There lived a fish so wonderful in the ocean that the tales of its beauty has reached far far lands. Her name was Flash. It was vibrantly colored with a tail called the “half moon“. All the other fish were envious of Flash for its long finned tail and brilliant colors. Its “D” shaped tail with sharp and crisp edges form almost a 180 degree angle. Flash also had the proud heritage of belonging to a rare family of fish who could breathe directly from air (apart from water).

But Flash had a worry. She was worried about and constantly looking for this thing called the “ocean“. She had heard about it and how beautiful and vast it was, but she couldn’t find it. She wandered all around the water, looking beneath the rocks and beyond the danger area where predator fishes reside, but to no avail. Her life was perfect in so many ways, but yet the meaning of ocean eluded her, and that spoiled her days.

She looked worried and anxious at all times due to this never ending search, and it started to impact her beauty too.

Word came one day to Flash that there was… Read the rest

जो दिल की धड़कन पहचान ले
वोह गालो में लाली नहीं ढूँढता
जो ज़िन्दगी को जीना सीख ले
वोह उसमे अपने पसंदीदा रंग नहीं ढूँढता

जो खुदा की दिखाई राह पे चल पड़े
वोह मस्जिद और मंदिर नहीं ढूँढता
जो ज़िन्दगी को जीना सीख ले
वोह हर गली अल्लाह राम नहीं ढूँढता

जो अपने काम में दिल लगाने सीख ले
वोह दिन के बाद शाम नहीं ढूँढता
जो जिंदगी को जीना सीख ले
वोह शराब में अपना जाम नहीं ढूँढ़ता

जो मुश्किलों में खड़ा रहना सीख ले
वोह दूसरो में अपना सहारा नहीं ढूँढता
जो ज़िन्दगी को जीना सीख ले
वोह हर समुन्दर का किनारा नहीं ढूँढता

जो मंजिल मंजिल मुसकाना सीख ले
वोह हँसने के लिए चुटकुले नहीं ढूँढता
जो ज़िन्दगी को जीना सीख ले
वोह दूसरो में अपनी पहचान नहीं ढूँढता

जो मौसम का आनंद लेना सीख ले
वोह बारिश में छाता नहीं ढूँढता
जो ज़िन्दगी को जीना सीख ले
वोह रात में सूरज दिन में चाँद नहीं ढूँढता

जो जीवन की शायरी पहचान ले
वोह… 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

Most players come as rookies, show their talents and skills, have their ups and downs and after performing consistently well over many years they are termed as legends by the critics and the media. But the case of Sachin Tendulkar is unique. Right from the first time he burst on the cricketing scene as a 16 year old, everybody knew this boy was special and there was something legendary about him. And the way he has been performing over the last 22 years, he has left all those expectations behind and rose tall among legends themselves. As a cricketer, and as a person, there are many life lessons to be learned from Sachin Tendulkar, and I am listing five of them below -

1. Humility

He has the most runs in both forms of the game, the most centuries in both tests and ODIs, the maximum man of the match awards, the highest ODI score and numerous other records to his name. He is called GOD in India. He has been called the world’s best batsman continuously over the last 15 years, and Sir Donald Bradman saw himself in his batting. Perhaps there is no one else in world… Read the rest

Ever since I have started writing on this blog (from Jan 2010), it has helped me in more ways than I could have imagined at that time. After struggling to write regularly in the whole of 2010, I have now actually started to enjoy my writing. It helps me to draw out my thoughts and clear up my mind. That itself makes me feel better many times. I think writing is a wonderful way of keeping your mind uncluttered, attaining clarity of thought and managing your emotions. Below are some ways writing has helped me and why should anybody try it –

You have to be specific, do more research

When you are talking, there are a lot of ideas and stats which come to your mind and you just say it. You don’t have to make sure that the information is correct or credible, and nobody is going to hold you accountable if you are wrong. But while writing, you make sure twice that what you are about to write is correct. You ask a few people, do some research about the topic, read some articles or books but make sure that you get your facts right before… Read the rest

Life is so great,
Why should you wait?
You are a hero,
Go show some bravo!
The light will shine bright,
If we decide to pick a fight!!

Few of us are not so lucky,
Want to make them happy?
Then this is your chance,
Their dreams we can enhance!
The possibilities are infinite,
Let us all pick a fight!!

This is your life’s journey,
Are you going to live it fully?
Find out what interests you,
We have a lot on our menu!!
Let your hopes rise like a kite,
Big or small, but pick a fight!!

You can make a difference,
Light the world with brilliance!
Step outside of your shadow,
But don’t wait for tomorrow!
A new fire let us today ignite,
This is our chance to pick a fight!!

It’s time to welcome the new,
If not me and you, then who?
Let us create a new future,
Which is sweet and not bitter!
Together we must all unite,
Now is the time to pick a… Read the rest

When I passed out of college and finished my engineering in June 2005, I had appeared for GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) for the last two years to seek entrance to a M. Tech program. In 2005, I scored 97.25 percentile and an All India Rank of 744. Although I was disappointed by this scoring, I still got a call from NITIE Mumbai where they admit students for a PG program in management and IT based on GATE scores. I appeared for the interview, which went well, but was not named in the final list of selected candidates. I didn’t wanted to pursue a M.Tech in any regional college so that meant I started my professional career in July 2005 with InfoEdge India Ltd. Today, I can not be more glad that I didn’t get a good GATE score and could not clear the interview at NITIE.

It has been almost six years in my professional life now. And boy, what an adventure it has been! I call it an adventure because I have done some really crazy things in these six years. I have made great friends (for life) from my days at InfoEdge and frankly, enjoyed… Read the rest

Life is a journey which starts and end with birth and death, respectively. It is the same for everybody, irrespective of which country you are born in, or what color you are. Then why is it that some people are happy and others not? Lets explore it a bit more. Happiness normally comes from achievements. A fulfilled goal, a task accomplished, a job done well are all achievements and we get happiness out of it. More so if the task or goal was difficult or hard to complete.

If we introspect our lives, we will see that life is a journey and setting goals and milestones makes it meaningful. However, most of our time is spent preparing or working towards that goal or milestone rather than being happy when it is over. Because once a task is over, the happiness is only temporary as we have new goals and tasks to go after.

What I am proposing is that we should never sacrifice happiness for achievement. Let me explain this rather ambiguous statement. Happiness and achievement are two different things. No doubt we need goals to challenge us, to inspire us and take action, but we need not be… Read the rest