What a beautiful morning!

As usual, started my day thanking God for this beautiful life! Got ready, took my bag and stepped out of my home for a college lecture. This 15 minutes journey to college started with a positive thought, “Today is going to be a good day”. Enjoying the early morning walk with a packet of Marie Gold biscuit in my hand, loving the morning refreshing air with every step I take, and biscuit I chew. Watching the sun shining bright, listening to the birds singing in their rhythm, looking at traffic signal lights and looking at people's eyes who were passing by from my side, trying to find what they are up to and trying to read their mind. Yes, I was in a trance.

With every step I take and the biscuit I eat, there was something beautiful happening and passing. I realised that this day is not as usual. I saw three strangers enjoying the early morning newspaper at a Chai Tapri (a tea-stall) and having fun. The city cleaners were doing their job right by cleaning the city and making it beautiful. The two young boys may be more than 20 years of age holding their fingers and walking by the road! Some people were already at the start of their day job while some were on their way.

My 15 minutes journey to college was about to end. I kept the remaining biscuits in my bag, took out an ID card, and kept it in my pocket. Then from a distance, I saw two homeless kids, a boy and a girl holding each other’s hand running by the footpath and enjoying the beautiful morning. Just when I reached the college lane, I saw a friend from a distance coming through me being busy on a cell phone. He was walking back home. He also saw me and just when I reached him, he started saying, “I was trying to call you to inform you that the lecture is cancelled and there will be no lecture today”. Listening to this, I slowly whispered, Oh Fu*k! But at the same time, I was happy about it. But, my friend wasn’t happy. He was like, “the teacher should inform us a day before about this”. I responded, “Hey chill, it is okay! Bas samajle ke early morning walk ho gayi,” (Think that you did the early morning walk, that’s all!).

Another friend came. Standing on a roadside, we spoke for almost an hour. We chatted about life, the final semester B.Sc. IT project and much such stuff! I was happy that the lecture got cancelled. Because of it, we were talking like aliens on a roadside. While chatting, I witnessed a beautiful moment happening on my right side. The man was giving bread to the stray dog as if the dog is his son. I smiled looking at this moment. I felt the love around me.

After standing and talking for almost 1 hour, we left doing the handshake and saying bye to each other; taking three different directions as 3 of us had a different road to take. I started my journey again but this time back home. The streets started filling up with vehicles and people. Then after walking some steps, I see a woman on a bus stop waiting for a bus, and there was a stray dog right beside her. When I reached closer to her, I observed she was moving her right hand with care on a dog’s back, like as if the dog is her baby. The love was all around me this morning. Next, I see a crow drinking the water from a bowl filled with water placed outside the window on the first floor of a building. It was kept especially for all these beautiful birds. My heart filled with love watching this! Mix emotions started running inside me.

The last thing which I viewed is another extraordinary moment. I had tears in my eyes this time. I see my dad walking on his way to the office. The fact that my eyes got filled with beautiful water because it is his hard work that inspires me every day! Sometimes I wish I could be as hard-working as him. I said to myself, “this is the kind of father I hope to be someday”. The hard work dad does for the entire family is more than just an inspiration. I reached him, had a small chat, and then left saying bye. I somehow managed my best to control my eyes filled with water. But I think dad read my eyes.

Today, for the first time in life I realised this seriously that time once gone can never come back. I wish I had carried a camera along with me so that I could have captured all these beautiful morning moments and shared with you all. But never mind, I have shared this all writing a complete blog on it. I believe that the best photographs/moments you carry are in your eyes. This all just made my day and filled my morning with full of love.

Life is all about the priceless moments and little things. That's what makes me happy. We become so busy in life sometimes that we forget to see all these small little beautiful things happening around. So, I request you to stop for a while and have a look around yourself, see what beautiful is passing by and grab hold of all the things that you are losing by running this never-ending rat race; for once gone it shall never come back. You may earn a million someday and live in a fancy house, ride in a posh car, but how about a walk with that special someone holding an ice-cream in hand and all the crazy-silly talks. If this isn't the life, I don't know what is then!

