Wedding Invite

Hello Everyone,

Because you have shared in our Lives by your friendship and love, we

Gaurav

and

          Sowmya        

along with our Parents, Invite you to share

The beginning of our new life Together

When we exchange marriage vows.

We are extremely excited about our wedding and cannot begin to express how thrilled we are to share this special day with all of you.

Each one of you have touched our lives in some way and hope that you all will be there with us for the joyous occasion.

We will remember as the magical time in our lives, when Three Sacred Knots, Seven Sacred Steps around the Holy Fire, Blessings of Elders & Wishes from Friends make us one Soul Forever.

Date and Venue:

Wedding on Wednesday, 2nd of January 2013

At Sri Guru Raghavendra Krupa Mandira Kalyana Mantapa

# 556/A, New Kantaraja Uras Road, Kuvempu Nagara, Mysore - 570 023

Reception:

We Invite you to share with us,
As we Celebrate the union of our lives and our families
at the Dinner reception that will be held on
Saturday, 5th of January, 2013
between 7:00 PM to 9.00 PM at Suprabhat Hotel,
Habsiguda ‘X’ Roads, Hyderabad

Occasions are Occasional but your presence is Sensational.........................

...................Awaiting for your Presence!!!!!!!

Hope to see you soon on Our Marriage!

Chanakya of my L!fE

Adi Shakti, Namo Namah;

Sarah Shaakti, Namo Namah;

Prithum Bhagvati, Namo Namah;

Kundalini Mata Shakti;

Mata Skakti Namo Namah.

These were the chants of the sheer genius of the greatest political, economic and military strategist the world has ever seen- Chanakya. Will the above chants of his work again? Anybody after reading the best seller "Chanakya's chant" by Amish will start believing it. The chant is mesmerizing and I must thank a very dear friend - swetha for lending this novel to me!

Wars are not always won by bloodshed battles, but by a good strategy and equally efficient execution. The strategy that Chanakya followed and who enthroned Chandragupta Maurya, and similar strategy by Gangadhar -a Pandit of modern India from Kanpur makes his disciple become the most powerful woman in the country. I fell in love with these two mighty characters.

The book is an inter-weaving story between the present and a time 2300 years ago. If the ancient tales can still be compared so effectively to our today’s contemporary lives; so by comparing the Chandraguptas to every common man who has succeeded in achieving something worthy in his life, there must be a Chanakya behind each one of us. A person who is worth being called as our mentor, a guru, a beloved person; who can live a selfless life for your wellbeing and for the welfare of the society. On the occasion of Guru Pournima I would like to thank every  teacher who gave this eternal life to me. My good wishes to each one of them....... as ever!

Quotacracy

My excitement was sky high after having booked the ticket for Aarakshan and the excitement was no less than winning Roulette spinning game in Vegas. But after reaching the cinema hall got to know that the movie release is still on hold and yet to be released in Hyderabad (AP), so had to end up watching some other movie. Movie was about to begin and I saw a dark old man in Khaadi sitting next to me  who resembled more like P. L. Punia (National Commission for Scheduled Castes chairman). Fortunately it wasn’t him and my anger swiftly fell like the stock market; before more questions pileup in my mind thought better to glue at the 70MM screen.

Remember P. L. Punia???  The one who attained fame overnight by claiming that Aarakshan is anti-dalit! Though his effort went in vain, but was in the limelight for making insignificant attempt in resisting the movie from being released (released in most states). He said that the objectionable scenes of Aarakshan should be removed from the movie; however he later realized that he didn’t even watch the movie, so demanded Prakash Jha to arrange a private screening of this movie before the release.

          Sounds stupid and appears to be a clear intention of seeking publicity knowing the fact that it’s no big deal seeking media attention these days. Giving a political dimension to any issue has become as daily dose. Whether it be social element, Sports, religion, and now the latest being entertainment. Certainly this approach has become a gateway to vote bank. Why we speak about empowerment when you demand for reservation. I would rather prefer to call such pimps as RACISTs who resist an artist from expressing his feelings in whichever form he is good at, than someone who call Dalit as Dalit. Prakash Jha proved to be one of the super talent houses in the field of Indian cinema showing the so-called real India.

