I am a kind of person who believes it is very unfair to make generalized assumptions about anything,specifically human beings.
Many a times I am into serious conversations with people,asserting,how one should not have pre-conceived notion about somebody just because you inferred something from somebody similar.Its is very natural for every body I guess to have experiences good as well as bad with people we interact in day to day life and then consciously or sub-consciously create an image about a class of people,by just having an experience of few from that class.
By class I mean anything;it can be men having opinion about women,women on men,one generation of people on another,people from one state on people of another state,people speaking language-x on people speaking language-y,students of college-a on students of college-b,residents of country-I on residents of country-P,etc etc etc...The list will be never ending,isn't it?
I hope all will agree,many a times we all make such comments and or frame certain opinions and also many a times differ from somebody on their opinions,and all this is very much humane,I would say!
Now,why am I justifying it,you would wonder!Well that's because though I myself refrain from such generic assumption because of interaction with few corrupted samples out a big lot,however I have also realized there is some sort of genuine truth behind any such opinion;because after all,when there is a class of people,it means they are/were part of some sort of common upbringing,environment,society,education,culture,influences etc etc. and then there has to be some impact of these on humankind.
And we are sometimes pointing fingers at others and sometimes fingers are pointed at us,and this is my mortal limit of understanding in this regard.
And I feel it's okay,and many a times such experiences gives us as opportunity to be both rationale and irrational;introspection and accusations;feel and make-feel,see and show...laugh at or being laughed about...learn or make others learn a lesson...talk about someone or be someone talked about...its a game where you are the player as well as spectator!
Tag Archive: Experiences
There is a verb “live” and a noun “life”, either of which when used alone makes no impact as much as their usage together; that is “Live Life” This is a small but a strong and complete statement in its own!
When we hear “Live Life”, we all visualize the fun we can have in our lives and another tick in our wish list(s).Yeah!, it is absolutely natural and normal, however don’t you think that living life should honestly be identified with some extraordinary event in an ordinary life?
There are just 5 letters appended before “ordinary” to make it “extraordinary”, nonetheless this “extra” something (read many things) makes ordinary, extraordinary. An extra mile, an extra attempt and an extra consideration makes ordinary extraordinary!
Life often throws up troubles. Coping well is a route of preference and obvious thoughts that determines our worth of life. Standpoint and deed are keys to coping.
Everyone faces difficulties in their lives. Doing something about issues that affect us, in spite of how we feel, is empowering.
Herein I want to quote Bob Dylan Trouble lyrics: Trouble in the city,
“Trouble in the city, trouble out in the farm/you got your rabbit’s foot/you got your good-luck charm. But they can’t help you none, when there’s trouble.”
Yes, both the problem and the solution lies with us!I know some ordinary people and their extraordinary way of “living life” makes me say this and is too ‘awe inspiring’ to keep it within myself.
“No one lives on the top of the mountain. It’s fine to go there occasionally —for inspiration, for new perspectives. But you have to come down. Life is lived in the valleys. That’s where the farms and gardens and orchards are, and where the plowing and the work is done. That’s where you apply the visions you may have glimpsed from the peaks”,said Arthur Gordon. And I completely second this myself,as I relate to myself being the witness of a life around me which I genuinely consider,”Living Life”
One of such person is my maternal uncle,whose way of “living life” is something which has influenced me like any thing. He was barely in his late teens when his father (and my maternal grandfather) expired. He was then the head of the family with responsibility and liabilities of four younger siblings. With no support from anybody around, he believed in himself and gradually grew both financially and spiritually. All the responsibilities of being the eldest were taken care of and life looked like following an ideal trail in due course. He was married to a beautiful lady and he was blessed with a lovely daughter and an adorable son; nothing could have been as sweet as this!
However God has His ways of making his presence felt. Both children were diagnosed with a form of cerebral palsy, wherein they were least likely to be able to walk and take care of themselves at any point of time in their life.The only bright thing was the kids having really sound mental abilities, in fact more than kids of their age;
( though it is not justified to compare them in present times (they being in their teens) with others because of the difference in level of exposure and education of normal kids and them.).But I still identify both the kids as really smart ones,inheriting many qualities of their father
Let me tell you,it might look easy from outside the window,but I know this personally how difficult it is to take care of such special children.And the difference is they are not just taken care of by fulfilling the basic requirements for their survival but also being given an opportunity to learn,study and grow as much as possible.If he would have just made efforts to survive,it would have been still be viewed as a big effort but according to him, that situation of minimum survival is like “given up” and would have been permanent;but his attitude is to keep recovering from the his injuries and start afresh,and when this the way of living this is in real sence “Live Life” realized.Life is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s the way it is. The way we deal with it is what makes the difference.
