Christmas eve.

I’ve never actually seen the way a Christian family celebrates Christmas, but I love reading about it, listening to people tell stories and see pictures about the celebrations.

There’s something different about a church on Christmas eve. It is peaceful, soothing and…… divine. I love going to a church here every year on 25th December and lighting a candle.

It is gradually getting chilling cold here, with blasts of cold air nipping the skin, the atmosphere getting foggy, and oil and ghee getting frozen in the kitchen. The festivities and decorations all around seem to add a touch of warmth. It is a feeling that is very difficult to put down in words.

Run through this video and get into the spirit of Christmas:

Once again, have a very merry Christmas! :)

Just in!!! Sunday, Dec 23 2007 

This is something I had been wanting to buy for quite some time. Just in today!!! I am figuring out the ins and outs (‘nondifying’ in Amma’s words). Looking forward to a lot of experimenting! :)

Music magic Saturday, Dec 22 2007 

I heard this first on Hari’s blog and got hooked. Thanks, Hari, for posting it!

Though I am a complete naught in music, I find this so amazing that I want to listen to it again and again. I can hear sheer joy and enthusiasm in this piece. It never fails to uplift my spirits.

Check this out:

If you want to read up on this great performer, check this out.

Lost dreams Thursday, Dec 20 2007 

Kho jayenge ek din

Is bheed mein kahin,

Mil jayenge samandar mein

Ik chhote se boond ki tarah,

Phir na rahega

Koi bhi aakaar;

Kisi ke liye shayad

Ye nayi baat na hogi,

Shayad koi gaur bhi na kare,

Sab kuch shayad waise hi hoga

Us din ke baad,

Jaise pehle tha,

Par woh din

Kisike sapnon pe laga hua

Poorna viram hoga,

Us din shayad

Kisi ke andar

Kuch tootega,

Us din shayad

Kisike haunsle ki maut hogi,

Ik cheekh shayad

Utthegi bhi dil se,

Par hothon tak na aayegi….

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An attempt at translation: 

Lost will I be

One day

In this never-ending crowd,

I will merge into the vast sea

Like a droplet,

Losing my form;

It might not be  

A novel thing for some,

No one might even notice,

Everything might go on

After that day

As it always was,

But that day

Might be the end

Of someone’s dreams,

Something inside someone

Might break

On that day,

Someone’s courage

Might die on that day,

Maybe even a scream would originate

From the heart,

Never to reach the lips,

Never to be heard….

Acceptance, letting go and moving on Wednesday, Dec 19 2007 

I got this through a forward and couldn’t agree more:

When someone is doing something or about to do something in a way I don’t want it to be done – and I am not able to accept it – I become angry.
When someone is doing something or about to do something in a way I don’t want it to be done – and I am able to accept it – I remain tolerant.

When someone is having something or someone is able to produce the results which I am not able to produce – and I am not able to accept it – I become jealous.
When someone is having something or someone is able to produce the results which I am not able to produce – and I am able to accept it – I get inspired.

When I am encountering uncertainty or am about to encounter uncertainty, which I am not sure how I am going to handle – and I am not able to accept it – it causes fear in me.
When I am encountering uncertainty or am about to encounter uncertainty, which I am not sure how I am going to handle – and I am able to accept it – I feel adventurous about it.

When someone has done something that has emotionally hurt me – and I am not able to accept it – it develops hatred in me.
When someone has done something that has emotionally hurt me – and I am able to accept it – it helps me forgive them.

When someone is present in my thoughts, but is not physically present – and I am not able to accept it – I say ‘I am missing you’.
When someone is present in my thoughts, but is not physically present – and I am able to accept it – I say ‘I am thinking of you’.

Thus, the Emotional Equation becomes:
Something + acceptance = positive emotion
Something + non-acceptance = negative emotion

So, it is not something or someone who is making me feel positive or negative, but it is my acceptance or non-acceptance of something or someone which impacts things.

How true this is! I could truly relate to this.

There are certain situations in life you can do nothing about. They are painful in one way or the other, but they are just there and cannot be ignored. Acceptance of these situations helps you let go mentally, while holding on would only cause more pain. Of course, it is difficult, but much less burdensome than holding on to things.

Coincidentally, I saw ‘Autograph’ today, which is all about moving on in life. Wonderful theme. This movie touched me in a way very few other movies/books have, probably because it is very much reality-based. I could somehow relate to Divya’s character, which was very beautifully portrayed. Though I think the movie could have ended a bit differently, I liked it. I liked the way Autograph depicted that life can sometimes play strange tricks on us and we cannot do anything about it. In such situations, we just need to accept, let go and move on. When life gets sick, we just need to accept that it is a bad phase and move on. Thanks Chittappa for suggesting this movie to me!

