Human Marketing

I've never posted a Marketing specific post before. I wrote this today for an essay to a prospective university and just after that I watched a mind boggling video!

Felt like sharing,

Describe a major trend in the marketing communications industry that will change the way organizations communicate.

In my opinion Marketing has become ubiquitous in today’s age. Everyone from a freelancer to the biggest of global organizations need to market themselves. It has become an indispensible part of any product or service. Due to this nature there is a lot of competition due to the sudden influx of products and services, organizations, companies, advertisements, media sources and overload of information. In the marketing communication industry new ideas spread like wildfire and turn into ideas that everybody uses. For example the use of advertising on Facebook started full fledgedly in 2008 and by 2013 it is a concept that the smallest of businesses use. Nothing stays unique for long in marketing, as the success for one company becomes an observation for another who ends up using the same strategy.

In this time there is a severe need to cut through the mediocrity and come out with a marketing communication trend that is as ever changing as the subject itself.  I think that trend is the trend of Context Marketing. Although content marketing has existed in the field since a long time in the future content marketing will evolve concentrating more on context marketing. It won’t just be about delivering information through various medias but it will also aim to target exactly the right context that the customer needs.

For example, a Youtube advertisement will not be a general mundane advertisement but will concentrate on exactly what problems its potential customer is facing and will attempt to solve just those problems. There will be personal handwritten notes, applications will talk to you knowing who you are! It is already visible in breakthrough ideas. Siri, concentrates on just who you are and addresses you by your name, answers just your questions and gives you exactly what you need. Once in a while it also sings a song or cracks a joke for you. Instagram, facebook they access your location. Foursquare provides you restaurant just based on where you are. Vodafone, India’s leading telecommunications network calls customers and comes home to receive payments just to save customers the trouble of depositing it in a payment box just 5 minutes away from their house. Big brands send birthday letters with fat discounts. Insurance companies send anniversary cakes with the picture of the couple printed on it. All of this is nothing but targeting the right context.

 Context is nothing but the amalgamation of content and the consumer. In today’s time of information overload the precision can only be created using content in the right context marketing. Everything will become more personal and it will build long lasting relationships, as the information will be more focused just to the right type of consumer looking for just what the information is providing. Communication will also become more idiosyncratic in terms of its company. In today’s time there is a lot of overlap of information but the use of context marketing will lead to unique information about each product offering something very different than another. It will be original, it will contain information, facts and figures, feelings and perceptions and innovative ideas. There will be an influx of contextual information, design, presentation and participation. It will also lead to the realization of why people make certain consumer choices. Everything will lead to context. What the consumer is doing when exposed to the information, what thoughts he’s thinking, what is his lifestyle and what are his needs. Intricacies of every consumer will be focused on to ensure maximum productivity and there will be more use of real time conversation and real relationships. 

It will be the generation of human marketing.

 & This my friends, is the Father of Context Marketing :

WATCH!

http://www.godvine.com/What-This-Airline-Did-for-Its-Passengers-Will-Make-You-Tear-Up-So-Heartwarming-4378.html

Almost Merry Christmas! 

Being Twenty

So , I am exactly 17 days away from turning 21. I just realized I still count using my fingers and It is slightly embarrassing,

but I love this stage that I am at and this post is just to sort of "report" how thankful I am for this year!

But first,
Ill tell you why 20 is such an amazing age.
There's no better age I'd want to be at. Of course I know that my "twenties" are going to be worth looking forward to but twenty, plain simple twenty is so awesome!

1) You're not even a teenager and you're not even in your actual twenties. You're not a girl but not a woman. You're not sure about your adult status. Its nice to hang in there!

2) You're allowed to act responsible yet be a little irresponsible.

3) You're metabolism is sky high. Gorging brownies is fine. Exercise shows its effects quickly and you know where to hide the fat!

4) You graduate (unless you're an engineer or doctor!) You feel cool about going through years of school and junior college and college and you also see school time crushes sometimes and you feel so flattered and you remember how you failed at chemistry and also the merits you've got for acing certain subjects and you remember good teachers and really horrible ones and you suddenly realize that you've emerged quite fine :D

5)You're allowed to clubs without being legal. Its sort of a discounted age where even if they check your ids you go in! 

