'Retold' - Does this word seem significant?

Yeah, the title is stupid! But, considering what I've gone through in the last 4 days, it doesn't seem to me as insignificant a word as it seems to you.

www.flipkart.com.. this is where I do most of my shopping for books. And I'm a Bibliophile (read: Bibliomaniac), so I don't order less than 7 books a month. On Feb 20th I ordered the book, 'Pride And Prejudice' authored by Jane Austen. I was always fascinated by her, and I'd read some part of her book 'Emma', years ago as per a friend's suggestion. I couldn't finish it, as she was shifting from her residence and she was a Bibliophile (read: Bibliocentric) herself; so, she went away taking the book with her, as if it was the last copy of 'Emma' on this Earth; and I completely forgot buying a new book. So, years later, some days ago, I decided that I would complete my then-incomplete feat and read all books by Jane Austen. 'Pride And Prejudice' seemed to me, a title apt to start off with. So, I went ahead and ordered 2 books, the one mentioned and 'Sense And Sensibility'. The books came one at a time, the latter preceding the former. (FYI: flipkart provides Home Delivery on COD basis too :) ).

'Sense And Sensibility' seemed in perfect condition. I read a few pages till 'Pride And Prejudice' was delivered. I was at college when the latter arrived on 23rd Feb. After reaching home at 11.30pm, I held the book in my hand. It was a hard-bound copy. I immediately realized my first mistake. With hardback, comes the issue of convenience; and FYI, I carry a 3kg laptop with me everyday (I usually do most of my fiction reading in the local train while travelling).

So, moving on, I opened the book. My first reaction was 'What the FF...'.. !! The book was, to my horror, ILLUSTRATED and the font size was so big that I'd have to strain NOT a single eye-muscle to read it from even THE MOON. :( .. The real problem had not dawned on me yet. I thought at that time, 'It's ok! It looks like a Fairytale book. So what! My friends would laugh a bit. But it's ok. It's our Jane Austen after all. And that's all I want.'..

I started reading the book; carried it to college too.. Friends sneered.. I said, "WTF is your problem!" I continued reading it, but with a sense of skepticism. Why was my dear Austen using such basic English! And why was she so hell-bent on narrating the story in such short sentences! Why wasn't I being given the description of every single feeling, every emotion! And WHY THE HELL was she addressing some Mr. Bingley as 'her'. Mr. Bingley was a Mr. and that makes him a 'him'. I got seriously annoyed; closed the book and returned home from college.

I searched online for Austen, J books and downloaded 'Pride And Prejudice'. I started reading, and to my horror, the language used was so different and so good as compared to the hard copy I had. I opened the book. And KABBOOMM.. On the 2nd page were the words.. 'Retold by W. Sequeira & A.D' Souza'. I got wild, went online, and checked my order. Nowhere was it written that the story in the book was RETOLD. I wrote to flipkart expressing my disappointment, and asking them to replace my copy. It wasn't my fault I believe, yet, the incident made me understand the value of one word.. 'Retold'.. :)

Inspired again!

Inspiration for me doesn't come easily. Only twice in life before this have I got inspired. For the third time, I got inspired; this time from a movie.

3 idiots. The finest movie of 2009. It sent out a very sensible social message which said, "Strive for Excellence, Success will follow". I immediately made note of it and realized that most of us always state "Success" as one of our goals little understanding that it is only our goal and not the path to reach the goal. In simpler words, the destination is "Success", but the road to be taken is "Excellence".

If you strive to be good at what you do, you needn't worry for being successful. When you are good at your work, success comes to you with open arms. But for that you need to do what you love doing. Most of us always run behind lucrative careers. We leave behind all our aspirations just to earn money and end up being in the wrong field. It strains us and leads to unhappiness.

After watching the movie, I decided; now I am not gonna let go the love of my life. I will pursue it no matter how much inconvenience it causes me. This actually changed me as an individual. Now it really doesn't matter to me if I don't be successful in my field of interest. I know I am good at it; and that's what matters most.

Moments..

Everyday when I open my eyes to the sun’s first rays in the morning, I wonder how many more days will I get to live like this. Lying on my warm and cozy bed I always feel that there would be a time when all this would cease to exist. My mother who always gets me a cup of tea when I get up, my father who without fail wishes me a ‘good morning’ each day with a big smile, my kid nephew who comes to me for a kiss on his forehead the first thing in the morning and all such events of small happiness & the feeling of being at home… how long will all of this stay with me? Life moves along. I would have to forsake all this some day either when I get married or when I leave for further studies or a job. Life would never be the same. My house, my room, my study table, my dressing table, my pet birds, my pet fishes… how long will I be able to stay with them in the same way as I am living now? This feeling sent a shiver down my spine.

There is a typical question you are always asked in an interview, “Where do you see yourself in xx years?” (xx being anything ranging from 3 to 15). The answer to this, as many people know, is either ‘at a big position earning whole lots of money’ or ‘having a business of your own’. I asked myself this same question. The answer I got was, “I don’t know. But all I know is that, then, I won’t be as happy as I am now. Because nothing of what is there in my life would exist in the same way as it is now.”

There are so many people on this earth who are not happy with the way they are living their life currently. They crib, complain about small inconveniences, hurl abuses at the slightest of frustrations, fight with their family, hit their wives and kids… the list is exhausting. The fact is they’d never be happy how much ever they get in life, because most of them link happiness to money. They slog right since their childhood, keep studying, earn degrees, get a good job, get a girl/guy, get married, but still keep slogging. Where is the time for real happiness?

