Nalini

“అందరూ దొంగలే, ఉన్న దొంగల్లో అందరికన్నా చిన్న దొంగకి ఓటు వెయ్యడం నాకు అస్సలు ఇష్టం లేదు”, నేను వెళుతున్న క్యాబ్‌లో ముందు కూర్చున్న నా ఫ్రెండ్ రాధా కృష్ణ వాళ్ల అమ్మతో అంటుంటే చిన్న నవ్వొచ్చింది. ఈ దేశం ఎటు పోతుంది రా నాయనా అని ఏడవాల్సిన టైం లో నవ్వొచ్చింది చూడు సిగ్గులేకుండా అని నాలో నేను అనుకుంటూనేలోపు

కార్ వచ్చి AMB మాల్ దగ్గర ఆగింది. ముందు చూస్తే ఇసుక వేస్తే రాలనంత ట్రాఫిక్ ఉంది. సాయంత్రం 7 గంటలకి వైజాగ్ కి రైలు ఉంది. ఇప్పుడు కనక ఇక్కడ ఇరుక్కు పోతే ఇక నా పని అంతే అనుకుంటూ కారు కిటికీ కిందకి దించి బయటకి చూసాను. నాకోసమే ఎదురు చూస్తున్నట్లుగా ఉన్న వర్షం చిన్న చినుకులతో మొదలయ్యింది.  ఏమి టైమింగ్ రా నాయనా అనుకుంటున్న నాకు ఎదురుగా ఉన్న AMB మాల్ నాలోని అసహనానికి నిలువెత్తు నిదర్శనంగా నిలిచింది.

బయట వాతవరణం చూస్తే వర్షం పడేటట్లు ఉంది. ఇంక ఇంటికి వెళ్లినట్టే అని నాలో నేను అనుకుంటూ ఉండగా నా ముందు కార్ లో ఉన్న అమ్మాయి తలుపు తీసి ఈ చినుకులను తప్పించుకోడానికి పరిగెట్టుకుంటూ AMB మాల్ ఎంట్రన్స్ వైపు వెళుతుంది. 

సాయంత్రానికి సూర్యుడిలా, చీకటికి చంద్రుడిలా 

నడుము వరకు ఉన్న  ఆ పొడవాటి జుట్టు

ఆ ఆకుపచ్చ చీరకి

అందాన్ని తెచ్చి పెట్టింది.

ఇదంతా గమనిస్తున్న నా స్నేహితుడు రాధాకృష్ణ ..ఏరా బాగుందా అమ్మాయి అన్న ప్రశ్నకు …మళ్లీ ఆ దృష్టి అమ్మాయి వైపు మళ్లింది. AMB మాల్ ఎంట్రెన్స్ దగ్గరకు వెళ్లి వెనక్కి తిరిగి బై అని చెప్తున్న ఆమెను చూసి నాకు ఒక్క క్షణం గుండె ఆగినంత పనయ్యింది. నాతో పాటూ నా పక్కనున్న రాధ కూడా ఉలిక్కి  పడ్డాడు. అరేయ్ భార్గవ్ నళిని రా…అప్పటి వరకు ప్రశాంతంగా ఉన్నా నాలో సునామీ ముందు వచ్చే అలజడి మొదలైంది.

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 అది 2013. NIT Kurukshetra లో నాకు కంప్యూటర్ సైన్స్ సీటు వస్తే నా స్నేహితుడు రాధాకృష్ణ కి ఎలక్ట్రికల్ సీటు వచ్చింది. ఢిల్లీకి 150 కిలోమీటర్లు ఉత్తరం లో ఉన్న కురుక్షేత్రికలో 16 మంది తెలుగు వాళ్ళం జాయిన్ అయ్యాము. మొదటి రోజు నుండే రాధాకృష్ణ నాకు పరిచయం. కొద్ది రోజుల్లోనే మంచి స్నేహితులుగా మారిపోయాము. కాలేజీలో ఫస్ట్ ఇయర్ స్టూడెంట్స్ కి ఓరియంటేషన్ ప్రోగ్రామ్ అని కాలేజ్ వాళ్ళు ఏదైనా డాన్స్ వస్తే చేయమన్నారు. 

రెండు సంవత్సరాలు ఫ్రీ చైతన్య పారాయణలో కఠిన కారాగార శిక్ష అనుభవించి జీవచ్ఛవాలుగా మారిన మేము ఒకరినొకరం చూసుకుంటూ నవ్వుకున్నాము. మొత్తానికి ప్రేక్షకు పాత్ర వహించి స్టేజ్ ముందునే కూర్చుంటే యాంకర్ అనౌన్స్ చేసిన అమ్మాయి “నళిని ఫ్రం ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశ్”.

సుగునాభీ  రాముడు     

సమరాన  భీముడు  

ఎవరో  ఎవరో  అతగాడు  

ఒక్క  మగాడు  ఒక్క  మగాడు

హాఫ్ saree లో చక్కగా అప్పుడే నూనె రాసినట్టుగా మెరిసిపోతూ నడుము వరకు వాలుతున్న ఆ జుట్టు, కలువ పువ్వు లాంటి ఆ కళ్ళు, ఆ కాటుక, ఎనర్జీ. వావ్. జస్ట్ వావ్. జ్యూస్ పీల్చి వదిలేసిన మామిడిపండులా ఉన్న నేను ఆ పాటకి ఆమె డాన్స్ చూశాక ఆ ఒక్క మగాడిని నేనే అని ఫీల్ అయిపోయాను.

డాన్స్ అయ్యాక పరిచయం చేసుకోవడం, ఫోన్ నెంబర్ తీసుకోవడం, ఇవన్నీ చకచగా జరిగిపోయాయి. నవ్వుతూ నలుగురిని నవ్విస్తూ చదువులో ఏ మాత్రం రాజీపడని నేను కూడా నలినీకి నచ్చానని కొన్ని రోజుల్లోనే అర్థమైంది. సాయంత్రం నేను బ్యాడ్మింటన్ ఆడటానికి వెళ్ళాక అలా momo’s తినడానికి రోజు ఒక మూడు కిలోమీటర్లు నడుచుకుంటూ వెళ్లే వాళ్ళం. ఎప్పుడు జరిగిందో తెలియదు కానీ చూస్తూ చూస్తూనే  ప్రేమ అనే ఊబిలో దిగామని అర్థమైంది. నా పుట్టిన రోజుకి ఆమె చేసిన హ్యాండీక్రాఫ్ట్స్ నా దగ్గర ఇంకా భద్రంగానే ఉన్నాయి.  రాత్రంతా కష్టపడి చేసిందంట పాపం నిద్ర లేకుండా!! ఆ ఎర్రటి కళ్ళు చూస్తేనే అర్థమైంది. ఆమె పుట్టిన రోజు కూడా నేను ఒక లవ్ లెటర్ రాసి ఆమెకు తెలియకుండా బ్యాగ్ లో పెట్టేసాను. తర్వాత నలినీ హాస్టల్ కి వెళ్ళాక కాల్ చేసి నా నోట్ బుక్ నీ బ్యాగులో మర్చిపోయా చూడవా అని అడిగాను. I still remember the excitement and how surprised she was. తరువాత రోజు కలవడానికి వెళ్తే ఆరోజు చమర్చిన కళ్ళతో గట్టిగా ఇచ్చిన hug గుర్తుకు వస్తే ఇప్పటికీ నాలో ఏదో మాటల్లో వర్ణించలేని ఫీలింగ్. 

