A Small Pack of Wishes....

Yeah…I’ve a small pack of wishes,

I’d like to share with one and all.

My wishes may look puny

But, they are enough

To make the flashes of my life

Worth watching!

I wish to have my share of rainbows

To always follow the clouds,

A few silver linings

Which reassure that every

Night is followed by a beautiful morn.

I wish for laughter to kiss my lips,

Even at times when my chips are down,

And when sadness intrudes,

I wish for innumerable smiles

To brighten up my days

And say

Yeah, we’re there for you.

I wish for beauty

That sooths the tired eyes

Warms the broken hearts

Lifts the spirits that sag,

Hugs the drooping shoulders;

And takes away the pain

From the lives

It touches.

I wish for undaunting faith,

To believe in myself;

To have courage to know,

And patience to accept the truth,

That life is much beyond

To what my eyes can meet.

And last but the not the least

I wish for the cup of love

To be always overflowing in my life

Along with the sparkles of everlasting friendships,

To see me through the sunset of my life!

Yes, I've Learnt to Say NO

When the going is rough,

The situations are tough,

And reason says enough,

I say, NO

I’ll never give up!

When I see a child without a school bag

All wrapped up in a rag

And growing up with a tag

That education is meant for a privileged few

I say, NO

This can’t be true

The child has a right

Just as you and me

To have the best in life!

When I see a woman

Being deprived of her rights

Beaten black and blue

By the ridiculous norms

I say, NO

I’ll never be one of them

As I prefer having my share of fights

But will never give up in fright!

When I see people

Running after materialistic gains

Forgetting to enjoy life

While bartering their gains for pains

I say, NO

To this mad marathon

As life to me is too true

And beautiful

To be spent in counting pennies earned!

Yes, I’ve learnt to say NO

The harder way

But then

It’s one of the best things

I’ve learnt so far!

An Ode to Humanity

                I would like to dedicate this to Mother Teresa on the occasion of her birth anniversary.

                                                                                    

My friends, you have the liberty to call me naïve

As I attempt to write an ode to humanity.

Humanity has fallen from its throne,

It’s been mercilessly strangulated by countless gory deeds.

It now wallows in the mud,

Crawls with the lowest animal;

Shrieking for mercy and praying for love.

It lies helplessly, watching with its glassy eyes;

Humans marching back

Toward the forgotten Darwinian age

That preached "Survival of the fittest!"

 “To be or not to be”

Is the burning question asked to us by humanity.

 If humans can feel,

Then why are they so cold?

If humans can listen

Then why don't they do as they're told?

If humans can speak,

Then why is there silence all around?

If humans can wait,

Then why is there impatience in their deeds?

If humans can really include,

Then why is there loneliness all around?

If humans can love,

Then why is there vicious hatred all around?

My dear friends

You can’t create heaven in hell!

This is all we got,

This planet is our heaven or hell.

It’s high time

That we get back to our basics.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”

Yes, we can retrace our steps;

As the clock is still ticking,

Reminding us that it’s still not too late

To continue with our noble responsibility

Of building a secular world

That believes in global religion of humanity!

My dear friends, let’s join our hands;

To create a new, beautiful world;

That believes in hard core humanity

And preaches the modern mantra

Of having a world

That is “One for all and all for one!”

It's Time that We All Go Green!

Green Living
Green living should become the motto of the present and the future generations. It has become essential for all of us to educate our children about eco-friendly methods so that they learn to respect the environment they are born into. The love and respect for nature has to be inculcated right from childhood. Children of today are adults of tomorrow; hence values instilled today will reap rich dividends in the future. The children who are brought up in a surrounding that is healthy and green would definitely get used to this kind of living. Therefore, when they grow up as citizens they will ensure that they do not do anything that would jeopardize the health of the planet.

There is a need today to develop new technologies which would facilitate green living. New researches are being done to find out new forms of green energy. The oil and coal reserves of our planet are fast depleting owing to massive industrialization. If the rate of consumption remains the same, then soon coal and oil reserves would get exhausted. Therefore, measures are being taken to conserve the remaining resources and find alternative methods of generating energy. Solar energy and tidal energy are some potential sources of energy available. They need to be exploited and expanded in a right way to get maximum output and benefit. The solar energy and tidal energy are renewable sources of energy and are eco-friendly too. As a part of green living, people should be encouraged to use solar power for house lighting. These days, technology is also developed to run vehicles on solar power. Though, this is still in the gestation period, it would be a great alternative to gas and petrol used for running the vehicles.

