Sunday, September 30, 2007

some !dea...

A few months back, when the nation was going through the debates of reservation/quota in the institutes of higher education, I came across an article by Mr Valson Thampu (the principal of St Stephen’s college Delhi). I don’t quite remember much of that but at that time I had jotted down some of the lines from the article. Sometimes you know that there is something inside you but you cannot see it clearly. Then suddenly you read, listen or see something which liberates that vague image of your mind and that dark area of your conscience becomes enlightened forever. Those lines:

“Merit is often a little more than just the accident of being conceived in a right womb.”

“Purpose of education is to liberate, not to imprison your soul... St Stephens understands that education is a way of liberation not a market driven commodity...”

“Unfortunately today we can easily find a means to live but we cannot find a reason to live for.”

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

back from kalinga...

I visited Orissa last weekend. Landed in Bhubneshwar on Friday night and a lush green land overcast by dark clouds welcomed me to its seemingly never ending monsoon showers. Landing was bumpy (in words of the captain of DN677 flight) and clouds were so heavy that I could not see where to the plane was declining until just a few meters above ground I saw the runway of Biju Patnaik airport. Approaching dusk complimented the darkness of clouds and it was love at first sight with the weather and greenery. I slept away the night, letting rain drops beat the asbestos off the narrow and poorly built roads of the city.

Though the rain was intimidating my travel plans, still early next morning, I started off for the Sun Temple at Konark. It was an hour journey from Bhubneshwar to the famous world heritage sight that could have given the Taj Mahal a tough competition for being seventh wonder of the world had the weather and time not wore it off its beauty and grandeur. Temple was built under the regime of Ganga Dynasty king Narsimha somewhere around 1200 AD devoted to the Sun god. One thing I inferred from the temple’s architecture was that, sex-wise our ancestors were very wise. The 800 years old erotic architecture on temple walls gives a healthy impression of the lavish life the king lived.

I was also awed to imagine that how emperors worked (or made others work) so hard towards preserving their lives in form of temples etc for the future could remember them. How there has been little change in the fundamentals of life since the beginning. How today, even though the life is running on wheels still the direction is missing and every path leads to infinity from everywhere.

I tried to gather some new experiences too. For instance, I smoked the local Oriya Beedi, tobacco wrapped around some leaf! People eat lot of ‘paan’ in Orissa. So to have a local feel I ate lot of ‘paan’ including one with beetle leaves! God bless my lungs and throat. The calcium carbonate (choona) has blistered my tongue!

After appreciating the grandeur of Konark, I headed towards one of the most important religious places of Hindus – Jagannath Puri. Considered to be the only living god on earth who savors ‘somarasa’ (the heavenly drink) everyday - the lord Jagannath (lord of the
world) is very famous for granting liberation to His sincere devotees. But visiting the temple didn’t quite work out for me. Before meeting the lord, his official peons (informally called ‘pandas’) met me outside the gate and liberation was postponed there and then. After getting stained with ‘choona’ of 80 rupees, somehow I escaped from that place littered with money-thirsty crows. I don’t know, once I had been to this Baina beach in Goa (red light area), but there wasn’t much difference in the way I felt after coming out of Baina beach and Lord Jagannath temple - I was happy that I escaped, I was guilty that why the hell did I go there…! I had gone to the temple to clean my sins, but it felt as if I have sinned by going there! This temple visit became another tale of frustration for the attitude of Indian Hindus towards religion and God. Anyhow! Towards the end of the day it was time for India-Australia semi finals at ‘pantha nivas’ hotel near Puri beach and happily – India came out in flying colors.

It rained heavily in the night and next morning the wind was cyclonic! The plan was to visit the biggest brackish water lagoon of India – the Chilka Lake! I reached Satapada – the place from where one can see the awesome lake in its full grandeur. But unfortunately due to last night’s rains and heavy wind the Bay of Begal had flooded into the lake and nobody was ready to go in with their boats. Disappointed, I started back to Bhubneshawar. But on the way back I discovered a place called ‘barakudi’ (a small village some 5 kms away from the main road) where I met a nice Hindi speaking villager who instantly agreed to take me into the lake on his wooden boat. Price was fixed and I was on my way into the wild lake. The waves were hitting the boat furiously and after speeding in for around 45 minutes when I could no longer stand the anger of the waves, I asked the fellow (named Duryodhan) to take me back! From Duryodhan I came to know that ‘Barakudi’ is worth a visit in winter months when around 200 species of migratory birds from all around the world fill the lake which is at that time calm and has flushed all the flooded water into the sea.

