A taste of satisfaction

An excerpt from Bill Waterson....

"I've loved comic strips as long as I can remember. As a kid, I knew I wanted to be either a cartoonist or an astronaut. The latter was never much of a possibility, as I don't even like riding in elevators. I kept my options open until seventh grade, but when I stopped understanding math and science, my choice was made. There is great personal satisfaction in attending to detail and quality, and I remain very proud of the standards the strip met day after day. I also liked the responsibility of knowing that, succeed or fail, it was all my own doing. This approach kept the strip very honest and personal--everything having to do with Calvin and Hobbes expressed my own ideas, my own values, my own way. I wrote every word, drew every line, and painted every color. It's a rare gift to find such fulfilling work and I tried to show my appreciation by giving the strip everything I had to offer."

Now this, this is what I wanna be able to say when I retire..... sigh!!!!!

The wisdom of Calvin

I am excited!!!!! Why wouldn't I, after treating myself with 2 volumes of Calvin and Hobbes????????????I just love the kid (Courtesy Bill Watterson).... Here's to quote him:

I made a big decision a little while ago.
I don't remember what it was,which prob'ly goes to show
That many times a simple choice can prove to be essential
Even though it often might appear inconsequential

I must have been distracted when I left my home because
Left or right I'm sure I went. (I wonder which it was!)
Anyway, I never veered: I walked in that direction
Utterly absorbed, it seems, in quite introspection.

For no reason I can think of, I've wandered far astray.
And that is how I got to where I find myself today.

Now, thats some wisdom!!!!!

Wisdom apart, its pure joy reading this comic..... Works every time I need some tickling of my senses....

US trying to patent Yoga aasnas... what the heck now???

http://in.news.yahoo.com/070517/211/6fxev.html


In this age of open source n GPL, some big time morons like this do exist!!!!

Sound of music

Florence Foster Jenkins..... Not many around the world know her; probably not even many of her own countrymen today......but once upon a time, she was a famous American soprano. Hers is a tale of faith, passion, love (of herself and her music) and a strong will. Jenkins was tone deaf!!! Yes, she could not hear the music like we do... she did not know that her pitch was not right. But love she did, to sing. She wanted to sing from a very early age. But her apparent lack of talent/ ability (!) made her parents to stop her from exploring any further. She was prohibited from taking music lessons. When her parents died, she inherited quite some wealth that gave her the freedom and opportunity to do something that she had been long yearning to do..... to pursue music. Later in her life (as late as 60 years) she made her public debut. Initially it was a small affair at the parties with friends... She was no better at the art even now. But her friends had fun at her cost.. They encouraged her for the pure entertainment. But Jenkins was convinced that she was a musical genius and that her audience loved her. She then hired an accompanist- a concert piano player, Cosme' McMoon. Though Cosme' was uncomfortable to play with her for apparent reasons, he agreed to do so for survival. There was no stopping Jenkins after that. She became a celebrity. Every one wanted to hear her. She made album records and sang at important occasions. To crown it all, she was invited to sing at the Carnegie Hall..... that was her masterpiece performance, if you could call it so.. The tickets were sold out weeks before and people were all excited. She entertained them.. they laughed at her.. they applauded to mask their laughter, they became hysterical...it was over. She died one month later.. but she died with a happy heart, happy of the music that she made. She never once doubted her talent and her ability to melt hearts.


Well, the story ends there. But I have questions; of the nature and attitude of people who heard her and applauded her. ...of their cruelty.. and of her naivety. Every person has a right to sing, to believe they are good at it and to be heard... I do not question that. But what kind of society would encourage a person with a lack of ability and have fun at her cost? What kind of society would make her believe that they were overjoyed while they were actually laughing at her and what kind of society would clap just to mask the laughter and ask for more???? Jenkins was a happy soul. So the question of her being affected doesn't arise. But the question is entirely of how cruel our society can get. We can make anybody a clown, put them in the ring and have fun. How long will it be until its our turn???
All this started with a play called souvenir. It was on the life of Foster Jenkins. The lady who played her part was brilliant... She got a standing ovation. Kudos to the team. This was the best ever. It made me appreciate certain things more subtle in life. Thanks to them for this realization.

