Sunday, December 25, 2011

A trip to satara..

               आज साताऱ्याला गेले होते..मी आणि सपना काका काकूंना भेटायला गेलो होतो..खरच काकूंच्या हातचं जेवण म्हणजे मेजवानीच असते..You need to be very very lucky for that!! :)...छान दिवस घालवला आजचा..काका-काकू, the great naikwadi brothers, तन्वी , अमान-अयान , संस्थानिक आणि मावशी..वेळ कसा नी कधी गेला ते कळलाच नाही..
               काकूंचा आग्रहाने खूप खूप जेवायला वाढणं, काकांचे किस्से आणि अनुभव..जुबेर आणि परवेझ ची चेष्टा..काकू काय मस्त जेवण बनवतात कि माणूस एका वेळी किमान दोन वेळेच जेवून परत येत..काका एवढ्या प्रेमाने विचारपूस करतात आणि सांगतात  कि खूप खूप छान वाटतं..आणि हो असाही प्रश्न पडतो कि एवढ्या चांगल्या आईबाबांना एवढी विचित्र मुल कशी मिळाली!! :):):):) 
                 साताऱ्यातून निघताना, इतका जड जात असतं मला आणि सपनाला कि काय सांगू..असं वाटत कि अजून थोडा वेळ थांबता आलं तर किती बरं होईल..खरच आयुष्यात अशी लोक सोबत असली तर आणखी काही असण्याची गरजच वाटत नाही..बाबा नेहमी म्हणतात, चांगली लोक भेटायला खूप नशीबवान असावं लागतं..
                खरच..आयुष्यात अशी लोक असणं किती महत्वाचा असतं हे कळत..इतकी चांगली चांगली लोक पदोपदी सोबत असताना एकटेपणाचं रडगाणं कशाला!! उगाचच म्हणत बसायचं का कि मी एकटीच राहते वगैरे वगैरे..सलील कुलकर्णींच्या एका लेखात त्यांनी म्हणलं होतं एकटेपणा दाखवायची fashion चं आली आहे सध्या..अर्रे इतकी सगळी लोक एका फोनच्या अंतरावर आहेत ना आपल्या..माझ्याकडे एक सल्ला आहे आपल्या सगळ्यांसाठी..पुढच्या वेळी एकट वाटला ना कि मला फोन करा.. :):):) (I will try my best to pick it up, my record isnt good though!!) मजेचा भाग वेगळा..खरच हा सल्ला उपयोगात आणून तर बघा ना , (मला फोन करायचा नाही) तर अशावेळी एका व्यक्तीला फोन/मेल करायचा जिच्याशी/ज्याच्याशी खूप दिवसात बोलणं नाही झालं..खूप खूप छान वाटेल..आणि जर मी त्या व्यक्तींपैकी एक असेल तर मला पण खूप खूप छान वाटेल:):)..आता लवकर कोणाला तरी एकटेपणा जाणवू दे म्हणजे मला फोन येईल!! :):):   

Sunday, December 18, 2011

One more Birthday..Many more surprises..Many many cakes

                  One more Birthday!! Turning a year older..Somethings just do not change..The series of surprises started at sharp 12!! Really got many many wonderful gifts..I wish I could just stay there with aai, baba, gauri..
आयुष्यात खरच अजून कशाची गरज असते?? कधी कधी विचार येतो, काय करतीये मी, का करतीये असं..घरापासून लांब..काय मिळवण्यासाठी काय गमावत आहे?? 
               Coming back to surprises..Amita and Gauri gave me some of the best gifts ever..I am truly grateful to have these two girls in my life..After the emotional gifts and fantastic surprises at 12, my sweet little brothers made the morning..Ashish and aniket also surprised me with the surprise trip to Pune..After that aparna tai and Rutuj came with a wonderful cake..We had 6-7 cakes this birthday!! After the traditional birthday breakfast and traditional birthday meal, we had some unpacking to do..Then it was Parvez and Sapana to surprise me!! I just dont understand, how do they manage to surprise me in the same fashion every time..
                 Cant write any more..Somethings cant be written..

Sunday, December 4, 2011

खरंच कधी कधी विचारांच्या गुंत्यात इतके गुंतून जातो आपण कि एक विचार सोडवणं अशक्य वाटायला लागतं..मग एकटेपणा जाणवायला लागतो..समुद्राच्या मध्यभागी असताना तळ, किनारा या गोष्टी किती महत्वाच्या असतात हे कळत..पण म्हणलंय ना "sometimes you just have to pick yourself up and CARRY ON.." 

अशाच एका संध्याकाळी 
घरापासून इतके लांब 
विचार करत बसले होते
शोधात होते मनाचा थांग..

शोधत होते काहीतरी 
कुठेतरी हरवलेले
रे मना सांग ना मला
कुठे रे  शोधू मी आता 

किनारा दिसेना..तळ गवसेना..
माझ्याच मनात मी गेले हरवून..
काहीच का कळेना आता 
विचार करून गेले शिणून..

अशीच थकून बसले असता..
हळूच एक आवाज आला..
काय शोधिसी हे तरी आहे 
का नक्की ठावूक तुला.

कधी कधी गुंतते मन
फक्त विचारांच्या गुंत्यात
तेवा फक्त एक धागा 
मदत करतो उलगडण्यात 



Sunday, November 27, 2011

The shopping madness!!

                 There is a reason I love Thanksgiving!! The total shopping madness..According to me my shopping capabilities are too good to be questioned!! :):) but this time I must accept that my abilities were challenged..We started shopping at 9PM CST!! Went to the first mall, but we had the wrong information (a bit of my fault) Stonebriar mall was suppose to open at 6AM and not 10PM..So the plans needed modifications..Run time changes you know!! Then we went to allen..It the pandharpur for shoppers!!Truly!! All the brands, all the shops!! You cant ask for more..GAP, ck, NIKE, VanHeusen the list goes on..
                So I started shopping, aai, baba, kaka, kaku, bhau , bahini....well we have so many people in our lives!!I must say one needs to be focused for such kind of shopping..Limited time, unlimited offers, credit card limits(hahahhaha) etc!! Now Its almost morning and we are heading  to Stonebriar..Finally!! Even now all the shops aren't open..I managed to buy some stuff from here and there (I am saying as if I had to shop :):):)) I am not a person who will spend enormous amount on buying things(according to me!!)..I will take time to get the best possible deal and the thing I am looking for..I am specific about things I buy..Lets keep that apart..So shopping madness..After Stonebriar, we had nice breakfast at IHOP..Seriously I was very very hungry..After that heavy breakfast, came home and slept!!! Later in the morning visited target and wallmart to finish up the remaining stuff..And finishes shopping at around 5PM..9to5 kind of shopping!!Thats not interesting, the interesting part is I loved this concept of Black friday!! Its a real treat for shoppers..well I didnt find things very cheap but it was fun shopping..The madness has already taken toll on me..I am done shopping!!

               

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Viva Mexico, Sheshe and Chak de!!!

               I am going to miss these days..One of my friends from office is going back to mexico this week, so we all went out for dinner this friday..Yiye really chose a very very nice chinese restaurant for the special occasion..I can not believe that I know these people for just two months now..It feels like knowing them since forever..We used to have such a great time in the office..The lunch breaks used to be very exciting for all four of us..Every day there has to happen something to laugh about..Sometimes, Its about me and fortune cookies, sometimes Yiye and his jacket, the southern Mexican people(I am supporting you aurora), or turtles and Carlitos.
                All of us are from different countries, different  parts of world..But still there is something that connects us..I do not know what that is, but there is definitely some thing behind this strong bond of friendship..Carlitos and Aurora can speak some marathi now, And mind you Aurora can fight using marathi words :):)..We know what exactly to order at Chinese restaurants, how to ask for less spicy dish and we can thank the waitress too..They are still not good at eating with hands!! :):):)
                There are many interesting stories to share..Many many discussions/quotes to write..I really had very great time with all these people..I am going to miss all that..The discussions were very diverse..Geeta, Chinese food, Mexican food, potatoes, wars, fashion, US, home, families, cartoons(Derek in particular), armies, jackets, Philosophy, songs( I wonder how this tunak tunak song is famous!!)..

Sunday, November 13, 2011

tagline!!

                On our very own Funasia Radio, RJ Vaibhav hosts a show in the evening.I like his show because he seems to be a very positive and energetic person..Last week he asked a simple question for which people had complicated answers!! The question was "If you want to describe your life, Can you describe it in one sentence? Can you give a tagline for your life??"
                  I am sure some people will say, Life is supposed to be enjoyed, not summarized..Are you people trying to market your life???blah blah blah..I feel its really an interesting thing to think about..Lets leave that discussion apart..
                 Then calls started flooding in!! "The princess", "The lady who is successful in all the spheres of life",  "Winners do not do different things, they do things differently" (Isn't it the Shiv Khera quote??)..Almost all those were similar taglines! घिसेपिटे , typical sentences..Nothing new..:( Then I started thinking about my own life!! 'Life', my favorite topic to think about!! You wont believe I really tried hard to come up with something..It is not that simple..Covering everything is almost impossible..
                   After thinking about it for quiet a long time, the thought crossed my mind, Is describing my life that difficult?? Again the same old sentence came to my mind..Its only complicated if you make it!! Fantastic, I said to myself and just wrote the tagline!! 
                    So everyone, do come with a tagline for your life..Its fun!! and I would like to know if you want to share it.:)  :)

Sunday, November 6, 2011

This too shall pass...

