Life. Its as simple as we make it.

Meandering between daily chores and the prime reason for mankind to suffer - coveting, we often tend to, ok, cancel tend to there; we forget to acknowledge the mere existence of things around us. I was just thinking and discussing with a friend how we end up with loans for everything today. We have easy monthly instalments for an iPhone, for a bike, for a car, for a house, for everything. Things are packaged and shown across so well to us, the poor consumers that we give in because we want all of it. Its very rare and indeed hard to draw lines with materialistic possessions.

To each his own there. I mean, the world wouldn't be as colourful without as many perspectives. There wouldn't be a zillion consumers being taken for a ride every single day. All that apart, we all already have in possession, a lot of things. These are the things that we don't notice every day. These are the things we take for granted. These are the people we take for granted.

If, for a minute or two, each single day, we zoom out of the morbid whining from the arc of oblivion we all create for ourselves, we see that we have a life! And that, its a life that's not so bad. We could obviously choose to cry about umpteen number of things, but when will we actually learn to appreciate? We have a life. Its just hidden under the various covers we draw over it ourselves, giving in to peer pressure, situational demands, or very simply because someone told us that leading life is to happen in a certain way. If all of us led life the same way, the world would be void of the many scientists, artists, doctors and beautiful people like you and me. There is no formula for life. There is no equation to be followed. There is no preset 'way' to lead life. If there is any, it should be the one you and I create. Not blindly follow a herd because 'it was told to them so'.

Life is beautiful. Its upto us to choose to take each day as a blessing or go to bed whining. If any formula, its just how simple it is. How simple it is for us to make it.

Faith, God and Religion

There is something that has to trigger, somewhere, sometime.

Perspectives change all the time. Life, itself is very dynamic that way. What or Who is important to us at a point of time will cease to exist a little later, or a long time later.  Its not that it would be with an experience so bad that we'd like to severe ties with it, but it just changes. Things just change, over time.

Well, I've been a believer of faith since a long time now. Not at all into religion, but slightly into God ever since I remember. I wonder who really created religion and for what good. It was really not done in a good taste, I must say. With God, however, which eventually (sadly) turned out into becoming an extension of religion, I maintained different views. Classical music, which I have been exposed to, since a kid, is primarily resplendent with a lot of compositions from saints who were staunch devotees of some particular God. Add to this, the exposure of starting anything new with a Ganesh stuti, to make sure things would go on alright. Obviously, since a kid if this is the background you'd be brought up in, then it would influence you. Its only the perspectives that change later on.

A very recent incident made me think very strongly about religion. With God, however, all my discussions with like minded people has been limited to the force being a positive energy, something that also has an equal negativity to balance the world with good and bad. I gave up long time back on praying to God before doing any good because of the simple reason that when people say its God who you have to ask, I'd reply saying - 'If he really is the all-knowing, he'd know what I want.' Religion, however, I discovered is just human made bull shit. One badmouthing the other. I really want to go back in time and see how it worked then, because it baffles me. And what hurts me the most is that in 2016 if someone were to come and give a discourse over religion. I'm pretty sure there is not a dearth of populace of that kind. 

I was seeing this movie yesterday - Lagaan. When the team's performance in the cricket match wasn't all that rosy, they turned to God. A 5 minute song praising God, asking for help, with tears and all, saying 'Ok, listen up dude. I agreed to do something. I fucked up. Or I might. Please help me.' Well, this is what it appeared to be. The following day, no balls are bowled, catches are caught on the boundary line, the team who prayed, won.

Perspectives. I'm not sure if there was an easily accessible God in earlier times who would come down and help you out. I honestly don't know. The perfectly plausible explanation to me would be this - We are all capable, to degrees we ourselves don't know. When things go out of hand, we all get worked up. All it needs to be done is to take a step backward, a deep breath, and an analysis of situations. Perhaps, a smile would help as well. Its basically you telling yourself that 'Dude, look at it from another perspective before fucking it up anyway'. Maybe temples were that. Maybe they just helped to get us in a calm state of mind. For me, the sea would do it. Help me get all philosophical and introspective. It could be anything. It is just a time and a change of place that is needed at that point. This, I feel has been vaguely misconstrued as God's hand.

