Say it once.. But mean it !

My thoughts... put across in words by someone else... !!

"You may not be her first, or her only. She loved before, She may love again. But if she loves you now, What else should matter?

She is not perfect, but you aren't either, but if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice and admit to being human and making mistakes, Hold on to her and give her the most you can.

She may not be thinking about you every second of the day, but she would give you a part of her she knows you can break- Her Heart !

So don't hurt her, don't change her, don't analyze and don't expect more than what she can give.. So..

Smile when she makes you happy, let her know when she makes you mad, Miss her when she is not around and most of all Love her like you never loved her before !!! "

--- Words by Bob Marley !!!

Respect !

Cheers.. Kash !

Anything for a Click...

At a party one of my friend spills a drink her lovely dress and is all upset that the red wine that may leave a stain on her priced possession. Suddenly she breaks into a beautiful smile when she spots one of our friends clicking the party photographs.In a fraction of a second, she completely forgot her moment of agony and is all set for a best pose for the snap..

Ever wondered how our brains are ususally wired to smile, pose, act the moment you see a camera around.. Well...this is what a camera can do to you... :)

This lil black cube with a lens on one side and a wanna be fotographer on the other (Not always) can at least for an instant make people forget about what is happening and Pose for a snap for an everlasting memory... It is very difficult to capture natural, innocent snaps of the subjects unless it is taken without their knowledge. The xception being Babies and Animals whose brains are not yet tainted by the latest show on Mtv, Fashion Tv and hell of a lot of add ons that come along... Or so I feel.....

Recently, in Goa, We were playing beach volley with a couple of my friends. Suddenly we just stopped the game, Pulled our tummies in and gave the best plastic smile we could manage in the hot sun. All this coz one of our friends wanted to take a casual snap of us playing.. he he.. His attempts to get the natural look failed coz all of us were aware of the lil black cube waiting to capture us, so we wanted to be in the best possible self.

But this was how it used to be some time back. Now with the easy availability if cameras, Social networking sites and digital media, I feel that the current generation prefers to throw caution out of the window. Everyone is vying for their quick shot to fame. The youngsters today are ready to fall to any level if they are sure that fame is bound to follow.

The success of all the silly shows on TV like Splitsvilla, Emotional Atyachar, Roadies, Truth, Love Cash and a truck load of others just go on to prove that Sleaze, Abuse, Sex, Dirty talk, anything, just about anything is fine with the guys as long as they are on TV.In this crazy rush for fame, many often forget the sensitivities associated with it.

Not many have had a pleasant experience always. There have been incidents where the subject often becomes a victim of voyeurism. I believe all this can be attributed to the easy and cheap availability of technology and a media which doesn't think beyond TRP.

I myself being a person who loves photography, would love to see the camera being in the right hands and doing the right job.


Image Source: - Google Images

Are you Listening ???

I often find myself amidst conversations where I wonder, is the listener actually listening ! Blame it on the non stop nonsense that my talking is often referred to. But how does one actually find if we are sounding "boring" to the listener? Well based on my little research and experience, this is what I have observed.... Read on to find out more....

Repeated, perfunctory responses. A person who says, “Oh really? Oh really? That’s interesting. Oh really?” is probably not too engaged.

Simple questions. People that are bored ask simple questions. “When did you move?” “Where did you go?” People that are interested ask more complicated questions, which shows curiosity, not mere politeness.

Interruption. Although it sounds rude, interruption is actually a good sign. It means a person is bursting to say something, and that shows interest. Similarly …

Request for clarification. A person who is sincerely interested in what you’re saying will need you to elaborate or to explain. “What does that term mean?” “When exactly did that happen?” “Back up and tell me what happened first” are the kind of questions that show that someone is trying closely to follow what you’re saying.

Imbalance of talking time. I suspect that many people suppose that they usually do 80 percent of the talking in a conversation because people find them fascinating. Sometimes, it’s true; if a discussion involves a huge download of information desired by the listener, that’s a very satisfying kind of conversation. In general, though, people who are interested in a subject have things to say themselves; they want to add their own opinions, information, and experiences. If they aren’t doing that, they probably just want the conversation to end faster.

Body position. People with a good connection generally turn fully to face each other. A person who is partially turned away isn’t fully embracing the conversation.

Audience posture. Back in 1885, Sir Francis Galton wrote a paper called “The Measurement of Fidget.” He determined that people slouch and lean when bored, so a speaker can measure the boredom of an audience by seeing how far from vertically upright they are. In addition, attentive people fidget less; bored people fidget more. An audience that remains upright is still interested, while an audience that is horizontal and squirmy is bored.

I often remind myself of La Rochefoucauld’s observation, “We are always bored by those whom we bore.”

