Media at my home

It’s around 10 in the morning on 06th August 2008, Wednesday. I woke up but my feet still not wanting to get off from the bed. I was wearing my blue night gown with eyes half opened; I walked out from my room and there comes a very neat and tidy drawing room, shinning as if it’s renovated home. “Oh! Media people are coming today for mom’s interview”- thought runs in my mind. Being proud of my mother, I was keyed up and I wanted to unsoil my room also ASAP but first my morning bed tea is really essential to me. Soon after finishing my bed tea, I cleaned my room and got ready. My sister was getting ready as her office was calling her. She wanted to stay to mom’s media interview but work is work. She has to go. I felt good and pompous of my evening shift. A regular home was now looking like new home, all set to wait for media people to come.

“My home is near central market and you need to take the right from the flyover and come straight….” Mom explained to someone over phone. I guessed she was talking to media people as I was working on the laptop. Just after couple of minutes, media people entered our home around 11:30 a.m. I put aside the laptop and got up to meet people. As I entered drawing room, I saw one big camera on the stand along with huge stands of lights and different colour transparent papers to reflect different lights. Height of stand with lights was same as the height of big main door of our house. Without wasting even a single second, they started to set up their camera, lights and other settings from different angle. For the first time I saw such huge camera with strong lights – as strong as sunlight. May be my home was now being turned to a shooting studio. May be I was still dreaming or it was dream come true. I continue watching the media people as it was somehow still implausible reality for me.

2 people to set up lights, 1 cameraman, 1 interviewer and one blogger were ready to start the interview. Cameraman said, “Is rolling...” and the first interview started with Shailesh, another blogger. After 15-20 minutes, they again started to set up their lights in different slant to take my mom interview. After about half an hour, they asked mom to tie up the mike around her chest. “Is rolling…” again cameraman said. My mom interview was now finally started. Dancing like a peacock, as happy as my heart can be, shouting and telling the world – Look at my mom now, she has started to climb the stairs of success and fame. She is now becoming a screen idol. I came back from my own fantasy and continue watching the around the whole room. It didn’t look like a drawing room anymore as it was now converted to the film studio room. At the end of mom’s interview, Nikhil, interviewer, said, “now its your daughter turn. Let’s give her the benefit of waking up in morning after evening shift.” Ah! What a benefit, I love it. I felt I am daughter of celebrity. Now I was dancing on the ninth cloud. And the media people were busy shifting their camera to my room. I placed mike near my neck felling nervous and bit excited. Now my heart was filled with beyond contentment as interview was going to happen at my own favourite place – on my bed with my cutie teddy bear. Bingo! It’s the first time I am facing the media interview. Feels like top of the world. They asked questions after questions for 10 minutes.

By the time it was about to finish clock told me time its 3:00 p.m. I was supposed to get ready for office as my cab would come at anytime around 4:00 p.m. Though I didn’t eat my lunch but still my stomach was filled with loads of happiness. Finally it was time to get down from the ninth cloud back to Captive unit – Mercer India Pvt Ltd. “Megha they are about to leave so you can prepare tea for us”- Mom informing me. I had my afternoon tea and left home at 4:20 pm and media people left home around 30 minutes before me. A Dream comes true and the credit goes to almighty for everything. Thank God, mom and blog world. Deepest wish do come true if you trust God and have patience.

Something from my mind

In this single life,
we meet several people.......
time passes on and on.........
from days to months;
from months to years
some leave us and some are left by us
And there are some who remain with us......
it's important to remember the lesson they all teach us...
the way they have impressed us....
the way they have changed our life; our thoughts
everyone we meet in path of life has something to give us....
whether good or bad they have something or the other to give us
That's why almighty created different people.....
to meet us in different phases of life...........
Best from better and a human being made up of several people
Thanks to everyone
from Beggar to God
thanks to everyone

By Meghaa Bhatia

My Trust My Lifeline

One Message Runs Through All Faith: Only Connect


A Desktop or a Laptop can connect us instantly to vast knowledge sources. A computer can link us to the news, stock reports, Airline bookings, shopping, medical breakthroughs and information in almost every other sphere of knowledge.

The information connectedness that we experience with computers is a small sample of the potent connections we can make with our empowered soul. The empowered soul experiences universal connection with all beings. Becoming aware of this unifying force can help us realize our essential unity.

Walls of division separate people. If we are born in one part of the world we say, “I am a citizen of this country or that country”. If we are born into certain religion, we say, “I am a follower of such and such religion”. Religions are man-made. There was no Buddhism before Buddha. There was no Christianity before Jesus. It was the followers of great saints, mystics, and prophets who organized their teachings into a religion.

Most often, we become a member of religion based on our parents’ beliefs. A Hindu infant who is orphaned and who is later adopted by a Christian may become Christian. Similarly, the way we live is dictated by peculiarities of the region we live in. Many people worship God through prayer. But the way they pray is different. In some warm climates, it is customary to remove shoes before entering a holy place; in colder climates, going barefoot may be impractical. Over time, customs that originate for climatic reasons that originate for climatic reasons became sanctified and become part of religious law. People tend to use those differences as a basis for prejudice and hatred.