After that adventurous boat ride, I headed back to Bhubneshwar. On the way back there was this place called ‘Dhauligiri’ – where around 2300 years ago the Great Ashoka lay
down the weapons of violence and embraced Buddhism after the bloodshed of Kalinga war. This was the most amazing and inspiring place on this visit. Indian government built a ‘pagoda’ on this hill in 1972 with Orissa’s trademark tigers-statue guarding its gates. The pagoda has four idols of Buddha in four different postures. (Beware! You may find some ‘pandas’ here also. Don’t encourage them. Just ask them to f**k off…) The weather was complementing the moment of greatness. Dark clouds, lush green fields and muddy ‘daya’ river… One can understand what made Ashoka leave violence and embrace Buddhism. I saw the rock on which Ashoka wrote his edicts in ‘brahmi’ script and the elephant mouth he carved symbolizing the Buddha in one of his forms (Gajattame) where he was conceived by his mother in her womb in elephant form.

I didn’t feel like leaving the place, but it was getting dark and it was about to ra
in so I headed back to the city. On the way I thought of visiting the ‘Linga Raj’ temple but before I could step out of the car, the God’s crows surrounded the vehicle and I had to postpone the liberation once again indefinitely. Feelings remained unchanged as described before.

I had a couple of hours to spare before ending the day, so I thought of exploring the city malls. One thing is pretty clear, once you are into the cities and into the shopping malls, there is hardly any difference in any state or country except the language at a few places. Maximum of the times it is the remote outskirts of the thriving cities that give any place its unique identity!

On my way back to Hyderabad next morning, when I was reading the free magazine of Air Deccan flights, I realized I missed the Nandan Kanan wild life sanctuary which is just 18 kms away from Bhubneshwar. On that sad note, I am preparing with more research for my next trip…

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

trying anti depressant...

Apun ka dimaag mein salaa kuchh chemical locha ho gayela hai...
I need to properly train my brain
From the start, once again
Otherwise this ennui & this rain
Will leave me hopeless & insane!

Oh good... it rhymes... :)...

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

games people play...

After finishing reading the book I looked at the bookmark lying by the side which said 'A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say...'

Apparently without knowing we all have been living while playing games all the time, like a programmed human, whether we wanted or not. Even this blog is a part of that game!
Eric Berne's this classic has the potential to change any person's perception of life.

A few excerpts:
"...Awareness means the capacity to see a coffeepot and hear the birds sing in one's own way, and not the way one was taught..."
"PARENTS, deliberately or unaware, teach their children from birth how to behave, drink, feel and perceive. Liberation from these influences is no easy matter, since they are deeply ingrained and are necessary during the first two or three decades of life for biological and social survival. Indeed, such liberation is only possible at all because the individual starts off in an autonomous state, that is, capable of awareness, spontaneity and intimacy, and he has some discretion as to which parts of his parents' teachings he will accept. At certain specific moments early in life he decides how he is going to adapt to diem. It is because his adaptation is in the nature of a series of decisions that it can be undone, since decisions are reversible under favorable circumstances."
"...for certain fortunate people there is something which transcends all classifications of behavior, and that is awareness; something which rises above the programming of the past, and that is spontaneity; and something that is more rewarding than games, and that is intimacy. But all three of these may be frightening and even perilous to the unprepared. Perhaps they are better off as they are, seeking their solutions in popular techniques of social action, such as "togetherness." This may mean that there is no hope for the human race, but there is hope for individual members of it."
The complete book can be had from here.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

as a man thinketh...

A post dedicated to ‘As a Man Thinketh’ by James Allen.

Some lines from the book...

1. As a man thinketh in his heart so is he…

2. Man is a growth by law, and not a creation by artifice, and cause and effect is as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as in the world of visible and material things. A noble and Godlike character is not a thing of favor or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking, the effect of long-cherished association with Godlike thoughts. An ignoble and bestial character, by the same process, is the result of the continued harboring of groveling thoughts.

3. Man is always the master, even in his weaker and most abandoned state; but in his weakness and degradation he is the foolish master who misgoverns his "household."

4. The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors; that which it loves, and also that which it fears; it reaches the height of its cherished aspirations; it falls to the level of its unchastened desires, and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own.

5. Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are. Their whims, fancies, and ambitions are thwarted at every step, but their inmost thoughts and desires are fed with their own food, be it foul or clean.

6. Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results.

7. Suffering is always the effect of wrong thought in some direction. It is an indication that the individual is out of harmony with himself, with the Law of his being.

8. If you would protect your body, guard your mind. If you would renew your body, beautify your mind.

9. Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment.

10. It has been usual for men to think and to say, "Many men are slaves because one is an oppressor; let us hate the oppressor." Now, however, there is amongst an increasing few a tendency to reverse this judgment, and to say, "One man is an oppressor because many are slaves; let us despise the slaves."

11. Law, not confusion, is the dominating principle in the universe…

The complete book can be downloaded from here.