6) Your parents turn into your friends. You probably don't discuss everything but you pretty much can discuss anything you couldn't just last year!

7)You start dreaming real dreams, the kinds that you know can come true! You also magically start working towards them and sometimes you also end up making them come true! You handle money , sometimes a lot of money. You gift classy gifts and you go to nice parties and you also learn to give an interview. You save money and you also feel the satisfaction while blowing it up *-*

8)You're at the age where its okay to not have it all figured out. Its okay not to be in a relationship, not to have a job, not to know what you're going to in life and still be happy about being confused.

9) Hangovers aren't as bad as the ones you got during the teenage and your choice in drinks gets classier ;) 

10) You can wear long maxis and really short skirts and still carry them off with elan.

11) You're out of college. You realize who your real friends are. You know who your 3 am buddy is :)
You realize you don't have to please anyone because the ones who matter always understand. You learn to say NO!

12) You can plan what it will take to be young and rich ;) You can plan on looking for your Mr.Right! You can plan your life without actually having to do it. Its a good age for strategizing. Yes, plans don't always work but its a good feeling having a plan!

13)You get to know yourself better, trust me I did! You know why you;re feeling bad when you're feeling bad.

14) Life is suddenly a little less complicated than it was in your teenage. 

15) We're not stuck. There's going to be change and so much change to look forward to! Its scary yet so exciting!

16) You're balancing the heaviest workload of your life! A tleast you think you are! 

17) Hormones start taking it easy and PMS isn't all that bad anymore. But a little bit of drama blaming PMS and craving dark chocolate ice-cream is fine! 

18) You learn something new for sure. Something significant like  driving a car, managing a bank account, learning to bake a fine cake, learning math (for me), or prioritizing and putting yourself first!

19) You actually educate yourself. You learn things that school or college didn't teach you. You meet new people, make new friends, travel and learn to stay alone and suddenly there is so much to imbibe from others!

20) You're twenty. You're not stuck to anything. You're everchanging, dynamic, prone to horrible mood swings and full of taking risks.You're passionate and you're enthusiastic and suddenly there are no rules because you know what is wrong and right. Suddenly there's so much to look forward to and you start working hard. You know when to party and you know when to stay in. 


Twenty has been a good age. I did a lot of things I always wanted to do :) 

1) I learnt to drive. Yes, I still can't drive confidently and all that but at least I learnt. A road-trip on my own would probably be on 21's list.

2) I taught 9 year old school girls simple things like loving themselves, protecting themselves and being strong.
And trust me I emerged stronger! I also solved a 9 year olds dating problem. 

3) I graduated from college. YAAAAY. I also have a degree now B-) I also graduated with amazing grades so I made my parents slightly proud ;)

4) I recorded for a movie. An actual Bollywood Movie. I might see my name on the credits next year and my inner goddess is sort of dodging the paparazzi ;) 

5) I made new friends, lost touch with a few friends, strengthened friendships and loved :) I realized that a lot of things are temporary. I also realized I have a lot of friends who I might not be constantly in touch with but I always have them :)

6) I took a trip to GOA :D It was the biggest accomplishment because I thought I'd never be allowed O:)

7) I wrote a lot of things, sang a lot of songs, studied throughout the year and still managed to have a lot of fun!

8) I learnt about failure and dealing with it. I did horribly at the GMAT. Cried sulked and got over it.

9) I planned my future, more seriously than I ever have. 


&

10) I started writing my Blog :) 

Song-Write-Mode

I woke up and wrote a song. Between the pages of a boring math textbook is where inspiration seeps in and all that (:
Never posted  a song onto the blog so thought of posting this one!
Any composers who can make my rather novice sounding song sound awesome?

