Verse - 1

I've never understood why some things appeal me at certain times and at other times they just lose their appeal. What I enjoyed the most moments ago, I detest. I wonder if it's just the mind playing games,or whether it's meant to be  that way.

Waves of an ocean, or stillness of a pond,

Which of these does the mind really want?

Fine mist on the skin, or gentle showers

with the scent of rain,

Warmth of the sun, or the soothing shade,

Which to indulge, and which to evade?

Calmness of the dark, or brightness of the day,

Solitude and peace, or joyous friends,

Challenges, should I seek, or an easy way out,

Sometimes this appeals, and sometimes it's that,

Which of these does the mind really want?

A.R.K.

You, Reckless Driver, and What You Want To Be

You

When I look at you, I can see the beautiful features that Nature has gifted you: the sparkling eyes, the eyebrows, the hair, the hands, torso, legs -- all working in perfect unison to create the 'You.' Also, when I look at you, I can imagine the days of your childhood, you, like any other child, running around in your tiny legs, your parents panting to catch up with you, your innocent smile, the drooling saliva, the big eyes, the playful childishness. Also, when I look at you, I can imagine the beautiful moments of your life, the ones you will never forget -- I can see the marks left by these in your smile and in the sparkle of your eyes. Also, when I look at you, I can imagine the struggle, you, a person in the twenty-first century, are going through. I can imagine you dodge or solve your problems using your brain, struggle, be confused, and I'm amused imagining the look on your face when you attempt to comprehend what's a bit too much for you... My fellow being, knowing so much about you, how could I ever show contempt, envy, or hatred towards you? But I have a bad habit: I play with people.

Reckless Driver - You have been cursed!

Beware you reckless driver, you who doesn't care for my life, you who doesn't care for your fellow beings, BEWARE, you have been cursed! Whatever you drive, be it a lorry, a car or a motorbike, may you be most prone to accidents, meet them as often as the sun meets the horizon. May your vehicle give you the most of problems, may it give you starting troubles, engine troubles, may it break down frequently. May you step on cow dung, may you have all the misfortune piled up, one after another, may you taste each one of them. May you be the first the mad dog bites or the mad cow gores. May you be the first an animal bites, if such an occasion arises. May you be prone to diseases, may bad bacteria and virus make home in your body, give you many infections and bless you with bad health. May your house have the most electricity cuts and water cuts, may a branch fall on your telephone line every other week. May you have many misfortunes of this kind. May you have a bad work life, may you be the most unsuccessful, yet struggle like a donkey. May every step you take create trouble for you at work. May you earn the least, may you have to spend the most. May your life be in constant agony. May you and your brethren be wiped out of the face of earth in a thousand years, I pray, may this curse come true. BEWARE you reckless driver, you have been cursed; and you shall not go unharmed!

What kind of person do you want to be ?

"What kind of person do you want to be ?" is a question reserved exclusively for either the genteel well wisher or the presumptuous flatterer, both of whom are rare species. When confronted by this interesting question a few days ago, I had to, but, thank the few hours of free time up my sleeves last week when I was coincidentally meditating upon the same question. I have only an aspect of the answer, nevertheless, a good beginning to self-visualisation. "Imagine a victim of a car breakdown, stranded in the middle of a dense forest - anything but an hospitable place. Imagine after a few hours of shivering wait, a bus coming down the road, and stopping to get him in. I want to be the person who would bargain the bus-fare to be dropped at the nearest hotel, in such a situation." Impressive, isn't it ? - Aravindh

Medley - 4

A traveler has seen many beautiful sights and heard many melodious sounds -- but are these sights and sounds what he craves for? No -- these are easy to forget. He yearns to re-live the experience; an experience that comes from his involvement in the scene and not his mere presence. In the absence of this experience one needs an aid to remind himself of the visit - a picture or a souvenir perhaps? Should one pack in as many sights or sounds or as many experiences? Spare some pity for the one who chooses the former, working his way through the destinations as hastily as a pack of bees collecting nectar -- is his interest to visit this place or just to get away from his?

The sights I saw are now faded, The sweet music is mellowed, But the place where I held her hand, Is so fresh in my mind, There I want to visit a thousand times.

Mind is a mysterious thing at best -- what it will retain and what it will forget is hard to say. It never seems to give clues about itself, and a helpless being must guess and understand it slowly by himself.

I can look into my own eyes, By just staring at the mirror, But where shall I stare, For the reflection of my mind?

What drives one to do something? If one can answer this then he can be sure it won't continue for long. If one does it for money, it stops after he gets the money; if for fame, after he gets the fame; if for satisfaction, after he gets the satisfaction. But what if he does it just for the sake of doing it? -- then yes, it does not stop, ever.

He did it for money, and now he's dead, And all that he did, Is in ruins.

A.R.K.

Wanted: A life free from compromises

From the days of lone wandering men, who would only be subdued by raw strength, human beings have moved on to families and later to societies -- only to find themselves yielding in addition to emotions and societal forces. The ones who have fit themselves well into the familial and societal frameworks find no burden, but the ones who are yet to be molded, who still consider themselves free, and who laugh at "what's not good for a beehive isn't good for the bee either," and to whom individuality has a greater importance than society -- feel an increasing burden of emotional and societal restrictions. Who is ahead of whom, and who's in the wrong path, it is difficult to say. While on one hand the societal assurance, and the familial support is all but necessary, the compromises one has to make to keep them up is painful. Perhaps the need is for balance, but how and how much?

