New Life, New Lessons

Hello Reader,

For eighteen years, I had been living in a small city called Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. That was my world; I was born there, I got educated there and made many friends. Though I was getting all the love and care, and the best colleges post high school, I decided to move out; not because I was not happy but because I wanted to experience living in a new city, meeting different people and getting more exposure which lacked otherwise. So, I told my parents that I want to study in some other city, far from home and become more independent. My parents were not very happy about me leaving the house but anyways, they supported me. I wrote the entrance exams for many colleges and finally got a college In Bangalore.

As the train left the station, I was getting teary eyed as I watched my parents wave me goodbye. But, I was also excited about the start of an all new life and about living in a big city like Bangalore.  And, this important step of mine gave me the best four years of my life. I, obviously, felt homesick in the initial days. Then, I started making friends and meeting new people from different cultures and having different ways of speaking, with a mixture of local slangs and dialects. It was all very good. Along with my engineering course, I also discovered in me, a love for writing. And, then I started writing poems and short stories and my diary writing became more frequent. I often wonder, had I not taken that step of leaving home, I would have never known that I can write. I never expected that I would meet people who are now my best friends ever.

Before coming to Bangalore, I had made many assumptions based on the little knowledge I had and I learnt many life lessons along with the course, which proved my assumption wrongs many a times. I was a lazy guy but I became independent and had no other choice but to do my own work, because now my mother was too far away.

So, like that went the four years, crawling, falling and much learning. I got used to the streets of Bangalore. It sort of became my muse. Then, one day, post-college, I got a call letter for my first job which transferred me to Delhi NCR. I had a choice to stay in Bangalore and look for a job there or leave the city and go to Delhi. I chose to move again. I had the same feeling which I had while leaving my hometown. And now, I am meeting a different breed of people and tasting absolutely different cuisines. But, each change is a new learning experience and is much better than staying at the same place all your life. And, I say yes to A New Life.

#StartANewLife

-Ashish

Together, We Rock

Hello Reader,

It was a usual Monday morning and my roommates were getting ready to go to their offices. But there was something else going on in my mind. I wanted to execute our unplanned plan of going to Manali.  As they were about to open the door to leave, I stopped them and said, “Okay, let’s go”. But, they did not believe me and left for their offices.  

I got up quickly and made a few important phone calls to my home and to my office to inform them that I‘ll be away for a while. Then I called up my friends who had left and asked them to return back home right away and pack their bags. And, yes they returned back home from their half ways.

By the dusk, we were already in the outskirts of Delhi. I looked out of the bus’s window and saw the people going back to their homes from work and I thought, “I would have been staring at a computer screen right now, had I not made this impromptu get away plan.”

Next morning, I was in a snow covered Manali with two of my good friends. Once we got down from the bus, we were surrounded by travel agents who showed us different packages and hotels. We made it clear to them that we are looking for places which are not too much crowded and wanted to go on the roads less taken. Although, it could not take place exactly how we expected as many roads were under repair work due to the weather conditions. But, we had the best three days ever. We strolled around the Manali town, talking to local people and eating the local dishes. We walked on the snow covered valleys and climbed up to a rocky cave we found on top of a waterfall, we sat there and just felt the solace. That’s what we were there for, to listen to the silence. We couldn’t have got a better get away from all the hustle-bustle of the city life. Talking to the local people, we learnt many new things. And, more importantly, we were together and letting ourselves go, something we don’t often get to do because of the hectic schedules.

We often make big issues out of small first-world-problems and lose all our hope and become gloomy. We think all the burden is on our shoulders even after having an access to all the resources. But, we should learn from those locals who are living on those hilly terrains with such less resources and yet, they are chilled out and stay happy. They are the ones who are living on the edge, every day.

So, after being at such heavenly place, with such lovely people, I was back with a lot of experiences and memories of the time spent together with my friends and I look up to live with much more optimism in everything I am working on.  

#Together

- Ashish

Poem: Morning Tea

Milk makes you mighty

but someday that’d decay

because life is tough,

on this Milky Way.

So, add some essence,

let Tea leaves cast a spell

and wait for the herbs, 

to seep-in well.

Then, savour vitality,

in the little cardamom seeds

and in ginger-shaped randomness,

in your regular deeds .

Worry not about the aftermath

because sweetness has none

And, keep stirring Sugar, 

Until, you’re done.

