Wave after wave
Far from the shore and deep inside
Sounds of balafon -
And some samba
Legs curled up -
Every atom is dancing
There is a twinkle
Lips move apart
Cool breeze
And a sip of hot coffee
Magic!
What else is?
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Release
In the midst of woods -
spiral branches and smell of earth
green on the out and brown inside
the colors fade by the minute
Violet oozes out of the stem
Smoothely kissing the wet cheeks
Trembling hands rush to stop
Wind chill is the new lord
Yellow life crawls up the orange oak
Sticks and stings - the wounds remain
Night blanket wraps around the moon
Take my hug and bring me warmth
Heavy sphere, got any ear?
Sometimes, i wakeup on the tenth floor
Strange that the building has only seven in the morning
Emotion needs to learn algebra
Release is but a solution that never exists
spiral branches and smell of earth
green on the out and brown inside
the colors fade by the minute
Violet oozes out of the stem
Smoothely kissing the wet cheeks
Trembling hands rush to stop
Wind chill is the new lord
Yellow life crawls up the orange oak
Sticks and stings - the wounds remain
Night blanket wraps around the moon
Take my hug and bring me warmth
Heavy sphere, got any ear?
Sometimes, i wakeup on the tenth floor
Strange that the building has only seven in the morning
Emotion needs to learn algebra
Release is but a solution that never exists
Friday, October 26, 2007
Steve, Bill and Icecream
If you were born in the 80s like me, you were probably thrown into this world when it was going through a very important series of events. The cold war ended during this period. There was uprise of urban middle-class in the US and Europe. Middle class young adults fresh out of MBA-schools were getting adequately rich to get pretty cars and prettier women. It was a period when movies and music began to get commercialized into the mainstream as we see it today. It was also a time when Microsoft and Apple started doing things which made them so fantastically successful as they are now. I wouldn't mention Infosys here as much of the value creation due to them only began to happen in the 1990s. The point however is that these are really really powerful events if you come to think of it. A lot of things happened so positively well together that it just pushed the eco-system to a higher layer and order of basic elements.
I feel unlucky because of two things. One, i wasn't born in the west, where the action always seems to be more "now" than in the east. Two, read one again. The eco-system is so much more real in the west as compared to the east and it both inspires and scares me. I am inspired because i get hope that if humans can do it at some space and time, humans elsewhere surely have the potential to do it. I am scared because i feel the eco-system is so terribly damaged that it might take a lot of time and space. One reason it is bound to take a a lot of time is that there is a lot and lot of space to cover. What can speed up the process is something only Mustafa Gaus knows. It is very important to find him.
When i was in school, a friend of mine used to tell me repeatedly about this little nugget of wisdom. He told me about this so many times that i now kind of believe in it. I think that is what it takes to convince someone about something. Just persevere and constantly bombard them with your alternative imagery of space-curve. Sooner or later, they will bend in. It is probably always the latter. Well, the nugget of wisdom was this. If you take away the wealth of all the rich people in the world and redistribute it among everybody in the world equally, the wealth will get back to the same or similar set of people very soon. That is just how the whole thing is programmed! You either have it in you or you don't. There are no two ways about it. Well, wisdom or not, it is surely an interesting way to look at things. For me, it always is a favorite thing to ponder about. If you know the essential DNA of what makes people of different walks of life wealthy and those elements which restrict progress, you can become the most powerful consultant, the world has never known. The key word, however, is "If". Nobody seems to know the answer even though people throw this crap around a few common phrases around doing the right thing, making your passion your job, etc. Well, if my passion should be my job, who will pay me for eating ice cream?
It dawned on me today that am close to hit a quarter century of my lifetime on this planet and am supposed to have a perspective of what life form is all about and where is that am supposed to take mine.
I pondered about it a lot and this is what i have concluded-
Eat a lot of ice cream.
The 1980s are also termed as the period of "greed".
I for some reason, think that greed is probably always good. The collective greed of all humans is probably what makes the seemingly complex human and para-human systems tick and move. Amen.
