life's a kick

  He doesn't look 40, does he? A couple of years ago, I picked up a renowned book by Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. I realized after going through the first few pages, that the book didn’t really offer anything new to me, courtesy my sibling teacher, my brother. What the book tried to teach in logic and words, my brother had taught me all along through practical demonstration. Almost all the good habits I have internalized so far, are owed to him. On his 40 th , it’s about time I pay my gratitude in ink. Let’s start with my first life lesson: Abandon labels In the 80s, even with limited access to TV for children of my generation, Bollywood faces were household names. Among them was the lesser known singer and widely popular actor-comedian, Tuntun. In those days, Tuntun was synonymous with overweight bubbly women. As the heaviest among three siblings, never mind that I was just five, brother chose to christen me Tuntun. It didn’t take any ceremony for the na...

  The village Chaandi was nowhere like its name in appearance. The Indian village, situated in a remote corner in one of its poorest states, translated literally to ‘silver’. Its fiscal status, however, did not make it any lesser for siblings Rashmi, Rahul, and Rama, all of 10, 8, and 7 respectively. For them, Chaandi was not just silver, it was the gold of their annual vacations. They came here every year with their parents, for this is where their paternal grandparents lived. The excitement would begin much before the journey did. They’d save money and buy their stockpile for months in advance. Jam-centred Jim-Jam biscuits, candies which could stand the sweltering heat of Indian topical summer, and the chief favourite of all - Cigarette shaped toffees. The toffees were bought with equal contribution and rationed out with exact accuracy. In their 36 hour train journey and two months of village stay, the trio would mimic smoking adults in all ways possible. Each trying to outdo...

  To the friend who missed seeing the moon of Buddha Purnima on the day of lunar eclipse: Dear friend, I begin to write this while simultaneously gazing at the moon. Or Super Blood Moon, as it is called today. This is a sight meant to be drunk in with the eyes. It calls for a complete surrender. If at all I am taking my eyes off this spectacular vision of life, it is to convey to you, the unspeakable beauty I have the fortune of witnessing today. I was walking down the road this evening in a nonchalance that typically accompanies a deep meditation session. It was a normal evening, until this sight came to vision. I went out for a walk. Soaked in the colors of twilight. Sat by at my everyday corner to meditate. Completed the meditation and started walking down the remainder of the road, looking out for little feathered friends and the usual canine company. It was then that the road turned and brought me face to face with the moon of today. It was like being thunder struck....

  Who are we? Genuine seekers or under-cover hypocrites garbed as intellectuals? It is true that there are good, average, and bad employers. It is equally true that there are forever dissatisfied employees asking for more. That’s why there are consultants and agencies selling us the dream of contented and happy employees. They know it’s a matter of dreams alone. Let’s get realistic. We are human beings. We are never satisfied with what we get. If the salary doesn’t have a variable component, we’re like: Where the additional ‘incentive’ to perform? If the salary does have a variable amount, we hate that uncertainty. If we get 30% of our incentive, we bemoan the remaining that doesn’t come by. If we get the full amount, we compare it against 3x incentives received by our friends in the banking sector (never mind the working hours). If we don’t have a job rotation policy, we feel stagnated. If we have a job rotation policy, we feel our competitive advantage isn’t used best. If the o...

  Ache: Hey there, honey! Me: (I look up glumly) Ache: One of those days that you're invoking my transformational powers, eh? Me: About time you stopped making fun of my lows. Ache: Lows? You call them lows? I provide free-of-cost revelations to you, and you label them lows? I mean, people hire fancy consultants for unearthing those nuggets of gold. Me: Not all your revelations are pleasant, you know. Ache: If they were, you wouldn’t have developed the ability for compassion, would you? Me: Agree. And I’m also human, and I also need compassion. Now do you mind leaving me alone? (I choke)   Ache: There, there…I would leave you forever, if that’s what makes you happy. I am not an unsolicited guest anyway. Me: Is it? When did I invite you, I...

Pic Courtesy: Manish Kumar from  https://www.ek-shaam-mere-naam.in/ Every time I have stood there and gazed at you, I have felt there is stillness in the world. Within and without. You, too, have been rather committed in communing with me. You have returned my admiration with fondness. You have calmed my agitated heart. You have centred my mind. And as if it was not beautiful enough to see your glowing countenance, you have run a slideshow of people who long for - just as I long to see you in your full glory. Telling me that we are all united...through you.  Standing there on the terrace, holding you in my unblinking eyes, I have known what it means to breathe comfort. You are just one of those phenomena that prove perfection exists. You stand there as a constant reminder to us lesser mortals to be more than lesser. Way more. You tell us that the idea is to be this beautiful, this comforting, and this graceful, no matter who we are.  How do you do it? Ma...

मटमैले रंग की सलवार कमीज पहने , छीजी सी चुन्नी ओढ़े , अधेड़ उम्र की मुस्कान कुल छे घर करती थी। गठा हुआ शरीर , टनकती आवाज़ और तेज़ चाल - मुस्कान दिल्ली की दबंग कामवालियों से अलग न थी। उसने बहुत पहले जान लिया था कि शहर के अमीर गिद्ध की भांति होते हैं - कमज़ोर को नोंच खाते हैं। वैसे तो काम उसने झाड़ू पोंछे से शुरू किया था , पर पैसे और हुनर बढ़ने के साथ उसने पेशे में भी तरक्की की थी। अब वो शर्तें साफ़ रखती थी - कपड़े मशीन में ही धोएगी। बर्तन गर्म पानी से ही साफ़ करेगी। खाने में एक सब्ज़ी और एक दाल से बढ़कर कुछ नहीं बनाएगी। महीने में दो छुट्टी करेगी। ये सब उसके अनुभव का निचोड़ था। सालों पहले , कई बार उसने कोशिश की थी कि बहुत अच्छा काम करके , किसी और के परिवार को अपना परिवार मान के , मैडम लोगों का दिल जीत ले। तब हाथ - पैर भी दबाये थे। सराहना में दो - चार शब्द हाथ लगे और दस - बारह पुरानी साड़ियां। तंगदिल लोगों को खुश करने की हज़ार कोशिशों के...