How I Wish I Was A Woman

How I wish I was a woman, or man had a womb

How I wish I was a woman, or man could rare   (like raring a child)

How I wish I was a woman, or man would care   (be caring)

How I wish I was a woman, or man wasn't so dry

How I wish I was a woman, or man would cry .

Brown and Blue

How I wish I would feel logically

Or logic was able enough to greet my emotions,

How I wish life was what I want

Or I would want what life is,

How I wish my eyes were blue

Or brown was called blue.

My Salute to Ladies

I had a relative who was famous for his hospitality. He would frequently invite guests and treat them royally with hearty chat and great food. People would visit him often with warmth or with need. Nobody left his house but with a smiling face. Even if somebody lands up unanounced late in the night, the guest would be greeted well. My relative would offer meal and his wife would start all over to prepare the meal. With all young sons and daughter-in-laws not yet there, she had to work all alone.  Knowing the reputation of her husband, she would get down to serious cooking. Guests would be treated to sumptuous meal. They would go to bed thanking the husband. Nobody would bother where the great meal came from. Was it God-sent or was it cooked by somebody at that late hours. Still all alone, the wife would quietly clear the plates, tidy up everything, before switching off the last light. She would retire tired. She would be tired but happy. Happy that guests liked her cooking. Happy that her husband and his guests were happy. She would close her eyes, with a smile on her face.

My salute to her ...... to all the ladies like her. Like silent soldiers, their hard work have kept many a stomachs roaring!

Since raising my hand for this salute, the first time, I dont swich off the last light till I clear the last dish, clean the last piece and tidy the last item. I am the last one to retire. All of us, smiling together, all the way.

An Encounter with God

Once I was walking with a friend, a pious, holy friend. Suddenly I saw her nodding intently. There was nobody around. I shook her shoulders. She brushed me away saying God was talking to her. "Thank God, its not me", I said smiling. I respected my friend, but not her God. To spend time I took out my mobile. Just when I was about to type a SMS there was a tap on my shoulder and a woman voice said hallo. I looked aside, my friend was still fully occupied in nodding to her God. I looked around. There was no soul, no body nearby. I thought I must have deamt something, bored by my silly friend. Again there was a tap and a hallo. Looking askance to ensure that my friend was still busy in her nodding, I said, "Hey who's that, what's up?". "I am God, your God", said that voice. This getting really weird. Yesterday's extra drinks must have been squaring up with me. Bullshit. God, .... my God! Oh my God...... fucking shit. On that I heard a smile. "I have come to put some smile in your curses, to put some 'believing' in your non-believing. After all, isn't non-belief a belief in itself?". I had never heard of anybody's God playing logic-game. But this God-lady seemed to doing exacly that.
Threre was a long pause. I though I have woken up. But again there was a tap and a hallo. "I had come to put some mellow into your heart. I had come to open your heart. I had come to show you that believer and non-believer are just two sides of a same coin. I had come to make you realise that what isn't can be. ...... but alas, your ego is too hard to crack, to dry to desolve, too shrunk to touch. I know you like marshmallow. I will send you man-mellows and God-mellows. If you like those, then you will be capable of getting mellowed. Good Luck to you. See ya".

मेरा जीवन

पेट के पीछे भागा जा रहा था, भागा जा रहा था। थककर थोडासा रुक गया, थोडा सास लेने के लिए। तब पता चला की पेट तो बहुत पीछे रह गया है, और में ही भागा जा रहा हूँ, जोर से भागा जा रहा हूँ। कैसी भाग है जो रुकने नही देती? कैसी भाग है ये जिसका कोई अंत नही?
लगता है जैसे भाग ही जीवन है, रुक गया सो मर गया।
लगता है जैसे भाग जीवन ही है, जोर से बहा नही सो सूख गया।

ये भाग नही तो कैसा हो जीवन? जीवन ऐसा हो जो भागता तो नही पर गतिशील हो। जीवन ऐसा हो स्थिर तो हो पर मृत पत्थर ना हो। जो गतिसे डरता नही और गतिके अधीन नही। जो बहने से बह नही जाता और रुकने से सूख नही जाता। जीवन ऐसा हो जो अपने आप में जीवन है, जीवनदायी है। मंझिल अंदरसे उभरती है, फूलती है, जो उसे गाती देती है और स्थिरता भी, एकसाथ। मंझिल और रास्ता एक दूसरे में समाये हुए है। रुकना और चलना एक दूसरे के अंग है

