She did it…!!!

It was my last day of stay in Delhi. I was to return home that day via train. The train was to depart from New Delhi railway station at 2:35pm. It’s not every time that you call up someone special and ask her if she can come to drop you at the station. It’s not because you don’t have any conveyance to the station because being in Delhi, you have metro – the best vehicle at your disposal which is the fastest, the safest as well as the cheapest. But you call because you know she is someone special and if she is there, you don’t need anything else. She said no. She had to take her mother somewhere and no wonder moms certainly come before friends.

I woke up at my friends’ place at around 12 noon. As the usual late comer that I am, I knew I will have to hurry up to be at the station by 2:35. Slowly and steadily, I had my bath, prepared my stuff and had my breakfast. I was up and ready to leave by around 1:40pm. A 10 minute auto ride to the metro station and a 5 minute check at the station meant it was almost 2 by the time I boarded the metro. I had estimated that the metro would take me around 25 minutes to the railway station as there were 7 stations to be crossed and I approximately assumed 3 minutes per stop (This actually forms a guess estimate problem which I had been fighting so bravely in my interview a couple of days back. So I guess if I were to get placed in that company that my estimate would be right- or the so-called approach would be correct and this only means that I will be missing my train. So either I miss my train but get the job or I get the train but miss the job :-P. But actually I was not willing to let anything go).

All this while from when I left my friends’ place till I reached the railway station, I was constantly talking to her and she was busy driving her car, taking her mom to her destination. So she was cutting my phone and I had thought that it is always difficult to talk on phone with your family around.

I reached the station at around 2:15. The metro was real quick and my estimates were certainly way beyond the reality. Now as I was moving towards my platform, I was talking. She said she was waiting in the car for her mother. I reached my coach. I kept my luggage. I got her call. She asked me where I am. At this time, there was this announcement going on the station about the departure of my train at the scheduled time of 2:35pm. Due to this I couldn’t hear her voice clearly. But more than that I also missed something else (I will tell this later).

The call was cut and I called her up again. The time was 2:30 already. Her phone was busy (Guess what- she was herself calling me..!!). I cut the call. I was in no hurry to talk to her as I knew that I could talk to her even once the train started running. But she was desperate. She was desperately trying my number. I picked up. She just asked”Have you reached the train?” I replied in affirmative. She said that then why can’t she see me at the station? I thought she must be kidding as she must be with her mom. So, I asked which platform was she at. I knew that if she could reply to that then she was there right in front of the train. She replied platform 10. I now knew she was already here. I now remembered that I had in the conversation that day, already told her that my coach was D7 and my ticket number was 007.

Now it was my turn to run again as she had earlier (She had come to station just around 2:25 and had just come from a couple of traffic jams on the busy Delhi roads). I asked her that in front of which coach was she standing and what was she wearing. As soon as I heard the words C4 and blue shirt, I ran. I knew where she was and didn’t want to miss meeting her – the girl who had especially come to see me off at the New Delhi Railway Station. It was after some 25 meters that she was so close to me as never before and a hug took all the tension out of our minds. The horn of the train rang and people thronged in numbers to enter the train. I was still with her. It was only when the train had achieved considerable speed and had even crossed the point where I was standing that I ran for one last time, leaving her arms to enter the train.

She had done it. And I fell for her…

Regards

Rahul…

The shock or surprise of the year…!!!

It was another of my trips to New Delhi. It had been a long time since I had been to Delhi. I had not seen her face for the past one month – not even on facebook. I had promised her to meet her in November only but could not find any opportunity of seeing her. I had a promise to keep but I had problems at my place myself. Being stuck, I had nothing that I could do. I was just at home passing my time idly and sometimes helping my family in shifting the entire load from the current house to the new one.

Then I decided to give her the surprise. I had already expressed my apologies for not being able to keep my promise and had felt bad. But now was the time to stand up and do something. I had already been at home for a long time now and Delhi was certainly calling.

I told my family about my decision to leave for Delhi. They gave the green signal. Booked my tickets for the last day of the month, that was just a couple of days later. Alongside helping my family in shifting, I also began my packing. I had to return my friend’s bag and attend a marriage too in Delhi. Finally my packing was over and so was the shifting. The L-day finally arrived.

I boarded the train in the morning. I had already messaged her in the morning that I would be a little busy today. Plus I already had a commitment to her that I will talk to her today at 2 in the afternoon to decide when she can meet me in Delhi, that is when I should plan my trip to Delhi the next month.  All through the journey I kept toying with my new phone, trying to catch the idea network (Certainly an idea can change your life but not this one..!! :-P). With no network on the phone, I passed my time in the train sleeping. I had to sleep having slept the previous night at 3am and waking up at 6am. And that day I really enjoyed the train’s sleep – maybe either because I was too tired or I was just preparing for the ‘L’ovely surprise that waited ahead.

I reached New Delhi station at around 12:30 and called one of my very dear friends to know the metro to south Delhi. Having been guided by him, I boarded the metro. All I knew was just the address. I deboarded the metro at the Hauz Khas Metro station. Now I had to get a bus to the destination. As I sat in the bus, waiting for the bus to start, there came a voice from my behind. It was the conductor saying – “Sir ji, gaadi to chalane ke liye Dhakka lagane ki zarurat hai. Zara niche utar ke dhakka lagayen.”

So we around 5-6 people along with the conductor got down to push the bus. After a couple of efforts, it finally started. Fully soaked in sweat, I took my seat alongside my luggage that consisted of two bags. Finally the bus dropped me at the stop. The last time I was at that destination, her place was just 20 meters from the stop. But not every day is your day and I understood it fully that day. This time I had got out from the bus some 2.5km from her place. I started walking towards her place with a bag on my back and another in my hand. I kept asking someone of a different address every 100meters I covered. I could not ask her address directly because what if someone from her home or her known-to was the person, he would have started questioning me there only like an inspector questions an accused. I thought I better save myself from such harassment.

But there was another trouble that could have happened and actually happened which I had not thought of earlier. I was asking a lady of the address and she said whom you want to meet there. I understood it might be that either it’s her home or she knows someone there. I told her that I am actually looking for Mr. X from whom I have to collect something but I just know that he stays somewhere around there only and I have been trying his number but he seems to be busy somewhere. So asking some address close to his place.

At these times, a little bit of luck can do wonders for you and I realized it that day.

Firstly it was Delhi and not Chandigarh where people there is a lot of interaction in the neighborhood and people generally know there nearby’s.

Secondly that aunt was not going to her home but actually coming from home and going somewhere. So she could not accompany me to the place.

By now, I had travelled around 1.5km and now I thought that I could try her number and ask if she is even home or not.

I called her. It rang once. It rang twice. Then thrice. Then fourth time. Then fifth. She wasn’t picking up. I was now feeling the burden of my luggage due to the thought that she might not be home. She might be sleeping. In short, she might not just be able to meet that day. I felt like a beggar who is helpless and all he can do is just hope for others to do mercy. Similarly all I could do was just hope for her to respond. I knew there were still some 500meters to be covered, so I tried to call a few of my other friends. Nobody seemed to pick up. That was really strange. But I could not do anything about it.

With a bag on back, another in one hand, and the mobile in the second hand, I kept walking towards her place. Some 150 meters away, as I was still trying to call her, she finally picked up. I had a sigh of relief that at-least she picked up. Now I was thinking how to reply if she asks that why am I calling her from my Delhi number.

The conversation got underway liked this:

Me: Hello

She: hello

Me: What were you doing? Why didn’t u pick up the phone for so long?

She: I was in the kitchen preparing food and phone was in the room. I saw your missed calls. So many of them. Why were you calling so much? What happened? Where you? You didn’t even reply to my message in the morning.

Me: Ya I was calling because I wanted to talk to you. What have you made? Won’t you invite me to lunch?

She: Sure. But you are in Chandigarh Mr., and also you cannot come to my home. It’s banned for you. Your packing done? What you doing now? Where?

Me: Ya packing is done. Me walking towards your home.

She: oh come on. Stop Kidding. That’s impossible. Don’t joke around. Acha why didn’t you reply in the morning?

Me: Oh yes, this is such a joke. Of course, it’s impossible. Sorry. By the way, I couldn’t reply in the morning since I had slept again after messaging you. Plus, my balance got over. So I am calling you from the other number.

She: Oh are you? I can only see your number on the screen and not the number.

