#YearEnder Post: 2015

#2015

Had a thrilling year overall, especially with the streak of successes and happy moments came my way towards the end of the year. The major achievement of mine is 'gaining confidence to drive' as far as i'm concerned for this year. Apart from that, there have been a number of other achievements at work and in my personal life. Grown more closer to my loving people. Enjoyed a few moments of joy. Family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, bloggers and a lot of people played their part in all that happiness. Feeling thankful to all of them. May all their blessings continue to be with me in the next year. May I be able to do my best to them as well. 

Year after year, our awareness increases. So as our relationships, which are the most important ones in life. Looking forward for further betterment in 2016. Also looking forward to continue to be dedicated in whatever I do and hopeful about a few more successes and happy moments. May we all enjoy every moment of this year. 

Wish you all a very happy new year! 2016! 

Partha uncle, thank you so much for always being there to read my posts and sending your feedback. Wish you good health and long writing!!! Happy new year again. 

This is also my 250th post of this year. Enjoyed every post as always and looking forward to cross triple century next year! Feeling thrilled about this too. 

Count your age by the smiles!

So as you,

Everyone has a story.

Count your age,

By the number of stories,

That you bring,

The smiles in. 

Try not to judge!

Apparently, what we do not understand is seen as something supreme. Irony, that we do not apply the same to people those whom we think that we do not understand. According to us, they deserve to get judged the most and cannot be supreme in any sense! Ego plays its part and we call it 'destiny', again to satisfy the same.

Try not to judge people. There can be nothing better to live with. 

Being fluent... Take Home #509

Being fluent in the language is important for any communicator. At the same time, being fluent in thoughts is further more important to connect to the majority of audience. 

Destroy or disable... Take Home #508

In the game of chess, the power that cannot help is the power that does not exist. 

Either destroy or disable the powers of your opponent to get going. And this is applicable not just to chess, but also to any game that people play. 

Help and develop... Take Home #507

Helping people win strengthens your confidence somewhere deep within, which will encourage you to keep helping people.

Help each other. Develop together.

Power of defense... Take Home #506

Having no chance to play an offensive game is an opportunity for you to show the power of your defensive game. Play the defense and wait for that one wrong step of your opponent, cashing which might turn the game for you! Either there comes a wrong step of your opponent or a defeat of yours. Both of them are powerful enough to make you learn the important lessons game often teaches. 

The Wrong Step... Take Home #505

Not the strategy of yours, but at times, the wrong step of your opponent lets you win the game. Hence, along with the strategical outlook, have an eye on the moves of your opponents. Its your responsibility to convert the wrong steps of your opponents into the stepping stones for your success. 

That's my definition of 'Love'

Love is the responsibility that you undertake for a lifetime.

Happiness or sorrow, win or loss, smiles or tears, life or death, 

Whatever happens, you have your share of responsibility too. 

The Question... Take Home #504

Trying to answer the question that makes you come out of your comfort zone is the question that can change the way you think, the way you see things and the way you handle situations. Let the questions come to you by being open for them all the time. Try to answer a maximum of them, if not for every questioner, at least for yourself every time. 

Identify the people... Take Home #503

What a person for you shall be what he or she is for you, but not what he or she is for the world. Always identify the people of what they are for you. Be the one for them that they identify you as. Never allow yourself to be a victim of social chit-chat.

   

Life is a celebration... Take Home #502

Life is an every  moment's celebration provided we understand the essence of celebrating every moment we live. 

The sports leagues in India are primitive yet efficient in a way!

Although I was a huge follower of 'Cricket', I used to wonder why it was only Cricket and cricketers that would get the money and attention at every step in India. It was easier for me to imagine seeing the players from other sports getting the similar attention of the nation; but at the same time, it was extremely difficult for me to believe that it would happen in the recent times. It was before around five years that the above said used to come into my thoughts. But today, if I think about it, I can say confidently that the day is not too far when the sports personalities from the other sports start getting the payments they need and the attention they deserve. 

According to me, this change is made possible by the various sports leagues that have been getting organized in India since few years now. The belief of the sponsors behind all these sports leagues must be applauded. As I remember it, it all started with the Indian Premier League's stupendous success in 2008. IPL took the standards and confidence of the cricketers to a next level. The franchise owners and sponsors got benefited beyond the expectations. At the same time, IPL's success inspired a few people who then started thinking of organizing similar leagues in a few other games. 

One after the other, the leagues started in various other sports. Some of them turned out to be magnanimous. One of such was Pro-Kabaddi, which had seen tremendous response from the audiences in its inaugural season itself. The success of this league was not just the success of its sponsors and franchise owners, rather, it was the success of the years of desperation the Kabaddi players had undergone until the start of the league. Indian Badminton League had its ups and downs, but over all, it was too an apt one to have got conducted amidst the winning streak of Indian badminton players on the world stages. Later to this league, there have been a lot of memorable successes of the Indian Badminton players in the tournaments around the globe. 

