Category: Random Philosophy Page 19 of 20

The last day

On January 17, 2013

If you thought I was writing about the Mayan’s and their predictions about the Doomsday, then let me tell you, you were wrong. It is actually the last day before this much-needed-holiday (1 Month!) ends.

This vacation just proved just how much I was missing family, friends, and FOOD!!!
Being away from home isn’t new for me, but being away from family definitely is. I remember doing this one thing, especially when I used to be upset, i.e., to eat good food. Good food in, bad mood out.

But, Alas!! Bangalore doesn’t seem to provide such an option for a pocket like mine.

Bangalore doesn’t seem to provide such an option for a pocket like mine. Leaving aside my foodgasm, let me get to the point, this introduction part is getting too long. I’ll describe the last day, which in many ways sums up the whole vacation.

Letting my Body clock wake me up

Waking up on my own watch is an amazing feeling. Don’t you think ? Sleep to your heart’s content is like letting your morning start off with a victory.

Same Breakfast, Different place

Having masala upma for breakfast which is far better than what I get in my South Indian college mess. Such Irony, I tell you.

Morning of Appreciation

Good morning’d by a mail from Blogadda confirming that I have been shortlisted for the “Notable Newbie” blogger along with many other bloggers. Feels good to be appreciated and then boasting about it here. This was like an icing on the cake after all sorts of appreciation for my work during SUPA.

Foood. Good Food.

Fish curry in the lunch, deliciously made. If at all, I need to single out the percentage of non-veg food I’ve had during this whole month, the ghaans phoons would surely be in single digit scores. Sorry, can’t help it, just born this way. Although, Xime and Bangalore have tried changing it, but only to increase my love for it. Wo kehte hain na, Dooriyon se badhti hain Nazdeekiyan. (Distances bring you closer).

Friend drops by on Time

My friend arriving before time to pick me up!! Well, that had never happened before nor will happen again. So, after a brief wait, when he arrived rode to meet many of my high school buddies. Many were surprised to see me(pleasantly, I hope), some even hitting me as to why I cannot just extend my leaves for a few more days. In between lots of catching up, trying to click photos without flash in almost dark places, “career” discussions, exams, talks about old flames, whose-upto-what, and lots!! All this gupshups can never finish and so rightly so it didn’t. Yet had to get off post bidding people good byes.

And more friends to meet

After high-school, it was the turn of the guys from college. Not many there, so the two closest ones got the whole time that I could spare. They even stopped me for a pre-dinner “Dinner”. Well, this is that dinner, where you don’t fully stuff yourself but keep a little space for home food and if something of your liking is there at home, than you just go ahead with that as well. Else, your stomach signals a Red light. With promises to be present early morning at the station to bid adieu, they dropped me back at home.

Who says NO to Biriyani?

Home, well a whole lot of packing was to be done. Came in and did that as fast as I could and also to buy some time if at all they force me to eat the Dinner. While finishing, what I smelt was Biryani. Who says NO to that ? now the thing with food and me is, we have an agreement of not ever refusing good food. And so, I jumped into stuffing myself up that as well.

And It’s a Wrap!

A job well done and a day spent that way too. and if you are wondering about my talk of only food all throughout the post, well I should tell you, that is what I was actually upto. Apart from SUPA, almost every activity I did involved food.
But every good thing comes to an end, and along with the news of our “new” Dean, who happens to be “the” strict one.

Yet, with the goodness that I was part of in all these days will, In sha Allah , be reflected, onto my life.

Love and Love stories…

By farooq

On December 4, 2012

In Random Philosophy

“Love and Love stories”

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear them??

Okay, I get it. And that is exactly not the thing I am going to talk about.

If I had to sum it up in just one-word, I’d say Exaggerated.

It’s nothing but fictitiously-over-dramatic and surrounded by a never-existing-artificial-aura created by movies, literature and some over-the-years stories by people for whom the word logic is like some alien entity and the world of fantasy is actually reality. And of course, we loved our tradition so much, that this idioticity has continued ever since, with its series of “updates” and “added feature versions”. (Even more than what, Mozilla or IE can come up with).

