Treasure In Old SHoEs.....

A young man, a student in a university, was one day taking a walk with a professor, who was commonly called the student's friend. As they went along, they saw lying in the path a pair of old shoes, which they supposed to belong to a poor man who was employed in a field close by, and who had nearly finished his day's work. The student turned to the professor, saying: "Let us play the man a trick: we will hide his shoes, and conceal ourselves behind those bushes, and wait to see his perplexity when he cannot find them." "My young friend," answered the professor, "We should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor. But you are rich, and may give yourself a much greater pleasure by means of this poor man. Put a coin in each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how this affects him." The student did so and they both placed themselves behind the bushes close by. The poor man soon finished his work, and came across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. While putting on his coat he slipped his foot into one of his shoes, but feeling something hard, he stooped down to feel what it was, and found the coin. Astonishment and wonder were seen upon his countenance. He gazed upon the coin, turned it around, and looked at it again and again. He then looked around him on all sides, but no person was to be seen. He now put the money into his pocket, and proceeded to put on the other shoe; but his surprise was doubled on finding the other coin. His feelings overcame him; he fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and uttered aloud a fervent thanks giving in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread, whom this timely bounty, from some unknown hand, would save from perishing. The student stood there deeply affected and his eyes filled with tears. "Now," said the professor, "Are you not much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick?" The youth replied, "You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget. I feel now the truth of these words, which I never understood before: "It's more blessed to give than to receive."

Rain.....................

She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories were a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day. Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in, "Mom, let's run through the rain," she said. "What?" Mom asked. "Let's run through the rain!" She repeated. "No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied. This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain." "We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said. "No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm. "This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?" "Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!" The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith. "Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said. Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing. Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories...So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. A friend sent this to me to remind me of life. I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN. They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them. Keep in touch with your friends; you never know when you'll need each other.

Ponder for a While.............

A boat docked in a tiny Goan village. A tourist from Mumbai complimented the Goan fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. "Not very long," answered the fisherman. "But then, why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the Mumbaite. The Goan fisherman explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family. The Mumbaite asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play guitar, sing a few songs... I have a full life." The Mumbaite interrupted, "I have an MBA from IIM-A, and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat." "And after that?" asked the Goan. "With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Panjim, or even Mumbai. From there you can direct your huge new enterprise." "How long would that take?" asked the Goan. "Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the Mumbaite. "And after that?" "Afterwards? Well my Friend, That's when it gets really interesting," chuckled the Mumbaite, "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!" "Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the Goan. "After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings doing what you like with your buddies." "With all due respect sir, but that's exactly what I am doing now. So what's the point wasting 25 years?" asked the Goan. And the moral of the story is? Know where you're going in life. You may already be there. Life in the present world is indeed a rat race. Many who have qualifications from reputed universities too do not know where they are going in life. Give it a serious thought, and please don't forget to take charge of your health.

I am very fond of photography...... just wanna capture every.. small, big sweet & SOUr images........., I ve just started working on it and would love to share it wid 'U'..... :)

These are few sunsets... From my terrace.....

Jodhaa Akbar

Jodhaa Akbar

The much talked about movie… finally I made up my mind, to get the feel of the movie after hearing a lot about it from my focks…..

The start of the movie is hilarious.. it discourages the viewers.. when the movie starts with the fight scene in the start of the movie… I wondered for sometime. If the trailers is this what would be the 4 hour movie like… I got apprehensive about the nxt few hours, is it gonna be my worst Sunday.. oh God I cant bear the idea… but as I summed my patience and brought my attention back to the movie , I started enjoying it since the appearance of king Akba r( Hrithik) , he brings his muscular presence and charismatic personality to make the role his own , now whenever I would hear the name the great king I would imagine hrithik as the king and I don’t want to comment on Miss perfect Jodha (Aishwariya) some of the scenes are dramtically performed poorly but she blends perfectly with our Mr perfect .

The art direction is good and the costumes & dialogues takes u back to the grand moghual time , not for once did I feel it’s a movie from the 21st era baring the only scene where akbar was about to kiss our shy princess during a sword fight scene. If he indeed would have done that than it would have been really drowned its charm of soft , shy romance.

The best part of movie is the sweet romance of our king and the power with which he speaks his dialogues in his court dewane- e- aam. In a way its like reading a novel of a different era

Bits and pieces of history has been entwined to revive the love story of the great moghual emperor.