Indian Super League, which came with a caption "Let's Football", was yet another great hit in its inaugural season. A lot of celebrities got involved in the campaigning of this league. The reason could be anything, be it the involvement of some of the celebrities themselves in the franchises or be it the money-flow that was involved in the campaigning, the ISL ultimately came out as a star-studded show. And this league has its own impact on the younger generation. A lot of kids are now a days seen joining the football coaching camps in summers, which was the scenario earlier with cricket. Soccer is the most watched and loved game in the world. If the Indians can make their mark in such a sport, it will be good to experience. Hockey India League tried its best to bring back the old glory of the sport in India. To some extent, it's been successful I'd say. Somehow, in spite of it being our national game, it's becoming difficult for Hockey to see the light of the day. One day, hopefully, it shall be back with a bang! International Premier Tennis League and Pro-Wrestling League India have been the latest ones in the recent years. These are expected to be the winners, over a period of time. 

Except Tennis, Badminton and Wrestling leagues, where the population of the women players is formidable, all the other leagues have been restricted to men still. Pro-Kabaddi and Hockey Indian League fully deserve to get immediately extended to let women play, where women teams have been consistently performing on the world stage, like the men's teams. Cricket, even though the most watched sport in India in the current times, still is too backwards in terms of encouraging women players. Rather, the male cricketers are getting more than deserving attention, which is eventually making the women players look too far away from the glory. I pity BCCI, the big one that they say, in this respect. They must work upon the game for women as well. Just like cricket, football as well is studded by men stars around the globe. Inspite of being the most watched, women are not yet into it. Anyway, there as well encouraging women is going to make it further interesting. Personally, I would love to watch Indian Athletics League getting succeeded. I like watching Athletics, especially the 'relay' event. It just gets into me, somehow. Well, a lot of work has to be done in Athletics in India I guess. 

Having said all that, I must admit to the fact that every league, except of cricket, in India is at the moment in its primitive stage. Yet, each one of it has been very efficient in a way that it gets the sport closer to masses. To people. To sports lovers. To sports worshipers. To players and their parents. This is a very good sign for the future of all these sports in India. Olympics are round the corner now in 2016 at Rio. Its expected that the number of medals will be improved compared to the last London games. Going forward, with the success of a lot leagues and professionalism getting sunk in almost every game in India in the form of leagues, I believe, the scenario changes a lot and so as our country's position in the medals tally in all big sport stages. Looking forward for that day! 

Be happy. Be wise.

"Being Happy Is One Way Of Being Wise"

That's well put. Amidst all that goes around us, remembering to be happy all the time does not work. Wanting to be happy does not work. Behaving as if we are happy does not work either. Acting to be happy never works and better not to talk about it. 

Being happy is not an action. Its an attitude, which has to be worked upon to master it. It's not easy. It takes a lot of realizations of life, of love, of world and of people. We must be willing to accept the way the things are, the way the people are, the way the world is and the way the life happens within us. What happens around us can be responded upon wisely by knowing what's happening within us. Happiness comes from within and shall come from within. Being happy is just about being wise. It's about being positive about the occurrences and being determined to face them off. Happiness comes from a strong belief that every problem has a solution and that every solution can be found out. When our attitude is so, it's not difficult to be happy. And hence it's not difficult to be wise. 

Forever Love!

Forever we are

Embodied together.

Love is the bond,

between us and beyond. 

Movie: Bajirao Mastani - Yet another artistic marvel from Bhansali

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

There is a mark that every artist leaves on his or her work. Few of the artists are versatile and very few are monotonously brilliant. Sanjay Leela Bhansali is one such directors of Indian cinema, who belongs to the later category. Monotonous yet attractive every time. Its a very difficult feat to achieve. 'Bajirao Mastani' is yet another visual treat from him after his previous venture, 'Ram-Leela'. Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone are the same lead actors of both the films, yet the way their characters have been depicted in both of the films deserves a stupendous applauds. Not even for a moment, you feel like watching the same pair on the screen. Their body language has been tremendously worked upon. Film to film. Character to character. Dialogue to dialogue. Shot to shot. Emotion to emotion. Every single thing has been perfectly moulded.

Ranveer Singh has done an awesome job. His body language variations are the highlights of the film. His expressions have come out so perfect that the involvement he has had in the character has paid off. His dialogue delivery is wonderful too. All about him in this film is immensely impressive. Deepika and Priyanka have done good jobs. Deepika's body language in some of the war shots must have been worked upon more. I felt a little disappointment in that respect. Otherwise, she, as always, has done a great job. Loved Priyanka in her cute expressions. 

The pace in the movie is uneven as per me. At times running forward before understanding anything and at times staying at one scene for longer than required, the screen play is one of the areas of "could have done better". However, the dialogues in the slow moving scenes are the perfectly written ones. They just don't bore! Music is adorable. Costume work is too good a job. Fast moving camera shots, especially in the war sequences, are one of the draw-backs I guess. But fortunately, its barely noticeable. 

All in all, its a good movie. Feeling good to have learnt about the great Marata Peshwa of 18th Century. Looking forward for more biopics, especially the historic ones. 

Assurance and opportunity... Take Home #501

Even though its important to get assurances, it's not wise to wait for them in deciding to grab the opportunities. First grab the opportunity and then work towards figuring out the ways to get the necessary assurances. 

Being polite... Take Home #500

Being polite is one of the best ways to show our gratitude towards the people we come across. After all, we learn some or the other thing from everyone we know. 

