Its All Greek to Me

2010-09-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

There is something liberating about drinking which makes you pick up the pen and want to write, or type in this case. The words might not come straight, the grammar might be off the mark, but one thing is for sure, you sure wanna right. So excuse the mistakes and the obvious errors, cos my friend, today, after more than a year, I really want to write. What is it about the human race that makes us so dissatisfied, when all that it takes to arouse a sense of euphoria, or sth close to that, is two glasses of vodka. Why are we all in this mad rush to achieve more, do more, get there faster, that we forget to enjoy the good moments. Or is it just the empty banter of an underachiever ;) Does it really take only 2 glasses of vodka. Well, you can have another one on me, is all I can say right now ;) Till later...

2009-08-30T01:08:00.000-07:00

Its been a loooooonnnnnnnngggggggggg time, since I last wrote. Writers' block, sheer laziness, lack of interesting things to write about, all these and more.. Not that it really matters. The new thought I am struggling with "how much of what seems to matter a lot really matters in the long run" But that apart. I have been blamed to often the past 2 months of being a cynic. A lot of it is because I like to keep blabbering that I am a cynic :) Sounds kinda cool...I dont give a damn kinds.. and thats making me wonder. Was I meant to be an optimist and am now turning into a cynic, only because I keep telling myself so.. If you have already lost interest, whoever u are..come back in a few days...this is stuff after a long break..I promise to get better with the next series of posts, and I promise to post more... and I am sure u will be back.. cos if u read this, you havent given up on me..And that proves am not a cynic :)
Back from my meanderings.. is cynicism that bad... btw, it comes from the Greek word kino meaning dog. That should make it bad enough :)
So optimism is the flavour of the reason. I believe I can fly..I believe I can write much better than this :)
till I get sth to talk about......

Simple or Complicated

2008-09-10T03:59:00.000-07:00

How complex should life be, or how simple for that matter. Do we all cherish simplicity, or are we all running towards a mirage, in the process complicating what we already have. A new dimensions always brings a higher level of complexity and who's to say, "I don't like that". Something new, something different, something not mundane, isn't that the race all of us are trying to win. The race to do new things, make new things happen, maybe visit new places, experience different stuff, and isn't that changing us in the process. Making us more complex, not just our lives. I am a simple person, all I want to do is enjoy every moment of my existence. Simple enough, aint it...:)

Calvin: I am a simple man, Hobbes
Hobbes: You?? Yesterday you wanted a nuclear powered car that could turn into a jet with laser-guided heat-seeking missiles!
Calvin: I’m a simple man with complex tastes

Dreams

2008-09-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

Dreams- things that seemed possible when you were young, and which then tasted reality. Not many stand the test of time, and in some cases, none do. Is our life forever guided by these changes is the question. And the answer is what we are all looking for.
Its so difficult to write at times. How I long for the days when words flow naturally, and thoughts stumble over each other to catch attention. Someone was telling me some days back that all great authors are gifted. Thats the good life. You do something which is effortless and you get paid for it. But is it. I might not write well but I can well associate with the frustrations that come when you just cant. But then we all live for the days that we can. And they are what make life what is is meant to be.
Is that the way a cynic would think....
Wonderingly yours

ISB Ranks in Top 20 Global B-Schools

2008-01-28T04:04:00.000-08:00

ISB began as a dream. A dream whose time had come. And today the dream is reality. Hats off to all those people who put their faith in their dream, and are now in enviable position of seeing it lived in their own time. With that being said, the time is now. Our time has come. It is official. ISB is ranked 20 in the Top B-Schools of the world by Financial Times.
As we do India proud, being the only Indian school in the rankings and the youngest ever to make it to the top 20, that too the first time it participated in the rankings, all the critics stand silenced. ISB was always a global school, and today, we can truly say that.

Let the celebrations begin, or rather, continue :)

http://rankings.ft.com/global-mba-rankings

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/videopod/default.aspx?id=22830

Blooker material?

