10-Day You Challenge/Quest: 5 Foods

This next section in the 10-Day challenge is a favorite topic among my peers for this blog-quest. But it’s not so much of a big deal for my taste-buds, or so I think. In general, I can live on any vegetarian fare and not complain much. My obvious preference is Indian vegetarian, which with it’s wide variety of culinary choices and preparation modes, makes me wonder (and I remember telling this to Deepa once) how other Indians get the opportunity or need to try non-vegetarian!

But I have a sweet tooth, and need some sort of dessert after every meal, a weakness I’m willing to live with :-) And given my demeanour to lean towards religion, and the influences of Indian myth and history on me, I’ve sometimes stopped to wonder what Amrutham (nectar) would have tasted like; that for which the Gods churned milk-oceans, and which made them immortal.
Connecting the dots, I obviously think Amrutham would have tasted sweet. So I’ll focus this article on a list of 5 food-items that I love so much, I feel Amrutham would have tasted like it. It’s anyways the best anyone can get out of me on the topic of favorite foods:


- Milk Chocolate: Think “Dairy Milk, Hersheys Milk Choc, Dove Silky Smooth Milk Choc, chocolate cream on cake, rich chocolate ice-cream” Don’t tell me your mouth hasn’t started watering! The combination of milk and chocolate spell ecstasy to me, as to every youngster with their mouths loaded with Hersheys! :-)

- Jackfruit Jam: “Chakkara Varatti” in Malayalam, it’s a tedious effort to prepare this jam. The jackfruit must be ripe enough, and there should be lots of it to even prepare a tiny amount of jam. Womenfolk in Kerala labor for hours boiling and stirring the pot with jackfruit, jaggery and water in it. And the taste, mmm, many are the times I have thought when chewing this soft and sweet concoction “If nectar were solid, this is how it would have been”. It remains forever, on top of my list. Do try it, but the only best source I know is my grandma, and now my mother. I know the ones you get in shops aren’t awwal number. I’ll try to squeeze-in an image to this blog.


- Paalada payasam:Again I’ll add an image for the benefit of those who haven’t tasted it. But the original color if you do get to (and you must!) should be a light saffron, any other (especially white as they’ll serve in hotels) and it’s not ready yet. This payasam (kheer) is not too available as it’s not easy to prepare and needs patience before it gets its color and taste (a few hours), but it’s worth it. It’s called the “elixir of the gods” and is made of milk, rice flour titbits (you’ll get it in shops). The best place to taste it would be Hindu marriages in Kerala, where they prepare it at the back of the ancestral homes in huge pots.


- Lassi: Not the kind you get in the US, but in many of the dairy farms in Mumbai, and I’m sure elsewhere in North India, with a layer of thick cream on top. Healthy, aww so delicious and filling. And to think of it, nectar was churned from an Ocean of Milk they say. Uncanny resemblance, don’t you think?

- Roshogulla: To top of this list, are definitely Bengali sweets. I mention Rasagulla for it’s the trademark, and also because in my mind, I pronouce it Roshogulla which itself is mouth-watering in sound! Now you know how much of a sweet-addict I am :-) But the Bengalis have many other sweets which are variants of the Roshogulla, and equal in taste. Multi-colored balls in water, and the chamchams, all available in Mumbai’s Brijwasi stores. I’d visit their store only to try (when in school) and buy (after I got a job!) their wide collection of Bengali sweets! Aahahahahahaa, no wonder the Bengalis are the most creative romantics composing such mesmerising songs!
Because, “Madhuram Jeevamrutha bindhu!” :-)

10 Day You Challenge/Quest: 6 Places

This next edition of the 10-Day You Challenge/Quest is of something I am not well-versed in: Places. Although I have travelled a bit, I’m personally perhaps neither too fond of, nor crave for it. So you can bet some of the places I list would be offbeat. And I hope it dosen’t violate the rules or the spirit of this quest:

- Someplace Silent: Any silent place appeals to me, the geographical location notwithstanding. It could then be the IIT or BARC campuses in Mumbai, or where meditation takes me.

- Someplace to Talk: Contradictory, but here I’m more implying a place where people can gather and freely exchange thoughts: Ideas, opinions, poetry, performances, discourses, knowledge. I usually get impatient with small talk, and talk for me has to appeal to intellect, or the heart.

