Perplexed

"Don't go for the looks, it can be quite deceiving." Or so was the adage. Since time immemorial, we have been taught to never judge a person by his looks.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

These same words continue to rattle me everyday, as I travel from my home to office. An hour of train journey in a extra crowded first class compartment is an unlikely setting for such a thought.

To give you a background, trains in Mumbai have two classes of compartments - first class and second class. Out of the 9 or 12 coaches, almost 75 to 80% of the coaches are second class, while the rest are first class. The distinguishing factor between them are the red or green stripes on the first class compartments.

Now comes the catch. Every day as I travel, I come across someone who possibly (forgive my judgement) may not have a first class ticket or a first class season ticket, yet has boarded the compartment (almost always naively). 

I leave my judgment to my silent mind, not letting it speak aloud, and requesting the person to get down.

I am Perplexed

However, another part of my mind urges me to tell the traveler that he has mistakenly boarded the first class compartment and get down immediately, lest the Ticket Checker get hold of him. However, at this moment, the adage, which I mentioned at the beginning, comes ringing aloud and almost always wins.

I don't say a word to him. Many similar travelers also don't say anything. Some do offer a piece of advice to the naive traveler. And if the innocent man manages to travel to his destination, with out coming across a TC, I'm happy.

However, just a week or so back, I saw someone enter the first class compartment. I had made my judgement, yet didn't say a word. And just as the train was about to leave the platform, a TC pounced on the ignorant man, and pulled him away - possibly to fine him a precious 100 odd rupees.

I was sad that I didn't alert the guy. If only I had, he wouldn't have been caught. Better still, he would have saved his precious money. All due to the adage.

Perplexing Situation

A few days back, another traveler was the recipient of a similar advice from a fellow traveler. Offended by his remark, that he shouldn't be in the first class compartment, the guy replied - that he was here because he had the ticket to travel first class. The man who offered advice was speechless.

Such contradictory incidents have left me more perplexed. And I am not able to make up my mind on what should I do if a similar incident occurs again.

Silence is Golden. No. Never go by the looks. Maybe Yes. What to do next? I don't have an answer.

What is you recommendation?

Perplexed

P.S. I can at least conclude one thing. If we can educate people so that they can make their own judicious decisions (like in the situations described), my confusion would be solved.

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Pals

~~~~

Among the million stars,
You are the best by far.
Whats makes you special,
Isn't difficult to reckon.

You sashay in like a star, 
A comet streaking through the sky.
Alluring with your grace and charm,
Pursuing your dreams high.

A starlet in the bloom,
And fast you will vrooom.
Reach the dizzying heights,
Always being humble and polite.

In pursuit of your dreams,  

Chasing your passions.
May the world you win,
Be crowned a champion. 

As we go past the turns and bends,
You will always be a friend.
You may be away, I may be far,
Words these are for a special Pal. 

~~~

Pals

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For My Friend

For my friend - a picture is worth a thousand words!!

For My Friend

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The Yaeba Smile

If you are confused by the word itself, let me tell you we are the sailors in the same boat. I was equally confused, as I had my quick breakfast a few days back over the morning newspaper, which screamed - Perfect your toothy smile with 'Yaeba'. 

Actually it was the smile below which caught my attention.

Amazing Yaeba Smile

"Yaeba". Now what's that? The origin was confusing. The tone of the word made it clear - it was either of Japanese or Chinese origin. And as I gulped my hot cup of tea, I made a quick mental note to write a blog on Yaeba (Japanese 八重歯)(a.k.a. Snaggleteeth).

So what exactly is Yaeba? This website gives a particularly straight definition of The Yaeba and I quote it here :- "Yaeba - This Japanese term describes women with slightly asymmetrical teeth, particularly protruding canines. This is widely considered attractive in Japan, starkly contrasting with Western ideals of straight dentition."

Japanese Yaeba Smile

Doesn't this sound interesting? For long, not only in Western culture, but even in our Indian culture, healthy straight teeth were promoted as ideals. Parents insisted that their children take care of their teeth in their formative years itself. 

