Not sure if the word oddity exist, but taken the liberty any ways! The end of the year and a beginning of a new one is a time for self reflection. Mostly its not a conscious feeling. Me for one have never given thought of what happened during the course of the year but somehow wanted to write about 3 odd things that occured during the last year.
1: Modern Teleportation!
The scientific definition of "Teleportation" is disapperances and appearances of anomolies basically science of disappearing and appearing instantaneously. We have not quite managed to master this field and as of today it is scientifically impossible to teleport humans.
But this year I witnessed the modern teleportation techniques. People being in two places at the same time. There was no hi-fi technology or any hardware costs. You can be in office during the weekend as well as in the movie watching the unwatchable or be at home sick as well as in McD's enjoying a hot burger, from having lunch with a friend who never existed...All it takes is a foxy mind, a bluntly told lie and an audience dumb as a dimbo..easy ain't it...
2: Come let's Recycle!
Everyone was pitching for last year with the environment summit in Cophenhagen etc etc and the "blokes" here didn't want to be left far behind. In fact, the zeal was so much so that their half drunk coffee was religiously offered to another friend as if it were just freshly brewed from Brazil. Little did the hero of our story know that he was part of a scientific research on recycling. Anyways he showered nice adjectives at the recycling scientist and left the place happy and contented.
To the hero: Don't trust anybody dude !
To the scientist: Grow up kiddo !
3: From dish washer to Super cook !
I must confess that a couple of years back my culinary skills were limited and being the gourmet that I am was a bit worried about the future of my belly. Luckily I had some great house mates and was taken care of in a way that befits a Royal ! However over the past few months I have seen the gradual rise of the unknown soldier. All my hidden talents gushing to all parts of my brain..and there I was, the new "ME" from the realms of "dish washing" to "super cooking". With a wee bit of liberty I think I have kind of got a hang of things now and guys who are out there back home, whenever you come, there's a big shock awaiting your way !
However mutton curry, mutton biriyani,Dal Makhani and Avial will never be cooked as a mark of respect to Vineet, Junaith, Pooja and Sowmya respectively...Cullinary Ethics you see :-)
- Sridhar Ramakrishnan
- About me? Thinking about it, describing yourself is such a difficult task and I am puzzled how some guys out there do it so seamlessly. I am what you can call a “Yours Ordinary Programmer” and come from an already overwhelming group of people calling themselves the “IT Guys". So here goes my space mostly with things I don't know why I wrote in the first place. For those who feel it is non-sense thanks for your patience and for those who feel its quite good thanks for sticking your neck out "Be the change you want to see" Cya, Sri
Friday, 15 January 2010
There is something about winter !
Have been busy with loads of work and I guess that is a good enough excuse for not penning down something for so long. Of late, whatever I think or do my thoughts just keep dragging me to the horrendous weather we have had for a couple of weeks here and it seems that I am having an involuntary fixation over it.
Officially it has been one of the most terrible winter out here for a long time, temperatures hovering around -2 to -3 and after all the initial excitement of snow fall it was time to brace ourselves to the chaos that followed. Initially not going to office was kind of a luxury but as days went by you just wanted to get out of the house, feel some fresh and warm air. A classic example to prove my philosophy "too much of good is bad" :-)
I call the English winter the 3 Ds..Dark, Depressing and Dull and gives me a feeling as if Lord Voldemort has taken over the muggle kingdom. And I must confess that I am quite surprised by the way we get influenced by it both in thoughts and actions. The advice you get from seasoned campaigners who have seen a lot of winters out here is to complete all things important before winter (read job hunting, Europe trips etc etc) and the logic behind is that your brain kind of goes into hibernation probably coz "There is something about winter" !
Plans change so dramatically, from wanting to work for many years in the UK to going back home and settling down..from not marrying for the next 2 to 3 years to getting married within a couple of months... It is purely inexplicable logic probably coz "There is something about winter" !
And then there is the perennial boy-girl courtships which become stronger at the onset of winter. Lonely guys who don't have their own vehicles go to office by bus and romance the cold winds before even beginning their morning work. Can't quite say that about the girls though, being the big hearted species we boys are, no one wants to lose a chance to become a brother/friend/companion to all those lonely girls out there. India is shining, Growth percentage of India is consistently above 8% but our Mr Lonely guy still goes to office by bus standing in an overcrowded bus stop, alas if only there were sisters and female friends with cars ! But I guess this is will of nature or should I say "There is something about winter" !
In a couple of days another weekend will pass by and my arch nemesis Mr Monday is getting all set to confront me. But strangely I am not too perturbed this time probably coz I have kind of made my peace with Mr.Monday or probably coz "There is something about winter" !
