Let's Make it a Better Place - For You & For Me

You can't change all that is wrong in this great big world, but you can have an impact, even if it is just a tiny, positive impact on a stranger that receives a smile from you on the street today. There's so much we can do for others, and in the end, what we do for others ends up benefiting us tenfold. So let's do this. Let's make our little worlds amazing today. 

~

Craig Ballantyne

Why does it take us so much of an effort to compliment someone; whereas we could point out a dozen flaws in that someone without pausing for a breath? What is it that makes it so difficult for us say nice things, and so easy to dole out copious portions of harsh words? Would it be a bad thing if someone who passed us by on a street somewhere not only secretly admired the attire that we had worn or the bag that we were carrying but also said it to us? Likewise, would it be such a bad thing if we did that to someone else? Nobody minds hearing good things about themselves; but do we like saying good things to others just as much? Simple things like smiling at someone or saying 'thank you' seem to have become so tedious. Most people wait for the person across to break the ice, not realizing that the person across is waiting for them to do just that. What ensues is that all good things that should have been said and done walk away - unsaid and undone - and the world remains devoid of innumerable pretty smiles and the probable little bursts of cheerfulness

We don't usually see it this way, do we? We find a strange comfort in negativity and embrace it like a lost kin. Eventually we also overlook the opportunity to spread joy in our own little way. But I believe it's never too late; to join little children in a game of hopscotch in the streets or to help someone gather their belongings that they may have dropped, to thank the valet in the restaurant for parking your vehicle or maybe to just tell the sweeper in the compound what a good job he is doing. Next time you have the chance, seize the opportunity, smile and do your bit to make your world a better place.

~ 

Life Simplified

Song Time!

This has been a Sunday where I dug out a few of my old favourite tracks and gave a treat to my sense of hearing. Sharing the one that tops my list today. No doubt Kumar Sanu's voice and R D Burman's music bring it alive, but if it were not Gulzar's words this song wouldn't be as mesmerizing as it is. And of course, I like to sing this one to myself now and then. (Ha Ha! No kidding.)

Enjoy!

Life is short, break the rules. Forgive quickly, kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that makes you smile.

~

Mark Twain

Life moves on, whether we act as cowards or heroes. Life has no other discipline to impose, if we would but realize it, than to accept life unquestioningly. Everything we shut our eyes to, everything we run away from, everything we deny, denigrate or despise, serves to defeat us in the end. What seems nasty, painful, evil can become a source of beauty, joy and strength, if faced with an open mind. Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such.

~

Henry Miller

Success comes in a lot of ways, but it doesn't come with money and it doesn't come with fame. It comes from having a meaning in your life, doing what you love and being passionate about what you do. That's having a life of success. When you have the ability to do what you love, love what you do and have the ability to impact people. That's having a life of success. That's what having a life of meaning is.

~

Tim Tebow

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fresh graduate with ambitious aspirations lost in the fast paced life of New York city. Simple plot but new story. As Andrea Sachs tries to put up with a she-devil of a boss who also happens to be the most powerful (and most difficult) woman in the world of fashion for an year in order to achieve her dream of becoming a writer for an acclaimed, intellectual, non-fashion magazine, Lauren Weisberger takes the reader through the ups and downs (mostly downs) in Andrea's life; how her demanding and demeaning job affects her relations with her family, friends and boyfriend - and how she tries, fails and eventually manages to cope with it to take a purposeful step toward her dream job.

The story unfolds in print with such finesse as though it were being shown on the silver screen. The story is well conceived and very well executed. The characters are perfectly crafted with a keen eye for detail by the author. The story will keep you on your toes and make you wonder what's in store on the next page. The description of the ins and outs of the fashion world are amusing as well as informative, and at times even harsh. There are not-so-subtle yet effortless tones of satire and humour almost throughout the novel. It is a very realistic and relatable piece of work and deserves a read. For a first novel, Weisberger has done a more than remarkable job. Kudos!

