Road Less Travelled

I sat down with my school going cousin yesterday helping her with one of her vacation assignments which happened to be critical review of ‘The Road Not Taken’ by Robert Frost. The 2 common reviews for this poem have been one that it represents individualism and the other that it’s ironic. However for me this poem though written in 1916 sounded so relevant in today’s world too.
When I read this the first thing I remembered was the folk tales that I have read when I was young. One common story used to be where 2 brothers are sent out by their father to make their own future and they inevitably reach a cross road and stand there wondering which one to take. One brother usually takes the road which looks lush and green and the other one a road which is full of stones and weeds etc. The end of the story is normally of how the brother who chooses the tougher road though initially goes through a lot of hardship finally emerges the hero and married to a princess.
In the same way, life normally gives us these kinds of choices throughout our life and forces us to make choices and it is the people who chose ‘The road not taken’ who emerge maybe as the proponents of a new stream and maybe emerge as the hero of the times. The common juncture that we associate is the time when we are joining Graduation or professional course where choosing the ones that people have found success in are the ones that we normally end up choosing.

However make your opinion by reading this poem from one of the famous poets of the 16th century.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Like to Dislike

“Wow. The rain is such a welcome relief but am sure it’s going to be very hot tomorrow”
“My bike gives me 70/ltr mileage; god knows for how long though”
“We are a team that is co operative and highly motivated but I’am sure this is not going to stay for a long time”
“I got an award this month at work maybe they are planning to give me more work”

These are some of the thoughts that run across most of our minds.

So when exactly did we become this pessimistic? Its like we are always waiting for things to go wrong and think its inevitable for things to go right for a long time. To take a recent example is of the Sunday elections where it was proclaimed that there was just 44% turnout. This definitely churned out angry responses from media, blaiming politicians and also facebook updates reprimanding people for not voting. All this I think comes from the basic thought that everyone in the beginning itself had decided that this will not be a success. That’s when I read an interesting article where it clearly points out that this 44% is out of a total which includes people whose names appear multiple times as they were not removed from the list or changed to different location etc(http://bangalore.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/1893-bbmp-election-2010-turnout-checked). The interesting part is that here is one person or organization who took the turnout positively and tried drive opinion towards it positively.
Pessimism I think is just becoming the most popular thing to do. It primarily looks like the negativity is the one which makes for interesting conversation. Why else would you see most of the articles or blogs ranting on things which are going wrong. Inspite of my attempt here of bringing out the positivity this blog itself definitely has a pessimist tinge to it.
I can think of the umpteen conversation with my better half where for any decision that we have to take like going on a holiday, buying a gadget or even a simple thing of lazing on a weekend I think how it could be a wrong decision if we think next month, next year or after next 10 years and he being the optimist gets flabbergasted as to why do I think so far for it to go wrong and not enjoy the moment.
Anyways being the pessimist that I’am most of the time am not sure if it is too much to ask that I want to be at peace of mind in all decisions, live each moment as it comes and enjoy each moment to the fullest but I would love to do that and definitely going to make an effort in that direction.
Also being the filmy that I’am this song is ringing in my ears now - Aanewala Pal Jaanewala Hai Ho Sake To Iss Mein Zindagi Bitaado Pal Jo Yeh Jaanewala Hai……..

‘Sane’ity Check

In the times of Global warming, Natural Calamities, Recession, High Crime Rate etc the one thing I think that keeps us sane is ‘Love’. I ‘am definitely talking about love for a person and not the materialistic one because that only makes us insane and we could say the cause for all the above problems mentioned in the beginning.
Love ke liye saala kuch bhi karega; that’s what we feel when in love. If this was not the case just imagine how two people from completely different families, raised with different values, with different peer group living together in a relationship in majority of cases in India atleast called marriage. Love is the glue that holds together that bond for a lifetime, rather it’s not the feeling of excitement or restlessness which is normally considered as love but the bonding that remains after that.
Love for our family is another bond that gets created at birth and nurtured through the lifetime. Parental love is the one safety net that we fall back on several times during our life. I would say that this is one relation where there is a total selfless love being shared; Though in the current times(kalyug) there have been many instances of this relationship going tainted, I can talk for myself that I cannot thank enough for where and who am born to.
Does getting irritated with your brother/sister because you have to share your room and lose your privacy and at the same time feeling bored and miserable when they are not around also constitute as love? Of course! Sibling love - one of the most interesting forms of love I would say because this is the one person at different points of time you hate the most and at other times love the most. One person who would stand by you or be the mediator when you’re having some important discussions on generation gap etc.
Punching Bag is the word that would describe another important person with whom you have no blood ties or Marital Bond – Friend. The person who sticks by you at the lowest of times, partner in crime for numerous adventures and the multiplier of any joyous occasion. The magic of this bond is that this is the person you chose and the strength of this bond is only due to the love for the person and nothing else.
Assigning a day or month to celebrate love is not enough but then it’s a good reminder to everyone not to take things for granted and be grateful and show the people you love that they really matter.
‘Happy Valentines Month’

Hopelessly Filmy

To sing, to dance, to cry, to laugh, to tease, to express anger, to start a revolution, actually for anything the perfect companion – bollywood music Ting Tong!!!!
However crazy that sounds that has held ground for me from childhood till now. The one thing about the kind of music is it has adapted to the changing times and people’s tastes which has been quite intriguing. Hats off to all the music directors who have contributed in achieving this feat. There are numerous movies where the only bearable fact was the songs in those. Inspite all the hearsay of people wondering why Bollywood movies have so many songs which breaks the momentum of the story, I’am firm believer that the ‘life’ of the movie is its song and I can’t imagine watching a Hindi movie with no songs at all.
There are always songs that you associate with your school days, college days etc which is forgotten and sometimes pleasantly surprises you when you are listening to radio some day. I have been so surprised at the lyrics too that I remember from these songs.
The entertainment value of these songs can be seen in the way it’s used during cricket tournaments, election campaigns & religious functions. Though I’am not particularly fond of the usage at these occasions I understand that the reason is because that there is nothing else which can bring everyone to their feet in unison.
I could go on with a list of songs that I can associate with different people, different occasion, different moments but maybe next time.
This is just a small tribute to the music I love and most of the nation does.