Loved this song:

For people like me, here’s the translation of the first stanza:

Every flower tells us that life is a battle on a battlefield,

Every new dawn tells us

When there is night, day will come too,

One needs belief in one’s life,

Goals will definitely succeed one day

Mind! O Mind! Change yourself,

Even if it’s a mountain or snow, face it and fight

One’s mind should never falter,

One should never think ‘What kind of life is this?’

Is there a human mind in which there are no wounds?

As time passes, wounds, like magic tricks, disappear….

Wonderful lines, innit? So inspiring…. Of course, the translation does not do justice to the actual lyrics of the song and the way it is sung.

On a different note, I loved the way Tamil and Malayalam lyrics have been used in this song as well as the words of this song from Autograph.

I leave you with some beautiful quotes on somewhat similar lines to the subject matter of the post that I read somewhere:

  • You can choose what a problem will do to you. You may not be able to control the times, but you can compose your response. A problem can make you tender or tough. It can make you better or bitter. It all depends on you.
  • You cannot control what is going on outside you, but you can always control what is going on inside you.
  • It is your attitude more than your aptitude that determines your altitude.
  • Don’t focus on the problems. Focus instead on the possible solutions.
  • Don’t expect the world to be carpeted. If you don’t want your feet hurt, you’d better wear slippers.

Disappointments and gratifications – my take Monday, Dec 17 2007 

I have been experimenting a lot with movies lately. I always liked watching movies, but was never a ‘first-day-first-show’ person. I used to see one movie in a couple of months. I have missed out on a lot of good books and movies actually.

Nowadays, my latent interest in movies has somehow woken up. :) I am in the mood for watching all kinds of movies – old, new, Hindi and Tamil – and experimenting with different kinds of books, and then writing about my experiences. So some of the stuff I write about might be rather outdated for you! :)

This post is about the major disappointments and gratifications on my part of late, with reference to books and movies.

Haruki Murakami’s ‘South of the border, west of the sun’ – A major disappointment. :( I picked up this book with great expectations, after reading loads of reviews about the book. True, the author has a wonderful imagination and great narrating power, but somehow, I couldn’t relate to the book. :( Not my type!

Mozhi – A stunning movie! I am glad I saw it. A lot of people didn’t like this movie, as it is rather slow, but I fell in love with it. Apart from a rather cute hero, it has got a lovely story line and some fabulous music. :) Beautiful treatment given to a rather sensitive issue. Just the right mix of comedy and emotions. Very much my type! :)

These are the songs I liked the most in the film:

Harry Potter-1 – Yes, I know the whole world has read HP, seen it, talked and blogged about it, but her royal highness just finished reading the 1st part of this epic in fantasy. :) And she loved it. Would trade anything for the Sorting Hat, a flying broomstick and the Mirror of Erised. :) Looking forward to read the other parts and seeing the HP movies too! Yes, my type again! :)

Unnale Unnale:( Don’t even know why I saw the whole movie. Utter disappointment! Not my type!

Dus Kahaniyan – Liked the movie. 10 beautifully crafted and carefully selected stories. Every story has a twist of its own. It is very difficult to choose one story as a favourite. Some stories have a bit of a negative shade, but each story was able to hold my attention. True, there is no connecting link between the 10 stories, absolutely nothing in common, but I liked it just the same. :) My kind! :) It was not liked by a number of people, though.

Baaton baaton mein – Saw the age-old Amol Palekar movie now. Yep, I was always Late Kate! :) Again, an offbeat kind of movie. Tina Munim looks asbalootly cute. A nice mix of sensitivity and comedy, with some great music. My type! Me likey! :)

Loved this song from the movie:

A friend recently remarked that I seem to have a fetish for art movies. Maybe she is right. I like books, people and movies that are a bit off the beaten track! :) Not that I don’t enjoy entertainers, but offbeat movies/books/people kind of catch my fancy.

Currently reading ‘Memoirs of a geisha’. Not enough into the book to decide into which category this one should be grouped! :)

My next hit list includes:

Books (yet to get hold of)

Speed Post – Shobhaa De

The Dance – Oriah Mountain Dreamer

The Pilgrimage – Paulo Coelho

Message in a bottle – Nicholas Sparks

How I taught my grandmother to read – Sudha Murty

Blind Willow, sleeping woman – Haruki Murakami

Apart from these, there are a number of books gathering dust at home, which I need to pick up.

Movies

Frankly speaking, undecided yet. I’ve built up a collection of DVDs lately, including Tamil and Hindi movies. Would like to relish these movies one by one. :)

Suggestions are welcome. :)

Blah, blah, blah, blah and blah! :)

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