Shout
Scream
Yell
Hit
Whip
Kill
All in the name and garb of anger.
Anger for which I am not accountable, but some one else because he/she provoked me!
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Thursday, May 14, 2009
The moon is our constant companion,
as we trudge along a lonely, straight road;
Eyes enveloped in the silhouette shadows of the teaks and the palashs,
tall and barren as they stand,
I am captivated by the unrealised beauty in their barrenness;
As if whispering in my ears "shorn of all splendour, I still stand in full glory and splendour"
and making me feel at that particular moment,
a complete sense of contentment and peace.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
A perfect Sunday evening!
Watched a wonderful french movie called "The Bears" on NDTV Lumiere on sunday evening.
Its about a bear cub who is orphaned and how he befriends another adult bear and they try to face the wilderness hazards - which come in the form of hunters (men), their pack of dogs and lastly a puma attack.
The film was full of understated yet poignant moments - my personal favourite of course was the young cub looking at the reflection of the full moon in the water body at night and jumping into the reflection in the water as if trying to scare the moon away! There was absolutely no dialogue here and yet the scene lingers on in my mind ...
The way he emulates the adult bear he meets, his forlorn look when he finds the two adult bears mating, his sloppy manner of unsuccessfully chasing a frog, his quivering in fear when the hunters are nearby and how he forms an attachment to its captors, the hunters is all brought out in a beautiful manner.
While at one level, it was a movie about this bear cub and how it outwits the hunters in the company of an adult bear, I could feel another sub-text running through the movie. This was not just the usual wildlife movie or a movie on animals speaking to each other (like in the animated versions) but at a level relatable to human beings, subtly. Of untouched beauty and innocence of the young. Of dignity and compassion which each one of us has within.
The movie ends on a peaceful note with the young bear cuddling up to his friend/saviour - the adult bear as it snows outside the cave....
And then the quote appears : " The greatest thrill is not to kill but to let live."
A winter's sunday evening could not have been spent more perfectly!
PS: of course, Saucy Sardonix could n't 'bear' it at all! Talk of pauvre tastes in life! Huh!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Sincerity rewards ?!
It is not an uncommon sight to see chaotic traffic situations in many cities in India. From a personal and prolonged experience of living in 3 Indian cities over the past decade and constantly visiting other cities, I can say that the traffic scenario in all is of the same colour, only the shade being different. The primary reasons attributed for such a chaotic traffic situation are : an increase in the number of cars and two-wheelers, rapidly expanding population not commensurate with the development of infrastructure (read: roads and reliable public transport systems) and general apathy of the Indian population, especially the youngsters, towards the existing public transport system and lack of funds.
Assuming such a stand, the responsible officials of our state governments have a convenient alibi, one that is evergreen for them to use for generations to come… However I beg to differ.
The usual scene at a bus stand in most cities in India is that of a throbbing crowd, bereft of shelter from rain and sun, their feet often ‘tyre fodder’ for rash drivers who in turn accuse them of occupying road space. Ever wondered what would happen if that one sincere person stood in an imaginary line behind the milling crowd? Well, his/her sincerity would be rewarded by the unruly crowd by making him/ her wait forever to board a bus of his choice.
What happens to the motorist who follows the rules? The two-wheeler who keeps to the lane on the left side meant for him/her is usually rudely whacked by an over-speeding commercial cab or many a times, even private cars. If the person’s luck is worse, then the whack is given by a bus driver instead (who, by the way, invariably stops the bus a few yards ahead of the bus stop – some kick to make commuters run to catch the bus)! What happens to the honest motorist who follows the signal, doesn’t jump a red light or refuses to cross the stop line? The motorist is subjected to a volley of the choicest abuses in the vernacular by most of the fellow road-users behind him/her, is overtaken albeit there is no space or scope for such a maneuver, abused again in the face and also made to face some jarring, honking music from the rest of the crowd behind who feel it is because of this sincere person that they have to wait a minute longer!!!! He/she also runs the risk of having his/ her toes run over by the cab that tries to overtake in the narrowest of spaces on the left side. If it’s a car waiting in the right lane, then promptly comes a bike rider who either bangs your rear view mirror (remember its pointless to even expect an apology, after all, which idiot uses rear view mirrors??) or scratches the paint on the sides to a visually telling effect.
