Monday, December 12, 2011

wake up time


Great theories, philosophies, great edit columns, great judgements and news bulletin analysis, great intellectual gyaan in everydays papers, greatest spiritual columns and books being published and people indulging in spiritual and intellectual shopping like never before.. Still, and still we have tragedies like 89 deaths in a top-notch hospital, irony is thy name India.... India needs to wake up, just knowledge and spiritual GYAAN wont help, get the gyaan into our daily lives, into policies, into Action....

(all we do is gyaan, bhashan and more preaching, wat is the use of brilliant edits written by brilliant editors sitting in newspaper offices?? rules are still flouted left, right and centre, who cares that a hospital didnt have any fire drills ever, they had every exit blocked... todays edit says, we need soul searching, ofcourse we do, more than the common man its the government, the policy makers, the people who run these hospital BUSINESS who need to really put all the gyaan into practise)

Wednesday, August 03, 2011

I try


I try to look for fun in mundane things,
I try to be happy doing the most ordinary things,
I try to make the most out of the simple offerings of life,
I try not to stress out because my path is getting tougher and rougher,
I try to remain calm and tell myself that it is possible,
I try to look at the brighter side of problems,
I try to keep it simple and smile more,
But while i keep at the ‘trying’, i try not to use the word "Try" at all..
So,
I look for fun in mundane things,
I am  happy doing the most ordinary things,
I make the most out of the simple offerings of life,
I do not stress out because my path is getting tougher and rougher,
I remain calm and tell myself that it is possible,
I look at the brighter side of problems,
I  keep it simple and smile more.. 
I stopped  the "trying" and started the "Doing"

-M

Now


we are becoming more and more progressive, but are we loosing the human touch,
we are becoming very techno savy people, but are we becoming less of savy with our own tribe,
we are becoming very hip and hep in talking the english language, but are we forgetting the language of the heart,
we are becoming very full fledged humans who are well rounded and know lot of things, but are we knowing less about ourselves,
we are buying left, right and centre, but are we trading our peace in the exchange,
we are eating out like never before, but are we neglecting conveniently the good old home cooked meals and the nutrition that they provided,
we are sending our kids to the best of the cosmopolitan and competetive schools, but are we spending enough time with them to teach them things they will never learn in a school,
we are all fancy modern spiritualists today, we are reading a lot of philospophy, but are we applying any of it to our lives,
we know a lot about american sitcoms, we are travelling like never before, but are we forgetting home is where the heart lies,
with all these questions and perplexes and dilemmas, the modern man/woman lives on like never before, maybe because he has understood that Now is where his life is and i am glad in a way that we get to live this kind of life, this kind of a wholesome life where everything is a possiblitity and nothing is out of reach for anyone. i like my 'Now'.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Go Maid less


Can Indians ever go ‘Maid-less’


