Hostels- The home away from home

Hostel life is highly underrated. Having spent the first two decades of my life with parents at home and afterwards in different locations, I have first-hand experience of both the worlds. During my undergrad days, being a day scholar, I would always wonder about a typical day in the life of a hosteler. I used to think what under the sun a hostler would spend time on. With no family members around, in a new town, with a bunch of unknown faces, what would keep them busy. A few years later, post getting into the shoes of one, it was an unmatched exposure for me. Hostel life inculcates the real life-skills in a student. It’s more impactful during the young age. Categorically, I can recollect the core areas it has impacted to my life: 

Responsibility: You are responsible for all the actions around. If you are late for the 8:30am class, bad scores in mid-terms, non-submission of assignments/group projects, it’s you and no-one else whose actions made it happen. One definitely rethinks and acts responsibly next time you face this situation. 

Peer-learning: While in hostels, you learn more from your peers than in a classroom. You live with people from various parts of the country, having diverse backgrounds, culture and stories to share. You equally get inspired from each other when you see something better or worse in certain situations, which, till now you felt was solely happening to you. 

Mindful spending- road to Financial literacy: With limited funds in your pocket, you think twice before spending even a penny while in college.

Social bonding: Since you spend most of the time with your friends sharing rooms/hostels, eating the same food. You end up making friends for life. I have read somewhere “The last time you make good friends in life is during your last college degree. Every new relation post that is a barter for one reason or the other” I might have missed enumerating more benefits of living in hostel, but the ones who been-there-done-that can vouch for the dent it makes in one’s universe. Practically, you can consider dividing your whole life into two phases 1) Before going to hostel and 2) During and after the time you spend in hostel. 

At times, I feel, it should be made compulsory for everyone to spend a few years of early life in hostels, for it’s equally transformative to the society as a whole as it is for an individual. Army personnel are considered transformed, conditioned, responsible and good citizen for a reason, and there is a reason some countries make it compulsory for its citizens to serve in the army. Skills learnt away from home are crucial and important to transform us into better humans. 

HostelerForLife 

Jokar2012

Resurrecting core: fusing music vigor into exercise

As I reach the gym, walking leisurely and listening to an audio book, I usually switch my years-old earbuds to music. For reasons of its own, the beats and rhythm drive most of the repetitions when we lift and at times your favourite song helps you push the last few, most effective reps. 

Today, while I was in the middle of the fourth lifting exercise, my music app played an unknown song from the coke studio. Though it was not-so-quaint, its beats kinda kept me going. Right after a minute, during the rest between sets, the singer ‘Sona Mohapatra’ and the chorus emphasised Khusro nizaam ke balh balh jaiye. As exercise is meditation for some people, sufi fusion, at times takes me to the zone. 

I finished my lifting routine per schedule and switched on to the mat for my next exercises. And it was my favourite, elbow plank for today. Recovery from months-long injury and damage to vitals due to Covid-19  had pulled me back and left at the starting line, where holding elbow-plank was as hard as the first few rides for a child. From ‘7 mins anyday, anytime, anywhere’ I was down to ‘thank god, finally I touched 60 secs’. 

But today was different, for I had new music to listen to while I plank. As I took position and switched on the timer, chimes of sitar, xylophone and drums at 120 bpm started pushing me. Mai to piya se naina lada ayi re, the song’s title had a different meaning for me today. Held my position strong till four mins and I looked at the music app. Still 44 secs were left to end the song. The lyrics ahead were what had caught my attention when I listened to the song for the first time, balh balh jaiye (devote ourselves, sacrifice to thy god). Fully charged, I devoted myself to the exercise I was doing and it was 4:56, 4:57, 4:58, 4:59, 5:00 on the timer before I relaxed. This is the second time I got a push via music while doing a plank. Once I hook onto a song, it kind of competes with me in a race between length of the song and my holding time. Perhaps this is the reason I so like Nusrat Fatheh Ali Khan and his long qawalis. 

Today’s five minutes of plank was dedicated to the devotion and sacrifice each one of us do to keep ourselves healthy for a happy, disease-free and long life. May you get all the power to devote your full energy in keeping yourselves in best shape. 

#ChelteRahiye #Move #StayHealthyLiveHappily

जिंदगी की दौड़

बैठ के सोचता हूँ कभी, की थक हार चुका हूँ मैं
कई मीलों लम्बे रास्ते, कर तय चुका हूं मैं
आगे बढ़ने की यह आग, पर जलती ही रहेगी
यह तो जिंदगी की दौड़ है, यह चलती ही रहेगी

ऊचीं मंजिलों को छू कर, कल हो जाऊंगा मशहूर
लिए दिल में यह तमन्ना, आया वतन से मैं दूर
कभी सागर खुशी के, नदी अश्रों की बहेगी
यह तो जिंदगी की दौड़ है, यह चलती ही रहेगी

यारों हौसले भी दिए, कुछ ने निंदा है सुनाई
मेरी जिंदगी की चाल , कई ठोकरें है खाई
ले के ख़ुदा का सहारा , राह यह मंजिल की है पाई
एक छूई है, कई बची हैं, कतार बनती ही रहेगी
यह तो जिंदगी की दौड़ है, यह चलती ही रहेगी

लाख सिकंदर यहाँ हैं आए, कई पोरस जंग हराए
राजे लूट है महल बनाये, चले गए दुनिया को समझाए
तेरे कफ़न वाली ज़ेब, आखिर खाली ही रहेगी
पर यह तो जिंदगी की दौड़ है, यह चलती ही रहेगी
गुरी यह जिंदगी की दौड़ है, यह चलती ही रहेगी

