The dreamer

A dream,

we all do, right!

lifted the innocent heart,

to swarm the sky,

swim oceans,

unblemished by life’s ruthless realities,

years have passed,

still sleeping,

 only reality the dream of hope and aspirations,

altered drastically,

by ways of the world,

journey laden with defeats struggles and molded like the rough iron,

fading in oblivion,

dreamer changed,

shaped by destiny and expectations,

drifted away from the real source,

till a realization hit him,

the mind may diverge,

unsettled as the soul is,

time has come to reclaim the glitter,

once shone,

be like he has always been,

happiness,

gentle,

easy,

wild abandon,

unfettered by bruises.

 

Freedom and my India

billion hearts beat together,

this is my India,

daily struggle of commoners,

men and women,

we may belong to distinct religions, castes and speak various languages,

but bound by a common destiny and ancestry,

my land preaches love and affection,

how can hatred dilute our hearts,

we shall stand to communal forces,

wrecking havoc on us,

one nation, one voice

against forces of evil,

a pledge to end poverty, hunger and malnutrition,

standing like a rock against sexism and sexual assault against women,

wipe off communal forces,

my India is a country of billions,

a prayer for change,

taking pride in our identity and root,

we invented Zero, after all,

my India,

will rise again to touch hearts.

Happy Independence Day

Jai Hind

Rekindling old friendships and new ones

Friendship Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of August in India. Friends are the stress busters that we have and fall upon to combat ailments triggered by the rush and mundane existence combining routine of work cum life balance.  Someone truly said, 'True friendships are the ones that withstood the test of times as we emerge out of the rough times." There is a friend for every occasion, right from the ones with whom we grew together, the college friend making lifetime memories or the few ones we clicked in office and drinking buddies. In today's edgy and fast-paced life, it's not easy to keep friendships intact adding to it family responsibilities where there is a tendency to keep our folks for granted, forgetting them or some conflicts that drifted the people apart who once meant the world to each other. College days friendships remain a special one with the bums we carved rich memories, thrills, adventures, fuck ups or craziness that defined us. Reaching out to our closest buddies on friendship day is a perfect time not that we need a special day to create joy together but it makes for a great moment to rekindle old ties and bonds.

1. A phone call away

Move beyond WhatsApp and call this close friend staying far away, that the seas and oceans separated you to have a conversation, just like during the olden days. It doesn't harm speaking to a close buddy for 2 minutes no matter how busy you are in life. Today, I called few friends scattered in various parts of India and across the globe. Of course, the WhatsApp friendship day forwards means that you care but you can drop a few lines to friends on messenger, doesn't matter if you are no longer friends on social media. It leaves such a beautiful and positive feeling on your folks that played an integral part in your life.

2. Facebook friends

Har ek dost zaroori hai! Facebook friends and plain strangers have made the entire friendship thread look cool with this virtual dosti tying a virtual forever bond. I received beautiful images on my FB messenger and the little bit of conversation make us believe in this sacred relationship called friendships that transgresses everything on earth. It has been an amazing ride falling on plain strangers who are now close friends and don't hesitate in reaching out to the ones on this spaceship. It's all about making new memories and friends.

3. Respect the space

Friendship is not about being at the beck-and-call of each other but respecting the space and privacy of close friends that makes for healthy relationships. There are some rules that need to be re-written after some point while the rest should follow the same old narration. Emotions among old friends shall remain forever and certain things never change but at the same time, there is an understanding that some lines cannot be crossed to make our lifelong relations worth the ride. The secret to happy friendship and nurturing relations are the space that must be respected at all costs.

4. Never take for granted

One of my pet peeves is someone coming late for a lunch or catching up for coffee. It works both ways. It's a golden rule to never ditch a friend at the last minute or for that matter, turning extremely late. Don't keep the ones who care to wait for long for it shows a scant disrespect for the relationship.

5. Friends are no sidekick

I have always made the effort to make my friends an important priority in life and not saying abandon responsibilities to be with friends. But, it's important to shower the respect and it takes lot of time and effort to invest in relationships to make your buddies an important priority in life. Friends are family and siblings, our inner strength and never forget this truth.

