Passing by

I needed a good reason to reach the shores of this abandoned place. Something - abstract or real - that would jolt my dormant mind to awaken and force it to pen down a few words worth being written in this largeness of space!

I will not hesitate to take this line from the movie 'Liberal Arts'.

"The other day I was crossing the street, lost in my head about something - a not uncommon state of affairs. I was listening to the overture and as the music began to swell I suddenly realized that: I had hands. And legs, and a torso, and that I was surrounded by people and cars. It's hard to explain exactly what happened, but I felt in that moment that the divine - however we may choose to define such a thing - surely dwells as much in the concrete and taxi cabs as it does in the rivers, lakes, and mountains. Grace, I realized, is neither time nor place dependent. All we need is the right soundtrack"

Yes I agree! All we need is the right soundtrack. I saw something coming up. Without a shred of doubt, of which I am always enslaved to, I rushed to the corners of the window ( 'My Computer' ) and enqueued Pearl Jam. Oh! Eddie Vedder, I so find solace and peace in your voice. Its been so since college. Started with 'Just Breathe'.

The thought of writing something sure lingered in my head for quite sometime. And yet I needed this song, this one song, these 180 seconds of baritone voice circling and playing inside the depths of my ear, to make known the works I always admire. Yes, it is just about time to say what I like the most about poetry. It is this

How it makes sense that amidst turmoil lies true beauty. Amidst the rubble of the stormy wars and false preaching of mankind that befell this planet lies true greatness. Amidst all known and unknown lies the true spirit of joy and laughter. 

And how beautifully Luke Kelly rendered this poem

We tripped lightly along the ledge
Of a deep ravine where can be seen
The worth of passion's pledge

With her own name there and her own dark hair
Like clouds over fields of May -  - On Raglan Road by Patrick Kavanagh

Trouble with everything around you can still bring beauty to the fore

My lids closed down—yet through their veil

I saw him blazing still;

And bathe in gold the misty dale,

And flash upon the hill - Dazzling Sun by Emile Bronte

Curiosity should be embraced and fed with notes still not composed. And yet elevates you to do it.

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth - The road not taken by Robert Frost

And how it's important to dwell in the palace of memories sculpted decades ago and still try to live in the present. To gaze upon the sky and spot the mountains on the moon and wonder with eyes closed.

on the shore Of the wide world I stand alone, and think Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink. - John Keats

And to cultivate love in your blood, kindness in your heart with fiesty parades on your foot

in me all that fire is repeated, 

in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten - Pablo Neruda in If you forget me

Never giving up and always marching.

It's in the reach of my arms

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips - Mary Angelou in Phenomenal Woman

Or to summarize everything in life and come up with a stunner. A catch that does not struggle in the net, but waits for the master to set it free.

And were an epitaph to be my story
I’d have a short one ready for my own.
I would have written of me on my stone:
I had a lover’s quarrel with the world - Robert Frost

Stranger Than Fiction

Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true.

-- Stranger Than Fiction

Disappointed with the oscars. Joaquin phoenix should have won it. Never seen a work that is so powerful. The screen screamed of excellence. 

Proust and some other things

"And in myself, too, many things have perished which, I imagined, would last for ever, and new structures have arisen, giving birth to new sorrows and new joys which in those days I could not have foreseen, just as now the old are difficult of comprehension"

"like those convent bells which are so effectively drowned during the day by the noises of the streets that one would suppose them to have been stopped for ever, until they sound out again through the silent evening air"

"For in order to make us descend into the most subterranean galleries of sleep, where no reflexion from overnight, no gleam of memory comes to light up the interior monologue–if the latter does not itself cease–fatigue followed by rest will so thoroughly turn over the soil and penetrate the bedrock of our bodies that we discover down there, where our muscles plunge and twist in their ramifications and breathe in new life, the garden where we played in our childhood. There is no need to travel in order to see it again; we must dig down inwardly to discover it"

-- Marcel Proust (In search of Lost Time)

In such conditions, superficial or not, where I often ponder on the phenomenon of 'creation' it so occurs that all the randomness in life is actually the beauty we never see. To embrace and not ignore them is the key to be happy and content. What is creation after all? Have I created anything worthy? Yet? Is it just in the plan off the back of my head? Will it ever flame out and squash the darkness?

A new life has thus begun. I tied the knot some many days ago to my beloved and lay swinging to all the dances encountered hitherto. I must admit that it has been a pleasure to just lay swinging. All of life comes circling down to one point and you take it from there. Fresh memories, fresh roads and fresh curves ahead. New people, new humor. New visions and newer plans. Oh I see the beauty in it.

Hope I take forward many good memories and be good and kind to one and many. To not bother much about the future and keeping walking ahead. A good year to record some strange and some funny moments. 

Coming back to Life

Tough decisions need to be taken. It will hurt some, upset some. I cannot let conservative thoughts seep through my blood. It has to stop!! Period.

Where do I get the energy then? How? What can challenge me? What can piss me off? Will I be too hard on people who I respect the most? I don't want that. 

Every fucking problem has a fucking solution! That's how it is. I know that. Proper reasoning is enough. Cut out all the other bullshit and set straight. Examine the line of sight. 

Prove it and show how people can be wrong. After all, we have to fight for our dreams right? Fuck yes. 

Every act has a phase. We cannot skip that. 

Untitled

"No time for that". A phrase we hear a lot. A phrase we utter a lot. I am no better. I utter it at least once a day. 

