Live life

Walk in the rain,

jump in mud puddles,

collect rocks,

rainbows and roses,

smell flowers,

blow bubbles,

stop along the way,

build sandcastles,

say hello to everyone,

go barefoot,

go on adventures,

act silly,

fly kites,

have a merry heart,

talk with animals,

sing in the shower,

read childrens' books,

take bubble baths,

get new sneakers,

hold hands and hug and kiss,

dance,

laugh and cry for the health of it,

wonder and wander around,

feel happy and precious and innocent,

feel scared,

feel sad,

feel mad,

give up worry and guilt and shame,

say yes,

say no,

say the magic words,

ask lots of questions,

ride bicycles,

draw and paint,

see things differently,

fall down and get up again,

look at the sky,

watch the sun rise and sun set,

watch clouds and name their shapes,

watch the moon and stars come out,

trust the universe,

stay up late,

climb trees,

daydream,

do nothing and do it very well,

learn new stuff,

be excited about everything,

be a clown,

enjoy having a body,

listen to music,

find out how things work,

make up new rules,

tell stories,

save the world,

make friends with the other kids on the block,

and do anything else that brings more

happiness,

celebration,

health,

love,

joy,

creativity,

pleasure,

abundance,

grace,

self-esteem,

courage,

balance,

spontaneity,

passion,

beauty,

peace,

relaxation,

communication and

life energy to...

all living beings on this planet.

- Bruce Williamson

Republic Day Parade

I saw the Indian Republic Day Parade after a couple of decades today. I had nothing else to watch this morning on TV, and it seemed to be the best of the rest. I was surprised by the quality of the presentation; I'm impressed, maybe, because I'm comparing with what used to happen 20 years back, or maybe I've very little expectation from an Indian presentation. 

But honestly, the amount of effort and hard work that has gone into it is commendable. It must be made compulsory viewing in school, because it is educative, besides being one of the things that could stoke your passion for your country. 

In terms of structure and content, it has enough diversity and depth. There are the different contingents and battalions of our armed forces, there are ministries, states, and institutions. When the armed forces' contingents are introduced with how many awards they've been given, how many generals they've given to the country, what's their motto, tagline, music band. And each state and ministry presents a certain theme highlighting their features and strengths. You can't but help feel proud of India, and we being Indians. 

TIME Person of the Year

TIME's introduction to Person of the Year says 'For capturing and highlighting a global sense of restless promise, for upending governments and conventional wisdom, for combining the oldest of techniques with the newest of technologies to shine a light on human dignity and, finally, for steering the planet on a more democratic though sometimes more dangerous path for the 21st century, the Protestor is TIME's 2011 Person of the Year.' 


And adds 'History often emerges only in retrospect. Events become significant only when looked back on.' About the protests, it says 'The protests marked the rise of a new generation. Technology mattered, but it was not a technological revolution. Social networks did not cause these movements, but they kept them alive and connected. This was not a wired revolution; it was a human one, of hearts and minds, the oldest technology of all.' 


Not all of TIME's choices in the past have been deserving, and many were outright wrong, and several of them biased toward America (a fact acknowledged by TIME in the past). TIME's definition of who should be Person of the Year is one who has made the maximum impact during the year. Julian Assange impacted more than Mark Zuckerberg last year. American Presidents who have won, at times twice, like George Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, have been stupid choices, couldn't they find anyone else?; Osama bin Laden should've been, when Rudy Guiliani was. And why was Kate Middleton in the list this year? 


This year has been fair. Many had expected Steve Jobs to make the list, but he did not make any impact this year. TIME has chosen a common noun, as it has done in the past, like The Computer, The Middle Class, Young People, GI Joe etc. (YOU was a terrible choice). The Protestor has made the news this year, without doubt. And shall continue to have impact going forward. 

127 hours

I saw '127 hours' for the first time, last evening. I recommend it for its moving representation of a one paragraph story, context-relevant music, including silence at times and distant sounds at other times, and camera work, how many angles can you come up with in a crevice of a place, though there are lots of errors pointed out in popular blogs. The belief and spirit of Aron Ralston comes through very well. James Franco's effort is praiseworthy. And the screenplay tells the story in an engaging fashion. 


Apparently the helicopter pilot who rescues Aron in the movie, is the pilot who rescued Aron in reality. And Aron himself appears toward the end of the movie, much like 'Pursuit Of Happyness', where the real Chris Gartner walks across the road in the last scene. 



Aron's forms a relationship with the rock, which comes out in the following quote:  

'This rock has been waiting for me my entire life, 

since its been a meteorite, 

millions of years ago. 

I've been moving toward it my entire life, 

the minute I was born, 

every breath I've taken, 

every action 

has been leading me to this crack.' 

Alibaug

I'd been to Alibaug over the weekend with our office group. We stayed at a farmhouse owned by one Mr. Sane. It was a good in terms of space - he had a large enough estate - but was wanting in terms of facilities. 

And the beach was very dirty, probably because it was a rocky beach and not many frequented it. I wonder if places less frequented should be cleaner because they are less frequented or should be dirty because they are less frequented! 

