October 15th : Pooja Ghalke

"Aren't you supposed to be tall?" This is the first thing I asked when I met Pooja in a restaurant after almost 6 years or so. The last time we met were at her elder sister's wedding. She laughed at me for asking such stupid question but took it as a compliment which she always does. We have known each since kinder garden but not exactly in the same way as other cheddi buddies, we still are distant strangers separated by time once for almost 14 years and then a mere 5 years but she always amazes me for the way she is. I still remember her calling me one time asking me to listen to her show at 7.am in the morning on a City Radio. Her telugu was obviously the most funny thing one could ever listen to but being a Marathi she made sure to get rid of her language barrier at an early age. Not a cake walk when one becomes an Eamcee but I am sure she must have done it with ease.

Our Birthday wishes usually happen in a systematic procedure. First I wish her on Oct 15 and remind her that mine was three days earlier. She would then put up a short smiley of dismay and wishes me back. But surprisingly I totally forgot about her birthday this time until facebook reminded me with a notification. Oh so even I could forget her birthday, I chuckled. Done with her masters in mass media in Newzealand, I am glad she loved every moment staying in a foreign country spreading her joy in all directions and I am sure Newzealand will not be the same once she comes back to India. She is one of the best persons I came across who could always keep my sarcasm in check so as on from this birthday I give my word to her that I will never be sarcastic with her. Mainly because I dont want get the taste of my own medicine from such a sweet person and secondly because her smile is more imporant for this world to witness but not her anger to throw some verbal jab in return

Kal ho na ho Moments :

Pooja is my hindi teacher's daughter. That's one of the very few things I remember from my first school. I had a teacher who I think taught us Hindi, I may be totally wrong if Hindi is not what she taught. Pooja had a elder sister Neha who was always protective of her little sister. And Pooja's brother used to play cricket, that's someone whom I was always scared of. He with his cricket used to scared the hell out of me. The last thing I remember about my teacher was that she was a lovely person and was strict enough to keep our Nautanki out of her sight.

I wasn't even aware of her until my other friend told me. I was shocked and sad to know on how God could be so kind to take his dear ones too early. I was then told how Pooja's smile kept everyone intact in such a situation. She was there to console everyone. That's when I understood how my teacher taught them life's best lesson before she left. That is to live every moment as if there is no tomorrow and that's how everyone & everthing around you would turn Awesome. Thats the power of a happy smile, that's the power of love and that's the power of Hope.

You are the pretty woman,
Forever walking down the street,
As long as I have the energy to shake a leg to that tune.

                                          

The Goddess :

You are like Goddess Durga helping everyone of us to get rid of our fears of future and live life to the fullest. Every day as we live, we will try our best to live in that hope and joy that its going to be a fantastic day. Pardon my analogy as I keep referring to mythology as its one of my favourite dictionary to turn to when ever I need to make an amazing statement.So keep smiling and spread your love to every devotee you come across. Kill the bad in us and let us find our own good in ourselves. every word as you speak, every joke you crack, every tantrum you throw is a blessing we take with a happy heart.Give this world a second chance to respect women and someday your anger will vanish knowing how even a cold blooded murderer could turn into a noble man. All we have is hope and Hope is going to change this world into a beautiful place once again.

Allow me to dance at your wedding pooja. Dancing in your baraath will be one of the many dreams which would come true for me. It will be honour to have known you for all these years even when we talk rarely. You are one of my first friends I ever made and you will continue to be few of my best friends till the end of time.

Happy Birthday buddy,
Stay awesome,
Keep Smiling.

October 12th : Shaik Irsahd Imtiaz

'Dude do you know we share the same day as our birthday?" I remember Irshad reaching me the first time in college when he said this to me. We were so happy to wish each other having celebrated our favourite day on 12th October. But that was way back in college. Things were not the same once we moved on with our lives. we did meet once a while in the past 5 years where he shared how he went to Vizag shed all his weight and then started working at Reddy's Labotatories in Hyderabad where as I could never tell him that I went to Cuddapah lost all my head weight and returned back to Hyderabad as a changed man.

