Disclaimer: This list does not aim to do the impossible, which is to judge a woman's beauty. It is a mere fun manifestation of my childish fantasies!! These might NOT be the world's sexiest / most intelligent / hottest / googled women. These are just the women I find desirable. There is a heavy personal preference here. All agreements & disagreements are welcome with a smile! :-)
So, here's presenting you to the list of my 25 Most Desirable Women!!!!
Rank Name 1 Drew Barrymore 2 Nandita Das 3 Catherine Zeta Jones 4 Eva Mendes 5 Nigella Lawson 6 Ana Ivanovic 7 Chitrangada Singh 8 Penelope Cruz 9 Sona Mohapatra 10 Demi Moore 11 Cheryl Cole 12 Kate Beckinsale 13 Jessica Alba 14 Sameera Reddy 15 Gul Panag 16 Elizabeth Gilbert 17 Kate Winslet 18 Lisa Ray 19 Gabriella Sabatini 20 Martina Hingis 21 Madhuri Dixit 22 Megan Fox 23 Norah Jones 24 Tulip Joshi 25 Katrina Kaif
PS: These are rankings allotted on random basis as of the state of my mood on this 9th Day of the Christian Year of 2010. On any other day, the rankings may vary drastically.
PSS: For all my women friends, Don't contemplate mental taunts. I will be coming up with a Men's List soon!! ;-)
Why were you born, you wretched little swine? How long can we keep paying, for other people’s crime? This was the welcome I got at Asha Dham, I felt like a chicken, entering a poultry farm.
Geeta didi was kind to get me here, Children to her were indeed very dear.
She picked me up from the train, when she heard me cry, Someone had just left me there, to wait until I die.
I don’t know If I should call it a lucky escape, Or should I just term it, interference with my fate?
She was a social worker, I hate those kinds. They make you see hope, when reality blinds.
I live here now with my fellow inmates, We share our bathrooms and our distorted fates.
We survive daily on a biscuit and two slices of bread, Our matrons are the demons, all of us dread.
Questioning their generosity, I once sinned, I asked for more biscuits, They showered their love, fed me till I was full, with punches and kicks.
We’re living our childhood, It’s such a fairy tale, Just the fairy’s missing, demons prevail!
We read no books, sing no songs, and we play with no toy, At times we smile, to remind ourselves, of the existence of joy.
Rani was taken away two days back, I lost a friend, Girls missing from our ‘home’ is a routine trend.
Gone is my friend, her hopes of a secure life, now lie smashed, Rani was the bearer cheque, they had happily encashed.
I had heard stories of my other friends Raju & Latif, One’s now a disabled beggar and the other one a thief.
Munna was taken to the hospital the other day, For an hour on the hospital bed, unconscious he lay,
He wasn’t sick, we didn’t know why he was taken there, We later realised, he had a kidney to spare!
I moan in despair not knowing whom to blame, Is there a way, I can quit this game?
The recurring thought floods my mind, Why was I born as a wretched little swine? How long can I keep paying for other people’s crime?
A few contemplative conversations and random observations, off late, have stirred up these thoughts in my mind. Ever since we’re born, we’re always on this perpetual quest. The quest of love, laughter and that of a fulfilling life.
As a child we want to be thrown up in the air, just so that someone lovingly holds us before we crash land into the ground. We want to be fed, and be fed well, or else we cry, *(Yea we all learn the art of emotional blackmail fairly early on in our lives). We also constantly want the attention. We want people to play with us, notice how amazing our dimples look when we smile. We want them to buy us the best presents when they come for our crazy birthday parties. We want them to sing and clap really loud for us just before they’ve deserved a small piece of their cake.
When we grow older, we crave for recognition. We crave for someone to like our new haircut, love our new bag, and go crazy over the new pair of denims we picked up. We also want someone to love our choice of restaurants, movies, music, women / men. We want them to go gaga over the latest gizmo we flaunt. We give in to the temptation of asking out the hottest girl / guy in our group, just so that if she / he happened to say yes to us, it would be an achievement which could potentially undermine the impact of man landing on the moon!!! And even if we are actually the lucky ones whom God has bestowed upon the gift of a boyfriend / girlfriend, why do we ensure that we try and exhibit our love for each other multiplied by at least a hundred, when we are amongst our other, not so lucky “single” friends?