Food for thought. 

The year that was (and that will be)

Happy new year folks!

Yes, that's it. No meandering bullshit about philosophy, no sulking about new year celebrations, no nothing. I thought let me at the very least, start this year's quota with a happy note. Note. Touché.

I wanted to start off the first blog of the year on a very thought provoking discussion about some crap that I came up with when I was driving to work a few days back, but I guess the topic wasn't strong enough. That explains why I forgot about it. Duh!

Coming to what I crib about, every year - the new year celebrations. This time, it was something that I'd never done so far. The band had a gig on 31st, albeit it didn't spill through midnight. We were out for dinner and random talk till 3 in the morning. All this, with people who mean the most. So, kinda no cribbing about that.

As for the year that went by, it couldn't have been a better coincidence that exactly an year back, I was a part of a band that released an album. Something that all of us worked on, something that had been a very dear project, something that was well delayed. No regrets on how it turned out to be, at the outset. But yes, there is always scope for improvement. Its as dynamic as life itself is.

Early months of the year was a bag of mixed emotions. My first Aero India show not even as a visitor, but as an exhibitioner (thanks to my ex employer). It was exciting. I recall staring at flights when I'd gone to HAL from school. Now, it was with a more informed crowd, involving a more mature discussion and with a more sophisticated Russian crowd (read that as chicks, please). This, along with a terrible accident a very dear friend went through which thankfully didn't escalate matters beyond the band losing a few gigs. Drummers are the life of the band, didn't anyone know? 

4th and 5th months. A sea change of perspectives in life. Starting from life itself, to God, to religion, to music, to faith, to belief. Probably came by as very dramatic for people who had to bear the brunt.

Mid year. One of the best decisions of my life to join a startup, help my friend to grow his company. No more details on that, not now at least. September - the most dreaded month turned out to be not so bad with my brother's (now bigger) family reminding that I'm indeed an uncle now. Mid October - a long yearned dream possession, finally. 

Culmination - two gigs back to back in the last few days of December.

There. That took less than ten minutes. I'm sure I've missed out on a lot of stuff. I'm sure I'm hiding a lot of ideas I've got there as well. I somehow feel thanksgiving must have been on 31st Jan rather than some weird day in November. I think I should make it a customary at least to do it, then.

A lot of things have happened, a lot of shit has happened. Let the bad things be, and so be the good things (I really can't forget anything important, bad or good). Whatever happened was for at least one good reason, which I don't know in entirety as of today. And for the people who made it all happen, most of who won't even read this blog, I owe it all to you people. You guys are the best.

Quite a new year blog there. Phew!
Had to make it a little different for entering the 8th year in succession.

Questions of the myriad entity

Where is my life headed?

The common question we all face at a point of time. That very time we would want to stop what we are doing and retrospect in all faith as to what we've basically been upto. Sometimes, we get an answer, sometimes we don't. However, the answer is very simple. Life's headed where we are taking it to.

Might sound lame, might sound cheesy. But yeah, there is no fantasy that'll happen in life. There's no magic in life. There'll be no film like moments when you'll get a wave of realisation or you'll get enlightenment by some means which will show you where you need to head. The "film like" reference forces me to bring up something here. I learnt recently from a very reliable source that all these tele serials that are on TV do not have a said script. The shooting is begun, the serial is aired on TV and slowly, based on audience response, the requirement of a prime slot by a bigger TRP drawing series and some such reasons, the script is tweaked. That explains why some series, at least in regional languages go on and on, or stop abruptly. Please don't judge me, I don't have time here to do a whole lot of things, let alone watch tele serials.

The reference of this ad hoc arrangement being very clear, it somehow pointed at me how we should all adapt ourselves to where we want to go, or at least where we intend to go. Yes, we all go through regret, we all repent, we all go through low confidence phases. We all might not outrightly display it, some might, in various forms. Its normal. Its all okay. Only if its in limited doses. What we must probably learn from all or either of these phases is to let go and reorient. Hell, when most of the inventions of the world [for which we (ok, few) worship the people responsible] have happened by chance, it is something to realise that there is no preset formula for how life goes on. There is really no point ruing over how we did something earlier which doesn't benefit us now. Or, the corollary, how something great might happen later on which will change everything.