Art - 1 (abridged)

Art is a form of expression: of the thoughts and feelings of an artist. It is a medium by which an artist communicates with his audience; and to the audience art is what liberates him: causes him to lose himself in the same bliss as the artist. Art ties their thought-streams together. A primary ingredient of any artwork is an intricate and congruent thought structure. A good thought framework expressed as art clarifies the many questions that rise in the mind of the audience, and manifests itself in the artwork as: clarity, details, highlights, expressions, and so on. A thorough thought process is born out of a desire to express an idea. Hence, a clear intent is very essential: it is important for the artist to have a need and reason to produce the artwork. His intent, willingly or unwillingly, is manifested in his artwork. If his intent is shallow, the artwork turns out to be shallow, if deep, the artwork turns out to be a masterpiece. In my recent visit to Chitra Kala Parishad I found an increasing number of "modern artworks," a trend that greatly disturbed me. These modern artworks made no sense without their caption, burdened me to think for the artist to fill the gaping voids in the artwork, and were with no discernible intent. Art, a "form of expression" was stunted to the physical expression on canvas -- not beyond; it did not pierce the canvas into the heart of the audience. These artworks made me sad.

Things I Like - 1

At 10A.M:

1. A Friday, and,
2. Full tank petrol in car, and,
3. Full battery charge on cellphone, and,
4. Half a glass of Espresso, and,
5. Half a glass of Orange Juice.

At 10P.M:

1. Dark room, curtains drawn, lights put off, and,
2. Pearl Jam's /Black/ playing in the background, and,
3. Lying lazily on the bed, and,
4. Late night SMS-chat.

Pretty faces and Thoughts

Surreal personalities in showbiz and how they affect our lives and decisions. The Media and Showbiz, for some, are escape-routes out of the real world, but for the vast majority of us on whom these are thrust upon on our day to day life, these are sub-conscious programmers of our memory and behaviour. Media and Showbiz glorify that which allures the senses - be it reality or virtual. And those who have grown up with such constant exposure carry a surreal notion of the world. The beauty, intellect and manners of reality don't appeal them anymore -- they would like to cling and clamour their showbiz and media ideals. While most would disregard this effect saying 'They know what's real and what's not,' they don't realise the harm that's done to them sub-consciously. Prejudice and stereotyping of people and judgement in comparison with their showbiz and media ideals in looks, intellect, manner and form are getting widespread. As a result people are frustrated with reality as it doesn't match up to their expectations -- children turn hostile towards their parents when they see smart and flawless parents and happy families in commercials, flawless skin and skin colour have become determinants of a person's beauty, people foster wrong ideas about relationships, youth curse their fate when they're unable to afford "cool" gadgets and vehicles.

Thoughts - do they define us or are they mere attributes? Ever since I could think, I've been surviving on the notion that "I'm what I think." This seems quite straightforward as thoughts stand out to be the primary differentiating factor among people. However, of late, it appears to me that thoughts are merely the attributes of a person, alongside emotions, manners and instinctive actions.

Enlightenment: Stained Tee Shirt

Attribute it to my unsteady hand or my equally unsteady brain -- I've an above-average rate of spilling drinks on my tee shirt. Usually these are drinks that leave behind a stain that won't go away in a single wash cycle. Sometimes, nonchalantly, I wear such tee shirts to Office and the questions about the visible stain on my tee shirt are usually answered thus: "I'm partly to blame as I spilt the drink, and the Washing Machine is partly to blame because it didn't wash well." UNTIL I saw this TV commercial for Surf Matic (our washing powder) which says 'Why blame your Washing Machine when what's not working is really your washing powder' -- well, the commercial asks us to switch to Surf Matic, but we already use it. So, today's questions about the stain were answered thus: "I'm partly to blame as I spilt the drink, and the Washing Powder is partly to blame because it didn't wash well."

Medley - 3

Quotes Mere statement does not imply approval or disapproval of his theories - about those I'm mostly undecided - but definitely the approval of what is stated below.

• What does not destroy me, makes me stronger.
• One often contradicts an opinion when what is uncongenial is really the tone in which it was conveyed.

Pruning Season? It would defy one's logic why the world attributes a shade of negativity to pruning when it's about people relationships and considers it a fruitful exercise when it's about gardening. From what I believe, pruning does as much good to relationships as it does to plants.

Value Drift - 2

This certain someone, whom nobody but I can know the best in this world, marvels at his ability to "take calculated-risks" and "lead a planned life." Will someone be so kind enough to tell him that life is not about coming out clean and winning every game, but about enjoying every moment of it. Love, why are you bogged down by ideas of Religion, Society and the like, and why have ideas of complacency hit you at such an early age ? Seems like what's happening to you is the one thing you ever dreaded - societal conditioning. It is now, more than ever, that you need more of yourself.