Guru Purnima

Couldn’t gather a few words to write a crisp note and put a status update on Facebook, so, here I am - with the twilight setting in – writing a blog to thank all the wonderful people who have been a part of my journey over these years. It couldn’t be a better day than this to write on this auspicious occasion of Guru Purnima. From my Grandfather till my younger brother, my relatives, school mates, music and drawing colleagues, theatre team, my CA fraternity, and each and every person who has touched my life directly or indirectly with their positive aura and have inspired me throughout my life. It can be for years, months, even a single day or an hour or just a couple of minutes.. Words can’t suffice to thank you all enough for guiding me through your experiences.

A Badawala thanks for whatsoever moments I got to share with you - from an ephemeral one or to a lasting one.

Thank you for showing me my mistakes..

Thank you for giving me strength when I was demotivated..

Thank you for each moment that you spared from your precious time to nurture me..

Thank you for everything..

Whatever is good in me is because of the inputs from you all. And what is bad is of course my very own fault for not implementing the good things that I’ve learnt in spite of knowing it. But yes, as Wordsworth has quoted – To begin, begin – that needs to be imbibed.

My heartfelt pranam to all the elders and a tight handshake to all the contemporaries who have inculcated the good in me.

And of course, I can’t end up without asking for forgiveness, if anytime, I may have hurt you by my words or actions. Will always be looking forward for the perennial flow of inspiration from you all.

“Wishing a very Happy Guru Purnima”

-Shraddha

Brown, brown everywhere..!!

Last week I had to take a road passing through Lakhota lake (Jamnagaris would love to visit that area) to visit one of my clients. It is getting renovated finally, after facing many stays from high court and rallies opposing its renovation. There are new walls built, coloured with brown and yellow, and then, what I notice is that these brown colours had darker brown coloured spits on them, which inspired me to write my first blog post.

One of the walls of Lakhota Lake

Why do people have to eat these paans unendingly the whole day and then keep on spitting it anywhere and everywhere leaving their parabolic designs on roads, commercial complexes, residential complexes and various other places? 

The brown quadrant

There may be spittoons just a few steps away but no. I guess they may be thinking ‘kuch hatke karne mein hi to maza hai’ but.. but.. but.. my dear dear fellow citizens, is this where you need to do zara sa hatke? If you were the one travelling to Dubai, would you have done this? The fear of getting penalized cripples you and you would be damn conscious of not spitting anywhere. But, when you come at your home-town you take a breath of relief ‘chalo ab koi problem nahi hai’. Where are we heading towards with this sort of mentality?

I do believe that there may be no such facility on roads at some places where you can spit, but, my question is why do you need to eat such tobacco filled paans? Isn’t there any duty towards your health? Why do you want to invite cancer or any lung related diseases? The beauty is when there comes a reply that why should I not eat when people not eating tobacco also get cancer. And then they exhibit the principles of karma. ‘Mere karma mein jo bhi likha hoga so hoga’. But mere bhai, do you firmly believe in this principle in every phase of your life? Whether it may be the case when someone cheated you financially, or your near / dear ones said something that hurt you? How strongly you remember those incidents throughout your life. Can you forgive those people at that time ki chalo mere karma mein jo likha tha aisa maine paya?

Cancer aana hoga to aayega. We can’t stop it by not eating it, but, at least we can prevent it by not inviting it with our own hands. Yeah, I know it is not that easy to drop a vice. In fact it is too hard initially. It can make you restless for days, as if nothing in this world is worth living, everything seems to be going topsy-turvy but it may be a matter of few days. Just making up your mind is what is needed.  

There must have been a time when you would have been under influence of your friends that you first started eating with them. ‘Thoda sa kha lena, kuch nai hota’. In fact, not eating would have meant being ‘darpok’ for your friends. Or, you would have been surrounded during depression times, when you felt like ‘duniya ka sara dukh mere ko hi kyun diya’?  At that point having such things would have felt as relieving you from such tensions. But, practically, have you ever thought over it? Was it this nicotine that charged you up to solve your problems or get rid of it???

It is a pity to see when a day wager who hardly earns Rs. 150/- to Rs. 200/- wastes his hard earned money on chewing such 10-20 paans each single day. Can anyone imagine what if he had just saved that money and invested it for some good cause?

Have you ever imagined the plight of people driving just behind you when you spit your stuff while driving? How they feel that shower of your brown coloured spit (you can replace it with a ‘h’ if you like)? Or when people mimicker behind your back, the way you speak, with that whole mouth open fearing that it doesn’t slip down your oesophagus. I have seen people when they are fasting, they would go on days without having it, but, the moment their fast is over, I know you got what I mean?

My aim through this post is to hit hard with soft punch to those literate class who can endeavour to stop this vice and thereby encourage people around them to also leave it. 
My dear fellow citizens, just give a thought on it, if by any chance you stumbled over this post and have read it till the end. It is a heartfelt plea to all those who are eating it and reading it – PLEASE quit it. It is just that CLICK that is what you need. Take a chance to change yourself. What I can do till that time is to HOPE and send VIBES, so that your CLICK works!