Patriotism and nation building!

Below is the article written by me for a friend participating in an elocution competition. I always enjoyed participating in elocution competition and the article below made me recollect some of my best moments from my school-life.

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Patriotism is a strong conviction that this country is superior to everything because we were born in it. It is about being loyal to the country and people. Patriotism is displayed in actions rather than limiting it to thoughts, by supporting the country and standing by people all the time. India is the land we were born and hence it’s indeed superior to us. Keeping our individual interests aside, worshiping the country and building upon the strong values our ancestors showcased is the way forward for all of us as citizens of India.

‘Unity in diversity’ makes India a cynosure. Every generation has to strive to keep up this moto of our country. Everyone must be ready to do anything for our nation, as individuals and as teams, whenever required. A strong feeling called ‘oneness’ can keep the people bonded. While this can be true for any country, our prime responsibility as Indians is to work for our nation, is to keep building this nation.

Younger generations must be concentrated more upon to develop any country and so is the case with our country too. Education must be given the utmost importance. Knowledge makes people think. Thinking makes people question. Questioning makes society competent. People from a competent environment can turn things to their brighter side irrespective of the difficulties to be handles at every step. Government must benchmark some of the world’s best education systems and shall chart out the steps to follow in India. Although there have been many changes seen now a days in the education system, the changes that have been made are not evident enough of the desired change in the people mind set as well as in our economic growth. ‘Free education for all’ is the trend in many a developed countries. The same shall be adopted in India too. The educationalists must be listened more. Their suggestions must be valued and implemented.

Younger people like us shall think country-first. The opportunities must be searched for in this country itself, by being in here, by staying here. “Make in India” and “Digital India” are some of the initiatives that are looking very promising in the current time. As Indian citizens we all must support the government at all the times, irrespective of which political party is ruling. Nothing is perfect so as the government that rules, be it anyone at any time. The protests, in case required, shall be made in such a way that the national interest comes first rather than the individual agenda of someone, of some political party. We must think rational before acting. Be it to follow an initiative of the government or be it to show the protest. We must think. We must understand the advantages and disadvantages of doing anything. Only when we are convinced, we must do that but not because someone wants us to do something. As said earlier as well, doing this improves the questioning ability in people.

We must develop positive mindedness. It’s a quality of an individual which can improve the quality of life of a society and country. Looking at the things the way they are is important and at the same time, taking out the positivity from the things going around us makes us believe that the best will happen. We must encourage the feeling of ‘oneness’ among ourselves. ‘United we stand, divided we fall’. Even though this is an old saying, it carries a lot of value today too. We must stand united with everyone around us. Making groups around us is nothing but contributing towards making millions of different groups in our nation. Group-ism cannot take India forward. Its only unity which can do it. We all must think as a team, one team. A team can have individuals with different thought processes, capabilities, interests etc. But as a member of our team, our nation, the interest of the team and nation shall come first always. Competition is an important parameter for success. Healthy competition shall be the way forward. Encouraging each other must be our moto.

By doing these small things, by implementing these small changes in our lives, we can contribute better towards our nation’s development. We must show patriotism only. And no other ‘ism’ is powerful than this. We must believe this. Always in history, a few generations have to suffer before the change is seen or implemented. Let’s be willing to suffer to make our next generations flourish. India is a great country and Indians must think and do great too.  

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The person in you... Take Home #499

Appreciation is one of the means to touch a person. Being genuine in appreciation is one of the means to touch the person in you.

As simple as that!

Purpose inspires.

Dedication encourages.

Work pays off.

Be humble... Take Home #498

Confidence and clarity are good to have. They make our convictions better and stronger. However, there are many a possibilities around us and so is a possibility that we are wrong too at some point. Realizing this fact makes us humble from inside and outside. It's very important to be humble as much as possible, because we could be wrong! And even if we are correct, being humble makes us look perfect. 

Think noble... Take Home #497

When we see the task at hand as a noble one, all the materialistic distractions can be overcome including the desire to get recognized. This does not seem practical, but it's truly possible. 

In the times of crisis... Take Home #496

In the times of crisis, do what you know better and that you are known doing for, rather than trying to learn something new and attempting that. New attempts cannot deny success to you but at the same time, they always carry a higher chance of failure which you cannot afford in the times of crisis. 

Priorities... Take Home #495

At different points of time in our lives, we need to prioritise different activities. The more we feel responsible to the activity which is currently prioritised, the less we regret about the other activities that we are not able to prioritise, even though we would like to do so. Also, the more we feel responsible, the more we give ourselves to. 

Opportunity... Take Home #494

Learning makes life interesting and opportunities make us feel worthwhile. Give your best to the opportunities that come to you and experience the joy of opportunities that keep coming to you.

And the below quote, it's worth practicing. I second it. 

Express love... Take Home #493

Expressing love and keeping on expressing love is the key to a successful marriage. Respecting each other, supporting each other, encouraging each other, taking care of each other, allowing each other their freedom etc are all there and are of course required. Expressing love is important to be able to recognize and empathize with all those said above happening between the two people involved in a marital relationship.