Here it is :

(Un-named)

I don’t know where I’m going from here,

I don’t know what it’s going to be like,

I feel the atoms rushing up through my veins,

Pumping through my heart,

Giving me a start

Ooooh,

Im scared and I’m overwhelmed,

And I feel like I’m breaking the red li-ight

But I see the glowing neon signs,

They’re telling me that I’m going to be fi-ne

Its so exhilarating so sublime,

Its like taking a leap into faith and time,

And when you’re scared and you still go o-on,

Nothing can replace the shine in your eye.

There’s fire and ice,

They’re both so strong,

But you’ve got to choose,

Where you belong,

And they’ll tell you that,

You’ll never get through,

but dancing through the storm,

Its all upto you

Coz the atoms, they run through your veins,

Pump through your heart,

And give you a start,

You’re scared and your overwhelmed,s

And you feel like you’re breaking the red-light,

But you see the glowing neon signs,

They’re telling you that you’ll be fine

Just leap into faith and time...

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar

This is a mandatory blogpost.
I just got off the television after watching his farewell speech and the tears couldn't stop rolling down my cheeks.

---

Today I realized what drew me towards the game the MOST. It was during the farewell speech that it dawned that I probably loved Cricket solely because of this wonderful gentleman giving this extremely emotional speech. He is undoubtedly the Best Cricketer in the world and his statistics are beyond imagination but today what sparkled right through his face, what made the thousands cry, what made the people chant his name like a prayer, what made the atmosphere so surreal - was the person he is.The way he spoke, the way he took every name that mattered, the way he kneeled down and touched the stadium in respect, the wide smile he gave to the people while holding the flag and the way he spoke about his family spoke so much about his charachter  He played extraordinarily and made India proud but what made it so lasting through a few failures and many successes was something beyond his game!

 Beneath all the skills, all the layers, all the media attention, all the hooting and shouting and cheering he seemed crystal clear today. Anybody who heard him talk could see how passionate he was about his game, how true he was to what he was doing, how humble he was to people and how grounded he was to his belief. Thats what set him apart and added a zing to his aura. There might be better players some day after a few years, and better statistics and maybe even better media attention but  the connect that he built with people through his heart is what is rare. They say that we are innately good people and we connect to people who are innately good. That connect is what made people tear up, what made people sad and what inspired people to be just like him.

Today like many others I want to be Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. I want to be true to what I love, passionate about every single thing I do, humble to everybody around me and unaffected by any attention or praise that I receive. I want to be remembered for the person I am, and the things I did by not changing the person I am and above all I want to love what I do and do what I love :')

I just read this somewhere and I think its amazing : I Imagine Ramesh Tendulkar going up to Sir Don Bradman in heaven right now and saying, "See there, That's my son!."

You Inspire us, Sir. We are very very proud of you.

(I've never been a crazy Cricket Fan, I have watched a couple of matches, cheered a lot, danced on the roads at Midnight after the Worldcup and followed a little bit of IPL but my knowledge about the game is minimal. Its just enough to understand what's happening. But today, I read my way through the first two pages of Google after hitting "Sachin Tendulkar". Thats the effect he has on me. That's gotta be something ! Something more than mere statistics. Something close to the person he is! )

Hello Ladies!

Hello Ladies ! This is something I want every woman to read because I know how I feel about myself when I read something powerful! That's exactly how I want you to feel :)

(& obviously the wonderful men who I know believe in this cause! )

I'd love to spread this little powerful thought amongst women because words are more powerful than any other form of revolution! If I am selected I get to perform this and spread this through a book published by them :) I believe it's a cause and I'm sure you do too :)

I've entered a Poem for the LITLIVE Mystory contest :) Genre is Spoken Word Poetry :) The entries that are selected will be called to perform in front of a panel of esteemed authors at Literature fest Mumbai in November :)

Please vote if you like my work :) Link is below!http://bit.ly/1gWs93i

Art is you, And you are Art

The little Sketch-pad lying in the corner,

It keeps your dreams intact,

In the fine lines and the sinuate of graphite,

Your future and you have made a pact

The dream catcher that you made for yourself,

It keeps your nightmares away,

And the poetries you write, The words you use,

They breathe out your thoughts and say :

That pick up the paintbrush,

And paint your future,

Go insane with the microphone,

Sing as though you hear no sound,

And let your ink pen be your milestone!

