The Book Thief - Afterthoughts

[Holds mild spoilers]

Once in a while, you get lucky. Lucky enough to come across a book that you'll remember for a lifetime. The Book Thief, without a tiny grain of doubt, is one such marvel. Narrated by Death himself, the book is about a young German girl and the life around her during the World War II.

The Fuhrer's hatred towards the Jews has always fascinated me, for I have never been able to grasp how a single human could be capable of butchering six million European Jews, a feat not achievable by Death himself because you see, 'even Death has a heart'. I wanted to learn more about it. But, as I read books and watched movies that tried to recreate the war for us, what had begun as a mere interest became an obsession. I devoured any material I could find about the holocaust and while I was at it, The Book Thief has turned out to be a gem among them. Have you ever noticed how the pain of death is magnified manifold when you hear the same story from a child? Reading such a book is like your heart being whipped with raw words that ache for love, but shiver with embarrassment and yearn for death at the same time. Just when you recover from the lash, you are struck again with another truckload of fresh words. Your chest tightens up and you feel the undesirable choking in your throat as you try not to let the salt out of your eyes. 

At least, that was what 'The Book Thief' did to me. The story-telling was unique, with no room for suspense. Every character's fate was handed out openly like a slap in the face, trampling down the little hope you had in store for them. After all, the book thief is just ten years old and lives in Munich, with a German papa whose foolish kindness brings unforeseen troubles, and is friends with a Jew. Life is doubtlessly a torment, rest assured. How do you feel when you lose everything, during that peaceful sleep you get when you are content and just when your life is brimming with gaiety? No, you don't feel. You become devoid of it.

More people need to read this book. It will at least help us retrieve the little bit of humanness buried within us. Every character is so beautifully detailed in the most intricate way. The power and depth of the story are highly unsettling, so much that you keep thinking about Liesel Meminger for a long time even after having finished the book. It is said that the ghosts of our past come back to haunt us. Maybe, that is what this book is - a ghost of mankind's past, brought to existence to forever haunt us of the regret and shame that still lingers in the world due to the acts of all those who were acclaimed leaders but were actually humanity's nemesis. 

Quotes:

“Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness.”

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“Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day.” 

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“She leaned down and looked at his lifeless face and Liesel kissed her best friend, Rudy Steiner, soft and true on his lips. He tasted dusty and sweet. He tasted like regret in the shadows of trees and in the glow of the anarchist's suit collection. She kissed him long and soft, and when she pulled herself away, she touched his mouth with her fingers...She did not say goodbye. She was incapable, and after a few more minutes at his side, she was able to tear herself from the ground. It amazes me what humans can do, even when streams are flowing down their faces and they stagger on...” 

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“How about a kiss, Saumensch?"He stood waist-deep in the water for a few moments longer before climbing out and handing her the book. His pants clung to him, and he did not stop walking. In truth, I think he was afraid. Rudy Steiner was scared of the book thief's kiss. He must have longed for it so much. He must have loved her so incredibly hard. So hard that he would never ask for her lips again and would go to his grave without them.”

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“On many counts, taking a boy like Rudy Steiner was robbery--so much life, so much to live for--yet somehow, I'm certain he would have loved to see the frightening rubble and the swelling of the sky on the night he passed away. He'd have cried and turned and smiled if only he could have seen the book thief on her hands and knees, next to his decimated body. He'd have been glad to witness her kissing his dusty, bomb-hit lips.
Yes, I know it.
In the darkness of my dark-beating heart, I know. He'd have loved it all right.
You see?
Even death has a heart.”

----

“The words were on their way, and when they arrived, she would hold them in her hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like the rain.” 

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“You’re a human, you should understand self-obsession.”

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“It's a lot easier, she realized, to be on the verge of something than to actually be it. This would still take time.” 

----

“The best word shakers were the ones who understood the true power of words. They were the ones who could climb the highest. One such word shaker was a small, skinny girl. She was renowned as the best word shaker of her region because she knew how powerless a person could be WITHOUT words.”

Life amid comparisons...

