The Ramparts of 2011

Post # 84

I don't know if this year has been one of adversity, opportunity or possibility, but for me this year has been one of hectic activity! A lot has happened and has happened fast. Certainly, this has been a very quick year outpacing almost all of its predecessors.

Inundated with work, I have been a wee bit negligent of my blogs, often visiting here in fleeting moments yet drawing a great deal of comfort and satisfaction from here and fellow-bloggers.

As is the case with every year, there are new learnings in life that grow in dimension with the passage of age - and this year has been a great teacher. It has taught me to focus on the inner strength to stay grounded and counter hardship and I definitely am a stronger person owing to the experiences that I have lived through this year.

In the true sense, all of us are headed forward in life and that each passing day delivers us into the future for the better, I have no doubt of. I have learnt that life isn't all about myself but largely about ourselves, and that togetherness in harmony is perhaps the best one can ask for at all times.

I'd like to sincerely thank all of you, my dear fellow-bloggers, my friends, family members, colleagues and associates for being kind and considerate and unconditional in your support and encouragement.

So, as this year draws to a close, I wish all of you a very safe, fun-filled holiday season and a truly happy, prosperous, healthy and blessed New Year.

This is my last post for 2011 and I will see you all in 2012 with a renewed sense of hope, happiness and peace, which I wish all of you and your families.

Footnotes:

The Ramparts of 2010

Merry Christmas

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace

You, you may say
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Merry Christmas, folks. Have a wonderful and safe holiday season! 

Footnotes:

John Lenon's 1971 masterpiece Imagine continues to be listed among the 500 greatest songs of all time.

Posts of the Past - A Tag

Its been a long while since I did a tag and when DI, of Destination Infinity tagged me to do an interestingly different one, I felt elated.

The tag is about listing my favourite posts so far falling in seven different categories. Apart from the good-feel of doing this, I naturally enjoyed revisiting some of my posts of and from a very different time, often reliving the time and frame of mind when I originally made them.

My Most Beautiful Post(s) - Normally there should be one listing under each head, but this one time, I chose to make an exception, for writing about childhood and those wonderful yester-years are easily the very best, evoking a great sense of nostalgia and cheer. The Flowing Brook and Idyll's Dream are a two-part series, I wrote about on the recollections of childhood, at the insistence of fellow blogger Vimmuuu of V-Lokam. They will remain my most beautiful posts for all time to come.

My Most Popular Post - Darfur, among places, torn in strife and war, has always been very close to me. Its longstanding pain enduring a sea of humanitarian crisis is difficult to be escaped by anyone. On Wednesday, April 08, 2009, I wrote a post titled Living Darfur, outlining some statistics of this ravaged nation. To date, this has been my most popular post, and also the most visited. I continue to receive visitors from many countries, landing up on this post and quietly assimilating some very disturbing facts outlined therein.

My Most Controversial Post - Sometime in September 2009, Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram reiterated a well-known fact about how rude people from Delhi were. Having lived there myself and experienced the trait first hand, I wrote Republic of Rudness, the message of which I still maintain today. Needless to say, some parts of the blog-world took offense and termed my post biased, while I was only repeating what the world already knew very well!

My Most Helpful Post - There's nothing like giving and being witness to another's growth. So, when I got a chance to do some very little of that on the blog, I jumped at the opportunity. And, "when on the morning of 30th June 2010, Elizabeth Sholtys, Co-founder and Chief Executive of an non-profit organization called the Ashraya Initiative for Children (AIC), wrote me an email introducing herself and her organization and what they do, along with a request to show support for their efforts, I decided to feature them on my blog, knowing fully well that such a noble cause requires marathon effort, courage, persistence and above all a sense of dedication that cannot for once be compromised."

A Post whose success surprised me - Everyone has a Superhero, a dream icon, who has been a source of deep inspiration. For me that icon came from Krypton as Superman. One can imagine therefore the collision of ideology with a fellow-blogger who happens to an ardent fan of the spider, er, Spiderman, I mean. The wrangling with Vimmuu, on a post about who reigns supreme, soon caught on like wildfire and quite surprised me for the children we became in the process and also for the way in which it was received.

A Post, I feel, didn't get the attention it deserved - Having written close to some 400 posts now, over a period of 7 years, I have been very fortunate that a good deal of them have been appreciated. I don't think I could single out any one post as being one that hasn't quite gotten the attention it deserved. That, much of my writing has been taking in good stride and earned some bit of recognition in the blog-world, I'm certainly very happy and humbled. No complaints!

A Post that I am most proud of - I'm deeply reverent of my family and the wonderful things they have done for me. I don't find an occasion not to remember them for all the good in me and I believe that my strength comes from them in innumerable proportions. I wrote Praying Hands as a tribute to my Father, whose "remarkable resilience and his patience which has furthered my upbringing in the most positive manner. But for his toil and unconditional dedication, the wonderful side of me would never have been possible!" This remains the post that I am most proud of, and will be for all time to come. 

2011: Year in Review

Found quite an interesting video doing the rounds made by Google. Thought it good to make a post of it.

Vijay Divas

40 years come to pass since India's victory over Pakistan following the war of 1971.

This post is to honour all those martyrs who ensured India's victory and also to pay rich tribute to all those who unconditionally continue to do just that - specifically, a certain someone who continues to be 'out-there' braving all odds for the saintly cause of national sovereignty.

Unsung hero, almost a star on the wall - Redefining Oblivion remembers you in gratitude and goodwill. Fare well and long may you live. 

Keralà Carte

Its walkways hold memories of many lifetimes, embedded in deep recesses within the confines of the mind's coziness and the heart's warmth. They have seen many of us grow up and step in the realities of life.

Every pillar, every wall, every passage ....... has a story to tell of the lives we lived and the times we joyously shared, in togetherness or by ourselves. Its permanence and enormity in spirit will warm the cockles of even the coldest of hearts and lift the spirits of the most fallen.

This magnificent edifice has in it us, as much as we have within us it's gracious omnipresence, and so we are in the real sense one - of the same, as we will always be, forever and ever, always and all ways. 

Tri-States

1100 odd miles, 3 states, 9 days later and having met a 100 odd people, I write in awe of my trip of the tri-states as being among the most memorable journeys in life so far.

Taking a well-deserved break from regular life, and travelling through the vastness of nature's brilliance of epic proportions, there was a real sense of disconnect from the ordinary and a passage into the amazing.

A new-found sense of belonging enveloped within, reassuring me that I felt right and well there and not here, reiterating the fact that life is also about the choices we make.

Footnotes:

Picture taken by me en-route to Kerala. 

Remembering Akroyd

Perhaps the name Aurobindo Ghosh wouldn't resonate as much in the ear until one drops the second part of the name and pre-fixes the honorific Indian title of Sri against the remainder.

From being a staunch nationalist and freedom fighter, transformed in due course of time as a philosopher, guru of yoga and a poet of eminence, this man's words that "Man is a transitional being. He is not final. The step from man to superman is the next approaching achievement in the earth evolution. It is inevitable because it is at once the intention of the inner spirit and the logic of nature's process" hold immense significance.

For me Auroville in Pondicherry has been a calling for a long time now and I hope to realize that dream, should the 'will' permit.

Redefining Oblivion pays respectful homage to this exalted soul. It was on this day in 1950 that he attained immortality.

Footnotes:

Dr. Ghosh, Aurobindo's father, chose the middle name Akroyd, for his son, to honour his friend Annette Akroyd. 

The Great Melt

Sir David Attenborough's voice and narration unequivocally lend credence and effort to any conservation attempt, world-over. As much as nature fascinates us, Attenborough's mannerism and style of conveying the message with elaborate detail aided by painstakingly thorough research make his presentation extremely enjoyable and wholly involving.