Officially it has been one of the most terrible winter out here for a long time, temperatures hovering around -2 to -3 and after all the initial excitement of snow fall it was time to brace ourselves to the chaos that followed. Initially not going to office was kind of a luxury but as days went by you just wanted to get out of the house, feel some fresh and warm air. A classic example to prove my philosophy "too much of good is bad" :-)
I call the English winter the 3 Ds..Dark, Depressing and Dull and gives me a feeling as if Lord Voldemort has taken over the muggle kingdom. And I must confess that I am quite surprised by the way we get influenced by it both in thoughts and actions. The advice you get from seasoned campaigners who have seen a lot of winters out here is to complete all things important before winter (read job hunting, Europe trips etc etc) and the logic behind is that your brain kind of goes into hibernation probably coz "There is something about winter" !
Plans change so dramatically, from wanting to work for many years in the UK to going back home and settling down..from not marrying for the next 2 to 3 years to getting married within a couple of months... It is purely inexplicable logic probably coz "There is something about winter" !
And then there is the perennial boy-girl courtships which become stronger at the onset of winter. Lonely guys who don't have their own vehicles go to office by bus and romance the cold winds before even beginning their morning work. Can't quite say that about the girls though, being the big hearted species we boys are, no one wants to lose a chance to become a brother/friend/companion to all those lonely girls out there. India is shining, Growth percentage of India is consistently above 8% but our Mr Lonely guy still goes to office by bus standing in an overcrowded bus stop, alas if only there were sisters and female friends with cars ! But I guess this is will of nature or should I say "There is something about winter" !
In a couple of days another weekend will pass by and my arch nemesis Mr Monday is getting all set to confront me. But strangely I am not too perturbed this time probably coz I have kind of made my peace with Mr.Monday or probably coz "There is something about winter" !
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Here comes the snow (once again) !
I can't quite understand our infactuation with snow and I guess its probably due to the fact that we are not embraced by it back home. Nevertheless news of snowfall generally excites us and why not ? After all who would miss the chance to hit the streets, play like a kindergarden kid, pelting snow balls at one another,skipping office and having hot snacks at home.
It was sometime Feb last year and all the news channels were going beserk with severe weather warnings. You generally get to hear phrases likes "This is the coldest day of the year", "The worst weather in 10 years", "Its gonna snow first time in UK after so many years" so on and so forth. As the rate of predictions grew gradually from every day to every hour our anticipation increased too. It was around 7 or 8 in the night when I caught the first glimpse of bits of ice dancing down from the skies. Within a few minutes there was happiness and excitement everywhere and I could see many people dancing out in the streets.
The next morning I woke up and went towards my window which gives an amazing view of the entire street. It was as if someone has painted white everywhere, the cars, the driveways, the trees each one of them had all been given a shower.But no the fun didn't end here.We couldn't drive till the office so me, Sowmya, Junaith, Vineet, Ashok, Prashanth started to play on the streets. It was quite funny actually to see grown up software professionals dressing up each other in snow and after 10 to 15 minutes the cars in and around us were stripped off their white coat..
Junaith's less than impressive aims, Ashok's perfect cricket throws and Sowmya recording all our misadventures was a memorable sight. As usual Prashanth Shivashimpi took some time to choose and wear the perfect costume for the occassion, but he came out nonetheless. As we were enthralled in the snow fight, I could see Nandeesh and Pooja coming towards us and they had plans of going to office. I am not sure if one could be so dutiful :-) But being who we are, we made sure that both of them didn't land up in office for the next couple of hours and Nandeesh's hair was shampooed in snow and Pooja's face was religiously pampered with a cold white face mask..
All in all it was one of the highlights of last year...
Fast forward...Its January 2010...And I heard the same news yesterday .."Worst weather in 60 years". Severe weather warnings!And yes it did snow overnight. I went for a walk around 4 in the morning and I still can't believe I actually did this ? I woke up early morning but this time I didn't feel like watching through the window. After a while when I did look outside it was more beautiful, it had snowed more heavily this time. But as I gazed on the view before me I didn't feel that excitement and I am not sure why ?
I can't say I missed them,
Nor can I say I wished they would be here,
But something in me didn't let me to enjoy the snowfall this time...
As every day passes by,
Thoughts and feelings seem to fly.
I realize you won’t be so nearby,
With me, to laugh, or to cry.