Despite all these heroics, are a bunch of city hardened motorists who manage to keep their toes and/ or vehicles intact. However they suffer a different form of injustice. For most people who have driven/ ridden on the left side of the road in India it will not come as a surprise to see an autorikshaw/ yellow board commercial cab/ overzealous two-wheeler who drives/ rides all the way on the wrong side (right side: pun intended!) and finally makes an abrupt swerve to join the mainstream traffic as he/she approaches that part of the road/ signal which cannot be traversed from the right side. Makes most people who wait in the maddening traffic at peak hours wonder if they are indeed doing the right thing by following the rules.
As the sun sets and the evening leads to night there is scant regard for the traffic lights. The reason cited is the sparse traffic on the roads. Surely, the traffic authorities have the sense to reduce the waiting period on the signals and ensure free and safe passage to each direction of traffic flow. Nevertheless, as is always the case in India, the individual gets pride from smashing the rules to smithereens. A sincere person who halts for a red light past 9 pm runs the risk of being crashed into by the over-speeding vehicle from behind. It is a given that only flow of traffic and road space govern movement of a vehicle at a signal. The colour of the light, but obviously, bears little consequence.
The numbers of such situations are far and diverse ranging from urinating on people’s compound walls, parking right under the “no-parking” sign, breaking the queue at any waiting place, spitting in public places …. One could possible go on and on about such scenarios …
The primary cause for all this is lax implementation of rules (oh, we have so many of them) - absence of punishment – applied to all in a fair and equitable manner – whether you are the Minister or his son or his distant cousin’s daughter-in-law or a rickshaw-wallah. The rule-breaker/offender goes scot free and further rubs salt on the wounds by making the sincere person appear foolish for meticulously following the rules. Be it reaching 10 minutes earlier, or having the luxury of a convenient parking (although its illegal), not having to urinate in a stinking public toilet etc…. For now only a small consolation in the conscience of few citizens who do not wish to be a public nuisance prevents the situation from worsening. I do feel that such chaotic scenes will not see their end for some time because there is simply no reward for sincerity.
But, when there is no punishment for erring citizens, where is the room to reward such sincerity among the citizens ?
Assuming such a stand, the responsible officials of our state governments have a convenient alibi, one that is evergreen for them to use for generations to come… However I beg to differ.
The usual scene at a bus stand in most cities in India is that of a throbbing crowd, bereft of shelter from rain and sun, their feet often ‘tyre fodder’ for rash drivers who in turn accuse them of occupying road space. Ever wondered what would happen if that one sincere person stood in an imaginary line behind the milling crowd? Well, his/her sincerity would be rewarded by the unruly crowd by making him/ her wait forever to board a bus of his choice.
What happens to the motorist who follows the rules? The two-wheeler who keeps to the lane on the left side meant for him/her is usually rudely whacked by an over-speeding commercial cab or many a times, even private cars. If the person’s luck is worse, then the whack is given by a bus driver instead (who, by the way, invariably stops the bus a few yards ahead of the bus stop – some kick to make commuters run to catch the bus)! What happens to the honest motorist who follows the signal, doesn’t jump a red light or refuses to cross the stop line? The motorist is subjected to a volley of the choicest abuses in the vernacular by most of the fellow road-users behind him/her, is overtaken albeit there is no space or scope for such a maneuver, abused again in the face and also made to face some jarring, honking music from the rest of the crowd behind who feel it is because of this sincere person that they have to wait a minute longer!!!! He/she also runs the risk of having his/ her toes run over by the cab that tries to overtake in the narrowest of spaces on the left side. If it’s a car waiting in the right lane, then promptly comes a bike rider who either bangs your rear view mirror (remember its pointless to even expect an apology, after all, which idiot uses rear view mirrors??) or scratches the paint on the sides to a visually telling effect.
Despite all these heroics, are a bunch of city hardened motorists who manage to keep their toes and/ or vehicles intact. However they suffer a different form of injustice. For most people who have driven/ ridden on the left side of the road in India it will not come as a surprise to see an autorikshaw/ yellow board commercial cab/ overzealous two-wheeler who drives/ rides all the way on the wrong side (right side: pun intended!) and finally makes an abrupt swerve to join the mainstream traffic as he/she approaches that part of the road/ signal which cannot be traversed from the right side. Makes most people who wait in the maddening traffic at peak hours wonder if they are indeed doing the right thing by following the rules.