This was the time when I thought that I too am doing all of this right since I was born. I was never happy with the way I used to look, with my mark-sheet, my friends, my wardrobe, my school, blah blah… I kept slogging little realizing that God had indeed given me umpteen happy moments which I always managed to overlook due to constant sorrow over some things I never had but others had.

Shortly after that, I decided that I would list down all the moments when I was really happy and look at that list whenever I felt that I was lacking something. The list was so exhaustive that I almost forgot I was ever unhappy. I became aware of the joy around me and the little time for which it would stay with me. It gave me a very happy feeling that I have many a things for which I should be thankful to the Almighty. We all have such moments of exultation in our life, but, for the time being. Therefore, I urge all you people to look around you carefully, notice the small things in life. Reminisce about the moments that made you happy or even better, jot them down. Don’t miss that chance of living and re-living such moments. They would give you the peace you need in life but they would never come back. So, value your life, value the little happiness you have in it instead of crying for what you don’t have and spoiling even the joy you could have actually had.

Just for sharing with you readers; listed below are SOME of such moments in my life which gave me immense happiness (starting in ascending order of my age):

1. Small glimpses of my first birthday are still embedded in my mind when my brother lifted me and kissed me happy birthday and I cut the largest & sweetest cake of my life.

2. At the age of 3, when mom came to pick me up after the first day of my nursery school, I was so so so happy to have seen her that I started wailing.

3. When I used to go to the temple with my father, he never used to allow me to walk and always used to lift me in his arms. I still remember how protected I used to feel in his arms.

4. When I made my first friend in nursery school, I realized we both shared a common name and she was very friendly. She is still a best friend of mine.

5. In the year when I turned 14, 5 friends of mine and I went to the terrace of our building on the 31^st of December at 11.45pm and flew a left-over Diwali rocket in the sky at exactly 12.00am and welcomed the new year, hugging each other and eating sweets.

6. On the first day of my Degree College, all students were ragged but somehow I was left because there wasn’t much time left for the day… (What a relief that was!) :-)

7. My 18^th birthday, when my entire college group of 7 guys and a girl came rushing into my house unannounced, I was left dumbstruck as I wearing a gown and had half-done my make up.. (

8. The days of college when I used to travel with my friends in the local train from Churchgate to Kandivali, were the best days of my life. We used to play all sorts of games from Antakshari to what not and used to be head turners for all the other passengers.

9. The day when I was sitting in a restaurant and having tea with my best friend. He happened to roll up a ball of tissue paper which he flung aimlessly. It went flying into a South Indian lady’s cup of tea behind me. I remember her hurling unheard abuses in her language. I have had the heartiest laugh of my life that day.

10. I remember very well the most successful presentation I gave in my college life. My professor, with whom I was loggerheads in the beginning, actually told me later during one of our online chats that he was proud of me. I have never ever felt more satisfied in my life.

11. I received an unexpected call from one of the MNCs after graduation saying that I had cleared the interview and that I was selected. The icing on the cake was that my best female friend and I got placed in the same firm.

12. One of the latest events that gave me happiness was; when I, along with a friend, went up on the escalators but in the opposite direction. We both were a sight to see with all others around us, cheering and clapping for us.

For all of you reading this; if you think this list is complete and has only 12 events, then you’re wrong. Because there are 1000s of such events which crossed my mind while writing this, but due to space, time and personal issues I have not listed them down.

I urge all of you to do this. Trust me, it has left me with a reason to live life happily and thank God for all those 1000+ events he has bestowed upon me so far…

Happy Diwali to all of you… and live a happy life with full of happy events… :-)

My Long White Friend

.....................................................

Looking up at the blues, I sip it on…
Watching the birds perched few, I sip it on…
Wondering what went wrong, I sip it on…
Life is not very long, I sip it on…

I took a close look at you,
Filled with brown dew;
Covered with a white sheath,
You fill me with happy heat!

I kissed you at the base,
And took a deep breath in haste;
You exited me as a snow white cloud,
And engulfed me in a heavenly shroud.

I felt a feeling I never felt before,
Like sitting on heaven’s shore;
Something lifted me high,
And pulled me towards the sky.

You have filled me with euphoria,
I feel I have reached utopia;
I love you, my long white friend,
I wonder why people call you a fiend!
...................................................


Statutory Warning: Cigarette smoking is injurious to health


This poem was written after I heard my friend describing to me how heavenly it was for him when he first had had a smoke. Thereafter, he became a chain smoker. I strongly recommend to all reading this... smoking just to show off or to bust stress, is no good. Once you start with it and become regular, you will find it very difficult to wean yourself off it, if you get addicted. So, please stay away from tobacco and do not cut short your already pollution-stricken short life...

When you fail to succeed...

Failure; there's not a single individual who can deny having faced it at least once in their lifetime. After having achieved loads in life, you get a sudden shock when you realize that what you thought of being easily attainable was actually challenging. I define such setbacks as 'speed-breakers'..

In your quest for success, as and when you ride through the journey of life, it's very important that you come across such breaks which stumble you at the beginning but help you become a mature individual later. They help you chasten down and make you respect life the way it is. They help you see the small mistakes you committed. You suddenly start feeling pressurized but in the bargain you tend to give your best performance the next time... After that, success tastes to our soul exactly in the same way as sweet water to a parched land...

In the meanwhile, one should never forget to 'not give up and keep trying'... That sure does sound like a cliche but it's often cliches that give us a respite when you're feeling all down and low. So... I am waiting and waiting and waiting to taste that sweet water while I keep trying... :-)