Ratspeak

Am dead! I mean, I'm almost dead!

One more rat that lost its life
In the race for paltry existence
Brings no change to a morbid world
That breathes easy with one rat less.

Stop! Stop this mindless game
And back to the basics now you go!
Relax! Return to the Life in you
And rest on the lawns of Goddess Love!

- Vijay S

Pink Tabebuia in full bloom

Bangalore getting ready for colors

Of lost continents and fascinations

I have always been fascinated with the idea of lost continents and better yet, mysterious hidden lands. I remember it starting when I chanced on a novel on dolphins, mermaids and reuniting lovers. The book had a beautiful, beautiful blue shiny cover depicting a mermaid and a dolphin – and it made for a wonderful read in those days of M & B addiction. But one of my friends had to borrow it, and I had to forget who it was, and well you know the rest is history –the book is not with me anymore! Anyway, that was quite a tangent!

This book mentioned Atlantis – and boom went my imagination. Wow, Atlantis? People who speak different tongues? People who can speak with all creatures? Oh man if only…if only.

And then came Harry Potter. Moguls and Wizards. Dumbledore and Lord Voldemort. The world of magic hidden away. Oh man if only…if only.

“Babaji and the 18 Siddha Kriya Yoga Tradition” was the next. It mentioned “Kumari Kandam” or as many would call it the lost land of Lemuria. Now Atlantis? Okay – too far away for me. World of wizards? Too far fetched (not really) for me. The land of Lemuria? The Kumari Kandam? Now that is what I call close reality.

Kumari Kandam

Govindam’s book talks about this land that stretched from the present Tamilnadu/Sri Lanka to Australia, touching Africa on the right and Indonesia and Java on the left. It was one huge land ruled by the Pandhya kings. Agastyar, Boganathar and Babaji were some of the well-known men who stand testimony that such land existed.

Some hard evidences? Here goes….

Did you know that Java has a temple dedicated to Agastyar, a Tamil Siddha?
Did you know that scientists have discovered Madagascar to contain fauna and flora very similar to what is present in Tamilnadu?
Did you know that the Greek words for Cardamom and Ginger are very very similar to their Tamil versions? And this can only point to trade between these regions

I guess I can go on – I am sure the more I read, I would only come across more evidences. I am fascinated. Right across my backyard. A lost continent. Lemuria. Kumari Kandam. WOW.

Be of Good Cheer

"Please keep this light aloft for a little while. We won't make you hold it long. Another runner will be sent to collect it from you. While you wait and hold the torch, be of good cheer."

A vimana is a mythological...

"A vimana is a mythological flying machine, described in the ancient literature of India. References to these flying machines are commonplace in ancient Indian texts, even describing their use in warfare. As well as being able to fly within Earth's atmosphere, vimanas were also said to be able to travel into space and travel submerged underwater.....

....Many researchers into the UFO enigma tend to overlook a very important fact. While it assumed that most flying saucers are of alien, or perhaps Governmental Military origin, another possible origin of UFOs is ancient India and Atlantis. What we know about ancient Indian flying vehicles comes from ancient Indian sources; written texts that have come down to us through the centuries.

There is no doubt that most of these texts are authentic; many are the well known ancient Indian Epics themselves, and there are literally hundreds of them. Most of them have not even been translated into English yet from the old Sanskrit.

Indian Emperor Ashoka started a "Secret Society of the Nine Unknown Men"-- great Indian scientists who were supposed to catalogue the many sciences. Ashoka kept their work secret because he was afraid that the advanced science catalogued by these men, pulled from ancient Indian sources, would be used for the evil purpose of war, which Ashoka was strongly against, having been converted to Buddhism after defeating a rival army in a bloody battle. The "Nine Unknown Men" wrote a total of nine books, presumably one each. Book number one was "The Secrets of Gravitation!".... "

Read more

Ladybug, ladybug

Genes are turned on?

"....experiments, examining in great detail the molecular mechanisms by which cells process information, have revealed that genes do not in fact control our behavior, instead, genes are turned on and off by influences outside the cell.

These influences include our perceptions and beliefs. He shows that our beliefs, true or false, positive or negative, affect genetic activity and actually alter our genetic code...."

More

Let's build a nest

When am bored!

Looking at a new dawn....

The One Legged Crow
Let me fly away
There is no time to feel tired, neither do I want to
I got to live this illusion through because I have beautiful places to go to
Beautiful people to see, and beautiful dreams to make true
All I ask is for my wings to remain and the world will be mine
Let me start right now - hop a little, jump a little and just fly away

Moving on.....to a new blog :)

Well, I tried! I really did. But with my current work schedule and more than that, with my current stress levels, maintaining this blog doesn't seem like an easy thing anymore. For me, the desire to write or 'creativity' ends when stress begins - as simple as that. Every time, I open notepad or even think of writing, I draw up a blank. I believe, writing requires a fertile ground not a rock surface solidified from centuries of disturbances. Yep, it seems so - my brain is solidifying everyday! I wish I had remained a student....taking each day as it comes, not giving a hoot about career or uping someone else or what have you! But the choices I have made have landed me here and ...I jolly well deal with it, right? Right! So here goes.... am moving on. :)

Moving on to a new blog!!!! This time, a photo blog :)) I think that one would be more easy for me to maintain. And it would still serve as a medium for me to communicate to this world. So on 29 Sep 2005, I 'solidified' the thought into action and created one. Here it is - Small Traveller. Do visit!