Truly! What a beautiful morning! What a journey it was and what a day!

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"A Beautiful World" - Poem by Ronak Sawant

This world is beautiful

Everything has its beauty and soul

Everything is possible at this place

Because everything happens by God's grace

From the sunrise in the morning to the night's moon shining

There's always something magical happening

This world is ours

Let's not turn it into pieces or ruin it with scars

Live and let live, should be the motto of life

For what we truly want, we must thrive

Every day is a new start here

There's a victory beyond fear

This world is great

For all the things we aim for, we should have faith

Our time here is limited

So for as long as we exist, let's make it fun and worth it

Inspiration is everywhere

And love is in the air

Can you find such a marvellous place elsewhere?

Truly! It's a beautiful world, I swear!

Poet - Ronak Sawant

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"मंज़िल की खोज में" (Manzil Ki Khoj Mein) - Poem by Ronak Sawant

मंज़िल की खोज में

चल पड़ा हूँ मैं

मुसाफ़िर हूँ यारों, गिर जाऊँगा

लेकिन उठकर फिर से मुस्कुराते हुए चलने लगूँगा

 

ये मंज़िल है मेरी

है मेरी ये खुद की

ज़िद नहीं छोडूँगा

हार नहीं मानूँगा

 

चाहे कितनी भी मुश्किलें आ जाए

हर मुश्किल को मात देकर, मैं मुमकिन का रास्ता अपनाऊँगा

सरफिरा हूँ यारों, शायद भटक जाऊँगा

लेकिन यूँ ही भटकते-भटकते

अपनी मंज़िल तक ज़रूर पहुँच जाऊँगा

 

जो करना है मुझे, वही करूँगा

जो पाना है उसे मैं हासिल करूँगा

मंज़िल मिलेगी मुझे पूरा यक़ीन है

शायद मेरे ख़्वाबों में कुछ अज़ीन है

 

हौसले हैं मेरे बड़े

मंज़िल है मेरी अनोखी

उसे पाने की चाह में

निकल पड़ा हूँ मैं

मंज़िल की खोज में

 

 

