Aazadiyan: A Look At Life

Something which all of us acknowledge is the presence of the nagging voice in our hearts. It's the voice which tells us what we really want, what we are or what we have become. It's that tiny little poke which reminds us how we have somehow screwed up life and we should "un-screw" it. One of the common commands it issues is to break free and change everything. Call it whatever you want, I call it Aazadi.

Don't mistake me for the colloquial English synonym "freedom". To me Aazadi expresses much more than freedom. It reflects the pride of achieving our dream, cherishing our passion and our inexpressible joy at doing all of that. Someone finds solace in snapping pictures of animals while someone loves to play the drums. Someone loves writing poems while on the flip side, some find sadistic pleasure in being a critic. My point is that everyone has his or her own forte and guilty pleasures. But not everyone gets to do that. Some bow down to the pressure of economic troubles and some to social ridicule. Some are scared by the magnitude to scale and some have plainly lost hope.Some,like Santiago are still searching for their Alchemist while some are being their own.

It's a funny thing how many people claim passion to be hokum,dismissing it as lore.I pity them because they don't know the feeling  of true happiness. I'm on the path of achieving my own dream, and the rush,the feel,the emotions,the passion and the pure unadulterated exhilaration is simply unmatchable.

People ask me with awestruck faces "You're 17 and you think you know your passion and your dreams?Yeah right!". I tell them this: Dreams don't have age,nor does your passion or happiness. As to how I stumbled on to my Philosopher's stone, it was easy. Just think and ponder over this question: "What would you do if money didn't matter?" and you'll find the answer. 

To all those who still believe their thoughts and their dreams are entangled and chained in shackles, I quote my favourite song

Pairon ki bediyan khwabon ko baandhe nahi re, kabhi nahi re

Mitti ki parton ko nanne se ankur bhi cheeray, dheere dheere

Iraade hare hare, jinke seeno mein ghar kare

Woh dil ki sune kare na darre, na darre

Subah ki kirno ko rokein jo salaakhein hai kahan

Jo khayalon pe pehre daale woh aankhein hai kahan

Par khulne ki deri hai parinde udh ke choomenge

Aasman aasman aasman

Dream and dream on friends :)

PS:I also recommend you read these posts as well : It's Okay To Be Confused, Debugging Life and Debugging Life(Rebooted)

When Akbar called Anthony to go shopping online for Amar

The following is a true story. The names and places are real :)

Sunday was almost over and I was enjoying the last few moments before resigning to sleep to face the work week again. Suddenly the phone rang with Akbar's name flashing on it. "Bol bhai, wassup?" "Bhai, vhai chod, what we doing about Amar?" "What about Amar?" "His birthday is 2 days away? We're gifting him something or not?" "Aah, yes. I knew I was forgetting something. We in Bombay he in Vizag, how we going to do it?" "If we meet up and then decide on something and then send it will take ages. Plus next week I’m loaded with work and won’t have any time. It’s better we do online shopping. It would be the best - fast and perfect. Would get delivered well too.” “You have a point” “Meet me online soon.” “Ok.”

Soon Akbar and I were on our system's - he in Thana and me in Malad seeing the same product and giving our comments simultaneously over the phone. “Akbar have a look at this tie and cufflink set. It would do well on Amar.” “Yes, but wait, let me send you another link, I feel this would go better. Change the color to brown and see. Also if you zoom in you'll see how deep the design is.” “Hmm, right.” “This same thing can be found on another site and the price is cheaper too. Also they ship in 3 days. This is good.” “Where can you see it? I’m getting a Site under maintenance message.” “What?” “Wait, let me check.” “Oh, bloody hell, yes. What horrid timing.” “Now forget, lets choose from the options we have.”

Akbar and I scanned through the items available. “Akbar I think this one is good from the lot. Also since we have got this set quite cheap and well within our budget we can go for a wallet, what say?” “OK, lets do it.” After spending a few more minutes on some wallets we made a choice. Ordering was a breeze. We just put in our details, Amar’s address (which we quietly sneaked out from him in the pretext of sending him a friend’s wedding invite which was more than 2 months away) and our credit card number. There were many other options available like Net banking and Cash On Delivery, but we IT people love to flaunt our credit cards . Within no time we received the invoice through mail and a delivery date.

“Wow, just an hour of shopping and that's it, we’re done. Yes, after seeing 4 shopping websites I think I’ve had enough. In the process we have signed up for free and earned around Rs.3000/- each for our shopping, now how cool is that?” “Very cool. Plus we didn’t have to move a bit and thankfully not worry about the packing and sending it to him with additional charges.” “Yes, here we can get regular updates on the delivery and also act like we didn’t send any gift when Amar calls up.” “Yes, that would be fun.”

We informed out friend group in office and told them the plan. All of us waited patiently for the day to put our acting masks on. Unfortunately, after a few days, like as if from nowhere I received an email from the site we ordered.

“You are receiving this notification because one or more items in your order XXXXXXXXX have been cancelled.

We were not able to keep up with the overwhelming orders received and unfortunately have run out of stock. We deeply regret the inconvenience caused to a valued customer like you. Please come back and check for these products again.”

I showed the email to Akbar and he went, “Bloody hell”. That means once again tonight it’s online shopping time. Hearing this both of us burst into laughter. We got online, ordered an item even better than the previous time (lucky we), filled in the details, swiped the credit card and were done.

Soon Amar received his first gift which he thought was his only and thanked us profusely for it, even though we played as if we had got nothing to do with it. In a week’s time he received his second gift and was totally bowled over. This time none of us could control our laughter.

I have never shopped online before for whatever reasons may be, but this experience makes me very comfortable with the idea. The best part being Amar receiving 2 gifts in a space of 1 week – shocked first and then surprised.

Online shopping not only made our day and brought a smile on our face but also surprised, shocked and overjoyed one of our closest friends far far away. So what if we are not together, we are still linked heart to heart.

Finding a balance

A Quote from Bryan Dyson, CEO Coca Cola

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends and spirit and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.

But the other four balls - family, health, friends and spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for Balance in your life.

How?

Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

Don't set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.

Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us to each together.

Don't be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find time. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings!

Don't run through life so fast that you forget not only where you've been, but also where you are going.

Don't forget, a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.

Don't use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savoured each step of the way...