The thrill of getting back!
Posted by: Siddhartha on: July 4, 2009
Hey everyone!
Its good to be back after two months. Albeit, a vacation and yeah I did have a net connexn back home, I chose to relax and savour the love of family. Mouth-watering food, yummy desserts, some charming jokes and relaxing moments. Its good to go on breaks in between. It helps you rejuvenate! Shake off the dust and, in a sense, reborn.
I love the song ‘Time To Pretend’ sung by the band MGMT that many must have heard as the track playing when the movie ‘21′, starring Jim Sturgess and Kevin Spacey, begins.
Watch the song intro in the movie here:
The words mean things most youth feel as their rock n’ roll life begins. I’ll quote a few lines I love:
I’ll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms
I’ll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world
I’ll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home
Yeah, I’ll miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone.
But, a few words make your spine tingle too:
–
There’s really nothing, nothing we can do
Love must be forgotten, life can always start up anew.
–
‘Life can always startup anew!’ That is such a uplifting thought. And, since you have only one day at a time, Dude, you are a heck of a lucky guy! Yeah, everyone of you. No need to be morose and mundane about the past. ‘The thrill of getting back’ every morning is more than just a line. Its adrenaline for your ride!
Finally, my favorite artist Laura Pausini. Its because of her that I have started listening to Italian and Spanish songs. And, though, I don’t understand most of them, I search for translations and savour both music and meaning. My favorite Laura Pausini track is ‘Primavera in Anticipo’ (featuring James Blunt) which roughly translates into ‘Spring Come Early’. The video is here:
And the lyric translations here:
http://www.ooltra.net/Lyrics.php?a=LauraPausini&s=PrimaveraInAnticipo
So, go ahead! Listen to the track that sings of healing and abundance of life. The spring of life is perennial.
Siddhartha
Fingering your nose
Posted by: Siddhartha on: April 20, 2009
Hey people..
I was wondering how a few things human beings pick up may be in their formative years or even later and it sticks with them throughout their lives. It might be a lousy habit, an unsual swear word or even stupid unconscious physical movements but nevertheless they go on to shape us into what we eventually become.
Again I was on my way to University, and I found myself snuffed between a mango vendor and a middle-aged auntie. The auntie continued to finger her nose when she entered the rickshaw driving here finger through all nooks and corners inside her nostrils with an adeptness even a vacuum cleaner would fail to imitate.
She further kept staring at the mango vendor who held here basket even more tightly. I couldn’t help laughing. Albeit, all this was innocent and wasn’t perhaps even being recorded in her brain but all this was completely part of her.
I guess when we stare deep into our daily activities – what we do, how we talk, the gait we take, the faces we make – you realize you have a star comedian within you. Everyone of us!
And its not just true about habits. Our mindset too can be programmed this way and we don’t even realize that we are spinning of creating a new negative pattern which is gonna be your way of life in the days to come.
The point is: We spend days twisting and twirling things in our brain and it takes YEARS to straighten them out.
Be a little more aware of everything you do, say (even to yourself) and think. I guess life could be much better and wholesome.
Atleast now you can finger your nose looking in the mirror and Know you enjoy doing it. 
See ya!
Siddhartha
The Unconventional Path!
Posted by: Siddhartha on: April 18, 2009
Hey people..
I am only posting this as there have been no posts for more than two weeks. Its actually a poem I wrote as an assignment alongwith a poster I created for a course (called Non-Conventional Energy Sources). Its not a typical my kinda poem but thought maybe its worth posting.
I’ll be back with intriguing n thoughtful posts after my exam. You see its in a couple of weeks and I have finally started to study. 
Here goes:
The Unconventional Path
They say about Energy – ‘We are running outta time!’
Do I have to make this techie poem rhyme?
Its time we gave this issue some serious thought
Or life on Earth will be akin to an empty coal mine.Just walk out on fossil fuels that pollute,
We are hanging onto a faulty parachute.
To sustain the beauty and loveliness of the only ‘Home’
Look around – You’ll have answers you can’t refute.The adventurous wind like my dream girl
Erect sturdy turbines – let the harnessing unfurl.
