Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Renaissance Men!


It is a well known fact that the Lion abandons the lioness and its cubs once they are born and it is the duty of the Lioness to bring up the children on her own. In the Indian family system, except for the abandoning aspect, the situation was more or less the same. The mother was expected to engrave all the good manners on the child's mind while the father's contribution was restricted to supervising the process and providing for their expenses. You can say the Father was the headmaster and the mother was the teacher. I call men of such times as the traditional men who did not have a revolutionized pro-active view towards their role in the household and who restricted the ambit of their contribution to the family with stereotypical focus......A new breed of men with a modern outlook is fast growing. This breed brushes all the ideologies of the traditional men under the carpet. They have started to emerge slowly but surely in our society- And are making their presence felt. I call them Renaissance Men.I was first introduced to this term in a short story By Khushwant Singh called," The Princess of Kahin Nahin". I liked this term. Infact I loved it. The lead protagonist in the short story defines this term as a league of Modern men with innovative thinking.However I bid to differ here, and have derived my own definition of Renaissance Men. Men who are more open to the dynamic change in the ever altering societal fabric where both the partners are working under different time and stress conditions, Men who oblige by the sudden shift in their roles and responsibility and who are not scared to perform and give it their best, Men who are not chauvinistic fools and who accept the fact that their female partner is busy and tired and realize that they should contribute in shouldering the house-hold responsibilities...they are my Renaissance Men!Ahaaaa! Sounds like something that is so fantasy like. I am sure the ladies might think I am day dreaming. But yeah Renaissance Men exist. The trend has shifted its base. We are now heading towards the unattainable and away form the beaten path. Working men have become more sensitive towards the plight of the second sex than earlier and have agreed to help.In a traditional Indian family setup a man was expected to control the finance front while their female counter part handles the home front. Since the ladies have started working, this rule has gone for a full toss. The conventional system has been challenged and has gone for a complete face lift where the responsibilities are shared by both partners on both fronts equally. Surprised? Well I was too until I witnessed this sea change actually occurring.Like for example, I know this lovely couple who works in a BPO and in 3 different shifts. They have a 5 year old kid who needs to be taken care of. Each day they adjust their shift such that at least one of them is there with the child to take care of his needs. The husband cooks for his family and shows no pretence when explaining the logic behind. When I questioned him on his stance he answered candidly-"The family belongs to both and both should put equal efforts in making life easier. It is a implied condition of our partnership". Hmm unbelievable but true.A distant acquaintance of mine - a couple where the lady of the house works in odd shifts has her husband doing the household duties including cleaning, cooking and chores. Another example is that where a baby only few months old is being handled by his dad when the mother is away on some important work, so effortlessly that you are left in a complete awe. This trend will take some time to get social acceptance but the wheels of change have already been set in motion. This is not the battle for sexes; it’s the battle for leading a happy and healthy life together with your partner. We have accepted metrosexual men, we can definitely welcome this change!To conclude, I have gathered from all of my observations that these Renaissance men are not love fools neither are they too naive to accept whatever their wives say, they are matured, understanding and pragmatic set of intelligent men who have accepted that Family wins hands down over their false male ego.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Emotional Nibblets ! 2

I know you were here, I knew long ago.......
I know you didnt want to see me.........
I have agreed to make you happy long back.......
Atleast one of us is happy now......
Does it really matter if its U or I ?

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Life's Big Lesson in a small scoop! 4


Dear Life,

I was paralysed once.............I tried to sit...............I learnt to stand.............I started walking.........Now I am revving up to run.............hand in hand with you.........

Yours truly,
Ketaki

Friday, September 12, 2008

hmmmmm!

My igoogle page is full of different literary applications likes word of the day, synonyms, wikipedia, current news, small poems, word games etc but one of my most admired one is quotes by my fvourite poetess Maya Angelou. Early morning today I saw the following quote and couldnt help putting it here! Coz it holds true for so many of us!

History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.
Maya Angelou

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Bappa Morya!


