Sunday 7 December 2008

The First Glimpse of Snow in Dalseo

In Dalseo, we had the first glimpse of the falling snowflakes this friday;

and we rushed out into the snow like little kids :-)
our little garden was covered in white
and the trees got the glow
the red, green and the crystals
and a christmas tree
but it all melted away, too soon :-(

Friday 28 November 2008

When Mumbai Burns and Bleeds.......

A few seconds of silence and a couple of teardrops,

And a message to the enemies of humanity; with a heavy heart and boiling blood,

That the great Indian Spirit could never be subdued by the groups of barbarians with such acts of cowardice.

Get off my country; you perverted cowards.......

Tuesday 4 November 2008

As America Goes to Polls…

This is only a piece of imagination, any resemblance to the words or deeds of any man or woman, dead or alive is purely coincidental.....

Having completed the last leg of their respective campaigns, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama wanted to ensure the support of Jesus Christ. Since Sen. McCain was busy campaigning in the fringe states he delegated his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin. Jesus was sleeping as Ms. Palin walked in. She seated herself on a chair near the head of Christ. Sen. Obama walked in a while later, much to the discomfort of Ms. Palin, who thought he had no business being there. She jumped up from her seat on seeing Christ opening His eyes.

 “My Lord, I’m Governor Sarah Palin from Alaska, a true soldier for Christianity and the candidate of all believers; I was waiting here for a long time to seek your blessings and support for Sen. John McCain and myself as the President and Vice President of the most Christian land on earth. Please bless us, my Lord.” she said to Christ.

 Jesus smiled at her as he slowly got up from his bed and looked at Obama.

 “And this is Senator Barack HUSSEIN Obama, our opponent in this election”.

 Jesus nodded in approval and smiled at Obama too. 

 “My Lord, I’m a Christian, have always been one”, Obama protested.

  “But what if I’m not? Will that make any difference to you, my Lord? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim, if I’m one?” He asked in a low tone.

 “But my Lord, throughout the world the believers are fighting a war on terror and the gentleman here may stop that crusade.” Ms. Palin went on the offensive.

 “Excuse me my Lord”, Obama sought to intervene, “I said I’ll talk to these so called enemies”.

 “Now that betrays a feeling that he is likely associates with terrorists”, Gov. Palin, interrupted. “Our path will be narrow, my Lord, of course it will be the one shown by you. But there will be no space to accommodate the enemy. Once we are sworn in by the Bible, we’ll be true to our words. But we will finish off the enemy.”

 “I’ll be more inclusive, my Lord”; said Obama, “I’ll keep an intellectual curiosity, a willingness to learn and try to approach problems with an open mind”

 “But my friend here supports abortion rights, my Lord. Isn’t that murder in the womb?” Interrupted Ms. Palin; “I do believe in the strength and the power of women, but I also have faith in the potential of every human life. We’re pro-life. We’ll do all we can to see every baby is created with a future and potential. The legislature should do all it can to protect human life. We’ll put more conservative justices on the Supreme Court and run the country in a truly Christian way” she added.

 “No my Lord, I strongly believe that the state can properly restrict late-term abortions. I have said so repeatedly. All I've said is we should have a provision to protect the health of the mother, and many of the bills that came before me didn't have that. Those who are opposed to abortion have a moral calling to try to oppose what they think is immoral. What they were trying to do was to polarize the debate and make it more difficult for people, so that they could try to bring an end to abortions overall. As President, my goal will be to bring people together, to listen to them. My goal is to get us out of this polarizing debate where we're always trying to score cheap political points and actually get things done.”

 “And my Lord his cap-and-trade energy proposal would bankrupt those building coal-fired power plants. They do donate to charities and churches, my Lord. We are committed to the coal industries and won’t let that happen”

“No my Lord, I’m not totally against such plants”……Obama intervened. “I’m only for curbing emissions that contribute to global climate change through a system of charging fees to those who emit such gases. So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it's just that it will bankrupt them because they're going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that's being emitted, because I presume that they’re also slowly destroying the planet”

 “A changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.” Ms. Palin presented her side.

 “And he is for curbing outsourcing my Lord, the very method which had won more converts for us to the American way of life than the Hollywood and the Rock n Roll combined. The move that enabled us to win over the children of those very people who had been leading violent demonstrations against us in the third world, the very move which made, as a case in point, the 33 crore gods from India to que up to seek your help because their more affluent devotees were pressing them with pujas to set things right with the American economy even as their country was starving and their farmers dying by the dozens.” Ms. Palin grinned.

 “But my Lord, my first priority will be to set things right at home. There are quite a large number of Americans struggling to make ends meet. I’m at first answerable to the poor of my nation, then only to the rest of the world. Other countries do have the governments of their own. And they are supposed to work too. Of course I’ll be willing to enter into kinds of agreements which are mutually beneficial, but not at the cost of the poor of my nation.” Obama was categorical.  

 “As you are aware, my Lord, I’m on the verge of completing an astonishing journey which would not been possible without your blessings and patronage. Yes, my Lord, as a youngster I had been a rebel of some sorts, an outsider. But that was because of the color of my skin. I was born in an America where it wouldn't have been possible for a black man - however brilliant and capable - to reach the position that I’m seeking now. Yes, my father was a black man but I’ll not make racial or religious rhetoric that is polarizing.” Obama spoke his mind.