Me (thinking: wow, she can’t see my number. Why the hell I had to tell her this. Damn me…!!): oh, is it so?? Nice. Anyways, just think if I am actually outside your place right now.

She (running towards the window of her room): oh plz Mr., stop kidding. And if you are actually here then tell me where you are? I can’t see you anywhere. Plus, tell me what’s to your left.

Me (still just on the way and walking): I am just on the way and haven’t yet reached your place. Plus I have already been to your place once. So I can certainly answer your question that there is a park to my left.

She: ha-ha... Very funny. Tell me what’s there around you, wherever you are and what’s happening in this park.

Me: You don’t trust me. Ok. There is a white swift desire to my left and a red pulsar 150. Plus in front of me on the road, there is a chowkidaar in the middle of the day, on the middle of the road with two other people and a stick in his hand.

She (thinking: these things are generally there every day. Could he be actually here?? Impossible.) (A few seconds silence.): Mr., please stop this. You can’t be here. (Shivering) Dude this is not possible. I beg you. Plz stop now. Don’t come. Or stop joking.

Me: Ok. Now the finale. There are 5 ladies sitting on the chairs and chatting to each other in the park just to my left and a couple of children are playing with a ball there.

She (Silence, I am dead. GOD SAVE ME.)

Me: And now you can finally see me. Can you??

She: Shit. Impossible. Plz say I am dreaming. No. No...

Me: I am definitely not coming to your place. Just walking past. Do turn up at one of the windows. I have come travelling more than 300kms now, passing through I don’t know how many small rivers, bridges, flyovers and lastly walking for more than 2kms. I am really tired and just one glance would really enable me to forget this whole lovely journey that I have undertaken with these light bags in comparison to a heavy heart that has waited for long.

She: I am there. Don’t do anything crazy guy.

AND THAT ONE LOOK WAS ALL IT TOOK TO MAKE ME FORGET ALL THE SWEAT AND PAIN I HAD.

Regards

Yours RAJ…

A poem written in memory of my country, of which i am so proud of...!!! Happy Independence day...

hum sab main hero hai,
bas pehchan ne ki zarurat hai..
hum sab ek hain,
bas samajhne ki zarurat hai..
hum sab main dum hai,
bas aazmane ki zarurat hai..
Aur ye desh mahaan hai,
bas banane ki zarurat hai...

We all need to contribute:

boond boond se talaab bharta hai,
eent eent se imarat banti hai,
haath haath se desh banta hai,
aur insaan insaan se bhagwaan banta hai..

Aaj hindu muslim main kyon ladai hai,
hum sab to bhai bhai hain,
kyon hum pade hain dusron ke khoon ke piche,
rang to laal sab main behta hai...

kyun mujhe lagte ho tum paraye,
jab rehte hain hum ek hi ghar main bhai,
kya le jaoge mujhe dhoka de kar,
aaye the khaali haath, jaaoge bhi khaali haath le kar...

Aaj lagta hai ki hum azaad hain,
phir bhi kyun aadha desh bimaar hai,
agar sab ko rahegi apni padi,
to kon karega desh ki sewa badi...

Aaj kyun main dukhi hota hun,
dusron ki bajaaye khud par rota hun,
kyun kuch karne main hun mai asamarth,
na haath bandhe hain, na bhavnayen hain pasth...

Main bhi bol kar chala jaunga,
kuch to desh ka bhala kar jaunga,
par kya tum kabhi khud se puchoge,
ki agar tum nahi to kaun sochega...

Ye waqt kisi ke liye theherta nahi,
ye hawa kisi ke liye thamti nahi,
aane waale chale jayenge,
bas kuch itihaas ke panno main reh jayenge...

Happy Independence day to my country...

Hope it achieves the real independence within my lifetime..

By:
Chetan Taneja

Proud to be an indian.

This might fix a few problems…!!!

I am lucky to own and drive a vehicle in this country where according to some estimates, more than 50% of the population lives on less than $2 a day. At the same time, I have been unlucky to be driving in one of the densest places in India where average number of cars per family are more than any other city. To manage vehicular traffic of this scale, the government has deployed a large pool of traffic personnel throughout the city. I have been driving for close to seven years now but like many of my friends, I had never been challaned until recently, but with a big difference. I had never been challaned because I drove carefully and never broke any law. On the other hand, almost all my friends were caught breaking traffic rules, a huge number of times, but always got away by bribing the traffic personnel. The stories of these bribes are quiet famous in almost all friend circles. Bribing is considered easy because it is good for both – the general public as well as the traffic personnel. Due to the prevalence of high fines for traffic violations, traffic personnel are easily able to extract bribes from the traffic violators, who also don’t mind giving quick bucks to save themselves from a visit to the licensing office.

Apart from the phenomenon of bribing traffic personnel, I recently got to know of another easy way of getting our challans cleared. I was standing in the queue at the licensing office, waiting for my turn to get my challan cleared when I noticed a person standing upfront. He was arguing at the window that he had been wrongly challaned as he had crossed the lights when the light was green but was challaned for crossing a red light. The officer at the window told him that once a challan is written, it cannot be cancelled and nothing can be done about it. The person resented a bit but finally gave up. So, he was asked to pay the fine. But instead of paying the fine, he asked for a date at the court to get his challan cleared without paying a hefty fine. I could hear his conversation from my place and was somewhat taken aback to hear him asking to be sent to court. Agreeing with the majority opinion, I firmly agree that delay, high costs and cumbersome procedures mark the courts in India, but this person seemed happy to go to court. Not understanding this astonishing demand on the part of the person, I decided to stop him and asked him about the details regarding clearing of challans from courts. He told me how easy it was to get challans cleared from the courts and at the same time, paying lesser fine. However, I realized another reason for the huge number of backlog of cases in our courts.

On the basis of this experience, I visualized this solution which might be able to target a few problems at the same time. But to make things simple and illustrious, I would present my solution with an example:

During 1970s and 1980s, the income tax rates in India were very high, touching a peak of 97.5% at one time. In spite of such a high tax rate, the government revenues were not impressive. Instead high default rate was prevalent, along with unchecked rampant corruption.

                After the reforms in the early 1990s, the government gradually brought down the income tax rate to the maximum rate of 30% prevailing today accompanied with huge exemptions. Still, the government revenues have been steadily increasing every year. The default rate has come down drastically. The effect is also depicted in visibly less corruption compared to earlier times.

                In a similar way, I believe that reducing the fines for traffic violations can have a positive effect on reducing corruption and a cascading effect on increasing overall tax compliance and reducing burden on the judiciary. With low fines, people would prefer to pay fine and get done with the paper work on the spot rather than bribing the personnel. Certainly people would no more like to go to the court.

                It may be argued by some that lesser fines may result in moral degradation and in fact lead to more violations of traffic rules. I do not support this view for the simple reason that frequent small fines would actually end up as more accumulated fines of the people in the long run and at the same time, more revenue for the government. This would also ensure more compliance to traffic rules in the long run.

                I would also like to point out that the increase in the fines has not acted as a deterrent to violations of traffic rules and there is no direct relationship between increasing traffic violation fines and decreasing number of violations. In fact, in many places violations have increased with increasing fines. But heavier fines certainly leave ample space for the corrupt practices to grow. There have been instances where a single day’s traffic violations have been more than the collective number for a few preceding weeks.

               

In this season of scams and hunger strikes, I’ve proposed a modest way to a few problems that I have come across. I would be wrong if I say that this is the best method, or in general there is any one best method, to eradicate all the wrongs in the system. This is just another proposal to improve the system. No system can be successful unless there is cooperation from the general public.

Regards

Chetan Taneja

My Rail Journey and Her Phone no...!!!

It was during one of my frequent journeys between Delhi and my home town, Chandigarh that this interesting incident occurred. I had boarded the train to return back home that day in the scorching summer afternoon in Delhi. I noticed my seat in the middle of the row with two elderly people on both sides. As I exchanged smiles, I could hear my inner voice reminding me that like all my previous trips on not only this route, for that matter, but on all the routes been without any exchanges with girls. This is just a fact I’m stating, friends. Never have I even seen a decently good looking girl on my numerous train journeys. This was just expected to be similar.

