Welcoming 2012:)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

This year….

Work Harder,

Have some more fun

Make some new friends

Send them personalized hand written letters

Make yourself fall in love with

Someone (anyone)J

Appreciate life

LIVE EACH DAY ( coz what if world this year ends??!!)

Most IMPORTANTLY

In each moment

Just BE YOURSELFJ

Wishing All my Fab Vanilla People A Gorgeous and a blessed 2012:) 

“You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give”

~Kahlil Gibran

Love

Aakriti

PS: Off to Blore tmrw:) See you in the New Year:)

People and Peoples

People and Peoples

These peoples in people,

Many in one,

These peoples in people,

Different yet one,

These peoples in people,

Delightful and fun,

The very same but distinct,

All in one.

These peoples in people,

A layered complex,

One part from one world,

The other from a far off land,

The sweetness, the talk,

The rudeness, the bluntness,

A myriad of layers,

People not to be blamed,

It’s the peoples in the people,

Many in one plane!

©Aakriti

PS: The concept of People and Peoples has been taken from  Erik Erikson (15 June 1902 – 24 May 1994) who was a Danish-German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on social development of human beings. He may be most famous for coining the phrase identity crisis. In his book titled 'Identity, Youth and Crisis' he makes a mention in the chapter Foundations in Observation of  peoples in people, which basically means that each individual has many individuals withim him/herself for in their growing years a number of psycho-socio-bio -environmental factors impact him, which make him NOT one but many peoples in that one person. Hope it made sense?:) 

Find Me

FIND ME!!!

Years spent in your search

Nowhere to be found; It’s time

 You rise and find me

©©©©©©Aakriti

I understand You

I understand You

Behind your starry smiles,

Behind your quiet silences,

Behind your love for friends,

Behind the words listened, much less spoken,

I wonder what you think,

I wonder what you feel,

As much as I know,

There’s a lot you in there keep,

A place full of depths,

Worthy of very few,

Never really known,

And this I understood.

Amidst the care you show,

Amidst the giving you give,

Amidst the eyes that sparkle,

Amidst the people with whom you sit,

In between the self whispers speak,

And this I understood.

And now you answer me,

For silence I’ll try and interpret,

For the laughs we shared,

Smiles we hi-fived,

My outpourings to thee,

The concern I received,

Where is mine to give?

A shell I see,

Invisible, intangible, but there,

A pain I feel,

Throbbing, aching, that hurts,

What is for me to offer?

For in your silence,

Are your surfaced smiles,

And your manifest tears,

And this I……

©Aakriti

2011- The Year that was!

SPLENDID SATURDAY!!!:D

 As I revisited the year about to end , with some silly smiles, some which brought an intense understanding of what I went through, of the days spent in despair turning this live bouncy ball of happiness into a broken hopeless ‘nothing’, I found something valuable amidst the months that I lived in this year.

I realized that as much as I spent moments ready to crumple down, give up Hope ( The word I most respect in this whole wide world) and collapse leaving my very existence, a part of me, IN me always was ready to hold me, to bring my spirits up, to make me smile, and that I feel has been a lesson I learnt from the months that rushed by, sometimes in sad slowness, and at times in hackneyed hurry!

And as I sat down a while ago, writing my reflective diary entry of the year, a sense of calmness embraced me with the sun kissing me with its warm effulgent rays telling me that things do fall in place. And Yes Mr. Nietzsche you rightly say:

“That which does not kill me makes me stronger”.

2011 for me is as much about losing myself in work, as it is about discovering what blogosphere is all about and how wonderful people I got to interact with through poetry, prose’s, pictures, all a part of someone, sometimes too deep to understand, and sometimes too open to be shared with other blogger friends.

And  I would like to thank PeeVee, Crysty, Twisha, Mudasir, Kunal, Rahul , Dee, Ryan, Leo, Saumya and every single blogger friend for your constant love, encouragement on my haiku, my poetry and everything I shared.

I do hope someday our roads meet and we get a chance to meet the other in person, coz knowing such great people like you is sheer pleasure and funJ

Last but not the least of course Ankush for making my dream of having 100 bloggy friends before the year ended come true!:)

Wishing you a Blessed Xmas amidst Romantic Reds, Gorgeous Greens, Wintery Whites and the blessings of the divineJ

                                     

Lots of Love and Gratitude

Aakriti

What if…Repeat Mode?

What if…Repeat Mode?