 All the while, Jesus was listening with a patient smile.

Then He said unto them;

Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch

…..He paused for a moment and looked at the two….. then He continued…..

whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many

Saying thus, He got up to see them off.

 “Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.” 

He told them, as He bade them good bye. 

Now, what He had in mind?!

We may know in a few hours from now......or will it take weeks?

Friday 10 October 2008

Waiting for Winter!

Winter had always brought him gifts, wrapped in some pensive guise; the bitter memories, sad, sickening thoughts and visions past, of defeats and disappointments, of losing out time and again to malevolent manipulators and cunning confidence tricksters.

And as it quietly clawed its way in, crawling up the bones, with all its wrath unleashed upon him, he used to creep deeper into the dark dungeon where he lived in careless solitude, finding solace in a good book or two, engrossed in his Kafkaesque fantasies, the lust for revenge giving way to muted renunciation. And he often tried to fight back his dreary fate, chasing away the cheerless gloom by conversing with the gentle giants, the sages of ancient age, and the makers of the modern world.

But this winter is going to be different for him for he is going to discover snow for the first time with a gang of cute little kids with infinite zest, as much eager and as enthusiastic. They made him glance through the shades of gloom, into the possibilities of winter days and exclaimed through those toothless smiles that it throws a chilly white blanket of snow on the ground, and that the sun makes sparkling jewels on the snow, and how the trees in their neighborhoods are adorned with the ornaments of snow. They also told him that there will be enough snow to make a giant snow man! They are hoping to raise an army of snow men this winter and they have agreed to enlist him as an apprentice.

And yes, he is waiting for winter,……….....to make one for himself………….....
......an ice maiden.....with an icy diadem and a Duchenne smile.

Sunday 28 September 2008

The Two Questions- Returned

Arrogant as always, with no Regrets

The class room was noisy as usual. Verbal wars were on for and against stars of the celluloid or of those from the sporting arena. Foul mouthing was flying freely from all directions; parents and sometimes even the ghosts of the grand parents were not spared. It was into this lively afternoon session that he had entered, with his old note book full of equations in Greek or Roman. Some stood up and some others pretended so and there were yawns heard from the back benches. The message was loud and clear, that the day was going to be no different for him.  He turned to the black board, paying no heed to the ones who stood up or the ones who yawned. And the class was back to business, continuing from the point of interruption, the moment of his unwelcome entry.

Arrows were flying and the pieces of chalk were hitting those in the front benches with increased accuracy and power, eliciting a feeble cry of pain at times.  He stopped as usual, when one of the flying objects landed on his shoulder. Shivering with anger, he stormed out of the class, triggering wild celebrations. He had hit a personal low, after causing the death of a close relative in a vehicular accident. Its effects were showing in his actions, personal as well as professional. Soon he was back, accompanying the Professor and Head, and there was pin-drop-silence in a class of forty well groomed gentle men, of 'royal' blood. His angry outburst stood no chance against the polished orators from across the divide. The Professor listened to both sides and sensed an opportunity for populism and he pleaded silence for fear disturbing the adjacent lectures and advised a quite afternoon nap, if the class was found to be boring.

There was a stunned expression in his face, as the Professor went out with a deceptive smile. And thirty nine heads hit the desks, the very moment the Professor left; artificial snoring of different pitches, high, low or lyrical, forming the back ground. He slowly moved to be beside the front bench on the right corner, to be near the only head that was held high, daring the whispering foul mouths with a cold blooded stare and presenting him with a helpless smile. There he stood for a long time, not knowing what to do, as if cursing the deceptive deities or his own destiny.   If they didnt want so be it, then he spoke to himself and proceeded to exit, sad and sullen.  

What if one was hugely unpopular among the peers? And who cares? It takes tenacity to stare down the crowd. It calls for courage to tread the lonely path. And it demands a heart to be the Outsider. And what better place on this earth, other than the kingdom where the hermits used to live, for the ones destined to be the outsiders?

Monday 22 September 2008

Saturday 20 September 2008

A Japanese Saga [3]

The Beach & The Ceramic Museum

The next expedition in Japan involved a trip to the calm and clean Ouga beach and the famous Ceramics Muesum at Kyushu.

We set out from the University on the morning of Saturday, 9th August
in three small cars...
through the majestic countryside...
of the wonderland.....

that is Japan.....
welcoming us
and treating us....
with a display....
of the ancient....

architecture.....
the natural beauty....
and the modern technology.....

We arrived......
at the Ouga Beach.....
one of the cleanest...

and most beautiful.....
that I had seen.....
the business was as usual at the beach :-)
Then we proceeded to have lunch
.....the three cars......
and again I had the rice and the Karaage :-)
We continued our journey....
our next destination being.....
Japan's most famous......
Ceramic museum....



and the watchful dog....
and the man....
and the lady.....
and the wonderful art...
enjoy yourself...
but remember.....




The wrestlers....




The Process....
the toil....










and we came out....

A country home.....how romantic!!
And the 100 YEN shop, how economical :-)
Then we saw the train.....
and.....
chased it down :-)


and continued our journey.....
to reach home before the rains....