BTW, starting Small Traveller doesn't mean am ditching Melange. On the contrary! I will continue to write here - but more sporadically...even more sporadically. On the days when there is a strike and there is not much to do in office- like today. On days, when I feel like sharing a poem that floated into my mind.....on days when I feel like smiling more often! But on other days, since I would still want to write but incapciated to, I will post a photo on Small Traveller - maybe photos to match my mood or maybe photos to say a story!

Alaho!

PS: Why a photo blog? Because I love photography. I realise photos are a poor substitute to reality or words but they do serve their purpose in bringing up long-forgotten images to the front of our brain. Moreover, how can I let my brand new digicam sleep inside the cupboard? It better earn its worth!

Garhwal Himalayas

The Great Garhwal Himalayas
When the mountains rise, can the small ants speak?
I'm an ant between these mountains waiting to grow...
With a smile on my face, I know
that those hooves sooner or later would land
On my beautiful face and lo! I would be no more
Reborn I would be though
and this time, I want to be a white kite
Able to fly high up on clouds and feel lite
No hooves to catch me this time
Then I sure will enjoy those chimes...

The trek to Valley of Flowers

Take a break, have a life!

Every now and then, you got to take a break. Get away from this dull, structured life – taste the freedom of having nothing to do and nothing to worry about for long stretches of time. Not food, not work, not family and not even yourself should intrude into this precious time – no sir, no– this should be pure survival and shouldn’t be mixed with the ‘idea of survival’ as given by civilization. Difficult of course, given that even the remotest corners of this world have been ‘civilized’ along with your brain! But try you can – to forget about that self-improvement goal, forget those gnawing hunger hours etched into memory from sitting before dumb machines and forget to think about returning back to that crazy life……and simply live!

That’s exactly what I tried to do or rather how it turned out to be! And as I said, it was difficult, very difficult and since I hadn’t planned it to be that way, it was even more so! But those ten days out of this ordinary life was……..well, no words would suffice simply because I refuse to define it in the brackets given by my ‘civilized’ brain! Maybe I would like to repeat it sometime in the future – not maybe but definitely – with a slight change, it would be for a longer period and if I could leave myself to, then sometime, maybe….never to return!

What I’m talking about is my trek to the Valley of Flowers and the Garhwal range of Central Himalayas that I came back from some one week ago. Though the trek started out as a pure “Valley of Flowers” trek, we decided to rename it to Garhwal Himalayas trek after an arduous time in that part of the country! A detailed blog with photos shall come up soon…..

The melody of harmonious creation

The forms of snowflakes and faces of flowers may take on their shape because they are responding to some sound in nature. Likewise, it is possible that crystals, plants, and human beings may be, in some way, music that has taken on visible form
- Cathie E. Guzetta

I now know why your beauty reminds of the finest tunes on the violin
And the caress of your hands on my brows, the sweet singing of a bird
I look up to see the sun, and I know I see music
I touch you to feel your form, and I know I am feeling magic
I am blessed to be a miracle in this beautiful world
For when I close my eyes, I see creation

- Vaijayanthi KM :)

Quote unquote

The wind drops, but the petals keep falling
The bird calls, and the mountain becomes more mysterious

The Ethics of Ambiguity

Man knows and thinks this tragic ambivalence which the animal and the plant merely undergo. A new paradox is thereby introduced into his destiny. “Rational animal,” “thinking reed,” he escapes from his natural condition without, however, freeing himself from it. He is still a part of this world of which he is a consciousness. He asserts himself as a pure internality against which no external power can take hold, and he also experiences himself as a thing crushed by the dark weight of other things. At every moment he can grasp the non-temporal truth of his existence. But between the past which no longer is and the future which is not yet, this moment when he exists is nothing. This privilege, which he alone possesses, of being a sovereign and unique subject amidst a universe of objects, is what he shares with all his fellow-men. In turn an object for others, he is nothing more than an individual in the collectivity on which he depends.

- by Simone de Beauvoir, 1947

Read the free online book here

Butterflies reveal secret!

Protest against Nature's Evolutionary Mechanism called!

The latest research on Butterflies by the Harvard University biologists have found the reason for 'speciation' (how new species are formed from old existing species)! The research found one particluar type of butterflies developing distinct wing color patterns different from their closely related family, possibly setting them apart as a new species over time, offering clues to this much talked about evolution subject.

Quoting BBC, with all due copyrights recognized,

"The Harvard team made the discovery while studying the butterfly genus Agrodiaetus, which has a wide ranging habitat in Asia. The females are brown while the males exhibit a variety of wing colours ranging from silver and blue to brown. Dr Kandul and his colleagues found that if closely related species of Agrodiaetus are geographically separate, they tend to look quite similar. That is to say, they do not display a distinctive "team strip". But if similarly closely related species are living side-by-side, the researchers noticed, they frequently look strikingly different - their "teams" are clearly advertised. This has the effect of discouraging inter-species mating, thus encouraging genetic isolation and species divergence."

"For me, this is a big discovery just because the system is very beautiful" says Dr Nikolai Kandul of Harvard.

Hmm, beautiful indeed. But what I just can't accept is how did the process get reversed when it came to humans? Well, am not talking about speciation and stopping interbreeding but this male female color thing! If you notice, in other animals, it is the males of the species that is more colorful -It preens, sturts and what not to attract the attention of the females. Take Peacock, Lions, Sparrows or any of the million others creatures, save for humans!

