Coffee and Smokes: Intro to Jyo (#1)

I am writing a fiction series based on a character "Jyo". I don't brand her as the "typical" city girl or a representation of the modern women. She is what circumstances and life has made her. I am building her character based on a few people I know and a dash of me in it too :)


Hope you all like it. I will post often, please keep writing your comments, it could be in form of questions if any queries about Jyo or any curiosity one would have on "Coffee and Smokes".


Enjoy reading :)


Intro to Jyo
------------


She headed to her habitual coffee shop at 11am. This is when she got a break at work and she would spend time with herself. She spread her paraphernalia that comprised of a book, hand bag and shades. She pulled out the smokes and lighter from the handbag and signalled to the waiter to get a coffee, her customary cappuccino. This was an indoor coffee shop unlike the outdoor ones; there was soft music playing and another lone customer smoking away. This was perfect, the fewer the people the better.


She flipped the pages of the book to get to where she had left it last. Her mind though wandered to what happened at work today morning. "Jyo, come here quick, I need to discuss the monthly reports" told her boss on the phone. Her name is Jyothilakshmi but sobriquets get shorter and "western" in the BPO industry and she liked it this way. Jyo loved her job, she was a team lead and had worked for 4 years in the same organization. With all these parameters she knew Bangalore was the place to be. She took a long drag of smoke and sipped the coffee. The warm sun broke through the glass on her chosen table and she liked it. She looked outside the window pane, she saw a couple walking. She could watch them but they couldn’t possibly see her. Her discussion with her boss was good and Indro (Indraneel) was a "gem" she thought and got back to the book she intended to read. Another smoke and she was back to work.

Gurgaon-Delhi-Greater Noida, 2008

Earlier vacations were once in a year and for 3-4 days. It would be usually a trip to my in-laws place in Delhi (they have relocated to Hyderabad). Now I travel more after letting go of a highly paid and growing career wherein I missed one thing vacations ... :)

 

Now I vacation every month and most of my trips head to where my husband is in Gurgaon and I have loved each trip. This time I planned visits to an aunts place and my sis home who just moved in to Greater Noida. Further my many visits had made me comfy to move  alone in the vicinity to shop and watch a movie too :)

 

Day 1 (Mon) at Gurgaon - Wipro guest house in sec 28. Difficult to get out of the bed in the morning and being a Bangalorean 11 to 12 deg c is freezing :). The morning gets warmer as I sip a hot cup of coffee, and browse the TV and newspaper. Nidhi sleeps through it while Sridhar is getting ready to head to work. He is off by 8:30 am. Nidhi and I are at the breakfast table at 9:30 am.

 

After enjoying the breakfast we shower and are out on the road, the sun is so warm and loving. I walk down to a nearby shopping mall; it takes 15-20 minutes. I buy medicines for Nidhi as she has caught a cold. Also wandering and window shopping, I decide to then stop at a book store, head to the children’s section and buy an activity book for Nidhi. We take a rickshaw back home...and enjoyed the ride. Though on the fast track Gurgaon roads with speeding cars, one is precariously holding on to life on a rickshaw but there are the thrills. With no auto in sight and no public transport, this is an easy option.

 

Today night was even more exciting, it’s our marriage anniversary. We complete 9 years of marriage and we are feeling younger by the yearJ. My Father-in-law comes over from Ghaziabad to bless the couple :) and that’s such a nice gesture.

 

Day 2 (Tue) at Gurgaon - Wipro guest house in sec 28. It’s the same cold mornings and the much awaited 9:30am breakfast. At 10:20 am we are out. This time I plan a movie for Nidhi and me. We do a lot of that in Bangalore and enjoy watching movies together. A rickshaw to a nearby mall that has the PVR cinemas. I buy a ticket for Dostana because that’s the one available at 10:45 am, the rest are after 1pm....

 

Dostana is hilarious, and the gay humour was timed so well. The 2nd half had emotional bits but the humour in between kept it going strong :)

I had lunch at Halidrams and we were home in the Rickshaw and Nidhi was pretty used to it by then that she slept in it :)

Late evening we spent time at home, I watched "Welcome to Sajjanpur", since I am from UP I can relate to the language. I liked the good story, dialogues, humour and the emotions aptly put in. Shreyas Talpade did an excellent job.

