How much is too much??

Some wise man has said…

“Ati sarvatra varjatey”

(Too much is always bad)

This quantitative analysis has me in knots! Exactly how much is too much??

For a chatter-box like me, to keep my beak shut for prolonged period is a test and a torture rolled into one. But then I wonder, what would be the duration of a prolonged period? For me, keeping quiet for 5 minutes at a stretch is a loooooooong time, while some might not want to emit any sound from their mouths for hours on end…

This perception comes to play regarding gluttony too… Someone might feel satiated with a bowl of salad and not feel the need of popping anything in the caverns of the mouth for hours later; while another might fight in the flight between a seven course meal and still feel the pangs of hunger or emptiness in the middle hollow of the anatomy…

Moving the body beyond the mandatory requirement is also not everyone’s cup of tea. Some couch obsessed people like it, just as Mr Bond 007 likes it, “Shaken, not Stirred!!” So just how much stirring is required to attain those 2 pack abs?? (as 6 pack is not my preferred number, owing to as much twisting of the body and as less usage of the tongue and stomach to attain it) So for the lounging potatoes, what are the parameters of enough??

The golden sin…

Wealth…

Treasure…

Money…

Rokda…

How much of that is needed to achieve the comforts of the life? Or is it dependent on the appetite of the mind? The parameters of enough money should be based on the assets of Bill Gates, Mukesh Ambani, a CFO of an MNC, a Landlord, or a farmer with tilled land? It should be based on the ratio of necessity verses availability or desire verses adequacy??

And then the most elevated of them all… Sleep!! Is a labourer who sleeps after a long hard day at work more peaceful in his slumber or a person who mints money all day long in an AC cabin? Is sleeping for 8 hours a given or dreamless sleep for 5 hours can suffice??

In the end, doesn’t it all boil down to peace of mind and ecstacy in the heart??

Isn’t too much just what is quite enough??

My Feather-Brain is too much muddled with this not so much twister of a topic…

What would be too much for you???

Tick-Tock!!

The sound of the perpetual motion of the pendulum, or in today’s world, the movement of the second’s hand- Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock…

It’s almost meditative in its motion, nothing hurried, nothing frantic, just a perseverant and continuous forward motion… Yes, forward, as this is the singular quality of time… It never rewinds or moves backwards, it is always pointed forward…
It never stops, never tires, never catches it’s breath. It is relentlessly moving ahead. Sometimes it’s almost hard to keep up with it’s pace.

The most interesting aspect of time is it’s relatability… For a person in pain or agony, mental or physical, it seems as if time has stalled… It has stopped moving… The moments appear to be equivalent to hours, it seems to be plunged in the dark dungeons of hell; yet for a person in bliss, who is joyous, time seems to acquire wings. It seems to be flying, flapping it’s wide, beautiful wings, soaring high in the skies…

But, it’s the eternal truth…

Good or bad,

Favourable or unfavourable,

Happy or sad,

Dark or bright…

Time never remains the same…

The Bible says, “This too shall pass” !!!

This is the eternal truth. 

Nothing remains.

Nothing stays.

Nothing is permanent.

Not happiness, nor misery.

Not riches, nor poverty.

Not health, nor sickness.

Some great soul has correctly said,

“Kitna bhi pakad lo, fisaltaa zaroor hai!

Ye vakt hai sahib, guzarta zaroor hai!!”

(However much one tries to capture the sands of time, it surely and certainly trickles from the hand)

Time has the uncanny ability to become a teacher, to teach the minutest things in the subtlest of ways, without any lessons or warnings.
Sant Kabir has captured this essence beautifully in his Doha (couplet),

“Maati kahe kumhaar se, tu kyun rondhey mohey,

Ik din aisa aayega, main rondhungi tohey.”

(The mud says, ” O Potter, why do you grind me so fine, there will come a day of your death, when our roles will be reversed” )

How much time does one actually have to spend, sprinkle, waive, waste, utilise or pass??

Are the seconds and hours equal in everyone’s life span??

Is there one good way to utilise time??

Osho says, “Time means mind. If you are absolutely without mind, just consciousness, time stops completely, disappears, leaving no trace behind”

My feather brain wants to soar high and dip in the depth of consciousness… Right now it just flutters about searching for a gale of wind to sweep it off!!!

Oh! These Adams!!

So, woman’s day has come and gone. My fellow Eves partied, danced, sang, ate, drank (availing the “Woman’s day” massive discount schemes, of course) and spent themselves till there was nothing left to spill about… So now let’s talk about the remaining populace of the world; the “lesser halves” to our better ones, the “unfairer sex” to our fairer ones.
(Who awarded these awesome attributes to women anyways??)

So, the “Y” chromosomes!!!
These are the alphas, the males, the protectors.
They are simpler than a straight line. It is very easy to decode them, to decipher them. 
If their stomachs are full, they are happy,
If they get to watch sports channel, they are happy,

If they get to just sit, they are happy,
If they get to sit with their friends AND watch sports channel, they are happy!!

They can’t remember birthdays or       anniversaries; but give them the make and model of a car, they will happily rattle off the engine capacity, the year of manufacture, the safety features, even the chassis number!!

They won’t want to go to their kid’s sport’s day; but come parent-teacher meeting and they are ever ready to charm and sparkle before the said teacher.

If the child receives accolades, it is their achievement as it is “Mera baccha” ( my child); but let the child commit the minutest of errors and instantly they tell their better halves “tumhaara baccha bigad gaya hai” ( your kid is spoiled rotten).

