Warning!!!

16 hours a day...

7 days in a week...

He worked!!!

He worked day and night. He was proud when he said, “On an average I sleep for 5 to 6 hours a week”. She looked at him amazed. That was their first meeting.

As the conversation progressed, they came to know that both of them are of same age. Yet he looked older. His eyes were tired and hairline was receding.  He had a bulging belly and was obese.

He said, “It’s ok. I will retire early. May be at 45. I will be rich enough by then to travel and spend time with family”

She tried to hide the pity from her eyes that she was feeling towards him. They were colleagues. And the new project required them to work together.

She wondered how someone can ignore the physical symptoms of work overload. She didn’t understand why money comes first always. Why is it a priority? Is it more important than health and loved ones, she didn’t think so.

Life is about the present... This moment... Present is nature’s present...

It is about feeling young at heart and maintaining healthy practices...

It is all about feeling good and in the process, making others feel good as well...

Life...

A bucket which needs to be filled with verdant memories... 

The bucket is not meant to be filled with money.

If there is no one for whom we can spend hours choosing the best gift, then, what is the point in earning so much money? If we there is no one with eyes twinkling with love, what is the point in living?

Planning is imperative... But no plans should postpomned life and the fun associated with it.

She sighed. He was rich and he was professionally successful. But he was a failure personally. If there is no one to hold hands when you are in deathbed, what is the meaning of life that was lived?

She saw all the warning symptoms. His attitude impacted her vision. She went back home and hugged her parents. She logged into her laptop and had a long video call with her brother.

She applied for 15days leave. Then she booked tickets for herself and her parents for spending some time at her brother’s place. He had been urging them to visit Mumbai since he joined there for job. It is three years now. But she was busy with work and was unable to take a long leave.

That night, she hit the bed with smile. After all, she noticed all the warnings. Life is about togetherness and happiness. It is about staying connected and feeling loved.

As she closed her eyes for sleep, her mind was enlisting the items that she needs to shop. She had never been to Mumbai before... And Bangalore has been her home since birth...

Dresses... She has never had one...

And a nice shoes...

And...

She dozed off!

The moral of the story is live life King size...

If not now, never!

Shoes of Dead

Wikepedia says…

“Farmers in India became the centre of considerable concern in the 1990s. Official reports initially denied the farmer suicides but as more and more information came to light the government began to accept that farmers in India were under considerable stress. More than 17,500 farmers a year killed themselves between 2002 and 2006, according to experts who have analyzed government statistics.

Others traced the increase in farmer suicides to the early 1990s. It was said, a comprehensive all-India study is still awaited, that most suicides occurred in states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and Punjab. The situation was grim enough to force at least the Maharashtra government to set up a dedicated office to deal with farmers’ distress.

In 2006, the state of Maharashtra, with 4,453 farmers’ suicides accounted for over a quarter of the all-India total of 17,060, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). NCRB also stated that there were at least 16,196 farmers' suicides in India in 2008, bringing the total since 1997 to 199,132. According to another study by the Bureau, the number of farm suicides increased since 2001.”

And I say….

Agriculture is the heart of India. We also know that we need food to sustain. Yet we neglect the fact that farmers’ quality of life is very low. Most of them are below poverty line and their life is no different from hell. They struggle hard to meet the ever increasing demand and technological changes. Their income is very less and they are forced to strive hard to make the ends meet.

There are subsidies... there are schemes to educate the farmers on how to increase productivity and how to reduce cost... But there are very less farmers who get benefitted because the effectiveness of such schemes is still debatable. Even today there are farmers who are unaware of the same.

Well... I know I am pouring with too much of information. And annoyingly, none of this is new to us. This is a reality and we all read in newspapers. We have seen live coverage on increase in number of suicides among the farmers.

In similar lines, Kota Neelima, a political journalist, takes up this sensitive issue and weaves into an intriguing yet hearth crunching story. She takes us through the plights that farmers undergo... She throws light on dirty politics and the way politicians play games to satisfy their selfish urges. She has unapologetically talked about something we ignore... something which we wish is not happening...

Yes...