 అవి 2016 వేసవి సెలవులు అనుకుంటా!! కాలేజ్ placements సీజన్. సెలవులకు ఇంటికి వెళ్లి వచ్చాక నళిని behaviour లో కొన్ని చేంజెస్ చూసా. ఏంటబ్బా అని అడిగితే వాళ్ళ అమ్మ నా love లెటర్ చూసి తిట్టారని

“మీ నాన్న మన కులం పెద్ద ఇలాంటివి చేసి మా పరువు తీయకు అని బాగా కోపడ్డారు” అని చెప్పింది.

మనం ఇప్పటినుండి జస్ట్ ఫ్రెండ్స్ గానే ఉందాం అని చెప్పి వెళ్ళిపోయింది . ఇదేంటి అబ్బా ఇంత సింపుల్గా చెప్పేసింది అని ఆలోచించే అంత టైం కూడా లేదు. ఎందుకంటే అది placements సీజన్. థాంక్స్ టు the pressure of getting a job.  ప్లేస్మెంట్స్ లో  నా మొదటి అటెంప్ట్ లోనే Oracle లో రావడం, నలినీకి American Express లో కన్సల్టెంట్ గా రావడం వెంటనే జరిగిపోయాయి. ప్లేస్మెంట్స్ వచ్చాక నలినీకి కలిసిన ప్రతిసారీ  ఏదో తేడాగా అనిపించేది. ఈ అమ్మాయిలు ఇంత త్వరగా ఎలా మర్చిపోతారు అబ్బా. ఆ సమయంలో రాధా బాగా సపోర్ట్ చేయడంతో దాని నుండి త్వరగానే బయటకు వచ్చేసాను. 

 కాలేజీ అయిన రెండు సంవత్సరాల లోనే రాధాకృష్ణ ఒకరోజు ఫోన్ చేసి నళిని పెళ్లి వాళ్ళ ఊర్లోని ఒక పెద్ద బిజినెస్ మాన్ తో అయిందని బాంబు పేల్చాడు. ఇది ఏదో ఒక రోజు జరగాల్సిందే అయినా  ఈ విషయం తెలియగానే బాధ ముంచుకొచ్చింది. ఒక వారంలోనే మళ్లీ నేను నా లైఫ్ లో బిజీ అయిపోయాను.

కాలేజ్ పూర్తయిన నాలుగు సంవత్సరాలు తరువాత నళినిని చూడడం ఇదే.

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 నేను వెంటనే క్యాబ్ దిగి ,”రాధాకృష్ణ నేను వైజాగ్ రావట్లేదు  నళిని తో మాట్లాడాలి” అని చెప్పి వెనక్కి తిరగకుండా AMB మాల్ లోపలికి పరిగెత్తాను. లోపలికి   వెళ్లానే కానీ  నాకు తెలియకుండా నా కళ్ళు నళిని కోసం వెతకడాన్ని నేను గమనిస్తూనే ఉన్నాను.  ఒక రెండు ఫ్లోర్స్ మొత్తం తిరిగాక ఫుడ్ కోర్ట్ లో  ఒంటరిగా కూర్చున్న నళిని దగ్గరికి వెళ్లడానికి నా మనసు ఎందుకో తటపటాయించింది.  కలవాలా వద్దా అని మదన పడుతున్న లోపే “భార్గవ్,  I can’t believe this” అని చిన్న పిల్లలాగా వచ్చి హగ్ చేసుకుంది.

I could literally feel the warmth of the hug again. For the first few minutes, there was pin-drop silence and she broke the silence by saying “You look pretty handsome, it has been so long after college. It Felt like an eternity”.

“ఇవన్నీ సరేలే కానీ ఎలా ఉన్నావ్? How is your husband? కనీసం పెళ్లికి అయినా పిలవాలి కదమ్మా!!”

అప్పటివరకు వెయ్యి వాట్లుతో వెలిగిపోతున్న బల్బులా ఉన్న ముఖంలో బాధ నేను గమనించాను.  కాసేపయ్యాక నళిని ఇలా చెప్పుకొచ్చింది

“భార్గవ్, కాలేజ్ అయిన వెంటనే నాకు మా అమ్మ మామయ్యతో పెళ్లి చేసింది. అప్పటికే నాకన్నా 10 సంవత్సరాలు పెద్ద. BITS Pilani లో Mechanical Engineering  చేశాడని, అలాగే మనకు బాగా తెలిసిన వాడని, అమ్మ నాన్న దగ్గర ఉండాలని చెప్పి తన జాబ్ ని వదిలేసి ఫ్యామిలీ బిజినెస్ చూసుకుంటున్నాడు అని చెప్పి పెళ్లి చేశారు. పెళ్లి అయినా ఆరు నెలలకే ఆయన బిహేవియర్ లో చేంజెస్ మొదలయ్యాయి. ఆయనకి లేని అలవాట్లు లేవు.  మందు, సిగరెట్, గాంజా అన్ని బెడ్రూంలో తెచ్చి తాగేవారు. ఎందుకు అంటే నా ఇష్టం ఉంటే ఉండు లేకపోతే ఇంటికి వెళ్లిపో అనేవాడు. మా అమ్మకి చెప్తే ఈ రోజుల్లో అందరూ అలానే ఉంటారు అడ్జస్ట్ చేసుకోవాలి అని చెప్పి తిరిగి పంపించింది. I never expected I would get into such a mess”  అని తెలియకుండానే ఆ కన్నీళ్లు నళిని మనసులోని బాధలకు ప్రత్యక్ష సాక్ష్యాలుగా పారుతున్నాయి.