It was sometime Feb last year and all the news channels were going beserk with severe weather warnings. You generally get to hear phrases likes "This is the coldest day of the year", "The worst weather in 10 years", "Its gonna snow first time in UK after so many years" so on and so forth. As the rate of predictions grew gradually from every day to every hour our anticipation increased too. It was around 7 or 8 in the night when I caught the first glimpse of bits of ice dancing down from the skies. Within a few minutes there was happiness and excitement everywhere and I could see many people dancing out in the streets.
The next morning I woke up and went towards my window which gives an amazing view of the entire street. It was as if someone has painted white everywhere, the cars, the driveways, the trees each one of them had all been given a shower.But no the fun didn't end here.We couldn't drive till the office so me, Sowmya, Junaith, Vineet, Ashok, Prashanth started to play on the streets. It was quite funny actually to see grown up software professionals dressing up each other in snow and after 10 to 15 minutes the cars in and around us were stripped off their white coat..
Junaith's less than impressive aims, Ashok's perfect cricket throws and Sowmya recording all our misadventures was a memorable sight. As usual Prashanth Shivashimpi took some time to choose and wear the perfect costume for the occassion, but he came out nonetheless. As we were enthralled in the snow fight, I could see Nandeesh and Pooja coming towards us and they had plans of going to office. I am not sure if one could be so dutiful :-) But being who we are, we made sure that both of them didn't land up in office for the next couple of hours and Nandeesh's hair was shampooed in snow and Pooja's face was religiously pampered with a cold white face mask..
All in all it was one of the highlights of last year...
Fast forward...Its January 2010...And I heard the same news yesterday .."Worst weather in 60 years". Severe weather warnings!And yes it did snow overnight. I went for a walk around 4 in the morning and I still can't believe I actually did this ? I woke up early morning but this time I didn't feel like watching through the window. After a while when I did look outside it was more beautiful, it had snowed more heavily this time. But as I gazed on the view before me I didn't feel that excitement and I am not sure why ?
I can't say I missed them,
Nor can I say I wished they would be here,
But something in me didn't let me to enjoy the snowfall this time...
As every day passes by,
Thoughts and feelings seem to fly.
I realize you won’t be so nearby,
With me, to laugh, or to cry.
Saturday, 19 December 2009
Here goes the last string, Bye Chetz !
I would be lying if I say I am not feeling low at the moment and I would by lying if I tell I am not feeling vulnerable. Its Saturday night and finally got some time to write about Praveen Muralidharan aka Cheta aka Chetz. Reason: It's Cheta's time to say farewell.
Cheta was a senior in my previous company but I haven't worked with him once, Cheta and me did not have the common set of friends, at least not initially and I have very rarely spoken to him while I was working in India. In spite of this he is the very very very few people who I admire and respect and it is my staunch belief that the admiration and respect is for life. I can visualise Cheta contradicting everything when he reads this post and getting embrassed to the core, but again that is Cheta for you !
Hmm..the experience to be shared are many, the chicken and mutton night outs, London trip with Cheta's unusual requests for the "tap to stop", "Indian Chinese", "Polish ......" etc etc, our tryouts of various delicacies that most human population would not even think of and obviously the Germany trip was the icing on the cake.
Some wise guy told that "the only constant thing is change" and many stupid guys like us follow it religiously. The best of friends in India will be hi-bye pals here and a dork who didn't know any idea would re-incarnate as a genius at onsite. But again that is the beauty of IT it is full of dorks to dukes story. Cheta is one person who hasn't changed a bit professionally as well as personally and remains as honest and frank all these years.
There would be some who are more than friends, they become your soul mates. People you just want to speak to though you might not have one thing to say, people you just want to be with all the time, it's the wonderful spark you have in between, just like
the set of strings of a musical instrument. I have lost most of my precious strings and with Chetz goes my final string :-(
I don't want to say a farewell, coz hope remains.
I can't tell you don't change, coz I know you can't.
So some lines, just for you...
How much of a friend you were to me,
Word of words, can say never.
All I wish is, for us to be,
The way we are, for now and ever.
Cheta was a senior in my previous company but I haven't worked with him once, Cheta and me did not have the common set of friends, at least not initially and I have very rarely spoken to him while I was working in India. In spite of this he is the very very very few people who I admire and respect and it is my staunch belief that the admiration and respect is for life. I can visualise Cheta contradicting everything when he reads this post and getting embrassed to the core, but again that is Cheta for you !
Hmm..the experience to be shared are many, the chicken and mutton night outs, London trip with Cheta's unusual requests for the "tap to stop", "Indian Chinese", "Polish ......" etc etc, our tryouts of various delicacies that most human population would not even think of and obviously the Germany trip was the icing on the cake.