 

Day 3 (Wed) at Gurgaon - Wipro guest house in sec 28. I was beginning to feel a sore throat and had a running nose. I decided another trip to a shopping mall for shopping or movies can be avoided. Took good rest at the guesthouse, enjoyed the lunch and slept well. Night we were off to Sarita Vihar in Delhi to meet Khatri Uncle, Aunty and their daughter Pallavi. We reached at 10:30 pm in the night and were served chaats which we enjoyed, though they felt that it would taste better if it was hotter and if we had come earlier. They had got it from their regular chaat place. After a long chinwag, we went to sleep unaware of the happenings in Mumbai. Sridhar was back to sec 28 and waiting to be shifted to the new guest house 15kms away at Sonah road.

 

Day 4 (Thu) at Delhi - Khatris. Roused up to the news at Mumbai and we were glued to the TV and ranting our opinions. Uncle and Pallavi had to leave for work at 8:30 am so we had adrak chai and gobi parathas at 8:00 am. Nidhi woke up late and ate cornflakes in hot milk as the dentist had advised soft food.

 

We got off at 11:30 am to Lajpatngar market for shopping. Aunty suggested we can go in the bus and come back in the Auto. I haven’t been in the local bus for like 15 years and this was really exciting. Nidhi and I enjoyed the ride. We bought a sweater (to be gifted to my maid in Bangalore), small pink woollen gloves, black boots and a toy for Nidhi. I bought some books and nighties for myself (I am a big nighty fan ;-)). We were tired and ready for lunch, had dosas in a restaurant there and hopped in an auto back to Sarita Vihar.

 

Uncle and Pallavi were back at home nearing 7pm with hot-hot aloo tikkis and this time they really were so much yummmmmm. Evening we had garam rotis, gobi sabzi and moong dal......enjoyed the meal and was supposed to be picked up by Sridhar but he got really delayed at work and asked me if I can take a drop from someone for the next day morning. I spoke to Uncle and he spoke to a neighbour who drives to work to Gurgaon every morning. We had to sleep early as we had to leave at 7am the next day.

 

Day 5(Fri) at Gurgaon - Sonah Road

Morning I had my adrak chai while watching Mumbai on TV. My bags were packed and Nidhi carried to the living room and still asleep. At 7am she woke up. We were waiting for the gentleman to pick us up. He was Pallavi's schoolmate. He came about 7:20 am. We sat in his car behind with my entire luggage. I left the front seat empty for his colleague whom he would pick up on the way. Sridhar was waiting at the planned drop off point. We got off there and waited for our taxi to take us to the new guesthouse on Sonah Road.

 

The new guesthouse on Sonah Road was pretty far from where we stayed earlier. The flats and its landscaping is beautiful. It is a huge housing complex and has up-to-date facilities. Since the shifting just happened the rooms were very dirty. We had our breakfast and got ready to go down to enjoy the lawns and the beauty of the place. Nidhi played in the children’s section for a long time and we walked a lot exploring the place. We got back to have lunch and sleep well....

 

In the night we headed to Greater Noida to meet my Sis. We reached late at 10:30pm and had great dinner cooked by my sis. We had Rajma, aloo capsicum, peas curry, dal and rice...yum yum....sumptuous meal my younger Sis suddenly feels so much bigger than I perceived :)

We chat late night and sleep off. Nidhi as usual prefers getting friendlier with the girl of the house as his her tradition :)

 

Day 6 (Sat) at Greater Noida

After a good night's sleep in the warm quilt, I woke up to a bright morning at 8:30 am and to a hot cup of coffee. We were in the grass down by 11:30 am. I was basking in the sun while Sridhar and Nidhi were in the children's play area. We left around 1:30pm for a mall “India Palace”. Nidhi immediately found a children’s play area within the mall. We reached at 2:30 pm and were really tired and hungry, had lots of food and came back in the evening tired of eating with bloated stomachs. We chilled and relaxed at Priya's place in the night. Next morning we are at Sonah road.

