The Days...

Yesterday after a dreary day at office I was relaxing on my chair stretching my legs and had tuned into a FM station which was playing beautiful songs from the 90s. That took me to a time long lost and forgotten.

The days where everything was so simple. 1 Re meant a lot of money- you could buy 2 chiglis and a bottle-top full of avlas. Carrying a 10 Re note meant luxury and spending it meant extravagance- only a couple of my classmates did that and were hated as brats. The days when a tap by your teacher or a few good words by her meant heaven and the days where riding a bicycle holding its 'horns' meant heroism. The days where you were your teacher's pet and went out of your way to buy her a gift for Teacher's Day. The days where Camel geometry boxes were only in our dreams and China pen was your dearest asset and filling ink in it was a celebration. The days where you desperately waited for Panchami and Ganesh festivals for sweets and having juice at Kaveri Cold Drinks or Uttappa at Ajanta felt kingly.

The days you wished power goes off while studying and gaze at the sky looking for nothing in particular. The days where Dharwad pedha was the greatest sweet ever made, the days where anything said against Tendlya infuriated us. The days you waited for next edition of Champak magazine, the days where you religiously collected pictures of WWF champions. The days where you gave two hoots for people's 'expert opinion' about you and where your socks had at least 6 holes and your shirts had ink stains and your knee always had wound. The days where you got belted by your dad for flunking a test and the days where your mom promised that I will do well next time. The days, when I was hated by the retired people of my colony. The days when my pockets were overturned, but still was the king of the world. The days...

Beautiful Life

I was a grumpy man until a few years ago. If I had studied harder I would have got a better seat in a better college, if I had worked a little harder I would have got Best Employee award, if I would have done well in Placement I would have landed a better job, if I would have... Basically I thought I would have been happy if I would have done x instead of y in the past.

Two points. One, how can I judge any of my past actions based on what I think is correct today. Two, I am a normal human being and it is perfectly alright to make mistakes.

Common people like me make optimal decisions. How can we judge any our decisions that we have made under different circumstances in the past, based on circumstances that exist today. It is a grave injustice that we are making to ourselves. So, whatever decisions that we made and are unchangeable today were all optimal decisions.

The biggest feature of freedom is freedom to make mistakes. We are not programmed devices to behave and act in a particular manner every single time. We have bad days, we have good days. Even in a single day our mood and feelings fluctuate. That's absolutely normal. Why should I consider myself a superman? Why should I succeed in everything I do? Why should bad and even nasty things not happen to me? If it can happen to people then it can happen to me too. That however doesn't mean I am not sincere. But there are many things that determine the outcome and not each one of them is in my control.

So, no regrets. That makes me so light. That brings such a beautiful smile on my face. That makes my life so enjoyable.

When we reach the dusk of our lives if we feel that it was an exciting and enjoyable journey and would not mind making this trip again, I think we have succeeded.

On Runners High

Firstly thank you Gururaj anna (my cousin) for reminding me of my blog. I had fogotten that I even had one. Just writing what's on top of my mind now.

I restarted jogging. It's been 2 weeks now. 5 kms without break 5 days a week on the beautiful 80 ft road of Koramangala. What's so beautiful about this pothole-filled road? You should be on Runners High to feel it...

All credits go to an ex-colleague of mine for forwarding me an article that said running is the best exercise. Good for your heart, helps reduce bad cholesterol, increases good cholesterol (I didn't know there was good cholesterol also) and adds life to your skin, it went on. Just like any ayurvedic medicine that promises to cure all your ailments- from acne to AIDS and cold to cancer, the forward pronounced running the ultimate solution for all our problems. Thanks to my best friend, Google, for shedding more light and there I was running... attracting all the galli-dogs.

Koramangala at 6:15 am is a different world. Serene, green and clean. I feel there are positives of running that too in outdoors. I am already feeling a few - my mood is up the whole day, I feel lively and love looking myself in the mirror. My best friend informed me that it was called 'Runner's High' and happens due to secretion of some juice by some gland.

But it is very nice and I really look forward for the clock to show 6:15 and with great enthu I embark on this blissful activity. I feel it's the best way to start the day. It is also cost effective- all you need is a pair of shoes. Go for it guys! Yanjaay!