Sunday, December 31, 2023

New Year Musings!

Good morning all.

I take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy and Blissful New Year. May you get to create a zillion memories to cherish forever.

I am sure that for your perpetual enthusiasm any day of the year is like celebrating a special day in your own way and today also you would be rocking as ever. I am sure you had a gala evening to usher in a fresh dawn and you could make it rocking with all those who were lucky enough to be with you last night.

Wish you thousand times more success and peace in the years to come than what you have had until today.

I do hope the year ahead multiplies your happiness, contentment & accomplishments (not to forget your wealth) 20.24 times of their already accumulated levels. I also pray to the great Almighty to nourish you with HIS/HER choicest blessings and drench you with the sweetest, everlasting memories to cherish for life. Amen!

May the ensuing year bring with it the sweetness of accomplishments engulfing all your past sorrows.

May you rise to every occasion that merits your minutest of intervention.

May your wisdom evolve even further to handle all your familial and professional discords (I wish there are none) with the deftness and affection your mom did while handling your (possible) tantrums as a kid (if ever you had them in the first place).

I have a lot more to say as my heart is getting overwhelmed with emotions on this very special day for everyone but I keep them from getting penned for the next big occasion.

Have a blast, even if it’s a bit late for me to wish you. You anyway don’t have a reason to complain as you didn’t invite me to the party 😉

Stay healthy, wealthy, conscientious and compassionate, as ever. Amen!

Later,
Riteshh Gargg

(W)Rits Original @ https://scorpiofury.blogspot.com 😃

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Diwali Musings!

Diwali Musings!

They say, "Diwali is a festival of infinite lights and we celebrate it with gay abandon to commemorate the famous victory of good over evil (as it finds its maiden reference in the Hindu mythology when on the occasion of Lord Rama returning back to his constituency Ayodhya after a hiatus of 14 years and immediately after conquering the all mighty devil king Ravana his followers got jubilant and made merry while unleashing their quota of fun which was suppressed for all these years).

To me it is an opportunity to purge our whole being of all the impurities we have so (in)voluntarily stuffed in our systems in the last one year. It is also a chance we give to ourselves to let bygones be bygones and make a wish for a fresh beginning. For some of us who have had a remarkable last year we celebrate our happiness by bursting firecrackers and by distributing sweets among our near & dear ones. For others who didn't exactly have a noteworthy outing out there it is another fresh dawn today full of promises for the next twelve months (or so) allowing us to get the monkey off our shoulders and make a resolution that we shall strive hard to set the record straight as we bow our heads in uncompromised faith in front of the Elephant God Ganesh & Goddess of Wealth Lakshmi.

This is also one such festival which helps bonding the loosened strings as all family members make it a point to rush to a common reunion joint, mostly their parental homes. No matter where they are across the globe, they engineer their plans in such a way (months in advance) that on this day they get to greet each other. Of course, in the last couple of years, amidst the unprecedented pandemic times, it proved to be a real challenge to arrange for the logistics without being unduly stressed but yes, that itself has proved the significance of the moment for us all. This year, with the grace of God, we all can heave a sigh of relief from those tortuous times and be able to unite once again in the old-fashioned way with our near and dear ones.

I take this opportunity to wish all a very happy Diwali.
 
May the ensuing year of your life bring with it sweetness of accomplishments engulfing all your past sorrows, if any.
 
May you rise to every occasion that merits your minutest of intervention.
 
May your wisdom evolve to handle all your interpersonal and professional discords (I wish there are none) in the most deft manner.
 
I wish for you amazing blissful times. I do hope the year ahead multiplies your happiness, contentment & accomplishments (not to forget your wealth) ‘n’ times (‘n’ is a variable and its value is equivalent to your biological age) of their already accumulated levels. I also pray to the great Almighty to nourish you with his/her choicest blessings and drench you with the sweetest, everlasting memories to cherish for life. Amen!

