The world is looking brighter with the news that we are slowly moving out of the global meltdown.

Let us all hope we take a left turn on this joboway.

Colors of Life.

Its been a while, that I have had no color in my posts. How about some colors of friendship - of free will - of expression - of life

July the 13th

Today is July the 13th - 13/7. A special day! When the day dawned on me, I had no idea - how powerful this day is, and the impact it can have on me. But then, just as I was lost in my Monday blues - killing time and swatting flies ; a bolt of lightning - read enlightenment, struck me.

The date read 13/7 - One of the numbers is an unlucky number - A number which evokes fear,despair and a sense of failure or misfortune lurking around the corner.
There have been many movies or phrases depicting this number - House No.13, Friday the 13th, 13B.

And on the other hand is 7 - A number that symbolizes luck. Every Gambling den or a school fete would have a 'Lucky 7' game zone. There are seven wonders of the world, seven musical notes, seven days of the week, A number every young footballer would dream of - after Cristiano Ronaldo. God, the Bible says, created the Universe in 7 days.

What happens when these 2 days combine into one. Like the 2 sides of the coin were now on the same side or like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. It probably signifies that good luck and bad luck just cancels each other out - Leaving no luck behind.

What does that mean? I guess, it means that whatever we do, Luck - good or bad - would not influence the actions. We are completely responsible for our actions and the failure or success of the action lies completely in the way we execute or approach it.

Sounds great isn't it? I wish every day was July the 13th - Then we'd do our jobs with complete committment without thinking about the external forces.

Chuck the luck!

A Saturday morning

Saturday - The wikipedia says this about this day.

Saturday (pronounced /ˈsætərdeɪ/ or /ˈsætərdi/ ( listen)) is the day of the week between Friday and Sunday. Saturday is considered either the sixth or seventh day of the week.


Sounds pretty plain and boring. But what the Wikipedia fails to understand is the emotion connected to this '6th day of the week'. For me - This day has always been the best day of the week. Once the Friday is done and dusted - The sleep flows into a beautiful morning called Saturday morning where clocks, alarm bells and time pieces do not exist ; Where bed linen - blankets and pillows are the dearest friends; where dreams have more wings to fly, more space in the sky ; It is the day - which when begins, all plans turn to zilch, All I 'd think of is to bask in the golden glory of this day and feel happy to have reached the end of the week.
A Saturday morning would find me spending more time stretching my arms wide, tossing around the entire perimeter of the bed, with a calm satisfied smile as if I had the password to Alibaba's cave


I do not get the same feeling about a Sunday - strange - coz, this day is a holiday too, but nothing is more special than the magic of a Saturday morning.
Jon Bon Jovi probably feels the same about Saturday - though its about a Saturday night - A saturday nonetheless.


"Someday I'll be Saturday night" - One of my favorite songs.

Hey, man Im alive Im takin each day and night at a time
Im feelin like a monday but someday Ill be saturday night

Hey, my name is jim, where did I go wrong
My lifes a bargain basement, all the good shits gone
I just cant hold a job, where do I belong
Im sleeping in my car, my dreams move on

My name is billy jean, my love was bought and sold
Im only sixteen, I feel a hundred years old
My foster daddy went, took my innocence away
The street life aint much better, but at least I get paid

And tuesday just might go my way
It cant get worse than yesterday
Thursdays, fridays aint been kind
But somehow Ill survive

Hey man Im alive Im takin each day and night at a time
Yeah Im down, but I know Ill get by
Hey hey hey hey, man gotta live my life
Like I aint got nothin but this roll of the dice
Im feelin like a monday, but someday Ill be saturday night

Now I cant say my name, and tell you where I am
I want to roll myself away, dont know if I can

I wish that I could be in some other time and place
With someone elses soul, someone elses face

Oh, tuesday just might go my way
It cant get worse than yesterday
Thursdays, fridays aint been kind
But somehow Ill survive

Hey, man Im alive Im takin each day and night at a time
Yeah Im down, but I know Ill get by
Hey hey hey hey, man gotta live my life
Im gonna pick up all the pieces and whats left of my pride
Im feelin like a monday, but someday Ill be saturday night

Saturday night here we go
Some day Ill be saturday night
Ill be back on my feet, Ill be doin alright
It may not be tomorrow baby, thats ok
I aint goin down, gonna find a way, hey hey hey

Hey man Im alive Im takin each day and night at a time
Yeah, Im down, but I know Ill get by
Hey hey hey hey, man, gotta live my life
Like I aint got nothin but this roll of the dice
Im feelin like a monday, but someday Ill be saturday night
Im feelin like a monday, but someday Ill be saturday night
Saturday night __________,all right, all right
Saturday night

Money Rules.

