The Lucky One

It's been a while, and I have been gone for good all this time.

Things happen. Life happens. We all live each day not knowing what's next.

Well, something happened with me. Perhaps one of the best things to happen to me.

I met a soul. A soul so beautiful, so pure that its exuberance captivated me.

I felt like I found home in her. Nothing like home, isn't it?

A myriad of emotions encapsulated in a person uncorrupted by the world. I had to make her mine.

I thought I knew love until she came and redefined it.

Life is a celebration with her.

I'm blessed to have her. I'm THE LUCKY ONE.

One morning

A day off from office. I was just sitting under the under the sun listening to my favourite music. It was loud but not enough to disturb anyone. It's a silent neighbourhood and in between lies our humble abode, where my friends and I stay. 

I could easily hear the silence on most mornings. I had the pleasure to observe the elderly and kids due to my early morning routine of jogging. It was all too surreal. The sunlight hitting my face and then going off behind the trees. Birds trying to play with each other or perhaps fighting or making love, never to be found out. Wind blowing and hitting the exposed parts of the body, giving that chill. I felt happy with the vibes of the day.

Incidentally, I had to meet a friend of mine that particular day. She was to meet me in Cafe Delhi Heights, Connaught Place (Delhi). I finished my morning chores such and readied myself to leave. I booked an uber pool. I noticed the waiting time was more than the usual time. Out of curiosity I checked for the other pickups. Seemingly, it was picking up Shalini from office on a Saturday. It got me thinking.

The cab came and I boarded. There was a young girl in the cab. Silent, under-confident, sort of scared, with a file in her hand. I am usually the 'don't ever look at a girl' in a cab types and don't blame me because that's what Delhi-NCR has taught me - Be careful than sorry. After sensing that she was really tensed I asked her "What happened? Did you have an interview today? Because it looks that like from the file you're carrying and your pickup location." I was really not sure if I would be blasted off or will I get a proper answer. Thankfully, she answered. She said she had an interview for Risk Analyst opening in Accenture. The interview went little sideways, with the HR asking her to come in night shifts and she not agreeing to that and therefore she was sad. On further enquiry I figured that the corporates make you agree to things and are not willing to pay you bare minimum for survival. She was a fresher, graduated in commerce field. So, she was offered 15K as a remuneration and was asked to come in night shifts. She was almost in tears. I had to convince her to not doubt herself and that she should not accept this less amount in form of salary. I used the right words perhaps, which got her to listen to me. I told her that it's just the beginning of the rest of the life. If she thinks she is worth that much than it's not going to make her look confident in her interviews and that she need not accept everything HR throws at you. I saw her smile for the first time during that journey. I shared couple of anecdotes from my career and she was back to normal. I felt happy to have shared the burden on her head and left her with a smile. I ended my uber ride and left to take metro.

You would ask - "Did we ever get in touch later?" The answer is - No. I did my part in that moment and left right after. Maybe she will remember me, maybe not. It doesn't matter. I made her smile and that made my morning. Carpe Diem!

About the things that really matter

All our lives we have learnt that be this, be that and what not. However, a lot has been lost in that process. And nobody still gives a crap about that. We've instead got apps, consultants, gurus etc who claim to fill that void that nobody feels is important. Do you really think anyone can? Ofcourse not.

The times have changed. Infact, they're changing faster than we had imagined. But what has been constant is our obsession for success and being a successful individual. A lot of people have lot many ideas regarding that and that's the problem. You are fed with so much bullshit about how a successful career can only give meaning to your life. One can only imagine how the world would look like if people had told each other often that it's important for us to have a sense of belonging, appreciate what we have, be a rich person but in terms of values. The sense of competing should rather have been in terms of being a better person. But something is terribly wrong with our society and it's difficult to pin point as to when it started or was it always the case?

I have always been a believer in the small things in life and feeling grand about them anyway. I would rather be in the moment than be checking emails in a luxury car and cribbing about everything that is wrong with what's happening but being content anyway because you're being paid handsomely high. I just want to ask all such people, is trading everything for money really worth it? Don't you want to treasure the juice of life? I think that it's high time that we stop being mindless creatures and appreciate the essence of life. Value it. Water it. We all deserve to have fulfilling lives.

2016

Dear Friend,

We meet again. It's been a long time. Hope you didn't miss me much.

So, this year has been life-changing and full of surprises.

Interesting enough to say that I have emerged as a changed man, a more polished version some would put it. New experiences, new lessons. Lost hopes, won people. I planned a lot of stuff at the beginning of the year 2016 and I could barely do close to what I thought of, but I feel content that life never seized to surprise me. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worst. Most of the things you plan don't work in the game of life.

There is a quote that sums up everything that I have known about people: "In spite of everything, I still believe people are really good at heart" - Anne Frank. 2016 was a year of people. I met a lot of new people this year. It was a new experience altogether after I moved here from Bangalore. I don't particularly like people here but I have made some good connections and I wish to nurture them. I am now much closer to my family, school/college friends, colleagues. The key is time and effort. I ended one toxic relationship (which I should have ended much earlier). No regrets. Just lessons. I value those who value me, now.

I have seen my parents age faster this year, than ever. I have seen my grandpa fall prey to an incurable disease. I have seen my maternal uncle pass away in just a blink of the eye. There are numerous other incidents, but you get the drift. I have seen how intertwined relations are and how they shape of quality of life we have. But there is a silver lining to most of the things that happen. I have also seen growth, love, strength. Most importantly, I have learnt not to trust people easily.

