Lifeless Flowers

He could not see her eyes. He felt his body twist and those emotions he had controlled for the past few years wanting to come out of him. He met her accidentally today at a mall and she invited him to her home. It's been 5 years since they had met. "Time flies" he thought to himself. He was avoiding her eyes and was looking at her new home. He thought – "The house was so much like her". It has a sense of calmness around. He saw the paintings that decorated the house and remembered the moments from the past when he had commented and made fun of them. It brought a smile to his face.

They had a normal conversation trying to understand what they had been up to for the last 5 years. He told her about his new job and the reason for the change. She encouraged him with her positive words and wished him best. He asked her about her job and she told him that she joined this company a year back. She said she liked her job and it was satisfying.

After a few minutes, she asked him if he wanted tea or coffee. He said "Coffee" and she replied "Strong Coffee" with a smile. "She still remembers my likings", he thought. When she went inside to prepare coffee, he walked towards those new and old paintings. He reached the door of her bedroom and from outside he saw a photo of a man with flowers on it. He was shocked. He did not know how to respond. The last time he saw her was at her reception and she was accompanied by the man in the photo.

She came with two cups of coffee and they continued their conversations about life. He was feeling uncomfortable and wanted to leave as early as possible. He finished his coffee and told her that his friend is waiting for him. He wished her good luck and reached his home.

He was reliving his past and thought about the day when he was impressed by her.

He was new to the team and they were having lunch together. He was mostly a silent spectator.

In one of those conversations, a team member was referring to the new silver flowers that she had bought. She was adding to the advantages of using these silver flowers. She said that the silver flowers are great. It is an one time investment. You need not but the ordinary flowers every day to do pooja. And the time it took the clean the pooja room is also less. And everyone seemed to like the idea.

"It is not about natural or silver flowers, it is about the time spent with the God. If I want to reduce that precious time, I would look at these silver flowers. I love the natural flowers and changing these flowers every day shows my love and devotion towards God." – She replied.

He loved her reply and as days went by, he was in love with her.

He again saw the photo in his mind and did not know if the paper flowers on the photo reflects her loveless past. He was confused if he should feel sorry for her past or present.

Together ever

It was a rainy day and the clock was showing 5:30 PM. As usual Shyam completed his work for the day and was waiting for the clock to tick 8. He had a call with his US counterparts at 8. Last 2 years, his work has been his life. He came to office early. Planned his work meticulously and ensured he had completed his work before 6 PM. He then waited for the onsite calls to happen and went home satisfied.

The results for his hard work were evident. He was promoted twice in the last 2 years. He was leading the team now. His colleagues respected him and had full confidence in him. If anyone had any problems, he was always there to resolve it. He had also grown personally. From the shy and introvert 2 years back, he had become a true leader. He was a bundle of energy, motivating his team, cracking jokes instantly, ensuring everyone enjoyed the work and moved ahead in their careers. Between 6 and 8, you can find Shyam either helping someone complete a deadline or hanging out with his team. His team members felt his care and hence were absolutely dedicated to his action plans.

It was a similar day today. He had helped few of his team members and it was 5 minutes to 8 PM. He joined the call and he was his assertive best explaining his actions and ensuring everything is on track. His efforts were appreciated. After the call, he locked his system, switched off the monitor and prepared to leave. He said Good Bye to a few colleagues in the floor and was running down the stairs deciding on the hotel to have dinner.

As usual he started his bike and took a left, when a lorry coming in the opposite direction hit him. It was sudden; he lost his control and was on the floor, with his bike over him and bleeding. The lorry did not stop and the street was not crowded. An auto which was behind him a few moments earlier stopped and a lady stepped out. She realized what had happened and looking at the blood she decided her next course of action. She took his bag and mobile phone and with the help of auto driver, drove him to the nearest hospital. He was unconscious.

He had cuts in his stomach and legs and was taken immediately to the emergency. The doctors examined him and had decided that his leg needed minor operation because it was fractured. They wanted a relative's signature before proceeding. When asked if she was his relative, she decided in a split second and signed her name in the papers. The doctors had started the operation.

She searched his bag and mobile phone for details. She learnt his name and the company where he worked from the notes in the bag. Thankfully his phone worked once she switched it on. She saw his contact list and called his dad informed him politely about the accident. She introduced herself as his friend and told him not to worry as it was minor injuries only. He said he will be at the hospital in 15 minutes. She went to the reception and waited for a few minutes. 20 minutes later, an elderly gentleman walked up and was enquiring about his son who had met with the accident. The receptionist pointed him to the appropriate ward.

Seeing the gentleman walk towards the ward, she decided that her job was done and took the same auto and went home.

Next day, Shyam becomes conscious and has his usual cheerfulness in his face and enquires the doctor about his injuries and tells the doctor that he will be fine in a couple of days. J He asks the doctor about the person who admitted him and the doctor shows him the admission form and leaves the room. He sees a signature in straight lines and the name below is Geeta.

He closed his eyes and tears roll down his cheeks…

Geeta….his friend, philosopher, guide, lover and much more. She was his soul mate. And 2 years back she said Good bye to him. Her last words were – "I will be with you always..."

"How true…!" he thought.

