Monks, priests and the sinners

Living with a 12 year olds has its perks and the downsides. For one they ask too many questions, for the second, you must think intelligently before answering them. Such has been my life for the past two weeks. I enjoyed all the blissful time under the sun playing Frisbee with my brother but I had to constantly answer his innocent questions with my own wits.

Indian parents or may be just my parents have ingrained this bull shit in my little brother that all people who drink and smoke invariably turn out as black sheep or the so called losers. Now, this is what are some of the facts that I have picked up on my little ignorant journey through life. This has been told to me time and again, that the lovely beer that we gulp down in Germany was infact brewed by the monks. Beer itself dates back to 6th millennium BC and was brewed in monasteries because it made them self sufficient and was as nutritious as food. There is another fact/myth that I heard, that while our dear monks and saints were fasting, they could not consume solid food so instead they chose to have beer which filled them up and made them survive. Now, with this legend behind us, can we really call beer sinful...nah...its yummm...!!

Smoking, well nicotine as we take it in is harmful. Of-course I know that but the pujaris on our parvats smoke up weed, and any guesses why, well it makes them numb and they can survive the harsh weather in extreme climates. Ganja and cannabis has an ancient history of ritual usage.In Africa and China narcotic plants are often used for medicinal purposes. So really....?( Well, I'm not advocating anything here, I'm just placing facts and being unbiased ;))!

Well, I know that our generation doesn't live in super extreme climatic condition nor are we the fasting kinds but hey the extremities in our life vary today. A super hectic day, dilly dallying relationships and all the other unknowns...a little wine or beer or a sip of whiskey...come on...you can't just term us the sinners (:P)!

In conclusion, I gave my brother the facts the way I know them. I also told him that he should choose them the way it suits him and no one else.

And for the rest of us out there...monks, priests, sadhus, pujaris or sinners...who cares dude??

Cheers!!

The latest adrenaline rush

I almost thought I'd experienced all kinds of adrenaline rush till I found another one today. It's called hard core : hard work! Phew!! Its all thank to my new found job as a Language Trainer and my dreaded German orientation exam!!

I must tell you that all my life, my sisters and my friends have bullied me about my strange accent, my excitement while talking, and sometimes my HUGE pronunciation errors! Yeah, I have been the butt of many countless jokes, but trust me all this had been taken in stride and today I have my sisters and friends to thank for my new found job (:P)! Ironical..yeah sure is, but I understand the plight of all those blurry eyed adults sitting in front of me, waiting for me to pick on them the same way. But, yeah it doesn't come to them. Guess why?????????????????

About the rush part, of-course it gives me a lot of :in-your-face-pleasure to say that I am a language trainer. The other part of it is more humbling. Imagine sitting with a bunch of people, who will not be able to understand you at all except your body language and then BAM!!!!( BAM is the part where I get creative, excited, mad and somehow make them talk!) And my enthusiasm does lead them to speak my language, English!! OH YAY!! I can't tell you the rush I get from teaching.

The hard work rush : Try preparing for an exam and 6 hr classes. A 3+3 hr class requires a minimum of 2+2 hours of preparation. All that in a day = master card ad..."Money can't buy you somethings..."...in this case "Hard work doesn't always equal a LOT of money, but it will always give you an adrenaline rush!!" OH YEAH!!!!

Cheers!!!!

Ageing Itch

Fading in to oblivion has always struck me as an alien thought, but having said that, I should add that it occurred to me today morning. I guess after a night of partying and all the alcohol in your system, one starts to wonder about all sorts of things, its like an itch that doesn't seem to go away.

Ageing is my itch today. Its crazy that I feel so fresh and young at heart but there is a certain stability in my life that I can't seem to reckon with. A year back, I couldn't have thought about being in a foreign country, dancing to Indian tunes with a bunch of unknown nationalities and being able to still recognize my identity. Its rather amusing, the way we human beings can adapt to any situation physically or psychologically. Why is it then, that we have to age? Of-course, the world has come to give us solutions to physical ageing like botox or liposuction but is there a solution to what goes on in our mind or the way that we are perceived?

Do we have to reckon with our age at anytime? I really really want to know. 

I feel more confident about myself than what I felt at 16 or 25. I am more focused in life and seem to get my way around faster in any given situation now than I ever did before. I can run faster and longer now.I can balance studies, work 2 jobs, gym and socialize better now than before. I also find solutions coming my way often rather than problems. Does age have to do anything with it? Oh my God, I hope not. 

I have such a huge fear today and I am so ashamed to admit it. Is anybody else going through these foolish thoughts as well? (And no, its not to do with physical appearance, because I'm often asked to show my identity even while purchasing beer :P). Its just with a perception that old people should not party,wear dirty old clothes, have babies, sit at home, drink at home and may be even die at home :'(

Oh boy..now I've really psyched myself! Starting today..I should work on a documentary called sweet 60!! HELP!!SOS!!

No cheers!!

Bleeding hearts and silent prayers

As we all sit in the comfort of our homes, and hopefully all of you are sound and safe, I cannot help but think about the devastation in Japan. It's strange to think about people living on the same planet who see the same sky, wake up with the same sun and sleep under the same star light.

The country of the rising sun is covered with the unimaginable grey skies right now. Look at the play of nature, it creates us and then it decides to wreckage us in such brutal manners. My heart bleeds at the sight of the massive destruction. It is in times like these that we think about not "our" human powers but a superior to us "mother nature". Its surprising that even in grave times like these when politicians in our country, still call our nuclear power plants safe. Its even more amusing to see that the great financial advisors, the world over find an "opportunity" in these testing times. This is not even shameful, its just "inhuman"..as I see it.