2008-01-11T13:59:00.000-08:00

Theres been a long time since I have been looking for some motivation to blog again. And recently, I read about the concept of "blooker". A blooker being a book which is inspired by a blog. It seems publishers are reading blogs and deciding to publish them in a book version. Since it has been my long cherised dream to write a book, this could be a mode to get there. I can almost see you smirking. Ya, right. I know this blog is not the quality they would print in a book. But well this is warm up (yet again), before I start writing seriously:).
Do i really want to get serious though, surreal is what my mood is nowadays.
And suddenly the thoughts stop, as suddenly as they had started. Relentless, torturous, overpowering, phenomenal, to not let go ever....
Let there be more when there is a better day, the time is not now, let us wait for the right time....

Term 6.

2007-12-05T06:09:00.000-08:00

We are already in Term 6 and life has become so predictable, yet so unpredictable. Until and unless you have a deadline tomorrow, no work gets done. And if you dont have a deadline for tomorrow, you feel wierd. Its like there has to be something to be done everyday. How can you have time for yourself. I am being considered lucky since I dont have any submission due tomorrow. Unluckily, I have 5 coming up on Monday, but guess what, I am still not doing any. It would be sacrilege to touch it before Sunday. Much like unsuspecting people thinking I have gone crazy when I said I have finished one assignment 24 hours before the deadline.
Comfortably numb, as some friend's Gtalk line read. Life seems to have a pace of its own, with you not having to interfere. As the topic of the blog only reads. How much more uncreative and unimaginative could it have got, you wonder. Or do you.
Just a blip in your entire existence, as our LSCM professor says. I seriously wonder how many of these blips I will even remember ten years down the line. Things which command so much share of mind right now, how important will they actually be some day. And for that matter, how important are they right now.
And as the Consumer behaviour class ended today, I realised we are already halfway done through this term too. Its like a fast paced giant wheel, what with all the ups and downs life brings here. And as I get ready to face another one, unpredictably so, its time to sign off.......:)
Predictably yours
Madhur

As good a time as ever

2007-11-19T12:23:00.000-08:00

2 in the night, a day before an exam, is as good a time as any to start re-blogging. What do u call a three month break- a sabbatical, a reality check or an imagination trip? Where does the line between imagination and reality actually blur, and where do the demarcations end?
As I try to focus on the task at hand, try really hard and yet not succeed :), I wonder what tomorrow holds, and the day after that. And thats it I have stopped wanting to know beyond that. There was a time when i used to fantasise about life, about the future, and not live in the present. The present always seemed like a wrong time to live. The future was always more alluring, being the unknown. Ever wondered what it is about what u dont know, the sense of adventure, the mystery, the sweet smell of secret, its a potent package altogether. And suddenly its not. Or is there a small voice at the back of my head that still wants to know but does not want to admit.
Do we all actually live honest lives? Dont we always lie about whats important and what matters and why we do what we do? Why is it so difficult to state the reality and accept it? Are we scared of coming across as vulnerable and is imagination a good enough shield? When does the like about reality and pretence taper off? And when do we accept the wall we build?
Is now as good a time as ever to start studying, or am I better off still wondering

contempatingly yours
@ISB

Survival of the fittest or ????

2007-08-27T05:35:00.000-07:00

I am staring at the watch as I type. With two exams down and one due tomorrow, we have almost finished the end term. You would ask why this sudden urgency to write now when my last post was more than 3 weeks. why cant I wait for tomorrow to be able to write quality and not just spew a mixture of thoughts on the screen and stop torturing my readers with half baked ideas and stories. As I walked out of the paper and comtemplated how I had done, my first thought was how others had done. Game theory the call it right. Life has become that only. Everything is ranked basis the average. What was the average, am I above, it, if yes, how much above, if below, how much below. All grades are relative. So the fight to survive, to be the best. If someone were to come and tell me people found the paper tough, that would give me more pleasure than the fact that I did a good paper. Its sad. You wish everyone but your close friends have ----ed it. You wish mediocrity on others to ensure you come out as better. Its all relative. Makes me miss college and school, where everyone was happy that everyone scored. Are the resources that short that we need to apportion. the production frontier, have we reached that? Adn then again, why do we all want the same things, which are not enough in number. are we all runnning after a mirage and losing our identities in the process. Would one grade more or less matter any which way in the future, or for that matter, even today. Are grades any measure of intelligence or competence in any case. Its convenient to decide the world in above and below average, but is it right. Does it make any sense whatsoever.
:)
Contemplatingly yours

