Who’s driving you?

I always felt that a lot of your experiences and your learning depend upon who’s the driver. Like we are driven by our parents when we are young, then our own-selves drives us and then we also meet influential people who drive our decisions like your partner, boss, colleagues, friends, family, etc. etc. After all human being is a social animal and has to pay price for that.
However, my post is not about all those people mentioned above. It’s about those who are always behind the wheels when you are in the car and won’t ever leave you estranged at any place or time. These are our so called driver kaka / driver bhai (that’s what we call them or what so ever you call them), who drive us on our lanes to office, home, tour. Each driver is having his own story to tell. Some would be eager enough to tell you each and every story in so much detail, that by the time you leave the vehicle, you are ready to write an autobiography. And some would be too hard to be taken out of their bit of aloofness. But, I like first set of drivers. They make you learn so many things filled with new experiences of life, which you could have hardly got, considering the living standards/conditions you are having.
Sometimes sitting at back seat, I feel that how they manage their lives with their occupation. Driving here and there, learning each new route and reaching each new milestone with same eagerness to meet their destination. And still keeping you engrossed in their talks and life empowering experiences. Taking part in your sorrows and joys they tend to forget their and sometimes we too forget about theirs. Have we ever thought what all tribulations they might be facing, by coping with their occupational responsibilities? And still making you reach in time and safely.
I don’t know how relevant might be this piece to your lives. But, I just like these driver kakas for their lovely chatting, their practical advices and their great knowledge which has made many of my trips memorable ones. Hats off to their dedication… :)

The Kite Runner: A Must Read

I might be late in reading this one, but thank god I read it. I thank thousand times to my colleague, who suggested me this book and even got me copy of it. It seems that I am exaggerating the things, but let it be that way. I am so.. so happy after reading this piece of writing. The way this story unfolds is just marvelous.

The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, story of a boy who is struggling his haunting childhood event, lives in memories of Afganistan of his childhood and the kind of cruel reality he faces about the current conditions of Afganistan. Before reading all about Afganistan, I had no clue that Afganistan was such a beautiful place before this tragedy and never realized what the people of Afganistan are going through now, in these terrible conditions. Its story about humanity, explores all the facets of human nature be it love, care, hatred, jealousy, fear.

All this forced me to think about those people who are still stuck in those lands where terror is common thing nowadays, like Pakistan, Afganistan, our own Kashmir. How political greed of a few people has led to devastated lives of millions of people, the one who are facing the aftermath of terror or the ones who are direct factors of terror. We talk about world peace, global climate, growth and hundreds of other rosy words… but we only talk. And talk doesn’t give food to a terrorist or to the children who have lost their father last night being hit by a terrorists bullet or may be the bullet of army itself, who were actually fighting against terrorists. When will the ones ruling our nations will realize that a single loaf of bread on which they are spending some 500 or 1000 bucks, actually costs life for a child. We are talking about bright future for our children, but what about those who are getting orphaned every single minute. I might be exaggerating again, but at this point I am just feeling that my exaggeration is a miniscule compared to pains of people living in those war stricken countries. Hope to find some ray of hope for them too…