Travelling Times

                I had kept away from the whole Annaesque turn that our lives had taken by refraining myself from reading the newspaper and watching news channels.   And it didn’t seem to stop there. I was witness to thousands of people holding candles and parading central park (in Bangalore). Men on bikes were shouting slogans and waving flags at the surge of this newly found patriotism. I rather forego all this till the next time I watch Rang De Basanti. The blog was a last resort when I started receiving text messages and email petitions to support our savior against corruption. I hate to sound harsh, unpatriotic and boring but have we toed the line this time around?                 Moving away from this, I remember an incident from a couple of years back. My friend and I were having a beer and discussing work. We happened to noti...

     1998. 9th standard. Life wasn't all about History, Chemistry and Maths then. Computers were in the stage of evolution, and cellphones were like UFOs. Someone claimed to have seen them, but no one could swear to it that it existed. Our entertainment were restricted to board games, Monopoly and Scrabble ruled the roost then, kids nowadays call these apps on their funky i-phones. But within the walls of our classroom, a game existed. A game that had caught the imagination of the Indian youth. Cricket was still a religion, and Sachin our God.       The first hour would go on perfectly fine. We would remain fresh and active during the class. The second hour would generally resort to slight murmur of disapproval. In the third hour, it would start. A slight ruffle in the last bench. Rajeev and Unni sat there. I would turn back from the penultimate row and check out. The pitch report had started, it would be the English text book. Good se...

     "When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.      Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason n...