Awareness programs should be conducted by various ecological departments. People should be educated on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. They should be taught to make use of the natural resources reasonably. The effects of irrational use of the natural resources should be explained to the people in detail. People in general have a tendency to misuse and waste fresh water. This has led to scarcity of water. Steps should be taken to curtail this wastage and make people more responsible. Similarly, people also tend to waste electricity by switching on lights unnecessarily. If one extra bulb is lit in every household, then imagine the amount power consumption. This is a national waste and should be avoided.

As inhabitants of this planet we should all work towards developing green living habits. This is both our social as well as moral responsibility.

                                                                                  

Green issues

Economic development and industrialization has led to numerous global issues especially pertaining to the environment. The health and future of our environment is at risk owing to the uncontrolled industrialization, urbanization, and deforestation. It may be surprising but thoughtless intensification and expansion of agriculture in some of the third world countries has also added to the ever growing problem of environmental issues. The crux of the problem relating to environment is degradation of natural resources like water, forest, minerals, rocks, and salt. Another point of escalation is the depleting ozone layer and loss of biodiversity.

The world is witnessing a global water crisis. It has been estimated that one in every three persons are having water shortage. There is scarcity of fresh water supply and if water is not used carefully then there is going to be an acute crisis. The underground water supplies are getting exhausted due to excessive boring done all over the world. The consumption of water has to be rationed. New sources of water supply have to be generated. According to the statistics released by the United Nations about 95 percent of the countries are dumping their raw sewage into water. This is not at all a good sign and needs immediate attention.

Another serious environmental issue is global warming. The climate of the world is changing rapidly because of the industrialization. This has become a topic of debate amongst the scientists, researchers, media, and environmentalists. Although, a lot of attention is being paid to towards this issue but the governments of different countries need to make an international agenda and strategy to tackle this situation.

Most of the species on this earth are on the verge of being extinct. It is stated that every 20-25 minutes one animal species is dying out on this planet. If this rate of mortality continues then by the end of this century almost 50 percent of the living species will have disappeared completely. This extinction is going to be one of the sixth major extinctions which took place on Earth. This issue is attributed to loss of habitat, species exploitation, overpopulation, and global warming. Illegal killing of animals for trade has to be checked also.

The challenges faced by the environmentalists are difficult but not impossible. There is still time to restore what has been lost. The green issues have to be dealt seriously both by the governments and non government organizations.

IPad, a Sensational Gifting Option

If you are looking for an exciting gift for yourself or one of your loved ones, then iPad is just what you may be looking for!  In today’s tech savvy world, there can be nothing more exciting than to get a gift which is not only stylish but also consumer friendly.  In case, you are wondering what exactly an iPad is then all you have to do is to imagine your laptop or computer being reduced to a size of a tablet.  This gadget has been developed by renowned company Apple and uses the same 3.2 operating system as the iPhone or iPod Touch.  It is packed with its own applications and can also run on the ones developed for the iPhones.  Hence, if you want to have access to your daily dose of audio-video entertainment as well as keep yourself connected with the world then this is the gift which you must opt for.

Make this festive season remarkable for your special one by gifting this unique gift.  Get this impressive cool iPad beforehand so that you can know exactly what you are gifting.  You may like to add a personal touch to it by downloading some of the exciting applications.  For instance, if you are planning to gift it to your sister or father then you may make it all the more special by loading the iPad with memorable digital family photographs.  If it’s meant for your wife or girlfriend then you may just put in a romantic video or song which is her favorite or that special moment which is important to both of you like the first step of your child, this would just spice up the entire feel of getting the gift from you.

