THE STORYTELLER

When I read novels and short-story collections, I yearn to write one too. I begin writing and then falter. I can’t seem to make up anything. Its funny. Its disheartening. Our lives are made up of zillions of stories. Yet, I cannot convert one into writing. I think I have disappointed myself. I am just an ordinary writer. I wish I would become a storyteller.

 

I pause for a moment and smile. I squint my eyes and bring them near the computer screen and read what I have written. Is this how it should begin?

I sit by the window and try to take in the nature. I realize there isn’t any left. Everything appears so man-made. There are a few specs of green in the distant- forlorn and dying. Apart from that, the entire landscape is adorned by buildings, small houses, narrow strips of road…  No nature at all.

The only thing that makes its presence felt as some divine intervention, is the sky. It seems more alive than the earth. There are hues of blue, orange, yellow scattered across.  The clouds stretch as soft bunches of cotton on the background. As the light keeps dimming, the outline of birds flying towards their nests rises against the fading horizon. The breeze is in tune with pleasant atmosphere. It is soft and cool; gently blowing and bringing with it, the sweat of the people who have toiled all day, their happiness of returning to the comfortable solace of their homes, the minor frustrations that will get wiped off with the innocent laughter of their children and the small bundle of memories that were created as the day moved along.

 

I sigh and think again. Is this really what I wanted to write? I wanted to write a story. I wanted to fill it with characters. I wanted to bring out their relationships. I wanted to begin a tale and fill it with various elements of fear, hope, love; with imaginary incidents based on true facts; with paragraphs of intricate details.

Instead, it is turning out to be an observational account off the diminishing day. The grand welcome of the lonely night. Of the dwindling nature. Of the creative human mind. Of regrets about the artificial environment. Of pride in form of buildings reaching out to kiss the sky. Of trees that are less yet blooming with flowers. Of people who are in a hurry and have no time to stop….

 

I suddenly realize that I am indeed telling a story. Not like others with imaginary events to share. Not like the ones who create characters and making them immortal. Not like the ones with powerful words creating explicit relationships. Not like the ones weaving fables of great personalities.

 

 But the one that grasps the beauty of even simplest of the things. The one that writes in tune of everyday incidents yet uncovers the mystery behind them. My imagination is nothing but the tool that helps readers to turn my writing into a picture right in front of their eyes. My characters are nothing but souls mingled with the nature. My words are nothing but the vehicles to transport others in the realms of memories. My thoughts are nothing but the collection of something true yet hidden in the guise of the most obvious things. 

The only power I possess is SIMPLICITY 

 

I now realize what it means to be in the class of our own. How several contrasting minds co-exist in one single environment. Of their variety and differences. Of  the one-ness that grows despite the multiplicity.

Writing doesn’t has any boundaries. Its fuelled by millions of thoughts. Some imaginary, some real, some vague, some clear.  

Notions and ideas.

Alphabets and words.

Living in harmony.

 

I am one of them. A tiny ray of light. Same as others outwardly.

But with an individual identity.

 

Finally, it has dawned upon me,

I am also a STORYTELLER…. 

SOMETIMES…. (A POEM)

Sometimes, the words I say-

would hurt you deeply I know.

Sometimes, my face would only-

distrust and anger show.

But then, look into my eyes,

They highlight my sincere ways.

They would remind you,

Of some warm and sunnier days!

 

Sometimes, in a fit of fury,

an unworthy tantrum I may throw.

I may act childish and

never want to grow.

But then, listen when I am silent.

Don’t see but only feel.

Maybe my goodness and love,

is hidden behind a veil!

 

Sometimes, I may be cruel;

I may be very bad.

Sometimes, the way I behave

would make you very sad.

But when you hear me grumble

and when you hear me moan,

Don’t hear my rude voice,

Just concentrate on my tone!

 

Sometimes, I may be,

a good-for-nothing child.

I may be disobedient;

I may be very wild.

But then, do shelter my confidence.

Don’t let my emotions rust.

Just tell me that you understand;

Just tell me that you trust!

