tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-219078122024-03-13T08:28:54.988+05:30|| Swanta Sukhaya |||| स्वान्तसुखाय एवं संगीतम :: स्वान्तसुखाय एवं जीवनम ||
The day I met my music teacher - he assuaged my fear (that I can never sing) - by saying that "Everyone loves own voice; you should sing for no one else, but for your own pleasure."
After that moment...my music is for my own musing, and my musings are for my life to keep cruising...
APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-88438653247279688012022-12-11T19:43:00.006+05:302022-12-12T00:04:47.857+05:30An Ancient Memory<p>Greetings!</p><p>It has been raining a lot this year. </p><p>But as the cold winds invaded our hemisphere, the clouds dispersed.</p><p>The Sun too, got an opportunity to spread warmth over the day, through these gusts. </p><p>Just like swirls of golden yellow through a pale blue canvas. </p><p>Few days back it was told that there is a cyclone coming up somewhere near the coast, and it may bring in the rains.</p><p>I could see in the faces of people, that this was as unwelcome as a wayward draft of cold wind in a warm quilt in this season!</p><p>Anyhow, the nature, as is her majestic unassuming and yet unrelenting style - brought in the dark clouds. Those harbingers of monsoon when the time is right and ominous sun-blocking mood-crushing shapeless vagabonds when it is not!</p><p>It had been grey, gloomy and dull since morning. The sky seemed pregnant with rain but was bearing it with a cover of fluffy whitish clouds at the edges.</p><p>And then, nearer to the evening, as the grey started showing orange-saffron hues, it happened!</p><p>But, it wasn’t worthy of the day-long pregnant pause of the Sun. </p><p>It was just a teasing misty spray.</p><p>The Sun, who seemed to have almost given up the hope and taking back warmth for the day. The Wind, used to a dry and sometimes prickly demeanor for many many days. </p><p>Both were in for a surprise.</p><p>And what a surprise it was!!!</p><p>A hearty, heady, all pervading one. </p><p>It was given by the Earth, bereft of touch from the Water... since a long time. </p><p>She had been holding on to the fulfilling, quenching memories from monsoon.</p><p>And as she was touched by just a teasing misty spray, she could not hold on to it anymore! </p><p>The Earth shared these memories as the hearty, heady, all pervading fragrance! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinLAeArUi4jls6yhq_uxc9EFZeO0LvfTRP7OdQY50vc8P5GeBROpPKA-ZsE-7nicWo6ZI8ZkVd7iU8HiIS7A_vY3rgOvALCFwi5rGGUYw3IfbDPw2ry3aL_Zi5c7WwCB0Grm_UVllmle0v85u83Riig73K3SRhPOw4z5rtbERqJr6ykHJSjQ/s2560/Sunrays-of-a-dying-day-falling-on-a-jungle-road-319243-pixahive.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Earthy Fragrance : An Ancient Memory" border="0" data-original-height="1737" data-original-width="2560" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinLAeArUi4jls6yhq_uxc9EFZeO0LvfTRP7OdQY50vc8P5GeBROpPKA-ZsE-7nicWo6ZI8ZkVd7iU8HiIS7A_vY3rgOvALCFwi5rGGUYw3IfbDPw2ry3aL_Zi5c7WwCB0Grm_UVllmle0v85u83Riig73K3SRhPOw4z5rtbERqJr6ykHJSjQ/w640-h434/Sunrays-of-a-dying-day-falling-on-a-jungle-road-319243-pixahive.webp" title="Earthy Fragrance : An Ancient Memory" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I wonder, with this fragrance, why do our senses, our hearts, just expand limitlessly and yet cannot take in enough of the earthy fragrance?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Is it because it reminds us of the origins of our bodies, sculpted from the Earth, nurtured by the Sun and nourished by the Water? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Water that is at once a symbol of closeness and a result of farness between the Sun and the Earth.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I have seen people live in the memories of loved ones through the warm touch and fragrance of their bodies through a piece of cloth that they would have worn.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Does this earthy fragrance remind us of our own pure beginnings as we too, were formed through this magical union?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Perhaps, it does.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Perhaps this fragrance, all pervading, yet ephemeral, triggers an ancient memory that reminds us of our rootedness, our vulnerability and our innocence. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Or perhaps, it’s just another one of unassuming and unconcerned tricks up the sleeve of the almighty Nature.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Who knows?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Sincerely Mine!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Anand Kulkarni</div></div>APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-33178279423348429872022-01-26T13:58:00.020+05:302022-01-26T20:45:47.485+05:30Opening of the darkness<p> Greetings!</p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>“All that he had believed was dissipated. Truths, which he had no wish for, inexorably besieged him. He must henceforth be another man. He suffered the strange pangs of a conscience suddenly operated on for the cataract. He felt that he was emptied, useless, broken off from his past life, destitute, dissolved.”</i></p><p style="text-align: right;">From Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, Book IV, Chapter 1: Javert’s Suicide.</p><p>Jean Valjean and Javert stand poles apart as we dive into this eponimous magnum opus of Victor Hugo. But through ups, downs, turns and misdirections in this literary journey - they seem to reverse their fate while following their own callings relentlessly.</p><p>Jean, a simpleton and convict of draconian law and running away from it, using his bullok-like strength and rustic sense. </p><p>Javert, a firm believer in the letter of law, and enforcing it with napolean-like zeal, using his ruthless intellect and firm actions. </p><p>As we go through travails of Jean, the likelihood of Book IV being about Jean's suicide seems all the more likely, but not that of Javert's!</p><p>So, what really happened? What beliefs of Javert dissipated? What truths besieged him? What made him feel emptied, useless and broke him off from his past life?</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ArBsOVlyX18" width="700" youtube-src-id="ArBsOVlyX18"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Victor was too talented an author to build such characters and not give an eloquent answer. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Here it is.</span></div><p></p><p></p><div style="text-align: center;"><i>“Was it not frightful that Javert and Jean Valjean, the men made to punish and the men made to endure, that these two men, who were both the property of the law, should have reached the point of placing themselves both above the law? What? Such enormities could happen and no one be punished? Jean Valjean, stronger than the whole social order, would be free, and he, Javert, would continue to eat the bread of the government!”</i></div><p>Jean Valjean learnt to chose human morality, a compass of compassion to define his purpose, his raison d'etre. His learnings made him stronger than the whole social order. </p><p>While Javert simply let the written word of law become his moral code and found himself at the cross-roads of his personal code and human morality, where his beliefs along with his self image were shattered mercilessly, against the enormity of facing something that is beyond the realm of law.</p><p>I think, this is the greatest of the learnings, from this tragic yet poignant tale.</p><p>That, we have to muster courage enough to question own moral code through experiences of life.</p><p>Then, we have to be resolute enough to reflect on these questions thoroughly, even when they stand against all of our beliefs.</p><p>Finally, we have to be humble enough to accept the outcomes of such soul searching reflection, and then rebuild our moral code.</p><p>Else, at the end, we all face the possibility of gazing into the opening of the darkness, in an abyss which would have otherwise been our soul! </p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>"Javert remained for some moments motionless, gazing at this opening of the darkness, and considered the invisible with an intentness which resembled attention. All at once he took off his hat and placed it on the brink of the quay. A moment after, a tall, black figure, which any belated passer-by might have taken at a distance for a ghost, appeared standing on the parapet, stooped towards the Seine, then drew itself up, and fell straight into the darkness. There was a dull splash, and the shadows alone were in the secret of this obscure form, which had disappeared beneath the waters."</i></p><p>Sincerely Mine!</p><p>Anand Kulkarni</p>APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-77146984766022654172022-01-02T11:57:00.008+05:302022-01-02T14:51:12.599+05:30Zen and the art of cycling through City<p>Greetings!</p><p>Balance through chaos. Keeping foot on pedal while maneuvering through all kinds of traffic. Gritting it through the occasional ups. While enjoying (I don't know how they managed to achieve lesser slopes than ups but...) even more occasional slopes.</p><p>All this is what you would expect from a cycling zen blog. </p><p>And, believe me, all of this is what any cyclist weaving through a city experiences.</p><p>But this blog is not about it. </p><p>It is about the people that the cyclist passes by, those who overtake, and being overtaken by, come across and sometimes skirt around.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUkT7fi0gisOucHvQEh2P4VoCyHX87lV9N8EsW8hH15Lr7Z52hlwvTVrLWNAWHguxoN0UWlfIlPrL8vOuMYe5lbGa8JcSBVqXshwSzoA_8TW4EeT6RuQzMQ_YiYX1O-sRFLdkUjsWbEJCkQojaU-BEJ0d8i3RY-tYUq443AO-_NJvt_xhPOA=s3936" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2624" data-original-width="3936" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiUkT7fi0gisOucHvQEh2P4VoCyHX87lV9N8EsW8hH15Lr7Z52hlwvTVrLWNAWHguxoN0UWlfIlPrL8vOuMYe5lbGa8JcSBVqXshwSzoA_8TW4EeT6RuQzMQ_YiYX1O-sRFLdkUjsWbEJCkQojaU-BEJ0d8i3RY-tYUq443AO-_NJvt_xhPOA=w640-h426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">People on the road, from myriads of hues and moods.</div><p style="text-align: left;">Glum. Brooding. Tense. Melancholic. Lost in their thoughts (or in their phones). </p><p>Tired. Irritated. Frustrated. Angry (and some taking it out on accelerator or horn or both).</p><p>Searching. Thirsty. (Looking as if,) Trying to find someone or something that will make them complete. </p><p>Hard. Suspicious. Having been betrayed again and again trying to put up their defences against imaginary attacks by passers on the road.</p><p>Cunning. Shrewd. (As if,) measuring up everyone around them to check what can they siphon off.</p><p>Leering. Lecherous. Lapping up the shapes of bodies around them lasciviously.</p><p>Lost. Resigned. Seemingly given up on the monstrosity of world around them.</p><p>Hopeful. Eager. Looking forward to reach their destinations. </p><p>(Very very few, ) Sated. Content. Happy.</p><p>(Even fewer,) Starry eyed. Neither riding nor walking but as if floating on the wings of their dreams. Mostly those in love!</p><p>Now, the cycle rider, gets to observe all these at a pace tad faster than a pedestrian (so that none of these stick around for alarmingly longer than they should be). </p><p>Also, can linger around to absorb more than the automobile rider (so that the variety and richness of these is not meshed into a faceless blurr).</p><p>This zone, this experience, immersive yet from a distance, engaging yet broadening the perspective, enriching yet taking away some of the petty undulations of mind.</p><p>This, my friend, is, Zen and the art of cycling through City !</p><p>Sincerely Mine!</p><p>Anand Kulkarni</p>APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-39828084709846060332021-08-07T18:37:00.010+05:302021-08-07T19:16:14.958+05:30Mise en scène<p>Greetings!</p><p>While, each of the senses we have, carry unfathomable spectrum of perception and associated emotions, the two that take the crown (generally), are the visual and aural. </p><p>Within these two, the visual surpasses aural on most counts.</p><p>This is the very basis of entertainment industry and our collective fascination of movies.