Worded Expressions

It seems eons since when I wrote last
When I poured my blithesome heart out
Into those tiny little bubbles called words
Potently carrying an emotional bout

And I wonder how can a few symbols - a mere few
Express the magnitude of my solitude
The purity of love, the twinkle of a hope
Perseverance and its fortitude

Scribbled on a random scrap
Flaking away in the air of the fan
Emotions and all hues of it
My heart expressed by a mere pen?

As I marvel at the power of it all
As I once again scribble the word
Language and its mysteries recall
The pen is mightier than the sword

A dream too many

Rising in the plane of my mind
A dream swirls and wrooms around
I try to hold it and give it shape
But helter skelter, its lost and found

I hold on to a thought so tight
I give away many for it
Trying to reach the dream of youth
Dancing around on its pulsing beat

And I miss out a dream I could have had
Had I let it run weird places
Embracing one so strongly then
Kept me out of a lot of races

And the race of life is to be won
Not by a closed dream but by opening to many
Warmly embracing the morning sunshine
Moving randomly to your final destiny

Perspectives

1:
As I stand still by the roadside
Watching the machines fly by me
I wish I could drive one so beautiful
Tis the pace at which I want to be.

2:
As I stand still by the roadside
Seeing the machines whiz away
Ugly and loathsome they seem to me
Destroying the serenity of the day.

3:
As I stand still by the roadside
As the machines fly away in their pace
Serenity and speed lie not in the car but inside me
This knowledge dawning, brings a smile to the face :)

Carrots

Once there was a gardener Bhaari. He had a beautiful rabbit. This story is of those times where rabbits could understand and even speak English. Not only rabbits, but the entire animal kingdom could. If you havent read about this age in history, then you didnt read the right books!

So, as I was saying, our dear rabbit Dido was an intelligent kitten. His master Bhaari took him to different kitten races. He told Dido, "You win the race and I will give you a carrot." Dido always won. He simply loved the carrots.



Slowly slowly, Dido grew up. With all the carrots, he was bound to be fitter than most other rabbits. Bhaari now took Dido to the bigger races where Dido competed with much bigger rabbits. He told Dido as always, "Win the race and take the carrot". Dido was unhappy. He complained, "These races are bigger, tougher. I will not run or win for one carrot. I need two." Bhaari agreed. Dido always won. Slowly slowly, Dido got 3, 4, 5... carrots per race. Dido now grew fat and bulky. He ofcouse could not run the races anymore. He seemed tired. He wanted his master to take care of him now. The master just wanted to win the races. One fine day, the master threw Dido out of the house to get a beautiful new rabbit Mojo.

Also, at the same time there was a wise old fellow Sada. He had a not-so-beautiful rabbit Jijo. Jijo never won the races. His master after every loss told him, "You are very lucky. You got one more chance to learn today. Learn from your mistakes and move ahead." Jijo always got a carrot irrespective of whether he won or not. Jijo would make it a point to try his best to not let his master down. He practised harder and harder after every race. But, he surely wasnt the best. He always lost. When he grew up, his master gave him 2 carrots after every race. Never more. He said, "If you have too many carrots, you will end up spoiling your health". Jijo never asked for more.

The wise old man fell unwell one odd day. Jijo didnt want to disappoint the old man. He knew this could possibly be the last race the old man saw. He gave his best. He could have died on the race ground, that was his fierceness. He still didnt make it. He was a close second. With eyes blurred with tears, he reached his master. "I am sorry master. I failed you once again. You deserve a much better pet". To this, the wise master replied, "If you would have failed me, you would not have been besides me now. I have seen you put your efforts day in day out. You have done your 100%. Still, if only results matter, you have given me the true result in life. You have given me the happiness which no other rabbit could ever give. You gave me your sweat, you made me proud".

The master went on to live to see the next race which Jijo won.

Shocked at Jijo's - the weakest rabbit's - win, Dido came to meet him. "How did you manage this Jijo? I can barely run these days." To which Jijo replied,"We all run for carrots. More and more. More and more. Carrots are our motivation. After each win, they make us happy but the need for further motivation just keeps increasing. But, when there is no motivation, no need for even a carrot - when you have a master like mine - what you have is not motivation, but inspiration. And a second of inspiration lasts you a lifetime".

Dido understood the difference between a management Guru and a spiritual Guru :)

The painting

It had been a boring summer at home after my ship reached Indian shores having traveled to exotic locations across four continents of the world during winter and spring. Days were spent not knowing what to do with them; one day at a time. Today, while glancing through the Bombay Times (for it deserves no more than a glance), I saw that one of India's most renowned painters Mr. Natwar Shah had his painting exhibition at the Jehangir Art gallery called 'My signature exhibition'. It was one of its kind, for the guests would not only get to meet Mr. Shah in person but also for the first time on display were his unsigned paintings. He would sign them in front of all his fans and the entire gathering at the gallery. Reading that advertisement, I started reminiscing my days at school where I loved to paint and decided to check out the exhibition to get a glimpse of Mr. Shah myself. Afterall, there could be nothing juicier than art on a dry summer day.

Jehangir Art Gallery is perhaps honored of being the place where the best put their best on display. While looking at the various pieces of marvel, there was an unusual one that caught my eye. It was painted majorly in shades of black but also randomly in shades of red, orange, green. The forms in the painting seemed undecipherable and I couldn't make much of the painting. I looked at the title of the painting. It was called 'Happiness' and i realized this is what people called abstract painting!



The painting was making no sense to me and while I was looking at the painting, another curious painting enthusiast came and stood next to me. "Wow, isn't that a remarkable painting?", he exclaimed. I was wondering how did he decode the crypt hidden in the painting or whether he was just faking it up. Whichever be the case, not wanting to look ignorant, I said, "Ya. It is so beautiful. Look at the various new forms and patterns. They are so creative and unusual". There are two types of men in the world - a few mad ones who comprehend art and the others who behaved as it they were the mad ones. This fellow seemed to belong to the first category though for he analyzed the hues, the forms and their relation to happiness with me in great detail.

While this discussion (rather a monologue) was on, a few more had joined us. Someone remarked, "How uncharacteristic and creative! Look at the Z and the inverted A painted at the two ends of the painting. The painter believes that a reversal of the dogmas taught to us in the name of education and moving backwards from Z towards A, inverting whatever biases we have in our heads, only that can bring true happiness to the society!"

"What an intelligent interpretation!", I thought. Continuing this idea, I said, "Ya absolutely. The author believes in the reversal of tradition. Some of his forms look like inverted human faces to me and he stands for inversion of dogmas, change and revolution." I was soaking in this revelation that had occurred to me when Mr. Natwar Shah, the great painter (now perhaps legendary for me) himself arrived at the exhibition. I was eager to know his interpretation of the painting and I was so glad that I had decided to come to the exhibition.

Mr. Shah began by signing each of his paintings and each sign of his led to thunderous applause from his fans (me now one of them :) ). After signing a few paintings, he reached us. After seeing so many gathered around a painting of his, he took a look at this painting. He looked infuriated when his eyes met the painting. "I am so sorry for this", he apologized to us. "Ramu", he shouted at the top of voice while we were bewildered at what was happening. Ramu, the caretaker of the gallery arrived almost immediately at Mr. Shah's call. "Can't you see a painting and put it up? Why have you put this on display upside down? Change this, you idiot".

I felt naked. And perhaps all those who ACT like mad men did!