To all those who couldn't find a reason to cherish today, "Go, find your happiness in the smallest pleasures of life. Just don't sulk or wander about with no purpose. Life is so full of surprises, and I am sure you can easily find at least a few pleasant ones to bring a cheer to your sombre mood. If not anything else, read this text at least once again along with the never-ending archives of the author on his blog but please...." and yes, make merry but do responsibly top it up by making it peacefully rocking!

:-)

Festively yours

Ritesh

(C) Rits Original

https://scorpiofury.blogspot.com

Friday, November 10, 2023

Bud-day musings!

Ah! Another year just passed by in a flash & there was little I could do about my greying all this while. Just as I am feeling peevish on one crucial technicality in my biodata changing for worse (as virtually all of my medico-legal rights/insurance premiums turned immensely costlier in a matter of few minutes as midnight struck) here comes a truly unexpected notification.

Voila! It's a wedding invitation from a close friend who studied with me in my post-graduation course over a decade and a half ago!! Goodness gracious me! My buddies are still getting married & that means I am not as old as the world would so desperately want me to feel. But hey, hold on in your tracks right there! It’s not his wedding mate but a ‘family’ card for his nephew’s D-day! What an anti-climax of sorts! I agree that I was not the youngest of them all in my PG course (unlike my engineering days when I would get bullied just for being one of the youngest) I suddenly feel like a Nouveau Borne all over again! Thanks a zillion, buddy for breaking this news just at the right time!! You just made all my gloom fade in a jiffy!

Coming back to the significance of this momentous day in the history of mankind (pun intended) it indeed marked the birth of someone who would have the audacity to intrude into your thoughts every now & then. Yeah, along the way, some of the casualties either humbly "requested" (just as they loved me too much to make me feel bad) to "unsubscribe" them from the list of my intellectual "victims" or they just so royally snubbed me in front of an August audience, forcing me to have a look at the mirror again (to get some real grounding).

Did any of it deter me from setting on to my next (mis)adventure? Dare I say, "Not really". It only made me realize my innate strengths & weaknesses as a person first and as a writer later. With my head bowed unconditionally in front of all of "constructive" criticism I would get re-energized for my next fate-accompli just on sporadic encouragements (even from some unexpected quarters at times).

In between all of it, I tried to understand all of those who I genuinely believe are doing me a great favor by complimenting my only passion (of writing & just writing) by devoting their precious time over (reading) it and occasionally sharing their feedback with me.

Here is presenting my understanding (evolved over a reasonable time) of all of my message "recipients".

To each his own! Some of the people have suggested that it becomes ritualistic to just observe a post from me & like it on FB without even reading it! How ordinary stuff? To those who seriously believe that social media (at times) is obligatory, I have a humble submission. No one, I repeat, no one can force anyone else (from his/her social circles) to "like" something, even out of courtesy if the wavelengths of the two don't match and resonance-like phenomena are not created between them as a transmitter and a receiver.
I must have at least 500 people as contacts I am in ‘disproportionate’ touch with, both personally as well as professionally. I must be a fool if I were to expect them to be reading all of my stuff thrown upon them. They may not even notice it, let alone like it. At the same time, those who honor me by finding precious time from their lives to read my not so "easy on head" and at times irritating pieces just don't like it all the time as a "thumb rule". I don't expect them to do so either.

I have also realized that there are a variety of people (among my fancied readers). Many just don't bother to have a look, not 'coz I have composed it & they hold a non-negotiable grudge against me but as they don't read ANYTHING which goes beyond few words & few of them are my best of friends.

A slightly lesser no. gets encouraged to take the plunge (maybe based on past motivation about the way I might have narrated then) but then are forced to lose their trust midway as I might not have lived up to their expectation this time (this segment is my biggest concern & I just can't stop ridiculing myself enough for having broken their faith in me).

The third set is of "egoists" who secretly go through what I might have expressed but feel that they shouldn't give me any importance by publicly admitting that they DID read my piece. I know many of them and I just laugh it out in my head.

