Of Paper boats and more... : Blog # 82

Of Paper boats and more...

         I was listening to Jagjit Singh’s “Woh Kaghaz ki Kashti...” What a hauntingly beautiful track! Never before have  I come across anything so genuine...so sincere...so unblemished! I could relate to it so much that I could see my childhood passing by in front of my eyes. I am sure many of our childhoods would have been thus.

            Even though I have never been a great fan of rains, I loved the paper boats which my sister and I used to make. She used to make them and I still don’t know how to make one J.  It also reminds me of the fun time we had splashing around the rain water when all of my cousins came visiting.

            My happiest child hood memories are from the vacations we used to spend at my uncle’s home. Our grandma used to tell us bedtime stories. I now wonder how could have she told it a zillion times with the same vigor;  but then such is a grandmother’s love! I also remember my mom reading out stories from Tinkle, Balarama and Amar chitra katha walking us down the sleep street J.

            Then those heavenly snacks which were vacation specials J, which played a great role in pampering my taste buds and leaving them spoilt with choices.  We used to make small play houses and have the summer special mangoes – the ripe ones dripping with honey and the raw ones with salt which used to leave me drooling – it still does!

            I think Childhood is the perfect excuse that Life has for all the hardships and the quagmires it lays out later on. Throughout my childhood, all I wanted was to grow up. But now, I will trade all that I have if I could revisit that soulful time just for one day and one night!

                                                                                                    Arun Babu.

            

Empowerment - Gangnam Style : Blog # 81

Empowerment - Gangnam Style

         A few weeks ago, I learned from a ticker that the UN Secretary General danced to the tunes of ‘Gangnam Style’. Now, that is going to go down in history as a WOW moment. Imagine! Someone of that stature dancing to the tunes(literally!) of one's creation, that too of someone who was a 'Nobody' on the world stage until recently.I cannot fathom what Psy, the performer might be feeling.

            We had the Indian version of Gangam Style in Kolaveri Di!. Whether there is any merit to both of these or is it just an accident of popularity is debatable. 

         The scale and magnitude of recognition that the medium of internet gifts a person or an entity is of the size of a dozen mammoths! And not to forget, the lightning swiftness of it.

            This instant fame is the runway that leads from being ordinary to becoming the privileged and the distinguished.  Internet has turned out to be the largest platform ever for anyone who has something to showcase to the world.Be it any sort of talent, all one needs to do is put it up on the web. 

             Not only the entertainment aspect , it is the largest ever possible medium of expression - Be it of collective guilt from a heinous crime or the  exultation from a national team's win. Never before in the history has something paved way to moving people as much - both physically and  emotionally - The Arab spring and the Indian awakening being the towering testimonies.

            
           
         If I were to say Internet is turning out to be the greatest manifestation of empowerment ever, I guess it wouldn't be an exaggeration.

                                                                                                  Arun Babu.          

Confined in a cell : Blog # 80

Confined in a cell

An early morning in Bangalore, I was aboard one of those Big Red Volvo buses on my way to a friend’s home. The thing about those buses is that the cabin insulates you from the world outside. Fifteen minutes in to the journey, I realized my cell phone was doing the same to me. Neither was I aware of my immediate surroundings nor what was beyond it. I had been staring at the cell from the moment I got in to the bus. Then it hit me, how much of a prisoner I had become to my cell phone.

One of my friends constantly checks his messages whenever we go for a movie. Not only does it distract that person, the bright light of it is a nuisance for others too.

The other day, I was out having dinner with my friends. Although I was listening to them talking, half my senses were directed towards my cell phone! I had to consciously make an effort to steer my attention away from it.

Now that the cell phones are empowered with social media and numerous messengers, there is no stopping them from being a rude intruder. It is supposed to ‘connect people’ but in reality, it is doing just the opposite, most of the times.

The greatest cost we are paying for this luxury is losing the ability to be in the moment and soak in the experience when it is happening. We are always busy reaching out that we forget those who are with us right there.

It shouldn't happen so that one fine day, we look up to realize those who were with us have walked away while we were busy staring down at the little black screen stuck in to our palms. The cell phones indeed have more virtues than vices. Just that, we need to learn to keep it away when not needed.

Arun Babu

Yours truly : Blog # 75

Yours truly

      Of the many things technology has stolen away from us, hand written letters depict nostalgia like none other.

