A Cup of Tea just for you Darling!

Today morning accidentally I broke a very special tea cup of mine. As I was sweeping the pieces of it into a dustpan, I felt upset.

But, in spite of going through a thwarted phase in life, I found myself feeling grateful for one thing.

Nowadays when a hot cup of tea in my special tea cup is one of life's few luxuries I have left to enjoy- it taught me a profound lesson: things don't buy happiness.

I am always fond of tea - ‘Lipton Darjeeling Green Label Leaf Tea’. The very essence of this tea is just unrivalled for me. It is an addiction I innate from my ‘Nanihal’.

I wish I could attend the Way of Tea and could know the Zen closely. However, in my kitchen I kept my Zen Master’s photo taking tea - ‘A cup of Tea’ ("…So my book A CUP OF TEA is the only book that can be said to have been written by me. It is a compilation of my letters. Otherwise I have not written anything….")

In my family only my mother and I am very particular for the Leaf tea. Rest of us feels that it is very hard cup of tea, dust tea is better for them.
"When you’re feeling sad & blue

And have no clue what to do

Sit down and have a cup of tea

And, a hug or two or maybe three

Feel those troubles melt away

And start you on a better day."

And I leave Few quotes for Tea Lovers:
Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future. ~Thich Nat Hahn

Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company. ~Author Unknown

Great love affairs start with Champagne and end with tisane. ~Honoré de BalzacAnd just don’t ask that why I like Tea . I just LOVE Tea...

A day without wallet and money!

Today when I left home, I took everything in my bag...even my not working phone; but somewhow I forgot to take my wallet.

Usually it happens when on Monday I will take my wallet out of Jeans pocket and put it in black office pant, it makes me feels that weekend has gone :(

And, when I was crossing traffic signal where sometimes Police do check DL, I just remembered that I missed it in my wallet. Thanks God, today the check didn't happen :)
I came to office and whole day, I just witnessed the urge of using wallet/money/card etc. I found it struggling without wallet many a times. I had snacks in the eveing by collecting coins from my bag's small change pocket. I felt little lost, but just remembered an article published some days back in TOI. 'IIM-B students experience what it is to be poor' . I am not saying that by missing my wallet for a day I got some "Gyan" on living without money but it certainly made me think over the materialistic approach we have to survive on daily basis. A third of Indians live on Rs 20 a day .
I have asked some of my friends that how do they feel when they don't have sufficient balance in their account/has just few rupees in pocket. Most of them say they feel like 'screwed'. And, this seems like a problem of larger population. Money empowers us, it gives a 'FEEL GOOD' !!
May be that is why we miss PEACE of MIND, just because we don't have money- how much we want. And, is there a limit of wealth we posses and say it's enough? NO. But, masses are on a rat-race to accomplish 'something' in this world by all means. They say: 'Money begets Money' .
Anyhow, the day went ok as most of the time I was at work in a secured campus but the world outside is certainly not that cozy, to be without money and wallet (which contains many valuable informations for our identity and survival).
'Be Careful !' that's what one of my friend told while lending me some money EOD today :)

काँटों की चुभन पायी फूलों का मज़ा भी ...

"काटों की चुभन पाई फूलों का मज़ा भी ;

दिल दर्द के मौशम में रोया भी हँसा भी ।

आने का सबब याद न जाने की खबर है ;

वो दिल में रहा और उसे तोड़ गया भी

'गुमनाम' कभी अपनों से जो गम हुए हाशिल ;

कुछ याद रहे उनमे तो कुछ भूल गया भी..."

फिर से आज २५ तारीक आई और मुझे चित्रा सिंह जी की ये बेशकीमती ग़ज़ल याद हो आई...

जिंदगी में कई लम्हे ऐशे होते हैं जो आपमें जैसे रच बस जाते हैं... आप कहीं रहो वो बिलकुल ताज़ी होती हैं...उन्ही यादों की खुशबुओं और अहसास को लिए दिल गता गुनगुनाता है और जीते रहने की तमन्ना रखे रहता है... मुझे ग़ज़लें सुनने का शौक रहा है और जगजीत सिंह - चित्रा सिंह हमेशा प्यारे रहे ।

गज़लें मेरी जिंदगी की कुछ उदाश तनहा शामों में मेरे पास रही हैं...मुझसे रूबरू रहती हैं ; और खुशियों के पलों में भी वो बहार लाती हैं ।

मेरी जिंदगी में भी ऐशे ही कुछ बेशकीमती पल रहे हैं...जो मुझे बार बार जीने की आशा देती है...

बहरहाल, कल मैं फिर से 'The Art of Living' गया था ...और इस बार लगभग पूरा आश्रम घूमा । फिर वापसी में 'People for Animals' Bangaluru भी गया । वहां जब मैं 'पेट सेमेट्री' गया तो बर्बश ही मुझे अपने 'जोनी' (पालतू कुत्ता) की याद आ गयी। उसकी एक दुर्घटना में मौत हुए बोहोत बरस हुए पर वो आज भी याद आता है। 'Dogs leave paw prints forever on your heart'
ख़ैर... फिर मिलेंगे ।

दिल ही तो है न शंगो खिश्त , दर्द से भर न आये क्यूँ ?

