A Good Life

Trrrrrrriiiiiiiinnnnngggg!! Rang the bell at the village school to end the day at school for children. This is the time children are most excited. They all quickly packed their bags and ran out of their classes towards the school gate, all laughing, shouting and ecstatic. Some children rode their cycles to home, while others walked towards home in groups. Asha and her friends were walking through the forest to get to their village. Suddenly, Asha saw something moving in a bush alongside the path. She stopped and walked towards the bush. As she walked closer, from the sound she realised it was a bird in pain. Asha's parents had taught her, never to put her hand inside bushes as there might be snakes or other dangerous animals and insects there. Asha was an obedient child and used a stick to move aside the bushes. There she saw a beautiful green parrot lying in pain. She moved her hand towards the injured bird, who quickly move back and tried to bite, but he did not have much stre...

Rampur was a village en route between two major temples in the state of Maharashtra. Saints and learned men often crossed the village while walking from one temple to another. The rich pilgrims would undertake this journey in horse drawn carriages or cars, whichever they could afford. The residents of this village would look forward to the revered saints walking through their village. Villagers would offer them food and water and seek their blessings in return. One such saint was Maharaj Vriksheshwar, he was renowned for a gift he had, to be able to communicate with trees once he sat in meditation. A farmer in Rampur was eagerly waiting for Maharaj Vriksheshwar to come to their village. The farmer had planted a mango plant in one corner of his lemon farm. What bothered the farmer was that after growing to about three feet tall, the mango plant stopped growing, it drooped and looked pale in spite of the farmer giving it the best of resources and taking the best of care. The farmer wa...

At a monastery, a saint was delivering a sermon to a group of disciples. After the end of the sermon, disciples were asking their teacher questions and he was answering them. After some question answers, a disciple raised his hand and then asked his question upon getting the nod from his teacher. "Oh revered teacher, why do we have negative emotions like anger, jealousy, hatred and how do they affect us ?" he asked. "You will get your answer later, now it is time for prayer and we must head to the prayer hall", said the teacher as he stood up and walked towards the exit. The student who asked the question got a little frustrated, a little angry at not receiving his answer when he asked for it, though he could not do much about it and walked out with the others. The way to the prayer hall of the monastery was through a garden. Adjoining it was a small shed under which there were some utensils and a fireplace to cook. The teacher stopped by the shed and asked for a...

Aditya and Anu had been the best of friends since childhood. Having grown up together they shared a great bond. They came from very different backgrounds, religious, cultural and financial, which often made people question the credibility of their friendship. Aditya was more affluent and cared little about what people said while Anu would be affected by people's words and would always wonder if they were right. One evening Aditya had thrown a party at a beachside hotel. The party continued into the night. Suddenly Aditya realised, Anu was missing from the party. He searched frantically for her as her phone was switched off too. Then some friends informed him, that they had seen Anu head towards the beach. He ran out to look for her and found her sitting on the beach, her knees drawn up and arms around the knees watching the beautiful full moon and it's reflection in the sea. Aditya walked up and quietly sat beside her. "What's the matter Anu?" enquired Aditya...

Dave and Sofia are beautiful golden eagles and are a loving couple as well. They live in their cozy abode on a tree top, high up in Himalayan mountains. They have made their home in the highest mountain range. They are surrounded by coniferous trees and snow capped peaks. The tree they live on, is on the edge of a cliff. They can see the clouds float below when they look out of their home. They love flying together, playing together, hunting together and will soon be starting a family too. Sofia has laid a couple of eggs which will hatch anytime soon. The day finally has come. The first egg hatches, from it emerges their elder son Sam. The second egg is taking a little longer, the parents are eager to see the other one too. Well it took a little longer, but the other one has hatched too and out comes their second son Maxx. The parents are overjoyed. They are thrilled to see the little chicks, just like little balls of skin with hardly any feathers on their body. As time passes, Dave...

