Worlds off a factory line

 

Every night we create worlds

In our dreams,

Knowing well that dreams

Will die most times young,

Other times we carry them

Into the day,

Into our worlds,

And find that the worlds

We created,

Are all the same,

As if, off a factory line.

Get up from the grime

 

All times are good times

To bloom,

It's never too late,

Never too soon.

We'll take our time

To get up from the grime.

An angel is playing the truant

 

Kiss me once before I die,

And do remember that redolent high,

Ere I give up the ghost,

Feel the tremble in my being's host.

Later, when a familiar scent

Wafts up your air benign,

And a familiar tremble comes to haunt,

An angel is surely playing the truant.

Friday, the 13th, is truly blessed.

 

It's day of miracles:

The sun went up from the East,

Birds chirped and went free,

Got my hot cup of tea,

The car started

And did not demur,

The boss had taken the day off,

India is Chess World Champion,

Friday, the 13th, is truly blessed.

Earth is still a heart

 

In the beginning 

there was only a tiny heart,

Till God said, 'let there be light!'

And the heart started melting,

Some parts of the heart froze again,

And became land,

Rest became oceans,

The earth therefore,

Is still a heart:

Some parts melted;

Some parts still frozen.

Yearning place between love and pain

 

When tomorrow comes, it will come,

You can't rush it;

Yesterday has gone, but isn't yet buried,

You can't hush it;

If today is long, let it be long,

Do not crush it;

For, there is a space between,

Loss and gain,

For, there is a yearning place between,

Love and pain.

Blues of the sky

 

Why is the sky blue

During day,

And black

In the night?

Because it cannot

Hide its pain

During day,

As it does, in the night.

Smugly or precariously?

 

Wisdom perched precariously?

Or,

Wisdom sitting smugly?

Went harm's way

 

Harm beckoned me on her way,

Indeed,  I went harm's way,

Wittingly went heart's way,

Wittingly went love's way.

Who might dare to cross the sands

 

The lone tree

Pushes up through the sand,

Battered and bruised

After a sandstorm,

But still promises shade

To those who might dare

To cross the sands.

Ganga Aarti at Hrishikesh

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5IPjiyqGCc

Moon has some edges

 

The moon has some edges,

And the moonlight is

Foggy tonight,

The heart has some scratches,

And love is

Soggy tonight.

How to feel tall

 

I received this morning cheer:

I asked a monk how to feel tall.

He just smiled and bowed.

Now, there are monks and monks. Some are new, and some are old. This one must have been old. Only an Old Monk can induce such a spirit of humility.

If you know what I mean:

Commonplace in National Capital Region (NCR)

 

A friend sent me this beautiful picture yesterday. It was a photo of the mysterious mist engulfing them, as he and his batchmates from Medical College, made their way to Kodaikanal, a beautiful hill station in Tamilnadu, India. They were onwards to their Batch Reunion.

I reflected that save for the undulating terrain, this scene was commonplace in the National Capital Region (NCR) of India nowadays - both by day and by night.

Your love is too much to bear

 

I will go

And never return,

If you make me cry,

With all your love.

I will go

And never return,

Your love is just

Too much to bear.

AI definition of a veteran

 

I received this beautiful quote from a friend:

I wondered if it wasn't a AI definition of a veteran, specially the last part that maps exactly with Sparsh, the pension disbursing system for Indian veterans.

Veer Bhadra Mandir, Lepakshi, India

 

Vignettes of Veer Bhadra Mandir, Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh, India

360 Degree View from the inside of the Mandir

Mural on the ceiling

Floating Pillar 

Carving on a Pillar

Waiting for Shri Ram

 

A sculptor's depiction of Jatayu at Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh, India. On this holy land, it is said that Jatayu fell from the sky after fighting with Ravan.

Labour

 

Someone sent this prophetic message:

America is in Labour. In 24 hours we will know if it's a boy or girl.

I said, 'Amen to that, with the caveat that it could be an 'Other' too.'