I feel unlucky because of two things. One, i wasn't born in the west, where the action always seems to be more "now" than in the east. Two, read one again. The eco-system is so much more real in the west as compared to the east and it both inspires and scares me. I am inspired because i get hope that if humans can do it at some space and time, humans elsewhere surely have the potential to do it. I am scared because i feel the eco-system is so terribly damaged that it might take a lot of time and space. One reason it is bound to take a a lot of time is that there is a lot and lot of space to cover. What can speed up the process is something only Mustafa Gaus knows. It is very important to find him.
When i was in school, a friend of mine used to tell me repeatedly about this little nugget of wisdom. He told me about this so many times that i now kind of believe in it. I think that is what it takes to convince someone about something. Just persevere and constantly bombard them with your alternative imagery of space-curve. Sooner or later, they will bend in. It is probably always the latter. Well, the nugget of wisdom was this. If you take away the wealth of all the rich people in the world and redistribute it among everybody in the world equally, the wealth will get back to the same or similar set of people very soon. That is just how the whole thing is programmed! You either have it in you or you don't. There are no two ways about it. Well, wisdom or not, it is surely an interesting way to look at things. For me, it always is a favorite thing to ponder about. If you know the essential DNA of what makes people of different walks of life wealthy and those elements which restrict progress, you can become the most powerful consultant, the world has never known. The key word, however, is "If". Nobody seems to know the answer even though people throw this crap around a few common phrases around doing the right thing, making your passion your job, etc. Well, if my passion should be my job, who will pay me for eating ice cream?
It dawned on me today that am close to hit a quarter century of my lifetime on this planet and am supposed to have a perspective of what life form is all about and where is that am supposed to take mine.
I pondered about it a lot and this is what i have concluded-
Eat a lot of ice cream.
The 1980s are also termed as the period of "greed".
I for some reason, think that greed is probably always good. The collective greed of all humans is probably what makes the seemingly complex human and para-human systems tick and move. Amen.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Agony
http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/oct/24india.htm
The latest report by AT Kearney talks about something as trivial as the fact that sky is blue. Yes, 800 million of Indians live on less than two dollars a day. Less than half the people are connected to the power grid. Note more than 5% are connected to the internet and all that jazz.
But, you know what? India still ranks high on happiness surveys. Surely, money or material wealth is not a source of happiness. They discovered and wrote about this in the vedas and upanishads a zillion years ago. We surely know the true path to happiness in the east.
Or, do we?
How about a village with electricity round the clock and clean water to drink?
How about adequate provision of healthcare in every nook n corner?
How about your distant cousin in the village having the chance to go to a good school?
Will that not bring any happiness?
May be we need to re-write our vedas. And give ourselves a little chance.
The latest report by AT Kearney talks about something as trivial as the fact that sky is blue. Yes, 800 million of Indians live on less than two dollars a day. Less than half the people are connected to the power grid. Note more than 5% are connected to the internet and all that jazz.
But, you know what? India still ranks high on happiness surveys. Surely, money or material wealth is not a source of happiness. They discovered and wrote about this in the vedas and upanishads a zillion years ago. We surely know the true path to happiness in the east.
Or, do we?
How about a village with electricity round the clock and clean water to drink?
How about adequate provision of healthcare in every nook n corner?
How about your distant cousin in the village having the chance to go to a good school?
Will that not bring any happiness?
May be we need to re-write our vedas. And give ourselves a little chance.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Cold
Time is staring at the watch
Laughing crazy like never before
Perhaps, never after
Chillness in the veins
Exhaust from the constant rupture
Numb feet and the gibberish
Ah, familiar
How i wish it was a dream.
A bird whispers silence into my mind
Can you a sing a song too? please
Far away in Mexico, the little girl is smiling
Her grandma wants to use the face book
Laughing crazy like never before
Perhaps, never after
Chillness in the veins
Exhaust from the constant rupture
Numb feet and the gibberish
Ah, familiar
How i wish it was a dream.
A bird whispers silence into my mind
Can you a sing a song too? please
Far away in Mexico, the little girl is smiling
Her grandma wants to use the face book
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Confession
- Loius Gluck
To say I'm without fear--
it wouldn't be true.
I'm afraid of sickness, humiliation.
