SIMPLY ASK YOURSELF

It was a few days back that I had to fill a form for a course. There was a lady who talked to me after the trial class. She asked, “your name?”, I replied, “Sonia Bhatia”. God knows how she heard Sonia Thakur, though Thakur and Bhatia don’t rhyme at all. She said “Sonia Thakur, so you must be a Bengali or a Gujarati”…I told her that the name is Sonia Bhatia not Sonia Thakur….
Something that happens always is that the moment I tell my name to people, they say, “you must be from a Punjabi family, right.” Now this is how people might be reacting to these names..
Sonia Sharma, …….. must be Hindu……..
Sonia Khan…….. must be Muslim…
Sonia Ghosh …… must be Bengali…….
I am not using the name Sonia because its my name but because it happens to be a very common name and almost every last name goes well with it……
I just kept on thinking bout this....... how the hell does that matter… why is it so very important for people…why are people wanting to know bout others’ religion…. Why are they wanting to classify people…..

Talking about religions, honestly I believe in ‘agnostic theism’…. I don’t believe in any religion at all… we can live without religion but we cannot live without human affection….I would have been exactly the same person even if I were Sonia Khan Or Sonia D’Souza……and why should Sonia Khan follow Islam and Sonia D’souza Christianity….. why cant it be a person’s choice to choose his/her religion.. I had actually tried to do so, but I didn’t find even a single religion worth following and I don’t even feel that it is essential for any person to follow any religion at all …. therefore, I am an agnostic theist….. Yes, people from different regions have different languages, different customs, different religions…this is diversity…but I don’t find any ‘unity’ in this ‘diversity’…I completely agree with Jonathan Swift , “We have just enough religions to make us hate, but not enough to make us love”…. Yes, more than 90% riots in India were due to religion…I was absolutely shocked when I read a scrap in a friend’s scrapbook on orkut…. It was regarding the number of Hindus and the number of Muslims who were killed in Gujarat riots…. How does that matter.. Something that is more important is that ‘innocent people’ were killed because of something which is actually not at all important, not at all required……It was religion that helped the British to divide and rule and it is religion that politicians use today to do the same.. I feel ashamed that parties like MNS and people like Raj Thackeray exist in my country…

Akbar’s din-i-llahi was a brilliant idea, great concept….. but it failed….and it failed because people didn’t even think about it…. people considered it to be ‘blasphemy’…… it was around 400-500 years ago…but even today people would never accept something like din-i-llahi, something like paganism, something like agnostic theism, something which talks of peace and humanity…….

I know…. After reading this article… some people would agree to this, some wont…but this is not a debate…. This is not even an opinion……This is a humble request…. The next time, if you hear a name…. please don try to figure out if the person is a Hindu or a Muslim or a Gujarati or a Bengali or whatever…. Just ask yourself this question “ Who are you?”…just try to describe yourself in 100 words.. I hope your answer wont include the religion that you follow or the language that you speak or the state that you are from……n then , try n imagine a world without any religion or caste… a world with humanity, love and peace…. We were definitely born with no religion….. we all are homo sapiens, human beings… there wont be any riots, any wars for things that actually do not have any importance at all…. And for the sake of peace and humanity, ask yourself “ Do I really need a religion to live..Why do I need a religion to live.?. Cant I have my own principles and morals instead of following rituals, customs and superstitions that constitute a religion ? We all are Indians, we all are human beings, so why do we need to classify ourselves, to divide ourselves...?" Just ask yourself. Simply ask yourself. Widget on

COLLEGE LIFE

The most unforgettable four years of your life
Yes, the days of your college life……

You meet new people,
You make new friends,
Friends who are always there with you,
People who laugh with you,
People who cry with you,
You discover new places,
You see new faces
The most beautiful four years of your life,
The days of your college life…

Its when you say…..
“Why aren’t they takin any classes,
no one teaches us here….”
N when you say….
“why the hell are they takin classes,
I’ll sleep if he doesn stop teaching here”

You go to canteen during lecture bunks,
You hang out with friends during mass bunks,
It’s when you feel ‘life is just so sexy’
Thanks to the people who mark your proxy..
The coolest four years of your life..
The days of your college life.