Life looks too long in such situations and ordinary people succumb to such atrocities from God!But this man,showed everyone around how an ordinary person like him can be too tough to perish!He not only accepted that difficult situation,he lived live with beauty;made all efforts to provide education to his children,make them learn computers,fulfilling their wishes,and on top of this,made sure that he also fulfils his other worldly duties expected in normal circumtances.In fact a perfect example of an ideal son,brother,husband father and friend.
Till date he goes out of way to make sure that he does everything which he should do and he does this with elan!I have witness all this and I believe this is called “Living Life” and I believe I can never pen down my imbibed feelings I have for this “extraordinary life” which has touched my life in many ways!
And his life is a real example of a quote from Claude Pepper, “Life is like riding a bicycle. You don’t fall off unless you plan to stop peddling”
Though this is my third south Indian state,I never felt the need of learning the local language as much as I felt its need in my stay in Chennai.
Yes,people…before Chennai I have stayed in Hyderabad and then Bangalore,however in both these cities,I never felt the need to learn Telugu or Kannada respectively as much as I felt its necessity in Chennai.
Nevertheless,I have interest in learning the languages and somehow I manage to catch the meaning of languages,if I listen to it with concentration.And I am thankful of my knowledge of Sanskrit,learnt in school.Though I never scored great in it… :P…And I still remember what our Sanskrit teacher used to say about power of Sanskrit knowledge.
Snap!coming to present times or better to say starting from period of my entry in south India…on my rendezvous with languages Telugu,Kannada and at present Tamil;
I always wanted to learn these languages,however could not learn them to be make fluent use of them.
I remember pestering few of my college friends in Hyderabad to teach me Telugu and in fact they taught me too.First thing I learnt was counting numbers in Telugu…ookati,rendu,mudu,nalgu…. :)then some sentences like…,”what is your name?”..it’s translated as “nee peru enti?”;”bagunara”, “bagunawa”,”matladtadu”,”ivu”,”chappu”,”nidrostundi”,”kuchchu”…and the famous “Entraa!” heard in college days!
Our college had good mix of people from different states and life was easy with Hindi and English and some times the indigenous local Hyderabadi Hindi…”Sahi boltun na!” 😀
However,gradually the initial interest in learning the language,became less and also one of my Telugu friend in college said,she should not teach me any more Telugu,as they will then not be able to speak anything and everything in Telugu when they were in my room with my room-mate 😦 Though they still do not know I somehow managed to understand the gist of their conversation 😉 😛
Some Telugu sentence which I still remember…
Neeku telugu vachchaa/thelusa?
Do you know telugu?
Meeku telugu vachchaa/thelusa?
Do you know telugu? (to elders)
Naaku telugu raadhu/thelidhu.
I don’t know Telugu.
Em chestunnav? (‘Emi chestunaru’ is more formal)
What are you doing?
Nee peru emiti??
What is your name?
Hitech city ki vasthava?? (To ask an autowala)
Will you come to Hitech city?
Inka okka sari cheppu
Tell once more
After Telugu it was time for Kannada…yes though in Bangalore,language is not much of problem,and in my group in Tech Mahindra,most of them being Kannada,they would though not let me feel out-of-place by speaking in Kannada when I am there,but some how I tried listening to their conversation,and gradually learnt quite lot of Kannada…
Some of sentences I learnt in Kannada…
What is your name?…Ninna hesarenu?/ Ninna hesaru yenu?
What…Yenu?
Your..inna
Name…Hesaru
Did you have your lunch?…Oota madhidheya?/ oota aayitha?
How are you?…Hegiddhiya?/ Neenu heghiddhiya?
I am fine…Nanu chenagiddene.
Why are they late for the meeting?…Avaru meetingige yaake thadavadharu?
How did you come?…Neenu hege bandhe?
