Gone are the days, from the city of dreams,
When the heavens burst, and the dwellers screamed.
Gone are the days, from the eyes of the grey
The sea used to roar, land washed by waves.
Gone are the days, from lives of the vendors,
The young used to eat, while love pondered.
Gone are the days of happiness from peasants,
The lived another year, life looked pleasant.
Gone are the days, for flora and fauna,
Humans struck the mute, for they did not harm us.
Welcome the days of dark and gloom,
The rains are absent, so are the blooms,
The man of today, seen the nature to click,
For the generations to come, for them to view and shriek.
--(C) Alok Shah
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Crossroads
When you chase the dream, and give it all,
When you reach the goal, gave it all,
When you feel the free, the feel that cannot stall,
The goal is the mirage that turns into wall,
That slap in the face, the beginning of the fall.
When you climb the mountain, oh so high,
When the peak seemed far, now nigh,
When being on top, gave many a fright,
The loneliness, the first sigh,
The vision that made you sacrifice.
What mattered then, does it matter now?
Did you ask yourself why and how?
All the fields and farms that you plough,
For the sake of the ones,
That you ponder now.
Take a stand, for their sake,
Take a call, do not fake,
For every decision that you take,
Will shape the life that you make,
That makes you smile, when it’s late.
The time has come,
The opportunity too,
Life is one,
Dreams are few.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Dreams. Of lines and more.
Beyond the night and the days,
Of the years gone and may,
Of the dreams, these eyes foray,
Magical the instant, cease to stay.
Dreams of night and of those days,
Tunnel of hope in the absence of rays,
Souls that falter, Minds astray.
Dreams.
Scientifically, dreams are the thoughts of the sub-conscious.
Cinematically, they’re as fictional as Inception.
Realistically, they are the destination.
Pragmatically, they define us. Their chase defines us.
Take a moment out of that dreamchase. Analyse.
For, you can now tell the relative difference between who you were and who you are now after you started the chase.
The chase has defined you. The chase has changed you and the chase has made you. Its this chase that takes you away from people or closer to their hearts. This chase either makes you stronger or enriches you with experience success or failure, in this case does not matter because the growth, knowledge, wisdom you seek is what you attained. The volume, however, varies depending on the degree of efforts in the fields of discipline, determination and dedication that you’re invested.
When I was a kid, my father never taught me to dream about success or glory, neither did he ask me to be the best. The only lesson, as he would say, was gain knowledge and the rest would follow. I am certain Vidhu Vinod Chopra shared a drink with my old man for what is a cliche now were words of wisdom then. Looking back, I feel its the best piece of advice that a parent could give their child and it is upon us to make use of it however we deem fit.
Today, as most of us are sharing status updates on multiple social networking media, share humour, share emotions and share a piece of us, we also continue learning and chasing our dream. The dreamchase is a chase one endures until the last breath and gives up trying. That is what dreams are. They are never ending just as our imagination, which is as developed as our knowledge about this world we live in.
Dreams don’t make you happy, but they make you knowledgeable.
Of the years gone and may,
Of the dreams, these eyes foray,
Magical the instant, cease to stay.
Dreams of night and of those days,
Tunnel of hope in the absence of rays,
Souls that falter, Minds astray.
Dreams.
Scientifically, dreams are the thoughts of the sub-conscious.
Cinematically, they’re as fictional as Inception.
Realistically, they are the destination.
Pragmatically, they define us. Their chase defines us.
Take a moment out of that dreamchase. Analyse.
For, you can now tell the relative difference between who you were and who you are now after you started the chase.
The chase has defined you. The chase has changed you and the chase has made you. Its this chase that takes you away from people or closer to their hearts. This chase either makes you stronger or enriches you with experience success or failure, in this case does not matter because the growth, knowledge, wisdom you seek is what you attained. The volume, however, varies depending on the degree of efforts in the fields of discipline, determination and dedication that you’re invested.
When I was a kid, my father never taught me to dream about success or glory, neither did he ask me to be the best. The only lesson, as he would say, was gain knowledge and the rest would follow. I am certain Vidhu Vinod Chopra shared a drink with my old man for what is a cliche now were words of wisdom then. Looking back, I feel its the best piece of advice that a parent could give their child and it is upon us to make use of it however we deem fit.
Today, as most of us are sharing status updates on multiple social networking media, share humour, share emotions and share a piece of us, we also continue learning and chasing our dream. The dreamchase is a chase one endures until the last breath and gives up trying. That is what dreams are. They are never ending just as our imagination, which is as developed as our knowledge about this world we live in.
Dreams don’t make you happy, but they make you knowledgeable.