But destiny had its way. Soon due to the arrival of new passengers, the girl sitting in the row ahead of me with her mother, stood up and took the seat on the opposite side of the table in front of them. I had not noticed them sitting ahead of me as I was sitting behind them. But now they were seated facing me and I could not take my eyes of the girl. She had a mystic aura around her. She was so beautiful that I could safely assume every gentleman sitting in front of them could not have afford to take their eyes of her even for a moment, throughout the journey. She was decently dressed in a white Punjabi Salwar kameez and yet looking so elegant that I could not think of Bollywood hottie comparable to her. 

My eyes were stuck at her when the old uncle sitting beside me on the window seat enquired about the time the train will take to reach Chandigarh. Without shifting my eyes, I answered four and half hours. My non-interest didn’t deter him from enquiring more and kept asking questions relating to the journey. And I kept answering with my eyes now shifting frequently between the pretty face of that beautiful girl sitting in front of me and the uncle. It might sound an over-statement but I was in awe, looking at her. Her face had literally imprisoned me. Many a times, I had to ask the uncle to repeat the question.

After almost half an hour, when uncle finished my one-time interview, I finally asked him about his profession and reason for going to Chandigarh. He is an ex-army man, going to visit his son currently posted in Chandimandir, an army cantonment on the outskirts of Chandigarh. Then he started telling me about the problems of army, then problems of India, then China and USA fighting for supremacy with India not even in the global picture and also Corruption. How could he miss out on the hottest topic of today’s times – Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev. Luckily he was sitting beside me and not in front of me so that I could lend him my ears and my eyes towards the mystic beauty sitting in front, who had by now smiled a number of times. I had started feeling uncomfortable now, not because uncle was busy telling me the problems that our mother India faces but because the girl and her mother had been joined by the company of three seemingly abled young guys of around my age, totally entertaining them. And one glance at the guys was enough to reveal their feelings. All were really enjoying, I guess, including the uncle on my side, except for me.

Suddenly the uncle said you are even worse than all your earlier generations. I was shocked to hear that. I was confused. I had not been giving much ear to his speech but now I could not take my eyes and ears of him. Had he seen me staring at the girl? All sorts of questions flew in my mind. I asked him in some strong and firm voice what had he meant by that statement of his? He was taken aback at my question in a little harsh voice. I thought he certainly would have felt me too friendly with him. He clarified that he was talking about my generation as a whole. With ever increasing rates of crime everywhere, especially crimes related to Rape and Robbery, our generation was largely responsible. And it was only our generation which holds the key to all the solutions of all these problems. I felt somewhat relieved to understand his position but tried to argue that out generation is not as bad as he is telling. And after a few arguments, the topic was laid down and I did not initiate any further topic. I had almost forgotten the beauty in front and now decided to focus on her now. It was the first time I had such an opportunity where a pretty girl was travelling along and I could not have let this opportunity go, without even trying. The three guys by now certainly had the upper hand but the only thing in my favour was that they were three and thus, might end up losing as depicted in Golmaal-1.

Almost half the journey had completed and all I had was just a firm decision to do something, but no idea as to what to do. There was a continuous struggle between my eyes and all the heads in between preventing her view. And my eyes were determined to see her only as there was nothing else to see, neither outside the window, nor inside the coach. Another hour passed and we reached Ambala. Nothing much had culminated from all my efforts as I felt she had not noticed me even once. I was losing out on my patience and desperation seemed to be overtaking me. The train had a stoppage of around 15 minutes at the station. The three guys had got down on the platform. I was starting to feel comfortable.  The uncle beside me also hadn’t said anything for quite some time now. Now, I could concentrate on her totally and it paid off.

She looked at me in a passing glance and I was able to hold her glance at me and convert it into a stair. My hands had signaled her to look at me for a moment and so her eyes were struck at me for around 15-20 seconds. I tried to tell her with my hand gestures and a large smile that her smile was very cute and she should keep smiling. She didn’t respond except for a smile, enough to make me think for the next step. She now turned her face towards the window. The train started moving slowly, leaving the station. I thought I should ask her to meet me. The three guys had by now returned and started talking to the girl and her mother. She was smiling at the conversation. I have to admit with the thinking of those three guys “THE WAY TO A GIRL’S HEART GOES THROUGH HER SMILE.” And they were certainly trying their best.

I finally decided to do something. I tried to contact her a couple of times but she seemed to ignore. But I still kept trying. She finally gave me her eyes. I immediately gestured to her that I am going to the entrance of the coach and would be waiting for her for 5 minutes. In a few minutes, I was out of my seat and on the way to the door. I felt she would come as she had not left her seat even once in the whole journey and now I was giving her a reason to do that. I returned after 10 minutes back to my seat (extra 5 is because of my desperation). She, of course, had not come. Now seated on my seat, I tried not to make an eye contact with her. Anyways, she was not looking at me but only me who constantly looking at her. I could always give an excuse to me that she might have not understood me correctly but I knew I had done too much too early.

The three guys certainly had an upper edge now, as they had all throughout the journey. But I somehow doubted all three to be able to do anything more than just chatting. And my turn was certainly more than over. I felt like having lost a won battle. We were approaching Chandigarh station now and people had started taking out their luggage. They were standing in the line to get down. I was seated deep into my seat, disgusted and frustrated. I didn’t want to see her go in front of me and was therefore seated head down on my seat, my head resting on the food tray. The train halted. People started rushing out. I suddenly saw a piece of paper fallen on my lap. I immediately looked up to see who could have thrown that at me and hoping her, I looked towards her side but she was moving the opposite direction. I understood it could not be her and the paper must have fallen by chance when someone was taking his luggage from over my head. I still decided to look at the paper. I opened that deeply rolled paper and found on it written:

“NEHA” and a 10-digit number, followed by a smile.

Regards,

Raj – Naam to suna hoga :P

A night of some help and some useful tips..!!

As was happening for the past few days, on 10th june also, i decided to go to Punjab university and study there till late at night in the library. I was now kind of getting into this habit of studying there till late night and then returning back home. But this day, it was different. I could feel something was coming but i didnt know it was going to be this big.

As usual, i left at around 2 from the library, sending a message to my dear, asking if she was awake. For a change, she wasnt awake that day. Generally, i would come back home riding on my bike, talking to her all that time when i am driving but it was not to be on that day. I start my bike and leave the university campus, thinking what will i eat after reaching home and stuff.

But this day was very different. On my way, when i was passing through the 37-41 dividing road, i saw two guys pushing a broken I10 on the road. the car was badly hit. So, out of my humaritarian concern, i took a u-turn from the 36-37/41-42 roundabout and decided to help them in whichever way i could. On reaching there, i got the know that this one guy who was drving this Maharashtra registered car had gone into sleep mode while driving and had thus hit a Chandigarh map board on the road side, having crossed the footpath. This guy was at a very senior post in Walmart and was returning home from the workplace at Banur, Punjab. The other guy that was helping him in pushing the car, was among his employees in that company who resided nearby. The two were pushing the car to reach it to sector 38, where the guy lived.
I stopped over to help them push the car. I even called on the taxi service in chandigarh at 0172-4242424 but they had no idea about any towing car in chandigarh.I guess they could only provide taxi service and no other help. All this time, the maharashtrian car owner kept complaining about the 24 hour towing service available in mumbai. he certainly hadn't spent much time in chandigarh and had neither faced much trouble here. Then after some time, a couple of bikes with two policeman on each, come over to us. They suggest us to call on 100 for help and that is what we finally decide to do. And yes, all of you who dont know how quick and helpful is this service, this service is really helpful. it wont take more than 5 minutes to respond to you for help.

The nearest PCR reached us in around 10 minutes, which is really fast, compared to the notion in india that here pizzas reach faster than an ambulance. We can certainly be prouud of chandigarh police till this point. but please listen to the whole story before you develop any opinion about the chandigarh police.

Now the PCR has arrived and we tell them the whole story. the policeman realises that there is a loss to public property in this case and thus reports it to his officer incharge to come and see for himself and make a deicision as to what to do with the car owner. The PCR was called to help tow the I10 to his home and they even carried all the required things to carry out such directives but since there was loss to the public property, they were told to hold on till the Officer incharge makes a visit and decides on the matter.

We waited for a long time, more than two hours for the officer incharge to finally pay us the visit. All this time, the maharashtrian car owner was irked over the attitude of the police service towards the general citizens. he kept repeating that police is there to help the citizens and not aggravate their problem. We had spent all this time sitting on the divider while the two policemen in the PCR spent their time looking at the funny videos of punjabi songs on their mobile.

