Today a friend caught me offguard & asked me about my expectations. I blanked out a minute (a whole minute!) thinking about the question!
Expectations can do a lot to a person; it can either lead him to the golden path of success or ruin him. For me, expectations haven't done any good. When I was younger, I knew exactly what I wanted to be, an astronomer! I used to spend my days dreaming about seeing the magnificent blue Earth from the cockpit of a space shuttle. Alas, it was not to be & I had to settle down for engineering.
My first expectation failure gave birth to second one, to be a successful writer. I am still working on that, but working as a content writer in a firm just killed the fun of being a writer. Who would like to write company profiles instead of stories, biographies and novels. I may not have many expectations but there are lots of expectations from almost everyone.

My mother expects me to learn cooking ASAP & get married early.

My father expects me to get married & assist him in his work.

My grandmother expects me to oblige every advice she gives to me :(

My friends expect me to spend more time with them (& probably host more parties!!)

My boss expects me to work more than the usual 9 hours.

My cat expects me feed it more milk.

Finally, I expect you to visit me more often!

Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was neither happy nor content. One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King; why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so much joy. The King asked the servant, "Why are you so happy?" The man replied, "Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and I don't need too much - just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies." The king was not satisfied with that reply.
Later in the day, he sought the advice of his most trusted advisor. After hearing the King's woes and the servant's story, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The 99 Club." "The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired. The advisor replied, "Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep."
When the servant saw the bag, he took it into his house. When he opened the bag, he let out a great shout of joy... so many gold coins! He began to count them. After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were 99 coins. He wondered, "What could've happened to that last gold coin? Surely, no one would leave 99 coins!" He looked everywhere he could, but that final coin was elusive.
Finally, exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to earn that gold coin and complete his collection. From that day, the servant's life was changed. He was overworked, horribly grumpy, and castigated his family for not helping him make that 100th gold coin. He stopped singing while he worked. Witnessing this drastic transformation, the King was puzzled.
When he sought his advisor's help, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club." He continued, "The 99 Club is a name given to those people who have enough to be happy but are never contented, because they're always yearning and striving for that extra 1 telling themselves: "Let me get that one final thing and then I will be happy for life."

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi

The addition of 3 more Dwarf planets & demotion of Pluto as a planet in our solar family has raised quite a few speculations & chaos amongst scientists & common junta. The only ones who seem to be happy with this change are the news channels who are flashing this news & displaying shows on basics of universe.
My first reaction to the news was “How is it possible?!!” But with time, the news sinked in my mind. It is true that it takes time for a person for news to be totally accepted, with these fraudulent times, I doubt if many of them might really be true.
I can now well imagine what medieval people must have felt when Copernicus declared that Sun was the center of solar system (….and maybe centre of Universe) & not the Earth as believed. Many intellectuals & Astronomers have now waged a battle weather to acknowledge this change or not. History is witness that any change suggested has not taken place without a conflict, so why this be any different??

Yesterday spent the evening watching the movie “The series of unfortunate events”. The story revolves around three Baudelaire siblings Violet (Age 14), Klaus (Age 11) and Sunny Baudelaire (Age 11) who are orphaned when their parents are killed in freak fire accident. The children are then shoveled to one of their queer relative Count Olaf (Played superbly by Jim Carrey), the rest of the story continues as they meet their strange relatives & how they cleverly escape from them is crux of the story. The story & cinematography of the movie is excellent.

While watching the movie, I was thinking about my own family, not my close dear ones but total family including distant ones. In today’s jet age, families might have got shorter but they have also become distant. There are several cousins of mine whom I haven’t met yet. Every family has a nasty relative, a talkative aunty, a deaf uncle or grandparents who tell their life’s story to those lend an ear. But we still accept them or bear them because they’re OUR family.

Just when think your relatives are err……boring, you might be surprised with their kind attitudes when you meet them. Family meets have always been boring for me, with distant relatives asking me whether I recognized them or not, when they perfectly knew that I was 6 months old when I last met them. But the last family meet was a good one & changed my perspective about such meetings. Everyone was in good mood so we hit on a good conversion (of course, the senior members were trying to sabotage the good mood with their old war stories or politics!) In the end, a guilty feeling stuck me; they were not bad as I used to think about them. As the meeting ended (Thanks to Nasty Aunty!) with good dinner, I was wishing for more of such good times.
At last it dawned on me, it was not the relations that were binding us, it was love.

Hooray, Google Earth is finally displaying Nashik city clearly. Spent the day searching famous landmarks & buildings. I tried zooming on my home, but as it is out of city boundaries, it’s not clearly visible.



This is famous Ramkund- the holy place on the banks of river Godavari where legends say that Ram took a bath while on 14 years sabbatical.Now the most religious hotspot for tourists.



