He was a shy child and books were all that he loved. there were lands he knew well and people he felt close to; he could relate to them. Everything was easy, everything so clear.
He was a shy child and he had to go to school. the teachers were boring and the games meaningless. Nothing was easy, everything so blurred.
He was a child no more..yet he loved his books..he knew their customs and their stories so well...he was the narrator..he was the joy of their lives.
A child no more..he had to venture out..lost in the blanket of people..he knew not their language and their rites and joys.
He travelled far and wide...into the depths of his stories..crossed centuries...was no stranger left..who did not know his name.
He was stranded..on his own..a small dot..and no one knew his name.
Aged by now..the books were his bones...had all he wanted and knew all his lives well
Aged..nothing left of him..knew nothing of his life..and no fulfillment of demands.
That was how he lived..Content to be known..yet unknown
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Time
Just too less to do anything and still a lot to waste; What an inherent dichotomy of the self...Lessons learnt but never put into place...Its only time that I can waste again...
Friday, August 7, 2009
Unfinished Revolution
Have been doing this history project on Naxalbari and the peasant revolution...so just jotted down some lines on the peasants...once left, could never come to finish it, so its an unfinished piece...who knows I might just finish it, once the darned project gets done!!
Of all the lilies in the haze
And the roses in the throes after
Of things that we held dear
And those that were strewn aside
There was a time, there was a place
you were there and so were the plains
It rained then, the drops were warm
And the path felt true
We were young..Ah we were young
Not many seasons have since passed
And you and I look no different
there is a time, there is a place
It still rains, but there is a chill
The plains once green, lay bare
Only silence rules the hills
Look what we have done
Where sweat tilled, blood has come
To undo what centuries had wrought
In space and time, we were free
Full of belief, and conviction true
The plain followed, tides arose
Of pains we never knew
We were true, but lightning struck
Our vessel shook, people ran amok
Revolutionary we all were..
Oh what revolution we brought along
Tears then, Tears now
We talked of change, change has come
The peasant knows and the peasant burns
To undo what centuries has wrought
Of all the lilies in the haze
And the roses in the throes after
Of things that we held dear
And those that were strewn aside
There was a time, there was a place
you were there and so were the plains
It rained then, the drops were warm
And the path felt true
We were young..Ah we were young
Not many seasons have since passed
And you and I look no different
there is a time, there is a place
It still rains, but there is a chill
The plains once green, lay bare
Only silence rules the hills
Look what we have done
Where sweat tilled, blood has come
To undo what centuries had wrought
In space and time, we were free
Full of belief, and conviction true
The plain followed, tides arose
Of pains we never knew
We were true, but lightning struck
Our vessel shook, people ran amok
Revolutionary we all were..
Oh what revolution we brought along
Tears then, Tears now
We talked of change, change has come
The peasant knows and the peasant burns
To undo what centuries has wrought
Friday, July 17, 2009
Changing values
Funny how it does not take long for me to get settled into the old pattern, to just sit and think and brood. In a sense,to wonder and plan and fret.Harder still, when you know all the theories as to what you should do and what you should not but fail to dictate terms the way you wish.
Is life then just about fretting away your time and energy or is it better to let things run its course and you follow your hearts sentiments rather than planning for a safe course, thinking of an outcome and then working towards it?
As stated in today;s history class, the only thing permanent is change and the values of individuals change over time. If not me, then certainly the values of other people change. It is but natural, I guess to have your own interests as paramount, especially when change becomes the only thing that you can trust. I guess, it is time to look for my values and change my pattern and hope things turn out to be definitely better.
Is life then just about fretting away your time and energy or is it better to let things run its course and you follow your hearts sentiments rather than planning for a safe course, thinking of an outcome and then working towards it?
As stated in today;s history class, the only thing permanent is change and the values of individuals change over time. If not me, then certainly the values of other people change. It is but natural, I guess to have your own interests as paramount, especially when change becomes the only thing that you can trust. I guess, it is time to look for my values and change my pattern and hope things turn out to be definitely better.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Random Thoughts..
A long time since I last wrote...
And how things have changed and how things have remained the same since then.
The holidays were much more fun this time around. Apart from my trip to Dhaka, I also got hold of a bike this time around in kathmandu. Perhaps, that was what made my holiday a bit more exciting.
Leaving aside the holiday stuff, I surely felt a sort of relief coming to law school. Sure, the relief has turned into monotony and boredom by now, but still there is a difference in this monotony. Perhaps, it is the feeling of knowing this place finally or it is an attachment that breeds with time and familiarity. I don't know, but this place no longer feels alien.
That apart, the mess is quite close by and so is the "football field". Comforts, that eluded me in the first year.Hope to make better use of both.
And how things have changed and how things have remained the same since then.
The holidays were much more fun this time around. Apart from my trip to Dhaka, I also got hold of a bike this time around in kathmandu. Perhaps, that was what made my holiday a bit more exciting.