And now, what do I say about the music I just could not stop humming, the song jashn – e bahaara.. is just perfect.

Thanks to Mr Gowarikar and the crew to delivery a good performance keeping the viewers expectations up, baring the start of the movie.

A walk on the clouds

A walk on the clouds.. an awesome movie.. just could nt take my eyes off the screen..

The picture above is shot from the movie.....

`A Walk in the Clouds" is a glorious romantic fantasy, aflame with passion and bittersweet longing. One needs perhaps to have a little of these qualities in one's soul to respond fully to the film, which to a jaundiced eye might look like overworked melodrama, but that to me sang with innocence and trust.The movie, set in the vineyards of Northern California in the months right after World War II, tells the story of a young man and woman who meet at a time of crisis in both of their lives, who agree to pretend to be married, and who end up desperately in love just when the pretense is about to fail. The plot lovingly constructs one barrier after another to their happiness, so that we can rejoice as each one falls, only to be even more alarmed at the next. And it sets their story in a place of breathtaking beauty. At a time when movies seem obligated to be cynical, when it is easier to snicker than to sigh, what a relief this film is! The movie opens with Paul (Keanu Reeves) returning home from the war, to a wife he married one day before he shipped out. He doesn't know her, and she hardly understands him. There should never have been a marriage. Now nothing is left. Paul leaves San Francisco on a bus; another passenger is Victoria Aragon (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon). They have a classic Meet Cute: He defends her from some aggressive guys, is thrown off the bus, walks on dejectedly, and finds her standing in the middle of the road with her suitcases. This is her home.But first a word about the road. It is a picturesque country lane, with leaves arching overhead, and looks not even remotely like the kind of highway Greyhound or Trailways might travel. For Arau, that is just fine; he is concerned here with the landscape of romance, not realism. Look at a scene soon after, where Victoria shows Paul the valley where her family has its vineyard; there has never been a valley this beautiful, this rolling, misty, sun-drenched and blessed; Arau uses special effects at several points in the film to push his landscapes beyond the real, into the ideal.Victoria is sad, and begins to cry. She is pregnant and forlorn, abandoned by a worthless man. She is afraid to go home to her father and confess her sin. Paul sees a way he might help: He could pretend to be her husband, they could make up a story, and he could leave in the morning. The grateful Victoria snatches at this straw, and they walk down to the family farm.The Aragon family is big and colorful and secure, Mexican-Americans who have lived on this land for generations.Alberto (Giancarlo Giannini), the father, plays his role to the hilt: He is stern and unyielding, perhaps to conceal the softness of his heart. His wife, Marie Jose Aragon (Angelica Aragon), is good and generous, and perhaps suspects something about the "marriage" but keeps her thoughts to herself. And then there is the patriarch, Don Pedro Aragon (Anthony Quinn), who sees and understands everything, and may even know Paul and Victoria are in love before they realize it themselves.The movie now alternates between melodramatic crisis and picturesque set-pieces. On the one hand, there is the growing suspicion of Alberto, who wonders why, if this boy is married to this girl, he sleeps on the floor. On the other, there is the generosity of Don Pedro, who takes Paul on an early-morning walk to show him the root from which the entire vineyard has grown.Then there is the problem that Paul has not told Victoria that he is married - in name, at least - and thus not free to act on his feelings. For he is certainly falling in love, not only with Victoria but with her family and its land. He tells her he was raised as an orphan: "When I was a kid, I made a wish on every star in the sky to have what you have here." She asks, "And have everyone telling you what to do?" He says, "Better than no one." And this theme leads up to a moment when Anthony Quinn says a line that perhaps only he could utter with complete solemnity and grace: "You are an orphan no longer." Arau gives us wonderful scenes that would, in a musical, be production numbers. There is the grape-stomping dance, and the scene of ethereal beauty when frost threatens the vines, and all the family and its workers go into the field, using big butterfly wings to fan the warmth from oil heaters down around the grapes. And a scene of near-tragedy, which I will not describe.Keanu Reeves brings to the role an artless simplicity. He realizes that this material cannot be touched with the slightest hint of self-awareness: Paul must be completely in and of this story.Reeves' performance is almost transparent, and that is the highest compliment I can pay it. Of course the casting of the young woman is crucial, and Aitana Sanchez-Gijon is a luminous discovery. The child of an Italian mother and Spanish father, she has been acting in Spain since she was 9, and here, in excellent English, she creates a hero both vulnerable and brave.For me, the most touching scene in the movie is the one where Paul stands beneath Victoria's window, singing a Mexican love song that he has just learned.