As, professionals we take it upon ourselves, to plan the most exotic sounding holidays, not because we really want to go to those places, but just because they make us feel like Rocky Balboa amidst all the lesser mortals around us who we call ‘colleagues’. We want to get our hands onto the latest PDA phone so that awesomeness is exhibited in full throttle at work, even if it means that half our salary is guzzled up by this blackberry which is indeed going to make your life go sour.
Let’s admit it. We all have done one or all of the above things, at least once in our lifetimes. But have we asked ourselves as to why exactly did we feel the need to do it?
Impersonal contemplation is the secret of true perspective. Upon truthful introspection, I have come to realise that we humans are the most insecure creations of the Supreme. We have an innate insecurity of acceptance, the fear of rejection. We fear failure at all levels. We therefore want to do everything conceivable to never fail, and when we realise that this might not be possible, we immediately start focusing on developing ways which would help us hide our failures, or at least camouflage them amongst our successes.
We love our cocoons. It takes a while before we let someone in. Especially when our cocoon is so full of things, good and bad that we often run out of place to let someone in. We unknowingly tread the path of irreversible damage, when we fail to make that little space for our real selves in our own cocoons.
In these times of simplistic relationships, instant gratification and immediate responses to all conceivable queries, how we wish we could just Google some answers to life. How we wish it could throw up just perfectly logical solutions to problems of life which prima facie look so insurmountable. Ah, some people call “Religion / Faith” the Google of life, it is expected to throw up results every time you punch in your query, rooted through the medium of the most overworked professional I know of, “GOD”
Some others turn to weirder things like “Vagabondism” – conveniently adopting the “Que Sera Sera” approach, as if to imply that what happens to them is in reality not really of their own doing, it’s happening to them, because God wants it that way, and they, are least bothered.
And then there are some, who are the worst form of control freaks. They want to control everything, including their own destinies. And if that doesn’t quite happen as per their plan, they’re willing to pick up a fight, at the drop of a hat. God and Fate are usually their preferred opponents.
I however, chose to look within. I think I’m my own Google. My own Wikipedia. Whatever there is to know, I know it, just that I’m yet to have full cognizance of it. And I really have no problems in waiting till He thinks the time is right for me to know of it. Instead of looking outwards for answers, I’d rather listen to my own self. This way, I negate the chance of blaming someone else for things that don’t really go right for me, nor do I share credit for all the successes! The next time, you have a life issue that you think you need answers for, I suggest, instead of taking advice from all the ‘gyaanis’ willing to offer help, look within. Just Google life, I’m sure, you’re the best search engine for yourself.
A life changing article I read....A little long... but it's only when you read it completely do you understand the life changing qualities of it!! Thought it best to share!
There comes a time in your life when you finally get it ... When in the midst of all your fears and insanity you stop dead in your tracks and somewhere the voice inside your head cries out "ENOUGH! Enough fighting and crying or struggling to hold on." And, like a child quieting down after a blind tantrum, your sobs begin to subside, you shudder once or twice, you blink back your tears and through a mantle of wet lashes you begin to look at the world from a new perspective.
..........This is your awakening
You realize that it is time to stop hoping and waiting for something or someone to change, or for happiness safety and security to come galloping over the next horizon. You come to terms with the fact that there aren't always fairytale endings (or beginnings for that matter) and that any guarantee of "happily ever after" must begin with you. Then a sense of serenity is born of acceptance.
So you begin making your way through the "reality of today" rather than holding out for the "promise of tomorrow." You realize that much of who you are and the way you navigate through life is, in great part, a result of all the social conditioning you've received over the course of a lifetime. And you begin to sift through all the nonsense you were taught about :
- how you should look and how much you should weigh,
- what you should wear and where you should shop,
- where you should live or what type of car you should drive,
- who you should sleep with and how you should behave,
- who you should marry and why you should stay,
- the importance of bearing children or what you owe your family,
Slowly you begin to open up to new worlds and different points of view. And you begin re-assessing and re-defining who you are and what you really believe in. And you begin to discard the doctrines you have outgrown, or should never have practiced to begin with.