Today, there came up a discussion in our office about how we could find motivation and stay inspired in spite of living around people who have achieved so much in their lives. A good point used was the following:

Take a look at the picture,

This is a photo of the Earth taken by the Voyager spacecraft from a distance of almost 4 billion kilometers away. The "Pale Blue Dot" in the yellow near-vertical line toward the right hand side of the image, is the Earth. 

Everyone great and small,famous,infamous and unknown; rich and poor; everyone you and I have ever known lives on the dot. Only a handful of people have ever left it, for a little while, and they didn't go that far (about 200 000 km to the moon - a 20 000x shorter distance than Voyager's distance as it took this photo). On the scale of the solar system, we are not that much more or less momentous than each other. On the scale of the entire known universe, we are all pretty tiny & faceless. 

Just do your best wherever & whenever you can. Comparing yourself to others is a certain road to torment. 

The discussion ended thus, concluding that a life without comparisons is blissful (I totally agree to that), along with a quote from a wise man - 'I once felt sad because I had no shoes. Then, I met a man with no feet' (I took an immediate disliking to this quote, I'll tell you why later). There was also a mention about Nick Vujicic, a motivational speaker who now operates, 'Life Without Limbs'. 

Now, my 2 cents on comparison:

'Comparison is the death of joy', according to Mark Twain. Yes, anybody would accept that statement. Weighing our worth against another's has never been proved to make us feel good at the end, especially if they are your 'next door' types who have been incredibly successful in all their ventures. When we unknowingly let our minds entertain such comparisons, we are left feeling dejected and useless. Soon, our own mind games convince us that we are an unaccomplished lot with no credit to our existence. It is due to such inevitable contemplation of the human mind that we are widely taught to count our blessings instead of our sufferings. But, is it not ironical that we, who preach so much about a life without comparative measurements, actually decide our worth by contrasting ourselves with people who are not as blessed as we are in this world. If we are not supposed to feel bad looking at successful people, why are we constantly advised to find motivation by looking at challenged people? Isn't that too comparison in one way or another? Feeling good about yourself at the cost of other's challenges is not the right way to make yourself happy and content. 

I am not here to say life should be devoid of comparisons. Life needs them. In fact, discovering the meaning of our survival depends on them. How? A much better choice is regularly comparing the yester-YOU with the YOU of today. Staying aware of the path you have traversed so far will keep you enlightened about the roads you have to take in the future. These roads, wherever they may lead, should always be focused on one aspect - who YOU become tomorrow should definitely be better than who YOU are today. This is how a comparison must be done for a conscious and fuller living. Weigh yourself within!

I would like to end with a few words about Nick Vujicic and what we can learn from him. Nick is one person who is bound to be mentioned whenever we discuss motivation and inspiration. Today, Nick is a successful motivational speaker, constantly exuding charm and confidence. I took a liking to him because of his public speaking and how he is able to hold his own inside a room. This is the same guy who crossed a childhood filled with abandonment, loneliness, meaningless guilt, depression, and two suicide attempts. It took him that much to discover his hold in life - the superior power and eventually a beautiful family. Similarly, all of us have a hold in our life, a place where we finally surrender ourselves to and spend all our love & energy in making it beautiful. For most of us, that place is family or passion or the superior power. Some of us have already discovered it, some are in the process, and some of us are yet too. Wherever we are now, we will all end at that destination sooner or later. Now, the catch here is not finding our life's hold but how we manage to live our life without cribbing till we do :) Never be hard on yourself just because someone else has found his/her purpose before you did. Our life is at our pace and enjoying it is also in our hands!

P.S: Here is a link to one of Nick's speeches. You are guaranteed a good laugh along with a few tears and a fresh look at your life. 

I was his sunshine..

March, 2006 - Exam days

"Alright, you listen to me now. You listening? Okay, did you know that workers who supported Lenin were known as 'Bolsheviks'?" I ask. No response.

"Cool, let's not talk about Russia now. Anyway, I tried to cheat during the Science test yesterday. I copied off a formula from the girl next to me. Is that a bad thing to do?" I ask again. Still, poker face.