- Home: The place I am most comfortable in. Believe it or not, I can spend days together in my home without being bored, literally. I can keep myself busy without missing the world outside. The only need to see the sun sometimes, but that can be done from the patio :-) So thank God for I have a family and am not a loner, and that my client does not allow wfh :-)

- Forest Preserves: This is something I really like in the US: Forest Preserve parks. There are countless ones around the country, and at least 2 within a 10min drive from my home. And if not home, the one place I’d like to be is alone with nature. I love climbing trees and rocks, it gives me a kick. I feel mesmerised each time I visualize the Animal Song: “I want to run through the jungle, the wind in my hair and the sand at my feet”. But of course I don’t want to encounter wild animals doing this, :-) and that is exactly why forest preserve parks fit the match.

- Kerala: I know Kerala is well-heard of, and the tourist spots are many. But the best places to live really are not the commercialized boat-houses, but the ancestral homes. With private green ponds attached to each and the heaviest rains (believe me, much heavier than by the time it reaches Mumbai). With “machchils” for our snake-gods (the deity for Nairs), coconut trees, unlit starry nights (every district in Kerala has to take turns in which two hours of the night should the power be cut off) because of which the most beautiful memory you would have of any person is him/her in crimson glow under burning lamps. The paddy fields and traditional temples which still light lamps all over. The real Kerala lives there, and it’s much more beautiful than outsiders get to see. Why, because Communism has destroyed the state. There is no industry, and and the term for getting a job is Rakshapettu (escaped/saved).  

- Cities in Karnataka: I couldn’t pick one: sorry. But I’ve lived in and loved all three major cities in Karnataka: Bangalore, Mysore and Mangalore. And each has it’s speciality. The weather in Bangalore is well-known to all, perfect in all seasons. But what I really found outstanding is the drinking water quality. I know it sounds silly, but it’s a fact that the water there is very rich in minerals; some say older people get stones owing to it. But also due to that, it tastes the best. I used to drink so much water in Bangalore, my roommate would split the monthly drinking water accounts 2:1. :-P Mangalore is just like Kerala, in weather and people. Only, more temples. The most famous ones in the vicinity being: Kundapura, Udipi, and the Sringeri matt. Mysore for a view of the pristine culture of the nation gone by: women who wouldn’t step out without flowers on their hair. Men who first smile and greet before speaking. They still believe they are protected by their beloved king in the Mysore Palace, and the Goddess Chamundi from atop her hill-abode, don’t they. Thank goodness they don’t know how western culture has changed those in next-door Bangalore.



I know this article isn’t really per intent. But when listing ‘6 Places’, I did not want to look at it as 6 places I want to visit; I looked at it as 6 places I love to visit. And I broke the 6 into 2 that appeals to my intellect/spirit/soul, 2 which my heart loves and 2 where this mind resides.

10 Day YOU Challenge/Quest: 7 Wants

As Swapna thought aloud at the end of her last post, shortlisting your wants to 7 is a big challenge; we all have more that are equally important!

Want is what has driven human progress. If humans had innately been happy with what they have, we would still be in crouching in the darkness of the caves and the jungles. People only quote part of what Gordon Gekko says in the film Wall Street: “Greed is Good”...but listen to the full quotation, and there’s more than meets the eye: “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures, the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind”.
I agree, and I believe the main question is one of balance, or the ‘pendulum-effect’, where neither extreme is right, or good in the long run.

So here’s my list of wants, almost indulgences..

- Cars: A BMW for work, a minivan for family, and an SUV, well for the mountains?? Hope maine zyaada nahi maanga :-)

- Flexible job: A job or career which isn’t concerned with where I am; so I can be in India or a tropical country during winter, and in Europe or US in summer :-D

- Home(s): Well, since I’d be visiting multiple places in a year, I’d rather have a home in each. Makes sense right. ;-) But ya, I dream of having a mansion with a garden. I have a vivid picture of how it’d look. I just hope Jyothi agrees :-)

- Poetry Club: I write poetry for my satisfaction, but it really isn’t introspective. Neither am I trained. So I want to start a club of like-minds where we can share our poetry, interpret it in different ways, and have debates and discussions on it, and form opinions. The poetry could be on any topic, even current affairs. We could then periodically choose some selected ones and publish the consensus of our interpretations. Think about it, this could be used as a medium to spread awareness. Who knows, it might get to be a catchy trend.