When the officer incharge arrives, we sit in his truck and are accompanied to the site where the chandigarh map board was smashed. The loss was not much and it needed just a little bit of welding to again erect the board. The officer incharge took a look at the whole picture, heard to what the car owner had to say and finally took his decision. The car owner was made to write a letter according to the actual circumstances and was then left home. It was around this time that i was taking aside by one of the policemen who was in the PCR.

He had some useful tips to give to me and i certainly would never wish to forget them. He told me that if i ever come accross such an incident again, i should always try to by-pass, saying that i didnt notice anything. And even if my humanitarian soul shines brightly, i may help but should never say that i have witnessed something. This is because if i ever insist on being a witness, i may be attached to a case to which i am least associated to, but then i will have to handle all the court proceedings and regular journeys to courts. he also suggested that one should ask police for help when there is no other possibilty because calling police might land you in more trouble than help. I had a clear example that night only of this suggestion. The work that would not have taken more than 15 minutes, took more than two hours to complete. you can make your opinions about chandigarh police but they were certainly helpful, even though a little late...

Certainly. "Better late than never..."
And "All is well that ends well..."

Regards,
Raj

A frustated Engineer at his job...!!!

This is the story of my friend Raman, who worked in a multinational company in Gurgaon. He joined the company in the campus placements when this company had come for recruitments in the college. Here, i present his conversation with his bosses that shows the height of frustation in Raman and also the kind of work culture that is prevailent in the company.

Deputy GM to Raman : "Mr. Raman, I don't like your way of working in the office. You do not respect your seniors here."

Raman replies : "Sorry sir but I do my work. I hope I come here to work and not praise people even if they don't deserve it."

Deputy GM : "I didnt get you. What did you mean by that?"

Raman says : "Sir, I just meant what i said. One should not keep praising himself for no achievement at all."

Deputy GM : "Your behavior is unacceptable. I will report to Senior GM."

Raman : "Sure sir. I was already thinking of meeting him, anyways."



Senior GM to Raman : "I have recieved a number of complaints against you, Mr. Raman. you do not seem to be going weel with your peers and seniors."

Raman replies: "Sir, I had joined this company to work and not learn back-biting. And everyone here certainly doesn't seem to be enjoying, seeing me working. Working hard doesn't seem to be typical of this company, sir."

Senior GM : "You must learn how to speak to your boss. You do not have any ettiquettes. I will make sure you don't work long in this company. I have also told my HR that no student of your college will join this company after you."

Raman replies : "Dont worry, sir. I also have no plans of enhancing my stay at your company. Plus, I have also told my juniors not to join your company."

Senior GM : "What are you so proud of Mr. Raman? What can you do? Do you have any powers?"

Raman replies : "Sir, i don't have any such powers but i have the power to aware others of you and your company."

Senior GM : "Thats enough. I will make sure you are not able to join any company in the future."

Raman : "Sir, I would have certainly not been able to join any other company had i stayed here any longer. So, here is my resignation letter. It gives you a 20 day notice."

Senior GM : "You can stay at home from tomorrow only. You may go now. And settle your dues by today evening."

Raman : "Anyways, i had to join this new company tomorrow only. So, thanks Mr. Khanna for discharging me early."

Raman left the company that day only and joined the next company soon. Today he is working in an indian MNC and totally enjoying his work.

A dedication to hard work, luck and most importantly passion...!!!

The poem is the original work of myself, Chetan Taneja, who has been inspired in this life to write about the importance of Hardwork, Luck and Passion. In no way, i want to demean any one of them compared to the other. I have just tried to express how i feel about these three factors that contribute hugely to any success. None can exactly comment on the proportional importance of each of these factors and thus, i can not hesitate to accept that i may be wrong in my assessment but can certainly not be wrong in my expressions.

It is a story of three friends,
One was luck and other was hardwork.
The third was passion who stood quiet in the corner.
Luck and hardwork fought for a cause,
with each holding himself superior than all.
Both had their success and both had their failures,
with each playing blame game with the other.
Hard work always complained,
even if i pass the person, the credit goes to you.
The luck himself complained,
when you fail the person, i share the blame for you.
Both had a fight for superiority and together with passion, they went to the God.
Luck favoured his win because he thought the God is associated with luck.
But he had forgotten that God is impartial.
God asked both that I am the supreme power, I am the God,
so, what would be the reason for my success at all?
Luck and hardwork again began to roar,
that it must be them that made God - God.
So, God asked again that I am the supreme power, I am the God,
but if i even fail who is to be blamed for the cause.
Both stood silent as none could share the blame,
but then stood passion alone in the stain.
He said to the God, that i am to be blamed,
for there can be no failures without lesser passion and zeal.
The god smiled and said, all can claim to be the reason for success,
but few can claim the responsibility for a failure.
Luck and hardwork understood the importance of passion,
but none could counter the importance of luck and hardwork.


Chetan Taneja.


On my special request, the poem has been edited by my very good friend, Mr. Pawan Kadyan. Mr. Pawan's blog is http://pwwwn.blogspot.com/. The edited poem is as follows:

Luck, Hardwork and Passion were three friends,
Luck and Hardwork fought as if there were no other ends.
Passion alone stood in the corner,
watching it all with little to bother.
They fought and fought with no result,
blaming one another for no fault of the other.
Hardwork complained in success that Luck stole his credit,
Luck vetoed seeking an apology for failure leading to his discredit.
To help solve it needed someone else's nod,
so with Passion alongside they sought the help of God.
Luck thought that now he had an upper hand,
Having forgot that God didn't favour anyone's stand.

God said, "I am supreme of'em all,

Who then for success is the cause?"

Luck and Hardwork roared, "It must be us",

as they made God who he was.

God asked again, "I am supreme of'em all,

Who then for failure is the cause?"

Both stood still as they didn't want the blame,

but up rose Passion the hero that he was.

Passion said, "Its me who is to blame,

failure comes to those whose passion does not flame.".

God smiled and replied, "to revel in success is everyone's ask,
but to burden the failure is a more difficult task.".

Luck and Hardwork had now understood,

the story is not complete had Passion not withstood.
No one could counter what Luck and Hardwork had to pass,
But without Passion it would always be an impasse.

Indomitable Spirits - By A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

Recently i read this book titled "Indomitable Spirits" written by the former President of India, Mr. A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, better known as the "missile man" of india. So, I decided to share a few of his interesting thoughts on my blog. Many of you may not be able to read his book because of your busy schedules and other problems, so i decided to write its main points for not only my readers but also for myself as i find a lot of things worth remembering in this book.

1) No nation is great or good because parliament enacts this or that but that its men are great or good.

2) Everyone's life is a page in the human history irrespective of the position he/she holds or the work he/she performs.

3) Bhakti is nothing but the devotion we show to the divinity that resides within us.

4) Whenever a mission is in progress, there will always be some problems or failures, but the failures should not become the master of the programme.

5) Transformation is the outcome of a farsighted vision, innovative mind and a guiding spirit.

6) The teacher should teach the students the process of learning and enable them to become lifelong autonomous learners and teach them to continuously practise this trait.

7) Learning needs freedom to think and freedom to imagine and both have to be facilitated by the teacher.

8) "If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters."

9)

When learning is purposeful,

creativity blossoms,

When creativity blossoms,

thinking emanates,

When thinking emanates,

knowledge is fully lit,

When knowledge is lit,

economy flourishes.

10) Education is an endless journey through knowledge and enlightenment.

11) A child, a teenager, an adult and a leader - All facing a situation of human need, but each one reacts differently.

The Child asks, "What can you do for me?"

The teenager says, "I want to do it alone."

The young person proclaims, "Let us do it together."

The leader offers, "What can i do for you?"

Education system has a tremendous responsibility to transform a child into a leader.

12) An ignited mind is the most powerful source on the earth, above the earth and under the earth.

13) Knowledge without action is useless and irrelevant. Knowledge with action brings prosperity.

14)

Learning gives creativity,

creativity leads to thinking,

thinking provides knowledge,

knowledge makes your great.

15) With determined efforts, you can always succeed against established beliefs.

16) Information that is static does not grow.

17) "Even if one is made an outcaste in his field, he should continue to work as not because it is his wish but because it is god's will. So never run away from criticism."

18) "The crowning glory of a nation is its people."

19) "A flower generously distributes prefume and honey. It gives to all, freely of its love and, when its work is done, it falls away quietly. Try to be like the flower, unassuming despite all its qualities."

20)

"Where there is righteousness in the heart,

There is beauty in the character.