 

Day 7 (Sun)

We caught a quick grub in the Omaxe mall near the Wipro guesthouse and then it was time to head to airport for my flight. The flight was delayed by an hour. Nidhi and I reached Bangalore at 9:45pm. Mom was waiting at the airport with the driver Prasanna. Gr8 vacation but nothing like being back to Bangalore......love the weather and people here.....mwaaaaaaah...love ya Bangalore :)

 

Games People Play

She says she hates me
He wants to say goodbye
and the kids look away
thats the stories I hear
all times from all so many

Cant people learn to love
from the heart
make life simple
and less complicated
whats the f***ing stress about
use ur brain boy

tonite I am gonna dream
abt a world thats
gone crazier
more fun..and more games
I can play
I actually love it this way

Addictive game - bloxorz

My friend Jagadeesh introduced me to bloxorz and it gets on you, a very addictive game. Its requires good IQ to play it so not anyone who is reading this can succeed..hehee...and the one who is writing this too ;-)
I have only completed 12 levels.....many levels to take on

If you keen on playing it just google for "bloxorz"....my best wishes with u!!

Path

Each on of us has their chosen path. We meet people who are pretty close to our paths. Some so close like our parents, siblings and the closest anyone can get is the spouse. We are as close as being ONE but we still have our tracks to pursue.

And we got our purpose, what ticks for one doesnt necessarily for another but yet some of us like to imitate another killing what the creator has wanted us to do.

Just be....

Simplicity in life

Its wise to shift gears from the complex to simple in life. As a human one needs both, the challenges and the peace. Now as I relax and watch the rains pour down on Bangalore city, I enjoy being able to watch it from the window. Life and its simplicity allows us to actually look at it in deliberation. Also to sit back and appreciate the time gone by. Reminisce tranquillity in the coziness of my home.

No friends on the top?

As one grows in an organization the one constant complain people have "its lonely on the top". I have heard managers telling me that they dont have friends. I believe its a choice they make, a conscious decision to keep distance from the crowd around.

I cant keep away, My very basis of existence is to relate to people, accept them and make them part of my expanding world. Yeah there are problems and issues, I know its there..coming by...I tackle them and then let go any bitterness

So out of 100 people I meet if there are 2 people who bother me and make my life miserable. I am still happy that I have the 98 people who are aligned. The others werent bad just that probably their thoughts, value systems, dreams werent aligned to mine. I let them go on their paths.

A bad incident occurs and then a strong decision is made.."I got hurt so many times so I am cold and keep away."
I am ok to take the risk of getting hurt but want to be warm and allow people to enter my realm

SMS type poem ;-)

An SMS quality poem..made in 2-3 mins for Mr. Sridhar and sent on SMS yesterday night :) Sridhar was impressed...laga ki kuch creativity hoga mujhme ;-)

Kabhi aandhi mein akele thee
Tum Kaheen Door Kho gaye the
Kaali parchaayeen Pukar rahe thee
Maine Pyaar Ka aisa Diya Jalayaa
Tume mere Kitne nazdeek aa gaye

Wanted to save it somewhere...so thot abt this blog!!

FAREWELL LETTER FROM A GENIUS

Subject: FAREWELL LETTER FROM A GENIUS

Gabriel Garcia Marquez, famous writer from Colombia, and Nobel Peace
prize winner for literature, has retired from public life for reasons
of health. He has a form of cancer which is terminal. He has sent a
farewell letter to his friends

It is recommended reading because it is moving to see how one of the
best and most brilliant of writers expresses himself & with sorrow.


He says:

If God, for a second, forgot what I have become and granted me a
little bit more of life, I would use it to the best of my ability. I
wouldn't, possibly, say everything that is in my mind, but I would be
more thoughtful of all I say.

I would give merit to things not for what they are worth, but for
what they mean to express.

I would sleep little, I would dream more, because I know that for
every minute that we close our eyes, we waste 60 seconds of light.

I would walk while others stop; I would awake while others sleep.

If God would give me a little bit more of life, I would dress in a
simple manner, I would place myself in front of the sun, leaving not
only my body, but my soul naked at its mercy.

To all men I would say how mistaken they are when they think that
they stop falling in love when they grow old, without knowing that
they grow old when they stop falling in love.

I would give wings to children, but I would leave it to them to learn
how to fly by themselves.

To old people I would say that death doesn't arrive when they grow
old, but with forgetfulness.

I have learned so much with you all, I have learned that everybody
wants to live on top of the mountain, without knowing that true
happiness is obtained in the journey taken & the form used to reach
the top of the hill.

I have learned that when a newborn baby holds, with its little hand,
his father's finger, it has trapped him for the rest of his life.

I have learned that a man has the right and obligation to look down
at another man, only when that man needs help to get up from the
ground.