As the law and order situation in India and on the streets of its metros continued to remain a cause for concern the authorities decided its time to call upon an international superhero. So they managed to get in touch with Peter Parker who responded and Spiderman was on his way to India. He decided his first city would be Mumbai. His flight landed in Mumbai and he made for the immigration counter much impressed by by T2. At the immigration counter he handed over his passport to the officer who had a big smile on his face. "You and me brothers. You Parker, me too Parkar. Hahaha", laughed the officer. "Lame", Peter thought as he smiled back. Immigration done, he proceeded to his hotel. The next day as Peter was taking a walk around his hotel when he heard the cry of a woman. "He's running away with my purse", she shouted. "Time for action", thought Peter. He went into an alley and changed into Spiderman costume. Running out of the alley he ...

If you think I'm nice say it now, Say it to my face, say it in front of me, I won't be able to hear once I'm gone, If not now don't say it then, no, not over my dead body. If you want to meet me come here now, Come and we will laugh together, I won't be able to give you company once I'm gone, Don't come to weep then, no, not over my dead body. If you like me and want to send flowers, Send them now with greetings attached, I won't be able to see the heaps on the grave, Don't waste the flowers, no, not over my dead body. If you want to have a nice meal together, Come now and bring our friends along, I won't be able to eat with you once I'm gone, No sense having a feast, no, not over my dead body. If you wish me well say a prayer for my well-being today, I will say Ameen and pray for you too my friend, No one has seen what comes after, pray for someone else once I'm gone, Don't waste your prayer, no, not over my d...

The shadow leaves you in the dark they say, They are being judgemental, just imagine the plight, As you stepped into darkness where the shadow lost its identity, May be it was right there, holding on, till again there would be light. The shadow leaves you in the dark they say, They are being judgemental, passing comments so lame, I guess the shadow knew, that of darkness you are scared, May be it just hugged you tightly, till again, into the light you came. The shadow leaves you in the dark they say, They are being judgemental, for by being with you nothing it could ever gain, The shadow could be a part of you, that strengthened you when darkness came, When you stepped into light once more, it fell back and let you shine brightly again. The shadow leaves you in the dark they say, They are being judgemental, shadows entertained and always obeyed, Sometimes as animals, sometimes as birds, They took whatever shape, with your hands you made. The shadow leaves you in th...

The tree dropped a seed on the ground below, It hoped, when the sapling emerged, that it would grow into a big tree, The mother deer gave birth to a cute little one, Before he got up on his feet, she hoped someday, he would run free. The guy who raced last continued to compete, Hoping he would have a strong finish to the race, The guys who were second and third raced in hope of victory, The guy who led, continued to push, hoping he would remain the ace. When he did OK he hoped for good, When he did better he hoped for the best, That's when he realised hope is always there, In different forms, itself it will always manifest. When all lights went out when there was darkness around, A little candle still burned brightly in the corner, When everything was lost this candle of hope was alive, It kept him going on, hope said it ain't finished till it's over. When he had nothing left he still had hope, It was the last thing he had at the end of the day, Is it...

Sanjay was the son of NRI parents, born and brought up in USA. He was born to parents of Indian origin that was about all that was Indian about him. Curiosity about the mystic lands of India made him want to come to India to explore. On his trip to India he came to know about a remote location in the northern mountains where mysterious things happen and people strangely vanish. He fell for the temptation and headed to the mountains. He got the address and manged to find his way. There he found a well maintained, beautiful looking house, on the outskirts of a village, set amongst beautiful snow covered hills and tall coniferous trees. He reached there on a gloomy morning and even in day time there was an eerie feel to the place. Believing totally in science and that there's a reason for everything, Sanjay was not worried about the stories he had heard. He knocked and an old caretaker opened the door. He was a frail man who had seen too many winters in these mountains. Dressed in...

An old man and his son lived in a cozy countryside home. Their abode was a cozy villa with a beautiful garden attached to the front. The old man's bedroom was on the first floor with the window overlooking the garden. They had an extended porch with a tea table, chairs and a rocking chair. The old man loved his garden and his plants and personally maintained his garden. Every day he would water his plants and regularly add fertilisers and other medicines to the soil. The garden looked beautiful with ample of green and an array of beautifully coloured flowers. His son would help his dad, sometimes, doing the gardening but most of the times the old man was at it alone. Time passed and the old man could no longer maintain his garden, age caught up with him. One morning he asked his son to join him for tea. The son prepared tea while the old man took seat on his rocking chair. "I can no longer do the gardening myself. But you know how much this garden means to me, so from now I...

