Closure

And so we came to a close of Darling. There can be more than one way of perceiving things and due to different situations that a person is in, simple things might look very different. Forgive me if I intentionally or unintentionally offended/hurt any of you during any of the posts in this blog. My humble and sincere apologies. These are only my views. These may in fact change with time and experience...

To all those readers, friends, who have appreciated me, given feedback for improving, suggested me to continue writing, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I felt really joyous every single time that you have talked about my blog. You have been and will remain to be Darling. There are things which I once thought of writing but didn't. Didn't get that emotion when I had the time and couldn't manage the time when I had the rush in mind. So may be some other day some other place. Until we meet again...

Keep smiling. Take care. Have fun.


Cheers :)
Aditya

14th Feb The Last One - 6

I was in love once or at least I thought I was. Yes, we are not together anymore. We barely talk, not because I have a problem in talking with her, but because she never started talking after she left. It is a little weird thing, the way we parted away, no fight, no long discussions, she just told me and I accepted. May be it was the long gap, could be my fickle mindedness. Actually, we hardly met each other, may be three or four times in those two to three years. Now they call these by a fancy abbreviation "LDR" Long Distance Relationships. Some are very sure that they don't work out. I differ in opinion. Whatever it was (infatuation, someone said) it fell apart. I am not a heartless, emotionless person, so Yes, I felt bad, sad, depressed, deeply disappointed. But thanks to that being my final semester at college, there were lot of things and people who kept me occupied and pulled me out of that pit. If you are wondering, what all I did after the separation, then there is nothing interesting there... I just used to blabber a lot, crib, like one hell of a crybaby, think and rethink about what went wrong and all this was probably for a week or so. Later, as I said before, I let myself get occupied with carroms, basketball, badminton, smriti, major project and of course treats, one last month of the final year after all.

It is not that I never thought about it again. Thoughts kept coming back to me. Thoughts like, may be she is just playing with me, may be it is all a bad joke. There were times when I wondered "what if she comes back now". But eventually all that faded away and I had truce with my thoughts. I am happy that I don't have to feel sad when I look back. I am thankful to her for not making it a mess. I am happy that we met and got close, for she, without doubt, was one of the best I knew caring, considerate, polite, sweet and of course lovable. As I moved on I fell in love again. and once again and once more. Just kidding. As I moved on I had my own new experiences and heard many other stories, of some who didn't express, some who got separated, some who found love again and of course of some who are with their first love. And with every single story or incident my definition for a good relationship took shape.

There is no perfect couple. The couple has to make themselves perfect for each other. You won't find someone custom made for you. As and when you know more and more about someone you like, you might find one or two things which you may not have expected. What matters is whether you are able to adjust with those one or two against the remaining awesomeness that attracted you towards him/her. No one will stay exactly as they are. Surroundings have influence, careers have influence, peers have influence, parents have influence, even movies have influence. Some minor modifications in personality keep happening. That is why it is important to communicate well, whatever feelings you have for the other one. At the same time, there are two vital things, Trust and Commitment. Love is one thing. If you can understand it in the right way, I could say I have fallen in love with many. There are certain things, behaviours, beliefs, philosophies (could be anything) which make them special and so you love them. But you wouldn't want to marry them all. How committed you feel inside yourself for the other person is what I believe truly defines it all. And that is why I believe that there is nothing like "LDRs do not work out". If the two have immense faith in each other and have a strong commitment then the two shall always be happy together. Issues are there. Issues are always there. It is upto people whether to split up and give up or to face those issues together until they are solved, to be happy ever after.

It is not just about people in love. The same is true for married couples. For that matter it is true for any relation what-so-ever, family relatives, friends, business partners. Adjustments are to be done now and then. We are humans and all of us have egos, sentiments, emotions, feelings. But we have also been bestowed with the power to use something called "brain". So let us use it at times when required and let us not jump to drastic decisions but think, apply some sense and then take the right step.

Cheers
Aditya

P.S. Closure

4th Feb The Last One - 5

I accidentally noticed this date on the calendar and saw that it is Basant Panchami. They used to celebrate Saraswati Puja really well in the university. I think they do even now. The lights of SAC illuminating the idol of Maa Saraswati, the Prasad, the crowd. For me college was always fun not just because of the friends, the fun and frolic, but also because of my studies and work. After being somewhat away from such a continuous study and that style of working I came to know how much I miss it. Back in those days I didn't study very well and now I want to get things right but it is as if I have totally lost touch.