I am not saying that this whole thing does not exist or its too idiotic for it to actually take place or is in total contrast with (although, some voice in my head, even says so ), but just the whole concept of Love and love stories are so exaggerated to the extreme.

Thing is, we all are so selfish in our needs that we always look forward to have people around us who will lend us their support, physically and emotionally (sometimes, one leads to another and vice-versa). In order to attain this “need-based-relation”, we look out for people who may fit this criteria or a series of criteria’s depending on our league. Criteria’s vary, no doubt. Some may be stated as…

1. Packaging-

“Love at first sight”,

I’m sure you must have heard about this one for sure. Many products don’t get sold, just because their packaging does not meet the expectation of the consumer.

2. Content-

“Content is the king”,

They say it for the critically acclaimed movies that get success at the box office (like getting the best of both worlds) and reason it out that star-power alone won’t make a movie successful. Well, the 100-crore movie club makes me doubt that.

3. Durability-

“jo tikta hai, wo bikta hai”,

Well some don’t take decisions in haste. Playing the wait-game is what they like. Patience is the key for many of the “transactions” taking place in this world.

4. And numerous blah-blah things, which I better, not start mentioning.

I know, I am commodifying the whole concept of “Love”, but then this is what, examples in and around made me believe.

I am not alone, in what many of the “love-struck reader’s” won’t be liking to hear, of commodifying the idea of love, the idea of actually loving someone apart from your family “unconditionally”. To give my commodified thoughts some strengths, the whole celebration of various “love”days (esp., February), is I believe in reality is doing exactly that and which is nothing but a propaganda by these gift and card-making multi-national chains.

Love it, hate it. Do what you want. But, for God’s sake, Don’t exaggerate it.

Choices

By farooq

On November 30, 2012

In Random Philosophy

A Choice is there in every moment, every situation and every possible location.

You had the choice of ignoring this post by not clicking it, but you didn’t. ( you made a choice)

You have the choice of not continuing to read this.

Yet, you are reading it. (Thank you)

Saying Yes/No, you have a choice.

Bus/Train, you have a choice.

Speak up/ remain quiet, you have a choice.

1 or 2, you have a choice.

Continue reading this/not, you have a choice.

Peace/war, you have a choice.

Good/Bad, you have a choice.

Right/Left, you have a choice.

Black/white, you have a choice.

Congress/BJP, you have a choice.

Israel/Palestine. You have a choice.

Halal/haram, you have a choice.

Shaadi/live-in, you have a choice.

Beauty/brain, you have a choice.

Ladka/ladki, you have a choice.

Books/movies, you have a choice.

Shahrukh/salman, you have a choice.

Desi balan/vilayati Leone, you have a choice.

Original/remake, you have a choice.

Song/item number, you have a choice.

Action/romance, you have a choice.

Batman/Joker, you have a choice.

Fiction/Real, you have a choice.

Borrow/steal, you have a choice.

Bored?? well, you still have a choice to not continue.

Facebook / twitter, you have a choice.

Free speech/jail, you have a choice.

WordPress/blogger, you have a choice.

Doctor/engineer, you have a choice.

Work/play, you have a choice.

Sachin/rest of them, you have a choice.

Cricket/football, you have a choice.

Sania/saina, you have a choice.

iPhone/android, you have a choice.

Pepsi/Coke, you have a choice.

Dominos/pizza hut, you have a choice.

McD ka burger/Thelle ka vada pav, you have a choice.

Eating veg/non-veg, you have a choice.

Coffee/Tea, you have a choice.

Formal/informal, you have a choice.

Handshake/hug, you have a choice.

There is a choice in almost many things added to these. There are dilemmas in selecting the right choice.