Something in the manner in which he talks makes one feel instantly closer to nature and understand the nuances of an otherwise seemingly complex world.



Footnotes:

A video-grab from Nature's Greatest Events courtesy BBC One. 

The Big Picture

For sometime now, Boston Globe has been publishing some very interesting pictures gathered from all over the world on a wide-variety of happenstances that are mostly current.

I've been an ardent fan of 'The Big Picture' so much that it is one of only 4 bookmarks permanently residing on my browser book-marker, and that I find time to relish it almost every day.

Undoubtedly, among the most celebrated photo-blogs, it is quite a treat to visit this space for what it offers - a cross-section of the world at large. 

The Green Lungs of Chennai

There probably isn't another place within a bustling metropolis in India which is some three square kilometers and a national park! Guindy National Park in Chennai is a rare occurrence indeed, one which is a shining example of human-nature co-existence at its peaceful best.

I suspect wildlife of the future will be concentrated only within tiny pockets, such as these, which will beg to survive alongside human habitation. Given the enormous pressure commercialization and modernization seem to be exerting on natural biodiversity, it does not take an intelligent guess to estimate the future of these wonderful expanses of exquisitely rare beauty.

Having visited the adjoining areas of the park over the past weekend, I was compelled to draw a small parallel to the outskirts of Ooty.

Footnotes:

Once covering an area of 5 sq kms (1.93 sq mi) of one of the last remnants of tropical dry evergreen forest of the Coromandel Coast, Guindy Park was originally a game reserve. It was owned by a British citizen named Gilbert Rodericks from whom it was purchased by the government in 1821 for a sum of  Rs. 35,000. It was established as a Reserve Forest in 1910 - Sourced from Wikipedia.

Picture taken by me during the stroll. 

Inside Tamil Nadu

India's biggest vegetable baskets lie across the expanses of Tamil Nadu. Motoring through its heartland this past weekend, we discovered a land of exquisite sights and sounds, and these marvels even in the smallest measure satiate the senses no end.

Traversing a small part of this great wonder, lush with paddy fields, neem trees and coconut palms wet with padded fertile soil, one is treated to sublime ways of life happily disconnected from the maddening rush.

Simplicity and contentment greet us every step of the 339 odd miles we drive through. There is a heightened sense of peace and blissful coexistence with nature which unfailingly offers bounties to all those who call upon her.

As day gives way to dusk, the sound of temple bells thronging faintly in the distance is heard amidst the carousal cries of birds on tree tops settling in for the roost. Warm aromas of spices fill the air indicative of many a hearth working their way.

Truth is, life's greatest gifts are evidently for the picking, elementary and free! And to experience them in abundant measure - blessed to be blissful! 

Open Air Cinema

Some of the best treats in life are elementary in nature and I just about figured that watching a movie in an 'open-air ambiance' could well fit into that list!

This is precisely what we did sometime last week! Driving into a serene location studded with trees at the periphery, we relished a not so popular but impressive flick under the night sky!

I wonder how many of us could really take the time out for some difference that life has to offer!

Thankfully, I did and I enjoyed! ;-)

11 Eleven

Quite a rare occurrence indeed, this 11-11-11 11:11, but certainly intriguing to read the kind of 11th century discussions that this date has triggered online!

Stairway to Heaven

On this day in 1971, Led Zeppelin released Led Zeppelin IV which till date is America's third-best selling album ever. It included Stairway to Heaven, 'the widely-considered best rock song ever recorded.'

Jimmy Page, the founder of the band, in recognition of the legacy the song created, said "the wonderful thing about "Stairway" is the fact that just about everybody has got their own individual interpretation to it, and actually what it meant to them at their point of life. And that's what's so great about it. Over the passage of years people come to me with all manner of stories about what it meant to them at certain points of their lives. About how it's got them through some really tragic circumstances ... Because it's an extremely positive song, it's such a positive energy, and, you know, people have got married to [the song]."

Stairway to Heaven is an iconic tribute to music in the true sense. It is a timeless epic and the result of creative excellence that remains unmatched and probably will continue to be so for all time to come.

Here come the Monsoons

Need I say anything at all about the monsoons and the effect on places such as Chennai?

With ominously dark, gloomy skies heralding the oncoming of barrages of lashing rain, it is going to be quite depressing and massively inconvenient for normal life.

I'm quite tempted to say; 'Wake me up when December ends!'

:-(

Remembering Mrs. G

Prime Minister for a staggering four terms, known for her charisma, astute political sense and her ostentatious display of authority, Indira and India have remained synonymous in the minds of many Indians for a long time, gaining iconic status.

It is coincidental that, on this day, I find myself reading her biography, authored by Katherine Frank whose work is not merely a biography, but a splendidly candid almanac, with remarkable detail, offering a very deep insight into the life of a dynamically complex person.

While Indira will forever be known for a strong culture of nepotism that she fostered, the chronicles of her life by Frank is truly the result of painstaking research involving a great deal of meticulousness and detail the like of which is seldom matched.

Footnotes:

Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi
Author: Katherine Frank
Hardcover: 592 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (January 7, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 039573097X
ISBN-13: 978-0395730973

And Peace Reigns

It was on this day in 1962 that the dreaded Cuban Missile Crisis came to an end with Soviet Union ordering the removal of missile bases in Cuba. Those 14 days in October reminded the world of how perilously close it came to annihilation when the fate of millions literally hinged upon the ability of two men.

In the days that followed, when heaved sighs of relief were breathed in unison, across continents, and among echelons of power executives, one man's words would, in some ways, stand out in reassuring humanity's ardent commitment and, in many ways, desperate efforts to stall evil and maintain peace. Then American National Security Advisor, McGeorge Bundy, was reported to have remarked that “having come so close to the edge, we must make it our business not to pass this way again.”

Assuredly, nature has its own ways of reigning in the renegade and maintaining order to ensure that peace is preserved. Illogical and insane acts of obdurate and deranged minds will be crushed by their own misdemeanour and general good will eventually prevail, reassuring the rest that the world continues to be a virtuous abode for the just and worthy.

Footnotes:

Pictures taken by me on Diwali. 

Here come the Lights

May this Diwali help us in casting away all evil from our lives and signify the return of God in the ultimate form. 

Redefining Oblivion wishes you a very happy, prosperous and safe Diwali. 

Of The Spirit

The universal mind choreographs everything that is happening in billions of galaxies with elegant precision and unfaltering intelligence. Its intelligence permeates every fiber of existence - from the atom to the cosmos.

Footnotes:

Excerpts from a book, I'm presently reading, by Deepak Chopra, who never ceases to impress.

Walking The 8 Mile

Entertaining the world with die-hard conviction in his lyrics at an unimaginable pace of delivery with superbly well-composed rhythm using some of the most 'choicest' of verbiage, this icon has won millions of hearts at ease.

American rapper Eminem celebrates his birthday today.

Redefining Oblivion wishes him the very best and a whole new beginning to continue to be among the undisputed kings of rap of all time.

For the uninitiated, here is a good beginning! :-)

Connected Out

Blackberry users across several countries, me included, experienced an extended disruption of services over the last few days.

I couldn't help appreciate the feeling of how wonderful it actually is to be disconnected from non-essential forms of technology that have gained prominence in our lives, overshadowing the most important and indispensable factor of human connect.

It is sad that we have accorded more importance to technology, over time, throwing away the fabric of human interactions.

Life before invasive technology was very peaceful. To now be a slave of this intrusive monotony is probably a reflection of how much we value each other and ourselves in the scheme of being social beings of the appropriate kind.