कवि - रोनक सावंत

 

~~~

 

"Manzil Ki Khoj Mein"

 

Manzil ki khoj mein

Chal pada hoon mai

Musafir hoon yaaron, gir jaaunga

Lekin uthkar phir se muskuraate hue chalne lagunga

 

Yeh manzil hai meri

Hai meri yeh khud ki

Zidd nahi chhodunga

Haar nahi maanunga

 

Chahe kitni bhi mushkilein aa jaaye

Har mushkil ko maat dekar, mai mumkin ka raasta apnaunga

Sarfira hoon yaaron, shayad bhatak jaaunga

Lekin yun hi bhatakte-bhatakte

Apni manzil tak zaroor pahunch jaaunga

 

Jo karna hai mujhe, wahi karunga

Jo paana hai usey mai haasil karunga

Manzil milegi mujhe poora yakeen hai

Shayad mere khwaabon mein kuch azeen hai

 

Hausle hain mere bade

Manzil hai meri anokhi

Usey paane ki chaha mein

Nikal pada hoon main

Manzil ki khoj mein

 

 

Poet - Ronak Sawant

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A Free Bird

A few days before I realised that my life is nothing but a holiday.

A holiday where I can do anything I want,

A holiday where I can be anywhere in any place,

A holiday where I can be me,

A holiday where I can be free.

Yes, free like a bird! Doing what my heart wants to and what I want from this life.

Being a free bird doesn’t mean that you have a lot of free time, no work or no worries in life. It signifies that you are doing what you love and what you want in life. In general, living a life on your terms.

I have been living this life as a free bird since my childhood days. I still remember how crazy and foolish I was as a child. I was the only child in the school that never went to any tuitions or classes. From 5th grade till now (my TY BSc I.T., last year of college) all that I’ve learned is in school lectures and all on my own. The reason for this is I didn’t like going to tuitions. Tuition teaches the same studies as taught in school. Above all, why do something with the help of others, when you can do it by yourself! Well, this was me! A self-taught, self-made! A free child! Yes, free like a bird!

As a child, I have done every little thing a child should do to make his childhood life count and make it memorable. I mean not like a typical child with a daily routine. Starting from school, then back home, lunch, tuition, home again, dinner and sleep. In my case I was different. Different as in, I was free. Yes, free like a bird!

From flying kites to running behind it,

From playing football, cricket, chess, snake & ladder to playing with marbles, top, etc.

From studying to dancing, singing out loud, etc.

From eating mom’s made delicious food to climbing the tree and plucking raw mangoes with friends!

Well, this was me as a child!

And, from living life with freedom to living life at fullest. That's who I am as a person! But now, the world I see through my eyes and the world I live in, the people in it, the so-called human beings! Oh, wait! Are they even humans now? Damn!

What has happened to the world? Where is this world running? Behind the race or trying to get along with this so-called race or trying to move forward! Mind you this rat race will never end, even though the people in it expire. We are all born, and we are going to die. Don’t you want to leave happy? Feeling, you did something that you loved, lived life as a free bird instead of being trapped in a cage. Don’t you think that we are making a fool of ourselves living the life in a box or cage?

To be tactful, why this goddamn world is so much on their phones and so much busy with their lives these days. I am thankful to God that in my childhood, instead of playing football on PlayStation, Xbox, computer or smartphone I played it with my friends kicking the ball on a ground having real fun and memory to cherish. The world is so much engrossed in their smartphones and so much busy with their own life that they don’t even have the time to look around themselves and see what beautiful happening & passing by at every moment.

They are living the blinded life with the eyes open and an unfree life with the mind and heart open, but being trapped in a cage. A cage that might get free someday or it may not! All the life we wait for this cage to get open. But does it get open? No! And when it gets, the time has already won the battle. So, why to wait for the cage to get open? The changes about what you want in life start from no one but you. So don’t think about anything, open the cage and then see how beautiful and free your life will be. Like a free bird!

A free bird is the best tag that defines who I am as a whole. Because like a free bird, I believe I have the wings in me since my birth that knows what to do, what not to do in life and how to live the life freely on my terms. If you want to have some real fun, make it count in life, meet me!

Every human being has wings in them like birds. But it’s left up to them whether to make use of it and fly, or cut it off and get trapped in a cage.

So, it's about being free. You only have one life. Do what you love and live your life, like a free bird.

"Find your freedom, live your free life!"

– Ronak Sawant

P.S. Happy Indian Independence Day!

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"ये ज़िंदगी" (Yeh Zindagi) - Poem by Ronak Sawant

ये ज़िंदगी

क्या है ये ज़िंदगी?

 

बहुत ही अलग क़िस्म की चीज़ है ये ज़िंदगी

एक अनमोल-सा तोहफ़ा है ये ज़िंदगी

जीने का मतलब है ये ज़िंदगी

प्यार का मतलब है ये ज़िंदगी

मुस्कुराने का मतलब है ये ज़िंदगी

खुशियाँ बाँटने का मतलब है ये ज़िंदगी

 

क्या पता, किसे पता

कितने पल, कितने साल

हम बने रहेंगे इस ज़िंदगी का हिस्सा

ये बात में है एक क़िस्सा

जिसने ज़िंदगी का अर्थ समझा

उसने ही ज़िंदगी का महत्त्व सीखा

 

हम, तुम, कब तक रहेंगे इस ज़िंदगी से जुड़े

क्यों न ये पल हम आज़ाद पंछियों जैसे उड़े

क्योंकि, क्या पता, किसे पता

कल हो या न हो

आओ, आज हम खुलके जीते हैं ये ज़िंदगी के दो पल

कौन जाने, हम रहेंगे क्या शायद ज़िंदा कल

 

क्योंकि

बहुत ही अलग क़िस्म की चीज़ है ये ज़िंदगी

एक अनमोल-सा तोहफ़ा है ये ज़िंदगी

जो ईश्वर ने हम सभी को दिया है

और वक्त हो जाने पर वापस लिया है

 

 

कवि - रोनक सावंत

 

