Give More Ask Less

I learnt a very valuable lesson a few days back when I was given the opportunity to open my heart and my mind to some innocent and pure love. On independence day we decided to act a little more responsibly and spend some time at an orphanage.
For this we set up a fund collection program in office and invited donations through word of mouth. The donation amount was kept confidential so that everybody could contribute at free will. Interestingly we managed to collect 12k. We bought baby products and other useful items for 24 kids of this orphanage and went there with all the gifts. We thought we were making a big gesture. But when we entered those gates and looked into those beautiful eyes staring at us, we knew how small we were. All we could do was give them some gifts. But what they gave us was love. They made us smile and cry at the same time.
That day we realized that it was not the kids who needed us. It was us who needed them. We have all the luxuries in life and yet we are not satisfied. On other hand these kids they dont have the basic foundation - parents - and yet they are able to look in our eyes and smile.
How many times do we stop running around with friends and colleagues and really look at our parents and say hi mom hi dad how have you been? Never. All we do is just take them for granted. But the hard fact is they are not always going to be there. We are lucky that we have them. So let's cherish our parents by spending time with them and making them feel important.
Let's ask for less from them and give them more. After all they deserve it for putting up with us for so long.

Love - the most difficult thing! :)

Kahlil Gibran on Love 

When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, "I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

Fatal Attraction

To say or not to say is the question of the day....

One of my friends asked me recently what do you do when you know you are falling for someone but that someone is not right for you. how do you try not to fall for a person who would never love you back the way you do? how do you look that person in the eyes and try not to think about your beating heart? and more importantly, how do you stay friends with them while all the time wishing you could be more? how do you work around a fatal attraction?

M answer was simple "i dont know". i dont know how the heart works. i dont know how to handle love. but i do know one thing. its always better not to lose a friend for the sake of love. unrequited love is always diffcult to live with. but its more difficult to live with a broken heart and a broken friendship. so i say never risk friendship for love.

Miss You Boo

Its been three years since I lost my beloved "boo" on this date. It's been 3 long years. It's funny how I find 3 years without him so long and the 12 years I had with him to be so short. It's hard for people to understand how you can get so attached to a pet. But its a pet who can teach you the meaning of unconditional love.

Sometimes I just want to hug him and feel that love again. It's taken me 3 long years to at least look myself in the mirror and say "I did what I had to do". I dont know how much long it will take for me to completely forgive myself for the decision that I made. But whatever it is, my boo will always have a special place in my heart. Missing you badly boo!

Famous Maddur Vada

Clouds hugging the moutain peaks

He he he........would like to don this get up some day

Mahut climbing atop the elephant

Trekking my way down to Abby Falls

With Brother at Chamundi Hills

With Family at Chamundi Hills

Mom and bro at Chamundi Hills

Aaaahhhhhh!!!!!! The famous Coorgi cuisine, Rice Balls and Sambhar.

Scenic view on route to Talakaveri

Memories

"Those days were so good. I wish I could get them back" - have you ever felt that pang deep within your heart? If you have not, I would say you are lying. We all want to go back and relive those past days of our lives no matter how bad they were and no matter how good our today is. What has come and gone is what makes us yearn the most. So when I found these old and fond memories of my family I just couldn't resist. I wanted to have them here. I needed to have them here to keep on reminding me who I really am and where I belong.

You can lose yourself in the rat race of the world. But when everything is said and done, the one place you want to go back to is "home". And the one thing that keeps you calling back is "family". They are the ones who shape you and make you who you are.

So here are the places and the people who define my whole being.

My grandmother at the helm of her youth. We called her "mothi aai" which means "elder mom".

The yesteryears Pradhan family. My grandparents, dad, and two auts. I am the exact replica of my youngest aunt.

My grandfather - Advocate Pradhan

The house where my dad grew up. The most recognized place of Nasik when it was still a small town.

The famous "bakuli" tree in our yard. This was the only bakuli tree in whole of Nasik back then.

The Pradhan bunglow as it was called back then.

View of the bunglow from Nasik main road.

The Pradhan bunglow used to get lit up during night.

The adjacent land that we donated to volleyball club of Nasik. My youngest aunt is Arjun Award winner for volleyball.

Pradhan bunglow as seen from the club area. The club is still there today and volleyball is still being played there regularly.

The whole Pradhan family with all the Pradhan brothers coming together for the family pic. This is one of our most valued pic since it has all the couples with their kids. Some of the members from the pic are no longer. Yet their memories are cherished.

The Pradhan Park as it stands today. We had then sold off the land and set up a commercial compled with shops, offices, residential flats, and hospitals. We still have our flat here. When grandfather expired, the whole complex was closed down for one day in his memory.

Vacuum

The senses of a poet go long ways than any other human being. A poet will  be able to hear what was never said and will be able to feel what was never shown. But the poet within me has started to feel the vacuum. He wants to get lost in oblivion.


na kisiki talash ho na kisika intezaar ho
meri zindagi bhi kuchh aisi hi abtaar ho

na rishto ka khichav ho na apno se lagaav ho
sunn pade zehen mein na kisike liye pyaar ho

koi bhi baat kehne ki dil mein bechaini na ho
na koi aur mujhe sun ne ke liye bekaraar ho

na meri koi pehchaan ho na meri koi yaad ho
gumnaam mera wajood benaam meri mazaar ho

chahu to bhi ruk na saku main saans lene ke liye
meri soch jitni hi mere kadamo ki raftaar ho

na koi mera qatil ho na koi mera masiha bane
dua karne ke liye bhi na koi parwar digaar ho

jane woh kaunsi baat thi jisne use tabah kiya
mujhe lekar yahi sawaal sabko baar baar ho