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Dhruvtravels

I havnt blogged in a bit, been a little busy, was on holiday for a while last month and had planned to have a blog entry for most of those days, however just got to one – so here it is : )

We are at Chennai airport. The land of people with three stripes at a bare minimum across the forehead if not more! I have a feeling that the stripes have a lot to do with the seniority of your position in terms of age. Some older dudes here even have four lines and I’m convinced as the head lines recede they’ll add on more. Adidas would really cash in on this place, their marketing strategy is made for this zebra city : )

South India is an amusing place, we asked the manager if we could head to a diner after getting a few drinks at The Leather Bar. Now mind you I was at a bit of a distance I knew the question being asked and I could see the manager move his head sideways, in what I thought indicated a no-no gesture so far, but turns out he was saying yes. Long and short of it, when people want to say yes they like to make it look like a no. I was tempted to ask a question that would get me a no answer and see if he would nod his head while saying it, but you can’t really ask if he would be ok with me paying the bill with Iraqi coins just to get that noddy gesture going.

The driving around the city was amusing, I’ve always felt it’s really nice to get local in terms of the food, music, clothes and language in any place you visit, wherever you go some of the sand always sticks to your feet you know. However I think Chennai’s music isn’t quite the symphony sore ears look for! Ten minutes into the drive with the local radio station buzzing in the background, Sheel and I started experiencing a mild buzzing in the head that was soon turning into headache! That music has to change : ) I figure it’s a cultural thing, the handwriting looks like squiggles and it just translates into the music too! Just kidding A R Rahman’s from here man and AR got soul! The local food is really nice, chili stuff but that appam and the rest of the deal is just awesome. We went to this place called kumarakom, great place, apparently they have a live band too and the manager told us we should have gotten in earlier to “yenjoy it” ~ and I was thinking to myself narrow escape!

Anyhow it was an amusing night out, didn’t really see much of chennai but more on the way back, the heat was already getting to me. One last thing I noticed was the locals really like to roam and the local dress is a “lungi” which basically looks like a giant bed sheet, that you wrap around your waist. I figure it’s a good idea you like moving around the city, it’s hot and you want a place to crash ~ hey you’ve got your bed sheet already! Now if only we had a turban going we’d have a pillow too!

Either way bye bye chennai for now and time to say hello to Sri Lanka, land of Ravana, Sita, Gita and Papita!

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Dhruvacters

We meet different sorts of personalities and character types everyday. I wanted to write about a few :

The Opponent –

If you want to get further in life, you need an adversary – an opponent, a better opponent, because the only way to grow is to play a better opponent, a bigger opponent, a smarter opponent. Because your opponent helps you grow, helps you get a measure – a measure of your courage, of your strength – a measure of what you can be. Your opponent helps describes who you are, and what  more you can be. Even though your goal may be to defeat them, i pray it is not to vanquish them, but instead to honour them, for without them we are smaller indeed.

The Warrior –

He did not question if he was to win or loose, neither did he care if he would kill or be killed
His questions, his only thoughts, his very dharma was this;
Will I fulfill my duty as a warrior, with honour or without ?
and as a warrior, am i fighting, fighting for justice ?
whether i am faced with victory or failure, my duty, my dharma is to fight
Till my last breath, till the last drop of blood in my veins
For truth, for justice and for humanity, to overcome and overpower till the fight is at end

The Lover –

When the distinction between yours and mine is at end – I am you.
So do i love you, or do you love me or are we one?
I feel you – full of love, and then i feel you flow away, I lost myself, and yet there remained you.
Every day you came, yet i could’nt see your face, i lit a lamp, but it was in vain.
Were you really by my side? You come and go for what? You awakened me and why?
For now i lie awake day and night – hankering for your sight.

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Dhruvationships

I was thinking about Relationships, what they are, how they evolve, and what really makes them right. I realise there is no hard and fast set of rules – you could have a relationship between two thieves and its built on a factor of fear and distrust, and it may work very well, but likely for a short term. You may have one between a teacher and a student, one built on admiration and respect, or in many cases the fear of a couple of whacks ( yes it’s perfectly fine in India to slap a student around ) – but then again that just goes so far. You might have a relationship with a friend based on pure sexual chemistry and admiration of the others looks or perhaps prowess : ) But that too is short lived..

Here’s a couple of things that do matter – respect, love, admiration, empathy, trust, honesty, humour, passion and a host of other little thing. However the one that comes out right on top is Respect  – R E S P E C T – and i’ll tell you what it means to me ! It’s just one of those things that comes about, when you happen to see a piece of perfection, something that you aspire to be, something about a truth hidden somewhere that you can see. I say respect is based on truth, the more truthful we are, the less lies we have, simpler life is, and better skin and youth you’ll retain : )

If you want a relationship to stand the test of time, to weather any storm, to be your Rock of Gibraltar, base it on truth, its tough at times, and you will get hurt, and you will want to knock your “significant others” head off, poison them or feed them to the lions, but trust me – the truth is all that will let either of you live. And not just live, but live happily ever after!