By the way: UK has been in Labour for some months now, and will remain so for many months.

Best wishes on Bhai Dhooj

 

Away brothers miss their sisters a lot. And those brothers who don't have sisters miss them even more.

Blaming the weather for not worsening the weather

 

Late last month the 'environmentalists' were insinuating that the air quality in the National Capital Region (NCR) of India would go horrendously bad post Diwali, the festival where folks burst crackers and light lamps to welcome Bhagwan Ram.

Western media were the cheerleaders for these environmentalists, as I posted earlier:

https://hunterfiftyfour.blogspot.com/2024/10/ahead-of-halloween-or-ahead-of-diwali.html

As it turned out the air quality of the NCR did not go down. In fact, it was the best (post Diwali) since 2015.

The 'environmentalists' are hapless. They are now blaming weather for not worsening the weather (read, air quality). Read here about that.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/weather-rescues-citys-air-2nd-cleanest-post-diwali-since-2015/articleshow/114860962.cms

How woke is that? 

Hold a candle to the sun

 

Hold a candle

to the sun,

Light a million lamps:

One in each alley,

One in each galley,

One in each bunker,

One in each trench,

One in each cockpit,

One in each hangar,

One in each langar,

One on each sangarh,

One at each nala track junction,

One on each lone tree hill,

Then fire a red over red*

Into the night,

And turn the night into day.

red over red*: A type of illuminating round fired from a signal pistol, fired after winning a battle.

Ahead of Halloween or ahead of Diwali?

 

The vilification of our festival Diwali has already started in the Western Media:

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/28/asia/india-pakistan-smog-diwali-intl-hnk/index.html

The media outlet could have easily said 'ahead of Halloween'

Do the blind dream?

 

Someone sent me this wonderful quote of Kabir.

I was reminded of a question that a friend asked me sometime back, 'Do the blind dream? What do they see?'

'Dog' biscuits

 

Someone forwarded this video. Was supposed to be a Marketing lesson, and how projection of  words are pivotal in marketing.

It is curious, however, when I thought about 'Dog' biscuits. In the mid seventies and a little after, I was in the National Defence Academy, or, NDA. At reveille, we cadets, would rush to the Tearoom, for our morning mug of tea. Alongside, we were given two biscuits, which were strangely called 'Dog' biscuits. I don't know the history behind that name but we didn't mind the name for we cadets were forever famished and just gobbled them up without much ado.

But the story goes just a little further...

We have, what we call Quarterly Messing Meetings in the Forces where the folks dining in a particular Mess would voice their opinion about the standard of messing in that Mess. In NDA, of course, no such formal meeting was held with respect to the messing in the  Cadets' Mess. But, once in a while the Cadet Sergeant Major (CSM) - he was of the senior most term - would take a muster of all cadets before we marched for dinner and ask our opinion about the standard of messing in the Cadets' Mess. I remember, in my third term, in one such muster I mumbled under breath, 'Sir, the biscuits in the morning are fine, but can we at least change the name of the biscuits from 'Dog biscuits' to something else?' 

Immediately, late Vivek Chopra, my coursemate, shushed me and said, 'Shut up you idiot, unless you want to roll in the ground floor corridor throughout the night.'

And, I did shut up.

I don't know what those biscuits are called now. Anyone?

Thakur versus Tagore

 

What is written in Bangla: Pukure Konorup Thakur Pheliben Na.

This translates into English as: Do not throw any kind of thakur (idol) into the pond.

Rabindranath's surname in Bangla is Thakur, and in English is Tagore. And therefore Thakur and Tagore can be used interchangeably. Therefore the English warning as part of the bilingual warning at the edge of the pond.

QED.

Keep me in your eyes

 

On days like this, or, forever,

Keep me in your eyes,

And keep your eyes closed shut,

Let the flare pass,

Let the eclipse pass,

Only open your eyes then,

Keep me bathed in love, my friend,

Keep me in your eyes,

But be mindful and wary though,

Unwitting tears escape,

Even when eyes are closed,

And unwittingly, I might too.