For more on Jenkins click here

For more about the play click here

Marine Marvels

We went to the newport aquarium here a couple of weeks back. I used to have a fish bowl with a couple of small fishes back in the undergrad days. I was so attached to them, I cried like crazy when I had to leave them at the local aquarium before I returned home. I still miss them a lot!!! Those small blue fishes dancing around without a care in the world..... Anyways, given this background information, one should be able to imagine what a treat this visit to the aquarium should have been to me! I was thrilled to the core. Here are some pictures of the amazing sea life... enjoy!!!

Sivakamiyin Sabadham

Last year, I read Ponniyin Selvan by Kalki R. Krishnamurthy. Ever since, I have been in love with his writing. If he was alive now, he'd force all the Dan Browns out of the store shelves... It is sheer imprudence to even compare him with any of the current day authors. This man is a genius... Last week, I read the other book of his.... 'Sivakamiyin Sabadham'. Though Ponniyin Selvan remains my top favourite, I did enjoy this book. The best thing about his books is that you feel like going back to look up all the people, events and dates mentioned in history... something that could have been of use during school days. He transports me to another world.. a world of kings and queens and prosperity....... In my opinion, his strongest characters are his spies. They just happen to be brilliant....I know am doing a lousy job at writing about him and his works.... words fail me!!!! But if you can read tamil, you should read his novels..... Thanks to Project Madurai (http://www.tamil.net/projectmadurai/).... I don't have to look elsewhere for good tamil books!!!

Opus

One of the most powerful performances I have ever seen.... I am not going to attempt describing it!!!!

http://www.robbucher.com/cincytheatre/etc.htm

Fear and Freedom

For those of you who have watched the movie 'Bowling for columbine' , this would sound familiar. Of surviving with fear under the pretense of freedom. Fear rules this nation; fear dictates everyday life; fear shapes the outlook of the people. Its not terrorism, its not even the stock markets. Anything and everything can frighten this nation. A few months ago, a school boy dropped his bag on the highway. The highway was closed to traffic for over a day, for the fear that it might be a bomb!! People don't want to be around those who have a flu... There are announcements in the airport and everywhere cautioning against any jokes about terrorism.. There is a sever weather alert everytime the rain is a little heavy. I am tired of this. I am tired of people afraid to do things that are being done everyday, every other place in the world. I am tired of people who pretend like they are free.

A smile..

Can a smile make your day? Can it make you keep thinking about it long after? Can it make you feel special? Oh yeah.....

We all know it.. but every time you encounter such a smile (which is unfortunately rare), a smile from the heart, a smile so genuine, you can't help but wonder what bestowed mankind with this gift. Keep Smiling!!!! :)

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A refreshing play

I attended a play after ages.... It was when I took my seat there that I realized how much I have missed theater. Somehow, I have always liked the plays better than the movies. Plays are more personal, more human and more real. You cannot pause it and watch it at a later time. It commands your complete attention. With limited props and sets, it unleashes your imagination, next only to books and radio. The bad performances of the artistes cannot be made up for with special effects, as is the case in movies. Thus, it calls for a good involvement from both the artistes and the audience.

Coming to this particular play, it was 'Fiction' by the Ensemble Theater of Cincinnati. The artistes had a pretty good career record. So I was definitely hoping for a good performance. And I should say, I was not disappointed the least. The play was a story of a writer couple- both vibrant, sarcastic, funny, full of life and love for each other. They reminisce their first meeting and how it all started. The wife had an enormously successful first book, the rest following suit and also taught fiction writing. Then comes the revelation about the wife's tumor that turns out to be malignant. The doctors give her about three weeks. Her initial response to this news makes you laugh despite the gravity of the situation. She wonders why the doctors always say its three more weeks, a month or a year and not make it more interesting like.. 'you have 28 more meals' or 'that was your last radio fund raiser show'... and yeah, she likes this doctor who puts it plainly as a tumor the size of a tomato.. instead of confusing her with the medical jargons. Blessed with brevity, she makes an interesting juxtaposition against her husband who has this thing for complexity.. While she likes to write the truth, he loves to make up things. With an extremely good wit and borrowed lines (especially from Dante), the man entertains quite well too.The couple like different things but hate the same things. Together, they make an awesome pair.