 నాకు ఇదంతా వింటుంటే ఒక సినిమా స్టోరీ లా ఉంది.  అసలు నళినికి ఏం చెప్పి ఓదార్చాలో అర్థం కాలేదు. నళినిని ఇలా చూస్తానని అస్సలు అనుకోలేదు. అన్నీ తెలిసి తన తమ్ముడికిచ్చి పెళ్లి చేసిన వాళ్ళ అమ్మని అనాలా,  ఇంత పెద్ద చదువులు చదివి కూడా బేసిక్ background చెక్ చేయని నళినిని అనాలా అని అనుకుంటుండగా టేబుల్ పైన ఉన్న నా చేతిని రెండు చేతులతో పట్టుకొని  “ Bhargav, I don’t want to live this life. మనం కాలేజీలో ఎంత హ్యాపీగా ఉండే వాళ్ళం. I miss those days. I miss everything about us. After getting married is when I realised how precious that time was.”

కాస్త ఆలోచించి  “Even I cherish all the memories” అని చెప్పగానే

“ఎలాగో మా ఇంట్లో వాళ్ళు don’t really care about how and what I deeply feel.  I really thought no matter what my parents would definitely be my side. But I am shocked that it never happened. నాకు డివోర్స్ కావాలి అని అడిగితే మా అమ్మ నాన్న పెద్ద గోల చేశారు. మన పరువు ఏమవుతుంది? దగ్గరుండి మనకు బాగా తెలిసిన అబ్బాయి తోనే కదా పెళ్లి చేసాం. అయినా ఈ రోజుల్లో ఇలాంటి అలవాట్లు లేని వాళ్ళు ఎవరు లేరు? మనమే అడ్జస్ట్ అవ్వాలి.  అయినా మన పేరెంట్స్ కి పిల్లల కన్నా సొసైటీని ఇంపార్టెంట్ ఆ? ఛి just hate it!!”

“And you know what, I really wanted to get back to you after all this. I tried contacting you కానీ you blocked me everywhere. I just want to spend those beautiful moments again with you Bhargav. I don’t care what the society or anyone thinks but I want to return to our time again. I deserve to be happy and am not at all fine with what’s happening to me.  Why should I starve myself of happiness చెప్పు?” అని గోదారిలా గలగల చెప్పిన తర్వాత

“Bhargav, you still love me right?”  అని తన పప్పీ కళ్ళతో అడిగింది.

అప్పటివరకు అన్ని ధ్యానంగా వింటున్న నాకు నళిని చెప్పినవన్నీ విని ఒక వింతలా అనిపించింది. ఎప్పుడో కాలేజీలో ప్రేమించిన అమ్మాయి ఒక నాలుగు సంవత్సరాలు తర్వాత నన్ను ప్రేమిస్తున్నావా అన్న ప్రశ్నకు సమాధానం కోసం వేచి చూస్తుంటే నేను ఒక చిరునవ్వు నవ్వి

“It was nice meeting you after so long Nalini, wish you all the best for your life. Let’s pretend we never met. I don’t want to get into all this.”  అని చెప్పి కూర్చి పై నుండి లేచి రెండు జేబుల్లో చేతులు పెట్టుకొని వెనక్కి తిరగకుండా  ఇంటికి బయలుదేరాను.

ఇంటికి చేరుకున్నాక కుర్చీలో కూలబడి తదేకంగా ఫ్యాన్ వైపు చూస్తున్న నాకు,  “అదేంట్రా నువ్వు ఎంతగానో ప్రేమించిన నళిని నీతో ఉంటానంటే ఏం చెప్పకుండా వచ్చేసావ్ అంట. ఇప్పుడే ఫోన్ చేసి చెప్పింది” అన్న రాధాకృష్ణ ప్రశ్నకు నాకు సమాధానం చెప్పాల్సిన అవసరం లేదనిపించి 

“Let’s not talk about her, ever”  అని స్నానానికి బయలుదేరాను. AP Express సాయంత్రం ఏడు గంటలకు ఉంది. త్వరగా రెడీ అవ్వాలి.

ట్రైన్ ఎక్కానే కానీ అస్సలు నిద్ర పట్టలేదు. AMB mall లో సాయంత్రం జరిగిందంతా గుర్తొస్తూనే ఉంది. కాలేజీలో నళినితో గడిపిన ఆ మధుర క్షణాల్ని మళ్లీ జీవించినట్టు అనిపించింది. “Do you still love me?” అన్న ప్రశ్నకు సమాధానం సులువైనదైనా, చెప్పడానికి ఎందుకో తెలియదు కానీ మనసు అస్సలు అంగీకరించలేదు.

 అసలు ప్రేమకు హద్దులు అనేవే లేవు అని గుండెలు బాదుకొని తిరిగే ఈ రోజుల్లో,

కొన్ని ప్రేమలకు కంచెలు కట్టాలని

వీలైతే గోడలు కూడా కట్టాలని నమ్మే నన్ను ఈ సమాజం రాళ్లతో కొట్టి వెలివేస్తుందేమో!!

 

Note: The above story is an art of fiction.

P.S: The content is in Telugu analyzing the emotional turmoil of the narrator after encountering Nalini at AMB mall and the recollection of past memories related to college life and personal relationships. There appears to be emotional distress and a longing for a return to the past. It seems like the narrator is struggling with unresolved feelings and the societal pressure to conform to relationships. To give support, it may be beneficial to seek healthy channels for emotional release and reflection on the importance of personal well-being.

Essence – The undiscovered territory

In his lecture to students, screenwriting experts Michael Hauge & Chris Vogler asked students,

“What makes a movie a success?”

The answers from the super excited students varied from “good story, a handsome hero, beautiful heroine, action scenes, screenplay” to “romance, sex, spice, thrill ” and whatnot, covering everything under the sky.

Chris quickly named some movies which have most of these traits yet the movies were considered utter failures. Raising his eyebrows, he also jotted down all those movies which lacked these traits yet came out as bumper hits. The students who were excited a few moments ago started murmuring among them and then the room went absolutely silent.

What makes a movie a success or failure? 

Chris and Michael explain, there is one common thing among all the movies that have been considered outstanding and that is “How the audience connect to the essence of the lead role despite facing numerous challenges”.

Ummm, interesting. A pretty long description. Let’s break it down. What does this “Essence” really mean? What connect are we talking about? What the hell are these obstacles?

All it means is that the lead role is trying to pursue something although he/she faces several challenges. But, why should she actually do so? What is the lead role actually gaining from this?

To feel one universal emotion that actually drives a human being, “fulfilment”.

The experts explain this by taking an example:

Take a blockbuster movie like Titanic: 

Titanic

In the lead role, Rose is longing for freedom and is ready to leave behind the cool and comfortable millionaire life, running away from her fiancé. Why? She feels that she attains fulfilment by shattering the life inside a cocoon that she has been living in. Remember, Jack is in the film only to support her to navigate the challenges she faces to attain her own fulfilment.

