Orissa as we call it, or Odisha as they call it,is what you call a decent place. It’s hot and humid. It’s green and barren. It’s greenery is like Antonia Valencia’s pace – it is there, but rarely does it thrust itself on to your face. It just melts into the overall scheme of the place. If you go around Orissa a lil bit – you know, hunt for those Jain caves, follow Ashoka’s trail, soak in the temples and in general try to go the tourist route on your own you’ll understand what I’m saying. So, I did all of that. But I also learnt something new.
Author Archives: gautham
The phone call
I remember it vividly. Even now.
It was sometime around in the afternoon – when stomachs are generally full and when the tidings of the day are already established. When you already know what kind of day it is going to be. When you simply stop fighting against the tide and get amalgamated in whatever fabric the people around you have already knit for you.
I did not want it to happen. I did not want to hear that voice , which would burst the momentary bubble of happiness that I had somehow managed to concoct around me. The bubble which had stopped the tremendous revulsion that my heart launches into every now and then just by thinking of the sheer implausibility of the task in front of me.
The Crow
There was a crow which wanted to fly
Just to fly, To soar up in the sky
And stay there for a while,
Looking at the wind smile.
One day, on yet another random whim,
The wind just picked up him
And together they were
Just together, they were.
And for a while, the crow just flew
through sunshine, moonlight and fresh dew
But some part of him always knew
Things were too good to be true.
Then one day the wind asked him why
But all the crow knew was to fly
What could he tell if asked why.
A million dreams, a thousand hopes
The crow did not desire.
All he wanted was a smile here, a glimpse there.
And All he wanted was to just fly.
A mystery remains
Being engrossed with technology eventually gives you that feeling that technology can answer every question in the world. So, when I found this – part of me was very relieved that there are still some unanswered questions.
It’s called Devil’s Kettle. Because, no explanation exists till date as to where all the water goes.
Quote from Geology on Display: Geology and Scenery of Minnesota’s North Shore State Parks-
Not only is the outlet unknown, but there is currently no satisfactory geological explanation for the Devil’s Kettle. Certainly riverbed potholes are known to form from rocks and grit swirling in an eddy with such force that they eventually drill a vertical shaft in the bedrock. How the flow is conducted away laterally, however, remains enigmatic. As geologist John C. Green writes:
Defining 42
I have somehow realized that there is no such thing called meaning.All such meanings are what we perceive with reference to something. What that something is, is irrelevant as long as there is something.
For the quest to define something, to understand something is meaningless, as the moment after which I had understood the system, the definition will change. The definition can only hold true only for the past. For change can be so huge and so strange that you cannot predict it.
In order to define something, you are going to need a reference set. This reference set can be so varied and so diverse that trying to find something which makes sense along the entire spectrum is practically impossible.
The Secret of Nagas – the provincial buildup
Touted as one among the ground breaking books in India fiction , ‘The Secret of the Nagas’ is the second book in the Shiva Trilogy by Amish. It is possibly everything that it is claimed to be except for a literary classic.
The back summary claims this :
” Book 2 of the Shiva trilogy takes up from the point where Shiva is dashing to save Sati at the end of The Immortals of Meluha. Does he succeed? His archenemy seems to be winning every encounter. All Shiva knows for sure is that the Chandravanshis aren’t evil. But then, neither are the Suryavanshis. So who or what is evil? And who is the mysterious Naga that stalks his family? What does he want? What is The Secret of the Nagas? “
Immortals of Meluha – Enthralling
If you are any kind of book lover, you must have heard/seen enough about the Shiva trilogy. With high expectations, I opened ‘The Immortals of Meluha‘. And the book lives to it’s expectations.
In a nutshell, the book assumes that Shiva was some rajnikanthish hero who lived ages ago and did enough deeds that he transcends the border between myths and legends into godly reverence. And I find no reason to think this to be impossible.
That is the main aspect which makes the book so enthralling – myths and stories about Lord Shiva with which you grew up suddenly fall together in one ultimate grand story of a great hero with all bollywood style masala added in. Amish has crafted a masterpiece with character drawn from our rich mythology to produce an engrossing epic.
And I say goodbye
Dear Madurai (aka all the wonderful people in it ),
For 22 long years you have been the place I called home.
I’ve walked among the dust-filled roads, braved the sweltering heat, found joy in roaming the crowded city, fell in love with our own brand of tamil. You have equally frustrated me, embraced me and nourished me. And sometime later today, I’l be moving away from you.
I’ll terribly miss
- those roads which taught me driving and caring for people’s life
- The fact that there are no traffic rules
- The buffaloes that could cross, the donkeys which would walk and the elephants which always choose to take a casual stroll whenever I want to get to someplace in a hurry.
Do Facebook B’day wishes mean anything ?
Ever since, social networking was introduced birthdays became an exciting event. With overflowing scrapbooks, walls and even special greetings Birthdays became an affair where you went through messages from close-friends, the one you don’t see eye to eye and even that long lost girl in 5th grade you had a crush on.
But are all those messages really what they seem. Is a facebook wall post really equal to pat on the back, a smile and a sincere heartwarming moment friend. Obviously, no. So what is a facebook birthday wish mean ?
Consider an average person on Facebook [ as in a 21 year old ] – being in the fb-boom time we normally have around 500+ friends.
RIP : Lunatic Genius
India’s Picasso
the Barefoot Artist
the Man who wears pink nail paint
the one who nobody could understand
Traitor, National pride, self-imposed refugee
the True lunatic genius
Goodbye old man, Doubt we will someone like you ever again
Maqbool Fida Hussain
17 September 1915 – 9 June 2011
