Why we love India!

Let us admit we all love India. We love it despite all its follies, the roads, the lack of amenities, and whatever reasons any NRI can come up with. We are patriotic in our own sweet way. We believe only Indians have the right to say anything against India. It is our birth-right and no one can take that away from us. Yesterday I was having a long animated discussion with my cousin (living outside India) . Clearly he wasn't impressed with the way we Indians (notice how casually he forgot that he was an Indian)struggle for survival. He, completely on a hyperbole ride, mentioned how people in India are fire-fighting creating one invention after the other to sustain, to lead a good life. Ironically, it made me love India even more.These are a few reasons why I love India, the list is in no way exhaustive, but hopefully can get the point across:
a)Hope: We can lose our wallet, our degree, our business, our land, but we never lose hope. Hope keeps us going, hope keeps us afloat when the chips are down. The hope of a better tomorrow, the hope of redemption, the hope of having our own dreamland.
b)Parents:Given a choice an average Indian would love to stay with his/her parents, to still get his/her pocket money, to still get scolded if he/she injures himself/herself. This is our way of knowing that there is someone who cares. Someone who stands by us, no matter what, someone who would never leave us, even if we were born ugly, fat and with single hand and feet.
c)Customs & Tradition: Ever been to an Indian wedding? It's a experience that lasts for days and leaves an impression for life. Whether its the Ladies Sangeet, or the haldi or the tradition of stealing the groom's shoes, the Indian weddings are full of life, warmth and happiness. I love the Indian traditions, whether it's touching an elder's feet or welcoming guests at any hour or the family getting together on festivals.
d)IIT, IIM : The IIT and IIMs are perhaps the greatest institutes in the world, simply because they have the ability to fulfill 'The great Indian dream', in a way no institute can. One can literally see students getting transformed into future leaders. The tag is one thing that stays, even though it may precede you at times, but for whatever the institute has given you, it's worth it.
e)Siblings: In India, we do not love our siblings in an "I do because I have to" kind of way. Siblings in India share a bond which goes much deeper than can be explained. Whether you hate it or love it, blood is indeed thicker than water.
f)Indian Film Industry: No list on India can be complete without the mention of Indian film industry. They call it Bollywood, though it's clearly offensive. We have created our own niche, that is there to stay.We Indians are sucker for movies, the song and dance routine, the one Sunny Deol Vs Rest of the world fares. Rajnikanth, Mithun da, Amitabh Bachchan would be there etched in our memories forever, and no Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt can change that!

I know everyone has a lot to add to the list, probably the list can never be complete, but the fact is India rocks. A billion people can give a billion reasons for that.

26 Heart Wrenching Facts!

I call myself an incorrigible optimist. But there are a lot of things that frustrate even the most positive of us. You feel stupid, dejected, disappointed and sometimes just quietly laugh at God’s sense of humor. It is said that ‘If fate doesn’t make you laugh then you just don’t get the joke’. I just happen to be in a mood where I feel like collating what I have over the years observed and felt helpless at. Today I have a sense of humor to laugh at these. I am sure we all have a lot to add to this, I just kept it to 26, because it’s like the A-Z of what I wanted to say. You might be inclined to call me a whiner and generally insane to come up with a list like this. But I liked my effort; it helped me know what I really hated. So here I go:

A) No matter how hard you try people never change
B) The only person you can change is you; all the elements in you are against this change
C) The more successful you become, the lesser friends you have
D) You are where you deserve to be; otherwise you would have been in a better place.
E) No matter what people say, you are judged by your looks
F) The more fun you are having the faster the clock ticks
G) There is always a trade-off to be made
H) Nobody really wants to listen to your problems, and nobody is not a person.
I) No matter how hard you try, you will be misunderstood
J) Things will never be just perfect; all your attempts towards making it perfect will fail.
K) You will never be happy with your current state
L) No matter how well you earn, you will always think that your past was better.
M) Your mind and heart will never concur on anything.
N) No matter how easy the job, you will make mistakes
O) You ego will almost always dominate your senses.
P) You are being observed, watched for all your mistakes.
Q) Nobody really cares if you are in trouble.
R) The traffic always moves faster on the other side of the road.
S) You are slowly becoming the person you’ve always hated.
T) One relation always dominates all the current relationships at any point in time.
U) In the bigger picture, nothing really matters.
V) The only acceptable answer to “How are you?” is I am good.
W) A friend’s phone is always switched off or not reachable when you need him/her the most.
X) You never express your love to the person you love the most
Y) We are increasingly becoming unaware of what we are doing
Z) We never realize when we are living our happiest moment.

Life's biggest lessons!

I am no expert on how to live life, neither do I claim to know anything about anything, heck I am just 24. But these are just a few lessons I learnt from some of the successful people I have met. So here I go:
a) Be the most optimistic person you know.
b) It is very important to start Monday on a good note, it defines your whole week.
c) Learn something you will be proud of when you grow old.
d) Write, even if it means nobody understands it or appreciates it.
e) Have a sense of humour, develop the ability to laugh at yourself.
f) Ask out a girl/boy at least once. It's amazing the confidence it requires.
g) Run. Just take a day off and run, run fast, run away from the madness.
h) Make sure you always hug your parents.
i) Dress smartly, it reflects where you belong.
j) Have great friends, invest in the relationship.
k) Measure your success in terms of the number of happy moments you've had.
l) Try everything at least once.
m) Don't compare, try and synergise.
n) Marry only for love.
o) Try and learn from every mistake of yours.
p) Invest in a good suit.
q) Buy a cheap car but invest in the best house you can afford.
r) Be sporting, accept defeat.
s) Never allow yourself to indulge in self-pity.
t) Go on long walks and reflect on your day.
u) Laugh and then laugh some more.
v) Always greet everyone with a smile it is the warmest gesture you can show.
w) Be genuinely interested in people.
x) Think big, make sure you understand the bigger picture.
y) Take calculated risks, you never know when your idea will click!
z) Respect everyone, neither do you have the power to change the world nor do they.
and the last one which I feel was the most important lesson i learned is:
Enjoy everything, life isn't supposed to be this serious!
God bless everyone!!!!