Another stark and rude reminder that life is so fickle and should be enjoyed as much as we can while we are still here! A sister of one of my brother's acquaintances died suddenly - she was just 26 :-(

A message on someone's chat window that I had posted a few days back on this blog comes to mind and will probably remain so for the rest of the week:

हम रोज़ नशे मे होते है और शाम गुजर जाती है
एक रोज़ शाम नशे मे होगी और हम गुज़र जाएंगे

If you want to find out an interesting way to organize your week and do everything that you always wanted to do in life, check out Monika Halan's column in yesterday's Mint: http://www.livemint.com/articles/2009/11/03224712/Are-you-being-nudged-The-choi.html

It's just the middle of the working week and I am already so exhausted. Somehow things have a tendency to pile on in quick succession and that's precisely what's happened this week. I haven't found time to look after either my skin or hair - both of which are a terrible mess. :-(

So I have decided to take it slow for the rest of the week. I have convinced myself that I don't have to do everything here and now. Things can wait. It's such a relief to pare down the task-list and I have promised myself that I will read through a few more pages of that novel that has been lying about neglected on my bedside table for long. :-)

I really fail to understand these Muslim organizations which raise a hue and cry every now and then about things that put "इस्लाम खतरेमे". Will the "Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind" change its name because the "Hind" in it might remind people of the Hindu religion? Maybe, it should be called "Jamiat Ulama-e-Pak" instead!

Another message on someone's chat window at workplace:

The best thing about the stones that I encounter in my path is
When I cross them, they become my Milestones!

It's not always that I carry only the exact amount in my purse. I usually keep about 50-100 Rupees extra for purchasing things that I might remember the last minute. But I was only going to the Library and that too in the Sunday afternoon when the crowd on the streets would likely be very thin. So I just carried 2 notes of 100 - the library fee being 175.

I was within 5 minutes of walking distance of my destination when I saw the woman. She was sitting at the end of the footpath. There was a small monkey at her feet and a child in her arms. When I saw her she was just about getting up.

If there is one sight I cannot stand it is that of a child in discomfort. And I have always thought of myself as being reasonably generous within my means. But yesterday I discovered to my shock that I could not part with 100 bucks. Of course I would have been unable to pay up the library fee but I could have always come back later. The plain stark truth is that I was mean and stingy.

God! It hurts to say this but the fact is that I wouldn't have been poorer if I had given that money to her and yet I thought that I will hand over the 25 bucks that will be left over after the paying of the library fees on my way back. I also lamented that I didn't have any extra 10-20 bucks with me like I always do.

As luck would have it, that woman was nowhere in sight when I retraced my steps 10 minutes later. The corner where I saw her has streets leading from it in 4-5 directions. I stood there and kept my eyes peeled in all directions. But she simply wasn't there.

I know, some of you who read this might shake your heads and say that she wasn't a begger so I shouldn't have given money just like that. Some will say that we shouldn't encourage people to beg. Some will say that I was callous not to think about the poor monkey. And some might even wonder why I am writing about this on my blog. :-)

Maybe you are all right but the fact is that I am now left with a guilt that I could have helped her but didn't. That plus the shattered illusion that I had been nursing about myself all these years! :-(