"Okay okay fine, what's done is done and there is no use talking about it now. But, I have something much more interesting to tell you. Guess what? A new family has moved into our neighborhood and I saw a very cute guy among them. Now, what do you think?" I try once more, hoping to get a wink at least. All I get is a head-turn.

"Great! Thanks for not listening to anything I had to say. Clearly, you are not interested. So, I'll stop now. All you care about is food, food, food," I say crossly and take out one of the three pieces of rusk from my pencil purse. Ah there, finally the tail wags and the tongue sticks out. But, annoyed by the earlier rebuffs, I stand up, stretch my hand upward to the highest possible and hold the rusk there until an angry bark comes after a couple of failed attempts at a jump. "Well, I needed to give a tit for your tat, buddy. Now, we are even," I say and toss the rusk. Togo leaps and deftly catches the rusk with his mouth, crunching it down in an instant. Then, we duly go back to our discussion about the Russian revolution for a brief moment before the second piece of rusk needs to be taken out.

Now

Togo, my German Shepherd, is one of the craziest guys I have ever met. He just doesn't care about anything in this world except the tonnes of food we give to fatten him up. Hmm, maybe he also cares a tiny bit about me at times when his tummy is full. We took him in when he was a mere 45-day old pup, all cuddly and cute. I was just starting my 9th grade then. When my mom asked me what we should call him, I spent an entire week looking up all kinds of names on the internet. Simba, Vicky, Blacky, Jimmy, Timmy, blah, blah, blah. I finally named him Togo because I was a fervent fan of Pogo during my school-days and hence the name. Only later did I find out that there is an African country called Togo.

Once Togo came into my life, I spent most of the evenings after school with him, playing catch and rolling with him on the lawn. Some days, mom gave me bread or biscuits to feed him and I would make him leap up in the air to get them. At times, I would have something very important to share but knowing that the right person would never understand what I had to say, I would run straight to Togo. Making him sit down beside me on the lawn, I would lie on his furry back and talk of inconsequential stuff. I never measured my words before saying him anything because, the guy loved me no matter what, occasionally demanding a bite of food and an affectionate scratch in return. 

On top of every moment that we shared together, the days I had my annual exams were when I needed Togo the most. Sitting at our usual spot with my books, I would hold his paws, look into his eyes and spell out math formulae, years when every historical war took place, what molecules make up acetone and so on. For a person who never liked study groups much, I was strangely comfortable with Togo as my study partner. #Together, we were one strange pair of crackpots.

Soon, days passed and I moved to a different place to pursue my under-graduate degree. My days with Togo came down and I met him only during the rare weekends I went home. Even then, I never gave him much of my time since I had to meet up with everyone else. Slowly, as I made new friends, I buried the past and built a whole new life for myself that had no space for Togo. Now, Togo is long gone. He left us a couple of years back. Only when Togo left me for good, I realized. We forever spend our lives searching for someone who will become our sunshine. But, in the mid of that search, we forget those, for whom we are the sunshine. Seeing us happy would make them happy. Our smiles would give them all the optimism they need to carry on with their life. In short, they will never be able to see past you and those are the kind we need to celebrate in our life. Togo deserved much more from me but I fell short of it. He was my go-to guy whenever I needed to let out and recompose myself. He gave me so much, yet I gave back so very little. Thank you Togo, for being there for me whenever I needed you.

Image Courtesy: Favim

My 2 Cents: Who doesn't love Captain Cool's finishing-off-in-style boundary? Who doesn't love ARR's heart-melting melody number? Who doesn't love the aroma that wafts from the kitchen when our parent's cooking? Who doesn't love that fleeting moment of butterflies in tummy when your crush smiles at you? Who doesn't love watching R-A-J-I-N-I zoom in before the Superstar's movie begins? Who doesn't love waking up to coffee and breakfast in bed? In fact, moments like these define the happiness of our life and inspire us to keep moving on to see what's next. Togo was one guy in my life who gave me such moments that I would forever treasure. We all have such kind of people in our life even though we may never realize until later. But, if you know, then better hold on to them tight and never let them go, including your pets. Just so you know, pets are also precious because you are the sunshine of their brief lives on this planet.

