Fight back... Take Home #322

Falling just short of victory despite fighting throughout and until the end obviously causes sheer disappointment. But then it's in our hands if to get ourselves immersed into the eventual dissatisfaction or to still fight back with the ever right sportive spirit. 

Open up... Take Home #321

Keeping something in mind and trying to behave as if everything is normal is not one of the best deals to be made with life.  Open up. Get the answers. Be free and proud to be yourself. 

Responsibility is responsibility!

I do not want to take more time to describe the ongoing Soccer world cup knock out match between France and Nigeria as the most boring one so far! Both the teams are hurdling up in the same way around the ball. Surprisingly, there have been no yellow or red card shown in the first half of the game even after ample number of players gone down on the ground. Couple of superb saves, each by the goal keepers of both the sides. Commentators said that it was the nineteenth save for the Nigerian goal keeper. He must be wondering about his side's defense. 

The first knock out match between Brazil and Chile was so well that each side played their heart out. Brazilian players did not do it up the mark but Chile was unstoppable too. They did their best undoubtedly. I always loved the penalty shootout. I did not expect it to appear in the world cup so earlier and that too in a Brazil's match. With the home team's win, there were many relived faces in the stadium. Had that one player, I do not know his name, was more alert and did not allow the Chile team to get the back in front of the Brazil's goal post, most portion of the rest of the match would have been different. He would have got enough hearing from the coach, Scolari, I guess. 

Netherlands escaped it with an aggressive game towards the end of the match. Mexico players must be appreciated for the show. The last seven minutes changed the result. Netherlands must be more sensible about their upcoming opponents Costa Rica. They too conceded the goal in the last minute but for an hour of the play they did not have their eleventh player in the field. Experts are saying that the penalty for the Netherlands was a genuine one. Hats off to that referee who took such a bolt decision under pressure. 

Only today I observed the security or staff who stand turning their backs towards the football field and facing the audience. I can imagine how difficult their job must be. If they are fans of the game, it must be almost impossible to keep themselves turned to their backs at the ongoing match. Responsibility is responsibility however tough it is to fulfill.

Alleppey Houseboat - Sail in the lap of Serenity!

I always thought sports inspire me to write the most and my best. These days I'm realizing that nature does that as well. Seasons and scenery can play that trick on me too!

If you are a scenery lover and if you can afford, you must at least once hire a Kerala Houseboat for a day's trip in the Alleppey back waters. The tariff might appear huge before you enter the boat. At the time of leaving the boat after the trip, you will carry invaluable memories for your life time. I especially suggest you hire a boat with upper deck. It costs thousand bucks more yet it's the best place from where one can enjoy the scenery on every side of the boat. For non vegetarians, number of options are available at lunch and dinner, which is cooked and served by the attendants in the boat. 

As I've always heard people saying that Kerala is god's own country. with a lot of expectations I started the trip in the back waters. Every expectation of mine was met exceptionally well. Except one, hundreds of houseboats surprised me, rather amused me, way beyond the expectation of mine that there will be couple of boats around, that too may be! There were boats long enough to accommodate a joint family, or a business conference or a college students' troop. Foreigners were there all around. They appeared enjoying to the core!

Greenery on my left and right hand side many a times made me run from that side to this side. I must say I did never mind that running. The green fields next to the canal banks were the special attraction. There were villages along side the canal with each home having few brick steps into the waters in front of it. They do all their jobs with water there, not literally all but most of them. Most of the women whom I saw standing there and doing their preparations for that day's lunch were holding some or the other type of fish in their hands. I wonder how much percentage of Kerala population is vegetarian! With the greenery all around, I was a busy person doing the photography all the time. Nonetheless, the serenity was superbly enjoyable. I realized I had so much peace within me, so much joy within me, and so much love for nature within me. As I laid on the cushion in the upper deck, I saw the blue skies above and felt the floating movement from below. That experience was outstanding. You forget everything about you for a moment and you just enjoy what's happening right then, right at that moment! This does not happen every time in life. 