On a nice evening looking at the sun..
Even sun says the same thing..
Not the day nor the night is long
This too shall pass..

Sitting on a bench..all alone..
watching the different shades of the sky...
the colors are changing soon..and saying..
This too shall pass..

Tough deadlines..Hectic schedules..
With so much to do and insufficient time..
Then I close my eyes and say
This too shall pass...

Enjoying the weather..not sunny nor cold..
perfect time just to spend a day out..
sun starts peaking out of the clouds saying
This too shall pass..

Staying alone away from family..
Thinking about them all the time..
I wish I was there..calender says
This too shall pass..

This period of uncertainty..Unclear future..
Where I would be next year..How will be things?
Then I remind myself...Have faith dear..
This too shall pass..

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Diwali..

             Being away from home on diwali is one of the worst things that can happen to you..It happened to many of us!! I miss being home in diwali..We have a typical way of enjoying this festive season..It all starts from shopping..Clothes for everyone!! My mother shops for all of us!! Then we go to Nalegaon..Its the time when my whole family is together! Full on Hum saath saath hai types!! We all love fire crackers(not me really) but as a team of 10 we do!!(we are team10(6 sisters and 4 brothers!!) with the addition of 2 now! but they are GENEXT) Then in the night we make this long list of fire-crackers we want to buy..Then its shopping time again!! My sweet little kid brothers go for checking the prices and find out the best prices!! Aniket and Tanmay work hard on this.. Then its time for the big bro to get into the picture and buy all those from the respective shops!! Finally we manage to get the firecrackers and now these kids insist to sleep in the same room where we keep them safely:)!! We start preparing the beds..Tanmay announces, we need to be the first in the morning.."पहिला फटाका आपला!!" That means we get up at 3!! Isn't it extremely early?? मग आई आम्हा सगळ्यांना अंघोळी घालते..तेल,  पण इथे पण एक नियम आहे, जोपर्यंत दास काकांची अंघोळ होत नाही, तोपर्यंत फटके नाहीत...मग सगळ्या गाड्या काढायच्या..So now it is 4.30AM!! Then its Firecrackers!!! We start at 4.30AM..We go on till around 6..Last one is suppose to be the special one, we insist that everyone in the home sees that..Mostly das kaka lights it..We all sit down and enjoy that one!!Now we are done..Now the next game..सगळे फटाके, कागद, आणि त्यामुळे झालेला कचरा एकत्र करायचा आणि मग एकत्रच जाळायचा!! Please don,t do it..It is dangerous!! We  do it anyways..Now it is 6.30-7AM and we have nothing to do..So every year we go to our farms..We go there and play, race etc till 9..This is the thing, when you have all the school-going kids in your house..(Well even I love to play all those games :):))..So now we are tired..Time to go back home..Where delicious brunch awaits us!!
              After this heavy brunch, It is Movie time!! Movie marathon will be more accurate word..All these usual family dramas, we have been watching for years..We watch those movies again and again..You wont believe but those CDs we bought the first time have already given up long ago!!
              Then in the evening, its again time for some action!! Rangoli near the front door.."पणत्या" all over the roof and stairs..The house looks wonderful..
                Ohh the most important thing FOOOD!! Apart from all the traditional delicacies, we have special brunch every morning!! That might be batata wada, parathas, misal..And special snacks in the evenings!! Not to miss puranpoli(My favoritest food on the earth) and everything to be made with that!!
                Lakshmipujan..It is a story in itself..The guruji will be late every time..We will be sitting all dressed up for puja waiting for him..Then he will show up from nowhere..He truly is tufaan mail..No one understands what he says..Sometimes he will skip some portions of the arati..Half of the time he will be talking on the phone..It is fun..Sadly we do not get anything new on bhaubij because we get those gifts on the first day of diwali!! :( :(
              These things, these days..I miss everything very very badly..Being alone in Diwali is really very very bad..I miss you guys..Phone/skype nothing will help..Its just being there at home..with all of you..Love you all..I am missing all that for the second time..Missing you all..

Sunday, October 23, 2011

A good news is on its way!!

                 This is what my fortune cookie says!! Fortune cookies!! I love fortune cookies..I do not know whether it reveals the fortune and all, I just know that it makes me feel good!! :) :)
               I went for lunch with my friends the other day to some Chinese Restaurant and found my fortune!! I thought this is some chinese tradition but wikipedia says that  "Fortune cookies are often served as a dessert in Chinese restaurants in the United States and some other countries, but are absent in China."
         The origin of fortune cookies is said to be in Japan.As far back as the 19th century, a cookie very similar in appearance to the modern Fortune cookie was made in Kyoto, Japan, and there is a Japanese temple tradition of random fortunes, called omikuji.
           I like fortune cookies as they have this feel good factor attached to them!! If you are having a bad day, and you get a fortune cookie that says "It will change soon" or as in my case "a good news on its way!!" you just feel good..So I am waiting for that good news now!! :):):)
          This is an example that how sometimes a simple gesture can change ones mood and sometimes outlook? I know the logical people here will say that this is just a random piece of paper and all..But I don't think so..I like the fortune cookies, the cookies and fortune both!! For some people these might act like omen..But for me, they make me smile!! and make me feel good!!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

कधीतरी..

असंच रोज संध्याकाळी बसून सुंदर सूर्यास्त बघावा..
तो मावळणारा सूर्य..आकाशाचा केशरी रंग..
हळूहळू बदलत जाणाऱ्या निळ्या रंगाच्या छटा..
आणि त्याबरोबर बदलणारे माझे विचार..

मग हळू हळू येणारी रात्र..तिच्यासोबत येणारा चंद्र..
चंद्रप्रकाशात न्हाऊन जावं..पाण्यात पाय टाकून चहा प्यावा..
मनातलं लिहावं..काहीतरी वाचावं..
काहीतरी सांगावं आणि काहीतरी ऐकावं..

उधाणणाऱ्या या वाऱ्यावर द्यावे स्वतःला झोकून..
शांतपणे फक्त वाऱ्याचच गाणं ऐकावं थांबून..
ऐकावं त्याचंही म्हणण कधीतरी..
सांगावं त्यालाही गुपित कधीतरी..

सकाळी थांबून आरामात सूर्योदय पहावा..
नवीन उमेद आणणाऱ्या त्या ताऱ्याची थोडी उर्जा घ्यावी..
त्याच्याकडून उमेद घ्यावी..
आणि त्याला संध्याकाळी भेटण्याची हमी द्यावी!!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

दसरा

          दसरा..I miss being home!! सकाळ मधले सीमोल्लंघनाचा अर्थ नव्याने समजावून देणारे लेख, गाडगीळान्कडची गर्दी(खरच सगळं जग तिथे सोन घ्यायला आलेलं असतं), पाटीवर काढलेली सरस्वती, शस्त्रपूजेसाठी काढलेलं सगळं सामान(घुंगरू, वाद्य, आवडतं पेन, पाटी, पुस्तकं,nunchaku)...संध्याकाळी जोशी काका, प्रतिभा मावशी, फडके काका,शेजारच्या काकू,  मुंढे काकूंकडे जाऊन सोनं देऊन यायच आणि भरपूर गप्पा पण मारून यायच्या..I am missing all that..
          दसरा, ज्या दिवशी रामाने रावणावर विजय मिळवला, दुर्गा मातेने महिषासुरावर विजय मिळवला, पांडवांनी अज्ञातवास संपवला असा साडेतीन मुहूर्तांपैकी एक मुहूर्त..दसर्याच्या किंवा विजया दशमीच्या प्रत्येक गोष्टीमागे एक समान धागा आहे, तो म्हणजे दुष्ट प्रवृत्ती, वाईट गोष्टींवर मिळवलेला विजय..दसऱ्याला सीमोल्लंघन करण्याची सुद्धा पद्धत आहे...
        रावणाची दहा तोंडं म्हणजे खरंतर आपल्यामध्ये असलेल्या १० वाईट गोष्टी आहेत..रामाने रावणावर विजय मिळवला म्हणजे त्याच्या या १० वाईट गोष्टींचा (क्रोध, मोह, लोभ, मद, मत्सर इत्यादी) नाश केला..रामाचा रावणावर विजय आपल्याला ह्या दृष्टीकोनातून सुद्धा बघता येईल..
         याच दसऱ्याच्या मुहूर्तावर दुर्गा मातेने महिषासुराचा वध करून, आणि म्हणूनच आपण देवीला महिषासुरमर्दिनी असं म्हणतो..नऊ दिवस चाललेलं ते युद्ध अश्विन शुक्ल दशमीला संपलं म्हणून हि विजया दशमी..
         मला सगळ्यात महत्वाचं वाटत ते सीमोल्लंघन..समासच सोडवायचा झाला तर सीमेचं उल्लंघन..हि सीमा भौगोलिकच असायला हवी असंही नाही..कारण त्यांचं उल्लंघन मुहूर्त बघून करणं थोडसं अवघड आहे..;);) कदाचित आपणच आपल्यासाठी निर्माण केलेल्या सीमा असतील या..सीमा आपण आपल्या विचारांवर लादलेल्या..सीमा आपण आपल्या कार्यक्षमतेवर आखलेल्या..सीमा आपण आपल्या सामाजिक वर्तुळावर ठेवलेल्या..सीमा आपण स्वतःवर , स्वतःच्या क्षमतेवर आखलेल्या(मी फक्त ३ मैल पळू शकते असं ठरवण हि सुद्धा सीमाच आहे ना!!)..याच सीमांचं उल्लंघन करणं, त्यांच्या पलीकडे जाऊन काहीतरी करणं म्हणजे सीमोल्लंघन..रोजच्या पेक्षा आज एखादा मैल जास्त पळणं, नेहमीपेक्षा वेगळ्या लोकांशी बोलणं, स्वतःवर स्वतःच लादलेली limitations काढण, मी हे सुद्धा करू शकते याचा अनुभव घेणं म्हणजेच सीमोल्लंघन आहे माझ्या दृष्टीने..