Rocky Blue Mountains - Goodbye

Monday, October 03, 2011

Dear Michele

It is today, after a month's absence, that I visited my blog and those of all of my friends, you included.

To read that you are now closing down your blog makes me feel very unhappy, but I'm sure you have your compulsions which are serious, without which you wouldn't have taken the decision you have.

Understandably, I have thoroughly enjoyed every bit of your work and have remarked in awe of how beautiful your wonderful nation is and how wonderfully well you have been able to portray it.

I shall pray that your health remains well and that you continue to enjoy your brilliant world and feel happy and healthy always.

More importantly, I pray that the camera be your everlasting companion, and that you continue to enjoy the wonderful sights of the British Colombian heaven, which it truly is.

Its been so much of a pleasure being associated with you and I feel I have seen a very different facet of the world through your eyes.

Thank you very much!

Good luck and God Speed!

Rakesh

Footnotes:

Michele of Rocky Blue Mountains decided to wind up her wonderful blog sometime ago.
Redefining Oblivion wishes her well and thanks her remarkable effort in showcasing some of the finest views of the Canadian outbacks which are breathtaking in their beauty and awe-inspiring in their spirit. 

iSad

“I’ll always stay connected with Apple. I hope that throughout my life I’ll sort of have the thread of my life and the thread of Apple weave in and out of each other, like a tapestry. There may be a few years when I’m not there, but I’ll always come back."

Playboy, Feb. 1, 1985

Footnotes:

Redefining Oblivion pays rich tributes to the timeless innovator who 'connected the dots looking backwards' with 'gut, destiny, life, karma.........'

Goodbye, Steven Paul Jobs.

RIP

Coming Back to Life

Time, people and events make a heady concoction of life!

This past month has been very different and has sapped a lot of energy out of me and I'm still reeling under the effects of the stress that is ongoing.

Rare though, I chose to stay away from blogging, with mixed emotions.

I feel caged in the mind and it suddenly seems that all my creative cells have burnt out and the mind is struggling to compose itself.

No matter however much one is trained to face adversity, the moment of truth decides how the course of events will turn to be. 

Wake Me Up

Wake me up when September ends! 

Passing On

Nothing really to write back home about.

Doing ok, passing some lifeless days! 

Life Plus

Life is wonderful!

Every time there seems to be a correction, there is a glimmer of hope that there is something that takes one towards a destined purpose of general good.

While the wily ways of the world play out in abundance, there is always a sense of positive feel around the corner standing in reassurance that the best is yet to come, certainly.

This bolsters my belief in the fact that adversities, no matter however tough and imposing they appear to be, are in truth only a very minor deflection from greater good!

Life is wonderful!

Sights and Sounds

We could have never loved the Earth so well if we had had no childhood in it. ~ George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss, 1860

Footnotes:

Among the pictures taken while in Ooty this time around. This one was snapped during a night trek. Can't tell you in words how wonderful it felt to relive the experience of life in the mountains - absolutely soulful. 

A Blessed India

No words, no thoughts, just dreams ......... for a blessed India!

Home-bound

There is no promise more stronger than the hope of going home! One cannot, in so many words, convey that feeling or pick out a particular attribute that brings within the self that sense of elation at being home-bound, and for me, beginning now, that feeling is only compounded many multiples as I imagine the mighty blue mountains, everlasting lush green and a sense of unmatched calm!

Terribly short though, this vacation is a long awaited break and a much needed refresher, one that I hope will help shift focus and most importantly reinvigorate a passion for all those finer things in life that I have been so painfully missing out on!

I also hope to resume visiting your blogs soon.

Do have a good weekend and be safe. 

Happy Birthday Edge

One of music's most widely celebrated name, David Howell Evans, better known to the world by his stage name 'The Edge' celebrates his birthday today!

A very important pillar of the Irish group U2 since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record.

His ways on the guitar are legendary and "his use of a rhythmic delay effect yields a distinctive ambient, chiming sound that has become a signature of U2's music."

Redefining Oblivion wishes him unending success in his quest to transport us all to a world so vividly distinct and so full of creative excellence. 

The Lost Generation

This was sent to me by a colleague and I thought it apt to make a post of it! Please watch, with your speakers on, in its entirety - This is only a minute and forty five seconds in length and definitely not one to be missed.

State of Disconnect & Dissociation

My Dear Blog

You have for so long been a very inherent and important part of my life, so much so that we view each other as part of the same self and an equally similar faculty of the mind and the body in harmonious co-existence.

For sometime now, however, there has been a sense of disconnect and dissociation, owing largely to how my life has been deeply involved with the routine of work. Such a neglect surely is unpardonable, for work, I have always believed, is only a portion of life and not life itself.

That I haven't been able to keep you abreast with my thoughts and that I haven't been able to visit and pay obeisance to the collective creative excellence of your wonderful counterparts has cast long and dark shadows of melancholy and despondence within me, to the extent of what is now a wound such as a deep abyss!

I will strive hard to center my life on life itself with the realization that all else is merely an add on to life, and that my mind, with its constant endeavour to seek the purpose of life, as a part of that very effort, will sincerely attempt to attach itself more deeply and passionately with the way that you help chart forward.

I cannot say how much comfort you provide me, for there could be nothing so blissful as talking to you.

Lots and Lots of Love and Peace

Rakesh

Life Connect

The more I see life, the more I feel the compelling need to reach out and connect with nature.

It'd be nothing short of bliss, I suppose, to spend time in calm solitude wishing upon the evergreen expanses or the blue waters where time seems to stay still and life is less plagued by the pressures of wants, needs, desires and dreams!

Sometimes I do think that life would have been absolutely idyllic eons ago when civilization meant togetherness, devoid of technology, information and knowledge, and yet sometimes I think that true bliss is now, in the making, only if one is in quest for it!

Perhaps, it is, after all, the effect of a Monday morning!

A & B

Some people bring unending happiness with them and it is truly a matter of pleasure to be associated with such folk, for they show the way forward to a happier self in their sincere effort to spread joy where ever they go.

It is intriguing how wonderfully well like minds can come together, and that is precisely what happened when A & B stopped by to spend a small part of the weekend with us. What was initially thought to be trivial, and supposedly close to being formal, soon turned out to become larger than life, evoking a sense of emotion in me that was unseen for decades, to have been able to laugh out like a child without any inhibitions that would normally be the besieging hallmark of an adult!

It didn't take a lot of time to realize that some of us are indeed strongly connected by threads that last much beyond ourselves and our lives, and that true happiness lies in being happy together!

Truly remarkable of how wonderful a tapestry we make!

Disconnected - For now

Sometimes I think my life would make a great TV movie. It even has the part where they say, "Stand by. We are experiencing temporary difficulties."

Footnotes:

Some testing times resulting in mid-air turbulence, which hopefully should pass off sooner than I expect. In the interim, I'm losing out on visiting your blogs and also responding to your comments. I want you to know that I value your comments very much and your support has been a tremendous source of comfort and encouragement, like none other, and so, you will continue to be a very integral part of my life, always and all ways. 

Sometime in June

I could tell you a hundred things about how experience and learning from life are constantly working to transform the person I am, but I guess the best possible way to put it, candid and concise, would be to be admit the fact that life does quite a bit to educate to the point of being able to replace an empty mind with an open one.

One step closer to realizing the purpose, perhaps!

History of Nearly Everything

Presently reading Bill Bryson's acclaimed work 'A Short History of Nearly Everything.'