The warmth of the sun is more than just light
Its untapped potential – A massiv energy swirl.The fore of oceans are waves – mammoth n huge
There is so much in what you throw out and call ‘Refuse’.
Solar, Wind, Tides, Biomass – The possibilities endless,
Lets take the Un-Conventional Path n make its good use.
—
I know it lacks a little bit coherence n was written again in class whilst the lecturer talked about crystallization. Anyway, hope you like it.
Siddhartha
The Sweet Pain!
Posted by: Siddhartha on: April 1, 2009
Another droning lecture and I am back to my poetry tactics. Well, I wrote this while the class struggled to stare and miserably failed to keep its eyes open in a lecture on hydrocracking. Was it hydrocracking? I am not sure.
Anyway, this one is actually inspired from an episode of ‘The Wonder Years’ and a li’l of it has my school life in it too.
So, here goes…
The Sweet Pain
Sweet, indeed, is the pain as you reminisce those moments,
And relive the heart beats that accompanied you.
As you take the path down memory lane again,
That girl, your buddy, stands out in the queue.Ah! The softness of her skin, the lilt in her voice,
And the flowing hair that smelt like fresh cut hay.
The cuts and curves of her gown flawless,
And the most sparkling smile that lit your day.One dance is all I ask for and you lovingly oblige,
We sway to the music, the affection seeps through.
The night seems to be my best friend,
As it envelops the intimacy between me and you.I wish to the heavens above – Let the night never end
But dawn has to break, the warm sun godsend.
And before I could pop the question, our paths diverged away;
As I was left thirsty and away was snatched from me your bay.I never knew how you felt back then, nor do I know now,
I wonder where you are, and how life has given you reasons to ‘Wow!’
But every morning as I rise with the sun, I feel alive,
And your memories fill me with love and I know you too remember me somehow.
Well, there goes
Siddhartha
The Evening of Life
Posted by: Siddhartha on: March 30, 2009
Hey..
Everyday I like to look at the burgeoning statistics of this site. X no. of visitors. Y no. of visitors. Then, I get a little angry on seeing blogs with higher no. of visits than mine. But I look at the content of their’s too and conclude ‘Wow!’. But, although these nos. do give me a sense of achievement, its a certainty that if I continue to look at nos. in this way, I am never going to be satisfied.
But walking through the welcoming coridors of life in fresh youthfulness, what else can I do? I have to think in terms of numbers, competition, fights and peaks. I am not trying some new tactic of underlining how life’s actions and achievements are worthless. They are not. But we have little time to execute and become all we want to. As life surely metamorphoses into nothingness with death (till an alternative to that is found).
Although this is at the back of everyone’s mind, the truth is most of us live squandering time as if we are going to live forever. We waste time being bored, being not in the mood, being angry, being sad, being scared, sleeping and I don’t know myriads of ways to prevent ourselves from achieving resplendent glory.
This stark revelation, which often plays on everybody’s mental screens but few care to let it last, came to me when I went to meet my sister, a Doctorate student who had come to Ahmedabad to collect information on living conditions of widows in the state. We were at an Old Age Home where I saw hoardes of people – who in mildest terms were old.
Not that this is something unusual. Well, everyone gets old. The truth is I found wide variety of attitudes in people. Most women smiled a lot, were always eager to answer and talk and seemed completely floating through life and its joys. Men too were in a jolly mood but there were few who just sat infront of the television screen (a mammoth 50″ screen) listlessly watching a cricket match. Their fragileness shook me and made me rethink my lifestyle.
I looked at my pattern of living, how I just waited for the good time to come and then complained about not having time, how I did nothing for hours but surf online and then complained of how busy I was, how I don’t do my assignments on time (well, that depends on what you deem important in life. Atleast in college, assignments are the least obliging) and then complained how time-wasting they are and the list is endless. I bet so is your list.
A shimmering moon looks down from my window with her faintly dizzy light and I beckon that soul within me which has all the potential to rise up again. My dear friend, why don’t you just nudge yourself a bit? Its not difficult to ensure that the evening of your life is the most glorious time – no matter when you encounter it. Family, Relationships, Ideals, Dreams, Goals and a Purpose of life – why not embrace them completely?