Some wise guy told that "the only constant thing is change" and many stupid guys like us follow it religiously. The best of friends in India will be hi-bye pals here and a dork who didn't know any idea would re-incarnate as a genius at onsite. But again that is the beauty of IT it is full of dorks to dukes story. Cheta is one person who hasn't changed a bit professionally as well as personally and remains as honest and frank all these years.
There would be some who are more than friends, they become your soul mates. People you just want to speak to though you might not have one thing to say, people you just want to be with all the time, it's the wonderful spark you have in between, just like
the set of strings of a musical instrument. I have lost most of my precious strings and with Chetz goes my final string :-(
I don't want to say a farewell, coz hope remains.
I can't tell you don't change, coz I know you can't.
So some lines, just for you...
How much of a friend you were to me,
Word of words, can say never.
All I wish is, for us to be,
The way we are, for now and ever.
Thursday, 17 December 2009
The Unknown Face !!
"I LOVE YOU" is probably the most misused words in the history of human civilization. New manifestations of Love are emerging day by day physical love, ageless love, timeless love, logical love, practical love, nameless love, divine love etc etc. So I wondered how would I explain my love. I am too practical to use flattering words, too straight to utter lies and too blunt to pretend something that I am not.
So this is from me to YOU..If only I knew who the "YOU" was :-)
I do not love you, with my magical words,
Shortlived are they, with no meaning meant,
But I love you just as flowers do the birds,
In endless sacrifice, their years are spent.
I do not love you, with my worldly gold,
For what is wealth ? Nothing but a bane,
But I love you just as thoughts do the old,
Ageless and timeless their romance remain.
I do not love you, for what you will be,
For what is future? An impossible mystery,
But I love you just as the mirror does me,
However I am, there is infinite symmetry.
I do not love you, for your youthful years,
For it has an end, with the passage of time,
But I love you just as the eyes do the tears,
In happiness and sorrow, their passion rhyme.
I do not love you, dearer than myself,
For I have an end, with darkness of death,
But I love you like a shadow of one's self,
Lingering on with you, after my last breath.
So this is from me to YOU..If only I knew who the "YOU" was :-)
I do not love you, with my magical words,
Shortlived are they, with no meaning meant,
But I love you just as flowers do the birds,
In endless sacrifice, their years are spent.
I do not love you, with my worldly gold,
For what is wealth ? Nothing but a bane,
But I love you just as thoughts do the old,
Ageless and timeless their romance remain.
I do not love you, for what you will be,
For what is future? An impossible mystery,
But I love you just as the mirror does me,
However I am, there is infinite symmetry.
I do not love you, for your youthful years,
For it has an end, with the passage of time,
But I love you just as the eyes do the tears,
In happiness and sorrow, their passion rhyme.
I do not love you, dearer than myself,
For I have an end, with darkness of death,
But I love you like a shadow of one's self,
Lingering on with you, after my last breath.
Friday, 11 December 2009
A RENDEZVOUS WITH GOD !!
It was probably late in the night and I was awakened by the sound of thunder seering through my ears. As I sat alone on my bed I could see flashes of light before me as if all the moon light was in my room. I had this very positive feeling inside me, a kind of warmth had spread and it was eternal bliss. Then to my astonishment I saw a very bright figure standing right before my eyes. I am so
shocked even thinking of it now, so let me put it in straight words, I saw GOD in front of me. I wanted to talk, but was not sure what to ? You could ask a zillion questions but still not be satisfied after all he is the Omnipresent you see, so here is what we spoke on that memorable night.
ME: Father, I will ask you questions but only on one condition.
HE: YES, MAY I KNOW WHAT THAT IS.
ME: Your answer should be specific and you should be honest with yourselves.
HE: YOUR ARE DOUBTING ME, THE CREATOR OF UNIVERSE AND ALL THAT EXISTS HERE.
ME: You may be the Creator, but I am still a human you see.
HE: OK. I PROMISE I WILL BE HONEST WITH MYSELF AND WILL BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE.
ME: What is your favourite Flower?
HE: I LIKE ALL MY CREATION AND IT WOULD BE UNFAIR....
ME: There, There...I told you to be specific.
HE: HMM..THOUGH ALL ARE MY FAVOURITES, I PRIDE MYSELF FOR CREATING THE LOTUS.
ME: The lotus !! The flower that grows amidst stagnant and dirty water.
