Celebrating Difference

When my Ma fell ill in the middle of the night several years ago, it was my Sikh neighbor who brought out his Taxi and helped us to the hospital. No, he didn't charge us a single Rupee.
When I flew overseas for the first time, I had a senior with me from Bihar. We goofed up in the foreign land together, helped each other and discovered things together. We even sang at a party together.
When I started my career in Bangladesh, I became friends with some of them. I even have an adopted sister and brother there.
When I shifted to Delhi, I made a few friends who formed my support group and still remain close friends. They happen to be Rajasthani, Malayali, UPite, Himachali, Uttarakhandi, Tamil, Maharashtrian, Punjabi etc.
When I was in Bangalore, my office friends were Tamil, Chattisgarhi, Malayali, Hyderabadi, Kannadiga, Kashmiri, etc.
When I traveled to Sikkim and Munnar, my friends from Karnataka were there to share those moments with me.
When I got lost in Thadiyendamol, a friend from Maharashtra and a Punjabi friend from UP were also lost with me and fought with me over interpretation of the map.
When I was traveling through the barren hills of Ladakh, there were friends who happen to be Bihari, Punjabi, and UPite (I guess, I never checked).
My chat history shows I chat a lot with my friends who are from Assam, Manipur, Delhi, etc.
When I find a long lost non-Bengali school friend on Orkut, I am equally elated as when I find a Bengali friend.

Yes, we are all different. Maybe, we speak different languages at home. Maybe, what we eat given a choice is different. Maybe our prayers are different. Maybe our traditional clothes are different. But isn't that a good thing? How boring life would be if everyone around me were similar in taste, manners, and habits! I can't alienate people because they are different. I will go on celebrating the differences. Are you with me?

Happy Diwali

Global economic depression, terrorism, racial fighting... nothing stops people from celebrating their festivals.

Similarly, if there is something bothering us from inside, no matter how many people around you are celebrating, how much lights have been lit, how many fire crackers are been burst, we can't enjoy.

May we attain inner peace this Diwali.

Feelings

I like you. I like the way you show different shades and various moods. I like you in the morning, when the sun's rays touches your beautiful face, and you glow like a goddess. I like you when your calmness matches the mood of the setting sun. Or when it rains, how it leaves you with a nice fresh fragrance. I like the way you make me want to be near you, and just when I try to go near you, you make it difficult. Sometimes, when I do get near you, you really take my breath away, and of course I like that too. It's been a while I have seen you, and I miss you. I am sure you know that I love you.

P.S: Her photograph as promised. Photo courtesy: Om

Riddle

What does Himesh Reshamiya have that Shankar Mahadevan doesn't?

Clue: No, it has nothing to do with natural flowing hair.

More Clue: Ustaad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan or KK doesn't have it; Kailash Kher only has half of it; Sukhwinder has one too, and Shaan has one and half of it.

Answer: It's the Filmfare award for male playback singing.

Trivia:

• Legends Kishore Kumar and Md.Rafi leads the male singers with the highest number of Filmfare awards with eight and six awards respectively.
• Kumar Sanu has won the Filmfare award a record five consecutive times from 1991 to 1995.
• Kailash Kher's only Filmfare award shared with Shaan is for singing the words "Subhan Allah" 16 times in the song Chand Sifarish (Fanaa). Subhan Allah!