Tag: life

  • Can I ask you to be…, October?

    Can I ask you to be…, October?

    Can I ask you to be..., October?

    I reached my office this morning and turned the calendar. Today’s October 1st, and I was particularly looking for a good start to the day. Lines on the new page were,

    हा कोलाहल
    केवढी खदखद,
    आतल्या आत..

    This chaos
    simmering unrest,
    contained within….

    I was just staring at those lines for some time. Yes, I have written this haiku, back in 2023, when I was writing for the desk calendar of 2024. I had designed this calendar pairing these lines to the months, and yet this particular haiku struck a chord as I turned the page.

    It’s a contrast…

    I kept thinking why would I put these lines for the month of October while designing. I am in exactly the opposite state of mind today. Calm, happy and energised with the nice short trip to Kolkata for Blogchatter Retreat. It was an exhilarating experience. I will write more about that in some other post. Emotions in this haiku are exactly opposite to what I am feeling right now.

    October is the month of celebrations, we usually celebrate Navratri and Durga Pooja during this month with a chance of celebrating some of the Diwali days too. Kolkata was bustling with the preparations of Pujo and every corner now hosts a bamboo skeleton for Pandals. I am sure Gujrat must have already started humming the garba tunes and preparations are in full swing. Even in Pune, there are some preparations going on to welcome Mata ji. Even if October comes with a blazing rise in heat after monsoon showers, these festivities make it bearable.

    October, I have some expectations from you.

    If you may, please be calm and quiet when you are free for these celebrations, I have got 4 new books from Kolkata. I am very excited to immerse myself into Ritwik Ghatak’s writing and show my love to my fellow bloggers who have written stories for “Blogchatter Book of Love” anthology. So, if you please, don’t throw any curve balls onto me and let me read peacefully.

    What? About Tagore’s Gitanjali?

    Yes, I agree, Gitanjali poems are not to be read cover to cover. So, I intent to read them leisurely, one at a time! Thanks for suggesting anyway.

    Books I got from Kolkata, 2024 (One more is in transit)

    Top post on Blogchatter

    So if I may request, can I ask you to be a bit calmer, October?

    This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop. Checkout more of my writings here, and to listen to my poetry audiobook, checkout this.

  • Remind me, It’s a wonderful world…

    Remind me, It’s a wonderful world…

    Remind me, it's a wonderful world...
    Remind me, will you?

    Today, when I sat down to write this, I found it to be a nice coincidence. My last post on my blog is a free verse about finding joy in small things. It seems this thought hasn’t left my mind and I have something more to talk about. Being a poet, I have a habit of distilling thoughts into a concise and crisp form of expression. So, it’s very unusual for me. I haven’t felt an urge to write something more on a topic about which I have already written a poem.

    When I wrote that free verse, I was thinking about the possibilities of stumbling on unexpected happiness. The joy it sparks when you wake up to a beautiful symphony of birds singing from your balcony. As if it’s a private concert just for you! Imagine the happiness when you come home after a tiring day and someone offers you a chilled glass of sharbat in summer or a hot cup of tea or coffee on some cold day. These are the moments of happiness in this wonderful world on which we stumble upon.

    But today, I want to talk about us missing out on the joy of these small moments, which seem insignificant in our race to paint the “big picture”. In today’s day and age, we all live in a very competitive world. Everybody is chasing one goal after the other, trying to reach the next milestone as soon as you reach the earlier one. It’s such a rush that we forget to even take a breath and celebrate the achievement of reaching the milestone itself.

    Some added pressure to spice it up…

    I feel social media has added a layer of new pressure to track the numbers. Especially for the creators like us, who have not yet made it large. Numbers do matter to us, but sometimes, the traction of numbers takes us away from the joy we used to get from being creative. Sometimes, we feel stuck in a place where we can’t create anymore. Some say it’s our mind playing tricks with us. But today, when I read Yashavi’s post on her blog, I felt that I am not alone who thinks that creative block is real. We have to make a conscious effort to find that spark of joy. That too, if we are lucky enough to understand that we have lost it in the first place.

    For the past few days, I had been mulling over these thoughts. It feels that one should revisit his or her reservoirs of joy to get rejuvenated. These reservoirs are very personal springs or fountains of joy, exclusive for themselves. For some it might be a trip to the mountains or a wilderness. One might find his fountain just around the corner in shelves of a local library. A music festival might replenish someone’s canteen while others can get recharged just by an early morning jog. 

    Basically, the point is to remove that blockage and get that water flowing again. Remind yourself that it’s a wonderful world out there. Take a moment, and look out.

