Peace Spot Revelations

There is this temple (Raghavendra Swami Mutt) next to my college (BMS College of Engineering, Bangalore) which is my peace spot; not the entire temple but a katte (bench type structure made of marble) in front of the temple. I go there every time I think my head is messed up, and irrespective of whether I find answers to the worries I have or not, I feel at peace. It could be the peaceful surroundings, the smell of camphor, the smile of the lady that sells flowers there, the Pundits who look so calm, the spacious building where there are no people in queues; it could be anything or everything.

I was there today and after offering my prayers, went and sat at my favorite spot. Since it is next to my college, we used to visit this place very often; my friends and I. All those images flashed in front of my eyes - the xerox shop next to the temple where we have got numerous notes xeroxed, the road on which we took walks while having coffees and teas, the place behind the temple where we studied during our internals; made me feel so nostalgic.

The revelation I had today was something that my sister-in-law told me recently when I was visiting her in New York. "Letting go" is something that everyone needs to learn. I think this is so true. If we keep holding on to certain beliefs, rigid thoughts, old memories, materialistic things, grudges etc., it means we are chaining ourselves and not letting our own selves be free. If I think otherwise, that kinda makes sense too. If we don't hold on to anything, is there anything individualistic about oneself? (There is a thin line between being individualistic and egoistic, mind you). Can cultures be carried forward if everyone starts to let go of everything? These debates raised in my mind, but in the end, "letting go" won. In this fast paced life, it makes sense to move on quickly.

Having a revelation is one thing, abiding by it is another :) Let me see how far I get on this journey of mine. Your thoughts on this debate? Or your peace spot? Or any revelations you might have had?

Uneasiness

So I am seated in my room, all alone
The rain pours outside and the clouds feel light
My heart is still heavy and I feel uneasy
I might slip into coma soon, I just might

The eyes yearn to shut, the mind too
For it's been a long tiring journey
All the times that have gone by
Seems like, for those, I'm payin' alimony

Breaths get shorter and shorter
And images pass by the tiresome eyes in a flash
As I try to catch hold of maybe one of 'em
It passes right by, in a dash

The race no longer seems alluring
I have the urge to give up
At these moments life seems like...
Seems like a half-empty cup

F.R.I.E.N.D.S - Dedication

Sometime back, I was watching the last season of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Most of it was about Ross and Rachel, and their history, and their love for each other, tested through some difficult times; inspired me to write this song:

I want to hold your hand
I want to walk on the sand
I want to drench under the rain
I want to feel the pain again
Can you….be mine….one last time, one last time?
Can you cross the line….one last time, one last time?

The shopping trips, the long walks
The beers, cheers and the never-ending talks
The feelings that went down the drain
I want to feel the pain again
Can you….be mine….one last time, one last time?
Even if things don’t turn fine….one last time, one last time?

“Hey, can I call you “baby”? My friend?”
“Yes, now that our friendship is on pend”
“Don’t worry; things will turn out fine, trust me plain”
No they didn’t….and I want to feel the pain again
Can you….be mine….one last time, one last time?
Let me….for you….pine….one last time, one last time?

Facing you has never felt so odd
This is at least one place where you’ll nod
Last time I made love to you, my feelings were slain
But….I want to feel the pain again
Can you….be mine….one last time, one last time?
Let’s…please let’s….cross the line….one last time, one last time?

So....

Lot has happened since I wrote last. I shifted to my permanent address recently and the fact that we didn't have internet for quite a few days also added to me being so late with my post.

Now that that issue is sorted out, I hope to be more regular :) Also tell me. How's life?

Was it meant to be? - Part 1

Roshni was in terrible confusion. She was seated on the swing outside her house and swinging in slow motion. She looked up at the sky, asking God “Why” several times, and then looked down upon her dress. She was dressed in a salwar suit that glittered in the dark night. She could feel her eyes well up and as she lifted her hand to wipe the tears, she noticed fresh mehendi on both her palms. Looking at that made her feel worse, and the tears soon started to flow out. As she was trying to console herself, one of her younger cousins, Madhu, came running from inside the house. The house was decorated with lights and there was laughter and noise everywhere.