This heart sure has its reasons to live,

To live, to love, and then to survive,

Amidst elation, breakups, deep gorges and high tides,

And as the reel runs,

The music that flows,

Melodies of  trance,

Of manic and depressive mode,

The flute plays all through,

Sometimes too invisible to hear,

And just when the vibes comes closer,

The songs play on a repeat mode!

The songs of the past forlorn,

Of that never meant to happen,

But that which eventually does,

The song too close to the heart,

It plays and aches and plays again,

And just when it plays on a different scale,

The pianist, insecure, changes her sail,

Onto a different route,

Not too distant from where it meant,

A li’l near to feel secure,

But the past song plays aloud hidden…..

Aakriti 

Mary and Max

Mary and Max

Today as I browsed through the movie channels, I stopped by at Sony Pix to only thankfully catch a movie that got added to my “lessons in friendship” chapter in the book of my life.

To begin with this movie, unlike many other animated movies does not  have colours or graceful, pretty looking or charming animated characters, but the essence is what I held onto. The beauty of the narration and the simply put script made the movie very relatable.

So this movie, for me, began ( Coz as always I hardly catch a movie on time, Just missed few minutes) where the narrator tells how Max and Mary become pen pal friends. Max, much elder to Mary (let’s say some 20 years) stays in New York, America and Mary a young girl of 8 stays in Australia. As Max replies to the first letter sent by Mary, he wonders how many days would it take for the letter to reach Australia.

The letter before reaching Mary is read by her mother who crumples it and throws it into the dustbin. But as destiny has it, just when the mother goes to the garbage van to throw the trash, the trash falls, and the chicken which Mary has as a pet grabs the crumpled letter which her mother had thrown.

Mary is then shown enthusiastically reading Max’s letter with torchlight under her sheet and immediately writes back to him. The tone of her language too sweetly innocent and her expression too adorable. As she ends her letter she writes:

"PS: Have you ever been teased?

PSS:  My eyes have become wet and they make my letters soggy."

As Max receives her letter the question of ever having been bullied strikes him hard, as he remembers his childhood days of being bullied and teased for being a Jew.

He then, very beautifully types a letter to Mary saying that the next time someone teases her about her birthmark on her forehead, she should tell him that it is made up of chocolate and that will enable her an entry into the heaven where she would have lots of chocolate.

As Mary reads the letter, she is delighted to see Max’s reply and in her next letter writes to Max saying that the Bully began to cry as she uttered these words, and she is no more teased.

In the next letter Mary innocently asks questions from Max about how babies are born, tells him that she would like to be loved and often thinks of marrying a guy called Damien who lives across her street.

Found Someone Special!

I got a text sometime back on my cell from a friend which meant “ You do not really need to make an impression, for impressions get formed in the most casual of ways”.

But what happens when you see A LIVE, emotional, thoughtful, valuable carbon copy of yours right in front of you, of course framed different physically , one whom you talked, interacted with in your undergrad days, one who was your junior in college, artistic, confident, a leader, a visionary, a daydreamer, a romantic, a poetess, a writer and so much more that it is hard to believe.  

Even as I write this, I feel honoured and privileged to have finally got an opportunity to personally know this young, dynamic, enthusiastic, hopeless romantic, talkative, lovable, adorable girl who both outwardly and inwardly is nothing but ME!!

It might take us ages numbering things that we share in common and as we might keep a track of that, our list would surely lengthen, for we would discover new similarities, laugh crazily over that and then think “Where were we all these years?” And then I would say “ Waiting to be found” !

Meet Saumya, whom I have introduced before in my very first Splendid Saturday Post! I just realized that special people don’t need any occasion to be special, even the most mundane day becomes special when they are there. So turns out that she gets added in my “special people” list.

No you, don’t need to be similar to enter my special people list, as the above quote goes, simple things which define you as a person, and which I appreciate and value too, simply make you a special friend for meJ

I did my undergrad from Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University, where I met this charming, bright junior of mine who eventually became the Wise president and the President of the Women’s Development Cell ( Saumya, I still dunno the full form of WSDC:P..;) So yeah, a brilliant singer, member of Indian Music Society, an anchor, a debater, with whom I co- anchored the Spic Macay Festival when we had Pandit Rajan Sajan Mishra as our guests.

. As we merrily chatted on gtok yesterday, it turned out that we were literally each other’s neighbours as she stays in an area next to where my ends! Her reply “WTF!” :D haha!!

