Bujhte huye chirag jalate kahaN kahaN

Unko hawa ki zur se bachate kahaN kahaN

Kis kis se milte jhuk ke sabhi loog pust the

Akhir hum apne kad ko ghatate kahaN kahaN

Naraz humne kitne khudaoN ko kardeya

Akhir is ek sar ko jhukate kahaN kahaN

Ab kaun mu.ntazir hai hamaare liye vahaa.N
Shaam aaye bhi to lauT ke jaate kahaN KahaN

Dil kii khalish to saath rahii tamaam umr

Dariya-e-gham ko aakhoN se bahate kahaN kahaN

Koshish to tumne ki magar kya huwa “Nadeem”

Chehre ki bebasi ko chupate kahaN kahaN

Jalke mein raakh hua ab na sada demujhko

Ab kya sun paunga ab na sada demujhko

Khelna waqt ke sholoN se meri fitrat hai

Tu jo chahe to daman se hawa demujhko

HaaN merey baad nayi kopaleN ajayengi

Khushk patti hooN to tahni se gera demujhko

Deep mandir ka banooN aysi to khwahish hi nahiN

HaaN sare-raah jalana hai jala demujhko

Apna hi aks jistmeN nazar aye tumhaiN ‘Nadeem’

Agar main sung hoon to aiyena bana demujhko

President Mugabe is visiting a primary school and he joins one of the classes. They are in the middle of a discussion related to words and their meanings.

The teacher asks the president if he would like to lead the discussion on the word 'Tragedy. So the illustrious leader asks the class for an example of a 'Tragedy'.

One little boy stands up and offers: "If my best friend, who lives on a farm, is playing in the field and a war vet comes along and knocks him dead with a log, that would be a 'Tragedy'.

"No", says Mr. Mugabe, "that would be an accident."
A little girl raises her hand: " If a school bus carrying 50 children drove over a cliff, killing everyone inside, that would be a "Tragedy ".
"I'm afraid not," explains the president. "That's what we would call a great loss"

The room goes silent. No other children volunteer.
Mr. Mugabe searches the room. "Isn't there someone here who can give me an example of a tragedy?"

Finally at the back of the room a small boy raises his hand.
In a quiet voice he says, "If a Zimbabwean Air Force jet, carrying Mr.& Mrs. Mugabe was struck by a missile and blown to smithereens, that would be a tragedy".

"Fantastic!" exclaims Mr. Mugabe, "that's right. And can you tell me why that would be a tragedy?"
"Well," says the boy, "because it wouldn't be an accident, and it certainly wouldn't be a great loss."

Like to share a story which was shared by one of my friend & it touched my heart….the story of the eagle….

The eagle has longest life span among birds. It can live up to 70 years but to reach this age eagle must make hard decisions. At the age of around 40; its’ long & flexible talons can no longer grab prey which serves as food, its’ long & sharp beak becomes bent, it’s old-aged & heavy wings due to thick feathers stuck to its chest and make it difficult to fly. Now eagle is left with 2 options:

• To die.
• To go through painful process of change over.

The second process of change over requires the eagle to fly to mountain top, knock it’s beak against rock until it plucks it out, after that waits for new beak to grow back. Then it plucks outs it’s talons and when talons grow back they start plucking its old aged feathers. After 5 months, eagle takes its famous flight of rebirth and lives for another 30 years.

Important lessons from eagle story: why change is needed

• Many times, in order to survive we have to start change process.
• We sometimes need to get rid of old habits, memories & past traditions.
• Only freed from past burdens we can take advantage of the present  

Alone I can only say but together we can shout,
Alone I can only smile but together we can laugh,
Alone I can only live but together we can celebrate,

Alone I can only speak but together we can discuss,

Alone I can only be a member but together we can be team,

Alone I can only power but together we can synergy,

Alone I can only be a petal but together we can be flower,

Alone I can only Hindu/Muslim/Christian but together we are India,

Alone I can only write but together we can share & blog.

My mom got a heart attack last summer and during course of her treatment I have spoken to her doctor about cause and effect of these attacks and how we can avoid it. I am listing the abstract of our discussions.