My mother always suggested me (she does even now) that I should read more, that spending more time with books is better for me (After some real good experience-with and thinking-about lot of things I have come to realise that I feel more pleasant and peaceful when I am with books) The first novel I read was probably during my secondary schooling. But that didn't become a very regular habit. I used to read once in a while, some fiction novel, during university. I read a few after joining my job here in Gurgaon, but haven't been able to do much reading recently. In fact, only recently I realised that I am unable to sit for studying continuously for longer time (you may read longer as nearly 20 minutes). So this is what people meant when they said if you want to do higher studies do it right after your bachelor's, it is very difficult to do it after joining job. The stubborn fellow that I have been always, I believed I can handle it, said I'll do it my way and here I am, stuck up with less than a fortnight before my entrance exam for Master's, wondering if I will be able to attempt the complete paper.

Now I think I somewhat understand why they say "Knowledge is Power" and "Knowledge is divine" . There was this day last month when I was working on something in the office. I stayed back after my working hours to finish up some work. Instead of just finishing it up and going home, I started studying how the whole thing worked and what thing actually meant. That day I got back to my room at around 10 in the night. But there was no strain in my body or mind. All there was, was the happiness that I understood something substantial. It wasn't the whole of it but it definitely was something important, which I didn't know or may be just didn't realise before. Typing this reminds me of how I used to be like, how much I loved to read through initial pages of textbooks while covering them with that brown paper. I still remember I couldn't wait to finish the eleventh standard textbook of Maths during summer holidays of tenth (Learning Maths has always been fun to me). Those were moments of great happiness during university when I could solve numericals in assignment by myself.

I am sure all of us have that one thing that we like to read. It could be a comic, a textbook, may be newspaper, some tech stuff, or it could be random browsing about a hobby, the point here is to learn something, to keep adding some more to our existing knowledge, to grow. It is a good hobby and we should try not to lose such a good one.

May the blessings of Goddess Saraswati be with us always.
Cheers
Aditya

26 Jan The Last One - 4

Earlier I was thinking I wouldn't write one for 26th Jan (all the politics that I have been hearing about was partly the reason for that). Then I was also thinking of a special 7th post as 7 is like my lucky number. But I clubbed 13, 14, 15 as a single post and I have one scheduled for 4th and another for 14th of Feb. So here comes the part 4 of the closing as 26th Jan. Now that I think about it, though, technically, it is not a "festival", but is a public holiday and a day of importance for the nation, it is still a special day for me, for as a school going student I felt some pride in doing the Parade. I kind of liked it, saluting the waving flag, most of the time it didn't wave because of still air, and i used to wonder how good it would look when the wind flows.

The song "Himmat watan ki hamse hai" gives me goosebumps even today. However my whole idea about country about nation has changed. I have grown to become one of those common citizens of the country who crib because they have no idea how to solve issues. As a child I used to feel happy watching advertisements of "India Shining" and the "Golden Quadrilateral" and highways. "School chalein hum" was a kind of inspirational audio for me played on the radio in the mornings. I was innocent then and did not know of any burning issues of the country. I am ignorant now and still do not understand anything about my country's economic state or the crisis it is going through (or may be it is not going through). Now I hear people talking about all sorts of things, about politicians, bureaucrats, state of the country, what other nations are doing, what is wrong in the system and so on. At times I wonder how it is so easy to say things sitting in one small room but it seems almost impossible to actually do something for a good cause.

