what's new?! here it is!

 so what have i been into for the last few days?

apart from my usual work, i now use my free time to volunteer for an NGO that i have been fortunately volunteering since its birth.. their story is that of a supernatural growth! :) but all for the welfare of needy children who are malnourished.. 

and one thing i have noticed all of us have a great part to play in it.. if you are good at designing, you are welcome.. if you are good at formal communications you are welcome.. if you are good at social media, you are most welcome.. if you are good at web design, please join.. i mean, just name it and your skills would be be put to best use, dear reader!

please do visit their website at https://annapoorna.org.in to know more..

Let's spread LOVE!

10 years of un-narcissing!

Hi Janta!

I love starting with a disclaimer! ;) Here's for this post. Thought through a bit before attempting this post. I kind of worry, it could sound narcissistic somewhere. But, the real intent here is to talk the right opposite of narcissism! Do be merciful to give me the benefit of doubt :P


Looking at the current viral 10 Year Challenge trend, there sure have been some transformations that have blew our minds. But, all said and done, most of them have been all about physical aspects such as better body, looks, etc. No, not discounting their efforts and hardwork one bit here. Some of them are inspiring. But can this 10 year challenge, which has taken the world's youth captive, march ahead for something more constructive for our world? Well, i can only transform myself, and not expect others to follow what i like!

I will digress now. Let me flaunt about myself man.

I saw another famous meme, this time to do with one's heart! It showed how one's live pumping heart has simply transformed into a stone over the last 10 years. I thought it was a funny meme, at first. Simply because, 10 years before, i always knew my heart was ALREADY made of stone. But, as and when this meme started appearing across a number of friends' profiles, social media newsfeed, etc, i started to think a bit more about it. Yes, the world certainly looks to have got a colder heart. Or, a harder (definitely not stronger) heart!

A couple of days later. A tear dropped by my eye. It was a mere video. An animal was rescued from an excruciating pain. I wondered, "do i even have an heart? but why am i bidding a tear for this!"

During my schooling and college days, i was a stone-heart-ed man! I always prided myself being cold-hearted, i still remember!  And now..

What has made me sensitive? Why was i even emoting?

Where are the days i used to laugh or mock at my so-called petty sadness that my friends had?

Where was the "****-u dude, i dont care" attitude? (oh crumbs! i am not even able to type the word out now!) What happened to me over the last decade?

No man, i am not putting any hype! All i am saying is, i practically saw a stone (my heart) melt or cut down to a bit of life by mere drops of Love. Mind you, with consistency.

The transformation probably roots somewhere about 10 years back when i was pulled into a world of fantasy. Something magical. And actually, inexplicable. But i attempt to explain it here in 2 lines.

My Guru, and Who i know is God Incarnate, is the Sole Reason. Well this is getting boring? Truth be said, it was He Who with His patient drop by drop water (of love) treatment started healing my stone-heart! Getting me to get to do some social service, accepting my mistakes, bearing with my arrogance and pride filled attitude! And, not judging my past! This LOVE is what has transformed me! And i intend to do the same to all around me.

I used to wonder over the last few years as to why some of my friends and circle are probably moving towards a more formal or colder way of life. As in, it has become an acceptable norm now. On the other hand, after 20+ years of my life, i have finally started to breathe through my heart. 

I realised that only when we have a heart, can we understand the stone-heartedness elsewhere! Thus, 10 years back, when i was stone hearted, i never realised then but now i see it.

So for all those, who put the stone heart meme, it simply helps me understand you guys are filled with Love, congrats folks, be yourselves, always! 

But, for the other yet-to-be-transformed stone hearted guys (like i was one), and especially for those who accuse the transformed, the loving, the humble, the goodhearted and the non-egoistic ones as 'being submissive and without a spine', i have the following to say:

"it wont take me a minute to flaunt about myself and have air all over about myself! this being-simple attitude has come with a lot of difficulty and due to great Fortune! If you don't value my humility and take it to be mere submissiveness or an act of spinelessness, i don't need you guys in my life! If you don't value the Love that is permeating in all of us, let us meet only after you develop the eyes for valuing it!"