#SayNothingNegativeChallenge

The image says it all and no need to say anything further. But just want to mention that I'm going to try following this and want to see what change it can bring to my thought process. Hope I will experience something different and pleasant. Hope I'll succeed in saying nothing negative! You may try this, if interested. 

The generation that we belong to!

Neither the decade of our birth nor the level we belong to in our family tree, but our thoughts and actions decide which generation we belong to.

A lot of times I get to here this "old generation". Usually its heard while it's being said to older people. A lot of questions keep coming to me every time this phrase comes to my mind. Does the age really indicate the generation a person belongs to? Can the age or the decade of a person's birth confirm to which generation he or she belongs to? Or is it that a person's thoughts let the others know the generation that he belongs to? And the actions, are they the ones that actually confirm the generation a person belongs to? And so on. But mainly these. Here I sit on a weekend's day to scribble down my views and the answer that I believe is right for the streak of questions mentioned above. 

Let's take a case of two people who hail from one family, whose age difference is two years, but are from different levels of their family tree. I.e. for in general terminology, two generations. The elder of them is obviously made feel that he is older than the other person by age and also by relation. And by relation, a lot of times he is made believed that he is from an earlier generation when compared to the person who is younger to him by just couple of years. The younger person, on the other hand, is made feel younger than he actually is and is also made believed that he hails from the next generation of the family. Now these two people, since their age difference is too small, go through the education more or less together, go through various other phases of their lives as they come, at a relatively same time. Over a period of time with the respective advancements in their lives, they develop their own thoughts, ideologies, and friend groups. After a few years, on one fine day, when these people are analysed independently by their behavioral and thinking pattern, the following facts turn up. 

The elder one behaves and thinks similar to the people who hail from the same level of their family tree. And the younger one behaves and thinks more or less similar to the people who hail from his level of their family tree. 

The above is one case and the result of which might or might not be applicable for all similar cases. Nonetheless, I believe it happens the same way in most of the cases. With the deeply connected family systems, we tend to develop ourselves more closer to the people who belong to our level in our family trees. Our thoughts and actions usually get matched with the people belong to our level by relation, provided the age gap is not too far. But is it rightly happening? Is this a right situation to be in? Is that a right way to bring up the generations? I think no. A big 'no'. 

Its not our level in the family tree that can let us know how to think or what to do. It's not the decade of our birth that decides to which generation we belong to. It's actually what we think and do can only define the generation that we belong to. And what we think and what we do have got a lot to do with the way we are brought up and the way we have been encouraged to think. Since the brought ups are different, since the situations have been different for all of us, we think differently. 

Some of us think backward, some of us think forward. Some think beyond the reality and some hardly understand the reality. Some of us use the technology and some of us struggle to do every task all by ourselves. Some of us think new, some of us like the old. Some of us are practical and some of us get stuck with the theory. Some of us get used to the way we live and some of us keep realizing the dreams with never quit attitude. Well, all these cannot happen at all the times with any person, we keep changing with time, with situation. We behave differently, think differently from situation to situation depending upon a lot of factors.  What makes people get segregated in terms of generations? It's they way we are. The way we think. The way we do. Not the age, for sure. That's the reason why at times we come across few people who do not seem to belong to the generation of their age. They either appear a generation ahead or one before. 

Brought up indeed has a lot impact on every one of us. Situations to matter to all of us and make us do that we do. But apart from these two, the strong will to develop ourselves time to time, update our selves time to time, think beyond the social and all other barriers can make us cross the generation gap. Let's take the same example given above. If the elder one gets himself accustomed with the latest trends and exhibits a behavior that's more rational, he can cross the generation gap. And if the younger one for some reason, starts behaving and thinking a lot backward, then he might appear to have come from a generation before! This is quite possible and practical.

All that we need to do is to be contemporary in our thoughts and actions. Or may be more than contemporary. Being contemporary does not mean to do what's everyone around is doing. Its about following the basics to the core and maintaining the values in everything. One must all the time satisfy the needs of the people around him, and along with that one must be rational in his thought process, must update himself about the advancements the world is moving ahead with. And must believe that what's happening is happening for betterment and in case any hazardous is happening, the same must be confronted. None of us alone cannot do all this on our own. We all need teams and we must set up our own teams, along with neighbors, friends, colleagues and strangers at times if required etc. 

Everything is possible so is overcoming the generation gap and so is the attitude to decide the generation that we belong to. Neither the decade of our birth nor the level we belong to in our family tree, but our thoughts and actions decide which generation we belong to.

Think new; be new... Take Home #492

'New' need not be big. It just needs to be different. Do new things. Roam around new places. Identify the new things that get added in your daily routine. Keep developing the zest to do new things. Add newness to your life. 'New' need not be big. It just needs to be different. 

Think new and be new.

Celebrate... Take Home #491

Celebrating the journey is as important as celebrating the success. Celebrate every moment. 

Simple things... Take Home #490

Simple things that we do, that we take care about, that we remember can let the life happen to us in a big way. It's not easy and practical to define those simple things as they may vary from person to person! One must be aware of his or her own list and shall of course follow. 

"The importance of simple things is unlimited"

Standing out... Take Home #489

"Standing along with many is the first step towards standing out of many"

Google and people... Take Home #488

Be it from google or people, the information that you get can make you knowledgeable. Its then up to you how much to believe and what to ponder upon to get realised about a lot of things and people. 