Say always what you feel, not what you think. If I knew that today is
the last time that I am going to see you asleep, I would hug you
with all my strength and I would pray to the Lord to let me be the
guardian angel of your soul.

If I knew that these are the last moments to see you, I would say 'I
love you'.

There is always tomorrow, and life gives us another opportunity to do
things right, but in case I am wrong, and today is all that is left
to me, I would love to tell you how much I love you & that I will
never forget you.

Tomorrow is never guaranteed to anyone, young or old. Today could be
the last time to see your loved ones, which is why you mustn't wait;
do it today, in case tomorrow never arrives. I am sure you will be
sorry you wasted the opportunity today to give a smile, a hug, a
kiss, and that you were too busy to grant them their last wish.

Keep your loved ones near you; tell them in their ears and to their
faces how much you need them and love them. Love them and treat them
well; take your time to tell them 'I am sorry';' forgive me','
please' 'thank you', and all those loving words you know.

Nobody will know you for your secret thought. Ask the Lord for wisdom
and strength to express them.

Show your friends and loved ones how important they are to you.

Send this letter to those you love. If you don't do it
today...tomorrow will be like yesterday, and if you never do it, it
doesn't matter, either, the moment to do it is now.

For you,

With much love,

Your Friend,

Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Friends in Oz land

2006 November, I was in Sydney for around 40 days. My colleagues who then turned out to be great friends made my stay fun.
I want to thank them. (Its the season of thanking friends :)

• Barry
• Eva
• Callum

I got busy in life and mailed them after long last week, it felt great catching up. I have to yet talk to Barry tho'

Thank you...

Be grateful to people who make u happy, they are the charming gardeners who make your soul blossom. - Sashi Monica(2006)

These are the friends I would like to thank who have make my life bloom...

• Elizabeth
• Vinayak (Eli's husband)
• Jyothilakshmi (Wipro's Mahila Mandal)
• Amit (Wipro's Meditation group)

I havent communicated with the 1st 3 from ages but I know if I have any happiness or sorrow to share they will hold it close to their heart.

And Amit whom I chat once in a while, who makes me feel so special about myself. He has the power to live up to be a true friend!

Work - Kahlil Gibran

I try hard to explain to my friends and colleagues that work is joy :) I have written an article also on it and I spend hours troubling people and trying to get them understand that work can be fun. When friends tell me "I have to work late/weekends, I am bugged" or "So much work" etc etc...I wonder why is our job such a burden...? Is it the job or the attitude towards it...

This writing from Kahlil Gibran may make sense:

Work

Then a ploughman said, 'Speak to us of Work.'

And he answered, saying:

You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth.

For to be idle is to become a stranger unto the seasons, and to step out of life's procession, that marches in majesty and proud submission towards the infinite.

When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music.

Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison?

Always you have been told that work is a curse and labour a misfortune.

But I say to you that when you work you fulfil a part of earth's furthest dream, assigned to you when that dream was born,

And in keeping yourself with labour you are in truth loving life,

And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life's inmost secret.

But if you in your pain call birth an affliction and the support of the flesh a curse written upon your brow, then I answer that naught but the sweat of your brow shall wash away that which is written.

You have been told also life is darkness, and in your weariness you echo what was said by the weary.

And I say that life is indeed darkness save when there is urge,

And all urge is blind save when there is knowledge,

And all knowledge is vain save when there is work,

And all work is empty save when there is love;

And when you work with love you bind yourself to yourself, and to one another, and to God.

And what is it to work with love?

It is to weave the cloth with threads drawn from your heart, even as if your beloved were to wear that cloth.

It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.

It is to sow seeds with tenderness and reap the harvest with joy, even as if your beloved were to eat the fruit.

It is to charge all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit,

And to know that all the blessed dead are standing about you and watching.

Often have I heard you say, as if speaking in sleep, 'he who works in marble, and finds the shape of his own soul in the stone, is a nobler than he who ploughs the soil.

And he who seizes the rainbow to lay it on a cloth in the likeness of man, is more than he who makes the sandals for our feet.'

But I say, not in sleep but in the over-wakefulness of noontide, that the wind speaks not more sweetly to the giant oaks than to the least of all the blades of grass;

And he alone is great who turns the voice of the wind into a song made sweeter by his own loving.

Work is love made visible.

And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.

For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half man's hunger.

And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distils a poison in the wine.

