They say life is a race..if ur not going ahead,ur receding. We all believe wholeheartedly in focus and education. So, we put on virtual blinkers,like horses, to block out distractions from the view of our minds eye. We climb ladders all the time- social and intellectual, the money ladder...

So the ambitious businessman, the bookworm student,the charming air hostess, they all work their guts out for more n more moolah and for greater status. Then comes the time when things go wrong, relationships turn sour for the want of adequate attention. the warning bells ring loud and clear, and yet, there are but a few who are able to recognise that its time to stop running and live life to the fullest while it lasts. then comes old age and your own mortality suddenly becomes an issue. Somehow, all that luxury cannot fill up that feeling of emptiness that pervades the being when one has rushed and raced through life. The world has had its Marilyn Monroes and Elvis Prestleys who had all the money and fame and yet felt there was nothing in their lives to live for.

How much of this journey are we really enjoying? Let us consider a normal, ordinary day. it begins in a rush and ends likewise. Get the breakfast ready, get that project ready for the boss, forget about lunch, Meet Mr.X, talk to Miss.Y about this and that, attend that conference, return home, dine alone because everybody else is either too busy or already fast asleep..That's it. How much of the day have you really liked????

Personally, Life, i believe, is more of a treasure hunt than a race. What u find in the process matters more than what u win in the end. We have different needs that must be satisfied in order to achieve our goals, to be held in high esteem in society and be the envy of all. On the other hand there is also the need to be loved, to be genuinely needed. These needs arent less importantWe meet people who have all the wealth and riches they have worked for but no proper family. Then there is that happy and stable household who mean the world to each other but are as poor as church mice.But in the latter case although their position is by no means enviable atleast they manage to keep their family together and live a happier life.

All this can only mean one thing.Though it cannot be denied that the urge to strive for a better and easier life is very basic human instinct, there is more to be gained in life then a mere bank balance.

The solution is simple "Be good to yourself". What better way is there to keep yourself happy than by making others happy?? and i am not talking about slogging an extra hour over your desk.There are other ways of giving of yourself to society, Like maintaining a cheerful countenance for instance. All the world loes a smiling face. When you make eye contact with someone, which incidentally is a good thing to be doing often ..be sure to smile. Believe me, you arent only brightening up someone elses day ,but, you yourself will feel a lot lighter. Take time to smell flowers. Never think yourself too busy to appreciate the beauty of you surrounding.

The more you give of yourself, the more you will receive. Gift that little kid down the lane with a sweet or a toffee. Write to a friend and tell her she is missed. These things dont cost much, but the feelings they bring to our hearts are priceless.

And of course, IF YOU CANNOT DO GOOD< DO NO HARM EITHER. Bite your think when you think of a sarcastic comment during an unpleasant situation. When your neighbour tells you " My cat died", the appropriate response is not i dont have a cat". Avoid nagging and grumbling..it makes everyone miserable, including you.

One expects, such thoughts and actions to come naturally to any person who is human enough. Alas!! that is exactly what we lack. Somehwere we left all the simple stuff behind. Simple , yet indispensable. Just this once, we will have to go back instead of front. live the monet to the fulles A collection of several moments well lived and voila!!!! you have life well lived.

So chill, take it easy and dont sweat the samll stuff!!!

An entire year has gone by..an year of remembrance. Well, there was this fellow staying just next door. He hated girls ( for reasons best known only to him) . So me and my friends were on the top of his list of "Most unwanted beings on Planet earth". But at the end of the day it used to be "Grrrrr.... Theres no body at home. Would you just make tea for me ..please??"

Every morning began with "Rajeeeeesh ... Get up its 7.3. Dont you have to go to work??? and the reply would be "Mummy, keep the tea ready, I'll be out of bed within 5 mins" and so while hot tea would get cold, rajesh would just drag himself to the bathroom for a shower after he had been kicked out of his bed by his yelling mother.

But as soon as the cold water would gush down his body, it would carry all his laziness away with it and the real morning would begin. With a sweet song of  "saad tugelo" (  a famous konkani song in Goa), he would usher the day in. the day would pass off by yelling at workers for not depoting the pesi stocks or not submitting the payment slip.

At dinner it would be summary of the hard day. This was a daily routine

On 8th March 2005, I was awake at 5.30 am for my college and i could hear rajesh having his shower in the bathroom. He was yelling at his mom to get withn her things. When i came out in the verandah Rajesh was already in his brand new black indigo which i saw for the first time and he told his mother he would be leaving for his work out of station which he generally never does and never do i really notice him go away in his car.

That evening when i returned home from college i saw a crowd of people gathered outside his house. they had gloomy expressions on their face. Some just stared at me blankly and i didnt know how to interpret their looks. I asked myself the question " what could be wrong??". It was only when i reached home that i realised... Rajesh was no more!!

I was dumbstruck when i was told that, early morning at 7.30 am ( the time he is usally kicked out of his bed) he had met with an accident on the highway as he collided with an oncoming lorry which proved to be fatal and took away his life. That was the last drive of his life!!!

Norway, Australia and Iceland ar the "best" countries to live in according to the united nations. Where would you rather live??

The UN ranked 182 countries on their quality of life- measuring their level of literacy, school enrollment and health of their economy.

The United States came in 13th, while the UK trailed behind in 21st.

The "worst" country in the world to live in was Niger, followed by Afghanistan and Sierra Leone

If you could live anywhere in the world - where would you choose to live and why?? what qualities do you think make a country a good place to live in? where is the best place you have ever lived???

Despair stuck me and a bunch of my friends when the girls common room was under renovation because we were sans (french for without) a mirror.e would love to get the perfect look before we set out of the room. Now, that the mirror is back, ao are the relieved looks on our faces.

"ts all in one look" was the claim ... and my mind jingles in thought.  whole heartedly agree, a sense of satisfaction does arrive when we get the look we anticipate about ourselves, that is on scrutinising all possible profiles in front of the mirror. f I am speaking your mind.... Spare a thought - How much does a look matter in our day to day life???

"Who cares the way i look?" say many... Cent percent sure..each one is lying. A look says a lot - the person, the presence, the sense, the essence etc etc, A smile, a blush, a grin , a frown, its all in one damn look...Aint it??? A look on the face probably mirrors the mind ...at times not though ( mystery unrevealed ). If i say so.. A reflex look on the face, is a mind half read.

Looks dont matter..says who??? e spend a great part of our lives infront of the mirror, the same old thing, the same old image, we perceive about ourself..but if looks didnt matter..what would be deceptive?? Shoes??? Then why would people come up with songs like ek nazar mein bhi, pehle nazar mein aisa jaadu kar diya etc??

If looks didnt say what they had to then who would be the Bluff master, the gold fish or Raja Harishchandra?? ts just one sweet look in the eye that stimulates head turns in the corridors of college ..isnt it?? and it takes one looks form the examiner on your face to know if your cheating on no ...

Hold a thought.... Do i have a reason to say..Its all in one look?? t was one look that set the ugly duclking apart from the others and yes... its just one look that we ofte get carried away with, when in reality there's so much to a person than just that one look.. and probably it was for the sake of just that one look that somebody somewhere thought of making a mirror ... But ever wondered how people around perceive you?? m still wondering..and i bet you do too!!!