New beginning... Take Home #487

Everyday is a new beginning and so can be everything that we come across. New beginnings bring new opportunities and so does everything that we come across. We shall look through the situations and find out the hidden opportunities to make it to success. 

Diwali crackers... Pic of the day #27

First thing that comes to my mind when I think about Diwali crackers is going to market along with my father on his cycle to purchase crackers in childhood. As they, some of the childhood memories stay with us for a long time. The one that I said above is one of such for me. My father used to take me to market on the day of Diwali. I used to purchase crackers for one hundred rupees. In those days, for hundred rupees we used to get a carry bag full of items. After the purchase, we would go home and open up all the cracker boxes to expose them to the sun light. It was said that the crackers would lighten well if they were exposed to the sun light. I would keep them in the sun light until the evening. And in the night, at around 7:30 pm, I along with my parents and grand parents sometimes, would start cracking them out. One of my favorite item then and still is "Vishnu Chakram". One needs to hold the wire in hand and the other side of the wire would have the chakram, after the knot. When I was a kid, my father used to hold them for me and I used to enjoy. While looking at him, I used to wonder when would I hold them myself. After few years, I started holding them myself and just started loving that experience. 

Even during the recent Diwali, we purchased the Vishnu Chakrams and I enjoyed a lot. As the Chakram rotates in front of me when I hold it, my childhood memories occupy my mind to the full time. It's an awesome experience. I also like all other items in crackers and do not prefer to lighten the ones that make sound. Bhu-Chakram is yet another chakram that rotates on the ground, that gives great photos. Selfies and photos have become so casual in everyone's life style these days, but no one can dare to take a selfie when the Bhu-Chakram is rotating on the ground. Well, it can be attempted but not recommended from my side because of safety reasons. Match boxes is another item that I love. They come in all different colors and at different lengths these days. In my child good, the short ones used to be there and I used to lighten them even in the day time! Well, a lot of memories I've with crackers. I have never lost interest in them even though on couple of Diwali eves I did not lighten them supporting the Green Diwali concept. But, somehow, I could not continue doing that. Lightening them is good as they say from mythology, but for me, lightening them is more about reminiscing the memories from my childhood and of course to enjoy the colors and lights.

Colorful bangles... Pic of the day #26

I'd never been a vivid lover of bangles since my childhood until the day I purchased the set of glittering bangles shown in the picture below. It was only during my marriage that I took special interest in selecting various colors and designs of bangles. South Indian marriage is of course filled with lot of gold ornaments but the attraction that the bangles similar to the ones shown below is priceless. Bride's hands look just awesome with the bangles that match to the saree that she wears. So, I too wanted special appearance and attraction in my attire. And the immediate thing that I did was to purchase a set of bangles which had all main colors of bangles. 

The ones that are shown in the second row of the box in the picture are the ones that glitter, and at the same time they are the main culprits since the golden colored 'chumkys' get sticked to the hands and all over the body wherever the hand reaches while wearing them. I used them only during my wedding and later on, only the ones shown in the top row were preferred by me. I've used all these sets on so many occasions yet they still appear just new. And they don't give me a reason to look for some more new sets of bangles. But that's ok, I think as I'm still not a bangle buff. After using them for all these months on number of occasions, I never took time earlier to keep them in an order. I always used to pick up the required color from a complete mix. But during the recent vacation, I deliberately sat with them and kept them in an order. And then clicked them. My memories with these bangles are wonderful and every time I'm going to look at this picture, I will be super nostalgic for sure! Thanks to my cousin, Yamini for being there with me while I was selecting them and the time that we spent then is going to be memorable and cherishable for a long time. 

"Mahabharata" - My Experience With The Epic

The subtitle of the post "The Epic" stops me from calling this post as a book review. I cannot post a review on the longest epic ever written in Sanskrit. I can only share my experiences with the epic. 

I watched a lot of movies, in bits and pieces though, on Mahabharata. Having been born and brought up in India, I heard many a people mentioning about this epic at number of occasions since my childhood. I of course knew the over all story of it but never knew some of the important relationships among the characters. Without knowing that, the story that I knew always used to feel incomplete and used to create a lot of enthusiasm in me to read "Mahabharata" once. Some how I never could do that all this long and finally, and the recent Diwali vacation did give me a chance to fulfill my long pending wish. So I did. I read one of the books on Mahabharata my dad gave me from his collection. The book was in Telugu language, my mother tongue,  so I enjoyed reading it more than I had expected it to be.

Since I knew a major portion of the story, I decided very strongly to read the epic by keeping the logics aside. My logical brain was all the time disappointed by suppressing it every time it popped up a question like "How?" while I was reading the book. And by doing that the emotions and the characterizations have been thoroughly understood and enjoyed. Since it's a vast story, the number of characters is huge as known. Remembering the significance of each and every small character was not possible for obvious reasons. However, going back the pages and referring to the related portion of the story helped a lot in maintaining the connection among the characters in my mind. What particularly I liked was the way the naming of the characters was done! Brilliant. Just great. I came to know a lot of new and beautiful names. 

