Never....

Never stop loving people, thinking you will be hurt again,
It is like not living life, taking death as the only gain.

Never rest on past laurels and think that you are done.
Success is an unending road and you have just begun.

Never believe you know enough and think, "now who cares"?
You have just collected shells, while the ocean of knowledge stares!

Never assume people like you and get your emotions soared.
You may just be an option, when they are really bored.

Never disturb people again, if they are indifferent to you.
The world is filled with awesome folks and brilliant things to do.

Never do all that law allows, and then have a lovely sleep.
Conscience is the biggest law, that could later make you weep.

Never forget the ones that care, while you make relations new,
At bad times, as fair weather friends leave, they will be there for you!

Never let old friendship's lights, estinguish slowly in your heart,
In the path of life, those lights would help, when darkness plays its part.

Never be too proud of your beauty, strength, wealth or power.
A storm in seconds, can take all away, with a mighty shower.

Never think, without you, the world wouldn't see the light of day,
Every graveyard is filled with people, who used to think that way!

On a lonely Friday road...

The security guards at the parking lot were pale after a tiring day. Friday meant it was empty at that hour, drove out slowly, small workaholic heads still peeping out of the building windows.

The stretch between the Shell petrol pump and Kundalahalli gate is always heavenly smooth. The shivering old woman at the Marathalli bridge tried her luck again and knocked the car window. Looked the other way as Rubeena said "Dil to hai dil" from "Muqaddar ka sikandar".

A group of young people crossed the busy junction to give life to their weekend plans, caring two hoots for the green signal. A cyclist blocked my car, slowed down, and let him go. The traffic cop was busy, the criticism notwithstanding. On the lonely old airport road, an old man was carrying a small kid on his shoulders, wondered where he might be going at that hour.

Got engrossed in Kumar Sanu as he crooned, "Madhosh dil kee dhadkan" on the Suranjan Das road. Suddenly a bike turned right from the opposite lane. Braked hard and felt a sharp pain on my injured right ankle. Brought down the car window as choicest desi abuses almost spilled over, controlled and closed the window, one of my new year resolutions! :)

It took Kishore Kumar to soothe the pain and anger. Turned right at BEML, workers having a passionate chat among themselves. Perhaps hike?

Saw the man at the laundry and remembered the teddy we need to collect. The tailor was busy in his shop and I turned left into my apartment. A car honked hard from behind. Maybe he couldn't wait to reach home.

The gullible apartment security again wondered where I would park and ran here and there in confusion. I smiled and pointed towards my parking space.

Entered sweet home, my wife smiling at me while simultaneously watching her serial with interest, trying to hide the remote. Looks cute when she does that. :)

Happens every night, me alone with myself in my car, listening to music and watching the world around me.

Was a bit more intimate today, somehow...

POEM: Desires

Hopes and desires, through night and day, grinding the heart to dust,
Some genuine, some exaggerated, some vain and some full of lust!
Yes indeed as the spirituals say, these are the root of all sorrow,
But then, without these, man would foresee no tomorrow.
So are we monkeys, jumping, drooling, running to taste every banana?
Or is it "karmanye vadhikaraste maa phaleshu kadachana"?
The former gives lots of sorrow, pain, gain and fun...
The latter really, as realists say, is much easier said than done!

-Shatadip.

Client, Manager and Plumber!

My bathroom pipe burst today, terrible situation, plumbers worked whole day and many households in our apartment did not have water for quite sometime. To make matters worse, there are critical issues in my project and important calls. So worked from home today.

So here I am in shorts and baniyan, with my laptop and headphones, the plumber bugging me at one end, a person from the client side and a senior manager in a call with me.

(The plumber is hammering away to glory!)

Client: Where is that terrible noise coming from Shatadip? Are you at some quarry or something?

Me: Sorry some plumbing work is going on at my house...so this critical functionality is not working and hence we need an emergency change.

Plumber: Saab pipe phat gaya hai, watchman ko boliye main band kare.

SM: There is a lot of background noise, someone is speaking. Ok so what is root cause of all this.

Me: Ok the root cause is...

Plumber: Saab pipe phat gaya hai..

Me: Arre ruk to jao yaar...

SM: Excuse me??

Me: Sorry can you give me two minutes please(I go on mute).

Me: (To plumber) Bolo na yaar watchman ko main band karne, main call mein hoon.

Plumber: Saab yeh kaan mein lagakar kya karte rahte ho aap log?

Me: Bhai gaana sun raha hoon, tum jaakar bolo watchman ko.

Plumber: Do min gaana pause karke bol do na aap.

Me: Yeh gaana band kiya to naukri chalee jaegee bhai, please yaar...

Me: (Unmute) Ok I am back...

Manager: We were on the emergency change.

Me: Ok so I was saying the root cause of this is...

Plumber: Watchman hamaree baat nahin sunta, saab pipe phata hai poora paani bah jaega!

Me: (Gesturing him to be quiet) The root cause is...the pipe has burst!

Client and SM (together): What?

Me: Sorry sorry, blah blah blah...

Finally Dada helped and the pipe was repaired and thankfully the office issue was also addressed.

Haha...but what a day!

Holika dahan with Dad...

My father used to take me out to watch Holika burning, which used to be an exciting event for me each year during childhood.