Then you have exams,
Loads n loads of exams…..
Everything is pathetic,
Your schedule is so damn hectic,
You know nothing,
Still you aren’t worried bout anything,
Its on the day before your exam,
That you jus start preparing for everything
You get to know the art of scoring…
“ one night stand before exam
n then Ratte, fatte, jugaad n some cheating…”

You are always relaxed,
You’re always chilled out……
But its when the results are out….
You say, “these profs suck…”
“Look at my marks, What The F*** ”
You hear all those reactions….
“Shit, I ve passed in this subject,
I thought I would fail…”
“F***, this was the easiest subject,
how the hell did I fail”
Yes, its weird like anything….
Its messed up like anything.
Yet it happens to be
Your college life…

Then you have the college fest,
Everyone working with complete zeal n zest,
Its before these fests that…
You don attend any classes,
Still you’re way too busy…
you don have any exams
still you’re feeling dizzy….
You give auditions,
You attend auditions..
You have fun with friends
You make fun of friends..
Its during these fests that
You enjoy a lot
You dance a lot..
You take part in events n competitions..
N of course, with ur friends, the photo sessions.

How can one forget all this…..
The coolest, funniest, weirdest days of your life…
Yeah…. The four years of your college life…..
The most unforgettable days of…..
Your College Life…. Widget on

LIFE AFTER DEATH

I really like reading bout near death experiences, stories of reincarnation n rebirth, life after death n stuff n I have read a lot bout all this…These are my favourite quotes on death.. ‘Death is a once in a lifetime experience' and 'Death only causes pain to those who do not experience it' very true..
It was when I had this weird dream…that I couldn stop thinking bout all this…read many articles on dreams, dream interpretation, life after death,near death experiences,everything… couldn interpret anything...will be writin all bout this dream, my feelings n my thoughts in this post..here it goes..

Wo ajeeb sapna kuch din pehle dekha..Koi family function tha shayad ; mummy, papa, mera bhai, cousins sab the wahan, shayad wo sabhi log maujud the jo mujhe sabse zyada chahte hain is duniya me, aur main ek bade se jhoole pe jhool rahi thi, us jhoole ki length kisi badi si building ki height se bhi zyada thi, main bas uspe jhool rahi thi, koi kisi bhi tarah ka darr nahi tha ,achanak main jhoolte jhoolte almost 90 degree pe pahunch gayi, fir uske baad pata nai kya hua k wo jhoola ruk gaya, main pata nai kaun se ajeeb se raaste pe chalne lagi ,pehle us raaste me sirf andhera tha, par door kahin roshni hi roshni nazar aa rahi thi..
kafi khoobsurat jagah thi wo jahan ja k main ruki, wahan ek aged lady mili , wo achanak mujhse baat karne lagi...
“ aao beta hum sab tumhara hi intezar kar rahe the”
“magar main yahan ayi kaise, main to wahan jhoola jhool rahi thi”
“ jhoole par to tumhara shareer tha jo ki usse gir chuka hai, ye tumhari aatma hai”
“lekin main yahan ayi kaise, aur mere family members, mere friends sab kahan hain”
“unko dekh k tum kya karogi, wo to ro hi rahe honge..ab tumhe yahin rehna hai, aao main tumhe sabse milwati hoon”

unhone mujhe bahut sare logon se introduce karaya, main unme se kisi ko bhi nai janti thi par wo sab mujhse milke bahut khush the…finally unhone mujhe ek bag diya jisme kuch saamaan tha...fir wo mujhe ek bade se hall ki taraf le gayi...wahan pe ek ladka tha shayad meri hi age ka… maine jaise hi us hall me enter kiya, wo lady wahan se chali gayi.

Then that guy started talking to me, he was kinda good looking, but completely unknown to me (I still remember his face!) He said “Hi Sonia, I was waiting for you, this is our room”,
I jus asked “tumhe mera naam kaise pata”.
“well mujhe tumhare bare me bataya gaya tha, mujhe laga k hum room isliye share karne wale hain kyunki hum dono ki jab maut hui to hum 18 saal k the..i mean.. hamare shareer 18 saal k the...forget it…how does that matter k hume ek hi room kyun diya gaya… I guess I'm lucky enough to meet a girl like u here in heaven...trust me Sonia,you'll always be happy with me.”
I just smiled , n then he said “ you have a really cute smile”.