Dance as though your body,

Is swaying like the sea,

Crash the shore and go inwards,

And fill your mind with glee,

Don’t be demure and shy,

Be the million colors of the evening sky,

Be the midnight violets and the morning dawn,

Be the pretty black birds that you have drawn.

Be the art that flows out of your veins,

the kind that flows out of your lips,

Be the art that moves your hands,

The kind that sways your hips,

The art that strums the strings,

And the art that types,

The art that thinks and the art that writes,

Be the art that warms your heart,

Because Art is you and you are Art.

And The Mountains Echoed

Book : And the Mountains Echoed
Author : Khaled Hosseini
Publisher : Bloomsbury

And the Mountains Echoed :) I caught up with this book a little late but it has been the best thing I've read in a while.
It is Surreal. Completely takes you in. It is one of those books that actually makes you Time travel, through generations, places , atmospheres, events. It takes you on a journey. From Shadbagh to Kabul , to Paris, to the Greek Island of Tinos to San Francisco and then the book does this funny thing by taking you from Old-Age back to Childhood using a Farsi Nursery Rhyme! A small short story about the Div is the highlight!

The character sketch is brilliant and each character has a unique, sometimes strange yet beautiful feel.  From Pari to Abdullah to Uncle Nabi to Gholam each character has equal importance to the story. The story wouldn't be complete without any.  The old middle eastern charm along with  new age coming-out-of-the-closet-sections, the box with beautiful feathers and the big peacock feather to the reuniting of the siblings after years. The different edges to the same character of Nila and Maman and how different they feel due to their circumstances. The unrequited love between Nila and Nabi ! 

It encompasses Life Lessons, Relationships, Ego, Passion and Human Insecurities and binds it all so seamlessly! Hardly any books are read twice but I am sure I could read it again in some time and imagine the same beauty again !It is simple worded and concentrates on fine details and paints a picture in front of your eyes! Must Read!

PS- Mr Khaled Hosseini ! If you ever come across this review :  Your imagination is limitless! The details, the story , the winding of the events :) I am inspired, Sir.

Devoured

She was thirsting for his touch,
His bloodshot eyes, his delectable poise,
She wanted him to devour her,
To be extirpated by his charm,
Consumed,
She wanted to be read like she was a book,
Page by page, word by word,
His eyes reading the red leathered strong cover
His long fingers tracing the nuances of the crisp paper,
She wanted him to bend the corners of the pages he found to be abstruse,
And re-read them while sipping on a glass of red wine,
She wanted to be understood, taken in,
Mind and soul, body bones and flesh.
He was laconic, and she was long cursive handwriting,
He was churlish, and she was complaisant,
He was dangerous and she was innocuous,
He was like a mountain that couldn't be weathered by a storm
And she was like a stream that would keep changing shape and size,
He was the Mahogony Bonfire on her cold frosty winter's night,
Theirs was a tryst that couldn't be understood,

But little did he know,
That he was being devoured by her,
By the scintillating shine in her eye,
By the way she loved and the way she let poetry flow out of her crimson lips,
He called her meek and weak but he knew he would have to surrender to her strength,
She was the one who made ridges in his strong statuesque self,
He judged her, he chastised her,
but he wanted her, all of her,
Mind and Soul,body bones and flesh,
It hurt him that he could not have her,
because she was the stream and he was the mountain,
She'd left him way behind.

Vacation

Hello there!
Haven't written in a while, have we?
We usually feel like writing at ungodly hours like 1:22 AM.
It's our little problem.
By we I mean me and my inner-in-black-peeptoes-and thick-mascara-audrey-hepburn-looking-inner-goddess.

So the problem for the nightis,
I don't do what I love.
I've been doing Data Sufficiency all day . I could throw up. I WANT A VACATION.NOW
This generation, we all have a problem.We all constantly need a vacation.
WHY?
Because the daily rut's not a vacation.
So what's a vacation?
Its not just traveling to fancy places and drinking expensive wine and adventure and shopping and getting spa rituals, NO! Its just loving life, each moment of it, unwinding but being occupied, not sleeping, being wide awake, breathing, feeling the breath.
I think a vacation is loving what you do and doing what you love.
Doing that thing that gives you instant gratification from all the burden of life.