HE: YES, YES. THAT'S EASILY WHY I LIKE IT THE MOST. IT SYMBOLISES PURITY. WHEN YOU SEE A LOTUS AND ADMIRE ITS BEAUTY YOU ARE FORGETTING THE STAGNANT AND DIRTY WATER FOR A MINUTE, THEREBY MAKING IT THE TRUE SYMBOL OF PURITY. ANY PERSON OR THING CAN BE CALLED PURE NOT JUST BECAUSE HE OR SHE IS PURE BUT THEIR PURITY SHADOWS THE SHORTCOMINGS OF ALL THINGS AROUND THEM.
ME: Then does the stagnant and dirty water have shortcomings.
HE: EVERY ENTITY IN THE WORLD HAS SOME FORM OF SHORTCOMING OR THE OTHER. THE LOTUS AND THE DIRTY WATER LIVE IN PERFECT HARMONY.
ME: Can you please clarify
HE: THE LOTUS IS SO SPECIAL BECAUSE IT GROWS AMIDST THESE WATERS, AND THE STAGNANT AND DIRTY WATER INDIRECTLY HELP THE LOTUS TO FEEL THAT IT IS SPECIAL. IT IS WHAT I CALL A PERFECT HARMONY.
ME: You told that every entity has some shortcomings, I am sure you do not have any shortcoming.
HE: I INDEED HAVE MANY SHORTCOMINGS (smiling...)
ME: Can you tell me any one of them.
HE: I THINK I LACK FORESIGHT.
ME: Why do you say that ?
HE: I CREATED RELIGION TO HELP AND GUIDE HUMANITY TOWARDS THE PATH OF ETERNAL PEACE AND INFINITE KNOWLEDGE. BUT SEE WHATS HAPPENING TO THE WORLD.
ME: So you say that you regret creating religion.
HE: NO I DONT REGRET IT ONE BIT.
ME: But there are people slaying each other because of religion.
HE: THERE ARE PEOPLE CAUSING EACH OTHER HARM IN THE NAME OF RELIGION AND NOT BECAUSE OF RELIGION. ITS HOW EVERY INDIVIDUAL PERCEIVES. AND ITS VERY SAD THAT MANY OF THEM HAVE A TOTALLY WRONG PERCEPTION.
ME: We all see so many people do so many bad things be it theft, robbery, bribe, dowry the list is so many. If you claim that we all are your creation then how can you let us into such a bad world and made us so vulnerable.
HE: I MADE YOU AND THE WORLD. I THOUGHT EVERY CREATION SHOULD HAVE ITS OWN INDEPENDENCE IN CHOOSING HIS DESTINY AND SHOULD BE RESPONISBLE FOR HIS ACTIONS. BUT AGAIN THEY MADE MY WORLD INTO A BAD WORLD DUE TO THEIR ACTIONS ALONE AND I DONT THINK ANYONE IS VULNERABLE.
ME: But being the almighthy God, why don't you stop them.
HE: I INDEED STOP ANYONE WHO INDULGES IN ANYTHING THAT IS BAD.
ME: Oh this is news to me.
HE: WHENEVER A PERSON TRIES TO DO SOMETHING HARMFUL OR SINFUL, THERE IS ALWAYS A CALL FROM THE HEART, A FAINT CALL THAT REMINDS HIM OF HIS WRONG DOING. I AM SURE THAT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD THAT CALL. HAVE YOU NEVER FELT SOMETHING INSIDE YOU ALBEIT VERY WEAK CALLING AND TRYING TO TELL YOU THAT WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS WRONG.
ME: Ya sometimes I have felt it.
HE: EVERYONE WOULD HAVE FELT IT.
ME: The world is turning ugly day by day. Why don't you come and change it ?
HE: I HAVE COME DOWN ON THIS EARTH WHENEVER I FELT THINGS GO OUT OF HAND.
ME: Then where were you when there were masaccares in the name of ideology and religion, where were you when there were attrocities created on people just because they were blacks, where were you when people where ignored because they were poor and unhealthy.
HE: I HAVE INFACT SHOWN MY PRESENCE IN ALL OF THE TIMES... THERE WAS A MAHATMA WHOSE SINGLE WORD SILENCED MILLIONS OF AGITATING PEOPLE AND THERE WAS NELSON MANDELA WHOSE SACRIFICE ALONE BROUGHT IN EQUALITY TO BOTH WHITES AND BLACK, AND THERE WAS MOTHER TERESA WHOSE GENTLE HANDS PROVIDED INFINITE LOVE TO ALL PEOPLE WHO WERE IGNORED AND DOWNTRODDEN.
ME: So you say that you were Gandhi, Mandela and Teresa.
HE: THEY ARE INDEED A PART OF ME. THEY ARE MY CREATION AND THEIR EXISTENCE IS MY EXISTENCE.