    For my other posts, follow this trail…

  • It’s all about the dedication

    It’s all about the dedication

    It’s all about dedication, I tell you. It was a perfect 3 day streak of posting even when I was on vacation. It appears that my streak ended along with it. Yesterday on the 4th of April, I was supposed to write the post for the letter D. I can give you the excuse of being tired after driving a car for 5 hours in this burning heat. But that would be a lie.

    I faltered with my dedication to keep writing is the only truth. And I am not ready to give up. Wise people say, it’s not a bad thing to make mistakes, it’s bad to repeat the same ones and not learn from them.

    It’s time to relearn

    I am learning once again about the need and importance of dedication and determination to achieve your goal. And it’s not just about being consistent at blogging. This relearning is helping me with my other goal too for which I have made a social commitment in my earlier blog.

    But I am glad that I am a part of this thriving community of my lovely fellow bloggers, Blogchatter. Their constant encouragement keeps my morals high and I am here writing this one instead of leaving the A2Z challenge after this first hurdle.

    This post started with my understanding of the importance of dedication and determination to achieve goals for improvement but seems like it has turned into my appreciation of the lovely folks of the Blogchatter community! And I have no regrets about this.

    But wait, I think an idea is brewing in my head for my next post which is supposed to be the ‘E post’. Just to give you a hint, a lot of shout outs are coming your way!!!

    So stay tuned to know, if you’re getting lucky in this post or the next one.

    I’m participating in #BlogchatterA2Z and this is 4th post in my “Mobile Blogging” series. Do let me know what you think about this in the comments below.

    For my other posts, follow this trapil…

  • एकच प्रश्न

    एकच प्रश्न

    आहे सभोवताली
    शब्दांत खंड नाही
    हृदयात भावनांना
    जागा पुरेशी नाही

    प्रेमास ना तुटवडा
    जगण्यास बंदी नाही
    आहेच प्रश्न हा की
    तू सोबतीस नाही…
    ~~~
    आदित्य साठे
    ०५-०८-२०२१

    This post is a part of the Blogchatter Half Marathon. Read my earlier story here.

  • Home

    Home is where the heart is
    and my heart is anywhere you are…

    I connect with these lines by Elvis from the moment we sealed our bond of togetherness. I remember it was one of my summer breaks many years ago when I met you for the first time. You were dressed in fresh yellow and had a glowing face. After initial awkward introductory moments, our conversations took hold and grew naturally from topic to topic. By the time we called it a night, the one thing I knew was that it is going to be a lifetime relationship.

    FB_IMG_1541739847951
    Some of the books from my book-shelf

    Our conversations never had a dull moment. You are a great storyteller. I always wonder how can you know so many stories from different worlds and times, carrying such a variety of emotions. These years of togetherness have deepened the bond we share and nothing can part us ever. You are always with me, whether piled up by my side smelling bookish or stocked up in my reader on my phone or in my backpack waiting to be picked up by me again in my free time.

    It doesn’t matter if I am traveling and staying in some hotel room or relaxing at my rented place. I always feel at home whenever I read you and enjoy the stories you have to tell.

    Home is where the heart is
    and my heart is anywhere you are…

  • The lie of knowing you completely

    Recently a very old friend of mine was bluffing about some stupid thing and spontaneously I reacted, “Stop bluffing dude, I know you completely.” We often think that we know the person inside out and the same will never fail to surprise us with a very different side which we have never seen before. Even after so many shocks and surprises, we never stop believing in knowing someone completely. But this isn’t only about humans around us.

    Today I want to talk about knowing the place completely. I am working at Centre for Development Studies and Activities (CDSA), Pune for past three years and roam around our campus daily. You all might have seen various shades of the campus and its natural beauty through my camera on many social media platforms. I strongly believed that now I know the campus completely. But yesterday, I was working a bit longer than my usual hours to finish a presentation for today.

    When I was almost done with the work, I set out to the clubhouse to meet our executive director. As I was passing by one of our classrooms, The reflections of setting sun and the trees on another side of the courtyard on the door panels of classroom caught my eyes. It was a bit dark as the lights in the courtyard were yet to lit up. Orange shades on the horizon creating a silhouette of trees on foreground was such a mesmerizing sight. The setting of door, landing and the steps in front of were giving the cinemascope perspective to the entire scene. I stood by the steps enjoying the scene for a couple of minutes. I clicked a picture on my phone and moved on to the clubhouse for work.

    A post shared by aditya (@adisjournal) on

     

    But while riding back home from the office, I couldn’t ignore the falseness of this feeling about knowing my office place completely. It has been three years, I spend my entire day at this place, still, this campus never fails to provide a new frame of beauty to enjoy every now and then. Even though the features, objects, buildings are the same. I see them every day. But, clouds in the sky, a pouring rain or rays of the setting sun, compels me to watch and enjoy the scene created by nature. Today I have come to terms with the fact that the feeling of knowing someone or something completely is just an illusion.