</p><p>However, there are a chosen few, who have taken this medium to its pinnacle, especially visually. </p><p>One of such rare breed is Conrad L. Hall, ASC.</p><p>And arguably one of his ultimate masterpieces, completed just before his death, (for which he got his last Oscar Academy award, posthumously,) is <b>"Road to Perdition"</b></p><p><i>Full Disclosure: I consider - every aspect of this movie, the graphic novel that inspired it, the creator of this graphic novel, Max Allan Collins, and the manga that inspired Max to pen this graphic novel, 'Lone Wolf and Cub' and the creators of this manga viz. Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima - as an endless source of awe and inspiration. I may come back to these again and again as I get enchanted by different dimensions of these wonderful creators and creations. Be alerted :-) </i></p><p>It is said that, "Connie" (as he used to be referred to by his associates) took an 11 year break, after cinematographing movies successfully for 12 years and winning his first Oscar Award.</p><p>The reason why he took that break? To study and learn unique filming techniques from others.</p><p>It shows, and how!</p><p>The first time I saw Road to Perdition (circa 2003) I felt like I couldn't have enough of just seeing the scenes once. I have watched it uncountable times afterwards (and most recently streamed it through amazon).</p><p>Like a foodie, savouring one flavour at a time, what I savoured leisurely this time is "mise en scène".</p><p>In plain english it means, the settings or surroundings. </p><p>Each frame, each setting, each angle evokes something within. </p><p>Some of them envolope us in a sense of warmth, some evoke melancholy, some make you traverse the 'innocent but coming out of age' mindscape of a teen boy facing tragedy, while some bring out sense of 'how small we are in bigger scheme of things' as the movie canvases on large fields that abound the midwestern USA of 30's. And then some, and then some more!</p><p><i>See some chosen scenes in this very first episode of 'Scene Study Series' from Film.Music.Media, which, honest to god, i saw only after writing this blog and was amazed at how the same scenes that resonated with me have moved the best in this trade!</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="363" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-1yvEdab7So" width="480" youtube-src-id="-1yvEdab7So"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>I started reading more about the making of this movie, trying to get into the wonderful mind of "Connie", whose magical viewpoint created this masterpiece. And that made me stumble onto a brilliantly written article from ASC magazine, which has worded my emotions in much better way than I would have...</p><p>This 2002 article is aptly named Emotional Triggers! (click <a href="https://theasc.com/magazine/aug02/perdition/index.html" target="_blank">here</a> to read the article) </p><p>As I read through this insightful article, what struck most to me is this quote by Connie, which summarizes what was in his mind when he shot for Road to Perdition.</p><p><b>"I'm not trying to characterize the people in the film; the actors do that. I'm trying to frame them in an appropriate emotional context for the scenes. How are their characters behaving in those scenes? Are they behaving like human beings? My goal is to make a given scene emotionally accessible for the audience. I just try to make it real. Whatever the story is trying to say to the audience dictates to me the mood I should use to reach that audience. In this case, the film is about a father who's trying to raise his son so that the boy won't grow up to be like him. It's a powerful story with great performances, but it's not a fun-and-games type of movie. It's a stark story set in the Depression, and it has a serious message."</b></p><p>While, there are many parallels to living life with such a point-of-view, where you set only emotional context while other 'actors' characterize it - this time, I would leave it to each one of you to just experience this marvelous creation and savour its flavours. </p><p>My only suggestion: watch the movie and fulfill aesthetic needs of your audio-visual senses with a rare and rich experience! </p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Sincerely Mine!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Anand Kulkarni</div></div></div>APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-41209985249615486842021-07-10T18:30:00.010+05:302022-01-26T14:56:14.417+05:30Contrarian Companions<p>Greetings!</p><p>Recently, we have been watching episodes of an immensely interesting series, based on (equally engrossing) quartet of books by Trenton Lee Stewart. It has an awesome name that would attract any child reader in a heartbeat - The Mysterious Benedict Society!</p><p>The premise, while exciting for children is intriguing for the grownups too. The book is peppered with awesome puzzles, enigmas and secrets and all that will keep the reader hooked to it.</p><p>It all starts with extremely talented twin brothers, who grow up to be polar opposites. Of these two, one (Mr. Benedict) cherishes the pursuit of truth while the other (Mr. Curtain), turns out evil and wants to gain power on humankind by brainwashing them with negative thoughts of emergency. </p><p>Mr. Benedict, surmises that the only way to foil the vile designs of his twin is by getting four exceptional orphans to infiltrate the school run by his nemesis and sets up confounding tests to find the right ones.</p><p>One of the four who make it to this team (and the youngest one at that), is Constance Contraire, whose greatest achievement is "to have never agreed with anything"! </p><p>While the three children work their way through all the tests, Constance simply questions, raises doubts and generally dismisses these tests. </p><p>When the three children raise concerns how she could have made it to the team, Mr. Benedict says something to the effect of "Well, there are tests, and there are tests!" In fact, she, being a real smart cookie, is the first one of all four, to figure out what exactly is going on. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjX0E6CKKN1aM2-bz0dCeGUzeDC4Qf4x1gSIgU1dARyptt6-weRpD7yc5UMFtEdi1qXIWf-aUX4QwbacmiULpBuJs62nXZZ0HEdHBKpX8DbRfc_OEZiSjCQSGAOSDxRrpnJMGi0vStUoTduZEW01nx3idX5wKzwRqF-gZmhZF2qPD1la0sF5w=s1600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjX0E6CKKN1aM2-bz0dCeGUzeDC4Qf4x1gSIgU1dARyptt6-weRpD7yc5UMFtEdi1qXIWf-aUX4QwbacmiULpBuJs62nXZZ0HEdHBKpX8DbRfc_OEZiSjCQSGAOSDxRrpnJMGi0vStUoTduZEW01nx3idX5wKzwRqF-gZmhZF2qPD1la0sF5w=w640-h358" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>Perhaps we all have met such (rare) 'Contrarian Constances', but the point to ponder is how have we treated them? </p><p>Let us see.</p><p>In the new diversity-desiring organizations we strive to diversify workforce in terms of gender, race, community and nationality - but do we really value the contradicting colleagues who may be adjectivized starting from 'cold' enough to exclude from water-cooler talks to 'crazy' enough to be excluded from important projects. </p><p>Do they not enhance our intellectual diversity at workplace? </p><p>In the family and friends' circles, we may at best 'tolerate' them while at worst 'outcast' them. </p><p>Do they not enhance the 'truth quotient' within the close-knit group and make us more honest and less pretentious?</p><p>Perhaps, (at least before labelling and discarding them,) it would be prudent to give an ear to their contrarian criticism and then make a genuine attempt at intertwining them into our society. </p><p>The three founding non-adult members of this little mysterious society end up doing exactly this, they even agree to name their team as per Constance's brainwave and hence the name of the series happens to be one of the Constance's contrarian ideas (well at least that is what the author would have us believe!). </p><p>Of course it really takes significant resolve and patience for the three orphans to keep their calm against all the grumbling, protesting, demanding sweets, napping and contradicting of Constance. But they keep at it and win against all the odds.</p><p>Perhaps, this is the way for our society to embrace intellectual diversity and elevate ourselves towards the truth, untangling the web of pretentious falsities, just like these four lovable kids in a marvelous fiction! </p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Sincerely Mine!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Anand Kulkarni</div></div></div>APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-85785868826477701972021-06-27T14:32:00.012+05:302023-01-31T10:14:31.559+05:30What matters<p>Greetings!</p><p>A book that I recently read proclaimed that "What things are, doesn't really matter, but what they mean to us is what matters". </p><p>As if by cue, (or in other words, as the invisible hands of coincidences would have it), it clicked with a movie that was being reminisced by a good friend recently!</p><p>And here I share with you how the twains met, but before that, little bit about the movie.</p><p>Every once in a while, a masterpiece of a movie is created that brings out fundamental human qualities vs. fallacies, are acted brilliantly, cinematographed richly and directed impactfully – “Men of Honor” is one such masterpiece.</p><p>If you haven't watched it, then please do - I would definitely recommend it. </p><p>This is the story of Carl Brashear, who joins U.S. Navy to become the first African American Master Diver and a no-nonsense, bitter but a true patriot "Master Chief" Billy Sunday. These are the two "Men of Honor". While they alternately spar and respect each other, they also form a bond of mutual admiration and fellowship. There are also a number of things that happen around them that show the ugly face of racism and mediocrity - primarily portrayed through a senile Captain "Pappy".</p><p>Anyway, Carl has a never-say-die spirit and Billy is the toughest of trainers. </p><p>In a training exercise, an accident puts one diver (performing as machinist) in life threatening situation, while his mate is afraid and flees for his life. Carl actually saves the diver's life.</p><p>Now, the Captain is in a quagmire on how to deal with this situation as he viscerally abhors the very idea of a "colored diver". </p><p>But an act of valor has happened and there should be an award proffered.</p><p>Finally, in a perverse irony, the award is given to the very mate who fled for the fear of his life. </p><p>The awardee receives it with great shame, while machinist silently thanks Carl for saving his life.</p><p>Here what matters to the awardee is not the award (which should be a source of pride as per the definition), but what it means to him (a scathing reminder of his own failure).</p><p>This scene has been etched on my mind forever. Especially the expression on the face of a fantastic character actor, who performed this small but impactful role (watch it below)</p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="366" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FBhlosHr1yQ" width="562" youtube-src-id="FBhlosHr1yQ"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Later, Carl loses his leg, but still tries to get back to diving duty with prosthetic and Billy, now a recovering alcoholic, comes back from his despondency and trains Carl to get reinstated.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">And what happens to the "Machinist's Mate - First Class, Rourke", the awardee with his award (nay his shame) lapelled on his uniform? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Would he be able to serve with dignity? Would he always keep looking in others' eyes to find the shaming gaze? Would he spend rest of life running away from such eyes? Would he be able to see himself in the mirror? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Would he develop a thick skin and adapt nefarious ways by rationalizing how he 'deserved' award to himself? Or would he get out of this shame the hard way, by atoning it, to restore his true honor?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Would he grow into a "Pappy", or redeem himself like "Billy" while taking it squarely on chin like "Carl"? </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The movie may or may not give these answers. But, with some courage, the dictum "What things are, doesn't really matter, but what they mean to us is what matters" may...