I would rather argue, your fate is what it is because it knows you so well that it knows whether you will or will not do what it requires to change it (eg – whether or not u will ‘take control of your life’, ‘whether or not yo will turn a new leaf’). Fate already knows and that’s why it is FATE and therefore cannot be changed. A beauty pageants judges can change future. If they unanimously decide Miss India should be winner deserving, but just for fun they take a call to give it to Miss UK, they are being able to change out come of a future event right? in that sense they can change future.

But fate? it is different. Fate already knows whether or not the judges will take that call ‘just for fun’ or not. and therefore Miss India or Miss UK both their fate is fixed. Now no matter what they do or not do. fate is sealed

Most of the times he’s got good sense of humor except for the occasions he tells me, I’M the alter I !!

Time is the most important force on earth, it has the power to cause most severest of disasters, the most pleasant moments & all events of various shades between disastorous & pleasant.

What’s more, it doesn’t even need to interfere, it does all this just by being a mere witness – a nonchalant bystander. It just lets things/beings be & let them happen or not.

The shadow of the grain, of pragmatism (then again, what is pragmatism?) in me says, if god is almighty and he is the one who knows all (past, present & the unknown). Has power to cause bad, punish, reward, influence, create new memories, erase past ones, quicken its own pace, retard its own pace and everything else. Plus, if I’m to believe that he is everywhere, therefore in plenty; yet scarce.

Then, I also wonder, doesn’t time also have all the same qualities? same potency?

So the question now is – Is time god?

Now is that a question or the answet itself to the eternal question every single thing (beings included) who ever walked, ran, crawled, dreamt, wept, laughed, sulked, drank, had a joint,  failed, succeeded, lived, not lived, wanted to live, wants to live, does not want live, barked or tweeted wants to know?

If time is god, then which religion? I don’ t know, my best amateur guess is – life..maybe!  But thats a separate story, back to this one.

Yes, I think I have got this one, it makes perfect sense. This god is for all – even for the non-believers. As they say,
‘given TIME……’

Time has got to be the god, well even if not, he’s atleast got to be his twin.

Finally, the most damning scientific proof for the above claim. Well it is in elementary quantam physics itself!  Simple, time is part of the fundamental structure of the universe, a dimension in which events occur in sequence (I’m sure Newton agrees with me on that), therefore…….

PS: Sorry could not finish my last thought, ran out of time.

It was while I was waiting for my friends and caught up with my old buddy that he related a recent experience of his with me. Something that yet again proved to me that certain changes can sometimes be driven by an individual’s resolve just as well as when driven by a collective initiative.

My friend was in the outskirts near Dhoolpet sometime back, on his annual trip there to bring home Lord Ganesha’s idol for his building’s Ganesh Chathurthi celebrations with some of his neighbors. After some looking around they finally found a majestic idol, nearly 12 feet high which they were confident would sit royally on the temporary stage they would set up for the 11 day celebrations. As his neighbors haggled with the stall owner, my friend wandered to checkout a few more stalls.

A few stalls away, he saw a kid, not more than 13-14 years of age skillfully crafting, molding and then giving finishing touches to a small (around 1 feet) idol of lord Ganesha. Impressed with the kid’s intricate art but curious about something, he asked, “Why are you wasting time on the small idols, while the big ones will fetch you more money?”. The kid replied, “This one is not for sale, Sir. It’s for me”. My friend pressed, “Why don’t you use one of the unsold ones for yourself?”.

Now looking at him straight, the kid replied, “All those 50-100 feet ones are for you sir, made of plaster and painted with colors. My teacher says, the paint kills the fishes in the sea & Hussain Sagar where we’ll leave the idol in some days”.

My friend was dumbstruck for a few seconds. Not because he had heard something he didn’t know. But because he heard it where he least expected, from a person he least expected from & most importantly he saw it being practiced. He asked one final time, “If it’s for you, why are you making a small one?” the kid replied, “ I wanted to make a 1o feet one, but this is all the clay my dad would spare, barely enough for the base. I had to dig the rest from that house’s backyard (he pointed to a house over my friend’ s shoulder). I got caught and had to pay Rs 40/-.”

“How much would a 10 feet idol cost?”, my friend enquired. “A lot, around Rs 400 maybe. Don’t know.”

“Here’s Rs 500, give me this one & make yourself a bigger one, will you?”.

The kid smiled for the first time & said, “Thank you”.

“No, Thank YOU” said my friend as he exchanged money for the idol & a lesson.

