You cannot find peace by avoiding life
                                                     Virginia Woolf,Writer


.......so said the person who was deeply troubled during her entire life. Woolf was continuously buffeted by depression,mental illness,phases of intense happiness and then periods where she didn't know where her life was headed. She committed suicide by drowning at the age of 59. Despite battling with her demons she produced some of the best works in English literature with modernistic outlook.

She knew that peace cannot be had by running away from life, by avoiding or shutting out life.

Today I want to address some of my friends who are going through some upheavals and are suffering from depression.I know them to be perfectly capable good human beings who can face life and find happiness.But something seems to be pulling them back, not allowing them to reach out and turn the tide.

What is it that people who face death,experience life changing events turn to?Some have their religion,some have their close families while some are doing it, i.e, turning the tide, on their own.So what is their secret?To me the most relevant and important factor is the will power to take stock and convince oneself that 'I' and 'only I' can do it. No one can live your life, no one knows what you are going through so no one can suffer your pain,your angst,your voices-in-the-head. Yes, a loving family, a good partner can definitely help but finally it's you who has to do the turnaround. More than religion its spirituality that can contribute to our mental health and put things in perspective.All other aspects like positive outlook,physical exercises particularly yoga can do wonders.The ancient techniques of breath control, pranayam, is in itself a spiritual exercise and helps stable the mind.

So dear friends, reach out and take control of your life

कई बार हमें यह समझना बहुत मुश्किल लगता हैं की लोग दुसरो के बारे में इतना चिंतित क्यों है। आपने घर से ज्यादा चिंता उनको आपने पड़ोसियों की है। वह क्या सोच रहे है?  पड़ोसन ने यह यह क्यों कहा?  क्या खा रहे है? उनके बच्चे क्या रहे है? उनके घर में क्या नयी चीजें  आ रही है? उनके घर कोन  आते है,व्यग्यरा ,व्यग्यारा। अगर पास-पडोसी नहीं तो ऑफिस की पॉलिटिक्स ही सही या फिर माँ -मामी,सास-ससुर,देवर-देवरानी यानी की फैमिली पॉलिटिक्स।

पुराने जमाने  से हमारे बुजुर्ग हमें यह सिखाते  आये की पड़ोसिया के बारे में ताक झांक करना बहुत बुरी आदत है; इसमें घर में क्लेश बढ़ता है,झगड़े बढ़ते है और घर की शांति छिन  जाती है.

तो फिर सवाल यह है की यह उत्सुकता क्यों?

मनुष्य सामाजिक प्राणी है और वह अकेला नहीं रह सकता। उसे आपने चारो ओर आपने ही जैसे सामाजिक प्राणी चाहिए,तभी वह बोलना सीखता है,उनकी तरह हाव भाव सीखता है, सोच विकसित होता है और आपने आप को समाज का हिस्सा मानता है। बादशाह अकबर ने यह प्रमाण  करने के लिए एक गूंगी औरत के साथ कुछ बिलकुल छोटे बच्चे एक जंगल में उनका पालन पोषण के लिए भेज दिया। कुछ साल बाद जब वह बच्चे वापस आए तो वह भी गूंगे थे और उन्हें माँ, बाप,आदि रिश्तो का कुछ पता नहीं था ! इसलिए बच्चा जब  पैदा होता है तब उसे बाषा  देने में उसकी माँ और उसके परिवार का बहुत अहम हिस्सा होता है।परिवार में रह  के बच्चा आपने रिश्तो को भी धीरे धीरे समझता है।

मनुष्य समाज में रहते हुए दूसरे लोगों के बारे में जब  उत्सुकता दिखाता है तो इसमें उसका Left-Brain/Right Brain Activity कायम रहता है। यह सोचना गलत है की brain development 18  या 21 या एक समय के बाद बढ़ना बंद कर देता  है।

ज़रा सोचिए अगर जानने की उत्सुकता नहीं होती  तो क्या आज दुनिया उस मक़ाम तक पहुँचती जहाँ आज हम हैं ?

Random Thoughts

The fact that your child is growing up and stepping into a really competitive zone is scary itself, but it is compounded more by the fact that in our country our children are slaves to the dreaded quota or reservation system. Those of us who are unaware of this system be warned that if you are a parent you will realize its implication soon....its a monster waiting to give you that rude shock one of these days.
Over the years the percentage of reservations for the downtrodden has increased by a huge margin and is seriously hampering the entire system whether it be admission to colleges, government jobs,et al.

