The Breeze...

I remember torturing my high school friends and fewer work friends with my poems. Though it’s not in my interest to pen down verses, some blaze of emotions are bound to explode through this mode. Now, after couple of years of gap, I got pulled in again, into the same tangle. Well, now, I don’t have my high school friends, but here I am sharing it with you even when I know it’s going to be yet another torture for all:) Enjoy!

The Breeze…

On a dark timid night, just when I thought I was being punished;

Consenting to surpass the hurdle, with a mind of toleration;

Straining to uphold, decking up with the happenings, bit dim;

Something missing, something haunted me for a while;

I could not be lifted, could not be cajoled, and could not be shoved;

But with deep perspiration, which is like a realization, went with a flow;

Like a drop in the river, drop from the rain, swift and cool;

Suddenly jabbed with a strange complacent, a passing cloud, The Breeze;

That made me breathe, with a moist wind caressing my hair, force closing my eyes;

Making me feel my own smile, drifting rugged thoughts, senses;

Waking up the dead emotions, so hard, like a dead from life, refreshed;

Awakening the profound respect, for nature’s subtle existence;

The dance, the song, the moments, the acquaintance, with no end;

That gentle breeze, on that dark timid night, became part of life.

Signing off for now,

Achu

Love…can it be locked up?

Love!!!The topic which I am inspired to write about by default! I love this topic for various reasons. But this time, the revelation of my writing spirits for this fledged when I was travelling to Australia recently. It’s not the beautiful Oz beaches, romantic sceneries, exotic food or the smooth southern wines that inspired me, but an endeavor with the brilliantly constructed, superior, manly Bridge that left me perplexed, and at the same time arrested me into writing this, which is quite ironical for a quixotic person like me.

Spread over several kilometers to the north of Woollongong in Australia, the 'Sea Cliff Bridge' broadcasts as though it’s in competition with the perpetual sea itself. Standing stiff and famous, it compelled my folks and me to enjoy the drive-way almost three times more than we had anticipated. It was then the time to bask into the delight of walking by the bridge, that allowed a marvelous and indeed a tireless sight.

I kept walking on the bridge, going and going, and not because of the clichéd explanations given above, but because of something totally unexpected. I looked down and was surprised to see some messages written at the bottom of the railings of the bridge. “Emma, will you marry me? – Jason” “Henry and Anna, we are forever” In fact, there were plenty of such emotions poured down and majority of them were on the similar lines. Interestingly, these messages were embossed on the key locks, and were kept locked up to the railings of that bridge. Apparently, the keys of these locks were thrown into the sea by respective people, with the belief of contracting themselves into an eternal relationship through this notional act.

Now, that whole phenomenon confounded me for a while but however, I sorted my opinion quickly. Till now, I have learnt that the more you hold on to something, the eager it is to sway away. Anything bound so tight, can’t wait to burst open. In such case, I felt the process of locking up relation shells greater degree of insecurity, and might defeat the purpose of being happy with each other. The divine feeling of Love that comes from intellectual, emotional bonding, and through trust and intimacy, can basically be scooped out from the freedom rendered. Letting free is the eminent power, that makes everything magical quite naturally, keeping the loved one's insanely locked up together:)

So, here’s a toast to unconditonal Love, as we enter into a Brand New Year! Let no one be denied of experiencing this wonderful feeling, at least once in a lifetime!

Merry Christmas and a very Happy 2012 to all.

Lastly, before I end my blogging session for this year, let me leave you with an excerpt from the story of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, that has something to ponder over.

“He spoke of very simple things- that it is right for a gull to fly, that freedom is the very nature of being, that whatever stands against that freedom must be set aside, be it ritual or superstition or limitation in any form”

Signing off for now,

Achu

Ad by God!

That Monday morning started well. Very well. The advertisement in the newspaper did it. Made me confident and look forward for my day’s meeting. Task was to convince the dean of an international school to sign up with my agency for their upcoming ad campaign. And I, being in the creative team, carried the expectations of positive outcome along with me!

After an hour’s meeting, I waited outside the dean’s cabin with a grin on my face for a promised campus tour. As we went ambling, she explained the newly deployed methodologies in the education system. It was super impressive, as well envious for the fact that I couldn’t be a part of such an impressive system. Her tremendous inputs had already made me chalk out the lines for their campaign. Side by side, I was thinking about their ad in the newspaper that morning. Mediocrity was pure bliss. Their average ad gave me an edge to convince and leverage on the much required positive stroke but, soon something more intense drifted my thoughts during my tour and made me realize that, how I had actually missed to leverage on the Live Ad made through inncocent beings, which surely beats rest all the ads ever made in the world, that I’d like to call- The Ad by God!

