Recently I was talking to a friend of mine and during our conversation, he said something strange which made me realize something. He told me “Have some ego. Earlier you used to have a lot of ego, but now you don’t seem to have any. Get some of it back.” I laughed at this remark but it made me think later on. Is ego only bad, or does it do any good too? Should we not have it, even a little bit of it?

Ego is normally treated as something negative, something which is not good, something which we should not have. People will always be ready to explain how ego can hurt you. Ego is generally considered the opposite of humility. As humility is good, ego must be bad. In this article I will try to put some focus on why a little ego might be a good thing…

So what is this thing called the Ego? Ego literally means a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-worth. Now that doesn’t feel like something bad. Self esteem means taking pride in yourself. By this logic, a healthy ego should be a must for everybody, but then why does everybody… Read the rest

We all feel anger and hatred at different times, and at different people. Whenever something doesn’t go according to our expected response, or there is an unexpected event like an accident or death of a loved one, the normal human response is to feel anger and hatred towards a person or community. It might also show as resentment towards life in general.

Anger and hatred are emotions which occurs in different intensities on different situations. The anger at someone who just jumped a signal in front of you is different from the anger at someone who just pick pocketed you. Similarly, the anger of being cheated by a loved one or a business partner is different from the anger you might feel towards a man who kills your son or daughter.

According to me, there is nothing unnatural in getting angry and hating someone. It is very human to do so. Shouting, hurting or just blaming somebody else temporarily makes one feel calmer and less stressed. It justifies our own actions and makes us prove the other person wrong. But it is only as temporary as the relief provided by drugs or alcohol. If you must have observed, people… Read the rest

A poem depicting the need to be brave, even in toughest of situations, and how the world salutes them who act bravely. Also read this poem of mine on the similar lines – “Start, even if it’s just YOU”

We all face tough situations,
Some are routine, some grave!
But you always have a choice,
To do the usual, or to act brave!!

Doing right requires courage,
It decides how you act and behave!
Even when it goes against the norm,
You can be strong and act brave!!

Not many will support you,
For people will hate your guts!
Don’t let them bother you,
For they are only frustrated bigots!!

Cruel words and taunts you might face,
But always remember you have a bold heart!
By acting strong you have shown the way,
Don’t let any doubts and fears tear you apart!!

By choosing the route less common,
You have taken a stand like a hero!
Their arrows can’t pierce your skin,
Your tough soul can take many a blow!!

For all those used to exploiting… Read the rest

I have been writing on this blog for almost two years now, and as I have mentioned in a previous article , writing is not easy. From writing just a couple of articles a month in the beginning of 2010 to writing around 15 articles every month now, it has taken a lot of patience and hard work. There have been frustrations at not being able to finish a simple article over many days, and the pain of not liking what you have just finished writing. It still happens, and not all the articles or poems I come up are ready to post that instant. Sometimes I edit an article multiple times, and over several weeks before posting it.

Today I am going to share some of my learnings from these last 20 months of writing, and what steps you can take if you aspire to write regularly, and become better at that. Even if you are not not writing now, these tips will help you get started and going. Since there are a lot of lessons I have learnt and I keep getting new insights everyday as I write more and more, I am going to write it down in multiple… Read the rest

If I remember correctly, I used to sketch regularly during my school days. I think I started it during the fine art classes in school at the age of 10 or so, though I had a knack of messing up any picture as soon as I used to touch colors. Very good initial sketches or wireframes using pencils, but only until I tried to color them. So I stopped using colors and focused on just pencil sketching. I used to maintain a sketch book in which I used to sketch everything from people, buildings, animals from their pics wherever I used to find them, in newspapers, magazines, etc. That sketch book might still be somewhere lying around in my Delhi home, and the next time I visit Delhi I am surely going to look around for it.

A few months ago, I started sketching again. It had been 10 years since I had last done it, and it was not a conscious decision to start again. I did it with a pen, and that too very quickly. I think I just found a good picture (of Anna Hazare) and then found some idle time and a pen lying nearby,… Read the rest

“It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. “ goes a popular quote by Seneca. We all have build ‘safety walls‘ around us that are strengthened over time and most of the times, we are not even conscious of their existence. They determine what we can and cannot do, what we try and what we don’t, almost all our actions are determined by these safety walls.

But rather than being safety walls, they are more of a trap where we are stuck in a state of supposed comfort and our each decision is determined by these walls. They make us believe that outside of these walls life will be tough and uncomfortable. There might be unforeseen dangers. So unknowingly, and only in assumption of some ‘danger‘ we don’t risk going over these walls.

From my experiences, I have found myself in similar situations many times. No matter how many fake assurances I gave to myself that I was doing good, the fact is when you are in your comfort zone, you are still while life is zipping by. When the world is moving ahead… Read the rest

She was like a breeze,
Put my senses to freeze!
When her smile was felt,
My cold heart just melt!!

She opened her mouth to speak,
I fell for the dimple in her cheek!
The words came out as roses,
I could cherish them for ages!!

Her hair were as soft as silk,
Her eyes as white as milk!
When her sun like face glowed,
It felt like even time had slowed!!

She was like a sweet angel,
Everything about her was noble!
She came like a sudden downpour,
What had hit me I wasn’t sure!!

Her spirit was infectious,
Her heart the most spacious!
The soul of hers was the purest,
In no time she was my dearest!!

Download article as PDF

Jab We Met is a break from the normal movies we get year after year. It is a refreshing take on love and how to live life powered by sparkling performances by Shahid and Kareena. I think this is the best role Kareena has ever portrayed, and that has breathed life into the movie. Jab We Met is not only entertaining, it also has deep lessons about how to live our lives and has close resemblance to many of the problems we face in our daily lives and how we react to them. It is cute yet sensible, stupid yet enjoyable, and silly yet leaves a impression on you.

It is a break from vulgarity, senseless comedies and rona-dhona type movies that we are being fed these days, and some scenes and dialogues are just superb. This movie appealed to movie goers of all age groups and left a deep impression on many of them. Many of my friends (and I myself) have watched it multiple times. Like I have done with Peaceful Warrior and GroundHog Day , I am listing 5 big takeaways from Jab We Met…

Choose your decisions

Many times it happens that some decisions are forced upon… Read the rest