Somewhere in between lost and found...

Here we are in the last week of the year…and these two questions are the harbinger of the approaching New Year. The questions “So, what are your new year celebration plans?” and “What is your new year resolution?” are driving each one of us crazy. And these are the cruellest questions you can ask a person, who doesn’t have any plans or resolutions and making him/her feel worse. Well, what is the whole fuss about this New Year celebration? Usually, everybody does one of these 3 conventional things on a New Year’s Eve: 1.  Go out with friends. 2.    Go out with family or have a cozy family dinner/ get- together. 3.  . Sit alone and sulk why didn’t I do any of the above 2 things (which I have been doing for the entire year already). So why make plans? Just go out there and do what comes your way spontaneously! Watch a movie, read a book, call a friend you haven’t talked with for ages, go surprise your family…these are of course the ideas that I read online...

With my Christmas fever soaring down, I could stop myself from thinking about this incident, so I finally decided to write about it. Visiting a happy place which is completely Christmasy, was indeed a delight! With friends, food, and fun…overall my Christmas was exciting! The enthusiastic streets full of balloons and tiaras, the scintillating people all adorning it…I could not resist myself from buying a balloon! Yes the little kid in me still craves for all those things! I was actually happy like a tiny tot for having that balloon! Walking a few meters from there, came a little girl in trashed clothes and with a puppy face asked me if she could have that balloon. As much as I wanted it, I also wanted her to have it …and without a second’s delay I gave it to her. My friends thought that it was indeed stupid of me to give away her the balloon since she will be selling it somewhere again! They made complete sense but my heart didn’t want to believe it. And it happened exactly as th...

Reached the home, hungry and weary. Ravenous stomach was shouting for some curry. Online food delivery, would have been the wisest choice. "But go on that culinary adventure!!", said the inner voice. Should I go first for something tangy and spicy? Or eat the damn cake, I was really dicey. Desserts are to be savored last is just a cliché . Life is uncertain, eat your dessert first they say! Sandwiches, chicken rolls and tasty fries... Pizzas and donuts and creamy pies. This hunger drove me into complete hogging. I would really have to compensate, with an extra round of jogging. Stomach was full, and so was the brain. And it was time to take a nap again! Who needs pen and paper, when you got fork and knife. It is all about making a piquant bit of life!

It was dark and lonely... And there was no one around. I was really sad. And dragged my feet off the ground. Irritated and grumpy... I wished there was a friend to talk to. But confused as ever, What was bothering me...I myself had no clue! It suddenly became cold and soothing And I noticed something behind the tree. Peeping through those woods, Was the moon...smiling at me! Ignoring him...I just kept walking. But moon seemed really in the mood of talking. Moon:"Look at me, tell me why so sad?. Is it because of the bad day you had?" Totally annoyed...I almost yelled at him "Why would you care even if I am upset?" But he kept drifting by me. And said,"Chill...don't tell...forget we even met." For an hour or two..I kept walking and the moon gave me company Exactly like the people who are always with you, loving you unconditionally. He smiled at me...and now I couldn't stop from smiling back. It suddenly felt lightened...l...

“How can you hate dogs?”. Nothing annoys me as much as this question. My liminal liking for this furry friend has always been misinterpreted. It is difficult to be a ‘not such of a dog person’ in today’s world. People will be all judgmental and offensive. They are fanatic when it comes to dogs. After my friend’s constant insistence, I recently watched Marley & Me. Indeed a tearful climax! But after getting  back to reality, the impassive person in me could not help questioning. What if hyperactive Marley had  accidentally hurt baby Patrick? What about all those ruined sofa sets and chewed carpets? And then people will be  like, Shut up....after all, it was just a movie! I don’t exactly hate or detest this animal. It’s just that its presence makes me uncomfortable. My friends have these crazy theories,where they will surprise me with pup at the doorstep and what?? Magic!! I am going to love it! Well, to be honest, I never see that happening. Howeve...