किसी के पीछे भागने की वासना नही, किसी के आगे भागने की ईर्ष्या नही। गती है पर वो शान्ति का रूप है। शांती है गति में रहती है और गतिसेही फैलती है। पूरे तनमें, पूरे मनमें। मनसे फैलती है पूरे जीवनमें

हे मेरे आत्मा मुझे ऐसा जीवन दे।

Managing post-retirement

Recent fall of financial giants have made many old folks loose chunk of their wealth and sent their old age plans into haywire. It has once again brought to fore the issue of how to manage wealth so that you keep getting sustained finances for your needs even in inflationary periods.

Here are a few basic tips:
1. Do not put everything into one basket. It may be prudent to spread your portfolio into different titles, funds, types of funds, different types of assets as well as into different risks. You may spread it into share market, gold, realty, bonds etc. You may spread it into different risk profiles. You may spread it among different funds of different titles, i.e. infrastucture of one title, technology of another etc.
2. Extraordinarily high returns would generally mean higher risk, atleast in long term.
3. You can have more faith on one over other, but surely not total faith on any single thing.
4. Considerable portion should be in stable investments, even if on lower returns
5. Lifestyle management:
a) Just like in any other aspects of old age life, even in economic behavior, reduce excesses
b) Temper expenditure habits in relation to what you have in hand, discounting for risks।
c) Be more participative with external world
d) Set priorities with vision and wisdom gained through life.

Wrinkles

wrinkles wrinkles
on my skin
make me old
make me meek

wrinkles wrinkles
on ripe mango
give it flavor
give it taste

ऊब आणि आशा

एक चंद्र पुनवेचा
निघाला द्यायला ऊब
आपल्या लख्ख डोळ्यांनी
कुडकुडणारया प्रियेला

पण ठंडी इतकी खट
हुडहुडी थाम्बेचना
कितीही दिला ऊबेचा प्रकाश
कितीही ओतली माया

झाली प्रेयसी निराश
झाला चंद्र हताश
असहाय मिटत डोळे
झाला कळोखी आवस

पाहून सख्यास हताश
आल्या तारका चमकत
घालून हातांचा पिंगा
ठेवले ठंडीस बाहेर

जाणून मैत्रीची साथ
पाहून प्रियेच्या आशा
पालवी चंद्राचा उल्हास
बेतसे पुनवेचा प्रकाश

Welcome in Marathi

नमस्कार। नरेंद्र दामलेच्या ब्लॉग वर आपले स्वागत असो। देवनागिरी मध्ये मी पहिल्यांदाच लिहिता आहे। त्यामुळे चू भू दया घ्या। ही भाषा हिन्दी आहे मराठी नाही। त्यामुळे पूर्णविरामाच्या जागी हिन्दीतली दांडी येते। असो।

Bailouts

Fortunately, I am not an economists to see gory implications of stock market falls. I am a businessman to understand that when you invest in something, you are taking an amount of risk. So you will end up with gaining some money or loosing some. Just like any other business, investing in stock market is a kind of a gamble, more like betting. You are betting on somebody else's judgement and integrity. Investment companies, in their greed or endevour to increase their profits multifold end up in increasing their risks too mutlifold. When winds are favorable everybody, promoters, inverstors and shareholders, reep benefits, touting as great judgements. But when winds turn unfavorable its labeled as natural calamity and government is called in to bail out.

Govts and investors and academia justify this as a necessary act to save the economy. But how did it happen, why was it allowed to happen is a question nobody wants to touch. When it was happening the academia, the intellegencia and commoners were happy counting their net worths.

Isnt it time we all act proactively ? !!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome

This is a process of free expression as well as freeing expression. This is connecting and sharing with you as well as with myself. I and you, in and out are inherently interconnected. Hence a journey outside is not possible unless accompanied by journey inside, and visa versa. I welcome you to join me on this journey which is mine as well as yours.

Journey is a word I have used because thats the way it is commonly used. Actually, it is not a journey but a state of being, dynamic being, constantly changing being. A state of being which was Now in the past, which is Now right now and will be Now in the future.

So simply forget the pasts, forget futures, just be now. Smile and say Hallo.