Well that is a cursory glance at identifying boredom... Hope it did not bore you guys as well.. hehe....


Image Source: Google Images

What a comeback...

Those of you who take the risk to read my posts, this one is again dedicated to an unknown friend of mine.. the traffic cop who guards the junction on my way to office....

Read post .. [A regular Guy.. may be not...]

Yes. The guy is back in form and I would say, terrific comeback brother. Our man was back in his best presentable form, the sternness was back on his face. The sense of ownership of the road was a silent yet loud message to everybody, His golden aviator shades were shining bright in the sunlight.

It was just a phenomenal revival of the old cop, as mine was the first vehicle he caught for jumping the signal while it was Amber. There was no amount of sympathy or mercy shown to me. At one point even I wanted to shout out to him saying, Dude.. I have dedicated a post on my blog about you, and this is how you return the favor? But alas I could not say anything. Just that he let me off with a stern warning and an advice not to jump signals even when its amber as it can lead to blah blah blah blah…..

After this episode, though I was disturbed, I was also happy at the fact that our man was back. That’s when I thought that everybody goes through a difficult phase in their lives. The sun doesn’t shine on you always. There will be rainy days as well. It all depends on how long you give yourself to make a comeback. I am happy at the fact that our cop was back in action and he was loving it..

How much time did I take to make a comeback? A question I can answer only when people around me tell me that I am the same old chap with a renewed perspective towards life.. Till then I will be unable to give an answer to myself…

Not the usual Sunday…

Well the previous weekend wasn’t a regular kind of chill out weekend. It was more of an action packed Sunday, if put across in the most subtle manner.

The day kicked off with a long ride to the Madras Motor Race track to catch up with the MRF International Motor Challenge 2010. It was an adrenaline pumping session. The race began with the MRF 1600 CC race cars burning rubber (that was the max they could do with their puny little engines). It was fun to watch around 15 cars starting the race with an enormous roar bursting out every little bit of power from the engines. The Local ace Ashwin Sunder ended up winning the race. It was indeed a nail biting finish.

The next session was that of 600 CC superbikes, a race which I have been dying to watch it live. The engine roars of 8 superbikes together on the tarmac was just unbelievable. It was like rock music to my ears. Just to see all the riders decked up in complete riding gear, with souped up rides between their legs and race like there is no tomorrow was an experience of a life time.

Just being a spectator to these superfast cars and bikes had actually charged up my emotions as well. I somehow wanted to race on the track.. So what could the next best option be? Karting.. J Yes.. As soon as the race was over, me and my buddy left for a place called KART ATTACK.. One of the very famous Karting tracks in Chennai. We raced our hearts out during the sessions and it was even more fun as I was completely charged up with the race event in the morning. Some bumper to bumper racing on those karts were really exciting.

Post the racing session, we had plan to celebrate the weekend with a lovely dinner. We headed off to a one of the best Spanish joints in Chennai, Zaras. It was an amazing place to be… An awesome combination of Whiskey Cocktails, Beer, One of the best DJs in town and an amazing company. What more could I have asked for. It was a Funtaastic experience.. ;)

Wait.. The day doesn’t end here. Post the party someone goes – “Hey there is a Sale going on in Levis and the store is open till 12AM. “ Well that was it. All of us headed off to the showroom and for the first time did some shopping at 12 AM and that too when I was off my senses.

All in all it was an activity packed Sunday and I am definitely looking forward for much more Sundays like this one.

What makes me write??

Several times I have wondered what is it that makes me write... Well to be very honest I had started this blog just as a trip log when I used to go on frequent biking trips. It used to be just a periodical update on the different places visited, different experiences etc. Even my blog name was riderash.blogspot.com.. :o) Initially I used to enjoy it, but later on when the excitement died down, so did the frequency of my posts.

After a while I did change the content of my blog.. Started writing on two wheelers and automobiles and F1 sports etc, stuffs on which I can go on for hours together. Stuff which really interests me.. But then i realised i wasn't blogging in the true spirit. I was just sharing my interests and views on the latest happenings in the automotive world. I felt as though my blog had become an update centre of the auto industry without doing proper justice to it. Gradually the posts dwindled..

My blog had literally gone on a long slumber as I had completely left it for a while. Though there was always something in me that used to tell me, "Ashwin, Dude, revive your blog man, think of something, do something".. But still there was no action at all.

2008 December.. An incident in my life jolted me so wildly that I was just knocked out of my regular track. It was a really tough time and with no one around I decided to just pen down random thoughts. I realised that this was the place where I could just honestly express myself without caring about anyone else. Unknowingly I started to love the freedom associated with writing in my own space. I could express my opinions on anything..