Captain John was ready to set sail on board his ship, Santa Maria, named after the famous ship of Christopher Columbus. The captain and his crew decided to set sail in the later half of evening and sail through the night to reach their destination the next evening. The route they were to sail was new to them but that did not really bother them as captain John was highly experienced, having been a sailor for over twenty five years. The route was known to be treacherous with mid-ocean ridges and small rocky islands. The captain trusted his instincts and decided they had to sail through the night to keep up to the schedule. Captain John was so experienced he would use the stars at night, to guide his ship on the right course and hardly needed a compass. So the crew gathered, loaded the cargo, made the ship ready to sail and waited for captain's orders. "Raise the anchor, it's time to set sail," announced the captain. The anchor was raised up and the sails adjusted. Th...

"I'll pack up in a few minutes", I thought to myself as I continued to play my video game. Just then mom enters the room, which as always, looks like a big mess. "I want the room clear by the time I'm back", she says, "I'll be back by 4". "Sure mom", I replied and continued. How time flew I did not realise and in no time its 3.45 pm. Time is an elastic entity, it seems to fly when we are having a good time, and seems to slow down to a snail's pace when we are bored or unhappy. Anyways, I had a short time to clean up so I just opened my closet and just dumped everything in. My books, my game, my colour pens, my comics, my headphones etc. all tucked away inside. I locked the door of the closed and sat there waiting for mom with the most innocent face that I could manage to make. That was long ago but situations hardly change, characters in life change, but we individually don't and sometimes neither do the situations. My wife...

The Phase-Life graph is a constantly moving line from birth to death. The moving tip is your current situation and as it moves it charts a graph called the Phase-Life Graph. The centre line, the X axis, is the neutral line. Routine life moves on this line. As you have happy experiences the point moves up, on the Y axis and as you experience unhappy times it moved down below the neutral line on the Y axis. It keeps moving up and down to different levels depending on the intensity of each experience. There are a few things to understand here. Firstly this graph will be personal to each and every individual. No two people will have the same graph because no two people will feel the same way about the same experiences. Going for a movie may be an experience on the neutral line for me but would be on the happy side, that is above the neutral line, for others. So this graph has to be personal. In our modern urban life, it's witnessed that most people live below or on the neutral l...

Joe had a passion for rock climbing. He was popular as the best climber in his town and had scaled various peaks in the last few years. In fact his love for rock climbing earned him the nickname of Rocky!! He was also a thinker and philosopher, he would often spent his time in introspection and contemplation and in long discussions with other wise men about life and it's meaning. Like most of us he too wanted life to be smooth. Who wouldn't like a stable and smooth life? Often he would find people, and himself too, cribbing about the various little problems in life. "Nothing ever goes smooth does it?", he thought to himself one day as he sat in his thoughtful mood, sipping a cup of hot coffee on a cool winter day . If there's health, there's illness. If there's job, there's office politics. If there's family, there are friction. If there are friends, there is misunderstanding and lack of time. If there's love there is jealousy. Nothing comes...

I have always liked working with soft music playing in the background. It was just another day at work as I went through my files and papers and music playing from my mp3 player connected to the speakers. As I worked, the music played in the background. After a few minutes I felt I had heard the last song more than once, but thought may be I have not realised which song is playing as I was busy working. But the song repeated again and yet again and I checked my mp3 player to find it in repeat mode, I just switched off repeat mode and continued my work. That evening I thought about it and this struck me then, are we living our lives in repeat mode as well? Without even realising it, because we are so busy, being busy!! On thinking more about it, I realised two ways in which we live in repeat mode. First is the routine life which we live day in and day out, and secondly the experiences which we live over and over again. Most urban folk have the most routine schedules. Days repeat,...