The Thought Addict

I'm petrified... Of a simple five-letter word Which no one can defy Or confront or disregard Or defeat or overpower Or challenge or dispute Even the latest gadgets and gizmos Cannot breathe life into Or revert or rewind Or delay or defer Or  simply take it for granted I'm petrified... No, I'm not afraid Of the death of a dear one Or the loss of a beloved Or the demise of a soul Or the passing away of someone special It is inevitable... But doom is certain When an abstract most valued Just slips away from our hands At a place the scariest At an hour the darkest With an outcome the deadliest I'm petrified... Everyone is born with it But no one nurtures it Or cultivates it   Or perpetuates it And it dies an immature death I'm petrified... Of the untimely death Of truth and honesty .

The Mid-Life Crisis.. What is the real meaning of this phrase? For quite some time now, I've been struggling with various issues, ranging from questions about the reason for my existence, to my future career prospects, or the 'Quality time" with my daughter (rather, the lack of it). One fine day, out of the blue, I happened to watch an inspirational speech by a highly successful entrepreneuer, and it just made my mind topsy-turvy. He had focused not on how to earn money, rather about doing what you love and living life on one's own terms.  I was a pilgrim lost in the chaos of my life, and here was a person who said something that seemed to be a very personal message to me at that point.  Now, a few days have gone by since that life-changing moment. I know what I love, what I aspire to. But will I have the courage to see it through to the end? Do I have the strength to give my all to achieve a teeny-weeny bit of fulfillment in life? That remains to be seen.....

Why do we hesitate to say 'no' to a gift? Our face lights up and we are overjoyed when someone actually hands over a gift, especially when it is least expected. Gifts have become a fashion icon these days. Not only the gift that is given, but the one that's taken back. Even children, when they are the invitees of a birthday party, are eager to get something in "return" and that's how the modern concept of return gift was born. Children seem to be enchanted by return gifts even when they get a simple pencil box or a party cap. But how far this culture is taking us and the next generation, is a pertinent question. Today being Teachers' Day, my thoughts roll back to this insignificant but impacting gesture of children in a school I worked. The day started with hoots and cheerful din which I thought were rather unnecessary, at least not from school children who are barely 15. I can understand if those in the late teens had behaved so. The children who ...

People always move with the times. Or do they? Students always move with gadgets better than old typewriters. People born in 1960 have not moved to the next generation. I've seen children of the new or "y" generation (including me) argue with their parents or grandparents about using better phones, computers and stuff like that. "This phone is better! I want that!!!" are some of the comments that parents receive when a new phone is launched. The iPhone 6 and 6+ which were released recently caused pandemonium in my school, with a few children even sneaking it into class and showing off to their classmates. But I found myself asking, "Is it worth it???" Nowadays, we rely heavily on phones to organise our daily chores and events. Our memory power and IQ are indeed slowly dwindling due to phones. The memory power our parents have is greater than ours. We get notifications on Facebook that instantly send wishes to the birthday boy/girl. The spirit...

Once again, the week ended with too much stress. And the weekend also was hectic. It was Sandy-Mandy time, I thought. Even as I was reading the newspaper, I could hear a faint conversation that became louder and clearer as the clock ticked away... Sandy: Arre yaar...museebat yaar... Mandy: What happened? You seem so stressed out... Sandy: This 'colon' is making my head reel. I don't understand anything. My son was preparing for his exam and asked me what a colon was. I escaped from the study room for a few minutes so that I can search for the answer on my phone and let him know. Mandy (equally stressed and concerned): So, did you find the answer? Sandy: That is the problem yaar...one website has some big and colourful pictures, says structure of colon and human anatomy. Another website says it is a punctuation mark used to explain something, start enumeration or list. I forgot to ask my son which colon he wanted to know... Mandy: Big mistake, Beedu! You ...

As I was browsing through the Matrimonial ads last weekend, I noticed that the words  used in the ads have changed a lot. Even a decade ago, we could find ads that displayed words like "fair, handsome, beautiful, well-educated, homely, caring or loving" for both brides and grooms. Though this is cliched and has triggered a lot of discussions on skin colour and external beauty, here's the latest... Last Sunday, I noticed that the ads sought more "professional, IT employed, financially sound business, income above 1 lakh per month, employed in US, salary 35 lakh pa" professional or employed eligible bachelors and brides... in other words, those who had a heavy price tag in the name of salary and perks. A simple "housewife" has now transformed into a "homemaker" or multi-tasking woman, who sooner or later succumbs to stress and stress-related ailments. Household work like washing clothes, utensils, cleaning and mopping the floor are now ...

There are different kinds of friends. Friends with whom you have a blast. Friends you make on a journey. Friends from school you have grown up with, who have seen you grow and evolve as an individual. Friends you love to gossip with. Friends you turn to for advice. Friends who you can depend on always for help. And then, there are friends who save you from yourself, even when you don't realize it. Life had very few surprises for me.  I knew I had a very cold, calculative personality, which had been built gradually with the  bricks of hurt and rejection that Life had thrown at me at various points of time. Encased deep within the thick layers of cynicism, was a passionate heart, that pushed me to act in a fashion, what would seem, out of character. But, in truth, though I may be deluged by emotions running amok inside me, there was a always a sane person standing outside me, watching, tut-tutting, asking me to pull myself together and snap up to order. Even when I ap...