Two is company and three is a crowd. But is onesome definitely lonesome?

I firmly belive in two kinds of people in society.

One is the kind that requires company for everything it does. This kind makes shopping trips together with people, socializes in a group, goes to the movies accompanied by friends and families, likes to eat its meals with company, etc, etc., etc.

And, then there is the other kind.

This kind likes occasional company but is picky about the company it keeps. This kind likes its own company a lot too. Therefore, given a choice between boring /oppresive/down right irritating company and its own, it would choose its own.

These are the same people who are comfortable with their own person. Their thoughts and their feelings. These are the same people who like to introspect. They like to observe life from afar at times without being an active participant in the goings on.

Should these people be mistaken to be lonely?

Lets take a common work scenario. At the lunch hour there are people who wait for flocks of people to accompany them to the pantry for lunch. It doesn’t matter whether any of them are your friends or people whose company you enjoy.

If a person sits alone on a table, he/she is generally mistaken to be reserved or snobbish.

Well, maybe the person instead of idle gossip and silly chatter, just likes to savours his meal at mealtime. Take in the aroma of the food he is eating, relish each morsel that goes into his mouth and thank the Almighty for his blessings.

How can a person be left alone?

To which a reply like

‘No, I like the pantry food.’

Would elicit a reaction like

‘Don’t bother. Why don’t you join me?’

Maybe, because the poor fella doesn’t want to!

Maybe he likes the food in the pantry better.

Maybe he likes his own company better too as opposed to yours!

May he doesn’t want to be rushed into a quick snack as opposed to a relaxed wholesome meal.

‘I don’t really eat much at lunch but I will give you company’

Turns out she polished off half of your vegetable on the pretext of tasting!

Another interesting scenario is that of the movies.

How weird is that person that sits in the middle of the second last row in the theatre all by himself and sees a movie!

Have you ever wondered why we always look for company to go and see that great movie that we’ve been waiting for months? And a lot of times end up missing it altogether coz nobody was interested in the same.

Why is the guy who decides to see that movie no matter what considered such a weirdo?

‘Its odd.’

‘Its not normal.’

‘Theres something really corny about that guy!’

‘A complete whacko!’

Would be some of the standard responses to that one.

To me, the concept of company is very delusional. For you can be surrounded by company all the time and yet be a very lonely person.

And then you could be seen alone most of the time, but having no anxiety owing to that.

No doubt man is a social animal. But doesn’t man need time to connect with himself too?

When do we take out that time to sit back and hear our own thoughts?

A person talking to his own self is always considered crazy.

But instead of making such a strong judgement shouldn’t we in all honesty confess that all of us do the same? The difference lies only in the fact that for some the lips move and for some it’s all in the mind.

Talking to oneself is also seen as a sign of great worry. The person obviously has a lot on his mind to be onto something like that.

Sure.So why not let him sort it out? After all, we are quite equipped to handle our problems ourselves. Maybe the guy’s self-pride stops him from running to somebody for help in putting his own thoughts in order. Such a person is misconstrued many a times for his behaviour. In all likelyhood he would end up irking quite a few people around him for being a closed a book whereas maybe his intention was just to be least bothersome.

I find this behaviour of our society quite questionable.

To all who read this post, do mention your viewpoint on the same irrespective of whether you agree or disagree.

If you agree I’d understand that there are other people who think similarly. If you disagree, I would be eager to look at the same scenarios from a different perspective.

Sometimes,I think of this old flame,
And ponder over this whole love game.
In fact, to be fair,it isnt a game,
But all about this one silly name.
The very thought of the beholder of which,
Caused once for me a complete mood switch.

For naive as I was at that particular age,
I imagined the whole world to be a sage.
And so began my fascination,
Coupled I'm certain, with hallucinations.
How else could I explain stupid old me,
Imagining this world full of fairies,for thee.

But so I thought,when I thought of you,
Waiting for phone calls at one or two,
To talk all sorts of mindless things,
And then wait weeks for the phone to ring.
Or read your letters,and laughed once more,
And soon another letter was at my door.

A musical voice I had when we spoke,
And I rather heard you than the television bloke.
How proud I felt ,of your acheivements big and small,
And any words of praise for you made me stand tall.
Your hurts and sorrows pulled me down,
And,I prayed that things would turn around.

