The terrace is the best place in the house for me. A decade ago, the view was either the sky or magnificent trees. Now, the majority is either buildings or light spilt over and onto the sky. The green trees are minimal and although sky is still there, the bright lights of the advertisement hoardings and the mall nearby eclipse the beautiful twinkling light of the stars.
The stars always remind me of what Yann Martel said in Life of Pi. God has made this world so beautiful in just two colours. The white twinkling light of the stars against this vast blackness of the sky. It is such a wonderful, wonderful sight.
Add silence to this and it’s a beautiful world of its own, shunned from the constant motoring noises. Add the perfect sphere of the Moon and subtract all the clouds and you are awestruck. Just cant help gazing and staring at the tranquility. There is a divinity, spirituality and universality about it all that cannot be explained.
Back in the days when Bangalore’s HAL airport was functional for commercial purposes, we used to have flights preparing for landing over our locality. Some flights waiting for their turn and hence circling, some in the queue and some opening up their wheels, ready for descent. Between 9 pm and 10 pm, there were at least about 10 to 12 flights landing. Apart from the natural beauty all around, this man made bird was another thing of joy!
I don’t know what is it about an airplane that fascinates me but it sure does make me stop my after-dinner-walk and see every time a plane hovers over my house. Perhaps it’s the magnificence of the human mind that has thought of such an engineering marvel to simulate a bird! But alas, now that the new airport is 40 miles away from my house, hardly any plane can be seen.
Well, I wanted to write about something else and instead the prologue itself became the content, although a trifle repeated! But I guess that suffices for now…!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Struggle?
Back in the days of me reading Tinkle, there was one short moral story which till date I haven’t forgotten. It went like this:
A king on his way to palace sees a poor man toiling away hard, hitting rocks with hammer, day in and day out, amidst bushes and thorns and sharp stones. Overcome by the poor man’s dedication and commitment to work, the king gave him lots of jewels as a token of appreciation. Overnight the poor man became a rich man.
The now rich man buys himself the best clothes and starts living a lavish life. Soon after, when the king was again going on the same way, he sees the now rich man, dressed royally, sitting on the rock, nursing his finger and apparently resting. When the king asks what happened, the now rich man says he was prick by a thorn and there was a small dot of blood on his fingers due to which he cannot work.
The king then realizes what ill effects money has on man. While the poor man used to toil hard amidst the same thorns for the sake of earning bread, the same man starts complaining of minor things when he attains the next stage of life and is uplifted monetarily.
This made me realize - apart from whatever the king realized - that the intensity and vagaries of a struggle become evident only when it is past and when the next level of comfort is achieved. Till then, it does not even occur that one is struggling, because such kind of toil is accepted as a way of leading life and taken easily for granted.
There are many instances that can be quoted. Nowadays, almost everyone has a mobile phone. To think of a life without cell phone suddenly seems so difficult and so unimaginable. And yet, men lived without it for centuries. The future generation – who are born with laptops and cell phones as toys – will soon be remarking how the olden generation were struggling in life without cell phones in the then era!
We all used to go to school or college by walk or cycle or public transport. Day after day after day after day. Monotonously. A long 30 minute haste walk, an uphill cycle ride, an overcrowded bus – all that seems so much of struggle as compared to driving to office in an AC car now or even going in the plush company bus with added cushion for extra comfort.
Similarly, carrying the backpacks to school seems such a struggle as against taking one notebook to college. Cramming for studies for monthly internal college exams seems such a struggle when going to office. Retirement seems such a pleasure after decades of office going struggle. So on and so forth…
Most of our older generations, immediately after independence, have really struggled to set up and sustain a family. People have fled villages and come to major towns in search of a job. There have been instances also of starving because of lack of money, of walking miles together and of cycling from one part of the town to another instead of commuting in bus due to lack of money.
Our own parents have gone through these hardships at one point of time. All of this seems so much of a struggle, and yet, at that point of time in their life, they wouldn’t have thought of it as a struggle. It was just a mere way of life, of existence. Question of whether it was hard or struggle or not just wouldn’t have occurred to them as there really was no other option. But on hindsight when life is being good, one remembers all of those instances and wonders how one ‘struggled’ so much!