My dad said an interesting thing while I was discussing the story with mom and him. He referred to some of the names of 'Kauravas' and said which parent would name his or her son like "Dussasana, Dustha buddi etc"! Since it was the writer who named all those characters, the names were so chosen that they were near to their respective characterizations. I completely agree with what's said by my dad. This reminds me of yet another story that was read in childhood about three fishes named 'Sumati', 'Kumati', 'Mandamati', which would behave just according to their names as said in the story. It was the writer who named them and in Mahabharata as well, it was the writer who named all those characters and not the parents of the characters. The epic is written, just written, and I think it did not happen as most people believe. 

Fortunately I do not have any 'favorite' character. Each one of the main characters has been portrayed in a great manner. A lot to learn from! Actually, more than learning, what I felt was, all that was happened, all that was done by all the characters was just human. It was just to the  moment. Be it the way 'Dharma raja' say about 'Ashwathama', the son of 'Drona', to distract the concentration of Drona, be it the way 'Draupadi' lashes at  her husband indirectly for having lost  her in the game of dice, be it the way 'Bheema' was asked by 'Srikrishna' to hit 'Dhuryodhana' on his thighs, and many other incidents, it was just human and the need of the moment to win over the people who cheated! Well, the other side also, kauravas cheated because pandavas played further and further! No, again the writer made them say all that 'Dharma raja' said or did. Mahabharata to me appeared as a well sequenced story with the exaggerations at most of the places. Nevertheless, the way its portrayed, the way its narrated, the way its constructed into huge volumes, its simply unbelievable that someone wrote it with such a grip in those early years of human civilization. 

If all that written was happened, then something great happened. And if all that written was just written, then some thing more than great was written. Either way, it's just awesome! 

I will write in my later posts about the leanings from Mahabharata. This post is just about my experience with one of the greatest epics ever written in the history of mankind. I'm very happy to have read it, to have known about it, to have liked it, to have enjoyed reading it.  

Perspectives... Take Home #486

Perspectives can neither be judged nor be concluded as right or wrong. They are just true. True to the core! It's very difficult to understand various perspectives but if tried to do so and succeed at least to a significant extent, it will be immensely useful to all the parties involved.

Truth and false... Take Home #485

Truth appears negative for those who do not believe it and positive for those who believe it. Ironically same is the case with false too! It too appears negative and positive for those who do not believe it and for those who believe it respectively. 

Rice crops... Pic of the day #25

Rice crop is one of the main crops in India. And India is one of the world's largest rice producing countries. For a maximum portion of people in the southern part of India, rice is one of the main food item. Also, the southern India produces a larger portion of the total rice produced in India. Rice crops look very beautiful apart from being the main source of income for many a farmers. 

While we were going on a road trip lately, I clicked the above. The scenery has come awesome with the mountains in the back ground and the rice crops dancing to the tunes of a mild wind next to a national high way. While I love to drive, I like to click too. So, when I'm in car, I enjoy it thoroughly, be it when I've to drive or when I've to sit in the co-passenger seat. Both ways it's good! 

Below one is yet another picture taken from the national high way. It has also some very nicely with a free road and the coconut tress alongside. 100 kmph did seem nothing! 120 and 130 kmph looked like we were driving! In Pune, we do not get to drive on so vacant roads except on the express way from Mumbai to Pune! Every where its traffic and traffic. Even on the high speed way, you cannot go beyond 80-90 kmph as there are rough patches on road; unless you have a robust car, you cannot jump that speed figure. The Chennai-Kolkata national high way that we traveled on was too good for a long and fast drive! Try it once, if you ever get a chance. On a mild sunny day, the drive feels further beautiful. 

Scenic train journey... Pic of the day #24

The train journey between Mumbai and Pune is one of the best scenic journey I've ever been on. Train journey in Kerala first made me click the nature and landscapes in green. Since then I've been clicking the photos from train wherever I go, provided I like the landscapes, fields, house rows etc. It gives me great pleasure. When I reach the destination and look at those photos once again, the memories from the journey entertain me to a great extent. I enjoy the recollection. 

Above shown image was clicked around Lonavla city, which comes between Mumbai and Pune. It's a widely known tourist spot for the greenery, water falls and landscapes, especially in rainy season. I'd been to Lonavla earlier along with friends a couple of times. It's full of parks, view points and water falls and of course traffic too, in weekends though. The city is full of shops, small houses, independent row houses constructed in different adorable shapes. "Chikki" is a sweet which is very famous there. Many a types of Chikki is available but the one with ground nuts is the most famous. It's very tasty, at least once it must be tasted I'd say.

When we had been to Lonavla for the first time with friends, we had taken bat and ball and other sport items. We played in a park until the evening. It's an ultimate relaxation! We had taken a day off and had been on this trip hence it relaxed even further. One must agree that the trip that's planned on a working day gives more pleasure than the one arranged on a holiday, at least I feel so. Most of the people who came on that trip are not now with us in our company, as it's been at least four years now! These days, you know, people switch jobs as easily as the outings are planned. Well, that's better too, may be! It depends, as we cannot generalize. 

