Gaurav Chhikara Garden

As the cliche goes, “If you lose your wealth, you have lost nothing, if you lose your health, you have lost something, but if you lose your character, you have lost everything. ” So here is the thing if you have your character intact you can regain everything you have lost or even if you don’t, you still don’t have to worry so much. Hold on to it and rest assured things will come around just fine. Being optimistic is one thing and being insane is completely different however both need some commitment on your part. A lifetime isn’t very long. – This is your life, and you’ve got to fight for it.  Fight for what’s right.  Fight for what you believe in.  Fight for what’s important to you.  Fight for the people you love, and never forget to tell them how much they mean to you.  Realize that right now you’re lucky because you still have a chance.  So stop for a moment and think.  Whatever you still need to do, start doing it today.  There are only so many tomorrows.

How some pictures bring alive the future so vividly and distinctly. A case in point is the picture below when I saw it I saw so much more than just two beautiful hands with heena on them. I saw and felt love, tenderness, care, respect, cheerfulness, beauty, soulfulness, togetherness, friendship, breathlessness, happiness, selflessness, weightlessness, music, arrived…………………………..and so much more. However most of all I felt I need to hold my end until it begins all over again!

Two people when decide to be together, they are like a river which is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea or another river.  It would ran its initial course without any hassle (which was expected!) and it would pretty well at that. Then comes the phase where main stream channel have one of its stream branch off and it starts to flow away from river. If you see, that’s a normal phenomenon and if you go deeper, that’s where all the sense lies. One water channel, even if it wants to can’t cater to a population outside its zone. However when one of its parts decides to have its own course, so many other areas can come under the care of these two water channels. The same thing happens when two people separate. It gives them a chance and energy to nurture other relationships in their life. After all everyone needs their time with everyone concerned so yes, better that people too flow and behave like rivers. Nature is all powe

You are born with a purpose and yes, sometimes you take that purpose to a higher level riding your own will power along with some fine thinking. You become important for some people along the way and you share a common purpose from there on. It is so rare that someone would know exactly what to feel and how to feel while dealing with life and what it has to offer. However I personally believe everyone does know how the other person is feeling, if not right away then may be some day it comes back with more force and from there on it’s an easy ride. November has given me two of the most amazing souls to realize my purpose in life. They have been there when it mattered the most and when I felt that they are not there, it bothered me and told myself may be it doesn't matter as they want me to go alone for some time. I wish both of them a great life, one has no choice but to look after me and the other has a choice- to or not to look after me. I would never know wh

“The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as night, And his affections dark as Erebus. Let no such man be trusted. Mark the music.”   What words and what music in there, Shakespeare was what only he could be…………………………………………… I read the above mentioned quote in ‘The Merchant of Venice’ text while at college and they still ring true. Recently while I was coming back to Dubai after spending the first lot of my yearly vacations, I watched ‘August Rush’ a third time and yes, there I got stuck on music. I plan to buy a guitar next month for I know I will be good at it. Well, that kind of belief gives me a start, right? If you can feel music inside you, then it’s all the more easy to bring it out…………………I wish myself some great tunes!!

Someone comes, sees and conquers……………………… Sometimes we find ourselves in a spot where we are not aware of what would happen next and that makes us curious in a content way. I have been enjoying this feeling for a 4 th year running and I still don’t have the faintest of ideas what’s happening. The start was enigmatic, then it went on to automatic and now if I may say it’s robotic. Every stage seemed surreal all the way. People change someone said, to that I say people never change. A changed situation makes them look changed however they remain true to their image. So once an enigma, always an enigma.  Why we all like mysteries? What is the point of being monotonous? Why we don’t like change? Why we don’t see a bad situation as an opportunity to feel the inner strength? The answer to all these questions is simple, life is a journey, you can skate through it, you can run through it, you can swim through it, you can walk through it, you can sit through it, you can let it ru

How unfortunate? How sad? How unlucky? Why me? What else? Now what? How would I handle the unexpected costs? Am I? Unfair? I wish things could have been different? All these thoughts run over your mind when your car brushes another car and all your emotions come gushing down. It would happen and you will feel miserable. However the moment has past and even if you have all the power you cannot undo it. So the best way to deal with your first accident is to simply deal with it. We go and see a doctor from time to time to fix minor and major things, so does your car. Hence it is okay to know that these visits are justified by one way or the other. You love your car and she just so loves you. She took the hit on herself keeping you safe and intact. She did it for you and now it’s your turn to make her feel new and lively again. Just make that customary visit to the garage and yes, your car is back on track with some new fittings. It may sound like a cliché but it makes sense

