Conversations at a coffee shop.

So today, a conversation with a friend of mine and two other ladies got me thinking. We were talking about how easy life is abroad and how life is in India. A lot of people who have lived abroad and come back to India find a glaring change in the attitudes of people towards rules and regulations. We just don't seem to want to follow rules. Even if we want to, we can't because nobody else does. A simple example my friend gave was about traffic. Even if we want to follow rules and drive as we're actually supposed to, we cannot, because then we wouldn't get anywhere!!!! So, we end up having to bend the rules a little bit.

This has got to change, right? I mean, even if we want to do things the right way, we can't. I like what one of the ladies said, that to change things here, we first have to become a goonda to get rid of all the goondas. Well, that defeats the whole purpose then!!! And how can we guarantee that the supposed "good goondas" don't abuse their power and then its the same thing all over again. A vicious circle!

Well, then what? Can we as individuals do anything about it? Or do we just take the best way out and go stay somewhere else and come to India once a year for a holiday? But if all of us do that, then how can we change things? Well, of course this is something to think about only if we want to see some change in how things work here. For those who don't, I'd advise you to not even bother with this post!! :-) But for us weird creatures who actually care a damn, what can we do other than join politics, the dirty business? The only thing I can think of is to slowly be the change that we want to see. I know, things will not change in a day, maybe not even in the next couple of years. But, they will. At least, I live with the hope that they will!

"Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live, it is asking others to live as one wishes to live." - Oscar Wilde.


This was a quote I just read sometime back, and it surprised me. I have always considered myself as a selfish person, because I always put myself first in all my decisions. I have always lived by my values and my rules. I hope to continue doing so.

So, this quote came as a pleasant surprise, because it made me think about my definition of selfishness. My definition stems from how others define it, how society defines it. But that doesn't have to be the correct thing, right? I mean, people can be wrong, that has been proved many times. So why should I consider myself selfish? I have never asked anyone else to think like me, or support my beliefs. I have never asked people to live as I do. I try not to force my thoughts on anyone. So what does that make me? By Oscar Wilde's definition, I guess, I'm a normal human being. Well, that's nice.

An Accident of Birth?

I was just watching this movie, Slumdog Millionaire. What hit me most was that I was so lucky to have been born into my family. If I was born on the streets, my life would certainly have been something very different from what it is now! Is everything an accident of birth? Yes, what we make of the cards that we've been dealt with, depends on us. But we can never choose what cards are dealt. We can never choose our birth, our parents.

So where does that leave me now? I have this epiphany and I do not know what I can do. Do I just thank "God" for my luck and go about my life? Or do I do something about those little ones who weren't as lucky as me? I can honestly say that I have absolutely no idea.

I have always wondered what a blog is all about. Some people use it as a diary, recording their life into it. But why would anyone want the whole of their life to be public? Why would anyone want their thoughts to be read by everyone. Is this one way of leaving behind something in this world. A footprint of sorts, of our minds...

But then, thoughts are random... It is not the tedious things we do everyday, not the monotony of life, but those rare moments of total lucidity and incomprehensible curiosity about everything. Why would we want these private thoughts to be completely public, where anyone and everyone can read them? Is it because we overestimate our intellectual capabilities, because we think that what we have to say is so good, so right, that everyone should get a chance to read it?

I just wrote all this down, I think, because I wanted to try it. Whether I continue with this habit, write something down periodically or not, does not really matter to me. But will this allow me to meet people who think like me, or think about such things no matter if their opinions differ from mine? That is the beauty of ideas and thoughts. There is no single right idea or thought. Everyone is entitled to their own. And to meet minds like those would definitely be worth all this effort, now, wouldn't it?

An Ideal Evening..

It was an ideal evening today. Ideal, I say not only because I left work early, but also for what I did next. My roomie and me decided to have a quiet evening.. So, we made tea and sat in the balcony, switched off all the lights and listened to Sufi music.
Almost perfect, yes?
It was ideal , thanks to the conversation and at times, the lack of it. Interesting talk, comfortable silences, soulful music. It feels like the perfect end to a day.