My recent journey, when the above pic had been taken was enjoyed to full extent. The tunnels that come on the way from Mumbai to Pune are the special attraction! Kids and college students, especially, enjoy them outwardly. It feels good to be amidst them while on journey. If you get a chance, please do this journey and do enjoy the scenic way!

Whosoever you may be... Take Home #484

Whosoever you may be, you need not know everything and you need not be known everywhere! The same is applicable not just for you but for every person. Knowing this basic fact of life cures your way of expecting and enhances your way of living. 

Handle in silence... Take Home #483

Certain behaviours cannot be complained against. They just need to be handled in silence and peace. You are the best judge to pick such behaviours which you come across in your day to day life. 

Status and stature... Take Home #482

The big things that you achieve elevate you and make people come to you. The small things that you do define you and make you come closer to people. 

Both are important, I guess. The former is your status and the later is your stature! 

Maintain the distance!

What's important for us at one point of time might not be important for us at some other point of time. What appears as if it's everything at one point of time might no longer matter at later times. What makes us desperate at one point of time might never succeed at later time in inspiring us even to think about it. 

Anything that appears important in the present time might not carry any value in future, although this does not applicable to a few things, people and relationships. In general this is so with a lot of tasks that we do, a lot of things that we encounter with, a lot of people that we meet in our life's journey. This is nothing bad, this is just the fact! 

Make as many memories as you can any maintain a minimum distance with everything, so that you can move forward with a hope that there can be a better thing coming your way. 

Get going!

What's important for you might not be important for the world. However, what's going on with you is your world, handling which is important for you, winning which is the way forward for you. This is how it is for each and every person around you, not just for you. Accept this and work it out. 

Attention need not be there while you are connecting the dots, while on a job. Your success, for sure, brings the deserving attention from all around. Let your success speak, and never mind if you have to go through a long silence for that. Efforts pay off. Sometimes quickly and sometimes a bit late. Everything has to converge somewhere! Believe that everything falls in place. For you. For everyone. 

Just get going and let others get going too.

Finding the way... Take Home #481

There is a way to say and handle anything. We must concentrate our energy on finding out that way together rather than, wasting our energy on trying to pull each other down with our gestures. 

Be counted... Take Home #480

Strive to make your presence feel counted to begin with and then you must continue to strive to be counted in every given opportunity. Nothing can be taken for granted and that makes life interesting! 

Belief... Take Home #479

Believe people but don't believe people's memory! And, be it people or their memory, never ever believe blindly. 

Acknowledge the problem... Take Home #478

Acknowledging the problem humbly must be the first corrective action to be taken while solving any problem. Ego has never solved any problem! 

Wish for a change... Take Home # 477

If you wish to change, be it yourself or anyone or anything, you should be ready to make necessary sacrifice too! No change has ever come without compromising on sacrifice. 

History is yet another good teacher, provided we look into it with the necessary outlook. 

Happiness... Take Home #476

Happiness cannot be generalized. It is a lot subjective. And I think its yet another perspective of life that different people carry differently. For some, it lies in getting what they wish for. For some other, it lies in getting acquainted and adjusted to what they have. And for some other people, it lies in getting a surprise that they never thought or tried of. Neither of them is wrong. Everyone is right with his ideology for his own life.  

Choose your way that leads to happiness. You have full freedom to pick any way!

Avoid explaining yourself!

A lot of times in our day to day lives it happens that we try to explain ourselves to a number of people without even realising how much that we say matters to other people. Even though it's a tough fact, it's worth knowing or rather realising. The way we matter to ourselves, we do not matter to many a people around us. The reason is very simple, it's noting different than the fact that your pain matters to you and you are obviously preoccupied with a lot of other matters. So is the case with others whom you think you are explaining yourself to. They are with preoccupied thoughts too. For them, there can be something else that's diverting their attention. They might have their own perceptions. In fact they will have. You need not be understood by everyone the way you understand yourself. Better avoid explaining yourself to others especially those who you think are already upto something! Usually, everyone is upto some or the other thing. So, we are barely left with any choice than practising to avoid explaining ourselves. In spite of you exposing your inner self, you will not be able to succeed in making people understand your true self. What they know is what they know you as in their perceptions. And perceptions do not change easily and frequently. Avoid explaining yourself. 

Of course, you must explain yourself at number of occasions. But choose such occasions carefully. And most importantly, choose your audience thoughtfully.

Being influential... Take Home #475

Being influential at the required times is as important as being inspirational at all the times. Especially when you have a team to lead while accomplishing a task. 

Power and ruling... Take Home #474

All the rulers might have power by governance but not all of them know how to build and use power for the betterment of their people. This is the basic reason why not all rulers are successful. 

Learn to respect and use what you have, since beginning. You never know when you have to take up the bigger responsibility. What you build from beginning is going to help you a lot in need. And that's going to be your additional asset. It can be power, it can be people, it can be anything for that matter. 

Heartfelt smile... Take Home #473

The beauty of your smile makes people look at you. And the depth of your smile makes people connect to you. A heartfelt smile is an important aspect of managing or leading people, beauty of the smile being the miniscule of it. 

Jealousy... Take Home #472

You are the most affected person of your own jealousy. Rest everyone, that you think you are affecting, is impacted less than you in every respect. 