Siddhartha
The Squirrel, The Driver and The Traveller
Posted by: Siddhartha on: March 28, 2009
Even commonplace journeys you perhaps turn out to be more unusual than you thought. Well, I am exhausted because of my extensive traveling and this post might be a little short.
I have been attending an Entrepreneurship camp at my institute since the last three days and hence have been coming home later than usual. And commuting in public transport always gives you something new, something unforetold and sometimes even something annoying.
Yesterday, it was almost dusk and I was tucked alongwith five passengers on their trips. A sparky young fellow asked me if I was studying engineering. Well, it turned out he is my junior and we started chatting. Most of our conversations were in English and I was oblivious to people around me. When suddenly the driver started throwing words at me in English. They were hurried, unkempt and lacked some grammatical form and it took me sometime to get used to his frequency. It turned out that he was an Undergraduate in Pharmacy from Bangalore but drove auto rickshaws because he didn’t get a job. Once he started talking, he wouldn’t stop. It was a bit tough for me to decipher his words that seemed to be random pickings from sentences lacking coherence, but I managed to make sense of his words. He just seemed to mock the passengers he takes because he felt most didn’t even think about the driver. His point of view clearly mentioned that people don’t really give a damn as ‘he’s just a driver’.
I didn’t know what to answer. Had never felt concretely like what his perception was of people,; so, I guess I was an exception.
But I listened to him and when my stop came, he just smiled and thanked me. Sitting at a shop, sipping mango juice, I thought Maybe all people have things unexpressed in forms intangible which need little nudges to spring them forth. I wonder how much baggage do people carry. If conscious of this fact, it could go a long way in reducing all our regrets and even repressed desires.
Today was the last day of the Entrepreneurship Camp and instead of returning home in the afternoon, I jumped onto a friend’s motorbike and headed for Landmark, an exhaustive bookstore in the city.
It was 5:00 PM in the evening and I hadn’t eaten lunch. Although I was carrying it in a lunchbox, I wondered where could I eat in peace. Surely the supermarket where I stood wasn’t the right place to open your box and start munching. Why is that awkward?
Nearby is a huge temple of Lord Krishna, built by the ISKCON trust and it has a huge lawn with teeming grass and fresh smell of wet earth. So, I just sat down amidst the crowd of families, friends and lovers, beneath a tree.
Well, I was having lunch alone. But was looking around for company. I was quietly chewing, when I noticed a squirrel darting back and forth at some distance. Two steps forward. One step backward. I had always wanted to touch one. Legend has it that when Lord Rama stroked the back of the squirrel who was helping build the bridge to the kingdom of Lanka, three stripes – his finger trails were traced and that’s why squirrels have stripes.
Anyways, it came closer, his nose moving wildly in anticipation. I threw some potato and onion mix that was prepared by the auntie who cooks for us but he just sniffed it with disapproval. Yet the moment bits of rice fell on the ground, he picked them up and started eating them wildly. Alert and extremely agile, the movement of the squirrel reminded me of some expert gymnast in action.
Well, he finished his food and ran off. I sat looking as the sun set and the landscape got wet in varied colours. The temple shone in unabashed glory and I walked by in stunned silence slurping a softy.
Siddhartha
[Book Review] The Open Road
Posted by: Siddhartha on: March 12, 2009
- In: Literature
- 3 Comments
“It is the only thing we can do, Klaas, I see no other alternative, each of us must turn inward and destroy in himself all that he thinks he ought to destroy in others”
- Etty Hillesum, on her way to death aged 29, in Auschwitz
There are books you devour and finish in one sitting. There are books you take small bites of, leisurely savouring the aroma and the taste lingering on the tongue. There are books that you come back to again and again and every time you do so they give you a fresh insight, probe your notions, question your beliefs and even re-align what you stand for.
‘The Open Road’ is a combo-package of all these three kinds. You can finish it in one go, yet you slow down and take in slowly and long after you have closed the pages, you sift through them again and again craving for more.
