1year 8months

Hey do you believe this….it was just last year that I came to this city attracted by a so called glamorous job at Shoot Talent Management, The TIMES GROUP. I packed my bags, said a small but desperate prayer, and there I was on my way on the broad Pune-Mumbai express highway.

2^nd April'06….that's the D-Day, Lord made my way into 7 Ramesh Niwas and a part of the two most unusually wonderful people on Planet Earth. It might sound a little exaggerated but Dipti and Sabir were only ones who opened their doors or perhaps their hearts for me to come and reside. More than 30 days no question asked my fairy God mother & father not only made their living room into 'room to live' for me but also showed me whole of South Mumbai. Their friends became my friends. I became the hostess of their parties. This is what I called love, making a stranger turn into a daughter.

Right at this moment 12/8/2007 9:15:23 PM I'm sitting on their bed and writing this on Dipti's laptop.

Life has not really been the same ever since. New city, new friends and new way of living. I moved to Amrapali hostel in Chembur and realized for the first time that what it means to share and care….yes share your clothes, food, shoes and care when someone is down in health, mood or life. It teaches you to be disciplined, punctual (if you don’t want to miss your meal) and tidy. And above all how can I miss out “do your own work”, from cleaning your shoes to ironing your clothes. In a nutshell, its 1 room with 2 souls and everyday influx of emotions, friends, love, best & worst. One comes across so many different faces divided amongst only 100 rooms….. Someone with a broken marriage while someone stepping into the new life of marriage….. someone moving abroad with a new high end job while someone who has lost every form of financial support. You get to see all lives merged together under one roof and you wonder and try to find the why, what, when & hows.

Then you meet graceful people like Padma, Ruby and Anubhuti who show you a new way of looking at life. Being selfless and living for God and the world’s sufferings. There is an unusual peace and happiness in it. I’ve started treading on the same path atleast have taken the first few baby steps. Doing the simplest thing like giving a listening ear to other people’s problems or buying the beggar kid a toffee makes such a lot of difference to your soul.

And finally SHOOT TALENT MANAGEMENT…… a job of a manager, scheduler, sales person ….whatever you would like to call it. There again like any other job it has its own share of frustrations, lies, hang-ups and competition. The difference: you get to attend social page 3 parties and mix around with the elite class…..for me it’s all fake and materialistic so never really enjoyed it.

This is December’07. It’s been over 1 year 8 months. I love this city, the people around me, taffic jams, the zest to live life that this city showers……the Mumbai-Pune journeys once in 2 months, the whole night daru n dance, the Sunday church services….the smiles in the beggar kid’s face, the pollution, the competition, the the the everything…………….. Let every year bring a new surprise, a new experience and new faces to look at. Mumbai apunka Mumbai.

Jus a thought

Date : 12/2/2007 1:33:28 PM

Sometimes you wonder life is so strange n weird. It takes you through all sorts of rigmaroles, like a roller coaster ride. The more you think it’s stable now, the more it shows its true colors of change.

Today while having lunch at the hostel canteen suddenly I was taken down memory lane. Exactly a year back I used to eat lunch with some other friends in the same place, few of who are married now while others have either found new cities or friends. Strange, very strange! People come in and go out of life. Some strongly get attached as if life would be empty without them but then if they are not there life still goes on. Then there are others who come for a very short period but leave a huge footprint behind. And life is never ever the same again. These are all part of the process called ‘LIFE’.

Then there are those moments with friends, lover, family, personal and so on which you can never forget. Tear glands become active every time the brain cells are trying to recollect those far away impulses. You don’t know which emotion pops-up from no where and when. Also how can we forget about the soul searching that’s the everyday agenda at the end of the day. Trust me its not just you and me…everyone has the same story…just that some life graphs have extreme peaks while others have more or less constant flow. But whatever it is….. It’s LIFE and it follows its own way.

In the Bible, Jermiah 29:11 says “The Lord has a plan and purpose for you. Plan to prosper you and not to harm you”. Don’t you think its true…. Jus't take a minute and think are we actually lost or is it a habitual banter to crib and cry about the silly things of life. If u reading this at least you had the priviledge to go to school, read n write and have the opportunity to log on to science’s globalizing creation ‘internet’………there millions out there who cannot do that.

Just a thought…….

Have a wonderful life…..may all your wishes n dreams come true.

PD

LOVE

Date: 12/1/2007 5:46:29 PM

‘LOVE’ a 4 letter simple word but a huge impact to every form of existence. LOVE something you need every day to live life. LOVE that makes u cry, shy and lie. LOVE that make you feel you are special. LOVE that make you understand your worth. LOVE call it kissing your man, hugging your mom or patting your friend….. its all about LOVE and its everywhere in some form or the other.

Now this topic is not an after effect of watching “Love Actually’ last night ‘ cause honestly I did not like the movie. But if you realize 99% of the movies, books, music or any kind of creative involvement directly or indirectly either talks or is an outcome of LOVE. Even in this century in the midst of war, hatred, jealousy, deceit LOVE still rules. In fact if you think about it all the negative characteristics mentioned is again a result of the so-called LOVE. For eg – if you are in love with some1 and that someone prefers someone else to u, jealousy n hatred follows. You can find so many such examples but then….HOLD ON its not LOVE!!! Cause LOVE is something UNCONDITIONAL….as we call it in Hebrew AGAPE Love….. you love without any expectations or “hang-ups”.