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Sincerely Mine!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Anand Kulkarni</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div></div>APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-23865542595668601412021-05-16T23:18:00.014+05:302021-05-17T20:56:39.571+05:30Staging Sagely<p>Greetings!</p><p>In rocketry, "staging" means mounting multiple separable parts (with their own engines and propellants) to create a multistage rocket. These stages might be in tandem (that is one above other) or in parallel to each other. The most popular is a 2-stage rocket but there could be 5 (or even more) stages. </p><p>For a rocket, the ultimate aim is to put the payload in orbit. Each of the stage plays it's part in giving it the right speed and proper height.</p><p>These parts do their "part" (literally), and then usually get jettisoned away, with explosive bolts.</p><p>The rocket launch is successful, when each of these stages fire up, burn out, remain attached, as well as get detached, in the right place and at the right time (which is usually not a moment before nor a moment after they are supposed to do so)</p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhElV90sB2Tn9PETqRdjwQtVhaYlyygyq_DVPxQylCVgN0KWqwmtlZ38Hlyg0WUPkL5fcY9WHki70KkA_s-ZxQBsY5SF5hJwigYvby3w67ssQKXnelp9resot5uc52-GT3qntvv/s2048/BFR_at_stage_separation_2-2018.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="2048" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhElV90sB2Tn9PETqRdjwQtVhaYlyygyq_DVPxQylCVgN0KWqwmtlZ38Hlyg0WUPkL5fcY9WHki70KkA_s-ZxQBsY5SF5hJwigYvby3w67ssQKXnelp9resot5uc52-GT3qntvv/w669-h360/BFR_at_stage_separation_2-2018.jpg" width="669" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div>You may say, this is all good, but why write a blog on it?</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, because i think this entire process maps to life and growth as each one of us experiences it.</div><div><br /></div><div>As we grow, there are a number of "attachments" that get formed. For a stage of life, they become the driving force and propel us to surpass ourselves. This could be a favorite actor, favorite teacher, a book, an adage, a place or a purpose that one has got attached to. We feel charged up, we accelerate and we may even find ourselves in a better place as it lasts.</div><div><br /></div><div>But then, at some moment, the same attachments may start dragging us down. We start feeling the strain of these and feel like the bolting mechanisms may have weakened and would give away. </div><div><br /></div><div>However, a number of times (unlike the rocket), we try our best to hold on. We know in our heart-of-heart that this would perhaps only take us down, but still, the attachment for such "attachment" makes us ignore the drag.</div><div><br /></div><div>Some of us, driven by the vision of possibilities and astute intuition, actually let go of attachments at the right moment, to miraculously find other stages firing up and find us souring to the lofty heights. </div><div><br /></div><div>But a number of us can not bring ourselves to let go. While many such lives may wander off waywardly, some may even implode and remain a mere shell of what they were.</div><div><br /></div><div>As it is with the rockets, so it is with us. </div><div><br /></div><div>Just like those rockets, if we had not taken to those "attachments" at the right stage of life, we would not find ourselves where we are. Paradoxically, it's equally true that, if we don’t detach away from them when it is time to do so, we may never find ourselves reaching where we should.</div><div><br /></div><div>And its not only us, sometimes, the rockets too, get entangled in their own stages and can’t shake them off. </div><div><br /></div><div>In such cases their "mission control center" on earth comes to the rescue. This center on earth provides clear instructions (depending upon connectivity) and even takes "control" and fires the explosive bolts, course corrects for the next stage. Where this cannot be done, the rockets end up in a wayward journey or meet the deadly fate of exploding into many worthless pieces. An unfortunate fate, not very different than some of the unfortunate humans!</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, no one can accurately predict where anyone (or anything for that matter) would ultimately end up. But still, rockets have their "mission control center", which at least attempts to handle staging sagely. </div><div><br /></div><div>Do we?</div><div> </div><div>Sincerely Mine!</div><div>Anand Kulkarni</div></div></div><div><br /></div>APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-44383271930434123052020-12-13T13:18:00.011+05:302020-12-13T14:53:41.815+05:30Call-Response Crescendo<div style="text-align: left;">Greetings!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">One thing common among the greatest music legends is that, they thoroughly excel in the art of call -response. In fact, they revel in call-response as the music approaches crescendo!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">If you have any doubt, then you just need to play this great composition by Shakti, </span>an extra-ordinary Jazz-Indian Classical Music fusion band - made up of the amazing quartet of John McLaughlin (guitar), L. Shankar (violin), Vikku Vinayakram (ghatam) and Zakir Hussain (tabla).<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">Although this video is dated (and you may want to turn up the volume to enjoy it better), you can also see (and hear) what a joy it was for these four to call-response among each other as they created music that makes our emotions dance! <span>And so, they aptly (and quite elaborately) named this composition as </span><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">" What Need Have I For This?-What Need Have I For That?-I Am Dancing At The Feet Of My Lord-All is </span>Bliss<span style="font-family: inherit;">-All is Bliss-All is Bliss"</span> </i></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">(Go ahead, play the video, watch enough of it to imbibe the musical bliss the musicians are in, and then continue to listen as you read on...)</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/D-ohGCunACE" width="320" youtube-src-id="D-ohGCunACE"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div>So, where else do we see such a call-response in our lives?</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Some of us are old enough to remember good ol' days of long distance calls from public telephone booths. In those days, telephone companies used to reduce night time tariffs, to encourage usage of the telephone lines in night (and make most of their investments). Those of us who remember this, would also remember the starry eyed lovers, queuing up in night at the telephone booths, to talk for hours with each other! </div><div><br /></div></div><div>Is this not a call-response in romantic relations?</div><div><br /></div><div>Everyone who had ever been in love can clearly remember the heady feeling, where it starts with a call-response between one's own emotions and the image of the loved one created in own mind and then reaches crescendo as the call-response starts and continues among the lovers, even on a telephone! </div><div><br /></div><div>Does this call-response limit itself only to romantic relations? </div><div><br /></div><div>What about responding to a call of shriveled but caring touch of a grandmother's hand? Loving tuck-in by a doting mother? Shaky but warm endearing comment by a grandfather? Kind but heavy pat on back from a father? Cautionary pull by a sister? Re-assuring jab by a brother? Happy gurgle of a baby? Awestruck expression of a child? </div><div><br /></div><div>And, what about a text showing concern for your health from a co-worker? Courteous nod by the building janitor? Slowing down by a car driver so that you can cross the road? </div><div><br /></div><div>Well, we all know the answer to these questions in our hearts. We also know that, just as in music, one thing common amongst great human beings is - how gracefully they take call-response in all human relations to a perfect crescendo!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Sincerely Mine!<br />Anand Kulkarni</div></div>APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-844075894477898072020-11-14T14:14:00.009+05:302020-11-14T14:56:48.595+05:30Rescuing the Romeo<p>Greetings!</p><p><br /></p>Everyone (well, at least everyone who knows a little about English Literature), knows the plot of a play named 'Romeo and Juliet', written by that gifted prolific playwright - William Shakespeare. <div><br /></div><div>It is a tragedy that has been played on stage for centuries and adapted into most of the languages. This tale has inspired countless adaptations, musicals and movies. </div><div><br /></div><div>It has also been analyzed, critiqued and discussed over perhaps millions of conversations. </div><div><br /></div><div>Still, as is the case with such timeless tales, once in a while someone sees one or more dimensions of this story and cannot help sharing what has been glimpsed. (Now, that I have given justification of writing once more about this oft written about tale - let me get on with it ..) <div><br /></div><div>So, in the dimension that I glimpsed, I see Romeo as the intelligent, idealistic but impulsive and immature force of passion that lies within all of us. Romeo is the part within us that climbs the walls, jumps the balconies and goes to extremes to prove seriousness of our own feelings towards our own ideal.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thus, in the human hearts and minds, Romeo is the force of passion towards the ideal, and as you could guess by now, in these realms, Juliet is nothing but the cherished ideal. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0jwzznPTbUHuoyL4F2fqRWQ9w43P8PBZNyNZuWK6S7QryW9QBGidvUQybo5pgeDuxD3zyR6IEwflyAmjveEtXKhBZmfsg920ElTb0SUADyrZz5kW-b9H9ga2kZ6wgvzuz9BG/s1024/1024px-Romeo_veYulia_3285.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG0jwzznPTbUHuoyL4F2fqRWQ9w43P8PBZNyNZuWK6S7QryW9QBGidvUQybo5pgeDuxD3zyR6IEwflyAmjveEtXKhBZmfsg920ElTb0SUADyrZz5kW-b9H9ga2kZ6wgvzuz9BG/w640-h426/1024px-Romeo_veYulia_3285.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Usually this love story starts within (almost) each of us, when in teens (most probably between the age 13 and 16 like it happened in good old Bard's play). </div><div><br /></div><div>Many of us have our passions betrothed to our ideal in these days. It is oh so romantic and magical! We can all feel how letting this romance flower would also make this world a great place. </div><div><br /></div><div>In fact, since eons, those amongst us who have changed the world for better, have done it so, because the passion kept making them act to strive for ideal in their hearts! </div><div><br /></div><div><div>I have seen many eyes that sparkle with this passionate romance for a living ideal within their hearts! . Have seen this romance shine through the eyes while nursing the sick, bringing up the little ones and leading millions out of mediocrity. Have seen such men and women staking everything they have, for safety of their society, for the freedom of expression, for betterment of humanity!</div><div><br /></div></div><div>Still, I see many more eyes bereft of this glint. Why? Where and whence do these eyes lose this light? </div><div><br /></div><div>Well (as many of us have probably experienced), the tragedy strikes when circumstances force a compromise with the cherished ideal!</div><div><br /></div><div>The ideal, like the vulnerable Juliet, unable to face the debacle, takes a sleeping potion (usually a numbing cocktail of guilt, shame, fear and a number of lures, with crafty self-justification frothing up the surface ). </div><div><br /></div><div>However, our passion, like the naïve Romeo, misinterprets this lapse as the death of beloved ideal and impulsively commits suicide. </div><div><br /></div><div>Again, just like Juliet, after coming out of its unconscious state the ideal tries desperately to wake up the passion - but the passion towards ideal lies lifeless. </div><div><br /></div><div>The ideal then sees no other option but to kiss the poisoned lips of its own dead passion and pierce own heart with the dagger of cold cynicism...