~ My Friend’s Oscar! ~

Mornings are no good now a days, with scorching heat and sweat engulfing you through out the day, summers in Delhi have actually made a knock! But we, the souls are equally defiant and cling to our daily routine which includes our regular and timely attendance in out neighbourhood park – many of us are early risers and be it winters or summers, we hit most pricey ‘Asset’ which DDA has built for us!

Today’s conversation was quite unique as we transgressed towards topic of ‘Pet and Animal Love’ – Canines being the most adorable and sought after pets in our domestic households in India, the topic revolved around them – My friend ‘Rajeev’ has one such accomplice who is always awake ‘night and day’ as per his master’s (Rajeev’s) observation …the Doggie loves to be addressed as ‘Oscar’ – he is such a lovely dog and is always wagging his tale to all and sundry – be it strangers or his regular visitors…Oscar is at his happiest best! 😊

Rajeevji’s love for pets and other animals is incredible – be it other wild street dogs loitering around or birds , squirrels , he loves them all – infact many of our peers and group members share a common notion – “ Animals are equal owners of our planet!” 

Dogs being special are a real true friend of their owners, they share their emotions, happiness, melancholy and all other feelings , for they get to know the true nature of their master as they newly arrive in their new home – Rajeevji shares many of his life’s instances when Oscar has been his best listening partner – through the thick and thin and ups and downs of his life , Oscar has been a patient listener – A gentle hug from him instantly changes the mood and he is the motivation for me to be in the park on prescribed time – his barks and howling at different pitches quickly makes one understand what he wants …. Truly, Canine love is therapeutic!

There have been many examples of big shot people who have shared their genuine love for animals, especially Dogs! – one such gentleman is Shri Ratan Tata – his love for canines has been admirable – quite often , we keep on hearing about many precedence’s where he has had a key involvement in pushing forward to safeguard animals rights and working with many NGO’s – a brilliant case being “ the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai which has its own Canine Companion!” – the canine in talk is a street dog born in vicinity and has been a part of the Mega Hotel ever since, and loiter around in lobbies and in and around the hotel  - Mr Tata has especially advised his staff to NOT harass any animal including him , showcasing his humane side ( which he always has!) !  

Ponder, a ultra five star hotel property having street dogs roaming in its lobbies – Sounds weird – the business impact could be phenomenal as The Taj Mumbai hosts and welcomes keynote dignitaries , political personalities, Big Businessmen and of course Film stars … It is the intrinsic love and nature of any Animal lover whose first priority would be to love the being , be it a pet or otherwise…that is what love and care signifies, it forms your character and your shapes your personality as you live…

As we talked today, I could echo and sense the same feeling what My Friend Rajeev, Mr Tata and myself would be feeling for any canine love we all have…!!!

~ Damn, Its All Marks ~

 Is it really a bad world out there? Or it is making of our own thoughts? Expectations and aspirations of young ones are bothering them and they are feeling the burn for the quagmire they have in.

Just yest, I had privilege of talk with young ones, - adolescents and young blood brimming with life’s target’s – the class 12^th and 10^th results were out and they had come with expected eyes to see the marks which they has aimed for – many of them had hit a bullseye and had made their parents proud.

I could see the tears of happiness, all the toil and hard work the parents and teachers and students all combined had done to get the scorecard but this came out just as a beginning… a beginning of a new life and a new struggle – now what ..school is overand it is time to enroll for a ‘job oriented’ course – the primary desire of every student!  Is it really a bad world out there? Or it is making of our own thoughts? Expectations and aspirations of young ones are bothering them and they are feeling the burn for the quagmire they have in.

Just yest, I had privilege of talk with young ones, - adolescents and young blood brimming with life’s target’s – the class 12^th and 10^th results were out and they had come with expected eyes to see the marks which they has aimed for – many of them had hit a bullseye and had made their parents proud – I could see the tears of happiness, all the toil and hard work the parents and teachers and students all combined had done to get the scorecard but this came out just as a beginning… a beginning of a new life and a new struggle – now what ..school is over and it is time to enrol for a ‘job oriented’ course – the primary desire of every student!