Sometimes, we even have to combine many of our choices to arrive at a decision. Sometimes, it’s for the good, sometimes it’s not. Still, every choice leaves us with one very important thing, learning. Learning from our mistakes is what we definitely do, or we are not doing that, we should.

Choices are tough. No doubt about that. But then, we don’t have a choice to avoid not selecting a choice. So, choose wisely.

Wake me up, when September ends

By farooq

On October 7, 2012

In Random Philosophy

“Wake me up when september ends” blurts out from my phone in the form of my alarm, irrespective of whether i was dreaming of playing with the Green Day or just some random stuff.

Mornings are all about making a fresh start, but the world that we are part of rarely give us a chance to do that. Before going to sleep, we end up calculating the number of hour’s we may get to sleep. Sleep is considered so unproductive by us that if given a choice e may resort to some other activity other than that. Although, when we wake up, the story is so different. The snoozing of the alarm clock makes us think, “if only I would have slept earlier” but all wishes don’t come true. And this alarm won’t even make your dreams get completed, forget about getting them fulfilled.

Wishes, dreams and expectations. One just can’t get rid of all these. They seem to follow us wherever we go, even more than the hutch pug. But the hutch pug actually followed for good reasons, but these three are two-edged swords. Just in order to fulfill them, people go the wrong way. They even start expecting a lot more from all quarters. More often than not, these fail to match the expectations. And it hurts, pretty badly.

This October, I’ll try to get rid of some of them. expectations are something that are going to get stuck each time you try to get rid of it, yet that is something I’m going to ‘not give any importance’ from now on. All those laziness for doing what I wanted to, take decisions that I might be neglecting for a long time, take initiatives, convert opportunities, do things that I am supposed to do and not be my on obstacle in stopping myself from doing that.

I may have waited for September to end, but won’t let October get the better of you. Even though this month is credited for being the month when i was born, yet i won’t have any mercy on it.

October, here I come.

This post is a part of WOW Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda

Hypocritical environmentalists!! Who me??? No way!!

By farooq

On September 26, 2012

In Random Philosophy

Hypocritical environmentalists!! Who me??? No way!!

I went out to buy some stuff from the nearby market with my friend, after it was all over, he requested for a poly-bag to the shopkeeper, “Bhaiya!! Ek polythene dena …”, which the shopkeeper didn’t entertain (of course, the reason for that for him was to not incur that cost of extra poly-bag). I obediently kept all the things in the other bag we had and moved on. On my way back I just thought, even after knowing what all effects a poly-bag may have on the environment, we still don’t think twice before asking for one. Don’t we know that polythene is non-biodegradable and hence when we throw it out into the open (which we do quite regularly) will remains there for a long time. Long time implies a really long time (Seriously, this thing just doesn’t refuse to let itself die as if poking fun at mortals like us.)

Polythene pollution( if at all I can term it like that) affects not just human life and society by clogging down drains and being an irritant littering agent but also for animals ( terrestrial as well as aquatic) who swallow it and let me tell you it does not get digested. There was this story I heard that some kilos of poly-bags were recovered from a cow’s body!!!

Even with so much of ill-effects, it is still used widely because of no close substitutes. One can of course afford to carry their own bags instead of poly-bags (but who bothers??).

Government had even banned those small guthka/pan masala sachets as these are the naughty little ones who are omnipresent to litter around the town. Similar things had been done with poly-bags (but then again, who bothers??). Who cares about government banning anything?? Even music downloads from illegal websites is banned. The thing is, we are happy with disobeying the government orders but cry foul when the government does it. We protests in the form of calling a “bharat bandh”, where we make it happen by forcefully closing down shops and stopping public transport and even resorting to violence in the name of bandhs. As our finance minister P.Chidambaram remarked during a recent bandh (there are so many, I can’t even tell which one exactly), “they have called a bandh to protest against the government concerning economy and it is ironic that the form of protest has caused greater economic losses”. So, apt.

What I intended to say was, we are a hypocritical society of uncivilized people who only try to portray themselves as something which they are not.