It was at this point that I realised that all this while I was thinking of a topic to write about, an idea to keep my blog alive, when I actually don't need a particular topic that confines my thoughts. I want it to be boundryless. I no longer felt like - " Oh today I have to post something ". The feeling was more like - " Wow, I can write about this too.. " That explains the current blog name - mymindscribblings.blogspot.com.. A random scribbling pad for the never ending thoughts that flow everyday.

Psst... :o) All this high Funda gyaan on free flow of thoughts etc apart, I should honestly admit that the real reason that motivates me ultimately is the lovely comments that I receive from my wonderful readers who still put up with my crap and the increasing number that you see on the little blue widget below. [Yes.. I have managed to scale up from a poor 31 to a fairly decent 69 on the Indiblogger rankings.. :)]..

Am I letting my free flow of thoughts get tainted by a meagre number game or am I actually expressing my thoughts ... Umm.. I don't know the answer.. I leave it to you guys....

Cheers

Kash !

Image Source

http://www.wpromote.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/pen-and-paper.jpg

A regular guy.. Or may be not !!!

I commute to office on my vehicle.. Hence a regular victim of all the traffic snarls, crowded junctions, maddening crowd, Blaring horns etc. Almost every day I take around 45 min to cover a distance of 10 KMs, which is not that bad considering the other Metro Standards..

Well the reason behind this post is definitely not the traffic jams I come across, but One dedicated individual who manages it. There happens to be a busy junction which needs to be crossed for entering to my office complex. There was this traffic cop who always used to GUARD that particular junction. This guy was never like the regular traffic cop that one usually sees on the roads. He was always well dressed, with neatly pressed white shirt and Khakhi trousers, Well polished brown shoes, and a very prominent gold framed Shades which used to be in stark contrast with his dark complexion. His stern face was graced by a thick moustache which kind of gave a strong message to the world as to who is in Command !

This guy was extremely strict, used to keep every road user on their toes. When he is in command, no vehicle is supposed to cross the yellow line before the signal, (which invariably is crossed by every single vehicle owner ), No Vehicle is supposed to honk, pedestrians are supposed to cross only using the zebra crossing, no one is allowed to just run across the road etc etc.. All those things which every Indian thinks is his / her birth right, were forbidden when he was around. Even though I have been using the route for almost a year, I happened to notice this chap only when he actually screwed my happiness in front of the entire public.

I was as usual waiting impatiently at the signal willing to zoom by as soon as the signal turns green. Suddenly I see this cop rushing towards me with all the vigor and he shouted at me. It was then I realized that I had crossed the yellow line next to the signal by a few feet. I did so without thinking as there were several other vehicles also ahead of the line. Though I was fuming at him at that time later I realized he was doing the right thing of making the crazy Indian roads a safer place to be. So, after this incidence, I always used to notice him at the signal. He was just the same to everybody who breaks the rules regardless of the fact if he is a pedestrian, a car, a two wheeler, a Bus or even if it’s a COP CAR. Yes I have seen him screaming his lungs out at a police car driver for jumping the signal.

I used to respect him for what he does. Neither the soaring temperatures of the Chennai summers used to burn his spirit nor the heavy rains could manage to dampen his motivation. He was always there at his best possible foot forward.

Off late something has been bothering me. For the past 1 week I haven’t seen him at his post. There was some other cop managing the junction, and the chaos was definitely not manageable by the new guy. At least I feel so. Initially I thought he wasn’t keeping well. Then I thought he might have been relocated to some other place. Gradually this thought just slipped my mind. And everyone including me was back to their usual self, I mean in terms of crossing the line, Jumping the signals etc..

A few days pass by then suddenly I see our cop back at his post. I wished he recognized me, because I wanted to pass on a Hi to him and say how glad was I to see him back on Job. Unfortunately I noticed something different. He seemed to have lost the characteristic sternness on his face. His shirt was half out and was full of creases, He was unshaven, his thick moustache had lot of grey hair peeping out, He wasn’t wearing his shades and to top it all, I didn’t see the vigor in him in handling the flow. Pedestrians were running across the road, Vehicles were jumping signals, bikers were cutting in form the wrong side of the road and to all this our cop was just a silent spectator. Had it been an isolated situation like for a day or so, It wouldn’t have bothered me. But this has been happening for the past one week.

I seriously wish that he gets back to his form and vigor and takes control of what I feel belonged to him. He would have been just another shabby traffic cop for me had I not known how he was, had I not seen how he used to command and get respect from all the road users alike. This is exactly the reason that was bothering me.

I have no idea what he is going through, what is bothering him, but whatever it is I just hope he comes out of it. May be, there isn’t anything that is bothering him, but just that his current state reminds me a bit of myself when I had lost track of life… And believe me its not a pleasant phase to go through!

I hope everything gets back to normal soon…

Cheers

Kash!!!