Another dividing factor is language. When people in different religions use different words for the same concept, it becomes an excuse for thinking the other religion is not as good as one’s own. Each religion has its own name for God, based on the language or culture in which the religion originated. God is Allah to Muslims, Wahe Guru to Sikhs, Paramatma to Hindus, and God to Christians. Whichever the language, the words refer to the same God. Yet we make these language differences a source of contention and separation. We forget that God existed before language was created.

By drawing boundaries we limit ourselves. The soul, however, is limitless. There is unifying force beyond the physical plane, connecting all life. We are full of love of God. It is only at the human level that we make divisions. The soul is a part of the creator. For us to be able to truly understand ourselves, we need to recognize all the divisions as walls that surround our true self. These walls keep us from truth, Sant darshan Singh spoke to oneness:
“What does it matter if I am called a man,
In truth, I am the very soul of love.
The entire earth is my home.
And the universe my country”.

Through lack of self-knowledge, we create separation. Through our soul, we can experience connectedness and create more peace and harmony among the inhabitants of this planet.

NANAH PHOOL MURJHAYA

Maa naam ke paudhe mein khilne lagi
ek nanahi si sundar kali
dekh rahi thi woh sapne haseen
soch rahi thi jab duniya mein aaygi-
phela shabd niklega maa mukh se,
choclate lungi main papa se,
dada ke kandhe pe chad jaungi,
dadi mujhe lohri sunyagi,
shaitaan bankar tang karungi,
ghar ka gaurav bhi khalungi...
par...
maa tum itni kathore kaise ho gayi...
papa yeh faisla kaise kiya...
ladki hun isliye janam lene se
phele, nanahi kali ko murjha diya!!!

Jog your Memory to Find out Who You Really Are

My son is becoming more and more forgetful. he works very hard through the day, but forgets everything when he sits to write the examination. what do we do?

Firstly, parents should stop worrying. Worry is like a rocking chair. it keeps you busy but leads nowhere. Many things in life do not happen as per our expectations. Yet, if we can keep our mind calm and stay committed, a different level of motivation happens.

Most of us are forgetful; this is due to fear and worry that drain our mental energy. When that happens, the ability to retain what we studied gets affected. For example, tell a person to walk on a road that is two feet wide. He can walk very easily. Let him walk on the two feet wide space that is placed 500 feet high. He will be nervous. Why is it so? Fear and worry erode efficiency.
Similarly, your son has studied well, but at the time of examination - as his mind is filled with worry and fear- he forgets. The answer is to cultivate consciously the spiritual quality of non-worry. Stay calm and focus on the present. Worrying happens when we imagine what will happen if we fail. This negative auto-suggestion should be replaced by positive thoughts. Let the mind say: "I can I can". The cans create success and cant's create failure.

Incidentally, we tend to 'forget' the significance of ancient customs and traditions. How many of us know why we break coconuts in the temple? It symbolises the breaking of the ego. Inside the coconut there is sweet water. When the ego is broken, the sweet water of joy and love emerges. The 'tilak' we draw on the forehead symbolises the third eye, the eye of intuition.

Consider this real-life situation that occurred many years ago in Thailand. An ancient statue of Buddha made of clay, was being shifted to another place. During the journey, it started raining heavily. Some of the helpers held umbrellas over the idol. Others fashioned a thatched roof over the idol with coconut leaves. Still, the idol was getting washed away.. Lo and behold the disappearing clay revealed a figure of gold. A golden idol had been camouflaged in clay to prevent thieves from stealing it. This is the story of golden Buddha in Thailand.

Covering ourselves with clay, we have forgotten the golden Buddha within us. Catering only to body, we have neglected the inner self. Worrying is mudding the mind. Our real nature is like the calm, Golden Buddha.

Once a beggar who lived under a tree died. A year later, when the land was being ploughed, workers found buried treasure of money, rubies, diamonds buried beneath the spot where the beggar lived. Adi Shankracharya pointed out most of us, like the beggar, are seated on great treasure of love, joy and silence within us but our worrying mind makes us live like beggars. We are forgetful. Remind yourselves that you are not a beggar.

woh din bhaut khaas tha

woh din bhaut khaas tha,
humne jab apne rishte ko
nayi pehchaan naya naam diya tha,
saara din hamara pyaar gehraiyon mein duba hua tha...

samander ki gehariyon se bhi zayada gehra...

woh din bhaut khaas tha

Par main akeli nahi aayi thi
mere sath tha yeh sab-




thodi si subah ki taazagi-
sath nayi manziloon ko pane ke liye.
thoda sa dhup ka tukda-
rishte mein zara-zara si garmi ke liye.
thodi si sard hawa-
ek doosre ke kareeb aane ke liye.
thodi si baarish-
apna pyaar khilta rehe isliye.
dhalti shaam ka aanchal-
apne raaz chupane ke liye.
chandani raat ka chaandani-
pyaar ko roshan karne ke liye.

woh din bhaut khaas tha

woh raat bhi bhaut khaas thi...
taaron ki chaader mein pyaar lipta hua tha.
badalon mein chipa chand hume niharata tha.
ayr chanchal hawaon mein mehkati khushboo...
sach woh raat bhi bhaut khaas thi..