Hypocritical environmentalists. Who me?? No way!!!!

We shout out to others, to help save the environment yet leave out water taps or lights switched on, throw away used stuff into places, thinking the whole world is our dust-bin. I can surely brag about the fact that one night (during some sleepless night before the exam), I went to each of the rooms in our hostel floor and switched off some 10-12 lights!!!! This is just the case of one floor of 10 rooms, now go figure what all things happen in each house in each city. We say we care, but do we??? We don’t think twice before asking for another poly-bag from the shopkeeper. We “forget” switching off lights and fans as we are in a hurry; we just can’t help ourselves from ablution the dirt of this whole dirty world by using as much water as we can and at the end of it all, we still say, we care!! But seriously, lemme ask again, Do we????

I don’t want an answer. No one wants one. But just for a thought, that the next time we say “we care”, we mean it.

A day with myself..

By farooq

On September 18, 2012

In Random Philosophy

A day with myself……..

Waking up from my sleep and rubbing my eyes, which were still itching due to lack of sleep, I just sat on the bed for a moment, curling up and thinking. Thinking nothing, as there was actually NOTHING to think about after almost 3months (3 long months!!). Looked at my phone to check the time, (of course, checking time also means checking messages, missed calls or fb/twitter notifications) it was 1.23 PM. Recalled, last night was pretty long, extending up to around 6.30 in the morning perhaps.

It all started even before the last exam got over, Ximeans, instead of concentrating on the last two end-term papers, was seen discussing about their holiday plans. Destinations ranged from their home to down south into God’s own country or even Goa. Exams finished, all were happy. No matter how their paper went, at least there was a sense of relief in many of their faces. Though their eyes looked tiring, yet there was this tinge of excitement and happiness shining bright in each of them.

What followed was a rush in the hostel, to pack up their belongings, arranging for a transport to airports, stations, etc. My job was limited to wishing people happy holiday, telling them to bring along sweets or eatables, explain my reasons of not going home (in turn coming to know that many didn’t knew where my hometown was), and the likes.

And then they all left!!

It was me and me again along with the deserted second floor in the afternoon that I woke up to, today. Instead of ruing about not going home and with thoughts of making this day productive, I strolled out of bed to catch up my lunch in the canteen ( of course after finishing my morning “chores”, or to say afternoon J ). Post lunch, it was time for me to turn into a dhobi who had to empty an almost whole cupboard of dirty clothes and clean them up too. With random songs playing on my Asus, finished them all up, including bed-sheets and blankets (the last item washed seriously deserves an applaud man, phew ‘twas difficult!).

After bathing myself without any hurry (after ages) and plugging in my earphones, kicked out to fill up my paapi pet which was starving with all the work done. Eating puffs and a coffee to follow it up, in some bakery, went down for some more Food-hunting. Came across a thela frying out bhajiyas and pakodis. Ate, and while doing so thought that this is kind of one of the rare times that I am eating from a roadside thela after coming here (Seriously, what’s wrong with me?!! I used to be a thela foodlover some era back 🙂 ).

And then this night came, (and is still not finished, until I sleep), talked with my school friends after a long time, updated and got updated, watched random videos, from cricket to dance to even saddam husein’s court proceeding (sheer joblessness 🙂 ) and then after complete exhaustion decided to type down and torture some of you who might be reading this. (you still there ? 🙂 )

Days come and days go, what matters, is how much productivity one could take out from it. In the end, maybe that’s what matters (So not LP J). There was no deadlines to meet, no exams to worry about, no one to discuss about “bad-food”, no complaints, no demand. There was nothing, just me, whom I liked. (such a narcissist :)).

Bas ek seat ki to baat hai bhai..

By farooq

On September 18, 2012

In Random Philosophy

“Have a seat” said the HR manager to one of the candidates he was interviewing. The guy who was all nervous, even the comfortable cushiony chair could not help him relax.