~~~

 

"Yeh Zindagi"

 

Yeh zindagi

Kya hai yeh zindagi?

 

Bahut hi alag kism ki cheez hai yeh zindagi

Ek anmol-sa tohfa hai yeh zindagi

Jeene ka matlab hai yeh zindagi

Pyaar ka matlab hai yeh zindagi

Muskurane ka matlab hai yeh zindagi

Khushiyan baatne ka matlab hai yeh zindagi

 

Kya pata, kise pata

Kitne pal, kitne saal

Hum bane rahenge iss zindagi ka hissa

Yeh baat mein hai ek kissa

Jisne zindagi ka arth samjha

Usne hi zindagi ka mahatva seekha

 

Hum, tum, kab tak rahenge iss zindagi se jude

Kyon na yeh pal hum aazaad panchiyon jaise ude

Kyonki, kya pata, kise pata

Kal ho ya na ho

Aao, aaj hum khulke jeete hain yeh zindagi ke do pal

Kaun jaane, hum rahenge kya shayad zinda kal

 

Kyonki

Bahut hi alag kism ki cheez hai yeh zindagi

Ek anmol-sa tohfa hai yeh zindagi

Jo Ishwar ne hum sabhi ko diya hai

Aur waqt ho jaane par wapas liya hai

 

 

Poet - Ronak Sawant

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Photograph

Photograph! The word 'photograph' is becoming natural to me in my day-to-day life. No, not because I own a Canon DSLR or upload my photos consistently on my Social Networks. It's because I live with that word now, and I believe the word photograph itself lives with me.

There’s some magic in photographs.

Every time you see a photograph,

It can make you smile,

It can make you laugh,

It can make you cry and bring tears to your eyes,

It can bring back that priceless memory right in front of our eyes and make it alive.

The photograph can also make you feel that there’s something more to life. You exist in this world with not just a body but with a soul too. And that soul is nothing but a memory captured in the form of a photo. In general, a photograph is a soul that is captured and preserved for eternity.  It can be a soul of a person, for a person or by a person. Well yes, you get it right! I’m a Photographer, and I am living the photography life along with the dance life. The artist's life, I would say!

For me, what photography truly means is “capturing a moment and collecting a soul”. And what photograph means is “a captured moment and collected soul”. As time passes by or day after day, I’m getting closer and deeper into the word photograph and vice versa I think. The meaning of it keeps getting more real and alive. Photos have so much power and are very capable of conveying any emotion, expression, feeling, etc. That's the alchemy of a photograph, I guess!

Nowadays, people believe more in photographs than words. They trust more in a frame than paragraphs. With that stated, I’m not saying that words don’t have power at all. But what I truly mean by that and believe is “words that said right, doesn’t go waste and photographs that captured right, speak infinitely”.

In today’s world, people prefer to have a photograph rather than an autograph. Yes, it’s a digitised world! But why? Because I think, the autograph is temporary and the photo is permanent. Signatures are handwritten, and images capture the soul. But, I feel sad about the fact that nowadays people take pictures only to set a new profile picture. I’ve seen and also heard many people taking the pictures now to update their profile picture on social media. I want to say to them that you don’t understand the real meaning of a photograph. Photographs are a memory that we capture to carry along with us lifelong, rather than just hitting a pose and then setting it as a new profile picture or posting here and there.

