The Spider and the Wall

Once upon a time there was spider. Lets call him Silly. Now one day, Silly the spider fell from his web, down on the floor. So Silly crawled towards the nearest wall and started climbing it.

Silly must have just gotten some two feet above when he missed a step(well spiders have 8 legs, one of them is bound to go wrong!) and fell back down again. But Silly was not in the least perturbed by his fall, he began his endeavor all over again. And this time Silly managed to go beyond 5 feet and he could see his web glistening. Eagerly he sped his way up, little aware of another drop waiting him. And drop he did. This drop left him disoriented but not disheartened. And again he began his arduous labor. Each time he fell and each time he tried again, till it was 99 times that the spider had failed his climb.

When Silly started his 100th attempt, he was extremely hopeful, since one of his ancestors had been successful the 100th time. And this time the spider climbed with determination, strength and most importantly HOPE! Before Silly knew it, he was already half way up the wall feeling exhilarated. But as fate would have it, he fell yet again. Crestfallen and beaten the spider just lay on the ground wondering why didn't his efforts succeed.

And while he lay there, his eyes fell on the adjoining wall. This wall too provided support to his web, since his web was built in a corner made by these two walls. Slowly the tired spider got up, and crept near the wall. A little reluctantly he began to climb it. He found something different in this wall. This wall was easier to climb, his legs were sticking well on its surface. Silly began his ascent more confidently and with new found rigor. And sometime later he was back in this web; happy, content and full of knowledge (knowledge at least about the walls.).

So many times in life we try to climb walls that were never meant for us.

Catching a Sun Rise

After a very long time, I woke up at the first light of the day without the assistance of my alarm or my mom waking me up! Okay, maybe not the first light, more like the second or the third light!!! Anyways, I woke up before the sunrise, and what a wonderful feeling it was.

Looking out the window, I could see the light creeping up upon a sleepy world, and that's when I decided to catch the sunrise. So I tip toed out to my balcony and peered outside, directing my gaze towards the East. And all I saw was Neem leaves! A Neem tree was blocking my view. Not being the one to be easily disheartened I ran up a flight of stairs to go to my terrace. And again,  I expectantly looked towards the East. And what do I see? A bunch of buildings!

I came back downstairs and enjoyed the fresh morning air (I live in one of those cities where we still get fresh morning air!) and wondered where the hell did my sunrise disappear. Its seems just a few years ago, all that I had to do to catch the sun rise was look towards the East from my terrace and I'd be greeted with a reddish yellow orb on the horizon.

Now the only sunrise I see is on my iPhone Weather app. So now if I wanna see a real sunrise I will probably have to pay some bucks, go to a specific place, find a sunrise spot and reach there on time! Whatever happened to simple old sunrises from the comfort of your balcony...

PS: I'm glad that towards the west of my house, all that we've got are long green fields and I still have mesmerizing sunsets at my disposal.

My Quotes XII

Some more quotes:

• The good in you should not be afraid of the bad in others.
• Past may affect the Future, but never let it define the Future.
• Let freedom not be a bondage.
• Closing your eyes towards the problems does not make them disappear.
• Folly and Wisdom are often defined by their results.
• Being practical is not always being selfish, being selfish is not always practical.
• Love, forgiveness and compassion can never be forced.

Helta Skelta

Once upon a time there were two sisters, Helta and Skelta. They had the most active minds of any time. There wasn't a single thought, word or action that could escape the endless loop of their minds. Helta made sure nothing ever came out from the state of constant confusion and Skelta did her best to keep everything under endless misdirection. They lived in a far off end in a dark damp cave.

Many brave men and women who had the misfortunes of crossing the sisters' cave had fallen under their spell and met dirty ends. In a village near by stayed an old lady, who was aware of what happened to all those who had tried to cross the cursed cave. She would try to stop them, her own villagers as well as some travelers from going by that route, but all of them regarded her as a crazy old lady and would not give heed to her words.

So the old lady decided to give the task to her grandson Steady Heady. Steady was a good boy and did his grandmother's bidding. He would stand at the start of the road leading towards the cave and try to warn and reason with each passerby. Some heard him, some did not. But atleast he had more success that grandma Farsight!

Even today the cage lies at the end of Sanity, and many a times the sisters Helta and Skelta get some really juicy victims.

The Great Indian Uncivilization

As a school going kid I had studied about the Indus Valley Civilization, how an advanced human community formed a life worth living. Coming back to current times there is barely anything civilized left in our country. Be it pushing and pulling to get into a bus or pepper spraying in the parliament, we Indians just don't like to behave. Now I am not saying every single Indian is ill-mannered but I do say that we tend to take our conduct lightly. And we have been smart enough to weave our this lack of social grace into a system.

People will not budge with a polite 'excuse me' but if you yell any variation of 'bhai aagha khaso ne' you'll see quick action. Greeting anyone 'good morning' or 'good evening' is limited purely to schools and certain work places, a 'thank you' to the man/woman behind the counter is met by a surprised face (they do not expect and they do not accept thank yous), making a queue is looked down upon and even if a queue is already there people hate lining up and soon its a crowd, and dont even get me started about banks and government places.

This does not mean I haven't met refined men and women, those are there too, but they are so very few; the large majority still is allergic to kindness, politeness and dicipline. And so I sat wondering what would bring about a change in the situation, can we as a nation become inherently polite and mild mannered? If only every child is educated and taught the fine art of living peacefully with others can this change be brought about. Yes, it is going to be slow and yes its going to be very painful, but if we want to turn India back into one of the great civilizations its got to be done

My Quotes XI

Few more...

• Ideals should ideally be left in the textbook.
• What goes up, comes down; only if it has lost the reason to go further up.
• Its not about being different, its about being better.
• Beware the Leap of Blind Faith.
• Many relations turn sour not because of lack of love, but because of lack of acceptance.
• Laughter is also the best vaccine!

If You Marry...

Dear Girls,

If you marry a rich man, be prepared to deal with commoditization.

If you marry a popular man, be prepared to deal with a tall ego.

If you marry a handsome man, be prepared to deal with vanity.

If you marry an over-achiever, be prepared to be outsmarted.

But if you marry a God fearing man, be prepared for a journey of a lifetime.