When there is beauty in the character,

There is harmony in the home.

When there is harmony in the home,

There is order in the nation.

When there is order in the nation,

There is peace in the world."

21) "Always feel the truth, speak the truth and propagate the truth even when your life is at stake."

22) "Gifts accompany poisnous intentions."

23) "Conscience is a great ledger where our offences are booked and registered."

      "Corruption is an assault on the conscience."

Cowardice asks, 'Is it safe?'

Greed asks, 'Is there any gain in it?'

Vanity asks, 'Can i become great?'

Lust asks, 'Is there any pleasure in it?'

But conscience asks, 'is it right?'

24)

"Ulluvathellam uyarvullal matratu

Tallinum tellamai nirttu."

It means: "Think ever of rising higher. Let it be your only thought. Even if your object be not attained, the thought itself will have raised you."

It is a couplet (or kural) in 'Thirukkural' by the poet-saint Thiruvalluvar written 2200 years ago.

25) "A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle."

26) "Dream - Thought - Action philosophy."

"Dream, dream, dream,

Your dreams will transform into thoughts,

The thoughts will result in actions.

And you will succeed."

27) It is not a disgrace to not reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for.

28) "Information that is static is of no value."

29) "The three tools of learning are lectures, libraries and laboratories."

30) "The nation is bigger than any individual."

31) "A leader gives the credit for success to those who worked for it and absorbs the failures."

32) "If you aspire to achieve great things in life, you need magnanimity."

33) "Power comes from inside."

34) "For those who do ill to you, the best punishment is returning good to them."

35) The FIRST component of INDOMITABLE SPIRIT is that "There must be a vision leading to higher goals of achievement."

      Whatever may be the depth of the river or the lake or the pond, whatever may be the condition of the water, the lily flower always comes out and blossoms. Similarly, if there is a definite determination to achieve a goal, even against insurmountable problems, you will succeed.

36) The SECOND component of INDOMITABLE SPIRIT is "The ability to overcome all hurdles coming in the way of mission accomplishment."

      A successful leader can never be defeated by problems. He overcomes the problems and becomes master of the situation.

37) Perception of disability and impossibility lies only in the mind.

Time to move on...!!!

Today i might meet my next,
she just sent me a text.
Hopefully it will help me forget my past,
Otherwise that is there forever to last.
She may not have been the best,
but was certainly better then the rest.
She loved me more than i deserved,
and that was the reason for my long beard.
Now that she is finally gone,
i remind myself how lovely she was, to be held on for long...

A few lines about LOVE...

Love- a four letter word,
i never thought would change my world,
I never believed in love,
until u presented a dove.
My life was all normal,
until u made it abnormal.
I had forgotten to laugh,
until you made me laugh.
I never walked for long,
until had u to walk along.
I fail to understand why u left,
and now find difficult to come to my best.
If bad i was,
the worse i have become,
And before the arrival of the worst,
i want to hold onto your trust.
Just as your arrival said LIFE Is Worth Loving,
from ur departure, i understand LIFE Is Worth Living...

Me and she... Damn...!!!

I have always remained adamant,
U r born to stick to ur stand,
Neither i see myself changing,
nor i wud want u to change,
Its been a pleasure to be your man,
but i dnt see myself continuing till the end,
In such a case, i request for a leave,
so that u remain happy after i leave.

My first glance of hers...!!!

It was an evening outside,

when i first saw her by my side,

she was not just like the rest,

but infact, better than the best.

I wondered if she could ever be mine,

in came the reply, u wud be on cloud nine.

I just thot she wud be mine forever,

and found she had gone from there...

Story of three IDIOTS from three different places on a night out that went terribly wrong..!!

The story is of three best friends Rahul, Ravi and Tanya, all from different places that meet at a place for a night out on the eve of Ravi's so-called girlfriend's birthday. Rahul and Tanya have been in a relationship for quiet sometime now. Ravi had come to Rahul's place a day earlier to plan out for a surprise for his so-called girlfriend's birthday. Both had nothing much to do and so they decided to take a trip of more than 150 kms right up in the morning to catch up with tanya and bring her to their place. They reached tanya's place, which is on the countryside and right in the middle of lushgreen fields. She must have enjoyed her childhood in such a place, so close to the nature. Anyways, the three had their lunch at her place and returned back to Rahul's place. It was evening by now.

Now, was the time to start preparing for the surprise for ravi's so-called girlfriend. The three went for shopping but all knew it was only gonna be Tanya who is gonna be buying the gifts because only a girl knows what a girl wants. Starting from a key chain, a card and upto a teddy bear, so much is bought by ravi that a whole new giftshop could be started from all those gifts. But they were all meant for this special girl, claimed in their friend circle as Ravi's girlfriend. Though Ravi had no doubts about this fact and infact, he had told his girl about this several times, but it was the girl who was doubtful about the status of their relationship as she was scared of the future. It was therefore, that ravi himself called her as his "unofficial Girlfriend".

All the gifts were now bought and put up in the car. It was dinner time and the three went to a hotel in the city. The time now strikes 10:30pm and with nothing much to do, the three pass their time in the hotel only, chatting here and there for another hour or so. Rahul had already informed his family that he will be staying at his friend's place. Ravi had told his parents in another city that he will be with rahul and tanya had told her parents that she will be staying with her friend in this city. Eerything was pretty planned. After wishing his girlfriend happy birthday at the stroke of midnight, Ravi and others would wait outside her home for sometime when she would come out of her home, without informing her parents and the four will go on a long drive. All was set for a perfect night out.

But destiny had its own plans. What happened after 12o'clock that night was out of everyone's imagination and the rest that followed, as they say, is now history...

At the stroke of midnight, Ravi with a bouqet of flowers in his hands, coupled with a teddy bear and a few other gifts, stood outside his girlfriend's house, constantly calling her and looking at her door. It was heavily raining and she was not replying. He stood their for around 15 minutes, soaked in rain but there came no response. After a couple of minutes, his phone beeps and he reads the message aloud:
"I CAN'T COME & I DON'T LOVE YOU. PLZ LEAVE. DONT RUIN MY DAY 2DAY."

Rahul and Tanya are in dead shock. They dont know what to say and what to do. Ravi is crying and that's one of the rarest times he cried. He was such a cheerful person throughout his life but this day had broken him. Tanya asked rahul to drive the car to anywhere away from that place. Both had no idea as to what was happening. Finally rahul parked his car at the end of a highway, after a drive of around half-an-hour. Now, it was time to console Ravi. Nobody had uttered a word till now but all knew it was time to speak back and try to know from ravi as to what had happened.

Tanya finally breaks the silence, (Only a girl can break the silence at such points). She starts on in an unconventional manner, never seen before. Nobody could even imagine she was such a mature girl. She says to Ravi that she had seen him for the past six months and she could understand how much he loved her. But she said something that was not expected of her.

She says: "As a girl, Ravi, i understand that the much you love that girl, if you would love any girl, the girl will fall for you and start loving you. But this is different. The girl doesn't love you. She is only using you, more of as a backup. See, a girl wants a boy to love her but at the sametime, she always looks upto him. But in your case, she feels that she can get better than you and takes you for granted. She hardly understands your feelings. She is not the one and you must understand that for the good of both of you. I have been in a relationship for more than an year myself and totally understand how a girl feels in love but this girl is different. She hardly respects your love and feelings. She has not even once taken a step towards you while you have been all over the place for her."

Rahul was in a complete shock looking at his girl Tanya, speaking for minutes without a break. He couldn't understand whether to support her or go against her. She was looking so stunning that rainy night at the roadside, sitting on the bonnet of the car that he could only gaze at her the whole time. Rahul never wanted to let Ravi down in this war of love and had always supported Ravi's love for his girl even though from inside he felt at times that they might not be 'the best' for each other, but Rahul hardly had any other options. He could not see his friend down, no matter what. Finally Rahul speaks up. He tells Ravi that he always wanted to tell him that she is not the girl for him but just couldn't ever say that. He had always supported Ravi's love for his girl as he was himself in for tanya. But now he could no longer hold himself back. He supported Tanya to the core and asked Ravi to move on. Ravi suddenly stands up and goes inside the car. He picks up all those gifts that he had bought for his girl - ranging from earrings and bouqet to the teddy bear - and threw all of them on the roadside. He did not want now any memory of her from now onwards and even deletes her number and throws his phone inside the car. Still unable to totally come to his senses, he finally breaks down and starts crying aloud, shouting to the god that why this was happening to him. He knew nobody had any answers. Rahul and Tanya tried in vain to control and calm him down. They just stayed their on the highway roadside for another half-an-hour looking at each, before finally driving on back to the city. It was a long night and a lot of events were yet to happen before the three could see the light of the day again.