Stones don't melt easy

 

Only two thirds the earth

Is full of ocean,

Yet your heart is full of love,

Where will then

The rest of the heart dissolve?

For the land is full of stones,

That don't melt easy

That the rest of the heart

May dissolve.

The pH scale of Truth and Lie

 

Some government spokespersons have started using the word, 'malinformation'. Thus, the pH scale of 'Truth' and 'Lie' so far:

Truth > information > disinformation > misinformation > malinformation > misspoke > Lie

Also, the pH scale of 'aware' and 'unaware' so far:

aware > hardware > software > malware > unaware

Sparklers in the sky

 

He made sparklers

With the stars,

And wrote her name

In the sky,

By twirling the stars around.

It's a shame though

That the clouds covered

The sparklers in the sky,

And her name was gone.

And then came the deluge,

I know not,

Off the skies,

Or, off her eyes.

Not all evil has gone

 

Not all evil has gone, O Ram,

Not all evil has gone.

Evil hasn't extinguished itself:

It made one go with blood in her eyes,

Others may go just by fasting,

Least help them break their Fast, O Ram,

Give them a break, My Lord.

Kill the Evil with your little finger,

And give the Evil pause.

You know all too well, O Lord,

Not all evil has gone.

There has been a sky quake

 

There are wrinkles in the sky,

Wrinkles that are hard

For God to iron out,

And, the sky is smooth no more.

Not everyone gets the same sky,

Some get a warped sky,

Some a sky too blue.

Some get a sky too high,

Some a sky too low.

Some say, there's been a sky quake,

Still, not too late for me to wake.

In how many ways can unsuspecting people die?

 

Five killed, scores injured. This wasn't a stampede in a religious congregation event. This wasn't a creaking railway footbridge that gave way. This wasn't a stampede due to change of platform in a railway station that awaited an arriving train. These were spectators watching an air show put up by the Indian Air Force. No, there wasn't a mishap or a crash of any of the airplanes doing display. These were enthusiastic folks trying to exit after catching a glimpse of the aerobatics over a Chennai beach. 

This wasn't even a stampede as we know a stampede. Folks died due to dehydration and heat, as per reports. In how many ways can unsuspecting people die?

Some truths that politicians say

 

Aphorisms of Alfred E Neuman of the Mad comic strip are legion. Some of them are given below: 

 "Medical insurance is what allows people to be ill at ease!"

"How come stealing from one book is plagiarism, but stealing from many is research?"

"Who says nothing is impossible? Some people do it every day!"

"America is still a land of promise, especially during a political campaign."

"Most people are too lazy to open the door when opportunity knocks!"

"Elections are when people find out what politicians stand for and politicians find out what people will fall for."

"These days, the only time politicians tell the truth is when they call each other a liar."

The last of the quoted aphorisms - These days, the only time politicians tell the truth is when they call each other a liar - may not be entirely true.

I'll stick out my neck and say, the other times when politicians are telling the truth is when they say, 'I'm a liar'. If such an utterance were not true, then politicians would be truthful all the time.

Some remained in the Light

 

The other night,

The new moon blocked the sun,

And created an eclipse,

And, it changed many fortunes.

A little nothing changed fortunes,

A shadow threw a shadow -

Some came under the umbra,

Some under the penumbra,

Some remained in the Light.

The Paper Trail

 

I found this video in the Internet. Watch this video:

In my view, one reason why the aspect ratio (the width to height ratio) of the standard paper sizes remain same even after halving the longer side is due to the following:

The seemingly strange ratio of length to breadth is because the ratio remains the same when the longer side is folded by half. So, if the ratio is 1:√2, with the longer side being √2, when we fold the longer side by half we have a new ratio of 1:(√2/2). This is the same as  1:(1/√2). This is again the same as √2:1.