“Hot seat” was the term given to the contestant’s seat in the popular Kaun Banega Crorepati (an adapted version of “Who wants to be a millionaire). A life changing sum can be won by the person who could adjust his bum on these, keep his cool and answer some question to earn the moolah.

“Sit Down” says the teacher in the class to a student, who had been standing there because of some mischief he might have done, and the poor student heaves a sigh of relief.

Sometimes, it’s very comforting to get a seat, but sometimes even the comfort isn’t enough.

Bas ek seat ki to baat hai bhai..

Local train or even general compartments in the Indian trains are amusing; one not only comes across strange and different experiences but also ends up becoming a part of the whole crowd. I happened to go to the Railway station after almost 2 months and remembered the old times when railway station used to be my second home.

Anyways, what I wanted to talk about was how there was this constant struggle going on for seats, everywhere. You always want the best seats for yourself, be it a bus or train, or a theatre or café. One even fights for the seats, in politics, in classroom, in offices, everywhere. You hear cases of student suicide and you are baffled as to why.

Bas ek seat ki hi to baat hai bhai…

Sometimes you get one, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes, we are not able to do justice to the opportunity of getting that seat. But what matters is giving 100% in order to do whatever you really want. Go and get seated only when you really feel like doing. Do things, which you really want to, no matter how stupid it may sound. Life is about making mistakes and learning from them. It may be possible that you will have to stand in that bus without getting the seat, but remember

bas ek seat ki to baat hai bhai….

My Ramadan away from home…

By farooq

On September 18, 2012

In Random Philosophy

My Ramadan away from home*

(*This post is dated August 14, 2012)

In the Islamic calendar, Ramadan is the most sacred and awaited month of the year. This month not only brings the blessings from the Almighty but also joy and happiness for the devoted Muslims. Fasting from dawn till dusk and praying to the supreme Lord is what one is supposed to do and since the Satan is kept in the jail, all of the people find it pretty easy to follow. The end of Ramadan month is marked by Eid-ul-Fitr, the most important festival and a gift to the people from Allah for sacrificing your food for his blessing.

Talking about this month, it has always been a wonderful experience for me to be a part of all the joys that is associated with it. Be it, the fasting which is called Roza or the meals before beginning and after breaking the fast, Sehri and Iftar respectively. Those shirmals , bakarkhaanis and firnis in sehri and pakodis, samose, fruit salads, kheers, haleems, sharbats and what not in the Iftar . All of this will definitely make Ramadan a beautiful affair between you and Allah’s divinity. These special meals are not just amazing because of the kind of food that is prepared but also the way all of the family members, from the tiny toddlers to the oldies, sit together praising the lord for the food. Also, with Eid approaching, there would be a whole lot of chaos in the market where people will be seen day in and day out shopping for the ultimate day.

xime ki sehri

But alas!!!

All this is over. From home to Hostel it’s totally different. Iftar and sehri are almost alike the other meals or even worse as the only thing you get to eat is bread!! Along with it boiled eggs from the morning, milk which gets cold till the time you have time you had to drink it, bananas which are as old and pulpy as the jam, while the jam is just colored sugary pulp. The Iftar is a bit different, in terms of not providing you with breads but same in terms of repeating the canteen’s favorite roti and egg curry.

Forget about shopping for Eid, even the excitement about it is not there, thanks to our XIME’s very modest way of giving holidays. For the first time in my life, I won’t be there with my family for Eid. This Eid, might just be Me, Me and only me and no matter how big a narcissist you are, you won’t be able to enjoy this day all alone. I am no different.

CLICK!

By farooq

On September 18, 2012

In Random Philosophy

For each one of us who wish to relive the moments of our past, photographs serve as the perfect tool which sweeps us back into time. They serve as time machines helping us enjoy those precious moments of yesteryears. Right from the time we open our eyes to see the world around us till we are forced to close it, many a times these small clicks from cameras helps in framing those moment into a static objects of amusement which we treasure each time we take a glimpse.