How did the human females alone end up being expected to be more colorful? Hmm, evolution has been unfair to the human female, I say! This simply cannot happen. I call a meeting of the feminist community to conduct a protest meeting. ...... :))

Namma Bengaluru - Timeline

850 AD ' Bengalooru ' appears on Mauryan empire milestone
1015 Chola Empire takes over City
1120 Veera Ballala II calls it ' Benda Kalooru ' or 'Town of Boiled Beans ' (after a poor woman feeds him beans in the forest)
1537 Kempe Gowda I designs City as it exists today. (KG II builds the 4 towers)
1638 Shahaji Bhonsle ( Shivaji's father) captures City for Adil Shah who gifts it to him
1640 Shivaji marries Bangalore girl
1687 Aurangzeb's army captures City
1690 Sells it to the Wodeyars for 3 lakhs !
1759 Wodeyar gifts it to Hyder Ali who builds Lal Bagh
1791 Cornwallis defeats Tipu but returns City to him
1799 Tipu dies. City returned to Wodeyar
1800 Bangalore GPO opened
1809 Cantonment established
1812 St. Mark's Cathedral built St. Mark's Cathedral
1831 British take-over administration
1853 Sunday declared weekly holiday
1859 1st train steams out of City
1864 Sankey builds Cubbon Park
1867 Attara Kacheri built
1887 Bangalore Palace built
1898 The great plague. Another plague and the 1st telephone rings.
1903 1st motor car pollutes city
1905 India 's 1st electric bulb lit in Bangalore City Market
1909 Indian Institute of Science built
1940 1st flight Bangalore /Bombay
1948 Deccan Herald launched
1954 Vidhana Soudha built
~Circa 2000 Bangalore attains glory again. "Yours truly", "Gracious Highness", "Maata Supreme" decides to honour the city with her presence ;) :))

Not feeling well?

Not feeling well? Use colors to heal yourself dude!
Employees leaving? Get those energies right man!
This one is not new - I have heard of using colors to accompolish things including increasing the insulin production/reducing blood sugar levels in your body (called The Green Therapy - this would involve surrounding yourself, your home, your environment with the color green and you can see your diabetics threat going down drastically before your eyes!) , explanations on why Sadhu's wear the color Saffron (this color is supposed to evoke peace), reasons to wear white during meditation, so on and so on...

But this one is not so common. Not because it talks about color but it talks about it in such a way that I like it :) It says "Your personal choice of wearing a certain colour is actually a message from within that your body needs more energy of that frequency and wavelength." True, I think.

Light, after all, is what everything is made of. It's either lack of light, illusion or differntly vibrating photons that decides the way we (illusion again?) percieve things - including colors! ("After all, colour is the name we give to light energies of different frequencies")

But what is more interesting is this - "Environics" - the new science of energies, which studies various sources of subtle energies in the environment, their interaction with people and spaces, and the effect it has on them. The next fad (I mean no disrespect!) after Vaastu Shastra & Feng Shui! What's surprising though is companies like Nicholas Piramal taking heed of this to correct problems in their workplace!
- read source article

And what tickles me is this possibility- This may very well become the next big "HR weapon" to motivate employees and if your employees are leaving or not performing well, what you know, you can blame it on those negative energies in the office, not your managerial skilss :))

Let me fly away

There is no time to feel tired, neither do I want to
I got to live this illusion through because I have beautiful places to go to
Beautiful people to see, and beautiful dreams to make true
All I ask is for my smile to remain and the world will be mine
Let me start right now - hop a little, jump a little and just fly away

The Kauveri River Bank

I'm Significant!

Kapi, anyone?

Item ----------------------- Rs. 7.85
Sales Tax------------------ Rs. 0.16
Other Charges------------- Rs. 0.01
Total ---------------------- Rs. 8.02
Rounded off to 0.25 ps.
Total---------------------- Rs. 8.00

The price of one good Coffee at the Chennai Central Railway Station!

Bury your cellphone

Bury your cellphone and get a Sunflower plant in your garden, for free!

"You may need to give a decent burial to your discarded mobile phone or electronic gadget if you want to escape the wrath of environmentalists. Scientists have found a novel way to solve the problem of e-waste....

....the concept of putting a sunflower seed in the cover was developed by researchers at the University of Warwick"

">-From Economic Times

Way to go :))

Covering a hundred miles from Sunset to Sunrise

"...Home I have none. Flock I have none. I am Outcast. And we fly now at the peak of the Great Mountain Wind. Beyond a few hundred feet, I can lift this old body no higher..."

"...Irresponsibility? My brothers!" he cried. "Who is more responsible than a gull who finds and follows a meaning, a higher purpose for life? For a thousand years we have scrabbled after fish heads, but now we have a reason to live - to learn, to discover, to be free! Give me one chance, let me show you what I've found..."

"...If our friendship depends on things like space and time, then when we finally overcome space and time, we've destroyed our own brotherhood! But overcome space, and all we have left is Here. Overcome time, and all we have left is Now. And in the middle of Here and Now, don't you think that we might see each other once or twice?..."

"Well, what happens from here? Where are we going? Is there no such place as heaven?"

"No, Jonathan, there is no such place. Heaven is not a place, and it is not a time. Heaven is being perfect." He was silent for a moment. "You are a very fast flier, aren't you?"

"You will begin to touch heaven, Jonathan, in the moment that you touch perfect speed. And that isn't flying a thousand miles an hour, or a million, or flying at the speed of light. Because any number is a limit, and perfection doesn't have limits. Perfect speed, my son, is being there."

- Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach

"To the real Jonathan Seagull, who lives within us all"

Bringing back the artist

I have always been fascinated by colors and as a kid, I wanted to become an 'artist' more than anything else in the world. But time, better artists, indiscipline, lack of encouragement and sheer laziness coupled with impatience made me forget my ambition and move on to other loftier goals. Maybe an Air Hostess or Agriculturalist or Interior Decorator or maybe a Vet or even a Writer and a whole lot of other things (But I never ever remember me wanting to become an engineer or doctor, neither of which am, thank god! :)) But my fascination for colors never left me - I painted weird 'modern art' with bad patterns and running paints (hmm, maybe I shouldn't critize my younger self's attempt so much uh? They were pretty ok actually!) and put them on walls all over my house. But due to my constant need for change in decor, I tore them all down in under six months and forgot about that phase. Then I turned to excelling in my Biology drawing :) I even did a few Engineering drawing for two of my lazy friends! And then dabooooommmm..... I found the passion of my life - clothes!

Thats right, clothes! I discovered how colorful clothes can be. Gone were the days when my parents used to select red gold zari bordered frocks for deepavali for me! Welcome to Naidu Hall and mom's credit card :) I had great fun (and still do) with shopping and am a favorite companion for all my friends (no exaggeration this one) to take along on shopping expeditions. But when things went too far and I made my mom receive huge bills, and more recently, made myself receive huge bills, I had to make myself stop (okay take breather more like!)

After many hours of soul searching and suspecting & dreading terminal diseases and incurable shopping mania, I finally found (just now :)) ) that my passion for shopping and clothes are born out of that long fascination with colors. I simply love colors. Colours. (my fiance would be greatly joyed to know this, you know!)

So I have decided to become an artist after all! It's not too late, right?

Please welcome VJ, budding artist with her own (eccentric, dumb, stupid, untasteful, whatever...) ideas of art :) I can't wait!

I have taken my first lesson in Wet Canvas - Watercolor Batik. I found it very very interesting. Shall soon try this!

Related:
Here are some nice things you can try out with colors online-
The HP color wheel
The color wheel pro

Hug a Tree!

While researching for group games for my workplace, I came across this interesting game - Hug a Tree.

The game goes like this-

1. Start on a track in a pleasant forested area.
2. This activity works well as a break during a hike.
3. The purpose is to get people engaged in non-visual, intimate encounter with trees, as well as the terrain.
4. The activity also works well as a trust-building activity.
5. In pairs, one is blindfolded. The blindfolded person is to be the tree-hugger.
6. The tree-hugger is lead through the trees and then placed next to a special tree.
7. The tree-hugger touches the tree and tries to memorize its size, shape, location, texture, etc.
8. The tree-hugger person is lead back to the starting point, takes his/her blindfold off and tries to locate his/her tree.
9. Swap. Usually participants like to have a couple of turns at being blindfolded and trying to find a tree.

I really really like this one :) So, the next time we go trekking, am sure to try this out!

Related notes:

Did you know there is a group called Tree-huggers in Orkut?

Did you know you can actually watch plants grow? That's right - with Crescograph, you can! This instrument was invented by the famous scientist, Jagadis Bose. To know more, get hold of The Secret Life of Plants

And do you believe trees can feel what you are thinking, pass on a little of their energy to you, share your happiness.... I do! A small exercise that may help you realise this.

Quote unquote

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends and spirit - and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends and spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life" - quote from Brian G. Dyson, former President and CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises

Finds of the day

Wet Canvas - a site for visual artists, old, new and intending to be. Definitely worth a visit

The Color Pencil Challenge seems interesting too!

And - Adi Da and Adidam.

What attracted me initially to this site? The following paragraph-
"In the depth of every human being, there is a profound need for answers to the fundamental questions of existence. Is there a God? What is beyond this life? Why is there suffering? What is Truth? What is Reality?"

What made me stay for a few minutes?
Their free print copy of the Adi Da Adidam Book offer ;)

What made me leave the site? The following paragraph-
"In the midst of this dark and bewildering epoch, the Ruchira Avatar, Adi Da Samraj, has come to this human world to establish a unique Spiritual life and culture that is not based on mythology."

I don't think I believe in Masters, Godmen and Avatars though I do believe in awakened/enlightened (for lack of better words...) individuals playing the role of Guru to guide/lead others(Maybe an influence from "Autobiography of a Yogi"?)

Aside - The other day, while I was sipping my morning drink (non-alcoholic, made of milk, sugar and bournvita :)) ), I had the Autobiography of a Yogi, an impulse and long pending purchase at Chennai central railway station, lying beside me on the table. My Bengali roommate comes storming, has a look at it and exclaims "Oh Yogananda was my relative!" You can imagine my surprise/shock/awe/disbelief/doubt and slow acceptance!

And this, by far has been the most comprehensive information on Babaji I could find online.

My entire interest in Babaji, Yoga Sutra, Kriya Yoga and other associated yogis, practices, books, etc started with me unsuspectingly taking a copy of "Meditation is Boring?" by Linda Johnson a week or two back from my office library and finishing the book in a matter of few hours. I wonder if this is going to change me or my life path? Very very curious to know.... :)

Religious Beliefs.....and Trees

According to the religion I was born in (or should I say according to the famous religious practices!), one is expected to go to temples atleast a few times in a year and do what is supposed to be done in a temple (worship ofcourse?!) And since I happened to live in Triplicane (Thiruvalikeni - in Tamil, meaning "Sacred place with the Lilly pond", roughly!) for most of my life, under the bossom of protective godmen and godwomen and with blind faith , I never ever questioned this. So I was happy going to the Parthasarathy Temple every saturday and tried to look....Interested? Sincere? God-fearing? Proper? Lovely? yeeks, I meant Full of Love...! :))

But in recent times, I have totally lost interest in going to temples and actually disbelieve in that institution (Is that supposed to be used only with marriage??) And what brought this on? I have no clue except that I read this article on believing 'planting trees according to your birth star will make you healthy, wealthy and wise!'

