Aaayo Re.....!!!

Heart pounding, eyes lit up and all senses in top gear – doesn’t this happen to each one of us who are on a short trip back home? This so called ‘Global’ environment provided opportunities for us to go work anywhere and everywhere. But in this rush for professional supremacy, every one of us would agree we are missing 2 things really badly - our Family and our home.

So once in a blue moon, when your dreaded boss grants you leave, you are elated to pack your bags and rush back home. I always liked the idea of taking the train or bus to home rather than a flight – one thing is the fare but the other big reason is planning that runs through your mind and the anticipation of being back at home with loved ones after some horrendous work, is a treat for the mind. The 1.5 hour flight kills this feeling, a late 14-15 hour bus ride stopping at absurd rural locations adds up to this anticipation.

Here you are, then, getting out of the bus like a prisoner on bail. First thing you do after landing on your home land – look around and take a deep breath & say to your self ‘woff, I am back’. Even the scorching 43 deg C heat is comforting; the spitting auto rickshaw driver makes you smile & the local dialects hit you at your face. You put your head outside the auto like a dog on a vacation to observe the changes that have happened in your absence in the city you were born in and done everything except earn.

When you reach your home’s door step, it feels like SRK getting off the chopper in ‘Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gam’ and your mom (like Jaya Bachchan) waiting for you with a thali as a customary ritual. Obviously, not everyone’s life is a Karan Johar’s film, but it does feel like one when you are at home after a long hiatus. Seeing joy on your parents’ face is some thing which was worth fighting for with your boss for the leave and watching ‘R…Rajkumar’ in the bus.

Home sweet home – truly: seems like heaven where from removing the socks to flushing the toilet there’s someone. There is an instant comparison with your nomadic, unorganized, at times meaningless life at your workplace to your ‘Home’. The struggle for the every morning search for a healthy and affordable breakfast compared to the 10 AM struggle out of the bed with an awesome cup of tea and fruits ready for consumption at home. The fight with the ‘bai’ to come regularly to wash clothes & in her absence the struggle to wash all clothes yourself to throwing the clothes anywhere to see it end up in the washing machine and eventually folded and ironed back into the luggage bag.

The life with family is the ‘Life’ we all dream of but the struggles away from family test your true metal. It does get difficult at times but the idea of going back home keeps us striving hard at the workplace. The harder it gets, the better it feels when it all gets over. I love these 2 complimentary phases of life, when you think about it, both are necessary. I don’t think people staying at home with family enjoy that much as I do, coming back once in a 100 days.

The Swades tune by AR Rahman is always On my mind and soul whenever I am at home –Aayo re….aayo re…..aayo re…… But the only problem is I need to go back tonight !!!

(Dedicated to all those who miss being at home with loved ones)

The HaPpY NeW PhEnoMenoN !!!

It’s that time of the year where you are typing a message & then coping and pasting it for several others wishing them for a bright new year! It’s a time to connect to those “message only buddies” on what’s app or SMS where the chat history shows only birthday/ anniversary wishes and replies. It’s that time of the year where you call up to compensate for not being in touch for the year gone by. It’s a shining brand new year!

After a long night’s hangover of the New Year’s Eve, as we wake up on a fresh new morning of this fresh New Year, suddenly we feel a reservoir of positivity in us with a renewed sense of self belief to progress towards a brighter and a more successful next 365 days. Out of nowhere there are people signing up for gyms, promising - to spend more time with family,  to break the ice with that estranged old friend, to care more for the old and poor, to use your now rusted bicycle instead of your bike & promising yourselves to put up a better show at work and basically being hopeful and wishful that this brand new year is much better and awesome than the year gone by.

It’s the time for the New Year resolutions – which basically are things which you know you ought to do & should have done much earlier but waited for the year to go by. Ever wondered why this mental block to wait for the calendar to switch over to a new year to do something correct and positive? Why can’t we just call up that old estranged friend of ours to end the so called ‘cold war’? Why can’t we just get up in the morning to hit the gyms when we realize it’s getting tougher and tougher to fit into those old jeans of ours? Why to wait for the clock to tick to 00:00 on the 1st of January?

Everyone is looking for something NEW in their lives – as it is said ‘old is gold but new is always better’. Bought a new car? – promise to drive safely; Got a new job? – promise to be a better professional; Got married? – great, all the best but can’t do much here. We look for occasions to give us a reason to have a Happy New beginning. The more these Happy New occasions, the more the urge to do something better! I have always had a sympathy to 29 & 30th December – nothing great ever happens on these poor neglected dates as everyone is waiting for the 31st evening to welcome a brand new year! While we are in search for such occasions, we don’t realize every moment passing by is a brand new one – the one which has never come earlier nor will it ever come again. This Happy New phenomenon is not only restricted to 31st Dec or 1st Jan, it’s in every moment passing by.

How about we have this perspective of considering every moment as a brand new one? Then we won’t be waiting for another appropriate time to do good stuff. Our reservoir of positivity and self belief can always be full. At-last we would be able to utilize the yearly fees we paid at the gym on 1st jan but discontinued going after a week into the new year & could finally use our old bicycle. Let’s not search for the Happy New situations; make every moment a Happy New one.

Shouldn't New Year resolutions be New Moment resolutions? There is no bad time to do good! Make this Happy New moment to be who you always wanted to be because though it’s a brand new 2015, it’s another brand new second as you read this! Make it count!

Wishing you all several Happy New moments to have many Happy New occasions! Let’s make it a Happy New phenomenon!

Cheers!!!