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This post has been inspired by and written for a recent campaign - '#Together', by Housing.com. 
To know more about who they are and what they do, take a look at their new video ad shared below.

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A moment of liberation

Change is inevitable. As such, our lives are prone to a series of changes that show up in different forms. Some changes are obvious, such as our physical transformation or our progressive change from schooling to college to workplace. Being aware of such changes and attuning yourself to them is easy and does not require much of effort. On the other side, there also come changes in life that lead to nuances in our core consciousness and perception towards life. In my case, moving between different places now and then has exactly been that kind of change.

To start with, I was born with a spoon that was silver enough to never let me know the pain of not getting what you want, in a small town that mostly kept to itself and waved away any kind of evolutionary change of the modern times. Owing to that, I spent my childhood and schooling growing up in a conservative neighborhood with responsible parents and friends who were peas in a pod. To put it another way, everything was just damn perfect. Enveloped in a blanket of security, life would indeed be a blessing to continue living in my town.

But, soon enough, I was ready to attain the official age required to become an adult. By then, I had grown used to three main aspects that ruled my life: the never-ending support of my parents, a constant group of friends and material comforts. So, my parents decided it was time for me to apprehend what it takes to live life outside of my comfort zone. "You need a little bit of exposure to mature," they said. The apt solution was to pursue my under-graduation from staying in the hostel of an institution. Excited about the prospects of new experiences in a new place, I agreed immediately. "Oh Anusha, your life is just about to get amazingly eventful", I thought.

And move I did, as discussed, to Madurai for my next level of education. However, I could not transition myself into the new environment as smoothly as I had expected. The feeling of loneliness was so much in the hostel that I would dread returning to the quarters once the day in college got over. When my parents visited during the initial weekends, I would cry profusely and moan, "I hate being in this hostel. I am not able to be myself around here. There is no independence at all since I have to rely on my hostel mates for even a small chore or help. Moreover, I do not know anyone here. I miss all of you. Let me come back home and continue studying in our town itself." Yet, my parents were stone-hearted just the right amount to turn a blind eye to my tears and ignore my whining. They flatly told me that I had no other choice but to live in this hostel for the next three years. Feeling crushed and let down, I spent a good two months crying myself to sleep every night in the hostel. If truth be told, I ached deeply for material comfort. Life without television, internet and air conditioner felt empty. I longed to go back to that old life. Though I had not let my parents be privy to this fact, knowing me very too well, they had decided not to surrender to my whims of getting back to town. Change had finally come, but I seemed to have difficulties accepting it. Until one specific midnight came - my first birthday in hostel. That night, I cut five different cakes with five different gang of friends. When that day dawned, realization also dawned; this change in life was slowly but definitely making me happy. Excruciating though it had been at first, I then felt exhilarated with the lovely connections I had established unknowingly. One small realization led to another and soon, life turned beautiful. Empty was not the life I had now, but the one I yearned to return back to. Wrong it was not to depend on your fellow beings, but on the material comforts. Getting liberated from them was the initial change that was much-needed in my life and I am forever thankful to my parents for the same.

I did not stop with Madurai. Next, it was Coimbatore for my post-graduation, where I underwent a hard time coming to terms with the fact that women had to put in a lot more effort than men for their opinions to be heard and considered. I say this because, till then, I had studied only in all-girls institutions, where I would always emerge as one of the top students without so much of an effort. So, it did come as a rude shock but I managed to survive and thrive through the change. After that, it was life as a marketing analyst in Chennai, which also happens to be my current role. Donning this role has again exposed me to truths about myself, my integrity, my passion for writing, and how priorities is the answer to a fuller living.

Yes, it is tough, having to go through each change as it strikes and accept it wholeheartedly but at the end of the day, it helps me learn a bit more about myself and what I am capable of. After all, life is nothing but a sequence of changes, duly engendering a series of realizations. How we take up and face each change is what defines us. We can either choose to progress with the change, improving with each day, or live a life of stagnation. The choices that we make will define us and the days to come.

So, get out there, choose wisely, adapt quickly, push your limits, realize your worth, live your life!