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Sometimes Its Just Time!!

          I have been thinking about it for sometime now..Yes Sometiemes its just time. Sometimes I really feel like knowing the future, what is in there for me? How my life is going to be? Am I following the right path to my desired destination??
       Then I remembered this example from "the secret". If one wants to travel from lets say Dallas to San Francisco!! I do not need to see the whole 1731 miles at the beginning. What one need to know is the next 10 feet the headlight of the car can show!! So 10 feet at a time and still you will reach San Francisco. Isnt it similar for life as well? One day at a time or may be one second at a time and the year passes!!
       Sometimes I wish , I could fast forward my life, Just to know whats in there for me? Good we can not fast forward the life!! Otherwise there are no surprises, no shocks...
       Any phase, may it be a good one, bad one, it will pass..It reminds me of the famous sentence from "Mahabharat(the series)".. "I am time, I travel at my own speed"..
       We can not force things to happen quicker, everything happens at its own pace!! Everything happens at the right time..Sometimes we do not have control over it but sometimes we do..
        One of my friends had a perfect status message,"Someday Everything will make a perfect sense. So for now, laugh at the confusion, smile through the tears and keep reminding yourself that everything happens for a reason."
         Life happens..Things happen..Everything happens at the right time..So lets not even attempt to see the future because that will ruin all the surprises the life has for us!!So for now, lets enjoy the phase which we are in..Because even this is not going to forever, neither we can fast forward it nor we can life happens, at its own pace, it takes its own time, for now lets indulge in the present as Sometimes Its Just Time!!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Shop till you drop

                 Had a lovely day with sonia, we actually followed "shop till you drop". When we entered The Cheesecake factory, we were hungry to death!! Shopping, its a different experience every time. You see different clothes, accessories, shoes and just everything. I know how choosy I am about my clothes and accessories. I need things to be the way I want them :):). I am sure almost every girl wants that.
                 So I was just thinking that does everyone spends time shopping for something?? For me any kind of shopping is same. I love to do groceries, I can spend a day at walmart, best buy or any shop..It need not be for me, it can be for anyone. I don't even buy anything many times, but thats window-shopping right!!
                 I was just curious that are all women around the world love shopping?? I came across this statistics. "Assuming a woman lives an apparently average 63-year long life, she will spend 25,184 hours and 53 minutes buying things. On a yearly basis, this adds up to just shy of 400 hours — 399 hours, 46 minutes, to be exact. 95 hours of this annual time expenditure are dedicated to buying food, which makes sense. 170 hours, on the other hand, are dedicated to buying clothes."
               Oh my god!! Is this really true??

Sunday, September 18, 2011

It must be love!!

           Watched Djokovich playing!! he literally crashed Nadal!! Nadal was looking so exhausted and tired..But the game was fantastic!! I watched the last set almost twice..Seriously It must be love!!
             "It must be love", you feel it when you actually go to the Billie Jean King Stadium.If you love Tennis you should go there atleast once in your life!! I know watching Wimbledon will be great experience too.But this experience, you can not miss!! I went to the USOpen this year..When I actually reached Billie Jean King Stadium, I felt so good..The feeling, the passion for game..Its just wonderful..People come there because they love the game..You get to meet people who are crazy for the game..They shout, clap to support and encourage the players..Even strangers do not seem that strangers when you talk about the game..Everyone is just there for the love of the game..Yes It must is love..Love for the game..I could watch a some good games..Watching Muller was a terrific experience!! Peng-Pennetta war also was quite interesting..But the best part was watching Del-Potro..This guy is fast.His movements are so quick and strong..His forehands are no doubts his strength..This guy actually had beat RF in 2009.He is a star..Loved watching that game too.
          Being there, feeling the OPEN is just so overwhelming!! Its in the air..The game, the players, the OPEN..Its just is love!!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Love at first sight : NYC

Seriously it was love at first site..

Just came out of the Columbus circle station from the subway and fell in love with the first look of the city. It really is that beautiful. Now I know why people wear “New York I Love You” t-shirts. Well I am ready to wear one because I really love you New York!!
New York city, the city we have seen in FRIENDS, You’ve got a mail, Serendipity, How I met your mother, Kal ho na ho and many other movies and series. I always wonder what is so special about it, but now I know!!
This city has got something in it, I do not know exactly what it is, is it the fresh green color of the centrally situated central park, or is it the tall buildings everywhere or the crowded subway stations or the dazzling times square. It just is fantastic!!
New York symbolizes the spirit of fighting back!! We all are aware about what happened in 9-11. Give us anything, we will fight back says New York..
It is the city of dreams. Everyday thousands of dreams are created and destroyed on the Wall Street. This city has seen great visionaries. Though some of them may not be there but their visions stand tall. For example: Rockefeller Center. This beautiful building was built in 1930s during the worst years of great depression. It was envisioned by John D. Rockefeller Jr as “The City within the city”. It also employed 40,000 people. The empire state building, Macys, WTC, Chrysler building, the statue of liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and so on.
I won’t be able to cover everything in a single post as a lot can be written about every place in the city,
New York is not a city to be seen with cameras, it’s a city to be experienced; it is the city to be felt!!
New York I love you…From Jay-Zs song,



New York!!!!
Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of,
There's Nothing You Can’t Do,
Now You're In New York!!!
These Streets Will Make You Feel Brand New,
The Lights Will Inspire You,
Let's Hear It For New York, New York, New York


Sunday, August 28, 2011

आजच एक post पाहिला facebook वर..
" एक नवीन म्हण ... बाहेर विचारात नाही कुत्र आणि फेसबुकवर हजारो मित्र...!"

अगदी खरय!! मला खरच काही लोकं माहित आहे, ज्यांच्या आयुष्याचं ध्येय फेसबुक वर सर्वात जास्त मित्र बनवायचे असंच असावं...हल्ली लोकं हळू हळू खूप "social" होत चालली आहेत!! मला काळातच नाही अजूनही, कि ज्या लोकांना कधी आपण भेटलो नाही, ओळख सुद्धा नाही त्यांना कशाला फेसबुक वर add करायचं?

ते बाजूला ठेवूया, म्हणीवर लक्ष केंद्रित करायला हवं!! ज्याने कोणी हि म्हण शोधली आहे, फार फार भारी माणूस असला पाहिजे!!मला प्रचंड आवडलेली आहे हि म्हण!! मजेशीर आहे हि म्हण अगदी!! 

मला तर वाटतंय कि काही दिवसांनी, स्वताची ओळख सांगताना लोकं सांगतील,
माझा नाव "अमुक तमुक" आणि मला फेसबुक वर ८४५ मित्र आहेत!! 

अर्रे आवरा या लोकांना..किंवा कदाचित लोकांच्या resume वर असा लिहिलेला असेल,
Highly proficient with Facebook, already achieved 673 friends..
अर्रे काय हे..पण अशी लोकं असतात फारच भारी!!

मी एक album बघत होते, album चा नाव "Our first Anniversary".
आता एकेका फोटो खाली काय काय लिहिलं होतं ते वाचून तर मी कितीतरी वेळ हसत होते!!
१. तयार होताना..
२. अर्रे आपण इथे आलोय!! (हॉटेल चा फोटो) आणि फेसबुक वर "check in".
३. इथे हे सगळं मिळतं??(menu card चा फोटो )
४. अर्रेवा जेवण!!(जेवणाचा फोटो)
५. आता गोड काहीतरी!!(desert चा फोटो)
६. आणि मध्ये मध्ये एकमेकांचे फोटो!!!