- A Fulfilling family life: I’m not too much of an outdoorsy person. Give me a choice and I’ll go out only for a quick run :-D..I find more joy within the home, doing things of my own, but also with family. And want to have it all, like everyone else, happy spouse, happy kids and happy parents.

- Lead something with meaning: It could be a country (ironically, the tune “main zyaada nahi maangta” is playing in my head right now..), a company (..still playing..), or even a social organization (..hmm..stopped now).
But seriously speaking, something where I can put my vision in action, and leave behind something of value.

- Find my purpose: Every life is born to fulfill some role, some purpose. We all have our unique talents, passions, gifts which we are uniquely good at. I want to know what that is for me, and make it a full-time career. Do good at it. Leave my mark in that field, footprints on the sands of time.

10 Day YOU Challenge/Quest: 8 Fears

I’m really late to draft and publish my third installment to the “10 Day YOU Challenge”. Maybe it’s because I didn’t want to face my fears :P
And just this past weekend I was watching “Zindagi Na Milegi Dubara”, which was all about conquering fears and following you dreams! How apt :-)

So here goes the list of 8 Fears:

- Losing loved ones: Surely this comes way on top of everyone’s minds, and their lists. So I won’t elaborate, for even thinking about it would be painful.

- Stage-Fright: It is very difficult to get me to face a crowd and start speaking/performing. But once I start, I’m damn good! I’ve accepted that it’s just going to be like it, and work with it. Consolation is, so do the greatest in their fields: Mohanlal, Amitabh Bachchan and Sachin Tendulkar!

- Free-fall: ..although I’m in a constant struggle to overcome it, for it’s not really vertigo. And doesn’t everyone go through this? Or is it just that some people naturally act brave and enjoy the Level-5 rides? But given a choice, I just woudn’t go for them. Never done bungee-jumping; and no skydiving: I could completely empathise with Farhan Akhtar in ZNMD.

- Insects and Bugs: Although anywhere you go, bugs are the most resilient, tenacious and ubiquitous creatures around, I can’t stand any of them. I think it started with a childhood “traumatic” experience that I haven’t been able to shake off till date: I woke up one morning and found a dead cockroach in the drool near my lips! Now don’t ask me if it came from inside my mouth, or how it got killed, for I don’t know and have imagined a 100 different things (Yuck! Yes, exactly how I feel too). Since then, if I see an insect scurrying around, I resemble the Gorgs chasing the Fraggles in “Fraggle Rock”. Well, this habit in general keeps my home bug-free ;-)

- Horror movies/stories: I don’t believe in ghosts. I can stay alone. But I sometimes wonder if what The Joker said was true: “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stranger”. Watching a good horror movie makes me highly sensitive and suspicious of everything around. Not the zombie flicks, but the ones like Bhoot and Raat that show horror in everyday life, or after hearing an "incident" that happened in someone's village. I really begin feeling a “Paranormal Activity” within and around for days together. But I agree with what scientists say: Horror is born in our minds, and it’s a reflection of the mind’s fear of the unknown.

- Terminal Illness: It’s a salute to the human spirit to live in the face of death. As do so many people in this world. I keep hoping and praying that I or people I care for, don’t have to go through this. If it’s time, let it be peaceful and quick.

- Financial Dependance: I guess every man has this feeling, ever since he’s a college guy I guess. Or perhaps society keeps harping this into him. That someday he has to stand up on his own two feet, be self-sufficient financially, have a family and be able to provide for it. This feeling really drives the world. Indeed, if every person were willing to throw it all away to live his dreams, the world would have been chaotic :-); nobody wanting to follow anyone, everyone his own master, and doing what he pleases. Pretty scary although it’s supposed to sound nice! But men are willing to compromise, because the filial responsibility overbears all. And he is willing to gulp a bit of his pride, and bite the dust, and at times even do wrong, to keep his family well-provided for. I wouldn’t want to depend on anyone financially, and hopefully it’ll never be so.

- Radical views: I generally keep away from people who have extreme views. For I don’t understand how people can be “just so sure”, or stubborn to put it bluntly. And we all are adults, so I can air my opinion, but not really change anyone’s hardline view unless he himself is willing to. I have an opinion, but am willing to build up / compromise on it. It is better to bend than to break. Go to any martial arts master, and they’ll advise, where you find yourself overpowered, just start running! If you live today, you live to fight another day. So I shun radical or extreme views at either end. The pendulum has to swing around the center, and not from one extreme to the other. If everyone were so sure and hell-bent on things being their way, there really is no way we can achieve peace. And there truly seems to be where the world has always been. We never really have got along. We keep fighting, killing, and stealing in want. This endless cycle, driven by the extreme nature of human greed, and unwilling to compromise on anything in its wake, makes me fear for the planet the generation after will inherit.