You accept the fact that you are not perfect ,and that not everyone will love appreciate or approve of who or what you are... and that's OK... they are entitled to their own views and opinions. And, you come to terms with the fact that you will never be a size 5 or a "perfect 10".... Or a perfect human being for that matter... and you stop trying to compete with the image inside your head or agonizing over how you compare. And, you take a long look at yourself in the mirror and you make a promise to give yourself the same unconditional love and support you give so freely to others. Then a sense of confidence is born of self-approval.
And, you stop maneuvering through life merely as a "consumer" hungry for your next fix, a new dress, another pair of shoes or looks of approval and admiration from family, friends or even strangers who pass by. Then you discover that it is truly in "giving" that we receive, and that the joy and abundance you seek grows out of the giving. And you recognize the importance of "creating" and "contributing" rather than "obtaining" and "accumulating."
And you give thanks for the simple things you've been blessed with, things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about - a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, the freedom of choice and the opportunity to pursue your own dreams.
And you begin to love and to care for yourself. You stop engaging in self-destructive behaviors, including participating in dysfunctional relationships. You begin eating a balanced diet, drinking more water and exercising. And because you've learned that fatigue drains the spirit and creates doubt and fear, you give yourself permission to rest. And just as food is fuel for the body, laughter is fuel for the spirit and so you make it a point to create time for play.
Then you learn about love and relationships - how to love, how much to give in love, when to stop giving, and when to walk away. And you allow only the hands of a lover who truly loves and respects you to glorify you with his touch. You learn that people don't always say what they mean or mean what they say, intentionally or unintentionally, and that not everyone will always come through... and interestingly enough, it's not always about you. So, you stop lashing out and pointing fingers or looking to place blame for the things that were done to you or weren't done for you. And you learn to keep your Ego in check and to acknowledge and redirect the destructive emotions it spawns - anger, jealousy and resentment.
You learn how to say "I was wrong" and to forgive people for their own human frailties. You learn to build bridges instead of walls and about the healing power of love as it is expressed through a kind word, a warm smile or a friendly gesture. And, at the same time, you eliminate any relationships that are hurtful or fail to uplift and edify you. You stop working so hard at smoothing things over and setting your needs aside. You learn that feelings of entitlement are perfectly OK and that it is your right to want or expect certain things. And you learn the importance of communicating your needs with confidence and grace. You learn that the only cross to bear is the one you choose to carry and that eventually martyrs are burned at the stake. Then you learn to distinguish between guilt, and responsibility and the importance of setting boundaries and learning to Say NO. You learn that you don't know all the answers, it's not your job to save the world and that sometimes you just need to Let Go.
Moreover, you learn to look at people as they really are and not as you would want them to be, and you are careful not to project your neediness or insecurities onto a relationship. You learn that you will not be more beautiful, more intelligent, more lovable or important because of the man on your arm or the child that bears your name. You learn that just as people grow and change, so it is with love and relationships, and that that not everyone can always love you the way you would want them to. So you stop appraising your worth by the measure of love you are given. And suddenly you realize that it's wrong to demand that someone live their life or sacrifice their dreams just to serve your needs, ease your insecurities, or meet "your" standards and expectations. You learn that the only love worth giving and receiving is the love that is given freely without conditions or limitations. And you learn what it means to love. So you stop trying to control people, situations and outcomes. You learn that "alone" does not mean "lonely" and you begin to discover the joy of spending time "with yourself" and "on yourself." Then you discover the greatest and most fulfilling love you will ever know - Self Love. And so it comes to pass that, through understanding, your heart heals; and now all new things are possible.
Moving along, you begin to avoid Toxic people and conversations. And you stop wasting time and energy rehashing your situation with family and friends. You learn that talk doesn't change things and that unrequited wishes can only serve to keep you trapped in the past. So you stop lamenting over what could or should have been and you make a decision to leave the past behind. Then you begin to invest your time and energy to affect positive change. You take a personal inventory of all your strengths and weaknesses and the areas you need to improve in order to move ahead, you set your goals and map out a plan of action to see things through.
You learn that life isn't always fair and you don't always get what you think you deserve, and you stop personalizing every loss or disappointment. You learn to accept that sometimes bad things happen to good people and that these things are not an act of God... but merely a random act of fate.
And you stop looking for guarantees, because you've learned that the only thing you can really count on is the unexpected and that whatever happens, you'll learn to deal with it. And you learn that the only thing you must truly fear is the great robber baron of all time - FEAR itself. So you learn to step right into and through your fears, because to give into fear is to give away the right to live life on your terms. You learn that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophesy and you learn to go after what you want and not to squander your life living under a cloud of indecision or feelings of impending doom.