We know that the ratio does not change if we multiply both sides of the ratio with the same number. For example, if we have a ratio of 2:3, the ratio remains same when we multiply both sides of the ratio by the same number 2 (say). So, the new ratio 4:6 is the same as 2:3. So, if we multiply, 1:(1/√2) by √2 on both sides of the ratio, we get,  √2:(1/√2)x√2, or, √2:1. So, the ratio keeps oscillating between 1:√2 and √2:1, as we keep folding the paper on the longer side by half. So, when we start with 1 square metre of paper for A0, we need a ratio of length to breadth of √2:1, in such a way that the product of length into breadth is 1 square metre. So we have, 1189mm x 841mm = 9,99,949 square mm, or approximately 1 square metre. And the ratio of 1189:841 is 1.41..., and therefore approximately, √2. 

Because we started with 1 square metre for A0, A4  has seemingly strange dimensions.

Lonely as a forward post

 

Lonely as a shipwreck,

Lonely as a heart break,

Lonely as a buried time capsule,

Lonely as a forward post.

This city is besotted

Love is in the air,

And it is contagious,

This city is besotted. 

Data in the Cloud

 

Data in the Cloud:

What is written in Hindi in the image means: Have submitted everything to you to keep. Now, it is up to you.

A time will come soon

 

A time will come soon

When I'll walk up 

The steps of the fluffy clouds

And fly off to the stars,

A time will come soon

When I'll do a pull up

On a flying carpet,

And fly off to the stars.

And leave this turning world behind.

Let's wait till spring to die

 

Let's wait till spring to die,

It's too early to die in autumn,

Let's fight the cold of winter

With fire - and so live on,

And, when we're totally emaciated

when spring arrives, let's die,

That others bloom in spring again.

Reduce a number to 1

 

His identical twin

 

What does the sparrow see

In the rearview mirror?

Is it the life he lived so far?

Or is it his identical twin?

Breath of you

 

I found the roof of the sky,

I found the ocean floor,

And in all the spaces in between,

I found a breath of you.

Honour our Teachers because: विद्यां ददाति विनयं

 

Just as Mr is for Mister,

And Dr is for Doctor,

Let's have,

Tr for our teachers.

No jokers in our deal

 

These cards that God dealt

Seem of winter.

But aren't we still in autumn yet?

Players do heed the sign of times:

There are no Aces in our deal,

There are no jokers in our deal,

That we might kill the mighty

In the deck.

PS: The context is that the 52 cards in a deck supposedly represent the 52 weeks of a year. And, 13 cards in a hand, represent a season. Joker in a hand can take the place of any card in a hand as per convenience of the hand owner.

Moral hazard

 

A friend sent this photo of a newspaper cutting and  added a hope that may this insurance cover be implemented quickly.

This cover reminds me of the neologism, 'intaxication'. This new word refers to your sense of high when you get a refund from tax authorities, till it sinks into you that the money was yours in the first place.

In this insurance cover proposal, you are being asked to pay a premium on the money that is yours in the first place. So essentially you are rewarding the bank with a premium amount for the bank's own delinquency. It is the bank which should be covering itself with an insurance so that it is able to pay out its customers in the case where it goes kaput. 

Do you find the title of this post curious? I do too. The post twice mentions, 'moral hazard'. What is 'moral hazard'? Can morality ever be a hazard? It sounds like how some folks call lying as 'misspoke'. 

Ran out of breath

 

He held his breath

When he saw the stars,

And he held his breath,

When his saw the moon,

And he held his breath,

When he saw her come,

Till he ran out of breath.

Sixty two parts in a thousand

 

They weigh all things with money.

(No wonder, the units

of money and weight

are the same.)

Yet, even a five Pound coin,

Weighs merely sixty two parts

In a thousand,

Of a pound weight.

Six by six to dream

 

Don't need my glasses

When I sleep.

My eyes are six by six

To dream.

Teachers and vectors

I opened a book the other day, and I found this preamble: 

There are some folks yet out there who value teachers.

And,

Not all vectors carry germs.