</div><div> </div><div>And so, we see these eyes where this internal tragedy has occurred. Listless eyes where the gaze is always met with passionless learned helplessness, laced with cynical compromise! </div><div><br /></div><div>In the Bard's play these unfortunate lovers are doomed to die, never to come back to life. </div><div><br /></div><div>But it doesn't necessarily have to be so in human hearts and minds! </div><div><br /></div><div>Our internal worlds are such life-giving wonders that nothing can ultimately be finished in these wonderous places...</div><div><br /></div><div>Can we, then, look within and make sure that we rescue the Romeos within? </div><div><br /></div><div>Cause once a Romeo is rescued he is sure to go to any extreme to revive his Juliet, to carry on the romance with lot more passion and perhaps with little more maturity! </div><div><br /></div><div><br />Sincerely Mine!<br />Anand Kulkarni</div></div>APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-63871084223476732702020-10-31T12:23:00.010+05:302020-11-01T11:51:07.256+05:30The unscathed frog metaphor<p>Greetings!</p><br /><div>One thing common among Zoologists and Management Gurus (and perhaps the rare amphibian-cuisine-connoisseurs) is their fascination with the boiled frog!</div><div><br /></div><div>So, what is this oft-repeated sordid tale of the poor and ultimately scathed amphibian? </div><div><br /></div><div>The pop version goes as follows - </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"A frog is let into a pot with water. It makes itself comfy and takes to it like a fish (or rather like a frog) in water. Then the pot is very slowly heated. The frog ignores this slow, gradual, incremental change. But then, at one point of time, the water starts boiling and it is too late for the frog to get out of situation. The frog gets boiled eventually."</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Morale of this pop version of story is clear - beware of slow, gradual, incremental changes. Watch out for tell-tale signs, lest the situation worsens to the doomsday scenario. </div><div><br /></div><div>They even have a name for this condition where people, organizations and societies go on ignoring gradual change and then eventually face their doom on account of this ignorance. </div><div><br /></div><div>They call this affliction as "The boiling frog syndrome".</div><div><br /></div><div>The antidote prescribed by wise folks is - to be sensitive (and not dumb), adaptive and responsive even to the gradual changes. </div><div><br /></div><div>It is a fair and important point. This cautionary tale is definitely worth consideration and action. </div><div><br /></div><div>But why does the frog ignore this gradual change? Is it really too dumb to understand? Is it really too insensitive to changes in temperature? Can it not adapt and respond to the change quickly?</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, lets empathize with this amphibian and get into the shoes (or rather the webbed feet) of this amazing animal and understand how it responds to changes in temperature.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here is a 1979 compendium study of temperature regulation in frogs and salamanders (Link : <a href="https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/19/1/345/174473" target="_blank">Amphibian Temperature Regulation Studies in the Field and Laboratory</a> ). This is an exhaustive study that considers dozens of experiments, observations and insights. Diagram depicted below (taken from the same study) summarizes the strategies a frog uses to respond to changes in temperature. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9PKT-obo43gmlj3liSQJIp_FTqQOmrF1_xbWBJ55-A2GBnqkMqsI0wELum2Hq6QMZitNYMhkM9fqFAGlH4FFSKS74b-_DIejoZnvEcwTrx-k2e0SNVVPBjInJLPM3SKIa1e7/s1175/frog-thermoregulation.PNG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1175" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW9PKT-obo43gmlj3liSQJIp_FTqQOmrF1_xbWBJ55-A2GBnqkMqsI0wELum2Hq6QMZitNYMhkM9fqFAGlH4FFSKS74b-_DIejoZnvEcwTrx-k2e0SNVVPBjInJLPM3SKIa1e7/w640-h460/frog-thermoregulation.PNG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div>So what's the conclusion then?</div><div><br /></div><div>While pop version paints the humble frog as too dumb, insensitive and non-adaptive to its surrounding - science says that it is exactly opposite!</div><div><br /></div><div>Science says that the frog belongs to an intelligent, adaptive species. </div><div><br /></div><div>As per scientific experiments and empirical observations - a frog is extremely adaptive to its environment. (Remember it lives in water and on land with equal ease. That is more adaptive than most species!).</div><div><br /></div><div>In fact, successive experiments have shown that the boiling frog syndrome is indeed a myth!!!</div><div><br /></div><div>While frog may try to survive initial changes in temperature, as soon as it perceives that the temperatures are uncomfortable, it tries to jump out of water with all its might! </div><div><br /></div><div>So this syndrome is simply a metaphor for cautioning humans where we have (yet again) superimposed (yet another of) our idiosyncrasies on (yet another) hapless animal!</div><div><br /></div><div>Now that the frog is acquitted of this damning boiling syndrome, let's then look at the "The boiling frog syndrome" metaphor exclusively as a human fallacy.</div><div><br /></div><div>So why do humans wait for things to reach the boiling point? And most importantly, how not to reach the boiling point and jump out before getting scathed?</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, we all know that the human way to ensure a quick exit from gradual progression to doom, is not to be dumb, insensitive and non-adaptive. But is that the entire message? Is something missing from it?</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, as with most tales, there is another side to this story as well... </div><div><br /></div><div>Let's use the same fable, with same tragic end but with more insight, to understand this other side - </div><div><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"A frog is let into a pot with water. It makes itself comfy and takes to it like a fish (or like an uber-adaptive amphibian frog) in water. The frog has an amazing ability to adapt to its environment by adjusting its own body temperature. It is a marvelous ability, which, along with many other such superhuman abilities makes sure that it survives and thrives. Then the pot is slowly heated. The frog does not ignore this gradual change, but senses and adapts to this slow, incremental change using the complex mechanisms listed in 1979 paper along with other known or unknown tricks of thermo regulation. It is the ultimate and most sophisticated form of adaptivity. But then, each little adaption takes toll on the energy reserves of this uber-adaptive frog. At one point, the water nears boiling temperatures and the frog doesn't have enough energy left to either adapt to or jump its way out of situation. The frog gets boiled eventually."</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>So, with this twist in the tale (while keeping the tail of the original tale intact), we get another, diagonally opposite, but equally profound morale of the same tragic boiled frog metaphor. </div><div><br /></div><div>The second morale is that, the other way to ensure quick exit from gradual progression to doom, is not to be too perceptive, avoid being extra-sensitive and stop being uber-adaptive.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think this goes back to the musician-tuning-string-instrument-analogy by the great Gautam Buddha - "Don't pull the string so hard that it would break and don't let it be so slack that it wont play."</div><div><br /></div><div>Well, at least the frog seems to have figured it out as it adapts to a certain point and then jumps out of uncomfortable situation - timely and instinctively! This is a new metaphor then, "The unscathed frog metaphor"!</div><div><br /></div><div>I think it is time for humans to relegate "The boiling frog syndrome" to yesterday's folklores and instead follow "The unscathed frog metaphor"</div><div><br /></div><div>What do you think?</div><div><br /></div><div>Sincerely Mine!</div><div>Anand Kulkarni</div>APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-3663183075843987772020-10-18T10:45:00.012+05:302020-10-18T11:24:42.814+05:30The Life Lifting Light<p>Greetings!</p><p><br /></p><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Hindustani Classical Music stands on a tradition that goes back for thousands of years (perhaps even more). Some of the greatest musical minds have contemplated and honed the essential patterns (ragas), which pass through the thick-skin and dulled-mind and touch the soul.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">One such raga is "Bhatiyar", that evokes the sense of trickling twilight of early morning and gently stirs the soul from dark nothingness to the life giving light of - purpose and action! </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Over years many musicians and singers have sought refuge of this raga to create timeless melodies. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Let us enjoy one such amazing journey of this raga that resulted into stirring of thousands of hearts - which ended up lifting millions of minds out of centuries of darkness.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">It all happened suddenly and unexpectedly on one of the balmy Mumbai nights in the 1980s. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Ace singers Suresh Wadkar, Kavita Krishnamurthy and awesome (but relatively unknown) composer Ashok Patki had been working almost non stop since 10 AM on that day. The clock showed a few minutes to 10 PM and as they were wrapping up, Piyush Pandey rushed in the studio. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Piyush Pandey was the state television network's (Doordarshan's) man Friday. A brilliant lyricist and deft director - called upon for taking key Government initiatives to people through Television and Radio. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">So, Piyush Pandey hurriedly caught up with Ashok Patki, pushed a paper with Piyush's own lyrics in Ashok's hand. Still huffing from his rush, Piyush asked Ashok Patki to compose music for these lyrics and get it sung by one of the available singers immediately and share recording as it was to be submitted next day. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">(Now, why does this situation sound too familiar for everyone who works anywhere !? :-) !)</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Anyway, long story short, Ashok Patki tapped into "Bhatiyar" raga patterns to compose it, Kavita Krishnamurthy sang it melodiously and it touched and stirred millions of souls to bring the dawn of 'Life Lifting Light" in lives of millions!</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">The song became a jingle in a touching advertisement by "National Literacy Movement of India" and an anthem that echoed in hearts of volunteers who took up "Gifting the Life-Lifting Light of Literacy" as their own mission in life.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">This initiative, along with many others have resulted in literacy % of India almost doubling from the 80's till now. </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Millions have risen out of the darkness of poverty, ignorance and malice riding on the light of literacy! </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Thus the "Bhatiyar raga" that has been reverberating in enlightened souls for millennia; found its way into a masterful composition, touching lyrics, mellifluous voice, millions of radios and idiot boxes and finally entered the hearts of thousands - where the thousand "life-lifting-light-gifting" Suns were just waiting for this stirring - to arise and shine in every nook and cranny!!!</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Oh, what a journey!!!</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Sincerely Mine!