Though I started it I do not have much interest in talking about Republic Day or about constitution or politics (because I do not know well enough to talk about them). So I'll just leave it at this. I shall close this with something that is coming to mind now. It is not about my country but is about a peaceful world where countries like mine have grown and developed. It would be great if everyone is getting what they need (not the same as what they desire, something like the difference between comfort and luxury) and they are content with what they get. If people can be good to each other; if people could try to see sense and reason from each other's perspective, understand each other; if only they could desire for harmony and not just peace. Sounds somewhat like Jiraiya's dream (#Naruto). Reality begs to differ. There was this one big ambitious idea in my mind "Adhyantha" in which I thought of an organisation which could gain control over markets and push some goodness into the world by influencing people and their thinking. Looks like that was only a dream and I woke up from it, it's more like people woke me up from it. I now know that those ideas that I had may not work at all. But that thought process and that fall did teach me a lot. My philosophy now goes wider and about humans and living beings, it understands balance and believes that good and bad are relative. I hope the world grows into a better place to live. I think I have already said a lot of random stuff. I'll keep my philosophy of good bad and etc with me and instead of stretching any further I'll put a stop to this here and  may be get some sleep. See you in my next post of 4th Feb.

Cheers
Aditya

13 Jan The Last One - 3

Many of you might already know what is special about today (referring to the Date) and the next two days. But just to be sure we are on the same page below are some links giving some info about the festivals Bhogi Sankranthi and Kanuma celebrated in Andhra Pradesh and many other states of India.

The day preceding Pongal is called Bhogi when people discard old things and focus on new belongings. The disposal of derelict things is similar to Holika in North India. The people assemble at dawn in Tamil Nadu to light a bonfire to discard old used possessions. The house is cleaned, painted and decorated to give a festive look. In villages, the horns of oxen and buffaloes are painted in colors and people celebrate it in a grand way as most of them would have their harvest ready or even would have made money out of the harvests.

--from Wikipedia--Full Link Here

Pongal is the only festival of Hindu that follows a solar calendar and is celebrated on the fourteenth of January every year. Pongal has astronomical significance: it marks the beginning of Uttarayana, the Sun's movement northward for a six month period. In Hinduism, Uttarayana is considered auspicious, as opposed to Dakshinaayana, or the southern movement of the sun. All important events are scheduled during this period. Makara Sankranthi refers to the event of the Sun entering the zodiac sign of Makara or Capricorn. 

--from--http://www.pongalfestival.org/what-is-pongal.html

Third day i.e. the day after Pongal/Sankranthi is celebrated as Kanuma. According to mythology, on this day Lord Krishna saved the local people of Gokula who came to his rescue after there was a huge flood in the village. It is said that Lord Indra—the deity of rains flooded the village out of anger and rage. Lord Krishna picked up the Govardhan hill with his little finger and gave shelter to all the villagers in danger. Seeing this, lord Indra realized his mistake and withdrew the heavy rains from Gokula

--from--http://www.prokerala.com/festivals/kanuma.php

I said I would be talking about good and bad or at least something like that , as far as I remember. But since that doesn't have much to do with these festivals. I will change my topic. To me the festival of Bogi had always been lot of fun because of the bonfire that is put up early in the morning. In the bonfire people put twigs, cowdung cakes, wood from old furniture etc. The whole idea is to discard less used old things so that there is scope/space for new more useful things. And that is where all this connects to me at this time when I am writing these LastOnes. I have realised there are these things in me which I didn't used to do earlier but now I have got habituated to. These things are no harm as such but I think In the second One I talked a lot about change and that is exactly what I need now. I need to change my habits. There are some things which I need to let go. There are some " alterations " I need to do to my attitude. And it looks like it is high time I should do these things.
Well, It is not just about me. I think with time all of us make habits, some of which, we are better without, could be smoking, booz etc. I'm not saying it is a bad habit, I'm just saying that may be at some point you feel that you shouldn't do it anymore. You might also find yourself hanging on to some things in your life, thinking of the same thing over and over, not being able to come out of those thoughts. Reason could be anything, sentimental or just mental. Think about it and may be you can free yourself from it. A friend's advice comes to my mind here. He said "It won't help if you keep thinking or saying that you'll change, you will leave it etc... rather think I've left it, I don't do it anymore, I've Changed!"

Cheers
Aditya

P.S. By the way 13th Jan Bogi, 14th Jan Sankranthi, 15th Jan Kanuma are the festive days 

1 Jan The Last One - 2

52 weeks, 365 days, I am in no mood to calculate and say the number of hours. One Year. Time keeps running. Not a single second does it stop. Ever changing, and that's the only constant thing about it. And that is what keeps it up-to-date, updating itself with every second.