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Dhruvinahundred

For a change this post isn’t about me, me, and more me : ) I recently read an article that i found amusing and disturbing, it’s about the state of the american prison system. It just so happens that this article comes out at a time when i happen to be addicted to the awesome tv drama Prison Break ( not to be confused with a spring break atmosphere at all! ).

Either way, the article reads that one out of every hundred americans is behind bars and if you look closer at the stats, the highest number of people behind bars are african american males aged between 18-34 ( 1 in 15! ), so if you’re a black who isn’t in jail, you graduated in the top 93% of the lot – guess Chris Rock wants to rethink his “What do you want a cookie” routine! Now with the ladies, the highest number in jail is black women aged 35 to 39. What that translates to is that while “the man” was in prison the ladies were doing fine on the outside and as soon as they got back together, they decided one of us gotta go and since the guy was just back it wasnt going to be him again!

Further on the stats reveal that the highest increase in incarcerations ( i really wanted to use that word! ) is in Florida, Florida – that’s the state where old people go to retire and grand kids go to see Shamu isn’t it?! So whats the crime there, old men stealing books from Brentano’s and going “I’m an old man. I’m confused! I thought I paid for it. What’s my name? Will you take me home?” – 50 points to you if you can identify that reference without googling it : )

In Florida, the stats show that the number of people in jail went up because of the states policies to ensure that inmates do at least 85% of their sentence without getting time off for good behaviour. The policy did result in the percentage of crimes going down, however New York and California managed the same without increasing the people behind bars.

If we have more people behind bars it doesn’t really make a difference in the crime rate, to send people to a “correctional facility” or a prison is not an answer for an evolving society. Children learn from their environments, we change and adapt according to the environment around us. If we want to improve the society around us, we have to “be the change that we want to see in the world”. Crime, especially violence is an innate part of our human nature, its our animal instinct, we have been removing it from our nature over the past few centuries, and its slowly changing the way our species reacts – but that’s a topic for another post.

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Dhruvhome

Had gone out for lunch today with a few friends and i realised all over again why i call this city home, now it might be strange and it might be odd, but here’s what really makes me feel just all at home in my city.

So i was feeling really hungry and couldnt wait another moment for my lunch, so i just turned around to the person on my left and asked him if i could have some of his fries : ) It might be odd and it might be strange, but the kid was happy to share and was kind enough to offer some more : ) I think that started to fill me with the warmth that is Calcutta : )  Of course it continued when we were walking back to the car and i decided i wanted to get some icecream, couldnt find the cart vendor and opened up the cart to help myself to a stick, left the cash with another vendor and walked away. All I want to say is that you could put me London, Paris or Rome and I couldnt do any of that, and I’m not so sure people there could do it either : )

The saying goes “Familiarity builds contempt.” I think not! Familiarity may build contentment, comfort, maybe even children, but not contempt : ) There may be a million things wrong with my city, and those things might not even exist in another, but there are a million and one things that are right with it, and those make it all worth while!

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Dhruvyear

I like to start each year with a note on what the last year has been, this year i felt it should be done before the new year starts, because change is a good thing, and also because hindsight can be a bitch : )

The New Year spells a time to recollect, to reminisce, to reflect, to paint over the past, to bring out the best from that which was and learn from what it gave.  And there’s been so much that it gave! Connections forged, connections forgotten, avenues discovered, new paths treaded, a part of the self that was explored, understood, expanded and readied. Readied for what? For that which is yet to come, for that which is not known, and that is to be done in the only way it can be done, by believing. Believing that for all that is changing, dying, evolving; there is an underlying spirit that is changeless, immortal, and forever free. It is this spirit which makes us what we are today and what we shall be in our tomorrow. That very spirit that empowers our dreams, gives us a reason to face the morrow and live, truly live for all that we can be.

I believe that as humans we are all social animals, that we have needs that need to be fulfilled at each stage in our lives. We have an underlying need to live our lives for someone other than just ourselves. Women understand this much better than men, which is why we see some remarkably intelligent women with lowlife jerks, that’s where they experience their greatest joy, in the belief that they can truly change another human being, which is of course as much as a traffic signal can change your mind about breaking the orange light : ) That being said, is said in jest, i have the highest respect for these women, they epitomise the feeling of motherhood which is the culmination of the experience of being a woman.

Most of lifes truth’s see us in the face each day, some of us are willing to see them and accept them, most of us choose to ignore them or blindly hope to overcome them. In our hope’s lie the source of our greatest strength and the reason of our greatest weakness. Man will always be a creature of circumstance, but circumstances change with awareness, as human beings we have the privilege of choice, and our awareness of a circumstance affects our choices which in turn will roll out for us our life path. All in all it’s all a beautiful bowl of fuzz! It is easier to accept than it is overcome.

The truth is of course that which sets us free and it is all around us, the more we live the more we learn – as travelers on our path we have the objective of seeing both within our self and out there into the great void around us. And before we say our goodbye’s to the year that was, do look back to what it gave, what it took, and what it changed. That which was, shall never be again, and even that which is yet to come shall come and then be gone again. Life in all its glory is not worth clinging to, its worth celebrating and may the new year bring you all that you desire, want and need, and a new reason to celebrate each day that you live!