And the latest experience of being in Chennai,the need of knowing Tamil is felt when I have to negotiate for an auto,when I have to buy something from a local grocery shop,when I have to order for my evening snacks in office,when I have to ask for some help in finding an address,when I have to instruct my maid for something,when I have to….Yes!it is a never-ending list…Though I do not have much of Tamil speaking company here,I started learning Tamil;just for your information my room mates are Mallus and I am sure by the time I leave this place,I would have learnt Malyalam too 🙂 😛
Coming to my a b c d of Tamil…It starts daily in morning with me trying to get an auto…I use names of places without using any other word in English or Hindi or Tamil,Thank God! names of places are the same in all languages…Then I say “evaalavu”,which means “how much”;then if the auto fellow gives some numbers…Thank God!till date all of them used English number system or sign language,and then if I feel it is more,I say “Anna! jyasti”…means “Brother! it’s more”…then I say,”Anna fifty sollunga!” which means “Brother! say fifty”….Phew!this is how I get an auto and then “Néraa ponga! Idathu/Valathu thirumpunga”,which means “Go straight! then turn left/ right!”…I hope none of auto walas read this ;)…but I feel they are smart enough to make out I am not Tamilian…
Few more sentences I learnt in Tamil…
Good/ Bad/ So-So…Nallathu / Mosam / Appadithaan.
Big/ Small…Periya / Chinna
Today/ Now…Indru / Ippothu
Tomorrow/ Yesterday…Naalai / Nétru
Yes/ No…Amaam / illai
Here you go! (when giving something)…Indhaa.
Do you like it?…unakku idhu pidikkuthaa?
I really like it!…Enakku idhu romba pidikkuthu.
I’m hungry/ thirsty…Enakku pasi / thagam irukku.
In The Morning/ Evening/ At Night…Kalaiyil / Maalaiyil / Rathri (or) iravil
This/ That. Here/There…Idhu / Adhu. Ingu / Angu
So here I am ‘Jack of many…read 5… languages…master of none!’
And friends,as if this was not enough,I still want to learn few foreign languages!
Lets see when I will be able to do it…. 🙂
I know,I keep bringing instances of my workplace 😛 ,however what happened today was just 5 minutes after I left my workplace today late in evening.A sudden thrust of humid air when I come out of office is usual in Chennai, however lift not working was something that happened for the first time.Big deal! I told myself and started walking down the stairs.When I was on the second floor stairs,as I was walking down with a speed,I crossed someone moving very slow,without caring who was there.But then,the moment I was already at first floor,I realized I overlooked something which I should have not.Yes that someone moving slow was a lame lady with polio calipers.And I realized there was nobody with her.I immediately turned back and reached where she was and asked if she needs any help,she looked at me and smiled…said she was waiting for her friend and that she will manage.As I was about to insist again,her friend came,and I smiled back at them and moved on.
And it was not my smile I am talking about,I am herein referring to smile from that lady.Yes it was a smile from a person in return of help someone stranger to her,offered.Though I could not really give her any assistance in walking down the stairs,she genuinely gave me a genuine smile,worth never forgetting and yes with no doubt made itself the “Best of Today!” for me… 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
I watched “Wake Up Sid” for the nth time today,nth time because I don’t remember how many time I have seen this movie before.I simply love this simple movie…
Yeah it is very simple,refreshing,and still it oozes all the feelings ,be it soft
emotions,innocence,maturity,immaturity,humor,fun,carelessness,cuteness,friendship,love,failure,
success,creativity,passion,family and mother’s love… with perfection.
There are few scenes in this movie which I find so so touching…that I keep watching this movie again and again…
When Ranbir is called By Konkana(Aisha in movie)in the night before her birth day and Ranbir(Sid) makes cake with bread slices,jam and butter,with one matchstick as a candle.
Konkana’s interview with Rahul Khanna,and her outburst of confused feelings for Ranbir,when she returns from the music show(she went with Rohit Khanna) & when he is leaving her flat…
The song in which Konkana with Ranbir and his friends paint and decorate the old flat she rented…The song “Kya Karoon Haule Haule Jo…”…The flat looks so nice… 🙂
I also liked..Ranbir’s excitement on being able to make omelette for the first time…
When he goes to meet his mom,wearing a shirt :),something which his mom likes…
His first salary check and when he goes and gives it to his dad is very emotional and sensitive scene…
I love all the songs in this movie and the most loved one…
“O mere manawa tu toh baawara hai
tu hi jaane tu kya sochata hai…baawarein
kyun dikhaaye sapane tu sote jaagate
jo barase sapane bund bund naino ko mund mund
kaise main chalu dekh na saku anjaan raaste
gunja sa hai koyi iktaara iktaara
dil mein bole koyi iktaara iktaara, dil mein bole koyi iktaara
gunja sa hai koyi iktaara iktaara”
Oh! yes I remember the lyrics…
Overall a delightful movie…I liked it…I liked it again… 🙂
I was indoors the whole day and nobody in room to interact too,what could have happened that I would have identified as ‘Best of Today!’