A Thousand Marbles

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the basement shack with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning, turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it.I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know, the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with something about ?a thousand marbles.?I was intrigued and sat down to listen to what he had to say. ?Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you?re busy with your job. I?m sure they pay you well but it?s a shame you have to be away from home and your Family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter?s dance recital.?He continued, ?Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities.? And that?s when he began to explain his theory of a ?thousand marbles.??You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.??Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now stick with me Tom, I?m getting to the important part.??It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail,? he went on, ?and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy.??So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to roundup 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right here in my workshop next to the radio. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away.??I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.??Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday then God has blessed me with a little extra time to be with my loved ones...??It was nice to talk to you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your loved ones, and I hope to meet you again someday. Have a good morning!?You could have heard a pin drop when he finished. Even the show?s moderator didn?t have anything to say for a few moments. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to do some work that morning, then go to the gym. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. ?C?mon honey, I?m taking you and the kids to breakfast.??What brought this on?? she asked with a smile.?Oh, nothing special,? I said. ?It has just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we?re out? I need to buy some marbles.?

Valentine

St. Valentine's Story
Let me introduce myself. My name is Valentine. I lived in Rome during the third century. That was long, long ago! At that time, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Claudius. I didn't like Emperor Claudius, and I wasn't the only one! A lot of people shared my feelings.
Claudius wanted to have a big army. He expected men to volunteer to join. Many men just did not want to fight in wars. They did not want to leave their wives and families. As you might have guessed, not many men signed up. This made Claudius furious. So what happened? He had a crazy idea. He thought that if men were not married, they would not mind joining the army. So Claudius decided not to allow any more marriages. Young people thought his new law was cruel. I thought it was preposterous! I certainly wasn't going to support that law!
Did I mention that I was a priest? One of my favorite activities was to marry couples. Even after Emperor Claudius passed his law, I kept on performing marriage ceremonies -- secretly, of course. It was really quite exciting. Imagine a small candlelit room with only the bride and groom and myself. We would whisper the words of the ceremony, listening all the while for the steps of soldiers.
One night, we did hear footsteps. It was scary! Thank goodness the couple I was marrying escaped in time. I was caught. (Not quite as light on my feet as I used to be, I guess.) I was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death.
I tried to stay cheerful. And do you know what? Wonderful things happened. Many young people came to the jail to visit me. They threw flowers and notes up to my window. They wanted me to know that they, too, believed in love.
One of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard. Her father allowed her to visit me in the cell. Sometimes we would sit and talk for hours. She helped me to keep my spirits up. She agreed that I did the right thing by ignoring the Emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages. On the day I was to die, I left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty. I signed it, "Love from your Valentine."
I believe that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on Valentine's Day. It was written on the day I died, February 14, 269 A.D. Now, every year on this day, people remember. But most importantly, they think about love and friendship. And when they think of Emperor Claudius, they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love, and they laugh -- because they know that love can't be beaten!

BUTTERFLY

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.
The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.
We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

I asked for Strength.........And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for Wisdom.........And God gave me Problems to solve.
I asked for Prosperity.........And God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.
I asked for Courage.........And God gave me Danger to overcome.
I asked for Love.........And God gave me Troubled people to help.
I asked for Favors.........And God gave me Opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted ........I received everything I needed!
Trust in God. Always !

Monday Pep.. Confirm the problem.....

One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops - a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well. At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on. Six feet eight,built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, "Big John doesn't pay!" and sat down at the back. Did I mention that the driver was five feet three, thin, and basically meek? Well, he was. Naturally, he didn't argue with Big John, but he wasn't happy about it. The next day the same thing happened - Big John got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next.This grated on the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage of him. Finally he could stand it no longer. He signed up for body building courses, karate, judo, and all that good stuff.By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; what's more, he felt really good about himself. So on the next Monday, when Big John once again got on the bus and said, "Big John doesn't pay!"The driver stood up, glared back at the passenger, and screamed, "And why not? "With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, "Big John has a bus pass .."Management Lesson: "Be sure there is a problem in the first place before working hard to solve one."