If you haven’t written a letter ever, you are missing out on a very special experience in Life. I am not talking about Love letters; that we all do at one point in life or other ;). The ‘letter’ we are talking about here is the one that is hand written on an Inland or a paper; is affixed a stamp at its top right corner and is posted.

            There is a lot of anticipation wrapped in that envelope. Right from when it is put in one of those red post boxes till it reaches the addressee, there is a hopeful waiting for days on end. 

 . There is a special way of opening an inland letter. You need to cut it out from a side. If you cut the wrong side, the letter will be torn. From the blue seal to the creases to the scent of ink on it, the Letter has an endearing old world charm.

However close two people were, those letters had a beginning and an ending even if it were with terms of endearment. It had a body and structure too, with all the love intact. From today’s inane abbreviations and tardy sentences left unfinished with three dots, those were the days when expression of love knew no laziness and emotions came flowing through beautiful sentences.

Those were the times when the social fabric was woven through letters. Those letters epitomized the time and effort people took to reach out to their beloved, something which we fail to do today in spite of being able to do so at the press of a button!

                                                                                                            
                                                                                                   Yours truly,                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                  Arun Babu

New years’ : Blog # 72

New years’

      Almost all of us love the New years’ eve.  It has wrapped around it, a lot of Hope- the greatest gift to mankind.

The celebrations have an endearing charm to it; fresh from the pleasant tiredness of the month long Christmas festivity. It is one of those few celebrations which have a universal appeal – the whole of mankind takes part in it!

yea            The part I like the most is resolutions. We are fully aware that one week later, the resolve would have gone through the window. Still we try and make an effort to be a better person ;). It is a time to let bygones be bygones and have a fresh start – be it with regard to relationships, work or Life at large.

            Whatever one does or does not in the bygone year, this is a time which gives us a second chance, again and again- year after yearJ.

            Here’s to second chance to happiness, second chance at Life, the greatest do over of all - Happy Newyear!!! J

                                                                                                                Arun Babu

Wisdom of the Crowd? : Blog # 71

Wisdom of the Crowd?

Blame it on our country’s governance system of democracy; we have a penchant for everything that is popular. Quite often, we end up measuring merit with popularity. That is why there is a collective despair when a popular film loses out to an art film or a widely read book is trashed by the critics.

Is it that the most popular college is the best one? Aren’t the theatre artists supremely talented than most of the movie actors? All these point towards the supremacy of popularity over merit. The sad part is at times, mediocrity has appeal and that becomes the norm. The few who understand this play to the gallery becomes outcasts. It is all about the appeal.

Even our opinions are dictated by its mass following. Not many has the temerity to go against the crowd, be it the career choices they make or the choice of their drink!

And about the collective intellect, there were times when Earth was thought to be at the centre of the universe and all the world endorsed it branding whoever thought otherwise, a Lunatic.So much for the wisdom of the crowd!   

                                                                                                            Arun Babu

Vision in White : Blog # 68

 Vision in White

       I was on a visit to a premier engineering institution as part of my work. It was past 7 o clock in the evening. The path which led us in to the campus looked enchanting with the dimly lit up street lights and lush greenery bordering it.

            As we were moving forward, I saw a deer at a distance. I was not surprised given the size of the campus and its expansive vegetation. As we went nearer, we noticed that it was no ordinary deer. It was a black buck and it’s skin was pristine white! It resembled a full moon in a pitch black sky. The sight was magical, the faint street lights adding to the aura.

            What caught my attention beyond the stunning beauty of the magnificent creature was the fearlessness in its eyes. As the car drew nearer, it looked at us with its head raised. Neither was there any sense of urgency about its movement nor to the way it looked away from us. Then it started walking-slowly and elegantly in to the darkness. The driver stopped the car till it passed by. What a sight to behold!

            The next day early morning, on my way to the campus, I saw there were many deer inside the campus and all of them mirrored the same fearlessness. For a minute, I wished; if only there was such harmony among the beings on our planet. The trust and the lack of fear filled the air with a silent symphony.

            I was leaving the campus by twilight. Bidding farewell to Jackson and Athira who very sweetly obliged to our requests during the process, I secretly wished to see the albino black buck once more. Lending a half ear to the driver’s monologue on the vastness of the campus, my eyes went far and wide in search of the ‘deer friend’.

             It was a  long winding inroad and I asked the driver to go slow. At the last quarter mile, was grazing, the white beauty on the vast expanse of a green lawn. Just about when our car was to go out of its sight, it looked up. The same elegant look with an understated pride. It brought on a smile which reached my eyes :) .

                                                                                                                        Arun Babu.