Now, let me elaborate the above thought for clarity. When born, as kids, we are all alive. Full of energy. We run, walk and are active all day long. We smile, laugh and cry without hesitation. We sing, and dance. We get things done. We concentrate and are focused. We are straightforward. We are curious and we are hungry. Joyful. We explore. Innocent and honest. Ready to learn new things. We forget and forgive soon. We are Adventurous. Desirable. Truthful. We don’t intend to hurt. We never give up. We take risks. We are fearless. We ask. We don’t discriminate. We believe and we trust. We play. Have freedom. We are natural. We are simple. Content with the smallest of things. We are creative. We enjoy. We celebrate. We get excited. We are naughty. Happy. Connect with God. We live in the moment. And we Love!

But as we grow, ironically, these good things instead of growing with us tend to fade. We become more cautious. We develop less belief and welcome unnecessary troubles. Live with contempt. Tend to get more jealous, narrow minded, egoistic, obsolete, burdened, unreasonable, unhappy and meanwhile artificial. Like Walt Disney once said- “That’s the trouble with the world-too many people grow up.”

As I walked around the school observing kids, was thinking how inspiring their behavior is. It hit me hard with a big realization- the stunning creative of God on persuading us to the ideal way of living by his subtle, brilliant ad, showcasing us the way to happiness through our own initial years of life!

This enduring experience eventually propelled me to sum up this post with the substantial positioning line that I could ever think of for this unanimous ad, that is –Live Like a Child, Always!

Indeed, it’s time to leverage on that mega ad, which has the whole world as its target market and that spot-on manages to successfully run on an Eternal Campaign!

Signing off for now,

Achu

Romance novels….a threat to women?

I didn’t realize that it’s been this long a gap in writing. I mean, in this space. With my busy schedule in an Advertising agency, creative thinking and writing has become round-the-clock affair. But then, some of my thoughts do command to be expressed irrespective of the time crunch, which makes the writing most enjoyable, Here!

Few days ago, I was browsing through a newspaper article quickly. Spent less time reading it but, more time pondering over it. It was the take on romance novels suspending the rationality from people’s life especially, women. It conveyed about how the pretty fiction can mar the ability to keep a grip on reality, developing unrealistic expectations on love and sex. Explained as to how the colorful picture painted would lead to the perfect dream world but, only an unrealistic one. And women, being more emotional are likely to get most affected- Psychologically.

As much as the above is true, my support is largely to counter the view for my own reasons. I agree that such novels or movies do hamper ones thought process and beliefs, making the transition period very difficult, even to men. Majority of the times, we might get clobbered in search of fictitious characters that we are in love with, developing surreal expectations.

On the contrary, the foundations of our fantasies are the ones that keep us on, lively and moving. When in a relationship, it makes us more behaved and human in pursuit of dreamy relationships, mainly striving to create the required balance. When not in a relationship, it builds confidence, fulfills deep yearnings and creates the purpose, if allowed freely. Over all, it reaffirms the existence of Love, to us. As much as we deny, these elements of our fantasy-land help us to go on, try new, and to face life without compromising that important aspect- Hope!

In any case, adjusting to reality is inevitable but, cruising through the fantasy world is Crucial!

Signing off for now,

Achu

Notional that I was…

When I first planned to go abroad, my mind sought after the western countries. Even today, more or less, it is the same set up. Somehow the other countries seem less construing when want to make an occasional trip. The eastern countries capture less concern and especially, when it comes to our neighboring countries, it is the lowest. Maybe, I have a notion that those are more or less similar to our country. This notion was killed when my brother-in-law made a trip to China recently. He returned with marvelous stories that swept me off my feet!

My general knowledge about China was limited to Olympics, population, their food habits, language barrier and of course, Jackie Chan! But little did I know that there was so much more to it. ‘Progressive’ is the word that can be related to China in terms of being at least 20 years ahead of some known Asian countries. Moving rapidly towards being a developed country, it is evident to see them operating with a vision in conjunction with systematic planning. Their infrastructure with multi-layered flyovers, fifty-plus storied hotels, tallest buildings, gigantic malls, and broad roads decorated with super luxurious cars are keeping them at par or may be beyond the standards of raving westerners today.

Being the most populous country in the world, I wonder how they are able to manage such rapid growth and this successfully! They too have famines, social and political issues to handle, crashing economies, and crimes to address. But, amidst all these, what is it that makes them unstoppable? Well, I guess, it all boils down to their attitude. People out there are humble, dedicated and designed to excel. They contribute to quality and progress of their work as long as treated fairly. In any case, their compliance system allows them to be treated fairly for the quality produced. Overall, they have an immense, genuine social responsibility that they are personally accounted for, and so much that, they least bother to have cops around with a jurisdiction system, seeming the simplest thing in the world.