The sunset from the boat on the canal bank was the moment of that memorable evening. The scene of the sun rays on the waters appeared as if I was floating on gold! I sat down, enjoyed and clicked the scene of sun setting between the coconut trees! Later I thought, that might be a kind of once in a life time experience! Rain did not spoil the day. It did rain heavily during that night. Tens of houseboats were seen parked on the bank. When I saw them under the lighting of the lightening and thunderstorm, for a moment it felt as if I was pulled into the set of a Hollywood movie. Amazing experience it was. 

Those twenty three hours were lived wholly. Whopping love and goodness was felt from within. What if life can be of that type everyday! It's not practically possible unless you work out so much on yourself. Well, good that we can at least buy it for sometime. The Sail in the Alleppey houseboat and in the lap of Serenity will remain in my favorites' list for my whole life. 

Noble way to contribute...

The very nature of any game is that it is open until it is not done. The very purpose of any player is that he plays as if he is not done until the game is not done. He, who understands the nature of the game and the purpose of the player, fights with ease all the time irrespective of the status and stature of the game! Such people ensure the game flourish, which is one of the noble ways to contribute to the game!

As if nothing to lose... Take Home #320

Playing as if there is nothing to lose has always a psychological advantage over playing to win. In the former case, there is no fear-factor in the absence of which many possibilities can be explored and hence can play it to the fullest. 

Tactics... Take Home #319

Tactics are not easy. Either to play them or to escape them, it takes a lot of mental strength and clarity of thought. Whereas the mental strength need to be worked out over a period of time, one can strive for the clarity of thought through diverse exposure by attempting all the possible. 

'Extra' but not 'Free'

I've got an observation to share here. Last month I bought one of my favorite biscuits, Hide & Seek. As I'm a regular taker of this biscuit packet, I was sure of the amount that I had to pay. But never I bought only one packet, every time in a bunch I used to buy them. So fond of them I've been. Even this time, I went to the shop to buy something else. Incidentally I asked for Hide & Seek. The shop keeper gave me one packet. It appeared longer than usual. I glanced through it. It got '30 % Extra' written over it. That's all. I did not take even another minute. I asked for three more. I paid and left the shop, later on I enjoyed every piece of it as an evening snack. I must say, I enjoyed the 'Extra' even more. 

Today again I went to the same shop and asked for the same biscuit packet. This time I asked for only one packet as I recently decided to control having them. I asked for the amount to be paid and I was told it as twenty five rupees. For a moment I did not realize but later on I recollected that the price of that used to be less than that. Then the shop boy told me "Madam, its 30 % extra". Then I thought, although I did not say it to him, "Yes, it's extra, and that's why the price should remain the same"! Immediately I got his point and I was happy for myself that I did not utter out what I had thought. 

Actually it was 30 % extra and not 30 % free! Earlier when I asked for three more packets, I was under the impression that I was getting 30 % more for same price hence why should I lose. You know, there have been many instances, like many other women, when I took a bog sized Horlicks packet for the bottle coming free with it, Surf packet for the plastic box and etc. This time as well I thought it was all free. But to my surprise, this time I was wrong. After I realized it, I calmly paid the amount and left the shop. That's the business trick by the Hide & Seek manufacturer, may be that's the Hide and Seek game played with the customers! Good anyway. From next time onwards I shall look at the words and their meanings as well along with the size and weight  of the packet!

Play and Display... Take Home #318

In every game, what is displayed matters too along with what is played. While the play helps in succeeding, the display supports in being satisfied to the core. 

Unfair...!

Lot of things happen in life. Lot of people come and go. It cannot happen that every time life be fair to you. Some kind of unfair can come your way at some or the other point of time. Be patient and introspect to see if you can do something such that you might escape the unfair act of life next time. Banging back at things and people will only leave you even more frustrated, which is the most useless emotion to get in life. 

Spread the smile... Take Home #317

Smile creates smiles and sometimes laughter. Being happy from inside is so important that you can smile with ease and hence can spread the smiles effortlessly. 

The Soccer Feast 2014

I'm not sure if anyone has ever said that watching soccer is like meditation! That's what come up to my mind the moment I saw the back to back goals in the beginning minutes of the world cup match ongoing between Argentina and Nigeria, which happened for the first time in the history of world cup. Thanks to both the teams for making my first watched match of this world cup so memorable and exciting. Brisk movements of both the teams towards the opponents' goal posts is worth watching and hence enjoying.