If it’s a monetary issue, they want to be in charge; if it’s an emotional or mind boggling issue such as studies, the unwritten rule is that the kid will search for his mother.

Their stomachs get sucked in the minute their eyes befall a gorgeous gal, hands go to set the hair and eyes take a disinterested hue, as if they are least bothered in impressing the said gal (although all the efforts scream otherwise).

Their eyes always sweep the parking lot of the society to ensure that their car is of the latest and the best model in town…
“Padosan” (neighbour’s wife) would always be doing something constructive or informative than their own spouse…
Their seat would be so duly offered to a stunning lady in a bus or train and they would happily stand all the way, even if they have aching joints or high BP, as “insaaniyat bhi koi cheez hoti hai ki nahin”!! ( Chivalry is alive!)…
They might be bleeding after getting a nasty fall, but despite all the tears they might be shedding inside, a huge smile would be plastered on their faces, as “mard ko dard nahin hota” ( men are strong and brave)… 

So then, what ticks them off???

Who else, but the glorious “Eves”!!

If an Adam finds his Eve, he finds himself shackled; if he doesn’t, he finds himself lonely.
If the said Eve cooks with magic in her fingers, he’s with a paunch; if she doesn’t, he’s with a rumbling stomach.
If she adores him, she’s clingy; if she doesn’t, then she’s boring.
If she speaks too much, she eats into his peace; if she is quiet, she’s unresponsive.
If she pampers the kids, then she’s spoiling them; if she’s strict, then she is heartless.

So basically, the “Xs” are the prime reason for all of “Y’s” problems…

 As Osho says “No man understands a woman, no woman understands a man, and that is the beauty of their existence.”

But can the “Y” survive without these “Xs”??

Of course not!! If they omit women out of their lives, they will be perpetually either hungry or horny. They require women to feed them, love them, pamper them, make them feel adored, important and indispensable. 

So, if women are curvy and paradoxical,     men are linear and unknotted,

If women are complex, men are simple,

If women are soft, men are strong,

If women are emotional, men are practical…

So it’s absolutely safe to say that…

Men are trees, women are the Earth,

One sows seeds, the other gives birth;

Two halves of a same coin,

Their destiny has always been to join.

The “X” and the “Y” compensate, complete and create a whole; a beautiful amalgamation of Yin and Yan, power and beauty, “purush” and “Shakti”! In all, the “Ardhnaarishwar” form of the Good Lord !!! 

We the “X”!!

Another beautiful day has dawned, when one half of the populace would celebrate the “Day” conferred to them by… Whom??

“Woman’s Day” !!!

Seriously!!!

Do the millions of Xs scattered across continents and oceans need and deserve just one day to celebrate themselves??
We are unique…We are exotic…We are irreplaceable…We are the amalgamation of all paradoxes…

We will be unheeded, hither and tither, with flailing arms and popping eyes whenever we see a sign that discreetly or not, reads “SALE!!!”; whereas, if the “Sabjivaala” (vegetable vendor) asks for 5 rs more for a kilo of “bhindi” (ladyfinger), then all hell will break loose on that offensive soul!!

We will, with great pleasure, swipe our palms on the cushioned cheeks of our offsprings and scream our lungs out at them for trivial things, like getting 2 numbers less than our enemy neighbour’s kid or for dumping the face, neck deep in the iPad; whereas, if their teacher or for that matter, their garden buddy so much as touches or pushes them, we will grind our teeth and their brains out!!

We will always, like good wives, ask our husbands as to their choice of vegetables for dinner; but will prepare whatever is available in the fridge or is suiting our moods!!

We will buy the skimpiest of designer outfits at an exhorbitant price, but will ditch our very own local weaver’s handloom outfit as “behenji” (aunty style) and low-class!!

We want our daughters to be bold, independent and fiesty, but will leave no chance of trashing the neighbour’s daughter who is totally like this!!

We will want our son in laws to be patient, loving and give heed to our daughters, but if our son does the same for our daughter-in-laws, then he becomes “joru ka gulaam” (hen pecked) and the daughter-in-law, a home wreaker!!

We love to eat, gossip and preen at ourselves, but would deny each of the said things to the hilt!!

We love to be right and want our “friends” to be wrong!!

We want men to understand us. We want them to realise that our dictionary is very different from theirs; where on being asked, ” what do you want”, we would say, “nothing”; but that “nothing” might mean anything, from a handbag, to a necklace, to a car, which has taken our fancy; but, of course, this is for our hubbies to know!!

We can cry when we are happy…

We can cry when we are sad…

We can cry due to our hormones…

We can cry when we are mad!!

Sometimes the world at our feet cannot bring that elusive smile on our faces, while a simple, “I love Mom” drawing of our kid can move us again, to well, tears and “crying” out of pure, unadulterated joy!!

To quote Osho, “A woman is to be loved, not understood. This is the first understanding.”

We are unique, we are simple,

We can go berserk at the sight of a pimple;

We are full of love,

For our kids, mountains can we move;

We are beautiful, with jewels are we adorned,

But Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned;

As soft as breeze, as straight as a line,

As flowy as a river, as sparkling as old wine;

Our strength is inherent, no one can doubt,

Fearless as lionesses, everyone can tout!!

As George Bernard Shaw says, “Women are born knowing things that men spend a lifetime trying to learn”…

So ladies, and gentlemen born of ladies!!!
Let’s dedicate each day of the year to this beautiful, paradoxical and uttterly annoying but endearing specimen of the good Lord, most of whom figuratively and seriously make others want to exclaim, “GOOD LORD!!!!!”