Realisation... Take Home #471

Knowing the facts is knowledge. Conveying the facts is aggression. Knowing when to convey which fact is realisation. 

Realisation is the most reliable aspect one continuously develops. 

Extend your responsibility... Take Home #470

Don't restrict your responsibility to just questioning about what's happening around you. Extend your responsibility to answer certain questions yourselves, so that you get broader perspective and you eventually widen your level of understanding the matters. 

Near-to-full experience!

To have a near-to-full experience of the weather of any place, one must experience all the seasons of that location, at least twice, by staying there. Likewise, to have a near-to-full experience of any organisation, one must go through the organisation's mandatory annual processes, at least twice, by consciously perceiving the major dimensions that have an impact.

Like the unpredictability of the nature in terms of weather, unpredictability exists in the organisation's ways of working, major part being the people's unpredictable behaviours, mentalities, perceptions etc. So, it can't be guaranteed, none the less, one gets a feel of it to a reliable extent. 

People who are meant to be with you!

Don't be worried that not everyone around you is happy about your achievements. Not all of them are intended to be. Not all of them are meant to be. Even though it's ideal and theoretically possible that everyone around you be happy for you, practically it does not happen that way. This is the ultimate truth, fact can be something different though. It's not the problem with people at their personal level at the current time, it depends upon a lot of things including every person's nature of upbringing, which differs largely and cannot be generalised. 

So, don't be worried at all. It's quite normal and you are not the only one to face such people or rather, such mentalities. Many undergo this situation, after all there are innumerable achievements everyday, every minute. So don't feel that you are alone. Be strong and forgiving. Just move on with your life.

People who are intended and meant to be with you will always be with you. 

Dussera celebration... Pic of the day #23

Dussera celebration used to mean ten days of holidays in childhood. Going to the grand parents' house was the first thing that would come in mind. I don't remember much about the celebration. But I used to enjoy a lot in holidays as like any other kid in childhood. I along with friends used to wish for the exams to get over before the holidays so that there would not be any work to do or anything to read. Sometimes, the exams used to occur after the holidays. Not every time wishes come true! And when the exams were done before the holidays, some of the teachers would give home work to write answers to the question paper five times! Never understood what was that imposition for! Anyway, Dussera vacation used to be less for celebration and more for holidaying. 

Since last few years, I'm witnessing the celebration of Dussera. In office, we celebrate it on the day before as it's a holiday on that particular day. Three environment changes completely on this day at work. It feels really good and refreshing. Near our home here in pune, there is a ground in which they arrange a temporary temple and they play Dandia. They fill all the streets with LED lighting. They look very bright and stunningly beautiful. Only trouble is, they arrange for orchestra. And the sounds are unbearable! But anyway, they feel good too sometimes, especially when you are are alone! And they appear the worst, when you are watching a TV serial. Anyway, celebration is good unless it pollutes the environment. 

The below shown is one of the decorated hoarding of our street. 

Success... Take Home #469

Not just defeat, sometimes, success also lets you know who your friends are, who your true supporters are and who can share your happiness. 

Movie: Rudramadevi - A great history shown in an unimpressive way!

The story of one of the great warrior queens, Rani Rudramadevi, is truly inspiring and thought provoking. It's full of unbelievable sacrifices of a number of people including she herself for the people of the kingdom. A girl had been portrayed as a boy for a tremendous ling time of twenty five years to save the people of the kingdom! That's seems unrealistic but it happened actually! The greatness of the thought of the minister of the kingdom and her parents is hailed a lot in the history. It's not about the baby if its a girl or a boy, it's the brought up that really makes anyone the person he or she is. And to create history, gender does not matter. Rudramadevi's life is a lived example of this fact. 

Unfortunately, the movie is not a greatly made one. Very poor sound track is one of the main culprits, I wondered if I was watching a film for which the music was composed by the maestro Ilayaraja! Characterization of many a characters is completely disconnected from scene to scene. Rudramadevi is sent out of the kingdom by the people for having bluffed to be a man, and you don't get any emotion watching it. You just feel normal! No emotional touch. No focus given to depict the political savvy of the queen and her minister. The war strategies of the great Kakatiya kingdom have not been shown at all! The snake and bird formations in the climax made no sense, except for the visual effects. All in all the movie is absolutely unentertaining! 

But, one may watch it once for Rudramadevi. 

Anushka has done a fantastically perfect job both as Rudradeva and Rudramadevi. If it was not her, no one else could have done such a justice to the character. Allu Arjun must be thanked for accepting the role. He has done one hundred percent justification too. I literally feel sorry for Rana. Other than the satisfaction of being part of a historic film that's made after thirty years in Telugu film industry, there is nothing much for him, I guess. The hype created has filled the box office on day one but the word of mouth is going to be hurdle for the collections in the following days. 

Years of handwork does not always gives you success. Gunashkhar garu is undoubtedly one of the best direction bet, but just not impressive this time. He either could have taken some more time or done more research along with many people before finalizing the story! Nonetheless, congratulations to him for being daring enough to believe in himself to put everything into something he is passionate about! Not everyone can do it. He will be remembered for this for longer and I wish him all the energy to bounce back. 

This is once again a good start for the historical film making. I hope many other biopics will be filmed in the years to come!