Hmmm, boys did you just note this?

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Alright, but why I am talking about all these?

Well, my friend, it is very fascinating to note that people connect to movies because just like the lead roles in the movies, we are the lead roles in our lives. The emotion that the lead role carries is just exactly the kind of emotion that we carry all our lives beyond the 3 hours movie we just watched in the dark theatre. This is the reason why we see people take pride in calling themselves a “fan” of a certain actor. The actor may be an absolute idiot in real life but who cares? All the so-called fan cares about is “whether the movie successfully carried the emotion or struggle”

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This makes us realise every human is longing for the one magical thing in life, “Fulfilment”. Just like the lead role in the movies.

But, hey I was also talking about the essence? What about it? Well, that is what this blog is all about. 

What is your essence? What is that one thing which keeps life going on for you, which makes you happy and of course which makes you feel “fulfilled”.

Mate, give a thought. It may sound easy but just so so hard to find one. It makes us realise that we have been running in a race that we never gave a thought about what the essence really is.

Get good marks, get into NIT/IIT, get a good job, get a good package.. a never-ending cycle.

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Looking into the mirror, 

Stripping every external tag,

let’s ask ourselves,

“What is that one thing that makes me

feel fulfilled?”

As Chris and Micheal say “What is the

essence of your life?”

If you have one, do share it with me.

A ray of hope

Did it ever happen to you where you put lots of efforts day and night for something you love but when the opportunity knocks the door, you falter?

I got such an opportunity when I got selected for the NIT badminton team during my 6th semester. People who know me personally second that I have always loved laying badminton. So much so that few fanatic shuttlers and I used to play up to 3 o clock in the morning during the chilled winter nights when everyone is hibernating in their beds under the Rajai. Man, I loved that game.

In September 2016, our NIT team went to play for the Inter Technical University Sports event. It was my first sports event playing for my college and was pretty excited. The energy was high, people cheering all around, there was this subtle nervousness, it has just been 5 minutes in the court and then BOOM!! Not sure what happened but I was on the floor holding my leg with pain. Everything happened so quickly that it took me some time to assess what had happened. I jumped for a smash and landed on a single leg. My knee could not take my whole body weight and I had a complete ligament tear. It was a disaster.

Long story short, I had to go through a surgery and took bed rest for another two months. By the time I returned college, I had only two weeks for the end semester examinations. I have to squeeze two sessionals as well. I passed with some seven pointers or so.

It is during the 6th semester of my college I started facing a unique situation. The situation is ” I don’t know where to spend my time. I had no idea what to do during my free time “. It may seem so trivial reading this but try getting into my shoes. All these years, I spent most of my time playing all kind of sports. I was not a movie buff, hardly watched any web series by then, had no girlfriend, nothing. If you ask me why not study? Well

From the very beginning of my 2nd year, I had developed a negative vibe towards computer science. The reasons being :

1. I was surrounded by people who had computer science subjects like C and C++ in their school. They were grasping concepts quickly and made me feel inferior.
2. Since I felt inferior, I started spending less time on coding and stuff. It eventually reflected in my grades. From 9.4 pointer in 1st semester to 7.7 in 5th semester, my grades dropped consistently.

I always found reasons not to study until I had an interesting conversation with one of my good friends, Utkarsh. I was strolling with Utkarsh and his UP batch one day where he asked me where are you practising coding? I said I don’t think I am interested in coding, don’t feel for it, it is not my cup of tea, I am not just that nerdy guy sitting in front of laptop, blah blah blah. He immediately said “Bhargav, khud ko c*tya mat bna (Bhargav don’t make a fool out of yourself)“. And the conversation actually made me rethink.

Man, not sure why it hit me hard. Like real hard. I would be surprised if he remembers something like this happened but dude that pushed me to think. I looked back and realized I had put no efforts what so ever and hence I cannot even complain. I went back to the room and started coding. I started performing adequately. Since there were no sports in my life, I spent pretty much most of my time coding. All I did was attending college, came back to the room, solve problems that’s it. I had stayed in college during the end semester holidays working on my communication and interpersonal skills, researching a lot and got into the very first company I was attended, Oracle.

When I look back, I found that the injury came as a blessing in disguise. Had I never been injured, I might not have spent much time coding and eventually not sure what might have happened. The reason why I narrated such a story is that sometimes we desperately want something to happen. We spend lots of time and efforts to achieve it when we don’t get what we aspired, it feels like the world around us is collapsing. Everything seems to be so difficult to handle. When I had the surgery, saying I was disappointed is an understatement. Like really really disappointed. Why did this happen to me, my family was also bothered, my grades dropped, I cant play the game that I liked for these many years. All around me seemed to be shattered. But boy, it made me stronger.

FYI, after joining Oracle, I won a gold medal in Oracle Hyderabad Internal Badminton Championship.

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We all have had struggles. I know many of you who are reading, are struggling as well.

From losing jobs,
Bruised relationships,
Gaining weight,
infinite spiral thoughts,
Work-related stress,
Online meetings which feel like eternal,
Boredom,

to mental health, Covid-19 put us everyone in a tight spot. This uninvited stranger made us travel on an uneven road with unexpected highs and lows. Everything took a toll.

This pandemic taught us to appreciate all those small things in life. Having chai with friends in the canteen, freedom to be with someone whom you love, and made us realize everyone around us is fragile.

Times have been tough. Things are not going as planned at all, chaos all around, disturbances not letting you sleep, fear as elders are prone to virus etc. Boy, mark my words these hard times are going to make us stronger. When this whole pandemic thing ends, we are going to look back and feel proud that we survived a strange war.

Let that ray of hope inside you breathe with every passing second. We are going to come out of this with flying colours.

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To all the people who have been pinging me asking my blogs, I have been lazy. I will try to become consistent. Thank you for all the support.

What changed around me when I got man boobs

All my school, intermediate and NIT friends would definitely agree that I was one among the thin and lean persons.
For some reference, I am attaching a picture of how I looked.

I remember I used to go and make a lot of fun of my fat friends on the face like calling them Motu, Telling them not to sit on my cycle as it cannot handle them etc.
If they are close friends I would go and say…if you wear a salwar suit and crop your face no one can find you are a guy. (I was referring to his man boobs then)

And then I joined Oracle as a fresher. The initial few months of honeymoon period was awesome just like college plus financial freedom.
I had comparatively less work and used to play all kind of games.
I won the Oracle internal badminton championship in the first year as well.

Everything was going good until I got this very new project in my team which had high importance.
I took it as an opportunity to place myself among the best in the team and started working. I was one among the design team as well.
We worked all day, all night. Used to go to the office at 10 A.M and came back by 11 P.M.
There were days where we worked up to 2 A.M.