23x1=23 23x2=46 23x3=69 23x4=92 23x5=105 23x6=….????? Wait! I can remember it...I can remember it! Noooo! That one stupid table I had been mugging up for almost 10 years of my precious childhood and guess what I still cannot remember it. Maths indeed was a very crucial part of our curriculum, I always wondered...exactly why? I never had enmity with this subject but also was never a really good friend of it. Parents=Teachers (A different set of pros and cons.) Like writing tables everyday, completing homework on time, they always being updated with every single event of studies happening in my life. I used to feel annoyed at times. But good grades, especially in mathematics always made me feel better. Maths problems were like...Raju buying 70 watermelons, selling 50 to Ram and 20 to Sham….why?? Nobody ever wondered. But he just had to sell it off...and we needed to make sure if he wasn’t going in any loss. Or those chocolates, where you could also get a chocola...

You wanted a happy story but I have written a blend, May be because life always follows a similar trend. At every cross road lies a bitter-sweet new start. For you are going to miss 100%...the untaken shots of dart. Every little thing you do..adds a touch of class. A stamp of your authority...that no one can surpass. There is always a second chance...a completely worth try. But you always have to jump down the cliff...to learn how to fly. Never try to fit in...like missing pieces of puzzle. When you can be the thunderstorm..why settle for a drizzle?

Doing anything out of comfort zone is mostly a no for me. Shifting to Pune was one such scary decision. Though I was so apprehensive about it, life could have never been better. As a kid I had always seen Pune as a vacation place, to stay at my aunt’s and Aaji’s place...but it always bothered me how would it feel like a home? And to be honest…it is completely amazing. Karad…my little home town...taught me everything. Pune gave me experience about how this every damn thing was supposed to feel. Getting lost in similar looking ‘ पेठेतल्या गल्ल्या ’ to deciding ‘what the hell can we eat?’...I sometimes hate Pune for its enormity. But when it came to hanging out with friends or going shopping, we never really run out of places. You love a place not only because of the number of options it provides but also because of its people. And the number of friends…. “Puneri” friends, Pune has given me is jillion! Pune taught me these weird things which always come handy. To be rude bu...

To be or not to be?! was always the question... Lots of missing variables, it is a complicated equation. Say yes or no, it doesn't really matter... She kept holding the glass, but it was to shatter. They called her 'Cynical'..that she always cried! But all her efforts were in vain, whatever she tried. Right or wrong, there is never a correct answer... It was just that..it was summer and she was a rain dancer! Life went on and she kept wondering how? Truth is everything's planned, be it then or now!

आयुष्यात ही पहिलीच गोष्ट अशी होती जी फक्त अन् फक्त मज्यासाठीच घडत होती.... बरोबर अवरून collegeला निघाले...की लावलीच पावसाने हजेरी. हा प्रकार सलग तीन-चार दिवस घडत राहिला. एरवी इतका आवडणारा पाऊस, त्या क्षणाला कसा एकदम नकोसा झाला! मी तशीच भिजत भिजत (raincoat असूनही..ज्याचा फारसा काही उपयोग होत नाही) collegeला पोहोचले....आणि पाऊस एकदम गायबच! आणि मजा म्हणजे कॉलेज मध्ये मी एकटीच भिजलेली होते...बाकी सगळे छान कोरडे..इतका embarrassing वाटत होता खर म्हणजे! पण तीन दिवसांनी या प्रकारची मला सवय झाली होती आणि इतरांना मला गच्च भिजलेल पहायची. मग अचानक डोक्यात एक विचार आला..जो एक मैत्रिणीने पटवुनही दिला. नेमकी मीच कशी भिजते या पावसात..का जणू मलाच भिजवायला येतो हा पाऊस! मग अचानक या चिडचिडिचे रूपांतर आनंदात झाले...त्या क्षणी सगळे tensions, problems एकदमच विसरले. Collegeमधून घरी जाताना पुन्हा पाऊस पडत होता..पण आता तो अगदी हवा-हवसा वाटत होता..घरी आल्यावर खूप खुश दिसत असेन मि कदाचित...सगळे मला माझ्या आनंदाचा कारण विचारत होते..पण कोणाला अणि काय सांगणार...हे माझा आणि 'त्याच' गुपित होतं...

