Pay it forward

Well it is an old movie, it might seem silly to some, too idealistic to others but I think it is soo imperative that everyone of us pay it forward. I was just thinking of all those occasions that someone totally not related or known to us come across our lives n help us out when we really need it and we just dont have that chance to pay it back to them than just say a biig thank you from the heart. Well what do you do after that?

I remember this one incident I can never forget. One fine evening I took an Amtrak from Newark n was goin all the way up to Ann Arbor. I was sittin right next to a late 40s/early 50s old African American gentleman . We had a small chat, he was headed to Detroit had a fond recollection of Cass Avenue n downtown Detroit, on what he did, a lil bit bout his family etc... All thro the morning n noon I was busy with some stuff n kept skipping my meals n was famished. I was thinking of grabbin something from pantry. This guy stepped out of his seat n asked something like 'want somethin to eat? ' n before I cld reply he walked off. I too headed to the pantry didnt see him anywhere nor did I bother n all I had in mind was how loong i had to wait cos the pantry was packed. I kept staring @ the menu , n picked up the turkey club, the iced tea n a bag of chips virtually. I then pulled out my wallet as my instincts said I didnt have ne cash. I checked , I didnt have any, jumped out of the line walked up to the counter n asked if I cld swipe my debit card n got an affirmative nod. Had a sigh of relief n walked back to the line. I waited eagerly for my turn placed my order n gave my card n guess wht, the lady tried to swipe, stared at the machine walked in n walked out. 'apologies sir, this wldnt work'. Loong night,growling stomach n was almost in verge of a breakdown. The train wld reach toledo early morning, nother transit, n go home n have an early breakfast with sister, its ok. I had made my plan. I walked back to my seat n I find my support pulled up, a sandwich n bag of chips nicely placed n a drink tucked up in the front. This man asks me 'where have u been I was lookin out for you? I got u som'in to ea' n that 'some'in' was a turkey sandwich , some chips n iced tea. May be thats all that was there in the pantry but I just cldnt believe. I sat down n told him bout how hungry I was n wht happenned in the pantry. He just grinned n looked up n I interpreted that as its all taken care of from up there. I knew that the train wld reach in such an awkward time in the morn @ Toledo that i will not get a chance to pay it back to him nor did he buy me food expecting anything,n even if I do so its just not gonna be as much.

Well whats the big deal with this incident? While I was in school one of my worst nighmares was to walk down the overhead bridge in Tambaram..there was this frail lil thing - a very old lady, no teeth n partially blind who used to sit there hoping someone wld help em( the word is beg i feel too delicate to use it). Its such a sorry sight to see n guilt takes over walking past her, so everytime I have a few rupees I wld walk up to the canteen get some food n give it to her. I was very shy n discreet bout that. Nothing was bliss to me than watching that toothless smile of the old lady.

Is there a connection bet wht I used to do in school n what happenned in Amtrak, I dont know n I dont care. I am not too religious, I dunno if it is Christ or Krishna watchin over my shoulders, well my mom takes care of the praying. What I believe is everyone of us have to pay something back to the society we come from. This again I see as being selfish cos I just said pay it back to 'society where we come from' mean I do my lil charity back home n not where I make my money.Did I pay it forward in u.s , singapore or am i doing it in bahrain is something we can contend but point is I do pay it forward.

Why do we have sorry faces around, everyone is trying hard to make a better living, lets give them the credit n make someone's day , we all are blessed in some way so lets be thankful for this life. I want to quote these lines from S&G (thanks Arun) which is soo true to the current world..

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one deared
Disturb the sound of silence.

Bahrain -lotsa fresh brewed coffee , crammed for space n toomuch sunshine...

4 months ive been in bahrain..Quite honestly I miss my mom, sis n more of my bhai log, my machis, the taporis n 'kudikaara payaluva' s- my friends. When I look back at these 4 months this is wht Ive been doing all weekdays n weekends

Month 1- got a 24 pack Pilsner beer n a 'fith' (thax Detroit) Jack Daniels n guess wht they were all over in over 3 weeks time...sigh

Checked out all the so called 'fun' clubs..yes the ppl were havin fun but wht was amiss was the group that I hang out with. Forget it.

Month n half over , I looked back at all alcohol n junk food Ive been eating, so just quit my first love - beer n hit the gym...

