The Unfathomable

O’ life, the unfathomable,

The courage it requires, will I ever be able to gather?

But whom to blame,

When circumstances play an evil game.

The display of life in decadence,

Wavers my sense of cadence.

‘Hold on, be strong’,

How these words seem all wrong.

'Dear, hurting you was never my intention',

'I understand' was all she could mention.

'Please stop being in a rut', I hear myself say,

I promise to chart my own way.

Annihilate the noxious vermins,

Illuminate the mind with constant learnings.

The insipid existence sees a ray of light,

Hope and faith define the might.

Aapki Dilli kaunsi hai??

It was a pleasant coincidence, the day I reached Saddi Dilli. I was so enthralled by the lovely greens visible from the wheels of the journey from Mumbai to Delhi, wide roads ready to embrace me. The waft of familiar smell transcended me to the memories associated with this city. This led me to question the ethereal beauty that Delhi is. And as soon as I reached my abode, TV was exhibiting the enchantress that Delhi is.

Now that I have returned from the heavenly trip, I reckon this is the best time to define my own Delhi. What it means to me? The signature Delhi; which has defined and nurtured the person I am today. Here goes my very own and of course very biased explanation. :P (as I love to reiterate “I am a true blue Delhiite :P”)

There is a soul to this city, with which, I find an instant connect unlike other cities. Meandering lanes, lush parks, manicured avenues, they all find a place in my childhood memories. Innumerable trips to Chandni Chowk for those ever-so-spicy chaats to those early morning swimming classes at the beautiful Talkatora stadium to the strolls at evergreen, ever grand, ever regal Connaught Place to the bylanes of Nai Sadak which had my eyes roving in delight with all the papyrus waiting to find takers. Excursions at Lodhi Gardens to the educational ones at planetariums and science museums, constant adventures and the thrill of driving on the roads of Delhi. Being surrounded by people whose main business is to mind other people’s business (yet we all enjoy those juicy tid bits.. don’t we?) which brings a sense of comfort when the need arises in difficult times. Fun games at children’s park to that yummy ice cream at India Gate. Amalgamation of various states and their cultures at Dilli Haat to the serenity clad Lotus Temple. Truly majestic Akshardham Temple to the grand opulence at Kingdom of Dreams. You have options galore.. and this is just the beginning !!!

For me Delhi is much more than this. It has given me some innumerable, timeless memories with my family and friends…Its heritage rich belly has opened my mind to countless topics to ponder on. From my school to my undergrad days and finally the MBA; the people, the places (all so different and so vivid) have left an indelible mark in my life. The closeness, the comfort which I feel here cannot be experienced anywhere else. All the cities seem to alienate the outsiders but Delhi.

Thanks Delhi for letting me play in your arms… for sheltering me in your cradle... above all thanks to my parents for choosing Delhi over any other city!!!! J

This feeling of attachment with the place where one has spent the childhood holds for each one of us. I would appreciate if you can answer the same for yourself “Aapki/ Aapka <insert your hometown> kaunsi/ kaunsa hai??” and I, gladly, would like to read your interpretation of your hometown.

Life is Cricket and Cricket is Life!!! - Part II

There cannot be a more befitting post after the last post of mine and the oh-so surreal match on 2^nd April 2011 (please inscribe this date on whichever accessible thing you can lay your hands on – it will form a part of the inheritance you are going to bequeath on your next generation!!! And I am very serious about it). I cannot recall any instance during the course of 25 years of my life when India was united in celebrations with all the zest & fervor and rejoiced as a NATION. More than anything else it was the collective fulfillment of a dream which we all dreamt for the past 28 years. Cricket is indeed a religion in India which surpasses every possible divide that have been created by people skillfully taking advantage of the lacunae in the political and constitutional system.

How difficult is it to have one dream, one vision across 1.21 billion people? I reckon it is next to impossible. What makes cricket so endearing that everybody comes together as one unit to celebrate in the glory of 11 men? Though this has been tackled in the previous post, in this post I want to draw attention to the necessity of one vision, one aspiration that can build a cohesive bond amongst all the people. The reality is that at the basic level we all share similar dreams. The way these can be manipulated by the people in power is what makes this power game tick. If we all realize that it is the collectivism which can lead to a greater fulfillment in life, don’t you think this world would be a better place to live? If we can celebrate and acknowledge the hardwork of a team on a national level for cricket why do we shy away from doing the same at a smaller level? Why can’t we give due to someone who deserves it and feel genuinely happy about him? That pat on the back goes a long way in changing someone’s life. Just for once, shed all your inhibitions and genuinely appreciate someone, celebrate in their achievements and you will get so much happiness out of it. As they say, “As you sow so shall you reap”, and we all can immensely benefit from this process.

Cricket, even if treated as religion, should not merely be treated on its face value. This is where we all falter. Why do we always miss the larger picture? Deeper understanding of the concepts leads to the true form of religion.  This takes effort and we should not just gravitate towards an easier route. Praise each other fully and derive contentment from sharing happiness. It is truly worth the effort.

