life

Neverending metro ride

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The constantly moving pixelated text bothered me more than ever. The train kept passing stations, wheels rolling on the familiar tracks.
There were all sorts of warnings and instructions on the screen telling you to not carry your bag on the back to not crossing the yellow line. The text would keep flowing from right to left with very few paying attention to it. A pair of girls sat on the For Ladies Only busy with their phones, one scrolling and switching between various music apps. No wonder we have so many choices today. The other one would look over and see if she has arrived at the station she would want to get down at.

The door opens and a guy walks in and with him comes this cigarette smell. He has smoked recently and the smell of cigarette is all over his clothes. The stench bothered me a bit because it makes me sneeze. Coming back to my topic, a lot of us are rushing to work and in these short moments we are trying to catch and live life. A few songs, an episode, and even a book at times. This puts me in a different mood and I wish that the metro ride continues and it mostly does in a way.  Doesn’t it?

Uncle and his radio

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Mr. Abbas runs a ittar (attar) shop and must be over the age of 70. His little shop is on this slope that takes you to a temple. Very close to public parking, the shop would have sunlight during noon. A small entry in to the shop will reveal a bench where at max 3 people can sit.

Mr. Abbas is passionate about perfumes we call Ittar or Attar. He says his salaam and ask what would you like to see or buy. I replied some ittar and if you would have Oodh. Now, oodh is a famous ittar amongst those who use or have been using ittar for sometime. On asking for it, his eyes lit up and says I’ll keep that for the last.

He quickly went and gathered a few bottles and started telling us which was what smell. He slowly progressed towards stronger smells and finally to oodh. He said, “I don’t show oodh to a lot of people, because a lot of them don’t understand /appreciate the smell”.

There was a radio (see the photo) and I asked about it. He tells me it was very old and that he went for Haj this time. He went on and told me it was a great trip and he didn’t feel like coming back.

We soon purchased our bottles of perfumes and said our goodbyes. Mr. Abbas sounded genuine and very happy with his shop. A man who likes his fragrances and those who buy them.

I’d very much like to meet him someday again. Oh! Did I tell you that I bought a bottle of Oodh for my abba too? I think he’ll like it.

Until next time.

-J

Gullad ka Ped

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Raat ke kuch 11 baje honge use yaad aaya ki gaadi bahar khadi hai aur choriyaan badhti jaa rhi thi. Neend main behaal woh utha, chappal pehni aur chabhi utha kar bahar nikla. Darwaze ke us par ek choti si CFL jal rahi thi aur mausam thanda sa tha. Sardi ke aasar in dino ke saath badhte jaa rahe the, pehle subah aur raatein kuch thandi hoti aur fhir dekhte dekhti hi dilli main sardiyaan aajati.

Haan toh woh apne doosre maale se neeche utra aur dekha ki pehle maale par andhera ho raha hai, bahar kuch motorbike ke jaane ki aawaz aayi. Hawa tez this toh laga ki neeche kuch hai, neeche utarne par billi ko jaate dekha. Hairaani ki baat thi ki is waqt aas pados main sab shaant tha, lighte band ho chuki thi.

Gate ki kundi kholkar bahar aaya toh sadke khali aur upar ek bada sa streetlamp jal raha tha. Paas hi Gullad ka ped aur uspar mandrati hui chimkadar thi. Ab neend kuch ud si gayi thi, yeh pehli baar tha ki bahar ki hawa thandi lag rahi thi itni lambi garmiyon ke baad aur sadke khali aur sunsaan thi. Alag hi lutf hai raat ka aur khamoshi ka. Gaadi main chabhi lagayi aur fm par kuch puraane gaane chal padhe. Yeh janab kuch der baithe is chote lamhe ka maza liya aur fhir.

Fhir kya, reverse main gaadi park ki kyunki bhai agle din subah daftar ko fhir se jaana tha na!

 

Banana Guy

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There is a guy who has a suitcase and a bunch of bananas in a plastic poly bag. I reckon he is traveling. My best guess would be he is going home for Raksha Bandhan, a Indian festival where sisters tie Rakhi (a thread) on their brother’s wrists. The brother in return promises to protect her.

This whole thing is a big reason for people to travel home and families to come together. Anyway, the reason I started by telling you about him was bananas and the very fact that they were still raw. It bothered me a bit.

There are others in the metro, some are engrossed in their phones like me while others are sleeping. Life can indeed be tiring in a city like Delhi. The metro keeps going through the tunnel, doors open and people come in and go out but what remains constant is the fight for the seats.

I am quite comfortable because I was able to get a seat, so I’ll try and enjoy it because my station is hardly 10 minutes away. Small pleasures of life.

—–

I’m sorry for not replying to a few emails that were sent to me.I’ll reply to them once I’m home.

-J

Khoye Log

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Kya yeh khoye hue log kabhi milte hai?
Kya hota hai inka koi thikana?
Woh jisko maine
Dekha aaj haath failate hue
Traffic signal par
Kya woh ho sakta hai
Ek khoya hua?

Kya yeh khoye hue log milte hai kabhi?
Bheed bazaro main
Beech sadak par
Ya fhir khali masjid
Ye khali mandir main?

Kya woh bhi khoya hai
Jo din raat daudta hai
Cinema jaata hai
Bahar khana khata hai
Aur der raat ghar aakar sojata hai?

Kya khoya woh bhi hai
Jo maikhane mai
Dhund rehta hai?
Jo cigarette ke kash par kash lagata hai?

Kya yeh khoye hue log milte hai kabhi?
Kya yeh khoye hue log milte hai kabhi?