Where were these ministers when MF.Hussain was gaining popularity by portraying the pictures of nude Indian goddesses in the name of “Art” and “Freedom of expression”. Art is to soothe human mind and not to spread hatred. Then why now these morons are so obsessed about this movie? Just because they got a hint that the movie has something to do with caste based reservations. The movie again is a media to express your feelings, without hurting others emotions and beliefs.

My comments are not against any religion/caste or any faction of people, but against the belief that having reservations would help the society prosper. Has implementing this reservation system really helped the downtrodden? We need to understand that the reservation system only divides the society leading to discrimination and conflicts between different sections. When the things are prioritized on the basis of merits only then we can achieve a healthy and competitive world. It was always my belief that any country's constitution should be updated. The constitutional amendments made by our ancestors shouldn’t be considered as bible, coz the Laws that were made 60 years from now aren't very useful these days. Hope law someday brings a few changes that eradicate the Quota system to ensure best gets the pie.

        “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers"

Yahan kaun itnaa kareeb hai

 

Movies and Music have the power to change the lives. Personally movies like Anand, Safar, Dasvidaniya did make an impact on my life as mentioned in my earlier blog. On the other hand, Ghazals preaches the philosophies. Jagjit Singh's ever green "Woh Kagaz ki Kashti" still remain my all-time fav. 

              

        Last night while driving back home got to hear this melodious ghazal from Jagjit Singh, that took me back to those wonderful days @ HCL. Then it wasnt just about the passion for work but also the pride I had for my Brand and the fun I cherished with my amazing team, making me think what I lost compared to what I gained in this forgettable one year period..... Regret having made a wrong decision last year, and the only thing I can say now is "Ye jo hijr hai ye naseeb hai".

 

Lyrics

Koi dost hai na raqeeb hai
tera shehar kitnaa ajeeb hai

wo jo ishq thaa wo junoon thaa
ye jo hijr hai ye naseeb hai

yahan kiska chehra padha karoon
yahan kaun itnaa kareeb hai

main kise kahoon mere saath chal
yahan sab ke sar pe saleeb hai

tujhe dekhkar mai hu sochta
Tu habib hai ya raqeeb hai

WikiLeaks Era...

Documents released by Wikileaks speaks volumes about the DC and Barack Obama administration. It reveals more than what it could have hid. I learned more details on Rob Lorinov's blog. It suggests how the State Dept. poked every other counterpart of various nations.

• The documents further reveal that according to a US Embassy assessment from Moscow Medvedev “plays Robin to Mr. Putin’s Batman.”
• In another report North Korea’s leader Kim Jong il was described as a “flabby old chap” who has “physical and psychological trauma” due to a stroke.
• French President Sarkozy is a “thin skinned and authoritarian personal style” type leader according to the US embassy in Paris. 

As an Indian I was more concerned about what the DC thinks about us. The explosive WikiLeaks hit hard the Indo-US ties as one of the disclosures revealed that the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called India a ‘self appointed’ UNSC frontrunner and ordered spying of the country’s bid to become a permanent member of the body. Hillary directed US diplomats to spy??? Sounds so silly. WE should think seriously, why give this woman the time of day...

Others say Obama has offered a ticket to the UNSC contingent on India paying a ticket fee: it must support the US position on Iran and Myanmar. Wrong, and wrong again. Obama`s support is like a ticket for the first commercial flight to Mars: a favour no doubt, but one so far off in the future that most of us will be dead before it happens. Lets hope it was a great lesson for DC and may their counterparts of other states forgive them.

kuchh kar guzarne ko.....

Will we ever get a chance to hear some good news from the world of politics? First it was IPL, CWG-2010, then 2G spectrum scam, and now injustice in Ruchika molestation case. Will these erroneous stands end someday? From each of the above mentioned subject matters, one lesson we could learn is, Money and Power rules this nation, and should better think twice before calling it as biggest DEMOCRATIC. Noticing all these incidents happening around are provoking indeed and at the sametime you know there is nothing much you can do about it.