Ditto will be the case with us. The simple tasks we are doing now will be even simplified so much more in the coming generations that a time will come when the next generations will be wondering how much we oldies struggled!
So. Are we struggling? Or are we not?!
A king on his way to palace sees a poor man toiling away hard, hitting rocks with hammer, day in and day out, amidst bushes and thorns and sharp stones. Overcome by the poor man’s dedication and commitment to work, the king gave him lots of jewels as a token of appreciation. Overnight the poor man became a rich man.
The now rich man buys himself the best clothes and starts living a lavish life. Soon after, when the king was again going on the same way, he sees the now rich man, dressed royally, sitting on the rock, nursing his finger and apparently resting. When the king asks what happened, the now rich man says he was prick by a thorn and there was a small dot of blood on his fingers due to which he cannot work.
The king then realizes what ill effects money has on man. While the poor man used to toil hard amidst the same thorns for the sake of earning bread, the same man starts complaining of minor things when he attains the next stage of life and is uplifted monetarily.
This made me realize - apart from whatever the king realized - that the intensity and vagaries of a struggle become evident only when it is past and when the next level of comfort is achieved. Till then, it does not even occur that one is struggling, because such kind of toil is accepted as a way of leading life and taken easily for granted.
There are many instances that can be quoted. Nowadays, almost everyone has a mobile phone. To think of a life without cell phone suddenly seems so difficult and so unimaginable. And yet, men lived without it for centuries. The future generation – who are born with laptops and cell phones as toys – will soon be remarking how the olden generation were struggling in life without cell phones in the then era!
We all used to go to school or college by walk or cycle or public transport. Day after day after day after day. Monotonously. A long 30 minute haste walk, an uphill cycle ride, an overcrowded bus – all that seems so much of struggle as compared to driving to office in an AC car now or even going in the plush company bus with added cushion for extra comfort.
Similarly, carrying the backpacks to school seems such a struggle as against taking one notebook to college. Cramming for studies for monthly internal college exams seems such a struggle when going to office. Retirement seems such a pleasure after decades of office going struggle. So on and so forth…
Most of our older generations, immediately after independence, have really struggled to set up and sustain a family. People have fled villages and come to major towns in search of a job. There have been instances also of starving because of lack of money, of walking miles together and of cycling from one part of the town to another instead of commuting in bus due to lack of money.
Our own parents have gone through these hardships at one point of time. All of this seems so much of a struggle, and yet, at that point of time in their life, they wouldn’t have thought of it as a struggle. It was just a mere way of life, of existence. Question of whether it was hard or struggle or not just wouldn’t have occurred to them as there really was no other option. But on hindsight when life is being good, one remembers all of those instances and wonders how one ‘struggled’ so much!
Ditto will be the case with us. The simple tasks we are doing now will be even simplified so much more in the coming generations that a time will come when the next generations will be wondering how much we oldies struggled!
So. Are we struggling? Or are we not?!
Monday, November 17, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Another Titanic?
There is this scene in the movie Titanic when for a split second, half of the broken ship is exactly perpendicular to the ocean. Everybody is hanging on to dear life, holding whatever they can. But the gravitational pull is too much and everyone is slipping...
There is this situation currently in the world now where every other day we are hearing news of people getting sacked, companies going down, hikes and promotions being cut. The scene is almost reminiscent of the perpendicular Titanic with people falling down, one after the other, trying desperately to hold but not able to do so...
There is this situation currently in the world now where every other day we are hearing news of people getting sacked, companies going down, hikes and promotions being cut. The scene is almost reminiscent of the perpendicular Titanic with people falling down, one after the other, trying desperately to hold but not able to do so...
Monday, November 10, 2008
Goodbye Ganguly...
8 years ago exactly on this day Ganguly had made his debut as the captain of India .... and Dhoni is again letting Ganguly leave as a captain ... fabulous spirit
Farewell salutations to the game's one of finest players...
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Monday, November 03, 2008
40k. More or less.
- Wanted to buy a new two-wheeler.
40k. More or less.
- Wanted to install solar heater.
40k. More or less.
- Bangalore to New York air fare.
40k. More or less.
- Mom went to Singapore.
40k. More or less.
40k. More or less.
