What have we become?

As I stood at the bakery savouring the cake and cold drink a woman came and silently  requested the shopkeeper for some tea. My eyes went towards a frail figure and I could see a not so aged woman in shabby clothes with a shaved head, almost heartbroken as the shopkeeper inhumanly signaled her for money. She begged again and he denied again. The expression on her face was something even a thousand words cant explain and her silence spoke loudly of rejection...rejection by family,by loved ones, by society. She silently turned back leaving me with a thousand questions running through my mind. Why couldn't I go ahead and pay for her tea when I really wanted to do so...what stopped me? Suddenly the cake seemed tasteless..I could feel her hunger and still worse I could feel the pain of her helplessness...it hurt...badly. But even then why couldn't I just extend a caring hand? Why did I think so much rather than just tell the guy to hand over a glass of tea to her and that I would pay for it? Who was more inhuman, the shopkeeper who wanted money from someone who didn't have or I who had but still couldn't give?
I come to realise that in this race of reaching the top of the ladder, somewhere down there we are becoming less and less human. We have reached a phase where we think a thousand time before giving but not once before expecting or asking. We have come to a phase where we "educated lot" fail to read faces. We have come to a phase where we analyze but fail to understand and empathize.
 I asked the shopkeeper about the lady and he said she is mentally challenged. The "mentally challenged lady" then just silently walked around and out of some sense of humanity started picking up all the cigarette packets and waste papers lying around and put them in the waste bin. To my astonishment the area around the shop was lot cleaner than the rest of the area nearby since this so called "mentally challenged" lady does her bit of picking up the litter created by the same people who reject her everyday and disposes it off  in the waste bin ... and to think that the shopkeeper called her "mad" !!!
   I was almost in tears as I walked out of the shop, determined to do my bit...for the lady at-least ... at-least till I could. We are lucky to have had lot more that what we need, its time we understood that.
 Question is who is the one who needs help? Is it her or us? The answer is both need help. She needs our help...people like her need at least a feeding hand if not a caring hand. And we need a guiding hand...a hand to take us back to our human roots...to remind us of the pleasure in giving...to grow as humans...
       May god give me the strength to hold a hand that needs support, to give a smile to a face that has forgotten to smile, to heal a heart wounded with time, to stand by a lonely soul to give company.May we grow into a world where we would be proud of what we have become and not where we would have to sadly question "What have we become?".

Me

For some a sweetheart, for some a heartbreak,

for some the best friend, for some the fiercest foe,

for some I am the dusk, for some the welcome dawn break;

for some I am a sweet dream n for some a nightmare I know.

I stand tall, I am proud;

but am no one so different, for I am also the crowd.

I am a rebel, I love to oppose,

so I give not one, but a hundred thoughts each time I propose.

I am a fighter, am born to fight,

but i shall l drop my weapons and hold high the beacons,

even if it’s my enemy in darkness, in search of some light.

They believed in adages n set a thief to catch me,

but I can pick the pocket of a pickpocket

and steal the gem from a thief’s own locket,

and the poor fellas had to bite the dust, for that’s what was destined to be.

I’ll wipe your tears and fight your fears,

I’ll stitch your heart every time it tears;

I’ll be there with you when the days are dark

and walk away silently when the time doth nears.

I believe in more of we and less of I,

but I’ll loose not my identity even after I die.

I aint afraid of falling ,I keep falling often,

but each time I fall I’ll take flight and again shall I fly;

for never shall I allow the world to trample on me and pass by.

I love to remain quite, I love the sound of silence,

but I won’t allow thee to silence me by raising thy voice;

for if I am silent, I am also the black noise.

Am used to wearing masks, though I love being myself,

I give hope to the world, though I keep none for myself;

that’s what I am, that’s me, that’s my self...

Hope

Alone I stand in this dark full moon night,

looking aghast at the dreadful sight;

not a bird, not a tree

not a living being i see.

For the innocent paid,

for the guilty’s guilt;

and man destroyed the world,

which he had never built.

For ages he has fought,

mercilessly with each other;

friend killing friend,

brother killing brother.

He fought through the day,

didn’t spare even the night;

he fought till his death,

asif born only to fight.

He has made the earth bleed,

and made the sky cry with ire;

and such is man’s greed,

that even water was on fire.

I raise my weary eyes for a glimpse of the moon,

just to realise in pain;

that moonlight was blurred by clouds so dense,

clouds that shall shower blood as rain.

Is it the silence after a storm or the one that preceeds it,

the answer no-one knows;

war after war man fought till his death,

still then hatred grows.

The dusts of a storm had not even settled,

when he raised another one;

and even now he realises not,

what a blunder he has done!

As gust of wind makes a melancholy strain,

with sounds of brutality and notes of pain;

not once did man think even,

“what shall I gain?”

The creator is repenting,

on his botched up creation;

and man thinks to his contentment,

that he is undergoing evolution.

A distinctive cry breaks,

the eerie silence of the graves;

a cry than can melt the heart,

of bravest of the braves.

A woman comes from under the ground,

a baby suckling on her breasts;

a tender heart has entered this world,

where evil never rests.

The clouds have parted,

making way for the silver rays;

maybe someday man will realize his folly,

and make way for happy days.

Someday hatred will bow down,

and there shall be eternal peace.

