Aviraj’s Blog

Made a trip to the House of Charity earlier this evening. My mom likes to go to this shelter for the mentally and physically challenged run by a few nuns and volunteers from a quant little church, within the complex of which they're housed. Yesterday being my brother's birthday, this is how mum wanted to celebrate. 

We took some chicken patties, bread and juices (on the sisters' request) and some cake. It was truly stirring to see the sisters tearing up the bread and patties into bite-sized pieces, even blending them with pulses in a mixer for some, just so everyone could enjoy it. And I promise you, enjoy it they did. I also had the good fortune of serving some of them. The number of times these kids come up to you to say thank you (even though they can't say the words), to shake your hand or even kiss it is amazing. Actually, kids is not the right word; this is a shelter for people of all ages. While I saw a lot of children, some as little as about 5 years, I also saw people old enough to be great-grandparents.

Anyway, mum was overcome by the whole scene and couldn't hold back a few silent drops. I'll be honest - I do get a little uncomfortable by such situations, but at the end of the day, this place showed me the other world that exists beyond our homes and probably even our imagination. The selfless dedication of the nuns, the foreign volunteers, the little 5 year old feeding a helpless young man, it all ensures that my feet stay very firm on the ground.

I was hoping to get some pictures to share with everyone, but the nuns were not happy with the idea. All I got was this shot of the outside.

For some time now, I've wanted to be that generous citizen who helps out a stranger without a phone and let him make that phone call he really needs to. I've been at the receiving end a long time back and so I hoped I would get a chance to pay it forward.

"The great moments of your life won't necessarily be the things you do, they'll also be the things that happen to you. Now I'm not saying you can't take action to affect the outcome of your life, you have to take action, and you will. But never forget that on any day, you can step out the front door and your whole life can change forever. You see the universe has a plan kids, and that plan is always in motion. A butterfly flaps its wings and it starts to rain. It's a scary thought but it's also kind of wonderful. All these little parts of the machine constantly working, making sure that you end up exactly where you're supposed to be, exactly when you're supposed to be there. The right place at the right time."

This quote from How I Met Your Mother is especially meaningful to me. Why? This 'lesson' that future Ted teaches his kids is a philosophy that I have lived my entire life by. I just never could've put it in these words. The extent to which these words define my life surprises even me.

This belief tells me that everything in your life happens for a reason. Everything that happens anywhere in the world affects you in ways that you will never know. That doesn't mean you have to bother about all of it. You've still gotta do things as you see them right but the knowledge of this fact will keep you grounded. Well, it keeps me grounded. Awareness of the concept of destiny helps me remain positive at all times. Put in every effort that you can to achieve what you want, the results will come if and when they have to. Keep going forward. Stay forever optimistic. It's destiny that decides if you're in the right place at the right time.

Get your twitter mosaic here.

I can't find the words to write in my blog because I've used them all up in my tweets. And I don't read so nothing goes in. No kidding, my words are over. I don't have any words left. I'm doomed!

Ok. Now I need to read.

I made a quick overnight trip with some friends to the coastal union territory of Daman this past weekend. I'm not sure why they were so excited about Daman exactly, but that wasn't my concern anyway. Come to think of it, maybe it was the beautiful beaches (where I saw no water thanks to a freakishly low tide) or probably the massive fort (which we never visited thanks to the stupid rain) or probably just the weather (not! - bloody humidity). Oh btw, Daman is apparently an awesome place to get some seriously inexpensive booze. There are wine shops every 15 metres (not exaggerating) and boatloads of Gujrati businessmen in every resto-bar in town.

I know I sound like I'm cribbing but, honestly, I didn't give a damn. All I wanted was to spend some good time with some good friends. And a good time we had for sure!

P.S. - I spent almost the entire weekend with a toothpick in my mouth. I like toothpicks =)

Seriously, I don't think I've been so attached to any other product/tool/service/company like I have to Posterous. I'm not here to explain their features or sell their platform (well, not officially at least :), I just think it's the coolest company I've seen on the Internet in years. It feels a bit odd calling them a company since I know of only the 2 co-founders working on it. Yes, I'm a little emotionally attached because I found Posterous at the time that I was looking to find an outlet to express myself, but my blog has now evolved into a lot more - and that's all thanks to Posterous. I'm by no means their most prolific user but Posterous makes me want to blog more. I've got 3 Posterous blogs already and I know that I'm gonna get me some more to talk about other topics (that's when they allow me to have more than 3). I don't often pay for premium services on any website, but I would be more than happy to put my money into their premium services whenever they launch.

The pace at which Posterous has introduced new features since their launch a year back - and the absolute uniqueness and usability of those is seriously impressive. Their latest addition, which allows you to import any or all posts from your existing blogs on any other platform, makes it much easier for people to switch to Posterous. This, along with custom themes which is certainly their next big update, will make the decision to use Posterous as your primary blogging platform a no-brainer.

But more than any of their features, Posterous' trump card is it's co-founders - Garry and Sachin. I have no hesitation in admitting that I am probably one of their biggest fans, both of them. The attitude that they've created Posterous with, the sheer quality of their work, their non-belief in 'beta' rollouts, their humility in accepting feedback and their incomprehensibly quick and accurate email support amazes me. As a startup-lover and an entrepreneur-in-training myself, I must admit that these guys are one of my greatest inspirations, mainly because I have (sort-of) seen their company grow from the beginning (though I would love to get a closer look at the way they work). They're kind enough to share some of their insights and experiences on their own blogs. And to top it all off - both of them are fantastic photographers! :)

Anyway, this is my quick fanboy tribute to the one company I truly admire.

Cheers guys!

Okay, I've sort of said this before but I'll say it again. In case there's anybody out there who actually likes my little blog (*dreaming*), and is disappointed with the content on here lately, it's probably 'cause I'm a little more interesting on Twitter these days. Then again, maybe I'm not.

You decide: http://twitter.com/aviraj

Why do I have to feel guilty about things that I really shouldn't be guilty for? Heck, why do I have to take situations that I should really be pissed-off about myself and manipulate them into believing that they're my fault? Why am I so attracted to guilt? Why the hell am I so apologetic? I'm beginning to rue saying 'sorry' so easily.