At the end of the day we are still Humans and we have to strive to reach the stage of truly following the 2^nd commandment “Love thy neighbour as thyself”.

Whatever it is and wherever we are lets at least TRY and win the race of LOVE. Oops! I said it again. Sorry its not a race so … lets jus try and give in ourselves fully into love or ‘TRUE LOVE’

Perfect Weekend

10/7/2007 7:00:44 PM

What is your perfect idea of a weekend?! Especially if you have a job like mine where you are expected to be on alert 24/7… you just don’t know when your boss might need someone’s email id or you need to reply in the middle of the church service to your colleague about the car pick-up. Well comparatively at least these options are better than being on a shoot or attending the fake parties just for your company’s PR.

This Saturday-Sunday is what I would call very relaxing and I’m content by the end of the Sunday evening as I listen to the Rabindrasangeet and write this, one of my usual sudden attacks of diary entries.

So what did I do?! No I was not cleaning my room. That’s in pretty decent state. This time it was one of my reading fits. Yesterday after some awesome VEGETARIAN marwari lunch at Rajdhani, I went to crosswords for what I would call ‘time-pass’. But for a shopalcoholic like me what do you expect. Yes I did pick up a book called “Almost Single”. The synopsis goes like this “My name is Aisha Bhatia. I’m 29 years old and single,work as Guest relationship Manager at the Grand Orchid Hotel, dine at luxury hotels and stay in 5 stars during my travel…….. I tolerate my job, hate my boss and bond big time with my friends…………” and it goes on. Just one glance at it and I could relate to it, hence I bought it. And there I was in my bed living through the pages as the life of the protagonist proceeds.

In the evening, I managed to go the Youth Cell of our church. There was a Canadian man named Steve who was sharing with us his life and walk with God. It touched my heart especially a statement where he said that in his early years he didn’t know who was God but knew one thing for sure that God loved him. Yes God loves each one of us then why do we crib, cry and complain. I guess that’s human nature which needs to be disciplined.

Today was fun in church. Yes I sang in the choir holding the mike. And I testified about the last eve and also my take on Steve’s THE statement that struck me. I skipped lunch, had fruit juice and and apple and continued with my ‘Almost Single’. It had a happy ending like any funny casual read but it made me think a very practical point of my life. Aisha the main character all distressed by her single status when alas gets wooed by the perfect man, she denies the proposal. She realized may be she is still not ready to commit into the bonding called ‘marriage’ and all the frustrations that she had was nothing but a “habitual banter’, a Greek chorus more for entertainment than an honest expression of misery.”…. Yes and then suddenly the bulbs glows on my head……all these everyday cribs n cries are quite similar. I’ve no reasons for them. I just do them as a “HABITUAL BANTER”. God has always blessed me with everything and may be if my life wouldn’t have been like this I would have been bored but whatever it is, I’m actually happy and not lonely that I keep thinking I’m. Praise God!!!

But I’m a little sad cause I’ve hurt Shekhar by my words and was also rude to sruti n the other chick from the hostel. Please forgive me!

In sometime I’ll have my dinner, pray and go off to sleep…… Now this is what I call a perfect weekend!!!!!!

Take care, and see you soon J

A Simple Thought of Life

25 September 2007

Every evening when I come back from office I’m tired. Tired of what I don’t know?! Office work is mostly sitting on my chair or at the maximum running to the Xerox machine. Even on meetings it’s just the journey from one end to the other of Mumbai, that’s physical stress. So why do I get tired?

Today is Anant Chaturthi better known as Ganpati Visharjan. We are technically not working today (from office that is). So I thought lets clean my room. The whole of last night I coughed hence woke up late at 12 in the afternoon. But that did not hold me back from my commitment to my room. Sounds funny na !!! COMMITMENT TO A ROOM ??!! Yes that’s the word “COMMITMENT” …. No matter what we do if we are faithfully committed towards it, it will always be done perfectly. And it was proved today. I took the entire afternoon to make every nook and corner, spic and span. Miraculously enough I was not at all exhausted after such a strenuous work. NO it’s not a miracle…. It’s a simple human psychology….I was happy doing what I was doing and wanted to do it.

NO I’m not Monica Gellar of FRIENDS nor Rani of Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna but I like things around me systematic and tidy. And then I wonder what happened to the lazy and spoilt Payal who would call the maid even for a glass of water. Well that’s the 2^nd lesson of the day. When situations arise you don’t need your mom screaming at you to be disciplined…LIFE teaches it. And if you dare to overlook your life’s calling, God bless u!

Ya God bless YOU too whoever you are reading a scrap from my everyday diaries. Thanks and Sorry for your precious time but I just thought may be this small not so articulate write-up might just make you think for minute about the very simple everyday lessons around you.

Take care, enjoy and live life to the fullestJ

Muaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa