Category: Random Philosophy Page 16 of 20

Free Advice ?

On March 5, 2015

There are times when you feel bad about saying something. More so, when people take it the wrong way. You actually start judging yourself on those things. Accusations, doubts and then you finally indulge in guilt. Only to keep introspecting and making your day go from bad to worse.

It is in those little sentences and words that you can offend someone or that someone can offend you too. It has never been said any better, words coming out of mouth can never be taken back.

Advice is one such thing. We should keep plenty of it for ourselves. Hoard it. Pack it and just set it aside somewhere. Never distribute it to others. Because the truth is my friend, No one cares.

The day is about to end. Someone else seeks advice. My advice. I’m hesitant. Should I keep it stored? Should I just listen and nod along in solidarity when that someone requests me for something which won’t affect me even if you empty the coffers!!

Advice, we all give out regularly. Of course, sometimes we overdo it. Sometimes, the other person just doesn’t give a shit to listen to that and sometimes we are of the belief that this might be of some help. It is not about recalling something in retrospect to proclaim, “I told you so”. Or maybe it is. It is all Grey.

Finally behind all this melodramatic thoughts enjoy the fulcrum of my tiny brain, I give out what they seek. Like a good friend, in the best of spirit. The way I always do. Isn’t that is what friends are for? Gove out advice which they themselves don’t follow through ever? Yes, I’m that friend. Don’t listen to the sweet talk which I do, but remember I would just like you to not tread the path which I didn’t liked. Knowing well, you might just do the same. After all, you’re my friend right?

What I learnt today is, what the other person values, remains important. Whether they value you the way, you do or not. It is this realization, which takes a while to sink in. But hopefully with a nights’ sleep and the extra box of pizza lying around before I sleep, will be of some help.

Now, you don’t advise me on eating too much of pizza!

Spreading a little Happiness

By farooq

On March 5, 2015

In Random Philosophy, Travel & Food

From all the trips that I’ve done till now, the one last year to Pondicherry has been the best yet. Reasons ? Well I have a lot of em.

This happened to be my first solo trip. I was excited to finally get something off my bucket list. I loved the whole experience of what it brought along with it. Travelling around to explore something new. Meeting people, trying out new cuisines and spending time without having to worry about time itself. Interestingly, the Pondicherry tourism tagline goes by, “Give time a break”. And I did.

During my stay, I was roaming around the town on a bicycle as well as a Vespa on the two days. On the second day, when I had pretty much roamed around the place, was left with time and petrol to spare.

One person, a middle-aged man, was asking for lift to passerby. I stopped my bike close to him. Happily, he boarded the bike and said something in Tamil. After having established that I knew none of it. Except of course Tamil Terriyadu (which means I don’t know Tamil). We conversed in a little broken hindi which he knew, surprisingly. He thanked me for that and I moved on.

Although it was just a start. When you’re driving you can see a lot many asking for lift. In strange and peculiar ways sometimes. Some do the standard waving, while others excitedly wave around to catch attention.

I again met this young lad, clad in a lungi who asked me for lift. We talked a little where he was surprised as to why I was travelling alone. Yes, I get that a lot too. And due to some reasons, I’ve not been able to travel alone much. He enquired about my stay and whether I liked his town or not.

I was almost on my way back, where I met this teenager. Torn jeans and sadly not for his fashion sense, but actually torn, without any shoes or slippers walking along. Occasionally turning back to see if someone stops their vehicle to reduce his effort to walk back home. Or to wherever he meant to be taken to.

I stopped and he was almost expressionless at that time. I signaled him to hop on, which he did and finally put on a little smile. He knew a little English, so we talked. I asked him about what he does to which he replied that he was a daily wage labor and usually heads back home at this time. From what we could talk, it was not very clear because of the language issue. I took out my camera and told him to pose for it, which he was very reluctant to. He then offered to take a picture of me in my camera. Even though I had to teach him on handling the camera, he did take one.

This picture was clicked by him..

Having clicked me, he was happy. As if he has learnt something new. He returned me the camera and shaking hands he went away. I was waiting for the signal to turn Red, while I saw him dancing happily and running into the lane.