The article, "Your star, your tree", talks about a civil contractor-turned horticulturist, Krishnamurthy, and his desire to create a green belt in Chennai. Mr. Krishnamurthy thought about this great idea (I think!) to get his wish fulfilled - simply tell the "Astrology crazy" people 'you got to plant this particular tree, according to your star, on important occasion for you to "go abraod, get money, get married..blah blah blah..."' and lo and behold the nurseries are going to make brisk business :)

For example, if you were born under the punarpusam star, you have to plant Bambusa or Moongil (in tamil). The logic here is easy enough to understand - each tree represents a star, which inturn has some personality traits associated with it. So if A=B, B=C & A=C then B=A! :)) (Work that out! It is definitely accurate, not just mathematically or whatever) And this is my very own intelligent explanation for further understanding- since you would be giving life to an entity similar to your personality/star, as the tree grows and lives happily, so will you! (Howzzzzz that????)

Strangely enough, I kinda believe this one :) If not the astrology connection, I at least believe and support the idea behind this project. Mr. Krishnamurthy, my sincere well wishes to you. I will surely try to plant a Bamboo sometime soon.

So what are you waiting for? Go plant a tree (Not just any tree though)! Be happy!

On a related and unconnected note (that's right I believe it can be related and unconnected at the same time!), if you are interested to know which tree you could be, this one according to your birthdate, check this out.

Google Ads debutting on the right

Google Ads debutting on the right :)

This day's journey

The secret is that I am never alone. There is an invisible presence with me. When you know you are not alone, whatever be the conditions around you, whatever be the circumstances you are placed in, you smile........"

Read now!

I always thirsted for knowledge, I have always been full of questions. I have asked the Brahmans, year after year, and I have asked the holy Vedas, year after year, and I have asked the devote Samanas, year after year. Perhaps, oh Govinda , it had been just as well, had been just as smart and just as profitable, if I had asked the hornbill-bird or the chimpanzee. It took me a long time and am not finished learning this yet, oh Govinda: that there is nothing to be learned! There is indeed no such thing, so I believe, as what we refer to as `learning'. There is, oh my friend, just one knowledge, this is everywhere, this is Atman, this is within me and within you and within every creature. And so I'm starting to believe that this knowledge has no worser enemy than the desire to know it, than learning.

-quote from Siddhartha

I reiterate you must read Siddhartha! Online copy available here

Read review/book recommendation Herman Hesse's Siddhartha - still a great read

Songs that give you energy! - Part II

I didn't realise these links wouldn't work! hehe! Well, Anyway, no suspense here so...The songs are
1. Sivasakthi sung by Nityasree and composed by Subramania Bharathi
2. Kiru Kiru from the film Kadal, music directed by Joshva Sridhar

Available right here

Songs that give you Energy!

With just one ear of the headphone working or both, with speakers on or just a headphone, with the internet working or in my own mind....this song hasn't failed to give me loads of energy in the past few months :)

And this one has been a hot favorite too in recent times ;)

Where am I at the moment?

Nowhere. Well actually I can’t really say that. I’m sitting in front of the computer at my office that I have come to call my own and wondering about what to write! It’s been long since I felt good enough to write, synonymous with introspect for me, leaving those dumb posts on other things, other people, others’ philosophies and generally ‘other’ moments in life out. Of course, like cloud bursts in a desert, I did grab some beautiful words out of the air, literally, and acted as a medium to write them down! But other than that, it has almost come to the stage where I started doubting whether I could write at all – not that I ever prided myself on how good I write (that’s 40% true!) And before this turns into some gibberish on ‘my writing’, let me steer the boat the other way, know not which one yet!

So, where am I? Hmm, I am happy, can’t refute that. I have got everything any normal person could ask for (normal – that’s one nice insult to this world sans me – a subtle way of saying am not normal! Isn’t it amazing how the human mind always wants to see itself as something different, not normal?)

• I have got a great job that lets me do things I would have paid a thousand rupees to do, maybe even a year back! And on top of it, my job lets me participate in intellectually stimulating discussions, meetings and brainstorming sessions (No sarcasm, intended or otherwise!) – I get to observe people’s behavior and it makes for a great thought-feeding time pass to rely on in those “staring into space” moments. What’s more, they pay me!
• I have at last stopped getting excited over the brown envelopes my father used to send religiously on fifth of every month (He didn’t believe in money order – You could call it eternal optimism and complete faith in the snail mail system!) Instead my excitement now is dot on 7 PM, 31st of every month. I call it total independence and I call it buying power
• My personal life is like the last few pages of the M & B’s I used to read few years back – those pages with no tears, lots of smiles, many hugs (but no toe-curling scenes, you hear!) and kids playing. We are one big happy family, looking forward to good times in the future :)
• I continue to have the occasional adventures, trips, tours and getaways that make me think I have traveled far and wide. This one is important for the ‘wanderer’ in me to feel she is satisfied!
• My relationships? (How is it different from personal life, you ask? Well, I’m talking about non-personal relationships that I have always been known for!) They can’t be any better – I am no one’s enemy and everyone’s nice acquaintance. Isn’t that nice?
• I occupy my free time, the very less of it that I get all for myself, with silly books like “The monk who sold his Ferrari” and ‘maybe good’ books like “Meditation is boring?” and ‘my favorites’ like “The pilgrimage”. But do I think about what I read from them? I like to think so. My sub-conscious, while the physical me was sleeping, would have surely taken care of it?
• Oh ya, the most important thing – I am perfectly healthy bar the occasional ‘tap tap’ from the various regions of my body.

