Desert sands

what's your colour?

“Light shines, but so does Shadow. It is not everyone’s calibre to see the light of Shadow”, remarked a friend of mine. I was further intrigued into pondering over the desert and its depths. Taking cue from this philosophical viewpoint, i am trekking this path...

Desert, as it emerges in the mind’s eye, portrays extremes of nature’s variance, an unwillingness to emancipate from emaciation, a juxtaposition of coarseness and harshness that reality can ever be.

But, seldom do we witness the dance of abundance and lushness that is hidden beneath the cloaked and crooked. How else can one explain the alchemist's adventures to extract the elixir to the enigma called life. Just as darkness to light, misery to mirth, failure to fulfilment, harshness to holiness enhances the latter’s purpose and purport. As we traverse through physical to metaphysical realms, the examples too fade and cease to exist in the tangible domain but gently crossover to the empire of emotions, of which our dear desert is a silent symbolism. I take leave with just this ...

Arid and alive, they stretch far and wide,

Blowing winds and blazing sun are taken in stride,

Lessons for the willing and lesions for the wailing,

They stand in silence, all the while smelting,

Life’s rare facts galore threadbare,

Subtle and sublime having scarce fanfare,

For a winning heart it is prospects unlimited,

To a wilting hearth all’s connived and encrypted,

Open your eyes to see through the image,

Dear friend, truth is hidden beyond the mirage.

TidBits

Try to memorize...its fun !

(from the movie, V for Vendetta, Contains 49 words beginning with 'V' )

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. 

The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.

Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW6HbZXI9Y0

On wasting Food...

Ever wondered why food is respected here in India? Those of us with traditional mindsets continue to pray before we eat. We bow in reverence when we stamp it under our feet. Why is this so? When everywhere else in the world food is treated as a commodity to be consumed, we strangely call ‘annam parabramha swarupam’ (Food is a manifestation of the Divine), raising it to the altar of the divine.

I understand the key lies in recognizing food as the life giver and benefactor which deserves respect. Each of us might have been flooded with email forwards about the dire conditions of some sub-saharan country and the contrasting lavishness others are suffocated in. You might ask, what difference does it make. The answer, strangely is hidden in a rhetorical question. How did Gandhiji make a difference by dressing conservatively? The key my friend, is empathy.

The entire universe is connected by a strange web of love and faith. If you are child like, it becomes a mother to caress you. If you are heartless, its a ruthless task master. Empathy- is a prayer that heals the suffering without anything being exchanged. So, i think its clear why wasting food is a self injurious activity. To make it clearer, let me give an analogy. How does it feel, if all our life’s achievements and aspirations are nullified at a single stroke by some unknown force? Then, why this discrimination, for, every grain is a plant’s life time achievement. Please don’t undermine.

The state of ART

Shouldn't we be doing more?

Ever tried to compare the life we lead to that of an ant’s? ...please do and you would be startled at the remarkable similarity most of us share. Though the comparisons seem out of scope, on appropriately scaling down, patterns emerge. From the constant run for food to response to stimuli we are all homogenous... glory to God. Then the irony begins, we have the extra applets...wisdom and intelligence too available with us! This, as they say should enable us to take off to higher planes. So much so, for the clichéd verbatim. Lets see what we need to do with what we have got.

Achievements so far:

We have successfully created mindsets which continuously pursue ephemeral pleasures (ironically being aware of the REAL throughout), spend time unwisely, necks programmed to never look upwards and minds with pessimism as default mode. Increasingly encouraged are narrow minds with deep (‘er ’, we constantly compare) pockets, disgust in place of empathy. Truly, narrow emotional hearts with cholesterol loaded physical hearts make strange bed fellows. Human endeavour is measured in dollar terms. No returns, no credit, is the mantra. The tragedy of the whole story is revealed at the end.... every dying man realizes that life is not what he had perceived it to be and there were better options available to earn the same lasting satisfaction.

What to do:

‘Be Conscious’. The more i think of the solution, the more appropriate the two words seem. You would definitely realize that this is the gist of most of the sacred scriptures and erudite commentaries. This is the panacea to the problems and the elixir to everlasting peace. So, make effort and as they say, “Aim for the stars and may be you’ll reach the sky.”

Random thoughts

All I Wanna Say...

Art is long, life is short,

Make haste, make it fast,

Don't wait for opportunities to knock,

Remove the doors,latches and the lock,

Why fear when you are true and tough,

Take charge, let the waters be rough,

How true! there are things to do, miles to mount,

Be sure, its not the goal but the smiles that count!

The revenge of the fallen...

At the outset i have to admit that i am a fan of Roger and the following would elucidate my stand.

For those who watched the final at Roland garros (most likely on TV!), would admit that the return of the king was evident from the word ‘go’. The focus and confidence radiated didn’t need any indicator. This was in contrast to his earlier final appearance, where prejudiced writers coined words like, shadow of the self, mental block, devils of defeat etc. etc.  Yes, it was true to some extent as admitted by the icon of Basel but that was not where it ended, for the saga continues.

I am not an ardent follower as the above might suggest but am charmed by his modus operandi – simple, composed, low fanfare and emotionally ceiled. When on court, he means business but not to the extent of being called a ruthless merchant. Very few champions conduct as champions, in my opinion with limited knowledge - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Vishy Anand and AR Rahman (i am talking about champions by the way!).