The iPad is very chic, sleek, and elegant with a multi touch big screen display.  It is 3-G or Wi-Fi enabled with fast internet connectivity.  The iPad is very handy and is perfect for a person who is always on the move but wants to remain connected with both his personal and professional life round the clock.  It has been reckoned as one of the top gifting ideas for the forthcoming festive season.  To quote Tim Gideon of PC Magazine, “you have yourself a winner that will undoubtedly be a driving force in shaping the emerging tablet landscape.”   The Wall Street Journal of United States also named it “pretty close laptop killer”.   So, if you want to gift a sensational killer gift to your ‘someone special’ then this is undoubtedly one of the best gifting options at your disposal.

You may purchase iPad at your convenience from an online store which will ship it to the given address without you having to even move out of your house to buy it.  Gifting an iPad may be a bit heavy on your pocket but then the smile which you would be gifting to your loved one along with this amazing gadget would be worth a million dollars.  So, don’t waste your time pondering just go for it!

Travel at Leisure to make your Life a Pleasure!!!

                      “The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.”

The life of a modern man is no longer filled with hours of leisure where one could spend some time enjoying the beautiful landscapes, the cool breeze, or the red aura of the radiant rising sun. From morning to late at night people today are running to maintain their schedule. Life is no longer a sweet song of daffodils or a chirpy voice of a cuckoo bird which were so explicitly described by the great poet William Wordsworth. The life today has become hard metal rock with loud harsh noises which cause more strain and pain to the ears than having a pleasing effect. God created a beautiful planet called earth so that his creations could be enjoyed and appreciated by the mortal beings. Therefore, it is not only for us but also as a gesture to thank the almighty for his beautiful creation that we should travel to different places to see how diverse god’s creation can be.

It is sad to see people locking themselves up in their houses even during the weekends. They spend their entire time watching television, playing on their play stations, or just sleeping. Life is short; so wake up folks and enjoy your surroundings. Start taking short trips to places nearby and you will be amazed to find that soon you will be enjoying your small traveling sprees. Not before long you will find yourself getting addicted to traveling. Traveling does not necessarily mean that you have to travel to some exotic locations every time. It could be just a small excursion to the outskirts of your place of stay. One intriguing aspect of our planet is that almost all places are blessed with some topographical and geographical feature which makes it unique and different from the other. Every place can boast of being special in its own way.

You should always travel to make yourself happier. Sometimes, people travel half-heartedly just to please their families or for professional reasons. This is wrong. Active participation of your mind, body, and soul is very important if you want to reap the benefits of traveling. Traveling is a very good method of unwinding oneself from the stress caused by the hectic lifestyle. It gives the much needed break from the mundane routine which not only takes a toll on your health but also makes you feel grumpy most of the time. Always travel when you have at least a couple of days in hand. A week would be ideal for spending a vacation out alone or with family or friends. During this time you should just relax, enjoy, and appreciate the gifts given to us by god.

The Himalayas of Asia, the Alps of Scandinavia, the Great Sahara desert of Africa, the lush green meadows and valleys of Europe, the blue oceans of the Indian Ocean, the beckoning beauty of Switzerland were all created for the human beings to enjoy. The creator of this planet made it beautiful for us mortals to see and enjoy. Therefore, leisurely travel should be incorporated in our lives so that we can at least see some of these wonderful creations during our lifetimes.

                                                                

Love Never Walks Away

When you walked into my life,

It was the most welcome sight;

I never thought for a while,

That you were going to stay there long and tight.

Suddenly my summers became brighter,

And winters warmer,

I was drenched in the first lovely shower,

Believing the monsoon would last forever.

Years flew and before I knew,

There came a time, when the wicked breeze blew,

It took away all the seasons’ hue.

Now my winters are icy,

The summer scorches and the downpour lashes.

As I stand alone watching you walk away,

There’s a careless whisper from within,

He walked away loving you!

The Veiled Prodigy

The silk veil caressed her creamy face;

That was laced with two lovely eyes,

She was slender, she was frail;

Her red robe hugged her gentle frame

And, she looked vulnerable to the common eyes

But, she was more than the eyes could meet,

She knew the world and its ways,

She smiled behind the veil when people called her naïve,

Yes, she knew

Her veil was her strength,

It was her oyster and she was its pearl.

The world beckoned her, her heart tempted her;

But the universe stopped her

As she was its veiled prodigy!

