New beginnings! :-)

Last week started on a positive note...what with me landing a job. (Thanks for the congratulations!!! I was on cloud nine and treated myself to a bit of shopping.) Am back at work after a break of about two and a half years. No words can express how badly I really really wanted to get back to work and pursue my career. Well, my current project is just a small step towards achieving the many dreams I have. But am glad atleast the first step has now been taken.

So here I am in a new city - the city where dreams are fulfilled, the city which never sleeps called Mumbai - starting a new chapter in my life. I have been to this city many times before and have lived here for a few years....but you know what, they were the golden years of my childhood when thoughts of career, money, relationships were definitely no where in my mind! Nor did the rains or the image of me walking around in slush scare me as it does today.

Don't get me wrong, I truly love the rain and the dark gray clouds don't usually pull down my spirits and I absolutely love getting drenched. But the dirt I see around on the streets is really appalling. I wish this city which has a magical charm and some kind of attraction which draws people to it, would somehow instill a sense of civic sense in the people who live here. I agree people here are friendly and helpful and generally very good to strangers. But the streets are really dirty and it pained me to see that one of the popular beaches was filled with garbage, so was the sea-water. There was a desire to start cleaning the place myself and I guess I would have done it myself if I hadn't been accompanied by some people whom I was meeting for the first time in my life, who happened to be close relatives of my relatives. Though I did express my feelings to them at the spur of the moment, but didn't act. (Am I really a person who only thinks but fails to act??? Have I always shied away from DOING things??? Naaah. Thank God I got a reply to this question real fast. But would love to contemplate more about it and get to know the real me....but that can wait.) I had been reading Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography and am sure I was inspired by Bapu's teachings to do something then and there.

I don't intend listing out my complaints and boring anybody who has chanced to read my blog. But let me make a small clarification to you.... I might not be able to clean the whole city by myself, but I know I do my bit by never throwing garbage anywhere at all, even if it means keeping it on my person till I find a bin. Yes I can be a terror if I see people around me littering! So I'm not as bad though I realize there's a lot I still can do.

So I have started accepting the environment and the circumstances I now find myself in. And I have also started gathering the paraphernalia to deal with the monsoon. Infact, did my share of shopping today to equip myself well so that I am prepared to brave the weather and get to work on time from tomorrow.

So here's to a brand new week at a wonderful job I am grateful for, and a gorgeous and romantic weather in a magical city!!!!

My first step towards an ambition

One thing that I am truly passionate about is writing (and dreaming with my eyes open). I can go on with a piece of paper and a pen or my laptop more recently (or just keep staring at what might appear like a normal ceiling or a star-lit sky), without realizing how many hours have passed by. I remember doing it for what seems like ages now. I have not always written for a particular group of readers; some of my writings have served the purpose of just getting my thoughts on paper or as part of an academic project or a professional assignment. This blog is my means of giving words to the zillion thoughts that enter and exit my mind, some like uninvited guests. This blog is going to be a sort of outlet for some of my ideas, a few dormant thoughts and incidents and topics that are close to my heart.

Here’s my head fake (I recently came across this term in Randy Pausch’s ‘The Last Lecture’ and quite liked the concept; this book is a must read by the way!! Let me endeavor to explain this term for those who haven’t really heard it before - there are some subtle messages or some underlying ‘indirect learning’ which we want our audience / listeners / readers to derive through our work, that’s referred to as a head fake. If I’m not mistaken it’s a term commonly used in the football world). By sharing my views / opinions, I wish to act as a catalyst and get people to start thinking about a wide range of themes that I will be covering in the near future through this forum.

Here’s my second head fake I really wish to inspire people to give vent to their creative urges and find means of fulfilling their dreams. I am taking my first step towards fulfilling my ambition of becoming a writer for a huge audience. Well, I have always dreamt of authoring some inspiring, interesting books and this for me is the first tiny step in that direction. Why procrastinate when you can make a difference in your life today? So whatever it is that has been holding you back, just grab it and throw it out and become a new ‘you’ – a person who doesn’t have any qualms about the obstacles that might crop up. As the almost revered ‘King Khan’ of Bollywood, Shahrukh Khan says “kya pata kal hon na ho”…in other words, we never know if there will be a ‘tomorrow’, so why delay?

Lord Ganesha

Calliope

Before I actually start penning my thoughts, I wonder whom I should invoke. Should it be the Greek muse Calliope, generally considered first and as the most important - the muse of epic poetry, who helped Homer in his ambitious project ‘The Odyssey’ or should I invoke our very own Lord Ganesha, without whose blessings very few Hindus start anything auspicious. Well, I shall take no chances and so I seek the blessings of the great Calliope and my favorite God with the face of an elephant, Ganesha, who has always been a source of strength to me! I wish and pray that whatever I write comes straight from my heart (direct ‘dil se’) and stinks of nothing but honesty.

Alright so if that’s not enough inspiration for you, here’s what Goethe once said, “Whatever you can do or dream, YOU CAN. Begin it. Boldness has genius, power, magic to it.” So three cheers to me for finally initiating my blog and proving that I am bold! Here’s hoping our lives are filled with the glitter and glitz of a magical world. Let the magic unfold…..