"The Best Thing About Anupam Kher is Anupam Kher"

Had the opportunity of meeting Film actor Anupam Kher at his Book promotion event in Delhi on 18th March. His book is titled "The Best Thing About You Is YOU".This was part of Penguin India's "Spring Fever-2012".

It was an absolutely hilarious and also motivational talk !! in true Anupam Kher style!! Later i got a copy of his book autographed. It was then that i told him about my book "You Connecting With......YOU !!" published last year.

The connecting thread between his book and mine was the emphasis and focus on "you"!!


During the entire one and a half hour talk, Anupam came around as a very simple, down to earth kind of a person. He talked about everything right from his humble background and beginnings to his struggle in Mumbai and Bollywood to his reaching where he stands today....proudly.

But, all in all, the best thing i liked about Anupam was Anupam himself. And THAT was the crux of what his book was all about- Being oneself!!

and it was great for me to hear that most of the concepts that he was talking about were a reiteration of what i had felt while writing my book "You Connecting With.....YOU!!". in fact it was a great feeling to know that i shared the same thoughts and feelings and responses and reactions with somebody as great as Anupam Kher.

I even told him I will send accross a copy of my book to him for his valued comments.
//mg

"The Second Last Word........For SMEs"

Here's my next book

"The Second Last Word........For SMES !"

This Book is a collection of my Columns published in the Small & Medium Enterprises magazine SME World. It also has some other relevant articles for the M/SME sector, published in the same magazine.

//best//mg

Look Within.......Connect with "YOURSELF"......!!!

Hi all !!
Here's my latest article published in the February 2012 issue of "The Focus Global Reporter".

This is very much in line with my book "You Connecting With.....YOU!!" published last year. We are all so busy tied up in our respective hectic schedules that we have no time to .....forget "stand & stare" and "watch squirrels hide their nuts in grass" but also no time to spend time with "OURSELVES", no time to look "WITHIN" .

We go all out to connect with others but in the process forget to connect with "OURSELVES". Probably, if we try looking "WITHIN", we may find more peace, success & happiness, than we ever will find by looking without.

So, begin this New Year on a note which propells you "WITHIN YOURSELF", deeper and deeper. Go right ahead and ......before logging into your Rediffmail & Gmail & Yahoo mail accounts , pray, log into "YOUR OWN SELF ! And, don't be surprised if, in all probability you find many more unanswered mails in this "YOURSELF" -mail account than you would in any other accounts.

You may find a large number of questions in this "YOURSELF"-mail account which need to be answered immediately. When you answer each of these questions, you may be unravelling the deep mystery that is YOU "WITHIN YOURSELF" !!!!!

So hurry, don't delay knowing "YOURSELF" !! for that is the most important task and also the most crucial one for you ...!! Go Pierce The Dense Dark "BLACK FOREST" .......WITHIN !!!!! //best//mg


The “Black Forest”….. Within
Manisha Gupta

Driving through the beautiful Black Forest (Schwarzwald) region of Germany, it was amazingly awesome to look at the dense dark forests on either side. The bright sunny afternoon’s golden rays lit up the tree-tops, but below that one could see only darkness. Surprisingly, not even the brightest of the sun’s rays could pierce through the thick jungle. No matter how long the sun shone or how bright it’s light, it could at most only brighten up the tree-tops, while the huge forest below lived in total darkness. Even during a snowfall, the top of the forest is covered with the soft white snow, but the interior remains pitch black. This is depicted in the typical Black Forest cake.

This drive through Schwarzwald set me thinking. Isn’t a human being exactly like the Black Forest? On the outside, you may be calm, cool, soft and serene as the snow clad trees or chirpy and bright like the sun-lit forest, but the interiors are as dark as the Black Forest. What can pierce the darkness within yourself? Do you get to see the real person within you? Do you try to look for it in earnest? Probably, the answers are in the negative. Reason- Well, where is the time.

You spend life’s hours connecting with family/friends/colleagues through the mobile/internet, depressed if you don’t get through. When in all probability they may not be so desperate to hear from you. But have you ever thought of connecting with yourself? With ….YOU? Have you ever tried calling …..“YOURSELF”…???

Have you tried to pierce the “Black Forest”….. within yourself…?? That may be the golden ray of happiness!! And what better occasion to begin this journey within you, than the New Year….!!

ManishaGupta©2011

'Agony Path'.....????????

On the children's insistence about not missing a Hrithik Roshan movie,and in inspite of us resisting spending a Sunday watching blood & violence, the children won and we finally did go and see "Agnipath". but alas it proved to be an "AGONY PATH".......!!

As usual,

the good only shed tears
& the bad men everyone fears

and as if this wasn't enough
there was more & more gory stuff !!

I wonder why the film had so much violence.

why does one go to watch a movie?...for entertainment, for leisure, for happiness i believe. while you have Pizzas delivering happiness at home in 30 minutes, cars giving you keys to happiness, houses being built to provide you happiness, coke allowing you to "open happiness".... and drink it too, many other products offerring you this important ingredient of life ....HAPPINESS, then why, pray tell me, do film makers want to take away all the happiness of spending a beautiful Sunday watching a great movie??

why can't we have movies also, which give us happiness ....in some form or the other....you know visual, mental,spiritual whatever form?? atleast we should be saved from travelling on the 'Agony Path' ....!!!