Most importantly, it’s the warmth she exudes that is inviting. Just like everything in itself is an experience, seeing someone who not only reflects you back, but is “you” is something hard to believe! And the beauty lies in the fact that we are alike yet different, different individuals with their lives mapped “maybe” differently (Can’t say much about this!;)  but at the same time having their distinct individualities, which umm…..are alike in many ways as well…!!

I’ll have to understand that the differences perhaps are only cultural or demographical? :P So I wonder if that even counts as a difference?

Love for art, music, poetry, reading, Urdu, romantic cheesy movies no matter how predictable they are, for the real essence and values bestowed upon us by our parents, for respect, and a lot more.

Dear Saumya,

Special thanks for the personal chat we had today! Means a lot to me, and sure it does to you too.

Love

Aakriti

PS: It was when I looked at her phone and smiled wide, coz well... that was same too:P only the colour being different!:D

On Expectations

On Expectations

After the Prophet left with his sails all high, they wrote to Sophia. She with her daily routine opened the mail box, picked one letter and opened it to read. It read

“Dear Sophia, Tell us about ‘expectations’?

And she looked at the question and smiled to herself recalling the moments when the people she knew did not return something when it was expected and when people whom least expected from gifted her some 'things’ totally out of surprize 

She didn’t really have a definite answer for this one. All she had were experiences. But were they enough to make a generalization. Was generalization at all needed? What about individual differences, she thought? 

Sure, Greek Philosophy tells us that Sophia was the wisest of all, but she was in her young years, trying to make out from life, from people, from relationships what expectations meant, in which way and what did they in turn do to us when fulfilled and when not fulfilled?

Of course, she was wise enough to go beyond the usual answer of feeling beautiful and content when they were fulfilled, and being ‘inevitably’ hurt when they were not!

But something made her curious. Why was the word ‘inevitable’ there? At all? Did that mean expectations were never meant to be fulfilled? Or if they were fulfilled, was that a matter of chance? Well, if we take the latter probability, they getting fulfilled as a matter of chance, then were any relationships ‘true’ in the real sense of the word. Sure the word ‘true’ is problematic in its sense, but she wasn’t ready to accept that every single human relationship could be SELL-FISH!! ??

Well, what about Love then? Was it a true enough emotion to exist? Yes, she thought to herself at least that was something she would have wanted to believe in! She thought again. “Sure, hearts fluttered like butterflies, and yes they crashed harder than crystal too, then if relationships were to be formed, then wouldn’t there be expectations too?”

The rest she left for the people to think, for there was no definite answer. Some believed some didn’t. But could someone ever, ever be so giving? Never to expect anything in return?

PS: The beginning of this post has been inspired by Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet". It's a must read for everyone! You can find it online as well! 

All about Happy Endings!

All about Happy Endings!

Hmm…So I just finished watching the left over part of this movie ‘The Good Guy’ ( as in I began watching this movie when more than half of it was over on HBO).  As was more than expected, the girl did go to the good guy and the movie did end on a happy note!

So at this moment I think, how we all like happy endings. When friends are in distress or for that matter anybody, the words of consolation end at this sweet note with a warm hug (if the person is near) “Don’t worry, it’ll all be fine” or “This too shall pass”. They’ve been heard plenty of times before, but surprisingly these words make us feel different yet same in the varied situations we hear them.

It’s indubitable that happy endings bring a smile on our face, they make us feel secure, reassure us that world after all is not such a bad place to be in, that when sadness comes happiness is just around the corner, and that there is silver lining in the greyest of the clouds!

So in that sense, while some of us may feel that a particular movie is completely predictable, that the Princess shall eventually find her Prince charming (and well- A good looking one too), that the ‘good guy’ shall get his girl no matter what, that Ratatouille shall be a success for he knows his art, and that Rapunzel shall find her smile, her love and her family for the obedient girl she has been.

But amidst all this, I wonder if we really do get tired of the “happy endings”?

So when I recall watching ‘Pursuit of Happyness’ I was sad, I really was. I tried searching ‘happy’ in this movie. I’m not gonna touch the topic of what kind of movies stir what kind of emotions in us, coz well that can be a different post altogether!

But I just want to know how happy or comfortable are WE with happy endings? And if yes/ no, then why not? Got some thoughts running?;)....Lay them at rest here.....:)

State of Mine

‎"Your joy is your sorrow unmasked......When you are joyous, look deep into 

your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow 

that is giving you joy"~

~Kahlil Gibran ♥

Wishing you bags full of Happiness and Trucks full of strength:)

Coz we all it need it now and then:)

Happy December!

