Mousetrap

I’m sure most of us would have seen a mouse, I’m not taking about the cute adorable mice like Jerry, Micky and Minnie who have been made famous by the erstwhile “Cartoon Network”. When I talk about mice I feel Homo sapiens are more or less like them in many things one of the prime reasons why a mouse gets trapped in a mousetrap is because of “GREED”. The aroma of piece of cake inside the mousetrap is strong enough to cloud senses of the mouse and he is willing to take the risk of getting trapped and possibly embrace death due to the same. Well I guess its time to confess that i have been enticed by a so called cake called “ 2BHK”, if I go back a little in time I realized I was never the one who even thought about property, The first time I remember talking about the same is when I attended a party thrown by my friend of all seasons “PanditJi” because he had become a proud owner of a 3000 SqFt plot which had been allocated to him in a draw of lots, Little did I realize that this night will change the course of my thinking.

It has been many years since that party got over and the race against a 2BHK has still not been won by the likes of myself. Whenever I had some money the price of the property which I liked had skyrocketed. I felt stupid going back the to the same set of property dealers hearing the same superficial stories of people making lakhs if not crores in this great business, there were too many suggestions and too little money for all the great projects. I could feel that I was the one who was running at the slowest pace of all. Every day I call up my greatest friend (whom I think needs to be awarded the “PARAMVEER CHAKRA” because he has successfully managed to buy a great house in Gurgaon the golden city in heart of india) we talk endlessly about what suits me and what doesn’t, from the bottom of our hearts we both acknowledge that this is a vicious circle and there is no need for at least me to jump in the same.

Rather than talking about more serious issues in my life like learning to play a musical instrument, Studying for my MBA, Taking my family for abroad for a vacation I’m ready to plunge myself into a Debt Trap just to satisfy my ego that “ I have made it large” ( I think in the end I will end up looking like the one who gets slapped by people around for trying to make it large.. LOL…check out the royal stage advertisement on youtube for getting to know the concept).

Well no matter what I do this mirage does not seem to leave my sight at all, The more i stare at the same the more determined I become of getting entrapped in this mousetrap, The irony is that I know its not going to do any good either to me or my immediate family even then I try to be a good salesman for my mind and try selling this idea to it.

Anyways i know I’m fighting a losing battle but I guess it can be summed up by the following story I heard in a movie “Two little mice fell in a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse, wouldn't quit. He struggled so hard that eventually he churned that cream into butter and crawled out. Gentlemen, as of this moment, I am that second mouse.”

I really don’t want to be any mouse but I’ve decided to take a plunge in case I don’t succeed I want you all to write this on my tombstone “ The First MOUSE” :D

Lunch Box

<> just wanted to share the same with everyone around..dont know if the feeling is resonating :)
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Walking from the parking lot to my office yesterday. I saw something that most of us see every day when we walk in/out of the office. Yes scores of well educated neatly dressed people carrying their “LunchBox”. The lunch box, also referred to as a lunch pail or lunch kit is a container meant to store a meal for consumption, usually at work or school. I tried to remember my relationship with the lunchbox over the last 27 summers that I have seen so far.

Seems like the lunchbox was with me since the time I was pushed out of the safe havens of my home to SCHOOL. That is the word I dreaded the most at that point of my life. Every day my beloved mother would engage herself to prepare a fantabulous lunch for me. The meal was a gourmet delight in itself. Though simple in nature it truly showcased her culinary skills she had acquired over a period of time. Little did she realize that I hated the lunch hour the most as my Lunch Box would be a target of all mischief mongers of my class. Time rolled by and it was time for my 10^th standard when I imagined myself in college and eating at canteen every day. Little did I realize that I will miss this lunchbox for the rest of the life to follow.

I still remember the time when I initially started eating out regularly at the college canteen I would fight everyday with Maa to make her understand that it was not “Macho” to carry a lunch Box everyday. It seemed so uncool in my set of cool friends to carry the dreaded lunch everyday. All of us firmly believed that only government employees carry a lunch Box and it seemed to represent the “BABU Class” of Indian system. Little did our generation realize that we were kids of the same section of people who toiled hard at work to make both ends meet. The luncheons of canteen soon became food that we all started loathe secretly. But nobody was willing to take the risk of carrying a lunchbox to College as they dint want to become the laughing stock of the rest of the gang. We were ready to starve the whole day and then hog to the hearts content as soon as we landed up at home but we were not ready to compromise with our image.

College ended and left behind memories of the canteen whose food is the last thing that I will want to remember from bygone days. Finally I started the never ending search for my perfect job. Got my first job and it landed me straight into the city of my dreams. A city that will eventually give me everything but will never be able to give me lunch prepared by maa . I would never ever accept that in my senses that I truly miss lunch cooked by maa even more than Maa herself. I really don’t know what has kept me binded to that food was it the taste? Was it the love that maa showered in form of LunchBox? Was it the fact that it was a representation of the fact that someone cared for your food even though she was not around in person? Whatever the answer to this question but the fact remains that I will never be able to comprehend it myself.

Anyways times have since changed and I have a different feeling towards the people who bring a lunchbox to office. I will try to strike an instant rapport with people who bring a lunchbox to office. The lunchbox stares everytime I grab a bite from someone’s tiffin. It seems to be laughing out aloud at me and asks me some questions “What happened to your ego” “Would you like to eat at the food court” “would you like to ridicule anyone who brings in a lunchbox” “would you like to relive the days when you never had to care about lunch” “Would you ever be able to bring a lunchbox yourself”….phew quite a plethora of feelings we can say.

In my opinion the lunchBox has become a synonym of love, care and affection of a loved one who might not find time to say “I care” at times, but who is always worried about these small nitty gritties of life which we all seldom care to acknowledge. Next time I see someone with a lunchbox in hand a smile spreads itself on my face and I can sense someone cares for the fellow carrying the sam