Monday, November 7, 2011
The Boatman
this rather calm, confident, hard working and all knowing boatman.
He's rowing across the wave, a homecoming for him, however, he is working tirelessly as with every row of his oar
he inches closer to the warmth and love that he has been coming home to for the last decade. Only this time it is different.
This time, he fights. For a calm sea offers no assistance just as she offers no resistance.
The wind, however, chances upon her and makes the homecoming trickier. Nonetheless, he rows.
He rows knowing only he can row and only home can satiate the eyes, the heart, the soul.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
What
What’s the fun if one doesn’t worry about the challenge?
What’s the fun in a fight if you’re not getting hurt?
What’s the fun in gaining without losing?
What’s the fun in living without dying?
We worry so that we face the challenge.
We fight so that we don’t continue to get hurt.
We gain so that we stop to lose.
We live so that we inch closer to death.
What’s the fun in a fight if you’re not getting hurt?
What’s the fun in gaining without losing?
What’s the fun in living without dying?
We worry so that we face the challenge.
We fight so that we don’t continue to get hurt.
We gain so that we stop to lose.
We live so that we inch closer to death.
Fun
Fun as it used to be, fun as it is now,
Fun that it will be, fun shall be how?
Fun never let us grow, they raised their brow,
Fun ceased to exist, as we joined the crowd.
Fun, we long for thee, where be thou?
Fun that it will be, fun shall be how?
Fun never let us grow, they raised their brow,
Fun ceased to exist, as we joined the crowd.
Fun, we long for thee, where be thou?
Monday, October 17, 2011
Patience
Patience is a virtue that only time can pay rewards for.
One day, it shall all cease to matter and what will matter is the karma.
Everything we do, won't matter.
Everything we dream, won't matter.
Everything we get, won't matter.
Everything we did, would pay.
That, is a truth and a phase nobody escapes.
Even God couldn't.
One day, it shall all cease to matter and what will matter is the karma.
Everything we do, won't matter.
Everything we dream, won't matter.
Everything we get, won't matter.
Everything we did, would pay.
That, is a truth and a phase nobody escapes.
Even God couldn't.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Social Media - The Truth
All of us, at least the one's who are reading this, are a part of a large pool of people, probably the largest sample size ever, and we form what the society today calls the Social Media. Social Media is therefor, probably, a medium for the society to interact with the society. The medium of interactions are the Social Networking sites, Social Info-Sharing sites, Social Entertainment sites, etc. Probably, all the sites you've already thought of, are the one's that are already a part of you but a large chunk of those domains of which you are a part of provide the businesses the perfect platform to INTERACT with the society.
Social Media is not a marketing platform, it is an interaction platform. That is one way of looking at it. However, for businesses and marketing professionals who make a living out of this platform, I am sure a lot would not run after me with knives if I were to say it is an HONEST MARKETING platform. The difference, as my marketing friends would agree, is substantial. After all, you don't want your family members to buy substandard products which are marketed well, do you? As far as businesses are concerned, Social Media is a community building activity and any smart brand manager should stick to it.
These days, for most branding managers, Social Media is just another customer service centre. The world is on Social Media and hence their brand should be on Social Media. That is the first step that the manager would take towards a) finding another brand to fuck with and b) fucking his own brand. Social Media is not only about getting customer interaction but also about putting your brand on test. If you don't believe a cent percent in your brand, DO NOT INVEST IN SOCIAL MEDIA. This is the place where the best of the brands are shredded into pieces. Do you see Apple investing in Social Media as heavily as a Coca Cola? Both are leaders in their respective industries and yet have different approaches. (Those who say technology don't need Social Media must check out what Dell, Intel etc have done for themselves. No, I do not post links because I am lazy)
I believe that Social Media is one of the biggest sources of criticism. The community has a) paid for the product or b) planning to part with their money for your product and hence have all the rights to dissect your product/brand. If you don't have the balls to stand up to take abuses on your brand, you must not think social. The only takeaway for a Brand Manager from Social Media, who believes in his/her brand, is how to take the negative feedback and turn the brand around to address them.
Social Media, apart from being a community building hence communication promoting exercise, is also the easiest way for the brand to communicate to the community. For the brand to amass the crowd, they must be liked by the crowd. Leveraging Social Media to speak about the product, the industry, the technology and finally the brand is one of the many ways a business can connect to its customers.
Most of this is too commonplace for anyone who is working in the Social Media sector, but it plays with the ego of the purists who are heading the brand. After all, Social Media is not just another Media, it is the new-age media. If the brand can turn around the feedback and provide a better product, they automatically become the leaders of their segment. If a leader cannot address the negativity that this medium attracts, the brand goes from being the front runner to one of those who ran as well in a matter of days. All this effects the entire business in a big manner.