We took the Saturday afternoon launch from Gateway of India. We got delayed because of the Presidential Fleet Review and cancellation of scheduled launches. But we had a glimpse of the many naval ships and submarines anchored there, among them the INS Shivalik and INS Viraat. 

We also saw some seagulls that followed us on the way to and from Mandwa. We also enjoyed a trip on the tum-tum from Mandwa to where we stayed. Some pictures of the sea, sunset, gulls and the ships.... 

Poems, Prayers, Promises

And talk of poems and prayers and promises
And things that we believe in
How sweet it is to love someone
How right it is to care

How long it’s been since yesterday
And what about tomorrow
And what about our dreams
And all the memories we share

In search of a middle ground

In personal relationships, there are different perspectives involved. While there certainly are some actions that are clearly wrong, most are wrong only from a certain perspective. Each person's basic nature, upbringing, idea of life, frame of mind, are responsible for his or her unique view. 

Since most actions have to be be given the label of being misunderstood from a certain perspective, it becomes difficult to label a certain wrong action as wrong. So while, as an independent, impartial and rational judge of a situation, its possible for a judge to label an action as 'wrong', he can't do it, as he'd appear judgemental; one of the two parties involved will find his judgement unacceptable. 

While the judge may not fear telling the truth, his image of being impartial is unnecessarily tarnished, at least from one point of view. And it doesn't help reconcile differences and find common ground. So he shall have to appear impartial, while being partial.  

The only way such an issue is resolved is for the person on a higher moral pedestal to come down. That is, if we want the relationship intact. And relationships require to remain intact under various circumstances - marital relations, organisational compulsions.  

So in search of a middle ground, the one on a high pedestal has to compromise, an impartial judge has to behave partially, while the one in wrong benefits. 

The meek shall inherit the world!   

I Hope You Dance

I heard this wonderful song last evening... such inspiring words... credit to Lee Ann Womack, covered by Ronan Keating later...

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder,
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger,

May you never take one single breath for granted,
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed,

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance....I hope you dance.


I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance,
Never settle for the path of least resistance

Livin' might mean takin' chances but they're worth takin',
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth makin',

Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter,
When you come close to sellin' out reconsider,

Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance.

I hope you dance....I hope you dance.

Bombay!

I spent the day in true Bombay ishtyle, waiting at the station for an hour for trains that didn't come, and then in an antique Premier Padmini taxi, with worn out wipers, through water-logged streets, and hitherto unexplored routes (a result of the ingenuity of our taxi driver), that can be called, not roads, but a colony of potholes, seeing the real city that is sought to be hidden under a facade of reflective glass, and more time on the way and back from office, than in office.

And at the end of the day, I'm unsure whether to be proud that Bombay and its people have survived yet again, or in shame that we are incapable of standing up for our basic right to live a decent life.

The cricket world is an elaborate farce!

I'm convinced, more than even before, that the world of cricket is completely stage-managed. This ICC World Cup of 2011 has been a revelation!

Did you see the match between India and England which ended in a tie despite each team scoring 330 odd runs? Both teams could manage so many runs but fell short by one! And the match between England and Ireland, which also had about the same number of runs, and Ireland chased despite England being the Ashes-winning team they are! 

Both these matches were characterised by sudden and surprising turns, with bursts of high scoring, followed by fall of wickets, all resulting in uncertainty, all the time. This helps in making the game more interesting, resulting in more viewership, more kicks for the same money for the sponsors!

The India-England match, I understand, had the highest ever viewership as per statistics. And I presume that the tie would be because some influential quarters demanded a tie! 

The recent expose of Pakistani players being involved in spot fixing, earlier scams involving Indian players, the Cronje episode were only specific instances that had to be revealed, probably since the evidence was so out in the open and could not be concealed. And some could claim that they've acted on cleaning the game up. And result in more inclusion! I'm saying there is a more elaborate stage management at work here.

Why did Ireland win against England now? And why did Bangladesh shock India in the last World Cup? That is because we have to have more inclusion in the game, more teams have to emerge, more audiences have to be tapped; we have to plan for the future!

I have a theory that the World Cup has to have India in the finals to make economic sense. Else, who will buy the tickets and who will watch the ads during the breaks? And Sachin has to help India win a World Cup before he retires! So it helps if we can facilitate all of this.

I'm not asking for the game to be shut down, and the guilty to be punished. Thats been the traditional approach! Why should we be worried that there is no game left in cricket. We're disturbed only if we view this as a degradation of the game, a loss of purity. But this is no longer a game, but an enterprise.

And if so many are benefitted because of this enterprise, generating employment and work, why shut it down? As long as someone, somewhere is earning something, it's good. We are a free nation!

The only worry is that the common people should not waste their time on this, and while away their lives, earning nothing but excitement. But this is true for so many other such things, like reality shows and entertainment programs. Audiences have to go through this farce and emerge more mature. They have to recognise what they are investing in terms of mind and time in such pursuits, and see if it's all worth it!  

Whose business is it anyway!