So, here is my challenge! Take a 10 year challenge and build a bigger, stronger, and livelier heart as well !

Naanum 'rowdy' aa irunthavan thaan da!
btw, please remember the disclaimer! ;) 

Why we would do good to ourselves by not emulating Singapore!

We all have great aspirations about our country's development. All of us would have some or the other time felt that India must follow a Singapore (if not a US style) type of development.

Recently I had been to Singapore for a few days, and I ensured to travel the length of the city using their public transportation, mainly the MRT. There is no question about the development of the place. Fantastic infrastructure, great roads, streamlined traffic, superb hotels and shopping spots, and what not! Well, what i loved the most was the degree of the cosmopolitanism imbibed in the place!

Well, i guess i have digressed a bit already!

I took some time to talk to some cab drivers, a few locals, etc. throughout the few days that i traveled across Singapore. What i got to know was there was a big 'entry barrier' (if i may so) to owning a car to owning a property and so on. Basically, for all the so-called luxuries you would ideally look for, you have an entry barrier. Besides, we all have heard of Singapore having gone through the exercise of demonetisation. And im sure we hate all this! :)

Basically, what i am coming to is - I, being an Indian citizen have taken the conscious decision of staying back in India solely for the amount of flexibility and freedom this country offers in whatever we want to own/do. We do not have strong barriers to almost anything here in India.

Ya man, i don't see any point seeing our country develop to the level of a Singapore and in turn have my hands tied! We are a Nation where we have our own standards of discipline and lifestyle. Thus, i understood, we are in an amazing country, where we live our lives to the fullest, albeit with some problems here and there!

Or may i go one step ahead and say, physical development of the country is no great development. People's happiness alone is! And i am sure we Indians are a happy lot.

Let's stop cribbing about our Nation and remember to recall the larger benefits our country offers whenever we feel our country is highly developed!

my 6 year blog challenge? An analytical study ;)

Hi Folks,

I have probably now put myself into a 6 year challenge, in the likes of the 10Year Challenge that's going viral across social platforms. 10 years back i had started to blog and was kind of regular till 2012 end.

And lo, the next 6 years was like - silencee!

Well, firstly, i never realized it was such a huge gap! Did the years literally run by?

Being a partially analytical minded guy, i started to introspect if my non-blogging period had any correlation to my life-style in these 6 years. And here we go!

Technical v non-technical career? Naah!
Hmm.. i was in a coding job and was simultaneously preparing for my CAT. So it doesn't really fit in, for i should have had lesser time for blogging, but i ended up blogging more then! Besides, I had all the more reasons to blog during my MBA to express opinions, better my language, etc. but i never really blogged then.

Facebook time? Hmm not really!

My FB activity too went down since 2012-ish and it has come down to a zero now. Let's keep aside the occasional DP changes, etc. 

MBA? Ya right!?

I hardly studied, man. Was into a number of activities in the college that did eat my time, but i sure should have found 30 mins in a week?!

Whatsapp? My buddy!
Yeaah!! Let me conveniently blame this guy now. I got caught into the WhatsApp net about the mind 2012 period, and since then my whatsapp-ing activity grew up substantially while my blogging went down quickly to a ZERO!

Well, what's up with whatsapp? It's simple.

1. Whatsapp gives us the much needed communication at a peer level with a lot of features that help you feel safe with your privacy. You have the groups to express your thoughts, jokes, etc. You have the status updates to show your, albeit not great, creativity. So, all in one :)

2. I can remain non-committal, which is the most craved drink for today's youth. I can act like nothing happened by just deleting a message, or by using various other features. A blog doesn't allow me to customize a message or its audience in a variety of ways, as a WhatsApp can do.

3. In case of a blog, there is all chances of a public access and you may have to be far more formal with your language. WhatsApp on the contrary hates formal language!  It's all about smileys to convey your happiness and your satire!

