Dreams... What do they tell us?

All of us have dreams. Not the one about wanting to do something in life but the ones that come from no where when we are deep in our sleep. There are times when you wake up in the middle of the dream and even if you know it's time to get out of bed, you still go back to sleep just to complete your dream.

It's mysterious that when one's five senses are at rest, we actually see images and pictures- sometimes with sound and conversation. No scientist has as yet discovered why these happen. A lot of theories have been written like it's our subconscious mind or imagination that creates these pictures.

Yet, there are many stories in the holy books like the Bible and the Quran that prove that dreams have a message.

Let's take the story of Joseph. (Prophet Yusuf- Peace Be Upon Him). While he was in prison, his two cell mates saw a dream. One saw himself serving wine to his master while the other saw birds eating from his head. They told this to Joseph who interpreted their dreams for them:

1. The one who saw himself serving wine will be set free and will indeed serve his master
2. The one who saw birds eating from his head will be killed.

True to his words, the incident came to be.

Then comes the dream of the King of Egypt. He saw seven full cobs of maize and healthy cattle. He then saw seven dry cobs and thin cattle. He called his advisors and expert dream interpreters to decipher the message of his dream. His subjects were however confused with the jumbled dreams and could not make out what it meant.

That is when the man who was in prison with Joseph mentioned unto his master about Joseph and how he had interpreted his dream. Joseph was called forth in the presence of the king. The king narrated his dreams to Joseph.

"There will be seven years of healthy harvest and good cattle. Thereafter, seven years of drought will follow" Joseph further advised the king to harvest and store the crop of the first seven years and use very little so that it will last them during the drought.

The king was impressed and made Joseph in charge of the granaries. Thus, Joseph saved Egypt from the cruelty of the drought.

When looking at this piece of history, one can't help but conclude that our dreams are meant to tell us something. But, the sad part is, there is no reliable source to interpret the dreams for us. God taught Joseph the interpretation of dreams... and today, you can't trust dream tellers just as you can't trust fortune tellers. (With their green parrot and zero bulb bowl!)

I did read once that the devil also plays with us through dreams. He has the ability to create images that will disturb us. Therefore, it is advised that when one sees a bad dream, he should not tell it aloud but rather spit dryly three times on his left and say a quick prayer.

Unfortunately, fortunately even though we have guidelines and abstract knowledge-

...dreams still remain a mystery for mankind

Modes of transport in Bangalore

I got the bike's puncture repaired... Thank God for that. One is rendered immovable without a vehicle in Bangalore. There are 5 modes of transport in this city

a) Bus N Walk
b) Auto
c) Two-wheeler
d) Car
e) Walk

If you happen to be among the majority using the bus- Most of your time goes in WAITING for one. It would be unfortunate if you miss your bus by a few minutes or seconds... coz the next one passing your route will come in another 20-30 minutes.

I said Bus N walk coz you need to walk from the bus stop at least a km to where you are going. Roads are one-ways, your bus stops at the next lane stop. when you ask someone at that bus stop they say 'Nope, that bus stops further down at the next stop'. Therefore, Bus N Walk.

Auto- You need to be as lucky as a man is to be a millionaire as you are to find a good Auto. When you stop an auto to take you to your destination:

a) They shake their heads and drive away
b) They will DEMAND a fare higher than that of the meter (that they are suppose to follow)
c) They will demand extra money to COME BACK or at least to the nearest highway coz in your area, they won't get passengers!
d) If you have a tiny piece of luggage (on your way back from the next town) they demand around ten rupees extra to carry his Highness, your bag!
e) The driver may turn out to be rude and pugnacious
f) If he has no change, your money is his babe (I once paid 30/- for half a km!!- Normal rate is Rs.6/km)

Two-Wheeler- The best for any single person or those with a wife. It’s also best for college kids, working professionals. You can cut through the traffic, get past 2 ft of space.

The disadvantage - There are high chances of an accident, being hospitalized, crippled or die.