So what do we do about that? I feel sick uttering those words. To be stereotyped is a sin! The most simple causes of every day life are built out of small imaginations. Small and tiny efforts go a long way. Simple efforts. 

I will try not to say that again. If I ever do, its time for "Correction". Undo and start over again.

Skipping rope is pure bliss. I love it. Burns a lot of calories and keeps your heart pounding. Workouts going good. 4-5 days a week is more than enough. 

I am really

Pissed off.  Never been this mad. Educated bastards having no sense of the world. Dogs r better.  How foolish of them to believe in absurd things! We r young to be dragged into it.  Second time am facing it. I really pity them. U r unlucky.  I knw tht for sure. I am gonna thump u down if I ever see your sad shit face.
I Feel sorry for u. Am helpless.. but yes good things are in store for u.  U will see. Patience will always pay off.  Cheers.

Someone or Something

You came running to me

Why this rush lady?

A friend of mine is lost in Upanishads. And I ask him what is the truth? "That is for you to figure out". 

These plain rocks which take in the sea. Of them, I sit on one and take the lashing. It felt really good. Now I am back to the city.

I am looking deep down. I slide in a rope to bring out the creative me. And I fear it will be the same 20 years down. The rope still left in the dark and I find myself with no energy to hold it. 

"I woke to the sound of drums

The music played, the morning sun streamed in

I turned and I looked at you

And all but the bitter residue slipped away...slipped away" - A Great Day for Freedom

Day 1 - Sunrise running

1.6 KM - this is after a gap of about 3 years! I have to credit myself :P

Was a bit rough but the good thing is I was not left gasping for breath! I stilllllll have it. Good sign. I just have to be patient and see how long this goes. 10K is the initial target. Have to gun this by Feb end. 

But yes, Nicotine is still hanging around. I feel like a gutless, shameless asshole for having taken to it again after all the inner preaching :P. It doesn't work. "Keep quitting and you will quit". Lets see

Work is drab, drab, drab. My mind flutters, flutters, flutters. And I say, quit quit quit. And I say, Run Run Run.

So many emotions quarrel in a congested mind. All that is left is something called "Will". Such a shit it is. 

God! I feel hungry. One thing I fear is the concept of Cafes in Hyderabad which is soon fading out to history. Its all about kfc or mcD or many such stupid places. I need my regular chai and a couple of tie biscuits every now and then. 

Old is always Gold. 

Run and Cycle 2012

It is here finally. World coming to an end shit has already started. Well I don't care. Anyways, I am now quite determined to kick the butt :-) I am definitely going to miss it, but I guess its for the best that I leave that habit behind. Time to run and cycle. 

Run and Cycle.

Run and Cycle fucker.

Get high running and cycling. Get tooo high. I have done it before. Will do it again. I need that. I need that air and I need that energy again. To regain what is lost. To leave behind the drama and all the nonsensical stuff inside my head. Clean it out. Freshen up. Look forward and actually do it. 

A great book by my side. 'Its not about the bike' by Lance Armstrong. He says, "When you cycle for 2500+ miles over a period of 20 days. When you peddle up a mountain that rises at 20degrees for every 10 feet. You lose your conscience. White snow turns black. As my friend said - I still see the sky even after my house is burned down"

Yeah. That is correct. To just make this small wish of mine happen is the topmost priority. To just run and cycle every now and then. Cheers!!

Untitled

Its a strange feeling. 

I am finding it hard to describe where I am today. I don't wanna sound depressing, because I am not :) Its a confusing cloud. Floating up above me. 

People around are calling me a lunatic. It is unsettling at night :D 

I remain a residue hiding at the bottom of the ocean. Quarterlife crisis as mentioned in one article. OK. A fresh year coming up and as again its time for resolutions. It never fructifies but yeah costs nothing to write down. 

Being fit and agile is my topmost priority. I have to swing. I have to run. Get high just running. Just one resolution thats all :-)

Live, celebrate and have a good time.

Sideways

From a choir. And then from a chair. The roots and how they were shining. The stones. With what we are made. I had a distant dream of setting my soul to sing and dance. The curious shine and the roots. So pure and so calm.

How unusual it is for me to be in Love. I opened the doors. All the years got jammed and it did open. Made a strange sound. The one I never heard. The one I always longed to hear. The one I only dreamt about.

A crystal of Splendor. I am tired again :)

______________________________________________________________

What is it about Wine? Maya in 'Sideways' says

"I like to think about the life of wine. How it's a living thing. I like to think about what was going on the year the grapes were growing; how the sun was shining; if it rained. I like to think about all the people who tended and picked the grapes. And if it's an old wine, how many of them must be dead by now. I like how wine continues to evolve, like if I opened a bottle of wine today it would taste different than if I'd opened it on any other day, because a bottle of wine is actually alive. And it's constantly evolving and gaining complexity. That is, until it peaks, like your '61. And then it begins its steady, inevitable decline. And it tastes so fucking good"


On the same lines..


"It was true that I didn't have much ambition, but there ought to be a place for people without ambition, I mean a better place than the one usually reserved. How in the hell could a man enjoy being awakened at 6:30 a.m. by an alarm clock, leap out of bed, dress, force-feed, shit, piss, brush teeth and hair, and fight traffic to get to a place where essentially you made lots of money for somebody else and were asked to be grateful for the opportunity to do so?" -- Charles Bukowski

Mylo Xyloto

Here it is again. From one of the most talented groups - Coldplay. I must admit that this release is less explosive than VivaLaVida, but nevertheless its the "Iceberg" voice (as my friend Suraj opines) that I am after. This makes it very cool. 