            

Life’s not all that bad: Blog # 67

Life’s not all that bad

      I was out for a tea break with one of my friends from work. We walked towards the parking lot and he pointed at a 1982 Enfield Bullet and told that it is his office ride whenever he is in Chennai. I asked him as to why does he do that given the terrible morning traffic and add to it, the not so pleasant weather! He replied “It is something that I have always wanted to do”.

            At times, we get too caught up with the day to day things in our lives that we unknowingly take away the life out of it. We forget that there is more to life than just sailing through.  It is small deeds like this which reminds us to enjoy Life rather than making it an exercise of endurance.

It could be anything from taking your little cousin to a super market and telling her “you can buy anything you want” (I did J )or giving your younger sibling some extra bucks for pocket money or gifting yourselves something you always wanted.

It is important that we do little things that make us feel good – be it for others or for oneself which ever works for you because later on when we look back, it is these simple things which will bring a smile on our face.

When we get in to such small indulgences, we are reassuring ourselves that in spite of all the quagmires that the world spreads out in front of us, we are leading our  lives in our own terms;however small way it may be.

In a nutshell, it is a small sweet way of telling ourselves that after all, Life is not all that bad! J.

                                                           Arun Babu                   

A message to my future self: Blog # 66

A message to my future self

The child in me yearned to be you...

The youth in me strived to be you...

You are the person I looked forward to be,

Or I thought I will turn out to be.

I hope you still have the child in you,

Un corrupted by the frivolous ways of life.

I hope you make someone so happy,

That the smile reaches her eyes.

I hope you make someone so proud,

That they are at a loss of words for you.

I hope you are so fond of someone,

That you let go of your ego.

I hope you are so loved,

That you become so sure about yourself.

I hope you haven’t committed a sin so grave,

That you turn away from yourself.

I hope you haven’t lost yourself.

I hope I haven’t lost Myself.
                                                                                                       Arun Babu                                                                                                                                                               

Life in a Whiff: Blog # 63

 Life in a Whiff

There is an old shop in my home town that sells spices . I used to visit it along with my Grandfather when I was a kid.Every time I walk past it, my childhood passes before me leaving me in a trance. Memories which we think are lost and gone come racing by when you get the faintest sense of a scent associated with it.

It’s said the taste of anything sumptuous that we have has a lot to do with its aroma.

The earthy zephyr from a village is the closest one will ever come to comprehending the scent of Nature. Through the pollen and grain from the fields and the trees, the village breeze brings along with it the Nature’s soul.

The whiff of Cold lies in the lap of a winter night and the scent of Summer is wrapped in the gentle wind that passes through the sun and the sand in a beach.

Knowledge lies hidden in the time locked fragrance of the pages of an old book. Divinity manifests itself in the incense of candles.

If ever we were to come close to understanding the fragrance of heaven, it will be through the pleasantness that emerges from the Earth’s within when it bathes in the first Monsoon rain.

Still, scent remains the most unsung of all the senses. My be because, it defies our attempts to depict it. Neither can we brush it across a canvas nor can we lock it in a symphony. Words fail us when we try to describe it neither are actions of much help.

Like the numerous wonders of nature, there lies the whiff of life, in the elusiveness of the whiff itself.
                                                                                                                     Arun Babu.
                                                                                                                            

Season ticket:The Mumbai Local Train: Blog # 62

Season ticket : The Mumbai Local Train

           

            A local train is a world in itself. You will get to meet all sorts of people. It is a vivid cross section of all the demographies of a city.

            To begin with, there is the class divide – First and Second class. People who get in to first class become bonafide snobs. There is a sense of a misplaced entitlement.

        In the peak hours, the compartments will be packed to the rafters and in the middle of that, some people would want to read the newspaper (which includes me J ). They fold the paper in to 1/8th and read it!

     There are those who are perpetual sleepers – sitting, standing, lying down, leaning over others et al. If you take a regular train and if the perpetual sleeper get in a station before you and get off only after you, chances are you wouldn't find that person in the awake state – Ever!

          How can we ignore the famed foot board travelers? They should be given a subsidized ticket. Even if the whole compartment is empty, they will stand only at the outer tip of the foot board.

                The only kinds who are irritating - those who play loud music. That too, in those Chinese cells which give you a lasting headache.

            The IT crowd will be peeling off their touch screens with the headphones firmly plugged in their ears oblivious to whatever is happening around them. The manufacturing crowd will be looking down on them – about 6 or 7 of them together in the same striped shirts with the company’ s logo on the pockets.