I want to share one incident with you all that happened to me in life, related the word photograph. This incident will define precisely why I said this sentence earlier, “I live with the word photograph now, and I believe that the word photograph itself lives with me”.

So here’s what something happened. As usual in college, attending a lecture, I still remember Embedded System lecture it was, and we had to submit our case study project assignment on car engine during the session. So, done with the submission and done with the lecture. As soon as my friend and I exited the class and stepped outside, I saw a notice in the corridor just beside our class door with something is written along “PHOTOGRAPY is strictly not allowed in Classroom and it is prohibited”. Well let me make it clear, this was the same way the word Photography written/printed in that notice with the alphabet H missing in it. So, within a fraction of second after reading that notice, I took out a black pen outside my bag and started to correct that notice. And just when I was about to correct, my friend told me “Bro, let it be. It is just a notice. It might be a printing mistake. Let’s go!” I said in return, “No dude, my eyes can see any other word written incorrect in that notice, but they just can’t see the word Photography written or printed incorrectly”. And then I corrected that notice making an upper arrow just below and between the alphabets P & Y, and writing alphabet H just above them.

Days later whenever I used to see that notice, I used to smile watching the word 'PHOTOGRAPHY'. So this was the whole incident! That’s the reason I wrote earlier in this post, I and photograph are living together.

I honestly believe that the most beautiful, creative, and the best photographer in the world is God and he/she is my all-time favourite. The way God has created this beautiful universe and all the living & non-living creatures are more like a photograph first then they come to life and exist in this world in their form with a specific amount of lifespan gifted to them.

You know, what the miracle about this life is! We’re all photographs first before our birth, created by the creator God. And then, we come to life. From then on, it’s all on us about how to photograph our life. Whether to make it happy, fun, adventurous, entertaining, successful, inspiring, etc. whatever we decide. And later, we all die being a photograph of the world. Because after everything is over in life or after our death, there’s only one thing that stays alive. And, that one thing is nothing but a photo. Yes, a photograph!

Because

"We’re all photographs in the end."

– Ronak Sawant

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New Beginnings

A couple getting married.

A young talented boy/girl with big dreams on a journey to take on the world leaving everything behind.

A woman gives birth to a child.

An alcoholic or smoker decides to quit all the bad things with a vision to do something good in life.

A person fights back hard, survives cancer and chooses a new healthy lifestyle.

A worker with his hard work and determination becomes the CEO of the company.

These are all the signs of beginning something new in life. And this is what exactly, new beginnings all about.

A new beginning solely means starting the whole new journey once again as a fresh or from zero, leaving everything from the previous course behind. Where the book (journey) remains the same, it is just the chapter of the book which changes from an older to a newer one. Where the story in the old episode is used as a reflection and considered as a priceless memory. Where the words, sentences, and morals of that story regarded as a great experience. And lastly, it is just the pages of the old chapter of the book which are turned on, to start a new chapter with a vision to do something new and different by seeking out new and endless opportunities. Ultimately, it is like opening ourselves up to the all-new crazy adventures once again with this new journey or in general new beginning.

The beginning is always the most important and hardest part of the journey. It takes a lot of courage to begin or to do something you truly love! As I always say, it just takes a small step to start something and make it big. It doesn’t matter if you start from zero or scratch, but we all have to start somewhere in life. Because doing something is always better than doing nothing at all. In a world where every day is a battle, a beautiful struggle, a blessing from God and it can be a starting point as well. So consider it as a new beginning and start doing things you want to or you love.

New beginnings, with that said here I am starting my all new journey, whether it would be dancing, photography or writing once again with more excitement, fun, and dreams; leaving everything I did and achieved in the previous adventure behind. What I have done and accomplished in my past (previous journey) doesn’t matter to me at all. What matters to me from now on is what I will do and achieve in my future with this entire new journey called new beginnings!

