I am......

I am a simple man. I believe in simple living. I am happy if I can take care of my family nicely, spend a good life and can perform all the responsibilities properly. My day starts with the 1st morning sun ray that touches the earth. Everyday, I wake up with a hope to make my life better. I work hard whole day to earn and at the end of the day I get the earnings which is enough to look after of my family.

I am carrying my forefathers' tradition and I am quite proud of it. Somebody should be there to carry forward their names and I am happily doing it.

But, nowadays, it seems it is not becoming enough for daily living. These days, people are more and more getting inclined towards the modernization. Modernization has touched it's magic wand everywhere and the world is changing faster than my imagination. I know, I can match the modernization by working little harder. Yes, I know I have to work harder.

I have started working harder. Summer or winter, I know the sun is also working hard to make my path tougher, but, hard working has no other replacement. I know I will be successful to get my job done in a better way. So, be it the scorching heat, be it raining heavily, be it the chilled winter I started working harder. But, unfortunately after doing all these I am only able to earn a meager two square meals a day for my family. What should I do to make my life better. Since my birth I have only learnt to earn my bread and butter in this way. What is going wrong with it. My days are becoming harder day by day. I am ready to give my service whole day, I never care for my health when it comes to give my service, I don't care of the nature of the weather, still I am lagging behind time, I am getting defeated by the modernization. When everybody is going ahead of time I am lagging behind in spite of giving my heart and soul to the work. Is this what I should get to carry the old tradition with me since this long time? After all I am a Rickshaw Puller.....

 

This is what is today's story of a rickshaw puller. A person is a rag that pulls a rickshaw is called rickshaw puller. He is often seen here and there on the road, in market complexes, near cinema halls, schools, hospitals etc.

A rickshaw puller leads a very hard life. He earns little to meet two square meals a day for his family. He never cares for his health and pulls his rickshaw for maximum hours in a day. Apart from carrying person or persons, he carries goods like vegetables, tea and other things in the form of packed or unpacked bundles.

Nowadays some rickshaw pullers are seen engaged in carrying school children. It gives them a permanent income. And what is more, they get a change in their hard life in the company of the small children.

No matter to whom they pull, but it looks very pathetic in itself. It is really a great pity. It is the dark side of our social traditions that a man has to pull two or three persons to earn his livelihood without caring the nature of the weather. In this advanced age, when there are various transport facilities, rickshaw pulling is still in existence on a mass level.

Pulling of human beings by a man is a curse upon society. Hence, rickshaw pullers must be given full support from the Government in the form of loan so that they may purchase auto-rickshaw or may start some other business thus, they will be able to earn more money by comparatively less manual labour. It will also make their family life a little bit more comfortable. They will be able to educate their children in order to make them worthy citizens of the country.

But it does not seem that rickshaw pulling will come to a complete end because it has been in existence from a long time. Even in 18th century man used to pull Palki or wood cart on foot, which was perhaps more miserable. Hence, so long it is in existence, it is the moral duty of common people to be sympathetic to the rickshaw pullers.

Sometimes it has been seen some people do not pay reasonable wages to them and start quarrelling in loud voice. Poor rickshaw puller becomes helpless and satisfies him with whatever he gets from such quarrelsome persons. We must change our attitude towards him.

He gives valuable service to us. Sometimes when it is scorching heat and we find ourselves unable to walk on foot, we take his service. We sit in the shade while the rickshaw puller pulls us wiping sweat with a piece of cloth every now and then.

We must feel the rickshaw puller's misery and be a little more lenient towards him. If we do not pay him more than the real wage, it's alright. But we should never underestimate his labour.

 

Festival of Colors - Part 3

Holi celebration takes place with lot of joy and verve throughout the country. The enthusiasm of the people reaches its peak and matches with the nature which is in full bounty at the time of Holi.
It gives much liberty to the people to let their hair loose and enjoy their hidden crazy self.

Differences of any sort are drowned in the coloured waters of Holi and people just enjoy being a play animal. To further enhance the festive spirit of Holi celebrations we have a social sanction to get a kick with the tradition of bhang. Then there is total wildness as people dance to the rhythm of dholak and sing traditional folk songs in loudest possible pitch.

Children particularly enjoy the festival as they throw water filled balloons at passersby...and if anybody stares..they have ready answer, 'Bura na mano Holi hai..' and evoke a smile on the irritated face. Besides, they have their water missiles, called pichkaris to drench the person from far and escape further drenching. People also play with gulal or 'Abeer' which is available in various bright colors like - pink, magenta, red, yellow and green etc...