I was smiling. It felt good. A different kind of good.

This Entry is part of the #LookUp Stories series by Housing.com in association with Indiblogger.

Remembering Dada…

By farooq

On February 28, 2015

In Random Philosophy

An atlas cycle. Big One. My Grandpa was tall. Would be somewhere around 6′. He customized his cycle to make space for a small seat to place a tiny toddler on it. Yep, that would be me.

I would sit with my legs stretched out and hands on the bell or on something placed in the basket in front. Being the first-born has a lot of perks. You are the centre of attention. Even more, when you happen to be plump and chubby. Oh, yes I was.

Most of my memories of childhood are centred around my grandparents. I used to tag along with them wherever they went. Places I dream of going now, as a kid I have visited a few of them already. Although I hardly remember any!!

My dada has a big influence over my life. I look through the society from his borrowed glasses. My political or religious views, eating habits, to care about anything other than myself and things which I’m yet to experience are all acquired from the old man.

I don’t know whether its old age or a typical dada, bragging about his grandkids for anything under the sun was what he loved to do. Especially among his friends. Relatives ? Well Dadi handled that.

It has been more than 7 years since he passed away (May Allah grant him Jannat), and a lot has happened since. I’m sure that he would have been proud to see his grandkids just become grown ups.

I remember when he kept the cut-out of a write-up I wrote in The Telegraph as a symbol of his own accomplishment.

He was there when I was a kid who won’t stop crying while going to school for the first time. He was there to bring me my first bicycle. He took me to my first ever boat ride. And perhaps a lot of firsts which I can’t recall now.

Our story was similar to the Dhara ad and as mush as the advertisement is nostalgic, it is a reminder of our relationship as well.

Our story was similar to the Dhara ad

(Pic Courtesy: Youtube Video grab)

I remember him even mocking me when I used to complain about anything to Dadi , turning into a one-step Shammi kapoor doing the same. Or even when I used to cry about anything. I hated it back then. But now, it’s those instances which paint a picture of the old man. Must add, he was famous as “Ashok Kumar” back then.

He taught me a lot of things by not actually pushing me to do any of it. He asked me to bring the newspaper as soon as it dropped in the veranda to make sure I inculcate the habit of reading. He used to take me to the mosques and even though instead of praying, I would be at my mischievous best, he’ll still take me. I remember we used to go to different mosques every friday and on our way back, visit a relative who stayed nearby. It was our ritual.

As we grew up, my sister who used to always listen to him and follow the same schedule as he did and my Brother who from the start itself loved the family business, more than I would ever do, became his new favourites. Or as I used to think. I was an attention-seeking child you know.

I was there when he got really sick. I wasn’t when he breathed his last. I wish, I was.

But I can see a lot of him in the way I see things, understand them and relate the world around me. I miss Dada!

This post was written in association with Indiblogger for HDFClife for their Apne ko apne dum pe jeena sikhao campaign. You can check out the video which brings out the perfect story of how “Apne ko apne dum pe jeena sikhao” by HDFClife.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg8mH2I4VBM

Blabbering on a Saturday

By farooq

On February 14, 2015

In Random Philosophy

It is very rare to wake up during the early hours of the morning on a Saturday. It’s Saturday, you know.
So, today when I did (Accidentally), after having slept midway while watching Supernatural, I was a little surprised at myself. Perhaps, the cycling around town after work helped in the dozing off process!
Made myself a hot cup of coffee, sat on the stairs around balcony sipping it, while getting a little dose of Vitamin-D. Sadly, the view from our balcony isn’t that great. Mostly because we live inside this highly congested residential area of Bangalore, even though I tried to indulge myself into the world around from the confines of 4th Floor.

Morning gets better when you start off with this.

