Harikathaamruthasaara

This snap was taken by my uncle in the hotel room he stayed in Riyadh for a short duration. My uncle had a habit to listen to Harikathaamruthasaara (Divine story of God: through chanting) - stored in the laptop - every morning.

Every time he switched on the chanting, a pigeon came and sat near the window (visible in the middle of the snap). It always stayed for the entire duration of the chanting, and as soon as the chanting got done, it flew away.

Fascinating, isnt it?

60 Tonnes on my name!

~Thanks to Janet (and of course the sponsors), over 500 trees were planted in and around Koramangala this weekend.

~Yours truly contributed to absorption of 60 tonnes of CO2.

~"If we do not take action now, there will be no ice in Arctic by 2013 summer" (TOI Dec 13th)

~Came across these sites to battle global warming. An excellent initiative by a city that is always united in its approach. Be it hours after a terrorist attack. Or to make this world a better place.

~As I read recently in an open source software's readme doc: "If you like this software, I suggest donate generously to the betterment of the society. The world doesn't have to be a bad place." How simply and succinctly put!

No one's fault, yet...

There were 3 seats in the bus when I boarded. First one in the middle of the bus, the empty seat being in between the aisle and the window; Second one being almost at the end, again between the aisle and the window; And the third one at the very last. The second one seemed good because the aisle and window passengers were relatively slim compared to the first. Nothing much to choose between the first and the third in terms of space except that third was bumpier due to its geographical position in the bus but had more leg space.

So when I saw the first empty seat, I rejected it because of the heftiness of the passengers on the aisle and window seats. I proceeded to the second one, which seemed to be the best. But as I neared, I realized that somebody had put a bag there. Which meant the seat was reserved by someone, who had perhaps just gone out to get some air. When I had already come thus far, I decided to forego the first seat and opted for the last seat, and risk the bumps with extended leg space.

Within a few minutes of me having occupied the last seat, 2 members boarded the bus. The first member saw two empty seats now, and, like me, decided for the second one and moved towards it. Meanwhile, the second member who had boarded, seeing that the first person forewent the first seat and was going for the second seat, had no choice but to squash down in the first seat.

Now, when the first member came towards the apparently empty second seat, like me, saw the reserved bag, and realized that there was no seat here. But unlike me, she didn’t have any other seat. And she realized to her horror, that the seat which she had just foregone also was now occupied. Which meant, there were no seats for her to sit on in the entire bus, although there was actually, in effect, one seat when she had initially boarded the bus which ideally should have belonged to her! She was left with no choice but to alight and choose another bus where perhaps she would get a seat.

Considering the situation, and the plight of the victim, one couldn’t blame the victim because the victim was just trying to get the best seat; one couldn’t blame the person who had reserved the seat because such a scenario couldn’t have been foreseen; one couldn’t blame the second person who boarded the bus for having taken the first seat because, for all practical purposes, the first person gave up this seat to go for something else which the second person doesn’t know that its reserved and first person didn’t get it eventually! Clearly, no one’s at fault, and yet, there was a victim in the whole scheme of the things.

Does this imply that the first opportunity you get, you should grab? Does this imply that the person who alighted, got a better opportunity later, going with the axiom of ‘All for good’?

It wasn’t too difficult for me to appreciate the bigger simile in life.

Finding Yourself

When you find yourself
In some far off place,
And it causes you
To rethink some things.
You start to sense
That slowly you’re becoming someone else
And then you find yourself.

When you make new friends
In a brand new town,
And you start to think
About settling down,
The things that would have been lost on you
Are now clear as a bell.
And you find yourself
That’s when you find yourself.

Well you go through life
So sure of where you’re heading,
And you wind up lost
And it’s the best thing that could happen.
‘Cause sometimes when you lose your way
It’s really just as well.
‘Cause you find yourself;
That when you find yourself.

When you meet the one
You’ve been waiting for,
And she’s everything
That you want and more,
You look at her
And you finally start
To live for someone else.
And then you find yourself;
That’s when you find yourself.

We go through life
So sure of where we’re heading,
And then we wind up lost
And it’s the best thing that could happen.
Sometimes when you lose your way
It’s really just as well.
Because you find yourself;
Yeah that’s when you find yourself.

Such a beautiful lyrics. From the movie Cars.

Remembering "Eyebrows"...

Extract

***

Elaine: What, you don't think she's beautiful?
Jerry: I don't know, what's with the eyebrows?
Elaine: You know, women kill for eyebrows like that. Do you know that? I mean women pluck their real eyebrows out of their head, one by one, until they're bald, Jerry. Bald above the eyes! And then they paint in these eyebrows to look like that.