In the midst of these colouring games are savoured the mouth watering holi specialties like gujiya, malpuas, mathri, puran poli, dahi badas etc and downed with glasses full of thandai.

In some states there is also a tradition of breaking the pot full of buttermilk which is hung high on the streets. A group of boys form a human pyramid and one of them break the pot. All this while womenfolk throw buckets of colour water on them and sing folk songs.

And after a wild and eventful day, evenings are celebrated in a dignified manner by visiting friends and relatives. People exchange sweets and hug each other conveying the warm wishes for Holi. These days there people also participate and organise Holi Meets and enjoy the festival till late in the night.

Holi celebrations that starts with the burning of Holika on the eve of Holi thus culminates with the lot of fun-filled activity and bonhomie. However, at some places specially Mathura and Barsana Holi celebrations continue for a week as each major temple organise a Holi bash on different day. Lovers of the festival enjoy every moment to the fullest.

 

Festival of Colors - Part 2

It is said that Holi existed several centuries before Christ. However, the meaning of the festival is believed to have changed over the years. Earlier it was a special rite performed by married women for the happiness and well-being of their families and the full moon (Raka) was worshiped.
Today, this festival of Holi is regarded as a celebration of the Colors of Unity & Brotherhood - an opportunity to forget all differences and indulge in unadulterated fun. It has traditionally been celebrated in high spirit without any distinction of cast, creed, color, race, status or sex. It is one occasion when sprinkling colored powder ('gulal') or colored water on each other breaks all barriers of discrimination so that everyone looks the same and universal brotherhood is reaffirmed. This is one simple reason to participate in this colorful festival.

The festival starts with Holika Dahan(Bonfire) on the night before Holi where people gather, sing and dance. The next morning is free for all carnival of colors, where everyone plays, chases and colors each other with dry powder and colored water, with some carrying water guns and colored water-filled balloons for their water fight. Anyone and everyone is fair game, friend or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman, children and elders.

The frolic and fight with colors occurs in the open streets, open parks, outside temples and buildings. Groups carry drums and musical instruments, go from place to place, sing and dance. People move and visit family, friends and foes, first play with colors on each other, laugh and chit-chat, then share Holi delicacies, food and drinks. In the evening, after sobering up, people dress up, visit friends and family.



Next: Festival of Colors-Part 3

Festival of Colors - Part 1

Holi or Holika or Phagwah or Basant Utsav or Dol Jatra or Festival of Colors or Festival of Love 

- There are so many names for just one festival that is celebrated widely all over India, different regions have different name.Yes today, on the auspicious occasion of Phalgun Purnima(full moon day in the month of Phalugn), we all Indians are celebrating Holi, which signifies the beginning of the season Spring, which is the most colorful festival mainly celebrated by the followers of Vedic Religion or Hindus. Historians also believe that Holi was celebrated by all Aryans but more so in the Eastern part of India.

But in recent times, it has also become popular among non-Hindus in many parts of South Asia, in some parts of Europe, North America as a spring celebration of love, frolic and colors.

The festival has many mythological interesting stories behind it. Let me tell you 3 of them:

1) Some people says it is highly associated with Hindu Gods Krishna and Radha. Hindus think of them as the God of Love, so the festival is also called as Festival of Love.

According to the legend, Krishna was jealous of Radha’s fair complexion. He told about this to his mother Yashoda, she teasingly asked him to color Radha’s face. So that's how it started.

2) Another legend says, it is associated with demon king Hiranyakashyap. Hiranyakashyap wanted everybody in his kingdom to worship only him, but to his great disappointment, his son, Prahlad became an ardent devotee of Lord Naarayana. Hiaranyakashyap commanded his sister, Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap. Holika had a boon whereby she could enter fire without any damage on herself. However, she was not aware that the boon worked only when she enters the fire alone. As a result she paid a price for her sinister desires, while Prahlad was saved by the grace of the god for his extreme devotion. The festival, therefore, celebrates the victory of good over evil and also the triumph of devotion.

3) According to another legend, Lord Krishna killed the demonic ‘Putna’ on this day. And gowalas and gopiyas played Rasleela to celebrate it. Krishna played with colors to celebrate the victory of good over evil on this day.

The below picture gives you just a glance of how Holi is celebrated....

Taken at Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India, on the occasion of Basanta Utsav

Next: Festival of Colors-Part 2

Enigma

His dress told her nothing, but his face told her things which she was glad to know.

