The comforting discomfort

 A feeling so familiar

reminiscent of days gone by

It leans towards a thriller

Anguish forgotten as time has flown by

This could be another day

when my thoughts hold me in sway

Has it been a few years or a decade

when I last had this pleasure?

This situation could be a dangerous grenade

that explodes for good measure

then why do I feel so much traction

when bells signal a negative reaction?

It is my beloved, I hear it's appeal

The thoughts clearly a wonderful bait

It's recognizable, I want it for real

miss this chance, it's too long to wait

Time has been lost for us lover's estranged,

pay heed to my instinct, it's so deranged

I feel drawn towards it, be it night or day

Therefore ensnared in it's wily jail

Tempted towards it, I think I could be happy today

tune in to my mind, it is a lovely fail

persuaded by it, I have made an infraction

embraced am I in this fatal attraction

Note: Read it again? Some background about this poem. It talks about one repeating one's mistakes knowing that good will not come out of it, only because one is comfortable with it.

The ache

This could possibly be a thought to complete

or an excuse for writing's sake

but before I submit myself to defeat

It's a chance that I prefer to take

I have long been deep in thought

and many a mental war I have fought

I've had this feeling before

my memories don't lie, they serve me right

There have been many a fantastic lore

and with a cry, they shed some light

No worries, this is no fancy bake

for I definitely feel an odd little ache

This pain is often underrated,

and castaway into the outer shores

This pang is occasionally dramatized

and celebrated with almighty roars

It can be said with some conviction

that this is life's greatest contradiction

I've lived this torment before

if only I could hark back to the solution

a eureka moment from my mind store

could lead to a faster resolution

Tired I am, this is too much to take

How to rid myself of this giant ache?

World's Toughest Crossword: Life

Quite recently, I (M) had a talk (when I was having a walk) with an elderly man (U) (though he did do the main talking). I am not going into the details of how the talk started, but gradually we ended up talking about what I am about to share with you now.

U: 'Many of us have heard our teachers/ elders telling us that there is no work in life which can be done without the help of math. Though that might arguably be true, but I am not going to harp on that point. Instead, I will talk about another important aspect in our life: CROSSWORDs (puzzle).'

M: 'What is this guy rambling about? I have better things to do than think about those silly crosswords... There are surely thousands who don't bother with such an annoying waste in time!'
U: 'True. If something along those lines (the above one) is coursing through your mind, then I am on your side.'

M: 'HA! From where to where is this talk going?'
U: 'Let me explain. Crosswords have been an integral part of our life, and there is no guarantee that a person proficient in solving the crossword puzzles on the papers (that you get to see every day), will be any better in solving the toughest crosswords experienced by us- LIFE!!!'

M: 'OKaayyyyyy!!!' -__- 'What does a dumb crossword have anything to do with Life?'
U: 'EVERYTHING! I neither know as to who introduced crosswords (the ones on the paper) nor why, but there can be a lot of similarities drawn between Crosswords and our lives.
Similar to crosswords, our life:
- Isn't a fairy tale (with smoothly curving paths, where one good thing leads to another with little or no worries).
- Has various blank (black) spaces which are outside our control.
- Has various clues as to how we proceed.
- The way we go about solving it determines as to whether we attain success or not.
- Once one is solved, there is always another to face the next day/ time.'

M: 'So, you say there are multiple crosswords in our lives, not just one symbolizing Life as whole?'
U: 'Yes and No. Yes, because as you said there are multiple crosswords we come across our lives, and no, because we can also consider our entire life as one huge crossword with all the smaller crosswords forming words as rows (across) and columns (down), something which arguably none have been able to solve. Therefore, solving few problems or overcoming certain obstacles, do not in any way guarantee a happy or successful life, as there are many more words/ crosswords to be solved. This is where, we have to prioritize, but I do not intend to discuss about priorities.'

M: 'Where else are these crosswords applicable?'
U: 'There are few other attributes which have the basis of a crossword, such as
Our DNA: There are innumerable researches working in this direction, in order to understand the importance of our DNA, though there is a general understanding, but to get a more in depth understanding, we try to make use of all the clues available.
Our character: All of us are unique in our own way, and in order to get a good understanding of an individual, once again we need to comprehend the clues we sense present in the individual.
Similarly, there are various other places where we have Crosswords ingrained.'