Couldn't help but make a post on an opening excerpt which reads thus;

The physicist Leo Szilard once announced to his friend Hans Bethe that he was thinking of keeping a diary; 'I don't intend to publish. I am merely going to record the facts for the information of God'.'Don't you think God knows the facts?' Bethe asked. 'Yes,' said Szilard. 'He knows the facts, but he does not know this version of the facts.'

Footnotes:

Originally stated in Taming the Atom by Hans Christian von Baeyer

This conversation struck a deep chord within me, owing perhaps to my regimen of log keeping that is now so many years into the making! 

Together and Universal

Evening last, I had the opportunity to visit Sai Mandir in Chennai, a place known for tranquility and the immensely peaceful lush green locale that it is.

At about the same time, I was recollecting a picture I had seen earlier in the day on Boston Globe's Big Picture of two individuals in prayer, with folded hands, at the site of what used to once be their home before the devastating tsunami struck Japan, some three months ago.

Couldn't help but wonder how universal the sign of folded hands has become to denote prayer and eternal submission, and how closely united so many of us, across the world are, by merely engaging in such a characteristic display!

Truly, we are all conjoined as if in one big tapestry, for what is true to you is certainly true to me too! 

Reclaiming the Outdoors

It has been a while since I wholly connected with nature, apart from those occasional trips to Ooty. Now, that I get to do so right in the lap of where I stay is like being satiated like nothing else.

So, on a weekend, to enjoy an evening walk in the midst of neem trees and on well laid pathways leading up an almost isolated beach is a treat of sorts and more so for the fact that such a getaway is available in Chennai.

It is heartening to hear cuckoos crying in response to one another and feel the wind blow onto the face, while the eyes are comforted with expansive greenery, and the senses are rewarded with rich smells of virgin nature

Truly, for the seeker, paradise is a preordained reward!

Goodbye Picasso

News just in a while ago that the acclaimed artist M F Hussain has passed away, marking the end of 60 odd years of artistic excellence and a life that witnessed many raging controversies!

Redefining Oblivion pays homage to this oddly eccentric creative exponent, whose legend will live on for many generations to savour and perhaps for so many to follow.

He was without doubt the Picasso of India!

I and Now

On the personal front, a very different phase of life begins for me, here in Chennai. This will provide a great deal of opportunity for introspection and thought, a whole lot of anchoring will take place and I quite feel the difference coming around!

The key is to peel off the layers and understand that core which resides within the self and I'm hoping that there are some truly memorable times to come.

But that apart, life has been very hectic with no time for anything but work - and devoid of some good reading and music, I need to urgently buckle up!

Theres probably no bigger a sense of feeling different than the feeling of ushering in change and letting it be!

What It Is

Mark Knopfler has enthralled millions since the inception of his iconic band, Dire Straits, which he co-founded along with his brother, David, in 1977. His signature style and supreme dexterity on the guitar need no introduction and those passionately belted out wonders transport any listener from the midst of moody blues to an instant state of unequivocal ecstasy.

Now, there are many wonderful tracks that could easily be picked up and named as Kopfler's best, but this one, titled 'What it is' stands out for a very exuberantly telling message it conveys.

Master craftsman, par excellence, on the guitar, Knopfler is indeed a legendary entertainer.



Part of the celebrated album, Sailing to Philadelphia, released in 2000 on September 26, this track is definitely an outstanding super single!

5 Years Later

Its been quite a journey since I made my first post on this blog on 27 May 2006, a journey that has taken me through time, places, rich emotion and a very fortunate one that has connected me with some of the finest people life can offer!

Today, 5 years since the inception of Redefining Oblivion and almost 7 years since I made my first blog post, there is a wonderful feeling of reflection, contentment and happiness, all of which I could never have attained through another avenue!

So, this post is not really about me, my blog or my blogging experience, it is about you, the motivator, the friend, the ever-positive unconditional pillar of support that has kept me going forward in my quest for bliss and joy.

I must say that it is truly a privilege to be associated with each one of you, and I sincerely wish this association furthers in depth and proportion with the coming times.

And as for me, there's no stopping the 'underdog's desire to reach out to the world in an effort to learn and experience the many wonders that are!'

Thank you very much!

People Outside Time

Imagine living in a realm without the effect of time. Thats precisely what a tribe in Amazon has been doing all along.

A team of researchers from the University of Portsmouth has found a tribe, known as the Amondawa people, in Brazil, where nobody has an age, and words such as 'month' and 'year' have no meaning. This definitively proves that time, after all, is not such a deeply entrenched universal human concept, as was previously thought.

I'm overjoyed beyond description having read this, as I firmly believe that time and languages really are limiting factors than the enablers that they are thought to be!

Must be absolutely blissful to be living so naturally without the influence of the elements!

The world never ceases to amaze me.

Back to Basics

For the first time in three years, I've missed three consecutive posts over a week and a half, and that I guess should say quite a bit of how I relished my homeward trip, considering that I enjoy blogging equally well, or so!

Ooty is a pleasure of many lifetimes layered upon one and cannot quite be described in words to the heart's content and any little time spent there does well to rejuvenate the soul in a very vivid proportion.

Much seems to have happened during the past week, particularly on the political front, across 5 Indian states as a result of the exercise of 14 crore voters who finally decided that the left wasn't right in Kerala and West Bengal and most pertinently voiced their sentiments against corrupt forces in Tamil Nadu, a much needed move that one hopes would change the innards of this now dilapidated state!

I guess this is the beginning of some much needed change that we have all longed for, and that it hopefully proves to be so.

Blue Mountains Calling

Endless expanses of plummeting rich green, shouldered by soulful mighty blue mountains where clouds come calling for the hand to feel, the air is rich with the calling of birds, bees and beetles and the smells of pine, tea and eucalyptus linger ever-fresh for the senses to indulgently savour.

Blue skies dotted with puffy moist lingering clouds, which make way for warm and soothing sunshine, reflect in awe as if in appreciation of nature's dexterously delightful artistry of the land below.

The inner self is rewarded with a state of perpetual bliss and there is little interference of time, allowing one to embrace unending measures of many bountiful offerings of this gifted land. The child in the self is awakened and an enchanting progression of natural invigoration envelopes the body, mind and soul.

One enters a sublime state of marvel, and realizes that there is no quest for material associations, which otherwise engulf the mind, perpetually dogging it to embark on a maddeningly never-ending journey of crazed pursuit.

There is only the quest to unite with nature, to be one with it - to be one of it!

The call of the blue mountains is all alluring, particularly when one's soul resides amidst those very enthralling wonders, and I'm ecstatic about my short vacation to Ooty.

Truly, going home, to Ooty, is a celebration of sorts! 

More than I can say

"More Than I Can Say" originally released in 1960, is a song written by Sonny Curtis and Jerry Allison, former members of Buddy Holly's band The Crickets and was recorded by their band in 1959 soon after Holly's death. Their original version hit #42 on British Record Retailer Chart in December 1960. It has since been made iconic following the performances by Bobby Vee and Leo Sayer.



British song-writer and singer Leo Sayer made this a cover version in the year 1980 and it almost earned him a spot on the charts, following his two singles reaching #1 in the U.S., "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" and "When I Need You", both in 1977.

This evergreen hit is part of my list of all time favourites, and will remain so for all time to come. 

Free Speech - On a tight leash

Some excerpts from the text of an article in the New York Times about growing restrictions on free speech in India.

Free speech advocates and Internet users are protesting new Indian regulations restricting Web content that, among other things, can be considered 'disparaging,' 'harassing,' 'blasphemous' or 'hateful.'

The new rules, quietly issued by the country’s Department of Information Technology earlier this month and only now attracting attention, allow officials and private citizens to demand that Internet sites and service providers remove content they consider objectionable on the basis of a long list of criteria.