There is just one simple thing life tells us to do. The past is painful. The future is anyone's guess. Live today. That's your life.

In pursuit of excellence

Mediocrity.
Yes, its not the best way to start a blog this way, more so when the title reads something else. But really, its something to think about.

I had to take a minute there to compose a flurry of thoughts and try hard to not go out of league. First of all, blogs have become so irregular, much like my schedule and I talk about getting to excellence. Well, I have atleast started.

Well then, coming back to mediocrity. Truly, for me, when the word is said out loud, it succeeds in bringing about emotions of disgust. Imagine something in a diatribe thus - 'You wretched soul, languishing in medicority...' Nah. not a good sight, that. Anyways, yes, mediocrity is what ALMOST all of us resort to in life. Take a moment and think about things around you. The book you write in. The pen that you use. The phone that you use everyday. The shirt that you are wearing. Yes, by now, it would be hard to control the thoughts and it would eventually end up with the usual cliched "Oh, we can afford only this much". True. Materialistic possessions are something that are not permanent. I agree. But, and I know I'd be inviting a lot of ire for this - materialistic possessions simply are an extension of what you are, what you think. Be it a book that you pick up, a work planner, a pen, a bike, a sedan, or a sportscar. I'm not saying I'll judge the next person who walks up to me in a swift dzire, say. But all I'm saying is that we all, and I repeat, all of us just get tired one day of waiting. We probably all startup as wanting to do something in life that makes a mark. Down the line, with passing time, we allow ourselves to be diluted into the formula the world follows. Which is very simple. The formula the world follows is nothing. We are made to believe into something that the mass follows. Questioning never really took anyone anywhere, so why bother. As long as things are happening, as long as some money is being credited by the end of each month, its all cool.

Excellence.
How do some people manage to work magic? No, this won't be a discourse on how to get successful. Atleast, I did rather say, its not intended to be that way. There are a certain class of people, a certain special set who choose to rather do something awesome, rather than not do it at all. These people fiddle around with minute details, obsess over tiny things more than what normal people would do. They make sure they follow up whatever it is that they are upto and achieve success. It is easier said than done. I can say here that what you buy is an extension of yourself. So go ahead, get an Audi, if you could. But we all know that its easier said than done. The problem with the majority of the populace is that they would rather sit back, not take a risk and wait for the salary to get credited. Its 30th, by the way. End of month. Yes, there are loads of issues that plague all of us. There is a family to take care of, added responsibilities, a few given up dreams, a few unrealised ones as well. All I am trying to tell is we can all be awesome. Its just a little push that we all need. With the uniqueness each one of us has, if we all together have the patience to follow it through, we would all overcome a phase of morbid mediocrity and at least aim and orient ourselves to get to what our definition of excellence is.

The pursuit doesn't come easy. There will be loads of sacrifices, lot of critique and lot of moments where we would feel let down. There is one way out of all this. To keep hitting the nail and to hit it harder every single time. No one can keep failing. The right amount of grit and determination can move mountains. There are times when the whole world would be against a decision. But its a passing cloud, which probably is a test of resilience.

So, we all could pursue excellence. Its just patience that's needed. Set the goals, keep working and not expecting is the only mantra, or so it seems.

The past is History. The future is a Mystery. Today is a gift, which is why its called.....

The Present.

Deja vu from Kungfu Panda. Yet again, like many other times. But it gets so relatable when it happens in real life, in a real world scenario.

There's not going to be a mention of the incident, simply because its worth straining my brain muscles if I get to read this blog some 5 years from now, and the other thing is that its not something worth revealing publicly.

When master Oogway said this in the movie, I was moved. It is because it inspired me then. There was no incident then, but I just admired the quote for, it was written too darned well. I must have used it when talking with friends quite a lot, but when and only when its used in the right moment, it makes such a profound impact.

