Woh din bhi kya the????

When catching up with friends from school or college have you realized that after the latest updates the trend is to talk about “remember the time…” basically get nostalgic!

Talks about the things that used to happen at college… some crazy & some senseless… the fights… patch ups… arguments… notions… ideals… jokes… bitching… canteen & wada pav wala… teachers… so on & so forth.

I remember the time in college… my friend Dhruti & I were inseparable… always seen together & always jabbering… after lectures we used to walk up to Vile Parle station halt near a sandwich wala as from that point she had to walk straight & I would take a left… we would stand there & talk for a long time then after reaching home we would call each other & talk… and the eternal question in our parents’ mind would be “what is there to talk so much?”

Frankly, I don’t really remember what we used to talk about but at that time those talks were so important to us that if disturbed we would get irritated & it almost seemed like we were discussing matters of life & death.

Fights would be the icing on the cake… the fights would be about something really stupid & silly and would go on for a long time (at times)… oh… there was a fight that I had with Chirag for not waiting for me when we had to go to his own surprise birthday party… dumb… I know!!! But at that time it did not feel so!!! I feel the patch ups used to happen fast because we would realize that the reason for fighting was really stupid… J ;)

Now, when all of us are occupied with meetings and clients and appointments such memories bring a smile on our face. At least when I am going through a low in life it really helps to look at the pictures & think about the events associated with each picture… as it really lightens the mood.

At such times also wonder if those days could come back & if you could be as carefree as you were just a few years back… the answer is a obvious ‘no’. But it is because of those days that you have lovely everlasting footprints in your mind… Isn’t it?

What Freedom means to me???

Freedom holds different meanings to different people. For the freedom fighters it was the idea of a independent and British free India. For children it is to play & watch TV whenever they want. For a woman it is to choose her career & lifestyle and I don’t really know a man's point of view in this but from what I understand they would be really happy to be free from all the nagging. Actually, I think we all would like that!

This is a very generic or a very broad look at freedom. I feel that the perception of freedom undergoes changes with every stage in life. At least mine has. At 6 I just wanted to play & watch tom & jerry. At 12 going for a school trip would define living freely. At 18 going for overnight parties was freedom.

Now that I think about it "freedom" is not just going out for a trip or choosing a career or choosing your partner. Freedom is much more than that. Freedom is to be free from apprehensions, inhibitions, discriminations, thoughts of jealously or pulling people down and most importantly to be free from one's own past.

Freedom is to live in the present. Past always stops us from doing a lot of good for ourselves. Past gives us instances that many a times stops us from doing something or trying something new. Past experiences & lessons from them are important, but that should not be used as a barbed wire that stops us from venturing new areas of life.

I have been fortunate enough to have family & friends who have been supporting me in new ventures & giving me handy tips that keeps me from getting hurt by the barbed wire.

To conclude, freedom is not just a term that comes up during independence day or republic day to prove a point but its something that is relative it varies from person to person & changes with time. The sooner you accept the truth you can be free & walk towards a better future!