- Wanted to install solar heater.
40k. More or less.
- Bangalore to New York air fare.
40k. More or less.
- Mom went to Singapore.
40k. More or less.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Silence
As the bus approached the traffic signal, the light turned red. The bus gradually came to a stop. It would be a long wait. Most traffic signals these days in Bangalore do not change lights up to 3 full minutes. The driver cut the engine. The noise now was one that of the neighbouring oncoming traffic who got the green.
I looked inside the bus at my co-passengers. We all were heading towards office. It was about 8ish and I knew many would have boarded the bus at about 7. It was still an hour’s journey, and hence more than half of the people were dozing. To catch up on the lost sleep; to be fresh to tackle the day’s work when they reach the office; to just avoid being a part of the annoying traffic.
Strangely, like a vacuum, or like being within a sound-proof bus, the noise within the bus itself was next to nothing. Pin-drop silence, as they say. Not a single person was talking on the phone, not a single cell was ringing, not one person talking. Everyone was immersed and involved in his or her own world. Sleeping, or listening to radio or reading a novel or just blindly staring at the traffic. Although we all worked for the same company, at that instant, none knew their neighbour. For all practical purposes, each one was a stranger to the other. This is what big companies do. One’s identity gets restricted to one’s project team.
For some reason, this scene reminded me of a number of instances which I had experienced in my life. There was this first week of my engineering college, when we used to travel in college bus. None knew one another and awkward, pregnant silence prevailed everywhere. Each wanted to do better in the course. There is always the desire to do better during studies.
There was this time when I was sitting in an interview room with my peers – all unknown to me. Each one wanted to do the interview well to get a job. We were all strangers. There was an expectant silence. Expecting to get their name called for the dreaded interview. There is always is an expectant silence in the waiting room prior to undergoing interviews.
There is the hospital waiting room. All are strangers with their near and dear one’s struggling for life in the ward. There is nothing to talk, but there is hope that things will get well. There is always hope in a hospital waiting room.
And then there is this bus. They are all my colleagues. But I know none of them. Hence there is no conversation. No idle talk. Just people. I am just one among the crowd. All hoping to have a good day at office. All wanting to do better. All wanting to achieve something.
The light turned green. The driver started the engine. The bus filled with the noise of the engine. It was like oxygen filling the vacuum. People almost sighed with thankfulness. Perhaps because it was our turn to go.
But I felt the thankfulness because it evaporated the silence. Silence was weird. Uncanny. Uncomfortable. Lonely. Noise was so much better...
I looked inside the bus at my co-passengers. We all were heading towards office. It was about 8ish and I knew many would have boarded the bus at about 7. It was still an hour’s journey, and hence more than half of the people were dozing. To catch up on the lost sleep; to be fresh to tackle the day’s work when they reach the office; to just avoid being a part of the annoying traffic.
Strangely, like a vacuum, or like being within a sound-proof bus, the noise within the bus itself was next to nothing. Pin-drop silence, as they say. Not a single person was talking on the phone, not a single cell was ringing, not one person talking. Everyone was immersed and involved in his or her own world. Sleeping, or listening to radio or reading a novel or just blindly staring at the traffic. Although we all worked for the same company, at that instant, none knew their neighbour. For all practical purposes, each one was a stranger to the other. This is what big companies do. One’s identity gets restricted to one’s project team.
For some reason, this scene reminded me of a number of instances which I had experienced in my life. There was this first week of my engineering college, when we used to travel in college bus. None knew one another and awkward, pregnant silence prevailed everywhere. Each wanted to do better in the course. There is always the desire to do better during studies.
There was this time when I was sitting in an interview room with my peers – all unknown to me. Each one wanted to do the interview well to get a job. We were all strangers. There was an expectant silence. Expecting to get their name called for the dreaded interview. There is always is an expectant silence in the waiting room prior to undergoing interviews.
There is the hospital waiting room. All are strangers with their near and dear one’s struggling for life in the ward. There is nothing to talk, but there is hope that things will get well. There is always hope in a hospital waiting room.
And then there is this bus. They are all my colleagues. But I know none of them. Hence there is no conversation. No idle talk. Just people. I am just one among the crowd. All hoping to have a good day at office. All wanting to do better. All wanting to achieve something.
