Amazing 4 hours for me...

A simple wish by filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, TED prize winner in 2006 -a reality yesterday. Her wish was to create a day in which the world came together through film. Pangea Day grew out of that wish.

So yesterday, few of us gathered at home at 20:00 Zurich time when the Pangea day was about to be broadcasted live across everywhere in the world.

4 amazing, touching hrs where you saw some of the most fascinating films, visionary speakers, musicians, people from various parts of the world - Touching & powerful messages about how people are working towards from a shared vision of the world.

One of the most touching pieces for me was a brief conversation shown between a Palestinian and an Israeli who shared their experience. Both said they had lost their children killed by each other's country men. And their message of togetherness saying that there are more Israeli and Palestinians who want peace between them and the entire conversation was extremely powerful.

They said when they lost their children, they had a lot of anger and suffering. They said that for people to reconcile in these countries in particular is NOT that they don't want peace, but because they CANNOT live with the suffering and pain inflicted on them. They dont know what to do with the anger.

"There's no way to peace. Peace is the way. You do peace first without any condition." said the guy.

This story of forgiveness and spreading this message by talking to such families from both these countries was one amongst countless other stories told yesterday and a simple idea of bringing the world together through films was breathtaking.

Some people might think it to be idealistic and feel comfortable in their own bubble.

Yes, may be a film won't change the world - but the people who watched those films CAN.

Thank you for an amazing inspiring 4 hrs yesterday.

A moving experience...

I have been intending to write this post since quite some while, but never found the appropriate time to write about it.

Michelle was visiting Zurich and so Petroula, Michelle and I went to the restaurant called "Blinde Kuh" translated as "The blind cow" - the world's first dark restaurant. It is a restaurant where you do not need your sight to enjoy the experience.

We had to order our food outside in the reception area, since the dining room was supposed to be pitch dark. Apparently this place is pretty small - but hosts about 78 people at full capacity. The evening we went - we were told that there were 74 people, almost packed :) and is served by about 4 staff in total - mix of blind and partially sighted.

This was our table that we were dining at :)


A blind waiter comes out to pick us up from the reception area. Since it is pitch dark inside, we put our hands on her shoulders and she led us to our table. You could not see anything - all cellphones, luminary objects were to be kept outside.

To eat something that you cannot see was extremely uncomfortable. Of course, I spilled a few things outside my plate (am a bit clumsy but still I will blame that on the darkness:)), but it wasn't embarrassing since no one could see the damage I did :)

We had numerous conversations about the way we were feeling. The only thing you can experience there is sounds of people around talking and laughing. You cannot even see your hand when you put it in front of your face - pitch dark.

We were almost touched to experience how it is to live such a life - truly appreciating the value of 'sight'. Certain worldly problems of life seem so trivial at such times - just reminded me of the power of 'gratitude' to appreciate your existence and not carried away by trivial problems in life - may it be in terms of dissatisfaction of your job, relationships or having some sort of bad day because of a trivial verbal fight.

On another angle, to understand how the blind have to live their life everyday - who live, enjoy and experience their lives only by the sense of 'touch' is extremely moving. I would definitely want to look at donating eye sight after death and encourage others to explore this possibility.

Indeed, an unforgettable, touching and moving experience and for all people who will visit Zurich some day - don't forget to visit this place for a unique experience!

You can read more about the fascinating story behind this here

Being a twenty - something

I received this today and I am sure this may be comforting for almost everyone in their twenty's to realize that everyone has their own share of questions and challenges that pop up in their mind and everyone has some of this currently stuck in your mind as you reading this.

No one has their life figured out, but sometimes people tend to think they have and rather than looking within them and facing it they go seeking outside of them. We have one or more of these floating in our heads at this moment. But that is natural and I hope most of you feel at peace that you are not ALONE in this quest. I wish you the best in your journey in exploring and experiencing these.



Being a twenty - something:

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at what you are studying or your job... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.

Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure.

You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone! but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you're doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person.

Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you are scared just to be a contender!

What you may not realize is that every one reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.

Measure of a man

These battered hands are all you own
This broken heart just turned to stone
Go hang your glory on the wall
There comes a time when castles fall
And all that's left is shifting in the sand

You're out of time, you're out of place
Look at your face
That's the measure of a man

This coat that fits you like a glove
These dirty streets you learned to love
So welcome back my long lost friend
You've been to hands and back again
And God alone knows how you crossed that span

Back on the beat, back to the start
Trust in your heart
That's the measure of a man

It's the fire in the eyes, the lines on the hand
It's the things you understand
Permanent ties from which you once ran
That's the measure of a man

You've come full circle, now you're home
Without the gold, without the chrome
And this is where you've always been
You had to lose so you could win
And rise above your troubles while you can

Now you can love, now you can lose
Now you can choose
That's the measure of a man