Love – my first 55 words fiction

“Love.”

“Whats that again?”

“A feeling , you feel it in here. It gives you hope.”

” I can feel a calm ,is it love? ”

“Maybe.”

“Is there anything such as ‘universal love’ ? “

“Hmm…”

“I love life and everything in it..”

” There is too much wrath here , I hate it”

” I love you .”

“Your my love.”

THE NAME OF THE ROSE BY UMBERTO ECO(BOOK REVIEW)

Image from here.

I picked up this book , after reading an interview with Umberto Eco in my English textbook at school ( ha it seems like as if a centrury has passed since I finished my schooling) . The name appealed to me and since the book was based in medieval Italy , I was curious at the prospects of learning more about Christianity and medieval Europe .

Adso of Melk and his master Brother William of Baskerville visit an Italian abbey on ‘business’ . There they are informed about a murder(allegedly )  which took place before the arrival . The abbot , designates Brother William ( a former Inquisitor ) to solve the case . But by the time “the business” is done with , blood is shed (along with a few virtues) and the devil seems to have taken over the holy place .

The book displays the acumen , intellegence and shrewness of Brother William. Apart from the macabre , the book contains many a philosophical dilogue and argument.

It takes a while to get used to the style of writing . The first person narrative is complete with dreams and (something which people of the modern era seem to lack) euphaism. The book is well knit , the thread being the chapters which are divided according to liturgical hours .

The descriptions and movements are well articulated -Everything seems to come alive . But the Latin strewn in between ( without translation) is sort of irritating , but it sure does add to the medieval feel of the book .

I loved the book – the style and the presentation and well everything on the whole , makes it a “Vintage Future Classic”(as written on the book cover , at least on my copy ). If you have the time to apply your head and read , it is a good book to read . I managed to solve the “problem” to a certain extent(figured out who was behind the whole fiasco) . The book does draw a little bit of your emotion , especially the prosecution of the accused and the burning at the stake are described .

Rating- 7/10 . I might be underranking this , but then there are places where it does get boring .

Happy birthday shy-u

From Downloads

The only person on this earth who hates being clicked – ya thats my cousin . She whined and whined after I clicked this photo . Her eyes “ache” when  someone takes a photo (even without the flash ) . And of course I never got the chance to take a photo of the palm tree

The baby among us , but trust me she is the best among us(cousins) when it comes to fighting

So from all of us – happy happy birthday

P.S:- where is my chocolate ?

P.S:- I am off to college so you can’t call and shout at me , lol

Beyond indifference

Evanescences -the grin of happiness .
Yet beyond the smile there does lie ,
Tales of sleepless nights and endless fights.
Brawls with oneself ,as if the image in the mirror ,
Was afraid of what it saw in reality .

Some sort of truce ,
Even though the parties refuse ,
Is reached . Lest the wakeful
Hours be all too flee bitten by the scorn
Of the impatient self – impertinent .

Moments of madness ,
The bizarre gesticulation of reverberations ,
Endless syllogisms to accept life as if bound -
Painting the mind as a knave, who is chained by fate-
So that the misdemeanor of man’s whims
Can by buried , in a colloquy of ad libbing .

Yet something does ring ,
The cords of human ingenuity ,
The urge to break free,
See beyond the tainted tree
Of illusively constructed postulates
(The blasphemous baits)
And see the truth – still alive ,
As it is in the venerable roots .

Gravity maybe unseen,
But upon the ground we lean,
The feet do feel , the seal
Of some grave connotation,
The power of a greater imagination .

If being bound is an ambiguity ,
Then to break free a felicity .
The joy of appraising
The truth , the ego less divinity ,
The knowledge of belonging to infinity.

If only indifference could be smut ,
So that , it could be ignored like dust
Upon a windowsill ,cleaned with a cloth
Every now and then , when
A party is about to descend .

Yet its presence daunts and drapes
Into our very jovial spirits
And forces contradictions
To become an addiction .
By the presence of such negations ,
The mind loses its calm serenity
And hustles and bustles ,
In hope of finding a serendipity -

As if miracles can be whipped out of nothing ,
As if the Ether was detached from the weather
Of the stars and the galactic wars ;
Yet in the indifferent, the indifference seems
To take up a perch and poison the self
To divulge and indulge in its inaction-
A devilish penance .

For all that , belief is the quintessence -
the belief in yourself , in the waves
Of self trust , where you believe
That the light shines the brightest .
Where the path of ego less divinity ,
Leads to understanding of this transient Mortality
And the gory of indifference and its capacity .