PS; My thoughts are largely affected by what i’ve read and what i believe, you likely play little or no consequence in forming this picture – not!

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Dhruvawhile

It’s been a long while since i posted, and in that long while there’s been a bunch of long stories, some that left me with a long face and some that left me laughing for long, so the short of it is that its been long!

Been a bunch of interesting places, seen some pretty faces, met some nutball cases, a few warm embraces and even been saved by lady lucks graces : )

There were some times when things got really gloomy, and then someone switched on a bulb, and then there were others where i managed to do the same.

And from it all, i learnt that you have to keep it moving, i decided i just GOTTA move more often! SO SHOULD YOU! I also decided that i wouldnt impose my better judgement on people – but thats another story : )

What i really like about travelling is that it opens us up to a bunch of different ideas,
gets you thinking about things that you havnt been thinkin, even when you were drinkin, and smokin, coz maybe you were broken, but now that you’re open, lets get it movin, and lets keep it flowin : )

And thats enough silly rhyme for this time

Dhruv

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Independence Day

I cant make up my mind which picture i like more, but today is Independence day. 60 glorious years of freedom after centiries of dominance. I have thought a few times about when India truly had her golden period. In chronological perspective India has been ruled by foreign invaders for centuries the British started meddling in local affairs in about 1830 (banned sati) and they left in 1947. Before that we had the muslims from 1527 (Babur vs Rana Sanga). For a 400 year period before that India was pretty divided in rule with a bunch of southern indian kingdoms having power, which leads us to the golden period in Indian history, which to me starts at about 1000 B.C. and goes on till somewhere about 1100 AD. A good 2100 year span of cultural, spiritual and economic strength. Right from mathematicians, philosophers, scientists, rishis and rulers. India had it all.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas film Back to the present, India is a young country, the largest democracy in the world, the 6th largest country, home to the biggest employer (Indian Railways), has the most post offices and has smarties like me writing blogs about random facts : )

The Indian Flag

The Flags of our Fathers

Incidentally, im really curious about which version looks better- Do push in some thoughts !

 Jai Hind

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Dhruvdid

When i look back at life, i dont know what i did right and what i did wrong, but i can look back and say that i did. Not all our actions and thoughts will lead us to being happy, but i do know that without actions we can never be happy!

I believe all of us have an answer deep inside to what will make us happy – really happy! I believe that hapiness and simplicity are closely related, the more bunk i have in my life, the more complicated life gets, not to say that i would be happy to kick out everything just to have simplicity, and hell a broadband connection has its place in life – ask this lucky mum!

Our surroundings – our family, our friends, our workers, the one’s we are closest with, they are reflections of ourself. The closest people around me are the ones that best reflect me character. There is a little bit of everyone in me, now each of these characters has desires. That desire which obtains victory is termed – will -. The inner disposition which makes the will possible is called character.

Elizabethtown buy

Life has a destiny in store for each of us, our actions help us realise our destiny, we are often faced with “quite the conundrum” and our choices will seem confused, but there really is no clear right nor wrong, just choices, we have passed this way before and will pass by again, each time we have our options and life in the moment is always happy : )

A wise man once told me that there are lots of problems going around and that its important to remember that most of them are not really yours! Kid’s not happy - kids problem, Parents not happy – parents problem, Friends not happy – friends problem, you not happy – now thats your problem – but I try not to interrelate the lot, however do take some time to think and do take action, don’t spend all your life sitting in the same old place that doesnt really get you what you want.  Thats what life is about, getting what you really want from it. Your will will prevail, just make sure its the right character that wins!

Love,

Dhruv

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Dhruvadharma

dharma

I have been thinking about what right and wrong consitutes for me, for us, for society, and for the world at large. The concept of Dharma is at the center of eastern relegion, and since eastern relegion is mostly what western relegion is based on : ) – lets say its at the heart of most religious practice.

Dharma to me is core of what my faith is, what my beliefs are, from which my happiness arises, that which my soul speaks, and that which my mind accepts. When the soul speaks and the mind refutes, there arises confusion, from confusion comes unhapiness. There is a purity in all of us which lives in our soul, we are all creatures of happiness and delight, just that some of us take a while to hear that. So for me my hapiness is my Dharma..

Then what of dharma for us, and who is us? You and me, my dear ones and me, the ones i interact with and the one’s i feel for. So in this case, the concept of dharma expands to cover a large base, and with society an ever expanding base, then the world, and the universe and then encompasses us all. Now how could we live in dichotomoy and have a singular concept of dharma ?

I believe that the answer lies in the fact that there is no right and no wrong, that which you feel is right, is right, that which your heart speaks and that which the mind agrees with. Dharma Matigrah Udghrutah. Life hands you a multitude of choices, doing what makes you happy is what makes life worth living. Works for me, cant say if it’s true for that Charles Bronson dude : )