Mein Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Udata Chala Gaya
Barbadiyon Ka Shok Manana Fizul Tha
Barbadiyon Ka Jashan Manata Chala Gaya
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Uda…
Jo Mil Gaya Usi Ko Muqaddar Samajh Liya
Jo Kho Gaya Maein Usko Bhulata Chala Gaya
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Uda…
Gham Aur Khushi Mein Farq Na Mehsoos Ho Jahan
Maein Dil Ko Us Muqaam Pe Laata Chala Gaya
Har Fikar Ko Dhuen Mein Uda…
Monday, June 8, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Catherine's Choice
To Plan A Death With Dignity
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102923424
This story reminded me of the book "Tuesdays with Morrie", a quick read about life and death.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102923424
This story reminded me of the book "Tuesdays with Morrie", a quick read about life and death.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Choice
What will it be? Do you choose stability and comfort or adventure and uncertainty? Do you choose the known or the unknown? Do you choose companionship or possible loneliness? What can you live with long term? Are you strong enough to live with your choices and not despair for what could have been? What price are you willing to pay?
Will it be the red pill or the blue, Anne? Time is running out.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
More on Beijing
I had heard bad reviews about Beijing subway while I was in Taipei but I found it to be very well planned and maintained. I managed to get to pretty much everywhere I wanted to go using the subway. Each one way trip cost only 2 Yuan no matter the destination. There were frequent trains, even though it could get very crowded during commute hours, it’s not that bad. It’s clean and very easy to use and has English signs. Besides, the traffic above ground can be quite horrendous so its way quicker with the subway. I highly recommend them. An interesting thing I found, they have digital displays in the tunnels between stations even though you cannot read them when the train’s going very fast!
I found Beijing to be fairly clean even in the hutongs. Their monuments and tourist sights are also kept quite clean. One major vice among many Chinese I found was spitting in public areas which typically included a very noisy clearing of the throat! Older and middle aged people are typical culprits. I saw a very nicely dressed woman in a skirt and knee high boots doing it! Of course, coming from India, this is not an unfamiliar sight for me.
Switching gears, Beijing is a shopper’s heaven! Especially if you want Chinese silks, pearls, jade and other traditional items, there are quite a few venues here. They also have fake namebrand bags, watches, shoes and leather boots by the piles here. The Yashow market, the silk street market, Qianmen Dashilar market etc.. I ended up visiting the Silk Street market a total of 6 times! I wanted to get some Chinese clothes made which required me to visit, to choose and measure, to get fitted, to pick up the dress and so on. By the way, I have to put in good word for the Chinese tailors. They are the best in the world! Compared to the Indian dress makers that give you soooo much hassle and then end up screwing up, these guys were great! I’m absolutely impressed by the attention to detail and perfection of stitching!
Did I already mention that you can find pearls and jades by sackfuls here? And it is also quite cheap. They may be cultured pearls but they are real pearls. There are many shades, white, black, purplish black, greenish black, different shades of pink and so on. These markets where you buy all these goods are quite a scene. Almost all the sales people are women and you have to bargain with them. My Chinese friend’s recommendation was to start at 20% of the asking price.
The bargaining, if you’re not used to it, can be quite tough. I was quite embarrassed about it in the beginning but then you get the hang of it. Especially when you realize you can actually get away with paying about 25% of the asking price, you’d be crazy not to bargain. I actually started enjoying the drama these girls put up and the dialogs with them. “I like u, I give u spaashal price!”, “whey u from?”, “u so beautiful, theyfo, I give u spaashal price”, “Lady! U crazy!”, “come in here, I don wan others to see what low price I give you”, “you tell me yo last price la”.. etc. Almost every shop carries the same stuff and there are tons of them. But, even though I typically don’t like the touristy shopping experience, this turned out to be quite a fun one.
I found Beijing to be fairly clean even in the hutongs. Their monuments and tourist sights are also kept quite clean. One major vice among many Chinese I found was spitting in public areas which typically included a very noisy clearing of the throat! Older and middle aged people are typical culprits. I saw a very nicely dressed woman in a skirt and knee high boots doing it! Of course, coming from India, this is not an unfamiliar sight for me.
