5 things for this week (Part 26)

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep."

- Robert Frost in "Stopping by Woods"

Even though I first came across these lines years ago, and even though I had been told many times about its obvious significance, I've always failed to see anything in it, beyond the simple, yet elegant rhyming composition.

It is said that you find the meaning of words, when  you can relate to them with the experiences you've had in your life. A simple example would be that of a teenager finding a romantic song a bit more gripping and persuasive, when he is on the throes of love. Another example would be that of the same teenager finding a sad song soothing on having seen his fledgling crush, get crushed by reality.

And so, as I grew with time, I find myself enjoying these words of Mr.Frost. They feel a lot more poignant - for I have now found my own 'woods', my own 'promises', my own 'miles to go' and my own 'sleep', all parallel to those that the poet has described.

For me, the woods manifests itself as the world, with all its distracting activities and assurances of a good time;
my promise is the promise I've made to myself to keep posting here about 5 things every week;
my miles to go is the effort I've to put in to keep that promise;
and my sleep is... well... err...  actually, my sleep is literally my sleep. That part wasn't that hard to figure out.

The whole wide world is laid exposed to my will, or at least I'm made to believe so. It is lovely, deep and dark. But if I spend myself in that world, squandering my time away, I can't fulfill my promise - my promise to write something every week. And so, I take the effort to extract myself from the woods and get down to writing. This act of "prose-ing" is my journey, and I sleep after I've made sure that I've fulfilled my promise.

As a part of this week's "5 things", we'll be looking at some poems that I've found to be just fancy words at first, and then later discovered the cryptic message in them. Shall we begin then??

Please do click the links given to read the poems in its full constitution.

Have you read...

1. ... "where the mind is without fear" by Rabindranath Tagore?

"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high,

Where knowledge is free,

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments,...

..Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake"

This dream of a patriot is still unfulfilled to this day.

2. ... "If" by Rudyard Kipling?

"IF you can keep your head when all about you 

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

IF you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;..."

Those four lines are inspiring and instructing in equal measure. He asks you to do what you think is right, even if the whole world says its wrong; but he warns that you should keep asking yourself if they are right in saying you are wrong.

3. ..."If you forget me" by Pablo Neruda?

"If suddenly 

you forget me 

do not look for me, 

for I shall already have forgotten you..."

Even though this might seem more like an attempt to intimidate your lover, the way this poem unravels itself is a sight to behold. But when he ends the poem with

"...my love feeds on your love, beloved, 

and as long as you live it will be in your arms 

without leaving mine."

you can't help wishing to be able to say this to someone.

4. ... "Still I rise" by Maya Angelou?

"...Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise." 

5. ... "The road not taken" by Robert Frost?

"...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. "

***


This is the 26th post in this series. 26. My favorite number. In case you are wondering why, I was born on a 26th, and it has always been special to me. Numerology states that the number 8 (the sum of individual numbers of 26) is significant in my life. It also says that it is kind of the worst number to have, as it shows a switching tendency to go back and forth between good and bad luck.

I've found that to be true in my life. My birth (26), my bike's number(7064), the day I got my job(26) all have been 8. So has also been the day I tore my ankle ligaments (26).

That last thing was painful, more mentally than physically. Before that, I looked forward to the weekend, for having a game of football, no matter how amateur or inconsequential. But on the 26th of October, 2012, I lost that. My soft right ankle forces me from taking part in dynamic sports activities. And I lost football as a sport from my life thence forward.

From the beginning of this year, I was in need of a passion, I was in need of a spark - something to look forward to every week. Thus, after much persuasion, was born this series - to be my spark, to grow and become this fire within me. And today marks the six month anniversary of this series.

I know its not much, but to me it is. And you have played a very important part in making me grow, in making this blog grow - by reading it, by commenting on it, by suggesting improvements and topics, by complimenting it, by following it, by tweeting about it, by sharing it on Facebook, etc etc.

I would like to misuse this moment to THANK YOU, one and all.

See you soon.
Have a great weekend!!

I (Reposted)

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This was a post on an earlier blog. And it has been brought back to be posted here, because I could find nothing to write as a part of my currently regular mid weekly posts. Enjoy!!!

***

In spite of the variety in shape, size, habitat, etc, there are four things common to all living beings.

1. Food
2. Air
3. Water
4. Sexual Union

Any sane man will be able to validate the above statements. But, it would also be the same as saying that us, humans, are like the billions of creatures that inhibit this planet. But no sane man will say that the humans, who have infected the land all over the world like an epidemic, are just the same as the common snail.