Then, YOU LEARN ABOUT MONEY... the personal power and independence it brings and the options it creates. And you recognize the necessity to create your own personal wealth. Slowly, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself and you make yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never ever settle for less than your heart's desire. And a sense of power is born of self-reliance. And you live with honor and integrity because you know that these principles are not the outdated ideals of a by-gone era but the mortar that holds together the foundation upon which you must build your life. And you make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting and to stay open to every wonderful opportunity and exciting possibility. Then you hang a wind chime outside your window to remind yourself what beauty there is in Simplicity.
Finally, with courage in your heart and with God by your side you take a stand, you FAKE a deep breath and you begin to design the life you want to live as best as you can.
A word about the Power of Prayer: In some of my darkest, most painful and frightening hours, I have prayed, not for the answers to my prayers or for material things, but for my "God" to help me find the strength, confidence and courage to persevere; to face each day and to do what I must do.
Remember this:- You are an expression of the almighty. The spirit of God resides within you and moves through you. Open your heart, speak to that spirit and it will heal and empower you.
My "God" has never failed me.
One of my favourite songs.. with the best lyrics to pep you up when you're feeling low..
Song - Yeh Safar...
Movie - 1942 A Love Story
Music - R.D. Burman
*(This album was his last before he passed away... According to me arguably his best work)
Lyrics - Javed Akhtar
Singer - Shivaji Chatterjee
The concrete jungle I live in, is a great place to be, But I’m no great fan of the tiger you see.
The Old creature, way past his prime, Still living in his archaic time, Just refuses to let the jungle be, The concrete jungle I live in, is a great place to be, But I’m no great fan of the tiger you see.
He seems to have a problem with the animals here, He says he likes the donkeys but he hates the deer. His fear of loosing power is for all to see. The concrete jungle I live in, is a great place to be, But I’m no great fan of the tiger you see.
Violence is his virtue, threatening others, his plot, Two of his cubs, keep fighting each other a lot, Who succeeds him doesn’t affect me, The concrete jungle I live in, is a great place to be, But I’m no great fan of the tiger you see.
He’s always been a bully, telling us to shut up, Either talk his language or rename our shop, Most annoying of his vices, is his misplaced priority, The concrete jungle I live in, is a great place to be, But I’m no great fan of the tiger you see.
All these years, we let him roar, Honestly, now, he’s just a big bore. Let’s just mute the roar, and set the poor ‘ol chap free, The concrete jungle I live in, is a great place to be, But I’m no great fan of the tiger you see.
It is the end, my prophecy states, We no longer subscribe to the policy that hates, Waiting to read the obituary of the T – Company, The concrete jungle I live in, is a great place to be, But I’m no great fan of the tiger you see.
I feel that time has come for me to find my soul mate, my companion. I know you’re out there somewhere. Don’t worry, I’ll find you.
And when I do, I hope that you’ll love me because I’m Himanshu and not because of anything else. I hope you won’t get embarrassed when my clothes don’t match or be annoyed when I want to watch the last over of the cricket match. I’ll run and call you the minute the last ball is bowled. And I promise to never call you while you’re busy watching the rerun of your favourite season of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. or Desperate Housewives. I hope that you will remember that I love Yash Chopra Movies, not Quentin Tarantino, and that I love Shah Rukh Khan more than Aamir, and that I love the mindless comedies of Jim Carey as much as I love classics like Pursuit of Happyness and Juno.
I love reading, cooking, writing poetry, having long conversations, and also love taking long walks by the sea face. And if I cry in front of you in a movie, please don’t laugh at me. Please know that I am sensitive … in a manly, tough kind of a way.
I know, I’m not the best looking man around. I also know that my receding hairline can at times be the inspiration for my friend’s jokes. But I know that God has spent enough time giving me and my heart a big enough size to be able to accommodate all of this with a smile.
I pray that you’ll love me despite my tendency to forget birthdays, and if we happen to go out with your friends for dinner, please write their names really small on my hand so I can use it as reference. I’m a teacher and I love classical music and art. I also am a believer and pray at least once a day. Hope you don’t find any of those very “uncool”.