So you can say VJ is one happy person.

But I don’t want to be just happy! What’s the point of just being happy? So what do I want? I don’t know! I don’t know! I don’t know! (How’s the effect of this one?)

The only answer that seems fit, an old one by now, is I want wisdom! I want complete detachment! And I want oblivion!

PS: In case anyone who happens by this direction is wondering why I write stuff like this.....I write them to come back and read later, when am all old and teethless :)

Dream! Awaken!

Those who look outside, dream!
Those who look inside, awaken!

Speechless after British Colonialism

Arma Virumque has some interesting thing to say on the subject of "British colonialism".

An excerpt, with due rights - "As for colonialism, this third-world feminist of color should get down on her knees and thank Siva that her country was the beneficiary of British colonialism. Without it, she would never have heard of feminism or even of the third world, since the very concept depends upon the freedom, education, and language that the West brought to savages countries in the 18th and 19th centuries...."

And Sepia Mutiny has got to say this about this neocolonialist blog! Way to go!

Slightly off topic - I recently read that Vijay Mallya has got Mysore ruler Tipu's sports gun back from the British at a whooping price of 120,000 pounds at a Sotheby's auction in London. He had also bought back Tipu's sword two years back to the country. Mr. Mallya plans to set up a Tipu's museum here in Bangalore and may possibly donate these items to it.

I wonder who benefited more from this great Colonialism of India. Was it India with her "Wouldn't have built railroads without the British" or was it the great "Be thankful we brought feminism to you" Britian!!!!

Bangalore shivers!

The past few days has been like none other I have seen in Bangalore in the last two years. Dot seven, it starts raining and its not just your "I came to touch you" rain but "I came to bang you!!" rain! :)) On one day, it even rained ice pellets! But the most terrible thing is ofcourse the trees shedding their branches and uprooting like there is no tomorrow. I'm sure more than a 100 trees would have fallen in Bangalore in this 'heavy shower' bout.

I remember a friend saying that Bangalore and its residents are perfectly safe unlike Chennai! U can imagine my blood flowing to that! There is no tsunami threat, its not an earthquake prone area and there are no volcanoes around! Yep, right its perfectly safe. Except for the trees falling!

You would practically get no warning that our immovable friends are going to move big time! And Bang went that car! And the man inside! Ok jokes apart, many cars have been smashed in the past few days and I believe we even lost one of our human friends.

Sad!

Here are few trees that fell today!



Car crushed!

Quote unquote

By far, my most fav one :)



Note: With due respect to all copyrights ;)

Look, what I discovered!

I was on an ego search this morning and lo, what do I find? Blogshares!

"BlogShares is a fantasy stock market where weblogs are the companies. Players invest fictional dollars on shares in blogs. Blogs are valued by their incoming links and add value to other blogs by linking to them. Prices can go up or down based on trading and the underlying value of the blog."

Interesting, very interesting! BTW, my entire company (that is, my blog!) is valued at B$3,379.06 and each of its share is worth a fictional B$.49! Hahaha!

A Moment Alone, A lifetime together

A Moment Alone
All I want is a moment alone, A time to see inside myself
Away from the world, and away from love too, away from my thoughts
Lying down, with eyes closed, sleep and tiredness far away
I want to be. Just a moment alone.

A lifetime together
Every moment you are alone, you leave me alone
Every moment you want to go away, you leave me vulnerable to face the big world alone
What do you want from solitude???
You may stay away from your thoughts, but how will you escape from my thoughts??

All I want is a little magic

One day, I passed by a pond
And heard a fish sing
Curious, I looked and indeed it was a fish
But I couldn't let myself believe what I heard
So instead I scoffed at the idea and turned away

Another day, I looked up the sky
And saw a heron fly
Smiling, I thought nothing new
And gazed back down
Doing so I missed seeing the heron smiling back down at me

Yet another day, a cool autumn evening, I took a walk
And saw little flowers blooming all over
Delighted, I touched one and wondered at its brightness
And ignored the little weed whistling right next
I didn't realise it wanted a little of my attention too

The Wind, the Sun and the Moon I believe
And the Earth too, for it feeds me
Blissful, I seek new things everyday bored with what I already know
And I wonder if there are angels dancing around
And fishes that sing...and herons that smile...and plants that whistle too.

Stock Markets!

It was autumn, and the Red Indians on the remote reservation asked their New Chief if the winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a Red Indian chief in a modern society, he couldn't tell what the weather was Going to be. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he replied to his Tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect wood to be prepared. But also being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked "Is the coming winter going to be cold?" "It looks like this winter is Going to be quite cold indeed," the meteorologist at the weather service responded.

So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more wood. A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. "Is it going to be a very cold winter?" "Yes," the man at National Weather Service again replied, "It's definitely going to be a very cold winter."

The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect
every scrap of wood they could find. Two weeks later, he called the National Weather Service again. "Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?"
"Absolutely," The man replied. "It's going to be one of the coldest winters ever."
"How can you be so sure?" the Chief asked. The weatherman replied, "The Red Indians are collecting wood like crazy."

This is how stock markets work!!!

Which one are you

I don't know why but I have always been crazy about "Which one are you" kind of tests/forwards/talks/discussions! I have read through things like "Which tree are you", "Which breed of dog are you", "What kind of inner personality do you have"...you get the idea!

I came across this one recently. I think its pretty cool (If you like these that is!)

Am a Raven! I love Ravens ;)

Imagination is more powerful than Knowledge

Imagination is more powerful than Knowledge

:)

Shocking?!