Wide AWAKE

2007-08-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

0630 in the morning. Cant believe I was awake the whole night finishing an assignment, and I am still not sleepy. This inspite of living on 4-5 hours of sleep for the past 3 days, due to a mid term exam. Strange. Life changes, people change, even habits change. I would never have thought I could survive on anything less than 8 hours of sleep. Sleep, such a precious commodity at ISB. U want to do so much more, that sleep feels like a waste of time. Actually.
Term 3 is the killer, I had heard from seniors. It feels very much true. What with assignments every 2 days, bidding for live industry projects, and so many other things coming up, it actually is difficult to survivie. Sometimes I wonder what world I am living in, what life and whats beyond this. And what was before this. I miss my past life a lot here, like I will ISB a lot when I pass out.
What more and what less and what else and what not...:)

Wonderingly yours

Another month gone

2007-07-09T05:45:00.000-07:00

More than a month and not even a single entry..Can believe myself. My scientist friends must be disappointed. But then how would I know. Its been a long time since I spoke to any of them. ISB is like a whole new world. Almost like you are on an island with this the only population. Many a times you forget there is a world out there. What with so much happening all around, another term is about to come to an end. And if we thought Term 1 was difficult, it seems like paradise now. We used to have weekends then, without classes and in fact one without assignments also. Now, when I walk into a class and someone asks me "how was the weekend", my reply is like, "What weekend?". A GLEC class, an extra Comp Strat session, a special Mark Strat conjoint lecture, 4 hours of Mandarin, one DMOP case assignment, is that what you call a weekend?
We are finally done with Mark Strat- the marketing strategy game that tested our abilities to work in teams to the limit. With submissions due every 3-4 days, you were spending loads of time with your group. and if u didnt like any of the members, they were immense long hours......For the uninitiated, Mark Strat is a game played at leading B-Schools around the world, to teach you Marketing Strategy first hand. Its only when you burn your fingers do u make a good cook, as per our professors. Well, my food is still burnt, with no takers :)
The game is interesting, very interesting and very arresting. I didnt sleep the night we did really really bad(for the lack of a better word).!!!!! and whats more, I even got up at 7 :). It evokes interest, tests your logic, makes your wonder, makes you want to believe in magic, and in the invisible hand(stealing a macro economic concept here). It all balances, sometimes by logic, sometimes by luck??? Sometimes by a whole lot of analysis..It was a part of your life.. the every third day big question,"So how much did your firm make?" And the sighs and the joys associated with them. Its amazing how such a small thing can occupy such big mindspace, time space and all other kinds of space, pushing everything else important into the background.....
I didnt blog for over a month, and whats more, didnt even think about doing it in a long time....
And now, exams in a week and yet another term will come to an end. The roller coaster ride is gaining speed, and I can barely hold on. The fear of fallinf off is magnifying. And so is the hope of staying on.
Hope, eternal Hope.....:)

Exams galore

2007-05-31T14:15:00.000-07:00

Was speaking to a friend day before and he requested me to blog about life at ISB. People outside here are so curious to learn what goes on inside. as if we are guinea pigs being expiremented upon:) Not that I am complaining, I am still blogging right. Well, time has flown past like it always does. I never realised when two years in Greece ended, and this is a one year, jam packed MBA course. While we bid adieu to all the professors we have known for such a short period, and realised the term has ended, simultaneously, all brains were estimating, how much more do I need to put in for Statistics. Will I manage to make a B in economics? And the more ambitious amongst us, I am already within the A+ bracket, how much more do oil do I need to burn. Come exams and the popular hotspots change from CCDay to the library. People start talking in hushed voices on the phone, the rush for study rooms increases. 2 in the morning becomes the normal time to go for a walk. and you see lights on till 4. So much to do in so little time. The pressure is immense. And its not only studies. There were the elections today. The ISB Radio has started. Club meetings are happening. So much and so much more. I wonder if a guinea pig would have survived. Well, we are...So on that note, till the exams....Signing off .
RJ Madhur

Its 1 in the night...

