An idea, a thought, an anecdote, a story or a poem a day!

 When you travel you are thinking I'll get there, yes, somewhere  then it will be my time to rest and enjoy the effort I've put in,  and that will be my destination.  How do we know it, I mean, the time to enjoy,  as each destination can be the beginning or the end of a journey.   So why not enjoy the journey  as each journey itself is a destination of a previous journey! 

T his new world, with the same old maladies, and the new ways of expressing them! In touch, always ready to chat 24/7! but has ‘lost’ the touch Speaking through  machines to machines Connected virtually,  disconnected from reality! What is in this conversation,  You are reading,  but are you listening?   I am Facebooking my friends  all over the world, c hatting and,  feeling connected through & through, But, do I have time to a ctually ‘chat’ with those around me? and even if I do,  aren’t they all chatting  to someone,  somewhere else too!   And what is in this conversation  we are having, our heads down, our fingers busy, in the Algorithms of what is expected, We don’t look up, and  keep producing standard answers Hiding behind these claps,  smilies, frowns, love hearts, likes and cheers,  as t hey say better what I can say or what you choose to share, even tears! So much so that  the medium has becom...

The situation  today is really bad.  It seems worse than any other in the past,   but is not the worst,   as it was also equally bad in the past Yes, it seems endless, but like that, it won't last So, what happens, when hope runs out!  When hope runs out, life still runs on hope! 

When it was at the cusp of passing into the dark abyss of time,  I tried to write a message of hope to today,   borrowing words from its yesterday and tomorrow!  While writing on the nautical sheets of time,  with a pen of clay, carved out of the very body of its being,  I put a tinge of hope,  taking colours from the green and gold of its forestry  to brighten the dark ink! But time flows like water,  so, as I tried to enter my first letter of hope,  it drowned into regret and remorse, a reminder from its yesterday, and when I tried to enter my second letter of hope,  it raged into a rebuke, a scalding reprimand from its tomorrow,   that it is too little, and too late! I wiped the slate, and started all over again!  Five word challenge Pen clay cusp enter tinge

Reason is our ability to think logically!!  but, in our arguments, when there is lack of reason? These arguments are made to prove the truth and to prove lies, they are made in a hurry, Loud, and rash... In these arguments,  where  the loud is becoming forceful clever is becoming wise Wisdom is abandoned and the  sceptic is becoming negative,  and reasonable is slow, stupid, and indecisive  Then my dear,  reasoning is unnecessary! 

I am a soldier I change the history and carve the future I go to the battlefields that I don’t choose I fight the wars that I don’t win or lose I shoot their targets till they win! I get shot still they win! I don’t have a reason but I kill and maim I am a soldier I don’t have a face and I don’t have a name!   I am  not a coward but sometimes I do cry I’m not brave, but I am not scared to die I am not ruthless but I kill I am not merciful but I never will shoot for pleasure or for power I just follow their order without honour or shame! I am a soldier I don’t have a face and I don’t have a name!   I go anywhere, whenever I’m called! I just march I don’t ask Whether it is a just war Whether it is a wrong war Whether it is for the left or for the right I just do my duty, put on their uniform and fight I don’t get the credit or the blame I am a soldier I don’t have a face and I don’t have a name!   I leave behind what I have to, my home, my youth, and my beloveds! I tak...

Who am I? I don't have enmity nor do I want to kill anyone, but I still go to wars,  to fight their wars,  killing those doing the same, fighting some one else's war! I come home winning their wars With a war inside me That I can never win. Sometimes I don't come home Leaving almost no trace of my being, other than a hole in my loved ones' hearts To be slowly filled with acceptance I'm a soldier!

Holidays,  Planning,  Going Coming back!! A bit in the middle,   Like life Transitory  Fleeting moments In the middle of Coming  and going!  Journeys  Are the destinations.