During this 3-4 months of period, one most important thing to notice is that,
my manager gave me the freedom to order food from any restaurant I wanted at night and that the money will be reimbursed no matter how much expensive it was.
Being from a very viral college which put a notice to students not to eat free food from weddings, I took this free meals thing seriously and ate a lot of food.

Fast forward 4 months I got a fever for 7 days and admitted in the hospital. I checked my weight there and boom.
I was weighing a whopping 79 kilos. Remember, I joined Oracle with 69.

That day I went home and realised I have got a lot of fat accumulated around my stomach.
My cheeks on the face are not the only cheeks which look swollen “but” also ahem ahem…

I am adding pictures for reference, you can clearly notice the bloated tummy –

Slowly I realized my pants are not fitting anymore. I was finding it hard to wear a 34-inch pant.

One day I was travelling in an auto and the auto went over the speed breaker. I noticed something around my chest is moving.
I did not understand. That was a different feeling.
The auto went over the speed breaker again and I felt the movement on my chest again.
That day I realized fat is being accumulated around my chest as well and I am on the path of getting the man boobs.
I remembered how I made fun of my fat friends in college asking them to wear salwar suit and no one would ever find out I am a guy.

I will tell you how things changed around me after that:
-> When I started badminton again, friends easily noticed the change and said Bhargav you are not the same player anymore and you are not playing like a champ.
-> My female friends would often say Bhargav you look chubby now (indirectly saying you have become fat idiot)
-> Random people would come and say I should work on my tummy.

These all did not matter much but it really started bothering me when I did not feel good about myself.
-> I could not sleep properly for some unknown reasons.
-> I felt lethargic.
-> I became so uninterested in many things
-> I became very conscious of what I was wearing so that they can cover up things.
-> My confidence was somewhere disturbed.

One fine day, I woke up and barged into my manager’s cabin and said enough is enough I am not doing this anymore.
And I clearly mentioned the reasons. I started working out again. Initially, it was too difficult and I started with dance as I was not so cool at it.
I raised the bar periodically and am comparatively so so much better now.

I controlled the wait from 79 to 71.5, the ideal weight for my height with a flat stomach.

 

 

One thing that I definitely want to say is that,

When I was overweight, more than what other people are saying anything about me, it is what I am saying to myself that was the most important. It used to nag me all day all night.
This constantly ran in my mind “Bhargav you have become fat, you have a tummy,…..”.
Once it starts affecting the confidence, it becomes so so hard to cope.

If I look back, the primary culprit of my weight gain is loads of ice creams I ate during late nights.
If one can control sugar, that would be a great start.

If you feel something is moving around your chest when an auto crosses a speed breaker, it is an indication that the season of mangoes is on their way.
If you look yourself naked into the mirror and did not feel good, then there is definitely something that you can do about yourself.

I have to say I got a really awesome hike for what I did for Oracle those 3-4 months. But if you ask me if I will do it again? It would be a big no. We people talk and research a lot about investing and getting very high return on investments, believe me, the return on investment that you get for that one-hour workout every day is gonna make you a thousand ways happier in long run.

Thanks,
Bhargav.

Note: For all those people who have been messaging me like why I am not writing my blogs anymore, people I am very happy to hear that you have been waiting. I have had personal commitments. I promise you I will write as much as possible and give you a good reading.

I Understand

“Harshita, I have to tell you something which has been running through my mind since quite a days”, Utkarsh texted his wife before boarding Indigo flight from New Delhi.

Harshita knew what is going to happen when her husband returns home. She was sure this moment had to happen someday. And that day happened to be today.

With moist eyes, she laid on the bed looking at the ceiling. The fan is running at its high speed but certainly slower than her thoughts.
Tears started flowing down the cheeks thinking how everything started and going to end so soon.

Utkarsh and Harshita were classmates during Engineering. Having adjacent roll numbers and both being friendly in nature, there was this magical connection from the very first day. This connection got a name called “best friend” in the 2nd year
and upgraded to “something more” is just a matter of months. One fine day, Harshita proposed and everything was colourful from that day.

Despite stern consequences from Harshita’s father for any kind of wedding out of the same community(caste), both of them got married in Arya Samaj. Harshita’s parents stopped talking to her for tarnishing their image.

Calling bell interrupted her memories to find Utkarsh arriving with a lawyer with divorce papers.
It has been hard for both of them for a year when Harshita got to know about Utkarsh’s affair.
The day she found this, there were no arguments, no fights, no drama nothing.
She just ignored the existence of this guy whom she believed at the cost of her family.
Although they lived under the same roof, it felt they are separated by hundreds of miles.

“You can make someone like you, you can make someone to hate you but remember You cannot force someone to love you”

Society started showing its real faces, Harshita’s parents refused to live with her as she disrespected family by marrying Utkarsh.

They want her to realise the consequences of this. Colleagues started making up stories, she is all alone now with no support from anyone. She cries every day at night and drags herself to the office every morning. It has become hard for her to sleep at night.

Being alone haunts you like anything. If there is no one to share, then it feels completely unworthy in this world. As they show in the movie INto The Wild, “Happiness is real only when shared“, that applies to any of the human feelings.

29th April 2015, as a final attempt, she calls the suicide prevention centre and utters for the last time in a sad voice and teary eyes “Life holds no intrigue”.

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What is the point in this narrative?

Is that why arranged marriages are better?
or that how husbands cheat wives?
or how society treats a woman?
or is that what happens if one goes for love marriage?

Absolutely none of the above. They are all the negative sides of a system which has been accepted since centuries and it will take centuries to change a system Let’s not talk about that.

My concern was her state of mind before she takes the last step. Often it is like getting into an infinite loop thinking about the same thing again and again which cannot be undone.

It is like an underwater current. People don’t even realise. It is depression.
It is the phase before someone takes the extreme step.

She may be a divorcee, she may be deeply hurt but she did not deserve death.

Had there been her school friend with whom she might have cried her heart out,
Had there been a colleague who could have noted the change in her behaviour,
Had there been a helping hand or a shoulder to rest.

She could have been saved.

Not only her, but thousands of people like her could also have been saved. That 10th class boy who jumped out of the school building, that love failure girl who took pills, that drug addict who slit his wrist etc. They need people around them who say everything is going to be okay and it is just a phase. Had there been a single person who can identify what’s going with them, they could be saved.

Do you know what happens when people call these suicide prevention centres?
Cries, curses, complaining about life this that and all?

Once again none of the above.