Woh Shaks

Zindagi ki rahon mein chalte-chalte,

apni manzil ko taalashte taalashte.

nazar aaya ek shaks mere saamne,

jise dekhte hi chehre pe muskaan si aa jaati hai,

jiske kareeb aane se hi nazar sharma jaati hai,

jiski awaaz dil ki dhadkane bada jaati hai,

jisse baat karne ko zuban bhahana dhundti hai,

jisko pane ko kadam badna chahte hai,

socha mang lun usko main ussi se,

par inkaar ke darr se seham gayi,

kadam badane se phele pucha maine khuda se,

kya mera humsafar hai shaks yahi,

ab har pal bitata hai mera intzaar mein,

waqt bitata gaya aur chahat bad gayi

meri hazaaron duaon mein ek dua aur bad gayi,

maanga maine us shaks ko apni har dua mein...

kuch dil se

kuch mere dil se -

dil ke kareeb aane ke liye shukriya,
dosti nibhane ke liye bhaut shukriya,
shikva na koi gila hai durr jane ka,
haseen palon ki yaadein dene ke liye shukriya...

**********************************

zindagi mein aisa kyun hota hai,
koi bhaut pyaara kyun lagta hai,
woh hamara kabhi ho nahi sakta,
phir bhi hume apna naseeb kyun lagta hai....

*****************************

main tere jism se juda saaya hun,
tere badan se lipti uhodni hun,
teri aankhon mein basi jyoti hun
tere dil mein dhadkti dhadkan hun
jis mode pe chahe bula le mujhe
teri zindagi ki main humsafar hun....

poem written by me

maa khaas tumhare liye
this poem is dedicated to my dear mom- Mrs Ranju bhatia, jise maine bhaut sataya hai par phir bhi maa ne meri har zaroorat har khawaishon ko pura kiya hai....this is for u maa....
Maa Khaas Tunhare liye…..

Samjh sakti hun main woh din kitna khaas hoga,
Jab kuch lamhon ke intzaar ke baad
ek kali ki tarahMain tumhare dono hathon mein puri simat gayi hungi,
Dekhkar meri nanhi nanhi aankhein roshni ki tarah
Tumahri aankhon mein bhi chaamak bhar gayi hogi
Phir apni chamakati aankhon mein khawab lekar
Pyaar se tumne mere mathe ko chuma hoga
Tab tumhe khud pe hi bhaut gurur hua hoga
Jab maine tumhe pheli baar maa kha hoga

Naye khawabon ki nayi manzil saamne dekh
Tumne hath pakad kar mujhe chalna sikhaya hoga
Mujhe baar baar girte dekh,
Tumhara dil bhi darr se kapkapaya hoga
Aur apne pyaar bhare aanchal mein chupa kar
Kai zakhmaon se mujhe bachaya hoga

Phir dheere dheere chadi maine apni manzilon ki sidayan
Aur duniya ki bheed mein tera hath mujhse kahin chut gaya
Tune phir bhi thaam kar sambhalna sikhaya mujhe
Apni sikhon se duniyadari ki achi buri baatein bataya mujhe
Par maine hamesha hi apni zidd se thukaraya use
Meri zidd ke aage tumne apne dil pe pathar rakha hoga

Par aaj mujhe yakin ho chala hai ki maa tum sahi thi
Aur ab main ek baar phir-
Wapis tumhare dono hathon mein simtana chahti hun
Tumhare pyaare aanchal mein phir se chipna chahti hun
Tumhare haathon ke sahare ek baar phir se apne
Dagmaagte hue kadmaon ko sambhalana chahti hun

Maa chupo lo na mujhe apne mein hi kahin……….

Love u a lot maa- Megha bhatia

Keep The Spark Alive

Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.
Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-year old twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party – several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.
I see students like you, and I still see some sparks. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark?
Imagine the spark to be a lamp's flame. The first aspect is nurturing - to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.
To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn't any external measure - a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house.
Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement. But it isn't the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr. Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won't be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday? They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive. Just getting better from current levels feels good. If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.
Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature's design. Are you? Goals will help you do that.
I must add, don't just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.
There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.
You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.

One last thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said - don't be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It's ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.
I've told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.
Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don't go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you. But it's life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that's where you want to be.
Disappointment's cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don't know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release. Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.
Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty damm lucky by Indian standards. Let's be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don't. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don't get literary praise. It's ok. I don't look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It's ok. Don't let unfairness kill your spark.
Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.
There you go. I've told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.
I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, your eyes will shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive, not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something cool about saying - I come from the land of a billion sparks.

BY _ CHETAN BHAGAT