As the sun sets and the evening leads to night there is scant regard for the traffic lights. The reason cited is the sparse traffic on the roads. Surely, the traffic authorities have the sense to reduce the waiting period on the signals and ensure free and safe passage to each direction of traffic flow. Nevertheless, as is always the case in India, the individual gets pride from smashing the rules to smithereens. A sincere person who halts for a red light past 9 pm runs the risk of being crashed into by the over-speeding vehicle from behind. It is a given that only flow of traffic and road space govern movement of a vehicle at a signal. The colour of the light, but obviously, bears little consequence.
The numbers of such situations are far and diverse ranging from urinating on people’s compound walls, parking right under the “no-parking” sign, breaking the queue at any waiting place, spitting in public places …. One could possible go on and on about such scenarios …
The primary cause for all this is lax implementation of rules (oh, we have so many of them) - absence of punishment – applied to all in a fair and equitable manner – whether you are the Minister or his son or his distant cousin’s daughter-in-law or a rickshaw-wallah. The rule-breaker/offender goes scot free and further rubs salt on the wounds by making the sincere person appear foolish for meticulously following the rules. Be it reaching 10 minutes earlier, or having the luxury of a convenient parking (although its illegal), not having to urinate in a stinking public toilet etc…. For now only a small consolation in the conscience of few citizens who do not wish to be a public nuisance prevents the situation from worsening. I do feel that such chaotic scenes will not see their end for some time because there is simply no reward for sincerity.
But, when there is no punishment for erring citizens, where is the room to reward such sincerity among the citizens ?
Thursday, May 01, 2008
'Frisky' seal!
The Sunday Times of India had an interesting news item covered today and its headline ran : 'Frisky' seal tries to rape a penguin".
Some interesting parts thereof are reproduced herein :
"The incident, which was caught on tape, is the first reported case of a mammal trying to have sex with a member of another class of vertebrate, such as a bird, fish, reptile or amphibian. "
And the seal's modus operandi, though not a m0del of success to follow (other amorous seals to particularly note!):
"First, the 15-and-a-half stone seal subdued the 2-and-a-half stone penguin by lying on it, which made the penguin flap its flippers while it tried in vain to stand and escape. The seal alternated between resting on the penguin and thrusting its pelvis, trying to insert itself, but the bird played hard to get and the seal gave up. "At first glimpse, we thought the seal was killing the penguin. Marion Island is the only place where Antarctic fur seals are known to hunt king penguins on land, so the idea that the seal was trying to eat the object of its attention made sense. But then we realised that the seal's intentions were rather more amorous," The Sun quoted. Nico de Bruyn, of the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, as saying. According to the team who recorded the event, the seal was young, frustrated and sexually inexperienced and thus was unable to find another seal for sex."
"Young, frustrated and sexually inexperienced" - I almost feel sorry for the poor seal!
When it comes to animal instincts, well, what can one say! :)
Some interesting parts thereof are reproduced herein :
"The incident, which was caught on tape, is the first reported case of a mammal trying to have sex with a member of another class of vertebrate, such as a bird, fish, reptile or amphibian. "
And the seal's modus operandi, though not a m0del of success to follow (other amorous seals to particularly note!):
"First, the 15-and-a-half stone seal subdued the 2-and-a-half stone penguin by lying on it, which made the penguin flap its flippers while it tried in vain to stand and escape. The seal alternated between resting on the penguin and thrusting its pelvis, trying to insert itself, but the bird played hard to get and the seal gave up. "At first glimpse, we thought the seal was killing the penguin. Marion Island is the only place where Antarctic fur seals are known to hunt king penguins on land, so the idea that the seal was trying to eat the object of its attention made sense. But then we realised that the seal's intentions were rather more amorous," The Sun quoted. Nico de Bruyn, of the Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, as saying. According to the team who recorded the event, the seal was young, frustrated and sexually inexperienced and thus was unable to find another seal for sex."
"Young, frustrated and sexually inexperienced" - I almost feel sorry for the poor seal!
When it comes to animal instincts, well, what can one say! :)
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Life is so funny.
Just when I am at peace moving with the calm and placid waters, there comes a ripple.... unsettling the 'stillness' I have seemingly settled into;
I feel neither happiness nor any overwhelming joy.
Maybe, it's just being pulled by the currents ?
Once upon a time, this would have elicited a better, excited response. Now, its not meaningless but then its not my only source of joy or excitement.
Another stark reminder of how change is truly the one constant in life.