I sit at home comfortably and write about this, trust me I feel guilty of making this as a topic. But I do want all of you who read this to think about the two sides of human nature. One that will emerge out of this stronger. Yes, I am sure, some of us at least, have said those silent prayers and will form a human chain to pull back Japan. The second is the suicidal lot of people, like our politicians, who still do not acknowledge the power in nature and continue to set up these power plants and keep them from being closed, for what they call "our" comfort. And this comes in as an afterthought, that India has an abundance of solar, water and wind energy.

I feel really little by this huge catastrophe and I only pray that it passes over Japan soon. I wish that all the lives could be saved and I hope that some day soon, we can again see Japan rise like the rising sun.

Amen. 

Reality, Illusion and Magic

Have you noticed whatever appears to us is mostly an illusion? What we believe in becomes a reality? And when some of us are able to cross over these lines of illusion and reality..we mostly create magic.

I try so hard to understand politics, the financial markets, the judicial system and all such man-made created institutions. The harder I try to understand them, the feeling of disillusion grows stronger. Movies like the "Inside job", news channels like NDTV or CNNIBN only throw light about what is NOT right in the world today. We are witness to the Egyption revolution, and now the unrest in Libya. Back home we have issues like the CWG and 3G scams making way. The more I read, the lesser I know. There is spine chilling greed in India today and then there is a basic right of freedom that people are fighting for. As an outsider, I can only look on with beady eyes as I don't understand much of it. All that goes around today is something that is created by an underlying current in the world. It is the need for power above all. And this to me, my friends is an illusion.

My reality arises out of my self sustainment and as the most common man, I sympathize with the people of Libya, who probably could not even publish a blog like I do. I feel the despair of the people who lost their money and livelihood in the economic crisis. I will never be able to fully understand their despair but yeah some where in my heart, i did shed those tears of hatred and disgust at a financial system so disillusioned. I also feel ashamed about my country men, elected by me, trying to constantly deceive me and other tax paying citizens. This is my shattered reality.

The Magic is when illusion and reality meet to create something like an idea of a revolution. I wonder why there is lesser stress and talk about the inventions in the world. Of-course commercially there are hot selling products everyday but what goes on in the minds of the inventors. What is their take on reality vs illusion to give us these magical products everyday. Why aren't there enough movies or news channels talking about them. Why are these mediums of communications throwing light only on these corrupt leaders and keeping the real heroes (And by heroes I don't mean only Sachin Tendulkar or SRK or A.R. Rehman) out of our sight?

Has our society forgotten all about the only power that really matters : CREATION.

Being average

I think that being average has been so under rated all over the world whereas it is not as bad as it is made to sound.

I always find myself in an average situation. Like today, I did average on my test. Yes, out of a class of 18 students, I probably stood at the 9th position, just average. When I was younger, I was this plump girl with braces who probably nobody noticed in the class, I strived, I lost the braces and the weight but what I couldn’t compete with was that there were always thinner and prettier girls in our class. I even improved my grades at college and masters level but guess what, there were always a lot of people beating me up in those grades. I listened to music and read a lot of books but I still come across people who have heard more and read more. I started writing and painting but then I knew that they would be people to beat me to it too! I never knew what it was to be number 1 and I think I probably will never know. It’s not because I don’t try hard enough but…..who knows why :)

In spite of being this average being, I must admit to you today that I have a wonderful life! I must tell you the pros of being average are that when you do find yourself doing better than your expectation, you have so much to celebrate about. Being average also means, doing a lot of things. Yeah, you can dance, sing, read, and participate in any sport you want, without having the pressure to stand number 1. The only fear I don’t have is that of failing myself because I will always go for that extra mile just before killing myself.

It also means receiving extra love, no one ever sees you as a potential threat! That is so great for me since I love being around people…I love the fact that I can be greeted by innocent smiles rather than those sneaky smirks of jealousy or rejection. What I love the most is that I can hold hands with the strong and the weak and make my own path.

So…those of you who feel down and out being perfect or imperfect…think about being average..did I mention: Being Average ROCKS!

Hide and seek

Today is just another day in Stuttgart where the sun plays hide and seek with the clouds. Yeah, it seems rather amusing to watch the sun go in and out of what seems like oblivion. I know it can't sense how deeply it is wanted on a weekend like this, but I so wish to see it emerge out strong.

As I watch the sun by my window, it seems to strike just the right chord with my spirit. It's how my soul exhibits its moods on such days. Sometimes my spirit soars at the sight of the sun and on the other side..it just slips in to gloomy colours of the cloudy grey. A sense of belonging and then all of a sudden a sense of the exclusion. I try so hard to battle my imperfections and yet sometimes, there is no way out, the clouds just seem to shadow my effort like they seem to filter the sunlight today. The wind seems to be singing a new tune, it tries to push away these dull clouds to give way to the sun. This is some what like my inner thoughts which give a constant way out to all self doubts I have building up. "What does today have in store for me", I guess this is the question which the  land on which I stand today asks as well..Will it be sunny or will i just lie in the shadows...The constant hide and seek in the cloud is in complete harmony with my soul right now...

Yeah...its just another day in my little world of oblivion...I wish to rise out of these shadows of self doubt and more..and may be get a broader view of the sky..until then...I try to find the rhythm in these skies..

Cheers!!