The three reach back the city.

Time is around 2:30am and driving on the deserted road that night, they suddenly saw an accident. Two bikers just hit the back of an auto rickshaw. The two on the bike did not seem to be drunk but the way the accident took place, it was very funny and shocking as well. It was a slow motion accident. The auto-rickshaw had unexpectedly slowed too much before a speed-breaker, which the bikers didnt seem to notice and directly hit on the backside of the auto-rickshaw. That was the only funny thing that happened that night and in a way depicted what was yet to come.

The three were sitting in the car. Rahul had shifted on the backside to be with Tanya while Ravi was left alone on the front seat. After around half an hour, two policemen come on their bike. They enquire the three about their places of residence and what were they doing at that time of the night in a car on the deserted road. After initial hesitations, the three finally start telling the police all the truth. But the police is not in a mood to listen. They just want to talk to the parents of all the three while none of the three is ready for that. Ravi is talking to police all this time trying to convince that they were just returning from the movie and were on their way to home before they decided to stay for sometime. But it was certainly not the case and the policeman understood it. He was not a fool. He said that the place where the three had parked their car was not on their way to home from the theatre. They certainly smelled something wrong even though their was nothing wrong. The two police personnels had till now decided that they would not leave us until they talk to the mother of the girl. They would not listen to any of their arguments. Tanya finally decided that she would make a call to her mother and let her talk to the policemen. And she didnt fake about it. She did call her mother only.

Ravi: "Today after what all happened that night, everyone now says that you could have made anyone your parents at that time and let the policemen talk to them but trust me, at that time, no fake seemed to work for us. It was just one of those days when you realise that today its just not your day and when god has decided to teach you a lesson, be truthful and learn the lesson instead of learning a harder lesson, a little later."

So, Tanya calls her mother and tells her everything. She also makes them talk to the policeman who now had unintentionally been making fun of the situation and mocking at the three. The mother intially is calm and talks to both tanya and the policeman normally. The policemen finally convinced that their was nothing wrong about the three, gave the three a warning and left them. The three were now in a shock and were dumbstruck. There was complete silence. After the policemen left, Tanya calls her mother again and she knows that this time she is for a beating. Mother is furious over Tanya. She knows Rahul also and talks to him also on the phone and scolds him very badly. She even asks rahul to make her talk to his mother when he reaches back home. Everybody now knew that the situation has already flown out of hand and none could do anything to bring it under control apart from apologising.

Tanya is talking to her mother on the phone and crying. Ravi is now just silent sitting besides Rahul. Rahul suddenly feels a lot of pain in his stomach and starts vomiting. Tanya cuts his phone call short and comes running. Ravi and Tanya take Rahul to the nearby hospital. He is treated for food poisoning. The three stay in the hospital for around a couple of hours. Its early morning when the three finally come out of the hospital. There is certainly a lot of tension in the air but all three can be seen somewhat laughing over their last night stint.

Tanya is dropped at her friend's place to move back home. Ravi is also dropped at the station to go back to his city and Rahul is back home. He tells his mother the whole story and makes his mother talk to tanya's mother. He is certainly apologetic and so is his mother for his son's mistake.

After that night, the three never met again. Its been a couple of years since this incident happened. Rahul is now settled into a well earning job today and has never fallen in love since that night.

The story was narrated to the writer by Rahul. The writer has never met Ravi and Tanya but can certainly feel their personalities. The story is a tribute to the three...

Traits of successful people...!!!

Ever wondered why certain people are more successful than others? What is it that makes them successful? here i provide a list that somewhat seems to have been a factor in their success....

1) They dream big: Dhirubhai Ambani once said, "You should dream big, but dream with your eyes open."
2) They think outside the box: Wipro boss Azim Premji said "One needs to think differently to survive in the globalized world. To get success, innovation is the key. Think outside the box and do things which no one else has done before".

3) They learn from failures: Former President of India Dr. APJ Abdul KalamI once said, "I have gone through many successes and failures. I learnt from failures and hardened myself with courage to face them. This was my second stage, which taught me the crucial lesson of managing failures."

4) They create and seize opportunities: Successful people don't wait for opportunities to knock at their door. They go and create opportunities for themselves and whenever they come across any, they seize it to make full use of it.

5) They never say 'die': Successful people deal with situations with one view: Do it again if they are fail at their previous attempts. They don't tolerate flaws; they keep on working on them until they fix them.

6) They take up responsibility: Those who are really successful don't hesitate to take up responsibilities. They don't worry about blames or waste time complaining.

7) They take calculated risks: According to Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, risk is stepping outside your comfort zone to a place where you cannot predict with any degree of certainty the outcome of your actions. Risk is taking on something that holds an enormous chance of failure. Most importantly, risk is the only key to outrageous success.

8) They are solution focused: Successful people look for solutions and when they are focused on a solution, the rest of the world seems to disappear until they stop. They don't simply stop at finding or pointing out at a problem. They move ahead and look for better solutions for that particular problem.

9) They review and celebrate successes, even small ones: Warren buffet, the legendary investor, says, "In the business world, the rear view mirror is always clearer than the windshield". Success matters a lot for successful people and they don't forget to celebrate for successes even if they are small.

10) They ask the right questions: The simple "Why?" when asked about five times can help us get to the root cause of many problems. All successful people ask the right questions and try to find out the causes the put them in a productive, creative, positive mindset and emotional state.

When Raju met piya for the last time...!!!

Raju had been seeing this girl for a long time now. For the first six months, it was just one sided love for him. He was never able to tell piya that he liked her. However, one day he finally gathered enough confidence to be able to tell her that he loved her. Now, this led to some strange exchanges between him and piya. Not only both had never earlier been in any sort of a relationship but both were also sure of not falling into a relationship for a long time. But the destiny had its way and it teaches lessons at the most unexpected moments of life. So, they here thay both learnt their lessons. After the proposal form raju, the next six months just went into understanding each other and knowing mutual feelings. It was very tough for both of them, being completely unaware of each other but somehow wanting to get committed with a hesitation in mind.

So, another six months passed by and both were juast still knowing each other. But now, both had matured in their understanding of each other. Still there were hesitations on both sides but somehow now both wanted to be with each other. Thus, started the next one year of complete Commitment to each other. Both admitted that they were committed now and just couldn't live away from each other.

Raju and Piya had certainly admitted that they were in a relationship but they never understood how opposite they both were in their nature. While Raju would never speak about his personal life to anyone, none of piya's friends would be unaware of every detail of ehr personal life. While Raju would always turn to himself to find solutions to a problem rather than any friend or family, Piya would ask any person in this world to help her out. None of Raju's friends knew about Piya while everyone around Piya knew Raju more than even she knew him herself. Though both raju and piya needed to control their tongue, none could control it atleast in front of each other. :P

For the last one year, they were now seriously seeing each other. They could be seen together in streets, at eating places, in parks, on roads and everywhere in the city. They were never too intimate yet never too far.\

Now, the day had finally arrived when two were going to be separated from each other. Both knew that neither was mature enough to move on from the separation but destiny had it's own way. They met in the night as was their usual meeting time with no fear of anyone being around (Though they feared anyone being around as well... :P). Raju had come up in his car and took piya for a long ride. They had food. Raju had some work at home and so he decided to make piya wait in a park for some time till he returns. Raju took some more time at his home than expected and piya was their in the garden alone in the middle of the night, fighting with mosquitoes. Both couldn't do anything except for praying to move the clock faster (Though raju could do something but some days are simply not yours... :P).

Finally, after all his family members had slept, Raju without making much noise, locked his home from outside and came out to take piya along. She was very upset by now for all the trouble that both faced but couldn't even ask for an apology from raju, though raju felt the pain. Now, piya was adamant to just go home as she had had enough of sufferings for the day. Since morning she had been suffering on account of one problem or another. May be it wasn't her day that day. But Raju won't just let a bad day happen to his loved one and luckily, even the clock had passed midnight. So, it was a new day now, waiting for some happy moments to be created. So, Raju literally begged Piya for almost an hour, requesting her to accompany him for a ride just to make that final good-bye somewhat happier, though he should have realised that good-byes can never be happy. Only their pain can be reduced and that too in very rare cases. And this was no rare case. But Raju also wouldn't back out so easily.