Image Courtesy: Strong Inside/Out

P.S: Till now, I was living with family in Chennai. Soon, I am moving out to my own place. Wonder what living alone is going to teach me :)

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This post has been inspired by and written for a recent campaign - '#StartANewLife', by Housing.com. 
To know more about who they are and what they do, take a look at their new video ad shared below.

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Moments of Impact #02: Faith, Restored!

(This post has been inspired by and written for the IndiBlogger's Happy Hours, in relation to a recent campaign, 'Look Up Stories'. To know more about Look Up Housing, click here.)


A day like every other, 6.45 pm:

Having had a hectic day at office, I had just boarded our company's shuttle that drops us off at the nearest railway station, from where I take an MRTS train to my area and then, walk home. Overcome by fatigue, I found myself thinking about laundry-fresh pyjamas, hot buttered rotis, and at last, my warm soft bed where I would zone out for the day. Alas! All the good things were still an hour of commute away from my reach and this fact made me feel pretty sorry for myself. 'Poor poor you! Here you are, undergoing so much, just so you could carry on with your dull life', I self-empathized.

Promptly twenty minutes later, I was in the station, waiting for the train along with other commuters. All of us looked equally tired and an air of dejection hung around us. 'Maybe that's what every single one of us here wants to do at the end of each day - just hit the damn sack and slack off. I am not alone in this world', I declared to myself. Suddenly, the familiar whistle of the train pierced into my mind and put an end to the train of thoughts that was running inside. Scuttling, I boarded the train and got myself a comfortable first-class window seat. Taking off, the train sped up gradually and gained on kilometers in seconds.

A minute or two passed by. Slowly, the steady movement of the train relaxed me down and my exhaustion disappeared a little. To while away time, I began observing the people seated nearby. Beside me sat just one guy with a headset, no doubt a software professional, struggling to complete a level in 2048. The seat opposite me was occupied by a woman in her early thirties, who was chattering away on her phone about the fresh veggies she had bought for today's dinner(must have been her mom at the other end, I'm sure). The other two seats were taken by a sweet couple who sat silently, holding hands in a subtle way. Since the guy beside me blocked my view of the seats in the adjacent section, I moved my gaze to the far end of the coach opposite me, where a couple of college-going boys had the foot-board occupied, both their bags dangling from one of their shoulders. A man, who had to be in his fifties, was standing safely behind them. Occasionally, his eyes would linger on the couple before me, though all he could see was just the back of their heads. Then, he would avert his eyes with a scowl. 'Now, that must be one poor dad who's worried whether his daughter is somewhere else, holding hands with someone just like this couple', I joked to myself. I carried on like this for some more minutes to come, observing and making harmless judgments about the tired souls around me.

By the time I was beginning to get bored with the exercise, the next station arrived and a few more commuters boarded the coach. 'Ah well, here they come to be perceived upon by me', I thought and waited for the train to move. Just as the train started, I suddenly heard a shuffle behind me. I turned just in time to see a thin sorry-looking girl leap into the moving train without losing her footing. As I begun to turn back again, I noticed that the girl was holding out her hand confidently to help someone else board the train too. I craned my neck further to catch a glimpse at the person running outside and it was her mother trying to catch up with a huge jute bag on her shoulder. A little worried since the train was gaining speed with every second, I fixated on the scene, waiting for her to get into the train safely. Even the daughter had tensed up by now and was shouting at her, 'Amma amma, seekarama vanga' (Mom mom, come quickly). The mother, face taut with fret too, suddenly lunged forward with more effort, caught hold of her daughter's hand, and tried to spring into the coach. Before my eyes, I saw the lady lose her footing from the effort and fall back on the platform with a thud that sounded heavily dangerous. At about the same time, I heard the daughter give out a shrill scream and begin to jump out to help her mom. 

Before I could grasp the full effect of what was happening right there, the rest of the coach became alive instantly. The guy beside me was up and near the girl in a second. He caught her before she could jump off and kept restraining her until she struggled and finally, fainted from the shock. He dragged her far inside the train, away from the foot-board. The couple too ran forward to help as the elderly man and the college boys came running towards us. By now, I too had come to my senses. I quickly called out to the software guy to carry the girl to our seat. With the couple's help, the guy carried the girl and propped her up carefully on the seat next to me. Without a moment's thought, one of the college boys took out a notebook from his bag and began fanning to give the girl some air. 