I have been following the FIFA world cup 2014 only in the news so far. Henceforth I will be watching it too. As I said in one of my previous posts, its a tough choice between Wimbledon and FIFA. But obviously, what comes once in four years is too attractive to the yearly fun. Nonetheless, I will keep an eye on the grass courts too! 

Top sixteen are almost finalized except for few slots. Italy and Spain are out already to my and everyone's surprise. Netherlands is the team much talked about. It seems the Dutch are wanting it to get finished on the finishing line this time on the last day of the world cup, which they could not do last time, be it because of the Spanish players or be it because of the Octopus Paul! Brazil is no more a guessing game, especially after their brilliant start in the tournament. No heros, but you never know who becomes one on his day. Argentina and Messi are the few other words of these days. Maradona is active in writing his colomns without losing any chance to inspire his home team. Fair enough. England are out too by the way and that did not surprised me much. 

Knockout is round the corner. It will be fun watching the matches henceforth. Only one chance for all teams to remain in the tournament and they must utilise it to step closer towards the world cup lifting moment. I have still not decided whom to support, although I have some kind of inclination towards Brazil based on the previous world cups I watched. I will watch few matches and then shall choose among the teams.

Wishing all the sixteen teams all the very best to put up their best. 

Vacation escapes in a blink!

Vacation escapes in a blink. Although a lot happens, in between two vacations sometimes it feels as if there was nothing happened in between! My vacation this is within a period of less than two months from that of my previous one. On the first day of the vacation I felt what I said above; as if there were no two months between the vacations; as if it was just a continuation of the last one! 

On the other hand a lot happens in the vacation. During the initial days time goes pretty slow. As we know the fact that we are in the beginning of it and a lot more to come, we tend to come to an understanding that it is happening in a real slow manner. But as soon as it crosses the midway mark, it immediately gets to the senses. It feels as if you are running out of time. For no reason, you keep counting the days left. As the count still goes on, the days left out go on reducing leaving you behind. Towards the last few days of the vacation, there will be no person on earth who can compete with you in getting sad! 

These days vacations are not so rare but long ones are really rare. I'm fortunate enough to get couple of them back to back. A very well deserved brake was that, as my friends say. I got refreshed amidst the awesome season of Kerala. As I woke up to the sun rise today, what I missed the most was the sound of the ocean tides. In Trivandrum, it felt as if I slept to the sounds of the ocean and I woke up to the same too. I thought Pune will be welcoming me in rain. But I was not that fortunate. Friends told me it did not rain a bit in last ten days. That's another wonder. Pune and rain always do meet in the month of June, usually in the first week itself. This time the June is almost already done and here we are still guessing the rain fall date. Hope it rains soon here!

For the betterment... Take Home #316

Making someone else responsible for your defeat is in no terms a happy-living business. Doing that might only satisfy your ego, but it can never be an apt way to answer your own self. Finding out your own responsibility in every defeat can lay the way for the betterment. 

Its Wimbledon Time...

Before I begin to write anything about the Wimbledon I would like to congratulate Rafael Nadal for retaining the French open title. That's the ninth one for him and hope many more come his way. 

This year's Wimbledon is interesting. It is happening during the same time as the soccer fever has almost spreaded across the world population. This might be a coincidence but the interesting thing is the audience will have to choose between the matches to watch as they happen during the same timings. Well, that's one reason that is making it interesting whereas the very way the competition is in there in both women as well as men ties makes the championship more than interesting. I, as always, am supporting Nadal to win the men's singles championship. Serena Williams interests me but I seriously wish some tough competition come her way. All the best to the Indian players taking part in various doubles ties. 

May the best win!

Tunes of yours... Take Home #315

What the partners are for each other matters the most in any relationship. What they are for the world stays secondary. The best choice is to be there for each other and let the life dance to the tunes of yours. 

When bathroom becomes your best mate!

It's been long time since I started thinking about writing this post. I skipped it every time, not sure of the reason. Today I've decided to do it, again not sure of the reason. This kind of post make me happy as I open up from within and flush out the worries or one may call them as thoughts. 