2007-05-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

...and I am wide awake. As my friends keep asking me how many hours I am averaging in sleep every night, I keep getting more anxious. My beauty sleep is something I am going to hate missing out on. The process has started already. For someone who would remain grumpy if she had anything less than 8 hours of sleep, I am learning to manage beautifully in 6. And I am told it gets much worse. 4 would be an ideal number, and thats my target. Anything less and I would collapse.
The first assignments have been turned in and the grades are out. Its a common occurence to see people working around the campus till late in the night, discussing, analysing, rediscussing, re-analysing. It doesnt get tougher than this. Arriving at a consensus in your group of 4 or 5. All bright people, raring to make their mark, all achievers in their own right. And all striving to become tomorrow's leaders. Pre- reads before the class starts, post-reads to understand what the prof really meant. Read ups, study group sessions, meetings, all in an effort to understand where we are heading with these subjects. Yet floundering. Getting used to burning the midnight oil all over again. While wondering why we are really here.....
One year is too short..or too long/????////
I wonder which one it is going to be......

A new poem

2007-05-03T15:03:00.000-07:00

A new day, a new dawn
a new muse, a new path
Far from the crowd, yet a part
Not the best, yet striving to be
flowing with the river, yet fighting the current
Swept away, holding on to a log
How long though is the question
How well though matters the answer
What to achieve, what to choose
a beautiful life, a better hope
a higher need, a lower aim
the best days, the worst times

What a week

2007-04-23T02:40:00.000-07:00

What a week it has been at ISB. Listening to the seniors, getting gyan from them, being humbled at times, feeling proud at others....Like they said, its the most humbling experiences of your life. Until you have heard from other people all that they have done, you cant put your achievements in perspective. But do your achievements actually carry no importance all alone. Do they really need to be weighed and compared against those of other people to make you feel proud of them?
There are things I have done in my life which I am reall y proud of, which might seem small to other people. Again there are things which I dont think really deserve a mention, and yet someone else might commend them. So its all a question of personal interest and desire. Society controls us to such an extent that we cant even view our achievements in solo. The person who comes first is commended, its not the competition only that matters, its winning.
Having said that, what also matters is your commitment and the passion to get a job done. The talent night at ISB was a case in point. With a range of awesome performances by people, all organised within a space of 2-3 days, it proved how coordination and teamwork is important and how much you can learn from it. People management is a difficult skill. But the results are worth the efforts it takes.

The much awaited- Life @ISB

2007-04-16T06:04:00.000-07:00

And I am here at ISB..
Its been crazy since I boarded the flight from Delhi, and it promises to for the next one year......
From the registration on the first day, to getting oriented, to presentations, to treasure hunt around the 200+ acres campus......running from pillar to post, literally.......
For my ex-Maersk colleagues, its like the MISE program all over again, the only glitch being that I am paying for it this time......:)
Bondings, friendships, have formed in less than a week......Study groups you have to work in to gossip groups u want to work in.......all feel a part of your life like you had never imagined they would....
Life changes so fast....in a matter of three hours I was transported from a totally secure and comfortable career path into the unknown......And surprisingly, or not so, am enjoying it here.....
:)
Till later.....too tired to make any more sense here now......:)

2007-03-26T11:53:00.000-07:00

Its not about winning,
Its about keeping the faith
Its not about catching the rainbows
its about dreaming more on
Its not about achieving,
its about keeping the thought alive
Its not about finding your drea
its about the courage to search
There are some things
you have to do in life
some others that you dont
Its not about living
but about being the way you want
There are vices we all do have,
grey areas, to none we reveall,
its not about those,
its about remaining the way you are.

