Monday, September 30, 2013

Memories - A click away and Captured !

The sad part about people is - that you love them.   Now,that’s my friend what life is all about ~ Karan

A chance encounter with someone from the past whom you would have forgotten rekindled a walk down the memory lane. For not the walk was a smooth or a bumpy ride but for the sheer joy of walking together. It’s a basic human instinct that you feel nice , you feel wanted when you are in a company accompanied by someone you know / knew  . It’s just a safe and secure thing to feel for . 

This friend of mine was a decade old now.  And yes, I too had moved on to complete a decade. As they say memories are formed not out of the cutest or the sweetest of things but the ones that create an impact - are truly remarkable.

Destiny has plans for most of us . However, very few choose to ‘plan’ and implement these ‘plans’. When someone comes in and then walks out of our life it’s not because their time is complete in our journey but it’s that there is someone new waiting to come on-board.  Very remotely we realize who went by and who came in. And then one fine day – spark – they drop in to say Hi and you are left with no conversation starters.  Memories just flash by with pictures and moments capturing what you had shared  in the past.

Pictures, aha ! makes me come to an another interesting point . Have you ever realized most of us love getting clicked for various reasons?  It’s nice after all to see our own selves and recollect all those memories  / moments passed by with the people who were a part of us at that point in time .

And this is how the above actually happened .The long lost friend of mine was browsing through a set of images when she stumbled upon ‘this set’  . And as they say , visuals can hold your breath let apart thoughts.

One series led to another and given the connected world the pictures were uploaded and were shared all across.  A step further, an email connect happened with the ‘gang’  where in a ‘chosen’ set of pictures were shared with everyone . And believe me , in a span for under 1 hour , people from India ,  Australia , the US and yes , Bali - were all connected . Some would argue that this is the power of social media – yes ! but the larger power is the power of –love . The power of being together , the power of memories .



One picture and 5 updates. People had moves jobs , changes locations , had raised families and some of them had put on weight . Suddenly everyone’s ‘do not disturb’ signage got changed to ‘available now’ . 

We are not busy , we are just too caught up in our otherwise simple life. This made so much sense to me now . The feeling is deep sinking yet something fun .

So you know the next time you are feeling low , or high – get clicked . Revisit those folders where you have bags full of joys waiting to be played.  Drop in an image with a one line update and see how fast you reach out to . And remember people move and fade away – memories stay .

A special thanks to a special someone for making me get ‘my bag’ of these special moments.


**

On a lighter note - I wonder if there will be a day when cameras would be redundant given our cell phones are taking over .

Also , stumbled upon this interesting piece of work from Citibank today . Thought of sharing :



Why wait when you can fly and be present in person 

Friday, September 20, 2013

Being your own personal FAVORITE

It’s hard and at times tough when you don’t get what you want / wanted or desired.  Ever seen a child cry for something that you would not buy for him or her knowing that’s it’s of no use but still you go ahead and buy because you can’t see your child in tears?? !!

I remember back in my childhood days there were a number of instances when I used to literally  ‘blackmail’  my parents into buying that – latest  ‘ lay-a-hen ‘ toy  or a ‘hot wheels mega set’ or may be a ‘button wala” pencil box  and they used to run or ring the shop to get or buy it for me .  It’s not that these things were my favorite or I would have cried a river to get them, but the fact is, at that point time those were my favorite. 

Little did I realized, that some years down the lane I would never ever open the packed boxes of these things.

It’s also not that I have changed or these things no longer hold relevance for me. It’s just that I have got bored and I no longer need or require them. They are in short , not my favorite anymore. 

Favorites by definition are a varied set. For some there could be -humans whom they like a lot and hence are a favorite. For others, it’s the worldly materialistic things that matters – may be a watch , a car , the next big bling iPhone or even just getting that sparkling yellow dress for your next birthday .

Someone would argue and say favorites always stay favorites. A favorite color, Pink,will always remain a favorite . Shah Rukh Khan for some will always remain the number 1 entertainer and hence a favorite . The vacation which you took to ,say Paris , last year , will always remain your favorite .  The first branded watch which came as a gift on your B-school placement will and always be your favorite. The first kiss from your now ex whom you are no longer on talking terms will be your favorite kiss . Your grandma’s french fries will always and always remain the best even if you traveled the world over in search of the best fries
Seeing the star studded the sky for some folks is the best thing they would want to do every evening though it’s a different equation that given our city lives we hardly get time to go ‘home on time’ let apart do star-gazing.