"Through chaos as it swirls
It's us against the world"

We need a picture. Some random gestures. From a mile away, I need someone waving at me. We need an Image makeover. The option to believe that things will get simple. There is no congestion. In about a month, I will be 26. Officially declared as an Uncle! No regrets as of now. I have what I love the most. Maybe, as the days pass by things may get crooked. But "we gotta do what we gotta do" ;-)

At peace..

The Balance

Too much of everything is bad. I need fresh air. Too much of stress on my mind is creating problems. I definitely need "THE BALANCE".

Starting today, I will say NO to my menial desires. This state sucks. Never be on the border line. Why make it confusing and complicated. Lets just say "Every problem has a solution"

To any dumb asshole who comes up to me and says "Well, not all problems have solutions" - Fuck off. In all my practical existense, there never was a problem which didn't have a solution. Its very simple. 

Music and broken notes

The urge to explore has never gone down. Soul music is what I am after. It is not a genre, but music that keeps you sane.

Seven Mary Three - Cumbersome, Rodrego
Pearl Jam - Release, Garden

Eddie Vedder is the best. I must have said this like a zillion times. He is now above everything in music for me. He completes everything. And I for sure will always follow his tunes and his voice. So much is written but none of it has been published. I thought now would be a good time to post whatever has been left incomplete. I have no clue how they came out. I must admit, I have written these lines when I was tired, frustrated, angry and idle. Fuck it.

Daylight brushes of a calm morning
I rushed to the window to find the beauty in you
the sight which kept me in existence
for all the years that my soul travelled
washed away those split moments 


what I dreamnt, what I became
__________________________________


for want of living, life is given
can I actually live this life then?


as the dawn and dullness of yesterday
flew over my head to embrace this sad inside
my soul at that tick of time grew happy
as the dusk and fullness of tomorrow
erased everything I carried


why then my soul disturbs me at night
when only the tides get stronger
and the rest get to pleasure deep slumber
I sit up and fight with my own might


all time the sun is down
my thoughts just get deeper and deeper
accompanied by the lady of mist with her sharp frown
_________________________________


Like stars on earth
Like music on earth
Like the last shadow of sadness
Like the mix of bliss from yesterday
Like my own self

_________________________________

let all birds flap their wings

when you open your eyes

let the clouds give way to the moon

when you lift your gaze to the skies

let the wind sweep your tears

when a white horse passes by you

let the ground be decorated with ice crystals

when your foot leaves a print of the past

and when I come, along the silent street

shall we walk, holding hands

and getting dissolved in a different world

till our memory slowly fades away into nature's own hand

when the wind stops and the moon disappears

we will part only to be united again by Nature's blessings

_______________________________

drive me to the immortal sea

where light from sun and sound from within make a common plea

as i rest my heart upon yours

may the sea be turned into a garden of flowers

lay by me, be my song

be my ecstasy, my color, my book

your breath locks mine

and we spiral down into an abyss of unknown dreams

________________________________

Happy new year 2011

Long time. Pretending to be busy is so fucking mean. The truth is I am not. And yet I get sucked up into this pathetic situation called 'Busy'. Horse shit. Who the fuck am I to be busy. What does it mean anyway. Lies and Lies and just lies. Vow, I feel better now :)

Richard in 'The Beach' says  "The only downer is, everyone's got the same idea. We all travel thousands of miles just to watch TV and check in to somewhere with all the comforts of home, and you gotta ask yourself, what is the point of that?"

Its true, what is really the point? Cant we allow ourselves to experience the primitive modes of life. It is now more of "Likes","Pokes" and "Breakfast updates".

When I go up the counter and buy cigarettes, the lady asks "How old are you"?

I am now into the G-Chord and still the same strumming pattern. Move forward!

One of the cleaners resigned. She got pissed off. I am now pushing hard to keep the house clean and the walls "Blue". Fuck I cant even roll out Zeppelin poster.

What is struggle? For an ordinary office goer, even a bus ride from Secunderabad to Begumpet is a struggle. He will not admit this. Such is our endurance. 

I always say something stupid. People get hurt sometimes. Shouldn't I be more careful? Improve man. Don't be a sucker. You got only one life and that's the truth. 

Why do people talk about politics anyway? No vote, no talk. Please.

"For mine is a generation that circles the globe and searches for something we haven't tried before. So never refuse an invitation, never resist the unfamiliar, never fail to be polite and never outstay the welcome. Just keep your mind open and suck in the experience. And if it hurts, you know what? It's probably worth it." -- The Beach.

Hyderabad

Silver jubilee. No big achievements, just following, just moving. Someone special presented me a box guitar! This came as a big surprise for me, as I always wanted to learn and play guitar. With no hard pressing thoughts, I guess my biggest resolution would be to learn it now :). Exciting.

Ankit recommended few songs from Coke Studio and I am totally into it. Aik Alif, Hor Vi Neevan Ho, Nigah-e-Darwaishaan. Beautiful music. Especially these lines from Aik Alif

Bas ik karee oh yaar ilumu
Stop seeking this knowledge (of the world) my friend
Bas ik karee oh yaar ilumu
Stop this seeking my friend

I had an interesting conversation with him. He says "If you are more ambitious, you will never find happiness. Keep your ambitions low". Makes good sense. Simple and neat.

