Koffee with Stars

Just now I watched two episodes of Koffee with Karan. All this while, when the show was off for years, I used to think that I was so immature earlier to choose it as one of my favorite shows on TV. I thought how can I get entertained with all the false information that stars give just for increasing TRPs of a show and earning money. But then that is how entertainment industry works. You should neither believe nor take anything to heart said over TV. I tried this and again it became my favorite show.

There are many things that one can learn from this show. One of them is how to answer most personal questions and insult people without actually acknowledging their name. One of the questions that I feel to answer now is "top three agendas of life". Without taking much time I found this answer:

• Career: Definitely, its always there in mind, all the time. I always wonder what I will be doing five years from now. Will I ever be good at anything? 
• Life after Death : This should be on top of this list. But I am too weak and get carried away with smaller issues everyday. This agenda is most important but most forgettable. Really need to set my priorities straight. 
• Wedding: Hmm.. Yes. Few of my friends are getting married next month and I am yet to meet someone I can think of spending my whole life with. This was always in top 5. Now in top 3.

Something is wrong

Like all Science students, I have this habit to ask "Why?" before accepting anything. I need a reason before storing any new thought or theory in my memory. During college days, Logic, Reasoning and Calculation occupied most of my abnormal brain. For years, my brain's firewall stopped me from exploring my artistic and romantic side. As soon as I came out of college many more questions regarding religion, politics, history and culture started to stack up and attack the firewall. All this made me feel very uneducated.

Photo Credit:  Dullhunk

Education is all about knowing everything about something and something about everything.

Eventually, I decided to shift my interest more towards arts and literature. Enrolled for learning Spanish, but failed to accommodate the classes into my corporate routine. To keep going I started reading everything except science. Internet came to my rescue and the destruction began.

In a few months I found myself reading more Urdu poetry than anything and its magic started working. Although I was not very fluent in Urdu but online dictionaries made it easy to understand. I also started enjoying Qawwali, Gazals and Thumri. All my favorite singers got replaced by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Jagjit Singh, Iqbal Bano and Rekha Bhardwaj among others.

I call it destruction because I am spending lots of time listening music and reading many unrelated theories about everything. I wonder if I am really gaining anything other than confusion. Do I really know where am I going? Unlike Science, there are no limits in Arts, no boundaries, no resistance for imagination. Although brain is sending regular warnings but somehow I am enjoying this journey.

"Jo radd hue thay jahan main kai sadi pehle,

   Woh log hum pe musallat hain is zamanay main." 

 : JaunElia

Recognized for Mapping

It feels so good when you are recognized for your hobbies. I never thought I will be among the winners of Google's Mapathon. I started mapping in college as a hobby. The idea was to help in making Google Maps better and contribute to Open Source Community.

Today I received a Certificate and a Google T-Shirt for my contribution. Feeling encouraged to pursue other hobbies with passion too.

2013 Analysis

Credit: http://www.lendingmemo.com/

2013 haven't brought any big change into my life. 

This happened last year:

• I kept going to same office doing similar work. 
• Got cured of an illness which took me to hospital. 
• Got more serious towards learning new things but did not took any action to proceed.
• Got much more entertained than last few years, more movies and TV. 
• Increased blogging and other online activities.
• Traveled to a new place, Jaisalmer.
• Read many blogs and few books, got more confused.
• Spent more money than ever.
• Got older not much wiser.

New year started with lots of office work. Got promoted, with no big compensation change but more responsibilities. The list of things I want to achieve this year is too long. Even if I could finish half of them, this year will be successful. Need a proper plan and a well prioritized list of actions. From where should I begin?

Jaisalmer Is a Nice Travel Destination

It takes 17 hours by train to reach Jaisalmer from Delhi. The railway station is under-crowded. If you have ever travelled to UP or Bihar you will even feel the train is vacant. The railway station is well designed like a fort with minaret and other signs of ancient architecture.

Jaisalmer Railway Station

Jaisalmer is a small city. From station it hardly takes 10 minutes to reach Gadisagar lake by an auto-rickshaw. From there, Jaisalmer fort and other Havelis are just walking distance away. Lake is serene, filled with clean water. You can enjoy boating there and spend sometime peacefully sitting on its shore.