It took me more than a month to fix one of my pants which had lost the sole button it had, to some rough handling on my part. A month because, one week I could just get a set of needles, the second week thread and then waited two weeks more to decide whether I should get it done by some professional or should an amateur graduate to a professional. Well, I decided to graduate. It’s a simple yet complicated process as you must be aware. I had a fully buffered youtube video (which I decided not to view instead remembered my mother and how she is so good at everything- cooking, sewing, and more) and yes, it did help a lot. The work was to be done by the needle and the thread in unison, I was a mere observer in the whole process and this thought paved the way for an exciting and fulfilling journey called self-reliance. I was happy at the end of it because now my pant which was 'useless' for over a month, was now in fashion again.................. Fixing a button and  f

Time and tide wait for no one, well it can also be put as no one waits for time and tide. And  a counter theory suggests that it’s not time and tide which decide to walk out on us, we do. It is not easy to wait for time to change and we take the short cut and instead change ourselves to believe that the time has changed. It is a misunderstanding because no one would ever be able to say how your life would turn out had you stayed. If you are an observer then wait for the time and tide to break the mystery up in pieces and there you would be to gather those pieces and put together the best picture you had in your mind. Let things flow the natural course for some time and in the hindsight you keep up the pace so that when the natural course leads things to you, you are way too far strong even to swim against the stream. Your destiny is all you. You wait or you move, either of these will decide your future. Let us say you wait, then with some confidence I can say that you

I have enjoyed sitting in two cars so much that no other four- wheeler could ever come close to make me feel that special. Both of them belong to ladies in my life- one who made me and the other who will make me…………what I am and what I will be! I love them because they both have this instinct that makes them do things which few would even think about forget trying. It makes me a lucky man that I have been in the thick of the things where women rule the roost and are equal to men. I am so proud to say that. So the two cars are so much similar in the make, both have Japanese souls, small hatchbacks, same colour job, both have got customary black pony tails to ward of bad luck, the registration number too has few similar digits and letters. The first one made me happy as it was the first and second one made me happy again as it was again the first (in a different country). I believe when you spend a considerable amount on something, in this case cars, is always a resul

Being strong is sometimes the only option you have for yourself and for the other people in your life. Ordinary people would not be able to step it up under pressure, however extraordinary people will flourish in these situations……………..not just flourish, flourish in a way they have never flourished. What is life without mystery and when you don’t have mystery to spice your life up, you create one. Most people would tell you that they like things planned and panned out and these people will be no more than just ‘people’ once something goes out of the way and they find themselves in harm’s way. The true meaning of life is revealed when faced with an uphill task and you deliver. On other occasions it is just a walk in the park year on year until you make that true and final stop. As they say nothing lasts, well, so and in my humble opinion, things which last are not meant to last in the first place…………………… And wait is good when you know what its worth.....................

The best assignment one can ever get is decoding the puzzle put up by the most loved person in one’s life. There can be no greater favor you could ever receive from anyone if they make you do more things than what you are capable of (at least that’s your first thought!). As they say, things which don’t kill you make you a better person. The under-laying message here is, if someone knows you well and that someone is also in love with you then it becomes their coherent nature to always guide you to higher grounds even if you are hurt by their actions because they know worse is not that bad after all and given the greater fruits of hardships which lie ahead (though not in sight as yet!) this grind is worth all that. ‘Hand of God’ is always guiding you in different forms, sometimes you pass through hardships to attain and enjoy that infinite bundle of joy.  And the ‘Hand of God’ which I have for myself is strong in will and beautiful in touch.