Car- Comfort surrounded by traffic. If you have all the time in the world, go by car. If you are in a hurry, a meeting in 15 minutes... forget it... hop on a bike. If you travel long distances > 30 km, good for your back (A bike will break your backbone in a week)

Be ready to struggle for parking and also PAY a min of Rs.10 for even 15 minutes of parking.

Walk- If you are few of the lucky one's to stay within the vicinity of your school, college or work place, you are blessed in Bangalore. Not only do you save time (Waiting for a bus or get an auto) but you save on transport cost. It benefits your health and keeps you in shape.

If anyone plans to work in the city for even a few months - Get your bike! It's worth the pain. Bus and Auto will eat up the time and serenity of your life.

My new friends

I got myself - completely unplanned - a set of beautiful friends.

Who are they?

A pair of blue lovebirds. The most beautiful ever. They are adorable!

Namrata and I were stuck in this one mile of traffic on the way home and well I saw the pet shop. I remember seeing it earlier when I was riding behind my sister and I asked her if we could get a bird. But my sis would rather see birds flying. She is right of course - everyone should have freedom and at the same time its not wrong if you take care of birds- domestic and not wild- and give them your love...

As the traffic was stagnant, I jumped down from my bike and went to the pet shop - just out of curiosity to find out how much a bird would cost. I saw fish! Relatively it's difficult to take care of fish. My cousin in NJ has fish and I thought they were adorable. Well anyways, just like that (thanks to a little encouragement from Namrata) I got my new friends. I got a lovely cage, some seeds and I am soooooo happy.

My room mates asked me to name them but I prefer not to. I call them baby girl and baby boy at times or blue girl and blue boy or sweetie or lovey or cutie pie. I have all the names. My baby girl let's me stroke her soft feathers but at times she bites me..lol her beak is so small and not at all sharp. My baby boy is scaredy birdy. He just flips his feathers and runs. Very suspicious of me! I hope with time they also learn to trust me and you never know - love me!

On my professional front - I am on Hybernation mode. My project partner is almost getting a heart attack, pleading me to turn on my system. I don't know why and for what this happens. It's been with me since childhood. My mom and dad are scared of only one thing about me - My mood swings. At times I will be hyper active and times so passive that one won't notice me in the room. Right now, I have turned on my system..lol and it's booting.

My roommates are leaving this wednesday and I don't know if I feel sad. I feel happy that my home will be clean and tidy. I feel anxious to get another room mate coz I don't want to stay alone, I want to stay alone and just study my heart and have no interference and no 'Let's go for dinner or let's catch a movie' or the 2-3 hours chit chat. But I would agree that they were wonderful. They are young and charming and smart. I will miss them.

Well, Its time for me to go and work on my project. I hope I finish it by tonight. Wish me all the best! :)

Forthnight Digest

Life has been a roller coaster ride the past two weeks.

1) I went to Coimbatore for diwali vacations with my roommates. We stayed at Lakshmi's place and had a great time. I got to burst crackers the first time in my life ever. I even held the sparkling rod one.. it's called phuljeri in hindi.

2) Aunt and Uncle (Lakshmi's parents) took us girls for a day to Ooty, a favourite holiday spot in south India. It's a small town built on a mountain (Hill station). I had come to Ooty last with my Mom and my extended family back in '89. I remembered Ooty as boating and lovely fruits. This time, I wondered what fun we actually got in boating a peddle boat! Man you slog so much and never realise you've moved an inch. The best experience I had was on the speed boat to Zanzibar... Awesome! Well, we had fun at Ooty and returned back at night almost midnight. The next morning we went to an Asharam famous for meditation. I really wonder if people get peace coming from Europe, USA and far off to India to meditate?! One of the guides was from Scotland. She came later on to our tiny group and asked me if I was a muslim. I proudly replied 'Yes, I am' "Are you a practising muslim?" "Oh Yes, I am" I gave a beaming smile! "Coz I come from a muslim family but I am irreligious- I don't believe in any religion" "Oh Ok" What else could I say? I warm and friendly but I felt sad for her.