Cameras, that do the work of making those wonderful clicks happen, have also evolved with time. With advancement in technology, the whole scenario of photography has transformed. Gone are the days, when you had to all dress up and visit studios to get clicked or even call a professional at your home to get it done. Now, even a novice with a mobile phone can do the job for you!!! Add to that, the whole range of SLRs and DSLRs that can make those pictures look even more amazing.

Earlier it used to take days, to get your pictures done, the camera rolls would be cleaned up in the studio and you then get your photographs. Even the number of photographs needed to be kept in check as a limited number of clicks was possible from the film roll. And now???!!! It just takes a few seconds. You get to see the result of your clicks as soon as you are over with posing yourself for it. Plus you can have n number of clicks and you have many amazing options to give effects to your photograph. From b/w to color, from film rolls to memory cards, from showing albums to guests to online sharing. God bless technology.

The technology is such, that you can even carry your memories in pockets. Thousands of images can be stored on memory chips that are even smaller than potato chips!!! Just scroll through them and visit the memories of your past all at a go. But, of course you also need to be careful about it too, one button can delete all of the photos too (true story L). But of course, the benefits of technology outweigh the negatives. ( Also, remember the negatives ? :))

Each moment captured in a photograph bears testimony to the time and moment in which it was captured. The essence of life lies in not just living the moment but cherishing the ones that you had spent previously. Ups and downs are part and parcel of the game that we all are playing on this earth, and while we are down, these very moments of joys help us in staying together and making us stronger. So, just smile and Click! 🙂

SLEEP…ZZZZZZZZ

By farooq

On September 18, 2012

In Random Philosophy

Caution: This post is meant to make the blinking of your eyes go slow and induce a program called, Sleep , into your mind. So, if you know the stats, then proceed at your own risks.

Oh hello, so you have proceeded ahead by knowing that you may be bitten by the sleep bug in the course of reading this out. Good. 🙂

Anyways, let me start by asking you a small question, How many hours do you sleep on an average ?

Hmmm…so was it difficult in calculating the average hours ? I would have said, Yes!
Sleeping hours are never static, they fluctuate more than anything in our life in the world that we live in. Sometimes, we allow ourself the luxury of sleeping for some ‘appropriate’ number of prescribed hours for a civilised human being and sometimes we fail in doing so. But having said that, I’m tempted to again ask, whether there are any number of hours that, in terms of numbers, provide us with the sleep with which one would really feel as if they have really slept? I think, it all varies with time, age, state of mind, to-do-works, etc.
With years of unscientific research, “I have came to notice that, When you sleep more. You feel like sleeping even more.” On days, when we allow ourself to sleep, there’s no stopping us. Tiredness, boredom and habit are the key factors that tend to make our mind enter into this state of temporary rest. Our body needs it to reboot itself so as to perform various activities efficiently.
Strangely, sleep is always associated with inefficiency. When one finds students dozing in between classes or various bureaucrats sleeping or even our parliamentarians enjoying a little nap in the middle of some discussion ( we of course don’t like it when they do it in public with their eyes shut, its fine if they ‘sleep’ with their eyes wide open). No matter what the reason might be behind their public displays of this asset called sleep, but sleeping is the culprit of the inefficiencies. Poor sleep!

Even Yawning is associated with sleep or with boredom which ultimately paves way for the former. Leaving aside the fact, that they can even be spread as part of the nexus of watching others doing the same. ( picture YAWNING and you may have it too. Think!).
No matter what is the preference people give it. Possession of this wonderful asset is very much a necessity for our well being. A cozy bed with a soft pillow, an optimum temperature, a place, sufficient time and a cool and stable mind is what is required to retain the asset of sleeping without any difficulty. Our body and our mind, both needs us to help provide ourselves the possession of it.

So, sleep my friend as much as the world allows you to. It sure is the reflection of your life. A good sleep will help in solving all your problems when you wake up.

Hope you have a sound sleep 😉