There is no meaning and yet there is
in this piece of poetry, so profound
Its not about the purpose,
its about putting it down

Afresh

2007-03-26T11:50:00.000-07:00

Lets start afresh
so simple to express
so tough to achieve
Can a slate ever be wiped clean
the slate of life in particular

What if life was like a blackboard
Every day a fresh start
from zilch to riches
no need to give up
no need to give in
Just to start afresh
every time, again
No mistakes, no repentance
No thinking, no pondering
A second chance, a third chance
as many as you wish.

2007-03-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

You pick up a pen after so many years
and just wonder
is this what I want to do,
will I be able to, or
has it been too long
There is a slight hesitation
your hand trembles and you fear
only for a moment
yet the moment stretches on
and then suddenly
as suddenly as it had arisen
the doubts recede and you find
a calm confidence
as you resume what you always did
Such is with poetry
as it is with love.
Years pass and you forget,
what it was like,
the first awakening, the first kiss
and yet one day,
one day when you feel
it must have been another lifetime
deep down in your heart,
you can feel the stirrings of an old romance
and still shiver at the delicious thought
When you feel it cant happen again
that no, its been so long
and suddenly you can feel
the hunger in your heart
the desire in your arms
aching to plant a new future
the way you always planted dreams

There's something about the two
poetry and love
You can never grow too old for it
nor too rusty...

Never before

2007-03-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

Never before had I tread that way
Nor let life run its muse
When suddenly the untoward happened
and my steps took
a mood of their own
Life became a challenge
or rather, the destination did
Never before had I seen so much
nor dreamt the beauty of it
But then the thoughts just came gushing by
Like a torrent of emotions uncontrolled
Everything just fit in
Like a jigsaw puzzle
with the pieces complete
In harmony and in tandem
The world seemed
Maybe it was me, my life,
or just my steps,
that had found the right direction......

Yet

2007-03-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

A yawn and a sniffle
an eye closed, a push
to make it open

Beguiled and yet alive,
Betrayed yet willing to
take another chance

Been hated yet wanting
for love
Been rejected yet waiting
for acceptance.

Devoid of hope
yet wanting to risk again
So dejected
yet willing to go another mile

So old
yet so happy to see another day
So dead
yet so happy to be still alive.

Dream

2007-03-21T04:05:00.001-07:00

Dream of an era forgotten, time gone past, love lost, moments cherished, heights attained, challenges fought, battles won, the best you had, the worst you could.

When...

2007-03-21T03:53:00.001-07:00

When its seems that the world is going to crash all about you,
When it seems nothing is worth it all,
When it feels as if life will end if you take one more step.
When your past and the future all seem meaningless
When the world seems to be heading in an endless mire
When u want to speak yet don’t have anyone to talk to
When the life u are leading seems a mere farce
When darkness seems your only fate
When love seems a mirage of a faraway land
When the journey seems too long and tiring
When every muscle shouts give up
When even a small step forward is a big effort
Then is the time to fight it out,
For all you are worth,
Then is the time to keep going on……………………….

Quotes I love

2007-03-21T02:25:00.002-07:00

Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing what to do is the worst kind of suffering.

Son los lacos que inventron al amor
It must have been the lunatics who invented love.

Lovers need to know how to lose themselves and then how to find themselves again.

Anyone who can conquer her heart can conquer the world.

The wise are wise only because they love. And the foolish are foolish only because they think they can understand love.

The reason death sticks so closely to life is not biological necessity-its envy. Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous, possessive love that grabs at what it can. But life slowly jumps over oblivion, forgetting only a thing or two of slight importance, and gloom is but the passing shadow of a cloud.

Every honest man lives for himself. Every man worth calling a man lives for himself. The one who doesn‘t--doesn‘t live at all.

By the essence and nature of existence, contradictions cannot exist. If you find it inconceivable . . . check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong.

I like cigarettes. . . . I like to think of fire held in a man‘s hand. Fire, a dangerous force, tamed at his fingertips. I often wonder about the hours when a man sits alone, watching the smoke of a cigarette, thinking. I wonder what great things have come from such hours. When a man thinks, there is a spot of fire alive in his mind--and it is proper that he should have the burning point of a cigarette as his own expression.