10 Day YOU Challenge/Quest: 9 Loves

Here goes the second installment, for this week:

- My wife, and my relationship with her: Early on in life I realized man is incomplete without the influence of woman. I realized that, in how at various stages of maturity, my mother, sister, cousins and friends influenced me. Men honestly know deep within the mystery of the Shiv-Shakti duality: How man is only potential unless there is expression (woman) and how the two enrich each other. My marriage has been the most complete, fulfilling experience in my life. Living, loving and sharing with a woman can change entire perspectives, even more than any friendship can bring. True sharing includes listening, absorbing and introspecting on our biases, before you build opinions, decide, act and live the consequences together. Truly the most important relationship and experience, and Pradeep has his Jyothi to thank for it :-)
- Family and Friends: This would be obvious for anyone’s list. Our family and friends genuinely care for us, protect and nurture us. Only they can forgive us for all the pain we give them in the process. What selfless love is, one learns from our own parents. What unconditional love is, is tested by life’s vagaries to mold true friendship.
- Writing and Poetry: It is writing and poetry, loves that grew within me in the past decade (my 20s) that taught me how life is lived. That just like any physiological function, or activity in nature, we need to build a rhythm to be able to truly accomplish anything truly well. Poetry is rhythm, and it definitely only flows out in rhythm. Many times has it been that I’m driving and lines just flow out in my mind; lines (or even thoughts) that I find hard to re-create thereafter. So too when writing. Not saying entire companies are built, or mahakavyas or epics are built in a single stretch. Rest completes rhythm (think of a wave motion), and your individual rhythm decides when and how much you rest before you resume the task, and this just naturally fills you will deep satisfaction. Writing and poetry have helped me with this tuning.
- Music and Maths: To me, music and maths are the highest form of nirvana or blissful joy one can experience. There was a time in India, when both of these were considered the highest forms of learning, and hence expressions of Goddess Saraswati. It is no surprise that most modern practitioners of either practice tend to depend upon alcohol, for nothing else can provide higher intoxication. It’s because they lose balance and get addicted to the intense exhilaration these provide. I may be technically good at neither, but I derive mirth when I engage in them.
- Exercise: Since childhood every form of physically strenuous activity makes me feel good. Even to date, I enjoy running the most. Followed by pranayama, workouts and yoga.
- Movies: In “The Namesake”, Ashoke’s grandfather told him books are the window to the world. That struck, for I felt the same about movies. You may visit, but you really cannot “see” or know the whole world. But watch a movie (including, but not just documentaries), and you’ll know much more. Movies really have the potential to shape culture and bond people. The advantages being it’s visual (hence easiest to remember), its message is packaged (unlike serials which can change script and color at any time), it can convey its message in multiple modes (visual, sound, expression, action) and it can be most easily distributed in it’s complete form. I love movies in all genres and languages, as long as they have something to convey (and that’s a subjective term I know).
- Reading: It’s not that I disagree with Ashoke’s grandfather. I love reading too :-) For eras, books have been the documents of our history and sources of knowledge. Thoughts and opinions can be shared in complete only in writing.
- Meditation, Spirituality and Philosophy: If one has doubt of existence of a soul, then it’s because one doesn’t know meditation. Meditation is but to introduce you to your true identity. We are nothing but empty space in gross body and ethereal intellect. Close your eyes and envision yourself when you were younger and imagine yourself when you would be older; realize that part of yourself which doesn’t change. That is your-self. This is all genuine Hinduism is about; even the Mahabharata records it. Not the idol-worship, ritualism and casteism it turned out to be later. But the idols do have powers today; because generations of our forefathers empowered it with prayer. This inner quest gives me true bliss.
- Work and Service: Nobody can deny social service makes them happier. Because it is scientifically proven that what gives humans most joy is to be a part of something bigger than themselves. When you can relate how your work is part of a bigger purpose, now be it sweeping the floor or building a nation, you’ll find a lot of happiness in it. In the IT field, it’s to see your deliverable successfully execute.

It's over...