And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.

Kahlil Gibran

Does silly behaviour bother you?

IF you read my earlier post, this one is inspired by that. I sometimes wonder how some people can really think so low and why I can never think such and that saddens me. But it doesnt help much in my growth or relationships.

So then I thought one must just move on and if the person is unaware they will learn some day...

With this thought process, I twittered and watch this conversation :) :

Satyadarshini: When people operate at a lower thinking level..one should be able to forgive instead of thinking why the person cant behave like myself..!!

twitter: shishir_s: @sandtree tht would like despising them..instead try to pull up their thinking where it can match your own level..

Satyadarshini: @shishir_s yes u r right, I do try that...but in some cases u cant. Also I see them as small kids yet to learn...they wil at some point

twitter: shishir_s: @sandtree gud if you that [:)]...nd i can understand the situations you are talking abt...not always possible to make them sit & understand
Satyadarshini: @shishir_s hey u can be a good friend then..hheehee

Friend?

I was upset about a friend's behaviour. I have very low expectations of a friend and give lot of freedom and space. But there is something basic one expects. If a friend is always unhappy over your happiness, it is something I find totally odd.

So I twittered "I wish we could choose the right friends..or maybe thats why the best friends are just 1 or 2"

Amit saw it on my blog and came out a beautiful post on Friendship:

http://joysandlaughter.blogspot.com/2008/03/thats-for-you-rajat.html

and have been discussing about this with many friends, lots of learning and more posts on my blog too :)

Om Tat Sat - ॐ तत् सत्

I forgot a shloka I caught on a year back and I searched my blog to get the words rights. I am glad this blog is a good repository :). Well, that reminded me I wanted to post this hymn “Om tat sat” by Vinobha Bhave. All these years I have been singing this and I had no clue who was the author. Today while I googled on this, I was surprised to learn that it was written by Vinobha Bhave and now when I search the archives in my memory, I faintly remember my teacher mention this.

...And here you go:

ॐ तत् सत् श्री नारायण तू

पुरुशोत्तमा गुरु तू

सिद्ध बुद्ध तू स्कंद विनायक

सविता पावक तू
ब्रह्म मज़्द तू यह्वा शक्ति तू
इशू पिता प्रभु तू
रुद्र विष्णु तू राम कृष्ण तू रहीम ताओ तू
वासुदेव गो विश्वरूपा तू
चिदानंदा हरी तू
अद्वितीय तू अकाल निरभय अत्मलिंगा शिव तू

Listen to it:

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Twittering about life

I went back on my twitters to see how much I have been twittering about life. I think I got a good collection I would want to share with all. The top most being the latest, put in yesterday on twitter :)

Life is magic and miracles................I live them

In life we need to trust the Almighty...if we lose that trust....nothing remains

Why do ppl keep complaining abt life....there is so much joy, abundance and blessings...why does one overlook these

Life is weird...sometimes one cant really say...happy or sad..good or bad

If we didnt worry so much....there aint much bad happening

I have faith and trust in life and its magic ...:)

The good thing abt life is it just gets crazier

Ye zindagi kitni khoobsurat hai...

ज़िन्दगी यूँ भी गुज़र ही जाती क्यों तेरा राहगुज़र याद आया ...

Smiles are gifts to the world...thank u

Life has challenges...and thats why its fun

Life is a song...

Sometimes I am amazed with the abundance in life...

Life aint tough....we make it tough

This world has so many nice ppl...so much kindness and love around!!

I cannot always be lucky...most of the times I need to work for it!

Focus is the key

I want to be really passionate abt my job....there is only one person that can help me....myself ;-)

ALL ABOUT YOU ....good article

*One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big advice on
the door on which it was written:
'Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company
passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been
prepared in the gym'. *
In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their
colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself.
The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up.
Everyone thought: 'Who is this guy who was hindering my progress? Well, at
least he died!'. One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the
coffin, and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood
nearby the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the
deepest part of their soul.
There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could
see himself. There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: *
'There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth:
it is YOU. You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the only
person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success.
You are the only person who can help yourself. *
Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change,
when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company
changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your
limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your
life. *
'The most important relationship you can have is the one you have with
yourself'* *

Examine yourself, watch yourself. Don't be afraid of difficulties,
impossibilities and losses: be a winner, build yourself and your
reality.*
* **It's the way you face Life that makes the difference.** *