Just when I am at peace moving with the calm and placid waters, there comes a ripple.... unsettling the 'stillness' I have seemingly settled into;
I feel neither happiness nor any overwhelming joy.
Maybe, it's just being pulled by the currents ?
Once upon a time, this would have elicited a better, excited response. Now, its not meaningless but then its not my only source of joy or excitement.
Another stark reminder of how change is truly the one constant in life.
Monday, February 11, 2008
The Opposite of Love ?
In the midst of discussing about love and life with a friend, I wonder what is the opposite of love ? Not hate, though that’s what would be the preferred antonym listed in many dictionaries.
In reality, I suppose it would have to be indifference.
You can spot it if someone is indifferent to your presence, speech, action et al…. being unresponsive to the person, laced with apathy and a lackadaisical approach.
Are you indifferent ? Yes and no perhaps. In some ways. In many ways. Sometimes. At times. Always. Depends on how one perceives it.
And then you look back and feel… for what you were indifferent about? And why you were like that ?
Dig a little deeper and there you stumble on it - - you did not want to get hurt. This was your insulation. Your protection mechanism. You draw a line around yourself and that line shall not be crossed. You stick to it with all the adamancy innate in you.
Does that make you cold and heartless, insensitive to your family and friends?
They care about you and love you.
But what about you ? Do you love them?
Do you even care about the effect your words and actions have on them? Or it is just something you take for granted ?
Its just the way you are and they better accept you for what you are. Its too much of an effort to change yourself.
Its better, is n’t it, to not think deeply about such things… How does it matter ?
Does it even matter ?
To you, to them, to anybody ?
Its too depressing to think.
*******
PS : 'Generally' has lost its relevance ‘cos that’s the feeling generally!
In reality, I suppose it would have to be indifference.
You can spot it if someone is indifferent to your presence, speech, action et al…. being unresponsive to the person, laced with apathy and a lackadaisical approach.
Are you indifferent ? Yes and no perhaps. In some ways. In many ways. Sometimes. At times. Always. Depends on how one perceives it.
And then you look back and feel… for what you were indifferent about? And why you were like that ?
Dig a little deeper and there you stumble on it - - you did not want to get hurt. This was your insulation. Your protection mechanism. You draw a line around yourself and that line shall not be crossed. You stick to it with all the adamancy innate in you.
Does that make you cold and heartless, insensitive to your family and friends?
They care about you and love you.
But what about you ? Do you love them?
Do you even care about the effect your words and actions have on them? Or it is just something you take for granted ?
Its just the way you are and they better accept you for what you are. Its too much of an effort to change yourself.
Its better, is n’t it, to not think deeply about such things… How does it matter ?
Does it even matter ?
To you, to them, to anybody ?
Its too depressing to think.
*******
PS : 'Generally' has lost its relevance ‘cos that’s the feeling generally!
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
go for it, babe!
15 minutes
Speed 6.00
Incline of 3
And that brought the magic number of 100!!! :))
and now, yeh dil maange more! :(
Speed 6.00
Incline of 3
And that brought the magic number of 100!!! :))
and now, yeh dil maange more! :(
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
to think about ....
Should there be an aim/ purpose in everything I do ?
Should the 'why' of doing an act assume importance ?
What about sheer aimlessness of doing of an act .... ?
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Tryst/s with technology
Let me start my dull, insipid love affair with technology and gizmos with an honest confession – I am quite a technophobe! It takes me a while to get functional with a gadget/gizmo and it stops with that.
I know some people who truly freak out with their gizmos and love them as they come, upgrading their gizmos with every product launch. Unfortunately/fortunately (I don’t know) I am still on the other side of the fence.
When I was applying for a job some years back, I had enlisted a friend’s help to spruce up my resume. When I reached his place, he was working on his laptop and opened my resume on the laptop. Asking me to take a look at what he had done, he left the room. My first reaction - I was instantly petrified, my mind went blank…..! I had never used a laptop without a mouse and slowly started scrolling the up and down keys on the keyboard very uncomfortably, wondering what to do.
I have come a long long way since then but the reaction is quite the same - at first sight. It continued with my digital camera and cell phone. My digital camera was picked up by a friend during one of his trips abroad – he kept asking me what kind of a specification I want and all I told him was something I can easily shoot pictures with. Goes without saying that I had to spend some time reading the User manual before I started using the already ‘user-friendly’ camera. Of course, necessity is also the driver to my getting to know ways of using it with its various features and modes.