And we ourselves believed that a these straight teeth would give us that beautiful smile. Haven't we heard about actresses going lengths to get themselves a perfect set of teeth, only to add onto their already mystical aura.

However, Yaeba is all set to change this fascination for straight, absolutely perfect teeth. Who is perfect? No One? So why should our teeth be absolutely perfect?

How does the Yaeba add to your allure? Well, it simply gives you a child like, slightly younger look. It is a less than perfect, but natural look.

The Yaeba Smile

A tinge of kiddishness adds to the attraction.

Now that we have a word for this style, don't you remember few of your friends who have this attractive smile. And now you know the reason behind that refreshing look.

You may have a natural Yaeba smile. It would be a shining gem in your tiara. And if you don't have one, some dentists can give you that Yaeba look. Such dental saloons have become quite popular in Japan.

And there are quite a few proponents of the Yaeba looks. Vincent Devaud, a ceramist from Pasadena in California, says : "What makes a person desirable and attractive? It's not the symmetry; it's perfect imperfections."

Kirsten Dunst a.k.a. Spider-Man's Jane says, "I love my snaggle fangs, They give me character and character is sexy."

Kirsten Dunst Yaeba Smile

Next time you see someone with a broad smile, check if the Yaeba is at work. And if you have a natural Yaeba look, feel proud that you are the owner of one of the most desirable looks in recent times.

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Small Pleasures of Life

A few small pleasures of life in an increasingly complicated world.

Small Pleasures of Life

• Getting a window seat on a train, to have the breeze flowing into your hair, setting your dreams alight.

• Talking to a friend at half past midnight.

• Getting drenched in a drizzle.

• Sleeping to your heart's content on a Sunday morning or a weekday afternoon.

• Being Yourself

Doesn't your heart yearn for more?

Being Yourself

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Nobody

I am Nobody. Period.

I am Nobody

Hope this realization changes me for the better.

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A Mixed Bag

A Mixed bag of thoughts captured on my cell phone over the past one month, as my mind rambled while traveling alone or listening to music or reading newspapers or getting lost in the crowd at work.

08:23am, Thu 19-Jul-2012
The thought that I would have to spend another 12 to 14 hours, before I talk to you to my hearts content, is unnerving.

08:46am, Thu 19-Jul-2012
Jab yaar kare parwah meri,
Mujhe kya parwah iss duniya ki,
Jug mujhpe lagaaye pabandi,
Main hoon hi nahi iss duniya ki.

09:30am, Thu 19-Jul-2012
Stars are matched before a holy union. With our union, the stars come together and form a holy union.

09:36pm, Thu 19-Jul-2012
Only if you could see the smile on my face, you would see how happy I am. 

09:21am, Fri 20-Jul-2012
Ye naacheez ek cheez uski maange hai tujhse,
Musafir ye dehleez maange hai tujhse,
Khudaya tu bata.. Kahaan uska pata, pata kar,
Main uske bina bepata hoon.
be pata, be pata, be-pata hoon. 

12:00pm, Sun 22-Jul-2012
Main pareshaan pareshan pareshaan pareshaan,
Aatishein woh kahaan.
Main pareshaan pareshan pareshaan pareshaan,
Ranjishein hain dhuaan.

10:06pm, Mon 13-Aug-2012
Haan yeh zidd hai meri,
Tujhko hi sochengey ab hum,
Roshini yeh teri.
Khwaabon mein rakhengey band hum.

08:54am, Tue 14-Aug-2012

Jaaye jahan tu jaye,
Paaye mujhe hi paaye,
Saaye ye mere hain tujh mein samaaye,
Saiyyara main saiyaara,
Sayyara tu saiyyara,
Sitaron ke jahan mein milenge ab yaara.

~~

For all Indians:- Happy Independence Day!!

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London Olympics 2012 Review

The showcase event in the world of sports - Olympics 2012 - is drawing to a close in the coming few days. Hosted in London, The London Olympics 2012 has proved to be a phenomenal attraction over the past few weeks - attracting eyeballs and attentions like nothing else.