Listening to me breathe, while people sleep
Do you realize, the pain I feel
The darkness envelopes, the eyes can’t see
But your sight in blinding light, the mind perceives

The brightest sunshine, will bring me no smile
The chirping birds, will make me now cry
Have you no mercy, want me to die
Soak me in sorrow, while quietly you lie

Whatever happened, to games of glory
Why did I end up, in a state so sorry
I have no present, no future, no worry
Just a knife, a dead man, and a tale of gory

10 Day YOU Challenge

Informed and encouraged by Deepa, I too plunge into the 10-Day You Challenge. Initiated (and perhaps created) by one of her friends, it a unique soul-searching experience if you introspect deep enough

 And I must add that from my understanding, it's not really a "Challenge" per-se. It should be called "10-Day You Quest", for that's what it's more like (if the creators are listening..)

So the concept goes thus: Over 10 days, we soul-search and list the the following in our blog-




Well, one of Deepa's secrets was that she should've been a lawyer. I agree! For she found a loophole in the law, and said: "Nobody said it has to be 10 consecutive days". And so the new (and convenient for all of us) rules are that we'd do it over 10 weekends days (I've even late by those standards!)


In our case, there's me, Deepa, Swapna, and a few more of their friends I guess.
But any of my readers, if you want to take it up, I think it's a good exercise in introspection. Perhaps would help reset some of our priorities a bit.

So without further delay in this hour of night, here goes my list:

• When in a quarrel, I only look at the other person’s weaknesses (typical Virgo). Have learnt to not blurt it out, but it still happens within
• I am the cause my friendships have drifted away. I just didn’t keep in touch, although I think a lot about them.
• Embarrassed at episodes in my life, when I told what I felt not considering what the other person would go through. Just being true to oneself is not enough, it is rather immature. Still look back and feel equally sorry and embarrassed for those instances.
• When emotionally charged, can’t keep my voice steady. Cannot shoot back and argue if it affects personally.
• Unable to let go of the biggest dreams I couldn’t fulfill.
• I did not pursue some things I most loved to do (maths and music).
• I consider myself a good singer, poet, actor and cricket opening batsman!
• I’m a foodie with weakness to sweets. I still deny that my metabolism has slowed now (and it shows!)
• My role models: Rina Panigrahy, Wasim Akram, Shah Rukh Khan
• Of the Gods, I am most devoted to Lord Shiva. Of Nature, I admire the Sun the most (all life is provided for by the sun).
• My closest friends are Jyothi, Vikas, Crispino and Renjith. Why: For I can tell them anything without being judged (or losing the relationship) and can trust them with it.

 Pretty honest, ya? Well, what can I say, I try, hehe :-D
But I did not say this earlier (or you wouldn't have bothered to read ahead): Keep your dirty secrets to yourself! Sorry, I mean, your real secrets.. :-)
Seriously, think about what you are prepared to deal with if someone sees you sharing a mutual secret on the internet, or that no one feels offended...like my other close friends, hahaha..:-)

Enjoy maadi!

Rain and Mountain

One quenches the skin, the other enters the blood
Both are manifest, by events magical
Not understood, not predicted, but yet related

Both represent nature, in its enormity
They sustain life, yet test your will

You try to force it, will do no good
But look up to it, show humility due
And you realize it is, but part of you
Just as Earth and Water, are we made of

Rain and Mountain, just breathe them once
You will fall in love, with a memory etched

Shiva

Dear Shankara, have I forgotten you
Why do I fail to feel, you in inner strength
You the one, with most control, yet expressive
Are my teacher and guide, even from my father’s name
My devotion and love for you, I seem to have left inert

Dear Neelakanta, one who can behold poison
One who blessed wisdom, on my guru Adi Sankara
One who can be, as beautiful as Chandrashekhara
As ferocious as Veerabhadra, as abhorable as Bhairava
And yet as innocent, as gracious as Bholenatha


As Nataraja, your inhibitionless Tandava
A metaphor for confidence supreme
Only you, dear Vishwatma, can master over all nature
In you third eye resides the mystery, of destruction and resurrection


O beloved Ishvara, indeed are you all in One
A true mirror of humans, their Mahadeva if there is One
Only you could have resonated, the all-creating Aum
Given us water from the Ganges
And moonlight over your mane


You have set examples, that mistakes everyone can make
But in us also lies, the capacity for deepest penance
For the one most powerful chooses, to reside aloft Kailasha
Practice yoga, austerity and meditate, in harshest weather of all