4. My favourite theorem - Metcalfe's law!
More the folks in your contact, more the involvement! We can derive using Metcalfe's law that your involvement is said to be proportional to the square of the number of contacts in your group/contact list!


So yes, im not surprised that my blogging has gone down.

Ok, then what brought me back to this today? Hmm.. give me some time to analyze this! ;)

the Orange Darshan

Date : 28th October 2009

"What to wear ? "
"hmm.. quite a few shirts are there"

"dhoti??"
"hmm.. ya.."

"ya! thats the best way i feel i want to"
"and then ? our favourite green shirt?"

"hmm.. no im wearing it now.. but for tomorrow.. hey! how about the kurta?"
"super!"

It was already close to 550PM. The shuttle (my first company Avaya in Pune) to the city would leave by 6PM. I thus, took one extra set of clothes and made way to the shuttle stop. Thankfully there was no important work in the office, that i could leave early.

The bus started. My 1 day old 'new friend' had invited me home so that we could go to Hadshi together. Baba had arrived that day to Hadshi village enroute Pune.

I was extremely excited already and a couple of incidents that day ay my friend's home took me to an entirely different level of existence.

First:
The agenda off BABA's Visit was to inaugrate the magnificent Panduranga Kshetra built by the famous industrialist "Shivaji Jadhav". Right from 2003, the latter patiently waited and prayed to BABA to inaugrate the temple. However, Swami had only decided to inaugrate at this point of time.
On introspection, i realised that "i too was considered in HIS Plan" of this visit. Had HE come over even a couple of months earlier for this visit, i would not have fitted into this Blissful Scheme of the events!

Swami says that HE is like an engine that waits for a number of carriages to be attached so that HE can pull all of them together at one go! But why me ? What a great fortune has been bestowed on this pretty ordinary soul ?

Second:
My friend had one VIP Pass, which would allow one to take a closer Darshan. The entire family did not take the VIP pass and straightly passed it on to me! I was thrilled further!

Third:
My friend gave me a drop of the nectar that continuously flows in an Ashram at Mysore. It was materialized by Swami.

Fourth:
There was one Dream i got in the night, which practically looked very real to me. I saw that Swami showed me that HE was present in the lifesize picture of HIM that was in the hall.

Date : 29 October 2009



The next day, my friend and i left for Hadshi village, about 60kms away from Pune.

As the taxi reached the foothills of the hillock, where the Panduranga Kshetra Mandir was built, i started recalling the place slowly and steadily.

I got a SHOCKER of my LIFE!

45 Days prior to this, when no one knew of this visit of Swami, Swami showed me in my Dream that this is the path i would be taking to see HIM. Further to this, in that Dream, HE had even acted as a priest to "Lord Panduranga", which is what exactly happened here in reality!

Thus, the last 12 hours were unimaginably crazy!

Now, the TIME arrived!

As the car reached the hillock's top, my heart started beating harder. This was my first visit to see Swami. I was unable to comprehend that 'I am physically in the radius of GOD' and was very excited! What a proximity to cherish!

As i walked in, the SevaDal led me to the VIP seats' area. I was in a white (slightly creamish coloured) kurta. I also had worn a Dhoti. I sat down on one of those seats.

I was fortunate to see Swami from a close distance. After a while, Swami decided to go to HIS Residence. I still recall those beautiful moments when Swami was taken in a make-shift lift that was very near from the place where i was sitting.
Every moment looked so beautiful and i felt that each moment was running fast.

HE was to come back in the evening where HE had planned to give us a Discourse. The evening session was extremely touchy! The way HE made HIS Entry like an awesome HERO, and with high pitched yet pleasant Vedam chantings being sung by HIS Students and other Devotees put me in extreme Bliss.

My mind finally agreed, "this is how GOD must be, and this is the way I wanted HIM to be!"

