Ambiguity

Something has been keeping me smiling these days. While driving or working or just talking.

We, Indians, have a weird tendency to be indecisive. We are indecisive (or procrastinate) in almost everything we do. Ambigious in our actions. Its neither a yes nor a no. Neither this side nor that side. I call this tendency 'neither here nor there'. A few examples.

Indian Roads- Every rider from a bus or a rickshaw or a motorcycle to a bullcart, everyone tries to ride at the dead center of the road; irrespective of speed. Lanes, what lanes? If you want to go really fast, you rather drive on the edges of the road risking the lives of pedestrian and yourself (hoping not to get roughed up). Now I know why we Indians have a tendency to blow our horn so often. Think we love making irritating noices.

Here is a poem named "Indian Roads"

Have you ever driven a vehicle on a Indian road?

From fastest to the slowest, everyone aims for the center road.

Neither here, nor there; I exclaim

As I make my claim for the center road.

Author - Yours truly

Another example, The Indian head shake.

Ask us a question that requires an answer in Yes or No. You will get a weird headshake which conveys yes and no. Confused and dazed you restate the question, hoping to get a verbal answer. This I have noticed especially amoungst South Indians. Except for the trained eyes, this would always look like "Neither yes nor no". More Ambiguity

A perfect example (probably not a good one) is the recent Ayodhya Verdict. The Babri/Ram Janmabhomi land is to be divided into three parts; one each for Muslims, Hindus and Nirmohi Akhada. An exceptional example of "neither here, nor there".

Maybe it is the Indian way of life. Why decide when you can wait. Funny as it maybe, it is interesting to note. Man we are so indecisive and so flexible. I love India. :)

Moustache - A poem

A poem about Moustaches, by Charlie McDonnell ...

How I wish I could grow a moustache,
so that people could see me as cool.
With a fashionable style, a furry smile,
the ladies would drown in their drool.

Oh I wish I could grow a moustache,
so that people could think me a man.
I would work on a farm, have a rugged charm,
and probably drive a white van.

I wish I could form a moustache,
maybe people would think I was snappy.
I would keep it in trim, I would go to the gym,
with some hair on my lip, I'd be happy.

How I long, and long, for a moustache,
so people could think I was smart.
I would hypothesise, that a moustache is wise,
and then show my results, in a chart.

I wish I could own a moustache,
so that people could think me their friend.
With a jolly old tash, I would sure be a smash,
and a man on which you could depend.

But alas, I cannot grow a moustache,
my face is unfavourably bare.
And now I have disclosed, that my lip

The years shall run like rabbits

The years shall run like rabbits,

For in my arms I hold

The Flower of the Ages,

And the first love of the world.'

But all the clocks in the city

Began to whirr and chime:

'O let not Time deceive you,

You cannot conquer Time.

'In the burrows of the Nightmare

Where Justice naked is,

Time watches from the shadow

And coughs when you would kiss.

'In headaches and in worry

Vaguely life leaks away,

And Time will have his fancy

To-morrow or to-day.

This is an extract from the poem "As I walked out one evening" W. H. Auden.

My favorite part

Tiny house

Long did I cherish a desire,

Neither for health nor for any fame.

But a tiny house tucked in a corner of earth,

Where I could be with my thoughts

- Rabindranath Tagore

What a wonderful world.

- Louis Armstrong

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

:)

Troublesome companion

Original Poem in Tamil by Avvaiyar (12th Century AD)
ஒரு நாள் உணவை , ஒழிஎன்றல் ஒழியாய்
இரு நாளைக்கு ஏலென்றால் ஏலாய்
ஒரு நாளும் என்நோய் அறியாய்
இடும்பைகூர் என்வயிறே
உன்னோடு வாழ்தல் அரிது


One days's food, you cant forgo
Nor would you accept in one lot food for two days
Even for a single moment, you don't understand my pains!
O stomach of mine,
It is indeed an arduous task to live with you!

True... makes sense. a troublesome companion it is

Life and Random thoughts

Life, as we know it, is unexplainable. Of late I've been coming across people and friends who have been gloomy and cheerless. They, in their inability to explain life, are listless; “no wind in their sails” so to say.

Why does one thing, anything, become so important that life is a drag and no longer about them? It's like they have sold their life, their soul to someone or just lost it. It doesn't make sense. Isn't life to enjoy and laugh. Laugh at problems?

Why, as one grows old, we lose track of who we are? Why lose track of what we are? Why we lose interest on things we love and start concentrating all our life/time/energy on things irritate or simply don't make any sense? Why waste time and life on such things?

