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.