This is Phalke smarak, created in memory of Dadasaheb Phalke, the father of Indian Cinema.The smarak includes 2 open air theaters, 2 museums & some archeaological artifacts.Situated on foothill of Mt.Pandavlena



My college, K.K.Wagh polytechnic & Engineering college, where I spent three years(barely)studying.The best college of Nashik;)

Mumbai has been cruising though a cavalcade of unfortunate disasters .First the rains clogging the city, then the Shiv sena ravaging the city & finally a series of 7 blasts, the blast being the most horrendous disaster to exacerbate the Mumbai spirit. But the main questions are:

How many more innocents will sacrifice their lives for terrorism?

Will terrorism really ever end??

How many innocent victims will have to sacrifice their lives for government to realize to take some action rather than mumbling some consolation or condemning speech? When is government going to take responsibility of protection & safety of citizens?

Will the culprits ever get punished for their misdeeds? Till now 1993 blasts have not been caught.

Mumbai spirit is still radiant; it is admirable how the city has picked up the pieces & has resumed normal fast lives. But how many disasters are Mumbaikars going to tolerate?

I am now in seventh heaven indulging in my most sumptuous desires. I am feasting on an assortment of chocolates thanks to a book!

I am currently reading “Chocolat” by Joanne Harris. A complete chocoholic, this book has mesmerized my mind (& maybe my stomach!). I was avoiding this book for a long time in the library, but its bewitching aura enticed me to read it. The temptation of chocolate is just too hard for me to resist, it does not matter in which form.
The story revolves around mother-daughter moving in a town. Vianne is an accomplished chocolatier who moves into a nascent, orthodox town where eating chocolate is asserted to be sinful by the church & townsfolk. How Vianne inculcates love of chocolate in townsfolk & while embarking on various adventures forms the crux of the story. This story has also been made into a movie starring Johnny Depp, Juliette Binoche & Judy Dench

Each page to the book is laced with vivid descriptions of chocolate preparations, chocolate cakes, truffles, mousse, pies, mocha, fudge, cookies, etc, which tend to make mouth water with intricate narration, effectuating every dish in our minds. My cravings for chocolate have intensified manifolds & I am gobbling every chocolate coming my way. According to statistics, my chocolate devouring speed has increased from 3-5% per day to 30-40% with the advent of the book.

I better go & have another chocolate, writing this post has aggravated my craving.

Warning: If you are thinking of reading this book, make sure you have a dairymilk or a chocolate drink within reach in order to avoid temporary insanity.

I always wanted to learn Music (FYI: I am a good singer), but could not, maybe because I never had time. School, college & finally job preoccupied my life.

Each of us have so many passionate desires, expectations but are we really able to fulfill them? Not all of them or maybe not at all. This may not bother us now, but it will certainly bother us later. Yesterday I heard my father talking passionately about how he played a superb instrument in his childhood, but could not pursue it for education. He still thinks he could have become famous, if only he had concentrated his efforts on his art along with his education.

How many of us get glorious chances of fulfilling our wishes but are afraid to do so. My friend is good writer & wanted to start a blog, but she was afraid that no one would read her blog. So she made every effort to get her blog known, she spent all her time in link exchange & SEO, forgetting all about joys of writing from heart. She eventually stopped writing as visitors criticized her poor quality writing.

Life may go on, but it is never going to come back, so while I am still young, I am going to make every effort to fulfill my desires, atleast some of them if not all. To really live a life….

We have been endowed with the capacity and the power to create desirable pictures within and to find them automatically in the outer world of our environment.
-John McDonald

What we prefer is our choice:
CREATION OR DESTRUCTION




























I am on a rather long Sabbatical,Thanks to my examinations.
Will be back in next week.

I confess, I have never been the studious type person. While all my cousins were toppers or atleast got a distinction, I was content having a first class. Exams have never been good for me.

From childhood, I have been reading books, magazines, novels, etc. I was total bookworm & read every book I could lay my hands on. Seeing my reading habit, my parents were convinced that I was a child prodigy & would surely excel in education.

But their hopes of prodigy were dashed when I read all the books, but hardly took any interest in Study textbooks. My mother forced me to study, but I was more interested in worldly knowledge.

That was years ago. Now after years of experience of appearing in exams (reluctantly), I still get nervous as the exams looms closer. I prefer to study on the eve of the exams, as that is the only moment I concentrate, there is a desperate urge to pass.

“Why don’t you start studying earlier??” is one of the most common phrases I intend to hear. But coming from genre of “bindaas” types, I never take them quite seriously. Seriousness only gets me more nervous. So I just study the way I can.

Examinations are drawing closer & I am experiencing all kinds of emotions. Exams are not just a test of our syllabus, but test of our emotions & how we cope with it. For me, exams always bring fears. These are emotions; one goes through when undergoing exam process:

Happiness: when exams get over.

Sadness: when paper doesn’t go as you anticipated.

Pain: of not studying harder.

Jealousy: when a friend has completed all studies & revising, when you barely manage to complete.

Confused: When don’t know which question has which answer.

Hatred: When the paper is toooo tough.

Anger: When your friend does not help you in copying.

Embarrassment: When you are caught copying.

