"Food for Thought"

by Anonymous

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings,
but shorter tempers;
wider freeways,
but narrower viewpoints;
we spend more,
but have less;
we buy more,
but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses
and smaller families;
more conveniences,
but less time;
we have more knowledge,
but less sense.
There are more experts,
but more problems;
more medicine,
but less wellness.

We talk too much,
love too seldom,
and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living,
but not a life;
we've added years to life,
not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back,
but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.

We've conquered outer space, but not inner space;
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul;
We've split the atom, but not our prejudice.
We have higher incomes, but lower morals;
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We've become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are the times of tall men, and short character;
steep profits, and shallow relationships.

These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare;
more leisure, but less fun;
more abundance of food, but less nutrition.
These are days of fancier houses, but broken homes.

It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom;
a time when technology can bring this letter to you,
and a time when you can choose either to make a difference...
or just hit delete.

"Only dead fishes follow the stream"

Fridge Magnets...

I love Fridge magnets...This is one Souvenir I must get back from my travels...apart from all the lovely memories and new friendships…
Should I really keep them on the fridge because this is what their name says? What when the fridge becomes too small? Should I buy a new, bigger fridge?

???

"If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?"

~Alexander Pope

Stray Birds

Another upside of the fractured foot is the amount of reading I have been doing these last few days...

Read Rabindranath Tagore's Stray Birds...simple and short verses but with so much depth...(well that is Tagore!!)
It contains thoughts on Nature, Man, and the Environment ...

Imagine yourself sitting by a window where the stray birds of summer sing and fly away...the thoughts are like these stray birds ...however they fly away to come back to you again and again...

Some of the verses that I enjoyed ...I actually enjoyed all...but I think I should leave you to read the them yourself..

6
If you shed tears when you miss the sun, you also miss the stars.

42
You smiled and talked to me of nothing and I felt that for this I had been waiting long

71
The woodcutter's axe begged for its handle from the tree.
The tree gave it.

113
The hills are like shouts of children who raise their arms,
trying to catch stars.

124
"In the moon thou sendest thy love letters to me," said the night to the sun.
"I leave my answers in tears upon the grass."

135
This rainy evening the wind is restless.
I look at the swaying branches and ponder over the greatness of all things.

A mind all logic is like a knife all blade.
It makes the hand bleed that uses it.

Rabindranath Tagore

My past life analysis!!!

This is what someone had to say about my past life...

"I don't know how you feel about it, but you were male in your last earthly incarnation. You were born somewhere in the territory of modern East Australia around the year 1825. Your profession was that of a philosopher and thinker."

Your brief psychological profile in your past life:
Timid, constrained, quiet person. You had creative talents, which waited until this life to be liberated. Sometimes your environment considered you strange.

The lesson that your last past life brought to your present incarnation:
It always seemed to you that your perceptions of the world are somewhat different. Your lesson is to trust your intuition as your best guide in your present life."

Hmmmm...interesting...very interesting...

Timid, constrained, quiet person...looks like I am making up for it in this life...

Sometimes your environment considered you strange ... Doesn't everyone think that the other person is strange (when opinions differ), the situation is strange (when it doesnot go their way)...

Doing our bit

Was going through some school snaps and 2 snaps bought back really fun memories…when school girls did their bit for the environment and society…

Dehra Dun and the hill station of Mussoorie were once abundant in lush green forests and gushing springs. However with so-called economic growth, lime stone mining and felling of trees became common. Limestone quarrying was a lucrative business and as usual in their greed they overdid it …destroying the natural limestone aquifers, causing soil erosion and environmental degradation

There was a court case by the people against the lime stone contractors, which led to closure of many of the mines but the damage had been done…

Every year Welhamites would go for tree plantation …I cant remember the figures of how many trees we planted… but I do remember it was loads…we would start off from school early in the morning with packed lunches and be back quite late…And in a place like Dehra Dun where it rains for 10 months in a year…we invariably got caught in showers…however that did not dampen our spirits …moreover if we reached a certain limit we would get 5 star chocolates (u can see Superna and Radhika waving their chocolates in the snap)…


In 1989 there were severe floods in India…causing loss of life and property…I remember the appeal by our principle Mrs Shanthi Varma. We needed to do something to help them …a decision that we would forego the curd from our lunch and pudding from dinner :-( for a week. The amount saved would be sent for relief operations…
But this did not seem enough…so we planned a sponsored walk… all the girls would get sponsorship @ 100 Rs/km and walk 12 kms from school through the city centre till Rajpur Road…
Since it was a hostel and we came from different parts of the world…it was not so simple…wherein we could just get our parents to sponsor us… we had to get in touch with the industrialists in Dehra Dun…I got my sponsorship from Toyota Cars…