But then something happened,I had submitted my blog at Indiblogger.in…whose punchline is “Join the largest and most active community of Indian Bloggers..Indians by birth. Bloggers by choice”
And they have,Submission Guidelines…8 not-so-simple rules
To ensure that a blog submission is accepted for inclusion in the IndiBlogger directory,one has to ensure that they comply with them.One’s submission is not approved as soon as one submits a blog.Its reviewed and analysed and then only the submitted blog inclusion in their directory is approved.
And today I got a mail from indiblogger.in…
“Dear Shalini,
Welcome to IndiBlogger! We are happy to inform you that your blog listing shaluhere has been approved and is visible on our directory.”
They have some really cool badges to keep on one’s blog…I got a few for me to 🙂
I was happy,happy as a hippo 🙂
And nevertheless it was the “Best of Today!’ 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 
Well well,I know this is unusual to be heard from me however,I would say something good happened today at office which was “Best of Today”.I had plans to reach office in second half,but then when I got a call from my reporting manager at on site office;I had to reach office asap.
When I reached,I was expecting some annoyed faces from the software user group,but I saw smiling faces who were somehow assured that issues will be taken care of.
The story behind this sudden change in the behavior of them, is big one;will tell you in detail later…
Issues were handled in no time and more smiles followed… 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Oh yeah…like everybody even I love a good snooze and I feel all these years of experience of setting up an alarm and then keep it on snooze,is in process of making me a ‘snooze champ’ LOL 😉
I have this god gifted or I have developed this skill in me????Whatever it be,but yes if there was any competition of finding the “Snooze Champion”,I can very confidently nominate myself and I am sure I can at least reach the finals… 😀
While I draft this post here,I though why not have a poll on a very important aspect of being a ‘snooze champ’…that is how many times has one put one’s alarm on ‘snooze’,what say???? 😉 🙂 😀
After a busy schedule on a business tour and flying from Texas to Florida, moving ahead to Paris and then back to London, I took the next flight to Chennai and then moved to Chetpet, Nungambakkam in a private jet, only to suddenly awaken up out of the faraway tiny day-dream, I finally managed to reach and do formalities of joining car driving classes at L’Man’s driving school at Chetpet which is hardly 2 kilometres from the place I stay in Nungambakkam.And yes I took an auto rickshaw for twenty rupees to reach there 😉
Yes friends, though it was not such a ‘fundoo’ business trip but honestly I was busy and it was not only work that was keeping me busy, it was also a list of TV programs, plentiful sleep and my laziness.
However after getting several numbers of car driving schools in Chennai from useful sites in Indian context, like sulekha.com and justdial.com and subsequent calls, queries and enquiries, I finally managed to join L’Man’s driving school in Chetpet because they were the only one in my locality who had provision of pick up and drop, though this facility came up with a little addition in the cost involved when compared with other driving school. However it is acceptable and was a desired facility because first of all, this endeavour of learning car driving requires me to get up at least one and half hour earlier than my so-called daily schedule in morning and if I had to go on my own, just the thought of getting up early and then the overhead of taking an auto to and fro, the driving school would have been a never starting affair.
So it finally started yesterday with the trainer allowing me to sit on the driver’s seat and giving me gyan about gear, clutch, brake, accelerator, wiper and indicator(s). It was a warm up session, I would say.
And today morning I was allowed to start the car and yes drive it too. Some initial confusion in changing gears and simultaneous release of clutch, I was pretty good and confident while driving. We drove the car in the area near by my place for around half an hour and I was dropped outside my apartment. I felt good and was reminded of my happiness in school days, when I was able to balance my bicycle for the first time and second time when I as able to ride my ‘Bajaj Spirit’.
When I mention about my bicycle and scooterette, I point out one thing in common between them apart from my happiness in learning to drive them; and the common string in both cases is the colour. Yes both of them were ‘wine red’ in colour and I love this colour in general and in particular for a vehicle. So will I be able to buy a car of the same colour? Let’s see, hopefully I shall update you all about it.
Till then,
“Heureux et en sécurité de conduite”
“Feliz y seguro de conducer”
“Gelukkig en veilig rijden”
“Khush aur surakshit driving”
“Happy and safe driving”.
Two to tango,and this time it was me and mangoes,with background of cream+vanilla ice-cream,guest appearance of sweet black grapes and entry of honey at the climax…and the expert feedback in self appreciation…
“It was YUMMY!”
Shalu's Blog 
