One more farewell...

Farewell... as per wikipedia - "is a wish of happiness or welfare at parting, especially a permanent departure"..

Well, thats just only a part meaning.. ! There is the other big part of sadness because the permanent departure means you will not see the person(s) as often as you could now.. (I am optimistic of meeting all my friends at some point in life.. inspite of the farewell. .So, I'd like to think I'll see them less often.. !!) So, you are sad you cannot do all the things you did together while you were in closer proximity.. I thought I was done with farewells when I left college.. ! But how naive I was to think so.. ! I am not done making friends after college...so how can there be no farewells ? There will be the bitter-sweet emotions associated with it always.. as long as I keep making friends.. hmm... ! Even though I kind of know it theoritically, somehow everytime I have to say goodbye to someone... I have to go through the same thought process.. .from square 1.

Today, I'll be bidding a farewell.. to another dear friend..! We laughed, danced..fought..played.. watched movies.. shared feelings..and even baked a cake together :)) I would miss having her around..And hope the best for her always.. ! Like with all my other friends that I had to say farewell to.. I hope to see her sometime again in future... ! And ...in spite of the physical distance that keeps us apart.. she will always be near and dear to my heart.. !

Movagagh Bashi Azizam ! (Goodbye Dear Friend ! In persian.. my friend 's native language)

O My Friend...

Over the weekend, we had a surprise farewell party for one of our close friends who is moving back to India for good.. ! And some of us sang the song from Happy Days (O My Friend) .. brought tears into all our eyes... became very sentimental and emotional.. Even some of the guys had watery eyes.. though they didn't really cry.. like us mortal gals :) Its kind of a mixed feelings..occasion.. we were happy.. they were able to make the hard decision that many of us wish to make.. but are afraid of doing it ! on the other hand we would miss them here..

Looks like there is no way to NOT MISS anyone.. in life these days.. ! First move to a new place in search of opportunities..and better life.. while we are here, miss our family in India.. then as time goes on, somehow we don't see it as being better anymore..we start to question as to why we are where we are..and think about going back.. and when we do go back to where we came from, we miss the life here. Some people are bold enough to realize and make a decision to transition early, some take more time.. ! And then there are another group of people who never moved anywhere else, and they itch for change.. ! whatever people do, nothing is ever satisfactory..to anyone.. Why do we impose such things upon ourselves.. ?

चलते चलते मेरे ये गीत याद रखना कभी अलविदा न कहना ... कभी अलविदा न कहना॥

Nostalgia

I was browsing for something.. and stumbled upon the picture of a face that seemed vaguely familiar.. Wondered who that was and when I started reading, it was the picture of a once famous singer. But as soon as i read the name, it brought back memories from a long time ago. From the time I can ever remember, her very famous album was at my home. And I always listened to it as a kid. It was one of my most favorites... still is ! I wondered why i hadnt heard more about the artist. I started reading more in hopes of getting more music from the artist.. but... it was all in vain... Too bad she is no more alive to make music.. !

But in her short life she made some really good music that fans like me adore. In my mind, her voice and her songs ... will always be remembered.. and her name... Nazia Hassan.. will be something that will bring happy sad feelings into my heart..

P.S: "Aap Jaisa Koi " - from the movie Qurbani .. yes the old one.. thats her voice..

Keeping in touch...

How hard is it to keep in touch with friends ? Sometimes it may really be the case that there is no way of communicating with them.

Down the road somehow, you hope to get in touch with such long lost friends from school and college. But most times, its just either a phone call or an email away. Life is so busy in this materialistic, mechanical world, that keeping in touch and sharing conversations, doesnt seem to be a huge priority anymore. 24 hours of a day just dont seem to be enough to get all the things done.

True, its hard enough having to juggle with kids,work, home, bills etc...who has time for phone calls and pointless chats ? But is it really a matter of time ? If really "not enough time" is the reason, how are we able to stay up-to-date with whos who in hollywood ? And the best new gadget out there is.. ?

Well, sadly they seem to take up a higher spot on the list than talking to friends.. I guess. Anyway.. friendships are mutual, the relationship will be alive only if both people engage in keeping it so.. and I guess after a while, we become so busy and occupied with the regular things going on in life.. that we dont remember how happy we were before all these responsibilities became a part of us..and forget what it is to have good friends.. and dont care about that anymore.. .or that there are other things in life that give us such pleasure.. that we dont remember about past relationships anymore.. Or am I just thinking too much over this friends thing ?!