They say that some people never grow upLost in time shackled to the past forever,Stung by loveStill weaving, still believing yesterday's dreamsIf life is real then so is my imagination

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom

Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes when you fall, you fly.

There’s no problem so bad that you can’t add guilt to it and make it even worse.

The whole world sees me as just one person, I want just one person to see me as the whole world.

Of all sad words of tongue or penthe saddest are these, it might have been.

The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.

It was as though the man had to shout in order to convince himself of his own existence

Not only does God definitely play dice, but He sometimes confuses us bythrowing them where they can't be seen.- Stephen Hawking

Hope is a good thing,maybe is the best thing, and no good thing ever dies.

Upheavals

2007-03-21T02:25:00.001-07:00

Life is not without its upheavals,
Love is not without its sorrows,
Man is not without his woes

Hand in hand they come,
Joy and sorrow together,
Can one ever be true,
Without the other lurking close behind!

Can life ever be complete,
Without all it is made of there,
Can happiness ever be full,
Without the pinch of salt to taste.
The bittersweet tastes better
The tang makes things merrier!!

Dread

2007-03-21T02:18:00.001-07:00

A feeling of dread overcomes
Every hope of being alive
Of finding joy in all that life brings.

A pall of gloom descends
Scaring every lovely thought away.

Till when will the heart score over
Till when can this feel right!

A time comes for everything
And time’s the deciding factor
If this be true,
Then I wait,
When will the time for this come?

Torrent

2007-03-01T04:30:00.001-08:00

A torrent of emotions
Dreams threatening to engulf
The past rearing its ugly head
Monsters from relationships dead

Quiet solitude,
Escape from my thoughts
A serene peace, a silent sea

Fitful sleep, unhappy dreams
Dreams threatening to destroy
Sounds in the distance,
Wish mine was one

A jarred sequence
An unhappy present
A mysterious longing
A noisy solitude

Why do people create blogs?

2007-02-23T03:41:00.001-08:00

Since I heard about the new revolution on the net, which is not so new now, I have been wondering, "Why exactly do people blog". Being one of the latecomers on the scene, I am still toying with the reasons and wonderind why. Is this a need for exhibition, to display your innermost thoughts to the world? Is it a need for recognition? I want people to know I blog, that I have an opinion, and that I want to voice it. Is it a way to meet people who think like you do? So, lets say, a more sophisticated, and shall I say, time saving way to meet people who can be potential friends. I mean, if I read someone's blog, I can easily figure out if I ever want to be friends with this person or do I want to avoid him like the plague.Having said that, I did create an iland, the indianised version of a blog, and well, forgot about it in less than a month. Does that indicate that I do not have much to tell the world, am I too bored with my own life to share it with others. And that brings me to another question, why do people really read blogs? Reading in any manner gives pleasure, it opens the mind and the recesses, gives you food for thought, and makes you wonder about things.I do read through other people's blogs when I get the time(much as I wonder why), and many a times, I find many of them filled with intimate details, like what did I do the whole day. What am I upto as of now, and why I am doing what I am doing. You can tell me the reason I read them is that I like them. But thats not really it. Is this a hint of voyeourism. Do I like to peep into other people's lives, trying to derive some pleasure from that. I would tell myself its plain curiosity and a strong indication that I need to get a new hobby. Or maybe, I am in search of new friends, and this is my way of listing down these people as potential or never.So now, why I am actually blogging myself? While I wonder, maybe I will write some more........

