Conflicts are Gorgeous...!

I normally refrain from using such provocative statements but a small incident that occured few minutes ago in my proximity changed my perspective about "Conflicts" instantly. Well, I am at the Continental Lounge at Newark Liberty International Airport awaiting announcement of my connecting flight to Detriot with a bunch of wonderful and engaged passengers. A marathonic non-stop flight from Mumbai, overdoze of watching cartoons on board and inadequate sleep since past several hours has certainly skewed my circadian rhythym and in situations like these I normally prefer remaining glued to my iPod (calms me) but I felt scheme of events here at the passenger waiting area demanded a quick post :)

A quick high wattage interaction (it was quite a scene) between a young couple (perhaps newly married) was quite a shock to almost all of us. No one could doubt their mutual positive affinity and fondness for each other - to me they looked like a near perfect couple since they boarded the flight at Mumbai CST Airport. To give you an example, Steve (equipped with a Nikon SLR) has been taking Estella's (guess I heard her name right) snaps at light-speed successions whereever "No Photography" board is missing. Estella on the other hand has bought quite a number of collectibles - magnets, momentos, T-shirts, Books, Backrest Pillow etc for Steve....believe me - Love is indeed in the air here at EWR. But don't they tell you Good things don't last long ! Steve perhaps voiced his concern for one of the seemingly expensive momentos Estalla purchased and My God-what followed was a brutal warof words between the "perfect" couple-resulting in widespread agony-direct (to them) or induced (to me;)). Now this trigger was enough for me to think how can one avoid/manage situations like these. Lets see...

• Reality - C'mmon lets admit that to disagree (or clash) with near and dear ones is a part of life.
• Black or White - During war of words we tend to focus on the "said" things and declare a person as Good/Bad, Caring/Heartless etc- but hey communication is not all about talking...lets give some credit to the so called feelings of those involved too.
• Zero Escalation - We might not reach an agreement immediately but we can agree to disagree for now and still keep peace.
• Staying Neutral - Avoiding being Judgemental really helps. Mother Teresa once said "If you judge people, you don't have time to love them"
• Its just a Game - The dualistic concept of who wins and who loses dilutes pretty easily if one of the person quits this quarrel game (Games People Play is a must read).

That said lets admit that a conflict free "perfect" world with "perfect" partners and acquaintences isn't the way things happen in real world; So lets (for a change) try being little adaptive, super patient and relish the potential conflicts carry. They sure serve as eye openers for some, positive experiences for some others and indicators to start afresh elsewhere for the rest ! **

"Experiences make us who we truly are"

** Beware of views expressed by me (My mind has been humming on since past 20 hrs with near zero hour sleep) so think thrice (I advise even more) before adopting any of my tips :-D. But yes do have a fantastic week ahead...!

Outdoor Pleasures...!

Nidhi- A dear friend of mine visited a 'Pinkberry' store last week and since then she has fell in love with the concept store chain and never stops talking about it ! Never before I've seen a brand other than Apple making such an affinity; Intrigued, I tried scooping out some information about the store and looks like this California based company is a franchise of nicely packaged frozen desserts and oflate has been known for its plushy store interiors & cult following.I learnt that Splendora Blog says that an 8 oz serving of the fat free frozen yogurt at Pinkberry contains only 200 calories (Now I know why girls love it so much :)). An amazing and near-perfect amalgamation of low-fat, low-cal cool dessert in a ultra creative designer environment and fantastic word-of-mouth advertising makes it a very cool and sought after place to visit indeed. Google Alerts tell me that even celebrities such as the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus rave so much about Pinkberry. Oh and yes - when I ask Nidhi what fuels her desire to visit a Pinkberry Store again, she adorns a winsome smile (I know she's visualising her last memorable experience in yoghurt store before framing her answer) and says with conviction:

"Chinmay, Fun lies in leaving people better than you find them and Pinkberry offers exactly this kinda fun !"

While I wait for an opportunity to feed myself with this supposedly super-special frozen desert - enjoy the theme Pinkberry Song here , here or here. I love it !

Scope In Scope Out...!

The City of Mumbai has fascinated me since I stepped in this amazing city - Its fast paced life, diversity of cultures and exceptionally ambitious and creative people. Now that my dentist has given me a go ahead, I feel like a free bird and next few days I am going to travel a lot - thats for sure. While waiting for the local train at Nerul Train Station today, I noticed a Train that came to a screeching halt at the adjacent Platform. I mean agreed - it was a normal "9 Coach Slow Local" Train that was way too occupied and promised an eventful ride to a new passenger. However, what impressed me was the its external appearence. Quickly I pulled my camera of my bag and took a snap (Okay quality is not decent by any means but Nikon D90 wasn't nearby :)).