Leaving aside the holiday stuff, I surely felt a sort of relief coming to law school. Sure, the relief has turned into monotony and boredom by now, but still there is a difference in this monotony. Perhaps, it is the feeling of knowing this place finally or it is an attachment that breeds with time and familiarity. I don't know, but this place no longer feels alien.
That apart, the mess is quite close by and so is the "football field". Comforts, that eluded me in the first year.Hope to make better use of both.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
"Baal Ho"
No matter what happens, just be confident and go on...
Often used, somehow this does not sound convincing enough when faced with battles on four fronts with inadequate planning,unfamiliar resources and no proper command structure. True, exams once again and all four subjects akin to a battle.
Law school seems to have become the place where every trimester outdoes the one preceding it in terms of weariness and just plain apathy towards the state of things, particularly the exams. And invariably, the results have followed up with an inverse relation to the degree of apathy.Sounds scary, especially when this is just the 3rd out of 15 trimesters. Hopefully, this is a cycle of 3 trimesters and next year will again start on a good note.
In my high school, we had a word "baal" that was used discriminately in these kinds of situations.Everything was baal. A word that was applicable to all situations, it is hard to define, but roughly, it is something like a damn care attitude with an idea that life will go on, despite the current problems. More than a word, it was something that was felt and thus understood without the necessary to limit it to a narrow definition.
I guess, it was just lived.
Looks like my current exams are going the "baal"way.
As would have been said in high school, still the same, try your best and the rest is still "baal ho".
Often used, somehow this does not sound convincing enough when faced with battles on four fronts with inadequate planning,unfamiliar resources and no proper command structure. True, exams once again and all four subjects akin to a battle.
Law school seems to have become the place where every trimester outdoes the one preceding it in terms of weariness and just plain apathy towards the state of things, particularly the exams. And invariably, the results have followed up with an inverse relation to the degree of apathy.Sounds scary, especially when this is just the 3rd out of 15 trimesters. Hopefully, this is a cycle of 3 trimesters and next year will again start on a good note.
In my high school, we had a word "baal" that was used discriminately in these kinds of situations.Everything was baal. A word that was applicable to all situations, it is hard to define, but roughly, it is something like a damn care attitude with an idea that life will go on, despite the current problems. More than a word, it was something that was felt and thus understood without the necessary to limit it to a narrow definition.
I guess, it was just lived.
Looks like my current exams are going the "baal"way.
As would have been said in high school, still the same, try your best and the rest is still "baal ho".
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Neruda's "Your Laughter"
Such beautiful lines of Neruda's translated works, makes me wish I knew spanish so that I could understand them in their full flow and passion.
Your Laughter
Take bread away from me, if you wish,
take air away, but
do not take from me your laughter.
Do not take away the rose,
the lance flower that you pluck,
the water that suddenly
bursts forth in joy,
the sudden wave
of silver born in you.
My struggle is harsh and I come back
with eyes tired
at times from having seen
the unchanging earth,
but when your laughter enters
it rises to the sky seeking me
and it opens for me all
the doors of life.
My love, in the darkest
hour your laughter
opens, and if suddenly
you see my blood staining
the stones of the street,
laugh, because your laughter
will be for my hands
like a fresh sword.
Next to the sea in the autumn,
your laughter must raise
its foamy cascade,
and in the spring, love,
I want your laughter like
the flower I was waiting for,
the blue flower, the rose
of my echoing country.
Laugh at the night,
at the day, at the moon,
laugh at the twisted
streets of the island,
laugh at this clumsy
boy who loves you,
but when I open
my eyes and close them,
when my steps go,
when my steps return,
deny me bread, air,
light, spring,
but never your laughter
for I would die.
Pablo Neruda
Your Laughter
Take bread away from me, if you wish,
take air away, but
do not take from me your laughter.
Do not take away the rose,
the lance flower that you pluck,
the water that suddenly
bursts forth in joy,
the sudden wave
of silver born in you.
My struggle is harsh and I come back
with eyes tired
at times from having seen
the unchanging earth,
but when your laughter enters
it rises to the sky seeking me
and it opens for me all
the doors of life.
My love, in the darkest
hour your laughter
opens, and if suddenly
you see my blood staining
the stones of the street,
laugh, because your laughter
will be for my hands
like a fresh sword.
Next to the sea in the autumn,
your laughter must raise
its foamy cascade,
and in the spring, love,
I want your laughter like
the flower I was waiting for,
the blue flower, the rose
of my echoing country.
Laugh at the night,
at the day, at the moon,
laugh at the twisted
streets of the island,
laugh at this clumsy
boy who loves you,
but when I open
my eyes and close them,
when my steps go,
when my steps return,
deny me bread, air,
light, spring,
but never your laughter
for I would die.
Pablo Neruda
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