A Dedication

Gratitude. Kids have it. They may not realize it. If and when they do, they don't know, how to express. But we are grown-ups. We are grateful to a lot of things, to a lot of people. If we know we are, if we know how to, then why wait? So here's a dedication to certain - or actually all - kids...

aey nanhe munho, shehzaadon..
mujh ko ye kabhi, bata do..
tumhaari hasee mein, ye taakat hai kaisi,
khushiyon ki jaise, imaarat hai aisi,
us mein ek ghar, dila do..
ghar ka us mujhe, pata do...                                                       (Intro.)


aankhen, bholi-bhaali.. masti, hai niraali..
aankhen, bholi-bhaali.. masti, hai niraali..

rutho agar toh bhi maanoge jhat se,
bado ko sikhaao ye karte ho kaise,
man jo tumhara, bedaag hai..
paani ke jaise, hi saaf hai..                                                           (1)

tumhaari hasee mein.........

seekho, dhyaan se.. khelo, shaan se..
seekho, dhyaan se.. khelo, shaan se..

kehta hoon kuch toh main dene tha aaya
par sach toh ye hai ke maine hi paaya,
pyaar mohabbat ka, nazraana..
isi liye gaaya, ye gaana..                                                              (2)

tumhaari hasee mein.........

Thoda Aur......

"Yaar Omkar, I had asked that girl out. She rejected. Later I got to know, agar THODA AUR rukta, toh she herself was going to ask me out. But since I did it earlier, she refused."
How does that sound for a situation? And how should one feel about this friend of mine? Of all the things, one thing is for sure. He has been the victim of 'Thoda Aur' Syndrome. By the way, it is not an isolated incident. Defying logic, I remember at least thrice having this conversation. With a different person, each time.
'Thoda Aur' is I think what sets humans apart from other animals. Had I got 'Thoda Aur' marks in my last year of engineering, I would have got a 'First Class'. It is only when I put it into perspective that a professor of mine had threatened me of a 'Fail' (no matter how baseless that rant was) that I get happy about it. The great Mr. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar decides to retire, and millions of us think, 'Thoda Aur khelna chahiye tha'. Perhaps, up until he announced this, a significant fraction of them had been venting frustration on the same guy. Bollywood has also been singing, "Thoda hai, thode ki, zaroorat hai..."
This 'Thoda Aur' becomes even more prominent in the shopping scenario. We always want 'Thoda Aur' discount on already existing ones. Even when we are getting something for free, "Thoda aur milta toh mazaa aa jaata!" Let me occupy a rock for a while and give you some customary gyaan. 'Thoda Aur' reflects a greedy nature. One should be happy with what one has.
Ok, screw that. I have come to terms to this way of thinking only recently, but there are numerous times, when a single-minded focus on this 'Thoda Aur' differentiates between winners and competitors. 1/100th of a second or 1/100th of a percentile appears to be 'Thoda Aur', but seperation between a Gold Medal and no medal, a college seat and a next-year-again-try is this same 'Thoda Aur'. A lot of great minds have been pushing for this 'Thoda Aur', and thus they are called great among billions.
And yeah, of course, how can I forget this.. After a session full of the 'Elixir of Celebrations' (Scroll down for the post below if you need explanation), people always tend to say this - "Thoda aur hota toh jannat hoti.. Bas ek peg aur.. Thoda aur...!!!"