A friend of mine in the US is such a great technophobe that she does not even upload her pictures from her digital camera to a computer but just keeps buying memory cards as and when they get over! She has quite a state of the art (so it seemed to me!) GPS installed in her new car (the GPS came with the car) but it was still new and unused when I caught up with her some months back. She confessed she still had n’t figured how to use it and on the day we set out for a weekend outing, we ended up getting lost - driving miles away from where we were supposed to go and at that crucial juncture, she finally figured how to use the GPS.
In both our cases, Necessity is truly the mother of learning how to use a gadget and then including it in our lifestyle. A ‘lifestyle choice’, as dear K calls it.
The thing about technology (like with most other things) is the more you use it, the more you get addicted to it; It is difficult to shake it off. Like my transition from a desktop to a laptop…
And then my laptop crashed – I am fudging it a bit here, twisting the facts…. My laptop fell down as I was talking with a colleague! Sheer carelessness and negligence on my part. For a month, I switched back to a desktop ruminating over my trysts with technology.
And I realized I missed the laptop so much that the result of it is what you are reading now.
ok, my Ipod gift is still lying as I received it over a month back- unopened and unattended to.
***********
There’s also a different take on this – its all about getting used to something, is n’t it? We get used to stuff. That’s all. Hence it’s the comfort factor.
When it’s no longer there, you feel some sort of vacuum – for how long and how much- that depends on us.
But after a while, you get used to it.
Life goes on as if that ‘constant’ factor which suddenly disappeared from your life was a mere aberration, a blur… And you get cosy with newer attractions and interests.
I feel this is true with most aspects of life.
*************
A 28 year old software engineer walks into a dental clinic with his arsenal of plug-in electronic devices, wondering why online health care never made it big.
After an assessment of his problem the dentist informs him to come after a week to finish the treatment. The irate techie asks the dentist why doctors can’t work 24/7 like the techies, if need be from home and always available online.
Pat comes the reply from the dentist, “Sure, just leave your mouth with me for a couple of days and take it back once I am done” leaving the techie flabbergasted.
And then it sinks into his ‘frog-in-an-online-well’ brain. Embarrassed and red faced he leaves with his appointment finally realizing that some things are best done OFFLINE!!!
**********
I know some people who truly freak out with their gizmos and love them as they come, upgrading their gizmos with every product launch. Unfortunately/fortunately (I don’t know) I am still on the other side of the fence.
When I was applying for a job some years back, I had enlisted a friend’s help to spruce up my resume. When I reached his place, he was working on his laptop and opened my resume on the laptop. Asking me to take a look at what he had done, he left the room. My first reaction - I was instantly petrified, my mind went blank…..! I had never used a laptop without a mouse and slowly started scrolling the up and down keys on the keyboard very uncomfortably, wondering what to do.
I have come a long long way since then but the reaction is quite the same - at first sight. It continued with my digital camera and cell phone. My digital camera was picked up by a friend during one of his trips abroad – he kept asking me what kind of a specification I want and all I told him was something I can easily shoot pictures with. Goes without saying that I had to spend some time reading the User manual before I started using the already ‘user-friendly’ camera. Of course, necessity is also the driver to my getting to know ways of using it with its various features and modes.
A friend of mine in the US is such a great technophobe that she does not even upload her pictures from her digital camera to a computer but just keeps buying memory cards as and when they get over! She has quite a state of the art (so it seemed to me!) GPS installed in her new car (the GPS came with the car) but it was still new and unused when I caught up with her some months back. She confessed she still had n’t figured how to use it and on the day we set out for a weekend outing, we ended up getting lost - driving miles away from where we were supposed to go and at that crucial juncture, she finally figured how to use the GPS.
In both our cases, Necessity is truly the mother of learning how to use a gadget and then including it in our lifestyle. A ‘lifestyle choice’, as dear K calls it.
The thing about technology (like with most other things) is the more you use it, the more you get addicted to it; It is difficult to shake it off. Like my transition from a desktop to a laptop…
And then my laptop crashed – I am fudging it a bit here, twisting the facts…. My laptop fell down as I was talking with a colleague! Sheer carelessness and negligence on my part. For a month, I switched back to a desktop ruminating over my trysts with technology.
And I realized I missed the laptop so much that the result of it is what you are reading now.
ok, my Ipod gift is still lying as I received it over a month back- unopened and unattended to.