Non-persistence of Vision

 

Like a still frame

From a movie:

Where a bullet

Is stopped inches

From its target,

Where raindrops

Are caught in the air,

Where lovers are stopped

Only a feet away

From embrace,

Belief has been suspended.

Gyanis say:

This is artificial intelligence,

Others say:

This is non-persistence

Of Vision.

*gyanis: the learned

Lonely songs

 

Lonely songs

Of the mist

Over hills and vales,

Lonely songs

Of the tryst

Of lovers and friends,

Lonely songs

Of the whist,

At the waiting harbour;

Then the ache rises,

And the voice quivers,

And the singer chokes.

Crack in the earth

 

There was a crack in the sky,

The zone was the 'O' Zone,

It was then,

Filled up with smoke.

There was a crack in the earth,

The zone was God's country,

It was filled up with mudslide,

'Twas earth's heart stroke.

Time traveller had many choices

 

The Time traveller

Had many choices,

But she wanted to know

How it all started,

Or, how it will ever end.

Was the heart there

In the beginning?

And, will there still

Be a treacherous bend,

After it all ends?

What else is new?

 

Me:What else is new?

AI:News.

Me:Is the plural of new,

News?

AI: No, new is adjective,

News is noun.

Me: What will be the news

Tomorrow?

AI: I wish I knew.

The echo slowly dies

 

The echo slowly dies,

Answer it before it dies.

Some heart is searching you,

Someone is calling you.

The storm never ends

The storm never ends,

When one ebbs

Another brews:

Sometimes of rain,

Sometimes of sand,

Sometimes of snow,

Sometimes of dust,

And, sometimes of tears. 

Eye of the calm

 

Life is an exclamation mark

 

Someone wrote to me thus:

Life is a question, and how we live it, is our answer.

There is a truism, however:

Most times life is an exclamation mark, and on such times, we need no answer.

That was enough

 

He remembers nothing

Save that he was alive,

But, was that enough?

He remembers nothing

Save that he loved,

And, that was enough.

When I am the lighthouse

 

When I am the lighthouse

At the edge of the cliff,

When I await you

To wash ashore,

Impervious to the Flood

That will surely come,

Unmindful of the Apocalypse

That will surely come,

That's when

You and I will be free.

Love and fresh air

 

She was living happily

On love and fresh air,

Till they pumped in oxygen.

And, then she died.

Tree tops

 

What the tree tops talk about,

Do the tree trunks know?

What burden the incarcerated roots bear,

Do the tree tops know?

Source of Beas

 

Inside this igloo shaped structure is the source of River Beas. This structure is just at the Rohtang Pass.

Inside the igloo shaped structure: one can almost hear River Beas gurgling out.

I did not know that Beas Nadi is named after Rishi Vyas. Here, at the source of the river, it is said that he wrote the Vedas.

Atal Tunnel

 

Crossing the Atal Tunnel near Solang Valley, Himachal Pradesh.

Let a leaf go

 

Today, in the breeze,

The trees nodded in agreement,

To let a leaf go,

The leaf shivered and fell.

Fiery and icy end

 

 A man whose name itself was Frost,

Surprisingly said the earth would end

When paying a fiery global warming cost

As an afterthought he said, however,

If it were to die again, thereafter,

In frigid, icy water, all will be lost.

'Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I’ve tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.'

-Robert Frost

When the cut is only one

 

Those that had their heart cut open

Say that the old adage

Works for the heart too:

A stitch in time saves nine.

Sow love in your heart

When the cut is only one,

Sew your heart

When the cut is only one,

For, as the old song goes:

The first cut is the deepest.

God's shade is not enough

 

Sometimes I yearn the shade,

Sometimes I yearn the sun,

Sometimes I feel

God's shade is not enough,

That is the time, sages say,

'You are in the shade.'

सुन चम्पा, सुन तारा

 

सुन चम्पा, सुन तारा,

कोई फीका, कोई गाड़ा,

कोई मीठा, कोई खारा,

कोई जीता, कोई हारा |

Soul on her sleeve

 

They met after many lifetimes,

But he knew her immediately.

