My Way..........

My Way is a beautiful song by Frank Sinatra.....sitting on the couch, listening to the song, I wonder if I would be able to proudly proclaim the wordings of this song when my end is near....

And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, Ill say it clear,
Ill state my case, of which Im certain.

Ive lived a life thats full.
Ive traveled each and evry highway;
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Regrets, Ive had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, Im sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.

Ive loved, Ive laughed and cried.
Ive had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.

To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
No, oh no not me,
I did it my way.

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!

Kaminey....a master piece

Ye ishq nahi aasaan...aji aag ka dariya hai....patwar pehen jana hai! Nobody could dare to attempt Ghalib in the way Gulzar has used in the Fatak song of Kaminey and penning the whole song with AIDS at its core. Kaminey is eye revealing, proving that Indian cinema is finally leaving its shell behind and coming of age. Shahid's lisp and stammer are so much believable and his portraying the role of identical twins is as different as chalk and cheese.
Kaminey is dark, rustic with a liberal concoction of Marathi, Bengali, Hindi and foreign langauage minus the subtitles (giving the audience some food for thought and poles apart from no-brainers we get these days!)
Hats off to Vishal for daring to attempt a story bought from anon Cajetan Boy and turning it into a master-piece.

Tuesdays with Morrie

"Life is a series of pulls, back and forth. You want to do one thing but you are bound to do something else"

"Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live"

"There are a few rules I know to be true about love and marriage: If you don't respect the other person, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you don't know how to compromise, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. If you can't talk openly about what goes on between you, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. And if you don't have a common set of values in life, you're gonna have a lot of trouble. Your values must be alike"

"Death ends a life, not a relationship"

"...if you're trying to show off for people at the top, forget it. They will look down on you anyhow. And if you're trying to show off for people at the bottom, forget it. They will only envy you. Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone"

"You have to find what's good and true and beautiful in your life as it is now. Looking back makes you competitive. And, age is not a competitive issue"

These are some of the gems from the book "Tuesdays with Morrie". It is the story of a teacher, a mentor Morrie Schwartz and his student Mitch Albom. The teacher is suffering from a degenerative disorder and before dying he wants to share his insights with his student.
"A must read to understand life and its lessons."

The Call

Nice and beautiful lyrics of the OST from the Chronicles of Narnia-Prince Caspian


It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word
And then that word grew louder and louder
'Til it was a battle cry
I'll come back
When you call me
No need to say goodbye
Just because every thing's changing
Doesn't mean it's never been this way before
All you can do is try to know
Who your friends are as you head off to the war
Pick a star on the dark horizon
And follow the light
You'll come back
When it's over
No need to say goodbye
You'll come back
When it's over
No need to say goodbye
Now, we're back to the beginning
It's just a feeling and no one knows yet
But just because they can't feel it too
Doesn't mean that you have to forget
Let your memories grow stronger and stronger
'Til they're before your eyes
You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say goodbye
You'll come back
When they call you
No need to say goodbye

Life-mate

Stumbling in life,shocked, amazed with the ways of the world,
Lost,confound, I met you while my visions were blurred
surreal, surreptitious, like refreshing breeze in a hot summer day
You blew my mind and took my heart away
Can't think of a way to thank you enough
I am glad that you gave me a reason to live, my love!

Pavagadh-Champaner trip

Weekends are a great time to escape frpm daily humdrums of life and what better way to explore some natural beauty. So, we packed our bags and headed off to Champaner which is around 50 kms from Vadodara. Champaner is a heritage site and Pavagadh is small hill with Mahakali temple on top off it.

A unique temple....

Stambheshwar Mahadev temple is situated at Kavi kamboi, 85 kms from Vadodara. This temple is unique as the shivling gets submerged in water everyday and one can have darshan for a limited period of time.

Nature

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more.

One shining stars v/s Two stars

Dr Diwakar Tejaswi, a leading HIV/AIDS expert physician is contesting this Loksabha elections from Patna Sahib seat against two stars-Shatrughan Sinha and Shekhar Suman.
In the democracy, where public votes decide the future of the candidate....pray that voters use their own mind!


http://www.patnadaily.com/news2009/apr/041809/doctor_seeks_support.html

Heat wave.....

This heat wave is killing. And in this scorching, skin burning heat, when you have to leave all the comforts of your house and your lovely car then only you would realise what is it all about. This is the exact thing happening with me when I have to come to BHU for the research work. On top of that, have to roam around on a Rickshaw at 2 in the noon, when it feels like the sun is slapping you blatantly on yur face for living in so much comfort and not realising the plight of the poor daily wage labourers, rickshaw pullers, traffic police and etc etc....But then nature has its own way of showing the reality!

Super Achiever

She comes exactly bang on time! Hardly takes a leave but when she takes it is for some very obvious reasons. Her Human resource management is perfect to the T. She may bring along some additional hands if the work pressure is difficult to handle. Moreover, her work is quite up to the mark, doesn't waste her time in dilly-dallying. Starts her work at 6:30 in the morning which means she starts her day at 5 and finishes her chores by 4 in the evening. Whats more, she manages her job and home perfectly well. She is unaffected by recession the way we mere mortals seem to be affected.
For me, she is a real super achiever! And my dear friends, she is none other than my maid. As they say, it is easier to get God these days but to get a good, time abiding, punctual maid is an uphill task. And I am so lucky to have one. Apart from her work, her qualities and efficiency in managing things impress me the most. Taking care of her three growing up kind (two of them are daughters in their teens, living and coping with an illiterate, good for nothing husband, her priority in life is to get her children educated and well settled.
I pray that all her wishes get fulfilled in life!