So why do favorites change ?  What is it that makes this change happen ? Why is it that some things that you once loved and loved are no longer even remotely recollected by your mind  ? And such other queries …..

Well, in simple words if I have to put it &answer it would be – YOU CHANGE.  During one of my astrological sessions with some of my peers, I told them that the lines on your palms change every day every moment . Give it a shot .Though, it’s not easy to see the changes but it does happen.  Same is the case with YOU and all of us . As we grow and progress in life , our mind and heart also change and adapt accordingly .  Some of you would say – stars and the astrological equations also change  .Yes , indeed !!



But more importantly, you tend to move away to something more new & more fresh . Ever thought , when you were in school and changed / moved classes  - the entire feel of a – new bag , new pencil box , new books ,new water bottle , new tiffin box and may be a new watch or a pair of new shoes made you go “wow “ . 

What exactly changed here – Everything was the same  . A book or maybe a curriculum just upgraded  itself . The school remained the same  , may be the teachers also , and most importantly –YOU also were the same  . There was a time when the now old school bag was your favorite but no longer now .

Similar is the case with life. Life moves one and on . Time moves along with. Learn to appreciate what you have every day - be it big or small, significant or insignificant, expensive or priceless. Remember you are privileged than many others around you. For them you are nothing less than a king or a queen and they can never attain or get what you have already left.

Remember “Geet” from Jab We Met saying , “ main apni favorite hoon “  ! After all, if you don’t love yourself first ,  who else will . And I can go on and on….and suddenly this post will become my ‘favorite ‘post which is not the case since all of my posts are special and really special. Each one of them has a favorite element in it which makes it all the more special  , and they are all written by me and I am my own favorite :) :)

You can tweet @karansayz or simply drop me a comment or a one liner .

Monday, September 9, 2013

The time YOU enjoy wasting is NOT wasted time !

Gifts are hard to get and more importantly they need to taken- care off really well.  Such is the case which happened with my recent gift – an Apple iPad .Now , most you would go wow and gaga all over but take a moment and let me explain it to you with a background .

I am a laptop person and this is what makes me click . Adaptable and easy to use the laptop has been my companion since my b-school days . When I got the iPad I thought I would use it every day for most of my key things.  This however, has till date remained a thought.  Whenever I go and try to use it I just feel – laptop works better for me. It may be the adaptability issue, or maybe I never fell in love with it or maybe I am not an apple fan  to put it together .  But , then the key thing here is it’s a – gift  . A really special one.

So , I decided and got in touch with some of my fellow Apple stars who tried all the tricks in the bag and made download the ‘best’ of the apps ,as they call .

Things improved - I configured my social media – twitter  , LinkedIn , Facebook and my series of personal accounts  .  I downloaded Flipboard – a favorite now which I regularly use and browse through. What I also got were a series of games. One of them is the Real Racing 3  .
I love games – especially digital ones which you can play on an iPad or may be a laptop . And yes , I got addicted to this game. A typical car racing game with new fancy cars , nice choice of tracks and good co-drivers . And then it started on and on.Yesterday, just a glance at my till date time spent on this game drove me into a shock state . I had spent close to 18 hours on this game over a period of less than 4 weeks . I am and still in a shock state !!




18 hours of my life wasted in a game of which I learnt nothing new , unlearnt something old , strained my eyes and my back and more importantly I could have done the world in those 18hours.

The first thought which came to my mind was – DELETE this damn game !  Wrap and close the iPad into the box and in it goes for a good time now.   But then , I was the one who choose it . I liked playing it . The experience made me feel wow and hence I came over almost every day to this game. I drove well, moved levels , bought cars and earned dollars.  In short, I did all the game was meant to do . Then why ponder over and lose your thoughts.

If you have taken a decision then be bold enough to stand by it . Don’t always measure things in the scale that’s it’snot meant to be . Life will be far simpler.  Each and every thing , each and every person have very different roles to play in our life’s  . If we start measuring each of them then life would be far more complex.


Someone told me,that you should keep life simple and straightforward.  The more thinking you do the more confused you become and the more complex your life and thoughts are  . Life was always simple. It’s just that we have gone in search of things and people – who are actually not needed by us . If at 1 in the night you have no one to call up and share something that is bothering you  , with a close  1000+ friends on Facebook almost similar on LinkedIn- then believe me it’s not worth it !! just not worth it .  have that one person who can take the way you are , listen the things you wish to say and give you a smile back where it belongs to – Life is and will be beautiful . 


**


Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to all ! May God give us peace and happiness.. and lots of Modaks of course !

Aloha on the Ganges

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