Then what do the victims speak then?
Nothing. Absolutely blank. They call and they remain silent. There will be pin drop silence. They call but they don’t utter a word. They cancel the call and before any action could be taken by prevention centers,………..

My request to all my friends like you who are reading,
the next time you see someone with any of these little hints of depression,

Tell that teenage girl that she may need a beautiful face to become Aishwarya Rai but it just needs a beautiful heart to become Mother Teresa.
Tell that 1oth class boy that marks are not the end of the life and there lies a lot ahead.
Tell that beautiful girl that if one guy leaves her, that doesn’t mean she has no worth on this earth.
Tell that girl who feels she is not enjoying her life looking at her friends’ photos on Instagram that, it is an illusion.

And most importantly, tell that mischievous guy not to comment like “moti”, “kali” or “R&D” on any of her pictures.
Words can make a person or break a person. DO not vent out your frustration online and contribute for a bad cause.
And keep in mind, “It is a sin to kill a mocking bird“.

Dear friends, Let’s say you get a random call from someone you know or someone you have not spoken since ages and she/he wants to share something with you, just hear it out. Sometimes what people need is a person to hear what they have to say without any judgements.

If at all you want to make them feel good, say
“I understand“. This phrase can do wonders. Period.

If you ask me what is the most powerful phrase ever I would always say without a second thought,it definitely is “I understand”.

 

 

 

An escape into nature

Full Moon Beach

Does a fish ever realize that she has been surrounded by water? Similarly, a software employee is a fish. He may not realise but there is stress all around just like the air we breath.

It has been quite a few days I had been thinking of taking a break. Just to go somewhere and relax. There came an invite from Hyderabad Trekking Club(HTC) for a trip to Gokarna and Vibhuti falls. I instantly pinged my friend Ladi Manideep to come along. Ladi and I have been friends from Intermediate days and were very close. One reason for our close understanding could be that we are both from Srikakulam with similar intellectual abilities and studied in the same class for 2 years.

I am a properly structured guy whereas Ladi is lethargic, packed his stuff in the last minute and forgot a few important things to carry. With his grace, we had to board a running train which I never did in my life. Finally, we met the HTC gang at the Lingampally station. Our captain of the gang, Nagasai is a young lad, friendly from the very beginning and assigned our respective tents. It’s not just tents we carried but also the hopes to make this trip a memorable one. There were some other groups from HTC who boarded the same train.

One of the primary reasons, people go to these kinds of treks is that we get to meet new people with different perceptions. We met a bunch of 4 girls from the same HTC group like us. Conversations started, fun fully loaded.  They are all IT employs and hence we can share our pain. A single line for each as an introduction

• Ramya – the whistleblower for interaction with us, sarcastic and a self-proclaimed introvert which she is definitely not.
• Usha – Parents from different states, talkative, fun loving, cute.
• Priya – Calm and serene. It’s often this kind of people who are smart and killers.
• Druthi Talini – Big eyes, pretty smile and quite talented. A pure Telugu girl. Looks like a classical music student.
• Anurag – Googler, smart and dances well.

 

You don’t want to get too wrapped up in that final destination. You want to enjoy the journey, enjoy the process. We started playing a lot of games like Dumbsharas, Antyakshari and what not. We had great fun altogether and I guess the line between strangers to friends started fading with time.

Oh yeah, there was a German teacher, Rajesh in the group. He is the sweetest among us and got a great sportsman spirit. I give him a complete 100 on his skills in antyakshari. He covered all songs from the prehistoric era to modern era. A genuine guy from the heart. Ladi was quiet all the way on this train journey but I knew this guy is not going to stop once he gets into form. I remember Ladi and Kiran(friend from Intermediate) use to make fun of almost everyone in my class those days.

We can feel the cold winds from the chilly winters of Karnataka and Maharastra but had a lot of hot topics to talk to neutralize it. Later Nagasai joined us in the games. Hemanth joined too. Hemant looks like Sarwanand, a hero in Telugu industry. A nice guy though. Our enjoyment went to peaks after these two guys joined the group. Swetha, a kiddish, active Vizag girl tried explaining MAFIA game along with NagaSai but no one was responsive.

Later we slipped into our bedsheets to say good morning the next day in Hubli. The railway station was artistic, clean. We waited for a bus which carried us to Vibhuti falls.

Vibhuti Waterfalls

 

Vibhuti is a beautiful waterfall. I took around 20 minutes to get into the water as it is freezing cold. It has no flat surface underneath. Uneven slippery rocks and was quite hard to stand still in it. Although you enter, you realize there are small fishes brushing your feet, a small tickling sensation. Later Nagasai revealed that there were some crabs too inside. We splashed water on each other, screamed, shouted, took a dip together, clicked pictures and later left for Paradise Beach on foot from Belkin beach at night using torch lights.

Paradise Beach:

Paradise beach

Paradise beach is a feast for nature lovers. It was quite a long time since I saw constellations so clearly. One can spend hours just gazing at them. Sounds of waves from one side, cold winter winds, bonfire,  camping,  all sources of happiness combined at a single place, it is a true paradise.

 

Some were dancing along the shores, some were building sand arts and some were singing retro songs. It was bliss.

Mahishmati Sand Art

 

Half Moon Beach, Full moon Beach and Om beach

The next day early morning, we left for OM beach. The cold breeze kissing your cheeks, the sun rays reflecting over the sea with golden shades, black rocks, beautiful girls. Altogether it was completely worth to travel to this place. OM beach was clean with fewer people, mostly foreigners. We had to wait for 1:30 hour for breakfast there. Some ordered Indian breakfast where puri sabji was served, I ordered English Breakfast.

English Breakfast

 

We left for Hubli station from OM beach by noon and boarded the train for Secunderabad in the evening. Had a chit chat with Vizag cuties Ramya, Monika and Swetha throughout the return journey.

A joyous journey came to an end creating innumerable memories and priceless experiences.

 

 

 

 

 

Not all stories have a happy ending

“Vivek, I have to talk to you about something very important” said Neha, while having breakfast with her husband.

Vivek’s brain stated running quickly remembering if he missed any important date or did something wrong.

Last Saturday was Neha’s birthday, he completely forgot it and wished her in the evening.
He somehow managed to say he had a very important client meeting, so it just vanished out of his mind.
Neha was extremely disappointed and was not talking to him until he bought a diamond ring as the birthday gift.

“What happened Neha? What should I buy for you now? A platinum chain?” asked Vivek sarcastically raising his eyebrows.

Neha continued “This is serious Vivek. I want to share this with you and is really important.

As soon as I woke up, I went to use the bathroom but your father was already there inside. I was about to leave the place but Vivek I heard your dad crying inside” said Neha with a puzzled face.