Like anyone I have my dreams.
But I've learned to hide them,
to protect myself
from fulfillment: all happiness
attracts the Fates' anger.
They are sisters, savages--
in the end, they have
no emotion but envy.
To say I'm without fear--
it wouldn't be true.
I'm afraid of sickness, humiliation.
Like anyone I have my dreams.
But I've learned to hide them,
to protect myself
from fulfillment: all happiness
attracts the Fates' anger.
They are sisters, savages--
in the end, they have
no emotion but envy.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Impossible is Nothing
Have you ever taken a course in mass transfer? If not, do not read any further!
For if you have gone through the rituals, you are most likely to remember the book by treybal. If you are the unfortunate Phd kind, you probably still sleep over it.
This is not about the book. This isn't even about me. It is about a man and his deepest fears coming true!
I hated it from the bottom of my heart ever since i first met with the book. Whenever i opened the pages, i felt like i was being tied to a tree and punished with a hunter! The piercing pain and the imaginary smell of the silkened flesh still linger fresh in my memory. The psychometric charts looked like the kitchen of the devil who was cooking my misery. The problems about the distillation plants made me feel sad for the african girls who were being sold in the markets of Ethiopia. I felt a strong cord of distinct similarity. When you are forced to do something you dislike so much and there is no way out, what do you do about it?
Well, not much i guess.
Time moved on. Mass transfer became a thing of history and treybal was a happy man ever after. I actually don't remember an instance where i felt anything remotely bad for him. Even when i was going through the pain, i felt sad for the guy who had actually had to write a book about transfer of mass from a phase to an other. He probably doesn't have to worry about hell as he has lived through it!
A typical hindi movie romance starts with a fight between the boy and the girl and ends up with them falling in love. I never believed in it!
Well, most of the time, beliefs shouldn't change! That leaves for some time when they are allowed to change!
I met with the book again on this weekend. I happened to meet a friend doing his Phd at MIT and he was kind enough to let me into the room where he stores this book and treats it with atmost devotion!
I didn't know what to do for a minute. Here i was, face to face with my devil. My deepest fear. My deadliest nemesis. I slowly but surely moved towards it. I took the book in my hand and began to feel it's texture. In a single momentary flash, the entire history dawned itself before my eyes. I started going through the pages. The very psychometric charts from the past began to look like innocent puppies. It doesn't feel anywhere close to a devil's workshop. I went through the pages which discuss distillation plants. I felt something melt inside me. There were tears in my eyes.
The wonder for me is that i couldn't bring myself to hate the thing i thought was my worst enemy. I felt like i was holding a teddy bear in my hands.
I think this is a lesson for every man who is scared of something. anything. The thing that you are scared of is probably not the reason for your misery. The reason lies inside you. And gladly for me, the reason doesn't exist anymore!
For if you have gone through the rituals, you are most likely to remember the book by treybal. If you are the unfortunate Phd kind, you probably still sleep over it.
This is not about the book. This isn't even about me. It is about a man and his deepest fears coming true!
I hated it from the bottom of my heart ever since i first met with the book. Whenever i opened the pages, i felt like i was being tied to a tree and punished with a hunter! The piercing pain and the imaginary smell of the silkened flesh still linger fresh in my memory. The psychometric charts looked like the kitchen of the devil who was cooking my misery. The problems about the distillation plants made me feel sad for the african girls who were being sold in the markets of Ethiopia. I felt a strong cord of distinct similarity. When you are forced to do something you dislike so much and there is no way out, what do you do about it?
Well, not much i guess.
Time moved on. Mass transfer became a thing of history and treybal was a happy man ever after. I actually don't remember an instance where i felt anything remotely bad for him. Even when i was going through the pain, i felt sad for the guy who had actually had to write a book about transfer of mass from a phase to an other. He probably doesn't have to worry about hell as he has lived through it!
A typical hindi movie romance starts with a fight between the boy and the girl and ends up with them falling in love. I never believed in it!
Well, most of the time, beliefs shouldn't change! That leaves for some time when they are allowed to change!
I met with the book again on this weekend. I happened to meet a friend doing his Phd at MIT and he was kind enough to let me into the room where he stores this book and treats it with atmost devotion!
