An act of kindness is a gift from the doer... not a right of the reciever!

Acts of kindness are an inherent quality and they are not directed towards a single person. It is that quality that you either possess or you don't. It's a deep well that arises out of you and if you can do random acts of kindness without expecting a reward, that is reward in itself.

When we are nice to people around us, we only enhance our own souls and it allows the radiance from within to touch the world.

All of us live in our seperate realities and what binds us to another human or animal is that act of kindness, the liitle things we do, acts of love, compassion and empathy.

Each of us is capable of this and let's not limit ourselves, the more you give, the more you get. A sincere compliment, you look lovely today, I love what you are wearing, your hair looks great. A simple gesture like opening a door for someone, holding out your hand as they step off a kerb or car or even the dance floor. A smile to a stranger, a liitle wink to a child, a salute to those in uniform. Is it really that difficult.

In the Hitopadesha it is said that, "A tree does not withdraw it's shade from anyone, not even the woodcutter". How inspiring. So, the next time you say, I didn't do this for someone 'cos they didn't deserve it, think again. Your kindness has nothing to do with the person you offer it to but has everything to do with the kind of person you are.

A lesson so simple, it's an affront almost to be reminded of it...

Chaiyya Chaiyya / Don't Stop MASHUP!! - INDIA EDITION ft Sam Tsui, Shank...

Dont stop till you get enough...

I do not as a rule listen to the radio when I'm driving unless it's a Saturday where there are no RJ's and ads or post 10 pm when most channels play retro music.

Which is why I guess I miss out on what is trending currently. (this btw is an entire essay by itself, in life too)

This morning though I turned on the radio and I began dancing as I drove :D

Was intrigued by this lovely mix of MJ's "Dont stop till you get enough" and A R Rahman's "Chaiyya Chaiyya". Loved the way the sounds blend and it makes for some crazy moves.

How one gyrates while holding the steering wheel in hand and taps to the music in the other is something you need to be in the car with me to believe.

Looked it up and it's called the mash up video.

Hmnnn... interesting word mashup. My mind and soul currently mashed up in rythm and sounds even within silences and my mojo screams music!

Here's the link to the Youtube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHA9lxVhNdo

Bug...err...

What does one do when bitten by the jitterbug copulated with swing and salsa?

One gives in, sigh!

I can't stop dancing. I hear music in my head all the time and I spend an extra 3 minutes in the loo, dancing away in front of the mirror.

Methinks I need to keep a spare set of trainers there. Slip 'em on and twist and shake.

Actually may be a fantastic way to lose weight. My battle with the bulge continues and the bulge is emerging the clear winner looks like!

Can't stop the moves as I write this....

Sway me close...

Remember my earlier post when I was the back end of the camel and had to learn to sway in rythm?

I always knew I could sway alright! What I didn't reckon for is that while my body moved, my soul would follow too!

I fell in love on Friday.

I found someone I am attracted to and whose company I can grow old with, someone whose music springs from the depths of the soul, someone who doesn't need the cadences to sway.

I found me.

The person I've become is someone I celebrate.

You know well that this blog is a confessional. it's catharsis, and a coarctate.

My posts began as an angst ridden outpouring and moved to acceptance.

Time to complete the transformation into celebration.

And hell yeah! Call me narcissistic, egocentric, a megalomaniac.

If the shoe fits...

I wear it with pride.

Singularly cellular...

Its not the things or words you say but those that you leave hanging like moss that falls off trees during monsoons that the nucleus of the atom lies in.

In every pore that screams silently there is a cell that is slowly crumbling and decaying, laying to waste its futile life.

In that infinitesmal moment when you realise that the receding photosynthesis is not just the fading sunlight but an eclipse, you know the organelle lives in vitro.

BBC documentary on Nirbhaya...

The Nirbhaya rape case was such a painful incident and it affected me more than I thought, my emotions were involved to the point where I felt violated myself. The brutality of the action was simply incomprehensible and no matter how many times I tried to imagine how they could have been so violent, I wasn't able to.

It took me a long time to stop thinking about it and when I do, it sends a chill down my spine and I'm emotional all over again.

Most of what was a latent memory has now become active again and all of the agony is revisited. So BBC makes a documentary that involves a recounting of the incident and has interviews with one of the rapists, the parents of the victim, defence lawyers, spouse and parents of the rapists and other people who had an opinion that the documentary was worth sharing.

And we are divided over whether it should be aired on BBC or not, the Indian government saying not of course and the Delhi state govt planning to sue all and sundry...

I dont get what the fuss is all about, I'm trying to... believe me.

One of the reasons cited for the ban are divulging the victim's identity. By raising such a hue and cry over it, we are somehow driving home the fact that rape is a shameful secret and we should hide it and those who have gone through it better hide themselves in a dark corner. If her parents had no problems with it, who is the govt to cry foul. I salute the girl for her courage and for the fact that her case will go down in history for evoking a response like it did among the otherwise dead Indian society. I would like to keep a picture of her as a memory. As I write this I feel a strength in me, a smile that breaks out despite the sombreness of the subject. She has inspired me.

Another reason for the ban is "India's image". The documentary is a slur on our oh-so-pure image and what will people think? Our reputation is in shreds. What will the 'foreigners' think about us?
Excuse me, but if we as a society have allowed the sick thinking as purpoted by the rapists, defence lawyers and families of the rapists, let's have the courage to face it. Only when we are aware of the ailment, can we treat it.

Honestly though, I'm stunned and terribly shaken by the thinking about women. I didn't know that so many people think rape is a reaction to an action by the woman. That it is fine and just a minor aberration that is perfectly commonplace, happens to the best of us, it's OK. Being a woman means you will at some point encounter it and you are better off being prepared for it, well because you are a woman, it's as natural as childbirth.

We are a population of 1.6 billion, last count... for sure we've raced ahead now, the scary statistic is the ratio of people with this mindset. And the wide spectrum it encompasses. Since we have to be the change we want to see, let's begin at home. Stop telling your sons not to 'cry like a girl'. Stop giving them a larger portion during a meal. Let's teach them the equality and dignity of labor. Household chores are NOT a woman's job. We women were not born with a stamp that says, made for housework. Other than periods, pregnancy, childbirth and breast feeding, our boys can do evrything our girls can.

Our shift and focus should be on not what our girls can do, but on what our boys can do.

Label me feminist if you would but I'd rather be termed a realist...

And to all my women readers, watch your words and actions... they are far more powerful than you think...