3) We went in the night to watch 'Sawaariya" and I told myself in 5 min of the movie "This is going to be a big flop" and Gosh I was (plus my roommates) in shock the first half. I couldn't believe Sanjay Leela Bansali had made such an 'Artificial' movie. There was nothing one could relate to... even the songs! The only time I felt good was when Rani came on screen. I love that actress. I think she's great! As for Salman Khan, I think he was taken just to scare people with his eyes. The new Hero? He is a kid! The Heroin has a script that lasts some 10 giggles. We all were totally disappointed

4) Back to work, and this time I became a director, script writer, editor etc... not for a movie but for our documentary film on rural marketing. We had selected Gobi Chettipalayam as our location which is a semi-rural community 85 kms from Coimbatore. We got an excellent guide who would interpret the tamil language to us and I loved the place. The people were friendly and helpful and we got a good footage for our film. I saw a village for the first time in my life (or actually walked through one coz I may have driven past a few). The president of Kugalur village, Erode district, TN was so helpful and friendly and they must have given us 5 cups of tea! I don't drink tea but that day I drank every cup for it was served with so much love. While I was in Gobi, I got a premonition that my cousin would have gone in labour so I gave her a call and yep! She voice was filled with pain and she told me she was on drips in the hospital. I was praying for her safe delivery and voila! in the evening, my aunt called me and told me I had a beautiful baby niece.

5) Bangalore - and I am in love with my cutie sweetie niece. You know if she cries and I hold her.... she stops crying!!! lol, she is the most beautiful baby I have seen after my other nieces and nephews. We are going to name her tomorrow evening and I am like the Maid of honor.. In case of deliveries, this maid of honor takes care of the new mom and runs up and down with soiled nappies and chicken soup ;). My cousin looks half dead to me... to think that once my mom went through all this for me. Love you mom!

Now this amateur director of a badly edited film has a business plan to make and have a first day show...lol Gosh it's laughable. Another main lesson MBA thought me-

"You can learn anything and You can do everything"

What am I made for?

Life is strange. Half way through it you drift about, sad and angry that you don't have any specific goal, a goal that makes you wake up in the morning and makes you get out there and achieve your goal.

The other half is spent defending your dream if you are one of the lucky one's to believe in one.

I am about to complete my MBA is another 6-7 months. When I joined MBA, I told myself I was going to learn all there was to doing business. I learnt. A small town girl who has no business roots at all. But somewhere my heart told me, I can do it. I can be an entrepreneur.

The next question was what? What did I want to do? Was it a bookstore, was it a restuarant or may be a steel and iron as shop our community is famously known for.

What was it that I could be passionate about?

I thought I'd find the answer by now. I might have found it.

What I didn't realise was...

It's one thing to search for your dream, for what you're made for

but that once you realise it, you'd have to have the courage to pursue it

The fact is, I don't even know whether the idea i am playing with is truly my dream. If it is, I know it's going to be tough. Tough for the rest of my life. Now I am searching and praying for the courage that would not make me step back.

What am I made for?

"Didi! Nice Dress!"

Sometimes in life you are busy running around when a stranger taps on your shoulder and says "Hi, I think you're beautiful" makes your day?

Today a little school girl made mine.

I was riding my bike, on the way home from college and there was a school bus in front of me. A few school girls were at the back. One was looking out of the window at the rear. I was in my own thoughts when suddenly I heard:

"Didi! (Hindi for elder sister, called out of respect) Nice dress!"

I had my helmet on so I couldn't yell out "Thank you!" but I raised my hand and gave her a friendly wave.

The bus took a turn and with it the stranger who liked my dress.

So what was I wearing?

Jeans?

Dress?

Salwar?

Nope.

A sea blue veil with yellow border and yellow flowers.

Nice dress ;)

It's another story that a little ahead near the lake, an eagle dropped a fish on me!