Critics of the new rules say the restrictions could severely curtail debate and discussion on the Internet, whose use has been growing fast in India.

The list of objectionable content is sweeping and includes anything that “threatens the unity, integrity, defense, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign states or public order.”

The rules highlight the ambivalence with which Indian officials have long treated freedom of expression. The country’s constitution allows “reasonable restrictions” on free speech but lawmakers have periodically stretched that definition to ban books, movies and other material about sensitive subjects like sex, politics and religion.

The new Internet rules go further than existing Indian laws and restrictions, said Sunil Abraham, the executive director for the Center for Internet and Society. The rules require Internet “intermediaries” — an all-encompassing group that includes sites like YouTube and Facebook and companies that host Web sites or provide Internet connections — to respond to any demand to take down offensive content within 36 hours. The rules do not provide a way for content producers to defend their work or appeal a decision to take content down.

An official for the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, an advocacy group based in New Delhi, said on Wednesday that it was considering a legal challenge to the constitutionality of the new rules.

Footnotes: 

A complete write-up of the article can be accessed via this link on the NY Times website. The aforementioned post contains certain parts of the original publication, without amendment.

Full credits to Vikas Bajaj, correspondent for The New York Times in Mumbai, and author of this article. 

After Chernobyl

25 years have come to pass since the Chernobyl incident. Wounds and memories still remain anew. It still ranks to be the worst civil nuclear disasters the world has witnessed, shadowing the more recent Fukushima I nuclear accident in Japan.

As countries dabble on the question of whether or not nuclear power can be a safe and reliable source of energy, it is shocking that many nations, presently part of the elite nuclear club, do not yet have a concrete nuclear safeguard policy!

This post pays homage to those who were affected, and to those who continue to endure the suffering, long after the world has forgotten the incident! 

In Atlantis

Its taken me 9 months to go out for a movie here in Chennai! And that I've been a movie buff all my life will tell you a thing or two about how non-existent my personal life has become these days! Given this serious lack of time and effort to create a personal space, I'm worried about how things will take shape once I'm ready to enter holy matrimony! But thats seemingly a while away and so I could afford some thinking to do.

Anyhow, Friday night, on an impulse, I turned off my phone, and after a sumptuous fare, walked into a multiplex and settled myself for a movie! Apart from of course the welcome change, I cannot tell you enough of how enjoyable it was to be incommunicado, though for a short while. No interfering intrusions, no deadlines, no tasks on a never-ending list and no feeling of being swamped over - Only bliss and relaxed comfort!

Having thoroughly relished this momentary state of ecstasy, I repeated the act once again on Saturday!

And, it has set me thinking; why has life become so chaotic? Is it about priorities or overpoweringly endless things to do?

Suddenly, I'm looking over, straining to find the end of the horizon and with it a great deal of calm.

I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it!

Footnotes:

It must be an easy guess as to why I titled this post the way it is. But just in case anyone wonders, then I'd like you to look up the lost island of Atlantis, and you'll be sure to understand, perhaps! 

The Enemy is Us

The first Earth Day was observed on April 22, 1970, and the man behind what is today a coordinated effort across 175 countries, and better known as the Earth Day Network is Denis Hayes.

But, my post is not about glorifying the need for any network or cause, for I truly believe that such acts involving conservation and activism need much more concerted efforts and they are not subscribed to or endorsed merely because of a group of people coming together on any given day!

Any mention of the first Earth Day, is incomplete without reference to Walt Kelly's iconic poster that was made for the occasion and that is precisely the reason why this post has been made today - to honour a vivid sense of reality that a person chose to portray in the most convincingly elementary manner! Kelly was the American animator and cartoonist, best known for the comic strip Pogo.

Kelly passed away only 3 years after the first Earth Day, but his iconic creation remains timeless, and in all probability, will continue to be more relevant in the coming times, considering the manner in which we continue to progress, or regress perhaps!

Footnotes:

Image Courtesy: Wikipedia

Image Description: Familiar, and hence needs no explanation, hopefully! 

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Footnotes:

First published in 1916 in the collection Mountain Interval, Robert Frost's iconic lines need no introduction and continue to be a timeless metaphor to aptly describe life.

Vishu Ashamsakal

Today is Vishu, the beginning of the Malayalam new year.

Redefining Oblivion wishes you good health, happiness, togetherness and prosperity, on this auspicious beginning.

Undoubtedly, my heart is in Kerala, where Vishu is observed with great fanfare and reverence celebrating the spirit of happy togetherness, and a new beginning.  

Sunnyville

There is a place I know, where peace and happiness reign supreme. A million miles of solace lie in evergreen expanses as vast as the imagination itself. There is a feeling of having finally arrived in the sense of having achieved a purpose that one is, rather, was, in a never-ending quest for.

Heartening moments of perpetual bliss compelled by the effect of soothing nature balm frayed nerves and there is a great feeling of content. There is no room for hatred, quest, want or anticipation as life is now and being played out in all glory.

Blue mountains beckon amidst flowing creeks and crackling winds that caress the inside, a state of being where time does not matter. What matters is one's presence and a deep realization of the self and the surroundings. Palls of gloom do not exist even so much as in the most inaccessible recesses of the mind. An overwhelming feeling of love prevails and unites all forms of creation in one large tapestry never distinctive of one another.

There is no sense of individual identity or definition and hence uniqueness is at best described in being similar, in character, thought and the remarkable sense of being able to co-exist elatedly in marvel. Differences, of whatever nature, are immaterial and there is a deep sense of connection one feels with another despite not being of the same kind.

There is a place I know, where peace and happiness reign supreme, and it is called Sunnyville.

There is a place I know, and I'm gone there soon! 

Yesterday Once More

Anna Hazare is no new name in the crusade against corruption and his recent campaign has like minded folks united across the length of India. It is heartening to see that techies and management professionals, among others, including a list of social activists, teachers and students have joined the fold in highlighting the ills of corruption that this great nation continues to be pillaged by!

However, it is quite another something if one were to ask if this beleaguered country would be delivered from this evil. I answer in unequivocal negative not because of any deep rooted prejudice or cynicism that I bear towards the ethos of Indian-ness, but because of a known fact that the Indian mindset swings wildly, and often in stark contradiction, between a very selfish personal jurisdiction that often compellingly keeps the individual well above the social or national aspect, and a pseudo-sense of adherence to values which seems to be projected only to portray a very nationalistic endorsement for the need to change others than the self which unquestionably requires the biggest transformation!

In effect, corruption, or for that matter connivance in that sense, lies within us, deep rooted, unaffected and unchallenged because of the lack of a personal value system, which will right any wrong so long as there is personal benefit associated.

So, while Anna Hazare and his well-meaning protégé brave the odds on empty stomachs, yet with concerted and committed minds, just so that their vision of a free nation comes one step closer to realization, to expect India en masse to follow suit is naive!

Is it Churchill to whom the phrase 'enemy within the gates' could be attributed?

Bleed Blue

If they ever tell my story, let them say i walked with giants.

Men rise and fall like the winter weed, but some names will never die.

Let them say that i lived in the land of Mahatma Gandhi - the tamer of forces..., let them say, that i lived in the times of Team India and Mahendar Singh Dhoni!

2011 is historic!

Many congratulations to Team India!

Footnotes:

Kudos to Team India for the historic win in the World Cup 2011.

These aforesaid lines, in the post, are originally from the movie Troy, in memory the timeless icons of Hector, Achilles, Odysseus and Priam.

All I want All I need

From Whitesnake, of the album 'Good to be bad' released in April 2008, this track written by David Coverdale and Doug Aldrich is among my all time favorites.

