Lifebites...

Yes, you heard me right, I am talking about post retirement plans.... for our working parents who have retired recently or are about to retire soon. Post retirement phase begins with relaxation, abundance of time, and all monetary cash-ins. While it’s good to have money in your hand after a lifetime of non stop hard work, it’s not very good to suddenly have so much time in hand. One day you are working 9-10 hrs and the next day, you have the whole day to yourself and you realize this is how it is going to be. For our parents generation, this is not a very welcome way to be, at least it was not so for my Dad. He is someone who dedicated 14-15 hrs a day to his work, sometimes more, he loved his job and held a commanding position in office at the time of his retirement. The main focus of his day used to be his work, the stress around it. Although he welcomed the stress free life with no timelines and no long nights at the office, no numbers to crunch and balance sheets to be filed, he ...

Oh how I miss the sand and water slipping from between my toes How I miss the sea kissing my feet and leaving me yearning for more! The cool, calm waters of the sea, the breeze fleeing through my hair The wet sands sticking to my clothes, the moist, salty air, Oh how miss being a part of Mother Nature! Oh how the times have changed, The “free” humans are in cage And the birds are flying free. Cuckoo's melody is louder than the passing traffic, The air is purer, the leaves are greener, Animals are coming out of hiding, Even Ozone hole is closing up, Nature is healing, can’t you see? Maybe humans were the only problem all along We overstepped our boundaries by long. We did not realize we are so little And that Nature is not so brittle. Today I saw life happening, a crow chick cracking its egg Amidst all the despair, that tiny thing made my day. It gave me hope that when it’s all over Earth might just be a little better! I will get to ...

Every story has an ending, every relationship, every friendship has an age, and every chapter has an ending. We crib and become nostalgic for the bygone days. But those days are so special because the time was right then for them. If today we would have those days, it may not be so special anymore. They may even not be that special if they happened now, because this is not their time. It’s time for something else in our life. Moving on is the only constant. Gracefully moving on is nothing short of an art. Be the artist of moving on. Be elegant enough to accept the changes and challenges life has to offer. Somewhere during the journey, a smile which will creep in slowly from that corner of your mouth. You may actually like the different “you” as well, because you evolve, willingly or otherwise, you grow with each step and each phase. Duh! You will change with time, of course. That is the epicentre of your journey. And one fine day, you will be happy and content with the presen...

"Hello, I do not know you and you do not know me. So there is no chance that you could judge me and even if you do, it would hardly matter to me. I have a burden in my heart. Been carrying it from a long time now. Haven’t said another soul yet, but I can’t keep it in anymore. So, I am telling you. I love watching makeup videos, love applying makeup on myself. Yes, I am a guy and I like doing makeup. No, I am not gay or bisexual. I am a straight adult male, who enjoys applying makeup on himself. Love lipstick the most, deeper darker shades! Lipstick is love for me! When I put makeup I feel so happy. But that happiness is limited to my locked room only! Here you go, this is my truth. And now you know it. You wanna judge me? I would love it if you don’t, but feel free! I had never shared this with anyone else. If you judge me, I will get a firsthand practice of how much it will sting if the world has problem with my choice of look. I was scared shit of coming out in fro...

I just wanna see the light Even if it blinds me, I just wanna see the light. Breathe it in and leave it all behind Turn around and go away forever, I just wanna see the light. Even if it’s not dark yet, I still wanna see the light. I wanna see it all the time Be it dawn dusk or noon or the darkest hour of the night I wanna see the white ball of glow and twinkling beauties. I wanna be there when it rains for the first time in years in a desert I wanna be there when the butterfly breaks free from the caterpillar's cocoon into its first flight. I wanna be there when a baby opens it’s eyes into this world, when life is created When a flower blooms, when the fireflies wake up into the darkness, when life happens, I wanna see it all, take it all in, and every moment through all I just wanna see the light. I wanna be there when the hell bends over and breaks loose I wanna stand strong in the light when we win our way into our haven I wanna see the light dancing in yo...

On the road again! A part of my soul comes alive and wakes up whenever I pack my bags and get out of my routine to explore the world and win it over. A sudden energy and excitement crawls in and it seems that for that moment I am free and life is hassle less. Today it’s no different, except that my routine is going to change now. This travel and exploration is going to be my new routine for some time, which is super exciting. I will finally get the time and opportunity to figure out a lot of things in my life. Things which were up until this time mostly either put on hold or had been given second priority due to my work and professional life. Yes today’s my last day at my current organisation. But I see this as the beginning to a new routine, a new chapter in my life. And where else is better to start this than Shirdi. Yes, I am on road on my annual trip to Shirdi to pay my respects to Sai Baba temple. For a couple of days I am going to put all my questions and worries aside and ...