'Does anyone have a bottle of water?', asked the lady opposite me. Realizing I had one inside my tote-bag, I hurriedly took it out and gave it to her. Opening the cap, she poured some water on her palm and sprinkled it deftly on the girl's face. The girl's face twitched painfully as she slowly regained consciousness. The very first words that escaped her lips as she opened her tear-filled eyes were, 'Amma? Amma enga? Enna aachu avungaluku?' (Mom? Where is mom? What happened to her?)

'She will be alright, my child. I saw her get up and stand as our train left the station,' said the elderly man kindly.

'I want to see her immediately. Right now. Let me go, please', begged the girl and tried to get up. I placed my hands on her shoulders and forced her down gently to the seat. 

'Okay, does your mother have a mobile? Let us call her and ensure that she is very much alright. Then, you can get down at the next station and wait for your mother until she too takes the next train and reaches', suggested the other college boy. While the girl nodded vigorously and blurted out the number, the elderly man fished out his mobile from the back-pocket and dialed the same. All of us waited for the mother to answer, with bated breath and unblinking eyes.

Only after her mother had picked up the call three rings later and assured that she was completely safe, did all of us relax. The girl too calmed down greatly and even managed to offer a tiny smile, while thanking us profusely for the help. Soon, the train stopped at the next station. The girl again thanked us one final time and got down to wait for her mother. Immediately, the atmosphere inside the coach boomeranged back to the usual silence. We flashed awkward smiles at each other in acknowledgement and returned to occupy our earlier spots.

Come next station, I would also be getting down. I just had a few minutes left to alight. As the train whooshed by without a worry, I sat there looking at every one who had come forward to help. That moment, a new kind of happiness washed over me. With that happiness came a new hope in humanity and an optimistic outlook towards my own life. Whatsoever dull days I crossed, I had to keep on living because I never knew when my being someplace would prove helpful to another soul. Today was one such day :) Feeling light and content, I got up as the train began slowing down at the tracks.

Image Courtesy: Point Community

Acceptance...

Moments of Impact #01: A Touring Trio's Take on India

Fresh out of the University of Manchester, Jordan, James, and Danny decided it was time they took a trot around the globe. To select a destination, they decided to ask around for suggestions from every avid traveler they knew. While ideas did pour in, almost everyone seemed to suggest countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, and whatnot. But, they were looking for something different - an experience which would stay with them for the rest of their lives. After all, not everyone gets to fly around the world often and it is only natural you want that 'once-in-a-lifetime' trip to be an escapade from your routine.

Post-discussions and heavy scrutiny, they settled on India, hoping it would give them what they wanted.

All set, they flew in to Mumbai in November 2014. From then on, the trio has toured Mumbai, Hampi, Mysore, Goa, Kodaikanal, and are most probably on their way to Pondicherry now. They say that the Indian experience til now has been incredibly intense and hugely different from their daily lives in London.

Jordan

"I would have to say that the trip til now has been downright deep. India is more of a continent rather than a country. It just seems to have it all, from every end of an extreme to the other end. First, it was Mumbai, that showed us the rapid pace at which the country is developing. Then, Hampi treated us to photogenic landscapes of amazing architectures that left us breathless. Eventually, Exotic beaches at Goa; Great food at Mysore! Lately, we discovered Kodaikanal - a lesser known and more relaxed version of Ooty. The best thing about visiting all these places was that - every damn city was wildly different. If I have realized one thing from what I have seen, it is that you definitely cannot judge or stereotype India or Indians as a whole entity. It is a land of extremes and witnessing even a few of them has been both enjoyable and exhausting. When you visit a place like India, there is so much diversity going on around in each and everything you see, and it is a lot to take in for you.