Hasi

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Tumhare chehre par hasi to thi

Par tumhari aankhen kuch

Aur keh rahi thi

Shayad kuch thaki si thi

Tumhara chehre par hasi to thi

Par tumhare andaz

Kuch alag se the

Aaj tum chup se the

Aaj tum- tum se na the

Waqt ke saat

Raasta beet ta gaya

Main chalta raha

Tu bhi chalta gaya

Ruka na tu

Ruka na mai

Chehre par tere

Chehre par mere

Hasi to thi

Par hamari aankhen

Kuch thaki si thi

Tumhare chehre par hasi to thi…

Millenium City

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I found myself in the rapid metro of the Millenium City aka Gurgaon now known as Gurugram. It was 8:30 pm and the metro went through Golf Course Road. It is famous for hosting offices of some of the largest companies like Zomato, KIA, Amex and so on.

Now the beauty about it at night is that you see people working in the offices, sitting with their backs straight in the meeting rooms and acting to be attentive. (while someone is scribbling at the whiteboard). Some are on their desks staring at the bright white light and scrolling endlessly. Some floors are empty yet the lights are on while some are dark and the only source of light is the white light.

I look at my reflection and realize I was one of those individuals working on a similar piece of machine a while ago. The metro continued and we passed the Golf Course Road finally arriving at our destination station Sikanderpur. Now, if you have been to Sikanderpur, you’ll know how people like me fight for a seat or for a spot so we can either chat, talk or catch up on movies/TV series.
Sikanderpur metro either takes you to Delhi or to Gurgaon but life continues. People endlessly board the metro and get to work every day to earn what they can and live what they dream.

I will do the same this coming Monday.

Promise

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I made a promise to myself sitting at the edge of this rocky path which led to the ocean and I failed.

My life for the past 3 years has been mostly about work. I have dedicated myself to it because it gives me a reason to live, I learn and working makes me feel good. But like I said, there was this rocky path and I was sitting at the edge and I looked at the vastness in front of me. The water and sky eventually merging somewhere far.

Now you must be wondering what promise? I will tell you but come along and read it. Looking at that vastness and emptiness makes you think and reflect on life and mostly in a positive sense (or it depends). So, I sat there thinking for a long time about almost everything, my relationships with people, my way of looking at life and things that needs work.

I made a promise that I will look at life with a different lens. I would never leave or abandon my passion(s) and would certainly improve my perspective towards life. Then two days later I found myself back in my usual routine with my job and I started forgetting everything. To preserve the memory, I’d close my eyes and try and remember the waves hitting the rocks, vast blue sky and obviously the water.

That also went away, I wasn’t seeing those waves and I forgot my promise. But yet here I am on my birthday making another promise that I will act on it. I will not let myself lose in the rush of this life. In the fast moving cars and the metro. I will find my balance and I will do things my way.

__________________________________
Have you had such encounters with yourself? I’d love to hear about them.

Bounce back

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There is a pit, a very deep and dark pit. You are falling into it and no one knows what’s at the bottom or even if there is a bottom or an end to it. Anyway, let us for now assume there is a bottom. You will now ask me what is it? Is it something that’s gonna hold you back or is it bouncy?

What I believe is you decide about the bottom, you decide what’s it made of. Is it something that’s gonna hold you back or is it something that’s gonna bounce you back? Your mindset and beliefs decide the substance of the pit.

A person might see something as a failure and someone else might see the same thing as a challenge or as a lesson or maybe even as a phase. I have been listening to an entrepreneur and he heavily focuses on mindset and then I tried rectifying the things I’ve been doing wrong (a lot of them) and in the end, it all comes to how you perceive things.

And how you percieve things and how you react shapes your life. Also, your background, schooling, friends will play a large role but once you realize you need corrections then things kind of get on the track. I am slowly realizing that I’ve had a wrong lens. I’ve seen life largely through my prior experiences which also lead me to form pre-concieved notions.

Anyway, I am trying to change the mindset. It will take time but I will try and be persistent.

 

Hope Umeed

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Umeed mere doston kuch aisi hai ki jaise raat ke andhere mai ek badi deewar aur usme ek khidki.

Main aur shayad aap bebas us deewar ke saamne khade hai. Na main aapko jaanta hun na aap mujhe jaante hai toh aakhir yeh majra kya hai?

Ab raat ke andhere mai deewar ke saamne khade toh hai, khidki ki taraf ek aas lagaye hue. Ki kya pata koi isme aaye. Kya pata koi aisa ho jisko neend nahi aati aur woh tanhai ko kam karne ke liye raat ke andhere aur chamkeele aasman ka shara leta/leti hai?

Toh aage hona kuch nahi bas yuhi hai ki shayad us khidki main aaj ki raat hi koi aaye ya shayad kal ya kuch aur lambe waqt ke baad.

Lekin fhir aap mujhe dekhte ho aur main aapko, hum sochte hai aage badhne ki. Nayi deewar aur nayi khidki dhund ne ki. Shayad aap dusri disha mai jaate hai aur main doosri.

Umeed mere doston kuch aisi hai ki jaise raat ke andhere mai ek badi deewar aur usme ek khidki

Toh bas aap apni umeed banaye rakhe, main apni banaye rakhne ki koshish karunga

P.S. Aur haan zaroori nahi ki umeed koi insaan hi ho. Umeed to bahut si cheezo main hoti hai.

Aap log batae, kya hai aapki niji zindagi main jo aapko aage badhne aur acha karne ki umeed deta hai