The indifferent blows a conch
As if the final wars of the world
Were to begin at this new dawn .
Yet the glories of the understanding
And the sun’s first light ,
Kills away the plague within
Just like the dusk rays smother
The nonchalance of the day
And brightens the moon for a night
Filled with a serene , calm life .

The camphorous smile amalgamates
Into a deep deep profound joy ,
The belonging bound with understanding
causes the mind to feel the zest ,
The acceptance of life and the rest .

Mad moments ,capricious deeds -
Finally a epiphany to bring heed
To the one always known ,
The song of the one soul .

The light shines the brightest

English is dead

So MJ is dead . The whole world is moaning for the “king of pop” .

Wait a second , a few hours back , the entire world was talking about Iran and whatever was happening over there . Indian news channels were telecasting “shootout at Lalgarh ” . As they say people’s memory is short – maybe too short , they seem to forget everything the second they read the obituary .

But something which will surely be dissected in the next few days would be the removal of the tenth standard board exams . My personal opinion – good riddance . But one thing that shouldn’t happen is Quota’s in school – that will kill any sort of unity in the country ( as far as I am aware , school is the place where the discrimination isn’t seen and the kids sing the national anthem with gusto and pride). All those who claim that these exams prepare kids for the big bad bad world are in my view are either “tuition” teachers or want their 15 minutes of fame . I have written the exam and it has in no way prepared me for the big bad bad world .

One thing that would happen is that the tuition(private coaching) centers and teachers might run out of business . Now at last kids(from certain schools) might see something called a sports field ( in my school we were allowed to play and even go for cultural events in 12th ) and not be told that – “playing is not going to get you marks” , “if you are so good at football go and join a sports school”(cricket is accepted , it means the very teacher who says these things can come on national television and praise the kid and the school etc) .

but as I said the dreaded reservations should not be enforced here as well , it would spoil and corrupt the integrity of our ” unified nation ” . On unity , the C.M. of Meghalaya claims that he has been “racially discriminated” in India . Well my friends and family who live in North tell me that all South Indians are called “Madrasis” , so I don’t get it why he should feel hurt if we were to mistake people from his state for a person from some other state . But well no ever seems to appreciate being an Indian . Everyone is so so bothered about the dieing identity of their community that no one cares about the “Indian” .

Its been a while since I right clicked so many times on a word to correct my spelling , this can be attributed to the fact that no ones seems to be able to “talk in English” – the reason for it being in quotes is because you might soon see me writing in tamil over here( all the best for deciphering what I am coming to say , what with my wonderful spellings et al. ) . And when a few try to speak in English , my ears ( tuned to the tortured English in my school) can’t handle a language being murdered . No I am not some sort of “peteru”(read fellow who is yaxpart yat it) in English or something , but when I join an institution which claims that its vernacular English , I expect at least some good English to be spoken some where .

As my Sanskrit master said with valor and tenacity and rather biosteriously ” English in dead ” . Someone heal the world .

three years in the blogosphere

Yup on Sunday 21 June 2009 (yesterday ) I completed three years of blogging . I have learnt a lot through this place including (sorry I can no more stop myself from being euphemistic about this) the fact that people will be people , where ever they are ( I am talking about Youth Unite) . I kept quiet and didn’t bother doing a post about completing one year and of late I have lost any sort of expectations . In fact I am planning to shut it down , better gone than open every time I double click on Chrome . Anyway I haven’t done that yet( still can’t do it , I guess , but soon will come around to it) and no this is not some sort of ” blackmail” (after all most of you never responded to my mails in the first place) , I have almost made up my mind . Just let me know , if think I shouldn’t do it (and give reasons with it ) .

On the brighter side I have met some wonderful people and have seen old friends leave and new ones come Till date I have enjoyed blogging . I love the freedom it offers and the way we can discuss things which concern us .

I want to thank all those who read my blogs and all those who have commented ( they do mean something to me ) . I know before long , a few people might stop and new people might start blogging . But each blog is a book and it will be compete if not today , some day .

Happy Blogging

The light shines the brightest

The bakers

Once upon a time long , long ago ,
There was a baker who was known
For her bakes – which would melt
And disappear down throats
As fast as yeast could grow .

And as she grew old ,
She told her children the recipes
All made fine and woven ,
Created during many hours under the oven .
They all did hear her out -
Some more dexterous at the gateau ,
Others better at just making the right dough .

Yet there were a few ,
Who though heard all that the others knew ,
Who couldn’t spread butter on bread ,
Who were all fed to a starved death .

On one fine day , as the sun rose ,
The children were all on their own .
And so with there skills all set and perfect ,
The walked through the countries parks
And chose their shops ,
To spread love through their bakes .
A few boisterous mixed their flour
And added their eggs and yeast ,
Gave the world numerous feasts .