Most of the time we talked only good things about everything around us. Thats what I liked mostly about having a conversation with Irshad. We liked making fun of our troubled times and creating  a smile from utter darkness was a skill we both shared royally. I never remembered that he was from cudappah though he must have mentioned that many times. I always wished he remained simple and charismatic spreading smiles and live in that constant hope that this world with him in it is a lovely place to pass our time. He taught me how not to worry about the past even if its haunting and there is a lot more to think about once we let go of our fears. Strange that all this he taught me with very few conversations we ever had both in college and beyond college. 

I was very happy when I came to know that he was getting married and nothing was more priority for me than attending his wedding. Called him on our birthday but could not wish him.This would have been my first Muslim wedding and I was extremely excited to be a part of my friend's special day. Time had other plans and knowingly I missed his wedding but was glad enough to reach before the day ended for his reception which was the next day, 21-Oct. The couple looked like angles who came down from heaven to bless us. It was a great sight to see them happily smiling and taking our wishes in return with a blush so unique that cameras had to take extra measures to capture it. All thanks to the camera man who said that it was as if him taking picturees of his behen and jiju. Had one of the best dinners at a wedding and was even more delighted to get intoduced to Siva who was Irshad's childhood friend. He took care of me until I got into an auto for my journey back to the bus station so as to reach Hyderabad the next day. That night when I walked into the bus station in cuddapah I told my self that this journey, this very little moment of my life  of is a memory which would live with me forever.

I am very honoured to share one of the best videos ever captured in youtube which had all shayari's from Zindagi Naa Milegi Dubaara. For you my friend. Aaj  Jeelengey hum...

Continue to inspire everyone you come across with your good heart.. Pardon me if my Hindi is wrong but I too have come up a little shayari. Consider this as my birthday gift to you.

Tho arz kiya hein....

Aankhon mein aansoon the kal ke... aapkey hathon ne unhe mitaah dhiyaaa...
Dil mein sapne hein kal ke... aapkey bathon ne mujhe sahaara dhiyaa..
hasthey rehna aap har pal... Allah apkey saath hein...
Uss Allah ke vaasthey hasney de mujhe dil kholke.. hamein jannath ka rastha milgaya....

Irshaad...Irshaad...Irshaad..

Happy Birthday buddy,
Stay Awesome
Keep Smiling.

October 23rd : Swetha Rao

"Strange that we rarely talked to each other in college" I expressed to Swetha on how different things were back then . She was happy to see me as we met after 3years. She too felt that college was indeed such a place where memories take their best shape and that it's our choice to see them either as good or bad. I have known her for almost 9 years and that's the only thing I ever knew. She was my classmate in engineering and the craziest thing about her was that she never let her smile fade off no matter what the  situation was. She was a one stop destination to anyone who wanted a listening ear and a shoulder to lie on. We all used to tease her every now and then but she always took our tantrums with a light heart. "Such a childish mentality" I once thought but during all these years I slowly realized that being childish is the first sign for a person to let others wishfully know that you care for them. The most interesting part which surprised me was when she said that she never wanted to do B.tech and that it never bothered her when  she was asked do one additional year. I was more delighted when she said that she made more friends and had an awesome time even then.

At first I thought that there wouldn't be much to write about her but as I keep exploring the memory lane, there is this gentle smile on my face reassuring me saying 'dude! You are not done yet'. From my out burst on hearing the name she came up with for our junior freshers party which said "Crazy kiya re" to me jumping in excitement on knowing that she had become an RJ, from my inability to hold her in my arms during our first yr fresher's party paper  dance to my silent irritation on my lecturers for not letting her continue with our batch, I somehow chose to keep all these from many such beautiful memories created in engineering. We and few  others even organized a cultural event once which was  a great way to get away from classes and then spend precious time in canteen just talking. It was really precious time well spent as even after all these years we still remember what we talked and the songs we sang ignoring to the fact that there were people around. She even mentioned that she had those songs recorded in her phone. Would love to revisit them some day.