It is said that GOD created the world in one go – for the atheists among you, this can be considered to be the Big Bang. He was pleased and proud of what he created. But the problem was how long one can hear oneself speak good of himself. Eventually, after a few million years, he got bored. That’s when he decided that “Enough is enough. I’ll give a special gift to one of my creations. “

And so he gave MANKIND the gift of KNOWLEDGE. And it’s with that, we built this world. And for each step we took – from taking the first step on moon to passing the last university exam, we thanked him in different forms – as Krishna, as Jesus, as Allah, etc. Though all of us say “Thank You” to different persons, basically, we are saying that to the same person.

But, right now, I’m not here to talk about religion. I’m here to try to find a few answers. Recently, a friend asked me about a good topic for an amateur blogger. Among the topics we discussed, the one which really interested me was “Why would you live for another day?” Or in simpler terms, “What makes you drag yourself to office every day?”

Think of all the reasons anyone would live for. Take my case. For the dreams that I have, for the secure future I want, for the money I get at the end of it, for the satisfaction that I get on completing my work, etc etc. These reasons are different for different persons. But they are all based on one common reality. It’s all about “I”.

‘I’ is the purest form of selfishness. Me, mine, my, etc are used to emphasize it. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the whole world was built on the selfishness of our ancestors, and it runs on our selfishness. If you care to think about it, all the good and the bad in this world are the result of some selfish act.

There is selfishness when a Jawan says, “I’ll die for MY country.”
There is selfishness when a thief says, “Give ME your money.”
There was selfishness when Gandhiji asked for OUR freedom.
There will always be selfishness when a politician asks for our vote in HIS favor for OUR uplift.

Returning to our simple lives, you may not have noticed selfishness, but surely, after just thinking about it, you would clearly accept the fact that SELFISHNESS is everywhere. Words fail me to explain this. It’s something that has to be experienced – there is a selfishness in buying something new for your parents, there is a selfishness in wanting your child to look at his/her best, there is selfishness in wanting to make more money/have more power.

So, to sum everything up, the answer to my question is “Selfishness”. The type of our selfishness defines the person we are. I can say honestly that I’m selfish in a good way. What about you??

5 things for this week (Part 25)

It feels weird writing this post.

Even though last week was the week of Onam, I decided to put my customary/obligatory post on "Onam" this week. And it was of the same reason. It feels weird writing about "Onam".

Don't get me wrong. It's not the festival that I've a problem with. My problem is with regards to you.

According to my statistics, moving aside my only consistent reader (Hi Dad!!), 9 out of every 10 hits here will be by a Malayali. And to entice a Malayali by claiming to show them five new things out Onam is like having to ask Einstein, to come to your lecture on "Relativity".

Us, Malayalis are brought on the spirit of Onam. I won't claim that everyone of us knows everything about "Onam", but I'm damn sure that we are too proud to concede that we don't know something about it. That's one thing you get the second you are born as a Malayali - Being Proud.

So, you can see the dilemma I'm facing. I've always tried to bring something new to the table with this series, and today, I have to accept that I can't do that. And I believe, this will be the first of many.

Talking about first's, this was my first Onam away from home - after I started living away from home. I inserted that clause at the end, cos most of the onam's in my first two decades here were spent on journeys. "Where?" and "Why?" questions for those journeys will be answered some other time.

As for now, I celebrated my Onam, with my circle of friends here in Gurgaon. To make it special, we visited the Ayypan Temple at R K Puram, New Delhi, early on Saturday morning, and witnessed the deeparadhana (morning puja).

This was followed by the acquisition of various vegetables and other items for preparing the "onasadhya", a mandatory sumptuous feast for Onam. And by Sunday afternoon, we had prepared our "onasadhya", comprising rice and 15 other dishes, including one payasam. I told you it had to be sumptuous.

our very own onasadhya

And with that photo, we'll move on to the "5 things" for this week. These are the five essential things required for a complete Onam celebration. So, shall we begin??

Did you know that one of the five things you need to have a complete Onam celebration is...

1. ...pookalam?

Have you seen any one of these??

If you haven't, try and visit any school/college/institution/colony/any place in Kerala during Onam time. Being the harvest festival it is, Onam requires you to have a vibrant, complex, beautiful design, made entirely out of flowers to welcome the guests at your place.

2. ...Mahabali?

So, who is the guest? Well, the main guest is the Spirit of Mahabali, who is visiting to enquire about the well being of his beloved subjects. And like they would do in the past whenever the King visits your village, his subjects in Kerala welcome him with an unrivaled spirit.

Nammudae swantham Maaveli (our very own Mahabali)

So, if on your visit to Kerala to see the pookallam, you happen to see many pot bellied men, in just a dhothar and with a olakuda, please don't be alarmed. These are only the multitude of men hired by various organizations to portray the role of Mahabali.