In all these twenty eight years of my life, there have been many moments when I cried in bathroom to my last tear of the moment . Not that I could not do it in public. I've been so self-centric or rather self-dependent in this matter that I want only me consoling myself. I just do not want to go out of the belief that I can come back strong myself. Also, I did not want to end up in silence when friends ask me the reason for my tears. Although I had my own reasons, I was not pretty sure if they were enough reasons to breakdown first of all, and again, I never wanted to look for consolation from outside. With that I'm not saying that I never cried in the crowd. I did it many a times. Every time I did that, I found myself sufficient to be around. Eventually, bathroom turned out to be the place for me.

Bathroom does not speak back to you. It allows you to be miserable as much as you want. It stands in silence to give you large enough space to formulate your own thoughts. It stays as a silent spectator while you console yourself, sufficient enough to do a positive come back. It looks at you the same way every time you visit it showing no difference in treating you. Although, all this can logically be done by people who are close to you, I prefer to be one of such rather than asking for such people to be around. I basically do not want to be dependent on  the uncertainty. I am always there certainly for myself and that must be fine as long as I'm going to be sufficient. 

I do not know what this kind of a human thought-process is named in the discipline of Psychology. Does not matter. This is what I'm and it has been productive being so, why not I continue unless I find the other reason!

Life is an every moment's journey

Life is an every moment's journey

Keep living it all of us all the time,

Chasing down the dreams

Caring the loved ones enough

Crossing all the limitations

Carrying on the momentum.

Life is an every moment's journey

Keep it simple yet more than sufficient.

   

For me you are alive all over!

My heart does an endless wait

For the day to meet you,

To do a long chat

Until no topic left out,

To go on a long walk

Having my hand in yours,

To feel your presence

Enough for a life time,

My heart does an endless wait

For the day to meet you.

Now the day has come

Here I am with you,

Speaking endless to you

Although you cannot hear,

Walking all the way long

All alone with hands empty,

Feeling your presence

All the time in my shadow,

Now the day has come

Here I'm with you.

No more you are for the world

For me you are alive all over,

In my words of you of anyone

In my steps and next to them,

In my shadow that follows me

Teaching me how to live,

Showing me the way to move

Creating endless love in me,

No more you are for the world

For me you are alive all over.

In between the breaths... Take Home #314

Life starts with the first breath, ends with the last breath. What you are known for is what you do in between.

My Moto G, I'm loving it :)

Before I buy any item about which I'm not pretty aware of, I prefer to check with friends for the reviews. These days there is so much in the Internet only to leave you wondering what is correct and what is wrong. Somehow I depend a lot on the feedback from my friends, especially in the case of purchasing electronic items. I get surprised when they talk endlessly on the brands, market trends, products in queue etc. So, I find no reason to skip them before I go for something. 

While I was thinking about buying a new mobile phone, I as usual informed some of my friends at office. They put couple of options to me. I was on the verge of deciding but then I got a message from one of the friends about the launching plans of Motorola-Google for it's new chunk, the Moto G. What shall click to my mind first is the name, good or bad, this is how I look at new things. Moto G appeared something different and I decided to wait for it. I waited to see the live demo of if until another colleague of mine got it delivered through Flipkart. After a couple of minutes of checking the handset myself, I was suddenly into a fix, that I will purchase only this. 

Ever since I started using it, I've been having good experiences with it. Only problem I've faced is as following. After upgrading to the Kitkat version of android, the message tone settings got changed. I'm not sure if it was due to the upgrade or something else, I do not want to conclude. But then after a long struggle for at least couple of months, I found the way out myself. I thought of calling that call centre fellow who had earlier asked me to do the factory settings to restore everything back to normal. I wanted to inform him the easier way out than restoring back every setting and ending up losing every other upgrade or download you have had. But then I thought I will not do that. 

There are so many features of that that I'm liking. Out of all, the camera, the music player and the touch feel are the best experiences I've ever had with a mobile in last nine years of my mobile usage. For the first time ever, on a holiday trip, I chose not carry my Canon camera and MP3 player. That good this phone is. In market, there might be many other better options but as far as I'm concerned, this is the mobile I'm in love with for the first time ever. I suggested many of my friends this phone and many bought it too. 

Thank you Motorola and Google for this experience. bring on more. 

As it rains here from up there...

