The Most Beautiful Flower

One of my friends had sent this across....its' beautiful....


The park bench was deserted
as I sat down to read,
Beneath the long, straggly branches
of an old willow tree.
Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,
For the world was intent
on dragging me down.
And if that weren't enough to ruin my day,
A young boy out of breath approached me,
all tired from play.
He stood right before me
with his head tilted down,
And said with great excitement,
"Look what I found!"
In his hand was a flower,
and what a pitiful sight,
With its petals all worn down
not enough rain, or too little light,
Wanting him to take his dead flower
and go off to play,
I faked a smile and then shifted away.
But instead of retreating
he sat next to my side,
And placed the flower to his nose and declared
with overacted surprise,
"It smells pretty and it's beautiful too.
That's why I picked it; here it's for you!"
The weed before me was dying or dead.
Not vibrant of colours, orange, yellow or red.
But I knew I must take it,
or he might never leave.
So I reached for the flower and replied,
"Just what I need."
But instead of him placing the flower
in my hand,
He held it mid-air without reason or plan.
It was then that I noticed
for the very first time,
That the weed-toting boy could not see,
he was blind.
I heard my voice quiver,
tears shone like the sun,
As I thanked him for picking
the very best one.
"You're welcome" he smiled
and then ran off to play,
Unaware of the impact he's had on my day.
I sat there and wondered
how he managed to see,
A self-pitying woman
beneath an old willow tree.
How did he know about
my self-indulged plight?
Perhaps from his heart, he'd been
blessed with true sight.
Through the eyes of a blind child,
at last I could see,
The problem was not with the world;
the problem was me.
And for all of those times
I myself had been blind,
I vowed to see the beauty in life,
and appreciate every second that's mine.
And then I held that wilted flower
up to my nose and breathed in the fragrance
of a beautiful rose.
And I smiled as I watched that young boy,
another weed in his hand,
About to change the life
of an unsuspecting old man.

Munnabhai!!

Watched Munnabhai, lage raho last week…its’ an awesome movie!! Nothing else to say for it…I appreciate the ease with which the Director who picked up only the positive universal principles of Gandhiji and conveyed it so beautifully…I am not a “typical pro-Gandhi” but I simply loved it!!! A really well made movie!!!

These lines in the movie are so true…they compel you to think about it…but nothing else…we think..and think…and leave it….

Shaher ki es daud me daud ke karna kya hai?
Jab yehi jeena hai dosto to phir marna kya hai?
Paheli barish me train late hone ki fikr hai
Bhul gaye bhigte hue tahelna kya hai?
Serials ke kirdaaro ka saara haal hai malum
par maa ka haal puchhne ki fursat kise hai?
Ab ret pe nage pao tahelte kyu nahi?
108 hai chanel phir dil bahelte kyu nahi?
Internet ki duniya ke to touch me hai,
lekin pados me kon raheta hai jaante tak nahi.
Mobile, Landline sab ki bharmaar hai,
Lekin jigri dost tak pahuche aise taar kaha hai?
Kab dubte hue suraj ko dekha tha yaad hai?
Kab jaana tha shaam ka woh banana kya hai?
To Dosto Shaher ki es daud me daud ke karna kya hai
Jab yahi jeena hai to phir Marna kya hai?

Mumbai ki bheeed!!!!

Each time any of my friends visit my place in Mumbai…they end up saying…you don’t have the right to say that you stay in Mumbai…reason being my workplace is 5 minutes walk from my home. I don’t have to travel in locals everyday. My only share of local train journeys happen at weekends on my choice…this Saturday too I left for Mumbai Central to go to the Blind School. After the classes I left for Sidhdhi Vinayak…most of the times I visit either Mahalakshmi or Sidhdhi Vinayak Temple whenever I go to the Blind School.