3. ...onasadhya?

It is a common courtesy in India to appease the guest. "Athithi devo bhava". Ergo you won't be surprised at the feast we prepare for our King. Onasadhya can be loosely translated as "Banquet for Onam", but I feel the english translation takes away the charm and astronomical magnitude of the feast. Let me show you a few pictures of what all you can expect for the same.

Onasadhya sample No.1

Onasadhya sample No.2

Onasadhya sample No.3

If you are not a Malayali, I can understand if this doesn't get you excited. But I will challenge you to show me one Malayali, who doesn't get a bad case of anticipatory salivary flow on seeing the above pictures.

4. ...onakodi?

Onakodi is the new dress that you wear on Onam. This is also a part of welcoming the king. Here are a few pictures of how Malayalis look in their traditional onakodi.

For a more realistic picture, here is a group photo from my batch's only onam celebration during our four years together.

5. ...to celebrate it with everyone around you?

Onam is the state festival of Kerala, and is the proud symbol of being a Keralite for any Malayali. It is celebrated by every Malayali, irrespective of religion, caste, position and location. That is to say, last weekend, you had a very high chance of seeing in the city of Gurgaon, a Manjeri native joining hands with a practicing Muslim to prepare a sumptuous onasadhya, ably assisted by a devout Hindu, a Roman Catholic, an atheist and a slacker.

Kerala is called God's own country, not only because of the vast array of temples, churches and mosques you would find in that small space of land, but because like the Gods they worship, we've found a way to live peacefully with each other. That is not to say that there aren't the occasional sparks and fights, but we always find a way to move past it. One unifying factor for us all is Onam. No matter who you are, where you are and what your current state is, if you are a true Malayali, you'll find a way to celebrate Onam.

***

With that recap of Onam, we'll end it for today.
See you all next week.

Have a great weekend!!!

The scions of Kamsa

***

This was the preface to last week's "5 things" series. This is being re-posted because it made a rather strong case for reaching a conclusion. Hence, I've added my final thoughts on this subject at the end of this post.

***

How would you rate a super villain?

Of course, you can rate him on a multitude of factors, that are entirely dependent on your arbitrary considerations. You can rate him based on the number of super powers he has; on the use and extent to which he is able to use them; on the number of people he has killed, his sense (or lack of it); on his ingenuity; on his cruelty; on his dressing; on the power of his anti-villain; and much more.

But like I said before, this is all arbitrary. And there is nothing more confusing than the state of being able to compare something to anything. It was to solve this basic conundrum that our recent forefathers decided to standardize the basic units of measurements, based on naturally occurring phenomenons. They had had enough of their forefathers telling them to measure length by the width of the king's palm, or the length of some unknown limb.

So, as you can see, we need to standardize our estimation for rating a super villain. And to make this easy, let me suggest to you a simple method. Let us see how the villain reacts to having to kill a baby.

To kill a baby would require the individual to be devoid of any sense of humanity. The most evil of the evil men we know have committed this crime. You want names?? How about Kamsa and Voldemort ??If you are saying that they are mythological/fictional, please bear with me for a few more paragraphs till I make my main point.

Try to remember the times when you watched NatGeo or Animal Planet. There, you had super slow-mo shots of the wild animals in their natural glory in the wilderness of Africa. You saw the lion chasing the buffalo, and you were amazed by the speed and tactics employed by the hunter to ensnare its prey. At this moment, the hunt happening on the screen enraptured you.

But what if the same lion was chasing a calf, instead of a buffalo. On whose side will you be on now?
I hope you answer rightly to that question.

And I don't think I have to explain why this act is such a heinous crime. A baby is the quintessence of innocence and naivety. He doesn't know right from wrong, and would have committed no act of consequence as of then. For me, to kill a baby would be the worst thing a person could do.

How many of you would believe me blindly if I said that this act is rampant in this world? You might have to think about this for a second or two, but remember that the acts of abortion is basically killing a baby, even before he/she has come into this world.

According to statistics available, about 80+ abortions take place per minute worldwide. In India, there is the special case of female foeticide, where pre-natal sex determination (which is banned) is used to abort female foetus. It is believed that over 500,000 girls are being lost annually through sex-selective abortions.


If we consider Kamsa, a mythological character in a negative fashion, because he tried to kill a new born child in a myth; if we consider Voldemort, a fictional character as a fiend, because he tried to kill a new born child in a story; then my dear friend what would you call a real person who actually does this act in real life??

Now you must be wondering why am I saying all this over here??

