It's not about what you say or do but a lot more about how you make them feel :)

In my past few months of a very high travel adventure stint, I came across lots of people from all over the world. Some mad hatters and adventuresome, few shy and introverted, some loud and simple, and some plain nice and high, basically all kinds!

Looking back I wonder what do I remember vividest, whom do I miss the most, who crosses my mind and heart instantly, which memory makes me really nostalgic and a sudden realization touches me right away. Faces flashed, times relived and the heart wandered.

People ask to stay in touch all the time, they want to be remembered mostly always, but whats the mystery to why only few stay in the heart forever. Sometimes few faces whose names I no longer remember and in no way would ever be able to even know pass my mind, those brief encounters with few souls makes me feel warm in the inside.

It was not just about what they said to me or what they did for me. It's more about how they made me feel. How their words, smiles, glances, embraces and also silence touched me :)

Your words won't last long nor would your actions but only how you treat and make people feel would. Can one can't fake it? Trust me, no!

One learns with time to keep the circle positive and moving for it to be vicious. People be nice, treat people well :)


                                            p.s: She is and will always be right :)

Humans

Nothing has ever intrigued me more than the way humans do.

We are fascinating creatures, complex yet the most simple of all.

If there is one thing which I have been able to understand about humans and human behavior  is that we all are unique and yet we all are so very similar running on the very same few basic rules of survival.

Few of which I want to compile, these are entirely based upon my observation of people;

Primarily, I see all of us need validation and appreciation for the work we do, how much ever trivial it might be. ALL OF US want to be noticed and acknowledged, it’s a major driving factor towards better output and bigger targets. Yes, even more than money many times. Ever wondered how happy you make your mom just by saying you enjoyed the meal she cooked?

Secondarily, people want to belong to each other. We evolved and formed society for a purpose that was to stay together, to belong to a place, a region, a country, a religion which we could call ours. No one wants to be left alone.

And lastly, we all need love, care and attention without getting judged, be it men or women, old or young, we all crave for people to express their undivided love and care to us. Men many times would shy out from such analogies, but then I see small little boys clinging to their moms for embraces and caresses and understand that as they grow it doesn't dry up, they just learn to camouflage it well.  J

We are divided yet we are all the same. Hungry for validation, love, care, attention and belonging.

Here is my favorite on love, life and hope J Haaeeeeppyy reading!

Happiness, Success and life

Past few days a lot of thinking has gone into what's & why's of life, yada yada. So much so that I am probably just not the same person I was six months back.
Trust me, I must have done something so right to have been able to take the big leap of faith and take a break from the vicious fancy corporate job and a big city life. All this came down to one question or an answer, maybe. What was success to me? How did I evaluate my progress in life? Many people ask me what is that you want to do in the long run? I clearly have no clarity at this point of time in life to where I would want to end up. Also, I am kinda sure I am already past the phase where success would come kissing me the conventional way (or me kissing her, either way would have been cool ;')) Ohh wait, snap, maybe just maybe, I am already successful. Maybe success necessarily didn't mean big money or fame. Maybe success is also to be able to want to do something/ anything and to be able to do it.

I never heard anyone teach me about happiness, all I heard them was talk about success. But typical me, burned my hands too soon only to realize that it wasn't always necessary that success brought happiness. And happiness is the only success, in its truest, purest, greatest and most elaborate kinds. To me it is to be able to do whatever I want to do right now. Like maybe paint? Or pack my bags and leave into the wild? Or like write, pretty much what I am doing right now. Or just be home with parents after long 8 years. Or to be able to enjoy the moment doing nothing. If it truly makes you really happy, why not?


I met the most successful people, in every way the society thinks they should be, only to find they were the most unhappy people. (Like a CEO of a fortune 500) And also met ones who did not make it big, ones who just make basic living to be the happiest souls ever.(like a masseur from Europe working in the Indian Himalayas) Priorities perhaps? Thus maybe its not always worth fretting over. Embrace happiness. Sending positive energy and wishing happiness to everyone reading this :')

Parents in India...this one's for you :)

Very recently my dad told me how one of his friends wanted to meet me, desperately :s Apparently their kid is going the unconventional education way ( neither engineering nor medicine :P) and he is worried about his future. Knowing my choice of unconventional career path, I was thought of some help.

This squared down to me thinking, what could I suggest him, when he finally gets to meet me. Ample things I could tell him about various unconventional career choices, following-your-heart success stories; but the point was, will it make any sense to a worried father who desperately wanted the kid to succeed.

Somehow there was only one thing I could bottom line, which was, let the kid do whatever he likes to do. Let him follow his heart. The only greatest thing a parent could do for the kid was to show their full support, in the kids’ decisions and choices. Only when you make them believe that they can be successful at whatever they choose, you give them wings. There was no other way.

A friend who happens to be a pilot once shared with me: "I never knew flying was my passion Pallavi" I asked, then what made you choose this profession?

My mind was blown with his answer. He told me how his father observed his brilliance at driving cars and taking instructions and thought he would make an excellent driver a.k.a a pilot ;) No wonder his dad's observations were very correct. Visionary genius I call him. To be able to see through your kids heart & passions. Probably, you want to do that with your kid too? Instead of forcing them the conventional ways which you think would guarantee success!