Please know that I will constantly act strong and in control, but inside I am actually lost and confused. *(Just don’t tell my friends). Understand that loving each other means being together, but not all the time. We should never bail on our friends. Also understand that I may at times act jealous and overtly protective, but only because I have insecurities and not because you are doing anything wrong.
Please be honest with me without being hurtful.I promise to always be honest with you, because you deserve honesty. And I promise to open doors for you and buy your ticket when we go to the movies. Please let me do it, because it makes me feel nice. Not because I’m trying to put up a false show of chivalry for you to get impressed. *We can go Dutch when we eat out though.
And no, you’re not fat, or ugly. You don’t even need make up either. So don’t ever feel the need to ask any of the above. Oh, and don’t be upset if you’ve cut your hair and I don’t notice. I will love you even in Jeans and a T Shirt.
I hope you don’t think I’m asking too much of you. I just want to be happy making you happy. I’m coming to find you, so don’t go anywhere. Stay where you are, whoever you are. Any by the way, my name’s Himanshu.
Life is indeed strange. Just a few months back, I did not know this person, but once we started talking, I realized that I know her as well or probably better than she knows herself. So, like we do very often, we were having this extremely interesting night conversation about relationships and hope. How the two are interlinked. We fondly call these talks of ours “Therapy”!!! And during the course of this heart to heart convo, there I was, thrown this question at me. “So tell me, how can I kill hope?” ………………… this sentence was followed by a prolonged silence from me, which is quite unusual and strange for a non stop chatterbox that I am. “Yes, go on, tell me, How to kill hope?”
There are some questions that make you think, and then, there are some that don’t let you sleep! This one was definitely the latter kinds. I told her, “This is so cool, thanks for giving me a topic I can think on, and blog about. I will reply to your question through my article.” And here I am, writing this piece, despite being devoid of sleep due to this lingering thought and a suspected rat in my room since yesterday!
How to kill hope?
By definition, “Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life.” Hope is the feeling that, what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best. So, in essence, hope is nothing but a glorified hypothesis.
Hope was personified in Greek mythology as Elpis. When Pandora opened Pandora's Box, she let out all the evils except one: hope. Apparently, the Greeks considered hope to be as dangerous as all the world's evils. But without hope to accompany all their troubles, humanity was filled with despair. It was a great relief when Pandora revisited her box and let out hope as well. It may be worthy to note that in the story, hope is represented as weakly leaving the box, but is in effect far more potent than any of the major evils.
So, if you put hope in context to human relationships, especially the ones that haven’t gone terribly right, what is the effect? Human relationships are inherently weird. At least I believe so. When we think we know all the answers, life comes and changes all the questions.
All our young lives we search for someone to love. Someone who makes us complete. We choose partners and change partners. We dance to a song of heartbreak and hope... all the while wondering if somewhere, somehow, there's someone perfect... who might be searching for us. And in this pursuit of finding that ONE made for us, we let our heart weep every now and then. That’s when we feel the need to cling onto hope, catch hold of the last straw, and make ourselves believe that Yes, What I had, was indeed the ONE… let me do everything I can to save it. We disguise hope, and keep giving it to ourselves in its falsest form, knowing fully well that we are just catering to our subconscious, just because we don’t feel like letting it go, just yet.
Change is never easy. You fight to hold on. You fight to let go. We forget that If we have to emphasize or defend the importance of something, then it probably isn't that important in the first place. I guess sometimes the ground can shift between your feet. Sometimes your footing slips. You stumble. And sometimes you grab what's close to you and hold on as tight as you can by calling it hope. Over the course of our average lifetime we meet a lot of people. Some of them stick with us through thick and thin. Some weave their way through our life and disappear forever. But once in a while someone comes along who earns a permanent place in our hearts. We just don’t realize that we should wait for that one to find us rather than clinging onto false hopes we’ve gifted ourselves about the one who never deserved us in the first place.
Growing up and out of relationships is never easy. You hold on to things that were. You wonder what's to come. But I think, subconsciously, we 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 over. We just have to forgive ourselves... for moving on, just because that’s the right thing to do. In essence, you don’t really need to “Kill Hope”. Just place hope where it deserves to be placed. On those better things, beautiful people, memorable times, prepare for the magic called life that is just waiting to unfold!! And yea, do it with a smile, she’ll feel welcomed!! :-)