Unusual fishing

Have you ever seen anyone catch or yourself caught fish with bare hands…no nets, no fancy rods….
In Kerala, that is how little boys make some quick money from tourists… We were in a house boat in the backwaters of Kerala and this little boy (not more than 12 years) is waving, screaming to get my attention…when I finally look at him he says…madam…for 5 Rs I will catch fish and show you…He does not even wait for me to agree and jumps into the water…and in a minute he is right next to our boat with a fish in his hand…and the cutest smile that I ever saw…

A White Christmas in Aberdeen – Dec 2004

It’s not that I’d never seen snow before….I studied in Dehra Dun (Doon Valley) and many times when it snowed in Mussorie, the kiddies (Class 1 – 3) would be taken up to Mussorie to see the snowfall…but it was always after the snow had fallen…and not during the snowfall…

Imagine my excitement …one typical morning ( a few days before Christmas) I open the door of my building ….everything is totally white…It was snowing….I could not control the skip in my walk…and as I crossed the road there was this car at the traffic signal covered in snow… I just could not resist….its as if there was music in the air coz skipping along I whiffed off the snow from the car with my hand…The driver looked at me …initially with a lil irritation but I guess happiness showed on my face and he could not help but gimme a smile…

At work too… my colleagues seemed to sense my excitement… someone comes up and says…Manpreet…have you ever made a snowman…its fun…u should try making one in the office garden during lunch time… I look at him… it did sound fun… but I knew everyone would think I was crazy…sensing my apprehension he offers to give me company… but with a lot of difficulty I let sense prevail and tell him its not such a good idea…not a done thing in office… but I made up for that as I went to Duthie Park during the weekend and made a snowman ….

As I was leaving for lunch, another colleague comes up…he’s worried…he wants to tell me to be careful while walking on the snow but at the same time does not want to sound rude and make me feel ignorant and foolish…he’s like…see my shoes…one needs a good grip while walking …especially since after some time the snow becomes very slippery…one should walk slowly and put one’s foot firmly on the ground…(I think all he really wanted to say was …stop hopping and skipping along on the road)

Perfect end to a beautiful day... as I walked out of office that evening …Phut…I got hit by a snow ball …from nowhere…and I was reminded of a Calvin & Hobbes strip …reproduced below

All Calvin and Hobbes images are copyright Bill Watterson

Jones Fracture

Jones fracture is a fracture of the fifth metatarsal of the foot. The fifth metatarsal is at the base of the small toe, and the proximal end, where the Jones fracture occurs, is in the midportion of the foot.

Wondering…what happened to this woman…what makes her write about a fracture…after all I haven’t shown any inclination to medicine in any of pervious writings…

:-( I have been struck…I had a small accident…just twisted my foot and fell…
Doc looks at the X-ray…says Jones fracture, puts me in cast and smiles…I considered giving him a box (for thinking itz funny)…but refrained…I didn’t want a broken hand too…
I think he got a hint of my intentions…for with the same sweet smile he says..
Grounded for 1 week…no walking…
Next 3 weeks take it easy….
And if you don’t listen I shall keep you in hospital…

Me….sit still for 1 week…he must be crazy…I can’t sit still for an hour…

Today is my 6th day in the cast…and I am irritated and bugged and fed up and …and … at a loss of words to explain my frustration

The only upside of this whole situation is the color of the cast…a very pretty blue…

Now I know why they tell you to put your head between your knees on crash landings. You think you're going to kiss your ass good-bye.

~Terry Hanson

Chak de, Hockey and Welhams…

Last week I watched Chak de…brilliant movie…one which makes you laugh during the movie and keep you smiling long after…

SRK was good…really good…but the girls were better….
The characters were really sketched well…the girls came from diverse backgrounds …and believe me they did an exceptionally good job…. The Haryanvi (Komal Chautala) and the Punju (Balbir Kaur) were excellent… their language, actions, behaviour…

I had a friend in college…he used to say… generally Indian women are good looking but the women from Chandigarh are the best… they are really smart and good looking…seems like whoever sketched the team for this movie also believed that…

And then the scene where the Telugu goes to register for the training camp and the guy doing the registration says "Tamil aur Telugu mein kitna faraq hai?" …so matter of factly…The girl doesn’t take affront; but replies nonchantly "Utna hi, jitna Punjabi aur Bihari mein hai."…excellent one!!!

This movie reminded me of my hockey days in Welhams…


I can still hear the cheerleaders singing…

Rub a dub a dub…the Woodies in the tub…
We’ll rub them and we’ll scrub them and hang them on the line…
Oh we can beat the Woodies any old time!
(Woodies refers to Woodpeckers, one of the houses in Welhams...I was in Hoopoes..There was immense competition in Hockey between Woodies and Hoopoes)

Another one which i remember..
A has the brains
B has the looks
C has the sexy legs
To make Hoopoes win the game !!!