That thing for some people is travel, paint, sing, write, fly like a butterfly, aaah, what rose-tinted-visuals.
& no sir, you don't need a vacation if you do what you love all your life.
I am looking for that one thing, that I can do, that I love, where I won't want a vacation, where I will earn lots of money and yet live each moment like I'm gliding through (Read:Greedy Pleasures).
All of that.

But alas! Here I am. Studying when I should be sleeping. Writing when I should be snoring. Having lunch at high tea. Its a mess. Recommendation Letters. Statement of Purpose. Stupid MCOM, Bad professors. GMAT in 25 days. Its so tiring, mundane, hectic, Its all so blah. I miss everythingggg. The life, the bests, the boys, the late nights. I've been grounded. By myself. Its necessary.

But you know what gets me through?
That I'm on my way,
To my Vacation :')

Ps. I have repeatedly warned you that things that are written at this hour should never be used as a reference to judge me , *runs away*

Et tu, Brute

William Shakespeare,

He was pure genius.

I had a hate-love relationship with him in school. I loved Julius Caesar,  hated Macbeth and loved Merchant of Venice. Romeo and Juliet was beautiful, The tempest was like a conjurer's dream and Hamlet was pure boring. But when I say hate-love, whatever I felt the stories always demanded a strong reaction. They couldn't be ignored. It demanded of you to form an opinion with real raw emotions. Today we read books -  good and bad. There are books that make you go crazy. The alchemist did that for me. But there are so many that just pass by and you never look back. He could never make that happen. 

That was his magic. 

 I had a phase when I tried talking like his characters.The dramatization, poetic emotions, passionate characters, murder and insecurities, love and lust. It enthralled me. His works were life-like. His characters imperfect. They were like you and I. They were just more honest about their emotions.

Of course, now there is this new theory saying he was they and Shakespeare was a pseudonym.

His language was arcane but somehow his words touched you. They had a certain depth in them. He created an atmosphere that set perfect pictures in front of your eyes. All books do, but these were vivid colored pictures. I haven't read any of his works since school but the stories and phrases were he kinds that remain etched in your memory. I still fear the Ides of March (Something Bad always happens) , I wish life had time pauses where I could come out and recite a Soliloquy. In fact there are times when my mother catches me talking to myself (Read: I am not mad) , and I put the blame on Shakespeare. I do a little literary genius strut and tell her its my version of a Soliloquy. My inner goddess does a cat stretch with her chin up. 

The point being,  we owe him so much today.

We don't realize but there is so much we say, so much we do, the thoughts we feel, the wit that we think is ours -  that we owe to him .

Knock- knock !Who's there? - Yes, we joke because of him.  

I smell "Foul Play" but I'm going to stand by my opinions, "Come what May." 

Lovers that we are we say , "Love is blind" and he is the "Heart of hearts."

 To pamper our ego we quote, "The world is my oyster" and the incessant pride is what we owe to him. 

On confessional days we "Wear our hearts on our sleeves". 

A beggar is a "Sorry sight" and a stupid man is a "Laughing Stock."

 When we are nervous we waited with "Baited breath"  and it "makes your hair stand on ends" and once the results are out "What's done is done." 

When someone dies, "He breathed his last" and "He vanished into thin air" and then follows the philosophy of life and death and how nothing is permanent , 'All the world's a stage".

There is "Good Riddance" of the "Green Eyed Monster" because  we finally "Sent him packing." 

"For Goodness' sake" let me sleep "I haven't slept a wink". 

The "Naked Truth" is that we "break the ice" and make new friends  because "When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions." 

We say good people have "A heart of gold" and bad people are "Devil's incarnates" 

We have "Seen better days" but "Too much of a good thing" is bad.  

We shouldn't be "Faint hearted" and we should "Fight fire with Fire"  because once the "Game is up" we will all be "as dead as door-nails."

