The Sound Of Silence

Does silence speak? I think it does. When you actually listen to it, you hear all that you don’t when you’re mired in sound.

I live in Delhi…..a bustling city which is never silent apart from those few hours at night. And living amidst all this chaos, I don’t think about the sound of silence. My mind is so tuned to the mayhem around me that I completely shut it out.

That’s one reason why I love going to Jaipur. There I am totally cut off from the daily sounds of my life (including my phone which is on silent the whole time) and I listen…..in peace.....to all that it has to say.

Birds chirping from morning till evening and even at night, the ripple in the water, the leaves moving gently in the breeze……..the sound of silence.

Third Time Lucky

Last week I was in Jaipur for a short holiday and thought I’d spend some quality time in the hotel garden. As soon as I walked down, my eyes fell on the hammock which was temptingly swinging lightly in the breeze, tied between two Gulmohar trees in full bloom. So I ran to it, kicked off my shoes and immediately got on.

Alas…..the balance on it was out and humpty dumpty fell off not once but twice. Totally embarrassing since there were three gardeners watering the garden who witnessed the fall. This picture is a result of the third try…..thanks to one kind gardener who held the hammock while moi got on. Third time lucky :D

Yeh Dil Mange More

While reading a book by HH Dalai Lama I came across this quote where he talks about discontentment. “You want more and more and more. This, in a sense, is real poverty – always to be hungry, hungry, hungry with no time to be satisfied.”

One part of my mind recognises the truth of this statement. But, somewhere this understanding clashes with my desire of wanting more and more and more. There is an endless list of things I want in life. Things which, to my mind, are desperately needed to make life worth living.

Since then, I’ve been thinking about wanting verses needing. I want but do I need? Not really. I have all that I need to live a very comfortable life. But still this endless wanting continues. I guess it’s a case of “yeh dil maange more”!

Shaken & Stirred

Life I’ve noticed, has a tendency of constantly getting shaken and stirred. It’s never stable and a lot of times to my mind, especially in my life, I could certainly do without some of the shaking around that God deems necessary for my existence.

I wonder if it’s just me…..no of course not, it’s everyone but since this is my blog, I shall just moan about myself.

A lot of times, when I find myself totally at peace, God pokes me in such a way that the peace is shattered and I’m totally out of sync. It’s happening right now, my mind a total mess and I do not think it is needed in my life at all. But I guess God does.....so He’s going to keep at it. And He’s welcome to, since I know this is to teach me an important lesson in life. All I’ll say to Him is……please “handle with care”.

PS: No questions on this post please. Thanks :)

25 Random Things About Me.

I was recently tagged in a note on Facebook where I was supposed to write 25 things about me. So since I wrote them down, I thought I’d post them here as a record of 25 “GREAT” things about me.

1. I am an extremely lazy person……to the extent that at times I get tired just thinking about all the things that I have to do.

2. I am also an extremely private person……hate sharing my thoughts.

3. I am a big reader thought mostly fiction. Can’t stand non-fiction which I find very boring. Love reading romance. I guess am a total romantic at heart.

4. I am totally blind without my lenses and as of last month need glasses to read too. The joys of growing old.

5. I am slim n trim….o.k. lying a bit about that but a little cheating is allowed.

6. I am totally uninterested in clothes. Just get the basics and that’s it.

7. I am not a great talker…..in fact I hate talking most of the time.

8. I am a great listener…..now this is one of my special points. You wanna talk….you’ve come to the right person.

9. I am a total non vegetarian……hate all those green vegetables which are so good for me. Give me tikka n butter chicken n kababs…..let’s not talk about it.

10. I looooooove chai. Anytime, anywhere….my most favourite drink.

11. I am a Libran, so, there is a constant struggle going on in my mind all the time while I try and bring balance to my thoughts

12. I am totally non tech. I am sooooo dumb when it comes to any kind of technology….....just goes over my head.

13. My take on life….one life to live so live it up…….kya pata kal ho na ho.

14. I am warm n loving if you matter…..if you don’t matter, you don’t figure in my scheme of things.

15. I am an absolute believer in Fate.

16. I hate any kind of controversy….again a Libran trait

17. I love spending time with myself.

18. The most amazing place I ever been to is Bodhgaya………………the energy was mind-blowing.

19. My favourite holiday destination is Jaipur. I go 3-4 times a year.

20. The one place I dream of visiting……Venice

21. The person who’s philosophy I try and follow is HH Dalai Lama……unsuccessfully.

22. The person I love the most is my nephew Aabir.

23. My most prized possession right now is my laptop which is getting old n ill with overuse.

24. The creature I hate the most is the lizard. Horrorssssssssssssssss

25. I hated writing these 25 things about myself.

Too many I’s in this post…sorry guys.

PS: I chickened out and did not put this up on FB :)