After an hour of persuation and perspiration, Raju was finally able to convince piya to come along and be with him. That night was not just any other night that they had spent together, it was a special occasion. the two spent the night together walking on lonely footpaths, driving on dusty roads, eating at the only open restaurant in the city that night and being in love of their lives.

Finally raju left her at her home in the early morning only to return home by the time his family was still sleeping (luckily).

That was the last time they both saw each other face to face. They remained friends for the rest of their lives. THEIR WAS ONLY A DIFFERENCE OF "s" AND "v" BETWEEN THEM... AND THAT I BELIEVE WILL ALWAYS REMAIN....

One last step left...!!!

It was just another day for me. I had been enjoying my life to the fullest after having worked quiet hard earlier. But this wasn't just meant to be any other day in my life.

I had woken up late as was the case for the past few weeks now. My dearest friend called to meet as she didn't have to go to office that day as it was closed due to some occasion. We went to the lake and enjoyed the time. The mausam was just awesome and it felt great to be in her company. After spending a few hours there, i went to my sister's home to have some food in the evening as i hadn't eaten much all day. My friend had left for her friends who had got free now. I was to meet one of my very good friends after a very long time. He is currently working in Orissa and had invited some other of our friends also to Gopals in Sector - 35. After having some food at my sis's place, i reached Gopals on time (for a change) but all came late. The time given was 5:30 pm but everyone reached after 6, including the host but except me. :P

We had just ordered the food when i get a call from one of my friends working in gurgaon. After a few minutes of talking, he finally aked me how was my result??? I told him it's not supposed to come today, not on the third of march but somewhere in the third week of march and asked him to confirm again. He confirmed from his colleagues in office and told me. I was literally shocked to hear that. Just trying to calm myself, i told him to wait for sometime as i would confirm from a few friends and then see and let him know my result.

I make quick calls to my friends in Maharashtra and Bangalore and all confirmed that the result was finally out. I then called my father to inform him that my result was out and told him that i would come late and then check the result. So i went back to my seat in Gopals with my friends and started chatting again. Then i start receiving a huge number of calls one after the other, each asking for the result. I was just trying to calm myself down, telling myself and don't worry and just relax as i would see the result when i reach home. Then i start receiving calls from my family also, asking me to go home and check the result as dad had informed everyone. I tell my friends at Gopals that finally my result is out and now i have to go back to hpme to check.

So, i start my bike and reach home. I open my laptop, switch on the internet and check my result. I feed my roll no into the find box in the pdf file of result and manage to find my roll no. A whole lot of emotions i experience, speechless, unable to move, somewhere feeling like the king of the world and somewhere feeling the most humblest person on earth. After gathering my senses, i finally hear myself saying - "I DID IT, just one last step left..." With tears in my eyes, i hug my dad and thank him for his support throughout this journey. I call everyone in my family and inform them. i call the friend who had told me about the result and thanked him. I called another of my batchmates at college and she is proud of me. Even her mother calls me up and wishes me luck. I receive calls even while dinner, continuously till midnight. Everyone congratulating me.
I am overwhelmed by everyone's love and support. I thank god but moreover i thank all these people who have stood by me through the thick and thin of my life. I don't know how would i be able to pay up for their love but i again thank them.
Thanks to god for giving me such friends.

With tears in my eyes,
and with ambitions to rise,
i thank all and pray,
may they be here when life turns grey...

Thank you all...

Dedicated to "My lovely Mother" and all the beautiful mothers in the world...!!!

Thak gaya hun main Maa, teri godd main sona chahta hun,
yaad karke apna bachpan, teri godd main phir se rona chahta hun.
Uss godd main tab ka rona, aaj ki khushi se kahin badkar hai,
Uss god main tab ka hasna, aaj ki zindagi se kahin badkar hai..!!

Mujhe der raat garam garam rotiyan khilati thi,
raat raat jaag kar mujhe padna seekhati thi,
Subah jaldi uth kar jo mujhe taiyaar karati thi,
school bag pakad jo mujhe bus main chadhati thi,
shaam ko school se aane par meri saari kahaniyan sunti thi,
bhulaye nhi bhulti wo hasi jo uss samay mukh pe tere aati thi..!!

Aaj main ho gya hun life main bahut busy,
na milti hai garam roti na lagti hai life easy.
tujhe yaad kar kar kaat-ta hun zindagi,
ye corporate life nahi, hai narak ki zindagi..!!

To be continued...

Usme kuch to baat thi...!!!

Usme kuch to baat thi,
jo kal wo mere saath thi.
Usme kuch to baat thi,
jo aaj wo mujhe yaad hai..!!

Usme kuch to baat thi,
jo aaj bhi usi pe atka hun,
Usme kuch to baat thi.
jo aaj bhi aage na badh saka hun..!!

Usme kuch to baat thi,
jo raat - raat neend na aati thi,
Usme kuch to baat thi,
jo din main bhi uski yaad satati thi..!!

Usme kuch to baat thi,
jo ladko se wo ladti thi.
Usme kuch to baat thi,
jo phir bhi wo mujhse pyaar karti thi..!!

Usme kuch to baat thi,
jo i still miss her.
Usme kuch to baat thi,
jo i still wanna kiss her..!!

Na jeb main paise na bike main petrol, jo tha wo bas ek phata hua atm cum debit card...!!! - But still kept thanking god...

It's strange how some days just turn into nightmares within a few moments. I encountered one such day recently.

I was coming back home from meeting my friend when suddenly petrol in my bike finished. This was not the first time that the fuel tank of my bike had gone empty. A couple of days ago also it had got empty but then i was lucky then. I had called up my friend then who brought some petrol with him in a cottle and then we both went to the petrol pump and got the fuel tank filled. Even that day, i didn't have much money but it was somehow enough to keep my bike moving for a couple of days. But, my ignorance of the fact that even last time i couldn't get enough petrol in the bike had this time come to haunt me hard.

This time, the petrol in my bike finished at the Tribune Chowk. I tried a number of times to start my bike with the few petrol drops that might have been there in the bike but all my efforts went in vain. But i certainly thanked god that atleast this time, i was much much closer to the petrol pump than last time, as the petrol pump is just 100 meters away from the chowk. So, i drag my bike to the petrol pump.

Now, just before gwtting my turn at the filling point, i looked into my wallet, only to find two notes of ten rupees and a few coins. I was shocked to see that and realised how i had spent the money earlier with my friend before reaching here. But i find an ATM cum DEBIT card in my wallet. I thanked god again.

Just as i pulled out my card, i found it to be torn. I was shattered again. Sensing great troubles ahead, i decided to finally call one of my friends to get me out of this situation. But, i guess a lot more drama was in store for me.

I click the dial button for my friend's number and put the phone on my ears, only to hear that "Kindly recharge your phone immediately as balance is insufficient to proceed through the call". I cursed myself and remembered that how i was thinking of recharging my phone in the market, just a few minutes ago when i was driving on my bike. Then i sent a message but found that the message pack had expired the last night only. Now, i was certainly losing hope in the middle of the petrol pump, though i could certainly have petrol worth rupees 25 in my bike...:P

Finallyi decided to ask the person at the petrol pump if he could try my torn card to see if it works. He agreed to try and after around 10 hit and trials with different positions of my card and a few minutes, he told me that my card had worked and asked me to write the pin number. I thanked god again and pressed the necessary buttons. He inserted the amount but told me that my card didn't have money. I was shocked the most now and asked him to try again since this was certainly impossible. I told him that the pin number might have been wrong since i knew three pin numbers for one card and i didnt exactly know the correct one.

So, he tried again and i inserted the second pin to find that pin was again wrong. I asked him to try one more time and this time he told me that "Sir, this is your last chance since if you dont insert the right pin this time, your card might just hang and then you won't be able to do anything." I asked him to anyways proceed because i already didn't have much money and what more worse can it get from here. So, it was definitely worth a try.

He swiped the card and asked me to insert the pin. I prayed to god and inserted the last pin i knew.

What happened next was my bike didnt need any new petrol for quiet a long time. I was lucky at the end of the day and i again thank god for the lessons taught.

