O prah !

My favourite Oprah quotes:

As you become more clear about who you really are, you'll be better able to decide what is best for you - the first time around.

Books were my pass to personal freedom. I learned to read at age three, and soon discovered there was a whole world to conquer that went beyond our farm in Mississippi. 

Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure. 

Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it. 

Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment. 

Excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. 

Follow your instincts. That's where true wisdom manifests itself. 

For everyone of us that succeeds, it's because there's somebody there to show you the way out. 

I always knew I was destined for greatness. 

I am a woman in process. I'm just trying like everybody else. I try to take every conflict, every experience, and learn from it. Life is never dull. 

I believe that every single event in life happens in an opportunity to choose love over fear.  

I don't believe in failure. It is not failure if you enjoyed the process. 

I don't think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good. 

I don't think you ever stop giving. I really don't. I think it's an on-going process. And it's not just about being able to write a check. It's being able to touch somebody's life. 

Luck is when preparation meeting opportunity.  

I still have my feet on the ground, I just wear better shoes. 

If you come to fame not understanding who you are, it will define who you are. 

If you want to accomplish the goals of your life, you have to begin with the spirit. 

It isn't until you come to a spiritual understanding of who you are - not necessarily a religious feeling, but deep down, the spirit within - that you can begin to take control. 

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. 

Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you. 

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not. 

So go ahead. Fall down. The world looks different from the ground. 

Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher. 

The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams. 

The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude. 

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. 

The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be. 

Understand that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possibility. 

Unless you choose to do great things with it, it makes no difference how much you are rewarded, or how much power you have. 

What God intended for you goes far beyond anything you can imagine. 

What material success does is provide you with the ability to concentrate on other things that really matter. And that is being able to make a difference, not only in your own life, but in other people's lives. 

When I look into the future, it's so bright it burns my eyes. 

When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. 

Where there is no struggle, there is no strength. 

You CAN have it all. You just can't have it all at once. 

You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job, and not be paid for it. 

The Mayonnaise Jar

I read it somewhere and thought of sharing it..

The Mayonnaise Jar

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle,
When 24 Hours in a day is not enough,
Remember the mayonnaise jar
And 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class And had some items in
front of him.
When the class began, wordlessly,
He picked up a very large
And empty mayonnaise jar
And proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students
If the jar was full.
They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.
He shook the jar lightly.
The pebbles rolled into the open
Areas between the golf balls.

He then asked
The students again
If the jar was full..
They agreed it was..

The professor next picked up a box of sand And poured it into the jar.
Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if the jar was full.
The students responded
With an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced
Two cups of coffee from under the table
And poured the entire contents
Into the jar, effectively
Filling the Empty space between the sand.
The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor,
As the laughter subsided,
"I want you to recognize that
This jar represents your life.
The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health,
Friends, and Favorite passions -- Things that if everything else was
lost And only they remained, Your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter Like your job, house, and car.

The sand is everything else --
The small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first,"
He continued,
"there is no room for
The pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life.

If you spend all your time
And energy on the small stuff,
You will never have room for
The things that are
Important to you.

So...

Pay attention to the things
That are critical to your happiness.
Play With your children.
Take time to get medical checkups.
Take your partner out to dinner.
Play another 18.

There will always be time
To clean the house
And fix the disposal.

"Take care of the golf balls first --
The things that really matter.
Set your priorities.
The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand
And inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled.
"I'm glad you asked".

"It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,
there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

So do you want to have a cup of coffee with me, My friend ??

Dhokha !!

I am currently reading Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. An intelligent story with brilliant narration.(till now)
Total: 25 chapters. After reading chapter 16, just when the story was taking an important turn, I noticed that chapters 17 & 18 were missing!!
The story directly jumps to chapter 19 which is printed twice. Fuming with anger and disgust, I felt like tearing the book apart into a million pieces and throwing it out of the train.
However, as I gained control over my emotion (after listening to a Euphoria's song), I began reading further.

Chapter 19 onwards. Got to know that one of the main characters, Hassan died. Its itching to know HOW??
Currently, I am in the mid of chapter 22.
It was a paperback edition by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc :(

~Added later~
Completed!
Just a few doubts left uncleared-
How did Hassan and his wife die?
Who were the Caldwells?

Happy Aazadi to one and all :)
Freedom...the word, in itself is so soothing to the ears. The newspapers, radio stations, news channels all are shouting this and that about independence, since a few days.
So, I also started feeling patriotic today :D
I felt like listening to A.R.Rehman's Vande Mataram and watching Rang De Basanti.
But there lies some hypocrisy in all of us whether we admit it or not. This patriotism should be real, it shouldn't be such that it stays for days like 15 August and 26 January and then is washed away the next day.