In today's age, Social Media is the centre block of the arc between the pillars on which the businesses rest. If you cannot afford to lose the arc, change the design and make the business less attractive. Any damage to the arc and the business comes tumbling down.
Do not believe in numbers that Social Media throw, believe in the psychoanalysis that it provides for your brand, for nobody,, who cannot take criticism, progresses.
Disclaimer : This is a simple, brief first time effort to attempt an article. Please discuss and share your views on this medium. If you find the tone of the article to hurt your sentiments, I would not apologise. However, you may chose not to feel offended.
Social Media is not a marketing platform, it is an interaction platform. That is one way of looking at it. However, for businesses and marketing professionals who make a living out of this platform, I am sure a lot would not run after me with knives if I were to say it is an HONEST MARKETING platform. The difference, as my marketing friends would agree, is substantial. After all, you don't want your family members to buy substandard products which are marketed well, do you? As far as businesses are concerned, Social Media is a community building activity and any smart brand manager should stick to it.
These days, for most branding managers, Social Media is just another customer service centre. The world is on Social Media and hence their brand should be on Social Media. That is the first step that the manager would take towards a) finding another brand to fuck with and b) fucking his own brand. Social Media is not only about getting customer interaction but also about putting your brand on test. If you don't believe a cent percent in your brand, DO NOT INVEST IN SOCIAL MEDIA. This is the place where the best of the brands are shredded into pieces. Do you see Apple investing in Social Media as heavily as a Coca Cola? Both are leaders in their respective industries and yet have different approaches. (Those who say technology don't need Social Media must check out what Dell, Intel etc have done for themselves. No, I do not post links because I am lazy)
I believe that Social Media is one of the biggest sources of criticism. The community has a) paid for the product or b) planning to part with their money for your product and hence have all the rights to dissect your product/brand. If you don't have the balls to stand up to take abuses on your brand, you must not think social. The only takeaway for a Brand Manager from Social Media, who believes in his/her brand, is how to take the negative feedback and turn the brand around to address them.
Social Media, apart from being a community building hence communication promoting exercise, is also the easiest way for the brand to communicate to the community. For the brand to amass the crowd, they must be liked by the crowd. Leveraging Social Media to speak about the product, the industry, the technology and finally the brand is one of the many ways a business can connect to its customers.
Most of this is too commonplace for anyone who is working in the Social Media sector, but it plays with the ego of the purists who are heading the brand. After all, Social Media is not just another Media, it is the new-age media. If the brand can turn around the feedback and provide a better product, they automatically become the leaders of their segment. If a leader cannot address the negativity that this medium attracts, the brand goes from being the front runner to one of those who ran as well in a matter of days. All this effects the entire business in a big manner.
In today's age, Social Media is the centre block of the arc between the pillars on which the businesses rest. If you cannot afford to lose the arc, change the design and make the business less attractive. Any damage to the arc and the business comes tumbling down.
Do not believe in numbers that Social Media throw, believe in the psychoanalysis that it provides for your brand, for nobody,, who cannot take criticism, progresses.
Disclaimer : This is a simple, brief first time effort to attempt an article. Please discuss and share your views on this medium. If you find the tone of the article to hurt your sentiments, I would not apologise. However, you may chose not to feel offended.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
The Unkown/Unseen
Below is a draft I found in my inbox stored for over an year... I have no recollection of who wrote this but just felt like sharing. Please let me know in case you know who wrote this.
My mind wanders to unknown lands
Wants to know the truth of life,
I ask myself why and how,
Don’t understand the reason to survive.
The questioning never stops,
I have a lot of whys.
My brain doesn’t know all the answers,
And nor do my eyes.
What is the sound you cannot hear,
in the coldness of the night.
What is the feeling you crave to have,
far beyond your sight.
What is behind those perfect horizons,
Where you have never been
What is there beyond the sunset,
Is it the sky unseen?
Disclaimer: This is not an attempt at plagiarism. I just cannot remember who wrote this, neither do I remember if I wrote this myself. #kthxbye
EDIT: This poem was written by Rati A Thank You for letting me share this :)
My mind wanders to unknown lands
Wants to know the truth of life,
I ask myself why and how,
Don’t understand the reason to survive.
The questioning never stops,
I have a lot of whys.
My brain doesn’t know all the answers,
And nor do my eyes.
What is the sound you cannot hear,
in the coldness of the night.
What is the feeling you crave to have,
far beyond your sight.