Then the last segment which is that of naysayers who wouldn't care to spend one moment on what they just happened to notice but would react immediately as a habit. (I would be surprised if even a single person who has ever "liked" any of my posts would have done it as a reflex action and/or out of sheer courtesy though the reverse is not incorrect). Many of them just compulsively mock & so brashly try to pull me down. I know that they do it out of either an inferiority complex (since they know that not even in their wildest imagination would they be able to match up to me in this art) or a superiority complex (since they feel better accomplished/privileged for whatever reasons).

I just DO NOT care about this last set and it simply doesn't bother me. No matter how hard I try to please them they would still be behaving obnoxiously so what's the point in wasting my time on them? I would rather concentrate on humbly acknowledging my "genuine" critics who know that I know their feedback. That's just good enough for me to keep going and even one such value input (regardless of it being positive or disturbing) does go a seriously long way in me burning the midnight oil on penning my next work (no pun intended).

In between all of it if someone comes up with a genuine appreciation comparing me with (n even finding me better than) a popular writer that sort of makes my day though I am careful to still take that with a pinch of salt. I have a long, long way to go before I fancy anything crazy. I know I just have to be cautious in figuring out who is my serious critic n who is just any other Tom, Dick, or Harry. Period.

As for my style of writing, I know that it doesn't suit everyone's appetite & I have realized that I can't help it either. It's my known handicap. I know that loss is entirely mine only as eventually I won't ever have as many admirers (if at all I could dare to call them) as any wanna-be writer would fantasize about but that's that! As said already, as long as I have JUST ONE individual whose intellect (or the lack of it) GENUINELY matches with that of mine I stand vindicated.

I take this opportunity to tress-pass into your lives once again and whether you like it or not I seek your blessings with folded hands. Please do not act stingy in showering them. Bouquets or brickbats, I shall gracefully accept them with a smile on my face and gratitude in my heart. Thanks to all of you, just for being there and for tolerating me all these years. Trust me guys, you only have become mentally stronger by doing so ;)

(C) (W)Rits Original
@ https://scorpiofury.blogspot.com

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Opening, Mid-game or End-game – Master your game!

 Power is a poison – that’s an often-quoted adage. That’s for lesser mortals who aren’t conscious of their own limitations and for whom there never would be any higher sphere. For them, power and its sinful intoxication, certainly, eventually turns into a deadly concoction. For the ones who already have tasted both power and all the attendant successes, which come as a necessary by-product, they always keep an antidote to power handy, just in case. They also know when exactly to take a jab of this antidote to poetically turn all the evil side-effects of irrational exuberance into an elixir.

 

Last 10 days (and as many nights) have indeed turned out to be a roller-coaster match between not two, but actually four Grand Masters (GMs), playing on all the edges of the chess-board that is Maharashtra. And yes, all four of them had absolute freedom to manoeuvre all 32 pieces as they wish (or at least they deemed they ‘did’). Some of them even had the privilege to add or subtract to this tally, suiting their convenience and more importantly, their style of play.

 

In this “Game of Throne”, it is very complicated to deduce as to who had opened, though with an all-white attire, the eventual, ‘providential’ king is widely alleged to be the one to set the pawns rolling himself. It’s another matter that all this while, he was unmistakably deemed to be playing the role of a 'kingmaker'.

 

The very pace and the manner with which the match opened on that fateful evening took at least two of the GMs by surprise as they were cosying up with each other in their post meal afternoon ‘power’ nap and wouldn’t in their wildest dreams expect one of their own protege to pose a sudden challenge to their self-appointed crowns as No. 1 and 2 in the state even as the popular vote didn’t allow them to take this liberty in the aftermath of Diwali cracker show three summers ago! At the best, it was a duopoly (yes, presence of their side-kick was just as a facilitator) for the crown-term but when it got threatened to be busted just mid-way through, heavens fell and how!

 

All through the duration of the game, there were many openings and a prolonged mid-game before many assumed that an end game was indeed in sight. In sight it surely was, just that the nature of the climax with the very end move by the king turned kingmaker made it into an anti-climax of sorts! Will there still be a sequel to this intriguing game? The jury is out. This is precisely the stuff Hollywood scriptwriters are always on the lookout for.