Empathy: When your friend fails.

Anxiety: Day before results.

Surprised: At good results.

Shocked: At bad results.

Satisfaction: When you grind through the whole process & emerge topper.

This is just a fragment of our feelings; the total emotional turmoil cannot be put on paper.

Living in a small town can deprive of many privileges; especially if you have a contemporary insight. Nashik is still a technologically evolving city, but the nashikities have not quite embraced the changes in technology. Once a sleepy town occupied by farmers & Priests of holy temples, the city has come a long way.

It is recent five years that have given shape to modern Nashik (Maybe the Kumbh Mela necessitated the changes).Malls like Big Bazaar & International chain outlets like McDonalds, Pepe, United colors of Benetton springing on college road(The hottest growing place in town).Three Multiplexes with international standards spell the modernization of the city. But sadly, many of Nashikites still retain their orthodox thinking. The city is changing but not the attitude of common man. Superstitions are still taken seriously. Although there are exceptional citizens who are changing this scenario, the process is working too gradually

Just had a short visit to Pune & I was surprised by intellectual thinking of the citizens, it is no wonder that the city is progressing so beautifully.

But on the other hand there are many advantages too:

1. Less congested roads,
2. Low Pollution.
3. Quick access to several facilities.

The process of evolution of Nashik is slow, but I am happy that it is taking place.

Yesterday I was contemplating on why I had started this blog. There are millions of blogs out there, what is so special about my blog?What was I going to gain?Would it be worthwhile to blog everyday. Why was I keen on doing this? The answer dawned on me a few seconds later: ME. I would never be able to appraise the blog's impact or its value on my time, but I could certainly try it once.

So jotted down a list of reasons to rejuvenate my writing.

Reasons:

1. As a writer, I felt there was so much to say, not about Politics or current scenario, about this worldly existence but I had no platform to voice my thoughts. I wanted to give a shape to my conscience.
2. Living in slow paced city, it is difficult to find intellectual friends, this would be a good way to interact with the world.( err….most of the people here are busy pursuing their daily lives, blogging is almost unknown here)
3. I am a budding writer, this blog might hone my writing skills(Whatever I have written is not the best of my writing ability)
4. Blogging is therapeutic( That’s what I read on the internet)

So armed with new perspectives & ideas, I decide to keep on blogging.

I seem to be one of the foremost Blogger from Nashik. Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, etc have produced tons of legendary blogs & are still increasing on a stupendous rate!.But this is not the case of Nashik, the holy city or the city of farmers, agriculture. Though this city is churning out thousands of educated students & intellectuals, I doubt if anyone seldom knows what actually ‘Blogging’ is. Even the computer professionals are ignorant of this concept; some of those are my friends. When I first suggested idea of Blogging to my friends, their blank faces convinced my belief.
To consolidate my thought further, I put “Nashik blogger” in all the major search engines. To my utter dismay I found only 2-3 bloggers who were in serious blogging (Most of the blogs were abandoned, after a brief write-up, I wonder why?).But after a serious thought (which I rarely do!)

I came to the conclusion that this was opportunity rather than bane, & I should take serious advantage of it.

Dearest Diary,

I am absolutely enjoying my vacation, Had a great time with friends…

I have been writing my Diary since my school days & it has been the most enlightening experiences of my life. Today, as I flip pages of my school diary, I discover my fantasies, my fears & most precious of all, all happy memories spending time with my childhood friends. I relive all my beautiful moments.

It also brings flashbacks of sad times I spent, but today I look at these sad moments with pride, as I faced these moments & came out strong. Diaries are great friends as we spell out our every feeling without any fear & capture them in wonderful time frame. We feel life is beautiful only if we have big reason to be happy, but little moments spent with family & friends bring more happiness.

But if you think diaries are meant to write how the weather was today or how angry you were at Mr.X, then its better you don’t write one, diaries are not meant for criticizing anyone, they are the record of your feelings, not your rants. Also make sure your diary is in a safe place, some of your diary contents may offend someone.

So go ahead, create your diary & you will never regret it.

What is your Sun sign?
I am stuck between in Aries & Taurus. So I read both horoscopes & accept the one, which is written well.

Where do you live?
I hail from the holy city, Nashik.

Why did you start this blog?
I love writing, I can express my feelings better on paper.

Will you be blogging about your personal life?
It sound appealing, but I won’t discuss my personal life on this blog. This blog is a platform for my curious thoughts, not a place to disclose my rants.

What are your hobbies?
I love Reading, writing, music, traveling, photography.The list is endless.

What is your Statement?
The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for

What are your future Ambitions?

There are so many things I yearn to do, but my fondest ambition is to become a good writer. I aspire to write stories, biographies, non-fiction, etc . This blog is my first step towards my goal.

This is officially my first blog post & I am finally treading on a road to Blogosphere. I always anticipated a place where I could reflect my thoughts, insights, criticism & doubts. This seems a perfect place let out my musings.

Hello World, Here I am!

P.S. Happy Birthday To Me