Love

Aakriti

Soak me in...

Soak me in …..

We have all had moments when masochistically we have called for and invited Pain with grace into our lives. Almost like it was a celebration of sorts amidst glasses full of tears, snacks full of sorrows and music that was nothing but melancholic and we danced along in our blissful tranquil state only to soak our self into the depths of this ocean called life.

‎ 

"Nothingness, a feeling I've derived very recently. Sometimes it comes alone, weeping out solitude, bringing with it a shudder. This nothingness is different, it has satisfaction. It has a tinge of completion in it, like it has resulted from the finish of a greater good."*

As I hear her say these words I sense how alike we are, or may be all of us in that matter, or may be not ALL. For some tears just come and disappear not letting even the person know of their existence. For some they come and they are called for, waiting to be embraced in the dark pools of eyes; eyes which are alive and sparkly, but have their own emptiness and dark moments.

But you know what the truth is? Not ‘the truth’ just the truth? These dark solemn days, where smile goes into a hiding, where it replaces itself not by a twinkly glittery smile that reaches your eyes, but a smile that just comes questioning its own presence on your plastic face; these days come with a purpose. For how, just think, how in the world can the mind forever be in a happy state??? And yes after another friend’s** thoughts on striving for contentment than happiness were read by me, I felt at peace.

This dark, empty- yet- full nothingness has been experienced. It’s close to me and to thee. Like a drug which excites you, so does this nothingness- but in a more charming way. You got to feel it to understand it. And yes, just as it fills you, it escapes too, but never to travel far off, for when in life, the happy, the so called “superficial happy”, states take too much precedence in your life, it is then that it’s time for another celebration, for another moment of……..

Completion.

*These words were shared by Crystal in  this blog post.

** It was Twisha’s this one post from where I understood that it’s contentment we should strive for, than happiness……

Gratsi to you two <3

PS: For those of you who like viewing pictures of great photographers, check out Nikhil Joseph Photography at FB. His pictures are breath taking:)

PPS: I realize that this post comes soon after the reading dozes of melancholy which have been given by Pevee and Crystal. But yes, thoughts lead to thoughts...and that's why I call it "Yarn of ~ Words" :)

The ‘oh! So Bright SUN- day!’

The ‘oh! So Bright SUN- day!’

I wonder if universities instead of keeping entrance exams, keep vivas or exams on Sundays. Mine, well it just did. Apparently and gladly so, it turned out to be a nice one…

So as I was about to exit from the metro station taking up the ‘going- to- heaven’ escalator ( coz its super long and its steepness makes me feel as if I’ll step into clouds:P) a lady clad in a sari asked me that she couldn’t take the escalator, in that very moment I climbed the stairs and was already moving away from her, so I walked against the direction of the escalator, went to her and helped her, along with another man to get on the steps. On the- stairs- to- heaven, she told me in her village accent “Beti, yeh toh tumne madad kardi nahi toh in sidiyon par toh chakkar se ate hain” .

Well, with a smile on my face I took another flight of stairs, then walked towards my college. As I entered my deserted campus, I stepped into the field. Walked under the shade of a huge tree and then stepped into the blessing rays of the sun. I looked at the sun! Ah! I could feel its love for me shining bright and warming me! As I looked for a nice place to comfort myself in the sunshine, I greeted a lady guard sitting in the sun, basking in its morning warmth.

I have this habit of wishing guards or even maids on duty, because I feel they just sit there whole day, no one to talk to (all by themselves), maybe no one to even thank them for what they do . If my greeting can bring them a sense of acknowledgement and a smile, well, then my job is doneJ

So yeah, as I was trying to find a place to sit, this ladyguard asks me “Aaj viva hai?” I respond to her by saying yes, and so I nicely sit myself on the wall, next to her and we begin our chat. I tell her that I’m from another university ( our campus has two universities' collg in one!). She tells me that she knows that.

I started enjoying the conversation. I wanted to hear her in fact. She told me that she earned a meagre salary of 6000 bucks, her company didn’t even give her any leave, and for every off she would take, they would deduct 200 rupees from her salary. I felt sad at hearing that. I mean leave Sundays, but she wasn’t spared for one single day! I asked her “Agar kisi ki tabiyat kharab ho toh?” She then tells me “Unhe isse kya matlab! Humare rishtdaar unke thodi na hain!”. She was a very cute looking lady. She told me that she regretted over the fact that she hadn’t studied much, had she done that, she would have had a far better job in hand today and then she would have been enjoying her Sunday nicely at home. And then she told me “Bus aise mausam mein toh chai mil jaye” (Delhi is getting chillier day by day, and mornings are windy and sunny). I then responded by saying and stressing on “Adrak  wali chai!” and yes she had a smile on her face as she agreed with me.