Yesterday was a rocking day! I bid adieu to my favourite God by dancing in tandem to the gyrating sounds of the Nasik Dhol. My best friend invited me over at her place for celebrating Ganesha festival! And man what a fun it was! We hung out with a couple of common friends, made 21 modaks, enjoyed the Aarti thrice in a day and danced crazily in a Ganpati Procession! But all this fun became a little more eventful when day before yesterday, I tripped on something in the dark and had my right leg twisted and swollen. But no matter what! Once the beats of Dhol started I couldn't keep my feet on the ground. Danced endlessly for hours at a stretch completely soaked in the down pour that also among 60 complete strangers on the road. A new experience that I had never had. Sometimes it helps to let your hair down and go footloose and dance like nobody is seeing. The Nagin and been step, the kiss-bai-kiss, the patang and manja, the friends step, the Dil chahta hai jumps, fugdis, Albela Step, Amitabh Bacchan step and my favourite Dharmendra ishtyle step along with the many other regular ones stole the show! I had a blast! Initially I was conscious of dancing but once the mood set in, I saw myself getting absorbed in the whole atmosphere and invigorating with immense energy. The air resonated with the sounds of magnetic catch phrase of Ganpati Bappa Morya! It was a completely mesmerizing experience! I haven't danced like this since last 5 years. The last time I had a rapchik rowdi dance it was at our sendoff in 2004. I thoroughly enjoyed myself yesterday, even with a painfully swollen knee and ankle! Sometimes the things you love liberate you from your deepest and darkest pain...and extend help in elevating your mood greatly.....that's exactly what I experienced yesterday!!!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Peace atlast!

I was so close to you yesterday that I felt a strong urge to extend my hand and anticipate your warmth but then I realised it is only a mirage of vapourised sublime nondescript possibilities that were never there and shall never be.......So Long....

Saturday, September 6, 2008

I Like!

I'm breaking through
I'm bending spoons
I'm keeping flowers in full bloom
I'm looking for answers from the great beyond
- “The Great Beyond", REM.

Old introduction: Just for record!

I, An Unsolved Mystery.
This blog is a toast raised in the celebration of the much " loved, hated yet lived" life. It is my contribution towards understanding its transient ways and the paradoxical repercussions life has on me.
Coined in totality.........I AM EVERYTHING, I WANT TO BE.
My mettle is woven of a contrasting fiber and this is what intrigues me a lot...
Life is after-all..... 'living in an amalgamation of antonyms'. Merely attributing my behavior to the universally accepted norm, " expected of human nature" doesn't hold suffice persuasion-power for me. I vouch to strive for not restricting the ambit of my thoughts and amputating my progression.My writings are a purposeful attempt to explore and surmount the drawbacks of my cognizance and comprehension. Packed in a nuget, 'I' try to quiz the complex 'ME' in an effort to understand ' MYSELF'

Friday, September 5, 2008

Emotional nibblets...........


I am astonished at the choice of your rancid words, they hurt me so much, that my heart bled to its death.................

I am astonished at myself and the choice I made, to heal my heart and to bring it back from dead.............


Yes indeed a part of me has perished, it failed to stand the wear and tear.......... But a new one continues to infuse life blood and provide me tender care..................


I shall, no I will proove my point.......... Coz reckless abandon is your way, mine is repair after despair..........


I held you near..........I was scared..........of loosing the precious.........

Now that your gone for good...........let fear thy be replaced by peace again.............


..............sigh.............






Life's Big Lesson in a Small Scoop! 3


The Key to success lies in dreaming big and relentlessly striving to inch towards your goals. Have you ever ridiculed a person for dreaming and planning to make it big someday. If you have then I suggest you owe him an apology. And you better give it immediately. Coz you are in a more sorry position than him. People with no dreams get nowhere. Even if you observe, every company has a vision which it channelises to attain its mission. If you are somebody who does not understand somebody else's jest for achieving success, you will never be successful yourself. Have you ever given it a thought how your belief can shape you as a person and spear head your personal and professional success. Let me illustrate this with one of the biggest success stories that I know.
Let me tell you about Mr. XYZ. He and me were the bestest of friends in college days. He was completely driven with passion for theatre. He was so immersed in theatre that he hardly attended lectures, travelled all the way from central suburb to western cities at odd hours , involved in strange physical endurance activities and verbal pronuncitation practices, indulged in different dance forms and learnt songs in a plethora of languages. I appreciated his passion but had always written off dramatics as a non-lucrative kind of vocation. I mean there is never a steady income flow( as our average thought processes do not allow us to think beyond conventional ambit's of Theatre wagre to sab thik hai, lekin kamata kaise hai). I used to give him long lectures to concentrate on white collared career and stop expending time and energy on worthless things. Yes things were worthless but for me ! For him it was more worthy than living itself. We lost touch over the period of years until I stumbled upon him a few months back. Its been 7 long years since college days and I was very eager to know about him. I learnt he has made the whole world his home. He travels most of the time in different countries and continents and teaches dramatics. He has also helped in some noble causes, like teaching the children at UNICEF.
After learning this, my belief and faith in dreaming big and jealously pursuing one's passion have been reinstated. Never underestimate others passion for things and never quit dreaming.
Dreams are road maps that you make to reach to your desired Position!
You may never know when an Average Joe might become a great torch bearer.

Thanks so much!
Lesson learnt boss!