6. Bond over drinks


Calling friends out of the blue for a game of chess, binge-watching on Net Flix or catching for a movie and partying with drinks is a good way to rekindle old ties. The best thing about chilling with old pals is the entire unplanned night out makes for crazy moment forever captured in the hearts and the beats strumming together like guitar.

7. Mixing friendship?

The confused and conservative me in this department is not very sure whether we should mix our tribes, right from childhood, college and work friends or acquaintances. Initially, I wasn't very sure to mix friends from various walks for drinks or dinner. It's quite a big question mark but bringing everyone socially once in a blue moon doesn't harm.

8. Friends and disagreement

Disagreeing with friends and having contrasting view on politics, religion, arts, cinema and global affairs is quite sensitive and many of us believe that by just agreeing will keep the friendship intact. Nothing farther from the truth or else we would never grow by just agreeing since stifling an opposite view because of friends always have the chances of crushing our respective individualities or harboring frustration and the lack of respect. Of course, it doesn't make an iota of sense to break friendship over Modi vs Rahul Gandhi.

Hello August!

There is something beautiful about August, intriguing and the myriad hues from the wind stars in the sky and cloud lending an exquisite charm to it like falling leaves and sighted moon.

The phone flashed on the first day of the month. It struck my senses for some reason or the other. A sheer belief that extraordinary things will jettison and can feel the strong vibes conveyed through this medium called smart front. I can sense the powerful energy.  

On the work front, it's been pretty interesting beyond the drudgery of the routine tasks since there are super interesting projects lining up that will help me grow my wings by dabbling into hospitality and real estate features. I always love experimenting that way by writing on various and new genres to test the might of my pen and overcoming limitations through words. I am mulling on registering a name for a company which always wanted to start by offering editing and translation services. In today’s time, there is a need to diversify the income if you want to stand on your own and plan for the next couple of years.  

The past month has been pretty much laid back like the still water with the usual things going on and not too much drama on my platter, not that I want some filmi climax of kicking people in the groin. Tons of books to read and there are eight of them, including plans to re-read The Sacred Games what with the hoopla surrounded the sit-com. Some of them, I got for free at the Book Nest in the park where I jog regularly and it’s quite a novel concept of reading and sharing where you can pick a book for free and drop one for book lovers.  I picked two novels and once done with them, they will find their place back to the nest so that it is not confined to the shelf but sharing with people as part of this circle to encourage reading.  

August is the shopping therapy month for me that works wonderfully and the heart flutters with happiness to get some bare essentials like couple of shirts, socks, two pairs of new shoes to update the wardrobe. Finally, after initially resisting the temptation, I have decided to enter this world called Net Flix and going with the basic plan for USD 7. Not a bad deal with so much of sitcoms to spoil my senses. The last time, tried to register but failed with the bank account not being recognized for ludicrous reasons and as it is been planning to change my bank for the third time this year as the present one is quite fucked up with the net banking facilities. It feels spooky and entering a labyrinth with password and then some OTP.  Sadly, some banks system are as good as living in the stone age and there is something called being customer friendly which they don't get. Once the entire thing is sorting out and looking forward to the entire Net Flix experience.

Personally, it’s been a constant struggle to keep the self off sweet which is quite a hot temptation to resist. Tomorrow never comes with me. A cheat day will be kept every Friday and high time to look for a better alternative like raisins or dry food. Packaged snack is another grey area and not that I munch on them regularly but would be good to forget or wipe them from my eating senses.  It’s so easy to be tempted by the fast food which I don’t take now and a plus point because it’s unhealthy and nothing natural about them with all those artificial stuff flooding the market.  

I need a pat on the back for the novel is being revived for the second consecutive time after forgetting about it for six months. The best thing about engagement on Facebook with writer friends is that they can push you to write creatively and help chuck out the mental blocks that ail creativity. An over thinking mind is screwy and how it creates a mental blockage to make your shit difficult while it should be simple in the first place. Hope the writer in me doesn’t end up being unproductive and keep working on the book until the first draft is finished. As it is, will keep two days a week doing just that and forgetting other things. Raring to see the progress made with the novel when August says bye. 

Love

Vishal