Redefining Oblivion © ®

I'm enraged at how miserable the topography of Ooty has become! It is so full of shit that I am entirely justified in using the expletive here without having to seek any apologies from you for having done so.

How else can one explain the absurd and utter disregard of the much touted scenic environment that has, over the years, come to be known as the "Queen of Hills?" Well, the tagline is surely a misnomer, a myth rather, for now there is no queen, and her hills have long been grotesquely molested by the establishment of innumerable clusters of repulsive settlements that threaten the very ecosystem that houses them!

Now, there are a dozen or so forums that claim to be painfully distressed at the rapid scale of deterioration that Ooty faces, but not one of them has come any closer to implementing as much as the first step to mitigate the damage. I doubt they ever would! And about the Executive, the less said the better.

Simply put, my being infuriated will not reverse the current state to a desired one, neither will the so-called concerted efforts of a certain group of crisply attired, hot-shot, jet-setting, supposedly committed-to-the-cause professionals!

So, I'm better off being irate, or so I believe - talking about sense that is! What do you think?

Mother, can I run for President?

-- Mother, The Wall, Pink Floyd, 30-11-1979

Happy Birthday Mum! You are the light of our lives, now and forever!

Footnotes:

Lines composed by Regina Graham

Run, rabbit run. 
Dig that hole, forget the sun, 
And when at last the work is done 
Don't sit down it's time to dig another one. 

For long you live and high you fly 
But only if you ride the tide 
And balanced on the biggest wave 
You race towards an early grave.

-- Speak to me, Pink Floyd, (Dark Side of the Moon), 17-03-1973

Small towns are wonderful. They are small, easy on you and foster a sense of bonding like no other. Throw in good friends here and life is truly blissful, of a kind that will probably not be experienced even in the most sophisticated metro due to its haphazard lifestyles and constant 'on-the-move' designs mostly as a result of the maddening rat race!

So today, when 49 of us got-together to watch the much reviewed 3 Idiots, followed by a good session of cheerful exchanges and hearty laughter, we were doing just the thing that we ought to be doing - celebrating our long lived associations that hold tremendous respect and love for one another, by the grace of God!

To me this is more pleasurable than pub-hopping and once in a while getting togethers, which are largely at a professional level due to one's organizational and official affiliations!

How many of us do some serious introspection about the quality of life we lead and the outcomes of such schedules?  Do we assign enough importance to happiness which needs to be the central aspect of our lives? Perhaps not, as a result of which we suffer the consequences of our ill construed actions!

We alone are responsible for the manner in which our lives progress - good or bad. We alone stand to take the blame or deserve the credit!

We alone are the dark side of the moon - or the brighter one!

Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet!  

Meeting a fellow blogger is a rare privilege, quite an event, one that does not occur often, though desired! So, one can imagine my joy when such an occurrence takes place in Ooty!!!! I've got to liken that to a celestial happening of the rarest possible kinds!

Rajesh, who is the creator of Destination Infinity, popularly signed as DI, was here in Ooty and took time out to meet me and spend some quality time.

Among the first things that will strike you when you meet him is his simplicity, which will make you reassured in the importance of that virtue. Absolutely clear in thoughts, he is a person with a deep drive for a knowledge oriented qualitative life - both in personal and professional spheres, from what I gather.

Within the limited time at our disposal, we shared our thoughts on technology, entrepreneurship, culture, thought processes and the importance of quality in life and at work, among other things. Also mutually agreed upon was the idea to initiate a blogger meet in Coimbatore under the aegis of Indiblogger, something that will bring a lot of us closer in interaction.

And for me, I felt having learnt quite a bit - primarily, on how to be a better thinker and a disciplined one at that, for they say, and truly so, that what one thinks, one eventually becomes!

Thank you Rajesh! And, please do return to blogging soon!

A visit to St. Joseph's School, 14 years after conclusion of tutelage there was truly overwhelming, and brought back many fond memories of the wonderful days that now remain etched firmly only in thoughts - to be cherished for all time to come!

Reminiscing the old times spent in Gray and Blue standard, as one faction, in strong brotherhood, Pankaj, Jithu and I found ourselves 'back to school' again, in an arena where little has changed over the last decade and a half.

Amazed at the wonderful reception we received, it was moments to savour and to also reflect upon what we had learnt there and hence come to apply in our lives as people, expected to be best at what we swore to do.

Walking down the memory lane can also get very emotional, particularly if there is a lasting urge to remain part of the fraternity that one was so duly part of, knowing fully well that such a connection can only be attributed to those bygone times, and that a new day will only draw us away from this wonderful impression, into our own chaotic realm of a fast paced life, away from the innocence of childhood and the arduously patient and remarkable wonders we call teachers!

Touring around the marvelous campus at the behest of Sir Himachalapathy, who taught us a lot more than just accounting standards and commercial viabilities, we were quick to realize how fortunate we are to have been part of a wonderful system at the right time and the right place, and agreed to do our bit to further this realization, something which is to all of us a unique opportunity, rather a privilege, I must say!

Now, you wouldn't exactly call Ralph Waldo Emerson a mere dreamer, would you, for having insisted "not to go where the path may lead; but instead go where there is no path and leave a trail?”

Footnotes:

The page on Wikipedia

It's a shame that I've not been able to publish the pictures we took during the visit, in this post - all thanks to not being able to find my camera's USB cable and also since I haven't yet installed a card reader! Double Whammy, indeed! I hope to post some images of this visit on my photo-blog soon!

Likening the situation in Haiti to a tragedy is an understatement, and I do so only for lack of better words! In the days that have passed since this catastrophic occurrence, news inputs indicate an unprecedented scale of damage in this already impoverished nation.