Pico Iyer attempts to trace the journey of His Holiness The Dalai Lama (the 14th) in ‘The Open Road’ and tries to bring forth the multi-faceted leader of the Tibetan movement and the torch bearer of Buddhist teachings in the 21st century. The book symbolizes how the journey of life truly is ‘an open road’ with oneness of mankind as its central theme. How the road has innumerable paths and turns, full of surprises and yet our walk depends entirely on the world you have created within.
The Open Road by Pico Iyer
Juxtaposing the past, present and the future, the book is a revealing account of the Dalai Lama’s life and work. Right from the time he escaped to India at the age of 24 in 1959, the Dalai Lama has been instrumental in leading the movement towards freeing Tibet for his people. Yet, his position, both as a monk and a leader has landed him in a precarious position. Dividing himself between the world and his people, the Dalai Lama has been constantly on the move, trying to bring peace and harmony in the world whilst searching for inner perfection.
The book vividly describes the Dalai Lama’s keen attention towards the world around him and yet his quest for inner realization as a monk. He relies on scientific proofs, debates voraciously to test his beliefs, questions all beliefs and rituals before ascribing to them and believes that in changing the self lies the solution to all problems. How beneath the infectious laughter and enthusiasm and laughter lies the heart that questions the very existence of mankind and looks for solutions to the problems of the world and Tibetans. One begins to wonder flipping through the pages, how extremely detached he is from the world and yet who earnestly dedicates his time completely trying to do some good.
Yet, who would believe that the Dalai Lama wakes up every morning at 3:30 to mediate for about 4 hours before getting involved in the vortex of activities! This and hundreds of tidbits merge to give the reader full access to the principles His Holiness stands for, his stand in the world and the courage to question our own beliefs and mindsets.
The author is journalist with the celebrated Time magazine and can be termed a global citizen living in Japan and the US. Pico Iyer’s association with the Dalai Lama goes beyond 30 years and it began when the Dalai Lama dedicated the foreword of his (Iyer’s) father’s book with the words:
“To Pico and those of his generation for whom there will be no curtain.”
And his own curiosity and inward thirst have created a book par excellence. A beautiful account of the past traditions and customs of Tibet, the present day condition of exiled Tibetans in Dharamsala and worldwide, the fate of modern Tibet, the dilemma of Tibetan youth and in the larger picture, the interconnectedness of the world, the power within and sometimes, even the helplessness with the Dalai Lama as the central theme and object.
The most powerful messages from His Holiness’s teachings are in fact disguised forms of Buddha’s last words, “Work out your salvation with diligence”. That is the essence of life. Its unity amidst variety. Every word and tiny act has consequences, even those that you cannot see. The questioning attitude and shaping your perception of the world – that is all that it takes to find clarity of living life and co-existing.
The mind is something we had the potential to transform and so, therefore, was the world the mind created.
- From the book
A must read! 9/10
Siddhartha 
When it is not celebration anymore
Posted by: Siddhartha on: March 11, 2009
- In: Broodings
- 2 Comments
Its been quite sometime, eh? Well, post-exams was in a holidaying mood. I had been home gorging on tasty bengali paayesh, finger-licking fish, delectable raajma and fried rice. Two days of some wonderful time and returned back to Ahmedabad today.
Anyway, today is the second day of Holi – a huge festival of Hindus worldwide which is celebrated to commemorate the victory of good over evil. So, when I set forth to return back here, I couldn’t find any means of transportation. The University buses had suspended work till the evening and the nearest city was at least 30 kms from where I could get state transport buses to Ahmedabad. So, Baba (my father – that is what is called in ‘Bengali’) decided he’d drop us to the city by car and from there we’d catch the bus.
The highways/freeways were empty and we rarely saw a vehicle or two.En route, we were stopped by a mob of about 10-15 people with sticks in their hands. Now, I could see they were covered in colours (During Holi, people celebrate with colours – a heart-warming spectacle where love and affection spring forth). However, they blocked the road and started gheraoing our car. My father stopped it and asked them what was the matter. He saw that they were drunk and the one who seemed the leader ‘of the pack’ had loads of money in his hand.