As always,

(What is Always,

What is Time?)

She wore her soul

On her sleeve,

A shining soul,

On a worn-out sleeve.

This will be the last

Of their meetings here,

For she will be One 

With the Soul after this,

And, he will join much later There.

Sorrow of the Deep

 

What does the dew drop hold?

That it becomes the Quencher

Of the body

When it sits on the grass?

That it becomes the Beauty

Of the garden

When it sits on petals and leaves?

That it becomes the Sorrow

Of the Deep

When it sits on the corner

Of the eyes?

F‏irst Qualifier IPL team at a disadvantage to get the purple and orange caps?

 

If there are any contenders for purple or orange cap in the IPL First Qualifier team, both are at a disadvantage to get each's coveted cap. 

Why? 

Could this be the answer?

The purple cap goes to the bowler with the most wickets. The orange cap goes to the batter with the most runs. The First Qualifier plays one game less than other qualifying teams. And, therefore, the bowlers and batters of the First Qualifiers won't be able to improve their scores. It is as if they are being punished for doing well. 

Results in Kelvin

Just after the 12th results of CBSE came out, someone sent this message:

Very true, I reflected. In a few years it would be in Kelvin: 273, 274, 300, and sometimes -273(in negative marking).

 

Hallucinating

 

I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. Was I hallucinating? The answer to my query was seemingly outrageous. 'There was a good chance that I would become as rich as Bill Gates'. Was I hallucinating?

No, I wasn't. It turns out that not only natural intelligence can hallucinate, even artificial intelligence can hallucinate. Wow! When AI throws back garbage as an answer to a query that is a bit outlandish, Artificial Intelligence is said to be hallucinating.

Love, you are a raconteur

 

In the chatter of the sky,

I hear your name so often,

In the matter of the heart,

I hear your name so often.

What are you save an abstract noun?

But what have you abstracted?

Love, you are a raconteur,

No whispers of heart redacted.

OMG Branch

 

In a certain Headquarters of a certain Army, the brass plate outside the Quarter Master General Branch had these letters:

QMG Br

One fine day, the tail of the 'Q' come off: whether wittingly or unwittingly, I don't know. And now the letters read:

OMG Br

Since then the Branch is known as Oh My God branch.

Minute hand chases the hour hand

 

Why does the minute hand

Chase the hour hand,

And having overtaken,

Starts all over again?

Not convinced of its win,

It tries again and again,

And a lifetime passes,

And an eon passes.

Nothing is permanent

 A dear friend sent this lovely message:

Everything is temporary: emotions, thoughts, people and scenery. Do not become attached, just flow with it.

But then, isn't Permanent Commission, permanent?

Redistribution of days

Friends, enemies and frenemies:

Today is the last day of April. Grab the day by both your hands. Next year you may not get 30th April at all. I'm told that the Calendar committee of the United Nations is going to redistribute the days of the months from next year. This will be for the reason that folks put in equal effort in all months. 

For starters, April will be reduced by a day and that day will be added to February. So, both the months will be of equal days. Equal effort in both months for folks to earn their bread. There is one more suggestion that is floating around: remove 1st April and add to February. That is, April starts from the 2nd. That way, we would have removed All Fools Day from our Calendar and still serve the purpose of redistribution of days.

The Z axis

The picture below was taken by my friend Rakesh Vohra a few days ago, during Australia's autumn. The picture has been reproduced here with his permission. It is a remarkable picture composition. The sky has this Z axis written all over it. There is even an arrow pointer to the right of the Zed (Zee, if you are an American) axis name, showing the positive side of the Z axis. The earth below is the x,y plane, with many coordinate points in the form of bonsai trees. The remarkable thing is the unsaid things: the heart, and the head therein.

The earth is the first and second,

Sky is the third dimension,

The sky is the z axis,

Earth's is the x and y

The earth holds the heart in place,

And the sky holds the head high.