Past 3 months have been something like this

weekdays -work - gym - home
Weekends -home -dvd rental shop - home.

N guess wht Ive exhausted 60+ 60+ 120 DVD rentals in the past 4 months...i must confess a dozen of em i ust skimmed thro in 10 min / movie cos they were pathetic. I watched Rocky series for the nth time...Bourne..the old cowboy classics, nething n everythin of De Niro, Al Pacino, Clint....some masala flicks like Julie n Sheesha fell in love with the woman of substance hehe trying to get back my sense of humour u see...n then fell in love with Katrina n now in love with Priyanka Chopra - well that rounds my love life. all in all I was left with watery eyes - from watching nonstop.

Yes Ive got a big ass kickbag, practice my shadow boxing n muay thai, lost 5 kgs am fitter more disciplined with my food habits , work is great, n get a lot of time for reading - yes thats something ive never done - i read on investments (thanx Saif), hypnosis, all martial arts, Buddhism, Chi n wht not...

Am soo crammed for space here, miss all my folks, a long drive wld mean tresspassing into nother country, n summers mean burners up ur ass, but all these tradeoffs Iam ready to forget when my pragmatic mind looks at the paycheck n so Ill hang in here , may be end of summer wld pep up my dying spirits..

Birthdays....

one of those days that reminds how lonely i am here...

mama ooo mama

my mom! hmm wht shall i say..well everyone loves their mom, so do i, more so cos shez entering her second childhood n soo much fun to be around....mmmmmmmmmuaaaaah

today i was writing an sms to her, i got a call, as luck would have it, it was her, i wanted to tease her n so i said ' call me back later am writing an sms to you' n guess wht she very innocently says 'ok' and hung up the phone....i was stumped.

i have more of her for now i wanted to pen this one down....

Business is Business!!!! keim cho?

One day many years ago at a school in South London a teacher said to the class of 5-year-olds, "I'll give $20 to the child who can tell me who was the most famous man who ever lived." An Irish boy put his hand up and said, "It was St. Patrick." The teacher said, "Sorry Alan, that's not correct."Then a Scottish boy put his hand up and said, "It was St. Andrew." The teacher replied, "I'm sorry, Hamish, that's not right either.Finally, a Gujarati boy raised his hand and said, "It was Jesus Christ." The teacher said, "That's absolutely right, Jayant, come up here and I'll give you the $20." As the teacher was giving Jayant his money, she said, "You know Jayant, since you are Gujarati, I was very surprised you said Jesus Christ." Jayant replied, "Yes, in my heart I knew it was Lord Krishna, but business is business .


Dunkin donuts....Subways.....Motels.......they are all over the place...hey its a compliment!

For once a hilarious forwarded mail, so decided to archive it...

IF DADS WERE TO RAISE THE KIDS BY THEMSELVES.....

Boys would read more...

Kids will get more rest

Work wld get done more efficiently..

Potty training? Who needs it?

Kids would be more able to express their emotions!

Bath time would be more fun!

But never let dad go to a T-Shirt making store

To the bloggers..

Blogs blogs blogs... some that touches a chord somewhere deep within that gets me nostalgic bout my college days, the 'tea kadai', hustle and bustle of 'ranganathan street', to the harmless water snakes in the fields of my village...to blogs that discuss hi fi technology, palmtops, the dupods.. such indepth knowledge on how wipro evolved, comments on CEO's mantras...man world is soo filled with such intelligent and well informed peple that I just gasp and get awe struck...Each person is soo unique and have their own way of narration. Some are very laid back discuss their day at work, some comment on 'naatu nadappu' current affairs and comment on Iran's stand on nuclear deal some that just goes over my head...or I dont intend to comprehend things that deal with politics, scams, money laundering 'chuna lagaana' on the new metrosexuals etc etc...cos may be I dont relate to them.Blogs blogs blogs..hmm blogs on a good friend, blogs on an old highschool teacher, blogs that rekindle memories, blogs that discuss sexuality, blogs on camping grounds, an event in the university, am soo thankful to all those bloggers who take me thro a virtual ride of soo many things...People taking their time out to scand really old photographs of friends , their native place etc, blogs on pets, and amazing stuff of places theyve travelled..Hmm coming to think of it, if I can blog for months together on just recollecting all the blogs Ive read till date....Anyways i want to make this blog of mine a dedication, a token of appreciation to all those bloggers whove made my days soo occupied.