ME: But they are not relevant today.
HE: THEY INDEED ARE VERY MUCH RELEVANT TODAY. HOW MANY FIGHTS AND TURBULANCES HAVE BEEN SOLVED WITH VIOLENCE : NOT MANY. BUT SEE THE NUMBER OF PROBLEMS BEING SOLVED BY PEACEFUL DIALOGUES, THEY ARE INNUMERABLE. THE MESSAGE OF PEACE, TRUTH AND NON-VIOLENCE IS IN FACT MORE RELEVANT TODAY THAN AT OTHER TIMES. SEE THE AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS HAPPENING IN AFRICA JUST BECAUSE OF PERSONS INFLUENCED BY MANDELA. AND THE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE IN NEED BEING SERVED AND HELPED BY YOUNG MINDS INFLUENCED BY TERESA.
ME: So you say the world is in safe hands.
HE: AS LONG AS PEOPLE HEAR THE CALL OF THEIR HEART AND ACT ACCORDING TO CONSCIENCE, THE WORLD IS IN SAFE HANDS.
ME: I can go on and on, but this will be my last question, but I want an answer, a definite one.
HE: PLEASE GO ON...
ME: Will Humanity survive, will we ever walk on the face of the earth for a long time to come, will we survive the catastrophes we have created in the past, present and the future
All of a sudden I woke up and I could feel my face drenched with sweat. I badly wanted an answer and as I was cursing myself for the missed oppurtunity my eyes fell upon the mirror across my room. As I watched myself over the mirror I just got my answer ! As long as there is a rightful spirit in us, we shall have the will to survive and we shall have the spirit until we can see ourselves in the mirror and be content with the image it shows....
I wondered whether it was a dream or God in fact had apperared in front of me. My heart told me I spoke to God and my mind told me it was a dream. I chose to go with my heart this time.
As usual, signing off with a little verse I had written when I was in my high school..
Oh dear God show me the path,
Free from any of the blood bath.
A Place filled with love,
With People sweet as dove.
A Place with emotions,
And no room for confrontations.
A Place free of religion,
A place free of rebellion,
A Place filled with trust,
And friendship is a must.
A Place free of any fear,
A place Free of any anger,
A place with beautiful showers,
Shower of enchanting flowers.
At last to you I ask my Lord,
With all your grace,
Give me a place,
A place free of demons,
And very few humans……
shocked even thinking of it now, so let me put it in straight words, I saw GOD in front of me. I wanted to talk, but was not sure what to ? You could ask a zillion questions but still not be satisfied after all he is the Omnipresent you see, so here is what we spoke on that memorable night.
ME: Father, I will ask you questions but only on one condition.
HE: YES, MAY I KNOW WHAT THAT IS.
ME: Your answer should be specific and you should be honest with yourselves.
HE: YOUR ARE DOUBTING ME, THE CREATOR OF UNIVERSE AND ALL THAT EXISTS HERE.
ME: You may be the Creator, but I am still a human you see.
HE: OK. I PROMISE I WILL BE HONEST WITH MYSELF AND WILL BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE.
ME: What is your favourite Flower?
HE: I LIKE ALL MY CREATION AND IT WOULD BE UNFAIR....
ME: There, There...I told you to be specific.
HE: HMM..THOUGH ALL ARE MY FAVOURITES, I PRIDE MYSELF FOR CREATING THE LOTUS.
ME: The lotus !! The flower that grows amidst stagnant and dirty water.
HE: YES, YES. THAT'S EASILY WHY I LIKE IT THE MOST. IT SYMBOLISES PURITY. WHEN YOU SEE A LOTUS AND ADMIRE ITS BEAUTY YOU ARE FORGETTING THE STAGNANT AND DIRTY WATER FOR A MINUTE, THEREBY MAKING IT THE TRUE SYMBOL OF PURITY. ANY PERSON OR THING CAN BE CALLED PURE NOT JUST BECAUSE HE OR SHE IS PURE BUT THEIR PURITY SHADOWS THE SHORTCOMINGS OF ALL THINGS AROUND THEM.
ME: Then does the stagnant and dirty water have shortcomings.
HE: EVERY ENTITY IN THE WORLD HAS SOME FORM OF SHORTCOMING OR THE OTHER. THE LOTUS AND THE DIRTY WATER LIVE IN PERFECT HARMONY.
ME: Can you please clarify
HE: THE LOTUS IS SO SPECIAL BECAUSE IT GROWS AMIDST THESE WATERS, AND THE STAGNANT AND DIRTY WATER INDIRECTLY HELP THE LOTUS TO FEEL THAT IT IS SPECIAL. IT IS WHAT I CALL A PERFECT HARMONY.