 

Sometimes, I may be confused.

I may be frustrated and hurt.

In all my replies, I may be,

very much rude and curt.

But don’t react when I am ungracious,

even for a fraction.

Why judge me by my attitude?

Just judge me by my action!!!

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF ME?

Often I wonder, how much other people’s opinions matter to us. How much we are dependent on others to give us a clean-chit. Its as if we love to be commented upon. Commented on each and every thing about us; about how we do a particular thing to how we dress or how we look. It means a great deal to us.

We expect opinions from all people. Our family and friends, our neighbors and even people whom we don’t even know. But, do we wonder, why exactly do we want others comments and opinions?

Expecting opinions might be a sign of improvisation. We welcome suggestions that will help us to be better individuals. We count upon our near and dear ones to correct us when we are wrong, to show us the right way, to learn from our mistakes and to be careful in future.

Its true how much we look forward for a response from people. Its not only about improvisation but also about feeling appreciated. A word of encouragement, a word of appreciation, a word of gratitude makes us feel wanted.

BUT then,we start being over-dependent on these things. We take every statement to the heart. Every little opinion counts.

It matters to us when people say bad about us. We cry over trivial things. We get upset because someone didn’t approve of our doings.

We sulk for days when people curse us, when they talk bad about us.We think about useless things.

  

I know, honest and sincere words are always welcome. Criticism is always a help.

But we should understand the difference between people who want to help us and those you just like to make us miserable.

People act so cynical at times. They speak good on our faces and show their true colors once we turn our back to them. Some of them are not satisfied with anything. It doesn’t matter to them just how you are going to behave. They will find faults with everything. 

The best way to deal with such people is to ignore them. Strangers are easy to over-look. However, surprisingly, you realize the presence of such people within close family members too. It becomes difficult to accept that near & dear ones can go to such degrading levels.

But then, it takes all sorts to make this world.

 

Hundred different people might have hundred different opinions about you. These will be valued throughout life. But in the end, what matters is what YOU think of YOURSELF! How you judged yourself! There is no one in this world who understands you better than you do.

 

Words of people who really love us will matter to build our self-confidence. But, ultimately we make our own personalities.

So, next time, you are in self-doubt and feel the need to be commented upon, don’t ask anyone else. Just peep in the mirror and ask, “Hey, what do you think of ME…..?” 

TURNING NEGATIVES INTO POSITIVES

A joke used to do round in my maths class when I was in school. It was so that a boy comes late to school and asks the teacher whether he could enter the class. The teacher says, “NO.” The boy asks again and gets the same answer. However, on hearing the second NO, he quietly enters the class and takes his seat. The teacher is enraged and questions the boy that I didn’t allow you to enter, yet you disobeyed me. Why? The boy replies serenely, “Well, you said NO twice and we have been taught in maths, that two negatives make one positive!”

 

I used to laugh over the silliness of the boy and also admire his smartness. Now, when I actually have heard the joke over and over again, I realize that its not a joke. It is infact one of the most important lessons of life.

Everyone takes their life so negatively. We dissect and analyze the dark side so much that we forget the beauty of the other side. Not only do we do not look beyond the obvious but also dampen the hopes of all those who try to be different. We label others as “over-optimistic” and cover our negativity in the guise of “reality-practical thinking”.

 

When we fail, we become sure that it was always meant to be so. We accept it on our own terms. We firmly believe that we are the unlucky ones. We blame the destiny. We blame the society. We just about blame everything that is around us. We take other people’s experiences as our own and don’t understand that two people can look exactly at the same thing yet see something totally different. We take up age-old notions and degrade them further, turn them as negative as we can.  

 

Have we ever thought of working on these negatives? Have we ever believed that, every cloud has a silver lining? Have we ever converted our negatives into positives?

 

We take our weaknesses as our second nature. Instead of working on them, we excuse them as our basic attributes and believe that those can never change. We take our failures as an unlucky fate and cry and sulk and make ourselves miserable. We think we are the unluckiest person in the world and all bad things apparently to us.

