Smoke on the water

This year Kodai was at its Misty best 🙂 It is a wonderful feeling to watch the mist descend and rush about 🙂

From newcamera3

From newcamera3

From newcamera3

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING.

Advertisement

At a crossroad

So I haven’t posted anything for about two weeks. And I cannot let my blog, suffer can I? Actually I can. But then I have to write. While prodding over things as been a recent trend, today I aim to stay away from it. I am glad to announce that the optimism bug has bit me again!

So, you have  formed an image of me,  smiling noir and radiating effervesces of  the Axe kind( but I doubt radiation will bring joy in this heat, turn on your AirCon, ha! that is better, see?) , I am sure. And I see myself as such. So much positivity in the air, no wonder we can’t see the antiparticles! I think, I am growing immune to the grief of the world no maybe not.

I refrain from straying into the world of mad gunmen, after all we made love to one such through our ever projecting and exposing media!

“Who will bear the whips and scorns of time? ”  Dear Bard, I say time itself! Who would want to scar the raw flesh and taint the blood, so fresh?

Anyway, let me not run into some limericks or half boiled insane verses(after all I am a vegetarian). I saw my sister reading a book called Percy Jackson  or something, apparently he is a half God and someone stole the thunder etc. So after taming werewolves and vampires, we make Gods seem petty. But then anything to do with God sells, except God.

There is so much demand. Well again, I am supposed to say something positive. The problem with positive things is that the lose the charge pretty fast(if you happen to be a student of physics, spare me, tax has already taxed me enough). A joke is a joke only for that long, but sad stories will always make people cry.

There are a lot of things to look forward to in life, but then you can only see so much. That’s the thrill, they say, but well, if you fall off a cliff it is better to die than live with broken bones surely( Murphy keep away!). Ha! so you are shocked!? Or you think, I am crazy. Or you might agree with me. Whatever.

Or maybe optimism is not merely about talking about good stuff in the present tense but rather has to do with the fickle future, always nebulous and it exists for sure?

Maybe this is not the time, for me to indulge and explore such thoughts. I am tired and taxed(quite literally) and well I hope it hasn’t been in vain.

If you ask me, I am growing too old. Innocence is a bliss and I want that back. I have grown up all of a sudden( how you ask? I shall tell you later. And now that cannot be your comment, pity 😛 ) and the world seems too weird a place to be in.

Because there are sane things and the insane things. On one side the days move as sure as a clock hand and on the other, the battery dies and takes people along with it the time freezes and NEWS channels advertise.

Maybe I sound callous. Maybe I am making sense. But I know, I am at a cross-road. The choice I make is informed to the extent I can be informed. What the path holds, only the world knows. I try to listen to it, I try to see as far as I can. I try to taste the wind, and smell the thoughts, only one thing is for sure, every land ends at a sea. What is behind that horizon? I waited for it to rise, I think I will go and see now.

P.S:- Shaved off my Moustache. How do I look?

And another jobless sketch..(you are seeing it the wrong way, turn your head right, how does it look now? 😛 )

Nothing in particular.

So my exams are a few days away. Nice. Finally! After that, I do not intend to do anything(academic) for the next 6 months at least ,As my sis would put it “oh! the joy of it”. Me being me I would say, ” Finally! I am free…*laugh loudly* ” and then 5 mins later wonder what I should do, half an hour later get frustrated and 5 hrs later  start dreaming of things far beyond me. (Lame?)

I have a huge bucket list and of course inevitably a want list. For all my philosophical accents and poetic penchant, I love spending money and buying expensive stuff(though preferably not with my pocket-money). Well  I sound more and more like a cost center( be happy that I don’t like Tax and auditing much, or you might be yawning by now),but I also have a few ideas which I want to build upon, which may create more inflows than outflows. And hopefully my latent talents haven’t depreciated due to excessive taxing  and repeated auditing thanks to the various laws and standards 😛

Now, surely the last sentence shows that I am studying-like never before. Brain drain, I call it. All those free cells, which were waiting to be filled with wonderous stuff are now filled with desiccated provisions and stupendous standards. I am planning to take time out and forget all those stuff. It won’t make any difference anyway.

My phone bills have hit new highs. I talked for something around 1500 Rs on the mobile and 700 Rs on the landline 😛 (that’s what happens when you choose the wrong plans). I am obsessed with talking, clearly. But you can’t really blame me. All this studying gets on my nerves. But then when in Chennai do what the padips(nerds) do.