But this time my visit to Sidhdhi Vinayak was a happening one! The moment I stepped out of the temple the eventful evening was waiting for me!! It started with me looking for a cab to the Dadar station for about 25 minutes…finally when I found one, the cab driver was in no mood to pass his time in a jam and asked me get down half way and then I enjoyed my LONG walk to the station in that “OH WOW!!! Whatta rain”!!! though I carried my umbrella but it wasn’t that useful…so I handed it over to an old aunty who needed it more than me and enjoyed the rains on my way to the station. The moment I reached Dadar Station…PHEWWWWWWW…all enjoyment of walking in the rains vanished like…like…how I wish I was good in writing metaphors like Abhinav!! Anyways the scene at the station seemed a bit different from the usual one…seemed like trains were delayed for some reson…at that time I got a call from my roomie saying that some colleague of hers has heard a rumor about a blast in Goregaon…I took a step back dropped the idea of taking a train…later it was announced that due to some technical fault all the trains will go only till Andheri…I somehow managed to get into the next train…the scene inside the Ladies Compartment was…I dunno what to call it…all high pitched sounds coming from everywhere…ladies screaming and shouting, trying to push and failing miserably!! There wasn’t even an IOTA of an inch to move around!! Everyone stood there with their hair pulled!! And WOW these two random firangs taking snaps from their digicam!! Quite an amusing sight for them I guess!! And yes…some of the “camera friendly” females stopped their screaming and gave a smile with their hair pulled…no choice…there wasn’t much space to move their hands and set their hair!!!


The train finally landed in Andheri…and GAWD!!! All I could see around was people, people and people!!!!! They were flooding from all directions…it took me almost 30 minutes to walk to the nearest bridge…I looked down from the bridge…nothing else but PEOPLE!!! Inside the station…outside the station…EAST and WEST…everywhere…seldom do I like to be alone…but this one was an OVERDOSE of having people around…it was getting onto me!!! more so because of the thought that there are hundreds and hundreds of people around you and still you are Alone...all alone...i think thats the best and worst thing about amchi Mumbai!!

Outside the station…buses , rickshaws all jam packed…i had no way but to go back to the station and check for the trains to Borivali…I stood there in between the flooding of people and found that a train is leaving for Borivali every 15 minutes…no scope for me getting into the first train…took a chance and dared to get into the 2nd one…but only my umbrella managed to get in…I was pulled out by some hefty lady who took my place… and there I stood in complete shock and disbelief and also the sorrow of losing my umbrella…the only PINK possession I had…by the time the 3rd train arrived …I was determined to get into it…when it arrived, AHDHERI was written in the front…people said “yeh train me mat chadho…yeh borivali nahi jayegi!!” I felt sad and stepped back…the next moment I heard some random guy shouting…”AREY YEH TRAIN BORIVALI JAYEGIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” all I realized after that was “I was into the train!!”

I met another group of girls in there who were coming from Churchgate….they offered me a seat, water to drink and some snacks! I sat there…tired and exhausted…wondering about the different people you meet in your life, good and bad, happy and sad…some pulling you and taking your place…some giving you a hand and offering you their place…I finally reached Borivali after an hour and a half…took a rick and FINALLY reached home at 11:30…I sat down feeling amused of having a “first hand” experience about Mumbai…its’ BHEED….quite an eventful day!!!

Happy Teacher's Day!!!

Its’ Teacher’s Day today…talked with mom in the morning…Wishing the teacher of my life…I owe my mom everything for what I am today...Thanks Ma for being there…

Today I remember all my teachers…in schools, colleges…and grab a chance to thank them ….on a frank note…I always feel that my school teachers left a greater impact on me as compared to the ones in my college…from Mohatkar ma’am…my first teacher…going onto Meena ma’am…I used to be shit scared for her but only later I realized that things were different…Deshmukh ma’am…one of the simplest beings I could ever remember…Gaikwad ma’am…one of my favourite teachers and one of the most lovable teachers I remember…. Mahurkar ma’am…I owe my decent knowledge of grammar and English Language to her…..Khare ma’am…a teacher for whom the students had no other choice but to respect her…and Shidhore ma’am…the teacher who’s responsible for me leaving my Mathematics Phobia behind and take that as my major subject!!! And a special mention for Upadhyaya Sir whose love for teaching could be seen in all his actions…we used to go to him to learn Physics…in the 2 years I went to him never do I remember a single instance when he asked for his “fees” and even taught students who were not so well off financially without taking any fee…Then there were Sister Secily, Sister Isabella, Sister Francisca and Sister Dalphin ( I studied in Covent School…and we used to call the nuns as “Sisters”….I guess now you got that!!! )who are responsible for teaching me all the discipline, etiquettes and manners after my mom…

Almost all of them are and will always be special to me and will remain close to my heart…

Last but not the least…I remember a couple of teachers who never deserved to be one…the teachers who actually had a complete negative impact not only on me but also on many other students…but then I still owe them a “Thank You” because only their depressing words kept me going whenever I felt like taking a break…


Today…I remember all my teachers…and trying to do my bit by teaching the kids at the Victoria Memorial School…this is my way of saying “Thank You”…and to end it all...to the volunteers of VMS...Happy Teacher's Day!!!