It is not only our lifestyle, eating habits which can cause heart attacks but to my surprise he told me about effect of drinking cold water after our meals which is very damaging. Though it is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal, however, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion. Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to attacks & cancers. It is best to drink hot soup or WARM water after a meal.  

A serious note about heart attacks - You should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be chest pain  but things like left arm hurting & intense pain in the jaw line etc. You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack. Nausea, vomiting and intense sweating are also common symptoms. 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep.

Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know the better chance we could survive.

vafaa kii sham’aa jalaao ke kuchh qaraar mile
zaraa sa aur qareeb aao ke kuchh qaraar mile

siyaah raat ke khaamosh sard lamhoN meiN
hamaaraa dil hi jalaao ke kuchh qaraar mile

mirii hayaat kii tanhaaiyoN ko dekho to
abhii na chhoR ke jaao ke kuchh qaraar mile

khizaayeiN mujhko rulaati haiN har baras aa kar
bahaaroN tum bhi rulaao ke kuchh qaraar mile

fazaaeiN jhum jati hoN jin bahaaroN meiN
vahiiN kii baat sunaao ke kuchh qaraar mile

maiN muntazir raha azal se tum se milne ko
kabhii to mujhko bulaao ke kuchh qaraar mile

tumhaare jaane se dil beqarar hai shaam-o-sahar
tum jaldi lauT ke aao ke kuchh qaraar mile

bahut sunaa chuke ulfat ke geet “Nadeem”
ab kuch aur sunaao ke kuchh qaraar mile

Some 2 & ˝ months back I felt lot of pain in my right heel and after initial medication, which has not helped me I went for thorough check up and found a tumour in my heel bone and got operated to removed the tumour and bone grafting (bone filled in the gaps created after being taken from other bone, in my case pelvic girdle) is done.  The whole process was very painful and I have gone though tough times, not only financial but also emotional one with you being out of action from your work place, from your social circles, including you all and remain on bed (with very restricted movements). The only saving grace during this period is the time I spend with my family, which otherwise is very difficult in this fast world.

I would like to share poetry I have read sometime back on how to treat our love ones….

On being on bed for the whole day was tough deal

My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,
"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
But the children you love, you seem to abuse.
Look on the bedroom floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself, pink, yellow and blue.
He stood quietly not to spoil the surprise,
And you never saw the tears in his eyes."
By this time, I felt very small
And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
"Wake up, little boy, wake up," I said.
"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.
I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."
I said, "Son, I'm sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."

He said, "Oh, Dad, that's okay. I love you anyway."
I said, "Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family - an unwise investment indeed.

Isn’t it is worthwhile to share some time with your love ones….. to get your priorities right....to make proper balance among all things which affects our lives.

I was sitting in a train, waiting for it to start. Across from me sat a small boy, asking questions as children do. He asked his mother, "When will the train start?" I saw my chance and volunteered to answer. I said, "The train will start when we start pushing." The child opened his big eyes in surprise, "Really?" "Of course," I said. "Unless we push, it doesn't start." "Then let's push," he exclaimed. "Just a minute," I said. "The passengers are not all on. I'll tell you when to push." I watched for the signal light at the station and heard the station master's shrill whistle. Then I shouted to the boy, "Now! Push for all you're worth." He and I started to push in the direction of the engine. We pushed and pushed against the back of the seat .... and soon a contented smile lit up the boy's face. The train was moving ... very slowly at first, but then gaining speed little by little. I congratulated the lad on his success. "We DID it! We DID it! "Wasn't that great?" he exclaimed. He looked immensely pleased with himself. He was traveling in a train he had helped to start. I did not have the heart to tell him about the monstrous engine chugging up in front. Eventually he would find out for himself... We usually attribute great success to our little actions, forgetting that behind them all is that almighty unseen power called God, whose power often makes us look powerful.

One midnight, I had just finished another shift at a job I didn’t like so I was alive with energy. I smiled, my eyes were open, I felt good about myself. I said my usual goodbyes to a friend and sprung into my car. My friend reversed his car just before I had the chance to leave my car park so he had beaten me this time – it was an unspoken game that took place each time we left from work. I waited for him to get out of the way before I reversed to make my way home.