Because I can't stop someone somewhere from carrying out this act. My audience is you. All I hoped for from this post is to be able to show you how cruel this act is. And if possible, convince you to spread this notion on to anyone who might be thinking about abortion, so that we can save an innocent child's life.

5 things for this week (Part 24)

How would you rate a super villain?

Of course, you can rate him on a multitude of factors, that are entirely dependent on your arbitrary considerations. You can rate him based on the number of super powers he has; on the use and extent to which he is able to use them; on the number of people he has killed, his sense (or lack of it); on his ingenuity; on his cruelty; on his dressing; on the power of his anti-villain; and much more.

But like I said before, this is all arbitrary. And there is nothing more confusing than the state of being able to compare something to anything. It was to solve this basic conundrum that our recent forefathers decided to standardize the basic units of measurements, based on naturally occurring phenomenons. They had had enough of their forefathers telling them to measure length by the width of the king's palm, or the length of some unknown limb.

So, as you can see, we need to standardize our estimation for rating a super villain. And to make this easy, let me suggest to you a simple method. Let us see how the villain reacts to having to kill a baby.

To kill a baby would require the individual to be devoid of any sense of humanity. The most evil of the evil men we know have committed this crime. You want names?? How about Kamsa and Voldemort ??If you are saying that they are mythological/fictional, please bear with me for a few more paragraphs till I make my main point.

Try to remember the times when you watched NatGeo or Animal Planet. There, you had super slow-mo shots of the wild animals in their natural glory in the wilderness of Africa. You saw the lion chasing the buffalo, and you were amazed by the speed and tactics employed by the hunter to ensnare its prey. At this moment, the hunt happening on the screen enraptured you.

But what if the same lion was chasing a calf, instead of a buffalo. On whose side will you be on now?
I hope you answer rightly to that question.

And I don't think I have to explain why this act is such a heinous crime. A baby is the quintessence of innocence and naivety. He doesn't know right from wrong, and would have committed no act of consequence as of then. For me, to kill a baby would be the worst thing a person could do.

How many of you would believe me blindly if I said that this act is rampant in this world? You might have to think about this for a second or two, but remember that the acts of abortion is basically killing a baby, even before he/she has come into this world.

According to statistics available, about 80+ abortions take place per minute worldwide. In India, there is the special case of female foeticide, where pre-natal sex determination (which is banned) is used to abort female foetus. It is believed that over 500,000 girls are being lost annually through sex-selective abortions.

I can't stop someone sitting somewhere from carrying out this act, but I hope, I have given you a brief idea of how cruel this act is. Here's to sincerely hoping that none of us even have to think about abortion in our lives.

RANT OVER.

So, let's get back to the business of "5 things". That's what you are here for, that's why I'm here for. And this week, we'll base it on facts about Babies.

Let's begin, shall we??

Did you know...

1 ...that the number of bones in a baby reduces as he/she grows up??

A baby has 300 separate bones at birth, but by adulthood we have only 206. Many small bones, like in the skull, fuse together. Another example for that is kneecaps, since babies are born without kneecaps.

2 ...that a baby has the potential to be more intelligent than you??

By the time of birth, a baby's brain is made up of more than 10 million nerve cells. It’s downhill from here. So, theoretically, any given baby can grow up to be more intelligent than you, by controlling the number of nerve cells he/she loses.

3. ...that a baby knows its mother??

Well, this hardly qualifies as a fact. But I'm going to back this up with scientific looking facts, for which I have no proof.

• Babies are born with very poor vision but can recognize their mothers almost right away.
• Most babies recognize their mothers' voices when they are born, but take around 14 days to learn to recognize their father's voice.
• A baby’s strongest sense is smell and they can recognize their mothers by scent alone

4. ...that babies would love you to sing to them??

And not just the normal songs too. If you can pull off the high pitches, they'll be all the more grateful to you. Cos babies like hearing high-pitched singing voices.

5. ...that having a baby is a lot of trouble??

Even though it's pretty easy to make a baby, having one is an entirely different proposition. And I'm not talking about the labour pain.

A new baby usually deprives each of its parents around 350-400 hours of sleep in the first year. That is one entire nights sleep per week, per parent. Now, you don't have to wonder why that friend of yours, who is a new father/mother, is looking like a zombie.

***

Seems like I got something right again. The law of infinite possibilities clearly states that there is a chance for that to happen always, but I would be lying if I were to say that I wasn't surprised (and genuinely pleased) by the response I got to my last post. Thank you all for your nice comments, reviews and responses. This will, hopefully, allow me to beat the law of unavoidable crapness in my future blogs. In case you missed out on the post I'm talking about, you can read it at "...and another one fades away..."

***

Well, that's it for now.
See you all next week.
Have a great weekend!!!