</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">Anand Kulkarni</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on">P.S.</div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #cccccc; text-align: center;">Lyrics in Hindi </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><span face="Merriweather, "Helvetica Neue", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #cccccc;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="text-align: start;">पूरब से सूर्य उगा फैला उजियारा</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;">जागी हर दिशा दिशा जागा जग सारा</span></b></div></span><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Transliterated in English</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;" trbidi="on"><span style="color: #cccccc;"><br /></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;" trbidi="on"><i><b><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: medium;">In the east arose a Sun shiny, </span></b></i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;" trbidi="on"><i><b><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: medium;">Sweeping off darkness uncanny. </span></b></i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;" trbidi="on"><i><b><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: medium;">Waking up each nook and cranny, </span></b></i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;" trbidi="on"><i><b><span style="color: #cccccc; font-size: medium;">And "Waking Up" the One and Many!</span></b></i></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Va_ml6k7_Fk" width="500" youtube-src-id="Va_ml6k7_Fk"></iframe></div><br /><p></p><div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div></div><div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"><br /></div></div>APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-52652896075520527882020-09-06T15:09:00.012+05:302022-10-26T22:49:05.501+05:30A Note on Death Note<div>"Well... Light, it's been interesting!"</div><div><br /></div><div>With these words Shinigami (the celestial death agent) Ryuk brought end to a smart young man (Light Yagami), who was drunk on his intellect and power to kill anyone at will.</div><div><br /></div><div>With this scene our binge-watch of the marvelous manga web-series "Death Note" also came to an end!</div><div><br /></div><div>The series doesn't answer any questions on death but truly makes us take note of how death or rather the fear of death shapes the psyche in particular and society in general.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first question is, who is the hero of the series?</div><div><br /></div>Is it Light Yagami? Who shows all the best and worst in human beings put together?<br /><br />Is it "L"? Who, with his amazing power of deduction finds out the real identity of Light Yagami. However "L" loses to Light in a shrewd diabolical plot set by Light and dies.<br /><br />Is it "Near"? The child prodigy who took over from "L" and beats Light at his own game of double-crossing and serves revenge for "L"?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Or is it the Shinigami "Ryuk", who simply watched all of this drama with amusement while enjoying apples on "earth" (Because apples in death realm taste like ash!)</div><div><br /></div><div>There have been so many beings who have joined the legions of dead, and in so many ways, and with so many thoughts, beliefs and desires left incomplete! </div><div><br /></div><div>Who among them is the hero?</div><div><br /></div><div>Another line of questions...</div><div><br /></div><div>What if there is a Shinigami who is watching us in a similar bored passionless but mildly amused way?</div><div><br /></div><div>This Shinigami (like Ryuk), might be watching us and just to while time away, he might find our antiques, actions, pleasures and pains mildly entertaining. And when it is time to end us, he too, may simply make a note saying that "it's been interesting". !</div><div><br /></div><div>If this is true then would our entire life mean more than a mildly interesting web series being watched by a celestial death agent, who is watching it because he doesn't have Netflix? </div><div><br /></div><div>In fact, each of one us, including me who is writing this and you who are reading it will also die. </div><div><br /></div><div>In fact, by the time I finish writing this blog entry (note), the minutes it took for me to write it would have passed away from my life. Never to return back.</div><div><br /></div><div>In fact, as you finish reading this, the minutes that you took to read it have also passed away from your life... eternally, forever, never to come back in your life! </div><div><br /></div><div>Does it not make every note written and read - a death note?</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="353" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U5Gbuouksx0" width="522" youtube-src-id="U5Gbuouksx0"></iframe></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span style="color: #666666;">Sincerely Mine!</span></div><div><div><span style="color: #666666;">Anand Kulkarni</span></div></div>APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-91893941088574486042020-05-15T22:46:00.006+05:302020-05-15T23:14:06.498+05:30King of Blues<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Greetings!</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">T'was a beautiful evening early in Fall season. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">It seemed like the blue sky's got smitten by the splash of colors on leaves. I was still new to this place. I was still in awe of diners with their coffee aromas. Tranquil trails, with sporadic boards that warned about a mysterious but cute sounding Lyme disease, were yet to be trodden. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">A friend of mine was driving me to a Jazz Cafe (for the very first time in my life). I had heard the magic of walking baseline and swing in Bollywood music before, but didn't know it was Jazz (yet). He asked me, have you ever heard Jazz. "..hmm... not sure..." was my answer. He smiled and just put in a cassette in his car's cassette player... </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">A guitar started strumming through the speakers... my mind had caught on the rhythm and the feet tapping with the walking baseline. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">"...hmmm... the thrill is gone..." B.B. King's sonorous voice started wafting in and led me into the magical musical world of blues...</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">From that point on, I have enjoyed listening to so many Jazz musicians and Blues singers. It has been like an improvised call-response between the Jazz music and my own soul. But all through, B.B. King has remained the King of blues for me and for millions.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">This King was born in a poor family on a Mississippi plantation. His mother left him at the age of four. His life was a life of full of hardships. A self taught guitarist, who heard the Mississippi Delta Blues while taking a break from the plantation work. He grew into a sensation in Memphis, Tennessee, and then never looked back. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">B.B. King's music is immortal and his personality magnanimous. Who won't love an awesome Jazz musician who was brave enough to jump back in fire to save his beloved guitar and fun loving enough to name his guitar as "Lucille", allegedly after the woman for whom the brawl started and led to fire! </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><blockquote>"When I sing, I play in my mind; the minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille." - B.B. King</blockquote></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">This King of Blues has really gone through trials and tribulations, has been touched by the soul of Jazz and touched the hearts of millions through his songs and music. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Well, I'll say.. the King has really paid his Dues and completely deserves to sing his Blues ...</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="350" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2RPcbzQ0-as" width="1000" youtube-src-id="2RPcbzQ0-as"></iframe></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Sincerely Mine!</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Anand Kulkarni</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div>APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-47423585627276390362020-05-14T00:08:00.004+05:302020-05-14T13:39:09.749+05:30Deadly Seeds of "False Dichotomy"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Greetings!</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Here is an anecdote that made me think about an insidious infliction that affects humanity.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>A 'normal' shepherd is chatting with an 'educated' shepherd. Let's call them Norm and Ed.</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>Norm: How many sheep do you have?</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>Ed: White or Black?</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>Norm: White?</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>Ed: 50. By the way I have 50 Black sheep too. Wonder what you have against the Black sheep?</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>Norm: But I asked about all the sheep?</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>Ed: Oh! Did you? You just said, "White?"</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i><br /></i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>Norm: Hey Buddy, I don't have anything against any of the sheep. By the way, do you get enough wool ?</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>Ed: From which one? White or Black?</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>Norm: Black? (Thinking he won't repeat the mistake this time!)</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>Ed: Well I get enough from Black ones. By the way I get enough from white ones too. Wonder why are you bent on exploiting the Black sheep for their wool?</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i><br /></i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i>Norm: (Gives up)</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><i><br /></i></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4Ojq9Lk_sCuuVchVOAooxWT4gKf_1H6Bsd2EYgrpAQYGsdWDcQd_Wa18SvVLvaw2UMrZQYwif8I1Upsa-JBtRQ21syzHyRtHhuHAKOXTOPUAzNXnWI21HCJeuq-9Wk8pd6Tl/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Black Sheep and White Sheep" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ4Ojq9Lk_sCuuVchVOAooxWT4gKf_1H6Bsd2EYgrpAQYGsdWDcQd_Wa18SvVLvaw2UMrZQYwif8I1Upsa-JBtRQ21syzHyRtHhuHAKOXTOPUAzNXnWI21HCJeuq-9Wk8pd6Tl/w640-h480/lamb-1036695_960_720.jpg" title="Dichotomy" width="640" /></a></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I call Ed's infliction as "False Dichotomy". This has been a cognitive conditioning for gullible ones, usually perpetuated by those with ulterior motives. This conditioning causes a person to divide everything they perceive in (usually) two categories. Then the person uses this division to associate all that is wrong in the world to one of these. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">This also is a major hindrance to learning and impediment in one's evolution as a human being. The moment one starts seeing things in such falsely dichotomous manner, one stops seeing the truth and crux of the matter. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Each time one faces such a false dichotomous view, it sows a seed of doubt in mind. I think it is extremely important to chuck out such bad seeds from mind and not nurture them as the fruits of such an endeavor are poisonous for one and all. "False Dichotomy" is probably one of the major causes of 'human-created' problems that society has faced over millennia. I think a lot of problems faced by humanity today can be traced to this infliction.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;" trbidi="on"><i>Brown, Black, White, or Grey,</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;" trbidi="on"><i>They jus' eat grass, an' sometimes bray,</i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;" trbidi="on"><i>Seeds of doubt sow poison, an' lead us astray, </i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;" trbidi="on"><i>False Dichotomy! jus' keep-it-at-bay!! </i></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Sincerely Mine!</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Anand Kulkarni</div></div></div>APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-81005735493594144062020-05-10T19:01:00.005+05:302020-05-15T11:00:06.882+05:30Sparkling speck of Diamond of Motherhood<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Greetings!</div>