The first from Whitesnake since it's 1997 release Restless heart, this album eventually went on to sell 710,000 copies worldwide. The album charted at number 8 on the Top Independent albums, number 23 on the Top Canadian albums, number 62 on The Billboard 200 and number 7 on the UK Albums Chart.

The Unsettling Quest

I'm in perpetual awe of all that we know collectively. There is so much of information that we as a body are aware of and that certainly makes all of us a very formidable force, in unison!

But on the other side, there is so much more that we do not know and that undoubtedly is much larger in proportion in comparison to what we know! What baffles me, no end, is whether we'd ever reach that state of knowing everything that can be known!

How therefore, with such trivial knowledge, do we emphatically claim superiority in any respect?

I begin this week, asking the very question that perhaps intrigues us no end on how it is that we categorize our knowledge as one that deems fit to be termed as knowledge in the very first place, given the fact that our ignorance is certainly much larger in proportion to what we claim to know! 

Balls to Unity

That a country so divided like India could be strangely united in one voice over a game of cricket is both unique and ironic. And the irony is in the sense of oneness that departs almost immediately after the game is completed.

For starters, yesterday began with a feverish excitement of the upcoming knockout game between the Australians and the Indians. There was a sense of enthusiasm one does not otherwise see or attribute to one's passion for work, let alone excellence! The almost minute by minute rumination of any and sundry made one ardently believe that the soul of the Indian-kind was kindled and warmed by bats, balls, wickets and bookies!

Therefore, it was not very unexpected when the afternoon was blocked off as private time with dozens streaming the ongoing mêlée on their desktops, thanks to that freely available hi-speed connectivity, which assuredly, in many cases, is not put to good use or for the very purpose that it has been provided for!

For the uninitiated, (read: the outdated my kinds), the remainder of the day was as if cloistered in a curfew! Telephones unanswered and people no longer accessible, one would not need a lot of thinking to assume whatever happened to official emails that were marked 'for urgent response.'

Now, as if that wasn't surprising enough, one stepped off work to find the roads almost deserted, public transport systems, for once, un-chaotically easy to ride! Shortly thereafter, electrically charged, blood curdling screams in unison told of India's victory, much anticipated, though on a nail-biting finish, I gather!

Surely, if one may want to represent to the world the ubiquitous sense of Indian unity, there perhaps couldn't be a better way than writing a book titled "Balls to Unity."

No pun intended, I assure! 

Where theres a way

There are ways and there are ways! Some exist, yet others are created by an undying urge to move forward, assisted greatly by a sense of determination known to us as the power of the will, more so of the mind, in tow with an immense sense of hope, greatly in anticipation of the future to be a better destination than the present whereupon one has arrived!

While some trails offer scenic views of life, some others are fraught with anxiety and privation, perhaps as a manner of being a potent master to ensure lessons well learnt. So the question arises, does one look for cause and effect within? Quite as if by pattern, every one of us seem to tread either walkways in some measure that leaves a lasting dint.

Pace, time and consequences of happenstances are not quite the attributes one often happens to have any control upon and hands go up in awe or tedium as the case may be. Wagons creak by as the road turns bumpy and high on the hill there is light, teasing one to believe in what is almost certainly a ruse. Sounds from distant drumming bring some fleeting recollections of the past, gone in a flash, and there is a yearning from deep within to relive a certain moment of time that is now bygone, almost forgotten, roused momentarily by a déjà vu.

In the ensuing passage of time that is surely galactic and myriad, I walk along wondering, what it is and where the what is that the why has always been in search of. How, is so far away and unknown to comprehend, let alone be able to come to terms with!

Do all questions have the same answer? 

Japan Today

With over 10,000 lives lost, several hundreds more unaccounted for and monumental concerns surrounding one or more instances of nuclear meltdown, it is very difficult not to remember Japan and pray for its people.

Last on the wires; "Almost 2 million households were without power in the freezing north, and about 1.4 million without running water."

Redefining Oblivion extends heartfelt condolences to the families of the affected and hopes that the situation in Japan is addressed by the collective strength and efforts of the international community, which has serious responsibilities in this case. 

Blocking out the Blogger

Never mind if the Government of India drags its feet on the Foreign Universities Bill, Surrogacy Laws, Legislation related to Public Interest Disclosure, et al. At the peak of this summer, the Indian Parliament will be ensconced in palatial comfort putting its time to urgent use, and without dissent, in order to hurriedly enact the Indian Bloggers Control Act 2011 (pun intended)

The information and communications (monitoring) arms of the Government have, without reason, and rather inexplicably assumed that the blogging community has become a serious threat to its machinery, supposedly because of a perceived potential to expose many an unknown fact that may cause serious embarrassment and worse - change of guard at the helm of affairs, thanks to a wave of public awareness blitz that this medium is fast generating.

"There is an over-emphasis on the activities of blogs and bloggers; vast and vague reasons for blogs to be blocked or shut down; and above all, there is a specific rule on ‘due diligence on intermediaries’, which, in the context of the internet, can include readers who post comments."

Sounds hideously undemocratic? Or does that make one 'rightly' wonder if the babudom and netaland (bureaucracy for the uninitiated) is mighty worried about the pro-democratic outpour of the ongoing Jasmine Revolution that has transformed many a nation?

Anyone here whose read George Orwell's 1984?

The Pale Blue Dot

Image Description: This narrow-angle color image of the Earth, dubbed ‘Pale Blue Dot’, is a part of the first ever ‘portrait’ of the solar system taken by Voyager 1. The spacecraft acquired a total of 60 frames for a mosaic of the solar system from a distance of more than 4 billion miles from Earth and about 32 degrees above the ecliptic. From Voyager's great distance Earth is a mere point of light, less than the size of a picture element even in the narrow-angle camera. Earth was a crescent only 0.12 pixel in size. Coincidentally, Earth lies right in the center of one of the scattered light rays resulting from taking the image so close to the Sun. This blown-up image of the Earth was taken through three color filters – violet, blue and green – and recombined to produce the color image. The background features in the image are artifacts resulting from the magnification.

Some excerpts from Carl Sagan's book, Pale Blue Dot, which have to be read after one leafs through the image and its description mentioned above.

From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of particular interest. But for us, it's different. Look again at that dot. That's here, that's home, that's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there – on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

Footnotes:

Image Courtesy: Wikipedia

Content Reference: Google Books

About the book;

Title - Pale blue dot: a vision of the human future in space
Author - Carl Sagan
Publisher - Ballantine Books
ISBN - 0345376595, 9780345376596
Length - 360 pages

Out goes the Outlaw

In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.

-- Albert Einstein

Reading about the eviction of the Central Vigilance Commissioner by the Honourable Supreme Court of India reassures one that the power of the judiciary may not altogether be lifeless in this great nation.

Yet once again, a sense of merit and justice fostered by the Apex Court has prevailed well over the mired echelons of political and executive offices and enshrined the principles of justice as etched by the Constitution of India.

Let there be no doubt, therefore, that the Rule of Law shall be upheld, enforced and proven at all times irrespective of what could be a very well orchestrated exertion of force by bodies with a vested interest, unified in purpose to constantly attempt subversion of this very righteous effort.

Towards a new dawn

With unfolding events in the Middle-East and North Africa, democracy has a renewed meaning. From Tunisia, to Egypt and now Libya, it is very interesting and reassuring to note that the power of the people, long oppressed and stifled, is now emerging into the forefront in one voice.

It seems that times are not to far away for established democracies to review and introspect the foundations upon which they have been built.

Vox populi, vox dei!