Monday Morning Blues

Its raining cats and dogs and a chilly 29 degrees.. at 6:30 AM ..this morning, I got on my daily bus and noticed a similar expression on almost everyone's face - "I am not happy being here."
Even if the weather wasn't so bad, monday mornings in general seem to be a bit of the "Dont disturb me" days.. Most people seem to be not too excited about it. Is it because they dont like what they would do the rest of the day/week until the next weekend ? Or is it just the start of the routine factor that annoys them ? or may be lack of sleep over the weekend they were planning to catch up on...that they never did due to many social activities. I came into work thinking about it and I have to say everyone here too seems a bit rigid.. and not so approchable.. unlike most of the other days. I guess in my case, its just the start of another busy week.. after a fun/tiring weekend.. and even though I love what I do at work... monday mornings are somehow the most boring time of the week... :(

Do you also suffer from the "Monday Morning Blues" ?

What is the cost of freedom ?

Everytime I listen to news that an innocent person has been serving time in jail "by mistake" .. for a crime he/she did not commit, and now being released after many years..due to the results of a DNA test or something like that, I wonder... How much does a person's freedom really cost ? Looks like everyone has a different price tag attached to this question. Does all that compensation make the pain go away.. or get back the lost time. All that money will definitely buy a very good vacation .. But how does anyone come up with a price tag for the lost time or freedom..or the pain and suffering that the person in question went through all the years in the jail and being treated as a criminal for a crime they did not commit ?! And what about the trauma that the family members may have gone through of trust/distrust, humiliation/embarrassment etc. etc. and how frustrating it is to the families of the victims of the actual crime.. to know that the real culprit was never brought to justice in all that time .. ! Sad..but some errors people make are really hard to fix.. !

Distance and relationships

No, I am not talking about romantic/marriage type relationships. But about friends.. the really good ones.. from childhood/school/college ..you grew up together with. I was talking to a friend the other day .. and reading a blog of another.. and its like I hardly know them now. We were best buddies back then. But life has become so different for each of us.. being where we are .. and how far we are.. our interests and priorities have changed , we also have other "significant" people in our lives now that seem to matter more... it almost seems like there arent very many things we share in common anymore. The things that brought us together and made us friends in the first place..seem to be lost somewhere.. Though its kind of hard to accept, distance does change the relationships in ways that are rarely desirable.The very first time I realized this with a very dear friend of mine, I was very disappointed like I had lost something that I could never get back and I did not want to accept it. .. gradually i guess it has sinked in now....

But inspite of all that, I still do feel a strong sense of connection/attachment (not with everyone but very few) and I do remember that feeling of not having to hesitate and the unconditional acceptance.. I got from my dear friends.. from many years ago.. I know they have a different lifestyle, different things they are interested in, we rarely talk.. since all of us are too "busy"for that..I still feel deep in my heart that I know them. I think they feel that with me too.. or atleast I hope they do...

I never really thought much before when someone said they were friends from "X" number of years.. as to what the big deal about it is. Now I know... what the big deal is.. the relationship has survived the test of time.. and they can still connect and relate and laugh about things..share joy and sadness..be there for each other in happy and tough times.. after all these years.. its a true friendship and a real connection.. that doesnt fade with time and survives all obstacles created by life.. and its definitely something precious to have...and celebrate..and feel good about... !

What is happenning to this world ?!

There isnt one good thing on the news right now, that I can read and feel good about ... OK the redsox win is an exception for their fans I am sure. But, everything else is going so wrong... Terrorist Groups targetting children to be their next "terror delivery method", emergencies in already politically unstable countries, record-high foreclosure rates in the US real estate market, Labor union strikes at companies that are already not doing great , dollar value dwindling and banks in shortage of funds.. I can go on an on..with this list.. But yet inspite of all this, some how, media and news are still surrounded around things that are not important to most people on this earth. Why should I care "How much Britney Spears spends on her clothes every month" ? Who cares what she does with her money and her life.. ok.. may be some people do. But thats not even close to the number of people who care about their home values going down ? or even the number of people whose lives have been devastated due to wild fires in california.. But still, there it is, the news about her each and every day as one of the headlines along with the "other stuff".. How can a news about a celebrity be on the same scale ? Are people more interested in reading about such things than the real issues in the world right now ? Or is it becoz they have so much frustration about the every day life that this is a form of entertainment to them ? I dont know..