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Shivaji Maharaj is one of the legendary Kings, hailed for his greatness all over the world.</div>
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According to Prof. Narhar Kurundkar, the greatness of Shivaji Maharaj lies in his ability to inspire people to such an extent that not only the soldiers, but even a common man was ready to lay his life for the Swarajya (Independent Government) led by the great Shivaji Maharaj. </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">This great King was nurtured to greatness by his mother Jijamata. There was another mother who left an indelible mark on Shivaji Maharaj and inspired him.</div>
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Her name was ‘Hirkani’ (the name means "A Sparkling Diamond Speck")</div>
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Those hailing from the western state of Maharashtra in India are aware about the extra-ordinary story of Hirkani.</div>
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For those who don’t know - here is a short version of the story.</div>
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<i>Shivaji Maharaj, who reigned the land as well hearts of people, was being coronated. The coronation ceremony needed a lot of milk. Hirkani was the mother of an infant and a milkmaid, living in a village at the foothills of the fort.</i></div>
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<i>One day, Hirkani went up to the fort to deliver milk and was unfortunately late in returning back. In those days, the gates of fort used to get closed at sun set and would open again only at sun rise.</i></div>
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<i>Hirkani was distraught as she wanted to get back to her child and nurse the young boy, who was being looked after by another elderly lady while Hirkani sold her milk on the fort. Hirkani begged the guards to open the gates, but their hands were tied by rules.</i></div>
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<i>Finally, Hirkani made her mind to just start climbing down the fort and the steep hill that led to a valley hundreds of meters down. Even seasoned mountaineers and warriors could not dream of climbing down the treacherous slopes, full of thorns, stones and wild animals in the broad daylight. But this was night! A single misstep would take her down to sure death hundreds of meters below. But Hirkani couldn't care less. She was a mother first. And at that time, the only instinct she had was a mother's yearning to nurse and care for her child!</i></div>
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<i>Hirkani finally made it to her village at the foothills of the fort. She was injured everywhere. Her whole body was bleeding. But that was nothing compared to her 'Mother's heart' that bled for her child. People say that she simply went to her child to nurse and comfort the infant!!!</i></div>
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I think this is one of the most sparkling and dazzling examples of a mother. Over years, I have seen such sparkling mothers all across. Sometimes she comes in the form of a Grand Father who looks after grand children who have lost their parents. She also comes in the form of a son who looks after his father through his old age and ailments. Sometimes in the form of a great men and women who look after the elderly without any returns. Sometimes she comes in the form of a Major in Army who takes enemy fire to give split second chance to his sub-ordinates. Sometimes in the form of a leader who relentlessly serves the nation without thinking about any personal gain.</div>
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I believe that this "Sparkling speck of Diamond of Motherhood" resides in the pulsating heart that each one of us carries. </div>
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May this Mother’s day shine light on this speck in every heart!</div>
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Sincerely Mine!</div>
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Anand Kulkarni</div>
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PS: Song celebrating the "Sparkling speck of Diamond of Motherhood" from a recent movie made on the heroic deed of "Hirkani". Sung in heart-touching manner by the melodious Asha Bhosale. </div>
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APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-77720001419389628992020-04-19T14:54:00.001+05:302020-04-20T08:30:26.537+05:30Dealing in Devotion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Greetings!<br />
<br />
My random playlist was on, while I was lost in the work.<br />
<br />
Suddenly the song changed and a soothing octate of violins started wafting in. These lilting sounds caught my attention. Then in about half a minute, on the cue of clicketting sticks, piano and guitar took over from the meliflous violins. The music felt as if, it was tugging at something inside me, that wanted to voice itself but somehow remained unspeaking.<br />
<br />
And then a man started singing ... "करे मन भजण नूं बेपार ..." Loosely translated from Gujarathi as "The mind has started dealing in devotion"!<br />
<br />
The words were not from my native language so I was trying to decipher them. But the passion with which they have been written and the emotion with which they have been sung by a voice and the divine way in which all instruments join in - felt absolutely amazing.<br />
<br />
I was being dealt with something outside of this world - yet through the music, the voice and words that are very much from this world...<br />
<br />
The song continued and the words melted into the same eight violin ensemble that claimed the space of my mind in first place. But now with more nuance and more longing than the first wave and more meaning in every note...<br />
<br />
And then I heard it...<br />
<br />
I heard the instrument that sounded like it was being played in my heart, it was the "Sarangi".<br />
<br />
It simply moved everything in my heart and brought out what remained unspoken in my heart. The unspoken one in my heart had found a voice. The words, the music had stirred this unseen corner in my heart but the "Sarangi" just made it come out gushing like a fountain of sparkling fresh water from the depths of a parched desert..<br />
<br />
With tears welling in eyes, heart giving in to the song, I heard, saw and sensed with all my being that my heart too had started "Dealing in Devotion"<br />
<br />
Oh, How I wish that this fountain doesn’t dry up like lost ancient rivers!<br />
<br />
And so, whenever I feel weary about dealing with the dry scorching sands of ruthlessness of this world - I simply tune in the other world through devotion.<br />
<br />
And this song composed by Salim-Suleiman, having the words of 'Dula Bhaya Kag', and the music by a gifted lot of musicians, the Sarangi by Dilshad Khan - especially the solo pieces of this heart-wrenching Sarangi, make me discover the same fountain of devotion in my own heart.<br />
<br />
Again, and again and again!<br />
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<br /></div>
Sincerely Mine!<br />
Anand Kulkarni</div>
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APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-24620667024514112172020-04-15T21:05:00.002+05:302020-04-16T07:44:09.464+05:30Feedback Loops that make us bitter (or better)!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Greetings!<br />
<br />
Have you heard of a German Anatomist and Surgeaon named Dr. Julius Wolff from 19th century, who (among a prolific bibliography) proposed "The law of transformation of the bone" in 1892?<br />
<br />
No?<br />
<br />
I too didn't. (Well at least till last week)<br />
<br />
While discussing how stress impacts human beings, I heard a wise man talk about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolff%27s_law" target="_blank">Wolff's Law</a> .<br />
<br />
Technically, the law (now modified slightly by Utah-Paradigm of Bone physiology) states that mechanical loading influences bone structure by changing the mass (amount of bone) and architecture (its arrangement) to provide a structure that resists habitual loads with an economical amount of material.<br />
<br />
In simpler words - whenever bones of a healthy person experience tension, compression, shear they respond by becoming stronger!<br />
<br />
<br />
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Great!<br />
<br />
But this leads to another question, does the human mind also respond in such "anti-fragile" way when it comes to the (mostly imagined but sometimes real) stress?<br />
<br />
The answer is complex. We can see several people getting better as they face calamities while there are those too, who emerge as more bitter than before. And, it is not uniform across the dimensions of personality. Sometimes stress affects different dimensions differently. e.g. Some may become better in dealing with outside world but bitter at home (or vice versa).<br />
<br />
The question now is, what is the deciding factor in this dichotomy of responses?<br />
<br />
If we go back to Wolff's Law Analogy, and dig a bit deeper into the science - we are introduced to a great scientific sounding, (and truly scientific) term : <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanotransduction" target="_blank">mechanotransduction</a>.<br />
<br />
As per Wolff and others who have researched this field; this mechano-jing-bing-thing is the "feedback loop" that enables Wolff's law. A wide array of cross-talking signalling pathways creates this "feedback loop".<br />
<br />
If this "feedback loop" doesn’t work properly, then Wolff' Law turns on its head and we fall prey to bone and cartilage diseases.<br />
<br />
I wonder, whether, just like the mechanotransduction "feedback loops", we have certain feedback loops that make up a healthy mind?<br />
<br />
What if, those loops are part of a "factory mode" installation of human mind?<br />
<br />
What if, the way a human mind develops through its life affects these loops - either strengthening them or jumbling them?<br />
<br />
What if, it is the strength or jumbling of these loops that ends up making someone better or bitter?<br />
<br />
What if, in our layman's language, such "feedback loops" are called as "introspection"?<br />
<br />
I, for one, plan to introspect on this.<br />
<br />
How about you?<br />
<br /></div>
Sincerely Mine!<br />
Anand Kulkarni</div>
APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-62988212141010067902020-03-28T21:38:00.002+05:302020-03-28T21:56:00.000+05:30Being a minority within ourselves<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Greetings!<br />
<br />
Pop Quiz - considering survival, reproduction and count as factors - which group of species can call themselves the most successful species on mother earth?<br />
<br />
Humans?<br />
<br />
Bzzzzz (that's me hitting the buzzer that indicates wrong answer!)<br />
<br />
This award goes to what we call as single cell organisms.<br />
<br />
With the numbers that are in multiples of, multiples of, multiples of sum of counts of all other species put together, we can simply call them as rulers of earth...<br />
<br />
(Apologies to the dictators of world who had deluded themselves to have concurred the world or felt that they can... Sorry guys, but you cannot even beat a bacterium... Go figure!)<br />
<br />
These little(?) folks make up most of the life on the earth and it seems like the human bodies are simply swimming in their oceans.<br />
<br />
But thank God, at least we have our bodies... or do we?<br />
<br />