This is more in relation with people asking others to rush to a spot without there being a threatening urgency. Atleast in my case, when I’m driving or on my way to some place and some one calls me and asks me to ‘come fast’, I feel angry especially if I know that the person who’s asking me to come fast knows pretty well that there is nothing I can do to reach faster! So if some one asks me to reach faster knowing that fact and repeat it inspite of my requests to not to do so. I sincerely believe it to be irresponsible.

Trust me delay is not delibrate and that there is no faster way (I really can’t fly people, no matter how fast you want me reach you guys).

When you ask a person to reach faster, subconciously there is a pressure to drive fast, rash – risking a lot things. More so if you follow your ‘come fast’ with ‘where are you now messages’ every five minutes.

I’ll stick my neck out and say I have found this more pronounced in friends & relatives who don’t drive. I have no research to support this belief. But then do you have research findings to support everything you believe??

Please don’t rush your loved ones when they drive…they may reach you with a slight delay. But atleast they will.

Also, posting them here (fully aware that I have handpicked my friends who match me..sometimes out do me in laziness). The more the ‘*’s the more they are pronounced in my case:

Mind tricks to dominate thoughts. Mood swings, loneliness, lack of concentration, emptiness, agitation, stress, anger, self-pity, and just general crankiness might happen. *****

Headaches or a general heaviness. This is a classic smoking withdrawal symptom, often caused by sinuses clearing out. **

Shaking, sweating or feeling very cold. *

Coughing, hacking, runny nose, wheezing and shortness of breath. Insommnia is common. Well, it is stressful to quit and break your normal patterns. As with all stress — good or bad, sleep challenges can surface. ****

Sour stomach or stomach pains. Your digestion might get out of whack for a little while. ****

Pains, pains, pains. Some smokers get stomach cramps, sore gums, pains in chest… pains anywhere. Your mind and body are going through a healing crisis and they are going to remind you of what they are missing. *

Tiredness and a general zapped feeling. ****

Well I’m still going strong. Lets hope it stays that way.

See ye all around!

1. Intermittent headaches
2. Irritable moods
3. Fever (not high)
4. Bad Cough
5. Sore (previously soar) throat
6. Tummy related stuff
7. Cold (this hasn’t subsided from day 1)
8. Craving to smoke (Ofcourse!!)

I admit, I have taken stick in my hand smelled it and lit it for my buddies. But I haven’t dragged one puff.

Caveats:

1. Have been audience to passive smoke
2. Smoked hookah ( I know it has tobacco content in it, but this effort is to first quit the cigarettes)
3. I’m not too sure even if I don’t smoke for 90 days, if i’ll never smoke again. I think I will. But only too infrequently.

I know lot of my well wishers would think – then whats the point? Well the point is, I want to give up smoking (was smoking 3-6 a day for the past 3 years). But even if I don’t completely, I’ll take what I get.

Alright thats it for now, Ciao!!