Switching gears, Beijing is a shopper’s heaven! Especially if you want Chinese silks, pearls, jade and other traditional items, there are quite a few venues here. They also have fake namebrand bags, watches, shoes and leather boots by the piles here. The Yashow market, the silk street market, Qianmen Dashilar market etc.. I ended up visiting the Silk Street market a total of 6 times! I wanted to get some Chinese clothes made which required me to visit, to choose and measure, to get fitted, to pick up the dress and so on. By the way, I have to put in good word for the Chinese tailors. They are the best in the world! Compared to the Indian dress makers that give you soooo much hassle and then end up screwing up, these guys were great! I’m absolutely impressed by the attention to detail and perfection of stitching!
Did I already mention that you can find pearls and jades by sackfuls here? And it is also quite cheap. They may be cultured pearls but they are real pearls. There are many shades, white, black, purplish black, greenish black, different shades of pink and so on. These markets where you buy all these goods are quite a scene. Almost all the sales people are women and you have to bargain with them. My Chinese friend’s recommendation was to start at 20% of the asking price.
The bargaining, if you’re not used to it, can be quite tough. I was quite embarrassed about it in the beginning but then you get the hang of it. Especially when you realize you can actually get away with paying about 25% of the asking price, you’d be crazy not to bargain. I actually started enjoying the drama these girls put up and the dialogs with them. “I like u, I give u spaashal price!”, “whey u from?”, “u so beautiful, theyfo, I give u spaashal price”, “Lady! U crazy!”, “come in here, I don wan others to see what low price I give you”, “you tell me yo last price la”.. etc. Almost every shop carries the same stuff and there are tons of them. But, even though I typically don’t like the touristy shopping experience, this turned out to be quite a fun one.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Jan 20th, 2009
On my usual walk back home today, at 8:30 in the night, I had a sudden and fleeting realization that I’m actually not unhappy as I thought myself to be for the longest time. In fact, I am content, not overwhelmingly happy but not unhappy either. I am a woman who doesn’t know what tomorrow will bring. This uncertainty is usually daunting to most people. But I realized that, to me, if I can let go, it could be actually exciting to not know what tomorrow is like. When one is married, there’s a sense of inevitability and resignation . I’m not saying that it is anything bad but, perhaps, if I just let my natural instincts lead me, I will actually welcome the uncertainty this freedom brings.
I’ve worked so hard over the past 16 years to be a responsible, sensible, routine oriented person that I have forgotten how I was in my teen years. I was a headstong, fun loving, risk taking, carefree soul in those days. I don’t think my teen self was any better but I realize now that the conforming person I’ve become now has not made me a happier person. I do realize that one cannot live his or her life as crazy as a teenager but as we get older, I wonder if we do lose ourselves completely to try and be a responsible adult. Do we forget to have fun along the way? Do we forget to expect more out of life?
I do hope that tomorrow I’ll be able to look back at today and remember to accept life as it comes and not get depressed thinking about the past or worrying about the future. I want to remember how it felt to be just enjoying the cold breeze on my face when I walked home and to remember to enjoy whatever the moment I’d be in at that moment. I want to remember that sense of freedom, but, most importantly, I want to remember the sense of freedom from expecting anything from another human being while at the same time being able to welcome and enjoy whatever the other person has to offer in terms of friendship and love. I hope I have the capacity to be happy without having to depend on others.
On my usual walk back home today, at 8:30 in the night, I had a sudden and fleeting realization that I’m actually not unhappy as I thought myself to be for the longest time. In fact, I am content, not overwhelmingly happy but not unhappy either. I am a woman who doesn’t know what tomorrow will bring. This uncertainty is usually daunting to most people. But I realized that, to me, if I can let go, it could be actually exciting to not know what tomorrow is like. When one is married, there’s a sense of inevitability and resignation . I’m not saying that it is anything bad but, perhaps, if I just let my natural instincts lead me, I will actually welcome the uncertainty this freedom brings.
I’ve worked so hard over the past 16 years to be a responsible, sensible, routine oriented person that I have forgotten how I was in my teen years. I was a headstong, fun loving, risk taking, carefree soul in those days. I don’t think my teen self was any better but I realize now that the conforming person I’ve become now has not made me a happier person. I do realize that one cannot live his or her life as crazy as a teenager but as we get older, I wonder if we do lose ourselves completely to try and be a responsible adult. Do we forget to have fun along the way? Do we forget to expect more out of life?