This is a million dollar question but I think I definitely have the answer for it. The answer is NO.
We, can never go maid-less. Now you must be wondering, shirt-less to suna tha! What is this, maid-less. Well, the modern day urban necessity, your ‘Kaamwali bai’ ‘Kelasadaulu’, your highness.
“Who’s the hottest girl in the world, my maid, my bai, my maid, my bai,
 katka lagake, she’ll clean your floor, my maid, my maid, my darling maid..”
Well, in our cities where maids have become the life-line of our homes, its difficult to imagine a life without one. She is mandatory today, she is indispensible than ever, she is the ultimate help at home. Without one, we often feel lost and exhausted, by the end of the day.
Each time a maid leaves me, I pass this resolution, “oh, I am never going to keep another” its like a broken heart swearing not to get into a relationship again. That is the exact feeling, I feel I have just broken up with someone and it takes me long before my wounds are healed, till I find another ‘bai’.
But, today the urban woman has learnt her lessons, its like the new gen x, they don’t hang on to old partners for long, in the same way, young housewives or working damsels, find a new ‘bai’ really soon.  It is like ‘tu nahi to koi aur sahi’. (if not you, someone less maybe)
The Indian maid is at an all-time high, she is the hottest girl in town. You could credit this phenomenon to many reasons, some to the new economic independence of women, some to the 6 figure salaries of husbands, funnily, some anti-software engineers will associate every problem to the ‘software boom kano’, Puleez give the poor guys a break, they slog enough. 
But interestingly, some reasons, you could also attribute to the absolute lack of DIY (do it yourself) culture of India. Whats with us people, seriously, we need help for practically everything, we have one person to dust the muck of our chairs, we have people to do our toilets too. (which I feel is really our and only our own business)
On the other hand, where royalty too is trying its best to go all, DIY, India is still far behind. Prince William and his hone wali, don’t want maids or servants in their newly – wed life as they want to enjoy marital bliss, to the hilt without the continuous presence of servants, butlers and bai’s.
Not very far away, a neighbor of mine who is in her early 50’s never had a maid in her entire life. “Who will run after them, and shell out so much money each month. I end up saving so much money and I am fit throughout the year. I am very happy doing my own work”. Well, Geetha here was a bank employee and never felt the need even while her daughters were growing up.  She owes all this to her habit of not being lazy.
Lazy, well, a major part of the maid-dependence also goes on the fact that the lack of a DIY culture has made Indians plain lazy. And this won’t change in the near future, maybe because of the fact that I see kids have dedicated maids these days. These maids look after the kid, feed it, play with it and even will put it to bed before she leaves, like a full-time nanny, the only difference being, our nannys are mostly poor uneducated women with little or no knowledge of bringing up a child. Obviously not blaming her, she does her best for the fat pay-check she gets for this hand full of a job.
Not to forget, our men. Now this breed is just not use to doing their own work at all, they have this reason of we, earn the bread. This makes us left with no choice but to opt for external help.  What do working women have to say about this?  Johana, a teacher at a private school, says that she doesn’t have to hear this but admits that even if her husband is the helping type, more than often the house work is her headache. There is something about the house and the woman which makes it inevitable for her to do everything.
Affordability is another factor, today we can afford to pay them 5k – 7k for an entire days service. “I have the money so I ll pay her and get the job done, I have a social life and hobbies, and I am not interested in house-hold work, it’s a waste of time, when I can get the job done, why DIY?” asks Damini, a housewife.
Not only, does the wonder-lady do all jhaadu-katka, kapda, bartan  in this, she will also cook for another 3000k. So, an all-time high for maids has arrived and will rise even more with time.  
There is also the immigrants from small towns, districts and villages who move from place to place in search of new jobs for a livelihood. This population works wherever their husbands get a job, while the men take up jobs as painters and construction workers the women hunt for houses to do what the urban lady no more wants to do.
There are also speculations that very soon, we may not find maids, as all the maids are educating their children and these children will never work in house-holds however good the pay. They want a plush work atmosphere like the malls, multiplex, restaurants or the ever so famous clothing showrooms. They also find jobs in the supermarkets as cashiers and customer service executives. Though the work hours are long there, compared to a day job in a house, today’s have-nots have preferences.
So, its not that we can no more do our own jobs at home, but we are still counting on the old time maid population and hoping that there are enough, which can last atleast another generation. Maid or no maid, it’s common knowledge that house-work is never ending, and so till there is work, there is the maid.   And till they last, apna, kaam chal jayega bhai!! So why go maid-less!



Monday, January 03, 2011

The new skeptic India!!

I wanted to share the news of my best friend getting married in the near future, with a neighbor of mine (who is now a confirmed new friend). So, here i go all excited, "oh! you know what, my best friend is getting engaged next week, instead of the usual excitement, that you expect, what do i hear, 'its hasnt yet happened right? So, tell everyone, when it happens!!" I am like, a water balloon was just phishedd on me, you know the feeling of being shut up right.

I understand the emotion, not arguing about why she did this, but just wondering as i was going through another argument on FB. There were arguments about not sharing a good news with friends immediately but sharing it after a month or two. The explanation being, the elders advised to report only after two months. Got it!!

The famous 'Nazar lag jayegi' Indian phenomenon. Or is it just Indian, i have heard this a lot of times, Dont tell until it happens, otherwise it wont happen. Well, were we always like this? were we always skeptic about sharing good things that happen in our lives with others, did we always fear that something would go wrong for sure?

Well, i have a certain thought on this, i think, with so much of talk about ask from the universe and the universe will conspire to get you that thing, i thing it is important for all of us, to express or share the good things, cause if they say that you attract what you think then certainly, we should share.

But where does one draw the line and with whom? Is it ok to be this skeptic in this day and age? Must we always live in the fear of "oh i should not tell, maybe it may not happen at all". Or should i go ahead and tell the world about the love i found, or that my sister is getting married, or that i have won a lottery, or that i am looking at buying a car, or that i have a new business venture plan. Should we share? should we be skeptic? Should we be selective and hide? I think i would leave it on "to each, his own".

Capernaum