Back to Hyderabad and I love this city. I was deprived of Noise,Crowd,People the last 3 months. Realized that I actually belong here. To be among the crowd, the sweltering heat, Police challan, bargaining, Chai, Samosa and all the bustle that this city has. I dont have a driving licence, but still I can manage to get through to any corner in this city :) All the bad things written and said and exaggerated  about India is true. But life is connected here. We value that. We move on. Its true that ours is the only country where you will find a 27 storey hi-tech residence, which is valued at over a billion dollars, and find a refugee camp style slums just a few yards away. And its not a refugee camp, its where people live. 

Jo na janay
One who doesn't know...
Haq ki taqat
The strength of truth
Raba na deway us ko hemat
God won't give them the strength -- aik alif

Wings of Desire

There are films which have a spark. That spark which calms your senses, and fires few moments which ignite a keen sense of emotional unity in your mind. You just know and feel it. Abandon all your chores, sit back and take comfort in knowing that the world is in no hurry. If time ticks, let it tick. For all I know, time is just another label stuck to our lives. Damn. 

Wings of Desire is one such movie. When the most natural feelings are said or put down in words, it creates a different world. We relate each emotion to our own and savor it. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. The lead role played by Bruno Ganz is quite a treat to watch. The following conversation between Damiel and Cassiel is rich, innocent and what I refer to as art

Damiel: It's great to live by the spirit, to testify day by day for eternity, only what's spiritual in people's minds. But sometimes I'm fed up with my spiritual existence. Instead of forever hovering above I'd like to feel a weight grow in me to end the infinity and to tie me to earth. I'd like, at each step, each gust of wind, to be able to say "Now." Now and now" and no longer "forever" and "for eternity." To sit at an empty place at a card table and be greeted, even by a nod. Every time we participated, it was a pretense. Wrestling with one, allowing a hip to be put out in pretense, catching a fish in pretense, in pretense sitting at tables, drinking and eating in pretense. Having lambs roasted and wine served in the tents out there in the desert, only in pretense. No, I don't have to beget a child or plant a tree but it would be rather nice coming home after a long day to feed the cat, like Philip Marlowe, to have a fever and blackended fingers from the newspaper, to be excited not only by the mind but, at last, by a meal, by the line of a neck by an ear. To lie! Through one's teeth. As you're walking, to feel your bones moving along. At last to guess, instead of always knowing. To be able to say "ah" and "oh" and "hey" instead of "yea" and "amen."

Cassiel: Yeah, to be able, once in a while, to enthuse for evil. To draw all the demons of the earth from passers-by and to chase them out into the world. To be a savage.

Damiel: Or at last to feel how it is to take off shoes under a table and wriggle your toes barefoot, like that. 

Beautiful as I read. There are so many beautiful lines like these in the movie. Amazing.

Untitled on a Monday

I dont know what to write. It is this act of doing nothing that scares the hell out of me. What the fuck is going on in my mind. Why am I not able to do what i really want to do. Another irrelevant life? No i don't want that. Just breathing and living lies. With all the cliches, prejudices, condescending stares. I am just living. Or am i just existing?

"rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth". Thoreau, Into the wild stuff.

Its time to breathe. There is no focus in life. I have to break all social barriers to set straight my goals.

"Such is the passage of time, too fast to fold" - Rise by Eddie Vedder. I am drunk in his songs. How many hearts resonate to his vocals? Millions. Such influence. Simple words, amazing voice and he kills with his songs. ahhh..

"The theory of Moral sentiments" by Adam smith. Just read few passages in that book online, and it seems to be the most appropriate book for me. Plain truth. I should buy that book and read it twice thrice. And Walden by Thoreau. Respect for his works. Maybe i will just spend my life reading them. Their mind. Their character. Maybe it will infuse some reality in my otherwise dormant mind.

"Careers are 20th century invention" - into the wild

2 years, 5 months, 13 days

2 years, 5 months, 13 days have gone by since my last day in college. Moved on with life. 

Coffee has to be hot. Curry has to be super spicy. Omelette should just be the way I like. I hate butter and ghee and milk.

How much can I take of this world? Can we start over and do what is right? Back in college, I used to be angry at many things. Such a messed up place we are living in. 2 years on and that anger subsided. More with the herd now. Inch by inch moving forward. I have no idea what is in store for me. I just light a cigarette, have 'special chai', take the elevator, get back to work. 

Underground 'Jantha' bar. Fish and whiskey. I am waiting for it. 

I want to be a rebel. Chasing my own instincts. I am too young to be tired soon. I am not, although I feel like.

New Religion

This morning no sound but the loud
breathing of the sea. Suppose that under
all that salt water lived the god
that humans have spent ten thousand years
trawling the heavens for.
We caught the wrong metaphor.
Real space is wet and underneath,
the church of shark and whale and cod.
The noise of those vast lungs
exhaling: the plain chanting of monkfish choirs.
Heaven's not up but down, and hell
is to evaporate in air. Salvation,
to drown and breathe
forever with the sea.