“What? what are you saying? My father is crying? Are you sure? But..” Vivek found it hard to believe what he just heard.

“Yes, Vivek. Believe me. I heard him crying for about 20 minutes and then I knocked on the door feeling something was wrong. He came outside with red eyes and did not speak even a single word when I asked if everything was fine?” asserted Neha.

Vivek just could not digest what he heard from Neha.
A lot of things are running in his mind.

He quickly completed his breakfast and started his car as he has a meeting at 10 o clock. If he doesn’t start by 8:30 from home it would be very difficult to reach his Oracle office
in this Hyderabad traffic.

He is driving his car and thinking about the possible reasons which may have led his father to cry.

He saw his father crying only once when his wife died 8 years ago. Can it be a reason? no. Because he is a strong man and he never cried for his wife although he was sad sometimes.

His father, RamMohan is a retired teacher, healthy man and always a jovial guy. He faced a lot of up and downs in life and he faced them like a warrior.
He got his daughter Meera married to a Professor in his hometown, Agra and Vivek is a senior software developer at Oracle. He has been living with Vivek for the past 8 years after his wife died.

Vivek reached office but he could not work properly with this thing running in his mind. He completed the meeting and informed Neha that he is coming home and he wants to know why his father cried.

He reached home only to observe Neha with a sad face. He asked the reason for which Neha replied

“I was watching Suryavamsam in Sony Max and I again heard your father crying in his room while reading the newspaper. He did not come out of the room from the morning.”

Vivek is not getting what is happening with his father. He asked Neha to explain clearly what all happened from the morning frame by frame.

Vivek heard everything and gathered enough courage to ask the reason directly to his father. He entered his father’s room. He was sleeping. Not to disturb his father, Vivek left the room but he observed that
his father’s eyes are a bit swollen.

He called his sister Meera and asked if anything has happened to any of the relatives or any of his father’s friends? She replied negatively.

After around 1 hour, Vivek’s father woke up and left the home informing that he feels like having a leisure walk along the park at the end of the street. He simply denied eating food saying he is not hungry.

Vivek went into his father’s room again to find any hints. He found nothing but a newspaper on the bed. He remembers Neha mentioned father was crying while reading the newspaper.

He took the newspaper and started turning pages looking for any content which may have triggered his father. Any news from hometown. No there is no news such news.

He was about to finish but something caught his eye in the very last page.

He scanned carefully from top to bottom, and immediately at one point of time had a broad smile on his face. A relief.

He closed the newspaper and went straight away to Neha with the newspaper.

“Neha, I got to know what made my father cry. He loved a girl and she died yesterday.”

“What? Seriously? How? You did not even talk to him. You are talking nonsense. How do you explain that.” Neha was very excited to know the reason.

He showed a photo on the last page of newspaper filled with all “Shraddanjali” advertisements(ads which are printed as a remembrance in newspapers when someone dies).
He pointed towards the name of the woman in it.

 

“Meera” it was. Neha did not understand anything.

Vivek – “Neha that’s my sister name. He loved that girl and hence he named my sister Meera. You see, she is also from Agra. She is almost the same age as that of my father.”

“But Vivek, this can be a coincidence. There may be one Meera in Agra with the similar age of your father. It has nothing to do with your sister’s name. You are just joining the imaginary dots.”

“Neha you missed the most important detail in the advertisement”.

Vivek smiled and showed the name of the person who paid for the advertisement.

It read….”Your loving son, RamMohan”.

Neha understood what Vivek was trying to say and yes Vivek was right.

Not all love stories have happy endings.
In fact, love has no end. Love is endless.

Some people are meant to be special.
Some stories are meant to be unsung.

Inspired from one of the columns from Eenadu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time flies and you realize what people say are plain blatant lies

I have accumulated some of the lies that I have observed people saying again and again just to feel happy about themselves.

1) Money can’t buy happiness – This is one of the most used lie people chant to themselves and also to others.

One hundred dollar bills in the shape of a heart isolated on white background The love of money

I have recently read in the newspaper where a woman gave birth to a baby boy but has a hole in his heart. Doctors advised getting an operation to be done which would cost about twice the price of what the parents earn in a year. The poor parents could not make it and the boy died after two days.

Money may not buy happiness directly but can definitely buy things which can make us happy. In the above case if money could buy a life, then yes money can buy happiness.

This lie is often said by people because they want to feel happy for themselves and they don’t want to accept the fact that money is important. Let me narrate you a story:

There use to be a girl named Neha in a gym who was considered the most beautiful. Every other girl in the gym use to go and ask her about her diet, exercises etc.
One day a new girl came to a gym and believe me she is the prettiest of all. She looked like a heroine in all angles. Her arrival made the previously beautiful girl, Neha jealous and inferior. Neha’s friends observed this and one day said to Neha to boost her up :

“Hey Neha, you know what? the new girl may look more beautiful than you but you have a beautiful heart”

You got the point there? They said it because Neha will feel good listening that she has got a beautiful heart. Who knows how the new girl is?

The same case is with people. They say it to themselves, again and again, to feel happy for themselves.

What they should say is – Money alone can’t buy happiness.

Money cannot make you happy until and unless you really want to be happy. Let us assume you are working in MNC where you are leaving home at 6 o clock and returning home at 12 o clock at night. Here my friends’ money has a very limited role to play in happiness because you are earning shit loads of money but has no time to sit with family and talk which use to make you happy before you got placed in his MNC.

2) Looks don’t matter – Another famous lie.

Did it ever happen that you met a beautiful girl/handsome, cute boy and you did not get the positive vibes from him/her?
Rarely happens right?.

 

You see advertisements saying Flat 80% OFF with a star on it. That star indicates Terms and Conditions which we never read.
The same case with the statement Looks don’t matter. There are terms and conditions hidden.

Terms and Conditions: Only if you know them for a very long time.

Looks don’t matter if you know someone from a very long time like it doesn’t matter how your mother or father looks because you love them from the very beginning.
Same with your childhood friends.

Rest it is scientifically proven that looks do matter and creates a significant impression.

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Thank you for reading folks. Hopefully, you will write about the insights that you gained from the above article. I will be happy to receive your comments.

 

Images source – Google

What is something that need to be said?

Back in college, I remember girls of NIT Kurukshetra had hostel timings like they should not be outside their hostels after a specific time say 7 P.M.

This clearly indicates how a National Institute which is ranked the best among all North Indian NIT’s is lagging behind in ensuring
equality by discriminating someone based on gender thereby seizing one’s personal freedom.

The administration may say that the rules are in best interest to protect girls.
But the truth is that the administration failed miserably in providing an environment where girls enjoy their fundamental rights.