They were extortionists trying to loot every vehicle on the empty roads. Morons! On my sisters insistence, my father immediately sped up the car and vroom! we wheezed past through the bunch. But the moment we managed to clear through, we heard a sharp clank behind.
Someone had stuck the car hard with his stick but with no success. But the ‘icing on the cake’ was a huge amount of cow dung smashed right across the back of our car. Yuck!
Since we had not time to examine our damage, lucky to have escaped, we continued our sojourn till we reached Palanpur (the nearest city). Stepping out, I saw the huge amount of excreta splashed and was half-laughing but full of anger.
I wonder how in the name of festivals, anti-social elements like these pop up in every nook and corner trying to loot, harm or even kill innocent passerbys. Booze – that adds to the special effects’ – too irked me.’
Albeit, we escaped unharmed and all our car needed was a good wash, it saddens me to think if our society really is progressing? Or is it acting as a nurturing harbour for increasing such anti-social aspects – small scale or terrorist elements?
Siddhartha
Getting ‘back’ to work!
Posted by: Siddhartha on: February 22, 2009
We waste hours in trying to save minutes!
There is profound truth in this statement. Just stamp those words on your mental blackboard ‘coz you’ll need it when you realize how often you waste your time. Not because its leisure time. But because its that time you tag as ‘Work’ and it neither gets utilized as work time nor savored as leisure time.
Maybe its just me or perhaps its exists in many but people have a fetish with ‘perfect’ clock time too. They’ll start working/studying/analyzing whatever at sharp 11:00. Or 3:30. But if its a few minutes past that time, they’ll say ‘Oh! I’ll start half-an-hour later’. Or ‘There is so much time till tomorrow. Let me just move around for sometime’.
Hmm.. Just a starting thought for you
You sit slumped thinking ‘just few more minutes’. If this is something you regularly do, its time to ask yourself ‘Am I a procrastinator?’ Loosely defined, it is someone who postpones doing things. Its just a habit, a rut you’ve formed which you need to become aware and get out of.
The best description ever!
Solutions? To start with I have just one statement ‘Fake it till you make it’. If you know there’s work to do, there are things to complete, exams to study for – imagine yourself completely immersed in them and enjoying it. Just think how great it’d feel to know that a) You can’t fail b) You are great at what you are doing and c) Its gonna get done in time.
And with these powerful thoughts focus on the task at hand. Think, feel and walk as if it is gonna get done in the best way possible – by your hands, by your brains. And get going!
Ciao!!
Siddhartha
Ringa Ringa Roses!
Posted by: Siddhartha on: February 15, 2009
The world exists but in your perception!
How true! We are so caught up in our miniscule world of self-consciousness and self-obsession, whether we are aware of this or not, that we don’t even open our eyes to the different hues spattered on walls of the world around us. Rare chances are showered upon us and rarer still we accept those bouquets.
I was returning home after appearing for my first mock CAT (Common Admission Test for admission to B-schools across India) and I chanced upon an old school pal on the street. Just like that! Scorching afternoon 1 o’ clock and I am just whiling away walking and I stumble upon him after several months. We catch up and have fun. But anyway after this pleasant surprise, he left me near the IIM-A (Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad – A top B-school in India.. Whoa!!) bus stand and I happened to walk across an organization called the Apang Maanav Mandal (roughly translated as an organization for the Handicapped People where physically retarded people are made skill literate and given means of employment) and I saw a most unusual and heart-warming sight.
I saw a few blind people playing cricket! Far from being an avid cricket buff, I run away from cricket. But its crazy how this game drives this nation! I was charmed by what I saw.
To me the ball – a huge white orb fitted with small bells that ringed as it moved through the air or struck the ground, was a shining beacon of how there is hope in every situation, in every human, in every moment. The players were so enthusiastic and highly motivated simply in a game of cricket. How beautifully they lived their life as if it were a song! Beautifully – in the mind, in their perspective. Physically ;life is far tougher for them than cry babies like us. When the ball whizzed past behind the batsman, he guffawed cheerfully and made fun of the bowler. “Alyaa wide che!!” (Its a wide, idiot!) And everyone burst out laughing. I stood there outside the gate watching, those words ringing in my ears – A revelation.