Someday evil will slow down,

and the world of men shall rest at ease.

The baby bathes in the moonrays white,

Look yonder in its eyes a twinkle so bright;

a pristine smile that needs no dope,

a worn out heart is assured,

There’s hope, there’s hope, there’s hope…

HOPE IS ONE OF THE PILLARS ON WHICH THIS WORLD STANDS.LETS HOPE SOMEDAY MANKIND STRIVES TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS EARTH A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO LIVE IN…

Icarus

So what, if with wings of wax,
I tried to reach, the mighty sun;
I might have fallen to my death,
but atleast I got to have all the fun.
And I proved you wrong,
all those who said I couldn’t fly;
cause I lay in peace now knowing,
that even till death I did try.
My last smile might haunt you for life,
but I just want you to know;
That I faced my failures with a smile,
And that’s what gave me strength to grow
and pulled me through that last one mile....

Some interesting facts...

All the genetic material in the sperm and egg cells that produced the Earth’s present population could fit into a space the size of an aspirin.

A snake has 2 penises, which may come in handy, since they mate for at least 24 hours at a time. (yea yeah...i know wot u r thinkin...)

The Boeing 767 aircraft is a collection of 3.1 million parts from 800 different suppliers around the world: fuselage parts from Japan, center wing section from Southern California, and flaps from Italy.

The first contraceptive diaphragms, used centuries ago, were citrus rinds.

Emerson Moser, once Crayola senior crayon maker, revealed upon his retirement that he was blue-green colorblind and couldn’t see all the Crayon colors. He molded more than 1.4 billion crayons in his 37-year career.

Ants stretch when they wake up. They also appear to yawn in a very human manner before taking up the tasks of the day. (aaaaaaahahahahahahhaha...ooh my god...!!! aaaahahahaaa)

Only 16 Concordes were ever made, the last in 1980. On New Year’s Eve 1994, one Concorde plane carried wealthy revelers on a 32-hour trip to nowhere. These travelers, who paid $23,000 apiece for the trip, rang in the New Year twice because they crossed the International Date Line.


The average person who stops smoking requires 1 hour less sleep a night.

Only female bees work. Males remain in the hive, their only mission in life being to fertilize the queen bee on her maiden flight. After they have served their function, the males are not allowed back into the hive but are left outside, where they starve to death. (now thats rude..!!!)

The male sea lion may have more than 100 wives, which is more than many Mormons. (damn it....and we r struggling to gt a single girlfriend???)

Undertakers report that human bodies do not deteriorate as quickly as they used to. The reason, they believe, is that the modern diet contains so many preservatives that these chemicals tend to prevent the body from decomposing too rapidly after death. (now thats weird...)

If you are suffering from ozostomia, you are suffering from halitosis, or bad breath.(i brush regularly...)

Sure, Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, but even more important, he invented the scissors.

100$

A good branded watch (a long time dream)…an amount equivalent to a part of a monthly savings back in INDIA…repaying someone’s kindness….which one of these should I choose is what was going thru my mind that day when I left my first accommodation in US to go ahead with one near to my office…and I chose the last option. Cause for me, a friendly face, a welcome note and a homely attitude meant a lot more than 100$. I was the one who backed out and told that I won’t be able to stay there as my office was far and he was the one who supported me in my decision. So did it really matter to me that I made him accept 100$ for staying there just for 4 days when the actual amount was even less than 50$, NO. He was completely denying taking anything but I dint want to be known as someone who came, lived and just walked away breaking his word. I don’t live by what other’s think…but I don’t even like someone pointing a finger at me. And at that point of time I believed my word valued much more than a 100$ note. At least for those 4 days I lived as if I was in my own house…and that is what made the difference…and am happy about it.

thats wen u realise...

पहली बार इस बात का एहसास हुआ....के अकेलापन क्या होता है... When u land at Chicago O'Hare airport...and u r stranded for 1.5 hours....u have money but u dont know how to call a cab...and u know the cab u can call is too costly...thts wen u realise that u are alone....Wen u arrive at a stranger's place for accomodation...u talk to him just because u have to talk 2 cause people dont talk 2 strangers out here, thats wen u realise what it means to listen to someone who wanted to talk...when u have to cook and even though the mashed potato has a bit less salt and u still relish it, thats wen u realise the value of that "kal ka khaana" that u complained about back home...wen u have to prepare the breakfast,eat it, wear ur shoes and run to take the cab, thats wen u realise wot all ur mother did 2 make ur "good mornings" really good....wen u have to be careful for each and every step u take, thats wen u realise wot all ur father did to make u feel secure...wen u have to do everything urselves, thats wen u realise wot all ur brother did for u because u r stilla "kid brother" to him...wen u miss someone but u still cant talk 2 the person because there is no facility, u realise how important it is to kip in touch with our near and dear ones....wen its so cold that even ur tears are afraid of coming out,thats wen u realise the warmth of someone's hug...wen u shake a lot of hands but miss that loving touch,thats wen u realise the importance of a caring hand....
Life is strange...not all lessons are taught in school books...some are learnt as we grow up. We forget the value of many things as we grow up...there are many things that i have mentioned here...many things that are priceless...invaluable...i understood the value of most of them...and have understood the value of many in just 3 days in US...i dont know whom to thank for the lesson...but ITS HIGH TIME WE REALISED...