I thought risk-taking is one of the most attractive thing going for a guy! And I thought I liked it - the more, the better! I used to dream of venturing into jungles (Not the effect of Kaal, Oh God, let them believe me!), bungee-jumping and just taking off into the unknown though ofcourse I never dreamed of/needed a guy to lead me into these adventures. But a guy with similar thoughts will definitely sit well with the cells of 'that' part of my brain ;) An article I read recently has had me thinking though! Maybe risk-taking is not all that it is made out to be....definitely not the modern day idea of 'risk-taking' (which includes bungee-jumping!!)

So am re-thinking.....

Talking of this, I was mighty impressed with "The Human Zoo" by Desmond Morris. I had read "The Naked Ape" a few years back and thought it 'awesome' (the word I use most frequently these days - bad habit?!!) But this one is even better! Shall write about the priceless wisdom I gained later :))

Wonderful experiences

I had the most wonderful experience this weekend when I escaped to Coorg for a quick trip. This may sound kinky but believe me, this was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. A small creature, a trusting life and big me. I felt an overwhelming urge of affection and the need to protect the small one :)

Insights

For the first time after MBA, I realised MBA was all crap! And what I didn't learn from a three month course in MBA, I learnt in a three hour meeting in office today.

Being Away from Home

Guess what is the best thing about being away from home? It’s going back home of course! It’s been two years since I flew the next, so to speak, and these years have been anything but good unlike the golden periods I enjoyed after growing up (ya, right!) - Exciting, Adventurous, Enjoyable, Torturous – yes, but not ‘Good’. The funny thing was, I always wanted to leave home- always- believe me. But the moment it seemed like it may actually happen, I didn’t want to! It wasn’t just cold feet and it wasn’t just fear of facing the big bad world all by myself, though they were part of it too. But the primary reason I wanted to stay back was because I became too attached to my family and friends or rather, I realized I have become too attached to them. What’s more I loved being that way!!

But, as they say, contentment is the first step to failure (they do say that, don’t they? I mean they should! Its kinda true!) and I, being the “seeker” that I am (I like to call myself that :)), didn’t want to be content of all things! So I decided “VJ, enough is enough, get out, get out of your comfort zones, go see what the world has to offer to you”

Here I am, two years later, enlightened like you wouldn’t believe and the funny thing is I still want to go back home. But I have become resigned to leading a life alone (It is actually against human nature did you know? Humans, from their animal behavior perspective, are the perpetual tribe/community forming creatures!) and the seeker in me has started saying “Get out, get out, you have formed a home here too so get out before it becomes too comfortable!” and am wondering if I should listen???

Coming to the best part of being away, it’s those crazy moments when you suddenly decide you need to be home, come what may! Of course it helps if you are located within a few hundred kilometers from your birth abode. Today is one such day for me- I have decided I need to be home by nightfall – I am not going to let anything stop me – not availability of train/bus seat, not my boss granting me leave and least of all not my own self that says wait for the weekend! No sir, no! I am going. Let me see what stops me.

(The fact that I am a proud Tamilian and that today is Tamil New Year Day doesn’t figure, not at all! Its those community gatherings am interested in – I love being part of a friendly tribe, preferably my own)

Remains

Life was the little flower I saw on the way up the mountain
But my vision was fixed firm up and I didn’t spare it a glance
I put one step after another and left everything behind
The only hope, the cloud hovering over top promising to quench my thirst

At times, I stopped to catch my breath and caught a glimpse of the color
But the thought of a brighter color on top propelled me forward with no further thought
The early morning dew disappeared all too soon under a glaring sun and my conviction along
I carried on nonetheless, for I have come so far and there is no returning back

A moment of giddiness, the first creeping doubt, my sweating body insisted on embracing the ground
With a barren tree for company, its bark shade my friend, I leaned back and closed my eyes
And felt the lightest of touch, a fleeting memory and a promise of happiness
Smiling I looked – a tiny moth intent on finding his food flew here and there, with no seeming direction

Though my heart felt the oneness of being, my mind insisted on calling it a fool
High up on a dry mountain, with just a few tufts of grass, he had come seeking what is easily available down, on the call of a fickle smell
And as is common of moths, he too shall die soon, maybe of hunger, maybe of old age, maybe of the sun
But what will only remain is the scattered semblance of his dull body fading deep into the ground, with no signs of his hectic life

In a moment of bizarre coincidence, I saw him flutter and float to the ground
A little wind from nowhere tried her best to mock life and lifted his body high up again
But in a little while, she got bored and dropping the heaviness, sought her own course elsewhere
There was silence and there was the sun, there was the tree and the me- and the little moth, alive a moment before

As he touched the ground, the human heart, foolish as ever, sought a last drop of hope
Maybe the flower would help but suddenly it seemed too far below for either of us to reach
I have passed Life and so has he
In a moment of stillness, in this great cosmos, both of us became utterly alone and we were content

Gmail turns one

This is great news because they are willing to be generous and share the good fortune with us :) I have had my Gmail account for almost a year, thanks to Blogger! I still remember those few sceptics who talked about Gmail scanning our mail and refused to open an account with Gmail but today Gmail is more than accepted as the email service provider. And the best thing is Gmail now allows pop access.

It feels good to know Gmail has come beyond those initial hiccups. Way to go!

India Map

India Map

Seems to be a good one. Check it out!

Who am I?

I seek the eternal Knowledge, and I seek the purpose of my birth.
Along the way, I enjoy a few laughs and search for happiness from within.
I meet a few men, and wonder whats their history and some I wish to be.
I see a dream but cannot put it into words for I see an Ideal world.
What joy in birth, what sorrow in death, I find them meaningless, or atleast I ought to.
And that says it all, all about the inner me.