***

George: What does she look like?
Jerry: She's good looking.
George: How good looking?
Jerry: Very good looking.
George: Really good looking?
Jerry: Really very good looking.
George: What about the body, what kind of body?
Jerry: Good body, nice body.
George: How nice?
Jerry: Nice.
George: Just nice?
Jerry: Pretty nice.
George: Really good?
Jerry: Really very nice and good.
George: What about personality?
Jerry: Good personality. Funny. Bright.
George: Smarter than me? I don't want anyone smarter than me.
Jerry: How could she be smarter than you?
George: What kind of hair?
Jerry: You know, long dark hair.
George: Flowing?
Jerry: Flowing?
George: Is it flowing? I like flowing, cascading hair. Thick lustrous hair isvery important to me. (scratching his balding hair!)
Jerry: 'Thick lustrous hair is very important to me,' is that what you said?
George: What about the skin? I need a good cheek, I like a good cheek.
Jerry: She's got a fine cheek.
George: Is there a pinkish hue?
Jerry: A pinkish hue?
George: Yes, a rosy glow.
Jerry: There's a hue. She's got great eyebrows, women kill to have her eyebrows.
George: Who cares about eyebrows?

***

Closing monologue.

Have you ever fixed anybody up? Why do we do it? Why? You thought they would have a good time. And a little power trip for you, isn't it? Now, you're playing god. Of course god was the first person to fix people up. He fixed up Adam and Eve. You know, I'm sure he said to Adam, "She's nice. She's very free about her body, doesn't really wear that much. She was going out with a snake, I think that's over though."

***

Here is the complete script for all episodes of Seinfeld. As Shady rightly put it, Friends is like Basic Java; Seinfeld is like Advanced Java!!

Remembering "Life backwards"...

"The most unfair thing about life is the way it ends. I mean, life is tough. It takes up a lot of your time. What do you get at the end of it? A death. What's that, a bonus?!? I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first, get it out of the way. Then you go live in an old age home. You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect your pension, then, when you start work, you get a gold watch on your first day. You work forty years until you are young enough to enjoy your retirement.You drink alcohol, you party and you get ready for high school. You go to primary school,you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities. You become a little baby. You go back, you spend your last 9 months floating with luxuries like central heating, spa, room service on tap. Then you finish off as an orgasm!! Amen!"

Popularised as George Costanza's take on life in Seinfeld. One of the best unforgettable quotes I have ever read...

The Worst Weekend...

The never-ending cough...
The confines of the workspace...
The feeling of being almost on top...
Yet never succeeding...

The blackness in the clouds...
The animosity in the air...
The heaviness in the heart...
The pathless future...

The unfinished food...
The after- (or is it mid-) dinner walk...
The pitying yet never failing Orion and Centaurus...
The sleepness night...

The lost smiles...
The 24x2 silence...
The walk in the noon...
The contemplation amidst the greenery...

And then, the silver lining...
The light at the end of the tunnel...
The lightness of the heart...
The sweet smell of freedom...

Full Moon

There is nothing more beautiful than a full moon...

Photo Courtesy: Swati Pathak, 24th Nov'2007 at Agram army camp

Irony of the day

There I am, thinking about my life, in general.
And then, coincidentally, I get this sms:

Everyone starts out with a full bag of luck and an empty bag of experience.
The trick is to fill the bag of experience before the luck runs out!

I guess that was just God's way of smiling at me...

Thought for the day

"Its all skewed..."

Jan 25-28 1988

A set of hot, spicy Ambodes sold on the footpath made way to my home, courtesy dad, packed in a piece of paper. Although there was nothing to take away from the Ambodes themselves, the piece of paper was far more interesting.

It seemed to belong to a teenaged gal’s diary dated Jan 25-28 1988. The handwriting was beautiful and legible although the grammar was as expected from any teenaged student. The 2 pages were more engrossing than anything I had ever read recently.

It talked of the previous day’s test, current day’s exam and the next day’s apprehension. It spoke of a girl’s fluttering feelings for her boyfriend in the class who hadn’t mysteriously come to school.

It spoke of the Republic Day celebrations and the associated march-past and exercise drills. It spoke of her embarrassing monthly problem and the dreaded white skirt. It spoke of how she was trying to see her boyfriend desperately in the huge group of boys.

When the space for the current day got over, she spilled over the next day’s section and negotiated by writing in a smaller font. The Republic Day holiday section came as a relief for there was nothing much to write. But a one-liner as to how well she studied for the next day.