Each morning I awoke with happy thoughts of you,
Without knowing what it meant to be feeling blue.

Many years have passed since that particular phase,
And time has pushed you away into a haze.

You never ever came into my sight,
And yet I dreamt of you at night.

Each morning I awoke with thoughts of you.
How could that phase been so untrue?

Hurt and deceit you offered at will,
And yet I could never wish you ill.
Unworthy though you proved of my affection,
I sincerely wished you a life of direction.
I couldnt hate,and didnt wish to harbour hurt.
So I prayed to Him to step in and assert.

He splashed some water on the canvas of my soul,
And made me fresh and new and whole.

Ironic though are the ways of fate,
For I write today for Mr.Articulate.

Tulip Glossop

It may sound like cheap thrills to some but an episode today had me hysterical.

It so happened that the Chairman of the firm I work in went to meet the VP at his plush office and fell off his chair whilst in the middle of some undoubtedly deep intellectual discussions!!! :-D

Apparently,a nut was loose somewhere...

Well,I knew of one nut being on the loose all along but its the other one that had me in splits of laughter!Ha ha ha ha!

Thereafter,he was in such a fit of rage,he stormed right into the Admin manager's cabin complaining about his inefficient work habits...

Leaving us onlookers completely amused.

Someone whispered - "Arre,I'm surprised!Already itna gira hua aadmi hai!Aur kitna girega??!!"

A few days back I read Vatsala's blog on rediff home page in which she had mentioned about how she had dug up this old slam book of hers in which were view points of her batch mates concerning life.It made for interesting reading.

I think many of  us have questions about this Life thats been given to us.And at some point in time or the other of ours lives we all end up asking -What is this Life?

Some years back,while in the process of searching for some answers ,I had written this short poem :-
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Tulip Glossop

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What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

A few days back I went for a haircut.
I'm certain the men folk reading this must be wondering what the big deal about that is. However, I expect the ladies would understand the importance of a great haircut in a women's life.
Your hair, defines your look which in turn defines the way you feel which in turn has a bearing on your entire persona.
When you think about it-it's a realllllllly big deal
But before I go any further a couple of hair facts concerning me -
Well, my hair is the dark, thick, wavy, fairly regular variety. Having said that, I thank HIM for a very 'no trouble' kind of mane. No dandruff (yuck!), no lice (eeks!).None of that. All in all I'm very satisfied with my tresses.
The only thing that I have missed at times is the fact that my hair take a painfully long time to grow. I can oil, henna and give them the works as far as nourishment is concerned and yet they'd take their own sweet time about growing even as I marvel at the length of the 'Long and Strong' girl's mane on screen.
During my younger years, I was extremely apprehensive of experimenting with any new looks and thus ended up spending more than half my life in one hairstyle
Then one fine day in a fit of fury I decided to revamp my whole look. And voila!It was a hit! Not only did my friends and colleagues love it, I myself simply loved the idea of looking into the mirror and seeing a very new me. My style gave me a renewed sense of confidence. And believe it or not contrary to the Samson from 'Samson and Delilah' fame my then fairly short tresses seemed to increase rather than decrease my strength. Curious!
And then, the change that was once triggered my certain distress become a habit.

Now, I change my hairstyle every few months. Every season heralds a new look for me and every look makes me feel different. The only commonality being, nicely groomed hair always makes me feel great!

So there I was, at my regular hair stylist's after having taken a prior appointment for the said day/time. Problem was, she wasn't there . Now if you have a penchant for one particular hair stylist it's not easy agreeing to the idea of letting someone else touch your hair. Sadly, I had to return without the much awaited cut that I had been planning for many days now.
Another week passed. Another appointment was taken. Another time the famous lady wasn't in her parlor to do the honors.
Being determined to get a haircut at least this weekend, I combated my nerves and requested another lady to go about the said cut.