With very few days left, the lady tells her husband that once she dies, he must read all her diaries, and asks for her to read his before she dies. He accepts with reluctance. In the pages of his journals, she discovers a relationship that he has hidden from her through the years. Its then confrontation time, the husband refusing such a relationship,saying its made up, the third missing person coming in.... and then her death. After her death, the husband goes through her diaries and is surprised to find entries about her encounter with the other lady. She had given the manuscript of her first book to this girl for her opinion. The girl rejects it as not being true and they have an argument over the same. The diary ends there. The next one is missing. While he is dying to know what happened next, the other lady comes and gives him the missing diary. His wife had given it to her when she came visiting before her death. This diary has the answers to his questions.... After her rejection of his wife's manuscript, the other lady narrates her own experience which is on similar lines and closer to the truth. That turned out to be his wife's first book. She then leaves with her last words "I chose her to tell my story and she told the truth"....

That perfectly summarized her frustrations with the man and her relationship with his wife. In fact, it is this man, who has been in the dark all these years.

With all the players fitting the roles, un-distracting props, a good screenplay, the play has undoubtedly made a mark.




Photo Courtesy : http://www.cincyetc.com/home/

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Celebrating Independence???

I was out this morning for some work. Nothing much to mark the 59th Independence day except some talk here and some meeting there of the political parties each throwing shit on the other..I took an auto. The autowallah seemed quite a happy chap and had a radio blaring out some tamil movie numbers.. There were no big patriotic thoughts running inside my head either.. ( i have reservations abt de common usage of the very term 'patriotism') In all, it was a bright n sunny morning with little traffic on the roads. Suddenly, the auto came to a halt at a traffic signal. A little girl, must be hardly 5 or six years old, came selling plastic flags. She approached the auto I was travelling by and stood with an expectant pair of wide eyes. The driver wanted to buy one of those flags and started haggling with her when she quoted the price ( remember it as being 5/ piece)The girl was in a fix.. she didnt know whether to be happy at the prospect of selling a piece or to worry about the haggling.. she clearly was not allowed to reduce the price by whoever had sent her. She stood there blinking. A sudden gush of pity in the auto driver made him part with his precious Rs.5 without any further bargaining. The signal changed to green again and the auto zoomed past. A little incident. I was just a spectator. I didnt even feel like buying another flag from the girl to help her, for I dont know if it would really help her. Or may be thats not the reason... may be it is about getting used to such scenes around the city every day, and in the process getting hardened.A celebration of independence!!! That little face lingers on.............

Leaving the cradle

When was the day I last left my cradle? I dont have even a vague rememberance.. I dont remember how i felt leaving the soft comfort of the cradle.. the swaying motions that put me to sleep so gently... the hands that rocked them.. the songs that my mom sang.. or were they prayers??? I do not know if leaving the city that you have known for 21 years of ur existance is anything comparable to the feeling of leaving the cradle... but it shd be no less.
A mad city that I live in.... chennai. I love it for all that it is and all that it is not. Brief journeys and long stints away from home.. it has all had the same effect. The cradle beckoning me!!!

The sweltering heat, the maddening crowd, the crazy traffic and so much more.. chennai.. i love u with all these. The crowded beaches, the deserted stretches of it, sundal, palmistry, kaathadi, molaga bajji, sunrise, morning walks, sunsets, nice little chats with good old friends, kelunga machi radio mirchi, rickety MTC buses, share autos, suburban trains, scooty, pulsar, ECR, spencer plaza, steamed corn, city center, alwarpet signal, evam , AFM, pakathu athu mami, kutti paiyan nikhil, sathyam, pondy bazzar, saravana bhawan, planet yumm, dhaba express, pantheon road, the haggling, temples and the solitude, paatu class, vasalla kolam, vatha kozhambu, thayir saadham, mavadu, malli poo, chellamana nai kutti, a smile of recognition, a blend of tradition and modernity, the funny mix.............. am gonna miss all these and more. The sense of belonging, the feeling-at-home..... I will come back!!!! This is not a cradle am gonna leave forever.......... Chennai, I'll come back................