 Life is a "Full Circle" and we should "Play fair" to make it a "brave New World." before  the "Game if up" 

Oh, Shakespeare, you were a "A piece of Work" 

ps. There are SO many more. Read them on http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/phrases-sayings-shakespeare.html.

Indescribable

Never tried writing fiction. Shouldn't try next time either . Nonetheless New is Good.

***



He was domineering. Smart and Sassy. Thick Nerd Glasses and a rusty stubble. He was intelligent, hawk-eyed and exclusively honest. It wasn't a pleasure to be in the same room as him. He had hard looks, a sculpted face and deep eyes. He was constantly observing, judging, forming opinions maybe? He was a pure-heart that was engulfed by an over practical mind. He hated showing his emotions and acted as though he had none.


She was statuesque. Tall, Long Neck , Wavy brunette locks and sharp featured. Her integrity was seen sparkling right through her face. She had an audacious charm. She was intimidating and arguing with her was taking on a hellish task. Old school, conservative but liked her rum and coke on odd days. She was a feminist and she'd not stand a word against a woman. She was fairy-tale-like in the inside and wanted to be rescued but outside she would act as though nobody needed to rescue her. She wanted to be her own hero but secretly dreamt like a 17 year old. She was powerful but sometimes the forced kind of powerful.

They were hypocrites. Strong on the outside , weak in the inside.
But their strengths and their weaknesses were opposites.
She was Right brained and he was left brained.
They had different strengths and different weaknesses, but together they were neutralized.
They couldn't stand each other but they couldn't do without each other either.
Their egos pampered and hurt each other together.
It was unsaid, undone and unrequited. It was needless because their wasn't any need to show, to do.
They could talk for hours but never agree and if they agreed it would be a catastrophe.
They were like magnets which faced their positives to each other and repelled. The repulsion was extraordinary. They flipped turned and got attracted and once again flipped turned and repelled.
It had no future no past, no start no end. It was constant.
It didn't lead anywhere now was it increasing or decreasing.
It wasn't love, or lust or sexual desire. It wasn't cheesy, it wasn't hatred. It wasn't the opposites attract and get together either.
It was some force some power ?
It was this force that was indescribable.

Theirs was story that had no end,
No fullstop,

Apprehension and Soul Searching

Another long blog post after a long time.

Shame ? YES.

The studies have been hard of me. Also, I have an incessant fear of Coordinate Geometry. Its worse that Dermatophobia (The fear of skin diseases) Which I have.

The GMAT date is taken. 27th September, yes.

Sounds like a happy day innit'? 27th is a happy date. It was the day I was born,

Thank you for the wishes.

Anyway,

I am uneasily virtually muttering and making this blog post redundant just like GMAT Verbal.

Its 1.03 am. I feel big knots in my tummy. Its the uncertain-excited-happy-sad feeling. Its slowly sinking in maybe? I was just talking to the boy about Next year.  

Next Year. I might be going away to the other part of the world. Positively, Amreeka. I am currently in the second month of my GMAT Prep. I am horrendous with my math AND I'm not exaggerating.

But, I was horrendous in school when my comfort zone was Languages and Shakespeare and Poetic Emotions. I grew a little and started to enjoy what is out of my comfort zone. Today, I feel absolutely hypocritical when I confess, I like Mathematics. So yes, Out of the comfort zone is good :)

Talking about Comfort Zones, Mumbai is Number 1 on the list. Its Where the mother is, It is where the heart is. The Sea, the saline breeze, the bittersweet Monsoon, the city and its lights, long days, longer nights. Its beauty locationalized. Its the school and the college, the friends, love, the favorite yellow and black rikshaws, the hatred for rikshawallahs, Its everything that I want but not everything that I need. 

Its the comfort zone and hence I shall leave,

I might leave,

I think I will? 

Positively on a jet plane,

To a country far away. 

But why?

I tell people I want to find myself. It sounds like a philosophical rambling. 

It sounds so mysterious.