Do you ensure safety by locking someone in hostels?
No never. This ideology comes from the centuries-old patriarchal mindsets which is deeply rooted.

When can we say that NIT is strongly committed to ensuring safety to girls?
By letting girls roam around the college 24/7 and promising nothing bad is going to happen to them.
One should provide an environment where whenever a girl roams at night, she should get that feeling that she is safe in her own college.
Only then one can say that the security is at par.

Along with that, I believe that boys in NIT have not degraded to such a low level that they will harass someone at least in college because it will haunt them throughout their college life.

How do you think that a girl who has been restricted all her way by family till school and is also restricted in college
going to face the real world if she ever happens to travel at night?

Administration can set up some additional security at places where there might be some faceoffs.
The irony is that the security guards themselves start moral policing whenever they find girls with shorts or any other such attire.

I would strongly recommend to at least let the girls of 3rd and 4th year out of these restrictions because they are going to graduate soon and may need to stay all alone in Banglore or Hyderabad or Noida on their own.

I remember the sparks flying when the timings have been changed to 8:30 in my final year. Every girl that I met that day had a bright smile and a happy face.

Someday in future, if I ever happen to go to my college again,

I wish I see a brighter smile and a happier face.
Along with that, a flag set up by the NIT security flying on each of the girls’ hostels saying

“Let your wings spread and fly high, we are here to protect throughout the sky (24/7)”

Dreams, Social Media and Plastic Surgeries

Social Media:

You know what?

In a recent survey, it has been discovered that

92% of teenagers in India have experienced some sort of sexual intimacy at school.
India has been declared as the best tourist destination by people of 56 countries.
84% of left-handed people are creative and intelligent than right-handed people.
81% of Hindu’s want Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
87% of Pakistani’s voted Kohli as the best batsman when compared to Shahid Afridi.

Isn’t it really interesting?

Now my friends, what if I say the above statistics are completely false and are randomly generated. Those percentages are nothing but my CGPA in four consecutive years.

So don’t blindly believe in any of this kind of statistics in social media and don’t share them as your status. There are people who purposefully generate them for their hidden agendas.

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Plastic Surgeries:

The other day I was just listening to a random conversation among some of my girl mates and they were collectively criticizing Anushka Sharma that
she is a fake beauty as she has done some plastic surgeries.

This reminded me of another conversation several months ago where a girl with modern outfits(a crop top) came to a village for a marriage. Every girl in the village who saw her was describing her as a fake beauty as she used heavy makeup.

Among the girls who were criticizing Anushka, there is a girl who is wearing braces to her teeth, a girl who goes to parlour every month for God knows what reason.

My point is: If you go to a parlour and use braces to look beautiful then why is it wrong to go to a doctor and getting a plastic surgery to look beautiful?

You go for beautification, Anushka goes for beautification. What is the difference?
The difference is just that common public is not used to plastic surgeries.

When your mom used to be young she never used any heavy makeup or went to parlour because they use to think that only actors need them.
When you are young you think that makeup is an art as most of the people around you use it. So it is not a big issue for you.
And the same thing goes for your children. By the time they are young, plastic surgeries will be very common.

Not just Anushka, there are several other actors who go through it because it is very normal for them.

Did I sound as if I am supporting Plastic surgeries?

Let me tell you, I don’t. Because imagine you are a girl and looking into a mirror. You found that your lips are a bit narrow and that you should go for a plastic surgery and beautify them. You have money and you went through it and your lips are beautiful now according to you.

After some years you found that your nose is a bit longer. Now, will you go for plastic surgery again?
After some years you found that your boobs are not as perfect as they portray in the movies.Then?

So the point is that there is no end if you start plastic surgery which is an irreversible action. So better love yourself the way you are. Everyone has some sort of unique beauty in them.

We should not criticize and publicly shame anyone just because they went through any surgeries. Everyone has their own reasons(the same reason for which you go to beauty parlours).

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Reservations:

I was talking to a girl and in the background there popped up some news on the TV regarding reservations.

I asked her what is her word on these reservations thing. She said ‘Reservations should not be existing, there should be equal opportunity for everyone blah blah blah’

I said ‘But they are saying they have been oppressed by higher castes since decades’. She said ‘We are living in the 21st century. This that etc’

Several months later, I asked her whether it is fair to give 33% reservation for women in parliament?
She said ‘Yes, they should be given. Because women are oppressed by men for centuries, they are not treated equally..etc’

Now ladies and gentlemen here is my point. Let us analyse, according to her ideology

Lower caste people say they need reservations, they have been oppressed. That’s wrong.
Women say they have been oppressed by men since centuries hence need reservations. That’s right.

How?

Two self-contradicting statements. Isn’t it?

Now I asked her how do you justify both of them? She thought for a while and said ‘Bhargav Dude, first of all, this caste system should be abolished. Then everyone will be normal’.

Let me tell you this is the same girl who said she will marry someone in her caste and settle. I asked why only your caste? She says that’s how it happens in her family.

Wah, she wants to abolish the caste system but she doesn’t want to marry out of her caste.
Seems like an asteroid falls from space and abolishes the caste system at a go.

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Dreams:

‘I always wanted to be a doctor but my father forced me into engineering. I never liked Engineering’ said Shantanu with his wife Isha.
‘He always felt that I am not a merit student and hence I should not opt for biology as there are limited opportunities’.

In order to bring out Shantanu out of that state, Isha said ‘I don’t know about biology but I will give you 100 out of 100 in chemistry’.

‘How?’ asked Shantanu raising his eyebrows. ‘I experienced it yesterday night on the bed’ Isha whispered in the ear. Shantanu smiled and said ‘Ohh that was a great compliment’.

And then Shantanu continued taking his son Vignesh into his lap ‘You know what Isha, I cannot become Doctor but I will definitely make my son a doctor’.

Ladies and gentlemen, wait for a second and analyse the above paragraph.

Shantanu’s father did not let him study medicine without taking into consideration what Shantanu likes.

But don’t you think Shantanu is also committing the same mistake by deciding beforehand what his son should pursue?
What if his son, Vignesh want to be an Engineer?

My point is that no one should rub their own dreams on their children no matter what. And we need to support them for whatever excites them and makes them happy.

Now, my dear male friends, don’t ask me what if your son comes to you and says he want to become a plumber or thief?
You just need to use some adult site blockers in your son’s desktop. Rest all will come in place.

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That’s it folks for today. In the above narrations, if you feel anything is objectionable feel free to ping me. The genders are often interchangeable. I want you to just grab the gist.

Hopefully you will be writing me about the insights that you gained from this article.

To all those friends who take time to reply on every post of mine, your support is priceless. Thank you.