Goodbye Uncle Pai

Redefining Oblivion pays respectful homage and rich tributes to Uncle Pai, who passed away yesterday. An enduring legend, coupled with the virtues of excellence, humility and imagination, it was his vision that led to the creation of Amar Chitra Katha, which has over the years transported millions of children deep on an enriching and memorable journey into the troves of Indian culture, mythology and history.

For those of us who grew up to the epic folktales and fables of this wonderful reference, life can always be recollected in cheer and cherished moments of yesteryears so unique and remarkable, something I'm not sure generations of the present era could ever imagine!

Maybe it is for him that Henri Frederic Amiel remarked "Man becomes man only by his intelligence, but he is man only by his heart."

Affirmatively Singular

Time, this month, ran a feature on Project Singularity, something that I have spoken about here sometime ago.

Leafing its pages in solitude, partly glossing over and partly in the mood to read with the mind screaming the need for a complete shutdown, after a tough day's work, this piece brought more worry than cheer, especially after the cover page that emblazoned human immortality to be a possibility by the year 2045.

Anyhow, that being a question of perpetual perplexity - I arrived at a graphical representation of time and human capability indexed to outline how evolution of the machines have taken place until now and how that will, in geometrical proportion, outpace the capability of intelligence displayed by an average human being, owing to evolved and collective intelligence.

By the time I 'leafed through' that article, I was more weary and edgy of a possibility that concerns labelling my kind in obsolescence, than in evolutionary progression.

Pacing home, amidst mixed thoughts on how technology has become a necessarily invasive part of my life, I set about thinking that 2045 is merely 34 years away, and not so long into the distant future, after all - Perhaps an era that I'd be better off not to be a part!

The day after, I made no attempt to find the representation online but did venture to read a tad bit more about Singularity, when I chanced upon Brain Malow's articulation of the future and how it may become! Now, thanks so much to humor from the science comedian on that part - certainly relieves one from going to work on a Monday morning with an eerie feeling of what that deary PC may be watching and waiting for, after all!

But for now, well apart from the pages detailing Singularity, there is not a whole lot more than Mark Knopfler's masterpiece 'Why aye man.'

"We're the nomad tribes, travelling boys, in the dust and dirt and the racket and the noise"

Great sound, indeed!

A Sojourn Remembered

There is something mystical about Kerala, especially when one calls it his homeland! And to express that in words, let alone a post on a blog, is humanly impossible, sheerly due to being grossly incapable of capturing the vivid moments of ecstatic emotion that one experiences and can attribute to the endearing charm of this Godly land.

The day breaks with an assortment of enchanting wonders, with the hooting of sleepy nightjars announcing the arrival of dawn, while the faint chimes of a morning mantra usher into the mind an easy calm that is truly unequivocal. The carousal calls, in union, of a flock of birds adds cheer and the surrounding greenery, that has remain unchanged over decades, embalms the soul in a comforting warmth that one does not feel treated to during normal days of ragged bustle on the other side of life.

The animated chirruping of kinsfolk, untouched by time and age, makes one recall the yesteryear wonders of childhood etched deeply within many layers of memory, able to be revisited at ease. The mind is overwhelmed with a sense of emotion fostered as a result of togetherness which it has yearned for all time, and this coming together, after years of being separated by time and distances, brings out the child in oneself - just like the old times! In the mind, amidst the humdrum of activity, Pink Floyd's Shine on you crazy diamond plays aloud, perhaps as a tribute to life and how indebted one needs to feel as a result of being able to co-exist in harmony!

Late afternoons are always blissful. A sumptuous fare calls for a short siesta on the veranda, propped up on a antique recliner while being able to relish the caressing wind and the muted calls of the wandering cuckoo, all in an animated state of stillness that seem to deftly calm every living soul and create a serene setting for rejuvenation - much needed for us folks who are constantly caught up in withering ways and cacophonies of a fast paced city life.

Come dusk, the stillness deepens, this time, more in the mind, posed as a reflection of the surroundings, soulfully imbibed into the self, thanks largely to the comforting feeling of the lack of a sense of time and the absence of an ominous calling for adherence to its passage. A visit to the Tharavattu Kavu (sanctuary of the deity of the family), cleanses the soul no end and the heightened sense of peace and fulfillment that prevails equals no other.

It it hard to forsake such a place and harder not to remember it with every passing moment of one's life. The sense of nostalgia that prevails can well equal and echo many lives lived, in togetherness, well over many millennia.

The shrill ship-horn tone of the train's call rudely shocks one from the comforting recollection of two days well spent - infinite in bliss, and being able to recall the wonderfully well spent times of childhood, togetherness and happiness. As the train departs and gathers pace making the characteristically monotonous din in motion, poised to plunge into time and eventually to a destination of want rather than need, there is a remembrance of yet another creation of Pink Floyd, aptly titled "Comfortably Numb" and deeply crafted with impassioned words, among others, that "I turned to look but it was gone, I cannot put my finger on it now, the child is grown, the dream is gone."

Really, there couldn't possibly be a sense of despair more woeful than the pain of growing up and growing apart!

Footnotes:

Image Description - Korajem, our ancestral tharavad (house) in Kannur, Kerala

Image Courtesy - Mithun Ratnakaran, The other brother

Still Loving you

From the 1984 album Love at First Sting, an iconic masterpiece called "Still Loving you" remains a timeless classic, by Scorpions, rendered in perhaps the most finest styles of musical articulation and emotion.

Much later Rudolf Schenker explained "It is a story about a love affair where they recognized it may be over, but let's try again."



The song is also considered to echo a thinly veiled metaphor for a divided East and West Germany. "Your pride has built a wall so strong that I can't get through, is there really no chance to start once again?" "only love can break down the walls someday" and "Yes I've hurt your pride and I know what you've been through, you should give me a chance, this can't be the end, I'm still loving you" were considered to be clear references to the Berlin Wall and the despair many Germans felt about their divided homeland.

It eventually sold 1.7 million copies and is considered to be the most successful production of Scorpions, reaching #64 on Billboard Hot 100.

And as for me, I promise, this was some strange coincidence that I chose to post this on valentine's day - No intentions whatsoever! 

The Wizard of Menlo Park

American inventor, scientist, pioneer and businessman, Thomas Edison was born on this day in 1847.

Of his many significant contributions to the world, perhaps a lasting legacy for all time to come would be the creation of General Electric, which is easily among the most admired corporate organizations in the world.

A proponent of excellence and values, GE is today across a hundred countries, over 3,00,000 people strong with revenues of over 160 billion USD.

Having been a part of GE, myself, the iconic words that "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work," have found prominence in my life, no end, and today, Redefining Oblivion salutes this great soul for what he was and for how his vision continues to inspire millions across the globe. 

Hello

One of those absolute yesterday favourites of mine - for all time to come! Nothing beats listening to this at dawn with the day opening up. An overwhelming state of emotions rushing down in moments, while doing so!



Hello was sung by Lionel Richie and released in the year 1984 as part of his multi-platinum album Can't slow down. Eventually, the track reached number one on three billboard music charts - the pop chart - for two weeks, the R&B chart - for three weeks, and the adult contemporary chart - for six weeks. The song also went on to become number one on the UK Singles Chart. It has since been regarded by many to be Richie's signature track.

Over the years it has gained iconic status owing particularly to the line "Hello, is it me you're looking for?"

With time, the track has also found feature in a number of movies and commercials, most recently one of Yahoo in 2010.

This video, in particular, directed by Bob Giraldi, tells the story of a music teacher, played by Lionel Richie, who falls in love with his student who is blind!

Footnotes:

With inputs from Wikipedia

The 300th

Not really a nice way to celebrate a 300th post, in the midst of significant upheavals elsewhere in parts of the world - especially Egypt, which seems to be burning, but the effect of having arrived at yet another milestone certainly evokes great deal of thrill and much more!