 Nobody is concerned about the fact that children of the new generation whether general or otherwise all have right to education. All of them need to go ahead in their chosen fields of interest.Not realizing it may cause them to be frustrated and turn them against the society/system forever.

Now even with very high scores general category students run from pillar to post during admission time while students with relatively poorer scores are landing plump seats in premier colleges just because they are stamped "SC/ST/OBC/Minority,etc".

Though successive governments have been talking of excluding the "creamy layer" from these categories, the actual efforts on ground do not seem to be having the desired effect; still we see large no of rich and super rich so-called downtrodden castes easily availing the quotas meant for the really poor or backward.

Nobody knows when this system of quota will end. Rather everyone is scared that the percentage may further increase.

Perhaps the day is not far when general categories need to be put in quota system and have seats blocked for them?

Nature Diary

Every day afternoon when I finish my lunch and stack up the dishes I open the rear door of the kitchen to let in the afternoon sun. On the steps is waiting a pie dog, rather a ragged one, for the scraps that I may put out for him. I have come to look forward to his presence and often when I do not see him there, feel his absence.

On Sundays this fellow is more astute and parks himself strategically on those low steps leading into the kitchen garden, from mid-morning itself. He knows that something special is cooking and waits patiently. I have developed some affection for him and try to find something more than the scraps from our Sunday lunch. After all it’s his Sunday too!

One fine day an intruder in the form of another dog tried to steal his lunch….so what did I do; stood guard till he finished his fare of chicken and rice. To show his gratitude, next morning he came and sat near me on the porch, quietly for some time, sharing my solitude. I am convinced that all things respond to love, even nature and its creatures.

It is really silly the way we gravitate towards foreign breeds when it comes to buying pups and keep them with such care and expenses. Perhaps we are more concerned with status and glamour associated with these high faluting names; Dalmatian, Golden Retriever, etc. It would do all of us a world of good if we can adopt one of our own Indian pie dogs and lavish care and affection on it. They are low-maintenance, easy to manage and give you the same pleasure. They can be incredibly hardy and stay with you for a long time giving you the perfect companionship.

A lot of organizations are working towards making our different species(Rampur Hound,Indian Mastiff,Kuchi,Kaikadi,Kanni,Taji,Bhutuya,etc)find a good home. They offer  free adoption and free clinics for their care.This may also also help the poor beasts to be taken of roads and get good loving homes.

What makes historical spots/places attractive to us

As I traveled to Aurangabad for my sightseeing tour, this question puzzled and made me cogitate on the urge that drives people to visit ancient sites.

What is it that makes historical sights,monuments,etc still so attractive to us?Haven't we, the space age humans, made progress so much that history should become redundant by now. Then why do we see droves of people in such places.I saw bus loads of people from almost all parts of India reaching these far flung places and gawking at the murals,sculptures,etc with awe struck wonder. Some seemed to listen very carefully to the guides tale and many asked questions related to that period and otherwise. The young brigade were of course seeking out places and positions for 'the' pics and obviously FB posts. Even so it was wonderful to see people actually stop to think about what and how our ancestors were.

I'm sure these places are simply not visited for chilling out or for photo ops(though the opportunities abounded).

Then what is it? The thirst to seek out the past must surely be related to the present, or is it only intertwined to our future.I think that in our mad rush to seek and secure our future we have somehow forgotten our present. We tend to evaluate everything to our past and scramble to make our future better than that.In the process we forget to live our present!

Another reason could be curiosity.Or maybe solace that we get far from the madding crowds,a few days respite and soon.

Readers, you be the judge.............

Hey guys......guess what?
I have managed to reach some of my goals I had set out for myself before vacation.

This summer I took a long break and combined business with pleasure. My visit to the holy shrine of Shirdi was really good and we had a good darshan. We were 'showered' with blessings both literally and figuratively.
The high-point of our trip was the journey to Ellora and Ajanta Caves at Aurangabad. Will write more about the trip later.
The lowest point was the bus journey to Aurangabad when we were bound to our seats for practically 22hrs!!!! Total nightmare.No matter how comfortable or rich your cage is, it's still a cage.

Currently the heat of Rajasthan is something to cope up with after the cool climes of Bangalore. Can you imagine, it is 46 in our place. The announcement made on the Jaipur tarmac as we landed hit us straight like lead.All I want to do is drink water and something cool.If only the monsoon would come a little early.Looks like I have to wait like everybody else.