Finally justice has been delivered  Floyd's tormentor has been found guilty and sentenced.  Remember 'To kill a mocking bird'? To prove the innocence of a black person, to get a not-guilty verdict, how hard was it? It has taken all these years and thousands of black people to spend years in incarceration and so many to die,  before a non-black person is proven guilty of injustice towards a black person!!  Justice is supposed to be blind  can't see any racial, cultural differences, treating everyone equably, based on evidence, before this guilty verdict of a white man, it seems the goddess of justice had been actually blind to white!   It took a video to show the truth!! The courageous 17 year old Darnella Frazier  did it !!

  This moment,  all you have is this moment. be mindful of what is in this moment!  Everything is this moment. So live in this moment   This moment will be gone, in a moment! 

Once upon a time, I remember, when you spoke, with your lips twisted at an angle, with your eyes smiling or pretending to go glazed, and I got it, the emotion, the joke, the idea!    And, it remains imprinted in my mind, can’t be edited, paused or replayed!! Unlike the mechanical messages that we send and receive every day, And in this communication, what is of essence is lost!  

We have woken up in a new world  Cowardly, Cautious but still careless cruel, and wasteful.  Still! But, not mindful still!! Not going anywhere in a hurry,  but is, in a hurry to go, get, and grab things  Things that don't last Knows it, but still forgets!  Doesn't learn from the past! This, not that brave, new world!!

I used to visit my grandparents in Chandigarh when I was a little girl,  In the morning, my grandmother, Bibbee’s singing, her chanting would wake us up as while doing her chores, her morning adulation, she would be reciting Bhagavad Gita, in Punjabi, her voice quivering a bit!   Krishan ji ne rath challaya, Vich maidane lyan khrahaya Sun kunti de pootr dulare, kyon betha tu himmat hare   Krishan was asking Arjun to fight while Arjun was reluctant to pick up his arms, as his enemies in the battle were after all his uncles and cousins.   Bibbee had a lovely voice, melodious and strong, and I could clearly visualise Lord Krishan and Arjun standing in the middle of the two armies, having this conversation on a foggy morning with the sun struggling to rise just behind Lord Krishan, and Arjun kneeling on the ground looking hopeless and humble with his hands joined in prayer.   Arjun had to kill his enemy, his uncle's sons, to regain his ki...

When I arrived at my gym for a group training this morning, I asked my trainer, where will be the session? And his answer was, at 930!  I hadn't asked when, but where?  And then another interesting thing happened,  I went to our local deli, and bought some olives, and the shopkeeper asked me something while giving me the container of olives, and I said "yes, thanks", and started to pay. Assuming that he had said, "would that be all".  But then looking at the confused look on his face, I realised that he might have actually said,  "Is there anything else?", And if it was this question, then the answer should have been  "no thanks". I felt bad and left the shop, still thinking about my impoverished capacity for listening, I started to analyse, about these miscommunications that keep happening. Why don't we listen, and why do we give wrong answers? It is mostly because, we are hearing but are not listening to, nor are we trying to understand...

Grasp the moment Grab the moment Live the moment  Live in the moment Yes everything is this moment!  It is the only thing still here, t the only time that we are in!  We 'are' in the present tense.  As the last or the previous moment is gone,  we were in that, but not anymore! It has finished! It is already past!  Living this moment, means being present in our 'now',  appreciating what we are doing, who we are with, and what we are experiencing.   It all takes a moment to be in the moment,  to live in the moment, to be mindful of what we have!  Then this moment will be gone too,  but we would have felt it, valued it, lived it! 

Things that we do Actions and the activities that we partake in habitually,  Day after day, year after year,  some that we don't even know why,  The get-togethers, the birthdays, anniversaries, religious days, cultural days, dates in our social calendar,  These are the rituals, that we hang our ceremonies on, things which we want to do, things which we enjoy, the colours, the food, the jokes, the songs,  as these are the threads of our social, cultural, religious frameworks, which give us the structures, which tell us what we need to do, and when, and how! They goad us into action, force us into celebration. When we don't feel like doing anything on a birthday, feeling low and lonely, and useless, the chime of "happy birthday" coming from different avenues, jiggles us to life, the card, the cake, the party, and we feel wanted, loved, and special on our special day! When someone dies, the space they vacate is taken by these rituals, these activities, which bring ...

