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!