Rocket science

Sometimes I am so startled by the surprises life throws at us, especially the ones which come with their own small lessons. Believer in destiny as I am , I think we experience everything at a right time and at the right place. If this was not so well proportioned in time , it would have been irrelevant.

I had a very short and imprinting conversation with a cabie while riding back home yesterday. Talking about our respective cultures and countries, he told me one of the most amazing thing that made so much sense to me. Couple of years ago he started a business venture which failed. As he described, failure is just a process of learning wrong ways of doing a task.

Life has an analogy with rocket science. As the rocket uses 90 percent of its fuel just to clear the gravitational pull of the earth and with only remaining ten percent does whats its suppose to do. What we think as wasted potency is actually making the path to achieve its goal. There is so much of our individual energy wasted in denying the negative pull in our lives and we sometimes give up, but come to think of it , its a process of adaptation for a bigger better purpose, our ultimate goal.

I dare

The matter is difficult to put into words. For fear, real fear, such as shakes you to your foundation, such as you feel when you are brought face to face with your mortal end, nestles in your memory like a gangrene: it seeks to rot everything, even the words with which to speak of it. So you must fight hard to express it. You must fight hard to shine the light of words upon it. Because if you don’t, if your fear becomes a wordless darkness that you avoid, perhaps even manage to forget, you open yourself to further attacks of fear because you have never truly fought the opponent who defeated you.

Life of Pi  by Yann Martel

Anatomy of a healing

It was a usual morning chores she woke-up to. A new day, a new beginning. She looked at the reflection in the mirror and shockingly questioned herself “Who is this Ugly, inconfident, and sad woman staring directly at me”? She took a step back to see if she moves, splashed some water and asked her Who are you? She replied “I am you; I am you when your spirit of life is taken away. I am you without hope and faith; I am you when nothing is working right.

I am here to tell you that its you who’ve made me, it’s your thoughts and actions. Surprisingly! She replied ‘ME’. Where did I go wrong to have ended like this? She was suddenly flooded with thoughts, thoughts of how would it be if your soul is bruised, battered and left to die? How would it be if you wake up to a tomorrow without a hope of nothing’s ever changing and there will be no new beginning? How would it be when you start to question your own identity? Death seemed to be a better option.

She leaned forward trying to figure out something in that reflection, and she found it. That glimmer of strength in her swollen eyes which was steadily glowing. She smiled – I must go on. While walking to her work, she looked up at the drizzling sky and thought to herself- This will never happen to me.

My table calendar for today reads – A man with outward courage dares to die, one with inward courage dares to live.

Ring, Stings and Troublesome things

Author of the famous hymn “Amazing Grace, John Newton, arising from a dream one night wrote a poem titled “The Kite or the Fall of Pride”
Once upon a time a paper kite; was mounted to a wondrous height,
Where, giddy with its elevation, it thus expressed self-admiration
See how yon crowds of gazing people; admire my flight above the steeple;
How they would wonder if they knew, all that a kite like me can do?

Were I but free, I’d take a flight, and pierce the clouds beyond their sight.
“But, ah! like a poor prisoner bound, my string confines me near the ground:
I’d brave the eagle’s towering wing, might I but fly without a string.”
It tugged and pulled, while thus it spoke, to break the string; at last it broke.

In vain it tried to soar away; unable its own weight to bear,
It fluttered downward through the air;
Unable its own course to guide, the winds soon plunged it in the tide.
Ah! Foolish kite; thou hadst no wing; How could thou fly without a string?

The complete poem is an analogy used by John Newton to draw a comparison (similarity) between a kite soaring high on the sky and the susceptibility of a human mind towards intensified feelings sometimes.

At some specified periods of our animate existence, life feels like a series of contentious speech and acts. In likeness of things, I do consider some of the “strings” that makes me feel vaguely constrained. Vows, Promises, Commitments, Responsibilities are an exemplification of some linear sequences of our lives. Some of you will harmonize with my opinion that at times they tie us down but also our strings confine us near the ground. They hold me up when I need the most so that I can explore my own skies while keeping myself rooted.

“Before cutting any string, make sure it’s not one that’s holding you up”

Seven Years in Tibet

After a well rewarded effort to watch this beautiful movie last night, I couldn’t help blogging about it. I finally watched this movie after many people recommending it to me. I don’t know why I waited so long! This is a soul stirring movie that is perfect in its simplicity. I don’t think it’s the best performance Brad Pitt has ever offered, but he was quite good. David Thewlis (quite unknown to me) gave a perfect performance as well. But the real beauty of the film is captured through the Tibetan landscapes and people with their simple lifestyle.

Based on a true story, directed by Jean Jacques Annaud, Seven Years in Tibet is a moving tale of Heinrich Harrer, an Austrian mountain climber and his transformation after becoming a close confidant to the Dalai Lama. Played by Brad Pitt, Heinrich Harrer is an arrogant, self-obsessed man who cares for nothing but himself. The series of events right form his expedition to Naange Parbat in Himalayas, being captured in POW camp in North India to his escape to Tibet and finally meeting Dalai Lama leads him to rediscover himself as a person, as a friend and as a father. In other words this is a must watch flick which will keep you glued to your seats till the end. With utter disorder and confusion surrounding the Free Tibet movement, I just wish it does not result in “cultural genocide” in Tibet.