They took understudies to whom the taught
The skills , even as their coffers never stood still .
But those who could bake none ,
Lost their homes and had to run
From those they borrowed
And those they caused many a bad turn .

A few of such , idled about
(And that too all wrong )
And then the day came ,
When it was time to split
The estate of the one who was long gone .

With pens filled with liquor madness ,
They claimed that their siblings were unjust .
The harangued that their misfortunes
Were because the others were too good!
Pity , oh! pity the others felt ,
They thought that , at least their brothers’ kids
Would be better! So with their hearts
Filled with love , they wrote a decree,
Saying that the house shall be
Made of so much from the unfortunate’s
family , only so that they learn
And some day on their own earn .

Soon time’s ropes petered on those
And they left their bakery to their kin .
The kin inherited the dough
And so their demand never saw a trough .
All the while , the unskilled’s kids
Grew fatter under the provision
Provided and seeing success
Grew avaricious and claimed
That all this was through their pain!

A fight ensued and those successful
refused . They pointed out that
The bums had refused to learn
And that money cannot be earned
Without skill or working under the oven .
In a rage , the law book was brought out
And soon by popular vote , amended -
So that the unskilled got the majority’s share-
The rest just had to bare
These fat pigs who no more fitted
Into their own chairs!

In anger a few left ,
Others held that soon shall all be right ,
That under someone they will , together fight .
Soon that wonderful fresh bread smell grew ,
Longer became the queue.
The money came in and yet those
Who made them with honesty ,
Love and diligence ,
Lost their voice in the parliament!

One day a huge cake was made
It was for a festival’s sake .
The majority drunk in their inactivity
Got a big knife and cut in
For themselves and their kin .
And soon the pieces were
So many, Nothing was left
For the bakers
The actual makers .

For a while , they tried to reason
With their comrades and then
Realized with aghast
That lost was their cause!
Infuriated and cheated ,
They set out with bag and baggage ,
Landed in a better place
And baked a larger cake and ate
With grace , voraciously , singing
Praise to the new beginning .

Soon the old place ,
Ran out of money and food ,
Bickering , the people
First killed their kin ,
Then pealed their own skin
And finally lost everything !

A few survived , something
By nature , by blood had survived
Innate in them and in desperation something
Had come alive . The new of an old kind ,
Wanted to restore the past glory -
Though their memory was pretty foggy
With all that passed on being glossy .

One day , they called a baker home
And befriended him . They promised
To work together and to restore
Their pride . So the newly formed pride
Set about , the dough was bought
And the yeast all ready to dwell ,
But just before the first day’s bake ,
Someone found out the old constitution
And called the baker a traitor ,
Oh! he was no friend -
In vengeance into the oven
Went the baker
And baked forever was the bakery !

Pity , majority , democracy , atrocity
Ultimately a big big hypocrisy -
For that you eat , you gluttons
call God , yet the “makers
Are traitors” – so you say ,
Someday , someday ,not so far away ,
You will loose your way
And then wonder whose mistake it was .

You would then say ,
It was the man who decided to bake ,
Forgetting that , that was what made
You a big fat swine , Or maybe
You are right , you deserve less ,
Maybe a whip is a better harness!

The memories of the bakery
Were long after found -
After the bakers cult was tainted
And then erased to the ground .
The invading forces were butchers
And hogs were their specialty -
Enjoyed by the whole of (remaining) humanity!

The google story by David A.Vise(book review)

GOOGLE is an household name , at least something which everyone who has a “virtual” life knows .

Picture from here

And at some point or the other , we have all wondered about how on earth , rather how in the cyber space do they do it?  This book takes tells us how by the name of the google , they did it .

Some grey cells decided that the world of internet , one with a lot of potential wasn’t alright ( it was messy(with a Y) ,ore like row-naldo)  so they decided that it was time to just send the right signals -not just to the other parts of the body , but to the entire known universe – at least virtually if not literally

Reading the book , got me really inspired (as in to believe in myself and in my head,heart etc etc) . And the guys behind it Sergey Brin and Larry Page , well just wish I get the chance to meet them one day and talk to them . And it is not just creating a search engine but the way the stood by their idea ( ya ya many rejected google when it was up for a million dollars { and I am damn happy that no one bought it!!! } ) and how today it rules the cyber space .

And of course the way it is written is fantastic ! It surely deserves three woots  ;) Just loved the flow and the way the author has managed to make it more  like a (as it says in the book cover) ” detective story” .

For those who want a peek into , one of the greatest inventions of our time , just run faster than a google search and get this book . And for those who are curious about what went into the making of your googling , well just run and get it .