But I want to go to a place that I don't know and meet people who don't know me. I want a sabbatical of a short span. No, Im not running away. I want to be back. Maybe its soul searching? I want to know what makes me, me. I want to shatter the ego of my talents and build some ego on my insecurities.

I want to go into a group of amazing writers and realize how meek I am and go into a group of wonderful singers and feel little. I want to realize I can dance and probably scuba dive? 

Its simple, its like a little girl who believes she's some things. She has a lot of friends and a lovely family who make her believe. She just wants to know whether its what she believes or whether its actually what it is. She wants to believe in herself and that is why just like I love math, after I got out there faced the hatred and developed my potential. I want to go out there, learn to face my potential and be everything that I think I can't while not changing anything I am. I want to be caring and emotional and chaotic just like  I am but not to the same usual people. I want to see whether I am still caring and emotional and chaotic when I am alone? That's when I am really Caring and emotional and chaotic.

 I want to experience and live and feel alive. I want to travel and meet new people and try thinking the thoughts they think. I probably want to live a little more? I want to be more and still be what I am?

Ps . I want to study Marketing. 

Midnight ramblings shouldn't affect readers.

Its a channel I use ;) 

Also, Sky diving into faith excites me (:

Much love,

And yes,

When I said I want to experience. No narcotic experience included. I don't do drugs. I am drugs *mandatory wannabe line*  Hee

Unbreakable bonds

“Grief knits two hearts in closer bonds than happiness ever can; and common sufferings are far stronger links than common joys.”

Two men, two stories, both stories become one and turn into one story that greatly gets me thinking and affects my life. This story is probably a story you have heard or seen in a movie before, names changed of course.

Salvatore, a multi billionaire. He was plump, wore the finest of clothes and almost bald but he could captivate you with his charm and poise. His attitude was arrogant yet prudent and his mind was black yet white. He was the owner of a hospital …the best hospital in Manhattan. He achieved a lot in his young age and soon, he had a chain of hospitals all over the world. Nobody had ever heard of his family and all that he enjoyed for his pleasure was a new attractive young lady each week and the aroma and taste of the rarest brewed coffee.

The other man was Richard Dickson. He was a man all of 59. Pepper grey hair, tall, freckled, an African-American and a library, literally. He was a storehouse of knowledge. If knowledge could ever be produced, reproduced or harvested he would be the manufacturing powerhouse. He could tell the entire timeline of an event, the inventor of any material thing or the answer to any mathematical or scientific puzzle. He was an average middle class man who had a beautiful wife and three children who had grown to be a beautiful lady and gentlemen. He worked in a garage to make his two ends meet.

One bright spring morning in March, turned out to be the gloomiest day of the lives of these two men. They both were detected with brain cancer, last stage, numerous cycles of chemotherapy to add time and eventually a horrible death. The irony of this entire situation was the owner of the hospital was admitted in a twin sharing room of the same hospital that he owned.

However funny it sounds, these two men, complete opposites as they were, hated each other. Arrogance and humility obviously never goes hand in hand, but then they grew to adjust, like and eventually love each other. They laughed together, played cards together and often cried together wondering what is left of their life. Richard loved to scribble and everyday Salvatore saw him scribble on a piece of paper and throw it. One morning when he woke up he saw the piece of paper and out of sheer curiosity he saw three words written, neat and crisp. “The bucket list”. Under it was a list of things that seemed rather bizarre to Salvatore like helping a stranger, climbing the Himalayas etc. Just then Richard woke up to see a wondering Salvatore with his yellow crumpled piece of paper. He told him to give it back to him but when Salvatore persisted Richard told him that it was a list of things that he wants to do before he dies and he keeps making new ones.