The light turned green. The driver started the engine. The bus filled with the noise of the engine. It was like oxygen filling the vacuum. People almost sighed with thankfulness. Perhaps because it was our turn to go.
But I felt the thankfulness because it evaporated the silence. Silence was weird. Uncanny. Uncomfortable. Lonely. Noise was so much better...
Friday, October 24, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Thought for the day
No one will be happy if they are told that they are not doing a good job, right?
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Neutral Vision
"What is neutral?" My wife asked. We were discussing about the gears in the car.
"Neutral means neither here nor there." I replied, referring to neutral not being any gear per se. And added spontaneously, "Neutral is Narada." Then we both burst out laughing. What I said was so true! I mean, with so many mythiological references to English words, who knows, the word 'Neuter' came out of Narada's character!!
It wasnt long after that that I suspected 'Vision' to be borne out of the Hindu God 'Vishnu'. Vision for organisations in most cases remain asymptotic; always tending to reach its destination or goal but never doing so eventually - which is the same in an orthodox Hindu life, trying to follow the norms set forth by Vishnu so as to attain Him in the form of Moksha but never really being able to do so in reality...
Phew. Me and my thoughts...!
:-)
"Neutral means neither here nor there." I replied, referring to neutral not being any gear per se. And added spontaneously, "Neutral is Narada." Then we both burst out laughing. What I said was so true! I mean, with so many mythiological references to English words, who knows, the word 'Neuter' came out of Narada's character!!
It wasnt long after that that I suspected 'Vision' to be borne out of the Hindu God 'Vishnu'. Vision for organisations in most cases remain asymptotic; always tending to reach its destination or goal but never doing so eventually - which is the same in an orthodox Hindu life, trying to follow the norms set forth by Vishnu so as to attain Him in the form of Moksha but never really being able to do so in reality...
Phew. Me and my thoughts...!
:-)
"munde daari kaaNade..."
One sack o'er my left shoulder...
One sack o'er my right shoulder...
Trodding on the mud road...
In the middle of the dense forest...
Not knowing where I am...
Not knowing where I am going...
I chance upon these three roads...
Forking away from the road I am on...
One on the left, one straight on and one on the right...
Each being the same muddy road as the one I am on...
Each lacking in knowledge as to its destination...
Just as the same road I am on...
With two heavy sacks on my back...
I know not which one to choose...
Should I choose the right...
Or should I choose the left...
Should I go straight on...
Or is there some other path that I am not seeing...
I am reminded of Lowell's words-
"Once to every man and nation there comes a moment to decide..."
I am reminded of Sri Raghavendra Swamy's words-
"munde daari kaaNade kundide jagadoLu..."
One sack o'er my right shoulder...
Trodding on the mud road...
In the middle of the dense forest...
Not knowing where I am...
Not knowing where I am going...
I chance upon these three roads...
Forking away from the road I am on...
One on the left, one straight on and one on the right...
Each being the same muddy road as the one I am on...
Each lacking in knowledge as to its destination...
Just as the same road I am on...
With two heavy sacks on my back...
I know not which one to choose...
Should I choose the right...
Or should I choose the left...
Should I go straight on...
Or is there some other path that I am not seeing...
I am reminded of Lowell's words-
"Once to every man and nation there comes a moment to decide..."
I am reminded of Sri Raghavendra Swamy's words-
"munde daari kaaNade kundide jagadoLu..."
Friday, October 17, 2008
12000 and counting...
"It is perhaps the first time in the history of cricket that a batsman waved to the crowd thrice in an innings and raised his bat in acknowledgement to the standing ovation each time, and still had not completed a century..."
Sachin's became the highest run getter in Test Cricket.
Sachin got his fiftieth fifty in Test Cricket.
Sachin crossed 12000 runs in Test Cricket Cricket.
Sachin's became the highest run getter in Test Cricket.
Sachin got his fiftieth fifty in Test Cricket.
Sachin crossed 12000 runs in Test Cricket Cricket.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Contentment
In this everlasting universe of turbulence and high seas, there are occasions when all is at peace and there is absolute contentment and bliss. Its like those good ole golden days which most of us would have experienced when we were aged one month or so, comfortably snuggled in mother's lap, with stomach filled to the brim and our legs pedalling an imaginary cycle and enjoying the virtual ride of our life...