Why not just love the feel, smell, taste, touch of life? Why not just dance through life? As Colonel Slade would say; When tangled up, why not just tango on?

Why not? Questions without answers.


Cultivating worry in your mind day after day, and living in fear as a consequence, is the practice of Ignorance.

Shedding all doubts and surrendering to the benign Grace of the Omnipotence that guards and protects the Universe entire is the assertion of Wisdom supreme.

- SUBRAMANIA BHARATIAR

Leisure

by Henry Davies

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

Watching through the lens

A photo I had taken while watching the sky on a cloudy-sunny day.


Looks like blogspot has compressed the image.

Walk alone

This is the translation of the famous song, Ekla Chalo re, written by Rabindranath Tagore;

If they answer not to thy call walk alone,
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,
O thou of evil luck,
open thy mind and speak out alone.

If they turn away, and desert you when crossing the wilderness,
O thou of evil luck,
trample the thorns under thy tread,
and along the blood-lined track travel alone.

If they do not hold up the light when the night is troubled with storm,
O thou of evil luck,
with the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart
and let it burn alone.

:)

Ja Ree Ja,Main Tau Se',Naaheen Boloon...

A simple song sung beautifully by Iqbal Bano. Brilliant!

Stupidity

Sometimes an amazing truth of life just pops in your life out of nowhere. One such truth popped up today, from the mouth of my friend


"There is no protection against stupidity"


How true! :)

10k Marathon

Tadaaaaaa......

Finishing the 10kms (barely) in 1 hour and 9 mins (approx).

Bad cramps.... Good company of people i dont know. And a lot of fun

Do kadam aur sahi

Probably by M F Hussain

Zindagi haath mila. Saath chal, saath mein aa
Umr bhar saath rahe, Do kadam aur sahi

koi suraj ki dagar, koi sone ka nagar
chaand ke rath pe chale, jahaan tehre yeh nazar
dhup dariyaaon mein hain, phir safar paaon mein hain
dil ka aawara diya, doosre gaaon mein hain
aao chale hum wahi, do kadam aur sahi

Khwaab dhaltein hain jahaan, dil pighaltein hain jahaan
aao chaltein hain wahi, woh zameen door nahi
dosti hogi wahaan, roshni hogi wahaan
uss ujaale ke liye, jal chuke laakhon diye
ek hum aur sahi, do kadam aur sahi

kiski awaaz hai? sunn, yeh naya saaz hai sunn
kaun rehta hai sadaa, chal ke dekhein zaraa
raah veeraan sahi, raat sunsaan sahi
har ghadi saath rahe, kitne gam saath sahi
thode gam aur sahi… thode gam aur sahi
Do kadam aur sahi, Do kadam aur sahi

Bhaag Milkha, Bhaag

One rupee. That's the princely sum for which Milkha Singh - The Flying Sikh - has handed over his life story to filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.

Milkha has his reasons for turning down the eight-figure sum offered to him. If 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' were to become a hit like 'Rang De Basanti', inspire our young people and result in India's first Olympic track gold, that's reward enough for him.

Singh says, "This is the year of the Commonwealth Games. I feel sad to say that 52 years after I won a gold in the Cardiff Games, India hasn't been able to win a gold in track events."

Milkha is counting on Mehra's biopic to inspire India's youth with the story of an unassuming athlete who fought mind-numbing hardship and personal loss to win universal acclaim through sheer grit and determination.

Born in Lyallpur (now in Pakistan) in 1935, Milkha was a battle-hardened soul even before he let go of his childhood. As a 12-year-old during Partition, he was witness to the spine-chilling sight of his parents being butchered in front of his eyes.

A few sobs later, his heart was in his mouth as he escaped the clutches of death, concealing himself among corpses on the train to India.

Recovery wasn't easy but Milkha conquered the odds and before long, had won the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games gold in 1958 and famously lost the 400m bronze in the Rome Olympics by the proverbial coat of paint.

"I want Indian youth to understand what determination and purpose can achieve. If a Milkha, who didn't have access to even basic necessities of life, can aim for the skies, why not others who've been provided the best of facilities?" he asks.



Taken from an article in timesofindia. Edited out the irrelevant details.