“Hey, sis! When are you going to join us for dinner? Everyone’s waiting for you!” she shouted

Roshni didn’t answer for a minute. Before she could say anything, Madhu came and sat next to her on the swing.

“What happened to you? You look a little dull?” she asked Roshni, but then she didn’t wait for Roshni to answer.

“Hah! Look at me asking the stupidest question possible to the happiest bride in the world! DUH! Whatever can make you dull when you are getting married to the love of your life tomorrow, eh, sis? And to top it all, both the families are so happy with the match too!”

Madhu was right, Roshni knew. After all that had happened, she had all the right reasons to be happy. But she wasn’t happy. Why? Why?

Another attempt at song writing

I started watching the series "Grey's Anatomy" from the past month. I absolutely love the songs they play in the background each episode!

These new songs made me want to write one of my own. Here it goes:

Sand grains slipping thru’ my fingers
I can see you growing apart
From talking nineteen to a dozen
The lift we take is eerie with silence now
We’ve moved on too far
Yeah, we’ve moved on too far

Our friendship was spent too much
We didn’t save for a rainy day
Now look where it has gotten us to
Our cellphones have forgotten load
We’ve moved on too far
Yeah, we’ve moved on too far

Life must come a full circle they say
Yes, it’s so true…yeah, it’s so true
From completing each other’s sentences
To finding it hard to find what to say
We’ve moved on too far
Yeah, we’ve moved on too far 

We’re caged animals now, aren’t we?
Unless our words, the talks and the cellphones
They unite to get us back together
I think this is definitely the dead end
We’ve moved on too far
Yeah, we’ve moved on too far

Let me know what you guys think! :)

WhatsApp?

Time and again, I am amazed by technology advancement in the mobile world. Hats off to the guys who come up with ideas for mobile applications that caters to millions of users across the globe! I am a mobile enthusiast myself and like keeping on the lookout for interesting applications. I think a combination of social networking with mobile applications works really well. One such application which I use most frequently on my phone (much more frequently compared to the conventional SMS, Facebook or my Twitter apps) is the messenger “WhatsApp”.

I am sure many of you have heart of it/using it frequently. It is a thin application (7MB in size) that works on IOS, Android, Symbian, Windows and BlackBerry phones. Your phone number is required for registration and a working data connection (your mobile data connection/WIFI) to send and receive messages. Except for IOS, it is free on all other platforms for the 1st year of usage, and then a $1 subscription fee per year will be charged. What a brilliant strategy - I don’t think anyone (at least anyone using smart phones) minds paying $1 for an application that they would use very frequently. With the increasing number of WhatsApp users (In my contacts list, I see at least 4 users per week getting added to my WhatsApp list), the company owners must be grinning all the way to their bank. I just read on their blog that early this year, WhatsApp crossed a milestone of sending just over 1 billion messages in a single day!

Top 3 things I love about WhatsApp:

1. Group conversations - With these, no one seems far away anymore. Create a school group, a college group, a work group, anything. And you can keep posting stuff on the go.

2. Cheaper compared to conventional SMS - This is true especially if you have friends in other countries. An international SMS using my service provider costs me Rs. 5, whereas a WhatsApp message is much much cheaper. (I have sent 11K messages so far and the data usage is just 11MB)

3. Emoticons - The icons that come with the app are the cutest, to say the least. I love using them!

Other things I like about WhatsApp are the ability to share pictures, videos, contacts; ability to find out if my message has been read by the recipient, muting a specific group if you don’t want to disturbed etc.

Go ahead and install this app on your phone today to STAY CONNECTED! (Download link: http://whatsapp.com/dl/)