-- Bill Holm

A Poem: Untitled

what power fries my senses
such fiery clouds and such strong winds
i am unmoved
i greet you, let me in
in those hurried moments
let our fingers be tied into a knot
let nature be given our love
for its anger and strength
let our love, freedom and bodies melt and become water
let nature be given our love
let us reach the sea and be unnoticed by the sailors
forever we go up and down the shore
when nature seeks us
we shall form and function as we always did
resting on the other side of the angry world
calm, sensitive and sublime

Civilization

"Hence a certain tension between religion and society marks the higher stages of every civilization. Religion begins by offering magical aid to harassed and bewildered men; it culminates by giving to a people that unity of morals and belief which seems so favorable to statesmanship and art; it ends by fighting suicidally in the lost cause of the past. For as knowledge grows or alters continually, it clashes with mythology and theology, which change with geological leisureliness. Priestly control of arts and letters is then felt as a galling shackle or hateful barrier, and intellectual history takes on the character of a "conflict between science and religion." Institutions which were at first in the hands of the clergy, like law and punishment, education and morals, marriage and divorce, tend to escape from ecclesiastical control, and become secular, perhaps profane. The intellectual classes abandon the ancient theology and-after some hesitation- the moral code allied with it; literature and philosophy become anticlerical. The movement of liberation rises to an exuberant worship of reason, and falls to a paralyzing disillusionment with every dogma and every idea. Conduct, deprived of its religious supports, deteriorates into epicurean chaos; and life itself, shorn of consoling faith, becomes a burden alike to conscious poverty and to weary wealth. In the end a society and its religion tend to fall together, like body and soul, in a harmonious death. Meanwhile among the oppressed another myth arises, gives new form to human hope, new courage to human effort, and after centuries of chaos builds another civilization."

-- Will Durant

Futbol

Surrounded by sea

As I take on the world

Reflections still, as cloudy as my day ends

notes I lose my memory to

I wake up confused

Confused I am

Always wanted to be surrounded by sea. Blogger has finally come up with some pretty good themes that suits my mood :) I remember Chauhan saying "I am dried out. Dont feel like writing anymore". Maybe I am dried out now. I feel like I have lost all the creativity (or watever) I had in me. Such a fucking foolish life. I am all comfy moving around and working, but the core energy in shutting my door and thinking alone is gone. Whoosh! There it is. Floating and dancing in the air.

Football is on. I feel so nostalgic in recollecting all those good memories I had playing in college. Getting up at 6. I would be one of the first to get up, shout, go sleep again, get up again, shout and wake everyone up. Some key moments come to my mind. First intra-college sports tournament in 2005 (if I am right). Our first match with 1st year juniors. We were leading 1-0 at half time. To our surprise they came back and the score was 2-1 just 10 mins before finish time. We had to do something. Jayant moved back to defence and I was up running in midfield. Luck favored us and we got a penalty kick. Throughout the tournament I had my toe fucked up. I couldn't give decent passes. Its a contact game, and my toe got hammered again and again. With a bad toe I was hoping sanjeev or jayant to take the penalty kick. But Nikhil insisted in me taking it. No idea how it worked, but it worked. I converted and we drew the match. Phew! Such a lively moment. Totally enjoyed it. We eventually went on to win the tournament. As defending champions we lost the second tournament :-) And finally in Jan2008, the first Inter-IIIT sports tournament was held. We lost to allahabad and jabalpur. Faced a lot of criticism.. hehe.

Essentially, we were a group of lads who learnt some good football through the years. Not the types you are watching in South Africa, but decent enough in our campus :P Enjoyed to the very core. I wish I could relive those moments. Just running with the ball. Its not contact anymore. Struggling to find time and guys like those in gwalior to play and be lively again. Its not a bad idea to gather in gwalior again and play a match or two. Now this would be crazy. But I love being crazy for moments like these.

As for fifa, Cannavaro is 36 now. But I love his defending. Gattuso is another favorite of mine. Great personality. I think spain and germany would be tough to break.

"Given to fly" - Pearl jam. All is well. :)

Thoreau!

"However mean your life is, meet it and live it: do not shun it and call it hard names. Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends. Things do not change, we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts. God will see that you do want society"

 -- Thoreau

Untitled forever :)

{ If within the sophisticated man there is not an unsophisticated one, then he is but one of the devil's angels. As we grow old, we live more coarsely, we relax a little in our disciplines, and, to some extent, cease to obey our finest instincts. But we should be fastidious to the extreme of sanity, disregarding the gibes of those who are more unfortunate than ourselves. 

To speak impartially, the best men that I know are not serene, a world in themselves. For the most part, they dwell in forms, and flatter and study effect only more finely than the rest. 

It is for want of a man that there are so many men. }

-- Thoreau

4 months off this space. Never been away for so long. Thoreau is still keeping me busy :P And I am gradually losing interest in writing new things. I hope it will change.

2010

Earth, 6 billion km's away, snapped by Voyager I in 1990

"The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors, so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe , are challenged by this point of pale light."

-- Carl Sagan

So true. Voyager I is now 32 years old. It is estimated that it can keep communicating with Earth at least until the year 2025. Human marvels. I wish I could carry that pale-blue-dot in my backpack and travel the universe. Carl Sagan says 'the insignificance of our world in this vastness of space'.

I can think of nothing than this small quote by Sagan that best explains the momentum I would like to carry and set sail to reach unknown corners of my mind to pleasure and play with.

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”

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Ah.. I will begin with the lines "Eternal tussle of human heart"

Neon lights, flash bulbs, chai, cigarette, samosa

The vagaries of human emotions. Tiny chips of wood and dry leaves of yesterday fly about like angels with sparkling eyes. People say 'Crossroads of life'. A significant achievement during their brief life spent here is only stolen by nature as the embers slowly die and the dawn sits on the leftovers like vultures poking and ripping apart the dead flesh of their kind. I need to quote Thoreau here.