Twitter is addictive. This proves that I am in love with it! I am tempted to post a few tweets here, but I shall refrain, because inevitably most of you follow me there anyway 🙂 There are a couple of new blogging tools which I have added to my poetry blog, they deserve posts on their own and I shall try to do justice to them.

I wanted to write about the whole Tharoor-Modi thing, but then didn’t because I was studying. Actually studying is the perfect reason to give for anything and everything. And when I get bored, I tweet/read tweets and follow links to new places. I should to take the effort to compile all that I read and post it here. maybe I should join Stumbleupon or something?

When I get bored, I draw in my mobile. Advantage of having a touch 😛 Height of joblessness? Maybe.

Guess, I should get back to studying now. I told my sister to write a couple of reviews, but she is busy being lazy. This blog needs a few reviews to get the daily hits back on the right side of 100. But then, it has gone through this before and been in worse situations, so it doesn’t mind it.

Oh! and I need 3 more for 250 followers on twitter, so 😉

P.S:- No P.S this time 😛

A shot at the world record for the most number of participants in a live painting competition

The Rotary Club of Madras Central organized a drawing competition, “Chithiram Pesuthadi”. The competition aimed to break the existing world record for the most number of participants in a live painting competition(Guinness  record) .  About 16000-20000 students participated and I guess that should do it(the official numbers should be submitted to Guinness before conformation).

From rotarydrawing

Probably the only place in the city, which can hold so many people at the same time, is the Chepauk Stadium. The event co-sponsored by Abirami Mega mall was inaugurated by The Mayor of Chennai, M.Subramaniam and the governor of Rotary District 3230. The competition kicked off at about 11:30 and got over at about 1:00 pm.

It was well organized and thought out. Wooden stands and cardboards were placed in front of the seats, to make it easier for the children to paint. Paints, brushes, pencils , erasers, papers etc were provided by the organizers along with snacks and water.

From rotarydrawing

From rotarydrawing

It was a breath-taking site, to see so many young artists paint at the same time. The event saw both private schools as well as corporation schools taking part(the latter being more disciplined). It was a humongous event, especially considering the logistics involved.

Special buses were organised, organizers recruited and of course preparing the painting stands and making sure every child gets a proper chance at painting. And the children did justice to the opportunity provided. The differently abled children should get a special mention, especially this boy:-

From rotarydrawing

And this kid too:-

From rotarydrawing

Funny, none of the television channels seemed to have covered it(correct me if I am wrong). After all it is not every day such an event is going to take place. As mentioned the corporation school kids were way better- kids from private schools started flinging the cardboards provided on to the ground and the teachers and volunteers couldn’t do anything about it. Fortunately, nothing went out of control.

In all the event was a big success. The police and the corporation of Chennai should get a special mention. The results will be announced soon.

Something about me

This probably has become a habit now. Sunday afternoon posts. There is something comforting about it(though it doesn’t fetch many comments). Today I am going to write something about me.

ASPIRE, is the word. Now what do I aspire to be? The way I talk , people think I have it all figured out. So here is the truth- I haven’t figured out anything.

True, I am doing CA(about 100 days to go for the exam *sigh), but well I am not really into the idea of working as one.  I am doing it because otherwise I will be wasting my time with B.Com alone. Of course, not that formal education is going to turn me into Bill Gates.

SO what do I want to be? Well, when I was a kid, I wanted to be an astronaut, but that seems pretty far away, especially since I am in the commerce stream(you can make my day, by telling me, how I can still become one). Some how the idea of flying in an almost surreal world, combined with views of swargaloka(though I had figured out,even back then, that it didn’t exist) , comets and planets, captivated my imagination.

I used to be left to my own devices. In a world of “big kids” and  adults, I usually found day dreaming and imagining more fun. Superman and Spiderman, were never my favorites, simple because they had too much to do with humans. I preferred my own characters and turned even the most mundane object into something awesome.

I used to rearrange chairs and make the nether world beneath tables and beds my cool crafts. In short I wanted to be a superhero, but with another dimension- I wanted to be up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky.

Some how I have always felt more comfortable, in my own world. People who know the gregarious me , will be surprised. After all, I keep making friends(and ‘enemies’ so to speak) all the time. But behind that there is that love for being in my own world. And probably that is why, I have never feared any God, as such- I saw the idols as “fun people to play with” and used to think of new wars and stories.