 

Life hacks for us. If life throws watermelons to you, make them all lemons. Who knows when a lemon would get costlier than a watermelon? The now king was threatened for life by none other than the right-hand of his previous boss but he firmly stood his ground and quite resiliently turned all the brickbats he was subjected to, into a beautiful pot-pourri of a bouquet any GM worth his appearance fee would be proud of. When it’s the moment of reckoning, make it count and count it REAL BIG!

 

© Rits Original @ https://scorpiofury.blogspot.com

Sunday, May 22, 2022

Parasitical Serendipity!


Put that thesaurus aside already and close that Google window either, for you won't find such a catch phrase anywhere on any forum! But this is precisely what I could 'coin' after watching this video of the entire RCB gang making merry last night even as one of their otherwise fierce competitors in MI pummelled a hapless (and clueless DC), punch by punch. Such an irony of sorts, isn’t it?


If I contemplate about the context, this is a great life lesson for all. When we are put in a "complex matrix" like situation where unless we have been tenaciously methodical with our OWN approach, several factors and permutations / combinations have to all go in unison and fall in place together to produce the coveted solution for us. If we take it (relatively) easy and leave it to the last (when it’s already beyond our control), to such an extent that some benefactor has to bail us out we don't have a choice but to feverishly pray for that patron to do it for us. When it eventually comes through, we get to saviour those moments with the ecstasy which could only bless us, courtesy a philanthropist.


How often has life thrown such serendipitous moments to you? Have you taken a count of your such blessings? To be honest, I myself am unsure if I have ever been beneficiary of such a noble act by someone else for me even as I can certainly not rule out that there definitely must have been many such type of situations. I seek pardon for my ignorance to all my benefactors through my life and take this opportunity to express my gratitude towards such unknown / unidentified good Samaritans.


Do share your thoughts.


Cheers

Karma'tically yours

Ritesh

@ https://scorpiofury.blogspot.com

Friday, April 22, 2022

The Mayonnaise Jar

How surreal the following story makes you feel waking up to on a beautiful Saturday morning! It is profound that all our life we struggle to identify our Golf Balls, Pebbles and Sand. Once we do, it is entirely up to us to ensure that we don't mess up with our selection again. Do you agree?

 

The Mayonnaise Jar

 

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day is not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and two cups of coffee.

 

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and fills it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

 

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

 

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “YES”.

 

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

 

“Now,” said the professor, as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - God, family, children, health, friends, and favourite passions. Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else - the small stuff.” he said.

 

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “There is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you...” he told them. “So, pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Worship with your family. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner. Spend time with good friends. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the dripping tap. Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

 

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, “I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.

 

If you have come thus far and are in or around Mumbai, do let me know if you would cherish to have your coffee (or any other nectar of your choice) with your truly. I am sure I am still missing to collect some of my precious Golf Balls which I expect life to give me another opportunity by throwing them back to my sack, which I won't mind carrying with me through the 'course' of my life, of course, without depending on a caddie to piggyback my treasure for me :)

 

Do share this with other "Golf Balls".

 

Cheers

Ritesh Garg

@ https://scorpiofury.blogspot.com

 

Friday, August 30, 2019

Escaro Royale - A true connection between a man's heart and his toe (ROPE Accredited)! - 30% flat discount coupon and more inside!

Escaro Royale - A true connection between a man's heart and his toe (ROPE Accredited)! - 30% flat discount coupon and more inside!

There are two things you can NEVER have too many of; Good friends and Good shoes because shoes speak louder than words! You can't buy happiness but you can buy SHOES and that's kind of the same thing. Life is too short to wear boring shoes.

Amy Adams famously said, "I like Cinderella, I really do. She has a good work ethic. I appreciate a good, hard-working gal. And she likes shoes. The fairy tale is all about the shoe at the end, and I'm a big shoe girl."

As a kid I always used to wonder as to why there wasn't a male 'Cinderella' for us all to fall in love with! Why those gleaming pair of shoes had to be immortalized for just about one half of the so called 'man'kind? What an irony they weren't meant for the 'Man' only!