It then talks about how well she had done her test, but yet depending on her fate for teacher giving good marks. It confesses about her talking bad about her friend’s boyfriend. And the retaliated outburst from her friend to her own boyfriend stating ‘he will get blood cancer, lung cancer, TB, etc’ which makes her worry because her own boyfriend is not in school today too.

It spoke about how she hadn’t spoken to one of her friends for the last 2 weeks and suddenly spoke to her today because it was her birthday. And how nice she felt when her birthday gift was appreciated by all. Followed by the treat to which the birthday gal’s boyfriend didn’t come.

It spoke about how she suddenly felt the closeness with the birthday gal friend. It observed the subtleness as to how the birthday gal’s boyfriend suddenly was sitting far away in the classroom from her and was flirting with ‘that beautiful fatso,’ how desperately the birthday gal was trying to attract attention, laughing at his jokes, etc, and yet the guy kept looking at the fatso.

And there it ended. Just 4 days in 2 pages with so much spice, and the whole gamut of teenage emotions, written in that beautiful school language, shifting from one topic to another, from one friend to another, in back-to-back sentences, complete from being studious, to fearing teenaged embarrassment, to secret pleasure of having a boyfriend, to making opinions about other girls’ boyfriends! Reminded me a little of The Diary of Anne Frank.

But there was one other observation in this single sheet of paper. Wherever she has spoken of her boyfriend and used the words “He”, she has smudged it to a “She” so as to give the impression that she was talking about just another girl, just in case someone happened to read her diary. But this sham is so amateurish that the smudging is done in a completely different pen and also, in a single sentence, some of the “He”s are not even smudged! But this innocent cover-up and mistake added even more charm to the whole thing.

Its a fascinating thought that something like this happened in 1988 and I came to read about it almost 20 years later, of someone whom I do not, nor will I ever know. Although the names of the friends, boyfriends are mentioned, the diary owner's name isnt mentioned anywhere, unlike Anne Frank's.

Overall, an enthralling read, and brought back memories of ‘those good old days’ of both being in school, and writing diaries!

A perfect weekend

This Friday...
…It being Thanksgiving Day at onsite, comparatively less work at offshore. Fridays generally have a festive mood, and today it was even more so, due to the plans for the evening.
…Om Shanti Om at PVR. The latest SRK hit. It was an enjoyable movie, and with the right crowd, its really fun. Had a great time! Also, it was my first time at PVR, after a long wait!

This Saturday…
…Vocal class after a very long time, thanks to my sore throat and cough.
…Domestic chores and relaxation with intermittent Indo-Pak cricket First Test updates. Indians always seemed on top!
...Speaking of Indians, saw a nice movie called World's Fastest Indian.
…A wonderful Carnatic vocal concert at Gayana Samaja by TN Seshagopalan.
...Chatted with a number of friends on a variety of interesting topics:
a) Shared a few laughs with Ashwini on 'I-spy' (commonly mistaken for ice-spice) and her new list of goof-ups!
b) Plan A (new company after MBA) and Plan B (Infy after MBA) conversation with Preetham!
c) Marriage, and its intricacies, pros and cons, with Mayur.
d) With the Rich Woman about Andrea!
e) Status update with Harini!
f) 'This is who I am', with Rashmi!
g) US and its likes, dislikes, with Achala.
Of course, a chat always makes life interesting!

This Sunday…
…Nothing can compare to a game of shuttle early morning. November’s chill and clear blue sky added that much more to the beauty of the game.
…A long ride in the Kine to KR Puram in the hope of doing something for the world to combat the global warming. This makes another interesting read on GW. Volunteered to plant some saplings which will grow into fine trees and hopefully save lives in future. Doing good never fails to bring happiness.
…Kadari Gopalnath’s Saxophone concert in Gayana Samaja, accompanied by excellent artistes like Kanyakumari on Violin, Amruth on Khanjira, Hari Kumar on Mridanga and Rajashekhar on Morching. The tempo and pace was unheard of and unbelievable and spectacular.
...The Pink Panther does, as always, a hilarious justice to Inspector Clouseau.

All in all, I cannot ask for a better weekend. Less work at office, nice movies, my vocal practice, Indo-Pak cricket match that always somehow tilted favorably, experts’ classical concerts, great chat conversations, a beautiful outdoor game and a gratifying task of planting trees, with the only regret being I couldn’t practice Violin!

Well, I was reminded of this, and I am hoping for more such weekends!

Happy!

Sweetness in the air
Zephyr in the winds

Blueness in the sky
Freshness of the dew

Chirpiness of the birds
Liveliness of the kid

Smile on the lips
Spright in the gait

Lightness of the heart
Fullness of life

Happy Diwali!