What made CBI take such stand in Ruchika’s case and what do they mean by saying  “The allegations could not be substantiated as per the documentary evidence and oral testimony of witnesses". Justice was expected atleast here in the case of the budding tennis player. 

 Jayalalitha Offering UPA a support and asking to sack Raja is a strong sign of acquiring throne and nothing else. Can AIADMK ever be loyal to BJP-aka NDA? About Raja! there is nothing much left to speak about the tainted and beleaguered Union Telecom minister who made the country bear a loss of worth 1,40,000 crores. 

IPL4 controversy is one such easy chapter to analyze how well Power and money rules the world. Lalith Modi, the brain child of IPL was thrashed by BCCI Supremes who was being given all credit for the invention of a money minting machine called INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE. Isn’t that for money, fame by the people in power?

When driving down life’s highway, rip off the rearview mirror, bcoz you can never go forward looking back. In other way we can say, when life throws you lemons make lemonade. Dying to hear something good…may be in the form of Thumbs-up to India’s bid for permanent UNSC seat and/or big statistics in medal tally @ Guangzhou Asian games. 

Khoon Chala - Rang...

kuchh kar guzarne ko khoon chala khoon chala
aankhon ke sheeshe mein utarne ko khoon chala
badan se tapak kar, zameen se lipatkar
galiyon se raston se ubharkar, umadkar
naye rang bhar ne ko khoon chala khoon chala
 
khuli-si chhoT lekar, baRi-si tich lekar ahista ahista
sawaalon ki ungli, jawaabon ki mutthi
sang lekar Khoon chala
kuchh kar guzarne ko khoon chala khoon chala
 
kuchh kar guzarne ko khoon chala khoon chala
aankhon ke sheeshe mein utarne ko khoon chala
badan se tapak kar, zameen se lipatkargaliyon se raston se ubharkar, umadkar

khoon chala khoon chala

Forgiving others is the best Virtue....

How often do we forgive people for their mistakes? Though we know, as a human being you are bound to make mistakes unintentionally. At that very moment why not we try to control our nerves and think for a while- the morals which we all might have been taught in our babyhood. I would share a chronicle which I read few days ago and realized how true it is. Here we go....

A kindergarten teacher decided to let her class play a game. The teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few potatoes. Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates, so the number of potatoes that a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number of people he/she hates.

So when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with the name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2 potatoes; some 3 while some up to 5 potatoes.

The teacher then told the children to carry with them the potatoes in the plastic bag wherever they go (even to the toilet) for one week. Days after days passed by, and the children started to complain due to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes. Besides, those having 5 potatoes also had to carry heavier bags. After one week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended.

The teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you for one week?" The children let out their frustrations and started complaining of the trouble that they had to go through having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go.

Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game. The teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just one week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your lifetime???"

Throw away any hatred for anyone from your heart. Forgiving others is the best attitude to take!

“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and then discover that the prisoner was you”

O man! Forgive thy mortal foe Do not give him blow for blow Forgive him seventy times and seven For all the blessed souls in Heaven Were both forgivers and forgiven.

^s Ever , 
G @ u r @ v

Aman ki Asha....

For a split second it was a moment of shocker which created chaos of questions, and hope, same was the state of mind of every Indian(to be more precise) when saw the first page of Times of India on 2010 New year day. The words written in Bold: "LOVE PAKISTAN" was indeed the words wouldn’t have expected no matter what the issue is. After reading the whole matter (which is displayed in below pic) made me realize that forgiveness is the most courageous thing to do.

AMAN ki ASHA is an initiative by Times of INDIA and PAKISTAN's Jang group ( not sure why this group was named as Jung when they want to spread peace). But the best part of this movement was the Music concerts which are still considered as a strong media besides trade for conveying the peace and brotherhood.