ME: You told that every entity has some shortcomings, I am sure you do not have any shortcoming.
HE: I INDEED HAVE MANY SHORTCOMINGS (smiling...)
ME: Can you tell me any one of them.
HE: I THINK I LACK FORESIGHT.
ME: Why do you say that ?
HE: I CREATED RELIGION TO HELP AND GUIDE HUMANITY TOWARDS THE PATH OF ETERNAL PEACE AND INFINITE KNOWLEDGE. BUT SEE WHATS HAPPENING TO THE WORLD.
ME: So you say that you regret creating religion.
HE: NO I DONT REGRET IT ONE BIT.
ME: But there are people slaying each other because of religion.
HE: THERE ARE PEOPLE CAUSING EACH OTHER HARM IN THE NAME OF RELIGION AND NOT BECAUSE OF RELIGION. ITS HOW EVERY INDIVIDUAL PERCEIVES. AND ITS VERY SAD THAT MANY OF THEM HAVE A TOTALLY WRONG PERCEPTION.
ME: We all see so many people do so many bad things be it theft, robbery, bribe, dowry the list is so many. If you claim that we all are your creation then how can you let us into such a bad world and made us so vulnerable.
HE: I MADE YOU AND THE WORLD. I THOUGHT EVERY CREATION SHOULD HAVE ITS OWN INDEPENDENCE IN CHOOSING HIS DESTINY AND SHOULD BE RESPONISBLE FOR HIS ACTIONS. BUT AGAIN THEY MADE MY WORLD INTO A BAD WORLD DUE TO THEIR ACTIONS ALONE AND I DONT THINK ANYONE IS VULNERABLE.
ME: But being the almighthy God, why don't you stop them.
HE: I INDEED STOP ANYONE WHO INDULGES IN ANYTHING THAT IS BAD.
ME: Oh this is news to me.
HE: WHENEVER A PERSON TRIES TO DO SOMETHING HARMFUL OR SINFUL, THERE IS ALWAYS A CALL FROM THE HEART, A FAINT CALL THAT REMINDS HIM OF HIS WRONG DOING. I AM SURE THAT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD THAT CALL. HAVE YOU NEVER FELT SOMETHING INSIDE YOU ALBEIT VERY WEAK CALLING AND TRYING TO TELL YOU THAT WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS WRONG.
ME: Ya sometimes I have felt it.
HE: EVERYONE WOULD HAVE FELT IT.
ME: The world is turning ugly day by day. Why don't you come and change it ?
HE: I HAVE COME DOWN ON THIS EARTH WHENEVER I FELT THINGS GO OUT OF HAND.
ME: Then where were you when there were masaccares in the name of ideology and religion, where were you when there were attrocities created on people just because they were blacks, where were you when people where ignored because they were poor and unhealthy.
HE: I HAVE INFACT SHOWN MY PRESENCE IN ALL OF THE TIMES... THERE WAS A MAHATMA WHOSE SINGLE WORD SILENCED MILLIONS OF AGITATING PEOPLE AND THERE WAS NELSON MANDELA WHOSE SACRIFICE ALONE BROUGHT IN EQUALITY TO BOTH WHITES AND BLACK, AND THERE WAS MOTHER TERESA WHOSE GENTLE HANDS PROVIDED INFINITE LOVE TO ALL PEOPLE WHO WERE IGNORED AND DOWNTRODDEN.
ME: So you say that you were Gandhi, Mandela and Teresa.
HE: THEY ARE INDEED A PART OF ME. THEY ARE MY CREATION AND THEIR EXISTENCE IS MY EXISTENCE.
ME: But they are not relevant today.
HE: THEY INDEED ARE VERY MUCH RELEVANT TODAY. HOW MANY FIGHTS AND TURBULANCES HAVE BEEN SOLVED WITH VIOLENCE : NOT MANY. BUT SEE THE NUMBER OF PROBLEMS BEING SOLVED BY PEACEFUL DIALOGUES, THEY ARE INNUMERABLE. THE MESSAGE OF PEACE, TRUTH AND NON-VIOLENCE IS IN FACT MORE RELEVANT TODAY THAN AT OTHER TIMES. SEE THE AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS HAPPENING IN AFRICA JUST BECAUSE OF PERSONS INFLUENCED BY MANDELA. AND THE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE IN NEED BEING SERVED AND HELPED BY YOUNG MINDS INFLUENCED BY TERESA.
ME: So you say the world is in safe hands.