Leaf through the Daily,

and take a yawn

Sip in the morning tea 

and, keep moving on.

-Ashish

Rant: the good days

We talk about development and about good days
and then there are sources
Bad, evil
who pull us back, back into the orthodox times
and thoughts so backward
yet they dare to preach it to the public
Stupidity is shot and sold in open markets
With hoardings showing fancy faces
and advertising plastic promises
And we talk about development
while disrespecting our own roots,
making judgments based on half-baked theories
coming straight from the corrupt minds
of Bad, evil
sinister ministers playing strip poker with us;
a game which we always lose
and get lost in the madhouse maze
of unsolvable paradoxes with bilateral answers
of which to believe, we are not sure enough
and while we think and send some of our brainy representatives
to put forward our say
on public debates where curtains fall
before a conclusive climax
which are held on expensive podiums
owned and run by
the Bad, evil
criminal minded shenanigans who broadcast filth in broad daylight
and have the audacity to hire defence lawyers
to justify their intended crime
and then some black coats are found,
just ‘black coats’ because there’s no human in there,
waving their participation into the missions
of hiding dark deeds in darker coats
making uncountable victims’ resilient tears collect
In the dusty, old and unread files
on a shelf of a slacker’s office
and censoring every quiet shriek of openness
and banning every bit of thoughtful art
which died in a want to yell the bitter truth
to an audience, oblivious of logic
and we talk about development
where people still need to be fed by a spoon
about the basic facts of being normal
providing a vulnerable, dirty habitat where
Rises the Bad, evil
which comes back again and again in different avatars
of demagogues, lecturing hate
of lawyers, advocating lies
of godmen (fraudmen), preaching terror
hurdling us, on our path towards the good days
pulling us back, back into the orthodox times
from where, we the junta
have been trying to free ourselves
by voting for the lesser corrupt
and they win, the prodigal hooligans
who vandalise every street with their dominion,
and spray cans
with which they paint every wall in dark bold letters:
RULES THE BAD, EVIL
giving out the idea of dystopia
and we fall for it
and we walk along with it
keeping an eye on the clock, waiting
with a few, quiet outcries
for the good days.

-Ashish

Look Up for Hope

Hello Reader,

Nothing is more disturbing and noisier than the confused thoughts in our head. It’s a mental traffic jam where on every side of the road, the cars and vehicles are stuck, honking horns. The flow stops and everything becomes stagnant. Then, nothing starts to make sense and the thoughts become negative. This leads to stress, sleeplessness and a lot of hair pulling. You can trust me because I have been through it and the worst place anybody can ever get stuck is in their own mind. I have been stuck at more dangerous places like forests and have driven through unsafe roads at night but there is always a hope there and milestones telling that I am on the right path. But, this case makes you lose your hope and very negative thoughts starts to sprout.

And why did it happen to me? May be, post college life generally gives you a little more stress. Life becomes more chaotic and it is natural to happen. The reasons are the same old ones: chronic, home-to-work-work-to-home routine, dearth of a social circle, missing the happening college days, missing friends and family, paying bills and you know the rest. So, much of it gets piled up and the repetitive cycle just never ends. And, then fear embarks killing every little hope and refuses to accept the fact that the good old days are not coming back.

It also hurdled my writing a lot. It took days to work out the thoughts and to find clarity in chaos. Then, one day, some of my friends and I decided to take a break and go on a road trip. So, we backed our bags and went away to the hill stations of Uttarakhand. We stayed there at places which were unplanned and drove to random places and beautiful locations and it wall all a very wonderful experience. I remember when I woke up one morning and the world around me was such a panoramic beauty, eyes opened to see the Himalayan Mountains and the mighty river Ganges flowing along and the sun rays falling on it were the rays of new hope. It was absolutely refreshing and it felt like all the negativity has vanished. It is just about taking little step out of our usual box. I had all the answers that morning and mind could feel the openness in the healing breeze.

And that day I decided to take some trips frequently and make travel a must-do every possible time. Because, staying at one place for too long is really bad for the growth of our brains. And to keep the negativity away and for welcoming positive thoughts, it is very important to travel. Travelling fills you up with great optimism and gifts you many memories to live with.

Before signing off, here is a picture from that trip. Hope. Be positive. Live Happy.

Look Up


-Ashish