आता यात गमतीचा भाग असा कि हे सगळे मोबाईल updates होते!!
एकमेकांपेक्षा फेसबुक मधेच जास्त लक्ष!!

जर मी अशीच लिहित राहिले तर म्हण बाजूला राहील आणि किस्सेच किस्से लिहिले जातील.
तुम्ही म्हणीवर लक्ष केंद्रित करा!! बाकी सगळ्या common गोष्टी आहेत..

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Its a year now!!

            Yes Its a year now..

A year in a new country, a year away from home, a year full of new experiences, a year with new friends, a year with many apartments, a year of 'shifting', a year with some sorrows, a year of lot of laughter, a year of fights, a year of connections, a year full of everything, a year with great holidays, a year with old friends,a year of new bonds, a year without a bed:), a year of missing diwali, a year of fears, a year of  with very few puranpoli, a year without buying books, a year with experiments, a year with very little shopping, a year without tekadi, a year without rangoli, the only without being home on birthday, a year of reading many books, a year of unexpected events, a year without TV, a year full of movies, a year full of drama, a year of pleasant surprises, a year of uncertainties, a year of cooking, a year in this part of the world!!

But it surely is "a year to remember"..

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Gundu in Town!!

            I am having the time of my life!! Seriously the place doesn't matter, may it be आपली टेकडी , गुडलक or galleria Dallas, me and gundu have fantastic time. Yes she is in town..The first time I saw her in Dallas I could not control my feelings, I just ran and hugged her!! I am sure Dipti was not surprised!! Seriously Gundya in town!! Cannot believe it!! अगदी अलंकारित भाषेत म्हणायचं तर,  या रुक्ष उन्हाळ्यात गुंडू आल्याने छान गारवा/बहर वगैरे आलाय!! Enough of drama now ;);)..So the point is place does not matter, Gundu is in Dallas and I am having the time of my life..
          There is a reason I do not envy people from Dil chahata hai, Zindagi milegi na dobara n all because I am fortunate enough to have these two girls in my life!! This week I relived all those moments after a year almost.. meeting up every saturday, shopping, टेकडी वरचं पळणं, मग पप्पूच्या घरी किंवा गुडलक मध्ये चहा !! वा!!! I know kothrud to deccan just for tea!! but its गुडलक !! , writing moments of the day on tissue papers, crying together, laughing out loud, bargaining on ferguson road, what not..We have actually done eveything one can think of!! Those unplanned nightouts, gundu breaking into my house at night, pappu forgetting keys, pappu loosing keys in the mall, gundu being 150 minutes late for a movie!! pappu giving stupid reason(आजीकडे किल्ली आहे, swine flue होईल ,घसा दुखत आहे!!), lecturing pappu for wearing chappals, earings, and not buying grey clothes, shouting at gundu for sleeping early, great bed tea which gundu brings before you wake up(she is really good at that!! and i love that...love you gundu!! Just imagine the moment you open your eyes in the morning , you see gundu and tea!!)eating like hell n then suffering from upset stomach for a week(PD :):)), surprise birthday parties(pappu getting angry that me and gundu did not wish her!!!), being बिन बुलाये मेहमान at each others place for lunch, gundu and pappu sleeping at every nightout, me locking both of them in the garden ,sharing all the secrets, and if one starts crying , the other two join her,discussing lives, people, future, making plans(some of them never take off!!!),imagining life after .. years, talking about our soulmates, future..It was a different life, a life without hesitations!! When gundu came to dallas, we had a chance to relive it, Offcourse we missed pappu, Pappu we miss you..Come soon..I am sure she is missing us too..(Hopefully because you never know whats up with Pappu!! and Pappu we are in Dallas Tx so better confirm it before you book any tickets!! going to balgandharva in place of bharat natya is different than going to Chicago in place of Dallas ;););) !! Pappu is so going to kill me) 
          This week we spent such a great time together, and now the place was different but stil nothing changed..We actually travelled back in the time..It was studio movie grill and city pride kothrud, we were late for the movie, Pool in place of gacchi, It was Galleria in place of Lifestyle and Starbucks for गुडलक !! but something was same, me and gundu!! so the place, the mall, the theatre didnt matter..

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Somethings can never change!!

       खरंच काही गोष्टी कधीच नाही बदलत..आजच अचानक एक पुस्तक मिळालं, बालभारती आणि कुमारभारती मधल्या कविता!! कुमारभारती सोबत माझा फारसं जवळचं नातं नाहीये, पण बालभारती!! अजूनही बालभारती मधल्या कविता वाचायला मला आवडतात, आणि गम्मत म्हणजे, मी त्या तीनदा शिकले आहे, एकदा मी पहिली ते चौथी मध्ये असताना, मग गौरी, आणि नंतर अनिकेत..त्यामुळे अगदी पाठ झाल्या आहेत त्या कविता!! आणि गम्मत म्हणजे त्यातल्या काही कविता तर बाबांनी सुद्धा शाळेत असताना शिकल्या होत्या आणि त्या सुद्धा त्याच चालीत!! 
       आत्ता हे पुस्तक वाचून खूपच चं वाटतंय!! अगदी चालीसकट आठवत आहेत त्या कविता!! 

                            काळ्या काळ्या शेतामंदी घाम जीरव जीरव
                            तेंवा उगलं उगलं कायामधून पिवय..

       त्याच चालीत जाणारी अजून एक कविता म्हणजे, 

                           काळ्या मातीत मातीत तीपण चालती 
                           तीपण चालती तीपण चालती..

       आणि अजून एक 
                        मन वढाय वढाय उभ्या पिकातलं ढोर 
                        किती हाकलं हाकलं फिरी येते पिकावर..

      किती छान वाटतंय मला..अगदी श्रावण माशी हर्ष मानसी म्हणाल्यावर वाटायचं तसं!!
      कविता नुसत्या नाही, चालीतच वाचल्या जातात..आणि सोबत कवी/कवियित्रीन्ची नावं सुद्धा जशी पाठ केली                   होती तशी आठवतात..अजून उदाहरणच द्यायची तर 

                       राजस जी महाली सौख्ये कधी मिळाली
                       ती सर्व प्राप्त झाली या झोपडीत माझ्या..

       त्याच चालीतलं

                      आई म्हणोनी कोणी आईस हक मारी..
                      ती हाक येई कानी मज होय शोककारी..

      किती लिहू आणि आणि किती नाही असा झालंय..कित्येक कविता आणि त्यांच्या आगी डोक्यात पक्क्या बसलेल्या चाली..It is really really overwhelming!!

      माझी सगळ्यात आवडती कविता 

                     आनंदी आनंद गडे इकडे तिकडे चोहीकडे
                     वरती खाली मोद भरे वायुसंगे मोद फिरे..

      आणि या कविता विसरणं थोडा अवघडच आहे, मध्ये माझ्या हाताला तवा चांगलाच भाजला होता,
एका दिवशी skype वर बोलताना ते आईला दिसलं, तर आई लगेच म्हणाली

                     अरे संसार संसार जसा तवा चुल्ह्यावर 
                    आधी हाताला चटके मग मिळते भाकर..

          किंवा अनिकेत लहानपणी ते "गवतफुला रे गवतफुला" जोरजोरात म्हणायचा!!गौरीचं टपटप टपटप अगदी ठसक्यात असायचं..आई अजूनही कितीतरी वेळा उठ उठ हो चिऊताई म्हणते!!अजूनही खंडाळ्याजवळ "कशासाठी पोटासाठी, खंडाळ्याच्या घाटासाठी" कारण तोपर्यंत मला आणि गौरीला भूक लागलेली असते!! :):)
किती तरी आठवणी आहेत कवितांसोबत.किंवा नेहमी वापरल्या जाणाऱ्या काही ओळी..

                      देणाऱ्याने देत जावे
                      घेणाऱ्याने घेत जावे
                      घेता घेता एक दिवस
                      देणाऱ्याचे हात घ्यावे 

                      ने मजसी ने..

                      बहु असोत सुंदर संपन्न कि महा
                      प्रिय अमुचा एक महाराष्ट्र देश हा..

खरंच खूप दिवसांनी या सगळ्या कविता वाचल्या आणि खूप खूप छान वाटतंय!! तुम्हाला अजून कोणत्या आठवत असतील तर नक्की लिहा!!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

पंढरीसी जा जा कुणी..

चंद्रभागेचे वाळवंट दुसरे नकोच वैकुंठ..
माधव भरला आकंठ हासून नाचून..
मनात भरली पंढरी जाऊन यावे दरबारी.. 
विठलाच्या मंदिरी हासून नाचून..