"I came into this world, not chiefly to make it good, but to live in it, be it good or bad"

Such randomness I seek. Words not matching and the meaning just left there to be interpreted like a tiger's mind. Spare not false assumptions, for they will guide you to correct assumptions. We believe there is a fantasy inside us that elevates our dormant mind and leaves us raw and naked surrounded by magical trees and strange waters. Our hands are equipped with sophisticated tools to cut open artificial fences and sneak into prohibited territories.

Thoreau says 'multum in parvo'. Big dreams reside in small tiny containers. Should there be a rat in my house, my gaze should not be that of trouble. Do not cross this para as the next ones are worse. Worse to the best of my knowledge. Step not into it. You may deviate or drink more whiskey just to wash away the coming words.

Moonlit verandah and a cosy chair. Every poet has a 'corner' world. My corner world is devoid of all nature's beauty. Urban living it is. I only see wallpapers or snapshots in flickr and roam into its dense rectangular space to form opinions.

"This world is a place of business. What an infinite bustle! I am awaked almost every night by the panting of the locomotive. It interrupts my dreams. There is no sabbath. It would be glorious to see mankind at leisure for once. It is nothing but work, work, work. I cannot easily buy a blank-book to write thoughts in; they are commonly ruled for dollars and cents" - Thoreau

Thoreau would have been devastated to see mankind dance like puppets to the music of war and missiles had he been alive today. Or am I being rude by describing the present circumstances as unjust? The principle point of my living is to make it better and more convenient as is the case with any person on this planet. Why do I then drift back and talk like a saint? I have to quote Einstein here: 'People who read a lot and use less brain fall into lazy habits of thinking'. Haha.. What a wonder. Cute dolphins, Money-giving-Casino's, Porno magazines, Football leagues, 3D movies. What a comfort! I will dare break my stupidity with a tinge of Thoreau's philosophical matter. "So far I am successful. But I foresee that if my wants should be much increased, the labor required to supply them would become a drudgery"

I should stop here. More assignments assigned. :)

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Who are we? Who we are
You are who, who you are

--Pearl Jam

Future Note

"I believe if there's any kind of God it wouldn't be in any of us, not you or me but just this little space in between. If there's any kind of magic in this world it must be in the attempt of understanding someone sharing something. I know, it's almost impossible to succeed but who cares really? The answer must be in the attempt"

-- Before Sunrise(1995)

Bring out more albums Vedder! hehe.. What more can a lone wolf expect? Every puzzle is a puzzle still unsolved. Cheers :)

Wings of Mind

Such feats we have seen and wished to be in. When mind-torn, numb-legged athletes cross the 10000m finish line and realize that they don't get a medal. How little can my world be? Such little pleasures I seek, a dream within a dream, occasionally crossing the dusty border and feeling something different. Thoreau keeps my mind so flooded. Some of his finest words from 'Walden' -

"Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it; but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains. I would drink deeper; fish in the sky, whose bottom is pebbly with stars. I cannot count one. I know not the first letter of the alphabet. I have always been regretting that I was not as wise as the day I was born. The intellect is a cleaver; it discerns and rifts its way into the secret of things. I do not wish to be any more busy with my hands than is necessary. My head is hands and feet. I feel all my best faculties concentrated in it. My instinct tells me that my head is an organ for burrowing, as some creatures use their snout and fore-paws, and with it I would mine and burrow my way through these hills"

"What is a course of history, or philosophy, or poetry, no matter how well selected, or the best society, or the most admirable routine of life, compared with the discipline of looking always at what is to be seen?"

"The indescribable innocence and beneficence of Nature,—of sun and wind and rain, of summer and winter,—such health, such cheer, they afford forever! And such sympathy have they ever with our race, that all Nature would be affected, and the sun’s brightness fade, and the winds would sigh humanely, and the clouds rain tears, and the woods shed their leaves and put on mourning in midsummer, if any man should ever for a just cause grieve. Shall I not have intelligence with the earth? Am I not partly leaves and vegetable mould myself?"

"I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society"

With this, Friday comes to an end. Monday soon comes, and I shall soon become a philosopher again!

To steal is to love

heart unto heart
what i possess is a stolen heart
which is now a pendulum to your worries and doubts

"today will be an epic"
I murmer as the sun flirts with my eyes
each second is in a hurry
or are we really losing its charm that holds us to life?

to be into and to be itself
as art would unwind and show itself as art
as beauty would kiss beauty and say
"today will be an epic"

such careless minds have struggled
to express how love is vulnerable;
for each passing thought made its way
to letters and letters of love
that never reached the box
which the lover after a hard day
and a quiet siesta would open and read.
with such simple words written
"you are my epic"

a day is not a day anymore
to slowly weep through the hours
as one soul touched another
rushing seconds would gather inside my heart
and time pauses itself to greet
love, the greatest emotion ever known
all enchanting "this is an epic"

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Upon the clatter of a broken tile
All I had learned was at once forgotten.
Amending my nature is needless.
Pursuing the task of everyday life
I walk along the ancient path.
I am not disheartened in the mindless void.
Wheresoever I go I leave no footprint
For I am not within color or sound.
Enlightened ones everywhere have said:
"Such as this is the attainment."

Osho

Untitled again.. Maybe next time..

"Doubtless like all of us he was many men, turned on one or another of his selves as occasion required, and kept his real self a frightened secret from the world"

Will Durant

Am tired of all the fucking gossip. Let me do things.