As you can see, the advertisement covers every bit of the coach and what's notable is that the whole the same ad ran across all coaches of this train. What appears NORMAL at first might have amazing consequences / impact to a daily passenger if one steps back & wonder:

• Attention Span: In our present super busy lives, we make (or have to make) very quick decisions everyday based on what we feel, hear and most importantly see. This kind of advertising is sure to grab one's attention.
• Take It Easy: I define this kind of advertising as "Take It Easy" one. Neither the advertisers are forcing / interrupting us to view their ads (like in Television)nor they are distracting us elsewhere (Internet Ads).
• Epicentre: You can ignore Ad on one coach or may be 2 coaches if you are quite indifferent or busy on phone like me. However, if the whole train is painted Red or Yellow or Blue - c'mmon you are bound to atleast give it a passing glance.
• Imprint: For daily passengers in Mumbai, commute in trains is the time when they unwind a little, think about how their day was, feel good about heading for home / office etc. In such a scenario, if you spot this kind of a Ad - believe it or not - you'll atleast remember you saw a train with "Dena Bank" or McDonalds" Ad on it. Thats it - that was the whole idea !

Likewise interpretations can be many but the fact that I would like to accentuate here is - we can always define things as SCOPE IN - SCOPE OUT. There are people who complain about [SCOPE OUT] things like how crowded trains in Mumbai are, they aren't Air-Conditioned, its riskier to travel in them and what not. And then there are some smarter folks (I meant advertisers here) who focus on [SCOPE IN] things, put their creative foot forward and make a difference. The growing school of thought in my mind tells me that when faced with an unpleasing situation or a not to co-operative person - we can always focus on SCOPE IN things, think of abstract ideas and be happy. Sounds easy - isn't it?

"Faith is good, but doubt is what gets you education"

Crisis Of Implementation...!

Now that (Thanks to the Dental Surgery I had early this week) my volume knob has been forcefully turned down for 3 days, I feel so different (read rejuvenated) for I am certainly not used to staying quiet for periods more than few minutes ! Since past 48 hours, the numerous thoughts emanating from my otherwise chattering mind have subsided quite well and I must admit that everything around seems so strange. Never before I was able to appreciate seemingly small things around me - like vivid colours of the fruits and vegetables while going for shopping at local market, notice shopkeepers strange 'n' different expressions while I pay for the goods purchased, genuinely appreciate home made food by focussing more on its taste rather than taking about my US' experiences or enjoy listening to the latest hits ! My initial reaction to the suggested (My dentist Dr. Suhana Gupta is brilliant by the way) abstinence from solid food and speech was hostile ; afterall for the first time I am really short of time and I have so much on the agenda - visit old friends, meet relatives, go for few treks around Mumbai, buy and read many bestsellers, explore latest restaurants, call up close pals but then life is all about surprises - isn't it?

Anyways, on a positive note the past 2 weeks of my dental treatment has left me with oodles of energy, bunch of crazy ideas and plenty of matter for my blogs and sketches. For now I would like to share a few pointers that might help in keeping our teeth strong, clean and healthy (Wish I was receptive to health related tips before :))

• Destination Cleanliness : Brushing our teeth regularly atleast twice a day is a MUST.
• A Matter Of Habit : Most of the Gen-X food we devour contains cheese, butter, oils and other substances that tend to stay in our mouths for an extended period of time. My Doc says one should rinse mouth 7 times after every meal.
• Vitamin C to the Rescue : Vit C builds up the tensile strenth of teeth. So have more yum lemonades or feel free to sprinkle more lime juice as a seasoning on processed food.
• Boost Fibre Intake : All dieticians suggest a Fibre Rich diet for a healthier heart. I'll just add that most of the unprocessed Fibre rich foods are relatively harder to chew which means more exercise for the teeth ! And yes the darker the vegetable, the more the natural fibre content in it.
• Irrigate Often : Using Oral Irrigators that aim a stream of water at your teeth to remove food particles is better than using toothpricks.

That said, the challenge lies in implementing these tips and many others. But on second thought beautiful smile doesn't come without efforts :D

"Memorable Moments just come and go like ripples in a stream"