As it rains here from up there,

Cool breeze waves all around,

Little hens get wet in the droplets,

Dog barks to the tunes of the thunders,

Banana leaves clean themselves up,

Coconut trees stands the same tall,

Dark and dark it gets every minute,

Sounds of the ocean get vanished,

As it rains here from up there,

This is how it is from the balcony. 

Kanyakumari, one of the marvels

I'd been to Kanyakumari couple of months back. It was a journey of just couple of hours from Trivandrum. Once the train reached Kanyakumari railway station, we along with many other tourists wondered if we were in the right station and if we should get down! Our expectations of Kanyakumari railway station were far more than that of the place where we arrived in. Finally, after checking carefully with some of the people around, we got down. It was a terminus for obvious reasons and beach was said to be a kilometer away from there. 

Narrow streets, crowded stalls, hotels with a lean entrance etc were what we could see during the first ride in the town. Hotel room with the sea view costed more but we did not choose it. We thought we might be next to sea until the night that day and we might not require the dose of a sea again during the late night. The first look at the sea was from the hotel terrace. The water was so blue in color that we ended up confused while figuring out until where it was water and where the sky started. 

Vivekananda rock and Triveni Sangamam

There was a boat ride in the sea to the Vivekananda rock. Like anyone else, we did wear the life jacket while on the way but we did not mind much while we were coming back to the halt. From the corners of the Vivekananda rock, what all could be seen was the blue waters. First of all we wondered, how Vivekananda must have made it to there onto the rock! We thought he might have swimmed or someone would have hosted him in a boat. From there, wherever you look, you have the sea in front of you except toward the Kanyakumari town. It was an amazing experience. I tried to capture it as much as possible in the camera but what my heart clicked was beyond any other photograph. Triveni Sangamam was only read in the text books in school. Once I stood there, the feeling of standing on the southern most tip of India exhilarated me. 

Sunset point

Sunset point was around one kilometer away but as usual, the auto drivers had to say it as two to three kilometers. We were one of the very few people who reached the spot first. There was only one advantage of being there first, you can sit on the rock of your own choice. We chose one from where we thought the view will be the best. First the first time I waited long to see the sunset. Clouds made us miss some portion of the party but nonetheless, we could witness the sunset there. On the way  back, all we wished was for a clean sunrise next day morning. You do not get a chance to see sunrise as well as sunset from the same place otherwise. 

You do anything but you cannot keep ladies away from shopping. We do shop everywhere so did I there. Out of all that I bought, the Kerala traditional Saree came close to me. 

Sunrise, the marvel 

We thought we would be reaching the sunrise point before anyone. Once we reached there we realized we were among the last ones to reach there. The first look at the eastern side of the ocean that day morning made me feel as if I was standing in front of a different world. It felt as if I was waiting there to welcome the people from another earth. It was so dark in the rest of the sky and only on the eastern most side it lightened up. People went every far to catch the beautiful view, probably the best. A bell rang from the Vivekananda rock seconds before the sunrise. Everyone was alert. Sun slowly raised from the waters of the ocean as if someone is pulling a red ball from the waters. I captured the whole scene in my camera in the form of a video but believe me, what was witnessed there was beyond what any video can do to you. Sun became so bright after the full sunrise that we had to put hand above the eyes to continue watching the scene. This time it was clear sky and we thanked the clouds silently. Earlier to watching this scene I used to wonder how to differentiate the photos of a sunrise and sunset. Now I know.

Later to the sunrise we walked along the stone bridge built half a kilometer into the ocean. We reached the edge of it. The feeling of sitting on one of the last rocks of it was more than amazing. Sitting there for a moment I thought, what if all these waters come on to me right now! Then I heard my innerself saying, "Ok, bring it on!". One of the  marvelous scenes and moments of my life was that. 

The visit to the city of three oceans will always remain in my memories. All the hundreds of photographs that I clicked will ensure I will not lose the taste of the scenes. 

Take a brake... Take Home #313

Doing something about which you are passionate does not bore you. But over doing it may not be a good idea. Take a deserving brake in between. You will not lose the touch anyway and moreover, you will get rejuvenated. 

Try to inspire... Take Home #312

There is a difference between trying to change someone and trying to inspire someone. Never try to change people, because you never know when they will get changed again. Try to inspire people, because once they get realized there are mean chances that they look back; also they may inspire more people.