Focus on your heart throbs

 

Focus on your heart throbs,

And you will know

When your love is near,

And, who is dear.

Ink is ephemeral, voting ink is not

The lady is requesting for a bottle of the ink in a polling booth to apply to her hair

Because the dye that is available in the market does not last even for a month whereas this ink will last for nearly 4 months! 

I've kept faith

 

I've kept faith:

In country, Guru, and God.

And it has worked.

How the leap year saved the world

 

If 2024 were not a leap year, today (12 April 2024) would be Friday, the 13th. Rest, all of us are wise enough to understand the implications. Of course, some are wise, some are otherwise. 

Another Chance

 

I was too hurried to touch you

When I roamed the Milky Way, my stars,

I was too worried and didn't caress you,

When I sped past you, marigold fields,

I scampered and scurried, before your drops

Could drench me with love, my first rains,

And, I was too drenched to ask for more,

When you loved me just a little,.

Will you give me another chance?

Modern hieroglyphics

 

Are we going back to hieroglyphics? Not exactly hieroglyphics, but more like picture writing. Because hieroglyphics are about phonemes, or sounds: just like the sound of the word 'water' will give you the picture of 'water' in your mind. In social media posts, we are using what we call emoticons. In India, there is an unregulated interpretation of emoticons. I've read that in one occasion in Canada, an emoticon was interpreted by a judge as acquiescing to a business agreement, and a respondent had to pay damages for infringement of a purported business deal as the respondent had posted an emoticon (showing thumbs up) in response to a proposed business plan.

But emoticons can be interpreted differently in different cultures. A 'thumbs up' 👍would be agreement in one culture, and 'angutha dikhaana' in another. Now, 'angutha dikhaana' in Hindi is an idiom that means mocking someone. Similarly, the emoticon of owl would be to show wisdom in one culture, and 'Ullu' in another. 'Ullu' in Hindi is owl, but is also idiomatically used to describe a fool.

Another thing we find today in social media posts - and lately in formal writing - is emphasis given to a sentence by repeating the punctuation mark at the end of the sentence. For example, if you want to shout out how important your question is just print a dozen question marks after your sentence. If you want to show how important or profound your sentence is just add a few exclamation marks after your sentence. In any case, interrobang (!?) is being used like loose change in social media posts these days. And, we also have repetition of a vowel purportedly for emphasis: for example, loooong for very long, etc.

Many social media headings are full of hieroglyphics (read emoticons): some with flowers, followed by bouquets, followed by hearts, followed by what we call smileys. At least, I'm unable to decipher the meaning of such headings.

How will the future generations read such hieroglyphics? Perhaps they will take help of the Sumerians or the millennial generations' limited vocabulary.

Too much love

 

Never enough love

To fill my heart,

So much space

Is there still.

It's my heart's wont

To ask for more.

Heart won't burst

With too much love,

Heart won't hurt

With too much love,

There is no such thing,

As too much love.

फिर प्रलय क्यों आया?

 

फिर प्रलय क्यों आया?

अभी, अभी तो स्पंदन का सृजन  हुआ,

अभी भी आंख से  मोती

दूर तक बिखेरे हुए हैं,

अभी भी ह्रदय लहू लुहान है।

फिर प्रलय क्यों आया?

Why did apocalypse visit again?

Only now the heart beat has birthed,

As yet the pearls from the eyes

Are still scattered far,

The heart is still bloodied,

Why did apocalypse visit again?

The core wish

 

Like all wish,

My wish is a star,

But my wish keeps expanding,

Has become a supernova.

Gyanis say, it will explode

And become a dwarf,

With only the core wish

Remaining.

Will it be too late

To wish for lifetimes of you,

The core wish?

PS: Is thinking about a wish, wishful thinking? Just asking.

Sound of fire

 

Sound of music

Is a sound of fire,

Sound of music

Is a funeral pyre.