Another interesting factor is, apart from being quality conscious in their work, Chinese are the most health conscious people too. Their dietary habit constitutes naturally a healthy food keeping them extremely fit and energetic. Anyway, if you intend to shop for clothes in China, make sure to keep a tab on your fitness else on your baggage, either of them is a must!

Well, going forward, China is going to take the lead and will be the most sought after country in the world. Today everything is made in China, going forward too indeed…everything WILL be made in China!

Ufff what an outburst of notion, really!!

Signing off for now,

Achu

Connecting the Dots…

Connecting the Dots - is a fun game and I am sure you are familiar with it. It’s the age old game in supplements about joining the dots serially to get to the wholesome picture. Best part about this game is that it’s neither serious, nor difficult, but just ‘fun’ to get to the figure intended. Children might get special thrill doing this and these days, it’s on par with digi world. You can play it on touch screens which could be played by tiny tots who are yet to be familiarized with the counting system. But interestingly, beyond this, there is someone else above- an Immortal Power, who is playing this game with our lives - very cleverly, fancying more complicated designs, twists and without getting to the slightest possible clue of the picture before in hand. Needless to say, someone up there must be having great fun!

Well, to get more clarity on my say here, do try and introspect your life backwards. Observing some of the important happening or critical incident starts to look so tailor made as though it was intended to connect the dot sooner or later. For instance, a dreadful happening or a situation might irritate for the moment, tire us up totally and our efforts might go in vain producing zilch results. But, going forward, it will certainly have a lead to some influence, some impressions, some learning’s, some carry-forwards, some worthy mistakes, some improvements, some convincing results, some encounters, or just some connections, either- Deep or Remote!

Once you realize that the game is all about arriving at the final picture and the divine creator is on play with some purpose, it’s more comforting to deal any kind of situations which seeds in the effective thought of – Everything Happens for the Best. And this way, it’s conducive to wait for the moment, wait for the unanswered prayers to be cleared, or just wait for the Dots to be Connected….and enjoy being part of that fun game!

Signing off for now,

Achu

Extramarital affairs…a breach of moral law?

Single  Married  Divorced  Widowed  Extra marital

Well…the last box is under construction!

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You must have guessed from the above exemplar that I am trying to talk about something that’s relatively common and… something that’s getting to be an open, tolerated behavior amongst people off-late. In fact, the happenings am seeing through my minds eye in my surrounding inspired me to consider this topic after facing two weeks of dilemma fighting my own inhibitions. But, I pursued it as I have a say on this.

I remember my cousin telling me that extramarital affairs are becoming everyone’s cup of tea whereas, one of my friends demurely justified that it’s a common affair amongst doctors in particular. Another friend banged upon intellectual inspiration missing in marriages and, yet another friend strongly declared saying that marriage is an accident. In fact, the Yahoo! blog flashed information on how couples are talking about their extramartial affairs to each other to keep their marriage going. Hmmm…now the last one seems like a suspiring change in perspective of the term-Marriage!

Marriage- somehow is perceived as complicated, and an overrated institution by many. Although it has plenty of advantages, one of them is, it makes us ‘evolve’ in reality; it teaches and teaches and teaches…and teaches what we are to us and only when one is ready to learn. It’s certainly not for selfish, scared and uncommitted people. It is hard work and hard work of giving in from both the stakeholders. And if one slips repeatedly in this continuous process, the other one is sure to slip off!

Extramarital is the attraction that swings by when one is tied up. One tends to get carried away as it overcomes the main flaw of most of the marriages which is – the lack of simplicity and the space. It could be a savior to people who are botched up with bad marriages or bad spouses of lending repeated chances but failed. But, at the same time, it could be a devastating factor leading the perfect families to deviated marriages which becomes quite unjustified unless... for an exception of finding true love through an extramarital spree.

In my say, I strongly feel that making outright choice is a must to live through the relationship ordeal without hurting or harming anyone. A conscious choice and standing steadfast by that choice will help in experiencing that long term commitment, love and loyalty which has its own beautiful indescribable pleasure when happens naturally. And who can strike a difference between moral or immoral better than each one of us? In any case, it’s up to each individual to live the life that really counts to them and the moments that reels through the sanity and their firm beliefs.

To conclude, I would like to leave it with a saying that I heard from one of my uncles…

“Nothing is worth it….If you satisfy yourself by hurting others-AND- if you hurt yourself by satisfying others…"

Signing off for now,

Achu