Generally these stray moments with myself are supposed to result in putting me in deep thoughts. Thoughts about life and crap. But I was actually thinking Electricity bills, filling out the groceries, washing clothes and other “important” crap.
Aaah!! The pleasures of the damned working life.
Finally, I also made plans to take my bicycle to the Decathlon store for its first servicing and also to work on a few writing assignments that are due. But well, plans remain plans, especially when I make them.
Yet to even take a shower or to clean the place, which only happens once-a-week. No, not both just the cleaning part. Thankfully, the dinner last night was cooked keeping in mind the Saturday laziness and hence Brunch went well.
Switching off the never-ending tv series’ is tough but well I finally did it and ended up blabbering a little to feed the starving blog. Interesting fact, the blog lost a few posts and lots of amazing comments due to my stupidity and GoDaddys’ over efficiency. But with the Almighty’s grace, it is back in order.

I should accept that it did scared the hell outta me, when I thought I would lose ALL my content. It would have been just impossible to start off again.
I do wonder though, whether it would have resulted in a sort of blogging death or would have given a fresh new start to my writing. Kind of like being born again, right? Who doesn’t want a clean slate ?
Only in this case, the slate remains a testimony to how life and perspectives have changed over time as far as I’m concerned.
But, I’m still trying to make this as a fresh start to writing. It’s a new day and a there’s’ always something to write.

Today, I’m gonna Write

By farooq

On January 26, 2015

In Random Philosophy

Writing is very instinct based. sometimes, you just don’t feel like writing and sometimes all your head wants is, to go hard at the keyboard.
Life’s like this too. Most of the times, we are laid back and push ourselves into not doing anything. We don’t want to remain in this state of not doing anything but we still end up.
Newton’s law of motion couldn’t have found a better example for inertia.
What we can do is, prolong those periods when we are trying not to be lazy. We should try to make use of the time, when we strongly feel that we are not in that zone of laziness.
Being organised is tough, but isn’t impossible.

Writing

With maintaining a day job and trying to find time for things like writing gets more difficult.
But today, I plan to change this. I plan to just write.
The idea is to complete all the pending write-ups. All the issues shouting out of my head will be put down in writing.
It is not everyday that one get this feeling, so in case you accidentally come wandering around something like that.Maybe it would be something other than writing in your case.

Go and start off, what your laziness has been stopping you from doing.

I’m Writing.

on the road to be a writer…

By farooq

On November 30, 2014

In Random Philosophy

Saw two back-to-back movies today. My general instinct is to come back home and write a review on them. Today too, I tried the same. Two lines into it, and I just didn’t felt like. Not that I don’t like writing them or find it too much of an effort, but I’ve got a little tired of routine. Of being monotonous. This is, one very important part of that routine.

Not that this is going to stop altogether, I will write them once in a while, but just trying to break free from the routine. It’s been long since I even experimented with my writing. Frankly, I never give this the attention it deserves. I never get tired of telling about how I love writing. But do I? I just try to find the easy way to express something out. Writing movie reviews, is not at all writing. At least, not according to me. It is more of describing your experience and more of a resource for generating a viewership for your blog.

Even this attempt to blabbering about me not writing is not some unique piece of content being written upon. If I could remember correctly, my attempts to get back to writing have in itself generated many posts. To quote a few of them, An attempt to get back to writing and kicking the writer’s block. Ironically, the second one dealt with 5 ways to solve the problem 😛

And this isn’t all. Started off two short story series, namely The Broken glass and An Idiots love story before that, and couldn’t finish even those. It is not just about the laziness, of which I’m so full of but life being in no particular direction. All I crave for is peace. The ultimate desire to go some place quiet. Just sit there with my laptop and pen down things I really want to write about. Earlier this imagination was filled with me, living in a secluded old cosy house overlooking the city, with me writing by the view of the window. The imagination has surely modified itself with time, but the vague picture remains the same.

Writing something good and feeling it to be good yourself when you read it, is an achievement. I never feel like re-reading my posts to edit things, to correct things. I know I should, but apart from the visible grammar errors, there never seems to be a need to make changes. I believe it was in that moment which I thought of writing that sentence the way I thought. It was the naked picture that my words portrayed there, in putting fancy clothes on it to make it good later, will definitely make it appreciative. But in that craving of appreciation, I left the opportunity to introduce the true self of that sentence.

To a large extent, many write from how the audience or the readers would take the piece written. I won’t totally exclude myself from that list, but my true self will only come across if I write from that part of my heart which doesn’t focus entirely on that.

