http://aaina.rediffiland.com/Diary of ashok tiwarien-usMy fellow islanders Namaskaar! Reading blogs posted by fellow islanders and adhering to some of the ideas contained therein can be an exhilerating and enriching experience. It acts as a de-facto learning experience as most of the write-ups are based on real life situations faced by people. It gives us a platform wherefrom one can utilise the wealth of experience and knowledge of various people garnered in real life situations . May be it does not solve the real life , real time problem faced by us in true sense yet it gives us an edge in coping with any situation, makes us prepared or at least makes us stronger, gives us that cutting edge. Friends, today , most humbly ,I seek your valued opinion on a topic which is fast becoming an epidemic in our life. Why on some occasions, due to multifarious reasons, we feel absolutely drained out, the coordination between mind and heart fails to take place, we feel placid.............we feel as if you are in a vaccum in our life quite akin to the black hole, we feel as if our whole world is crumbling down. We want to cry aloud but we cannot, we try to run away but we cannot, we make a feeble attempt to face the situation but we cannot.We do shadow boxing as if we are ready to take the bull by the horns but our enterprise fails us. Is this the end of the world for us? the feeling just gets the better of you. In our deepest thoughts we know that we are not putting in an effort to plunge headlong into the so called crisis and face it, but our enthusiasm deserts us. In such a situation , I , Seek your valued opinion my friends so that such black holes become a thing of past and we can signal victory over them wiping them out lock, stock and barrel.

]]>Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:41:28 +0530http://aaina.rediffiland.com/blogs/2008/09/25/vaccum-1.htmlDear Islanders, Namaskaar! Bracing for the ensuing New Year, Great. Wish You all a very Happy and vibrant New Year, 2008. Friends , I , distinctly remember my tiny tot days when I used to play in a nearby playground in the morning. The playground was covered with a carpet of lush green grass and had majestic trees all over and a cobbled path surrounding the grass added to the charm and aura. I tried my Tree Climbing exploits on the same trees, as green horn, and later honed my skills there itself. There were two trees in particular , one a "GANDHARAJ" and the other a "CHAMPA" (I may be excused as proper botanical nomenclature is not known to me) which were a great draw with the children and adults alike. Both were covered with pale yellow flowers during season and the smell was facsninting, charming, alluring to say the least.It is common saying that the blooming flowers of 'GANDHARAJ' attracts snakes but as a tiny tot it was not a deterrant to my attraction. I used to pick the flowers of both the trees that had fallen on the ground and the dew soaked flowers reflecting the early morning hue created a mesmerising effect on me and left me with an indelible immpression on my mind. Today , when I reflect back I crave for the same but alas, the trees have gone so has the lush green grass. Lets make the universe as alluring as the dew kissed flowers and lets soak in the aroma that is fast becoming a distant and extinct object.

]]>Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:11:54 +0530http://aaina.rediffiland.com/blogs/2007/12/11/Morning.htmlFellow Islanders, Namaskaar. I am adding a post after exactly two months and wish you all a very belated Happy Diwali & Eid. I am trying to write about a subject in which my knowledge is meagre. Do you believe in the premise "ANGEL" . An off beat topic which requires indepth analysis but what I am trying to impress upon is based on true experience and not a simulated submission. I had read in some books that each individual has an "ANGEL" of his/her own. Seems like a fairy tale but at the same time true. It is only a case of recognising your "ANGEL", friends, and once you do so and start believing in the institution the entire world will become a better place to live in. I, for one, have found my "ANGEL" and I am changed person , a change for the better. My entire life has been filled with so many colours that it can put the rainbow or for that matter any bloom to shame. So friends seek your "ANGEL" , love your "ANGEL", worship your "ANGEL"and see your life change I am oath bound not to say thanks to my "ANGEL" but if there is any emotion higher than love, I offer that to my "ANGEL"

]]>Thu, 22 Nov 2007 14:19:40 +0530http://aaina.rediffiland.com/blogs/2007/11/22/ANGEL.htmlFellow Islanders, Namaskaar! I believe the topic that leaves people intrigued is "LOVE". Now what is love? To the majority love is entwined with expectation. When we are in love with some one we expect the other to reciprocate , love is believed to be the gate-way to foster a relationship. But once a relationship is born , people in due course seem to loose interest , steam and the freedom and the so called love evaporates in thin air . Then how to create and preserve and augment love? ......separate it from any expectation, give it the required freedom , give it the required space , do not culminate it in a relationship which is akin to conquering someone. Love in conjunction with expectation cajoles the persons involved to crave for the ultimate, they once reached, over and over again leaving them frustrated, confused, Once you do not have any expectation from the person you are in love with, true love blossoms and creates a closeness that is far greater than any relationship. This closeness is devoid of any one-up-manship and creates varied hues of colours far vibrant than any rainbow. Let our LOVE be like a rose that gives us fragrance , colour and beauty yet expects nothing from us.

]]>Sat, 22 Sep 2007 10:15:27 +0530http://aaina.rediffiland.com/blogs/2007/09/22/LOVE.htmlFellow islanders, festive season is round the corner and I take this oppurtunity to wish each one of you a very warm and vibrant festive season. Today we shall be deliberating on a topic that is desired by one and all i.e SUCCESS. People say success is an effect i.e. it is consequent to some cause. Thus success belongs to the future and its cause lies in the present.We lay emphasis or clamour for success without paying much attention to the acton(s) that lead to such success. The entire world as a rule, rather than exception, seeks success. Even great economists and learned men with profound wisdom have indicated that "self actualisation" which is akin to success is the ultimate need a person wants to be satiated. We come accross several writeups which claim to have the magic potion leading and spurring people on to success. The fact remains that either we are ignorant of the cause or the process that leads to success or deliberately do so, as the path involved may be thorny or we have to embark the journey alone. In other words we are more concerned about tomorrow or the effect rather than today or the cause . By looking only at our success or the effect we can never sacrifice our personal and selfish interests and they will hold centre stage. Rather we should work relentlessly with the larger goal and vision of society at large and once we reach this effect our " self actualisation" is complete.