Neo-Feminism

The evolution of all things depends on ascertaining its place in a system of classification and evaluation of its future goals and perspectives. Avoiding to recite the feminist mantra of the 21st century, Feminism still needs definition in our own words. Adhering to accepted standards, it is the theory of political, social and legal equality of womenCall it a cult of domesticity,” which is now found in women’s magazines, advice books, newspapers, fiction— and everywhere else, arose from new ideologies about womanhood, home, families, work and culture. Perhaps the most feminine of virtues of frailty, intuitive morality, nurturance, domesticity which were all due to our physical makeup was overthrown while defining the cardinal virtues of womanhood for new era. This traditional feminist view of women is quite extremist, in my opinion. The debasement of housework and child- birth and child-raising came as a negative consequence.
The brilliance stuck me when I saw a collage on one of my friend’s door with a caption “The essence of womanhood” which, most importantly, had a pregnant woman as the centerpiece. There were times when it was believed that women had lesser “life force” than men. It was considered important for women to channel all their energies into reproduction. It was estimated that education took away about 20% of a woman’s vital energy. Therefore, women were discouraged from intellectual activity because blood was needed for the development of the reproductive organs. Pregnant women too must not strain their brains, because intellectual activity would divert blood from the fetus, and result in the physical degeneration of the child, or their insanity. Rest assured, time has changed to a great deal since then.
In reality, our ‘unpaid labour force’ at home, is paid through the spiritual, mental and physical growth we go through as the result of child-bearing and child-raising. Our regenerative powers make “The lifeblood of creation, ‘The Creators’ and ‘The Nurturers’
In Bible, from the book of Proverbs, Chapter 31: verses 10-31
A [woman] of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies…She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar…She considers a field and buys it; out of earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night…She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple…She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ‘Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.’  

Agnee

I have been meaning to write a blog about music for a long time. More so ‘coz, I personally find it almost nearing to non existence in my own life. No one, but the humane quality of wearisome constancy to be blamed. Something that caught my attention recently is this new song ‘Sham Tanha’ by an Indian rock band called ‘Agnee’. Comprising of Mohan, Koko and Arijit is amalgamation of three musicians from diverse backgrounds like classical rock, Hindustani & carnatic music and Jazz. These three music enthusiasts from varied backgrounds are representing the new face of Indian Vedic rock. This is the reason why we can see the influences of different genres in their exceptionally brilliant tracks.
The lyrics for two of their songs ‘Sadho Re ‘ and ‘Kabira’ was written by a great Indian poet Kabir, almost 400 years ago. Their debut album was released in May 2007 and since then this musical trio have come a long way. The harmonic composition and thoughtful lyrics are surely a treat to the senses, not missing to mention, awesome picturisation of the songs. Agnee’s music incorporates elements of Jazz and classical music with Indian lyrics which is a rare combination and has a hypnotic feel to it. I am hooked on to ‘Sham tanha’ and ‘Sadho Re’, for those of you who would want to hear more of Agnee, their videos are available on YouTube.

Rules for Being Human

Something good to read through; I personally love the ending

We have received a body. We may like it or hate it, but it will be ours for the entire period this time around.

We will learn lessons. We are enrolled in a full-time informal school called ‘life.’  Each day in this school we will have the opportunity to learn lessons.  We may like the lessons or think of them as irrelevant and stupid.

There are not mistakes, only lessons.  Growth is a process of trail, error, and experimentation.  The “failed” experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately “works”.

“There” is no better than “here”. when our “there” has  become a “here”, we will simply obtain another “there” that will, again, look better than “here”.

Others are merely mirrors of you.  We cannot love or hate something about another person unless it    reflects to us, something we love or hate about ourself.

what we make of our life is up to us. We have all the tools and resources we need. what we do with them is up to us. The choice is ours.

Our answers lie inside us.  The answers to life’s questions lie inside us. All we need to do is look, listen, and trust.

We will forget all of this.

Me and my creative – i

I am trying hard these days to recall how and what was I when I was 21, may be 22, 23. Strangely I don’t have clear memories left. I mean, yeah! I do have the pictures and friends to refer back to, but just wondering if they also got to know. I stumbled upon a fact, few days ago, in our 24th year; we are at the creative best of our life. The years following that only take us downhill. Not that our creative intelligentsia depletes with years but that’s the time for our best form.

We are born with a fixed number of brain cells and they increasingly die off* after the age of 50, and even faster beyond 70. With age, we tend to become less creatively sensitive, but not in a conventional way. Our continued declivity is more so because of number of cognitive traps that we create for ourselves than the old age. We live in comfort zones and organize ourselves in patterns of life.

It’s the time for ossification – I am calcifying my soft tissues into a bone-like material. The process of becoming rigidly fixed in a conventional pattern of thought or behavior. While in the process, most importantly, I still want to keep my senses active and open, before my destiny spontaneously combust me.
“Talk to, Listen and seek to synergize and synthesize. Take every opportunity to regenerate your   generative powers.”

I believe, we invent daily and live our inventions. Ain’t I, whom I invented, when I was 24?

Reminder for Basics

We are all flesh and Blood.

Everyone has dreams and ambitions.

Everyone loves and needs to be loved.

Time is the best counselor.

It’s never late to say ‘I am sorry’ and ‘I Love you’.

We all know it!! But I still keep a reminder