   Today I was trying very hard to remember a story which I was frequently told as a child. It had a few words like "कुंजरी का रणभेरी...." stuck there I had no idea how to find it, so I used all my searching skills but finally surrendered myself. The Internet could not help me today and all my efforts were in vain. So at the end of the day, I called up my sister to ask about it.    Well, it is rightly said, some things are just passed. She elaborated me the entire story then. Well, this was a Sanskrit story Aaji used to tell us in a dramatic tone. And as a little girl, I had just mugged up the climax, which now made no sense to me.    So the story goes like, once a rabbit family moved to a new forest ruled by a wicked tiger. They stayed in the burrow for a few days to avoid an encounter with the tiger but then they realized this would not work forever. One day they wi...

      Came across this crazy theory called 'six degrees of separation' today. This theory proposed by a Hungarian writer states that anyone can be connected to any other person on this planet in six or fewer intermediates as in terms of introduction. A degree of separation is basically the measure of social distance.      Many experiments and projects have been conducted across the globe to prove or disprove the point. In an experiment undertaken by Microsoft, they tried connecting people using the large database of social networking. They had come up with results like, more that seventy percent of people can be connected in seven or fewer steps and the others in about 29 steps. From this, the concept of 6.6 or 7 degrees of separation was derived. Not going into its technicality in deep, I found this to be very amusing.     This concept has been then used then in several movies, songs and games considering different ...

      The other day I went to a park with my nephew and sister. It was really after a long time that I was seeing those slides, swings, monkey-bars, etc. My nephew super excitedly was running up and down the slides. All the other children with a lot on enthusiasm were running around making their own way. But the thing I couldn’t help noticing was, the children playing there belonged to the ages of 2-6 years. The question was ‘What were the ‘slightly older’ kids doing on a holiday evening?’ The answer was pretty easy. They probably were sitting in front of the TV, or lost in their parent’s smartphones or wandering aimlessly in a mall.       And in a jiffy, there was a flashback. I remembered the little me and my friends running and playing.  I just loved playing those outdoor games so much. Being from a small town and having a nice park just around the corner, childhood was a treat to me. For us evenings meant a never ending game of hide and go...

एक दिवस एकदम रंगात आली होती आजीची आणि माझी जोडी . तसं आपलं नेहमीचंच … गप्पा , गावांच्या भेंडया , आडनावांची कोडी . Gallery मध्ये बसून , समोरचा कृष्णेपेक्षा आमचा होत्या खूपच वेगवान गप्पा . पटापट गोष्टी बदलत होत्या … विषय अवघड असो वा सोपा . पारिजातकाच्या बहरलेल्या झाडाकडे बघून आजी स्वतःशीच हसत होती . मनातल्या मनात नक्कीच कुठली तरी   कविता ती रचत होती . लक्षात येताच मी लगेच आजीला विचारलं , " कसला   ग   विचार   करत्येस आजी ?" ती माझ्याकडे बघून हसून म्हणाली , " कशी ग़ सुंदर आहे हि बाग माझी . माझी नाही आपली ! हि झाडं , फुलं , पान … हे सगळ्यांचच असतं . तुझं माझं , आपलं दुसऱ्याच ह्यात असं काहीच नसतं ! हे बघ सुस्मिता , ह्याच परीजाताकाप्रमाणे फुलून खूप मोठं व्हायचं , स्वतःसाठी तर आहेच … पण थोडं दुसऱ्यासाठी हि जगायचं . तगरी , जास्वंद , चाफ्या सारखे आयुष्यातही असतात वेग - वेगळे   रंग . तुझ्हा आता आभ्यास झाला कि मग सांगते , मला आठवतायत खु...

In a battle against Pune and Mumbai, I have always been a loyal supporter of Pune. But after my recent trip to Mumbai, there is one thing for sure, I’m no longer against Mumbai. There’s something about Mumbai that always scared me. The busy roads, fast trains, mobs, snappy life etc. But there is fun in it and I got to taste every bit of it. Usually I visited Mumbai just to attend weddings, visit relatives or spend vacation at grandparent’s place.  But this time it was all about exploring the place and I absolutely loved it. With two best friends and a back-pack…life had never been better. With railway schedule applications and google maps to the rescue, things were pretty much easier. I love trains, but local trains make me anxious.  Flock of people rushing in and out of trains is really a scary sight. For a highly disoriented person like me, the words central railway zone, western railway zone are almost like Greek and Latin. But all this was just until I actually bo...