Living Wild…

I have been selected to go to Melghat Tiger Reserve which is located on southern offshoot of the Satpura Hill Range in Central India, called Gavilgarh hill in the Indian state of Maharashtra for this entire week for my organization. I am going there as a part of Melghat Bio Diversity Impact Study where we will be volunteering to help the villagers to reduce their dependency on sharing the natural resources with the Tiger.

Melghat area was declared a Tiger Reserve in 1974. The northeastern boundary of the Reserve is marked by the Tapti river. Melghat is the prime bio-diversity repository of the state.

Protection and habitat management are the main inputs here. Issues related to high degree of man-animal conflict are tackled on a priority basis. The Reserve area has been divided into three zones for management purposes and to strike a balance between bio-diversity conservation and ecologically sustainable community development.

During monsoon, special protection squads carry out foot patrolling to curb the hunting of sambar and wild boar by the local people. Similar squads are established during the summer for fire protection works. Injuries and killing of human beings by tiger, leopard and sloth bears is another conflict.

Some of the species that are usually spotted there are the Tigers, leopards, sloth bear, wild dog, jackal, sambar, gaur, barking deer, nilgai, chital, chausingha, ratel, flying squirrel, wild boar, langur, Rhesus monkey, porcupine, pangolin, mouse deer, python, otter, caracal, blacknaped hare. More than 700 naturalised plant species have been enlisted in the Flora of Melghat. These species belong to about 400 genera representing as many as 97 families.

The activities that we are to undertake are to study bio diversity signs such as wild herbivore sightings, pellets and spoor; signs of tiger and other carnivores; tree and grasses and bird life. It seems that there are some 365 types of species aka reptiles that live and breed in those jungles.

This is going to be so much fun, as this is going to be my first wild life adventure. They have advised us to carry lot of warm clothes as the temperature drops down to 8 degrees and we will be living in tents. Now, for me this surely is an experience of a life time. Never done it and doing any thing first time has its own sets of anxiousness and a level of excitement as well. I am looking forward for that eerie silence of the night, the alertness of walking through the jungles, the rush to spot a wild animal ooooo just can’t wait.

Adios till next week.

Believe… Series Part IV

Believe ….The best is yet to Come.

Believe… Series Part III

Realization is a big step towards any change for the better.

Believe… Series Part II

Some of these have made me look up while some have been just a wake up call.

Believe… Series Part I

Some times pictures say a lot more than our words do. I therefore started a series of words and pictures called “Believe” where I have just seemed to connect with some of the pictures more strongly first and then going along with their words which formed a connection in my thoughts and beliefs.

Believe is a belief in yourself. We all have different meanings to “Believe”. Whether its in your language or mine – its a Belief in US. A Belief in You and what you can achieve or conquer in life. Hope you do “Believe”.

Don’t Worry, Be Blissful!

– By Paramahamsa Sri Nithyananda

There was a wise and compassionate king. Once a woman came and complained to him that her husband was ill-treating her because she could not bear a child.
Another man came to him and grumbled that his children were after his wealth and ill-treating him. A poor man petitioned him for money and lamented saying how wretched he was to be poor. A rich man came to the king and complained that he had no real friends & every one was nice to him because of his wealth.

The king, after talking to many people, found that the same things – children, money, and health – repeated induced people to worry and be sad. Money was needed by one, but was causing sorrow to another. The king hit upon a novel idea: what if we open a Worry Exchange (WE), can’t people come and exchange their worries? A person who was unhappy without children could exchange his worry with another who was unhappy because he had children? A rich man who was unhappy could trade his worry with a poor man who needs money.

So the WE was inaugurated. The king’s subjects arrived at the WE. They stood around and talked, talked and talked.. WE stayed open until dusk. Not one person came forward to barter or swap his own worry with another’s worry.

The king was disappointed. He enquired from his subjects why no one came forward to trade worries. The subjects replied in one voice: we prefer to live with the worries we know, rather than exchange them for something that we do not know! Worries become, over time, our crutches, our companions. We feel lost without them. We need them to justify our behavior and depend on them to lead our daily life.