As a kid, for that matter even as a teenager, I always had this one thing in mind 'I won't change' ' no matter what' . Yeah I've been a stubborn fellow all along. My parents have a lot of patience that they actually handle me without getting irritated. (I'm blessed that way and also, somewhat, spoiled) But as I grew up I understood change and that is what I am going to talk about in this post. The second of the Last One of Darling.

"This is the right thing. This is the way to do it. This is how I should be. This is how things should do. This is what I am going to do." These and lots like these were the thoughts in my mind. Until time passed. As I saw more, heard more, felt more, faced more and understood more, my thinking, my ideas , my philosophy, it all changed. I dunno much about what Charles Darwin talked about Survival of the Fittest, but I do understand by experience that in order to survive (or perform, in the context of our competitive world's scenario) one has to adapt to new environments and that requires change. Change of methodologies, change of ideologies, change of mindsets, change of lifestyles. Having said that, I would also mention here that this change is only to be an add on to what you really are inside. When time passes it does not lose its past. 2014 is here only because time passed through 2013 and the years before it. You are what you are because you have been what you have been all this while. If everything is going good then nothing more like it, but if you are not liking the way things are going then it is time you embrace the change that is required.

My mom told me a few weeks back, i.e. after shutdown when I returned to Gurgaon from home. As a school going child when I used to get summer holidays and I used to go to my native place along with my parents; after every such trip there used to be some change in me. I used to become more matured or something like that. I was very young then. Don't even remember what kind of a change it was. But it felt good when I heard it from mom. Change is not to be afraid of. May be the word is a little misleading. By change, it is the seventh habit of Covey I'm referring to. He says Sharpen the Axe. I'm just putting it in different words. Update yourself with things around you. Learn from the environment around you. Change yourself to adjust to the situation so that you survive, so that you perform well at this moment and cherish this memory at a later stage.

While saying all this I have been thinking, about the possibility of this whole idea being misunderstood, misinterpreted or mistaken. What if someone thinks that I am supporting an idea that changing into an unfair person is the solution to an unfair world around him/her, (or something like that,) and that's where comes Good and Bad. What are they? Are they absolute of relative? Do they even exist? an insight into my thoughts about them is what is going to be my next article on the day of Bogi, a festival celebrated in the southern states of India. (celebrated as Lohri in the northern states).

Cheers
Aditya

25 Dec The Last One

With my "internal energy" fluctuating a lot these days and my spirit playing a hide and seek with me (i.e. being high at one point and low the very next moment) writing a complete article is something I rarely do. Though I started again with a thought that I can manage at least one in a month (and maintained that for three months), there was a break last month. In fact, the previous entry was on October 31st, late in the night. And now, I really wonder if I can continue blogging under this name of Darling.

Just like I thought this blog never got over on the night I started typing it. It has almost been a month and I couldn't squeeze in the time to get back to it.
And I had left it here yesterday night and in a few lines I am gonna leave it unfinished tonight as well. But at least now I know where this is going. The next few posts, precisely 6 including this one, will be mostly revolving around me as I say a good bye to this Darling.

I thought for a bit about the 'The End' for this blog and decided against the initial idea of this article being the last entry (and that was the reason for the name) that I would write 6 articles including this. That would make the total number of articles 54 (summation of the digits = 9, a number I really like; coincidence is 54 is 9 times 6, and I noticed this only now; I know... I go gaga over numbers. Maths is like a Darling !). These articles would mostly be put up with dates of festivals (like this one bears the date of Christmas Day) and the last of these would be published on (with a 'duh') 14th of Feb. After all it is gonna be for Darling so if not Romantic I will try to make it Dramatic. May be I will talk about my love life. Hahaha... I can be such a show off !!!

Now then. Before you conclude that I have gone crazy and out of my mind, I'll put a stop to this entry here.
Oh!! I managed to finish it today itself (JustForYourInfo it is 25th of Jan 2014). So there it goes. First of the six to come. The Last ONEs.

Thank you all who have read my blog, appreciated it and suggested and encouraged me to keep going. Thank you so much :-) Hope you will like these last six :-)


Cheers
Aditya
P.S. Next one on New Year's Eve 
oh yeah... Happy New Year all of you. Wish you a happy joyous cheerful year ahead :-)