Let things be

It doesn't matter. I have come to the stage where I think and consider personal choices the highest possible freedom I can give to myself and others. So I shall do what I want to and you shall do you want to. No questions on whether this is right or wrong. What feels right is right, what feels wrong is wrong. Why should we follow a set definition for these two terms? I don’t think I will. If this seems like selfishness, then this is the way I choose to be, this is my way to enlightenment, whatever it is that I seek, of which I know nothing. You can be with me, along the way, a companion to the journey, as I would be a companion to other people's journey including yours, but do not ask me to change my path, my journey, for I want to walk the way myself. Ask me no promises because I do not know where I will be tomorrow but at the same time, do not curtail your own freedom and supress your thoughts and expressions. What we perceive is what we believe. I choose to percieve things in this way. Let's continue our journey without stopping to analyze why we are on this path because it is not the time to do so when you are just starting. I haven't seen the path clearly, it is still dawn and until sunlight comes I wont be able to say if this is heaven or hell. Let things be.

.

Siddhartha

When someone reads a text, wants to discover its meaning, he will not scorn the symbols and letters and call them deceptions, coincidence, and worthless hull, but he will read them, he will study and love them, letter by letter. But I, who wanted to read the book of the world and the book of my own being, I have, for the sake of a meaning I had anticipated before I read, scorned the symbols and letters, I called the visible world a deception, called my eyes and my tongue coincidental and worthless forms without substance. No, this is over, I have awakened, I have indeed awakened and have not been born before this very day."
Siddhartha
by Hermann Hesse

Intriguing News

Intriguing News on the Indian Blog scene.
Check it out!

No Commitments!

Well, the first of the lot has fallen! I am referring to the fact that one of my friends has gone and done the unforgivable and committed the sin of committing to someone! And officially at that!

Since a few years ago, I am sharing this deep bond of togetherness (mind you, not just friendship) with a few broad-minded individuals (I think!) who I consider links from my past (You know, Karma and all that?). Admittedly, these people do not know this unwritten law of 'no commitment'. At times, even I have temporarily lost sight of this and considered to 'Tango' but fortunately, I regained my senses just in time. But come on, having grown up together, is it bad to expect to continue to grow old together? And BS to those who say "One day, you will be old and tired and all your family will be gone.......you will have nobody by your side, you will regret your decision to stay uncommitted then!"

The other day, I read this article in the ET which served as a huge inspiration and reiterated what I have started considering in recent times. Life will be one great party, I can imagine. To top it all off, I got this offer to run away (ok, ok not run away but hmm.. maybe.. just leave everything and...go?!) from one of the individuals I mentioned earlier and I found the offer, let me tell you, very very TEMPTING. Why not? What holds me to this place and the people in it? Yes, I was born here and people have 'sacrificed many things in their life' to bring me to this stage of life (dialogues!) but that doesn't mean they expect me to do the same, right? That probably contradicts my expectation from my friends! Life is so full of contradictions (Great discovery, that one!)

As I was telling LS, who incidentally has written another masterpeice that smack-mack-dack inspired me, nothing is 'mutually exclusive' in this world. I truly believe that. Love and hate can co-exist together. Boredom and Excitement. And so many other things that are seemingly contradicting on the surface. And this is only at the two-dimensional plane. Consider multi-dimensions! The mind will simply boggle! If you try to make sense of it, am sure, you will only reach the state which the society lovingly calls 'insane' (I have some interesting thoughts to share on that subject 'Insanity', maybe later!).

Here I am, totally digressed from the topic I intended to write on, babbling about Kundalini and all that! (Ya, ya I never mentioned Kundalini but thats where it was going next, take my word!) I call this "Free Writing", a trick I learnt recently from the net to practice good writing which will help me become a better 'Marketing Communication Specialist." So having done the bit for the day, I am forced to say "That's all folks" and end what could have led to the birth of one of the the best books of this century, possible titled "Random thoughts of an enlightened and insane nobody"!

Till next time!

Site Overhaul

I am totally, completely, fully, absolutely, thoroughly, utterly, flat out bored with my site design and layout! A major overhaul shall soon be on the way. Another project to keep me engaged :)

LISTEN UP

I am placed, oh ya, am placed!!!
Gone are the days I used to sit in college
And gone are the sore expressions on my face
Good riddance to the empty afternoons too
At last!
I am placed, oh ya, am placed!!!

Love is My Little Angel

The first flutter and the first movements,
The dances in the womb
And those sweet pains caused,
I remember them all, little angel
A tiny soul, a pure heart
And a delightful companion for those rainy days
Was all that I was looking for,
And found in you, little angel
Someone to cuddle, and turn me into mush,
Someone for me to say “I love you” without hesitation,
And someone who will come running to embrace me,
It was you, little angel
Can love be born without you creating it?
Can you feel the same pride as a mother?
Can anyone take precedence over your own life?
Proved to me beyond doubt, little angel
The excitement of the first steps,
The joy of the first kiss,
The ecstasy of holding life real close,
Am still in nostalgia, little angel
After a while, when separated by distance
Those unmeaning words over the wire,
And on return, the slow shy glances and a faster reunion
Makes me cry, little angel
If someone asked me to define Love,
I used to wonder and at times, blabber
And at times, I even believed I knew what it meant
But today I would say it is only you, little angel
Love is you, my little angel
And I waited to discover this for over many lifetimes,
And through the fortune of knowing you,
I finally did. Thanks, Baby :)

So long, so long, so long

So long, so long, so long!!!!!!!!!!! Well, in view of Valentine's day, I return ;)