Our worries have no meaning or purpose. Tell people to write down their worries in our Life to look at this list after three or six months. Most find that 90% of the worries never materialized. The 10% that did were good for them!

If we allow ourselves to release our grip from worries and relax in the present, then we can begin an intimate, spiritual journey. The purpose of our life is to journey inwards and experience bliss not to indulge in wasteful worries.

Just Three Words?

There are many things that we can do to perk up and strengthen our interpersonal relationships, Yet the most effective involves the saying of just three words:

“I Miss You.”

Perhaps more marriages could be saved and strengthened if couples simply and sincerely said to each other “I Miss You”.This powerful affirmation tells partners they are wanted, needed, desired and loved Consider how ecstatic you would feel, if you received an unexpected phone call from your spouse in the middle of your workday just to say “I Miss You”.

“I Respect You.”

Respect is another way of showing love. Respect conveys the feeling that another person is a true equal. If you talk to your children as if they were adults you will strengthen the bonds and become close friends. This applies to all interpersonal relationships.

“I’ll Be There.”

If you have ever had to call a friend in the middle of the night, to take a sick child to hospital, or when your car has broken down some miles from home, you will know how good it feels to hear the phrase “I’ll be there.” Being there for another person is the greatest gift we can give. When we are truly present for other people, important things happen to them and us. We are renewed in love and friendship. We are restored emotionally and spiritually. Being there is at the very core of civility.

“Maybe You’re Right.”

This phrase is highly effective in diffusing an argument and restoring frayed emotions. The flip side to “maybe your right” is the humility of admitting, “Maybe I’m wrong”. Let’s face it. When you have a heated argument with someone, all you do is cement the other person’s point of view. They, or you, will not change their stance and you run the risk of seriously damaging the relationship between you. Saying “maybe you’re right” can open the door to further explore the subject, in which you may then have the opportunity to get your view across in a more rational manner.

“Please Forgive Me.”

Many broken relationships could be restored and healed if people would admit their mistakes and ask for forgiveness. All of us are vulnerable to faults, foibles and failures. A man should never be ashamed to own up that he has been in the wrong, which is saying, in other words, that he is wiser today than he was yesterday.

“I Thank You.”

Gratitude is an exquisite form of courtesy. People who enjoy the companionship of good, close friends are those who don’t take daily courtesies for granted. They are quick to thank their friends for their many expressions of kindness. On the other hand, people whose circle of friends is severely constricted often do not have the attitude of gratitude.

“Count On Me.”

Loyalty is an essential ingredient for true friendship. It is the emotional glue that bonds people. Those that are rich in their relationships tend to be steady and true friends.When troubles come, a good friend is there indicating you can “count on me.”

“Let Me Help.”

The best of friends see a need and try to fill it. When they spot a hurt they do what they can to heal it. Without being asked, they pitch in and help.

“I Understand You.”

People become closer and enjoy each other more if they feel the other person accepts and understands them. Letting your spouse know in so many little ways that you understand them is one of the most powerful tools for healing your relationship This applies to any relationship.

“I Love You.”

Perhaps the most important three words that you can say. Telling someone that you truly love them satisfies a person’s deepest emotional needs. The need to belong, to feel appreciated and to be wanted. Your family, your friends and you, all need to hear those three little words. “I Love You.”

The Me’s And I’s…

Twenty Five Things that people may not know about me. I hope it opens some eyes wide. It’s never easy to write about ones own self, its quite difficult for me though.

1. Don’t take my aspect of “not having an ego” and still making that phone call or sms as a sign of a weakness or temptation, its a sign that I simply do things after differentiating the “Right” from the “Wrong” and then doing it. So I am only doing it because I feel that it is the right thing to do. I am not comparing what you are doing or not doing. I can define being courteous just like anyone else.

2. I don’t believe that any close relationships including Friendships should have Ego. If Ego exists, please do not even dare label it as Friendship with me. Don’t dare tell me you love me, if you feel the slightest stint of being egoistic with me.