रोएंगे हम हज़ार बार, कोई हमें मनाये क्यूँ?

शब्बा ख़ैर !

Life without Cell Phone

'Life Without Cell Phone' can you just imagine? I know it is a Big deal. And now I am trying to make this deal however small or big for sake of my Life and Love. As in my last post I wrote that my cell got some technical issue and it couldn't get repaired. May be I need to reset the instrument once again to factory defalult. And, I feel I can only do that myself.

But...in last few days I felt that somewhere it is no more healthy for me, for my life and for my love. I don't want to continue t his dopamine-driven life. I know it is very difficult, almost like writing with left hand but sometimes we do need to put relaltion and life on top.

I want PEACE and LOVE back to my life. I need to learn to react differently in simple situations.

Just because I am going to ditch my cell phone doesn’t mean I forgo the responsibility of calling people back or I won't miss them. I will go for alternative means: letter/email/house-office land line etc. For my family or people that will actually call my significant other to get to me, I will make sure they understand my new system.

I hope my this approach will calm down my stress and my loved ones will understand me.

Giving a chance to my Life on this road travelled never before... Thank you in advance for your comments. Keep Smiling!

The Pyramid Valley

This Saturday-Sunday got title of 'Pilgrimage weekend' for me. On Saturday,17Sep Vishwakarma Pooja was there. I gave my WEGO for servicing in the morning. Late in the afternoon I felt sudden sense of loneliness and somehow very sorry for all my weekends in near months. I had a plan to go to Pyramid Valley and it just popped up in mind. From My home it was around 40 KMs via NICE Road. In hurry an incident happend and my cellphone got droped and call functionality died.

I took a dormatory there for night stay and spent almost all the time roaming in the Valley and in the Pyramid. It is really nice experience being at this Budha Area. I woke up early at 04 AM in the morning and after bath I directly reached to Pyramid for morning meditation. I found that almost 90% of the people staying in velly were already there. I meditated there till 07 AM and then had walks around the hills and gardens. Pyramid valley is a must see place near Bangalore and it has certainly some Healing energy. I wish next time I could come here with my wife who is very fond of such places. After breakfast I left the valley and on the way back I visited a SAI BABA temple. My wife is a devotee of SAI BABA, and luckily I got this temple on the way to take her here also.

All folks who is in Bangalore,will surely be knowling about THE ART OF LIVING. Before I would have left Kanakpura road, I found this centre and jut went inside. I took few snaps here and there and attended SUDARSHAN KRIYA session in the afternoon. I came back to home after that and felt better after visiting these Holy places.

In the evening I am in search of some cell mechanic who can look into my PALM CENTRO and allow me to connect with people who otherwise will be thinking that I have gone 'Sanyashi' after this weekend ;) But personally I feel that, Being Sanyasi doesn't mean leaving anything...it's about living life with my true self and loving what existence has offered me. I am grateful for that. Have a great weekend dear ones! To check out my snaps do visit: Pyramid Valley

Mujhse ek Kavita ka wada hai...

इस महीने की पच्चिश तारीख (The date 25th) यूँ ही बीत गयी और मैं कुछ लिख न सका । हुआ यूँ की दिन काफी बदहाल था और तबियत भी कुछ ठीक न थी...आज सवेरे अचानक ख्याल आया तो मेरी एक पसंदीदा फिल्म 'आनंद' का वो दृश्य याद आया...

"मौत तू एक कविता है

मुझसे एक कविता का वादा है मिलेगी मुझको

डूबती नब्जों में जब दर्द को नींद आने लगे

ज़र्द सा चेहरा लिए चाँद उफक तक पहुंचे

दिन अभी पानी में हो रात किनारे के करीब

न अभी अन्धेरा हो , न उजाला हो , न रात न दिन

जिस्म जब ख़त्म हो और रूह को साँस आए ..."

Death you are a poem

A poem has made pact with me that I shall meet her ..

when drowning pulse will bring on painful sleep

when Moon carrying her yellow face will reach horizon

when days still in water and night close to shore

there is not yet darkness, neither light, not night not day

when body is gone and soul still breaths

A poem has made pact with me that I shall meet her ...

और फिर मैंने सोचा की क्या मुझसे भी किसी का वादा है...? या मेरा किसी से कोई वादा है?
है भी शायद...

गहन सघन मनमोहक वन तरु मुझको आज बुलाते हैं,

किन्तु किये जो वादे मैंने याद मुझे वो आते हैं,

अभी कहाँ आराम बड़ा यह मूक निमंत्रण छलना हैं,

अरे अभी तो मीलों मुझको , मीलों मुझको चलना ।

-हरिवंश राय बच्चन द्वारा अनुदित

“ The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,
and miles to go before I sleep ,

and miles to go before I sleep”

- Robert Frost