Gadisagar Lake, Jaisalmer

Jaisalmer fort is huge like all other Indian forts. It is a living fort with people living inside. The fort is not just home to humans but many varieties of birds and animals too. Walking inside fort is like visiting an old Indian city. There were narrow lanes where children were playing with ball. While walking inside fort you can hear cooker whistling, women chatting while washing clothes, youngsters biking and other things common in an Indian small town. I even spotted a rusted abandoned scooter.

Camel Safari, Jaisalmer

Inside fort most people have converted their homes into temples, restaurants and hotels for attracting tourists. There are many handicraft shops and travel agencies inside fort. I tried shooting a cattle with my camera in one of those narrow lanes, it got annoyed and started chasing till I found shelter in a temple.

Sunset Point Jaisalmer

The most amazing part is watching the setting sun in desert. Desert is about 30 kilometers away from Jaisalmer. After half an hour of camel ride we reached the sunset point in the middle of desert. For us, it was really difficult to walk on sand but camels treated sand like a newly built highway. They were seamlessly running on sand. Slowly the bright golden sand turned grey after sunset. Chilliness in air started rising. The moon started glowing. Unlike the Delhi sky, stars also appeared there. I even spotted a meteor falling. Preserved all those images in my memory and now here.

Unpardonable Sins

Photo Credit : mr_bmonroe

Is it reflection of my past,
My unpardonable sins.

Result of what I have done,
Or the deeds of my ancestors.

My mistakes are too many,
Why am I eligible for  big rewards?

What I already have is no less than blessing.
Maybe, I can only think like a human.

Suffering is not the only type of test,
A reward can be a test too.

My creator has his own ways,
Intentional ignorance may lead to punishment.

He don't seek revenge,
Even if we fail to ask for forgiveness after failure.

Why this achievement is not enough?
That he considered me one of those who are testable.

The Idea Of A Perfect Weekend Morning

A Saturday morning:

 I got up and immediately searched my phone on my bed. I remembered, I left it here-somewhere last night. I wanted to be sure its not on my bed, to get out of warm sheets that covered me and land on the cold floor. Finally, I found it below my pillow and pressed the big semi circular button at the bottom of its screen to light it up and check the time. It was 6:15 A.M. I covered myself again and closed my eyes. But before going back to sleep I realized, still there are 20 minutes left for Fajr and I am missing it continuously for months and preferring sleep over namaz(and within few seconds I traversed through all my knowledge of hell and heaven). Still, it took me about 5 more minutes to gather all my courage and defeat shaitan. I got up and worn a shirt, hanging nearby, on top of the T-shirt I was already wearing. It was while returning from the toilet I realized, I was wearing my newest shirt.

After performing Fajar a few seconds before the announcement, “Hazraat Fajar ka waqt khatam hua.. Qaza namaaz 20 minute baad ada karein”, I felt too fresh and satisfied(the guilt of not going to mosque remained).

Photo Credit: Will Keightley on Flickr

Although, getting up at 11 A.M and having a freshly baked Sheermal, a steaming hot tea and an omlette while unfolding the newspaper is also my idea of a perfect weekend morning.

Today’s morning was perfect too. After namaz, reading a few pages of Quran and understanding them, followed by freshly prepared Poori-Sabzi and later enjoying weekend newspaper with a mug full of steaming hot tea have no comparison.

Women Looking for Rotten Apples and Bones

The other day when I was buying apples, a woman with a child in her arms arrived. And asked the fruitwala "Chhate hue seb hain??". She wanted to buy rotten apples. Actually, those apples which are not completely rotten but to an extent when they cannot be mixed with fresh apples. So fruitwalas keep them aside and sell them at throwaway price. Anyway they are of no use to them.

When I was checking each apple before he packs, her words stirred me. Later I realized she was too poor to afford  fresh apples but wanted her child to eat them. So she compromised with "Chhate hue apples".

The other woman was eating with her family of three in a posh restaurant. And I was waiting there with two of my friends for a table to get vacant. They had their food and were just finishing it with water. I suddenly observed the woman started collecting the leftover bones from all their plates. To my surprise she wrapped them and took them with her. Even my friends had no idea why she did this. It took me 5 minutes to realize she must have taken them for her dog waiting at home.

These two incidents prove that women speak universal language of love more often and they are full of kindness.