The right choice

2007-02-20T00:30:00.000-08:00

What in life constitutes the right choice at this moment, changes the next. Instant decisions might be the best ones, because they come with a gut feeling. When u mull too much, you start to lose focus of the initial goal. Why are you deciding what you are deciding. What are the factors and what makes more sense. These practical paper to pen sessions, or rather fingers to excel file session, rarely make much sense. The best decisions are the decisions from the heart, for better or worse. Atleast your heart is in them. Does it really matter at the end of the day how much money you make. There is as much as you can eat and drink and be merry with.
You need to get your priorities right in life. If the priority is to be happy. then the obvious question would be, what makes you happy? Is it money? no Is it traveling? Yes. Spending time with family? Yes/ Do you want to be in your comfort zone throughout Or do you want to venture out of that and take some risks?
Why am I taking the effort to write all this? Do I really want to get to the top and be a big shot? all I want is a happy life, contented with my comforts and my family... So why am I thinkign so much and what is this going to get me to/////

The dream

2007-02-05T05:42:00.000-08:00

At times, the dream itself changes. What we believe in and what we actually do often works at a tangent. And then there comes a day when you sit back and think, Am I really doing what I should. And that day decides what you will do in your life. You decide to do what you must. And then the story begins.

Review of Jonathan Livingston Seagull

2007-01-19T04:05:00.000-08:00

In this age of globalization, where every event, news, story travels thousands of miles at the speed of thought, we are confronted with new ideas, possibilities and innovations every minute. But at times, there comes along a book, an article, a happening, which makes us sit back and think. It makes us wonder about the meaning of our lives and what we want to achieve. Such a piece of writing is “Jonathan Livingston Seagull”. In this novella, Richard Bach presents his philosophy of life and how it should be lived.
The book revolves around Jonathan Livingston. All seagulls believe that the only purpose of life is to eat in order to survive. According to them, flying is only a means to this end. You need to learn how to fly in order to be able to fight for food with the other gulls. According to Jonathan, on the other hand, flying is the bigger or rather the only purpose of life. He spends all his time learning about new flying techniques, in the hope of achieving perfection. The rest of the flock judges this behavior to be unacceptable and he is banned from the flock, for bringing shame upon them. Jonathan accepts his life as an outcast, and continues to practice flying. Repeated
practice, an unwavering spirit, and continued effort teach him a lot. With each new skill, he challenges what he has learnt before. One day, he is taken by a group of gulls to a higher plane of existence, where he meets gulls with similar motivations. All the gulls here are engaged in active pursuit of perfection, as they work hard to master the art of flying. Jonathan Livingston learns that all gulls are free and he is only limited by his thoughts. He befriends the wisest gull in this new place, named Chiang, who takes him beyond his previous learning, teaching him how to move instantaneously to anywhere else in the universe. The secret, Chiang says, is to “begin by knowing that you have already arrived”. Not satisfied with his new life, Jonathan now returns to
Earth to teach others like him. He spreads his love for flight and gathers a dedicated group who are as passionate about flying as him. He further goes back to his old flock and with the help of his new students, illustrates his meaning in life. This inspires more gulls to leave the flock and to be a part of this new group, which strives for selfperfection. Jonathan nominates his first student, Fletcher, as the new leader and leaves to continue upon his path of learning and to help more gulls by showing them the way to a more meaningful life. All this helps him understand the meaning of love and leads him to his true destiny.
Jonathan Livingston stays true to what he believes in. He knows what he wants from life, and he works hard at it. Even though he is left all alone to fend for himself, rendered an outcast, he does not submit to the norms of society. According to him, his beliefs are more important than anything else in the world. And he has the courage to live by them. There is a famous saying, ”What would a man gain if he sells his soul”.
In the book, Jonathan exhibits a hunger for learning, a passion to excel. He wants to learn more and more each day. For him, flying presents a million different possibilities and he wishes to explore them. Without worrying about the consequences, and even at the cost of his life, he keeps trying, in order to learn more, in order to reach where he must. Jonathan Livingston is not willing to accept defeat. In the beginning, when he experiments with speed flying, he understands that there is something he is not doing right. But, he also accepts that sooner or later he will get it right.
Once he learns all the techniques of flight and fulfillment, Jonathan realizes that he wishes to share them with the rest of the flock. As a result, he comes back to the flock he has been banished from and takes some students under his wing, in order to empower and teach them all he knows. Despite all that he achieves, Jonathan Livingston is portrayed as a very humble being, who wants to share what he knows, but does not wish to be given any extra credit for it, or to be held in high esteem because of this. According to him, he is living his true destiny and being what he is, what he needs to be. This does not call for any reverence or any special treatment by others. Life is not just about being recognized, or achieving things valued by society. It is about living the way you wish to life, it is about working for what matters to you, and what you want to achieve.