And I used to be shy(The change probably came during the summer of 2007 and of course blogging, but more about it later)- I couldn’t stand being blindfolded(those games at kiddy parties) or being too far away from people I knew. There is a gap of six years between me and my sister, so that probably, added my preference for playing alone.

Building blocks were a strong favourite. I probably would have made will make a very good architect. The scope they offer along with their definite proportions is overwhelming. Only wish I had bigger blocks to build now.

We have a swing at home. And I have never fell down from a swing. For others it might be horses and ponies, for me it is swings.I came up with a variety of polo- cycle polo(among myriad others) The opposition- chairs, tables and anything/anyone in my way.

Imagination changes everything. It gives you a lot of freedom, blank walls become carpets of history and thoughts, the sky holds animals  and people.

I was and still am a very cautious person. I never take on anything head first. I see, I analyse and then act. People around me can make fun of me, but I analysed how to walk on walls way before any of my class mates did, I am sure. Walls offer a great way to practise balance.

Walking around the perimeter of my house and imaging all sort of opponents and ways to fight them. I think I have fallen from a wall, only once, that too, when I tried to get down hurriedly, for some unknown reason but then again, that probably is it. I hate making big mistakes and make sure they never happen again(?).

My judgement is mostly right, because as I said, I never get into something without thinking about it. The only place where my prognosis might be wrong, is here, the blogging world. It still hurts to think that my idea failed to materialise.

I am a bad loser. I cannot stand losing. And yet success in competitions, exams and even sports, has eluded me. I set high standards (probably too high, thanks to being the hero in my small little world) and when the bubble broke, I used to feel very very low.

True to my sun sign, I can very emotional, sensitive, while in fact I seem the contrary. And that has given a sort of “emotional photographic memory”. Colours have always fascinated me(my mom will tell you, that she had to teach me “white”, because I refused to accept white to be white, I am very tenacious) and though I am not all that great at drawing, I like to doodle.

Cricket cards and cricket. I remember the vigour with which we used to collect those things. When I grew older, it was replaced with cards, but it was cricket at least till I was 9-10. The only part of cricket I still like is bowling. I like anything which can be made to act under my spell. Batting is no fun, I probably got no where in cricket, because I refused to play forward defence in my coaching class(much much later).

Watching. Trains, autos, sky, construction etc. Sitting quietly and observing things, is second nature to me. And questioning when I don’t understand is first. While now I can articulate and describe it, back then, I think I understood that a lot of effort goes into it and felt that everything could be figured out. The element here is, that things can be moulded and can fit in.

I am already approaching the 1000 words mark, but these are things which I love to recount. Someone questioned me a few years back(on one of my poems), how can someone so young write such stuff. To me and probably to people who have seen me grow up, it has never been a surprise. I enjoy thinking, watching, observing and most of all creating.

From Drop Box

I started to write much later. But writing is a sum of all those things which I used to love doing, which I cannot do now because of various reasons. It is my shell, where I can hide, it is where I am the hero again and where things cement and mould into each other, the way I want.

The paint will stain the walls in the angles I want and the sky is probably not that high. unlike other kids, I never wanted to be a doctor when I saw one, an engineer or a teacher, I wanted to be an astronaut and I believed it was possible and still do.

I learnt history, tales and fables and politics through my grand dad. That probably is the reason, why I never struggled in social science like others- I knew them already and to me, they were plays being performed in my head. India in my head, was a fantastic idea, it was a passion and something which we fought for and got it. It is our home and we belong here.

Yet time has disrupted that view. More than time, it is people. I still have the belief in my dreams. I still believe India can be much more, India can be the best. But it is the people. And that is the element, which though I understand a lot about, I fail to understand one thing- the need to be caught in a box. Or maybe I am.

But one thing is for sure. What I want to be, What I really want to be , What I really really want to be, is , a writer. And I am one. It doesn’t matter if no one reads what I write. I have always been the hero. The skies and the walls and the chairs and my friends are there for me. That is why I say, I write for myself.

It probably is a wall, erected to block the disappointment of not being what I imagined what I write will bring to me, but it has a door. You can knock, I am waiting.