Why relationships cannot stand the test of time, more often than not they crumble under pressure; instead they should flourish and attain a higher ground riding the junk they have been confronted with.  True, no one is required to make you happy, it’s all you, agreed, but what about finding ways to be happy in others' happiness. We are okay making compromises at every other area of our life yet when we think about relationships, the only way out is the ‘way out’. Forcing someone is not the right thing to do and one should never do that. And when you are projected as someone who is being forceful is again a weird thing because now the other one is trying to be forceful by saying that it is for the better that we part ways. Ironic!!! You don’t need anyone to make your life worthwhile however your thoughts seem incomplete when you picture life without that special someone. I find it weird that otherwise a very calm and concentrated person, you act wild when pushed to o

Life throws surprises and  the then we are faced with only problem, which is deciding whether to feel pleasant about the surprise or unpleasant altogether. And then the only choice you are left with is feeling pleasant, doesn't matter even if things you are looking at are unpleasant. I said feeling pleasant is 'only choice' as the other one is for losers. I often wonder how some people have all figured out in life and some spend all their life still figuring out. Is it something to do with the personality or it’s just how one decides to lead life. Though everyone has got issues/ problems to deal with and if you haven't  got any then you create some just to feel alive. For me life has been a start- stop saga. Start because there seemed an end to it and stop because there was a fresh start involved. So why can’t it be just a ‘journey’ instead, may be fast, slow, mundane, exciting or whatever......why start and stop or stop and start..........................

Today when I entered into my building's lift in Dubai, the air which came gushing out of the lift took me more than 20 years back and I felt as if I just entered a zoo in the city of Rohtak, India. The same zoo which I used to go when I was a little over 5 years and had that typical animals' smell. Mind is an awesome part of our body (the same brain helped my fingers write this….;) ) While just sitting in your balcony, you sometimes are not there and are somewhere else. Then one time you are on a vacation to a far off place and there you are at the same time in your kitchen preparing your favorite dish. Mind would just connect with every other part and organ of your body to deliver the final verdict about things and that’s it, we become slave from that moment until mind changes its ‘mind’. Mind can travel faster than electricity or let us just say it’s the fastest. It doesn't let anything just go or pass by; it captures everything, some in small degree

There was a time when I would care the least about anything and be aloof and people would consider that as charming. And now, I find it strange as I have never been more grounded in my approach towards life and I know what I want out of it however this quality has more enemies than friends. So what is this when I propose a theory that you win if you are detached, and you lose if you are attached. People talk about crime done by others, but what they never pay heed to are the crimes committed by them against themselves. The best formula/e to deal with any situation is/ are to go back to the basics. What you think is aloofness, might be the speed you bring in your work and behavior. What you think is grounded, might be being monotonous and the likes. I may not know anything else, yet I know this, when someone hits rock bottom, he either drowns or floats but if he brings forth the basics he inherited or learnt, rest assured he will certainly enjoy the experi ence-

I was watching Bigg Boss’ on of the Season 7 episodes, and I heard something which sounded absurd at the first instant however ‘sank- in’ in minutes that followed- ‘When someone is feeling low or is down & out, do not, means do not sympathize or empathize with him else he will feel more down & out ’. That someone will feel weaker with time if people do not keep the consoling pattern in check. I have been in a similar situation- the side and the other side and have done exactly the opposite of what I am sharing here. Why does it happen that most of the things we do appear to be right until we stumble upon a conflicting theory and all of sudden we become followers of it too. I end it by just adding, “The surprise element is the sole basis of everything around us- behavior, thinking, speaking and all other human traits.” As long as you can surprise people by doing whatever you are doing, it does not really matter if you sympathize or empathize………………………………….

I am living two lives right now, one which wants to hold on to whatever I have and the other one urges me to throw away everything I so meticulously had put together over the past three years. These are difficult times and I say that because the mind is in conflict with the heart and both are trying and sometimes winning arguments against each other. The body just is not able to handle it however it regains some strength at the start of each day to take on the world of emotions thrown by two conflicting parties. I realized that its easy to make peace with things if you are denied one thing however it becomes different when one by one everything is snatched away from you without any sign of remorse.They say everything happens for the best and I say worst things can sometimes turn out to be the best things as everything needs time to show its true nature and colour. I don’t know how much more I can handle, all I know is, it needs a heart of steel and mind of a 90- year- old to de

As I was going for my 'night' driving class in Dubai I saw what I would say was the real preview of ‘mischievous’ happiness. A dad was walking with his son and daughter. Yeah, right, there is nothing weird about that. And the next thing I saw was, that the son moves ahead and starts doing something to amuse himself. And that is when his dad screams at him. All this happened in few seconds, still the girl had the time to smile about it and I had the enough time to record her emotions-  she looked so cute while smiling and watching his dad do the ‘thing’ to her brother. She must be speaking through his dad's mouth and to her amazement it was being heard too for a change. I moved on after I saw what I saw. However that was classic case of forced happiness and the best one at the same time.