Sometime it's the Supernova

Outdoors,

Sometime it is the Picnic

Indoors.

Orient is my world

Today, I found

My East,

At Sunset, I'll find

My West.

Now, oriented with my world.

Orient is my world.

Happy Vernal Equinox

I'm searching for Him too

 

Last I wrote a letter

To the sky,

It was return undelivered:

'Addressee not present',

The note said.

I asked a sage

If God had moved house.

'I don't know,' she said.

'I'm searching for Him too.'

The aisle

 

Between you and me

There is that aisle,

There is that path

To nowhere,

Will I crossover?

Will you crossover?

And, waiting for one of us

To blink,

The flight 

Would have landed.

Brick by brick

You built me with love,

Brick by brick,

And our home,

Brick by brick,

And, you are here,

You are there,

Everywhere.

 

Gossip of the earth and sky

 

One evening,

The earth and the sky

Gossiped at the horizon.

The earth asked the sky,

'What do the clouds seek

Once they cross the horizon?'

The sky said,

'They seek a place

To drop their little drops,

They seek a parched place 

To shower you with love.

'But where do the waters go

Once the rivers cross the horizon?'

Asked the sky then.

'They seek a place to fall,

They seek such a waterfall,

Where the foam rises high,

And becomes one with you'.

The lonely goatherd...and cowherd

 

Most of us have heard the song, 'The lonely goatherd'. Here is the audio track:

The lonely goatherd

But, my point is this: how can a goatherd be lonely when they are surrounded by goats? Don't the goats love the goatherd and keep them company?

As opposed to the goatherd of Sound of Music, a Mahapurush narrated this story of another goatherd (and cowherd) who clearly was not lonely at all:

Many, many years ago, Agastha muni and his disciple were in deep meditation in the Himalayas. Agastha muni came down from the Himalayas and took hermitage in Kerala. His disciple, another accomplished Yogi himself, later went South in search of his Guru.

Once he reached what is now Tamilnadu, he found a herd of cows and goats crying inconsolably in a jungle. Elevated that he was, he found the reason of their grief. The goatherd who had brought them into the jungle for grazing had passed away all of a sudden. This goatherd (and cowherd) had never been lonely. The herd's collective grief knew no bounds. Moved by their crying, the Yogi went into the hollow of a huge tree and gave up his sukshma sharira and entered the body of the goatherd. The goatherd sprang back to life, The cows and goats were very happy and stopped crying. However, he was never the same goatherd thereafter. He started mumbling about Vedanta and other highly elevated spiritual talks. When folks from afar came upon him in the jungle, they asked him his name and identity. The man would only mutter spiritual mumblings. The folks not knowing what to do, named him 'Shri Shepherd', or, 'Tirumular' in Tamil.

Now, the folks found the body of the Yogi in the hollow of the huge tree. Not knowing anything about the deceased. they cremated the body. As would appear, the Yogi now had no way to back to his body and had to lead the rest of his life as Tirumular. When Tirumular -outwardly the deceased shepherd- went home that day, his wife found some strange behaviour in him. He did not go to the cow shed to tend to the cows. Instead, he went straight into a congregation of Sadhus. 

Narrating the story further, the Mahapurush said that Tirumular went on write the Thirumantiram, a collection of about three thousand Tamil verses that are essentially exposition on Vedanta and Shaiva Siddhanta. Among other things, the Mahapurush said that the verses contain how to make Samadhi of a Yogi when a Yogi passes away. 

Set me free

 

When I fall in love,

Arrest my fall,

And let me fly,

I will not stall.

That I, like a Phoenix rise,

If ashes is the price,

Let me be,

Set me free.

Your eyes

 

Your eyes are the mists of the ocean,

Your eyes are the love of the sky,

Your eyes are the depth of the ocean,

Your eyes are the kindness of the sky,

Your eyes are the warmth of all the worlds,

Your eyes are the twinkle of the stars,

Your eyes hold the tears of this world,

Your eyes are to live for, and die for.