P.S:- The post should tell you one more thing about me- I can be random and let my thinking cleave it’s own path.

licence to…

So I got my driving licence, yay! Of course, getting one is no big deal, except that you are made to wait for ever, let us not go into that.  ” No one cares and has time, you and me are going to talk about, I might write about it, but there it ends”, That was my reply to others like me who were waiting for their licence

. We Indians have refined the art of corruption and bribing. There exists a corruption hierarchy, which apart from the officials includes the driving school people among other. Forget Shaktimaan and Captain Planet, we need a Anti-corruption Man (AC man).

And talking about super heros , I have plans of hosting a blogging contest on super heros/ super stars. You are to create your own super hero/ star , complete with powers etc, what do you think?

In solidarity with the cows; Apparently we love to get offended. Remember how people took offence , when “SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE” came out? I bet half the people didn’t watch the movie and I know it is a safe bet because many still feel that the “west” is calling us Slum Dogs, pity. And in this case of the austere Cows(though, they do get their horns painted once a year, during Maatu(cow) Pongal), we should be proud that our herd now includes all the Congress Ministers(and the extra guards).

Navarathri has begun. My mom and sis have come up with a creative gift this time(will put up photos soon) 🙂 There is nothing special for me though, no holidays, even if college gives us off(even if they don’t I bunk, cut about 10 hours last week), I have those CA classes everyday morning. Its been days since I got to read the book(Argumentative India) , it is an amazing book, I am lovi’ it but no time to read.

Went to McDonald’s yesterday and again today. It’s on the way to the place where I went for the rehearsals . The Aloo Tikki Burger tastes really good. The violin rehearsals are bad though. So bad that, even the lazy me , had to prompt for more practice. Playing all the songs once over  is not rehearsal.

I manage to update my poetry blog(yes, I am talking about it again, vanity indeed) about once or twice a week. I want to write 3 posts a week (at least over here), but then my schedule is so irritating , that I feel too sleepy to write about anything. There was a time, when I wrote about 60 posts a month, now I am not able to do 6. But being me, you can expect to writing pretty soon.

And I have to start studying as well. It’s freaky, to see all those weird sums. CA is no joke. You do to be really fast and see beyond the obvious. Lets see what happens. One thing is for sure, I am not going to get to sleep *sigh.

Between , check out this video, awesome, no clue, how he(Jascha Heifetz) does it. I want to learn western one of these days. I love the way, how the music travels and tells its tale without words.

I got a new phone-Nokia 5800. Its got 8GB memory and I have already loaded about 4.2GB of songs. Got lots more in my Comp, but I want to try out new stuff, especially something without lyrics, what would you suggest?

There are many things which I want to write about, the ideas do come and go, but arranging them is the problem. And writing is tough if you are tired-words do come out, they get stuck. There are moments when I wish, I can sit down and write forever..*how I wish..*

Among other things, I think I will be writing about something I have observed- though we talk about equality , a new stratification has started to form in our world, I do wonder, how many of us realize this. I do wonder where this will lead.

And yes, I did shoot a few things, think this is the best of the lot:-

From newcamera2

From newcamera2

From mocha…

The last photo was taken at Mocha. Yes, I almost got choked. Spent 25% of the time closing my nose, another 25% taking photos and the rest talking/trying to breath. But the shot is worth the effort(I guess) 😛 Anyway, hope I find time to post this week. Will try to record the violin programme.

And yes do tell me, what you think about the idea of another contest?

P.S: clarification- that is not me.. I am allergic to smoke 😛

A dead leaf

He held the dead leaf in his hand. Fallen from its plant, it was left to rot and fuel its own origin.

Or it could be picked by a wind. It can fly away from here, it can sail to the lands the winds choose and finally i might settle in a land of paradise, forever in a new joy or..

..or it might end up in a land as dead as itself. It will then stay there, till something swallows it or lifts it again. But one which is dead?

When it was alive, it was bound to its plant. It nourished it like its brethren , it was one among all, acting like how all expect it to. But is this what a passing eye feels but never the one held? Maybe it is held thus, because it chooses to?

But doesn’t one dream of the birds in the sky, at least when one is young and can race the clouds? Is it that dreams are meant to be dreamt but never sought in life? Is it just, is it fair to just die? Is this how frail all this is?

Is this a continuum, where the memories are buried and memoirs forgotten, sooner or later?