My mom taught me never never never to give up and I guess I learnt that quite early in my life. She won't be entirely happy the way my life turned out to be but she would surely be satisfied with my approach towards life. Thank you mom for life.....and more importantly sharing the secret to lead it well. My dad is one innovator who is innovative and traditional, all at the same time. He is so dedicated and so down to earth. My kid sister got her sharp facial features from him and I am the proud recipient of his brains. I respect him a lot and my heart (sure got it from my mother) has always tried to learn from him every step of the way. My kid sister  is one mischieveous inspiration. She is fun, dedidcated and most of all aware of what she wants and where she is headed. You cannot be worried about such sister- good at studies, good at household chores, good with kids, wears 'never say never attitude' up her sleeves. Thanks for being my sister and being such sweetheart.

Being alone in your room is sometimes overwhelming to an extent that you almost forget even that normal stage-fear and are so excited to address a crowd forget just being in a crowd.  And when you are trying to escape that loneliness and move out of your den, you are hit by that awesome alone moment while sitting near a park which is circumferenced by a road. There are people all around, birds are returning to their abodes and all these noise convert to some melody on its own and you see darkness which is way better than the light of the rising sun. That's when the soul comes to the fore and pushes body back to gift that calmness to the mind along with so many other things. It's always the moment which makes us feel and behave the way we do. So all we need is time so that the wheel turns in our favour and we become one ferry ride always having the same fulcrum and axis to rotate and revolve around . May this coward in crowd is covered in crossroads of fantasies....

Just saw a boat, steering through water like a knife through cheese. And that's how I started to think about how it was destined that I had to steer through something more rigid than water to pave way for my family to cross the international waters. I may be a boat who was happy standing still on land, but someone decided to test my strength by bringing water underneath and to my amazement and to someone's rationality, I was like fish in water. That someone has to reveal itself one more time and this time, for good. The boat needs its captain otherwise water or no water it would be standing all still soon!!!

She tells me not to be a kid, alright then I should behave like someone with a twisted mind............... She tells me to move on, alright then I should become insensitive......... She tells me to go with the flow, alright then I should become lifeless.......................... She tells me she doesn't love me anymore, alright then, let me too learn to hate .....................

Sometimes I feel weak and want to cry Sometimes I feel fine and want to continue Sometimes I feel happy and want to share Sometimes I feel exhausted and want to remain the same Sometimes I feel loved and cannot thank enough Sometimes I feel knowledgeable and that's when I feel more vulnerable Sometimes I feel ignored and there I sink deep Sometimes I feel rich and poor at that same moment Sometimes I feel homesick and then I feel I got to miss things to find new ones Sometimes I wait and then I wait some more Sometimes I feel life is alive and yet other times I feel life is just another name for struggle I just want to feel everything over and over again It's not a choice, it's just a way of life!!

It was way past 9 pm at Dubai Creek and I was done with my daily- bodily chores. While I was sitting there doing my back straightening thing which one baba from India developed and I followed it up here in Dubai. I looked upwards and ideally, it should have been dark. But tell you what, it felt like I am here during the day just that there is no sun. The lighting which I could see around was the inner light or it was just my eyes looking at some powerful halogens. Whatever it was, it felt good to be alive and in the limelight at the same time. How many days during the week I have felt that I am too tired to go for a run at Dubai Creek. And how many times I have managed to deploy a tactical solution and tell myself that body doesn’t have mind of its own, hence I suggest something to my body- “no way- you need to drag yourself out now”. The feeling one gets after grinding one’s body for a good one hour cannot be surpassed by any other. And then later it’s the realization time

"Buffalo Soldier" is a reggae song written by Bob Marley and Noel G. "King Sporty" Williams from Marley's final recording sessions in 1980.The title and lyrics refer to the black U.S. cavalry regiments, known as "Buffalo Soldiers", that fought in the Indian Wars after 1866. Marley likened their fight to a fight for survival, and recasts it as a symbol of black resistance. I for one am a passionate man and to go with it the name is reflective of my humble upbringing.