Thanks to Diwali, it seems more than half of Bangalore is empty.

Compared to this, it took just 25 minutes to office and 25 mintues back to home today.

As Times Of India rightly said, we are not stuck in a traffic jam. We are the traffic jam...

Anyway, Happy Diwali...!

Life is a show

It is but a known fact, and an old phrase, that “this world is a stage and we, the people, are the actors”. While, to an extent, we might be construed somewhat as “puppets on chains”, it still remains true enough that puppets are indeed the main heroes of the show.

To be more metaphorically specific, we are all in this frenzy real-time show that’s occurring as I write this. Each one is playing his part, some to perfection, and some trying to excel, some falter midway, some are just there, as “supporting actors”.

Beginning from our birth, to our first steps, to our first words, to our first two-word sentences, every action is worthy of an applause and a reason to smile. So, while the kids dumbly watch with the expression of “what’s-going-on”, people around are actually all smiles and clapping about on the minute yet significant development!

In schools, we are constantly examined, graded in areas like academics, sports, skills, and, although, each has his own caliber, it is true that each has his own unique niche. And then, from Undergrad to Grad to Bachelors, as each progress in his own domain, the show gets stronger and stronger, with the audience praising one’s “upcoming-in-life”.

And then, some get into respectable professions, some carry on the academic pursuit and do their Masters, PhDs, MBAs, and once done, join even more awing jobs. So, for an imaginary audience, in fact, each one, in his own way, is putting up a brilliant laudable show!

It doesn’t stop there. On the personal front, people get married, and have kids. Job, which was number one priority for last half a decade suddenly, takes a back seat. The lovely kid cuddling in the arm is far more precious than anything ever construed till date! One gets to hear ‘Congratulations’ everywhere. Its “happy time” again, and all smiles around! In effect, it’s actually a “nice show” that we are putting up!

The phase and cycle takes a twist now. While as a parent, it is not just about sustenance of the family that counts, it’s more importantly, the upbringing of the child and making the child competent amongst its peers. When the kid stands on the stage of an auditorium jam packed with audience, and enacts a drama, full of innocent flaws, the parent cannot help but laugh. But when the same audience gives a rupturing ovation, the parent is flooded with pride!

And thus, it goes on and on. Men have come and men have gone, and men will keep coming and keep going, but the show goes on forever! Without actually knowing, we are all, in our own way, creating history, making positive strides towards a life in which we are actually successful, and a life, for which, many others are happy for us, and are internally applauding. For, it is a show that we are in, and making it a grand success!

However, all good things have to come to an end and so does the “time” for each one of us on the “stage.” But, as they say, “the show must go on.”

So, as long as we are on stage, we must always remember that there is an invisible audience watching us and wanting us to make them happy! Of course, we all love Truman, don’t we? So, let’s make the show a huge success, and while we are at it, let’s have a rollicking time!!

Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand, strawberries in the other, body all worn and used, screaming “Whoo hooo what a ride!" - Lynds

Word of the day

Subjugate.

Live. Not exist.

What a beautiful thought!

Thursday

Thursday, for me, like for most others, is synonymous to the ‘Raghavendra Swamy’ day. It is said that Raghavendra Swamy, one of the most popular saints in 17th century, with main Brindavan in Manthralaya, entered the Brindavan on a Thursday, and thereon, Thursdays are said to be good days. A day, for me, of visiting the Mutt, if in vicinity.

It’s funny how it began in the first place. Being like most others, I truly believed, and still do, in fact, that one’s interpretation of the Supreme is in one’s mind. With God well and truly within one’s own mind, there really is no need to visit places of religious faith and worship, like temples or Mutts. But there occurred a small yet significant incident in my life which revolutionized my Thursdays.

It was a time when I was in my teens. I was suffering from an illness for quite some time. I used to suffer continuously on and off and no medication seemed to immunize me. My body, in a way, had become extremely sensitive. It was on one such occasion that my mom, exasperated about my health, remarked on one fine Thursday that I should visit the Mutt (which happens to be in the vicinity of my house) every Thursday, like how she does. I dismissed the remark and waved the suggestion away. Told her, God is in one’s mind. It’s not really necessary to visit temple to pray and thank the Lord.