काय मस्त वाटतं असे अभंग ऐकून!! मागच्याच आठवड्यात आषाढी एकादशी झाली..
खरं तर मी कधीच आषाढी एकादशीला पंढरपूरला गेले नाही, कारण आषाढी एकादशी आणि पंढरपूर याच्याशी माझ्या वेगळ्याच आठवणी जोडलेल्या आहेत!! बाबा प्रदूषण नियंत्रण मंडळात आणि त्यातून सोलापूर जिल्ह्यात बरीच वर्ष होते, त्यामुळे त्यांना आषाढी एकादशीला पंढरपूरला असावाच लागायचं..त्यामुळे मी आषाढी एकादशीचं पंढरपूर प्रदूषणाच्या नजरेतून पाहिलंय!! :););)

ते काहीही असो, मला खरच छान वाटतं ते सगळे कार्यक्रम टीवीवर बघायला, रिंगण, घोडे, हलणारा कळस, वारकरी, त्यांचा उत्साह..बघायला एकदम छान वाटतं..

खरंच अजूनही दर वर्षी नित्य नेमाने वारीला जाणारे लोक आहेत महाराष्ट्रात..शाळेत असताना वारीसोबत सुद्धा जाऊन झालं..वेगळाच अनुभव होता तो..

सगळ्यात महत्वाचं अभंग!!मला अभंग म्हणायला आणि ऐकायला फार आवडतात!!
एकदा सुरु झाले कि एकानंतर एक सुचतच जातात, आत्ता काही डोक्यात येत आहेत ते इथे लिहिते.. 

धरीला पंढरीचा चोर..
पैल आले हरी शंख चक्र शोभे करी..
कांदा मुळा आणि भाजी अवघी विठाबाई माझी..
हरिभजनावीण काळ घालवू नको रे..
माझे माहेर पंढरी..
अबीर गुलाल अबीर गुलाल..
पंढरीसी जा जा कुणी..
सुंदर ते ध्यान उभे विटेवरी..

हि तर खरंच खूप मोठी यादी होईल..
काय सुंदर चाली आहेत या..माझं गुणागुणन थांबणारच नाहीये आता!!












Sunday, July 10, 2011

The Boomrang Effect

             Those who know me, have really heard me saying this many times "Its all Boomrang Effect"!!.. "Boomrang" the same wooden thing "Mowgly" from "Jungle Book"carries..His flying tool with a curved shape..It is said that when you throw a boomrang, it comes back to you again..It's not any mystical stuff..The shape and the spin creates some unbalanced aerodynamic forces that curve its path so that it travels in an elliptical path and returns to its point of origin..Well I do not intend to write more about the aerodynamic forces here..
            The Boomrang Effect..I truly believe that Life is a Boomrang effect..I know it is tough to believe it, especially if one is facing some real hard time..But I truly believe that "What we give to life, comes back in some or the other form!!" If I am doing something wrong, I will get the same thing now or may be 10 years later..Or Newtons third law that says,"Every action has equal and opposite reaction".. I am saying this with experience, not only mine but also other people's lives..Even Robin Sharma has said somewhere about the Boomrang Effect..I remember some story in the "Isapniti" too giving similar idea..Even one of the dialogues in Jab We Met that says " Good things happen to good people"..There is some famous saying in English, "What goes around.Comes around"..Or in simple language, we can only withdraw whatever we deposit.or in hindi "नेकी कर पुत्तर नेकी पा.."
               My father always says "नियती असते बेटा, नियती आपल्याकडे बघत असते, आणि आपण जे काही करतो त्याप्रमाणे आपल्याला देत किंवा आपल्याकडून घेत असते.." So one should always do everything keeping the best intentions, not fearing this law, but respecting it's presence..
             I must admit, I tend to think that this is not true (especially when I face tough times!!) but then when I look back, I get the proof..It is really true..
                               Believe it or not Life is a Boomrang Effect..

Sunday, July 3, 2011

शिरुरे कुलावृतांत!

                   मला माझा आडनाव खरच खूप आवडतं.. काय छान वाटतं म्हणताना.. " शिरुरे"  अगदी वेगळं आणि मस्त वाटतं..In Barney's language, "It is awsome!! I love it!!"So this one is especially for all the shirures over there..
                  जेवढं भारी आडनाव आहे तेवढाच मोठा इतिहास सुद्धा आहे..शिरूर अनंतपाळ नावाच्या छोट्याश्या गावामुळे आम्हाला हे आडनाव पडलं..आता ते गाव सोडून सुद्धा सात पिढ्या झाल्या..पण तिथे अजूनही एक मोठा वाडा आहे शिरुरेंचा.. पडलाय आता तो..पण खरच खूप सुंदर वाडा होता तो असा म्हणतात..खरं तर शिरुर अनंतपाळ चे खूप शिरुरे आहेत आणि मला फक्त मागच्या सातच पिढ्यानबद्दल  माहित आहे..त्यामुळे जेवढी मला माहिती आहे ती पूर्ण नक्कीच नाहीये..
                 शाळेत असताना कुलावृतांत लिहिला होता, त्यामुळेच का होईना, सात पिढ्यान्पासुनाचे  कोण आणि कुठे आहेत याची माहिती झाली..छान वाटला होतं..खरं तर आत्ताच्या काळात इतकं जुनं सगळं मिळणं कठीण आहे, पण सात पिढ्यांपासून शिरुरे खानदानीत जन्मलेल्या प्रत्येक व्यक्तीची माहिती आज आमच्याकडे आहे..तेंवा आजोबा होते सगळा इतिहास सांगायला..रंगनाथ अण्णा होते गोष्टी रंगवून सांगायला..ज्यांना जे काही माहित होतं त्यांनी ते सगळं सांगितलं..तेंवा जुन्या लग्नाच्या पत्रिका आणि फोटो पाहायला मिळाले..सगळ्यांचा मदतीनेच तो कुलवृतांत  पूर्ण झाला..आपण शिरूर  अनंतपाळ का सोडलं? शिरूर अनंतपाळचे सगळे शिरुरे आपल्याच परिवारातले आहेत काय?? आपण गुढीपाडवा का साजरा नाही करत, दर्ग्यात झेंडे घेऊन का जातात?? मलिदा का खातात?? सात पिढ्यांपूर्वी आपले पूर्वज उपाशी राहिले म्हणून आपण हे सगळं करतो हे तर माहित होतं, पण त्यांना सणाच्या दिवशी ज्या लोकांनी मदत केली, आज अजूनही आपण सण  त्यांच्यासोबत साजरा करायचा हि कल्पना अगदी मनापासून पटली...मला मनापासून अभिमान आहे कि माझ्या कुटुंबाचा इतिहास इतका मोठा आहे..सगळ्या गोष्टी आमच्या घरी कारण समजावून घेऊन करतो आम्ही, गुढीपाडव्याच्या दिवशी मलिदा खाणं, किंवा आमचं कुलदैवत ते का आहे, किंवा आपल्याकडे असेच सण का साजरे होतात ? सगळ्या प्रश्नांची नेमकी उत्तर मिळत गेली..
      जर तुमच्यापैकी कोणी "शिरुरे" मला सात पिढ्यांच्या मागे जायला किंवा आपली मुळ शोधायला मदत करू शकत असेल तर खरच नक्की करा..

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Seven Spiritual laws of Superheros

            I am reading this fantastic book..Isn't the name itself intriguing? I just saw this book in the library and immidietly picked it up.Could not resist!! This is a wonderful book by Deepak Chopra.
          Some people are just too creative..Almost all of us have read or followed some superhero movies/comics.I still remember those scenes from the indian serial "Shaktiman"!! But I never thought of superheros in this way!!It reminds me of a nice song by Sandip Khare, "Superman"..He tries to explore more about superman, his loneliness, concerns..Coming back to the topic, This book talks about seven laws that are common in all superheros.
           I have just finished reading the first law.The law of balance! I wont write much about it here.But trust me it is a good read..In the first law he talks about balance in life..Every positive side will have it's negative counteropart..Every Superhero has his own shadow.The darkness within him..It is upto him to make sure that the shadow does not win over him..I can go on writing about it..I am still trying to digest the first law..Lets see what is in the remaining laws..Will write more later..

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Dallas with friends

Two of my friends visited dallas this weekend.Had a great time with them.It is very different feeling of going to same same places with different people.Had a lovely time..Had nice dinners especially as I was with the biggest foodie I know, we visited nice places..Had some serious talks..Feeling good..Sometimes you understand new things about the same people you already know..It was a nice weekend..

Monday, June 13, 2011

MAVS

            Be it any nation, people are very very passionate about games!! Like in India when there is an interesting cricket match, you can get your favorite place at your favorite restaurant!! There was an SMS during the world cup. If a guy asks you out on the day of some important match, marry him!!!
We are that crazy for the game of cricket!
           I think, here in Dallas, Its basketball for now! Throughout the season, people discuss game every where and today was the peak!! When Dallas Mavericks won the game last night, people went crazy, all the emails with crazy photos of celebration!! DART proudly displayed MAVS. Newspapers were filled by MAVS..Cheers MAVS!!Keep it up

Sunday, June 5, 2011

काही अर्रेवा moments!!

            There is this term I keep using many times..Sometimes I have been into embarrassing situations because of this.But generally, they are great moments I want to remember..The famous अर्रेवा moment has been trademarked by sapna!! When she sees food, she says, "अर्रेवा खायला!!"