I’m choosing the road. Will try to travel along, hopefully a little faster this time and complete those unfinished stories with endings they deserve.

In search of Clarity..

By farooq

On September 28, 2014

In Random Philosophy

Clarity.

A clean glass container filled with water, clean water, you see bubbles. That represents clarity. Nothing explains it better. You drop even a small pebble, a small part of anything which doesn’t dissolve and it simply wanders. You watch it, move around, forming symmetries and asymmetries all along. That small pebble disturbs your view of the clear water. A distracted view and missing clarity.

Imagine more of those pebbles jumping in. More distractions. Less clarity. Life is not very different. Unwelcome guests knock on your door and there’s simply no choice for you but open the door.

Pebbles or problems keep jumping in from time to time. We jostle for space to get back that view. That very same clarity.

Alas! there’s no one way to actually achieve this. The inflow of unwanted pebbles will never stop. But this does not mean we never try. The quest for clarity is the single most important things we should be running after.

Life through its various facets gives us that chance to seek answers. It is not necessary to go to the Himalayas to attain the same. You can find it, in between a very crowded market, or a park where all you hear are the birds chirping. You can find it while traveling, standing on the door of a train or bobbing your head out of the window in a moving bus or even while riding a bike too.

Answers are everywhere. Clarity too is somewhere there. It’s there if you want it to be.

There are lots of pebbles and probably lots of questions to be answered to. But hopefully, at the end of it, we can look back and say, yes!! We tried.

Clarity.

…just straight out of my pen…

By farooq

On September 26, 2014

In Random Philosophy

It suddenly strikes. The zeal to write again, to immerse yourself in the beauty of the words. Words, written words, have a way to let you express yourself. They never disappoint.

A lot happens. A lot of ideas to write on, flows along the way too. but the effort required to open up the word document after coming from work, seems more hectic than the session in gym. At least, there’s a trainer to push you, to put those muscles to work. Back in home, that laziness won’t let you do anything apart from clicking on the play button on the VLC player while watching a random TV series. Such is life. Work life.

Although, I should add, it is just my attempt to throw the blame of this whole thing onto something. It has always been like that, getting into a shell where writing something which I want, get pushed away. Procrastination sweeps in and makes you sleep with it. and believe me, it is only the time when we are with it, it feels good, but just when we wake up next day, the intense hangover of having done nothing fills up the head.

I’ve been trying hard to get life a little disciplined. Starting to manage time a little better, and do a lot of other things that will just give me space and time to do things that I like. And yet, this ardouous process never seems to take off. But then, one should keep trying right ?

And so, here’s a start to a better disciplined life. Maybe it is too late, or maybe it is not. Heard somewhere, Your “rest of the life” starts now!! So, I’m making a start. To start writing again, just for the pure love of it, without any obligations to cater to. Just simply write. To express.

Just another Blog post…

By farooq

On June 22, 2014

In Random Philosophy

00:00 hrs, 15^th June, 2014

Drawing some correlation from my last posts’ title, whenever I opened up my blog page, I could only wonder when the next post on it will come.

For those who, don’t quite get the above statement, my previous post was dated more than a month back and was my “Last post” from my college life on my convocation.

(Ping)

When I sat down to pen down my thoughts, all I could think of reasons which held me back from writing. I kept on thinking, and then I actually forgot what I sat down to write.

(Beep) (Ping)

The new life, the post-being-student phase, when I’ve got to work is different. Not that I didn’t knew. If one asks me, whether I’m happy? Alhamdulilah, I am!! I really am. Things could have been completely different of course, but this is good. There is a little part in me which screams that it is content.

Content on having the support of Family and Friends, always!! Content on finding a job that fits what I actually wanted. Content, on trying my best to find peace within and around myself, and not by running after certain things/people.

(Ping) (Ping)

I can bore you with 100 other details, but I won’t. This is not even a full-fledged post to actually make any point. It is just an exercise to keep my blog active, and try and jump back onto the Blogosphere.

P.S if you are wondering what are the “pings, “beeps” are for, well those are some of the reasons, for this simple post to take more than 1 hour of my time. 😛

And in case you’re wondering about the date, well my “busy” schedule and the great wifi didn’t allowed me to post this.