HE: AS LONG AS PEOPLE HEAR THE CALL OF THEIR HEART AND ACT ACCORDING TO CONSCIENCE, THE WORLD IS IN SAFE HANDS.
ME: I can go on and on, but this will be my last question, but I want an answer, a definite one.
HE: PLEASE GO ON...
ME: Will Humanity survive, will we ever walk on the face of the earth for a long time to come, will we survive the catastrophes we have created in the past, present and the future
All of a sudden I woke up and I could feel my face drenched with sweat. I badly wanted an answer and as I was cursing myself for the missed oppurtunity my eyes fell upon the mirror across my room. As I watched myself over the mirror I just got my answer ! As long as there is a rightful spirit in us, we shall have the will to survive and we shall have the spirit until we can see ourselves in the mirror and be content with the image it shows....
I wondered whether it was a dream or God in fact had apperared in front of me. My heart told me I spoke to God and my mind told me it was a dream. I chose to go with my heart this time.
As usual, signing off with a little verse I had written when I was in my high school..
Oh dear God show me the path,
Free from any of the blood bath.
A Place filled with love,
With People sweet as dove.
A Place with emotions,
And no room for confrontations.
A Place free of religion,
A place free of rebellion,
A Place filled with trust,
And friendship is a must.
A Place free of any fear,
A place Free of any anger,
A place with beautiful showers,
Shower of enchanting flowers.
At last to you I ask my Lord,
With all your grace,
Give me a place,
A place free of demons,
And very few humans……
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Cya Later Lohith !!
Hmm this is that time of the year again, when someone close to you heads back home and you are left high and dry. So this is Lohith's turn now. As I write this one hez busy finishing off some last minute packing and an awesome dinner awaits him....
I hate farewells coz I have never been good with emotions with the exception of my temper of course :-( So instead of full senti stuff I would like to remember all the good times that we had together and of course Lohith was at the forefront of it all !!
I didn't know Lohith that well and the past 6 months has been a dramatic turn for both of us (I guess I can take some liberty and speak for him as well) I was fortunate to have him as a house mate and every moment spent was absolute bliss ! We have had so many memories of 9 Boston, would be quite difficult to imagine the house without him...
He used to be the first one to be up and dutifully wake each one of us, I would have never come out of the realms of my bedroom if it were not for him. Not to forget the very many movie sessions we had (most of them late late nights) I have never heard him saying "NO" to any plans, it is a big compliment here since most of us have "no" on our lips before even the plan unfolds :-)Our local cricket matches were fun and being in the same team did not make matters worse at all :-)
But of all the one thing amazing about Lohith is he is an amazing human being very caring for his friends irrespective of whether they are a "HE" or a "SHE".. I emphasise this as the helping criterion out here is directly proportional to the sex
and appeal of an individual. (I will have so many fans now !)
Just want to tell you this my friend, you are "one of a kind" and be as you are. And remember I have never forgone the hope of watching "Andaaz Apna Apna" once again with you in the 9 Boston Theater :-)
Singing off in my style..A short little verse, just for you....
Distance is not what I fear,
This bond transcends all miles,
I know I will be able to hear.
The voices of your success and smiles !
I hate farewells coz I have never been good with emotions with the exception of my temper of course :-( So instead of full senti stuff I would like to remember all the good times that we had together and of course Lohith was at the forefront of it all !!
I didn't know Lohith that well and the past 6 months has been a dramatic turn for both of us (I guess I can take some liberty and speak for him as well) I was fortunate to have him as a house mate and every moment spent was absolute bliss ! We have had so many memories of 9 Boston, would be quite difficult to imagine the house without him...
He used to be the first one to be up and dutifully wake each one of us, I would have never come out of the realms of my bedroom if it were not for him. Not to forget the very many movie sessions we had (most of them late late nights) I have never heard him saying "NO" to any plans, it is a big compliment here since most of us have "no" on our lips before even the plan unfolds :-)Our local cricket matches were fun and being in the same team did not make matters worse at all :-)
But of all the one thing amazing about Lohith is he is an amazing human being very caring for his friends irrespective of whether they are a "HE" or a "SHE".. I emphasise this as the helping criterion out here is directly proportional to the sex
and appeal of an individual. (I will have so many fans now !)
Just want to tell you this my friend, you are "one of a kind" and be as you are. And remember I have never forgone the hope of watching "Andaaz Apna Apna" once again with you in the 9 Boston Theater :-)
Singing off in my style..A short little verse, just for you....
Distance is not what I fear,
This bond transcends all miles,
I know I will be able to hear.
The voices of your success and smiles !
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)