]]>Wed, 19 Sep 2007 14:19:56 +0530http://aaina.rediffiland.com/blogs/2007/09/19/CAUSE-.htmlFellow Islanders, Namaskaar! Today let us deliberate over a topic that touches everybody. I came accross an article wherein it was stated that "FRIENDSHIP" , "LOYALTY", "COMPANIONSHIP" HAS A "BEST BY" date now. I reflected back to my school days where we were taught the maxim(s) "Too much familiarity breeds contempt" and "Out of sight out of mind". Friends read together the above maxim(s) work in different directions. It says don't be too familiar, lest you become a subject of contempt and at same time it says that once you are out of sight, you are no longer in the mental radar. As tiny tots we mugged up the maxims but never adhered to the principle. Unknowingly, though we knew that any thing less than "TOO FAMILIARITY" is no familiarity at all and once you are familiar you remain that way irrespective of the fact whether you are "in sight" or" out of sight" . Things have changed , my friends and so have circumstances and "TOGETHERNESS" in any form has now become a piece of commodity with a "best before" date and strangely enough now we follow this trend and ironically feel happy at the same time. This leaves with a craving for the couplets " Yeh Sohrat Bhi Le Lo, Yeh Daulat Bhi Le Lo, Magar Mujhko Lauta Do Bachpan Ka Mausam .

]]>Wed, 12 Sep 2007 10:37:26 +0530http://aaina.rediffiland.com/blogs/2007/09/12/Shelf.htmlFellow Islanders all of us irrespective of caste, creed , gender and age crave for a feeling of importance. This desire is one of the factors that differentiates a human being from an animal. The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be appreciated. But we ordinary mortals though possessing the same craving seldom use the art of appreciation for others. Remember the old couplet, " Once I did bad and that I heard ever, Twice I did good but that I never heard." For others we display our expertise in criticism little realising that they also have the same craving for appreciation as we have. Therefore friends lets be lavish and sincere in our praise for others as opposed to flattery, lets appreciate the slightest improvement and all improvements and lets appeciate the goodwill surrounding us. It works like a magic potion exactly opposite to the spirit of criticism. Lets revive the dying and neglected art of appreciation and please adhere to the maxim " Every person I meet is my superior in some way, in that I learn from him/her.

]]>Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:09:36 +0530http://aaina.rediffiland.com/blogs/2007/08/23/LOST.htmlDear Islanders on many a occasion we find ourselves in a situation where everything seems lost. What is our normal reaction to such a situation, we reflect back and brood and brood and are engulfed with meloncholy. We become guilty concious and blame ourselves for the debacle. What is the result? Further depression. Friends we forget the common principle that the insurers adopt i.e. "SALVAGE". We should first make ouselves steady and be resigned to the fact that what has happened cannot be reversed. It is only when such a feeling erupts , that we are in a position to move forward. Then we should concentrate on how best we can salvage the situation and save us from further or total loss. Following this simple mantra can place us in a position to salvage our pride and the situation. This is becuase once we start brooding about a situation we cannot utilise our faculty of common sence and end up as a total loser. So Friends faced with a similar situation Rise and Regain.

]]>Tue, 21 Aug 2007 12:25:45 +0530http://aaina.rediffiland.com/blogs/2007/08/21/Acceptance.htmlDear Islanders, it often happens that one is placed in a situation where taking a decision becomes very difficult . One is caught between the horns of dilemna whether to use ones head or to use ones heart to arrive at a decision. Friends you will come across various well wishers who will advocate using either the head or the heart but put them in similar situation and they too will be in a quandry. Taking stock of a situation or doing post mortem becomes easy as one has got a premise whether positive or negative to work upon. It is only when a stand-alone deccision is to be taken that people become shaky. This happens because we carry the load of the dead past and the unborn tomorrow , today, and this load can make even the strongest to falter. Therefore friends lets live for the day , and enjoy the only sure possession at our disposal. Whether to use ones head or the heart to come to a conclusion could well be tackled if we use both and do not rely only on one and remember the MANTRA " FORGIVE AMD FORGET ". Remember the punch line in the ad for Century Ply " Sab Sahe Mast Rahe"

]]>Mon, 20 Aug 2007 14:59:15 +0530http://aaina.rediffiland.com/blogs/2007/08/20/Dilemna.htmlFellow islanders , I am just back from a short trip to MANDARMANI , a virgin beach resort lying at a distance of 190 Kms from Kolkata . As the same suggests it is indeed a MANI , an unspoilt piece of nature that made me awe-struck. The last leg of about 6Kms to the resort where I stayed was a drive right on the beach with the gushing waves kising our vehicle every now and then. It is accecible only during low-tide and the beauty is mesmerising which is difficult for me to put in words.It is a combination of solitude, nature's fury and nature's bounty and it being un-predictible adds to its aura. I visited the nearby sea beaches of DIGHA , which was as usual its dingy self, TAALSARI , another verdant jewel being a combination of backwaters and a beach covered with red crabs and SHANKARPUR , a lonely stretch where the so called beach was gobbled by the giant waves, but still presenting an awesome sight. The trip was refreshing and made me aware of the bounties of nature which all should respect.

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