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!