(In reality...A would be the one who comes 1st from the bottom in class
B would be the not so gud looking one
C would be the one with the thundering thighs...
but we all didnt mind...it was taken in true sportwomenship..)

Salzburg – Austria – August 2006

We reached Salzburg after a bit of an adventure…from the Vienna airport we took a bus to the railway station…but got off at East Banhoff instead of West Banhoff (or was it the other way around???) … anyways a tram to the correct stop and train to Salzburg…Mozart, Sound of Music and of course the cafes…apple strudel and the world famous Sachertorte…the bittersweet chocolate cake from Cafe Sacher …

As soon as we walked out of the station there was a café…we had to stop there…I think that’s the only place I relished milk so much… The gal at the counter was so sweet…she was really excited to see us…the first thing she asks…INDIA?? And when we say yes…she gushes…I love Bollywood..Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerjee…She tells us that she watches all his movies..they are dubbed in German …except the songs…WOW…
I really wanted to watch the dubbed version…however to go all the way to Austria and watch a Bollywood movie…my aunt would have beaten me up…

Neetu, our travel agent, had booked us in a small but very nice, quaint family run hotel. Hotel Lasserhof, inspite of a very convenient location in the city centre has a very quiet and tranquil environment. After a quick freshen up we decided to visit some of the surrounding alpine towns close to Salzburg…


Zell am See, located on the Lake Zeller See, is a picturesque little town…we took a leisurely stroll along the lakeside promenade … then sitting silently by the lake staring at the snow covered peaks in the background…My aunt just didn’t want to move from there…
But we were hungry….and the pavement cafes in the town centre were very inviting…

After getting something to eat we took a bus to Kaprun…the ride from Zell am See to Kaprun is beautiful… Kaprun is another charming alpine town …walking through the streets just enjoying the scenery …the wooden houses with bright flowers in pots hanging over the balconies…town was more like a garden in mid air…

The next day we planned to do the ‘Sound of Music tour’ … we had a pick up at 9:00 AM from the hotel…Peter, our guide was reallllllyy good…. At the end of the tour I couldn’t stop myself from telling him that he would make a better Maria than Julie Andrews… He spoke non stop from the beginning till the end…and not rubbish…he was very very entertaining….

The wonderful tour takes one through Salzburg and then the picturesque lake district… what breathtaking views of the landscape …and constant commentary by Peter as to which scene of the film was shot where… he would also pointed out the historical and architectural landmarks in the city … all this interspersed with his jokes….

The sites that we visited were the Leopoldskron Castle, the Trapp family home … the Leopoldskron Lake in the front of the castle is where the children fell whilst boating… The Hellbrunn Castle where the glass pavillion or gazebo was reconstructed in the gardens. Nonnberg Abbey is the oldest convent in the German speaking part of Europe. Maria was a novice there. The baron and Maria were married here in 1927. Some of the scenes for the movie were also shot here…

We had a shopping / souvenir buying stop at St.Gilgen and Lake Wolfgang …but I was too busy just appreciating this beautiful village that I had very little time for the shopping….

Tea break at Mondsee…the strudel is something to die for…so said Peter..and he was right… the best in the world…

Finally back to Salzburg to visit the Mirabell Gardens where Maria and the children were seen dancing around the statue of Pegasus, the winged horse, and throughout the gardens singing 'Do-Re-Mi'. Beautiful flowers, statues, fountain, palace combined with nice weather helped us relax…

From there we took a walk across the Salzach River to the so called old part of Salzburg… with its carefully preserved majestic Baroque architecture…

And to end the day…a Mozart concert at the Mirabell Gardens…good stuff…specially Pa-pa-pa-pa-Papagena….

Children make you want to start life over.

~Muhammad Ali…

Every time I spend my time with children…I marvel at their innocence… they never seem to hold anything against you …

Bhargava (aged 3…I think) …will insist that I stay over at his place or spend some more time with him every time I visit their place …last time he even hid my purse so that I couldn’t go home… friends will say… u better just sneak off quietly but that is something I cannot do…so I make some excuse to go home… and a promise that I will visit again the next day…am ashamed to say it’s a promise which I have never kept…

But still the next time I visit, the excitement to see me is the same… and I wish I could always be a kid…

Reminds me of the theatrical adaptation of Peter Pan I saw as a kid in Delhi…with a very nice song…I won't grow up ..part of the lyrics reproduced below…

I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up
Not me,
Not I,
Not me!
So there!
Never gonna be a man,
I won't!
Like to see somebody try
And make me.
Anyone who wants to try
And make me turn into a man,
Catch me if you can.
I won't grow up.
Not a penny will I pinch.
I will never grow a mustache,
Or a fraction of an inch.
'Cause growing up is awfuller
Than all the awful things that ever were.
I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up,
No sir,
Not I,
Not me,
So there!