Last week I was in India, I had some fantastic अर्रेवा moments there..
Just listing few of them sequentially..
अर्रेवा India!!
पहिल्यांदा पोचल्यावरची excitement जरा वेगळीच असते!! 

अर्रेवा पुरणपोळी!!
पोचल्या पोचल्या पुरणपोळी!!

अर्रेवा गाडी!!
सकाळी सकाळी गाडीवर भटकायला खरंच काय मस्त वाटतं!!

अर्रेवा टेकडी!!
न बोललेलंच बरं..कारण टेकडीवर जे नेहमी जातात, त्यांना खूप दिवसांनी गेल्यावर काय वाटतं ते त्यांनाच कळेल!!

अर्रेवा पेपर!!
इ-पेपर ला पेपर ची सर कधीच नाही येणार ना...

अर्रेवा रिक्षा!!
अर्रेवा लक्ष्मी रोड (I have a very very special connection with Lakshmi Road!!)
अर्रेवा तुळशीबाग!!
रिक्षात बसणं, लक्ष्मी रोड वर फिरणं, तुळशीबागेत जाणं, खरेदी करणं!!

अर्रेवा TV!!

अरेवा सपनापरवेझ!!
त्या दोघांना भेटून इतकं भारी वाटला कि शब्दांमध्ये लिहिणा अशक्य आहे..
सपनाची treat..रात्री उशिरा पर्यंत मारलेल्या गप्पा!!सापनाचा मधेच झोपणं..
खरंच काही गोष्टी नाही बदलत..अगदी झोपायच्या जागा, गाडीत बसायच्या जागा सुद्धा!!

अर्रेवा गुडलक!!
गुडलक चा बन-मस्का आणि चहा..सोबत रागिणी आणि श्री असतील तर मज्जाच..
आणि इथे campus मध्ये भेटणारी सोनिया, गुडलक मध्ये भेटते..अर्रेवा!!

अर्रेवा  पाऊस!! 
दीपालीच्या लग्नाच्या दोन दिवस आधी इतका जोरात पाऊस पडला कि सुरुवातीचा अर्रेवा, बापरे मध्ये बदलला..त्यादिवशीचे सर्व कार्यक्रम विस्कळीत झाले..इतके कि आम्ही शंभर सव्वाशे लोक घरातच जेवलो!!

सगळे लिहित बसले, तर वाचायला सुद्धा कंटाळा येईल..

Sunday, April 24, 2011

आयुष्य

चाललाय प्रवास..
कुठे कोणत्या दिशेने किती वेगाने..
कदाचित गणित नसेल मांडलेलं..
पण गणित मांडलं नाही म्हणून प्रवास चुकत नाही..
समोरच काही दिसत नाही म्हणून थांबता येत नाही..

गणित मांडाव म्हणतात..
म्हणजे मिळेल एक दिशा..
पण सगळेच parameters आधीपासून माहित असत नाही..
constants सुद्धा कधी variables होतील सांगता येत नाही..

statistics चे theorems मग आठवतात..
Random variables सुचायला लागतात..
शिकालेले सगळीच तत्वं लागू होतीलच असं नाही..
theorems/ exceptions सगळं मांडू शकतील असंही नाही..

निर्णय सुद्धा घ्यावे लागतात..
कधी खूप सोपे तर कधी अगदी कठोर..
decision making ची तत्वं लागू होतातच असं नाही..
पण म्हणून निर्णय घेणारच नाही असही करता येत नाही..

आयुष्य fair नाहीये..
हे काही बरोबर नाहीये..
प्रत्येक वेळी गोष्टी logical असतील असं नाही..
पण म्हणून त्या चुकीच्या असतील असंही नाही..

माझा वेग ताशी सत्तर..
मला लागतील तास दोन..
रस्ता सरळ असेलंच  ह्याची हमी नाही..
मजा सरळ रस्त्यावरच येते असं तर त्याहून नाही..

खूप झालं आता कंटाळा आला..
काय हे मी कुठे पोचतही नाहीये..
अर्ध्यात प्रवास सोडता येईलच असं नाही..
पण उरलेला प्रवास पूर्ण होईल असंही नाही..

खरच म्हटलंय कुणीतरी..
हा प्रवास आहे अज्ञाताकडे..
लांबचा पल्ला गाठायचा म्हणून धावूनही चालत नाही..
बरंच पुढे आलो म्हणून थांबूनही चालत नाही..

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Sunday filled with dreams

Truly had a sunday filled with dreams!! 
Firstly, Today both my favorite authors posted about "dreams" on their walls..What a great start for Sunday morning. Early in the morning, Robin Sharma wrote 
"i just thought this and wanted to share it immediately with you: if we were living our dreams, we wouldn't have any dreams. And where's the fun in that? What do you think?"
and I started thinking. This is a very different perspective to look at dreams. It is human nature to chase something new, once we get whatever we want. Sometimes we do not even realize that we have achieved the goal as till then we are running behind a new goal. Aren't we forgetting to celebrate that small win? 


Then after some time, Paulo Coelho posted in his Sunday reading about "killing our dreams".. Completely contradictory ideas on one single Sunday morning. He discussed three symptoms of killing dreams..
1. Lack of time : Busiest people have enough time to do everything!!
2. Certainties : We don't see life as adventure.
3. Peace : leaving life like sunday afternoon..


As we all are aware of Paulo Coelho's style of artistic style of writing, it will be a good read. Here is the link.
http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2010/07/31/3-min-reading-killing-your-dreams/


Now the third dream thing of the day,
My friend called and shared his dreams with me!! 


The fourth dream thing
I was walking to the pool, and somebody was listening to a nice song "Dreams come true, they do!!"


WOW!! Had a great dreamy Sunday.. At the end of the day I am completely into the DREAM MODE!!

Sunday, April 10, 2011

APPEARANCE

          The title seem vague right? Today I went for a very long walk with a dear friend of mine. While walking we were discussing certain issues related to our lives. She has a very unique attitude towards life. I don't remember how, but the topic of appearance came up!! We were discussing about people and their first judgement through a photograph..
           I totally feel that if you are judging a person just by the way he/she looks, you are making a mistake. I know the face/eyes depict certain characteristics like decency, but not always!! What if the person who took the photograph, couldn't do a good job??
          Then she gave me an example of a book. Unless the cover or name is not attractive, you won't even go closer to that book. Then you read the back page. Then you decide whether you want to or not want to buy it.You might not even like the book once you start reading, but atleast you started the reading with the book!
          The discussion then lead to marketing, packaging and stuff. I remember a friend of mine always says, "Its all about packaging". I do not agree with him at all. Its not about packaging always, I won't deny that that there is a certain amount of packaging or presentation necessary. But it is not the only packaging.
My mother always says, it is very important that you serve well, whatever you have cooked.But that is not the only important thing. Serving is beautifully is important but that does not mean that you can cook anything. The food needs to be delicious.
           Back to the discussion of the walk. My friend then told me about how her cousin lost a lot of weight to get married. It is a harsh reality that people still give first preference to the looks!! I don't understand how does one base a decision on just looks. Isn't marriage about meeting your soulmate?
I still strongly feel that even we, "the educated people" need to think about it. I am not saying packaging or presentation is important, rather people who know me well will surely say that I will be the one to look into presentation details! What my point is lets not get carried by the presentation, and lets look inside. Lets look deeper..

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Being Judgmental..

           I have been thinking about this for quiete a time now.. Isn't it true that we tend to judge a person from the information from internet!! The Orkut profile, facebook profile..I dont understand why do people actually draw conclusions from the Orkut or Facebook profiles(Am I drawing conclusion now??)..We all tend to judge a person from the universities that person went to, the kind of friends he/she has, the photos that are being uploaded, where the person was born and brought up..I hope I have covered atleast 10% of the information available..I really don't deny that the parameters mentioned above give some judgement of "the person"..But I want to say that it is just 10-15% of his /her life..We just forget that "the person" is more than information available..I think meeting someone in person is way different from judging them from the information available..Many times we tend to judge the person and then just lose a great opportunity to meet him/her..I don't want to keep writing now..Why don't we all ask ourselves, have I ever missed an opportunity to meet a very nice person just because of preconceived notions?Am I being judgmental? Am I loosing on those n number of fantastic people just because of my notions??

Sunday, March 20, 2011

एक ऊनाड दिवस..