~A.A. Milne

Aaahhhhhh.....there are so many things to talk about....will you have the patience to hear that????Ok...let me take that as an Yes...:P..even if you do not want to know, you can easily turn the page off...hahaha...so all these, what I am speaking, are just to make a preface before I start....:D....

Soooo.....Yes....his face told her everything that she wanted to know....that she was eager to hear since long time.....mystery

Actually it is not the face....those eyes.....those mysterious puzzling deep dark black eyes....which have hidden so many mysteries.....so many interesting stories....so many thoughts....so many emotions...which hardly comes out in front of anybody....but...at the end he gives up to those eyes which open up all the stories....you will just have to have the wish to read those eyes....I would love to read them life long to solve the mysteries......and when you will be able to solve all the mysteries by simply looking at those eyes......then.....it is such a pleasure to watch him from far and just notice his body language, it tries to hide all the things that he thinks....but he has to abdicate to his mysteriously beautiful eyes...which now says it all without his consent.....

Haahh...so I could manage without blabbering a lot......

Attitude

Hey, are you the one, who has the tendency to stay up at night listening to music that reminds her of her current situation.

Are you the one, who hides her fears, hurt, pain and tears under the smiles, laughs and giggles on a daily basis.

Are you the one, who wear her heart on her sleeve.

Are you the one, who prays that things will work out just once and she'll be satisfied.

The one, who screams and cries to her pillows because everyone else fails to listen.

The one, who has so many secrets but wont tell a soul.

The one, who makes mistakes and regrets as a daily moral.

The one, who never wins.

The one, who stays up all night thinking about that one boy and hoping that he'll notice her one day.

The one, who takes life as it comes.

The one, who is hoping that life will get better somewhere down the road.

The one, who loves with all her heart although it always gets broken.

The one, who thinks it's over.

Then you are the one, who is beautiful on her own unique way, with all your mischievousness, with all your mistakes, with all your foolishness......Cheers to all those lovely girls........

~ Inspired by Zyan Malik's writing

SHE

The expression a woman wears on her face is far more important than the clothes she wears on her back.~Dale Carnegie

Okay...when you see a woman...what is the 1st thing that you notice in her....Guys...don't get too busy in imagining things..:P...I know what you notice...;) ...even being a lady I too notice the same, but don't take my words in other ways...hahahahahahaha....:D

We really have to admit that woman is God's most beautiful creation on earth...her dumbness....her mysterious mind...her way of thinking....her way of making simple things into a very complicated one....her way of pondering over absolutely silly things....her way of arguing with nonsense logic....her moody nature....her craziness....her nagging nature....her insecurity....her addiction to shopping....her talkative nature....her love for gossiping.....her beauty....her strong attitude...her boldness....her caring nature.....her self confidence...her courage to admit her mistakes....her self respect....her way of handling troubles...her strength to carry burden....her disciplined nature.....her integrity....her unconditional love......phewwwwww.....it is going to be a long list....but really....all these are true isn't it....

She holds happiness, love and opinions....she smiles when she feels like screaming out loud....she is happy and loves when she is afraid....she is dominating but always tries to find someone who dominates her......she is comfortable in her perfect imperfection.....

It is difficult to break down a real woman so easily because she learns from her mistakes, gather her strength from her struggles and overcome her obstacles courageously....her greatest strength is her emotion....but that also makes her greatest weakness.....she sometimes forget she is worth praise in her personality in every shape as a mother, a friend, a sister, a daughter, a teacher, a wife.....

A woman's beautiful face attracts a flirter, a woman's beautiful heart attracts a lover, a woman's beautiful character attracts a man....so guys...what do you want to be!!!!!!!...think think....;)

 

 

 

The Girl I Want to Be

I want to be the girl to walk with you in rain....

I want to be the 1st rain drop which makes you feel happy again.....

I want to see the stars with you at night....

I want to sit with you by the river bank on a moonlit night.....

I want to be the 1st sun ray that falls on your face to wake you up....

I want to be with you to enjoy the morning sun rays in a chilling cold winter....

I want to be the girl who makes your bad days better....

I want to be the girl to take all your pains like a pain emitter....

I want to be the girl who makes you smile....who makes you forget all your worries....who encourages you in whatever good you do and scolds you in whatever bad you do....who sticks to you though thick and thin....who understands you by just looking at your eyes....who protects you from all the horrible things in the world....I want to be the girl to grow old with you....

I want to be the girl who you can't figure out....I want to be the girl who makes you go crazy....I want to be the girl you fall for when everybody else is falling for you....

And...............the one that makes you say "my life has changed since I met her".......