Suddenly a very unusual thing happened to me, where i started weeping profusely. I was unable to take the Divinity in front of me, perhaps! The beautiful bhajans that were sung in HIS Presence still remain my heart-favourites!

Those precious moments.. The real moments in an otherwise transient world.. these would remain etched in my hearts for eternity by HIS Grace!

Now, Swami is not seen in HIS Physical Presence.
I was always interested to know if i would have seen Shirdi BABA in one of my previous lives? or seen Krishna in one?
But.. now they all seem to have satisfied and answered by this beautiful Orange Darshan!

4 Chapathis for my friend, ma!

"Anand! its already 11pm da.. "
"yes ma.. he is just coming.. just 2-3 minutes.. he is near B'lore Central.. just 2mins"

Rightly so, in about 2 minutes, the bell rang. Mom opened the door, and she seemed to complain to herself mentally that her eyes are deceiving her. She tried to rub her eyes and re-focus her sight on to the 'visitor'!

And then.. a beautiful smile with a huge shock.. probably like a rainbow during the rains! Yes, a very rare expression on her face!

She asked me " so you are the 'visitor' you were talking about ? " while gently patting me a couple of times with love!

"Shocked as well as surprised that you came", she told me.

Exactly 24 hours earlier to this, I was dillydallying the decision whether to go home or not!
My left "mind" questioning me  whether spending a solid 13k for travel for just about 5 days at home was worth, and simultaneously my RIGHT "mind" telling me to do just the RIGHT thing! Ya, it suddenly put a huge list of advantages that this journey would gift me with! Right from getting my speakers and camera, to eating home food, to car driving, and getting some food stuffed back to hostel : everything suddenly seemed to suggest me that i have no alternate but to travel!

With an act of "detachment" i asked my left mind to be 'LEFT back'!

Thus, it took a final 2-3AM in the morning for me to book tickets!

Now my left "mind" wanted to become a bit 'right' so that it does not get 'left' out! It suggested me to carry out a small prank on my mom!

"How about throwing a surprise to her ?" - asked my left mind.
"Good idea Mr. Left Mind!", said the right mind, rather sarcastically, and which continued " But! Dont you see there's a big flaw in your foolish idea!?? "
" Uh ?"
"We can't control our hunger and we will be reaching at 11PM+, and you want amma to cook something for you then, when she should actually be hitting the bed!?? "

I interceded the 'divided minds' and assured that i would take care, thanking them for their inputs!
Next day morning, mom as usual calls up, and after getting to know that i have holidays, said, " had you known you had some 4-5 days of leave earlier, you could have booked your tickets to home.. anyway, no problems..".

The trio(the left mind, the right mind, and i) chuckled with pride in the super-surprise that was to be delivered to my mom!

"ya mom.. true that.. anyway.. "

And then my right mind poked me,  " dude, what about food ?? tell her to cook something!"
That's when i told her that " Ma, my friend is coming to our home.. please cook a bit extra for that guy, of whatever you cook!"

My mom told " ok i am gonna make chapathis for the night, as its 'Sravanam' day".
"arrghh! chapathis :/ " - retorted my right mind silently.

"Ya sure ma.. anything would do.. make 4 Chapathis for my friend, ma!"

My mom suddenly seemed to start do some CBI work and started asking "my friend's" name and phone number. I convinced her that I would give it to her in the night and told her that "he would reach only by 11PM".

Thus ended the drama's prerequisite!

I ensured not to tell anyone of my visit to make it entirely a big surprise! The following days, my relatives called me up congratulating me of my plans to trounce my mom's boredom of the previous days, when virtually no one was at home with her!

Surely, she would be charged on for a few more days with this surprise package! :)

a perfect world! :)

What's a desire that drives fear..

what of the happiness that's short lived..

what of an expectation that needs to be met..

what of a mind that's inconsistent..

what of the tongue that slanders others..

what of the heart that gets weak..

what of the hands that don't help..

what of the lips that don't smile..

and.. finally.. what of the humans that don't LOVE! 

for the above would never happen if humans just only Love one another!