3. Ego and Self Respect are two different things. They become different when its a very close relationship which has been manned over several years. Ego is when you can’t let go of your own self to tell someone what you feel for them and self respect is something when someone has insulted you and you have let them continue doing the same.

4. I have a high regard for honesty. You will be kept at a high decibel in my life simply because you are honest.

5. I have high regards for Communication. I don’t care how you think or what you think is right or wrong. I have high regards that you can talk to me about yourself and tell me things that you feel. I feel gratitude that you can simply converse with me about anything under the sun.

6. If you have ever communicated to me that I am close to you – I won’t ever take that for granted and misuse it or sell it.

7. I respect People for who they are – irrespective of their class, creed, religion or sex. I don’t care about your family background or the money that you hold in your bank account. I simply care for who you are as a person and as a individual.

8. I have high respect and think very highly of people who go out of their way to help someone or be there for someone during their times of distress. It’s high in my eyes if I even see you pick up a glass of water for someone or just even run a errand for someone whom you didn’t know and just requested the same of you.

9. I will fight for you and our relationship till I can. But if I don’t see you fight back, I will not only have doubts about you really caring and being there for the relationship, I will simply let it go as I alone cannot fight for it “Forever”. I will wait but not forever.

10. I usually like having people sit on my right side. I don’t know why, but I just simply prefer it that way. Not that, if you come and sit on my left I will scare you. {I am going to start getting a little quirky from now on}

11. I am moody about cooking food. While I can have the most amazing ideas for raving up an awesome breakfast and suggesting some new cuisines or new places that can be tried out; I cannot do the every day drill of figuring out what needs to be cooked for lunch or dinner.

12. I crave chocolates like Cadbury’s {especially the ones from UK}, Kit Kat, Bounty, After 8’s, three musketeer’s and some more that are not striking in my head now. I am not particularly fond of any sweets that I could kill for.

13. I am picky about which movies I would want to go and watch and not really go to see any movie that releases.

14. If you have let me know that you don trust me and don’t have a valid reason for the same then you have made me realize tat you have either not really made any effort to know me nor have spent enough time with me. This would also make me wonder if you are that narrow minded.

15. If you have written me off or challenged me on my capabilities then just open your gods gift of two eyes to actually see that you have ideally motivated me and lighted my fire of going ahead with even more zest. Failures have made me successful.

16. I understand the value and importance of certain events and days in your life and you will see me making the same known to you directly or indirectly however I now have started believing in the give and take aspect of relationships rather than just being the selfless giver. Work In Progress.

17. I am comfortable with people hugging me. But its not with everyone and the time and the place also matters for me being really comfortable to give you a hug back.

18. I most definitely believe that any close physical interaction can make you change the way you would feel about that person, be it a hug, holding hands, or just a tap on someone’s shoulder. It can probably sit up and make you think about your own self and all that you may have thought about the relationship all this while or it may even take your relationship to another level and make it even more stronger helping it you and the others to grow along the way. All depends on how you think.

19. I am an extrovert but I am very private about my close relationships. I will not necessarily flaunt my closeness with certain people in front of a group of people of whom I am not sure about.

20. Yes, I believe Love is the greatest thing that ever happened to mankind, but also know that it is an illusion to those who see love coming in and going out of their lives.

21. I can smile for no apparent reason. I don’t believe in always having a reason to smile. So if you just see me smiling and think I am demented, then probably I am smiling at your dementness for judging someone’s belief to smile. 🙂 There, another one for those who don’t smile that often.

22. I can be a health freak and watch my diet and have complete control over it and at the same when I am out to enjoy myself, my friends are ones who usually take care of that aspect for me. So whoever says, that my life is not complete really needs to either wear their glasses or adjust them properly over their eyes instead of their mouth.

23. Nearly 60% of the songs that I would really download or listen to will be the songs that make a lot of sense to me. The rest 40% will be for people who need me to transfer or download songs for them.

24. I am sincerely grateful for what I have in my life. I will go out of my way to tell people in the most indirect ways of what they mean to me and thank them for all that they do for me at the same time if you have been gone out of your way to act indifferent with me for no rhyme or reason I will sincerely communicate my feelings back to you on that as well.