***********
There’s also a different take on this – its all about getting used to something, is n’t it? We get used to stuff. That’s all. Hence it’s the comfort factor.
When it’s no longer there, you feel some sort of vacuum – for how long and how much- that depends on us.
But after a while, you get used to it.
Life goes on as if that ‘constant’ factor which suddenly disappeared from your life was a mere aberration, a blur… And you get cosy with newer attractions and interests.
I feel this is true with most aspects of life.
*************
A 28 year old software engineer walks into a dental clinic with his arsenal of plug-in electronic devices, wondering why online health care never made it big.
After an assessment of his problem the dentist informs him to come after a week to finish the treatment. The irate techie asks the dentist why doctors can’t work 24/7 like the techies, if need be from home and always available online.
Pat comes the reply from the dentist, “Sure, just leave your mouth with me for a couple of days and take it back once I am done” leaving the techie flabbergasted.
And then it sinks into his ‘frog-in-an-online-well’ brain. Embarrassed and red faced he leaves with his appointment finally realizing that some things are best done OFFLINE!!!
**********
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Hospital blues
One week in a hospital proved to be quite a humbling experience for me.
The emergency ward reminded me of a colony of ants – the doctors, nurses, support staff – all diligently working to save lives of people who land there- limping in pain, supported by their loved ones, unconscious in a stretcher having journeyed to the hospital in an ambulance, or brought in a wheelchair…
Its so diverse and similar at the same time – all have some medical condition which has to be urgently treated so that their lives are saved and they are able to lead a reasonably good quality of life with all their faculties in working condition.
In the course of 1 ½ hours on a lazy Sunday evening, the emergency ward saw so much activity – the nurses, doctors and support staff on duty – each one going about from one patient to the other in clinical fashion. Amidst the tubes, injections, bottles, syringes, tablets in the emergency ward, dark green curtains, made of thick cotton are pulled up to separate rows of beds lined up next to each other.
A nurse is taking blood to start the investigation for a middle aged lady, appearing weak, when suddenly an old man barely breathing, is rushed inside in a stretcher. I learn from the conversation which follows that he has just had a heart attack. The first few minutes is crucial here to enable the person to live. Hence, this case assumes more importance than the other and all attention of the team is focused on ensuring that proper and timely medical care is given to ensure the human life is not lost.
Just when one thinks, the rush has sort of settled down, in comes a stretcher with a young man covered in blood. He is an accident victim, accompanied by his friend.
The stoic expression in the faces of the health care professionals explains it all. Its not indifference but a calm evaluation of a case – very much like any other professional and they put in their best efforts to salvage atleast a decent deal, if not the best.
And in some depressing moments, I held on to that faith- faith in the medical system and the medical professionals. (Thanks to L for pointing that road to me!)
******
One warm Tuesday morning, I stand by the window of the 9th floor room at the hospital and look gloomily at the bustling traffic flowing below on Airport Road- buses, cars and two wheelers jostling for space with the pedestrians, cyclists and omnipresent autorickshaws that dot the city’s roads. A lone policeman stands in the middle of the traffic junction trying to take charge of the busy intersection. All of a sudden, I am shaken out of my dull reverie by a sudden “whish” like sound and lo! a kite flies to the window sill, neatly perches itself therein and stares at me.
The kite looks so majestic and beautiful, its big, brown eyes sharply looking here and there, the moment seems so magical!
I see kites every morning, on my way to work as they are forever hovering around a storm-water drain across my house, but to see one in such close proximity, its quite a thing! I sense my excitement levels slowly rising, when as suddenly as it came, it flutters its wings and soars into the sky, soon out of sight.
******
One moment, she lies weakly on the bed, eyes closed, hands clasped together, no sign of life except her breathing and heart beat. And then, after what seems an eternity, her eyes laboriously open and look at me deliriously. A faint smile of recognition appears in her eyes and she tries to utter something, but no words come out. Unclasping her hands, she stretches her right hand toward my right hand and reaches out to hold me.
Life is all about these small moments, I think. When we would do anything in our capacity to get the smile and life back on the face of someone we love and care about.
******
For a hospital, Manipal Hospital has a very apt and interesting tagline. “Inspired by Life”! In moments when I pushed myself to remain positive and strong, the tagline played its part in keeping my inspirational quotient alive and kicking. One just needs to look at life all around us to feel and remain inspired.