Danny

"In a series of astounding encounters, getting to know about religion in India is one memory that will always stand out in my mind. At an age of 23, I would be considered an oddball if I went around creating an impression that I was very religious and devoted to the Lord. Most of them do not even turn up for the Sunday Mass. On the contrary, religion here is deeply ingrained in the cultural upbringing of the Indian society. To hear stuff like, ' Welcome to the Universe of Kamakshi Amman'; 'You are now entering the Land of the Lord' - was awe-inspiring and unimaginable. Seeing all this, I have developed a new-found interest in India's religious practices and have made a note in my mind to learn more about this."

James

"Back in our place, people tend to be more reserved about their opinions and therefore, hold back from speaking out their thoughts. But, the people we met and interacted with in this trip were straightforward. It was disconcerting at first to get blunt replies to whatever we had to ask. Eventually, we got used to it and now feel it is actually a good thing to be candid rather than deadpanning for everything."

"Talking about littering habits, we should first say this: It is not that no one ever throws trash in public places in England. It happens there too, though it seems to be more of a grave concern here in India. Particularly, it was shocking to see trash dumped both inside and in the vicinity of heritage monuments. It is understandable that littering in India basically evolves as a habit due to lack of awareness and most importantly, non-availability of trash cans on the roadsides. But, why would people litter in places of historical importance even though there is a proper trash management system in place? In this case, the Mumbai experience was especially very awkward for us, to see the auto-rickshaw driver spit paan while driving and have a bit of it spray over us too, who were sitting at the back."

These are just a few excerpts from nearly an hour of talk that I had with them. Listening to all that they had to say about India, it just made me wonder later on: 'These guys have traveled around India more than I had til now and they knew places that I did not. I still hadn't even done my part to appreciate and treat my homeland the way it deserved. Instead, here I was, shamelessly writing down a travel bucket list that included places like Santorini, Rio, Petra and whatever that sounded foreign.'

Thinking through all this, I remembered a quote I had read long back and it goes like - 

'Your vision becomes clear when you look inside your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. - Carl Jung"

So, what happens now? My 'Abroad Trips' bucket-list takes a backseat while I build a new list from scratch - 'India!' As for these three guys, they would be hanging around in India for a couple more months and are planning for a final halt at Rajasthan in May. A very very very warm welcome awaits you there guys :D !! Swelter out and have fun :)

Celebrating Friendship #03: A Birthday like never before or ever again!

I had always known I was born lucky and I could list out numerous reasons as to why. One among them is that, over the period of 23 years I have existed on this planet, not one birthday of mine has gone unnoticed and I consider that one of my life's blessings. Every year, on my birthday, people who loved me and I loved equally back, would unfailingly ensure that their wishes reached me in some form, be it a simple smile or a text or a phone call or a gift or whatnot. I have never understood why but my stomach would lurch with pangs of raptures whenever these people made an effort to let me know that they remembered my birthday. I would feel so damn special, like I was what mattered the most on that specific day and the whole world, as I knew it, depended upon my happiness.

While each and every birthday that has passed by til now has been ecstatically memorable, my mind ever so continuously kept questioning me about the birthday that I would pick as the best of all. As humans, do we not tend to harbor favorites in even the tiniest of insignificant matter in our life? When that is the case, how could I not have one birthday memory that burned brighter than all others and eventually became 'A Birthday like never before or ever again'.

This particular birthday that I am inclined to term as my favorite happened when I, not so successfully, completed the 20th year of my existence. At that point, I was in the third and final year of my under graduation, about to acquire a Bachelors degree in Commerce. Forget what I studied or why I even studied what I studied, the most important thing was that I was nearing the end of a phase in life, which had required me step out of the safe haven my family kept me in and learn to take a few independent steps. Soon, I would be starting a new phase all over again(otherwise known as PG, again something I still fail to grasp the purpose it has served to my life). Like every other college grad, I realized that it was my friends whom I would miss the most out of this three years. With them beside me, life had been a breezy sail. Indeed, throughout our final year together, I had to get through frequent depressive fits before coming to terms with reality and face all our final congregations with a big smile.