~

The Raven's Claw - Part 2

Like every other morning, the chirp of the cuckoos heralded sunrise that morning too. The visitors on my window began to flock in slowly. The sparrows first, followed by the pigeons, interspersed by the crows and ravens in no particular pattern. That day the ravens were out in their glory since morning. They circled round the trees and screeched loudly, much to everybody's annoyance - especially Bouncy's.

Bouncy is the colony dog. She is a very sprightly animal, full of life. Her merry nature and the ability to jump unbelievable heights led to her being named Bouncy when she was a puppy. The crow & raven fraternity and Bouncy have been at loggerheads for as long as I can recall. In fact, she has been at loggerheads with practically all the birds and even squirrels. She manages to hunt down a pigeon on a good day and makes a sumptuous meal out of it. She, however, does not consider the members of the Corvus family as particularly delicious; so she tries to plainly kill them. They try to peck at her, and caw in unison to tease her. She, in return, barks her lungs out at them and is always on the lookout to catch a few feathers in between her teeth. The brutes in the form of birds irritate her no end, and she chases them around the colony incessantly. This is routine.

That morning Bouncy had managed to scavenge a piece of stale bread for her breakfast. She held it with her teeth like a trophy and looked around to check for any hostile two-legged beings who might intrude her meal. Having made sure none were prowling, she settled for breakfast between a Hyundai i20 and a Honda City. A sly raven had been observing her all this while from a distance. No sooner had she begun to work on the hardened piece of bread than it swooped down adroitly, snatched the piece of bread neatly and flew away. An astonished Bouncy was quick to react, but not quick enough. The raven definitely had the advantage of flight which she could never match. As though it were pre-planned, and it definitely seemed so, the raven alighted on the bird bath at my window. The poor dog was left agape and hungry. The raven held the bread in its claws, at the same time balancing itself on the edge of the bath. It broke off little bits of the bread and dipped each of those bits in water. When the hard bread softened, it was gulped down with ease. Bouncy sure wouldn't want to discuss this incident with anybody, so we'd better keep mum when she is around.

Ravens are omnivorous birds. They can survive on practically anything, be it food grains, fruits, vegetables, other birds' eggs, meat - raw, cooked, stale, rotten - rodents or carcasses. Just about anything. One morning when the ravens were out foraging for food, they came across a dead rat. Four ravens darted at it simultaneously. They wrestled among themselves, each trying its best to grab the rodent. In a few minutes, the mightiest - may have been the shrewdest - raven picked the rat and flew. Not the ones to give up easily - especially a chance to bicker - the other three followed suit. The four birds swooped and swooshed past buildings, cars, trees and people in the quest to claim ownership on that apparently prized bit of delicacy. Nobody knows what ensued in the interim but in a while all the birds had gone back to their nests, empty handed - empty beaked literally. The dead rat was found a little while later resting in the now slushy waters of a certain, much discussed, bird bath on a certain, equally discussed, window.

There were squeals of shock and disgust when this present from the ravens was discovered. The window, and even the room, were abandoned after that. Three people quelled nausea and wondered how to get rid of this rather unsolicited gift. The best option would have been to upturn the bath so that all its contents just fell prey to the force of gravity. There could be people passing under, but that could be taken care of. Somebody could always stand guard to warn them. After a lot of deliberation and discussion, when someone dared to return to the window and peeked into the bird bath, the rat was missing - much to the relief of the entire household. Perhaps the ravens had taken umbrage because their valuable gift was not met with the enthusiasm that they had expected. Or some rascal just got lucky. Quite obviously, it was the latter. Either way was good for us. We were spared the ordeal of cleaning a dead-rat-infested bird bath with mucky water. Messed up, yet a rat-less bath was still a better deal!
~

The Raven's Claw - Part 1

This morning I chanced to notice a specimen of the Corvus Corax, or what we would usually call the common raven, a tad more closely than I had ever before. On the grille of the biggest window of my house, one will find kept a bird bath and a bird feeder. These invite the sparrows and pigeons to drink water and feed on grains; and the crows and ravens to take dips in the bath and create a racket in the process. So it was here that this magnificent bird was perched while I admired its rich black plumage and rather impressive beak, hidden behind the curtains and careful not to make any sudden movements. Our dude, in the meanwhile, took a couple of dips in the bath and flapped away to bully a pigeon.

