Friends

I liked A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini quite a bit, at time a bit less than Kite Runner but at times even more. Although the book is more about hypocrisy of men, their MCP and treacherous ways, some thing sweet about men too did catch my eye.

“Laila learned that boys differed from girls in this(friendship) regard. They didn’t make a show of friendship. They felt no urge, no need for(show of) ……. Boys Laila came to see treated friendship the way they treated the sun. Its existence undisputed, its radiance best enjoyed not beheld directly.”

This is definitely a tribute to all those sun like friends around who bring about all the light in our life and are really unobtrusive about it. They play along celebrating our success, laughing at failures, showing us the lighter side of even the most terrible events and often adding a new colorful perspective to life. When they are far and out of sight they may remain out of mind too. But when we meet, we find to our own pleasure that there is no love lost.

We need no miss-you card
Nor we need any sweet word
For all the decades since we met
Just a big warm bear hug
And a kick on the butt is all we need
To gets life started from where it left.

Nostalgia - Too much

This post is based on a comment from my office friend AS on the post Nostalgia.

“If you extremely wish to re-live the past then you are not doing enough to love the present”

Well I agree with him a happy smile on the face as you recollect past is fine and healthy. If you find yourself longing excessively for the past and remembering the past brings in a huge sense of loss then definitely you have lost you soul somewhere after that past. Looking back 10 years on from now you will have nothing to remember this day.

It is true we should live in the present. Move on in life, make new friends, try new things, and learn. After all it is important to forget too.

The Cool and The Careless

This post is born from a discussion with a friend about movie Jab We Met and about being “cool”. The movie was quite philosophical is a really non-preachy way. The leading lady is running away from home to marry her love and to escape from the arranged marriage with a childhood friend for whom she has no sentiments now. And the hero a very mature and serious guy who is a guest at ladies house has to accompany her.

The hero (the kind of practical guy he is) is shocked and advices her to think before doing such a stupid and risky thing and asks to be a bit serious about life. And girl with all her cool attitude talks about the importance of thinking less. Afterall problems even happen to people who are serious about life she reasons. This movie has been a catalyst for mushrooming of a few Jab We Met motivated cool young guys and girls around.

I believe there is a very fine line between a real cool one and a careless looser.

Majority of the cool guys I see are plain careless looser acting to be cool. Most of these so called cool people thrive on running away from or ignoring anything even remotely looking like a problem. Neither do they have an aim nor do they take up any responsibility. The emptiness inside them is often packaged in attractive covers, garnished with 3 table spoon of smile, a table spoon of luck, a pinch of sense of humor and traces of attitude.

But then I have also had the fortune of being with some real cool ones, chronic optimists, with a huge attitude and surprising confidence to take any problem at hand with right sense of humor.

Talking about problems and challenges in life, I feel all of us share one boon with King Bali. King Bali in epic Ramayana had this cool boon that any enemy he fights looses half of his strength which gets added to Bali’s own. So the stronger the enemy the stronger he gets. In the same way bigger the challenge we face, out comes the best within us.