For the first time…

I really donno what happened

When you called me today,

There was an immediate rush of blood inside

And I wanted to be with you.

 

I was in office,

Looks like God knew my mood today

And decided to spare me from any work,

And even as I browsed hundreds of pages over the internet

I kept thinking of you.

 

I miss you dear,

I am thinking of being in your arms

In the coolest night possible at Bangalore

And just keep smiling…

 
 

A few more days here,

Before I come to you,

I hope I remain calm,

And have a happy smile when I meet you

Miss you dearest!!

Silent for many, Ring for One - Response

In response to my post on how to enable my mobile rings for just one person and remains silent for others, one of my friend suggested the below method.

I am supposed to create 2 groups of contact, say Group A and Group B.

Group A: Contacts for which you would like the mobile to ring

Group B: Contacts for which you prefer your mobile to remain silent.

For group A, assign your favorite ring tone. For Group B, use the recording function in your mobile and record silence as a ring tone. Assign the recorded ring tone to this group.

Ppl – Seriously tell me, do I need to take all these pains to achieve this?

I think the method I followed is better than the above. You want to know what I did. Simple, when someone calls me at improper timings, I tell him/her very politely (at the peak of my voice range) not to call at that time. I tell you the news spreads. I followed this and from then on I do not receive any unnecessary calls.

Bindhu!!

Detached Attachment

"Detached Attachment" – A phrase which intrigues me and makes me put my thinking cap often. I do not remember how I heard this phrase. To be honest I have no clarity on the concept or what I am going to write. I am hoping at the end of this post, I have some level of understanding on this. J

What is detached attachment?

You love doing something or being with someone. For e.g. I love writing. I am attached to it. I write for an hour but I am not satisfied with the output. Will the output make me unhappy? I don't think so. I enjoy the process of writing and it makes me happy.

You love someone and you try to help them. You tell them what is right and what is wrong. Yet they make the wrong decision. Will that make me feel bad? No, I did all that I could do. I did my best.

This to me is detached attachment. You are attached to an activity which makes you dive deep into it and give your best. But you are also detached from result, which helps in providing a different outlook and which helps you understand the mistakes and appreciate the best moments.

As Lord Krishna said, "Thou have the right to act, but not to the fruits of action." The Upanishads declare, "Action cleaves not to a man."

One more interpretation of the same phrase can be:

You love something in life. You know irrespective of what happens in the world, it is yours. When you truly own something, there is no fear of losing. You do not mind others opinion on the thing you love. It does not matter.

For e.g., MS Dhoni wanted Saurav Ganguly to captain for a few overs during the India Australia series, which  was the last match for Saurav. When can someone do this? Only if he is confident of his own position and he has no fears about it.

Or consider this: Hritik Roshan was first contacted to play the Hero role in the Hindi film "Bunti aur Babli". And he suggested Abhishek Bachan because he thought Abhishek will be a better fit for the role. Hritik loves acting. But he is also detached from it to appreciate others positives and even judge who will look better on screen for that role.

Detach yourself a little from things you love and you will find new ways to love the same.

Bindhu!!

PS: I wanted to write a post on this for long time. Somehow could not do it. Every time I would write a couple of sentences and then decide not to continue further. So, I am happy that finally I have managed to complete it.

Violence is the last resort of the incompetent

Violence is the last resort of the incompetent

- Isaac Asimov, 20th century Novelist, Biochemist

Ironically, I wrote a post yesterday on the same topic. I wrote 4 paragraphs about why people depend on violence, and today I come across this quote. What can I say!! How to summarize 4 paragraphs in a sentence is the lesson learnt… L

Walking on air!!!

How does it feel to be appreciated? Feels good.

And if it happens to be a skill which you are not confident? Just what you want.

And if you are appreciated in consecutive days? You feel great.

And if you are also recommended to others? You are on cloud nine.

That's exactly what happened last weekend.

Saturday:

Last week one of my friends from Chennai had come to Bangalore on an official visit. I had invited her to my house. She promised to come on Saturday for lunch. But she wanted Pradeep, our friend to accompany her. Why Kamala wanted Pradeep to accompany is still a mystery to me? I think I know Pradeep well to say he would have definitely denied her request at first. Anyway, she called me on Saturday, after I had completed preparing the food, and informed me Pradeep is also coming. I was surprised (should I say shocked).

The menu for the day was pudalangai kootu, vazhakai poriyal, rasam, more and appalam. I could not have prepared anything else given that nothing else was stocked in the fridge. J

So, Kamala and Pradeep had lunch at my home and surprisingly they liked it. J Kamala liked the kootu very much while Pradeep prepared rasam (without tomatoL). I was HAPPY. J

Sunday:

My brother had made the trip to Hosur for some official work and had come to my home on Sunday. I had prepared all his favourite dishes. He loves Chow Chow pulipu kootu and adai and that was the menu on Sunday. And he liked it. J Additionally, I had got a shirt for him which was also great on him. JJ

As the blog reflects, I am a loner. I love being alone. So, rarely do I have friends at home. And this weekend was such a change and I just loved the way I played the host on both days. I hope they also enjoyed their time at my place. Now that my culinary skills are approved, I would like to play the host frequently. JJJ You all are invited.