Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost......

Oh, it’s another one of those Sunday evenings… Family is out at a neighbor’s engagement and I am giving myself some pleasurable company.

Where do I find myself… my favourite playground… my terrace! It’s my temple of introspection. It’s my favourite hangout when I’m with myself… It’s my space… which again for the sheer sake of emphasis …. Is MINE!

That’s a space… which generates ideas, thoughts, and inspiration. Something like what a temple does to a devotee who’s disheartened. The sheer power to bring hope to someone is I think God’s biggest USP! That’s what my time with myself at my terrace does to me. It springs hope, positivity and the sheer optimism which keeps me alive and kicking.

When I entered the terrace, I was disheartened, resentful about a particular series of events that have occurred in my life in the recent past. I just got an SMS from her. It’s in fact been a volley of the most idiotic way of communication I know (SMS), exchanged between us today after a prolonged sabbatical of recognition of each others existence.

Disheartened I was, regretting what had been, comparing it to what could have been. Sometimes, you never get logical answers to why people say a few things, feel the way they do, and more ironically express how they feel, the way they do. After all, I thought womankind was meant to be the more sensitive sex!! And everything and everyone deserves a second chance was the age old biblical adage.

But irrespective of all that, I was more disheartened to see, what had been built over almost four years of pure unconditional love, being blown away by something which was partially inexplicable. Almost like a sand castle painstakingly made by a child, being washed away by a ruthless surge of an almost maniac tide.

After all not everything goes your way. People change. People’s preferences change. And most importantly Perceptions change. The latter being the most important I guess.

Believe me, there are times when you just sit back and wonder, what is that one defining moment of your life?? You seek answers…. Sometimes you get them… sometimes you don’t. I just think sometimes it’s good not to seek those answers at all. Let just life take its own course. You just need to be a spectator and let the show go on. Perhaps that’s why they call life a stage… well… on my stage… It’s an interval now… You’ll definitely see a new protagonist soon!!

My emotionally charged farewell speech as the District Rotaract Representative...

DRR’s Farewell Speech

“I never knew until this moment what it was like to lose something I never really had.

In your life you meet people. Some you never think about again. Some you wonder what happened to them. There are some that you wonder if they ever think about you. And then there are some you wish you never had to think about again; but you do. I thank Rotaract for making me come across all such people.

Growing up is full of big moments. Some of them you can see coming from a mile away; and some you can't see at all. Well, today’s farewell speech was something I didn’t see coming for some time.. but then as they say, Time always catches up on you.

Things never turn out exactly the way you planned. I know they didn't with me. Still, like my father used to say, 'Traffic's traffic, you go where life takes you' and growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers, the next you're gone, but the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a time a place, a particular fourth of April when I joined the Rotaract Club of Churchgate.

I remember how hard it was growing up among people I loved. Most of all, I remember how hard it will be to leave. And the thing is, after all these years I still look back in wonder.
Growing up is never easy. You hold on to things that were. You wonder what's to come. But tonight, I think I know it is time to let go of what has been, and look ahead to what would be. Other days. New days. Days to come. The thing is, we don't have to hate each other for getting older. We just have to forgive ourselves... for growing up out of Rotaract.

I have a million people to thank, but remembering names and birthdays has never been my forte. So I’ll just thank my Parents and my family for being with me all through. I’m sure my dad would’ve been proud of me today.

And yes, Now while I leave, I just have to pass down three most important things I’ve learnt from my stint with Rotaract –

1. Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen
2. If you have to emphasize the importance of something, then it probably isn't that important in the first place..."
3. Admiration fades... Love endures

Thank you for giving me the love that you’ll have through this year and for the last 7 years.

Thank you.”