Mind Speaks

The other day while I was in the toilet, I did some quick maths and figured out that I spend 270 hours a year on an average in the metro. As I have nothing else to do but to wait for my stop to come, often I observe the fellow commuters. Where for the most part, I share my journey with people who are confined to themselves as if they have been sentenced to a solitary confinement or a high school couple who are completely oblivious of the fact that there are also other people surrounding them and think the metro to be the best place on the earth to make out and to prove their commitment towards each other; I often encounter some very peculiar people. - The Vibrating Dude : He always makes a grand entrance with a smirk on his face. The bloke should be easily in his 40s if not in the 50s. Every time I see him, I find him with the same attire; a cap placed at 45° angle, a Redskins jacket, an Aeropostale Tshirt, a Kaporal jeans, a Redskins shoes and a handbag which looks like a music ...

I always find the beginning of a post the hardest to write, and then I decide to just start writing and I bet by the time I'm done, I'll be the author of yet another long post. This year has been fantastic in terms of my travel. We just stepped into the10th month of the year and I've already visited Hungary, Italy, Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. The Baltics trip was special because I was travelling alone. If you know me then you know that I'm not a fan of solo travel. I love having people around so that I can talk to them and can share my feelings. Secondly, there is nobody to take my pictures.  I visited 4 cities, the three capitals; Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius and a small but very picturesque city not far from Vilnius called Trakai. I didn't end up doing justice in the sightseeing front but I had a total gastronomical trip there to compensate. I guess we all fall prey to the "Oh, I MUST see this place" or "Oh I HAVE to click a picture...

Yes, these were the exact three words that all I learnt before coming over to France: Parlez vous Anglais ? which means Do you speak English ? I was told these very three words would prove to be a saviour during the initial days in France. Later I joined a French language school where I was given one month time to master the most sophisticated language in the world. Although my mother knew that I could make it somehow it was my dad who was suspicious and less supportive. It was too much for him to digest the thought that I could learn French in a month and that I could take my engineering lessons entirely in French. Having spent more than five years in this beautiful country, now when I look back I realise that the engineering lessons never really helped me learning French. In the language school, all I could learn within a month was the present tense. I was a fresher and had no worries about the future. I closed my past chapter the moment I took the flight from India to France. ...

It's the last day of the year and it feels like the year started just yesterday. I always take a moment on the last day of the year to reflect on what I've done, what I've achieved and what I've experienced during the current year. Should I be sad that 2011 is about to end or should I be excited about the arrival of 2012 ? I ask myself this unsettling question at the end of every year and yet I could never come up with a tangible answer. I guess Syrus rightly said "Not every question deserves an answer." 2011 has been like a roller coaster ride for me with both highs and lows. The important thing is I embraced life as it came to me. I learned to be patient and how to say NO. I realised the point of travelling is not to see all the tourist spots but to relax, have fun and to experience the new culture. I visited 6 new countries (Croatia, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy and Poland) and wished I could travel even more. I grew a serious passion fo...

I vividly remember it was the 21st of November when out of nowhere I decided to follow the footsteps of Morgan Spurlock. I thought it would be fun to try something new for the next 30 days. The idea is actually pretty simple but implementing is not. It turns out, 30 days is about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching TV - from your life. In my case I decided to quit smoking.  I smoked 8 cigarettes per day for around 3 years and I have never had thought of putting an end this disgusting habit. There are a few things that I learned from this 30 days challenge. The first was, instead of months flying by, forgotten, the time was much more memorable. I exactly remember the first day when I stopped smoking, the second day and so on. I noticed that it's always the beginning which is tough. Afterwards you get used to it. I still remember when I gave up sugar, initially it was difficult. It took my taste buds one week to adjust with coffee or ...

I often think that the night is more alive and colourful than the day. It's the time when my mind takes a stroll and give me ideas. It gives me a chance to analyse what's going with and around me. Night has always given me the motivation to keep on moving. It inspires and reminds me that the chase to become a better person is not yet over. I don't know when will it over or if at all it will be over. I don't know how would that better person be but for sure I'm not him. Night has taught me the 3 Ps (Perseverance, Persistence and Patience) that my father always wanted me to learn. It has taught me to look a person beyond his colour. It has encouraged me to try and to do the things that I would never do ordinarily. What I take from my nights I add to the days.