How trivial matters of everyday life really are and yet we sulk and remain mundane, complaining this is not right, the tap’s leaking, the boss is flaring, the daughter is shouting, the girlfriend is moaning, our life is boring and it goes on.
Stop! Look around! “What life is full of care, if we don’t have time to stand and stare?” are the staring lines of a poem ‘Leisure’. Slow down! Please.
Coz if you don’t smell the roses, how are you gonna dance? And if you don’t dance the Dance of Life, are you really alive?
See ya!
Siddhartha
Strokes of Poetry!
Posted by: Siddhartha on: February 10, 2009
Hey!!
I have a very peculiar habit of writing poems when my classes are on. A few lectures are so goddamn boring that you can’t help – Either succumbing to the alluring reverie or find means of amusing yourself. And writing stuff often helps keep a light heart.
I am posting two pieces I wrote of many in the last month. So, hope you enjoy them.
A Matter of Perspective
Stop fidgeting, You better calm down;
Smile! No clenched teeth, stupid, Don’t frown.
Calm and collected – That’s fast and easy,
Everyone is into himself, its always mildly breezy.The estimate of you is no mean statistics,
Its an invisible balance – no fun antics.
The quintessential Libran, I know, its difficult
But, I guess, higher the echelons, stranger the cult.With every passing moment, eternity comes near.
Why push if afar & feign not to hear.
Its a matter of courage and pluck,
Scrutinize the insecurities and wash the muck.Open your eyes, Free your mind,
No fetter of the society really do bind.
Be realistic and just look around,
You are already flying, can never fall to the ground.Longing within to hold onto others
Or rather their voices, But they only smother.
A sane brain, A healthy intellect,
Its all a matter of perspective, No class or sect.
All right, here goes the second one. This was in response to a lecture I heard at our University by a Swamiji from Ramakrishna Mission and is perhaps incomplete. But am presenting it as it was. Haven’t tried to add anything.
Questions Answers
Questions galore, Umpteen of them within,
The search for an answer ultimately ends up in a trash bin.
Time and again, it brushes away the sand and dirt
To see if anything can help overcome the hurt.I wonder whats wrong in momentary pleasure,
Who decides what is right and what to be labeled wrong.
How can anyone grasp the complexities of life?
If people have ’supposedly’ little time to sing life’s song!The secret lies perhaps in not trying so hard,
Not bothering in trivial matters, words or opinions.
The beauty of life manifests when you close your eyes,
And know fulfillment comes only when you peel the onions.
See ya then!
Siddhartha
Reminiscing the past!
Posted by: Siddhartha on: February 3, 2009
Hello people!
‘The Wonder Years’ is my favourite TV show on earth. I guess, nothing can beat the old feelings and heartfelt nostalgia of childhood that effortlessly flow through you. And, no better way than by watching ‘The Wonder Years’.
Looking at boyhood from the eyes of someone else doesn’t make much of a difference. You find the same innocence, same struggle and same goggles of looking at life.
You look back, a lump forming in your throat and you realize life was so simpler, so uncomplicated, so endearing.
Down the memory lane, you wonder, “Man, did I really think like that?’ OR ‘I was so innocent!!’ and, finally, the big one ‘Do I regret not being there anymore?’
Its weird and sometimes even intimidating to face this question. You miss it, thats secondary. But it gets overwhelming sometimes when you find the world around today too cruel, too harsh, too devoid of love and you crave for the good ol’ days.
The patriarchal rule, the motherly love, the fights with siblings, friends, the crushes, the school, the teachers, the antics, the laughter, the playground, the dreams, THAT LIFE.
But seeing through that looking glass also gives you the hope of believing in tomorrow. Of letting go. Of knowing what love is. And feeling it.
I encourage you today. To look at life from those eyes, that vision you possessed as a six year old. The beauty and the vastness of life unfolding before you.
And you won’t miss that part of yours. You’ll live it.
Siddhartha
P.S.: For viewers in India, the show is aired Monday to Friday at 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM on Zee Cafe.
Who? Where?
On the world map!
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