The End

2007-01-12T03:32:00.001-08:00

And the beginning and the end was always there, before the beginning and after the end.

And why do I feel that the world is coming to an end over me
And why do I feel life just cant go on.
What to write and what not to write
The better u do the more u expect
Can one ever be satisfied.
If not a quest yet what else is life
A need to be the best, a need to improve, always.
A need to do, to make to deliver
The day wont close the night wont open
Its like an endless mire,
a road to nowhere, a lane to forever
and what all, and what more and what less
and what not

To 2

2007-01-12T03:28:00.002-08:00

To make the most of what comes by
To never utter a word in regret
To work and never repent
To love and not worry about being hurt
To give and yet not expect in return
To try and and not rest till having achieved
To know your worth yet not shout it out
To rise above all yet remember to look down
To help all yet not depend on anyone
To be the best and yet strive for more

To

2007-01-12T03:28:00.001-08:00

To write for the hands will,
to write for the heart commands,
to write for I need to
and not just
because I want to,
to move my hands
because a force moves them,
to go on
because I have the energy to, to live
because life was meant to,
to sing
because words wont be stifled, to dance
because the feet wont stand still, to speak
because the voice beckons,
to love
because its so beautiful,
to be,
because its so good to.

Upheavals

2007-01-12T03:24:00.002-08:00

Gathered musings

2007-01-12T03:24:00.001-08:00

Change your past

2007-01-12T03:24:00.000-08:00

If given a choice, would you like to go back and change your past? I know none of us have had a perfect life. There have always been things which you could have done without, there must have always been situations you wished you were not in. There must have been incidents which can still give you nightmares. But, as a friend told me yesterdat, its when you go through shit that you learn the most. Its not the fondest memories that make a man, but the most hated ones. When you wish so hard, so hard that you wake up every morning believing you are in a new world, and yet, see the same old life, the same old problems, the life with no ready solutions. The times when you hate what is happening around you and think if, just if I can get out of this, I will make a better life. These are the times that make you what you are. These are the times that teach you what life is all about. Someone told me, you cannot go back and change your past, but you can change your interpretation of it, you can change the future you want to build with that experience. True, I cannot go back and change it, but now when I look back upon how much I have seen, what all I have gone through and how I have changed as a person because of these experiences, I am not sure I want to, in fact I am sure I don't want to. I am happy with the life I have built,or rather the way life and situations haev shaped me. Much as I keep complaining about it, a bad habit which refuses to go away....I love my life. Love is about acceptance, another one said, I say, life is about acceptance. Life will always bring you surprises. Even when you have everything planned and decided, and do not believe there is any way it can go wrong, life will roll a new pair of dice, and there you will be, caught unaware. And the way you react then is what says a lot about you. Now you can chose to fight the situation you are in, you can chose to curse the deal you have been dealt, but trust me boss, these are the cards you have and these are the cards you will play with. Now you can chose to keep complaining, or you can chose to accept it. And that is what life is all about, acceptance. So do not try to change your past, or your future, or your interpretation, learn to accept it.

When does life begin

2007-01-12T03:06:00.001-08:00

They say life doesn’t end when someone dies. I wonder when does life begin.
When u meet that someone special or when u are searching for him.
When u stand at the seashore and wonder how I happened to be alone here or when u stand in his arms and wonder how life was going on without him
When the end and the beginning and the present all seem to be one, or when the moment u are living seems suspended in time
When happiness seems a mere mirage and sorrow the only reality in life
Or when it all seems so beautiful that even a spot of dirt would smear it.
When u feel that being alone was the only thing u were intended for
Or when u feel the best is yet to come
Why is tragedy always so profound and so full of meaning
While comedy so much like a farce