Rating:- 10/10

Acceptance

A burst of happiness ,
A breath filled with reverence.
The hour of acceptance ,
The world ceases to be a menace
And belonging a definite- to the sense .

Yet the acceptance is not of defeat ,
But of the understanding the ability .
For all the known worlds , the stars
Exist and emit through dawn and day ,
Hid only by the scorching sun , rainy storms
And dreams filled with sleep .

Those dreams do make a world ,
Where in the days are spent
Watching the brain run away ,
Watching our actions make and create;
Our love breaking the walls of courtesy sakes.

Alive those dreams do come ,
Our actions inseparable from our virtues,
Throwing light to the hues of the dispersion .
At the sight of such shades , our vanity
Covered ego sheds the skin and exposes
The true face of the self -
Understanding of the light , its forms ,
Right-wrong , love-hate , ways of fate .

That we write destiny is the truth ,
That we abide by that prophecy is true too -
The makers of it we are and never are we bound
By that , for it is destiny that we do write ,
For the metaphor is to fill the spaces
Left by ignorance and knowledge is the scintillation
That the metaphor emits when it feels light .

Rise and fall of the emotions ,
The verses of anger and penance ,
The thought of those fears and
The speculation – all end when
We understand the beauty
Of the palpable world .

Yet that is that much ,
That unknown which we try to see
Fails to fit into our heads and thus feel
An ultimate peace . There is something
Beyond everything . If not for one ,
There is no infinity , If not for the thought ,
There is no belonging and life .

Ultimately acceptance comes from within -
When we know , we no more need
Those words of praise or the harsh
Words of a conceited being , when we
Feel at peace with the dreams -
When the world whispers tales ,
When the destiny follows the trails ,
When the pains feel themselves
And when illusions know their reflections .

Finally a breath of happiness ,
Some how there is some sense ,
Belief in yourself and confidence ,
Belonging is transient ,
Existence of one is permanent ,
Illusions remain in perception ,
Clarity the sight of the first star ,
The end – when no one is at war.

The light shines the brightest

The great LOL challenge – votes please!

Latea vandalum latesta varnum (Even if you come late , you should come with the latest ) and so with typical Indianess( latitudes and longitudes don’t have any bearing on that)  , we(Solilo , Indyeah and me) have finally managed to choose and categorize the posts , so without any further dialogues or sceneu here we go…er forgot , the last day to put your vote in is 5st of July(plently of time ) … anyway another important thing , if you feel someone else nominated earlier deserves the vote , you can say so in the comment section(and if a lot of you say so and if that is greater than the winner in the poll , that person wins )  , so even if we have made a mistake , it is corrected .

Cartoons : -

1)kokonad’s - http://www.themattefinish.com/blog/2009/03/gadgets-become-self-aware/

http://www..themattefinish.com/blog/2009/05/love-hope-agon/

2)ambitextrous’

http://ambitextrous.blogspot.com/2009/04/illiterate-scribe-now-in-xkcd.html

3)OG’s:-

http://quintessentialhope.wordpress.com/2009/05/10/desitouch/

4)Gopinath’s:-

http://whatnonsanz.blogspot.com/2009/04/getting-board..html

Short Posts

1)http://allabtpj.blogspot.com/2008/07/i-luv-u.html (PJ’s)

2)http://vimalsparadise.blogspot.com/2009/01/scariest-movie-part-8.html (Vimmuu)

3)http://tysonice.blogspot.com/2009/04/keep-walking.html

4)http://www.themattefinish.com/blog/2009/03/gadgets-become-self-aware/ (Kokonad)

5)http://ambitextrous.blogspot.com/2009/04/slumber-party-ii-return-of-pjs.html (Rukmani Ram)

6) http://indianhomemaker.wordpress.com/2008/10/16/so-how-old-are-you/ (IHM)

7) http://www.phoenixritu.com/2008/07/27/my-elder-sons-wedding-part-2/ (Ritu)

Long Posts

1)http://hitchwriter.wordpress.com/2009/04/03/the-times-of-fatherhood/ (Dhiren or Hitchwriter)

2)http://quintessentialhope.wordpress.com/2009/05/14/football-tales/#comment-1839 (OG)

3)http://vinodksharma.blogspot.com/2009/04/vote-banks-and-mothers-wars.html (Vinod Sharma)

4)http://orangeicecandy.blogspot.com/2009/01/where-are-you-from.html (Parul)

Jester’s :-

1)OG

2)Diren

3)Rakesh

4)Vimal

5)Anshul

Important : – Leave the topic you want the winning jester to write about in the comments!!