2016 was a great year because of some other people worthy of a mention. Ranvijay, Manu, Rahul, Shumali, Gaurav, Ram, Abhinav,  Tarun, Keshav, Surabhi, Mariam, Radhika, Prerna, Somya and many others. I enjoyed a lot and this year was filled with a lot of memories to cherish. And guess what was the highlight of the year....Goa.

Here is an exclusive picture-

This year also witnessed another side of me which I had kept buried for long. I studied like crazy and I enjoyed it. It was like reliving those good old days where the only thing which the heart knew was 'hard work. no shortcuts'. God! I miss me being myself. I reckon we grow old too soon and in process we miss the age of innocence. Nonetheless, it was great to rediscover the hidden treasure of perseverance in myself. While we all welcome another beautiful year 2017, I just want to thank the year 2016 passing by. "Thank you. It was lovely meeting you."

I look forward to embracing life in the upcoming year. Amen. Cheers!

Love Always
Sachin

What have we done?

It's been quite a while and I have been thinking. A lot. 

The child in me doesn't seem to let go of the fact that I have grown up (and old). I think about how carefree the childhood was and not in the wildest of dreams did I imagine that life would be this way. Who does? And considering the lifestyle we lead, we don't think much about the stuff we should actually think about and we think about all the wrong stuff, things that end up owning us. Ever since my childhood I have been learning that there are certain set of rules, if you abide by them you're considered as 'good', otherwise you are 'bad'. I put much thought into that. Who decides rules? Who defines good or bad for us? Essentially they are created by us, for us. Aren't those conveniently exploited to alter our thought processes? A child grows learning all those rules and suddenly any distinction from already established beliefs comes as a shock to him and he feels lost. Who defines that a child will have a satisfying life if he follows such and such thing? Who ensures what a child actually wants? Are parents right in making every decision for their children? Can school really teach the purpose of anyone's life? Is there necessarily only one purpose, one goal that people so profoundly rant about? Is society really evolving into a progressing one? And I am not talking about those tall buildings, technology, income levels. I am talking in a much broader sense. Do you think this is going to stop any time? Now I am a grown up and..

It bothers me to see how we are degrading as a society. 

It bothers me to see the divide in the society.

It bothers me how difficult it has become for unprivileged to survive. 

It bothers me to see how parents are turning their kids into something that are not more than just machines. 

It bothers me how a good career is the metric for a worthy life.

It bothers me when people say dream big and their 'big' essentially means earn big, own a villa and ride a costly car. 

It bothers me how less time we devote to gifts of God and try to protect them. 

It bothers me how we are so afraid to stop and stare and rather choose to keep running. 

It bothers me how judgemental we have become, how one is superior and the other is inferior. 

It bothers me how nuclear power is so much in the news and nuclear family seems to have lost it's meaning. 

It bothers me how parents are okay with their kids staying away from them.

It bothers me how morals and ethics have been remodelled.

It bothers me how the word 'love' is overused and undervalued.

It bothers me how we lack in human emotions and are so comfortable using emoticons.

PS:- I bother about a lot of stuff..but I miss the old times and I am scared of the times to come.

Painful

Neil Gaiman said it right. It's horrible and really painful. It kills and takes away a part of your sole. Sometimes entire soul.

Be careful with it.

Don't love someone so much that you don't feel like breathing without them.

'coz things can change and that person can too.

And you are left gasping.

Too painful.

Too heart-wrenching.

It takes away the person's ability to have faith in people.

Basic rule of relationship is "We'll be together and no matter what challenges come we'll always figure a way out and never give up on each other irrespective of how many tides come and go.". Instead these days it has turned into a joke and so easily people call it break-up and shit. One day or one incident and people just are ready to throw it away. They don't look for ways to mend it just because they don't know the value of emotion and time. Life is short and we should not waste either of them because it's not funny. There are lives that are impacted and these experiences are dna changing.

I would like to quote and this is how I feel:

"People say there are other fish in the sea

But I don't think there are, at least not for me

She is my whole ocean, my waves and my breeze

My own coral reef, grains of sand on the beach

No one fish can replace her, nor two fish, nor three."

Believe it or not

If you're reading this, then yes, this is for you.

Nothing is going to change my love for you. It's once in a lifetime love and I am not letting it go, not for any reason what-so-ever. Kill me all that you can, break me into pieces but I will rise again and love you from those pieces. It's all so poetic and you're the poetry. You're not just in my life, you are my life. If you live to be a hundred, I want to live a day less, so I never have to live without you.

"I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who's ever lived: I've loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough." - Nicholas Sparks

"Every atom of your flesh is as dear to me as my own: in pain and sickness it would still be dear." - Charlotte Bronte

Okay?

I start to write.
But as it happens, I'm afraid words won't do justice to my feelings.

I decide to write it anyway.

I start word by word turning thoughts into poetry. Words start to talk. Emotions start to overflow. Something that was buried inside has found a new life. There is a riot going on in my heart and mind.  So intense a feeling that I feel overpowered by it and my heart starts to sink. I hold myself back and try to gain control, failing to do so. I then decide to go with the flow.

All one could see was baffling ocean of emotions. And there was blood. Silent screams. Everywhere.
But I was not surprised. Afterall I was trying to turn her into poetry and casualties were guaranteed.

Seconds turned into minutes, minutes to hours and I realized I was awake whole night.

And I had written only these lines:

"No but's, maybe's, why's. He just loved her in purest form. He was lucky to do so. Blessed.

But what if?..Tears rolled down his cheeks.
A silent prayer from his heart. Like a dying wish. He couldn't live without her, he knew.
What a lifeless life would that be? Totally worthless.

God!!!
His madness knew no limits. He was crazy.
He could do anything to spend a moment with her and one lifetime wasn't enough for him.
Life was so good when she smiled. And world was a better place to be in."

Enough said.