Back then, (sometimes even now, in fact) if I was stuck in a tough spot, and wanted to choose something, I would ask Him, and I expected Him to reply in a way I chose. Like for instance, if I had a choice between A and B, I would associate a current event’s outcome to either A or B, and thus, obtained His response to my quandary. So, when my mom told me about visiting the Mutt every Thursday, it left me in a dilemma. So I had a personal conversation with Him in my own way and asked Him if he really wanted me to visit Him every week. And since, there was India v Sri Lanka ODI series cricket match going on, I associated His response as No if India won the series and Yes if India didn’t. India lost. Hence, I started going to the Raghavendraswamy Mutt every Thursday from thereon!

Although, initially, I used to go more for the sake of it than anything else, it gradually grew onto me, and now I am in a state in which, just like how some look forward to Friday night boozing, I look forward to Thursday morning Mutt visit! The visit to the Mutt brings unto me a serenity and peacefulness and calmness, as if someone putting a Healing Hand on my head. It’s really got nothing specifically with any one God or Saint, but it is more of a weekly status update (and off-loading of heaviest burdens!) with the Creator, and his Healing companionship! I do not stay there for long, it might just be about for about 10-20 minutes and in that span of time, I feel refreshed, rejuvenated and rekindled!

Due to office constraints, the coming-home-time becoming unpredictable, I made it a habit to visit the Mutt early in the morning before heading off to office. At 7 am, the Mutt is pretty much empty. The priest is washing the idol (It somehow gives this metaphorical feeling that everything that is bad is being washed away). The old flowers are being removed, and new ones being put. The decoration invariably is always innovative. The place is clean and tidy. And quiet, the quintessential part of feeling one with Him. There is a low hum of a religious chant which enchants me during the pradikshanas after the theerth and manthrakshath, followed by the genuflections reflecting life’s push-ups, of the effort needed by Man to survive and excel. There is a beautiful smiling photo of the Swamy in front of whom one can sit and enter the realm of the Universe where the land is peaceful and white and above the clouds, filled with utmost silence yet an atmosphere of joviality and frolic, of kids playing around merrily, of innocence flowing from everywhere, of a place where there is no ill-will or negativity. In that state of meditation, it is almost as if you are one with the Universe, and somehow, automatically, you will be left with a smile on your lips!

At times, I am forced to visit in the evening. Although the serenity of the early morning is lost in the evening crowd’s hustle-bustle, the evening has its own charm. The Mutt will be brightly lit. The crowd adds to the geniality of the situation. The instrumentalists add festivity to the day. The standard chanting of the slokas. The idol being taken around the sanctum sanctorum for three times. The idol being kept on the swing, juxtaposed with the singing of my favorite ‘Thoogire Rayara, Thoogire Gurugala…’ And the Aarthis, one after the other, done by the priest in a devout and disciplined manner, replete with respect, amidst the resounding and reverberating bells. It is almost as if one is purified just by one’s presence, in mind and thought! I then proffer a small offering to the Hundi with traditional saying of ‘Kereya neeranu kerege challi…’ The same goodbye of ‘See you, same time, same place, same day, next week’, sometimes added with ‘At least, at a more appropriate time’ if something is amiss! And another small offering to my ‘friend’ on the streets watching my slippers! That ends the Thursday routine!

I missed it as long as I was in US, but a time has come now wherein I just cannot miss the visit if I am in hometown. Whether it is raining, or I am swamped with work. Come to think of it, even if it is my own brother’s wedding! If I happen to come home at 10 pm, dead exhausted, and it is raining, my mom, who was the main driver behind this whole thing, forbids me to go, but I wouldn’t dream of missing.

I still suffer some illness or the other on and off. My body is still sensitive. I still feel there is no real need to visit temples or Mutts because one’s interpretation of God or of Supreme or of Creator is in one’s own mind and subject to individualistic opinion and views. However, for me, Thursdays have added charm and purity to life. Something, I very much to look forward to, every week…

Write-up published!

There were a lot of edits and lot of cuts and lot of additions and sentence modifications...
Yet, felt nice when what I had written about the project's 5 year completion came up on the Infosys' intranet home page...

Hail India!

India is known for its culture and traditions. While the same culture and traditions have rather taken a back seat in India itself, it is a pleasure to see the big strides Indian culture is growing in other parts of the world, thanks to the young Indians spread all over. Every other day, I get a mail about some of my friends participating in a religious celebration in the respective place one is staying, be it Sweden, be it Switzerland, Australia, UK or US, even though they would not have done anything when they were in India!

Chanting of Vishnusahasranama, Yoga, Ganapathi celebrations, Diwali fire crackers, Independence day, Navarathri Garba, classical music renditions is all done more religiously in US than in India with more participation!

While, India is getting more and more Westernised, West is getting more and more Easternised! A cultural balance, huh?!