Interesting Quotes on Vegetarianism

"Is it not a reproach that man is a carnivorous animal? True, he can and does live, in a great measure, by preying on other animals; but this is a miserable way--as any one who will go to snaring rabbits, or slaughtering lambs, may learn--and he will be regarded as a benefactor of his race who shall teach man to confine himself to a more innocent and wholesome diet. What my own practice may be, I have no doubt that it is a part of the destiny of the human race, in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals, as surely as the savage tribes have left off eating each other when they came in contact with the more civilized." Henry David Thoreau in "Walden"

"I do feel that spiritual progress does demand at some stage that we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants." Mahatma Gandhi

"It is my view that the vegetarian manner of living, by its purely physical effect on the human temperament, would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind." Albert Einstein

"As long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seeds of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love." Pythagorus

"It is necessary to correct the error that vegetarianism has made us weak in mind, or passive or inert in action. I do not regard flesh-food as necessary at any stage" Mahatma Gandhi

"Nonviolence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all living beings, we are all savages." Thomas Edison, inventor

"When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; when a tiger wants to murder him, he calls it ferocity." George Bernard Shaw

"Truly man is the king of beasts, for his brutality exceeds them. We live by the death of others. We are burial places! I have since an early age abjured the use of meat..." Leonardo da Vinci, painter, sculptor, poet.

"A dead cow or sheep lying in a pasture is recognized as carrion. The same sort of carcass dressed and hung up in a butcher's stall passes as food!" J. H. Kellog

"I do not see any reason why animals should be slaughtered to serve as human diet when there are so many substitutes. After all, man can live without meat..." The Dalai Lama

"He who does not value life does not deserve it." Leonardo da Vinci

"Flesh-eating is simply immoral, as it involves the performance of an act which is contrary to moral feeling--killing." Count Leo Tolstoy, great Russian philosopher

"I hold flesh-food to be unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower animal world if we are superior to it." Mahatma Gandhi

"I look my age. It is the other people who look older than they are. What can you expect from people who eat corpses?" George Bernard Shaw

"Oh, my fellow men, do not defile your bodies with sinful foods. We have corn, we have apples bending down the branches with their weight, and grapes swelling on the vines. There are sweet-flavored herbs, and vegetables which can be cooked and softened over the fire, nor are you denied milk or thyme-scented honey. The earth affords a lavish supply of riches, of innocent foods, and offers you banquets that involve no bloodshed or slaughter; only beasts satisfy their hunger with flesh, and not even all of those, because horses, cattle, and sheep live on grass." Pythagorus

"Can you really ask what reason Pythagorus had for abstinence from flesh? For my part I rather wonder both by what accident and in what state of mind the first man touched his mouth to gore and brought his lips to the flesh of a dead creature, set forth tables of dead, stale bodies, and ventured to call food and nourishment the parts that had a little before bellowed and cried, moved and lived. How could eyes endure the slaughter when throats were slit and hides flayed and limbs torn from limb? How could his nose endure the stench? How was it that the pollution did not turn away his taste, which made contact with sores of others and sucked juices and serums from mortal wounds? It is certainly not lions or wolves that we eat out of self-defense; on the contrary, we ignore these and slaughter harmless, tame creatures without stings or teeth to harm us. For the sake of a little flesh we deprive them of sun, of light, of the duration of life to which they are entitled by birth and being.

"If you declare that you are naturally designed for such a diet, then first kill for yourself what you want to eat. Do it, however, only through your own resources, unaided by cleaver or cudgel or any kind of ax." The Roman Plutarch, in an essay "On Eating Flesh".

In a similar line of thinking is this quote: "I'm no shrinking violet. I played hockey until half my teeth were knocked down my throat. And I'm extremely competitive on a tennis court. . . But that experience at the slaughterhouse overwhelmed me. When I walked out of there, I knew I would never again harm an animal! I knew all the physiological, economic, and ecological arguments supporting vegetarianism, but it was firsthand experience of man's cruelty to animals that laid the real groundwork for my commitment to vegetarianism." Peter Burwash, champion tennis player in his book, "A Vegetarian Primer"

"I do not want to make my stomach a graveyard of dead animals." George Bernard Shaw

"He who, seeking his own happiness, punishes or kills beings who also long for happiness, will not find happiness after death." Buddhist Dhammapada