Well, I caught on to the Olympics buzz quite late into the second week - watching it every day from 11 in the night. However, I followed it regularly over the news papers and the internet.

Here are some moments from the Olympics which caught my attention this year.

Let me start with Michael Phelps of the USA. Michael, the champion swimmer, won a total of 6 medals at London 2012, including 4 golds and 2 silvers. What puts him at the top of the pedestal is the fact that he has won a total of 22 medals at the Olympics, making him the most decorated Olympian of all time.

Michael Phelps London Olympics 2012

He retired after London 2012, and he can take happiness from the fact that he gave his best shot at swimming, winning accolades all the way.

Next one is known as The Lightning. Yes, I am talking about Usain Bolt of Jamaica. The star sprinter was the defending champion from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and several questions were raised on his ability to defend his titles in London.

100m Dash Olympics 2012

However, cometh the day, cometh the man. Usain Bolt ran like a champion when it mattered and won the 100m dash and 200m sprint in style. He celebrated in his customary style on the track after the dash.

Usain Bolt The Crowned King of Sprint

He is the first man to win both the 100m and 200m in back to back Olympics on the track. And if the after hours party with fellow Olympians was anything to go by, Usain would have to be on the moon. 

Usain Bolt Celebrating Olympic 100m Win

With this being just his second Olympics, will he make history 4 years later and be crowned as a triple crown winner?

Let us move onto the Indians. Indian athletes have struggled to win medals at every Olympics, with India ending up with only a medal or two at every Olympics. This time, it was different.

At the moment of writing, India has won a total of 5 medals - 1 silver and 4 bronze. It has been a proud moment for Indian sports. Making them proud include Vijay Kumar, who won the lone silver for India in shooting and Mary Kom, who won the bronze in boxing. 

Vijay Kumar Olympics 2012

Gagan Narang won a bronze in the air rifle event, and Yogeshwar Dutt won a bronze in wrestling. Indian shuttler, Saina Nehwal, did the country proud by winning the bronze medal in Badminton.

Saina Nehwal Bronze Medal Olympics 2012

At a time, when the country is struggling with female foeticide, and growning crime against women, Mary and Saina have showcased what a girl can do on the international stage. The women have done the country proud and it's up to us to nurture this talent and make them winners, by giving them adequate opportunities.

Moving onto one of the most significant moments of London Olympics 2012. Saudi Arabia, a conservative nation from the Middle East, was not planning to let its women to participate at London 2012. Ultimately, it let two of its gals to participate. And didn't they do the country proud!!

Sarah Attar Olympics 2012

Sarah Attar, ran the 800m race, in full clothes - a significant contrast against other runners who ran in shorts and tees. She respected her country's conservative dressing style. She finished last, almost a lap behind the winner. 

However, her determination in running the race and the difficult conditions where she came from, drew a standing ovation from the Olympic goers. I trust this breaks a few mental barriers in the Saudi kingdom and we can see more women athletes from the country in the next Olympics.

Moving onto Tennis. Andy Murray, long held as the British hope on the tennis turf, left his Wimbledon disappointment behind to beat Roger Federer and win the Gold Medals in Tennis. Great Britain was ecstatic.

Andy Murray Olympics 2012

Lastly, it was London, a city which is long considered as a oldest turf of aristocracy and royalty. And the Royal family made its presence. Princess Zara participated in the Equestrian event and won a silver medal. 

Zara Phillips Olympics 2012

The Royal Family - William, Kate, and Harry - were in full force to cheer for GB across various events.

The Royal Family Olympics 2012

All in all, it has been a special Olympics. Its great to see that the Olympic spirit living on, a hundred and more years after the start in Greece.

In 4 years time, Olympics will travel to Rio, Brazil, in South America. And I am assured that once again, the Games will take the spirit of global inclusivity to greater heights.

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Understanding

Understanding. Yes, after a long busy day, on my way home, I decided to write about "Understanding".