Life is Cricket and Cricket is Life!!!

“Too much gyaan”.. ”Where is the fun part”.. “It’s too philosophical”… After these comments from few of my friends I decided to shift my gears to some different topic…I thought let me keep aside the heavy stuff this week… and what better way to write something easy on the mind than the topic which everyone is going crazy for the past 1 month … CRICKET!!!

I was wondering what is there in cricket that it has become the fulcrum for national unity which otherwise is divided by castes, religion, political leanings, classes and masses and what not…What is there in that shiny red, little, hard ball which drives everyone on their edges and gives much needed respite from mundane day to day commotion…How can possibly one of the best cricketing talent be equated to GOD?? (I am in no way doubting the cricketing genius this person is, who requires no introduction at all and shall be only called as GOD in this post)…Despite my almost maniacal outbursts whenever the Men in Blue play on the field I am unable to comprehend why am I such an avid follower of this sport which won’t have any bearing on my life, whatsoever apart from a temporary euphoria!!… (for instance how exactly The Wall is going to help me in my boards exam, or how would the Maharaja help in getting me a nice chauffeur driven car when I am unable to gain the pity of autowallah to take me to my desired destination – if you have ever been to Delhi you can empathize and sympathize with this else, this is not for the faint hearted…..)

So my question is why do we engross ourselves so much into a sport which usually eats away a third of our day’s time to almost three-fourth of a week…I have seen people finding applicability of all possible superstitions they have ever come across in their lives on the day of a cricket match (needless to say we literally Bleed Blue, Green, Red!! all for it)…

As for me, it is like a cathartic process… to chase the unchaseable, to unleash the power to do the unthinkable, each day (each match) leads to a different milestone, accomplishment, to come out as a winner against all the odds…

If I take the God’s analogy only, I believe it is the journey which matters…God’s mission at present is to lift that coveted cup..whether that will be a reality or not is something we’ll have to wait and watch (I am keeping my fingers crossed for the 30^th!! – THE EPIC CLASH)…but look at the journey of this genius… His graph has both the peaks and troughs…It is his immaculate sense of ambivalence and focus on his art, his passion that has made what he is today… It is the journey and really not the destination which has made him the legend…

Won’t you agree with me when I say that it is the experiences in a person’s life which shape his character...And this character is the only thing which holds him in good stead…We still remember the way Zulu gave it all for that unfortunate semifinal against the Kangaroos in the World Cup eons ago (1999 to be precise)… No one can forget the way he exhibited brilliance on the field irrespective of the end result…Or the spirited leprechauns discarded their tag as minnows and came in full flow against the mighty English (current WC)…I believe it is the unyielding spirit which defines the journey called Life and no different from a cricket match which has all the emotions rolled into one…Whether you get the cup or not is just a matter of chance and it cannot and should not define or govern the life!!

Note:

For the uninitiated, here is the list of all the nicknames I have used for some of the cricket players and the cricket playing nations in this post.

The God – Do I really need to mention it??? For the sake of completion, Sachin Tendulkar

The Wall – Rahul Dravid

The Maharaja – Sourav Ganguly

Men in Blue – India’s Cricket Team

Zulu – Lance Klusener

Kangaroos – Australia’s Cricket Team

Leprechaun – Ireland’s Cricket Team

English – England’s Cricket Team

Is there any justice in the world?

Nyāya (Justice) is defined as the rightful judgement or the culmination of a person’s state which is better or worse in relative terms than his initial state depending on his deeds or karma.

But who has the rightful authority to segregate the wrongdoings or the good work? Is it an objective assessment or a decision marked by a society’s, culture’s or a person’s perspective.

If justice is a forsaken result in the world then why do we have millions of impending cases lying in courts waiting for the winds of time to turn in the favourable direction? Many lives have breathed their last just waiting in distress.

Let us trace this dichotomy of right or wrong since the mythological eras. Who suffered more .. Rama or Ravana? Pandavas or Kauravas? If the line of reasoning given here is that at the end of the day Truth triumphs over the evil and Ravana and Kauravas had to face infamy and notoriety in the millennia to come then I beg to differ. I’d like to counter this argument by saying a stern “Who cares!!” Did Ravana or for that matter Kauravas endure any negativity when they were alive, hale and hearty? Who endured the suffering during their lifetime? Moreover, death is inevitable. Personally I hardly care what people may think about me when I leave for the heavenly abode (maybe a wishful thinking!!). I don’t want my life on this planet to be embroiled with miseries simply because I plan to choose the path of righteousness and fight against what is not right. (This can be an altogether different debate on how we choose to lead our lives and in this post neither I am commenting on my way or any other person’s way of living. It is merely a perspective.)