As if wanting to make sure that I did miss them in the years to come, if not more, my friends - the brats, went a step further to give me one final awesome birthday together with them. Of course, it was a surprise party at a friend's place! Think about your favorite color and now, imagine walking into a room that has a life-sized princess cake at the centre(with the princess wearing a ball gown of your favorite color), all four sides of the wall adorned with balloons of your favorite color, and a huge table upon which lies an army of gifts wrapped in your favorite color. Indeed a WOW moment, ain't it? Now, let the color be GREEN(I'm a green-maniac), and that is how my best-ever birthday looked like.

A picture is worth a thousand words and the snaps shared are just a few frozen moments from a great day. More than the cake or balloons or gifts, the sight of seeing all my friends turn up for the party dressed up in different lovely shades of green was overwhelming. That day, I knew, I could try a hundred different ways to express how I exactly felt on the 18th of August in 2011 but still fail over and over again. One may ask, why would I chronicle something that happened nearly 4 years ago? Well, you never really forget some moments or the people you meet in your life, how much ever you try to. Time and again, they would keep coming back to hit you with the sweetness of nostalgia and I chose to write about it, letting my friends know that I still miss them terribly.

Maybe I would grope on through life and cross many more birthdays but I would never able to forget this First of Bests! Lovely were the moments we shared and they still stay inside me, spreading warmth like a freshly baked cookie :) !

10 Shitty Logics of the Great Indian Litterbug!

Courtesy: The Great Indian

In India, people have some of the strangest notions about when you are being an idiot and when you are not, especially when it comes to the 'Art of Littering'. 

#1 
You are an undisciplined p*ick if you spill food from your plate onto your dining table, but no, not if you toss emptied coffee cups, munched apples, breakfast leftovers and God knows what else from window seats in a train/bus.

#2 
You are out of your mind if you dump your day's garbage at a spot near your home because, Cmon, who likes living in a smelly neighborhood and getting bitten by mosquitoes. So, walk swiftly to the next lane, find a comfortable spot and trash to your heart's content.

#3 

In case you catch a terrible cold and find your throat stuffed with phlegm, go ahead and make yourself comfortable by spitting it out on the road because at the end of the day, a sorrow shared is a disease multiplied.

#4 
You should never ever let a stray dog enter your house as it may soil your spick-and-span place. But, you my child have the freedom to stray around every cultural monument and tarnish it in every single way you can think of.

#5 
Recruitment Logic: You can acquire the most talented minds only by pasting vague posters on public transport vehicles, with nothing but a promise to make life fantastic and a fancy mobile number to contact.

#6 
While driving one's own car: "You freak, these leather seats are brand new and you just puked all over it. Wait, I'll stop at a corner. Take it out on the road"

#7
At Home: "Dude, where are your manners? You just forgot to flush the toilet!"
Out: "You wanna take a leak? That wall looks private enough, go there!"

#8 
"Are you mad? I just swept the room and you have strewn your hair everywhere again"
At public restrooms: *Leaves hair strands flying around like feathers after the cleaner had mopped the floor with all her energy*

#9 
"Oh please, take care not to let your child use the crayon on my wall. I got it whitewashed very recently." Thus said the guy who scribbled on the temple wall to express his divine love for the girl next door.

#10 
My personal favorite: You are a pathetic fool if you actually search for trashcans in public spots. After all, the whole world lays below your feet, waiting to get littered. Who needs trashcans??

#Honorary Mention: You are not a true Indian until you have made at least one animal or a bird or a fish ingest a polythene item which you decided was useless and threw off. 

Of course, this ain't an exhaustive list and most of us know that. The more we look around and observe, the more irony that seems to be lurking within our conceptions of Cleanliness. 

To conclude, let's build a picture in order to get the basic underlying logic of this issue across and here's what I suggest: Imagine an empty room; place yourself in there; and now, start filling the rest of the room with trash. I bet that you will find the You in your mind littering the spot in the room that is the farthest away from you. In truth, that is exactly the natural logic that we also apply in our real lives, i.e, we and our immediate vicinity stay clear of litter. 

To sum it all up in a single sentence, let the rest of the world go to the dogs as long as it does not seem to affect us. Happy Littering!

This post was inspired by and written for the IndiBlogger's Happy Hours, in relation to The Times of India's recent campaign, 'The Great Indian Litterbug'. To know more about the campaign, click here. You could also take a look at the video below!