And most importantly remember your kid is not your old age investment plan or a pseudo improvised version of you. They are their own individuals. Trust me, if they ain't happy, you ain't getting anywhere anyway!:)

p.s: I always thank God for the coolest parents ever!

Trolling.. a new religion on Internet

Like many of my posts, this one too has been on my mind for a very very long time.

Its the new adventure sports I observe around specially on the social media like Facebook, Twitter, Secret et al, its called Trolling. Supposedly considered to be for the elites, better cookie points for better trolls. More likes and shares for darker deeper sarcasm, making the troller a demi God amongst their circles. The trollers creative juices improve by the passing days and they become parasitic feeding on your silent likes and shares. These parasites derive some deep satiation in bringing people down. Like feeding on others literally!

I somehow always found myself really out of the place in any forum where I saw trolling being the mainstream. And I comfortably gave blind eye to all these trolls and minded my own way for better, quietly.

But recently something made me think and feel really hard. Got to know from a friend of friend that she felt terrible about the casual remarks people make about her on a friends chat group. Although I was on the same group but I never actively rose my voice against it and became a part of the herd passively. It started from simple little humor and went upto personal remarks.

I feel nauseated seeing people pull down people in the name of trolling. Even when they know the recipient is not enjoying being the butt of their jokes. What kinda joy does one get by hurting, insulting, making fun or making personal remarks on anyone known and even worse unknown people on the social media? Trolling is pretty much accepted and considered cool these days,funnier your troll the cooler you are.
From individuals to corporates (refering to Flipkart's recent #BigBillionDay) to celebrities too these days ( Alia Bhat per se, common she is just 21, what were you at 21? Get a life? ) Cynical and sadist such trollers sound to me.

By the way, here is how wiki defines Trolling "a troll (/ˈtroʊl/, /ˈtrɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people,^[1] by posting inflammatory,^[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response^[3] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.^[4]" 

What kind of human one is?  Doesn't one has anything better to do in life? Are you a parasite? If yes, like seriously? Maybe use your creative energy somewhere better?

Raise your voice. Maybe that friend or acquaintance you always bully/ see getting bullied is silently developing trauma (quite probable!) Also, by hit and trial, I learnt, funny things are funny only when they are happening to others. Make trollers taste their own medicine ;) 

Suicide..is it worth it?

Okay. I have been wanting to write about this from a really long time now. But something really serious happened recently. It made me come here and talk instantly.

A close friend tried to commit suicide last night. Thankfully she is safe and recovering. I feel nauseated and really sick in my stomach thinking about what if's.

My dears, i know, sometimes it gets really tough to pull through the journey and there seems no hope at the end of the tunnel, whatsoever. I know how difficult are those times when you do the self talk. How you feel as if the whole world is against you.

Trust me its just a matter of a phase, which eventually passes, always.

Just hold on, hang in there. Your life is much much more precious than whatever is bothering you. Your problem is not more powerful than you are. What if a relationship didn't workout or your job sucks or you have family issues. Its not the end of the world. Nothing is. You gotta wake up and try harder next day. Maybe talk with a friend? Or anyone random? Or maybe go out and hug a stranger? Or maybe reach me? Its tough I know but that's not the end of it. Quitting is probably always easy, but you have got a beautiful life, why would you? Why waste it because of things which trouble you so much. And I'm sure those people/ things/ circumstances which forced you till here are totally not worth your life. Is that guy/ girl who broke your heart, cheated on you worth it? Or your difficult boss or inlaws worth it? I am sure no one is worth it. You are precious more than you know.

Please don't loose hope. Trust me it all falls in place. Look harder. Try harder. And believe me you always will have a way. Maybe all you need is a hug which you don't know about. I know its a lot easier said than done. But its not impossible.

If you cant count even a single person who loves you or cares for you or would miss you after you are gone. Gimme a shout, speak with me. I am around. But please try once more? Because you are precious.

Wherever you are and reading this. Sending you a big bear hug. Hold on.

Ps: I lost a very close friend many years back. He couldn't get over a broken relationship and decided to quit. Trust me it still haunts me after 10 years. Is that how you would want anyone to remember you? Really? Look inside once again.

Bucket List: 101 Things I want To Do Before I Die

     I made this list almost a year back. Its a very personal thing, but I thought about sharing it today, hoping to inspire someone, like someone inspired me to make mine :) Its fun and a good way to know yourself :D 

1. Scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef
2. Get a Tattoo
3. River Rafting
4. Horse riding, again
5. Become a certified  scuba diver
6. Be a life guard at a beach for a while
7. Step once on all the continents
8. Run for a 10 km marathon
9. Make a sustainable living from making and selling handmade; handicrafts/ paintings/ lamps/ jewelry
10. Backpacking in Europe for a month or more before I turn 30
11. Swim at a stretch for 1000 mts, 5000 mts
12. Sell handmade at an exhibition
13. Make a wall graffiti
14. Teach underprivileged kids, often
15. Teach art/crafts to mentally challenged kids
16. Put up a painting exhibition, lamps exhibition
17. Make my sister VERY proud of me
18. Kiss the sky from a hot air balloon
19. Party and spend a night on a private beach sleeping under the sky
20. Go on a blind date
21. Sky dive
22. Do interior decoration of a house, completely
23. Ditch my cell phone and WWW for 10 days continuously
24. Workout to get ideal figure once in my life ;-)
25. Start an NGO in the name of my mom and grandfather
26. Try to make a difference in the lives of Sex workers in India
27. Learn wave surfing
28. Write a blog and a book
29. Swim in a sea and an ocean
30. Find love and marry him- someone who understands all my craziness and is a little crazy too J
31. Learn to cook non veg for friends
32. Learn to eat chicken
33. Not get addicted to drinking or smoking or anything else ;-)
34. Watch a sunset from a boat, ship, plane and a cruise
35. Make someone laugh, daily!
36. Pet a fish, dog, cat, rabbit, a bird
37. Live a no contact life in a hill station
38. Become the marketing head for a FMCG company
39. Surprise visit my grandparents and parents
40. Spend a month at a stretch with my parents and grand parents
41. Have enough time and money to buy a one way plane ticket to ANY place in the world for the same day.
42. Learn French <3
43. Get a psychic reading and a tarot reading
44. Work in France for a year or more
45. Board a train alone without a ticket.Traveled second AC #likeaboss 
46. Wear a mask and paint a city wall in the night. Banksy style!
47. 10 day meditation retreat at Vipassana Center 
48. Learn Mediation and Meditate daily
49. Volunteer at a Vipassana Camp for 10 days
50. Learn and practice yoga
51. Learn one dance form; ballet/salsa/ cha cha
52. Experience astral projection
53. Dive from a ship and a cliff
54. Learn either of them:  face reading/psychic reading/ aura reading/hand reading/ reiki/ tarot reading
55. Get an eve teaser caught
56. Specialize in cooking one countries authentic cuisine apart from Indian, ofcourse! Thai, maybe?
57. Learn to play a music instrument, proficiently
58. Volunteer at a special needs school
59. Attend A. R. Rahman’s live concert
60. Meet a celebrity while travelling
61. Spend a completely unplanned day chatting up with strangers from another part of the world 
62. Drive Harley Davidson with a leather jacket on :P
63. Be a vegan for a month minimum
64. Paint, often
65. Make a baby!
66. Promote positive self-image and thinking
67. Learn everything about Buddhism and maybe convert
68. Travel to a new place once every 6 months
69. Tell my family and friends that I am grateful to them for being in my life and being so awesome, tell often
70. Quit a job without another in hand
71. Travel with best friends
72. Roadtrip on a bike
73. Skinny dipping at Maya bay
74. Witness firefly chorusing
75. Witness bioluminescence
76. Witness aurora (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIXs6Sh0DKs)
77. Spend a night in a forest
78. Inspire someone, often
79. Travel on a ship and a cruise
80. Support a kids education, thoroughly
81. Ride in a helicopter
82. Go para sailing & paragliding
83. Get a massage by the beach & the hills & on the road
84. Witness sunset at Golden Gate Bridge
85. Visit Las Vegas and play at a casino
86. Travel abroad solo for leisure
87. Travel and stay solo in India for leisure
88. Travel without a plan and a return ticket
89. Visit world’s largest aquarium
90. Learn driving a car
91. Watch penguins walk
92. Swim with whales ,turtles and fish
93. Learn to not be afraid of lizards, aah, one day, maybe!
94. Public speaking to a larger audience of over 1000 people.
95. Strawberry and corn plucking from farms
96. Travel international for work
97. Donate a body part
98. Tomorrowland, Brussels
99. Burning man
100. Help everyone as much I can
101. Take care of my parents when they are old
102. Donate a percent of my earning, consistently
103. Gift dad a swanky car and mom a diamond jewelry
104. Travel in a train for continuous 36 hours
105. Invest more in experiences than asset building and shopping
106. Places to see: well on a list of 194 countries these are just some basic pointers ;) much is never much!

·        Europe : Spain, France, Paris, Italy, London, Iceland, Scotland, Croatia, Hungary, Russia, Venice, Switzerland, Prague, Santorini, Amsterdam, Belgium, Austria, Finland, Cyprus, Vatican city. Okay, almost everything: D
·        N&S America: USA (Disneyland, Las Vegas, New York, San Francisco) Canada (Niagara falls, CN tower, Toronto), Haiti, Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua
·        Africa: Mauritus (Rodrigues Island), Seychelles, South Africa (Sun city), Tanzania
·        Asia: Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, China, Japan ,Vietnam, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, Maldives, Srilanka, Turkey, Burma
·        Oceania: French Polynesia(Bora bora, Tahiti), Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Indonesia
·        Antarctica: Paradise Bay (Yes, that too!)
·        Well, India: Leh ladakh, North East, Gujarat,  Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Karnataka, J&K, Uttarakhand, UP, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Goa

Okay, my list is a little more that 101 :D but, I don't know which ones to remove :(

p.s: the ones cancelled are already done :D and half cancelled are half done :)

I CAN is 100 times more important than IQ J