We strive for living, we fight for survival, we work together, we rebel, there are new beginnings , there are old endings, a fresh burst of air here, more heat there, one for all, all for one, will it be in the end, that we all will come alive, like actors talking a bow as themselves and being applauded for the parts we played?

Is this all a fantasy, these endless possibilities? Is our imagination a tool used to lead us from reality, which might shock the living out of us? What is living, if we are to die a baseless death? But isn’t this what we see and learn? How is this real? Can there be something bigger which we are a part of?

Is it love, that we die for? Is it misery that we live for this long? Do we all wait for the day, when we open our eyes no more? Is it that the quest we go on, offers no more, for the recesses have long outrun the excitement of the path, unbeaten?

Are words capricious fabrications, just to easy the pain of knowing the inevitable ? Is the mind there only to paint a vivid misery when in joy and a blunt happiness when in sorrow? Is the past only to be a seed for a morrow and today a retrospection where we dare to water that seed and tomorrow the day when the leafs do peek again, a visage fresh and innocent that the first brush with the polluted air does font it of earth?

So much for a dead leaf. What beauty can there be in the dead? For once dead all that remains is to rot. But when alive, all that remains is that we die. But when unborn, when a dream, all that remains is to brought alive. Call it optimism, call it human vanity, call it that I try to hide from reality and maybe it is true but I will dream anyway.

I may fail again and again. But I will pick up leaves again and in them see much more than what I need to. It might all be a soothsayer’s words, but at least there is hope of a better morrow. The plant may not remind us of the leaf, but the leaf sure does make you search for a plant.

I believe there are magic flowers, do you? Even if you don’t I do. I can feel them, hear them, see them, one day I will get to them. When I do, I will show them to you, I will not get angry or take pride for how can own that which is already owned, unless it is a meek being or I elude myself by calling it is a gift. When a leaf is plucked another one might grow, but there is more to be given for that to happen.

You can hold water in your palms but can we stop it from evaporating? Only thing left is to put to use while we still hold it.

What lies beyond my sight?

From new camera1

The grass seems brighter on this side,
But who knows what lies beyond my sight.

To accept and stay,
Or move and find a way to a distant place?

Am I as good as I believe,
What can I really achieve?

Where does my heart want to lead?
Why is their a need to “succeed”?

Are dreams meant to be left,
And never in reality dwelt?

If only I was sagacious,
I would be more gracious,
Till then I try to be adventurous,
But do not know if I am tenacious or audacious.

The grass seems brighter on this side,
But who knows what lies beyond my sight?

a coloured sketch and spicin’ it!

Well yupiee! My post “healing the world” got picked for SPICY SATURDAY 😉

I would I like to thank blogadda for picking the post and Vishesh for nominating it ( ya ya , I nominated my own post 😛 ) .

Anyway having found out how to remove the “paper” from the photographs of my sketches , I decided to try colouring one ..

From photoshopped

Not all that great I guess..which one do you think is better the photoshop coloured one or the original?

From new camera1

Clouds , mountains , valleys and buildings

Another hot tourist spot in Ooty is Doddabetta .

Amazing scenery is not free any more , the count your heads , eating bajji and drinking tea , as if you are a terrorist who is trying to blow the country up , by not paying Rs 5 or 10 whatever it is per head ( I forgot to mention , the same is true for the flowers , they charge Rs.30 for the camera in the gardens and I am pround to say I shot enough to get me value for money 😀 , don’t get it why they need to charge for cameras , cameras don’t dirty , they tell the truth , if there is garbage , then the photo won’t look good – forget charging for the cameras , encourage them and you might see the amount of littering going down ) .

Anyway considering we didn’t go any where off beat ,as this was more for us clearing our city-ed heads , this is what happens .. But at least the telescope view was free – they showed me a cross and claimed that to be a military hospital in Coonoor , for all I know that could have been a cleverly made mark on the other side of the telescope .

From ooty trip

From ooty trip

From ooty trip

From ooty trip

From ooty trip

From ooty trip

From ooty trip

From ooty trip

From ooty trip

From ooty trip

From ooty trip

From ooty trip

From ooty trip

From ooty trip

From ooty trip

From ooty trip

That just about covers every angle you can see from there , see I told you , it is just a view and nothing else , but well a thing of beauty if forever ( well something else is forever as well – Chennai and this stupid climate , sweaty! Hot! ) .