I do hope that tomorrow I’ll be able to look back at today and remember to accept life as it comes and not get depressed thinking about the past or worrying about the future. I want to remember how it felt to be just enjoying the cold breeze on my face when I walked home and to remember to enjoy whatever the moment I’d be in at that moment. I want to remember that sense of freedom, but, most importantly, I want to remember the sense of freedom from expecting anything from another human being while at the same time being able to welcome and enjoy whatever the other person has to offer in terms of friendship and love. I hope I have the capacity to be happy without having to depend on others.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Dec 8th, 2008
Purpose of existence
One central question I keep asking myself is why do we exist? In the past, when this question came up in my head, I would contemplate it for a while and then move on to something else to distract me. But, this time, I’m not letting it go; I can’t let it go. I have changed my life so much to confront this and other questions that are plaguing me. I owe it to myself as well as those who care about me to do my best to answer them.
OK, back to the question. Theists have a ready answer to my question. They say, we exist because God has created us and he has a purpose for us. We don’t usually know what this purpose is because he is mysterious, but just trust us; he has a purpose in mind for each one of us. Existentialists usually answer this question by saying “because we exist” and that’s that. We are here so we have to live. For them, it seems like the question of "why" doesn’t come up. Then I was reading an article by an atheist who thinks the question "why do we exist" is foolish because the “why” in that question assumes there's a cause or motive for our existence. Although he didn’t seem to know the answer to the cause of existence, he said atheists believe that the universe is motive free. This is because a motive would suggest there’s a power beyond us that has designed a purpose for us. This then falls into the theist realm.
Based on that argument, and my own lack of belief in a higher power that has a design for us, I can agree that there is no answer to the question why we exist or if there’s a purpose to our lives. In addition, it is my fundamental belief that humans are not special and they are just part of nature. I don’t buy the argument that, just because we think, it makes us different from animals. Who knows, it is entirely possible that animals do think or have special understanding that we don’t. So, an argument can be made that we have no special purpose in life or reason for existence any more than the other animals. This is the rational, thinking side of me.
But there’s the emotional part of me that “wants” to have purpose for this life, something to live for. If, ultimately, the purpose of life is to just live, why can’t I just accept that and live my life the best way I can or want? If I’m just part of this nature, shouldn’t I be happy enough to go through life, i.e. eat, sleep, work, enjoy my time with whoever I please, do whatever pleases me? Then why do I feel that there’s something lacking in the pursuit of my own happiness? Why am I not able to just accept the fact that "I exist therefore I am"?
Purpose of existence
One central question I keep asking myself is why do we exist? In the past, when this question came up in my head, I would contemplate it for a while and then move on to something else to distract me. But, this time, I’m not letting it go; I can’t let it go. I have changed my life so much to confront this and other questions that are plaguing me. I owe it to myself as well as those who care about me to do my best to answer them.
OK, back to the question. Theists have a ready answer to my question. They say, we exist because God has created us and he has a purpose for us. We don’t usually know what this purpose is because he is mysterious, but just trust us; he has a purpose in mind for each one of us. Existentialists usually answer this question by saying “because we exist” and that’s that. We are here so we have to live. For them, it seems like the question of "why" doesn’t come up. Then I was reading an article by an atheist who thinks the question "why do we exist" is foolish because the “why” in that question assumes there's a cause or motive for our existence. Although he didn’t seem to know the answer to the cause of existence, he said atheists believe that the universe is motive free. This is because a motive would suggest there’s a power beyond us that has designed a purpose for us. This then falls into the theist realm.
Based on that argument, and my own lack of belief in a higher power that has a design for us, I can agree that there is no answer to the question why we exist or if there’s a purpose to our lives. In addition, it is my fundamental belief that humans are not special and they are just part of nature. I don’t buy the argument that, just because we think, it makes us different from animals. Who knows, it is entirely possible that animals do think or have special understanding that we don’t. So, an argument can be made that we have no special purpose in life or reason for existence any more than the other animals. This is the rational, thinking side of me.
But there’s the emotional part of me that “wants” to have purpose for this life, something to live for. If, ultimately, the purpose of life is to just live, why can’t I just accept that and live my life the best way I can or want? If I’m just part of this nature, shouldn’t I be happy enough to go through life, i.e. eat, sleep, work, enjoy my time with whoever I please, do whatever pleases me? Then why do I feel that there’s something lacking in the pursuit of my own happiness? Why am I not able to just accept the fact that "I exist therefore I am"?