            Those belonging to the intelligentsia-who reads a hefty book, replete with all the long looks outside and a pensive appearance to go by!

            With some, dare you make even a second long eye contact they are ready to pounce up on you with their words of wisdom which doesn't stop until you get down!

            Some people decidedly look out of the window, with a vengeance. Come what may, they won’t look inside the train.             

Then there are the college groups who break in to their own song n dance sequences – Gangnam style!

There are seat hunters who watch the seats like a hawk. They will hunt others down if any one even makes the slightest effort to move towards a free seat.

         There will be some hapless new timers who keep on asking their neighbor whether their station has arrived or how far their station is J.

          At the major stations, enter the vendors who can put any Opera singer to shame with their decibel levels.

And all these come with the fine print when you buy a season ticket J.
                                    
                                                                                                                          Arun Babu                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                                

Whispering to the buffaloes: Blog # 61

Whispering to the buffaloes

One needs to keep looking for inspiration as there is nothing to lose yet a lot to gain.

Having got some precious little free time from work, I decided to check out a club functioning out of our office. It is a community which promotes and hones public speaking skills. I went there undecided as to join the club or not. I thought I would witness their activities for a couple of sessions and then take the plunge.

Then this guy, Vishnu started speaking. Incidentally, the objective given to him was to inspire the audience and inspire, he did. He used his own example as to how he transformed himself from being a village educated boy who could not speak English to a professional who could converse in as good English as any urban educated person.

I was thinking hard as to whether I should take this extra effort. Whether I should stay back for an extended time in office to be part of this club? I was getting complacent. Listening to the hardships that Vishnu underwent, I decided I had no right to not make use of the opportunity given to me in a platter.

And coming to the title of this blog, during the course of his speech, he told “To enhance my English, to get ahead in life, I tried everything from yelling at the walls to whispering to the buffaloes.” For some reason, I loved that phrase. It might be an off take from the regional usage. But the regional usage has a negative intonation to it where as he has used it positively here.

Life is a potpourri of such small teachings hidden around the corner. The inspiration that comes out of the least expected corners can influence us immensely in life.

Do whatever it takes to better yourselves, be it yelling at the walls or whispering to the buffaloesJ.

                                                                                                                        Arun Babu

T G I F: Blog # 60

TGIF

This blog is not about the iconic restaurant, ‘Thank God It’s Friday’ which serves heavenly food. The TGIF here stands for Thank God, I Forget!

Forgetfulness is mostly frowned up on. It’s not looked up on as a quality. But it is in fact, a gift; It gives us the ability to move on in life.

‘Fast track’ has this beautiful Ad which implores people to Move on. Of course, considering its target audience, it has tapped in to the relationship aspect of it alone. But if that idea is extended, it turns out to be a great thought.

There are certain things in Life which we should forget. One of my friends says we should remember only the good things from the past. I find that so empowering. If we carry on the baggage from the past, our vision will be clogged. We will see the future only through the veil of the past.

Yes, we all take some time to get over things. But it shouldn’t take a life time.

At some point in life, we have all been told to Forget and Forgive. Forgiveness is possible only if you forget. Only then you allow yourselves to heal.

So let’s Forget, Forgive and Move on!!!

                                                                                                                  Arun Babu.

In conversation with Nature: Blog # 59

In conversation with Nature

      Standing atop a hill in our hometown, I was listening to the wind. Adding beauty to it was the vision of wavering brown vastness of grass with the crimson sun rays flowing on them abundantly.  Winds are nature’s way of conversing with us, don’t you think?

The early morning wind has a whiff of freshness to it and the twilight breeze carries the day’s toil albeit with an enchantment wrapped in it.

Stand in the middle of a paddy field when you get a chance. There is this breeze which talks to you through the rumblings of the lush green grass and mostly a lone tree wavering in its center.

         Go to a beach and the sea roars at you with the wind there. There is this constant swish in your ears which lingers for a while even after you leave the seaside.

      There is this mystery to the winds in a sprawling estate. It comes from a distance brushing past the tallest of trees and the smallest of shrubs.  

        The winds from the mountains are ominous yet have a compelling vivaciousness to them. 

        Many a time nature plays Chinese whisper with us with these winds. More often than not, we don’t understand what it is trying to say and or is it meant to be so?

        Sadly, the breeze in the city rarely talks. Has it forgotten its language or is it us who have got too busy to lend an ear?

Arun Babu.