7 years, 120 countries and countless associations certainly makes one feel much much more than being elated in the true sense of being able to realize and further a passion and more importantly, remain connected.

That apart and more significantly, this could not have come at a more appropriate time - Today marks the birthday of the most wonderful person I have ever known and possibly ever will know - my Mother!

Cannot say enough of how much strength and a true sense of vision of excellence that I derive from her!

Communities and Us

On German television, DW, the other day, I was watching a short feature on how elders of a tribal community in Australia strongly deliberate and weigh the impact of their decisions on as far as seven generations into the future.

Strangely, I'm wondering how none of us, this side of the planet, pay attention to how much our actions could impact our immediate posterity, let alone a few down the line.

Therefore, I wonder if we depict too much of arrogance really - quite unlike, in utter ignorance, like how we think we'd be capable of destroying the world! Silly plums in fools paradise, I say because a fool with a tool is still a fool! 

24

No, not the Jack Bauer, CTU and save the country types - I mean the title!

Really, what do you do when you find yourself at the limitation of time, hideously at that, when surely 24 hours is way too short for all that keeps happening?

For all the organized bit that I think myself to be, or did until now, there is surely a great deal of test happening, even as I write this out. I guess life has a way of putting one's beliefs to the test purely to be able to stretch things to the maximum aimed at making one much more malleable than what is perceived or, worse still, emphatically believed!

I wonder where it was I read a while ago that the thing about time is not managing it, but managing ourselves within it.

Truth, ultimate!

Dateline Chennai

Nik Gowing of the BBC would not be too happy that I chose to title the first part of this post after his popular feature on London, but I couldn't do otherwise, considering this very interesting snippet I chanced upon while sampling some good continental cuisine over the weekend.

This seems to be a very interesting detail of the history of Chennai and how it came to be! The image is compressed and will require a double click plus some degree of magnification to read through, after which one finds a great deal of interesting things about the city in a chronological format. It was worth the read to me and I thought it would make a wonderful Monday morning post, especially after a bit of running around places to get the original paper which was much larger than the standard A4 scanned, and finally ending up cutting it slipshod considering that it wouldn't fit into any flatbed scanner otherwise. Worth the effort, I thought! 

Have a good week ahead folks!

Anya

Anything that results as the coming together of Ian Gillan, Jon Lord, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey, Ritchie Blackmore and of course Steve Morse can only be known to life as Deep Purple and that for me stands among the most respected music lineups in history. Whilst the glory of such a magnificent creation cannot be articulated within the limitation of this post, I thought, nevertheless, to showcase one of my most admired tracks of Deep Purple here.



Anya, from the 1993 album The Battle Rages On, is a wonderful characterization of the self in the successful quest for purpose, I believe, supplemented strongly by the desire to embark on a journey in the fullest belief that every endeavour is a milestone that needs to be realized, almost always in singularity, propelled by a deeply driven passion originating undoubtedly from the level of the soul, though originally it intends, among other things, to convey traits of a Russian girl by the name Anya!

Ultimate in its rendition of the marvelous guitar, combined by momentary staccato type beats pulsating a feverish state of ecstatic euphoria, I will forever remember this one to be a ballad to be carried a very long way into life! Timeless legend, I'd say!

Incidentally, fellow-blogger and mother of Kareltje and Betsie, among others, is also Anya, who I know is as deeply thrilled listening to Deep Purple, as I am. :-)

The First Session

By some measure, though small, and particularly debatable in the context of the present day, given a large measure of visible lopsidedness, today in history has been witness to perhaps the very first attempts to further a culture of democratic coexistence aimed at achieving a sense of peace and mutual respect in the geo-political scenario that was.

This day, in the year 1946, the United Nations Security Council held its very first session.

Presently, though the situation is far from desired, with many raging battles ongoing, there is a sense of hope that collectively, we, as mature human beings, empowered by reason and discretion, will come to understand the importance of diversity and unity in the same sense that we respect and value ourselves, at least for the sake of our posterity that absolutely needs a supreme sense of security to live in ways that we have always envisioned and endeavoured for our own selves.

Short bursts of spontaneity perhaps, but lengthened implications, well into timelessness? Well, time will tell, and most certainly, only hope will fuel.

Happy Birthday Deepu

I've watched you grow. I've grown up with you. Now I will want to watch you grow up, bigger and better than me.

Love you lots, Deepu! Thank you for being such a wonderful person that you are. Thank you for being you.

Sunday Morning

Not quite, I know. But that's not stopping me make a post on one of the most admired music numbers, for the message of ease, peace and quiet it conveys, all of that in the face of intense adversity. What best than to post it on a Monday morning, I thought! Besides, its been a while since I did a full-fledged music post, but somehow the messages seem to tag well.

Have a wonderful week ahead folks. Stay calm, easy, peaceful and more importantly stay happy.



Footnotes:

"Easy" is a 1977 hit single by Commodores for the Motown label, from their fifth studio album, Commodores.

Written by Commodores lead singer Lionel Richie, the song, a slow ballad with country and western roots, expresses a man's feelings as he ends a relationship. Rather than being depressed about the break-up, he states that he is instead "easy like Sunday morning."

Released in March 1977, "Easy" reached #1 on the Billboard R&B chart, and #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. The success of "Easy" paved the way for similar Richie-composed hit ballads such as "Three Times a Lady", and "Still", and also for Richie's later solo hits.

Faith No More recorded a cover of "Easy" originally as a b-side during the studio sessions for Angel Dust, following its repeated performance during live shows, but was released as the final single to the album in late 1992 - early 1993. It was their highest-charting UK hit, reaching #3, their second Number One single on the Australian charts and their final charting single in the American chart Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #58. It was originally issued on December 29, 1992, on the double A-side single with "Be Aggressive", listed as "I'm Easy", in Europe and over three months later in America on the Songs to Make Love To EP, it was later included on the European version of their album Angel Dust. Other appearances include a 2006 commercial for Levi's Jeans and as the theme tune for the TV program Goals On Sunday.

With inputs from Wikipedia.

Deflating Life?

It seems that somethings that have been bad for a while now are just getting worse!

Couldn't help wincing aloud reading "Food inflation for the week ended December 25 jumped four percentage points to 18.32% on the back of rising onion, tomato, egg, fish, meat and milk prices. This is its highest level in more than a year. And the rising food bill could well be the thin end of the wedge. Food prices have a 14.33% wei-ght in the overall inflation figure. So, when the inflation rate is released on January 15, it is bound to be significantly higher than the 7.48% level last month."

Am quietly wondering if this combined with my 15 hour days are more than enough reasons to ask for a raise!

And as far as action from the Finance Minister is considered, one would be better off waiting for mythical beings to arrive from the very distant world of Zukon, or hey, is this the handiwork of the Trade Federation of Naboo?

Nevertheless, do have a good weekend and stay safe - more importantly, stay happy!

Opening Statements - 2011

I wish you the Love of friends and family...and Peace within your heart....

I wish you Health... So you may enjoy each day in comfort!

I wish you the Beauty of Nature. I wish you Wisdom to choose priorities!

I wish you Generosity so you may share... all good things that come to you!

I wish you Happiness and Joy... And Blessings for the New Year!

I wish you the best of everything... that you so well deserve!

When you are lonely, I wish you Love!

When you are down, I wish you Joy!

When you are troubled, I wish you Peace!

When things seem empty, I wish you Hope!

Wishing you a very happy and prosperous year ahead, one that will bring you peace, happiness, success and cheer in unending measure!

Footnotes:

Opening Statements - 2010