An Entrepreneur in Disguise

After all these years there she was living her life to the fullest, making her dreams come true taking one step at a time when the whole world around her was madly in a race to out run each other never even knowing why they had got into that race in the first place. In a time when top institutes were producing thousands of managerial graduates promising them to give silver platter packages so that they can lie, deceit and steal in the name of 'Improving the business' we rarely get to see few entrepreneurs in disguise who are smart enough to understand the simple logic of demand and supply, identify a diverse market and be the best in it. She was one such entrepreneur, still so down to earth that she would just shrug it off with a smile saying "oh this is just what I like doing. There is lot more to do in the near future" A cloth showroom for kids, not for grown ups for kids. How simple was the idea?. Having seen young parents all around who love so much buying for their little ones with no expense to care for, an enterprise which could give them high end quality clothing at a reasonable price is a fact too good to be true. She knew her work and she understood her customers even better. I even had to hear a blunt reply when I went to shop for my nephew 'Dude!! boys never have many options to choose in clothes unlike baby girls'.  She handpicked almost all those awesome dresses I bought for my nephew. She also told me that she does event planning which is once again a great service industry in its initial days waiting to be taken over by Giants. A superb human with so many roles, it only gets better as you interact with her more.

Goddess of Freedom :

Freedom is often misunderstood as an ability to do what ever one wishes for without getting influenced by anyone else's thoughts or prejudices. but true freedom is the will to go ahead and be true to yourself, dream big and live every moment turning those dreams into reality. we are living in a world of bonded relations and consequences where every decision impacts everyone around us. Its within these unbreakable bonds lies that freedom of having fun in the best possible way, where imagination can take us to new heights if we are ready to believe in ourselves. That's where I place Swetha as the Goddess of freedom. She played her part in every person's life showing how simple it is to be free no matter how dark the reality is. "How difficult is it to smile at our own selves?" she quoted once. Many a times we ridiculed her to be immature where in fact she was being the wisest with the simplest lines any layman would understand. I dedicate her this very song of a person who is living her life believing that its the best thing to ever happen to anyone. I will always remember Swetha as a friend who is kind enough to ignore, wise enough to forgive and strange enough to say "Chaltha yaar. let's put a smile on that face'

I really wish to attend her wedding lifting her pallaki  along with her uncles as she comes to the mandap. It would be my honor to see her start a new beginning in her life's Journey. An event truly meant for time to relish on. 

Happy Birthday Buddy,

Keep Smiling and

Stay Awesome.

October 10th : Swaroop Venkat Yellapragada :

In 2013, I called up swaroop on his birthday and asked him "what did you achieve in these 25 years" he laughed it out but was dumb struck for a moment not knowing what to say. He had one year to find an answer for that. Little did he he know that his childhood buddy found the answer for him in the same one year. So swaroop sit back and relax reading this as I wish you on your 26th Birthday. I am awesome my friend and one of the first names which comes into my mind when I ask myself 'why I am awesome' is you.

A Mother, A Father, A Teacher

I met Swaroop when I was in Class 5. he was this extremely confident, arrogant and cool dude who loved knowing everything and being there for anyone who wanted any kind of help from him. He had to be the best in everything. He believed he was the best and he loved people around him. This is something which I was very new to. I forced myself into becoming an introvert but luckily Swaroop was one of the few persons who saw the wild side of me in school. We travelled together everyday and for the next 5 years he was a part of my family and I forced my self to be a part of his. At every important situation in my school I learned from him. He made sure that I was being guided properly. This is me concentrating on what good about everyone but back then I was this idiotic monster who would never trust anyone. But I enjoyed every moment being with him, arguing with him,trying to prove him wrong, make him look bad and best of the best wanting to be him. Its in class 10 I finally realised that Vamshi needs an Identity not as Swaroop's friend but Vamshi himself. We grew apart from there on. I never told him why I stopped talking to him but I did eventually distanced myself from him as I strongly believed that he was being a bad influence on me. what I took 8 years to find out later that he was not perfect. It was my expectation for him to be perfect. It was my disappointment which made me angry when he was not what I wanted to be. No matter how much hatred I had towards him, he never dropped that concern for me. Life's some of the best memories I had were made in his presence no matter how small they were, I always get a wide smile when I recollect them. He not only taught me how to dress, how to behave, how to talk, how to respond, how to be confident but also trained me in finding my self. This is a son writing about his father. This is a student writing about his teacher. Now replace 'him' with 'her' and 'he' with 'she' in every sentence and what you will see is a son writing about his mother.  In one of the short film stories I wrote, there is a line which says 'Janma ichina thalli prema lo Swardham undadhu'. As I write this, I am proud to announce this statement in a different version 'Punarjnama ichina Mithruni prema lo Eersha udadhu'. You are stuck with me Swaroop for a life time.