People who claim to be patriotic are looked down upon as emotional, outdated or posers! No doubt, most of them are! And those who are true in their feeling, are kids, who haven't seen the real India and still cling to the 'sweet-sugary 'notions taught at school...u know..all the cheeni-cheeni stuff..
But on the other hand, how can patriotism be true when we have lost faith in the country itself. All due to the people at the top.
 Some days back, I was watching a show on ndtv on the anniversary of Kargil War. And a senior Army officer (now retd.) admitted that "If there was less restriction and orders from the political bosses, India would have won Kargil a long time back, with much...much less loss of lives.
Actually, India lost the war because the number of our dead and wounded soldiers was nearly twice that of Pakistan's soldiers."

This Independence Day, we witness another wonderful incident-

The Prime Minister's APPEAL in today's newspaper: Donate generously to the National Relief Fund for victims in Leh"

What a perfect time it is ! The solution lies outright before us !
Many ministers' names have been coming up in Commonwealth Games Scam. Instead of sqeezing money out from us, go extract it out from those who have accumulated wealth enough-for-their-generations in the CWG Scam. Impose heavy penalties on them and you can easily collect funds for Leh victims.

We have seen uncountable incidents where India itself has been insulted by political leaders in one way or the other. The entire scene needs enormous changes and we have been repeating this line since years but now its time we acted.
If we want change at the top, we need to start change from the bottom.
Here I remember the dialogue from Rang De Basanti: Police mein bharti honge, Military join karenge, IAS banenge, politics ka hissa banke is desh ki sakaar chalayenge.Ye desh badlega, Hum badlenge ise !!

God knows, how many lives will be laid down in this process. But if the outcome is as desired, I am for it.


Image courtesy:http://www.sumitgoyal.com/2008/08/15/happy-independence-day/

Should we or should we not ??

In the morning, Amy was entering the railway station, walking hurriedly to catch the 7:05 passenger train.A small child came to her, begging, one hand stretched in the hope of receiving something and the other, stroking his stomach to define hunger.
Many thoughts crossed her mind at that instant- the train, whether she would be able to catch it or not, whether she should give the child some money or the apple in her bag, but its his daily business, at this age he should study instead of earning...
Finally, she concentrated on catching the train.


On her way back home, outside the metro station, she again came across such a situation but this time with an old woman, with a skeletal frame, wearing a tattered saree. Her mind was again divided into two parts, fighting over whether to give or not, am i promoting begging.Why doesn't this auntyji do something to employ herself, why doesn't the govt give employment opportunities to physically fit beggars??
Finally, she passed by.


In the evening, as she went to the market, yet another woman carrying a child approached her.She thought in her mind, not again.The woman followed her to some distance, begging for the child and promising different kinds of good wishes- " beti, tujhe achha pati milega, tera ghar achha basega, bhai ki achhi naukri lagegi etc etc. "
Yet again, after millions of thoughts rushed through her mind, she passed by silently.
These scenes are an inevitable part of her daily commute and they somewhere made her feel inside that she has become such a stone-hearted person.




But there were other incidents that justified what she did.
She was once travelling with her cousins on a train.An old woman with a child, came begging. They thought it better to give her something to eat. They gave her some fruits and bread-jam. The moment she had her first bite, she started behaving weirdly, shouting loudly-pata nahin kya khila diya hamein... Creating a full drama for more than 20-25 minutes, refusing to go unless she was paid a good sum. Fellow-passengers gathered and settled the situation finally. That day she remembers, a harsh lesson learnt.


Another day, same commute. A woman not looking like a beggar came towards Amy and her friend, as they stood not very far from their office. This time the dialogues were new- "Beta mere 300 rupaye gum ho gaye hain, meri madad kar do, mujhe paise dedo"
Her friend, not new to such kind of robberies (asking for help and then snatching away the wallet and shoot like a cheetah), said- aunty paise toh hamein aapse maangne chahiye, student ki pocket mein toh hamesha hi kadki rehti hai ..etc etc. As he started his speech, the uninterested aunty walked away.  


These scenes somewhere made her feel inside that she should not be fooled by beggars.
Then why Amy's mind is still parts into two opposing pieces at the sight of people, specially children; poor deprived of food, cloth, shelter- the basics.
Should she give something or simply pass by? Should she give money or food? Are chocolates a good idea?