Research says that "There are about 100 trillion cells in a human body. However, even one tenth are hardly real human cells. The human body is home of trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other tiny organisms." (Ref: <a href="https://www.longdom.org/open-access/role-of-microbes-in-human-health-2471-9315-1000131.pdf" target="_blank">Review Article :"Role of Microbes in Human Health", Anil Kumar and Nikita Chordia - April 2017</a>).<br />
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Whoooo ........does that mean I am not even one tenth of what I suppose myself to be?<br />
<br />
Was my last anger tantrum a battle among the continents of microbes? Was my disease actually a dis-"ease" of a few trillion citizens in the body that has me as just less than 10%?<br />
<br />
Hell, I am a minority within myself!!!<br />
<br />
This is scary! There is only a minority of 10% within me (that is actually me) and what is left of this 10% is constantly battling out there (actually I should say “in here”) with 90%.<br />
<br />
Oh my God! I have come to 10% now and how long it would take to go to 0% with the 90% getting troops from all over? And why are they battling me? So that they can live! And what’s so great in their life that they are fighting the remaining 10% poor me for it? Well most scientists would call their life as a single minded (and celled) pursuit to reproduce! And what is the pinnacle of such a pursuit? Getting split into two and dying!<br />
<br />
Or, is it the other way round? Is there a great majority amongst that 90% which is letting me be so that we too can continue our lives?<br />
<br />
If most of what I consider myself to be is them, then who really has done whatever it is that I claim to have done? Who really has protected me (when I thought I am protecting myself and others)? And what if that 90% of my body consists of a large set of good minions (or “micronions” to be more accurate)? Perhaps this 10% remaining me has survived because a great percentage of 90% is wishing me well and protecting me!<br />
<br />
In their microscopic but trillion-celled social view, perhaps, to them we too (i.e. our cells) seem like just doing the same as we see them. Probably they see this 10% group-of-cells (that is us), as leading a life trying to reproduce and ending up splitting in this endeavour...<br />
<br />
But here I am, doing something more... like trying to grasp the magnitude and implication of this scientific fact, and blogging...<br />
<br />
And here you are, reading my blog and contemplating about it, debating it in the neural networks within your islands, where you too are less than 10%...<br />
<br />
We humans are definitely more than just a bunch of cells trying to reproduce, splitting up and dying!!!<br />
<br />
What if, they too, in their intelligent consciousness made up of trillions, contemplating about the purpose of these scantily spread small islands (called as human bodies), which is a rather recent phenomenon in the histroy of single celled organisms?<br />
<br />
What if they are debating about what to do with this recent 10% minority cells that live on the islands that we call as "human" bodies?<br />
<br />
Well, I sincerely hope that, like the greatest among us humans, the greatest among this trillion-trillion-trillion-cell consciousness will also follow the motto "Live and Let Live!".<br />
<br />
Sincerely Mine!<br />
Anand Kulkarni</div>
APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-69408875430683840232020-01-14T22:25:00.000+05:302020-01-14T22:26:01.589+05:30An orchard in making<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Greetings!<br />
<br />
<i>"I have planted them all!", </i>the 9 year old boy in red t-shirt was saying in matter of fact way.<br />
<br />
I looked at the land, made ready to sow through sheer hard work. The land was cut in steps, pruned off the shrubs. The planting spots were placed in neat rows and columns. Each one had a neatly planted mango sapling.<br />
<br />
<i>"These saplings would grow with him. They would bear fruits as he would himself blossom into a fine young man and later as he turns into a father, uncle and a grandfather!'</i>", by the time this train of my thoughts reached next station, this sharp boy was already at the far end of the plot. Tending to a fledgling sapling, he looked at his doting uncle with a question mark.<br />
<br />
The uncle of his is a true farmer. He tends to his farms the way he would care for his family. He looks after friends, the way he would look after a plantation. Right now he was struggling to contain his admiration for his nephew.<br />
<i><br /></i><i>"Let's water them", </i>the uncle had filled up a pale of water as he said...<i>"and what is it that you say to this little one?"</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Buck up! Buck up!" </i>exclaimed the boy, as they lovingly watered the saplings.<br />
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<br />
<br />
How simple were these happenings, yet how profound!<br />
<br />
The uncle himself (and his siblings) inherited the qualities and this nurturing view in the lap of nature from the last generation. The generation of his father and his uncle. Theirs is a lineage of ancestors who have gone through tremendous hardships but never lost faith. Each generation has nurtured the next one together. As the generations progressed, they set forth to manifest plantations, farms, dams, temples and even a little village. All along these generations nurtured numerous families who work on these farms and lived around. Over decades they reaped an abundant yield of honest meals and sound sleeps.<br />
<br />
I was not able to see the planting of this mango orchard by the little boy. But I was fortunate to see the planting of generation-old qualities in the little boy. Such a nurture and the lap of nature will make sure that the little boy and his siblings (just like the generations before) will surely bloom into wonderful human beings. They too will then nurture the scores of plants and scores of families.<br />
<br />
Oh, what an orchard in making!<br />
<br />
Sincerely Mine!<br />
Anand Kulkarni</div>
APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-59383237146225974032019-12-09T00:20:00.002+05:302019-12-10T11:38:13.343+05:30The lightening flash of essential truth<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Greetings!<br />
<br />
I had heard about him from those who attended a great institution where he taught for many years. Well, now I myself got the opportunity to get into a learning program that was conceptualized and driven by him. That is when I experienced his teaching first hand...<br />
<br />
<i>"Essentially, Liability is nothing but source of funds and Asset is nothing but use of funds.", </i>he spoke in a gentle, measured and soft tone.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Is that all?", </i>I thought...<br />
<i><br /></i>
I thought he could read my mind, as he simply said, <i>"That is it!" </i>and paused!<i> </i><br />
<br />
It was a learning program unlike any that I had ever attended...<br />
<br />
He seemed to know what exactly we didn't know and what false notions we harboured. He seemed to know which insight of his would confuse us and to what degree and therefore at what moment to reveal it (and at what moment not to).<br />
<br />
It was as if a very complex question-processing engine was running in the background of his great mind. Somehow this engine was sensing the questions, not only those that we had in our mind but those we would be having in few minutes. His sentences would be answers to all those unasked questions as they arose in our mind and then some. Just as the addressed questions evaporated into clarity, he would provide deeper insights. These insights would then freely etch themselves in space created in our minds by the question-quenching-answers. And then... he would then take a brief pause, just enough to ensure that his insights embed in our minds and then he would move on to the next essential learning... <br />
<br />
At first, I was simply awed by this experience and merely tried absorbing all of it. But then over time I figured out this process as well.<br />
<br />
What gave away this process was not his soft-spoken tone, nor was it the use of simple words, anecdotes and stories .It was his eyes. His eyes gave away the playful ease with which this complex process was being played out in his mind and how much fun he was having while playing it!<br />
<br />
I wondered what could have shaped this great mind? What combination of genes, upbringing and influence have played the role? And most importantly what key traits of his would have self-sculpted this incredible mind?<br />
<br />
I was lucky to spend few months on and off attending his own sessions and other sessions that were crafted by him and his team. While getting amazed about almost everything in this program, I kept on asking myself the question, "What is that one key trait that could have self-shaped someone like him?"<br />
<br />
<br />
Even when the answer was there to see in his actions and interactions, it took its own sweet time to reveal itself to me. One day, in a flash, I finally saw the "one thing" that culminated in everything that I was in awe of - it was his honest pursuit of the essential truth! He tackled every question with complete candor. He addressed all concerns with crystal clear clarity. He was relentlessly sifting through all the hyperbole, mambo-jumbo of everything around and seeking (as well as facing, accepting and stating) the essential truth. Even the most complex of the matters were clear in this flash of a lightening,which was nothing but the essential truth.<br />
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<br />
<br />
That same lightening flash of an answer, also revealed a question that was lurking within, hidden inside ignorance and habit...<br />
<br />
Looking straight in my eyes, basking in the white hot light of truth, this old but newly discovered question asked me, "Can you too muster the courage to cut the clutter and perceive the essence? You may gather the wits but do you have the guts to seek, face, accept and state the essential truth?"<br />
<br />
<br />
Sincerely Mine!<br />
Anand Kulkarni</div>
APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-3098311074206552992019-07-20T20:20:00.001+05:302020-05-15T14:21:51.570+05:30Resetting Reaction Addiction<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Greetings!<br />
<br />
He had keen, playful and observant eyes. Although our acquaintance was few days old; we were speaking with an ease of old friends who have met after a long time. "Let me tell you the most important learning of my life!", he quipped. I was all ears.<br />
<br />
"There is someone who has been a Godfather to me and shaped my career entirely for two decades. I have no qualms in saying that he prodded, nudged, cajoled, pushed, intimidated, motivated and gave almost all growth opportunities in my career." I could see the respect in his eyes too. But there was a glint of sadness and a lining of wisdom. I was intrigued.<br />
<br />
"But, it so happened that the day I grew out of his shadow and into my own was the very same day he started treating me with excruciating vehemence. It went on for months. Nothing in my life has hurt me so much. This just crushed me to the core.", He took a moment to glance out of the window. I held my breath.<br />
<br />
"And you know what? When I was spiralling into the bottomless despair, I came across a wise man. He simply said - Do you really have to react to everything everyone does to you? Why don't you accept the reality and respond?" I could see that this wisdom has not only helped him resolve the situation to a happy ending through respectful and direct dialogue, but this learning has also made him a very wise and happy man. His success in profession stood tall but his success in winning over his inner daemons and the freedom that reflected through his easy banter stood even taller.<br />
<br />
At that moment, I knew I have made a wise friend with a big heart and for life!<br />
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<br />
The very next moment, questions started making beeline in my head. Have we really become so reactive that we cannot help but react to everything that happens? Does that nasty email need a hasty reply? Does that WhatsApp message need a quick retort? Does that snide comment need a quid pro quo? Does that question need to be answered right now? Do we really need to instantly react to this... and that.. and that too?<br />