Tab achanak meri neend khul gayi…Mujhe bas ye hi sab yad aya tha jo main describe kar chuki hoon… pata nai kyun main iske bare me sochti hi reh gayi…samajh me nai aa raha tha kuch…wo lady kaun thi, ye swarg –nark, heaven-hell sahi me exist karte hain kya, shayad koi nahi jaanta is bare me, n who was that guy...Is my smile really that cute…

Fir maine socha ke agar main waqai me aaj mar jaun to kya hoga… meri family, mere friends ko bahut bada sadma lagega, pata nai kitne hi aise log honge jinko yakeen hi nai ho payega…kisi cremation ground me body ko le jayenge..pata nai kitne rituals honge... Pata nai kitne log aansu bahayenge.. kuch log aise hain jo apni zindagi mere bina imagine bhi nai kar sakte shayad..aur kai honge jinko ek kami ,ek adhoorapan mehsoos hoga.. lakhon aise bhi honge jinhe koi fark hi nai padega… ye sab to bahut obvious hai. After all, ‘Death only causes pain to those who do not experience it.’

Lekin main khud kya karungi…agar mujhe ye pata ho ki main agle 2-3 ghante baad marne wali hoon to main kya karungi...Shayad un sab logon se ek bar baat karungi jo mere liye khas hain, jinki wajah se meri zindagi itni khoobsurat hai…par aise pata nai kitne log hain ,sabse baat karne k liye 2-3 ghante ka waqt kafi nai hai… aur un sab se kahungi kya..aur pata nai kitne logon ka contact no bhi nai hai mere paas, unko mail karne ka koi point nai hoga, jab tak unka reply ayega shayad main zinda hi nahi rahungi wo padhne k liye...Doosra ye khayal aya ki..shayad un sab logon se mafi mangungi jinka kabhi dil dukhaya ho, fir laga sabse achcha ye hoga k kisi zaruratmand ki madad karungi …par kaise?

Now the million dollar question… main marne k bad kahan jaungi.... log marne k baad kahan jate hain….I don't believe in any religion at all….n all the theories related to this according to different religions seem to be illogical…trust me, I really am one of those people who have a scientific attitude towards things...but then there are many stories related to reincarnation n rebirth that actually seem to be true …meri asli dilchaspi ye jaanne me hai k jis waqt insan ki maut hoti hai us pal wo kahan jata hai…..agar ye sach hai k aatma kabhi nahi marti to us aatma pe kya guzarti hogi…shayad in sawalon ka koi jawab nahi hai mere paas . shayad koi aur bhi mujhe in sawalon ka jawab nai de sakta.. par meri ye koshish, ye khoj, ye talash hamesha zari rahegi is bare me jaanne ki…

Right now all I can say is that if at all heaven n hell exist, I'm sure I’ll be one of those angels who go to heaven.. (the word angel sounds way too bimboish though.. wasn’t able to think of any of its synonyms.) It’s pretty strange that 'death' happens to be something that I'm curious about, still I feel pity for the guy who committed suicide coz he was curious to know bout it…in any case I don't want to experience it ever…even though life is like hell at times, even if everything is messed up….life happens to be beautiful, not for those who have the best of everything but for those who make the best of everything that comes along their way...after all life is a succession of moments and to live each moment is to succeed...Live it ! Love it ! Smile ! Widget on

Kash Ye Waqt Yun Hi Tham Jaye

ये ज़मीन ये आसमान,
और ये सारा जहाँ,
चेहका सा है, महका सा है,
आज मिली है ऐसी ख़ुशी,
की दिल ये मेरा बहका सा है..

सागर की लहरें, फूलों के रंग,
पंछियों की आहट, सब हैं मेरे संग..

जाने कौन वो गीत गा रहा था,
जो दिल को यूँ भा रहा था,
जाने कौन था वो माझी,
जो मन की नैया पार लगा रहा था..

कौन था वो जो ज़िन्दगी में आया,
तो ज़िन्दगी बदल गयी..
जो दिल में समाया,
तो हर ख़ुशी जहाँ में समा गयी..

हमारी ख़ुशी का राज़,
शायद हमें ही नहीं पता..
जब हम होश में ही नहीं,
तो क्या है हमारी खता..

अब जाना कि दर्द में भी इक सुकून है,
खामोश निगाहों में अजब सा जूनून है..
बस ये वक़्त यूँ ही थम जाये
काश ! ये वक़्त यूँ ही थम जाये..

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