 

Have we ever tried to use our strengths to overcome our weaknesses? Have we ever rationalized a particular situation in such a way that we allow us to observe the good side of things?

 

There is positive in everything you see. In 9th grade, our classroom wall had a frame hung on it. There was a single line written on it, “There’s never a WRONG time to do the RIGHT thing.” The quote still uplifts me, when I have to do a difficult thing. I realize the value of it. Realize the positive energy flowing through it.

All the positives in your life, however minuscule they may be, they have the infinite power to convert the entire negativity into a desirable force.

My life has been going haywire for a past few weeks. But, I am hanging on. I have suddenly understood that all the delicate situations that I have been facing so far have been a mixture of both sorrow and joy. Now, when I retrospect, I realize my joy at that time had the surprising potential of being highly negative and all my sorrows, if dissected well, held a tremendous amount of positivity.

If I learnt so much from everyday experiences, so can you! 

 

Always remember, situations may be bad, but we have something in us that can turn things our way. And that is the power of extracting the hidden positivity in any thing. Nothing in this world is 100% good or 100% bad.

There’s a little angel in every demon and a little demon in every angel…. 

MEMORIES

MEMORIES are the threads that connect us to the lost moments that were once our own. In a world, where nothing’s permanent, even time eludes us and leaves us alone to fend for ourselves. We let go of people, of near and dear ones, of our egos and inhibitions. But, one thing doesn’t leave us alone. It fills the void within us, with bitter and sweet moments. To make us laugh over the silly things about which we fretted and fumed and cry over pleasant ones that will never come again. 

 

To the most beautiful creation of God, to Memories………..

 Each moment of the year

has its own beauty….

A picture which was never seen before

and which shall be never seen again….

 

’cause circumstances change…

relationships change…

people’s attitudes change…

but memories are never washed away….

 

Time can hold us

and carry us forward

towards destinations….

But it can never hold back our emotions,

It can only witness our faith,

but never conquer it….

 

We may not be immortal,

but memories are…

Any force in the world,

cannot deter them…

Not we, but those ideas,

those memories,

will live till ETERNITY……. 

LESSONS FROM THE GAME

More than a month back, this picture was different. The Australians were jumping with joy. India had lost the test series. It was a big blow. It’s very difficult to accept things when you clearly know that you have been treated unfairly and you had to win. Thats what happened. Disappointment was clearly written on faces of the Indian players.

But they kept quiet. They tried to bury all the past grudges and began new. A new series. A new beginning.

 

The Commonwealth bank series was one of the longest cricketing series of all times consisting of just 3 teams, yet a total of 14 games were played. It lasted a little over one month. And every new match was as exciting as its previous one.

In a crucial game against Sri Lanka, India won very convincingly and that paved their way into the final.  

And thus, the battle began……. 

 

Australian media continued to put Indians in a bad light. Harbhajan was needlessly targeted. Then it was Ishant Sharma’s turn. When the Aussies began understanding that sledging on the field is no longer worrying the Indians but instead aggravating them, they began to pass comments and print baseless stories in the newspapers.

India, howeverr did not falter. It got support from all over the world. And kept playing the game in the true spirit.

 

Finally, after 23 years, India won in Australia, captured the tri-series cup…..

Each young team member gave his best. Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar showed their talent as dependable fast bowlers. Irrfan Pathan didn’t let the team down when needed. Gautam Gambhir batted like a true star. Harbhajan, unruffled, did what he was meant to (taking wickets of Symonds and Hayden )! Rohit Sharma showed tremendous promise as an upcoming batsman. Every youngie showcased his mettle. AND Dhoni, whatever weird decisions he might have taken earlier, proved  that INDIANS ARE THE BEST!

To win against a side which is the world’s best, not only in the game but also in sledging, is not an easy job. What the Indians endured in last 2 and the half months, was not less than “sport-racism”. Now, this mental ordeal of going through wrong umpiring decisions, baseless media accusations and constant on-field bickering has finally come to an end.