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seaside winds and desires I least thought of
art and joy, my soul where it takes me
surreal shades of objects that appear
like miracles of yesterday dim out
before the candle emanates a last breath of flame
before i could grab it and stop it
from venturing into twists and turns of
escaped thoughts which is in itself bounded
by the rules of this complex society
may those flowers pick its beauty from the sun
and dance along the slopes of the high terrain
covered by the mist of morning rain
a place we can never attach our vision to
our meek pleasures, Oh What can i say
sit on those decorated shelves of museums
where swords and scimitars lay shining

I am stuck here. Tired. No more thoughts. Enough! Cig please :)

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Sunset shadow and Sunrise smile envy each other. Our life is like an allegory of broken phrases incomplete and feeble but suits the "quiet desperation" we live with. Our hands are cuffed and we are forced to watch our dreams collide with destiny and bounce back to reality. Who knows what dreams we hold. It is important that we publish our stories and let the dense world know that our meagre personalities have the strength to withstand angry winds and colder nights. War is a by-product of human stupidity. The sound of an incoming missile can neither distort nor rubbish the music inside your soul. This may sound like a load of crap, but I take for granted that everything is a pile of crap.

When I have fears that I may cease to be
Before my pen has glean'd my teeming brain,
Before high - piled books, in charact'ry,
Hold like rich garners the full-ripen'd grain;
When I behold, upon the night's starr'd face,
Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,
And feel that I may never live to trace
Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;
And when I feel, fair creature of an hour!
That I shall never look upon thee more,
Never have relish in the faery power
Of unreflecting love;—then on the shore
Of the wide world I stand alone, and think,
Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink.

John Keats

This is poetry. Beautiful as I see.

330 days without you

And now at once, adventuresome, I send
My herald thought into a wilderness:
There let its trumpet blow, and quickly dress
My uncertain path with green, that I may speed
Easily onward, thorough flowers and weed.

--John Keats--

Black coffee on the table. Geyser is on. Its 10.30 PM. He takes a hot shower and after a quick prayer retires to his bedroom for a long study of the day's events. Her picture is hung on the wall lining the table. Her messages, ring, walk and talk writ in his heart.

Poetry and letters. Every drop of ink used in history vanishes. This is one of the finest I have ever read. He picks out a sheet and writes 'Aug 8th 2009, 330 days without you'. Ahhh the world is so unfair.

distant souls unite to exchange secret messages
whispers of which travel to the horizon
and meet the fast flying birds
below is the ocean, blue and icy
so far away from the fumbles of daily dreams
carrying your love
oh lover, greet me
i kneel before silence
I have for so long wished for this moment

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I am talking about the least common denominator. A small bracket of mystery we all have in us. What is it? A warm blanket to sleep or a shot of vodka to numb our senses? With so much of dryness in me, I casually lit up a cigarette and vapour out those last thoughts of the day. My callous observations are wearing me down. Speed breakers hit me hard. My watch keeps banging the rod I am holding and soon It will stop. The tiny case breaks and I lose my energy. I have to get it nursed by a watch repairman. What time is it? Oh shit! Maybe that old man with more wrinkles than the roads in this city has a watch. Or maybe that other guy wearing a t-shirt that says 'Fcuk' has one. To my surprise, none. I reach my place. Its really silent except for a few stray dogs fighting and defending their territory.

Its 12:30AM ( I guess! ) and I feel like I am the only one awake in this wide wide mad mad world. Of those many splendid moments moving back and forth in my living memory, there lies a thought that 'shines like a crazy diamond'. I walk effortlessly and reach the corner of my street. I dare to reach my pocket, light a last one and fill the clean air with enough carbon to make Japanese innovators work harder.

The day we saw

The night we live in

A small mystery

we swallow to wet our lungs

and dry our mind

Life

I am nothing.
I will never be anything.
I cannot wish to be anything.
Bar that, I have in me all the dreams of the world.

May Nature be dissolved on my feverish head
Her sun, her rain, the wind that ruffles my hair,
And the rest, let it come if it must, it doesn't matter.

We have conquered the whole world before leaving our beds.
But we were awakened and it was opaque,
We rose and he was strange to us
We left the house and it was the whole world,
And also the Solar System, the Milky Way and the Indefinite...

Fernando Pessoa (The Tobacco Shop)

Null World

Sea, earth, air, sound, silence.
Plant, quadruped, bird,
By one music enchanted,
One deity stirred,--Each the other adorning,
Accompany still;
Night veileth the morning,
The vapor the hill.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Highway blues

Come on you target for faraway laughter,
come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!

- Pink floyd

Last saturday was memorable. Tripathi with his automata theory was really fun. Experiencing every state of life and leaving the rest to 'Khuda' :) Pinkfloyd and DevD ruled the night, or atleast I thought these songs were played in heavy rotation :P I was all high :) Highway ride was really cool. It was 'somewhere in the middle of nowhere'. The rain gave us the thrill. We were infact celebrating our dear friend Ramesh's b'day with him sleeping like a pig all night :)

Another usual week ahead. Really really looking forward to 'code crunching' :) Sigh!

When history was made

My hunger for knowing 'History as I never knew' will go on. How fascinating it really is. It will take me light years to understand all the elements these tiny palms hold. Hunting for food, deceiving for greed, uprooting civilizations, establishing kingdoms, letting dogs feed on the entrails of human flesh, gun powder easily injected into human system, abolishing laws, embracing swords and what not. Need I worry about them?