Return to innocence

"..its not the beginning of the end. Its the return to your self, the return to innocence..........." I hear it over and over,and not once do I fail to be awestruck by the simple profundity of the statement. The return to our selves.... the return to innocence, is it even possible?


I close my eyes, I hear, I see, I feel ........ a lot has been taken, a lot destroyed, a lot made vulgar. Will we ever be able to undo all these? How will we ever return what we have taken, what we have destroyed? The more I try to think about it, the more it appears elusive. But for one fleeting moment, as I close my eyes, shut my ears and lock myself away from the madness, it seems real and possible. I feel the return. May be its coming.............. the return to innocence!

Ya vidya sa vimuktaye

Another year, another season of results, another season of depressions, another season of suicides. It has become routine for newspapers to publish the suicide statistics after the publication of results every year. It has become another one of those accepted annual events. We don't see anything abnormal with school kids ending their lives because they failed to live upto certain set standards. The maximum reaction such events elicit is pity, a twitch. The sorrow is all that of the parents of the children, just like any other case of death.
Pity is fine.. we are a humane society!! But have we addressed the problem? Are we planning to address it at all? There seems to be no indication towards that end. Education today, is but a rat race. ' Ya vidya sa vimukatye' : True education is that which liberates. The current trend seems to have taken this up so well, it 'liberates' the kids once for all.
A victim of this rat race myself, I cannot stand the mere thought that more and more kids go through the same gruelling experience year after year. What do our educationists try to achieve with this system? What kind of education is it, that makes innocent kids suicidal, makes life worth just the marks scored, sees nothing more in the individual that the student is, brings depression down to lower and lower age levels and succeeds in just making the kids hate and fear their subjects?
So, do I have the perfect solution? Well, I don't. But there are a lot of individual efforts that try to break the trend and come up with something better. Unfortunately, such efforts dont become popular. They remain restricted to either the elite or the downtrodden; in the former, it is because they can afford it, later because those kids would get into just any school that would take them in. Though such efforts should be appreciated for the mere attempt, it is important that they reach a greater section of the population. There should be a voluntary support for such efforts from the society.
One of my earlier posts was on such a school, Centre for Learning (see post: 'Learning Redefined'). But sadly, this school and a lot more of the kind do not have sufficient funds to take it to more people. As a rule, this school doesn't collect any fee from the poor students. I only hope that such schools become recognized for their good efforts and they get adequate resources to carry forward their services.

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at mutedfaith.com.

5 minutes on a rainy night

All that I could see, hear and feel.......... 5 minutes on a rainy night

The stillness
The passing cloud
The distant hum of traffic
The sound of raindrops splashing against the walls
The water flowing in the backyard fields
The thunder
The lightning
The well lit buildings far across de fields
The silhouette of the huge rocks between the darkness of the fields and the lights of the buildings
The cool breeze
The silence again......

On a rainy day........

Its raining outside..the place is deserted except for two or three people burried into their systems..there is music that I love.....it is a wonderful day! There is no specific reason i can give to explain why I feel this way.. but yeah feeling good I am!
May be the gentle cool breeze that went fondling me during the walk in the grass.. may the drops of rain.. may be in not holding an umbrella to distance myself from it.... may be feeling those drops on my skin.. may be de decision to ditch work for these small pleasures for a while.. may be getting to know some one nice.. may be de work that is getting done.. may be the realisation that I'd be leaving for home soon.. may be.......may be..........
I dont even want to put it all down, the way I feel; or rather i wouldnt be able to. But then such nice feeling shouldnt go unrecorded. This evening shall find a place in my blog. May be I'll read this some other day and live it all over again......may be....

Melancholy in the wind and Sorrow in the grass..