Yes, she is none other than the hidden pain

Under the wraps of our silken hearts,

The smile of the broken hearts

Shields her from the cruel world

That is ever ready to pounce on her

To tear open her veil to reveal a bleeding heart.

Oh! World have mercy, leave her alone;

She is strong, she will fight;

Do not break her with your stinging blows,

She is brave for her armor is her smile,

Cruel world do not touch her

As she is the veiled prodigy;

The proud prodigal warrior

The soul is pure, the heart innocent; but it’s the brain which is the culprit!

The soul always speaks the truth. It is unperturbed by the harsh realities of life as it knows that it is just one of the stops in its journey. The soul began its journey long back maybe when the universe came into existence. Since then it has changed its skin innumerable times but has retained its essence all the way. It is still as pure as it was so the wise always say listen to your conscience as it is the voice of your soul. The heart is the bodily manifestation of the soul and that is why it is innocent. People who listen to their heart are known to be very noble human beings. They are reservoirs of love and seldom do anything to hurt others. The purity of the soul is extended to the heart, and therefore we are asked to think by our heart when we are at threshold of taking some harsh decisions. Now, the question arises that when we are blessed with a pure soul and an innocent heart then why most of us go the wrong way. The culprit here is the brain. Though, it is the power house of intelligence it is so wrapped up in materialistic gains that it falls prey to worldly sins. The human karmas are the outcome of the notorious activities of the brain.

Again, the question is when the soul is pure and the heart is innocent then why do human beings suffer the follies of the brain in the form of karmas. The brain changes with each birth just as the skin so why is the soul punished for deeds of the mortal brain. Why are the karmas carried forward in each birth when the soul is always chaste? The journey of the soul is just like the journey of a river which is very pure at the point of its origin but during its course it gets dirty. It has to cross all sorts of terrains. It is the situation and environment which make the river impure. The river is not given a choice to retain is purity. It becomes helpless and so is the case with the soul. It suffers at the hands of various births it is subjected to. Then why do the consequences of the last birth get carried on to the next birth when the soul has always retained its purity. When there are no similarities between the two births nor does the new body remember anything of the past then why should it be subjected to the laws of karmas? In our mortal world if a criminal commits a crime he gets a chance to defend himself. He is not punished till he is proven guilty. Then how can the God be so unreasonable in making humans accountable for deeds of their last birth when they do not even know what they did during their last birth? How can a person be punished without being told what his sin or mistake was? If one does not know the mistake of previous birth then how can one prevent oneself from committing the same during this birth?

These are some of the questions which confuse me and I look for some of these answers during this particular journey of my soul.

Who Am I?

Who am I?

I’m often baffled by this question.

Am I a soul or am I just a part of some greater manifestation,

Am I a mystery or am I a part of the creator’s chemistry,

Am I a product of some equation or am I just another obscure molecule needed to run god’s creation?

Who am I? This quest has become my thirst.

Although, I often get misguided by the oasis of life,

I am determined to find the ultimate river of light, which will show me the purpose of my life!

The journey begins.....................

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”
The tryst with life began one December afternoon when a soul decided to take a plunge into the valley of life. The valley was beautiful, tempting, and mysterious as it waited to welcome the inquisitive soul with its open arms. Little did it know then that it had entered the garden of Adam and Eve garbed in modernity.
The soul fluttered its wings, all set to fly across the horizons. It marveled at the bounties of nature. The soul chose its abode in the flesh and bone of a baby girl which was just about to be born. The soul now had a form. It was no longer abstract but concrete. It could enjoy everything just as the other mortal fellow beings.
The journey of the soul in this valley of life has not been an easy one. It is checkered by both tears and smiles. Smiles always motivate it to believe in itself. The tears can by no means be underrated as they make it stronger to face the challenges thrown at it by the Garden of Adam and Eve.
The soul like many of its counterparts has committed the beautiful folly of venturing into this beautiful garden, at times has eaten the forbidden fruit but its higher intelligence never fails to remind  it of its roots. It knows that it is the part of the greater manifestation and just a speck in this magnificent creation called universe.
During its short journey to the valley of life the soul has come to be known as SONAL. It is trying hard to understand the nuances of this life. Here, in the blog The Kaleidoscope of Life; the soul via Sonal would like to share its journey to the valley of heaven and hell with you.