The incipit of the text 'Instructions of Shuruppak', a part of ancient Sumerian literature regarded as one of the oldest scriptures, reads

"In those days, in those far remote times, in those nights, in those faraway nights, in those years, in those far remote years"

'Diamond Sutra', the earliest printed book containing Buddhist verses, has these lines

Thus shall you think of this fleeting world:
A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream,

A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,

A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.

Study says, the birth of humanity took place in East Africa. People migrated and populated other continents. The first proto states emerged in Mesopotamia and along Indus river. History is magic.

When will it stop. Yesterday's, today's and tomorrow's seconds will fade away sometime. The sun is not here to stay very long. In about 5 billion years, it will turn into a very large red monster engulfing all planets leaving just dust behind. And we are in a perfect age. Facebook, Twitter, Google, Nokia, Toyota, Microwave ovens, Levi's jeans, Space shuttles, F-22 raptor, Stealth missiles, Alcohol and Poverty+Hunger+Ignorance.

It is all magic. Squeezing everything out of this vast timeline can cause mental harm. Be at peace. :)

Triumph

Sunny days are coming to an end(or atleast I suppose they are!). As much as I hate walking on damp murky road to reach office just in time, I just feel good when its raining! Glistening drops of rain take comfort on my rugged and brownish skin, and before it carries away my sweat to the ground more drops hang down my eye brows like a chain of monkeys hanging down from the branches of a tree. Wetting my hands and fingers, they run hurriedly to reach earth and be greeted by earthworms so anxiously waiting to come out.

As I read 'Life of Pi', I seem to associate every adventure and trauma so grandoisly elaborated by Yann Martel to the current events the world is witnessing. 'Air France' just falling from the sky and the ocean happily gobbling it up thus swallowing all evidence is one of the things I am following very keenly. It might be the speed sensors or radar defect or lightening breaking the plane into two chunks or as some people say 'This is called fate'. How far shall we go. How can we be sure that new technology taking birth every day can insulate us from all troubles and more importantly 'Mother nature'. I would definitely say 'When you have a match box, why use stones'. 'Cast Away', another similar reel story is coming back to me time and again.

So many things have been written and said. Opinions agreed or disagreed. Hypothesis, theorems, axioms proved or disproved. What remains to be done is not known. So we keep digging. Lets do that.

'To run away from all social connections' has become a hot topic among my friends :) Are we taking inspiration from cinematic experiences like 'Into the wild' 'Cast Away' 'Motorcycle diaries'? May be! Or is this a result of our lazy dumb asses not getting enough work? May be!Procrastination? May be! Or are we really tired of everything? May be! My temperament is fixed. No issues about that. Mal-adjusted and socially distorted mind juggling with too many puzzles and thoughts that are vaguely associated with what I do. My good friend Jose a.k.a Bobby a.k.a 911 a.k.a disaster management team head would say with quick frustration :D 'Dude, note down my new address and designation'

Super altitude Meditator
To become a modern Valmiki
Crates of Royal stag and cartons of cigarettes
Thick beard (of course!)
Atop Himalayas - ######
for the rest of my fucking life :)

I will continue to sit before this LCD - 9hrs a day - for some more time before joining him up there - if he ever goes - and attain Nirvana and Pari-Nirvana. To be drunk and sober at the same time.

More of our interesting conversations will follow. Peace be upon us who dare to think beyond skyscrapers and posh malls :)

3 Column tic-tac Blue

Yes.. a new template giving a refurbished look to my blog. With deep respect I bid goodbye to Harbour, who ruled all these years. I hope to write more frequently, because honestly I feel rejuvenated every time I open my page.

So many issues bouncing off my head right now. Salman Khan's dus ka dum :D, LTTE members arrested with cyanide capsules hung around their neck, (India,Ireland,Bangaldesh) in one group!, 'Turtles can fly' - really good movie, Yann martel in 'Life of Pi' saying Muslims are bearded Hindus & Christians are hat-wearing Muslims & Hindus are hairless Christians, Lionel Messi's header in the Champions league final (god! that was brutal), a distant friend of mine in Kerala saying 'I will stop taking drinks.. Meditation is the path for salvation (I have plans for him:P)', my spam mail offering me 'Hot comics with celebs' and finally 3 column tic tac blue:)

Evolution

Religion is a symbol to me. I think I mentioned this before. To any person questioning me about the sanctity of the world.. I say 'Go to Hell'. The quote below does not reflect my anger towards the everyday chaos nor does it force me to believe in Evolution. I have very little idea about evolution and other aspects of Darwinism, but I genuinely respect Attenborough's opinions, considering that he is a widely respected naturalist. But this definitely does put me in a position where I can frame my own opinions about our existence, which can be as simple as getting up and going to work or pondering over the consequences of our actions. Let our imaginations rule!

"My response is that when Creationists talk about God creating every individual species as a separate act, they always instance hummingbirds, or orchids, sunflowers and beautiful things. But I tend to think instead of a parasitic worm that is boring through the eye of a boy sitting on the bank of a river in West Africa, [a worm] that's going to make him blind. And [I ask them], 'Are you telling me that the God you believe in, who you also say is an all-merciful God, who cares for each one of us individually, are you saying that God created this worm that can live in no other way than in an innocent child's eyeball? Because that doesn't seem to me to coincide with a God who's full of mercy"

David Attenborough