I asked her about her children, she asked me about my place. We had a short sweet conversation. We might have talked for some 20 minutes or so. I looked at my watch, and told her “Aunty, mere viva ka time ho gaya hai, mujhe jana padega! Aapse baat karke acha laga”. I did ask her name, which I don’t recall at the moment. But yes, her smiling face is right there in front of my eyes as I write this.

There was this sense of contentment which embraced me after my talk with her. The Best bit was that, like a blessing, I carried it with me all day long!

My viva was good!:) and m glad for that too

Yes my lovely sun always brings a smile on my face, more so, coz my love for it doubles up in winters!:)

Yeh dhoop ki kirne,

Yeh lehrati zulfein,

Yeh thandi hawa,

Yeh adrak ki chai,

Bus, kabhi kabhi,

Ek muskurahat ke liye,

Zyada door nahi jana padta

Kyunki……wahin apke aas paas,

Idhar ya udhar…who apko dhundti hai…!!!:)

Splendid Saturday!

Got nothing much to say, but yes I got to share something which has been my all time favorite!!!:D

Tan tanaaaaaaaaaa.......

Calvin speaks my mind here....But then I think, like does Hobbs...
"Will I ever find  an intelligent hott guy around me...or rather..does such a species even exist?":P

Yes!!! This is what writing term papers has done to me!!!:D

It takes brains to make a comic series with relevant issues and concerns and portray it through a kiddo with his animistic friend Hobbes!!!:) Amercian cartoonist Bill Watterson left no stone unturned to bring a smile on our face even after decades......:) Thank You....Everyday column dedicated to Calvin and Hobees in the HT CITY newspaper makes me happy!!!:)

Have a great weekend!!

Happy December!!:)

Aakriti

Greatful for...Some smiles amidst weariness

I realize a week has gone by…so it’s time to be greatful again!Hmm…it’s hard to find greatful moments this week coz I have taken myself to my extreme limits viz a viz my work.

Maxabella brings a dull smile on my face as she says:

“Exhaustion - so there's way too much on at this time of year and we're all about to break. But, you know what, aren't we bloody lucky?!”

This week I’d like to greatful :

To my silent readers…..

Readers who come by at Yarn of~ words, read what’s on my mind, may feel sad, may smile or may for that matter think ‘what the hell does she think of herself’ for whatever reason…….thank you for taking precious time from your lives, to at least stop by. It’s alright if your words (or presence isn't noticed, but yes it's felt!) are not heard….Thank you still!

To a new sweet friend, who has seen my madness through this one week, well did you have to befriend me this time of the year?:P……the reply I get is ….”Mere paas akashwani thodi na ayi thi, kit ere assessments chal rahe hain”….You make me smile….and even though I do not know how long our friendship might last….but yes this moment shall be cherished!

To my family again for tolerating their cranky, irritable, annoying daughter, over- working has made me into one nasty girl. But their patience, I respect and admire as well…..

To ‘aaj jane ki zid na karo’ from Rohini Ravada and Ashai Mugam . The latter song, I dunno which language it is from, some South Indian one, but she is too melodious to the ears and to my heart as well..Thank you for singing and for gifting us tired souls such sweet honeydew voices to listen to…….

One more final assessment to go…..Yeah! I’ll crack it…it’s a viva…wokay!!

I’m looking forward to baking a chocolate walnut cake soon!

Happy December!

Stay Blessed

Love

Aakriti

PS: To feel grateful, Join up at Maxabella's place

Lachak

Lachak

Ae lachak ye deewani,

Ae lachak ye mastani,

Thumakti hui si hulchul,

Matakti hui si baarish,

Paton ki sansein,

Baarish ki yeh rimjhim,

Ankhon ki sohbat,

Hothon ki pyaas,

Yeh lachak-ae- zindagani,

Yeh taalein nayi aur purani…….

Yeh tharrati si khamoshi,

Yeh khamoshi-ae- natkhat,

Yeh kirne sooraj ki,

Badlon mein sharmati,

Aur dheere se,

Ek behalati nadi ki tarah,

Mujh par baras jati……

Aakriti