Let me move on to the field of analysis which appears traditionally before conclusion.  The world judges us by the victories that we hold but seldom counts on the experience failure rewards us with and truly, what use is the experience that does not result in success. Some great thinker has said, “Wave is my inspiration, not for the fall after the rise but for the rise after every fall ”. So i guess, the lesson is clear.

What the hell am i doing here?

too much to answer?

Disclaimer: The following content has purely been my inspiration derived from various sources that i trust in and the thought process that eventually followed. The text is self abashing and i wish to consume it all by myself!

I gather this is how our age old wisdom was prompted to march on, to a more decent question of-course, which had resulted in similar, simple yet profound answers... Tat twam asi...Aham brahmasmi...Ayam atma brahma. Guess, i had reached an all time high and would ground myself promptly.  

I just finished watching ‘The curious case of Benjamin Button’ and am floored by one particular dialogue- “Our lives are defined by the opportunities, even the ones that we miss”. Truly, all of us are presented with opportunities, some obvious and some masked. Few hold on tight, some with meteoric high await extinction, some ignore, some sleep over and all of this is not new. I believe God gives us a few threads to hold on and like little distracted children, we run from balloons to colour stones. Very few stay on and those who do, make history.

I feel we are responsible for our lives and the way we choose to live. We are our own attorneys defending our petty and pretty actions. The sooner we realize this the better it would be and am awaiting that experience. My only fear is of slipping to “make dreams my master” from “can dream” category. Till then let me stay hungry and stay foolish.

Rock on...

Aasman hain neela kyoon, paani geela geela kyoon, gool kyoon hain sabi.... this was how Farhan  reminded us of our forgotten questioning spirit and take it for granted attitude and true to its import we all hummed the tune lustily. As a student who pledged loyalty to physics, i am caught between the childish zeal which we all would like to have back and the glaring absence of science in our upstairs. Though many eminent voices highlighted this time and again and despite the multitude of prescriptions, the problem still resists eradication. The solution primarily is with the age old magic word...money. It might sound cynical but truth often requires a digestive aid to go down well. Given the Indian scenario and our well knit family tradition and inter dependence, money is essential, barring a few who are too happy to ignore the gift. So, fundamentally the trend of the day is that science is increasingly orphaned for its fancier cousins. For those who continue to toil here, it‘s only the love for greater exploration that drives them.  The recent policies though encouraging are not sufficient to dam this outflow.  In this day of increasing opportunism and fleeting loyalties more needs to be done to prevent us becoming a nation rich in imported technology. The pessimist inside me mocks at my optimistic garb but i stay strong for now...and the answers are scattering, adhesion and surface tension... for the song of-course!  

Mumbai- The Dream City

Mumbai, as you would be aware from numerous Bollywood films is a city with strange sparkle. The incessant traffic, the crowds in pursuit, the prices definitely under a lunar mission, the frivolous rich well balanced by the pot hunters, portray the exuberance and enthusiasm that life can ever be.

 Travelling in a Mumbai local, the acclaimed life line or the BEST buses, i am yet to figure out the best feature; can be an enlightening experience, more so if you are careless. Wisdom alights on your shoulders doing away with the traditional Peepal and the Apple trees, as your feet grope for a standing space making you understand why our forefathers insisted on standing on our own feet. The agents of transport are a chemist’s pride for nowhere else in this animated world do you find hexagonal close packing implemented with such remarkable ease by people who are willing to take upon the burden with an indifference as extolled by the Gita. It strikes you with an understanding that nothing can be BEST than bringing the citizens together for this demonstration of national integrity.

An add-on that you would surely not miss out is the balancing act integrated into this locomotion means- a gym and a spa! The process starts immediately after you board, unless you wish to voluntarily wait for the next BEST bus or the local. Mind you it is a mandatory service offered without any hidden costs in the fare. The present description with the preferred embodiments can be well understood by people sufficiently skilled and experienced  in the art.

 I wonder at the man hours lost in this adventurous travelling and the carbon credits at stake but nothing seems to deter the mumbaikar spirit, it soars with suppression.    

If you wonder at the singularity of content in this broad claimed title, you are not alone. My writing is only as monotonous as my experience. With a desire to taste the many flavours of this wonderful city and a promise to dish out the unique flavours before the monsoon, let this chef sign off.

Fire fly...let’s fly!

II Aano bhadra krtavo yantu vishwatah II 

The last week of my IIT days was memorable...not that i had done something path breaking but it was a family trip to some must watchs of northern India.

More of it later but now coming back to the fire fly, it was during an evening in the terrain of Himachal, few of us went around for a walk. It was then i had spotted some fire flies, not that i had seen for the first time but the thought struck me for the first time. How wonderful a life they lead, independent of others, carrying their own light. I was blinded not by their light but by the message of self reliance they seem to be carrying around. So friends, that’s the ado behind the name and the thoughts that i post here.

The rainbow that i paint here is from the emotional colours; blue, white, black and brown, that emerge in my mind's palette as i enjoy the evolving daily drama. Hoping for a happy journey together.

Aano bhadra krtavo yantu vishwatah = Let noble thoughts come to me from all directions - Rig Veda