As every year tagline that ‘Girls have outshined boys in this years 12^th and 10^th board results’ , and the overall pass %age of 87 was termed a little less for more than a million students who took the exams, there were many somber faces too – those unlucky ones I would say , who did not get the desired marks as per their toil and expectation – suddenly, life was changed and didn’t look like the same again – every question asked about the marks scored felt like deliberate taunt!

For me , this was a just a stepping stone, yes – marks give you a sense of confidence for sure, but at the same time also a sense of override sometimes as I could gauge with some students…. The ‘other’ ones who were not termed as toppers looked timid in their approach – suddenly, best friend was not the ‘Best’ anymore and had turned foes for some reason!

Talking to the some of the mediocre students, I wanted to be my witty best as I didn’t wanted to point out the just arrived ‘failure’ for these poor souls…there were zillion such examples given by me to push up their morale , as I continued  “Life for everyone is different – with different scenarios to tackle and different impediments to conquer – today if you feel you are successful, there would be many other days when you will be termed a ‘failure’ – take it in your stride guys.

Average students have also done remarkably well – so, put your chin up and face the world with same aplomb – you are unique and will have your own accomplishments in life as it unfolds day after day – some decades from now you will realize these lessons – there is nothing final and everything is temporary and bound to change….” – these words did make them smile to some extent but they need to live life to observe these teachings… after all we were also given such life lessons from our elders and they came to be so true to their thought!

~ "W"ealth or "H"ealth ~

What you think of a man, all in his mid-forties – a friend of yours who is all well and has been exercising regularly and is a teetotaler but still falls prey to minimal health due to a sudden Stroke that paralysis his left arm – to no avail, does exercise or timely medical help expediate his recovery. His chase for getting a respectful position in his professional pursuits made him fall into the situation he is in now – less sleep and more stress and overthinking to achieve the unimaginable, the neglect of his own being caused him much trouble. 

This is the nth number of health deterioration case that has come to my knowledge – cases have drastically increased, I have seen people with good health conditions falling prey to cardiac arrests, contacting sugar and BP and suddenly have lost weight and charm of their face!

Why is this happening, as I ask myself? What is causing this mischief? There was a time when hitting sweet 70th year of your living was termed as a life long lived, but not now – talk to anyone and ask him “How much years do you thing that you would survive in best of your health?”, the most common answer would be a firm “Don’t know!” , or in some cases many have answered “ Wont cross 60!” – this is actually a harsh reality in today’s living. Youngsters have compromised in their health, overstretching to insane working hours, coupled with high Adrenaline night life, boozes and drugs – these are all new age fashionista, which one needs to ingrain in his young life or he / she be left out and termed old fashioned. 

Rest there are working donkeys in corporate life chasing insane dreams and pay-cheques – not to understand that they would not live and see the day when they actually have fat bank balances – either their kids or their siblings would be “Enjoying” the fruits of your toil – not even shedding  tear or keeping you in their thoughts! – that is indeed the harsh reality of relationships and todays living – everyone needs a high life and is ready to be sacrificing his/her health to achieve a mark for themselves , thinking so that it will make the world fall under their feet – how misjudged they are! 

Ask simplest of the questions to your own self –“How much time you give to yourself?”, “ How much rest/sleep you give to your body?”, “How much you laugh and share your emotions with your family and friends?”, “How much You exercise in any form?” and “How much time you spend with your family daily!”– these are life-rudimentary questions and everyone knows them for sure, but no one is perfect in answering them – We all have our own excuses!

I always chant “Take a halt, refresh yourself, do things that you love, its not a rat race that needs to be won by You!” – my friend is slowly coming with terms when he almost kissed death – recuperating those days in hospital, he realized what his actual worth is – all the effort that he has been doing for his family and his own esteem would be a zilch when he would get to know that he is no more – all his ‘Achievements’ and his false ‘Ego’ he has been living with, would provide no succour! Now that damage is done, he has started to accept his fact learnt thought hard way – Many of us would not be so lucky to survive the pressure and stress of everyday life – the ‘moment’ may arrive anytime – but this would be of our own making, the choice would be ours what we want and at what cost “Health” or “Wealth”...