Ek kahaani bachpan ki…

By farooq

On April 17, 2014

In Fiction & Poetry, Random Philosophy

Ek kahaani bachpan ki

Nange panv khelte khelte koi keel ghuns gayi uske pair me, thoda chubha aur wo zor se chilla baitha. Saath me uske saathi achanak se uski taraf aa khade hue. Keel lambi si hi. Aur bechare Kaleem ka chehra chota sa, upar se uska zor zor se rona. Kaafi vichar-vimarsh ke baad, Raju ne keel nikaal dene ki thaani. Usi beech koi bheed me “tetnus” ke kayi suyian lagne ki bhi baat kar raha tha. To koi Kaleem ke chappal na pehenne ko lekar kuch keh raha tha.

Raju ne jaise hi kaleem ka pair apne haathon me liya, wo aur zor se chillane laga. “Ammi ammi” jaisi koi aawaz nikal rahi thi uski mukh se. Kafi parishram ke upraant, ek jhatke se raju ne surkh ho chuki wo lambi keel nikaal daali. Saath hi me maano khoon ka baandh bhi khul sa gaya ho jaise. Apne jeb se raju ne rumaal nikaala aur baand daala uske pair pe.

Ghar wapas pahunchne par, ammi ki thodi daant aur fir doctor saahab ke paas dher saari suiyon ki thodi aur takleef uthate hue Kareem ka kuch dinon ka aaram shuru hua.

Saalon baad kaleem chal pada tha kisi bade shaher me padhai karne. Naya shahar, naye dost aur saath nayi koi zindagi. Chuttiyon me raju aur baaki gaanv ke doston se mulakaat zaroor hoti, par dheere dheere chuttiyan bhi kam hogayi, aur milna bhi. Ab kaleem bina chappal ke to door, jooton aur gaadiyon ke ilava zameen me pair hi nahi rakhta tha.

Yun to kaleem ne raju ke prati koi khaas bartaav me tabdeeli na kit hi, par fir bhi ab baa two pehle jaisi na thi. Kabhi dekha to “hi, hello” zaroor hota, par kabhi use zyada aage kuch na badhta. Kaleem shayad ye sochne laga ki chunki dono hi ab alag alag tareekon ki jeevan-shaili ke aadi ho chuke hain, kuch raha nahi baat karne ko. Wahin Raju ke dimaag me bhi yehi baat hi daudti thi.

Ye upar jo maine “Ek kahaani bachpan ki” batane ka prayas kiya hai, koi anutha kissa nahi, balki ham sabhi ke jeevan ka ek aham hissa hai. Sabhi log is tarah ki kisi na kisi paristhithi se zaroor guzarte hain. Hum ye sochke kuch nahi karte ki shayad saamne waala aise sochta hoga, wahin shayad wo saamne waala vyakti bhi isi vichaar dhaara ka shikaar hojaata hai.

Kisi bhi rishte me chaahe kisi bhi tarah ka agar koi badlaav aata hai, to wo hamare nazariye ke chalte aata hai. Ye zaroor hai ki samay ke saath hamari zarooraten badalti rehti hain, aur usse rishton me badlaav aana swaabhavik hai, kinto badlaav ka matlab ant nahi hota.

Bachpan me ek dost ne, jise shayri ekkatrit karne ka bada shauk tha, kuch kaha tha jo mujhe abhi bhi yaad hai. “Kona kona mat chalo.. kona toot jayega.. naye se dosti mat karo.. purana chhoot jaega”

Aisa nahi hai ki hame naye dost nahi banana chahiye, par ye zaroor hai ki ham nayon me itne hi na magan hojayen ki puranon ko bhool hi jayen.

Jeevan ke kuch chuninda anubhavon ke aadhar pe itna to gyaat hai ki bachpan me jo mitrata banti hai wo bina kisi prayaas ya koi faayda ko dhyan me rakhke banti hai.

To kaisi lagi aapko ye “Ek kahaani bachpan ki” ?

(Ek aur hindi kahaani: Sameer ki Atlas cycle, zaroor padhiega)