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink

02. Swam with dolphins

03. Climbed a mountain

04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive

05. Been inside the Great Pyramid

06. Held a tarantula

07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone

08. Said “I love you” and meant it

09. Hugged a tree

10. Bungee jumped

11. Visited Paris

12. Watched a lightning storm at sea

13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise

14. Seen the Northern Lights

15. Gone to a huge sports game

16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa

17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables

18. Touched an iceberg

19. Slept under the stars

20. Changed a baby’s diaper

21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon

22. Watched a meteor shower

23. Gotten drunk on champagne

24. Given more than you can afford to charity

25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope

26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment

27. Had a food fight

28. Bet on a winning horse

29. Asked out a stranger

30. Had a snowball fight

31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can

32. Held a lamb

33. Seen a total eclipse

34. Ridden a roller coaster

35. Hit a home run

36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking

37. Adopted an accent for an entire day

38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment

39. Had two hard drives for your computer

40. Visited all 50 states

41. Taken care of someone who was drunk

42. Had amazing friends

43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country

44. Watched whales

45. Stolen a sign

46. Backpacked in Europe

47. Taken a road-trip

48. Gone rock climbing

49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach

50. Gone sky diving

51. Visited Ireland

52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love

53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them

54. Visited Japan

55. Milked a cow

56. Alphabetized your CDs

57. Pretended to be a superhero

58. Sung karaoke

59. Lounged around in bed all day

60. Played touch football

61. Gone scuba diving

62. Kissed in the rain

63. Played in the mud

64. Played in the rain

65. Gone to a drive-in theatre

66. Visited the Great Wall of China

67. Started a business

68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken

69. Toured ancient sites

70. Taken a martial arts class

71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight

72. Gotten married

73. Been in a movie

74. Crashed a party

75. Gotten divorced

76. Gone without food for 5 days

77. Made cookies from scratch

78. Won first prize in a costume contest

79. Ridden a gondola in Venice

80. Gotten a tattoo

81. White water Rafted

82. Been on a television news program as an “expert”

83. Gotten flowers for no reason

84. Performed on stage

85. Been to Las Vegas

86. Recorded music

87. Eaten Shark

88. Kissed on the first date

89. Gone to Thailand

90. Bought a house

91. Been in a combat zone

92. Buried one/both of your parents

93. Been on a cruise ship

94. Spoken more than one language fluently

95. Performed in Rocky Horror

96. Raised children

97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour

98. Passed out cold

99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country

100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge

102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking with the windows open

103. Had plastic surgery

104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived

105. Wrote articles for a large publication

106. Lost over 100 pounds

107. Held someone while they were having a flashback

108. Piloted an airplane

109. Touched a stingray

110. Broken someone’s heart

111. Helped an animal give birth

112. Won money on a TV game show

113. Broken a bone

114. Gone on an African photo safari

115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears

116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol

117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild

118. Ridden a horse

119. Had major surgery

120. Had a snake as a pet

121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon

122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period

123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States

124. Visited all 7 continents

125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days

126. Eaten kangaroo meat

127. Eaten sushi

128. Had your picture in the newspaper

129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about

130. Gone back to school

131. Parasailed

132. Touched a cockroach

133. Eaten fried green tomatoes

134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey

135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read

136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

137. Skipped all your school reunions

138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language

139. Been elected to public office

140. Written your own computer language

141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream

142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care

143. Built your own PC from parts

144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you

145. Had a booth at a street fair

146. Dyed your hair

147. Been a DJ

148. Shaved your head

149. Caused a car accident

150. Saved someone’s life

1. Looong names:

Yeah, my full name is one of the longest you’ll come across- it has 54 alphabets. Yes, you read it right…54!!

It means:

• It’s as long as A-Z written twice with repeating  2 of your favorite letters.
• If I signed my full name on my cheques, the bank would have to open a 5 member dedicated ‘signature verification’ cell only to process my cheques.
• For every time I had signed my full name in attendence-10 people in my class would have got there attendence.
• If I responded  only to my full name, the announcers at ‘departures’ of the Hyderabad Airport would quit..because I’m always late.
• If there are 20 more people to board the flight, and the annoucer manages to call my entire name..on an average at least 5 other men would would have been intimated.
• If you set your ringtone to pronounce my name each time I call, chances are your phone will crash. Because, even 3G phones are not equiped to play 2 songs a time.

I must confess that, its only recently that I learnt my full name. I never have problems with my passwords. Some times my friends get excited on my behalf. Recently, a friend of mine sent me a link to our company’s database which opened details of a newly joined employee with a long name. I think it was just a bit longer. My friend took instant offence, as if he lost something personal. I smiled, I had only lost to a namesake  

2.Atlas Shrugged:

Its my ambition to finish this book. No, seriously! I started this book 3 years back for the first time. Reached 80 pages before I couldn’t continue. Started again 1.5 years back reached 120 pages. Now, I haven’t read that book in a good year & I still have over 1000 pages to go. All my supportive friends have urged me to abandon the effort. They say its for my own good.

But I’m determined. As long as I finish it before Sudz NaNo effort.

If ever there was a book reading contest (fastest to finish reading either Atlas Shrugged or my full name), wonder which one would give the conestants a better chance.

3. Stealing a box of sweets from RP’s office:

Sudz! Did we? or did I? I have very vague memory of us all being in his office once, one of those Trishna days. But don’t remember this particular one.

4. One of the most inconsistent bloggers ever!

Again guilty as charged, I keep making mental notes of all the interesting, smart things that I say or have observed around me. But by the time I come to digitise my thoughts I find them to have had vaporised already.

Have recently started those memos on my phone, but now my damn N73 is so slow that it takes 2-3 mins to open the memo screen. So, now I make flags in my MS Outlook to blog, but there is so much work at office that…..

..Ok…ok….all about digitizing…vaporizing…flags & memo is bull!

Here.. I say it, ‘ I’m one Lazzzzyyyy burger’.

I know the ‘work at office’ did me in.

5. ‘Platonic’ friendship with Panki Zee:

As straight as they come…won’t go the other way, no matter how clowdy the day is.