As I was leaving, the open car park gave me an invitation to have a little fun with my car. If landscapes could talk, this one was whispering into my ear that I should spin the wheels. “Besides, it’s late at night. No one is around and you’re feeling great. It’s an open car park with no danger. Do it!” said the persuasive voice. Like a vulnerable teenager succumbing to peer pressure, I accepted the invitation.

The car became an extension of my body as it began to mimic my ecstatic mood. I put my foot down hard on the accelerator as I spun the wheel left around the first corner. As the rear tires lost their stability and the car went side-ways, I entered the next turn and spun the wheel right. The sound of screeching tires was like water fertilizing my increasing smile. Smoke filled the rims of my tires and a shot of adrenaline filled my body.

Following the consecutive drifts, I straightened the car and approached a set of traffic lights on the main road that would take me home. Had this been during the daytime, about seven cars would be in front of me before the upcoming traffic lights. I decided to keep complying with the road’s persuasive voice as it told me to “be a little adventurous” so I decided, or rather I let the road decide for me, that I should turn left instead of my usual right turn. Not exactly an Indiana Jones adventure, but it was different.

My friend who had left before me had just gone through the traffic lights a few seconds before me so the lights were still green. Keeping in the mood, I put my foot down on the accelerator to catch the green light. I would make it. I turned around the corner with a soft screech of the tires and there, 20 meters in front of me, on the side of the road were two police officers beside their vehicle.

They pulled me over. Opposite to what you might be thinking, I was not concerned. I was still in my elevated state. I wound down my window and an angry officer came charging at me, yelling, “What the hell are you thinking? What the hell is going through your mind?” I paused momentarily, unaffected by his aggressive state. I said smilingly, “I’m just happy, I guess”. Not a smart response.

It just hit me that I was out of it. I knew I should have said something else. I gulped. My mind rushed to think of some communication techniques I could use as a life boat to save me from drowning in the conversation. The moment was intense and all that came to mind were some techniques on getting out of a speeding-ticket. I thought to myself that I’ll give the techniques a shot. After all, I had annoyed the officer enough already.

As I was thinking how to approach this difficult situation, I was still happy of course. My happy mood seemed to pour fuel on his already raging fire. “Bloody hell mate! I could just give you a ticket right now!” My smile began to lower. I no longer made eye contact with the officer. The officer’s raging mood began to infect me and cause me to feel angry. It was as if my body had been overcome by an emotional virus the officer had given me.

I thought of the techniques to get out of a speeding-ticket and realized I was already beginning to use them. Well, it was too late to make the officer feel safe as he approached the car, but I needed to no longer act oblivious to my mistake. I needed to show respect as officers are in a clear position of authority and often experience disrespect throughout their day that only makes them more determined to convict guilty citizens. “You’re right.” I replied. “I was stupid and careless.”

The officer was still enraged and continued to threaten me with a ticket. I knew he could easily write me a ticket, but he wasn’t writing one possibly because officers hate the paperwork created from citizens breaking the law. I kept myself aligned with the officer’s reality by remaining in a “Yes I’m wrong, stupid, and shouldn’t have done that” mood. I continued to play psychological judo, and match my mood with his own, until two minutes later he said to drive off. And oh, I got no ticket!

I drove off – though feeling pleased I had beaten a reckless driving ticket – in an irritated state. The officer had destroyed my happy mood. It took two minutes of talking with the officer to completely transform my happy state into a joyless, gloomy mood. All it took was two minutes to convert my mood and there I was, in an unhappy state for the remaining two hours until I went to bed.

Everyday you are interacting with people at different mood levels. Sometimes you’re happier than people you are talking to, other times they are happier than you. Whatever the case maybe, emotions are being transferred to various people. This is a fascinating peculiarity with emotions. Have you ever noticed how we feel in our interactions is not just dependent on our internal state?

• How did you feel when someone really annoyed began talking to you? You became more annoyed.
• How did you feel when someone unhappy began talking to you? You began to be unhappy.
• How did you feel when a charismatic person talked to you? You felt his energy and you began to feel happier.