May you guide this Jeevatma, as the one supreme Parmatma
May all fears be cast aside, be trampled in your tandava
May all humanity work towards, the soul’s true meaning and purpose
We can, for you have created me us, in your very own reflection


I bow to you in Humble Prayer, bless thee devotee, your son
Your conscious Self, watching within, may it bless me with my purpose
Untiring energy may I have, to see the purpose, to it’s end
And live a bliss Life bestows, on ones who live their roles

To Stay On Top, Is Tough

For every rise, there is a fall
Ask the meteor, once a twinkling star

Fire turns to ashes, life nurtured through generations
As a wild one pierces out, life in food cycle

You climb a mountain, a step at a time
And roll below, in the blink of an eye

Its difficult at the top, lonely with no balance
Although it is where, we look up in silence

About First Love and Indian Cinema's exploring it in 90's

Ah the unquenchable pangs of first love. A feeling one never ever experiences after. The heart lives in a ceaseless feeling of pining for being with the loved one. A couple of movies recently brought back the memory. Significantly, Indian movies. The decade of the 90's was spent by Hindi movies exploring various forms of love. There were numerous boy-loves-girl and wins over the obstacles in various films including "Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge" in 1995 (the topic was so coming-of-the-age that this movie became the longest running in theatres, beating the previous record held by Sholay in 1975). This decade itself was heralded by the biggest movie of this kind (until then), when "Maine Pyar Kiya" released in December 1989. The various themes of love were explored by most of the films of this decade. Most of the successful films in this decade were of this genre. Some of the facets explored, were obsession ("Darr" in 1993), the fine line between friendship and love ("Kuch Kuch Hota Hai" in 1998), familial love ("Hum Aapke Hain Kaun" in 1994), loving a person much older than self ("Lamhe" in 1993), first love in the midst of class-war ("Raja Hindustani in 1997) and maturing into marital commitment winning over first love ("Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam" in 2000). No other decade, before or after, has Hindi films experimenting to such depths on the concept of First Love. Not surprisingly, this is also the only decade where films exploring facets of first love were the best film Filmfare award winners of the decade.

Here's the list of love story award  winners during the 90's:

- Qayamat se Qayamat Tak (1989): Exploring love staying true despite all odds, in life and tragically, death

- Maine Pyar Kiya (1990): Love wins this time, against all odds

- Lamhe (1992): Exploring contentious issues at the time, like loving a girl older than oneself, and then marrying a woman much younger than self

- Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993): A simple love story

- Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1995): Saga of love, pouring within a joint family

- Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1996): As mentioned earlier

- Raja Hindustani (1997): Love in struggle against class barriers

- Dil To Pagal Hai (1998): Just what was missing, a love triangle in this decade of love stories

- Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1999): Exploring the intriguing theme (but taking a safe stand) of mixing friendship and love

- Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (2000): It's remarkable that this film tries to give some rationality to the heady feeling of love, pitching commitment over love. Almost a sign that the trend was coming to its natural end.


If you observe the best film award winners, these start leaning towards love stories as you approach the 90's, and likewise start leaning away from "first love" stories, as you move into the 2000's. Uncanny, but its simply the sign of the times. In one sense, a decade of first-love stories, is too much of sweetness; people must have had enough. If you look the big picture of the economy, India had liberalized in the 90's. The economy started booming. People were happier, and happiness, well, has more room for love. With the heralding of the new millennium, India started realizing it's rise was not just a fluke. It had an important role to play in the century ahead. People started feeling more mature. So, guess what goes first out of the window: adolescent concepts as first love!

Verses for the Day

Snow ablaze white
Only Gusty winds in sight
Though us at home in fright
I see gutsy birds in flight


In human will, lies his fortitude
And in his greed, is the breach


Corruption brings misery, or the other way round
Would this have happened, if honor were abound


My friendship has failed, in the fire of expectations
It could have prevailed, in the warmth of your trust


Fail to believe in self, narrowed by our thoughts
Of what use are dreams, if broaden horizons naught?