Lines from the times article:

The lines above make sense only when it makes sense to the neighbours too; else it would be more like clapping with one hand and pretending that we are hearing the clap louder than ever. however more touching was amitabh bachchan's video on aman ki asha. where he says:

Dikhai dete hain dur tak ab bhi saye koi, 
Magar bulane se waqt laute na aye koi.
Chalo na phir se bichaye dariya, bajaaye dholak, 
Lagaa ke mehndi surile tappe sunaye koi.

Patang Udhaye,  Chaton Pe Chadh Kar Mohalle Wale, 
Falak Toh Sanjha Hai Us Main Peche Ladaye Koi.
Utho, kabaddi kabaddi khelenge sarhado par ,
Jo aye ab ke to laut kar phir na jaye koi.

Nazar main rehte ho jab tum nazar nahi aate,
Ye sur milate hain jab tum idhar nahi aate....

In lakeeron ko zameen par hi rehene do, dilo pe mat utaarna

Pursuit of Happyness

People aspire to be happy, some people pretend to be happy and the phase of my life today falls in the 3rd slice of being real happy. I find myself clinging to the stage of life I am in at the time. I must be lying if I say I didn’t have any little anxiety at the same time. BSNL disconnecting me from internet was an inconceivable reason for blogging after long time and the obvious reason for irate and anxiety. A new baby embedded in the family to make good things look bigger and better, spreading smiles all around, and secondly, a bloSSom in personal life aswell changed my mechanical life these days.

You find people exploring for happiness in what they believe happiness lies in. A person of Mother Theresa kind will find happiness in serving a deserted and deprived. Micheal Jackson pursed the happiness in dancing, Bin Ladens in demolishing the towers, and Rakhi Sawant kind-of might experience in SwayamvarS :p

HappYness seems to be related to the way we live our lives with those things that we have already.

Consider today as better than yesterday, and Enjoy each and everyday, moment as it comes, Tomorrow is like shining sun, Today is like bright moon and Yesterday was darken day.

Let me share a small sweet story with you: There once was a very wealthy and successful man. He had more money than he could ever spend and he was admired and looked up to by his community. Still, he knew that something was missing in his life. He wasn’t happy. All his life he had pursued happYness and strived for happiness but had never been able to find it.

Then one day he heard about a hidden temple in Nepal that had a special room that contained the secret to happYness. He immediately sold all that he owned and set out to find this hidden temple. After many years of searching and countless hardships he arrived there. He was weary and pennyless, but he knew that none of that mattered now that he had found the temple.

It doesn’t matter what our outer circumstances are either, because the Kingdom of Heaven is within us. Don’t spend the rest of your life searching the world for happYness then. Just look in the mirror and laugh. Just let the happYness flow from your heart, mind, and soul until it fills your life and the lives of all those around you.

“HappYness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you”.

Time to wrap-up with a song: This is from a Kannada movie Love Guru. I don’t remember if I ever heard any song as many times as this one. Still this is listed as my favorite and on top of my music playlist in my SONY W705 and is my caller tune too. This song is dedicated to a special person who brought a new dimension and happYness in my life these days. Njoy.

Tangaali Tandeya.m...

Tangali

tandeya nanna baalali Sangaathi aaguva savikanasali Kai jaari hodeya nanna preethiya mannalli hootheya nagutha nagutha Kunthu ninna kaala kelage naa hoovu elidantha galige ningeke nanna preethi gothehaagade hoithu yashtondu saari naa manasondirade ninn munde ondondu saarinu ariyade yeke nee hode ee haneyalli ninna olava geechilla brahma.. oooooo.. oooo.. ninge anisillavenu ningagi bandonu naanu ee nanna kanna bhashe ode illa neeneke ee gaali kanalla anubhava ondu sullalla ee preethi heegeke helade thiliyode illa ee nija ariya munna kaledu kotte naa ninna...oooo....ooo... Tangali tandeya nanna baalali Sangaathi aaguva savikanasali Kai jaari hodeya nanna preethiya mannalli hootheya nagutha nagutha

This blog title and ‘Y’ in happYness are inspired by Will Smith’s super movie “Pursuit of HappYness”