I had to wait.
Finally, there I was, apron on me, finger crossed beneath it, dampened hair, saying my prayers even as I smiled a broad smile to the girl about to begin the assault, I mean the cut when ,like the bright sun after stormy weather(ok, ok,so I 've got a bit carried away)in walked my fav hair stylist. Imagine my relief and euphoria in a situation like this!
I explained the kind of haircut I had in mind and she set to work. Having known each other a while, we started talking about this and that, she gave me her reason for not being able to make it earlier for the appointment and I explained how much a stickler I was for her haircut. It is true, the lady does magic with a pair of scissors. Her fingers run through your hair as if casting a fine spell of charisma around them and before you know it-hey presto! The new YOU!
In fact, the first time I met her I remember how impressed I was with here shear style.
She walked in. I told her the cut I wanted. One glance at my hair. Then, she calmly put on her apron. Put on her favorite cd. Re-adjusted her hair clip and set to work. With deft snips and slides (some hairstylist jargon for the unfamiliar) accompanied my periodic hums, she was done in no time. And the results were great!!!
So, with her at work on my hair, I sat reassured whilst she did her bit.
Only the final, touches remained now..........

So I asked,
'How long do you intend to keep the fringe?'
She looked a bit surprised, and asked,
'You'd like a fringe?'
I said,
'Yes, of course.'
She said,
'Well, with your kinda hair I wonder how it would look.............'
Now it was my turn to be surprised, since, as far as I knew, I had got a fringe done plenty on times before. So I said,
'Really? Will it look bad?'
'No, no. That's not what I meant. I mean it's just that......Its a bit warm nowadays too...Anyways, it'll be fine.'
And she set to work as I mused what she meant.
I saw her cutting my hair in a different way this time but overlooked that as an idiosyncrasy of an artistic mind.
And then when she was done and I saw my hair looking -different.
Attributing it to their wetness, I waited patiently for them to be styled.
As she began curling by hair inwards and placing them on my forehead, I realized what I had done.
I almost reeled in my chair as it dawned on me that I had, in my absent mindedness asked her to give me a 'fringe' instead of a 'flick'!

I felt like I had redefined the height of stupidity!

I had to be the only women who could confuse a 'flick' with a 'fringe'!
My hairstylist caught my ex-pression and asked me what was wrong. As I explained to her, I felt my foolishness mingle with embarrassment. She assured me that I looked nice, but I was unconvinced.

I thanked the lady, paid up and left the place.
About an hour later, I began regaining my composure. I resisted the urge badly to laugh out loud by reminding myself that I was the affected party here!

I told my folks my faux paus and got a patient hearing and lots of -'Oh, but you're looking nice.'
I'm certain it must have taken some strong affection for me to resist the temptation of laughing out loud in a situation like this.

A couple of hours and a few compliments later we were all laughing together!
Anyways, it WAS time to change my look.

But, I never expected it to come about this way!!!

P.S. –For those of you who are still wondering what a 'fringe' is I 've attached a pic of Audrey Hepburn with her ever famous fringe for your reference.

I've been reading some very interesting blogs for the past few days on rediffiland -some poetic, some grim, some humorous , some sentimental

This being by first brush with the blogging world I kept wondering what would be a good topic to begin with. As is my mantra in times of confusion –start with the first thing that comes to mind, I thought about it and the first thing that came to my mind was the title of my rediffiland –‘Don’t worry be Happy’

It’s possible that some of you might be wondering why I chose this particular title. Well, one simple reason was that the other options that I considered were already taken. J

But at the same time I also believe that happiness is fundamental to life. In a way, it is food for the soul. And, our happiness quotient impacts every facet of our lives.

In this trouble laden world, many a times we wonder how certain people around us are much happier than us today. Often we attribute it to certain acquisitions in life- success, wealth, power, fame etc. However, would it be fair to say these happy people never go through their share of troubles?

As I thought about this I realized that our careworn self often overlooks the fact that life is full of troubles for everyone. That is just how Life is. Period. Whether or not we are happy in this life is however, a matter of choice.

On closer observation, you'd see that people who stay happy aren't happy because of any acquisition they made (Not to say success doesn't motivate us in our lives and wealth, power and fame would be disliked by anyone)

But, these are the people whose constant endeavor is to be happy -come what may! Life isn't a picnic for them either. But they choose to make it so by enjoying every bit that they have of it.

They realize that the most precious acquisition in this life is and will always be- this Life itself.

Every day, every hour, every minute of it.

And therefore, live it up to the fullest.

What say?