We, (or atleast I, here,) have this tendency to brood over the past at times. Then follows the whole 'should've, could've, would've' nonsense. By past, I really don't mean 1947 alone, but even a grave life changing mistake that happened yesterday or the break up that was never meant to happen with the high school girlfriend. The milk spilt can't be put back into the can again. Past is only a reminder, or atleast, should be treated as one for, it has the power, if I may, to make you rethink anything silly you are going to do today and reconsider that. No matter how much you cry over it, you rue about it, nothing's gonna change. There's also the theory of relativity, a modified one at that. We relate stuff in our life to stuff in others' lives. At the outset, it gives all reasons to be jealous about, but its all different.

The future on the other hand, gets a little tricky. We are urged to save up money right from the beginning (by the wise men) for a tomorrow we have never seen. We are reminded every day by incidents that happen around us that if we had saved up money yesterday, we could have taken a kin or a friend to a better hospital. Then, there's also the surmounting pressure, of meander life activities like paying kids' school fees, saving up for a bike that's really caught your fancy. Money was the easiest example, the one that I could choose straight off my head, but there's also the fantasy - time. Future is a lot complicated than we assume. If you are going through a rough phase today, the friends who hear you out will want to make you feel better and assure you tomorrow will be better. It feels good then. But really, will it be? No one is as informed as time is. I wonder sometimes what if time was a living entity. It would surely be laughing its ass off knowing that it doesn't have a rewind button, but how we keep pressing it every now and then. So, combine both of the most complicated things - time and money. You save up the money you have today for a tomorrow that you aren't sure of living unto and to add to all this, you hope that it'll be better. Hope is one more delusional thing, but lets not get into bed with hope now.

Who's the friend we forget here? The gift we all have - the PRESENT. It so beautifully cuts itself from yesterday and tomorrow and teaches you each day to live. Its a little strange that we don't really motivate people that today only can be better. Why should it be tomorrow? Because a meteor is waiting beyond Mars to come and hit us? Honestly, its the today that has to be strong. Knowing the capacity of each of you who's managed to read this, if you have come thus far, trust me, you'll be able to sustain yourself for a considerable future. Not a big concern, given that the average living age is on the decline anyway. So it is today, and in effect a throwback at time that way, for counting seconds on us. So, it would really be safe to say that its now. This very moment is a gift. What you do now is what counts. Not how much money you save, not what property you make. Its the memories that you create now. That's again, hoping that you'll live for a tomorrow, the one where you'll have time to sit with friends, sipping beer and laughing about it.

There, did I just bring in hope again?!

The new year and its perils

Well, yeah, I must say, I was a little taken into the custody of laziness and not being able to apportion right amounts of time. It appears that this phase lasted for 4 months. If you would want me to test my memory, I think I'm really growing old now. That, or I have had an overdose of written records going on to strain my (whatever) part of brain that is responsible for memory.

Phew. Happy new year! Boy, its been 2 months already. It appears that this year too, would end even before I'd realise it.

Honestly, I don't remember what has happened since the last blog in October. November is when I started working at the new workplace which is closer home. I get to travel in metro and all. Or ride, for like 15 minutes. We (the band) had a gig in end of December at Godrej Woodsman Estate. And December is when I started learning bass from one of the finest bassists I've ever seen - Shalini Mohan. January 10th was the album release and related exciting work. February was busy with preparation and running around for Aero India. There, not a bad memory after all.

Yeah, I wish I could have instead said a lot of things happening which is keeping me busy and I couldn't find time to blog, blah blah. But the truth is that I got a little too lazy probably. I assumed all the while that the blogs last year ran upto December. Such tragedy.

So, quite a few things happening with album seeing a global release (hey, you can buy it here - https://itunes.apple.com/in/album/blendzz/id967941868) and trying for gigs, planning for things to happen later on etc. And there is the big section of things that aren't happening. Things under control but not being exercised control over, things totally out of control which is no use worrying about, but you know how life works.

Let me just end with this as of now. And also with a hope that I'd get back in 4 weeks or so for the next entry.

Au revoir!