The day is just perfect after a fitful good night's sleep. The weather is not too hot nor too chilly. The sky is blue. The children are playing cricket on the road. Its a holiday. People are relaxed and in a festive mood. There are no planned agenda. No tension whatsoever. No deadlines to meet. Nothing bothering the mind. The mind is just plain empty, free of all worries. Nothing to think of. Not bored either. One needs such days where you just wind up and rejuvenate yourself. Just take it easy...!
I am reminded of the novel Swami and Friends by R K Narayan. So refreshingly plain and innocent.
Life, too, is so simple.
The day is just perfect after a fitful good night's sleep. The weather is not too hot nor too chilly. The sky is blue. The children are playing cricket on the road. Its a holiday. People are relaxed and in a festive mood. There are no planned agenda. No tension whatsoever. No deadlines to meet. Nothing bothering the mind. The mind is just plain empty, free of all worries. Nothing to think of. Not bored either. One needs such days where you just wind up and rejuvenate yourself. Just take it easy...!
I am reminded of the novel Swami and Friends by R K Narayan. So refreshingly plain and innocent.
Life, too, is so simple.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Sleep!
Monday: Got up just before my stop...
Tuesday: Got up at my stop...
Wednesday: Got up one stop after my stop!
Thursday: Got up two stops after my stop!!
Friday: The conductor woke me up!!!
Tuesday: Got up at my stop...
Wednesday: Got up one stop after my stop!
Thursday: Got up two stops after my stop!!
Friday: The conductor woke me up!!!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Unconditional Love
Today while I was sitting in the balcony, enjoying the Saturday evening coffee, I noticed my neighbour return from factory (note that the job was 6 days a week and it was ‘factory’, not ‘office’), and climb the stairs to his house. His face lit up with a huge smile and broad grin to see his two-year old come running towards him with outstretched arms. It was such a nice happy scene to behold!
It reminded me of something. Immediately after the accident episode last year, my two-year old cousin was made to stay in our home so that my mother could take of her while her own mother recuperated from the leg injury sustained due to the accident. My cousin stayed with us for about a week. It was during those times that I really used to look forward to coming home and seeing her, however worse the day was. It was like being a school child all over again, eager to come home and start playing, despite home-works and punishments at school. There is no love comparable to a kid who comes running to you with outstretched arms and a wide smile…
The other side of the coin, huh?
It reminded me of something. Immediately after the accident episode last year, my two-year old cousin was made to stay in our home so that my mother could take of her while her own mother recuperated from the leg injury sustained due to the accident. My cousin stayed with us for about a week. It was during those times that I really used to look forward to coming home and seeing her, however worse the day was. It was like being a school child all over again, eager to come home and start playing, despite home-works and punishments at school. There is no love comparable to a kid who comes running to you with outstretched arms and a wide smile…
The other side of the coin, huh?
Its all about stories...
I just finished seeing a wonderful documentary about how Jim and Jennifer got stuck in the middle of snow and cold and went without automobile and food for close to ten days and still finally made it. Along with that small kid that they had with them!
I then took up the novel which I am currently reading: Life of Pi. It seems to be a true story of a small boy who finds himself in a life boat with a zebra, orangutan and hyena in the middle of Pacific Ocean. And yes, there was a Bengal tiger too!
Some time later I started blogging about the day that was and the phase of life I was undergoing. To do so, I had to think about what to express and what to mask and yet ensure that when I look back at the post some couple of years later, I know exactly what I was enduring. This was my story.
When we watch movies, we are seeing different stories picturised. When we read books, we see the world through the author's stories. When we read blogs, we are catching up on stories of our friends. When we meet up with old pals or call them up, we catch up on each others' stories. We see social networking sites and check out friends' albums to update ourselves of their stories.
I realized then that life is all about sum total of individual stories that sometimes intertwine with others, sometimes made public but most times die out without real publicity. And needless to say, all stories are fascinating in its own way.
And that’s how it all ends eventually. Just a story in which each one of us has played a part unknowingly…
Friday, September 26, 2008
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