25. If you take me for granted – I WILL STILL NOT TAKE you for granted. Probably no one has really taught you to “Spot The Difference”.

Saying Sorry….

Ever wondered why Taureans apologize to the floor or Cancerians hate saying “Sorry”! Here’s how some signs say “Sorry”, some try, some try real hard, while some never even try.

Aries
They are sure they have done nothing that demands apology. Sorry to say, but ‘Sorry’ is the last thing you can expect from them. And if they do it, it sounds as if they are talking to themselves. If you hear it, you are lucky.

Taurus
Taureans apologize to the ground. They will never see you in the eye, while uttering the dreadful word. They wait for the maximum damage to happen before apologizing. After all, one murder or two murders, you can be hanged only once.

Gemini
Gemini’s are perfect people – at least that’s what they feel. And the best part is that if they realize they’ve made a mistake, they know how to act ignorant. Criminals can take a crash course from them in beating the lie detector. Such innocent souls, they will make you feel guilty for expecting an apology from them.

Cancer
Cancerians go a step further that Gemini’s. They force you to jump off a cliff for even imagining a sorry from them. They will burn their Rolls Royce, but never say sorry to guy they ran into. They hurt themselves. And they keep doing it till you start feeling sorry for yourself and decide never ever to seek an apology from them.

Leo
Leos love attention and contrary to the belief, they love apologizing. For them, it’s just another way to get noticed. They will send you flowers, they will cook for you ?..imagine it they can do it. Greeting card makers love them, as they buy almost all the “Sorry” cards.

Virgo
Logic takes over, when it’s time for a Virgo to apologize. Saying sorry would be on their job list for the day. They need time to prepare themselves and even memorize their apologies. There’s actually a script…a proper sequence of dialogues, needless to say, taking your reactions into considerations as well. Forget about Oscar speeches?this one’s a winner all the way.

Libra
Librans are very vocal when they know their mistake. You won’t find a better sign, when it’s about saying sorry. They feel their apologies. Now that’s one achievement. Leos can pretend for attention, but Librans – they never stammer while saying “Sorry”.

Scorpio
Scorpions will say ‘Sorry’ a hundred times, but never mean it. So don’t get fooled. They will not face you?they do it over the phone, send a card, sms or an email. The reason – they believe doing something wrong is no big deal. You still need a sorry from them!

Sagittarius
“Sorry” doesn’t feature in their vocabulary. They will never ever say the word; you put a gun to their head; they would rather take the shot than apologize. You make one mistake, and they need a sorry, just one would do.

Capricorn
Capricornians have been trying hard to eradicate ‘Sorry’ from the face of this earth for ages. They choose not to remember it. But you make one mistake – and you are dead. They need apologies in every way – sms, email, phone call, letter – whatever form of communication you can imagine and was ever invented. And your reason better be convincing as well.

Aquarius
They believe in damage control. They may not apologize, but they try every bit to undo their mistake. Actions speak more than words. Aquarians definitely know that.

Pisces
Pisceans have a mind of their own. What’s wrong for you is right for them, so what’s the apology for – a different perspective! They force you to change your perception. Do not ever expect an apology from them. If you get one, you qualify for all the record books.

So now you know what to expect when someone you know makes a mistake. Keep a check on your expectations accordingly.

Human Analogy At Its Best Confusion…

Today, I am trying to find solace in knowing that something that had to happen did happen. I am trying to find truce between my heart and mind as they both wanted and desired two different things and I was getting killed over it. I went with the logics of my mind, so basically my heart has been the loser in this fore fronted battle. And true to what a lot of people say, it really pains, bleeds and is completed wounded but it sure can heal.

I am aware my heart will heal as well as time passes by, but somewhere it will remember that agonizing pain and will never forgive my mind for doing what it did. The decision made was keeping in mind how troubled and disturbed the heart was all along for a very long time. The logics were worked out to get the heart out of its ordeal and burning pain. But still even now the heart hurts even more than before? It’s human analogy at its best confusion. May my Heart find its truce with my Mind soon! Amen 🙂