               मला कधी कधी कळतच नाही की चांगले मराठी चित्रपट माझे कसे काय बघायचे राहतात?? मुंबई पुणे मुंबई असो किंवा सावरखेड: एक गाव..सरीवर सर असो किंवा सातच्या आत घरात..आता त्यात भर पडली आहे या चित्रपटाची..एक उनाड दिवस!!
            आज मी फार छान picture बघितला..एक उनाड दिवस..खर तर उशीराच बघितला, पण atleast बघून तरी झाला..अशोक सरफान्नी फार मस्त काम केलय यात..दाभोळकर अगदी जीवंत उभे केलेत.. तसा पाहिल तर दाभोळकर आपल्या सगळ्यासारखेच..घडयाळ्याच्या काट्याला बांधलेले.. स्वताच्या नियमंमधे स्वताच अडकलेले..
             योगायोगाने त्यांना एक दिवस मिळतो , मुखवटा बाजूला ठेवून जगण्याचा..लोक काय म्हणतील याचा विचार न करण्याचा..कधीही न केलेल्या गोष्टी करण्याचा..सामान्य माणसाच आयुष्य जगण्याचा..एक दिवस ऊनाडपणे हुन्डडण्याचा..
          ही फक्त त्या एक दिवसाची गोष्ट..त्या एका दिवसात दाभोळकरांच्या आयुष्यात किती मोठे बदल होतात..ते किती वेगावेगाल्या व्यक्तिंना भेटतात..पैसे कमी असून सुद्धा अगदी आनंदी माणस बघतात..आयुष्य १५ वर्षांनी वाढवतात!!
         मी बराच वेळ विचार करत होते, खरच आपण काय करतोय? आयुष्य चांगल घालवण्यासाठी आयुष्य जगायला विसारतोय..आपल्यातल्या दाभोळकरांना एक ऊनाड दिवस देऊन तर बघुया..एक दिवस ऊनाडपणे फिरून तर बघुया..बघुया आयुष्य वाढतय का?? आयुष्य वाढण्याच माहित नाही, पण उरलेल आयुष्य जगण्याचा नवीन दृष्टिकोण मात्र नक्की मिळेल..
        याच चित्रपटात एक छान गाण आहे..त्याबद्दल काही बोलण्यापेक्षा, ते गाणच इथे लिहिते..
        
        हुरहुर असते तीच  उरी.. दिवस बरा की रात्र बरी...
        कुठला रस्ता सांग खरा.. वळणाचा की सरळ बरा..
        जगणे मरणे काय बरे.. सुख खरे की दुख खरे..

ताई, जीजू आणि bloomington

               मागच्या आठवड्यात bloomington ला जाऊन आले. खूप खूप मज्जा केली..One of the best weekends in US. गेल्या गेल्याच इतकं छान वाटलं..अगदी घरी गेल्यासारखं!! मी तर त्या दोघांना बघूनच खूप खूष झाले होते..
मग घरी जाऊन मस्त जेवण केलं!! खूप खूप गप्पा मारल्या!!
              शनिवार आणि रविवारी तर आम्ही इतके picture बघितले!! Movie marathon almost!! अगदी nonsense comedy पासून ते 2012 , मी नथुराम गोडसे बोलतोय अशा serious नाटकांपर्यंत!! अमेरिकेवर झालेल्या ११ सप्टेंबर च्या हल्ल्याच्या documentaries पासून तर "जानकी लावण जासूस "..पण महत्वाची गोष्ट अशी कि या सगळ्या गोष्टींवर आम्ही भरपूर चर्चा केली...त्यातून आपली match सुद्धा होती..काय वाईट हरलो..शेवटची ओवर तर बघू सुद्धा नये अशी होती..सचिन ने एवढे जास्त runs करून पण काही उपयोग नाही झाला..
             लहानपणीच्या आठवणींबद्दल बोलताना तर किती वेळ गेला कळलं पण नाही..तस बघितल तर जिजूंशी  ओळख पहिल्यांदाच झाली.. लग्नात काय ओळख होणार कोणाची!! जीजून्सोबत बोलताना बर्याच बऱ्याच गोष्टिन्वर नव्याने विचार झाला..अशा अनुभवी लोकांसोबत वेल घालवला की गोष्टींचे नवीन पैलू दिसतात..सगळ्यात महत्वाची गोष्ट म्हणजे, इथे आपल्यासोबत कोणीतरी आहे ही भावना  पण खूप वेगळी अणि छान असते..
 ३ तासांचा (flight) अंतर म्हणजे फार काही नाही हे सुद्धा जाणवते..
             तिथे गेल्यावर एक कळलं, कि कितीही सुखसोयी असल्या इथे तरी परत जावसं वाटतच..ते दोघं इथं ३ - ४ वर्षांपासून राहत आहेत. इथे सगळं असूनही परत जायची ओढ आहे त्यांना..आता यात मी काही फार वेगळा विचार मांडत  आहे अशातला भाग नाही.. 

Sunday, March 13, 2011

It's a marathon, not a sprint!

              I was reading this interview where Melinda Gates puts everything in those words.It's a marathon, not a sprint.My mom always says the same thing. I think Mrs Gates gives us the summary. Think about this sentence in any context, may be life, career, studies.It just applies there..It's not a sprint.In these turbulent times, one has to understand the long term consequences of whatever actions he/she is taking.More about it later.
              Lets get back to the interview. Apart from being Mrs Bill Gates, Melinda Gates is known as Philanthropist and a businesswoman. In this interview with Shine correspondent, she opens up and gives some nice insights. Apart from talking about her current projects, she spoke about work-life balance. She puts it as," I am going to do the best I can on given day"..I think she is right, sometimes we have to just give ourselves a deadline. I faced similar situation last week, the project had to end somewhere, offcourse I  can do better, but not at the cost of everything else..I think we all should understand that there is somewhere everything should have a limit.Everything should have a deadline.There is a limit to what one can do in given amount of time.
             One of the insights that stuck me from the interview is the best advice  Melinda ever received. She says the best advice she has ever received is to be herself. I think thats really a very simple thing and may be the hardest thing too..She says follow your passion.I think we all know that.But lets ask a simple question, Am I doing that? Am I really following my passion?



Sunday, March 6, 2011

A fantastic surprise: Notes to myself

             It was just a normal Saturday morning, woke up a bit late. Was busy in doing some assignment.Then in the afternoon , I decided to go to the lab. I was just going out and saw a packet on the shoe rack. It was a parcel for me from anonymous. I was excited. अरे वा पार्सल!!! ते पण निनावी!!! (भावना मराठीत नीट व्यक्त होतात ना!!) I opened it and when I saw what it was, I almost jumped!! खरतर उडीच मारली..There was something, I always wanted, something I had forgotten about, something a friend of mine had suggested as a "must read"..So without creating more suspense, let me say what it was..There was this book called "Notes to myself: My struggle to become a person"
            I could not believe that, this person actually shipped it to me!!I was speechless. डोळे भरून आले अचानक..I don't even want to say Thank you because the gesture is much more than that..And I am sure, my thanks won't be accepted..Then I had to leave to the lab, but could not thinking about the book! From the lab I went to gym and started reading it while I was on the treadmill. Time passed and I did not understand.. I was reading the book, sometimes I had to pause my reading and think about it.I finished 50-60% of the book before I realized that it has been a long time!!(trust me it was "LONG" time)..Now I understand why the phrase 'time flows' is used..
            I feel this book is something you can not read at a stretch. Because every note has a lot many things to say.And the best part is you can read this book as many times as you feel like because every time you are surely will get something different..
            The book is written by Hugh Prather..Its not a book in traditional sense, as there is no flow or story..There are short notes. Entirely different from each other. The author describes it very well.He says it was essentially a stack of yellow sheets where  I went to sort things out, where I put down my pains and problems and my very deep longing to break through some truth.
             I am yet to finish the book, but I will just put a note for you.There is nothing called the best note amongst all, because every note has something very deep to offer. So here are a couple of notes, so that you all start reading it.
            "Now that I know I'm no wiser than anyone else, does this wisdom make me wiser?"
            "The rainbow is more beautiful than the pot at the end of it, because the rainbow is now.And the pot never turns out to be quite what I expected"
            "Today I don't want to live for, I want to live"
           

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Mahabharat..

I am not going to talk about the real mahabharat here. I am talking about one of the most successful Indian TV series here. I truly love that one. Me and my father are crazy for that. There is some part of MAHABHARAT which we have watched n number of times!! Well, I am yet to complete the whole series.
    I am very sure, people from my generation and even two previous generations can play the starting tune of mahabharat in their head. It is repeated thrice for three languages. Its really a masterpiece. Making such a big project in those days is surely a very big achievement.The impact of the show was such that, it is said that meeting somebody on Sunday morning was difficult as the show aired that time..
   I really love the series, the music, especially "SAMAY"..मैं समय हूँ , मैं किसीके लिए ठहरता ही नहीं ..Every actor has given his/her 100% to make the series successful..In the beginning of every episode, "समय ", recaps the previous episode in a very nice way. It was a very great idea, because I don't think anyone but time will be appropriate to depict the complete mahabharata..All the lead characters are fantastically portrayed.Some of my favorites are "पितामह भीष्म" , "कर्ण", "धर्मं (युधीष्ठिर )", पांचाली.
But the one I love the most is the character portrayed by Nitish Bharadwaj, "कृष्ण"..The way he explains geeta sar in the series is fantastic. I have watched that part again and again with my father. We used to watch it and had something for discussion every time!!
    So people if you are out of series or need something to watch, here is something you can watch..And it is available on youtube.And for people who do not have much time but need to know the gist, rajshri productions has also uploaded 3 minute episodes. So you get the summary..  