It has been like 5 minutes since I have started and still I am struggling to come up with a constructive definition of understanding. Before relying on the dictionary, let me try to define Understanding. 

In my opinion, Understanding is the process of assimilating the information at hand, grasping the theme of the  information, and processing and storing its essence for usage in the future. 

What is the most common mistake that we with respect to understanding? Well, we think we have understood while we have actually not understood. It is this mistaken understanding which becomes a bane for us subsequently.  

Let me recollect an advise which my teacher gave to me, some 12 years back. She told me - When you are reading something, learning something, understand it and understand it completely, and only then move ahead.  

She was driving home the importance of understanding the context, and how crucial it was for the knowledge and information we could and would gain in the future. 

Every time I rushed through something, without understanding, her words rang through my mind. Sometimes the consequences of  mistaken understanding resulted in wastage of time, and effort.  So how do we avoid this pitfall?  

A few pointers in this regard may be helpful.

• To start with,  decide to minimize the occurrence of this false understanding. Ask a sub conscious question to your mind . Have I really understood this? 

• Take your time. Never hurry up. Trying to understanding quickly sometimes results in an incorrect or incomplete understanding. 

• Ask yourself a question - is my understanding correct, complete and crystal clear? If any of the answer is not in affirmative, it means that there is a need to understand again. 

• Do not draw conclusions when you understand. Doing this could create a bias, which could impact the understanding being developed. 

• Ask questions. When your mind asks questions on the theme at hand, it will elicit some really beautiful answers which would make your understanding more holistic and comprehensive. 

• Never take things at face value. 

In spite of sharing all this gyan, let me also tell you that I am learning to tune my mind with these ideas.  Hope some me these points are useful to you.  

Happy understanding!! 

Understanding is a Long Journey

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What Next?

Once in a while, you come across incidents or circumstances which makes you say - What Next? Is there something which can get more "surprising" than this one?

Well, off late, my thoughts and eyes crossed a few such situations. Here's a low down on some of them.

Take the case of Barack Obama. It's election year in America. 5 years after showing the promise of a brighter America and a stronger world, Obama wishes to put back his ordinary work and win a second term.

Barack Obama

As with all politicians, Obama too is trying to catch the pulse of his nation - by planning some laws which would dissuade organizations from outsourcing IT and Business Process work to India. This would supposedly secure more jobs for American people and would badly hurt India and the Indian organizations, who lean on this important revenue.

However, a few months later, the same Obama tells the Indian Government that they have too many restrictive policies for Foreign Direct Investment in India. How shameless can a person get? At one end, he wants to stop Indian people from taking work in his country. At the other end, he wants American organizations to enjoy a piece of the Indian Pie.

What Next? Is "Double Standard" your pet name, Mr. Obama?

Moving onto Sunny Leone. An year back, if you said Sunny Leone, people would have asked - Sunny Who? Today, her claim to fame is well known.

Since making her much watched debut in Big Boss last year, Sunny joined to the Bollywood bandwagon and made her Bollywood Debut in Jism2 this year. The movie was supposed to be a hot potato, but is supposedly a ice cube. (This is what the newspapers say.)

Sunny Leone

A bold picture of Jism2 was splashed across several cities in India. In Mumbai, corporators of a leading political party raised a hue and cry to get the posters removed - citing them to be too promiscuous. 

Well, given the hold of moral police in Mumbai, these guys had their way and the posters were pulled down in a day.

In a stark contrast, another corporator of the same political party has invited Sunny as the chief guest of a Dahi Handi festival. Can you believe it? 

I doubt whether the people would be able to break the Handi when Sunny is around. What next?

And if this was of enough, another piece of news surprised me. 

Kim Collins, a sprinter from St. Kitts, participating in the Olympics 2012 in London was dropped from his country's team. The reason - He spent an night with his wife in a London Hotel.

How ridiculous can it get? Can someone be more irrational?

All in all, there is no dearth of people who create situations which would make them look daft. And it would be almost impossible to get them improve. All that we can say is - What Next?

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