We live in strange but normal times Strange, as we cannot do things  Like travelling overseas, or even going interstate, or to the malls eating out, getting entertainment in packed to capacity venues, and halls,  travelling like sardines in public transport, or while doing party rooms shaking hands or sitting in a crowd within walls!  A thing of the past The latest are, social distancing, sanitising, staying away, & wearing masks! yes, especially when sick, or to keep us away from the sick, we are now wearing masks Quite normal, if we might rethink that none of it is abnormal,  we did it always albeit without being so candid!! Social distance is a part of our being social.  We are always into keeping distance from those whom we don't know,  or don't consider our social mates, about whom for example,  we don't care!  Our society is made up of these distances and gaps, and sometimes ,  we keep distance, even from those we consider our mates...

Each day is a grain of sand  in an hour glass trickling down one by one the space it occupied in the glass being replaced by emptiness like a handful of sand slipping through the fingers held tightly  still leaving the fist empty sooner or later like a step into a forest each one taking us away from the starting point towards the other end,  Foot steps leaving no trace, no sign, that we were here, that we passed like the twinkling stars disappearing one by one as the Sun rises the invisible hand wiping the sky off all the traces of the stars ready to rewrite another story, of another day, and life goes on, even after we pass on,  without us!  In remembrance of RD, our beloved Dr Ramji Das, who passed away on 12th April. 

What is the purpose of our social get togethers?  And what's the point of our social discussion in these meetings with our friends, colleagues or even relatives.  Isn't our purpose when we meet and talk 1. Enjoyment and entertainment for all 2. Solidarity, to support each other.  3. Social discussion to widen our horizon while understanding our friends' point of view. But what is usually happening in these gatherings Not much enjoyment or entertainment  Not many agreements.  And many disagreements  Instead of everyone feeling relaxed there is discomfort and distress So, should we stop meeting? Maybe!! But we can't stop, we are social animals so we want to meet. We want to have a social gathering and have a conversation and we also want to discuss. So what do we do, to keep our group meetings enjoyable,  let's think First, we might need to appreciate the purpose of our meetings.   Why do we meet?  Second, that listening and speaking are e...

On my last day, while packing my suitcases, I heard her say in a meek voice "When will you come back again?"  Yes 'back' and 'again' both adverbs go together here.  This grammatical combination is usually meant to be used for the annual, or biannual visits of those who live in another country and come back 'home' to renew their relationship with their homeland!  Coming back here is not forever but is to go away again.  But, yes, we keep coming back, again and again. Bound by the ties of love and memories.  Migratory birds keep coming back to the same places, in the same season, year after year, till the seasons actually change, it gets cold where it used to be hot, and dries up, where it used to rain! Their instincts tell them, it is time to stop coming back, and go somewhere else. Do we humans also understand what we know, what our instincts tell us, it is time!  "Not sure dear!"! I had said. 

Trees are tall Mountains mighty Kings with their kingdoms,  princes and property Nothing beside remains The colossal wreck  Sand Grass Moss cover everything, finally!! From dust unto dust !!! Inspired by Shelley's Ozymandias  "Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Arjun uvach (said) afterwards It is hard to focus on anything, in this toxic smog, turning our day into night, what's left now, what is the hope? Where have they all gone? My friends and my foes! There's not even a swallow in sight! No one there to call my name!! Life has paused! I am trying to look with my watery eyes, in the folds of the mushroom cloud in the debris of my doing The destruction while keeping my brazen mind, detached, that YOU, had said was necessary, to fight to obey, to follow this path to glory and fame! And "Now, I am become death, the destroyer of worlds", I've shut my brain, and my eyes to what I caused! But Why are you are so quiet! Are you thinking, or have you lost your thoughts like MY lost sight? A penny for your thought Sir!!! Epilogue to Bhagvad Gita Arjun's question to Krishan!! 