Kota Neelima’s Shoes of Dead is a tale about a farmer who dreams big. He is like you-and-me. He dreams of pursuing higher studies... moving out to city and getting into a secured job with regular income. But circumstances force him to take up agriculture. But he never gives up his dream. But unforeseen acts of nature compel him to commit suicide and thus begin this story. Shoes of Dead is about how his brother fights for justice.

The book gives a positive outlook for life. It speaks about the power of one-man-army.

In short, the book moves a little slowly. Yet it is a book worth reading. 

This review is a part of the biggest Book Review Program for Indian Bloggers. Participate now to get free books!

Nature's Canvas

She looked above

Blue, pink and orange

White and what not

Mellow Sun was fading

Silver moon was smiling

Diamond stars were shining

Velvety night was approaching

Amazing it was!

Nature’s painting

Drawn flawlessly

On a canvas called

Sky!

Tu Tu Mein Mein - 6

Heart: Ouch! This shoe bite is pathetic. So painful it is.

Brain: I warned you not to buy that.

Heart: But I liked it.

Brain: Then, stop complaining.

Heart: You stop dictating. I am feeling pissed off already.

Brain: In that case, don’t tell me anything

Heart: Sorry. Don’t think you can get rid of me so easily!

Shopaholic’s Delight

The advent of Online shopping has made shopping easy. It has opened door for wide varieties and range of products. It is a platform where the customer reigns as the emperor. He is given an opportunity to choose and the days where customers were thrust with what was available with the seller is no more.

Shopping is just a click away. A shopaholic’s delight!

But alas! Every coin has two sides. And online shopping is not free from cons. Here the challenge lies in surfing diligently and landing up at the site that offers the best price. At the same time, we should also be sure about the reliability factor.

Every shopper goes through this uncertainity abd dilemma. And I was no different. That was when I came across  CouponDunia…!!

It is an amazing site for finding coupons & deals for online stores like FlipKart, SnapDeal, Tradus, Myntra, Pepperfry, ShopClues & many more…

CouponDunia, is India’s Largest Coupon & Deal site, and has over 150,000 Likes on FaceBook!

CouponDunia covers deals/coupons for products across various categories from Books, Clothes, Perfumes & Watches to Air Tickets to Electronics.

They even have an option to subscribe to deals/coupons for specific online stores, so that you get an e-mail the moment a new deal/coupon is added for that online store.

Be sure to check out their featured coupons, where you can find great deals from new online stores.

To know more, check out CouponDunia

Here are some of my favorite deals!

eBooks: Women & The Weight Loss from FlipKart. Save with FlipKart Coupons

Books: Fifty Shades of Grey from SnapDeal. Save with SnapDeal Coupons

Books: The Science of Getting Rich from Tradus. Save with Tradus Coupons

I am not Weak!

Worry not!

Enjoy your life and live in your terms.

Am not weak; I am just tired of being hurt for so long.

Kindle not the buried feelings.

Not a Cakewalk...!

Life is not a cakewalk…

Yes… It is full of ups and downs… Pits and unfathomable falls… There will be thorns and breathtaking views at the same time…

It is a mixture… A mixture of everything ranging from happiness… sadness… tears… love… betrayal… despair… success… celebration and what not!

Another beauty about life is relationships.

Man craves for attention, love and acceptance. This urge makes him long for fulfilling relationships. This is how he transforms into a social being, I guess.

Building a relationship is, however, the toughest task. There is no hard and fast rule or scientifically proven steps to aid one towards a fulfilling relationship. If one someone decodes the mystery and succeeds in building a satisfactory relationship, happiness will follow.

I believe that relationship is a compromise. We have to lose something to gain something else. We have to adjust and adapt. Arguments and disagreements are inevitable. But the real challenge lies in how we take those bad phases. Do we take it to heart and carry a grudge or do we consider it as yet/just another passing cloud?

And ironically, breaking a relationship is the easiest of all. It takes a few seconds to ruin the castle which was constructed with so much difficulty and consuming oodles of time.

A few swear words… at times cold shoulder… Or may be silence… Sometimes accusations or vengeance is all that is needed…

I wonder where the love vanishes all of a sudden. I wonder how easily people learn to move on and forget the times spent with others.

I agree that they may not really forget those good times, but they do tend to move on. Time can heal anything, they say. But can scars be healed too, I wonder.