What do I lack that I complain? What have I lost that I crib? What do I want that I keep hoping for? Well, nothing and everything…. Sometimes, some days, I feel a sorrow which is not mine… sometimes, some days I feel a sorrow that is all mine. Reason, no reason…. I don’t feel like hunting for the reason… I don’t feel like digging the grave.. I don’t feel like driving it out; for, why should I? I want it to sink in, conquer me and remain…… until it can no longer possess me.. I then just let it go or rather watch it go. But when it is there, it is all mine. I bask in it; I suffer with it; I cry with it; I live with it; it is all mine…..Nay, glorifying sorrow, am not! Am just giving it what is rightfully due…….. She is not a pretty child. That doesn’t deny her the right to exist. She shall be born at the hour destined, she shall grow feeding on you and me, she shall die an obscure death. But exist, she shall… may be not now, may be not then.. but sometime… exist, she shall. To her, I whisper “ Come to me when am tired of all the sweetness; come to me when I am suffocated of all the goodness; I shall then nurture you, hold you dear..

But leave you must someday and fly far away….. I shall nurture you, see you acquire wings and let you fly away, when the day comes… until then, you shall be mine… all mine… and the loved one, for in death, you leave happiness behind.”

Women's Day 2

Never have I been very particular about celebrating women's day. To me, every day is my own day, no matter how it goes. If it was a bad day, it is a 'my bad day', if it was good, it is a ' my good day' or atleast, ' my OK day'.The point is, they're all my days. So no specific day excites me just because its a women's day or anything else for that matter. This time around, I happened to be at TCS for my internship. There came an order that all women of the section have to wear saree or end up giving a treat to all the others. The saree idea being less scary of the two, I decided to comply with the order. But where do I go for one in this alien city? As me and my project mate kept hunting for one, my schoolmate came to our rescue. She happens to live in the same flat as that of my project mate and so, both of us managed to grab one each from her. A half hearted wake up in the morning, some clumsy attempts at tying the saree and some quick fixes later, we set off to the office hoping nothing horrible happened... Thankfully, nothing happened to embarass us. Anyways, it was fun, going around in saree at work ( no, not everyday.... that would be tough)

Women's Day

It came, it went.. Not many reflections, not many inspirations, not even any reason. That was international Women's day for me. Nah, I dont not believe in the essence of womanhood. But I dont agree with what is done in the name of celebrating women's day. Let me think, what would I want a day specially set aside to celebrate womanhood to be? That requires me to define my idea of womanhood. I dont know if I can put down all that I think and feel, but yeah am making an attempt. The very word 'woman' always comes to me with 'sensitivity' and 'feel' tagged along. That is something that majorly characterizes women- the ability to feel and be sensitive.Then comes an eye that can appreciate things beautiful and creative; a mind that can analyse situations and decide the best course of action; a will that can be break through any hurdle, if need be; a heart that is kind.... and ofcourse, there are those reservoirs of tears, obsession with beauty, too much senti, jealousy, gossips... all this comes as a single package.
True, there are places where women's day cherishes the great work of women and gives the impetus to reach for the stars. But this, sadly, is not what is popular. All of media and the corporate world sells a whole new concept for women's day to our women. They precisely build on those minuses of theirs.Buy more cosmetics to be beautiful, celebrity gossips, so on and so forth. Is this how we want to celebrate ourselves and what we stand for?
That aside, the very concept of women achievers annoys me. Who are achievers? what is achievement? nobel lauretes? business women? scientists? models? writers? actresses? all these and more of the rest. While the people referred to by their professions are indeed achievers, they dont define achievement. Any talent is partly inborn and partly hardwork. While they definitely need to be appreciated for their hardwork and talent, we also need to look at the other women who, in their own ways, are changing the ways things work. These professionals get paid, get recognition for their work; but what about those who work with the single aim of changing the world, dont get rewarded in any form, still go on in the path that they have chosen? what about my servant maid who has been coming to work 99% of the days despite having a drunkard husband who keeps getting into some trouble or the other? what about the friendly lady at the cafe in my college who keeps innovating to satisfy the customers even without a promise of pay hike or appreciation?what about the illiterate woman of some non descript village in maharashtra who was kicked out of her house, fully pregnant with a girl baby, and who went on to educate dozens of orphaned kids to produce doctors, lawyers and responsible citizens?what about women who have to fight everyday to merely exist? Arent they achievers too? Shouldn't they be celebrated? We seem to have a tendency of filling the platter of those already overfed and ignore the starving. It is time we shift our parameters to define what is achievement and what is not; it is time we stopped looking just at those distant stars and started looking at the flowers being crushed under our foot;it is time we celebrated the real woman....