<br />
Have we gotten into a reaction addiction? If yes, then perhaps it is time for us to reset from "quickly react mode" to "wisely respond mode"...<br />
<br />
Happy resetting 👍...<br />
<br />
Sincerely Mine!<br />
Anand Kulkarni</div>
APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-14431800052130263462019-06-09T20:24:00.000+05:302019-06-09T22:23:45.373+05:30Melancholy and Hope - Shehenai<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Greetings!<br />
<br />
Let's look for a moment that has both happiness and sadness put together.<br />
<br />
Where do you find them? All one has to do is to look little bit closely at life turning moments. You will be surprised to find such moments in the points of life that turn a leaf in life...<br />
<br />
King Ashoka expected a moment of triumph as he overlooked a river turned red with blood of enemy. He sensed it, but he also faced a deep sense of remorse! A dichotomy of triumph!<br />
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Famous people face this dichotomy of emotions too. While they are adulated by millions, they face the loneliness of not having a true and warm relation! A dichotomy of fame!<br />
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A mountaineer struggles to reach the summit, he faces treacherous paths, steep slopes and draining exhaustion. The moment of reaching the summit brings exhilarating fulfillment as well as the empty dreadful prospect of not having any goal to reach! A dichotomy of success!<br />
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A father of bride strives in all ways to get the daughter married. He tries to ensure that he gets the right groom for the daughter who should not only be matching her choice but also ensure that they will spend a happy life together. Once such a groom is found, marriage is fixed, the bride's father strives for making arrangements of marriage. And finally the moment of wedding arrives. And what does the father of bride feel at the moment of vows? He is filled with a strange combination of melancholy and hope! What a dichotomy of emotions!!!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlOIIAkLpMq7HlSN2-NZwqyI1mQiM400sJWqHYSa9kAOZ_Gee8vG00lTpPzZ6TcVI5pYeY6CKiCpgQTF7ZIR-K9FHZ474vGqWkd5XISHi3jcJIRW8-pVL7sdnn2ucV32XuvsV/s1600/shehnai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYlOIIAkLpMq7HlSN2-NZwqyI1mQiM400sJWqHYSa9kAOZ_Gee8vG00lTpPzZ6TcVI5pYeY6CKiCpgQTF7ZIR-K9FHZ474vGqWkd5XISHi3jcJIRW8-pVL7sdnn2ucV32XuvsV/s640/shehnai.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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And these paradoxical feelings cannot be really captured well in words. Music starts where words end! I have felt that one instrument that brings out these feelings is "Shehenai". Those who want to feel this dichotomy of feelings can hear it <a href="https://youtu.be/XwRj-bOUQUE" target="_blank">Here</a> !<br />
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The palette of human emotions is filled up with trillions of combinations, each bringing its own hue. One of these hues is the dichotomy of melancholy and hope - expressed not in words but played through a heart-touching Shehenai ...<br />
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Sincerely Mine!<br />
Anand Kulkarni</div>
APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-41244488625261564622019-05-19T19:27:00.001+05:302019-05-19T19:34:31.686+05:30Mute it, "Face it"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Greetings!<br />
<br />
We all are very good at putting up a face and hiding our emotions behind it. This ability has helped our ancestors survive. It helps in so many situations, right from winning poker to getting favourable international treaties.<br />
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Look at most of the selfies and group snaps. If we can't put up a face properly, then there are filters to do the rest of job for us. One can put up an excellent show of having fun while the reality might be totally different. (I guess this is usually the case).<br />
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We are also very good at using euphemisms, great flowery words. Look at most of the videos. The words spoken consciously on videos are also usually made up, politically correct and don't reflect the real intent as well as the content of what is going inside our heads.<br />
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We all know it and usually take this in stride.<br />
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But what if we want to go beyond and see what is going on inside someone rather than the facade that has been put up? There are many ways to do it and reams of literature has been dedicated for these ways. Just Google "body language"!<br />
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But in this digital age, we may not actually meet up the person but may still want to get some insight into some one's intent looking at the digital content - photos and videos.<br />
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So how do we go about it in the Digital world?<br />
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Well, I have a theory about it, I call it as - Mute it and "Face it".<br />
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They say that a man's face is a reflection of what is happening inside. (Some say a woman's face is reflection of her makeup skills, but I won't comment on that 😎).<br />
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Therefore, even though this saying about face being reflection of inner emotions might be true, but cannot be applied to the usual photos we get.<br />
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The premise here is that when someone takes a photo, our cognitive abilities get busy in 'putting out the best, most acceptable face' . Here the picture may be equal to thousand words but there is no guarantee how many of those words turn to be true. So we can't make much from the face in such a photo. So, such a photo doesn't seem like a true reflection<br />
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But, it is a wholly different situation when one starts speaking. The speech usually is made up to come out as the best, most acceptable or driven by ulterior motives. The cognitive abilities get busy in managing words and get off the task of managing the face!<br />
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And therefore, my theory is that, to get insight into some one's intent, we can just watch any video where they are speaking. Just ignore the words by muting the video and read the face. Then, you can watch the expression on their faces which may reflect the inner reality as the face is off guard now!<br />
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Well! My theory may or may not be true. And I too may be saying something here but hiding something else.<br />
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The way to test is very simple.<br />
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Just mute it and "Face it"<br />
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Sincerely Mine!<br />
Anand Kulkarni</div>
APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-58019938610280898162019-05-18T08:46:00.001+05:302019-05-18T08:46:17.381+05:30Window of opportunity <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Greetings!<br />
<br />
It is said that when life closes a door, it opens a thousand doors for you.<br />
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I suppose it is meant to be said to those who feel down due to a lost opportunity. It is a good way to console the sad, to uplift the lowered spirit. But I think the more accurate analogy is - <b>When life closes a door, we should first look at the window of opportunity! </b><br />
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The door is the path trodden by others, which we too are following. If it was an uncharted path, then there wouldn't have been a door there in first place. The openings and clearing in the jungle of life, are made by those, who ventured through them for the first time. We merely follow these footsteps, when we too venture through the same.<br />
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I think when a door is closed, it is the God's way of alerting us about the path that it would have led us to. So even if we do find another door (or nine hundred and ninety nine more doors, for proverb's sake), it may be leading us to the same place. If our shepherd doesn't wish us to be in that place, then the closing of the door proves to be a wasted act because we merely get busy finding thousand open doors...<br />
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I have come to believe that when a door is closed for us - the first thing to do is to find a window and look out.<br />
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Look out for pitfalls, slippery slopes, poisonous thorns and other assorted dangers that might by lurking beyond the wall. Decide whether it still makes sense to go out this way. Decide whether it still makes sense to cross this boundary through the wall. Most walls are created for protection, is this one of them? Is the door meant for people to get in to safety and not get out to the dangers? If no danger awaits us outside, still a glance at the landscape will help us decide whether we really wish to be there or some place else?<br />
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If we don't look out of it then what has the window been created for?<br />
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Some times I think the proverbial "window of opportunity" is this... The opportunity to peep out of the window and decide on the right path at right time!<br />
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Sincerely Mine!<br />
Anand Kulkarni</div>
APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21907812.post-46219905535235304442019-05-17T08:57:00.000+05:302019-05-17T14:16:29.428+05:30Dance of life or dead feathers?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Greetings!<br />
<br />
<i>Peacock wields myriad colours,</i><br />
<i>Turquoise, green, blue among many others,</i><br />
<i>Dancing to the life as monsoon ushers,</i><br />
<i>What would I choose - dance of life, or dead feathers?</i><br />
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It is really a privilege to watch a peacock dance. The child like little off rhythm steps, the artistic movement of neck and of course the glorious fan of feathers! It is a celebration of life. Both, the life that is full to the brim already and the life that may be coming as next generation.<br />
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Indian monsoon brings up the life in the jungle. The parched land gets the life sap it has been thirsting for since the onset of Indian summer. The grass seeds, lurking just below the veneer of soil, start germinating with valour. The sky pours, earth breathes out heady fragrance, flora springs up and fauna is looking forward to get food and water to heart's content.<br />
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But what do we do? Do we assimilate ourselves in this dance of nature? Do we take time to touch and breathe in the fragrant earth? Do we take time to let the sky pour its life on us? Do we take time to wonder at the humble grass as it shoots through soil? Do we take time to admire the million shades of green on trees?<br />
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Do we watch and experience the dance of peacock first hand?<br />
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Or we can just be satisfied in the dead feathers that are strewn afterwords, by sharing forwarded videos and photos on our lifeless mobile screens?<br />
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What should we choose - dance of life, or dead feathers?<br />
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Sincerely mine!<br />
Anand Kulkarni</div>
APKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12056898838678532160noreply@blogger.com0