Nayaa Saal Mubaarak !!!

Nayaa Saal Mubaarak !!!, Purani Yaadon ke Saath....


नया साल पुरानी यादें.....................



फिर आ गया है नया साल
पुराना साल जा चुका है
उसके साथ....
उसका पुराना दिन जा चुका है
और उसकी रात भी

पुरानी सुबह चमक कर खो चुकी है
पुरानी रात जाग कर सो चुकी है
पुरानी धूप थक कर ढल चुकी है
पुरानी बारिश हो कर बह चुकी है
पुरानी सब चीज़ें खो चुकी हैं

पुराना बादल बरस कर जा चुका है
पुराना खयाल थक कर रुक चुका है
पुराना वक़्त हार कर लौट चुका है
पुराना आंसू रो कर चुक चुका है
पुराना दर्द बेहाल हो जा चुका है
पुराना सब कुछ छूट चुका है

और .......
नए साल की नई सुबह
नई सुबह की नई धूप
नई धूप की नई गर्मी
नई गर्मी की नई तपिश
नई तपिश की नई अनुभूति
नई अनुभूति की नई नवीनता

नये साल का नया बादल
नये बादल का नया आवारापन
नये आवारापन का नया अंदाज़
नये अंदाज़ का नया बरसता पानी
नये पानी का नया स्पर्श
नये स्पर्श का नया एहसास
नये एहसास का नया नयापन
सब कुछ ही नया है

लेकिन ..............
फिर भी ....

पुरानी कोई याद शायद बाकी हो
पुरानी कोई सोच शायद बाकी हो
पुरानी कोई आदत अभी बरक़रार हो
पुरानी कोई खुशी शायद अभी बाकी हो
पुराना कोई गुस्सा अभी कहीं बाकी हो
पुरानी कोई हँसी अभी कहीं दबी हो

नया दिन नई रात
नया साल नई बात
नई धूप नई छाँव

नई बारिश नया बादल
नई खुशी नया ग़म
नये साल की नई बारिश
नई बारिश की नई छुअन
नई सुबह की नई किरण


कितना भी सब कुछ नया हो.....

लेकिन ..............

इस सब के बावजूद

पुरानी चमक
पुरानी थकन
पुरानी चुभन
पुरानी आस
पुरानी खुशी
पुरानी याद

पुराना गुस्सा
पुराना रिश्ता
पुराना दुख
पुराना ज़ख़्म
पुराना कुछ

...........सब कुछ अभी बाकी ही है

और वही तुम वही हम
और वही ज़िंदगी भी अभी बाकी है

काफी कुछ अभी बाकी ही है................

मनीषा

Guide Yourself....through life..!!!

is there a guiding light when you are lost in the jungle of life ..???????

depends.....depends on whether you can "See" that light.
so, if you are lost....in life...and need a guiding light, it is up to you to be able to track that light and help it guide you.

so everyone could be your "GURU", that is IF you can learn something from him.
it is actually, entirely up to you yourself. if you see a Guru in someone, he CAN be the desired light.

so actually, it is upto you to place someone in the category of a Guru. it is actually you yourself guiding yourself....through this maze of life.

so go right ahead and find your guiding light !!!//best//mg

The Happiness Plumber.........????

can a plumber be the cause of your happiness?? well, read on (my latest article published in the December-2011 issue of "The Focus Global Reporter") to find out...//happy reading//best//mg



Need a Plumber……..for Happiness !!
Manisha Gupta

What do you do when your bathroom drain is clogged? You probably take a vacuum pump and start pushing it hard, harder… still...harder….. What happens in the beginning? The harder you push, the dirty water inside the pipeline along with all accumulated trash comes out, towards you. The further you try pushing, the further distance the dirt spreads outward from the drain. It may even soil you.

Now you’re left with only two options. One, you give that one last push before you finally give up. If that does the trick, you’ll notice the water suddenly starts flowing down the pipes. This is signaled by the quickening, spiraling circles the water makes at the drain mouth. It is also accompanied by the gurgling sound it makes, while flowing freely through the line. The drain is finally cleared, much to your comfort.

But if that last push still doesn’t do the job, then what do you do? Simple, silly! Call the plumber. He has all the equipment including that special pump, wire, pipe and what not. He assesses the situation and accordingly uses the appropriate tool to clear the blockage. Most of the time, that special pump, which can go deep within the drain right to the bottom, can fix the problem. He pushes at this pump when it has gone right inside the drain. Gives it four or five hard jerks and Viola! The drain is cleared. At other occasions, he may make use of the other implements.

Now think about your choked emotions through the pipeline of your heart and stagnant thoughts in your mind. When you try to push hard at these with the intent of clearing them, in the beginning, they seem to come out towards you, with much greater force. After you have tried your best to clear this heart-line and mind-line, and the problem still remains, all you need is a heart-mind- plumber. He knows the tricks of clearing your heart and mind of the emotional and intellectual baggage that is clogging the line.

Once this done, “your” drains are clear and this is signaled by the quickening, spiraling circles your emotions and thoughts make over your heart and mind, while they go with the flow of life. And, of-course, you can actually hear this clear feeling …….in your happiness.
So, don’t delay if your emotional drain is choked. Go right ahead and call the ….Happiness Plumber…!!

ManishaGupta©2011