All through my formative years quite fascinatingly I used to be in a perennial search of my own pair of 'Cinderella' for myself but never could I find one to create my own fairy tale which could have come true with the right shoe. I had a firm conviction in the dictum that, "Cinderella is proof that a new pair of shoes can change your life!"

When I was just about to enter my fourth decade of existence on this Earth I accidentally (or in the hindsight I should call it 'serendipitously') stumbled upon Escaro Royale whose designs just didn't allow me to take my eyes off. I kept browsing through the entire catalogue with a 'wow' written large in my eyes and for all the variety it had on offer I couldn't find a single piece of its creation that I could dare to discount as ordinary!

Then I went through the detailed description of some of the ones I could eventually filter (it indeed was a Herculean effort to find few gems from a mineful)! Lo and behold! It turned out to be icing on the cake that for every single item a personalized detailing has been immaculately articulated to highlight its fine leather material, styling, care about and what not. And guess what! They come with individualized shoe care kit!

I immediately ordered one for myself and after a near suffocating wait for few days when it did come the first thing that made my day was the packaging itself. I bet you won't have ever come across such a 'ROYALLY' packed pair anywhere in the world! With a childlike enthusiasm I opened the box and out came an astonishing piece of top drawer craftsmanship. I had to stop gazing at it after a while when I realized that I didn't still do what I was supposed to do - try them!

As expected by now, the fit and finish was just beyond expectation and after all these years I had finally figured what a true Nirvana for your feet could be like. As they say, "If you don't think shoes are important, just ask Dorothy and Cinderella!"

I got in touch with Mr Ambuj Sharma who is the proud entrepreneur to own this gem along with few others and he so very sweetly took time out to call me and explain at length about the technicalities of footwear. Our WhatsApp chat must have lasted for over an hour and I was not having enough of what he had to share - true wisdom and passion only a virtuoso who is so very confident about his own art could possess.

I told him that time has come for the world to see what Escaro Royale is all about. And to my astonishment just after few days he created a personalized coupon code viz. RITESH30 which anybody and everybody who is reading this could make use of to get an instant 30% discount on any product from the entire catalogue of Escaro Royale on www.escaro.in including and not limited to its new launches and bespoke collection! I must confess that I can die a contended soul now. Such a priceless honour to be bestowed upon with. Respect Sir. More power to you 

After careful consideration and personal experience I don't have any hesitation (like for very few other recommendations I have given in the past with the undisputed money back guarantee) this one unapologetically qualifies for the ROPE™* Accreditation! First up, get yourself a hefty upfront 30% discount on a luxury you should be able to afford. Then embark upon this Escaro Royale 'walk' and if for whatever reason, of course other than your own inadequacies to appreciate true craftsmanship, you feel that the Escaro Royale wasn't upto it to make it memorable for you do write in to me with all the relevant details and I shall oblige you with one half of the shoe price (yeah, from my own pocket!) you have paid to them. Like all good things in life this one also has a limited life and the offer is valid until 30th September 2019!

So dude, what are you still gazing at? Life doesn't come up with such "too good to be true" offers.
"If you are going to kick ass, you need kickass shoes!"

Everlastingly yours

Who else ;)

Ritesh Garg
(W)Rits Original
*Rits Original Platinum Endorsement (ROPE) is a unique and pioneering concept and it indicates that the object under author's critique has qualified for his personal guarantee which though doesn't come with any caveats yet claims under it have to necessarily pass the commonly used yardsticks to establish the merits of individual case(s). The author reserves sole and exclusive rights to reject claims lacking objective and/or subjective propriety. While he hopes that he won't ever have to go for it, should he feel the program getting abused the author further keeps the rights to terminate the ROPE qualification accredited to any and all of the products/services without any further notice. As such in common public interest enjoy it responsibly. Of course, to be eligible for this program one needs to let it be known to the product manufacturer (PM) in advance that s/he is going for the same and the PM should send an email to the author to this effect at least 24 hours ahead of the scheduled delivery of its product.