What is behind those perfect horizons,
Where you have never been
What is there beyond the sunset,
Is it the sky unseen?
Disclaimer: This is not an attempt at plagiarism. I just cannot remember who wrote this, neither do I remember if I wrote this myself. #kthxbye
EDIT: This poem was written by Rati A Thank You for letting me share this :)
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Aakanksha.
"I have finally found the man of my dreams. Hope you're having fun there. You have a great time. More on this when we meet."
Nisha was vacationing in the Caribbean. Aakanksha was in India. Nisha remembered what a wreck Aakanksha was back then. Aakanksha never really understood the true meaning of a relationship outside of lust. She was the outspoken and the adventurous of the two. Nisha, on the other hand was a complex though determined soul. She always searched for purpose in everything she did and the only relationship she was in ended with fidelity. She was heartbroken for having broken his heart. Aakanksha always talked about tomorrow while Nisha kept herself wrapped in her yesterday. She had always despised Aakanksha for her ways but secretly she felt secured around her. She wanted to name her daughter after her best friend. This vacation was an attempt at redemption and introspection. Those words took Nisha back to the days she tried running away from.
The mojito she held in her hands as she relaxed on the beach-chair was just the kick she needed. She felt like drowning in the very waves she soaked herself in. All she dreamed about was happiness and to be able to love she once did. All the life and noise around her, of the kids playing ball, building castles in the sand, college teens surfing those waves, honeymoon couples making out, the bartender sharing a joke with the backpackers, the smell of fresh fish, the music all seemed to fade.
All but that one distinct sound of the horse galloping across the shallow waters rhythmically. It was the perfect moment, she thought, to fall in love and escape the clutches of this heart wrenching pain that engulfed her. The red sun dipping into the horizon made her feel uneasy and weak. It was just the perfect halo, as she had imagined, circled around the horse rider's head. She just couldn't take her eyes off him. She felt frozen in that moment. The breeze that bounced off of him was brushing her hair. The waves, that were inviting her to drown, suddenly felt like the source of life. The smell of salt felt like the smell of his love. She couldn't take her eyes off him. She could feel the intensity in his eyes, simplicity in his style, raw lust in his unkempt hair and unbuttoned shirt. She lived a lifetime in that moment.
The drink fell all over her face as the ball hit her hand as she took a sip. The ice on her face shook her. She heard voices echoing in her head. "Pick up the fucking phone you lousy bitch", screamed her alcoholic husband as he kicked her to wake her up. She saw the name on the phone. Aakanksha.
Nisha was vacationing in the Caribbean. Aakanksha was in India. Nisha remembered what a wreck Aakanksha was back then. Aakanksha never really understood the true meaning of a relationship outside of lust. She was the outspoken and the adventurous of the two. Nisha, on the other hand was a complex though determined soul. She always searched for purpose in everything she did and the only relationship she was in ended with fidelity. She was heartbroken for having broken his heart. Aakanksha always talked about tomorrow while Nisha kept herself wrapped in her yesterday. She had always despised Aakanksha for her ways but secretly she felt secured around her. She wanted to name her daughter after her best friend. This vacation was an attempt at redemption and introspection. Those words took Nisha back to the days she tried running away from.
The mojito she held in her hands as she relaxed on the beach-chair was just the kick she needed. She felt like drowning in the very waves she soaked herself in. All she dreamed about was happiness and to be able to love she once did. All the life and noise around her, of the kids playing ball, building castles in the sand, college teens surfing those waves, honeymoon couples making out, the bartender sharing a joke with the backpackers, the smell of fresh fish, the music all seemed to fade.
All but that one distinct sound of the horse galloping across the shallow waters rhythmically. It was the perfect moment, she thought, to fall in love and escape the clutches of this heart wrenching pain that engulfed her. The red sun dipping into the horizon made her feel uneasy and weak. It was just the perfect halo, as she had imagined, circled around the horse rider's head. She just couldn't take her eyes off him. She felt frozen in that moment. The breeze that bounced off of him was brushing her hair. The waves, that were inviting her to drown, suddenly felt like the source of life. The smell of salt felt like the smell of his love. She couldn't take her eyes off him. She could feel the intensity in his eyes, simplicity in his style, raw lust in his unkempt hair and unbuttoned shirt. She lived a lifetime in that moment.
The drink fell all over her face as the ball hit her hand as she took a sip. The ice on her face shook her. She heard voices echoing in her head. "Pick up the fucking phone you lousy bitch", screamed her alcoholic husband as he kicked her to wake her up. She saw the name on the phone. Aakanksha.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)