Sunday, February 20, 2011

The Leader who had no title

     Just finished this book by one of my favorite author Robin Sharma.This book is about personal mastery and as the name suggests leading without title.The character Blake, who narrates the whole story is a salesman at a bookstore..He returns from the war and then faces the trauma and after war effects faced by the veterans.One fine morning he encounters his dead fathers friend Tommy, whose looks are sufficiently weird. The story starts from their and then Robin describes how Blake meets the four teachers and the principles they teach him.The book is about the philosophy of LWT , i.e. Lead Without Title.. One of  the interesting techniques used in the book is acronyms. The author gives acronyms for techniques that one has to learn to actually follow the principle.I think that is a very nice way of putting it as we can easily remember those.One of the things that Robin has in all his books is attention to details.He makes sure that we get all the details about the place, the person and the whole situation. That is something that helps us visualise the situation.When he introduces Tommy, he describes his appearsnce in detail, may that be the spngebob squarepants watch, mickey mouse handekerchief in his pocket or the LWT chain.

The four masters/teachers are excellent in their own fields and are succesful in their own terms.I wont give the the full form or the meaning of the acronym here..The book is a nice read and I would like you to read it and find out what those acronyms stand for!! Some of the sentences used in the book are really catchy and remain in your mind for a long time..

The four principles of reading without title are
1. You need no title to be a leader
2. Turbulent times build great leaders
3.The deeper your relationships, the stronger your leadership
4.To be a great leader, first become a great person

Let me leave you with acronyms, IMAGE, SPARK, HUMAN and SHINE..read the book and find it out yourself, what do they stand for!!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Valentine's Day..

          The special day is here!! The day to express our feelings to our loved one..To do something very very special for the special one..To remember that we are being loved..To remind people that we love them..I believe we should take such opportunities to express our feelings for everyone we love!!
         I just read about the origin of Valentine's day.Well you can read it on Wikipedia!!
         The point  I want to put is we realize  on only one day that we need to express our feelings.As my favorite author Robin Sharma says, express your feelings..In the famous movie Lage Raho Munnabhai, Sanjay Dutt, says it well in the dialogue when he says that he had a lot to say to his father, but never did that..Lets make it a point to express our feelings..To say I care for you(Its more about doing!! and not saying)..On this Valentine's Day lets say it to people whom we love, to people who matter, to people whom we care for..Happy Valentine's day..

Sunday, February 6, 2011

UTD shuttle 883

    We have this UTD shuttle which runs around the campus and McCallum every 15 minutes.One of the bus drivers is a fantastic person..It seems he really loves his job..Every time when someone enters the bus, he does not forget to say "Come on in folks" with a very pleasant smile on his face..You feel fantastic because of the way he welcomes you..When you get down from the bus, he wishes you (again with that lovely smile) "stay warm" or "enjoy the sun" or "take care" or "enjoy the weekend" or simply "take care"..
    He is so caring and a true gentleman! He waits for students if he finds us running behind the bus..He is just a wonderful person..He makes the small journey (5 - 10 minutes) a very pleasant one..I truly want to thank him for that..
    There are some people who love their job and some who do their job..And it is always good to work with people who love their jobs..It feels nice to be with people who love their job..

Sunday, January 30, 2011

NASA SPACE WEEKEND

    I am just back from Houston after a lovely weekend.As the name suggests it was a space weekend..The weekend was organised by International Students Incorporation..We were around 20 participants from the university.The Houston trip involved visiting the Johnson Space Center, Kemah..But most importantly, we had a chance to meet an astronaut, Randy Bresnik.I had read about him in the newspaper and knew him as an astronaut father but seeing him live was a great experience..He shared his experiences from space.Not only the technology part but also the fun part!!One of the fun things you can do is partying in space!!Anyone can reach anything on(?) the table without disturbing the other person!!You can dance the way you want!!
    I also got an opportunity to meet a wonderful family and get to know them.These people are just fantastic. As I was staying with them for the night, we got some time to talk and get to know each other.These people have gone through thick and thins of life.It is great to learn from their experiences..What can be more fascinating than learning from the people who you think are successful in every aspect of life..People who are ready to share their experiences..People who are very very caring and loving..I had great time with them.
   Surely it was not only space weekend but much more than that..

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Martin Luther King Day

          Last Monday(16th), we all had a holiday.It was Martin Luther King Day.As we all know it is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King's birthday, January 15.And we had a nice event on campus related to that.The university hosted a breakfast on this occasion.
         We were really lucky to have a fantastic speaker.He spoke about his childhood and problems in the nation around that period of time and what was the impact of Martin Luther King's struggle. I sincerely suggest you to find the "I have a dream" speech and listen to it or read it.  

Sunday, January 16, 2011

पाणी, चप्पल आणि तापलेली जमिन!!

       जेंव्हा जेंव्हा जमिन खूप तापलेली असते तेंव्हा आपल्याकडे दोन पर्याय असतात. एक म्हणजे आपण सोप्पा पर्याय आपल्या पायात चप्पल घालायची आणि रस्ता ओलांडायचा!! आणि दुसरा म्हणजे रस्त्यावर पाणी ओतायाच..खरतर शेवटी आपण इतकच बघतोय की आपले पाय भाजत नाहीत ना!!
       फरक आहे ना दोन्हीत? माझ्यासमोर अशाच प्रकारचा एक प्रश्न आला होता या आठवडयात!! मी काय केला ते जाउदे, मुद्दा असा आहे की अशावेळी आपण काय करायला हव..जमिन तापली आहे म्हणून पाणी घालत बसायच , सुर्याला दोष द्यायचा की चप्पल घालून रस्ता ओलांडून पुढे जायच ?
      तस बघायला गेल तर आपल्यासमोर असे प्रश्न रोज असतात, कधी लगेच तर कधी कालांतराने निर्णय घ्यावेच लागतात..कधी खरच पाणी घालायची गरज असते पण त्याचा फार काही उपयोग होईल अस दिसत नसत..कधी कधी वाद न घालता चप्पल घालून पुढे निघून जाण्यातच शहाणपण असत..ते त्या प्रसांगानुसार ठरवायला हव नाही का??

Sunday, January 9, 2011

A night at airport!!

         After new year's blast in California the trip is not over yet..The adventure continues..Due to some unforeseen events, I am forced to spend a night at the airport!!
        Well its not I, its WE.Me and my friend..Finally one night at the airport!!Since childhood especially in the primary school, we all had a very irritating subject for essays in the language exams.."One hour at the railway station", "One hour at the bus stop"..I am sure all of us are "PRO" in writing this essay! One of my cousins has the essay so well prepared that he just changes terms according to the place whether its bus stop or its the railway station..Place 'train' in place of 'bus' or 'platform' in place of the 'bus stop' or 'ticket checker' on 'conductor' and his essay is ready!!
        Well I am not writing an essay right now..I hope this post is not giving you that feeling!Now lets get back to the LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT..So as I said, due to some unforeseen events I had to take some flight early in the morning..So being a caring and loving friend, my friends did not let me go to the airport..And knowing him, I saw no point in arguing.. But I am really thankful to him for joining me there.. Its hard to imagine what would I have done for such a long time..
       So, we reached the airport in the night at around 10.30-11..Got the boarding passes..Then we had the whole night in front of us..Very Very excited..First I thought, its a great thing, finally we would be able to talk for a long long long time..So we went to the International terminal as their is no one at the domestic terminals in the night..Ok so, talking!!But then we realized we have no topics left to discuss the whole night..Then comes food..We grabbed some burgers and Fanta from McDonalds..Now we need a place where there is a charging station so that we can watch movies!! Well watching movies can be fun..There we realized, we have company!!There are many people here at the terminal..Most of them are sleeping..Some are chatting..Others are eating..Reading books!!And one guy who had been at the airport for last two days!!With no money and no food and no charging cord for his iphone!!
      This guys was going to UK, but due to some weather conditions, his flight had been delayed..And somebody had stolen his wallet too..He was exercising, listening to music, talking to almost everyone..He was different..He had been in the united states for almost 11 years now..He hardly did any schooling in India..But he has seen every Indian film..All the movies, the old ones, the new ones, the hit ones, the flop ones!!ALL THE MOVIES..Before meeting him, I thought I have enough knowledge about hindi movies and songs but I was totally wrong..He could sing any hindi song with the right lyrics..He was talking about the songs and movies which I had never heard of!! He was giving his american accent to the hindi songs!!Hats off to him..How can anyone be so passionate about movies!!But I must admit, we spent quite a time with him..
     In the morning, we returned to our terminal, I never thought there people actually get up and board flights at 4 in the morning..Then the security check!!After spending the whole night at the airport and after struggling very hard to make sure that everything gets into that small bag, if the officer opens your bag and removes your stuff, you fill awesome!! Finally we reached the gate and sat(almost slept) there for sometime before boarding the flight..
    Finally I can say, now I can write a good essay about a night at the airport!!