This is a story of a young boy. Aged 25, This boy is a loyal son of his parents and is highly devoted to providing them all the happiness in the world.He works as a sales manager for a leading newspaper daily. He performs his jobs with the dedication of the highest order, Due to which the respect he commands in the professional circles is huge.
,

I did not tell you about this boys family. I have not thought of what to name the boy and the family yet, but for the readers to identify with the characters, lets just call the boy Arjun, and his family a reputed Sharma family from North India.
Right, Arjun's family is by all means a reputed family. They have lived a life of unwavering integrity and though they do not have a whole lot of money to show for it, the peace of mind that they have, is their biggest fixed deposit.


Arjun has a younger brother - Lets call him Nakul (Now, you know that I am mythologically inclined.) Nakul is aspiring to be a aeronautical engineering expert and wishes to pursue his postgraduate education in the United States. A great dream to have, isn't it. But dreams come at a price. The family wants his dream fulfilled, and no one more than Arjun.

Arjun is doing well in his career, and is saving for his brother's educational journey. All the foundations laid for a cliched -I will work my sweat off, but fulfill all his dreams - kind of a story. Maybe, or maybe not.

On an ordinary sultry day in July, Arjun finished his day at work and returned home tired. He was listening to some music - and knowing Arjun - the music was loud and would burst any living man's eardrum. After almost an hour of high DB entertainment - he started surfing, checking his mails, paying bills.
which is when he noticed something

His bank account showed a credit of Rs 20,000. The strange thing was that he could not explain its source. It just said- Bank of India.
After checking all his accounts and his income/expenditure sheet he maintained, he was stumped. There was no friend who owed him money. He was not into gambling and lottery tickets. Neither had he filled coupons at any lucky draw.


Soon his hunger pangs filled his mind and he assumed his gluttony self.Then while getting to bed, he started banging his head on the money again. Where did that money come from ?. His mind kept going round in circles. Should he use the money? After all he needed it. Very much. Admissions to universities were already giving him sleepless nights, His savings were being completely spent on the home and for his brother.

This looked like a mistake. No one need know about it. This 20 grand windfall would be the best thing to happen to him, He could probably live his own life. He could stop using the calculator to see how much he could spend everyday. He could order a sizzler without seeing how much it would cost. It was already 2am and he needed to be up early. The next 6 hours of sleep were his best in months.


He woke up and sang while in the bathroom, He strained his memory to remember when was the last time he sang loud. AS soon as he got off work, he strode into a mall, without even looking at his favourite 4 letter word anywhere -'Sale'
And bought items which were in his must have list for close to a year.
His smile sparkled more than his brand new denims.

He checked his debit card account to see how much of the windfall was still to be used up. His eyeballs hit the ground when he saw that Rs 50,000 was credited to his account. Again by the Bank of India. This did not look like a mistake.
An occurence like this,more than once is either planned well or really dumb.
He was sure, this was not a gross error where someone was accidentally pumping happiness into his life. This was not an accident!
He looked up all his accounts again, called up friends and colleagues and everyone he knew. He even asked his father if he had helped some relative in the past who is now returning the favor. There was nothing that answered the cause of this new lottery fund.

He then chucked the thoughts and went off to sleep. He didn't sleep as well this night.He was still thinking who transformed his life with one thing he always was short of. Money. The day after work was no different from his new routine.Spend and smile. No price tags. No discounts. Pick off the shelf, straight into the bag.
He even got himself a new Handycam, It was on his list of 'Things to buy-before I die'. He was sure, his lottery experience was over, which is why he had saved some money to be used for his brother's admission formalities.
He casually checked his debit account while munching on an apple after dinner - and!
The dream was not over. This time, his account showed a credit of 1 lakh rupees from the Bank of India. For the first time in 2 days, he was a little concerned, Will this lead him into trouble? Is he correct in spending someone else's money? Would someone find this out. Will he get his peace of mind back?


His father would always tell him - ' I have been a little strict with my living, never borrowed when I did not have, never reached for more than what I could jump, never looked beyond my window to the sky - But I have slept well every day I have lived' Could he say that about himself?

TO BE CONTINUED . . .