As Activist/filmmaker KP Sasi states in a newspaper article I read some time back : “ I derive my creativity from life. Mainstream views of creativity are set in certain norms. If you write, act, make films, sing, you are creative. But I think life is creative. You need creativity to jump onto a running bus, to hang on in a local train in Mumbai, to cook sambar well. All protest is creative.”
Written on 2nd December 2007
The emergency ward reminded me of a colony of ants – the doctors, nurses, support staff – all diligently working to save lives of people who land there- limping in pain, supported by their loved ones, unconscious in a stretcher having journeyed to the hospital in an ambulance, or brought in a wheelchair…
Its so diverse and similar at the same time – all have some medical condition which has to be urgently treated so that their lives are saved and they are able to lead a reasonably good quality of life with all their faculties in working condition.
In the course of 1 ½ hours on a lazy Sunday evening, the emergency ward saw so much activity – the nurses, doctors and support staff on duty – each one going about from one patient to the other in clinical fashion. Amidst the tubes, injections, bottles, syringes, tablets in the emergency ward, dark green curtains, made of thick cotton are pulled up to separate rows of beds lined up next to each other.
A nurse is taking blood to start the investigation for a middle aged lady, appearing weak, when suddenly an old man barely breathing, is rushed inside in a stretcher. I learn from the conversation which follows that he has just had a heart attack. The first few minutes is crucial here to enable the person to live. Hence, this case assumes more importance than the other and all attention of the team is focused on ensuring that proper and timely medical care is given to ensure the human life is not lost.
Just when one thinks, the rush has sort of settled down, in comes a stretcher with a young man covered in blood. He is an accident victim, accompanied by his friend.
The stoic expression in the faces of the health care professionals explains it all. Its not indifference but a calm evaluation of a case – very much like any other professional and they put in their best efforts to salvage atleast a decent deal, if not the best.
And in some depressing moments, I held on to that faith- faith in the medical system and the medical professionals. (Thanks to L for pointing that road to me!)
******
One warm Tuesday morning, I stand by the window of the 9th floor room at the hospital and look gloomily at the bustling traffic flowing below on Airport Road- buses, cars and two wheelers jostling for space with the pedestrians, cyclists and omnipresent autorickshaws that dot the city’s roads. A lone policeman stands in the middle of the traffic junction trying to take charge of the busy intersection. All of a sudden, I am shaken out of my dull reverie by a sudden “whish” like sound and lo! a kite flies to the window sill, neatly perches itself therein and stares at me.
The kite looks so majestic and beautiful, its big, brown eyes sharply looking here and there, the moment seems so magical!
I see kites every morning, on my way to work as they are forever hovering around a storm-water drain across my house, but to see one in such close proximity, its quite a thing! I sense my excitement levels slowly rising, when as suddenly as it came, it flutters its wings and soars into the sky, soon out of sight.
******
One moment, she lies weakly on the bed, eyes closed, hands clasped together, no sign of life except her breathing and heart beat. And then, after what seems an eternity, her eyes laboriously open and look at me deliriously. A faint smile of recognition appears in her eyes and she tries to utter something, but no words come out. Unclasping her hands, she stretches her right hand toward my right hand and reaches out to hold me.
Life is all about these small moments, I think. When we would do anything in our capacity to get the smile and life back on the face of someone we love and care about.
******
For a hospital, Manipal Hospital has a very apt and interesting tagline. “Inspired by Life”! In moments when I pushed myself to remain positive and strong, the tagline played its part in keeping my inspirational quotient alive and kicking. One just needs to look at life all around us to feel and remain inspired.
As Activist/filmmaker KP Sasi states in a newspaper article I read some time back : “ I derive my creativity from life. Mainstream views of creativity are set in certain norms. If you write, act, make films, sing, you are creative. But I think life is creative. You need creativity to jump onto a running bus, to hang on in a local train in Mumbai, to cook sambar well. All protest is creative.”
Written on 2nd December 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
The Diwali News
Diwali is over and hopefully the glitz will end – for the various news channels. Dishing out inane Diwali fare with news hours virtually being converted into movie promotions, trailers, interviews with movie stars and wannabes on how they spend Diwali!
Sample this: Journalists ask the celebrities how they like to spend Diwali. The replies are on these lines: ‘A’ says she likes to light lamps and spend Diwali at home with her family eating sweets and bursting firecrackers. ‘B’, while lighting a flowerpot and wishing viewers of the particular news channel says she is against firecrackers! Incredible! ‘C’ goes on about how she always wears new clothes and performs a puja at her home on Diwali. How enlightening! (As we always thought people eat plum cakes during Diwali.)