An unkindness of ravens resides in the trees near my house and is usually found harrowing other birds, and even animals. They go out on these expeditions in ones or twos usually. It is grave trouble when the entire conspiracy goes out together. The sparrows steer clear of these monstrous birds as much as they can, especially when they lay eggs. A few years ago a pair of sparrows had made their nest in the nook of the parapet outside our kitchen. When the eggs were laid, the nasty ravens began circling the little birds and their nest. We would shoo them off whenever we could. In a couple of days, however, the brutes had gorged the poor sparrows' eggs mercilessly. No sparrow has made its nest here again ever since.

The ravens come and harass the pigeons when they feed on grains. They will do all they can to dirty the bath too, making the water rather undrinkable for others. One can almost see the vicious glee when the raven does something of this sort. I have also seen them, on occasions, pecking at the crows. That they fight among themselves just as often should now be obvious given the brief account of their persistent belligerence. The raven has a hoarse caw, worse than a crow's which sounds like it has got something stuck in its throat all the time.

Our resident cat - Leo - finds her instincts suddenly aroused when she spots a bird. It is her favourite pastime to glare at the birds that visit our window and plan out strategies to hunt them. She will sit and intently observe the pigeons and sparrows. The crows irritate her, and her interest in the raven is always from a distance. Since we are peace loving people, we keep the glass panes on the windows shut in order to avoid bloodshed of any sort. One afternoon, Leo's siesta was disturbed by the harsh cawing of a crow. It seemed to have gotten into some sort of argument with one of the ravens and was perhaps taking a time out session at the bird bath. Thoroughly irritated, Leo made her way to the window sill - stretching out regally as she did so - and drew out her claws. She took her stance, the way she does when she is about to charge at something, and aimed at the crow. The angry raven sitting on a tree right in front decided, at that very instant,  that it had had enough of this crow and it was time to set it right. The raven took flight and aimed at the crow. 

The crow at the window spotted Leo advancing towards it and panicked. In a second it turned around only to find a pugnacious raven aiming for its right wing. Stuck between a savage cat and a bellicose raven, the crow had less than a second to save its life. It darted left, took a cut downwards and flew off slyly just in the nick of time. In the meanwhile, Leo had pounced at the window and the raven had charged at the bird bath. To their great disappointment they would realise that they had missed the crow. To their greater shock, they came face to face without any prior anticipation. Leo shrieked wildly at the sight of the raven who had its wings spread out wide and looked dangerous. She reeled back with shock. Simultaneously, the raven was forced to attempt a mid-air halt at the sudden transformation of the crow into a militant cat. It let out a howl and made an emergency water landing. The next instant Leo was back on her bed whereas the raven had scooted off to find another bird to trouble. This was truly one of those occurrences that present a strong case for carrying a camera in shoot mode around all the time. Blown out of their wits, Leo and the raven were not seen near that window for a good amount of time after this incident.

~

Bleeding Love

Closed off from love, I didn't need the pain
Once or twice was enough and it was all in vain
Time starts to pass, before you know it you're frozen

But something happened for the very first time with you
My heart melted to the ground, found something true
And everyone's looking 'round, thinking I'm going crazy

But I don't care what they say, I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away but they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein that I keep on closing..

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love

I keep bleeding, I keep, keep bleeding love

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love..
You cut me open

And it's draining all of me
Oh, they find  it hard to believe
I'll be wearing these scars for everyone to see..
:'(