I am not good in remembering places, names, routes but I do remember that

• Swaroop's Maturthi 800 had a name plate 'AIV 405', 
• His sister Shilpa akka taught me how to dance for 'Yeh mere dil' from Kaho na Pyaar hein' 
• He was the first person to show me what internet is. 'Vamshi_regalla@yahoo.com' is the email id he created for me.
• He was the first person to teach me how to solve one side of a Rubix cube
• He was the first person to show me what a walkman does and thats how I listened to the first Hindi-pop song 'Kya surat Hein' by Bombay vikings.
• He was the first person to teach me that one should remember surnames more as that gives the other person more respect.
• He was the first person to tell me that AOC stands for 'Army Ordinance Corps' , ATM stands for 'Automatic Teller Machine' and that there will be signature of  RBI's governer on every Indian currency note.

The God 

I love mytholgy ever since I was introduced to it in my chilhood, And I never believed in throwing everything over God. I was never scared of Him but loved his stories and treated him as my Friend. May be thats the reason I see God in Everyone including one in the mirror. Swaroop used to tease me in school that I have a big mouth. May be thats the reason I started to believe that I was Hanuman for him and I treat him as my Lord Ram. He was always there to motivate me and give me that boost up I always needed. Even when the whole world was against me, he stood next to me saying 'You know what you are doing. I believe you' . No matter where I am, No matter what I do, My life's one of the biggest achievement is winning his friendship. Lord hanuman tore his heart to show that there was Sri ram and Sita mata in his heart. How lucky should I be this Hanuman be on knowing that I have a special place in my Lord Ram's Heart.

Ever since I started writing short film stories, Swaroop was gladly reading them and playing the main protagonist role in few of them. He was my Hero. He loved my stories. He once said that some day he would expect a book written by me. I lately realised that I am an ardent disciple like Annamayya writing my keerthanas as short films for lord Venkatesawara. I believe it now that Venkata Swaroop will have his disciple's Bhakti for the rest of his life. This is what you have achieved in these 26 years my friend. I have only one thing to say. you never understood why people around you had so much confidence and faith in you but you never believed it yourself. I too was the same and I found out the solution.  This is what I did and its my responsibility to let you know. Fix a date and strongly believe that its important to you. Believe it and you will be the change you always wanted to be. Aug15th 2014 is the date I chose. It's your turn my friend. Librans rock, You always said that. 

We do because 

• We Just do things we don't give explainations, excuses and reasons
• We forgive what is bad to us and appreciate what is good for us. Thats the balance
• We value people more than anything
• We are one of the best peope to put Money to its right use. We 'Spend' money in the best way.
• We love and spread it all around us.
• We forget and let go of people who cannot understand our true intentions. That's the patience.
• We tame the beast in us better than any other person. We know how to hurt people thats why we are always careful on what ever we speak.
• We think and that's why we exist.
• We dream big, even if its a long journey, we know how to take the first step
• We are the Spiders, every King needs; inspiring them to keep on moving every time they fall into failure.

Thalliivi Neevey

Thandrivi Neevey

Guruvu Neevey

Daivam Nuvvey

Shakthi Nivvu !!

Happy Birthday Swaroop.

Stay Awesome

Keep SMiling.