ਦਿਲ ਡਰਦਾ

ਕਈ ਵਾਰੀ ਬੈਠਾ ਸੋਚਾਂ ਲਖਾਂ ਸੂਰਤਾਂ ਨੇ ਇਥੇ
ਕਈ ਸੋਹਣੇ ਤੇ ਸੁਨ੍ਖੇ ਦਿਲ ਤੈਨੂ ਹੀ ਕਿਯੋ ਡਿਠੇ
ਤੈਨੂ ਮੁੜ ਮੁੜ ਤੱਕਾਂ ਦਿਲ ਨਾਹਿਯੋੰ ਭਰਦਾ
ਜਦ ਆਖਣੇ ਨੂੰ ਆਵਾਂ ਮੇਰਾ ਦਿਲ ਡਰਦਾ
ਕਿੱਦਾਂ ਸੋਚਾਂ ਕੇ ਮੈਂ ਪ੍ਯਾਰ ਤੈਨੂ ਨਾਹਿਯੋੰ ਕਰਦਾ...

ਵਸੇ ਮੇਰੇ ਵਿਚ ਤੂੰ, ਜਿਵੇਂ ਕਪੜੇ 'ਚ ਰੂੰ
ਕਹੇ ਹਰ ਪਲ ਮਨ, ਗਾਵੇ ਮੇਰੀ ਲੂੰ ਲੂੰ
ਜਦ ਆਖਣੇ ਨੂੰ ਆਵਾਂ ਮੇਰਾ ਦਿਲ ਡਰਦਾ
ਕਿੱਦਾਂ ਸੋਚਾਂ ਕੇ ਮੈਂ ਪ੍ਯਾਰ ਤੈਨੂ ਨਾਹਿਯੋੰ ਕਰਦਾ..

ਜਾਦੂ ਐਸਾ ਹੈ ਤੂ ਕੀਤਾ, ਤੇਰਾ ਪਾਣੀ ਭਰ ਪੀਤਾ
ਤੂੰ ਮੇਰੇ ਦਿਲ ਵਾਲੀ ਤਾਰ, ਮੇਰਾ ਦਿਲ ਤੇਰੇ ਨਾ ਸੀਤਾ
ਜਦ ਆਖਣੇ ਨੂੰ ਆਵਾਂ ਮੇਰਾ ਦਿਲ ਡਰਦਾ
ਕਿੱਦਾਂ ਸੋਚਾਂ ਕੇ ਮੈਂ ਪ੍ਯਾਰ ਤੈਨੂ ਨਾਹਿਯੋੰ ਕਰਦਾ..

ਯਾਰੀ ਤੋੜ ਤੂੰ ਨਿਭਾਈੰ, ਰਹੀਂ ਦਿਲ 'ਚ ਸਮਾਈ
ਮੈਂ ਹਾਂ ਦੀਵਾ ਤੂੰ ਹੈ ਲੋ, ਜੋੜੀ ਐਸੀ ਹੈ ਬਣਾਈ
ਸਾਰਾ ਜਿਤ੍ਤ੍ਲਾਂ ਜਹਾਂ ਪਰ ਤੇਰੇ ਅੱਗੇ ਹਰਦਾ
ਅੱਜ ਆਖਾਂ ਤੈਨੂ ਪ੍ਯਾਰ ਮੈਂ ਹਾਂ ਸਚ ਕਰਦਾ
ਸਚੀ ਆਖਾਂ ਤੈਨੂ ਪ੍ਯਾਰ ਮੈਂ ਹਾਂ ਬਹੁਤ ਕਰਦਾ......

Book Fair visit , realization of my habit.

Given the busy lives of this technological era of computers, everybody is so occupied with his/her chores that they hardly think about pursuing such hobby. Some find it excruciating to pick and read a book for hours and then grasp the real essence of the text written in some hundreds of pages. For such guys, Internet-technology, precisely book review sites and wikipedia pages have made a short way to get the gist of the book. But no matter how less the number of reader are, book reading is and always be en-joyful.
Book reading is one of the best habits. I never realized that for I have not find any reason yet to categorize this hobby as the best. As per my sense, every hobby possessed by a person is his/her best. A guy with an avocation of drawing or painting consider it as the best one, similar is the case with all others be it a singer, trekker, swimmer and reader. But perhaps reading is one such hobby which gives you a vast diversified knowledge even if you intend to pursue only a single hobby. A musician will learn only how to play a certain instrument. A sportsman will ace a particular sports. But in case of an avid reader, even though he is following his interest of reading, he is getting knowledge of various things. He reads about sports, music, mountaineering, science and what not. Perhaps this is the reason reading is placed at the top of all the hobbies.
I realised a reader inside me a few years ago when certain animal in me prodded to quell the fire of my belly to kill the other feline animal. It all started when I borrowed ‘The Alchemist’ from one of my friends. Even though one of my other friend gave me a small book ‘Who moved my cheese’ 5 years ago to read, I being lazy and lethargic towards reading, couldn’t even finish those 40 odd pages. And now this time the Alchemy of ‘Paulo Coelho’ worked so well that I read more than two books a month heydays following that.
Today also after vising a book-fair I have again cherished my love towards books. Yes, I accept that lack of time and some other priorities of rat race has impeded my pace of shifting piles of to-be-read book but even then my mind there at different stall was thinking of picking up every third book. I had chosen some 5-6 book to bring along with me but then my mind reminded my of certain 3-4 already unread books kept in my room. Last year, during my stay at Delhi, I have bought a huge number of books out of which I still have some unfinished ones. I am sure a few more days and then this animal will be free again to read, read and read....
May this reading habit prevails and disseminate for everyone so that there is no dearth of knowledge in this world.!!