That day was a bright new awakening for the two of them. Salvatore his adventurous self penned down other things like Sky diving, staying the night in a pyramid and drinking till he can’t remember. Richard laughed to Salvatore’s idea thinking they were almost impossible but they made it happen. The list had “Helping a stranger”, “Laughing till I cry”,“Sky diving”, “Climbing the Himalayas”,” Going to the Taj Mahal”, “exploring Egypt” etc. They had just 3 months to live; they went against the entire world to live their dreams. They sky dived and traveled and drank and danced and that’s when, in the first time of their lives felt alive, happy and living. One day Richard’s wife called Salvatore and told them to return with a lot of pain and agony and that’s when Salvatore realized the value of his family. He returned back to Manhattan with Richard. Richard finally decided to spend the last few days with his wife as falling in love was a thing he hadn’t felt in a long time and he wanted to fall in love with her all over again. They hugged and kissed as if it were the last time but unfortunately it was. One day his wife decided to surprise him by wearing the most stunning dress she had when she met him for the first time. He waited for her to get ready and gorgeously stroll across the room and into his arms. She came dressed and pretty to make it a night to remember and saw him lying on the floor and she knew the end was near. She rushed him to the hospital.

Meanwhile, Salvatore went to meet his long lost daughter who he had broken all relationships with because she married a man from a way lower class that they were at.

He apologized to her and he told her that he loves her the most. They cried together and hugged and the moment felt like an entire lifetime he had missed. He realized that in making money he had forgotten about things that gave him a lot of happiness!

Salvatore went to meet Richard in the hospital and they spoke about their good times and laughed so much they cried. One more thing was striked off the list. They both told each other how thankful they were for having each other and the last 3 months were the most beautiful months of their lives. Richard was soon taken in for a surgery and that was when his body gave up. He died but he had lived and it was one of those few times when a person’s eyes were close and heart open.

On his funeral Salvatore spoke about how dear Richard was and how much he had changed him and his life and that is when he striked off “Helping a stranger on the list”, because they both had helped each other in ways they never knew. A month later Salvatore succumbed to the cancer but the bond always remained, and the bond is such that it makes a young girl wonder how important it is to live our life to the fullest.

Finally Salvatore’s daughter and Richard’s wife climbed the Himalayas with the remains of their ashes and buried it at the peak because they always wanted to be in the cool to have a beautiful after life. That is when she scribbled off the last point which was “to climb the Himalayas”.

Two lives that perished but a bond that will stay forever. The unbreakable bond.

Men & Women

Today I write about men and women,

About men who think they dictate the world,

And women who think they’re weak,

About women who think that husbands are gods,

Women who think they’re meek.

I write about men, who love her body more than her soul,

I write about women, who carry their hearts as if it has a hole,

Women who keep it all within their heart, and carry the burden around,

And when he sleeps they tiptoe so that they don’t make a sound.

The men who hit and fight and hurl abusive worlds galore,

But the woman decides her destiny is nothing but more.

The woman is weak I feel,

When she sits at home by the fireplace,

She cries her heart away,           

He comes and a smile she fakes.

She cooks and feeds and washes and weeps,

But then joins him in his bed,

She satisfies him again once more and the smile is still there.

She wakes up and she’s spoken to,

As if she was a curse,

But she smiles that they were words,

They could have been worse.

Her life passes and one day she’s lying in her grave,

Her man talks about their love in a manner so charming and suave.

Oh, this woman is the weak one,

The one that is silent and calm,

She should actually be like a flaming forest!

Like a loud fire alarm!

The one that screams and shouts in pain,

The one that hits back and fights,

The one that feels her being in the world

Is more than just a kite.

A kite whose string is in the hands of a man,

Who thinks he’s full of strength and might.

She should be a woman of class,

A woman who knows how to vent,

A woman who can walk upright,

She need not slouch and bend.

A woman that leads that walks side by side of the man,

The woman who doesn’t dominate but feels like a part of the human clan,

She doesn’t need protection if there’s nobody to hurt,

All she needs is a place where she doesn’t feel like dirt.

Where she isn’t looked at, as a vagina that talks,

She wants to be seen as a woman,

Who thinks and dreams and walks.

Don’t be the weak woman, who is tired weeping and pale

Be the passionate loving dynamite who can position her own sail.

Because there are men in this world,

Who are actually so kind, those deserve a strong woman,

The one that that has her own mind,

They want her to walk besides them,

Not a step behind,

Because men and women is what comprises of mankind.