Thought Shots

We all like to believe that we can do anything. That anything is possible and so forth. But there are some things which we have to, no matter how much we may want otherwise, accept as unalterable truths. We try to live in denial, of course. But that hardly is the solution. We need to face the reality as it is if we are to live in peace. It is too short a life to be spent in regret over things that are unattainable. The serenity prayer is: “God give me strength to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” And it is not a defeatist philosophy. It is what I would call a philosophy that is rationally optimistic. Accept the things that you cannot change. It takes a lot of strength to do that. And not every one of us can gather that strength. One has to be brave enough to see things as they are and not paint one’s own rosy picture. A rosy picture that is nothing more than an illusion of the mind. Not that illu...

Sometimes we find it difficult to remain optimistic. We question our efforts because the grim reality stares us hard in the face. The kind of reality that is in complete contradiction to what we had envisioned. And for once, doubt creeps in with its dark shadow of despair. A little motivation goes a long way in such moments. I have heard some of Obama’s speeches and the one thing I have found consistent in all of them is hope. He gives you hope. No wonder then that he titled his autobiography, The Audacity of Hope . On the eve of the Boston marathon bombings, he said at a prayer meeting to the people of Boston, “... what the perpetrators of such senseless violence -- these small, stunted individuals who would destroy instead of build, and think somehow that makes them important -- that’s what they don’t understand.  Our faith in each other, our love for each other, our love for country, our common creed that cuts across whatever superficial differences there may be -- that ...

Being the captain of the Indian Cricket Team is no picnic. As the captain of Team India, one carries on his shoulders the Himalayan weight of a billion people’s expectations. In the past, only very few Indian players could handle this job effectively. And leave alone improving the team’s performance, some of them saw even their own performance deteriorate. Instances include the likes of Gavaskar, Azharuddin, Tendulkar and Dravid. But change is constant and there are always exceptions. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is one such exception. The man has broken the jinx which had infected the indian captaincy for ages. Not only has he led India to two Cricket World Cup victories and the Number One Test Ranking in International cricket but Dhoni himself is considered to be one of the world’s best batsmen. What are the lessons that we can learn from him? Firstly, Dhoni has the advantage of being acceptable and relatable to all class of players in the team. He doesn’t carry with him that air...

I love the song, "Ram Chahe Leela" from the film Ram-Leela. The song basically asks that if two people love each other, how is it anybody else's business. Good question! The sad part is that whenever a Ram loves Leela or a Leela loves Ram, the world around them does seem to think that they have at least some business in whatever is going on between them. Take for example any love story from history, ‘Romeo-Juliett’, ‘Heer-Ranjha’, ‘Laila-Majnu’. In all these cases, you would find the world acting against the lovers. Causing one roadblock after another. Almost as if they want them to part from each other. As if their happiness makes them drown in unhappiness. Now, I don’t know why that happens. Perhaps, it is because most people in the world haven’t been lucky enough to find their best half, and so they cannot stand the sight of someone having found theirs. Or perhaps, the world is too imperfect to let a perfect love story prevail. Perhaps, that’s why Devdas couldn’...

I have been listening to a couple of speeches lately. And yes, they are speeches by some of the great leaders both from the present and the past. Hearing these speeches, one is swept away by the depth of conviction in these people’s messages and the substance of their speeches' content. Let me start by saying something about Martin Luther King’s speech, ‘I have a dream’. Considered by many to be the greatest speech of all time, the speech tells you exactly why King was one of the greatest Americans and social rights activists who ever lived. The speech is as old as 51 years but when you play it even now, it echoes around you. King spoke in this speech like a lion. A lion hungry for making change happen. And boy, did he roar! When you listen to speeches nowadays, there are only very few people that you can say are entirely genuine in their delivery. You can’t trust if most of them really mean what they say. And you would take a while to trust them. And to follow them in wh...

We all have relationships that have been allowed to suffer over the years. All we do is allow that suffering to fester. Cold wars begin, fault finding starts, arguments ensue and finally we decide to walk out of it. And sometimes, that is perhaps the best thing to do. Because, maybe we need our space at that time. But can we continue to let that relationship suffer for the rest of our lives? The interesting thing is that no matter how much we try to forget about such things, we don't. At the back of our mind, we know that there is someone out there with whom things have not really worked out. We try to console ourselves, of course, by pointing out why it couldn't and how it is the other person and not us who was responsible for the same. But the truth is that there is left a hole somewhere in our heart because we have allowed hate to take over love in our relationship with someone.  The irony of our life is that there can be hatred only where there is love. Hatred is th...

I am fascinated by people's faces. All kinds of them. They give you a glimpse into the person. They may be saying something but meaning something else. They may be projecting something but being something else. But the faces, they give it away. I am particularly taken by the face that tells you that the person before you is half-dead. Expressionless, almost. Like a stone or a boulder. Lifeless in some way. It tells me that whatever it is the person is doing in his life, s/he needs to rethink it. Because it sure isn't something that they seem to be enjoying doing. And perhaps what is missing is a purpose. What you may also call a meaning in their lives. Living because living is all you can do. Almost like you have been forced to do it. At least that's what those expressionless expressions tell me. I have to say that I almost feel scared to see such faces. I pray to God that  I don't, at any point in my day, look like that. So, when I catch myself in the mirror looking...