An overdose of the ‘Six-pack’ Shahrukh Khan and Farah Khan going ga-ga over “Om Shanti Om” (But, where’s the peace, good lord?), the other ‘Six-pack’ in a white towel in the “White nights” inspiration in an outlandish green/blue studio set with Venetian canals inhabited by a pretty lady running around pillars and the guy mooning over her! Of course, if all this did not significantly increase our awareness of current affairs, there’s still more to come. What did our other heroes a.k.a cricketers do on their day off ? Go and watch the latest Diwali release.
(BTW, the news channels have not yet run a show on the six-pack status of our cricketers.)
That's just what we missed a little bit!
Sample this: Journalists ask the celebrities how they like to spend Diwali. The replies are on these lines: ‘A’ says she likes to light lamps and spend Diwali at home with her family eating sweets and bursting firecrackers. ‘B’, while lighting a flowerpot and wishing viewers of the particular news channel says she is against firecrackers! Incredible! ‘C’ goes on about how she always wears new clothes and performs a puja at her home on Diwali. How enlightening! (As we always thought people eat plum cakes during Diwali.)
An overdose of the ‘Six-pack’ Shahrukh Khan and Farah Khan going ga-ga over “Om Shanti Om” (But, where’s the peace, good lord?), the other ‘Six-pack’ in a white towel in the “White nights” inspiration in an outlandish green/blue studio set with Venetian canals inhabited by a pretty lady running around pillars and the guy mooning over her! Of course, if all this did not significantly increase our awareness of current affairs, there’s still more to come. What did our other heroes a.k.a cricketers do on their day off ? Go and watch the latest Diwali release.
(BTW, the news channels have not yet run a show on the six-pack status of our cricketers.)
That's just what we missed a little bit!
Friday, November 09, 2007
Interesting signature line of a senior colleague :
"Speak less to the people whom you like most...Because if they can't understand your silence... they can never understand your words."
When would speech be considered 'virtuous'?
At the right time.
And pray what is the right time?
Only time will tell!
Ughhhh!
"Speak less to the people whom you like most...Because if they can't understand your silence... they can never understand your words."
When would speech be considered 'virtuous'?
At the right time.
And pray what is the right time?
Only time will tell!
Ughhhh!
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The "feel good" factor
It is not tangible or measurable yet makes an ocean of a difference, permeating across innumerable aspects of our day to day life - personal, professional and social relationships.
We leave our workplaces. Let go of family and friends. Elections are lost and won. Even the stock market gets affected. Thats the power of the "feel good" factor.
This is a key element to reducing friction and promoting healthy interactions between two individuals forming a micro unit and the same being extended to large organisations, societal groups.
It could range from a smile, a small gesture, a thoughtful act, a kind word or just being there - whatever makes the other person feel good - we do it because we care...in the process, reach out to the concerned person, group to infuse this feeling. Mere thought alone may not suffice but perhaps needs to be accompanied by action of some kind, an external manifestation that we care, perhaps.
And its an open field. Anyone can take the initiative anytime, sans reasons or excuses.
If we only care.
Its after all, just "feel good"!
My day just began on a "feel good" note. Climbing the stairs to my workplace, I noticed the leaning lady mopping the stairs. When I excused myself to pass through, she turns towards me, moves back and gives me a beautiful, radiant smile!
We leave our workplaces. Let go of family and friends. Elections are lost and won. Even the stock market gets affected. Thats the power of the "feel good" factor.
This is a key element to reducing friction and promoting healthy interactions between two individuals forming a micro unit and the same being extended to large organisations, societal groups.
It could range from a smile, a small gesture, a thoughtful act, a kind word or just being there - whatever makes the other person feel good - we do it because we care...in the process, reach out to the concerned person, group to infuse this feeling. Mere thought alone may not suffice but perhaps needs to be accompanied by action of some kind, an external manifestation that we care, perhaps.
And its an open field. Anyone can take the initiative anytime, sans reasons or excuses.
If we only care.
Its after all, just "feel good"!
My day just began on a "feel good" note. Climbing the stairs to my workplace, I noticed the leaning lady mopping the stairs. When I excused myself to pass through, she turns towards me, moves back and gives me a beautiful, radiant smile!
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