Remembered a conversation with him, probably 20-22 years back!

I: Why is that woman sitting there in the fire? Why doesn't she run away?

Dad: She wants to kill the small kid Prahlad, can you see him on her lap?

I: Where? That one, that doll there?

Dad: Yes.

I: Why does she want to kill him?

Dad: Because he prays to Vishnu and not his own father.

I: Who was his father?

Dad: The demon Hiranyakashyap.

I: Why would anyone pray to a demon?

Dad: Umm...

I: But she will also get burnt, isn't it?

Dad: No she has a power that she would not get burnt.

I: So she kills the kid?

Dad: No she gets burnt herself and the kid is saved since he prays to Vishnu.

I: But if the woman had powers why did she get burnt?

Dad: Ummm...because she was a bad woman.

I: Mom also prays everyday, will she not get burnt in fire?

Dad: (Laughing to himself) Ask her to try!

My mom and wife...

On Women's day, would like to write about two women,

One was born and brought up at her Uncle's place and took care of the household at a very young age. Was very good academically, but sacrificed a possible career in the civil services, initially for her husband's family and then for her own family and kids. However she ensured that her sons get the best of education, ethics, religion, literature, music and poetry and grow up to be well rounded men.

She believed in and supported her son whole heartedly, when he opted to marry out of culture and caste. She handled terrible problems in the family with tact and calm.

With 2 multiple fractures, more than 2 years of physiotherapy and overall 4 major operations, the way she has bounced back each time, have surprised even the doctors. She fights even today and gives strength and support to the ones around her.

The other woman is completely self made, has fought her way against all odds, to educate herself and grow in the corporate world. She loved deeply and believed in the one she loved, even when his chips were terribly down and when most people had written him off.

She is modern and yet has a deep sense of integrity, values and culture. She manages home and office with perfection and stands by her husband and his family through all struggles and mundane walks of life.

She cares for her own family and even the extended family and considers all their problems as her own. There are challenges and there would always be, but with her ability to face the odds and still manage a smile and the zeal in life, these would definitely pass too!

I salute the two most important women in my life, my mother and my wife. A lot of what I am today, is only because of them!

The primitive man...

The primitive human sat in one corner of a cave crying, scared of the darkness, in awe of the lightning and afraid of the wild animals. He felt powerless against the circumstances, with his weak and petite body.

But then something within him made him get up and wipe his tears. He looked around, found a bamboo stick, found something to sharpen it and went out of the cave, hunting for food.

Then ...he made fire, the wheel, he learnt to grow crops, roads, cars, planes, internet and social networking. Of course he also made lots of mistakes on the way.

However competing against circumstances and situations in life and growing in the process, is a part of human genome. If this had not been there, the primitive human would not have come out of the cave.

Hence being human is to be able to fights against circumstances, no matter how tough or unfair they may seem to be...

What's being a mother?

Went to a nearby local doctor to get some medicines for my viral fever. A woman, probably a daily wage labourer, very tense, came with her infant and requested me in Kannada to let her see the doctor first since the kid had very high fever. I said ok, the doctor checked, gave an injection while the lady looked on in anxiety and then left feeling a better with the doctor's treatment and assurance. I remembered my mother used to be equally tense when I used to be ill during childhood. Country, state, religion, caste, creed, class do not matter, mothers are just mothers!

Family quotes - reaction of family members to my twisted ankle

I twisted my ankle badly at a game of cricket, below are the reactions of my family members!

Dad - Oto boro bhuree niye keo dive maare?(How can anyone dive with such a pot belly?)

 Mom - Boro hoyechees na? Weekend e gaan gaibee, kobita likhbee!(You are grown up now, sing songs and write poems over the weekend)

Wife - "Umar pachpan ka dil bachpan ka" and "Burhee ghodi lal lagaam"(As if she is still sweet sixteen!!)

 Brother - Motaa saala, dive marega!(Of course he has not six, but eight packs!!)

 Sis-in-law - Ek din khelte giyei ei?(Just one day of play and you got this?)

 Poocho, my nephew - Kaka pain, kaka pain(Wohi bas mera dard samajh saka)!!

Love you guys...hehe...

POEM: Our journey

It’s been sometime I wrote a poem for you, one may feel the passion has dimmed,

Sweetheart, love is matured now, its manifold, the glass has brimmed.

There were of course times we felt, it would fall apart, we shall never meet,
Years of patience and endless pain, so many memories bitter and sweet.

We know now, it’s not all smooth, there are bumps, as time takes wings,
Love's not something mammoth and huge; it’s just a million little things.

We enjoyed and laughed on the way, then we fought and we cried,
We did all that could be done; we beat the odds and changed the tide.

Then there were some rays of hope, we convinced all and everyone,
Embarked on a journey five years back, but we know, we are not done.

We now have more horizons to meet, have many more struggles to win,
With the power of our love and not aim for the skies, would now be like a sin.

There have been friends, there have been lovers. All their stories nice and bright.
But have there been two like us? A story like ours? Well, not quite!

I am no "secret admirer"; love you each day with the morning dew,
A zillion times is not enough, so here we go, "I LOVE YOU"!

-Shatadip(23rd Jan, 2012, 5th Anniversary)