And, Indians have emerged victorious!!!

 

We all can learn a lot from this entire “India tour of Australia”. You need not understand the rules of the game.You just need to focus on basic facts.

Lessons to learn:

 

Lesson that HARBHAJAN taught….

“Life is unfair. You’ll be let down many times by it. No one will listen to you. You’ll be targeted again and again. People will call you names and your every action will be scrutinized. BUT, never forget, your capabilities can help you to overcome any difficulties. No matter what, always stand by your ground. Never bow down. If you know, you haven’t done anything wrong, stick to it.”

 

Lesson that ISHANT taught….

“Over-smart people always dominate. They will not respect you if your young. They will underestimate your talents. They will abuse you and try and put you down. BUT, remember, age has got nothing to do with talent. Be fearless. And at the same time, don’t let the success go into your head.”

 

Lesson that DHONI taught….

“Strong people will push the weak ones down. When you lead, there will be tremendous pressure to do better. With responsibilty comes hardships. Critics will be in plenty than well-wishers. BUT, never forget, fortune favors the brave. Never be ashamed to accept your mistakes. Apologise whenever necessary. Take risks. Without risk, there is no chance of any success. As a leader, support those under your command. Let them do something for you not out of fear but love.”

 

Lesson that SACHIN taught….

“A seasoned and experienced person knows that barking dogs seldom bite. Actions speak more than words. So let others speak. You know what to do. Be humble. Respect others (even someone who humiliates you). Respect yourself too. Understand you are not a machine. Failures are a part and parcel of life. They are also a stepping stone to achievements. Losses will come. Your only job is to give your 100%. Once you know, you have given your best, stay rest assured, you’ll get the fruits of your labour.” 

 

AND, in the end

Lesson that from AUSSIES we learnt….

“It’s very easy to look down from the top and make fun of the ones on the ground. Its equally difficult to help the less-fortunate ones to come up. Aggression is required in some walks of life. But, don’t let it become a habit. Humitlity is the greatest virtue. Cultivate it within one self. Always keep on striving to do better. Help the weak ones and share your expertise. Never inflate your head with the glorious past. Otherwise one day you’ll learn very badly that PRIDE always has a DOWNFALL!”

 

 Was it just CRICKET, OR Was it a game of LIFE???

NEITHER STRONG NOR WEAK

Many a times,we feel that we are very strong. We are so brave, that we can face any hardship in the world. Any type of pain can never snatch our ability to laugh. Any hurt in the world can never contaminate our happiness. We plaster a benign smile on our face and show people around us, how tough we can be.

In turn, people adore us. Respect us. Look up to us.

Some,exhibiting the same mettle, get inspiration.

Others, weak and forlorn are full of awe and admiration.

For years, we live in this self-delusioned world. We cover ourselves with material happiness. We live under the guise of the courageous.

Until, one day, we realize, our resistance is faltering or perhaps, we never were so strong….

True, some people have a tremendous tolerance level. They can endure significant hardships and yet learn to search their happiness in the smallest of things. They can fill colors in bleak surroundings. They can hum songs without music.

Others are ordinary. They are sensitive even to little mishaps. They cry over slightest matters. They constantly fret over insignificant things. Melancholy is their way of life.

You might consider yourself a by-product of either of the groups. BUT, in reality, both the groups over-lap each other. The most successful person in the world carries the seeds of immense failure within him. In the same manner, the most sorrowful person on the earth is capable of acquiring the greatest happiness anyone has ever seen!!!

At any given point of life, you’ll belong to either of the group. You will never get the lifetime membership of any one group. Because, you belong everywhere. There is enough bad in you, to turn you into a killer. There is enough good in you, to turn you into a saint.

A DAY succeeds a NIGHT or a NIGHT succeeds a DAY.

Its how you look at things, does matter.

Our belief in good and evil is so distorted that we cannot understand the concept of dualism. Reality lays abandoned.

Inner strength develops over long battles of self-conflict.

Something that will tear you apart yet rejuvenate you as a whole, once it deems you worthy enough!!!