Love is blind, you are not.

Last evening i came across an old acquaintance, sitting at a local shisha bar. I was super stunned when he walked up to me with a sexy looking girl and introduced her as his wife. It was pretty difficult for me to stop my jaw from dropping, and it wasn't just because his wife was hot. I don't think i remember anything that he said after the introduction, because i got this uncontrollable urge to ask him just one question - HOW?????

If you think that i was over reacting, let me tell you that if his wife was a perfect 36-24-36 dusky beauty, while he probably was a 360-240-360, quarter of a tonne weighing, living creature. It was later that i realized the real reason for this sudden "love" marriage, when he spoke about how he inherited a fortune from his grandfather and switched from a bajaj to a Bentley or a 'Baintli' as he said.

This actually brings me to a conclusion that love really is not that blind, in most cases at least. Its either the testosterone persuading you to jump into a relation because of physical attributes of the opposite person, or the greed glands of your brain that calculates net worth of the person even before the relationship kicks off. Being into a few relationships in the past, i don't think I've ever felt my love was blind, not even unconditional to begin with. Because you really can see what you're getting into isn't it?


This situation kind of answers one of the most debated questions - Can money buy you love? Not that i have answer to it because I'm a die-hard romantic at heart, but the reality favors the not so obvious. I mean I'm sure Salma Hayek would not have really been with the Gucci boss, if his net worth would not have been $15.7 billion.

This judgement can obviously be challenged by haters, based on the 'beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder' philosophy, because i do come across many of 'em who insist that looks & money do not really matter when out looking for a relationship.

Actually, the moment you know that an aimless soul is wandering around looking for some love, its a douchebag alert! and you know you need to steer away. So the point here is that, its not really blind because you actually walk into love consciously and not really fall into it, unless you've been smoking some hard pot, on a look out for materialistic satisfaction or simply very horny at that so called 'special' moment.

So taking your time before taking some action is what i feel is the key to a successful relationship. And for those who do not want to get into such complications, simply sit back, smoke a shisha and say "Fuck It".

Gym diaries

Remember the song called 'Dard-e-Disco' in which our romance king tried hard to appear sexy but failed miserably? It surely was a pain, matching up to its lyrics. Where, it did not manage to change the image of the superstar, it surely changed people's approach towards fitness. It was that 'SIX PACK COMING SOON' phase (if you remember, guys wearing this statement tee all across the city)

I find it quite amusing that footfalls in gyms increase drastically whenever there is a big budget movie releasing, starring Salman (the bhai) Khan. Suddenly every guy wants to look like this over-hyped bad boy who is trying to ''Be Human'' and every girl wants to be his virtual eye candy.

Over the years i have seen people's perception about fitness change drastically and now the time is such that everyone is looking for a short cut. Last week at the gym, i was shocked when i heard two, barely 18 years old kids discussing steroids. When i discussed this to my mentor who is a professional bodybuilder, he was not surprised a bit, as this has become too common these days.

With inquisitive hormones kicking in, i started observing people in my gym and was i amazed or what! I could easily categorize people there based on what i observed, and yes, me and my friends too fall into different categories. Please note that i am not judging anyone and this purely is my perception, so for those who get offended reading this, i really am out of fucks to give.

The best part of being in the gym is the multi-channel entertainment that you're exposed to. Right from lanky guys with sleeves rolled-up checking themselves out in the mirror after every set to the overwhelmingly out of shape women trying to appear 'HOT' with shit loads of make-up on, there is never a dull moment. The big man Ronnie Coleman once said "Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift any heavy-ass weight". This statement is so true if you look at the current scenario across gyms. I mean i have witnessed people walking out of the gym and stopping by at a junk food joint right across the street to satisfy their cravings. Then there are those who have been using a 15 pound dumbbell since 6 months and when questioned, give out 15 reasons for their poor performance. These are the same people who are looking for an easy replacement for hard work and will leave no chance to criticize the genuinely focused lot who are serious about their transformation.

The reason why i understand this so well is because i am surrounded by both types of people, i have a friend who accuses every well-built man of being on steroids but also secretly aspires to be like them. And i have my mentor who is one of the best bodybuilders of our country and believes in old school, hard-fuckin-core training.

I have always had respect for people who are really focused on their fitness goals and do not really care about what's happening around them. Just looking at them gives you motivation to press harder, irrespective of how they appear. My biggest  inspiration has been my brother who has really changed his lifestyle completely and transformed into this kick-ass, ambitious man that many envy.
This actually explains that fitness & bodybuilding is not just about gyms and diets, it really is a lifestyle and if it would have been easy, everyone would be doing it.