7 Khoon Maaf: Found "not maaf" in my review...!!!

7 khoon maaf boasts of a quality director in the name of Vishal Bhardwaj and brilliant actors of the likes of Priyanka Chopra, Naseeruddin Shah, Irrfan khan, John Abraham, Annu Kapoor and others. Vishal Bhardwaj has established himself as one of the best and innovative and dark shaded directors of his times through his previous films like Maqbool, Omkara and Kaminey and does quiet good with this film too. But he somewhere is unable to give a solid reason behind susanna's six marriages one after the other. The film based on the novel - Susanna's Seven Husbands - by Ruskin Bond is unable to make the same impact on the audience as the novel. Though the screenplay is good overall, it lacks reasoning sometimes.

The too much demanding role from Priyanka Chopra takes a toll on her with she over acting in some places but overall does a decent job. She has acted with conviction. But midway in the film, she seems in a hurry to complete all the list of her husbands. The movie shows that her character gives good enough chance to her first two husbands, played by two very good actors- Neil Nitin Mukesh and John Abraham with their decent performances. But with later husbands, her character seems to be just moving too fast without giving them any chance to regret.

Irrfan khan and Naseeruddin shah play their role fantastically and prove their worth again as established actors. Annu kapoor, at times seems to have over acted. Vivaan has acted pretty well. He seems to have the acting in his genes. The Russian actor has played his part very well and his hindi film dialogues generate some lighter moments in the movie.

The movie lacks any strong climax as the title itself explains everything, though the seventh husband mystery is somewhat good. But it fails to provide any strong twist to the movie.

Overall i would give a rating of 2.5 out of 5 to 7KM which means you can watch the movie in theaters only if you have a lovely partner or enough movie to spend. Otherwise wait till the movie premiers on TV soon. I would also like to add that i am no specialist critic on movies but i am just a normal bollywood movies lover and the above mentioned is purely my opinion.

That dreadful fight and the valentine day...!!!

Raj never thought of betraying anyone. He was that normal guy who woun't play with other's emotions to keep himself happy. But that day, he had, unfortunately and unintentionally, committed that sin which she still recalls as BETRAYAL.

Their relationship was well into the third quarter of the year (:P), with their first Valentine week approaching (:D). Their relationship was always peaceful even though they fought more regularly than any two hostile neighbouring countries. Raj had told her lady love that he was trying to move on since they both were going to be separated in a couple of months and none was in favour of a long distance relationship. Even she agreed to this decision of Raj. But it was not meant to be so.

That day, Raj decided to finally call the day off and called her to tell her that he was finally going to propose someone else on this valentine and she should also move on. The news came out as a heart break for the girl who was full in tears for the next couple of days. She couldn't sleep the next few days and was heavily under depression. She couldn't even talk to Raj about this as not only she was deeply hurt to get that shocking news but also she knew that that is going to happen sooner or later. Raj couldn't talk to her as he knew that the situation didn't allow him to do so. He  had committed a wrong and he didn't want to do another wrong then, by calling her again.

Days went passed but both were still in deep pain. Raj still hadn't moved on from the relationship while the girl couldn't even think of moving on. She had never seen that coming and was deeply hurt. She finally decides to meet him one last time to break all relations that they shared for such a long time.

They meet on a scorching thursday morning at the backside of the lake. She tells him that how much she was hurt to hear that he was proposing someone else. She couldn't bear the pain of the heartbreak. She couldn't think what to do next. She was toally broken.
"The matters of heart are certainly not decided by the application of mind."
After listening to all what she had to say, Raj was even more heart broken. He hadn't really expected this reaction from her. Now he had fallen more deeply for her and couldn't even think of leaving her. He tells her that he is not proposong anyone and he wants to be with her. He tells her that he had thought that the idea of his proposal to someone else would help both of them move on but he had realised that such an idea had infact brought them more closer than before. But she wouldn't buy any of his arguments. She tells him that she is leaving in a couple of days to delhi to meet her friends and to forget him. So he shouldn't contact her anymore. Raj tried to persuade her to stay and believe him but she doesn't believe him and instead asks him to leave immediately so that she can spend sometime alone. Raj was helpless and thus, leaves her in the arms of the nature.

The valentine week was here but it was certainly not there for Raj and his love. He spent nights thinking about her and waiting for her call or message. It was not easy for his love as well. She would spend the whole night crying and talking to her room mate. Both knew that it was not going right but both also knew that they couldn't do much to make it right. Just the idea of love had started haunting both of them.

Finally, the girl called him up one night. He picked the phone. But both were quiet, unaware of how to start the conversation. After around 10 seconds, Raj breaks the silence and starts off in a furry, not allowing her to speak and just expressing all the feelings he had for her. With tears in his eyes (and bear in his hand.. :P.. no no), he is unstoppable with the flow of emotions. The girl's heart finally melts after listeing to him and she speaks the golden words that have, for long, kept their relation floating. Tears of happiness flow all around and in their company, they feel the love again. The girl informs raj that she is leaving for delhi the next day only and so won't be able to meet him and she would also not disclose the time of her departure. After much persuasion, she finally reveals the timing of her train.

It was 3am that night (or morning), when both had slept. But it was 5 am, that same morning that raj wake up to meet his lady love at the station. With hands in hand and hearts in hearts, they walked at the station for close to 2 hours, falling in love again for each other as always in the past...

There was absolutely no contact between them for the next couple of days when the valentine day finally arrives. Raj calls his love at around 11:45pm that night and she is furious over not having recieved any communication from him for the last couple of days. He feels sorry but persuades her wish him first but she wouldn't. So, just as the clock is about to tick 12 midnight, she finally relents to his efforts and wishes him happy valentine's day (or night), to which he equally responds, with love. The couple is happy today and still in love as earlier, with the same fighting spirit.. :P


P.S. - Thanks to my dear friend who put in all those emotions and love into this story. Without him and his love, there wasn't going to be any story.

The 90/10 Principle - It will change your outlook towards life...!!!

"Author: Stephen Covey"

Discover the 90/10 Principle.

It will change your life (at least the way you react to situations).

What is this principle? 10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react.

What does this mean? We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us.

We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in traffic.

We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%.

How? ……….By your reaction.

You cannot control a red light. but you can control your reaction. Don't let people fool you; YOU can control how you react.

Let's use an example.

You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You have no control over what just happened.

What happens next will be determined by how you react.

You curse.

You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over. She breaks down in tears. After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs and change your shirt. Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school. She misses the bus.

Your spouse must leave immediately for work. You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school. Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed limit.

After a 15-minute delay and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye. After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase. Your day has started terrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse. You look forward to coming home.

When you arrive home, you find small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and daughter.

Why? …. Because of how you reacted in the morning.

Why did you have a bad day?

A) Did the coffee cause it?

B) Did your daughter cause it?

C) Did the policeman cause it?

D) Did you cause it?

The answer is "D".

You had no control over what happened with the coffee. How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day.

Here is what could have and should have happened.

Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say, "Its ok honey, you just need to be more careful next time". Grabbing a towel you rush upstairs. After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. She turns and waves. You arrive 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff. Your boss comments on how good the day you are having.

Notice the difference?

Two different scenarios. Both started the same. Both ended different.

Why?

Because of how you REACTED.

You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% was determined by your reaction.

Here are some ways to apply the 90/10 principle. If someone says something negative about you, don't be a sponge. Let the attack roll off like water on glass. You don't have to let the negative comment affect you!

React properly and it will not ruin your day. A wrong reaction could result in losing a friend, being fired, getting stressed out etc.

How do you react if someone cuts you off in traffic? Do you lose your temper? Pound on the steering wheel? A friend of mine had the steering wheel fall off) Do you curse? Does your blood pressure skyrocket? Do you try and bump them?

WHO CARES if you arrive ten seconds later at work? Why let the cars ruin your drive?

Remember the 90/10 principle, and do not worry about it.

You are told you lost your job.

Why lose sleep and get irritated? It will work out. Use your worrying energy and time into finding another job.

The plane is late; it is going to mangle your schedule for the day. Why take outpour frustration on the flight attendant? She has no control over what is going on.

Use your time to study, get to know the other passenger. Why get stressed out? It will just make things worse.

Now you know the 90-10 principle. Apply it and you will be amazed at the results. You will lose nothing if you try it. The 90-10 principle is incredible. Very few know and apply this principle.

The result?

Millions of people are suffering from undeserved stress, trials, problems and heartache. We all must understand and apply the 90/10 principle.

It CAN change your life!!!

Enjoy…