My belief in statistics would help me defend my point further. If I have to accomplish the goal of being happy in life I should be mean, cunning, scheming, engage in just my own pursuits and achieve them by hook or by crook with no regards to anybody else.. and lo and behold!! I would flourish like a tree laden with thousands of ripe, luscious, juicy mangoes in the Sahara desert... Yes, you read me right.. a magnificence...brilliance of lovely green cover with radiant dots like mangoes amidst a miserable and harsh climes of the land.

All the proponents of dharma, satya who say that all this is transitory and will soon come to an end, I politely request them to go back and check the dusted tomes of our history. An unfortunate realization, but for one's benefit, if one does not want to cry endlessly and don't want to go down the path of distress, it is better to know that this is Kalyug!!

Disclaimer: This post does not intend to propagate any means, ways which are not aligned to what is correct as practiced and widely known to us. I reiterate it was simply to see a scenario from a different angle.

Order in Disorderliness

So the dreaded time has finally come. Time to face my demons. Now if you are wondering what petrified me so much till date then let me make an honest confession... Since long I have been wanting to pen my thoughts on ravings and rantings about life... All the weird thoughts criss crossing my mind in general! These random, disconnected, incoherent musings today have helped me connect those unseemingly patternless dots of the world into what we can define as LIFE!! Yes, so finally this post on order in disorderliness...

There is a higher cosmic order which can be traced to millions and billions of processes taking place in an independent fashion. Do we ever give a thought to small incidents which happen to us all the time? Why do we meet certain people in our lifetime? Why do we feel an instant connect with certain people and why do we develop revulsion for some others?

To unravel this mystery let us try to identify some patterns. The most selfless love in this world is the one showered on a child by his parents. There is no rhyme or reason to this love except for the fact that the child is an embodiment of the mother and the father in the most blissful and the purest form. The innocence, the curiosity, the oblivion to anything which is full of malice, sadness, loathsome needs to be nurtured. It is as simple as sowing a plant which in its youth gives shade; under its canopy, spreads the lovely fragrance of its flowers, and is benevolent enough to give its fruits to the hungry. I'd like to believe that it is the tree's way of giving back the love to others with which it was reaped.

But, if life is as simple as this analogy, why do we have our world full of misery? Why is there an onslaught of terror attacks on the innocent souls? Why is there so much suffering in some parts of the world where little angels die every minute?

The profound truth is that one cannot define yin without yang, tai without chi, man without a woman, happiness without sadness, contentment without discontentment. Life revolves around complements. The two aspects complete and define each other. Until and unless one doesn't experience skullduggery, politics etc. one cannot appreciate the qualities like integrity, honesty..

To estimate the fair value of A, it needs to be benchmarked against B which can be its nemesis. If we don't see dawn we cannot appreciate dusk. Everything can be boiled down to two aspects. A positive and a negative depending on the context. A sweltering heat in summers is no match for a person being snuggled up inside a quilt with heater on besides him in a cold wintery night. Heat assumes different connotations in both the situations. It is all about what is desirable at a given point of time.

But what guides us to take that decision in splinter of seconds about what is desirable and what is not? Everyone wants to achieve their desirable status. But as we know everything in this world nullifies at the end. So desire for one is quenched only by acceptance of non-desirable status by someone else. So what is the reasonable quantum for someone to suffer and enjoy life? How can incessant sufferings of innocent be justified when there is no ray of hope for them.

Coming to the most basic question that I raised before.. is there a pattern? Is there an order in disorder?? If you have answers to these do share them...

What is essential is invisible to the eye..

I intend to write this post in a deconstructive style (courtesy: Mr. Jacques Derrida).. So let's start with the basics of "What is essential".. How do you define essential.. what, then becomes essential and why is it essential... The first two parts are subjective and I leave it to each his own... Essentially, the cause of an essential (again subjective!!) entity/place/person/tangible/intangible object being essential in one's life is governed by various factors. My hypothesis says it is the externalities which define the why essential part. The most important things in life, as the cliche goes, are taken for granted and when the realization dawns upon us may be there is no time to make amends.

So how do we decide what is important in our lives? Great men say "anything which gives happiness and contentment is the true calling and hence, we should strive to achieve that", to put it succinctly we can use the term "Purpose Maximization" which I came across recently. Introspect and jot down the occassions when you were really happy.. what made you happy...Till the time you are shrouded by the cloud of confusion, the rays of happiness will not be able to penetrate the cranium which is fed well with all the things material in life..

I am not afraid to admit that I am one of those millions of disillusioned homo sapiens who fail to understand this uncomplicated concept because of the complicated world around them. We are trying to find our way around the maze of life. All of us regurtitate similar aspirations, likes and dislikes like we have been manufactured on an assembly line!!

It is again the harsh fact of life that it is not easy to chart out the way by being a non conformist. The societal norms are inflexible and turn a blind eye to anything which is not aligned to the structure formulated by them. It requires courage of Hercules to withstand the archetypical society.

The crux of the existence is to find the answers to these questions. It is critical to ask these questions to ourselves. Everything will fall into place and we can unearth the true happiness and contentment.