Invictus

(Latin: meaning unconquered)

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Shab-e-tanhai

A beautiful poem on a old mans loneliness and his memories of various stages of life. Not sure who the poet is

Aksar shab-e-tanhai main ' kuch dair pehlay neend say
Guzri hui dil-chuspian ' Beetay huay din aish kay
Bantay hain shama-e-zindagi ' Aur daltay hain roshni
Meray dil-e-sud chaak per

Woh bachpan aur wo saadgi ' Woh rona woh hansna kabhi
Phir woh jawani kay mazay ' Woh dil lagi woh qehqahay
Woh ishq woh ehd-e-wafa ' Woh wada or woh shukriya
Woh lazzat-e-bazm-e-tarb ' Yaad aati hain ik aik sab

Dil ka kanwal jo roz-o-shab ' rehta shagufta tha o ab
Us ka yeh abtar haal hai ' Ik sabza-e-pamaal hai<
Ik phool kumhlaya hua ' sookha hua bikhra hua
Ronda para hai khak per

Yun hi shab-e-tanhai main ' Kuch dair pehlay neend say
Guzri hui na-kaamiyan ' Beetay huay din ranj kay
Bantay hain shama-e-baykasi ' Or daltay hain roshn
Un hasraton ki qabr per

Jo aarzooain pehlay theen ' Phir gham say hasrat ban gaein
Gham doston kay faut ka ' Un ki jawan maut ka
Lay daikh sheeshay main meray ' Un hasraton ka khoon hai
Jo gardish-e-ayyam say ' Jo qismat-e-nakaam say
Ya aish-e-ghum anjaam say ' Merg-e-But-e-gulfaam say
Khud meray ghum main mer gaein ' Kis tarha paaon main hazeen
Qaboo dil-e-baysabr per

Jab aah un ahbab ko ' Main yad ker uthta hoon jo
Yun mujh say pehlay uth gaye ' jis tarha taair baagh kay
Ya jesay phool aur patiyan ' Gir jain sun qabl khizan
Or khushk reh jaye shajr
Us waqt tanhai meri ' Bun ker mujassam baykasi
Ker deti hai pesh-e-nazar ' Ho haq sa ik weeran ghar
Berbaad jis ko chor ka ' Sub rehnay walay chal basay
Tootay deewar or khirkiyan ' chat kay tapaknay kay nishan

Pernaalay hain rozan nahin ' Yeh hall hain aangan nahin
Perday nahin chilman nahin ' Ik shama tuk roshan nahin
Meray siwa jis main koi ' Jhankay na bhoolay say koi
Woh khana-e-shali hai dil ' Poochay na jis ko dev koi
Ujra hua weeran ghar

Aksar shab-e-tanhai main ' kuch dair pehlay neend say
Guzri hui dil-chuspian ' Beetay huay din aish kay
Bantay hain shama-e-zindagi ' Aur daltay hain roshni
Meray dil-e-sud chaak per

Shab = night; shab-e-tanhai = night of loneliness. Dil-chaspian = interest
chaak=dissect.
Saadgi=simplicity, austerity.
Lazzat= flavor, enjoyment, pleasure. Bazm = meeting tarb = teach? (not sure)
Shagufta=bloom.
Abtar=ruined, scattered.
sabza-e-pamaal=destroyed "green" orchid
Kumhlana=to be faded, withered.
Khak=dirt, earth, ashes; ronda = crumpled.
Na-kaamiyan=failures. Ranj=grief distress
qabr=place of burial.Hasrat=desire, longing, intense pain. Aarzoo=yearning/desire/wish/longing
Faut=passing away; escape.
Gardish=revolution, misfortune. Nakaam=failur
But=idol; merg=?; gulfaam=?
Ahbab=friends, loved one’s
Taair=birds
Khizan=tressure qabl=pre
khushk=dry, withered. Shajr=tree
Mujassam=to make bulky, to render corporeal.

The human heart

The human heart has hidden tressures

In secrets kept, in silence sealed

The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasure

whose charms are broken if revealed

- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Woh Mujhse Hue Humkalam

A beautiful sher sung by Farida Khanum. Yet to know who the poet is.

woh mujhse hue hum-qalaam, allah! allah!

Qalam=pen/talk/speak
kahaan main kahaan yeh maqaam, allah! allah!
woh mujhse hue hum-qalaam, allah! allah!

yeh rooh-e-darekhshaan
rooh=spirit, darekshaan=brightness
yeh zulfon ke saaye
yeh hungaama-e-subah-o-shaam, allah! allah!

woh sehmaa hua aansuoon kaa talaatum
talatum=waves
woh aab-e-rawaan besharam, allah! allah!
aab=water(a persian word) rawaan=flowing (persian)

woh zabt-e-sukhan mein labon ki khamoshi
zabt=control, sukhan=words/speach
nazar ka woh luft-e-karam, allah! allah!
luft=pleasure karam=some action/favor

woh mujhse hue hum-qalaam, allah! allah!
kahaan main kahaan yeh maqaam, allah! allah!
woh mujhse hue hum-qalaam, allah! allah!

If.....

by Rudyard Kipling.

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!