Living in memories

Today morning while driving to work I was listening a song from a hindi CD that I bought from a desi store. The song was Salam E Ishq title track and it bought back memories of this movie and how I had gone with my college friends (atleast 10 of us) and how much fun we had. The movie was not worth the watch but still that show is memorable and with that song the 40 min drive through heavy traffic and Detroit roads (believe me there are pot holes here too) became a pleasant walk on the beach.

It forced me to think do we actually live in memories?? Or is it just me? There are things that remind you of your past some are pleasant while some make you feel when or if the past will fade away. Unfortunately past never fades, its out there always. It only takes a song or a place or any other sign to bring back those feelings pleasant or otherwise.

So what about the present? We spend so many minutes or may be hours in a day thinking about yesterday. At least I do. Are we spoiling today by dreaming about yesterday? I don’t think so. I am sure I will have some nice and some not so memory of today that I will be reminded of few years down the line.

This reminds me of a dialogue from a movie called Liberty Heights. Its was something like – “Life is made up of a few big moments, and a lot of little ones. I still remember the first time I kissed Sylvia, or the last time I hugged my father before he died. And I still remember that white-bread sandwich and that blonde dancing girl with the cigarette pack on her thigh. But a lot of images fade, and no matter how hard I try, I can't get them back. I had a relative once who said that if I knew things would no longer be, I would have tried to remember better”

Delhi: A city where a horn could mean a polite “F.O” to a little rude “gun shot”

Driving on the roads of Delhi you realize one thing that India is not happy. We, as a nation, might be running on the road to prosperity but spend 5 minutes in Delhi traffic and you will wonder either that road to prosperity is media hyped or the road is a lot more bumpy. What’s worse is it injects in the people some sort of venom that comes out in full flow when they are out on the roads trying to fight their way to hell or wherever.

It seems like people while leaving home decide on the traffic rules. In case Mr. X is getting late he is entitled to jump red lights, cut people across lanes and most importantly has the license to curse anyone and everyone who tries to come in between him and his final destination. In case you are from Delhi or any other big metro city for that matter have you ever crossed a happy face in the traffic?

You know the funniest thing is that its not that people don’t want to smile. I tried this experiment while stuck in the peak office hours a few days back. I smiled at everyone who crossed me and to my utter surprise I got around 80 per cent response. That is people smiled back. So why is it that people are normally so stressed out while driving?

I think we tend to associate smile with weakness especially when it comes to holding your space in traffic. Aggression is the key to save five minutes of your travel time. What people do not understand that if everyone had a little more patience and did not try to be the first one in everything, traffic would be much smoother. I wonder if we can all take an oath that for one day everyone will follow traffic rules, be patient, not try to cut others and WILL NOT HONK. I think we can solve at least 30 per cent of our traffic problems in just one day of smooth traffic.
I used to be among the impatient drivers but I have learnt a lot of things over the last one year. I hope we all can change. For India to reach the stature of a Super Power in every aspect we need to change our attitude most importantly attitude towards each other. May be roads are a good place to start the change?

Remember to pass a smile to someone you cross while driving. It might start a chain reaction.

India can be a happy nation too.

Moving back to Home from ……home

One of the most amazing things about my journey from Delhi to Detroit and then back was the two set of emotions that I had to go through. One while I was moving to Detroit and the other when I came back to Delhi. Now that I think about these two different emotions I realize how similar they were. How can I ever forget the tears while entering the Indra Gandhi International Airport, bidding good byes to my beloved family and friends. At that time I had to plans of returning back so soon. I was only grappling with one question – WHY THE HELL WAS I LEAVING INDIA? I would have to start a new life there. I didn't know anyone there. I had no clue how many professional life would unfold. The people who know me can vouch for the fact that I energize myself by interacting with family and friends. How will I make new friends there?

1 year later

…..The only question I had in mind while boarding the flight back to Delhi was – WHY THE HELL WAS I LEAVING DETROIT? As it turned out a year in Detroit has turned it into my new home. My new friends were my family as well. I will never have to thing twice before concluding that my one year in US was one of the best chapters of my life. But since it was not a book but a chapter it had to come to an end. The characters in the chapter will tag along with me as I write the book of my life. So how was it to move back? It was a mixture of feelings. I was happy and sad, excited and sullen. Something I have never felt before. I guess that's how one feels when you move from one home to another….

Asit

Delhi – Mumbai – Detroit - Delhi

The Moment of Truth

Lately a lot of debate has been happening on the yet another imported series called “Sach Ka Samna”. Now this particular reality show has created ripples across the globe. It is one of the most controversial show ever. Several countries have actually banned the show after just a few episodes. All this just cause this show brings out the truth??
Now this blog is not to discuss whether this show should be allowed in India or not? That debate was very aptly settled by a Delhi High Court Judge. The ruling was something like this: "Our culture is not so fragile that it would be affected by one TV program. If someone does not want to watch the show they can change the channel"
This write up is more to do with the fact that no matter how simple a life you live you also have several dark secrets which if revealed (for money or otherwise) could shatter your life. I was astonished to see common man/woman coming on the show and revealing such facts about their lives that were hard to believe but they were true. I think, like me, most of the people watching the show wonder how could anyone go there even if for the money and open the book of their past. Some of the truths are so disturbing that they would not even acknowledge them in the privacy of their minds.
That brings me to another interesting observation. When I am watching the show, I don’t know how many times I wonder that I will never go on this show. No matter what the prize be. Now, come on am sure even you guys would agree with me on this. And I have asked this question to several people and all of them say are you crazy??
The point I am trying to make through all this is that no one is a saint. Then why do we act good? We all have committed sins/deeds that we are not proud of. Then why do we judge others when they accept those things or when we get to know that they have done the same thing or something similar. When deep down within us we know that we must have done the same damn thing or something equally bad or at times even worse. Next time when you watch Sach Ka Samna, try to answer the questions yourself as well, thinking you are sitting on the hot seat. Try to be a little flexible while answering the questions. Since those questions are made keeping the contestant in mind. So look for situations similar to the questions and answer then. Obviously I am not asking you to tell those answers to someone. If you are planning to do that, kindly apply to the show at least make some money from it. Anyway, once you have answered those questions. See how many times you will go “OH MY GOD, THIS GUY IS CRAZY”. I think a lot of times it will be sigh of relieve that you are not there.
I wonder why I still get astonished when people tell the truth on the show. May be I am just envious of their guts. Even though they have a chance to win a lot of money by doing so. But if that was reason enough I would be sitting there as well. I guess there are certain truths that should travel with you to your grave.
If I have some secrets of mine so do my loved ones.
Let’s maintain a status quo on this one.