I find breaking relationships as an act of a coward.

The brave will stand and face the reality. He might accept the relationship with all the inherent flaws or try to change himself to suit to the situation. He would never blame or expect others to change.

If this state of mind is accomplished, life might become a cakewalk… Filled with love and laughter… lush green memories and ample stories that can be carried to grave!

Take Care!

Hey! Wait a moment

Money is imperative

But take care of health!

Where Love is Hiding?

Chill breeze was blowing. A faint smile never left her lips as she walked past her school. She felt nostalgic.

Days of teenage and first love reeled in her mind like a phantasmagoria…

Then she noticed that telephone booth, now abandoned.  She recalled those times when her first love used to call from there. How he used to earn a hole in his pocket by making those costly phone calls!

Today, everybody has a cellular phone; so did she!

The call rate has also slashed considerably.

Yet, there was nobody to call her.

Love… Where it was hiding, she wondered…

Tu Tu Mein Mein - 5

Brain: Idiot! He is happy without you. He is normal. He is smiling and mingling freely with others. But look at you. You are depressed and look devastated.

Heart: I am just wondering how he can be so normal.

Brain: Because he never loved you. The cloud has passed. Understand that.

Heart: So what should I do?

Brain: Move on.

Heart: That is not easy.

Brain: Then, why did you ask me? Suffer. That is all you can do

Why can't we restart?

To break a heart

Is easy

You broke mine

I never complained

I healed it myself

It hurt

I cried heartily

Blood flowed

But you never cared

You walked away

Yet I waited

What a fool I am!

What a fool she is!

World would laugh at me

What a fool I am!

I am laughing at myself

What did I do?

Except trusting you; loving you

You are punishing me

As if it was a mistake

Tell me O love,

Was that a mistake?

You say you are selfish

You say you are wrong

Then why can’t you stop it?

Why don’t you come back to me?

Why can’t we restart?

With more love!

Why can’t we be together?

Forever!

Simple Kolam

Ouch! Obese...

Human body and psychology is an area where study always continues… And conclusions can never be arrived at. With time, we are also evolving. The fittest are surviving and life is going on…

In the process of bridging life and death, we tend to fall sick. Some illnesses are basic, temporary and natural. But some swallow the precious life itself and some are more psychological.

To confess, hospitals make me feel sick. The sheer aura trembles me. I feel as if tension always lingers around and makes life miserable.

Hospitals are such an irony. When some lot will be cheering for being gifted with a healthy newborn, some others will be mourning.

In any case, diseases and unwellness are unavoidable and thankfully, today we find a solution for almost all the health problems.

Pizzas and junk foods… Extended working hours… Video games… Electronic devices and private vehicles… These have contributed to one of the biggest threat that man-kind is exposed to… Obesity! Yes, you heard me right…

Everybody longs to be as fit as the fiddle. But there are many who are obese.

And I believe that obesity is epidemic. If it is not treated on time, the consequences that would follow could be dangerous. 

Wikipedia say:

“Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. Obesity increases the likelihood of various diseases, particularly heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, certain types of cancer, andosteoarthritis”

As you can see, obesity plays as a gateway for innumerous diseases. I agree that regular work-outs and balanced diets are imperative to fight obesity. But not all that time!

For such people Bariatric surgery is a boon. Obesity can be overcome under expert supervision. Therfore, chances of going wrong and losing one’s life is minimal. On the other hand, it will act as a helping hand in winning the lost self-confidence and self-respect!

Thanks to the advanced technologies in the field of medicines… !

Love Touched Pinnacle

Yes! That was the day

They had waited long enough

Oh! First their eyes met

Yes! First their eyes met

Then they cuddled each other

Now their fingers met

Yes! Their fingers met

They lay on each other's arms

And love flowed within

Yes! Love flowed within

Suppressed longing gushed outside

Love touched pinnacle

Thank you – A 200,000 Times!!!

A moment of pride is nearing

And here I am beaming

At the same time, I am wondering

How did I manage to do so much of writing!

Now you tell me, was it really worth reading?