"It may indeed be doubted whether butchers' meat is anywhere a necessary of life. Grain and other vegetables, with the help of milk, cheese, and butter, or oil where butter is not to be had, afford the most plentiful, the most wholesome, the most nourishing, and the most invigorating diet. Decency nowhere requires that any man should eat butchers' meat." Economist Adam Smith in "The Wealth of Nations"

"In all the round world of Utopia there is no meat. There used to be. But now we cannot stand the thought of slaughterhouses. And, in a population that is all educated, and at about the same level of physical refinement, it is practically impossible to find anyone who will hew a dead ox or pig... I can still remember as a boy the rejoicings over the closing of the last slaughterhouse." H. G. Wells, vision of the future in "A Modern Utopia"

"We are all God's creatures--that we pray to God for mercy and justice while we continue to eat the flesh of animals that are slaughtered on our account is not consistent." Isaac Bashevis Singer, Nobel-prize winning author

"Vegetarianism is a greater progress. From the greater clearness of head and quicker apprehension motivated him to become a vegetarian. Flesh-eating is an unprovoked murder." Benjamin Franklin

"Various philosophers and religious leaders tried to convince their disciples and followers that animals are nothing more than machines without a soul, without feelings. However, anyone who has ever lived with an animal--be it a dog, a bird, or even a mouse--knows that this theory is a brazen lie, invented to justify cruelty." Isaac Bashevis Singer

"To be nonviolent to human beings and to be a killer or enemy of the poor animals is Satan's philosophy. In this age there is always enmity against poor animals, and therefore the poor creatures are always anxious. The reaction of the poor animals is being forced on human society, and therefore there is always strain of cold or hot war between men, individually, collectively or nationally." A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.10.6)

"Every act of irreverence for life, every act which neglects life, which is indifferent to and wastes life, is a step towards the love of death. This choice man must make at every minute. Never were the consequences of the wrong choice as total and as irreversible as they are today. Never was the warning of the Bible so urgent: 'I have put before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life, that you and your children may live.' (Deuteronomy 30:19)" Erich Fromm

"To avoid causing terror to living beings, let the disciple refrain from eating meat... the food of the wise is that which is consumed by the sadhus [holymen]; it does not consist of meat... There may be some foolish people in the future who will say that I permitted meat-eating and that I partook of meat myself, but... meat-eating I have not permitted to anyone, I do not permit, I will not permit meat-eating in any form, in any manner and in any place; it is unconditionally prohibited for all." The Buddha in Dhammapada


In the words of George Bernard Shaw:

We are living graves of murdered beasts
Slaughtered to satisfy our appetites.
We never pause to wonder at our feasts,
If animals like men could possibly have rights.

We pray on Sunday that we may have light,
To guide our footsteps on the paths we tread.
We are sick of war, we do not want to fight,
And we gorge ourselves upon the dead.

Like Carrion Crows we live and feed on meat,
Regardless of the suffering and pain
We cause by doing so, in this we treat,
Defenseless animals for sport or gain -

How can we hope in this world to attain
The peace we say we are so anxious for,
We pray for it o'er hetacomba of slain,
To God while outraging the moral law,
Thus cruelty begets the offspring --- WAR !

Friend indeed

I havent been writing on the blog but my friend has been, he was not around on the blog scene for more than a year and now back in action.

These posts on me...life has no great achievements to show ....so I thot will pick up these 2 to show off ;-)

http://joysandlaughter.blogspot.com/2008/02/passion-at-work-by-satyadarshini-sharma.html

http://joysandlaughter.blogspot.com/2008/01/5-w-and-1-h.html

Its all about relationships!

A chat with friend on gtalk about relationships, this one at her workplace...we both realized at the end what we gained by this conversation...check this out:

friend: i spoke to my manager.. and i think things are good between us
me: wow
what does that mean?
all good now
friend: i just told him that i should n't have been rude to him and stuff
me: and ...
?
friend: and he was like its ok .. things like that happen and stuff
me: oh
:)
friend: i am quite relieved that i have it off my chest
me: yeah
I know what it means to u
congrats...these are the achievements of life..more than money and fame..
friend: now i can concentrate on my work...
me: yeah
:)
friend: yeah very true
me: and it opens doors
to money and fame
after clearing these blocks
;-)
friend: hehe.. good one
me: :)
friend: u should put that one on ur blog