I didn't know what to do for a minute. Here i was, face to face with my devil. My deepest fear. My deadliest nemesis. I slowly but surely moved towards it. I took the book in my hand and began to feel it's texture. In a single momentary flash, the entire history dawned itself before my eyes. I started going through the pages. The very psychometric charts from the past began to look like innocent puppies. It doesn't feel anywhere close to a devil's workshop. I went through the pages which discuss distillation plants. I felt something melt inside me. There were tears in my eyes.
The wonder for me is that i couldn't bring myself to hate the thing i thought was my worst enemy. I felt like i was holding a teddy bear in my hands.
I think this is a lesson for every man who is scared of something. anything. The thing that you are scared of is probably not the reason for your misery. The reason lies inside you. And gladly for me, the reason doesn't exist anymore!
Monday, October 08, 2007
Happy Days!
A few things can touch you.
A few other can move you.
Very rarely, few things do happen which can actually make you cry!
Shekhar Kammula, is a director with a magic wand. Happy Days is a must watch if you want to add quality to a few of your hours on the weekend.
It has everything you want from a movie and may be a lot more. The story is very simple yet immensely powerful that you actually stop treating it as just a movie. It is everybody's story. Anybody who went onto study after highschool, will relate to this movie to the highest degree of congruence. A run-of-the mill story but shot with such elegance and freshness which needs to be seen to realize it.
Acting in the movie is such a natural beauty! There are several independent stories each linked to the other and create great screenplay in the process. The new actors (i have never seen them before) did a great job! The background music tracks are very soothing and impressive.
Freshie ragging, Puppy love, Hot english teacher, deep friendships, gang wars, worries about career goals, struggles to decide whether to stay back in india or move to US, growing up from kids to be men and women.
Add to that, there is also a chapter on graduation towards the end of the movie.
The movie definitely leaves you with a heavy heart and tonnes of nostalgia.
Is it just me or this is real?
A few other can move you.
Very rarely, few things do happen which can actually make you cry!
Shekhar Kammula, is a director with a magic wand. Happy Days is a must watch if you want to add quality to a few of your hours on the weekend.
It has everything you want from a movie and may be a lot more. The story is very simple yet immensely powerful that you actually stop treating it as just a movie. It is everybody's story. Anybody who went onto study after highschool, will relate to this movie to the highest degree of congruence. A run-of-the mill story but shot with such elegance and freshness which needs to be seen to realize it.
Acting in the movie is such a natural beauty! There are several independent stories each linked to the other and create great screenplay in the process. The new actors (i have never seen them before) did a great job! The background music tracks are very soothing and impressive.
Freshie ragging, Puppy love, Hot english teacher, deep friendships, gang wars, worries about career goals, struggles to decide whether to stay back in india or move to US, growing up from kids to be men and women.
Add to that, there is also a chapter on graduation towards the end of the movie.
The movie definitely leaves you with a heavy heart and tonnes of nostalgia.
Is it just me or this is real?
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
When the gates open...
Children walk to the school..
From the safety of mom's warmth.
Workers assemble at the factory..
Prayers never said.
Politicians are driven to their chambers..
Files smile at the luck.
Players enter the camp..
Sweat, Thirst and Desire.
Traders place the bets..
A shirt lost and and a feraari won.
Professor knocks it down.
The colour ain't changing. He laughs..
The old man at the sea..
Waits for his freedom.
A girl smiles and blossoms..
First love.
In a patch of land not very far away.................
A man opens fire.
He isn't one of us.
I wake up...
from a nightmare to an other.
From the safety of mom's warmth.
Workers assemble at the factory..
Prayers never said.
Politicians are driven to their chambers..
Files smile at the luck.
Players enter the camp..
Sweat, Thirst and Desire.
Traders place the bets..
A shirt lost and and a feraari won.
Professor knocks it down.
The colour ain't changing. He laughs..
The old man at the sea..
Waits for his freedom.
A girl smiles and blossoms..
First love.
In a patch of land not very far away.................
A man opens fire.
He isn't one of us.
I wake up...
from a nightmare to an other.
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