 

Being (impulsive) human

Have you ever taken a spontaneous 200 km bike ride to see a friend just because he was down with a minute stomach infection? Well i did, and it surely amused a lot of people around, as most of us generally would not even think of doing it unless the person is on his deathbed. I consider this trait as simply being humane, although many would disagree and call it being an impulsive rat.

Life has always been a roller coaster ride for me, or let's say i made sure it did. The difference is, that i choose emotional thrill over the mainstream, physical thrill that most of us like. Touching people's heart when they are least expecting it gives me a high, which, in most cases, lasts for a lifetime.

Since i was a kid i have always heard that there are two types of people in this world, one who use their brain to think and then there are those who think from their heart. There was never a confusion as to which one of categories do i belong to and i am sure that most of the people who know me would agree that i am from the latter one.

I have always failed to understand the difference between being a 'risk taker' and an 'impetuous chutiya'. Some may think that my 'Life is short, live to the fullest' philosophy is just good as a part of some bollywood script, not in real life. But if you ask me, i think this crazy ass nature has really helped me be a better human being. Materialistic contentment is easier to achieve in life than attaining peace of mind and emotional satisfaction, or so i believe. Not that i don't have dreams and ambitions in life, its just that i would prefer being remembered as a man with a good heart rather than a man with a great fleet of cars.

I remember while auditioning for a reality show, me and the other contestants were asked about their dreams and the only guy who didn't have any monetary inclination towards his, was me. My dream is pretty simple, i see myself at a position where i can nurture dreams of kids, who have gotten lost, picking up the remains of their parents' bodies in the midst of civil wars of Syria and Palestine.

Comfort sadden hearts of mothers from Tanzania, whose beautiful albino babies go missing from homes and hospitals and become a part of a sickening magic ritual. We forget that when we are in pain, we have someone to hear us out and ease our nerves, but that's not the case with everyone else in the world.

How bad could it really be to have an impulsive nature? We cant always analyze, plan and then think about bringing a change because most of the times they just remain and perish as thoughts. The biggest achievement for me will be making a difference in people's life and play a small role in their happiness, because, if you haven't changed someone else's life, have you really lived?

Jihad called life

The great activist Martin Luther King Jr once said "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed".This blatant theory is known by all but practiced by few, and those who try to do it are further oppressed and silenced.

It almost irks me every time i see the media stereotyping and targeting a particular community. It actually influences the minds of billions, sitting comfortably on their couches, passing judgments based on what they see. Hasn't it become like a set pattern, that whenever you switch on the news there is some Arab country being sodomized by the so called 'superpowers' of the world.

What is it about these people that makes them such fundamentalists? Why is it that the best of developed countries, even with all their might cannot break the spirits of these self-motivated souls from the sands?  What can make an eight year old kid stand with a stone in his hand, in front of a heavy ass battle tank? These are few questions that have given me sleepless nights since a very long time.

I have gotten rid of most the materialism of my life in order to set on an endless journey towards understanding the minds of these strong-willed warriors. What the oppressors do not understand is that they are not fighting a radical idea, instead they stand against a strong Belief..... a belief that is backed by billions of souls..... a belief that promotes resistance as a birth right. You can never defeat someone you can't intimidate and when that someone has nothing to lose, you will not be able to break him further.

First of all, for those who do not understand the meaning of JIHAD, let me explain that the true meaning of this word is no where close to what you see on TV.

Jihad in literal terms means 'Struggle' and in Islam it means a struggle against your own self to be a better Muslim, a struggle towards making your society better and a struggle  against oppression. Unfortunately, the term 'Jihad' is not just misunderstood by the Non-Muslims but also many believers themselves, who are mislead by some politically-backed, self-proclaimed leaders of Islam.

While we commended the hard-work done by our soldiers against our neighbors who were trying to invade our land, although our sentiments towards the government are more negative than positive. When a glorified superpower invaded a peaceful Afghanistan, we applauded the fireworks that put an end to thousands of smiles. This difference of opinion comes from being influenced or rather mislead by the western-acquired media of the world. Its like, standing up against a criminal entering our house but being absolutely cool about witnessing same horrendous act being executed at someone else's house just because you are made to believe that the mother in that house is a tyrant who ill-treats her kids. Think about it, who gives the right to anyone on this earth to enter your house, destroy every reason of your happiness and then promote this act of nuisance as liberation for you!

Today, each one of us has a Jihad going on in our lives and our objective should be to keep that struggle going on, until we succeed in overcoming our fears. Instead of stereotyping certain communities today, we should all adopt this 'struggle' and work towards making the better out of ourselves and 'struggle' together with the oppressed to help them liberate from their fears.

- Fahad Parack