New beginnings can happen any day and at any time. But it is on you and only you whether to start something you love or live your life just like another person. Because in the end, it takes only one person to change your life and that person is no one else but you that will help yourself to do and achieve it. But you must be willing to do what you want to or what you love. So, go on! It’s never too late at all. Start your journey and live your life the way you want to live. And above all, 'Do What You Love!'

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PHOTOGRAPHY... My New Love! 📷❤️

Something I always wanted to do because of the love of dance... Start photography!

I have always been interested in photos. Photographs have always fascinated me, ever since I was young. Regardless of whether it would be the photos in magazines and newspapers, pictures in albums and school textbooks, or this world itself. Yes, you read that right! I consider the whole world as a frame of some kind; not too big and not too small but it has everything captured inside. Every emotion, every light, every colour, every object, every story, everything just in one frame! And not only just the world, I mean I consider every little thing as a frame or in general a photograph.

I still remember when I was a small kid; I used to pore through the cupboard drawers where my parents used to keep all the family photos and photo albums of our birthdays, childhood and other such events. Watching those photos would make my whole day. You wouldn't believe I used to sit for over an hour and see those pictures. The smile on my face while looking at those pictures was truly priceless. I loved those photos! At times, while watching those photos, I always wondered how they created them. I used to think, how these pictures can come out of a camera as a beautiful frame or as an album when we only click the photo in the camera itself. I mean the images should stay in camera right. That was my whole thought process.

Well, you would say now, how stupid I was! But how come a small kid would know all this. The only way we learn something new in life is by encountering the things we have never faced before. So knowing about this camera and photo process is what excited me much at that time. Then one day my father told me everything about the process in detail. He explained how the photos transform from the negatives to the positives. At that time there wasn't any advanced camera like we have in today’s world. The camera that existed those days used to work on rolls, it used to take a maximum of 36 pictures only.

So, those were the old days, and now these are the days where we live in an entirely digital world where we have every little thing digitised. The camera fully digital which works using a lens, memory card, etc. rather than rolls in which we can take as many pictures we want. We also have an option to choose which photo we want and which to delete. And much more cool stuff that we can do with this digital camera these days.

Cutting it to the present,

I am 20, and I am a dancer/artist. Dancing is my passion, and it’s my love. Dance is everything; it’s my life, it’s something that I can’t imagine my life without it. The most amazing thing I love about dancing is the fact that even though we dance at the moment, we create memories in the form of photographs that last forever. So because of this passion and my love towards dancing, I had a strong affection for the memories I had created so far that I carry with me in the form of photographs. These memories or I can say these photographs means a world to me. I was so intrigued by these priceless dance memories (photos) of mine because I felt that I could hold an instance of the time, an emotion, a once in a lifetime moment and the memory right in my hands. It’s something that can come alive, whenever I feel watching them.

It’s all during the dancing journey I noticed some other passion and love of mine that made me feel different than everyone else and that was Writing and Photography. So, it’s all because of this dancing passion and love I got instantly hooked on the art of photography. Photography is my new love now. It’s something that I love to do apart from dancing and writing.

As they say, parents are the hardest people to please in the world. Yes, indeed they are! It was so hard for me to approach my mom and dad for a DSLR camera. I honestly spoke my heart to them about why I want to do this and what it means to me to start this another artistic journey. So after understanding me and my dreams, they gifted me a camera just before my 20th birthday as a pre-birthday gift. It was a long wait for this, almost more than a year I guess. But finally, I am happy that I have started this another artistic journey apart from dancing which I wanted to do ever since I passed my 12th grade.

Photography is indeed my new love! I believe that life is full of uncertainties and surprises. You never know what happens next, but they all happen for a reason. So maybe photography had some appeal to me and to be honest I wanted to explore it as a craft. Like dancing, photography is something that makes me feel different, and at the same time, it allows me to be the real person I am. So, because of all this, I consider photography as my new love!

P.S. Happy Clicking! 📷

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