While enjoying the two exhibitions, Know My Name , by Aboriginal women artists and,   Botticelli to  Van Gogh, famous European artists,  at the  National Gallery  in  Canberra , I was thinking, these paintings, painted by people from another time, and another place  Cultures apart! Countries apart! Continents apart Centuries apart appeal to so many of us,  gathered here  These Pictures Stories Songs bringing us together What is in them, which appeals to every heart,  A common thread of beauty,  a shared definition of grace,  a collective consciousness of decency,   which I hope remain stronger than the ties of trade, the ropes of rivalry, and our global internationalisation!  Yes, if art be the soul of human life,  carry on!

  A distant call   Oh, how I had missed it!  The trail of glory, the setting Sun, the changing colours , the glow of that world beyond! Engrossed in my today and my now,  enveloped in the din of my dull life,  immersed in the decorum of my daily drab I wasn’t listening to the distant voices, neither was I looking out there at the horizon Voices that whisper secrets and sermons, and the colours that are made of pure magic,  These voices which call me at times, just to remind me of home,  And  these windows of colours that open at sunrise and close at sunsets, to give me a chance, to see beyond,  to know of the celestial abode that I came from and where I will finally go!!  Canberra sunset!!!    

  Yes, gods also die, but not God, it is gods, with a small 'g', who die!  I heard this phrase from a great speaker of Vedic knowledge, who was explaining what non-dual existence consciousness is, that there is no difference between existence and Brahmn.  But instead, this phrase started me off on a different tangent. I started to analyse what this phrase actually means,  "Gods also die". Who are 'gods'? How do they 'die'? What is 'death'? Gods are non-humans, those with super powers, and superior virtues, opposite to demons, those with inferior powers, and vices.  Do they die like the Sun, when their time is up, explode and retreat in a black hole? But humans, they have both characteristics, virtues and vices, their life is an opportunity to be gods, or demons!  Humans, with a small 'h' are much more than gods, with a small 'g'! They can always improve, and get better than what they are!!  They have a choice In life and...

Dystopia A grey pal covering everything, green and blue, or gold and yellow, had settled on the world, suffocating its airways, its lungs, the green lush forests, turning them into stubble, its blue waterways evaporated, engulfed by the dry heat emanating from the rubble of the extinguished civilizations!   Yes, it was the  dystopia, another  ice a ge, the world had gone to sleep for a long long time, waiting for its prince charming to find it, kiss it, to renew it!

The time to reflect, to pray, to celebrate life  -  Easter,  The Season of harvest  - Baisakhi,   The season of festivity - Theravada (Buddhist celebration ) Reason to celebrate and feast  - Navratra, Ram Navami,  -  Ramadan Season to reflect, to wait, to pray  -  The time to celebrate life - season of chirping, crawling hatchlings, yellow fluffy chicks, golden brown ducklings - ripening mellowing fruit, fasting, giving, blessings, the season of plenty, the time for gratitude!

The sky - azure blue  The sunshine - pumpkin  yellow The grass - almost blueish green The gardenia - fragrant iceberg white The trees - f iring  crimson,  the leaves- turning  yellow,  orange and ruby- red Look out - it seems Autumn has spilled its colour palette! 

In the interest of all is my interest!  What is good for all, that is good for me,  and what is in the interest of all,  that is in my interest too! While walking with my headphones on, and listening to the radio, I heard a talk about the 'fair', 'speedy' and 'timely' distribution of covid-19 vaccine.  I started to think,  What is the point of  Hoarding vaccine, for the next round, as states in Australia are planning on doing, if others in the country don't get it ?  The rich countries, the affluent societies, basically the people, those who have, getting vaccinated before people from poor countries get. Till everyone gets vaccinated, there is no point, as we are all together in it! It is a ship travelling through turbulence  We can all either  go to safety  Or drown! 

  Democracy   -  majority government  Of the people, by the people, for the people, which people?  Majority people  Citizenship -  Independence, rights and (may be) responsibilities  Independence -  to do or not do what one wants,  Right -  to be taken care of,  Responsibilities - To allow others' freedom to do or not do, and protect their right to be taken care of! minority  people,   which people?