Oh! My crazy mind is meandering

To find the appropriate wording

That can be used for the thanksgiving

But words are too less for thanking

I thank you for commenting

Always appreciating

And at times, critically analyzing

Locomente would have been nothing,

Without you participating

Thanks for supporting

Yahooo!!!

My baby blog is witnessing 200,000 hits.

I am feeling happy beyond words.

I know there is a long way to go and with each passing day, responsibility as a writer is also increasing.

And I hope that – you – my dear readers will stand by me.

You will continue your support and post your comments.

Thank you dear readers…

Thanks a ton!

I thank my parents for always standing by me.

My brother for always adversely commenting.

My dear friends for finding time to read my posts midst of their busy schedule.

And here this Locomente is saying…

Thank you – A 200,000 times!!!

Taken for Granted?

He was driving towards hometown when he noticed the familiar abandoned land…

It has not changed a bit, he thought.

A place where they used to meet for chit-chat until darkness evades. How anxiously he used to wait for a soothing touch or a loving hug from her!

His first love she was; his best friend…

He glanced at her who was sitting beside and wondered where those magical moments vanished. Why did he take her for granted?

Their seven years old son was sleeping on the backseat.

Slowly, he shifted his hands from gear to her hands. Her eyes registered surprise. He parked the car and led her to the familiar land and hugged her.

As he kissed her on her forehead, he was struggling to fight back his tears…

Egg is Healthy

Yes. Egg is healthy

A chick is waiting for dawn

So please break it not!

Bridging hearts!

Their eyes met

And exchanged stories

Bridging hearts!

Madness or Love?

Wait! Was that madness Or

Love towards the princess

PS: This is a poetry form called Essence Poem. This should have only two lines with six syllables each. And the ending should rhyme

Liked This?

Wide Tree called Poetry!

“A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness.” ― Robert Frost

Poetry is always a writer’s delight. It is a medium through which anything can be conveyed. It is short which makes it sweet. The challenge lies in conveying our thought through the constraint of few words. The attraction to poetry is mainly because it rhymes.

“Don't use the phone. People are never ready to answer it. Use poetry.” ― Jack Kerouac

When we were young, we always thought that poems should rhyme. And I bet that most of us would have spent hours in finding words that would somehow rhyme. Eventually, when we were exposed to the majestic world of poetry, we realized that poetry is all about putting forth our thoughts and it is not about rhyming words. But hey! I still enjoy poems that rhyme. What about you?

“With me poetry has not been a purpose, but a passion.” ― Edgar Allan Poe

The branches of a tree called poetry are very wide. And here I am pointing 10 of them:

“To be a poet is a condition, not a profession.” ― Robert Frost

So all you poets there and all those people who love poetry, here goes my brief listing of different forms of poetry…

1.      Nonet – This has 9 lines. Syllable count must be 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. Rhyming is not mandatory.

2.      Acrostic - This out a word or idea. Sometimes what it spells out is the title of the poem itself.

I am trying

More and more

Again and again

God, Stand by me

Ever and forever!

3.      Cinquain – This is written using a pattern. "Cinq", which is pronounced as “sink” is the French the word for number 5. This poem type will have only five lines. Syllables should be 2-4-6-8-2

4.      Haiku - A Haiku has three lines. Syllable count should be 5-7-5

I have tried my hand on Haiku.

5.      Minute – This has three stanzas, with a syllable count of 8-4-4-4 each. Rhyming is mandatory. Yet non-traditional minutes do not rhyme though it follows the syllable count.

6.      Senryu – This is same as Haiku. Only difference is the syllable count is 3-5-3 instead of 5-7-5

7.      Tanka – This is also related to the haiku. The syllable count to be followed is 5-7-5-7-The first three lines do not rhyme. But the last two lines must rhyme.

8.      Free verse – This is any poet’s delight. This style allows you to follow your thought flow and doesn’t restrict you in anyway.

9.      ABAB poem – This is an interesting poem style which has four lines. The first and third line will rhyme in similar line whereas second and fourth will rhyme in similar line.

Hey bro!

Wake up

Look at the crow!

And drink the syrup

10.  Book spine poetry- Here a bunch of book names will be arranged in such a way that it transforms into a poem or little story. There is no restriction in the number of book names that can be used. Here I present an image of book-spine poetry.