Here are some mournful excerpts from the wires in CNN, taken as recently as 10:38 am EST today;

"If help doesn't come quickly, it probably will [get worse]," Agnes Pierre-Louis, manager of the Le Plaza hotel in Port-au-Prince. "We're not hearing anything from the government. We're not seeing any foreign aid yet."

Former US President Clinton told CNN's 'American Morning' this - "Think how you would feel if you lost everything? You were wandering around streets at night, they were all dark; you were tripping over bodies, living and dead, and you didn't have water to drink or food to eat. That's what we're facing now. That's what we've got to get through now."

"Water is the key thing," said Ian Bray, senior emergency press officer for the humanitarian agency Oxfam. "You can go for some time without food, but you can't go all that long without water. What is the real killer, certainly in refugee situations, is the lack of decent sanitation, because people produce human waste and that, if it's not disposed of safely, is a huge risk to health."

Across town, an 11-year-old girl pleaded for water and screamed in agony as a group of people painstakingly tried to lift a piece of metal off her right leg. After sunset, they managed to free her.

The smell of dead bodies wafted in the air after two days under a tropical sun, and throughout the city people covered their noses.

Diesel fuel is selling on the black market in Port-au-Prince for $25 a gallon. It usually sells for $3 a gallon.

I pray for those who have been affected by this tragic happening and hope that recovery is fast and all permeating to ensure that relief, food and medical supplies reach all those who are in need!

Footnotes:

News room source : CNN

I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see. I sought my God, but my God eluded me. I sought my brother and I found all three.

-- Anonymous

Life has been a wonderful journey, with you by our side. Today, as you face a milestone, I want you to know how much you mean to us, and that your being the person that you are is truly a gift for all of us who are associated with you!

Wishing you a very happy birthday and a wonderful year and life ahead - one that shall see you attain those dizzy heights of that dreamed of world (as Pink Floyd sang in High Hopes)!

You will always be loved and respected for your calm disposition, cheerful attitude and most importantly for being grounded at all times!

You are the very best, Deepu! Love you lots!

Footnotes:

My brother turns 27 today!

This picture taken (supposedly) in 1983, remains among my most favourites. Deepu is seated on the left.

My head speaks a language, I dont understand

-- Robbie Williams, Feel (Escapology, 2002)

Perhaps, it is age that takes one closer to the factual realization that the going becomes easy in companionship than in the dreary ride of solitude. Or, in my case, is it the well-crafted, periodical parental nudging that is making me feel that the time has come? I wonder, both of the possibility, and my seemingly (read: certainly) succumbing to this well orchestrated pressure! Anyhow, I wouldn't want to work my poor little brain over something that I consider as eventual and certain as this!

Having said that, I must confess that I have started feeling well about this - or shall I say more receptive! For a while now, I've been daydreaming about getting married, settling down, shedding the teenager attitude which is one of being largely carefree, brash and 'for-the-day.'

Lately, when I spoke about this to a chum, pat came the question, "is something on the cards?" Nay, not so, to be honest! But perhaps it is a premonition of that thing to happen this year about which I will one day say, "That year, this day!" So, this year is decisive, for the things it will bring to my life - hopefully the good ones, that I long for!

And, now, as never before, I echo the words of Robbie Williams, etched in his hit single 'Feel,' that "I just wanna feel real love, come and hold my hand, I wanna contact the living, not sure I understand, this role I've been given........."

Yes, I just wanna feel real love!

It has been an agonizing two months now since Cyclone Phyan left a trail of disaster in Ooty. Life has returned to a state of normalcy with most part of the road networks being restored day before and the mountain railway line being declared open early yesterday.

However, a lot more needs to be done and that includes taking steps to ensure that such a tragedy does not repeat in the face of torrential rainfall and inclement weather. And as a first step, that should involve understanding the effects of our actions that are responsible for an adverse impact on the nature - here, elsewhere and everywhere!

Construction and rampant disfiguring of the hills (popularly known as Sholas, here) have been brought under check following the incidents of the past year and attempts are being made to learn lessons to effect conservation, however, questions remain as to how long the heat will remain before the attitude retires to being lukewarm and subsequently unresponsive and irresponsible! One hopes that the change isn't momentary!

Besides, the lackadaisical attitude of visiting tourists has ensured rapid degradation of this once wonderful paradise - often referred to as the queen of hills! The situation needs to be addressed urgently and corrections need to be effected. We are decades late in the job!

It's not like we have another Earth to go to!

Footnotes:

Cyclone Phyan creates an emergency

When Anamika, from WebNeeTech, wrote to me a few months ago asking if I would agree to an interview, I was thrilled and readily agreed!

After all, the best that can happen to any blogger is the recognition that one gets for a creative effort that is displayed, something that often has a great degree of meticulousness, passion and zeal behind it!

It is a source of immense pleasure for me to have had the opportunity to articulate my thoughts on blogging, on a forum such as this.

You can check out the feature here.

I have disabled comments for this post. For those of you who wish to leave your thoughts, something that I greatly appreciate, please do so using the link provided above!

The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning

-- Ivy Baker Priest

To attribute the new year to a new beginning, one that supposedly ushers in a cataclysmic change, will most certainly be viewed as a cliché, but, to not anticipate such a supposition will be an act of staving away the optimism associated with a fresh start.

So, as this year begins, it is imperative to inculcate a positive belief, one that shall create the ground for peaceful existence supplemented with immense happiness and personal success.

I wish all of you a very happy and prosperous new year! It is truly a privilege to be associated with you and a source of unparalleled joy to be part of this wonderful world!

Footnotes:

Opening Statements - 2009