Beauty is what, you felt within

Butterflies speak, that beauty is tender
If beheld, ever pleasing to eye
But touch it and, diminished in a breath

Try not ever, to contain beauty
It is to sense, and not to obtain
Capture the essence, never the object

Beauty is actually, felt by you within
Not the object but you, found its beauty
Not appreciated, beauty, is any other

If you like a song, a poetry, a tune
Wish not that others do, for you felt, not they
Rejoice in the feeling, for it is the same
As wished for by saints, in spiritual quest

Life, Fruitless

Tired spirit, frustrated mind,
Oh how long will you, bide your time

If not now, it never will be
Only older, you'll not get younger see!

Piercing pain, the pang of heart
Weary eyes, in search of path

If this is life, a prolonged wail
Why this life, do we live in vain?

Do you mean what you say?

I dream about you, I said to her
Could I have been, more false to her
For dreams are not, actually true
Unless you choose, to make them to

I think of you, I surmised to her
Could I have been, ever so sure
For thoughts are fleeting, come to think of it
It's what you hold, that matters if at all

I love you, of course I blurted
Could I have been, really that artless!
For love is not, a feeling my dear
It is commitment to self, more than to you

Life By Water

Sweet Rain, pouring on Street
black, lacking in country Dust
soft, with fragrance as perfume

Caring Cloud, bathing the Tree
green, laden with fresh Fruit
ripe, with taste as nectar

Loving River, meeting the Ocean
blue, pregnant with water Life
waiting, as for mother's milk

I don't know mySelf

"I", am the one who is watching, from behind my eyes
Watching me see

"I", am not the body, my hands and feet
For consciousness, I don't feel in them

Difficult, but true, that "I" am not the mind
As I do observe, my thoughts flying

"I", then, am far superior
But someone, I don't know mySelf

"I", can Will, to stroke a flame
For this world around, is my projection
And the laws of nature, govern my body
But not even my mind, so they can't touch "I" 

"I", can Know, your very thought
For you and I, the same with cages different
Bound by one law, that of Karma

But How and Why, am "I" here
Why are we, so tied up
And what happens, to "I" on death?

Kuttapettan uncle passed away yesterday.

We all knew him by default as uncle. Kuttan uncle, Sethu uncle, etc had their prefixes to identify. But if I said uncle, it was him. My dearest cousin Prakash Ettan's father, he was a close friend and elder-brotherly to my father and all of his brothers. By relation, he was my father's elder sister's husband. He shared the same name as my father - Sankarankutty.

We all liked him a lot, as he was always moderate. I've seldom seen him angry or moody. He was pleasing and easy to talk to. He had a wonderful balance of discipline and friendliness in his personality. I've all through life known him to be the fittest and healthiest of all elder relatives I've known.

He loved watching cricket and that was the first topic one could get into conversation with him. By default being the eldest sibling's (in Mumbai) husband, he was the most regarded in our family. I never knew of his side of the family, and never even felt the need to, he was that close and dear to all of us.

A true role model in personality and nature. He would always keep busy and kept employment until the age of 75. It was just a couple of years back that he voluntarily sought retirement. His early career had been in the military, and my childhood memories are filled with memories of this eldest uncle we knew.

The last time I saw him and spoke to him, this April, he had lost weight. The independent nature that he had, during the moments alone we had, he shared his feeling that he was burdening others with his illness. My heart grieved and I put out as many consoling words I could on how things were turning for the better with his health. I realize and thank God I could see him, and I feel equally sorry I'll not be able to see him.

I've loved him and I miss him. This is perhaps the first instance where I've lost someone I've known all my life and I feel deep sadness and listlessness. I perhaps share the feeling of all the others who've known him in saying that he's truly left a vacuum in our lives that we'll have to learn to live with.

Lakshmi (Oppa) Aunty, Prakash Ettan, Prasanna Chechy and the immediate family have suffered a long time along with uncle during his prolonged fight with stomach cancer. I keep praying that the Gods give them calmness and the strength to bear this pain and get adjusted.

I

I, am a writer, and a poet
I, am a thinker, and philosopher
I, like to solve logic, and mathematics

I, am a singer, a good voice
I, a hard worker, tireless
I, a great orator, and communicator

I, with good attitude, reflective
I am even One, with no Ego

But who is this I

For are You, not I too?

Ashame, Arise

Forget the way the world is now
Forget the ways of Gods above
Forget that you were born a child
Helpless as an insect small

Attack, abuse, the nature that
Brought you up to her peril
Sit,not work; sleep, not dream
Spend the fortune left ahead

Shrivelled skin, the age of old
Will dawn on mind, with wisdom late
To think you are a human Is
to put to shame the Divine will