M: 'But we have heard similar lines, such as our life being full of puzzles...'
U: 'I agree. Crossword is only a type of puzzle and hence the same holds good. Life is a big puzzle, and those who take pains in solving it are the ones who taste sweetness at the end of their journey (even though if they haven't solved the whole thing).'

As I came back near my house, I finally said:
M: 'This has been a nice talk with you and I have learnt a lot'
While saying this I turned towards him only to find that he wasn't there...

3 wise men

This story is set in the old world. 3 men were travelling on horses, armed with swords, knives and bows and arrows, in search of (in this case) someone. There was something unique about the three; one was deaf, second was blind and the last was dumb. The weather was at its gruesome worst, with the lands all around snowed in, hence making it difficult to see. As they pass a few dead trees, the one last, hears the twang of a bow, and immediately takes avoidance action, hence saving himself. All 3 of them then set in the direction of the attack in search of the elusive foe. Due to the poor conditions, they were still in search a few hours later. Hungry and tired, they finally reach a log cabin and see some smoke coming out of the chimney.

Though it is dark inside (with just a same light source, probably a candle), they are comforted by the sight. They knock on the door, only to find an old woman being the lone resident of that cabin. The warm hospitality of the old woman leads them to lower their defenses as they enjoy a good meal and get ready to take rest. The old lady is bemused as all but one of them had not spoken a word yet. When she does ask one of them, if they are ready to sleep, she doesn’t receive a prompt response, except for a curt nod from the same man, giving her the feeling that the other 2 do not have their listening and talking senses. Seeing that they are making themselves comfortable, she assumes that they are all along the same thought pattern. After they seemingly go to sleep, she waits an extra precautionary 10 minutes before advancing to the back door and opening it. Standing in the cold outside, is none other than her son, and the same man whom the 3 were in search of. Ready with an axe, he advances to the man who supposedly had spoken and heard (pointed out by the mother), considering him to be the greatest threat. All lights are off as he raises and brings down the axe only to hit a pile of pillows. From the darkness, the twang of a bow is heard and then he falls down dead.

This story is an analogy. The 3 men depict 3 wise men that are in search of knowledge. Knowledge is not always the easiest thing to find. Many times there are obstacles to obtaining that knowledge, in this case the old lady. Sometimes, it is even tempting to forego the search, as is indicated with the comfortable ambience. At the end though, we need to learn to master the knowledge, not make knowledge the master of us, as happens at the end.
They might be the first, but not certainly the last (as seen in image)...




claim token CM5DR6UYPPGX 

Retrospection

There is a thought that comes naturally

And that’s to worry, worry and worry

 

Slouching in the past

Flitting through the present

For the brain is in a muddle

Sluggish to all life’s riddles

 

No more is the present a gift

Cause your mind's quite adrift

Busy creating a rift so wide

Forcing all relations to collide.

 

Then why we move to something so polluted

when it causes all sensibilities to become diluted?

Perhaps intoxication in that fabled drink

Causes self-pity to remain distinct

 

Learn from previous events they say

But with thoughts so bogged, we can only pray

For until will power is regained

We will never learn to live again.

 

The easiest thing at any moment

Is to consider the past and only lament

But the best solution is to be adamant

And wear your present as your favored garment

Change Hypocrisy

The questions I aim to put out are something along these lines

•           Are changes from generation to generation destined to happen at this rate?
•           But is the body able to cope with these changes?
•           What is happening to our culture then?
•           Does common sense always prevail these days?
•           Has the virus infected only select individuals?

Have you ever felt that you are increasingly being surrounded by Hypocrites? Perhaps you too are one. Don’t be alarmed cause you aren’t alone, this is the mania gripping all of us. As many of us say- “Easier said than done”.

The most recent example can be when people were baying like hounds when the anti-corruption movement came up. Thousands joined in but how many of them can actually say that they are corruption free. “Ok”, it is nearly impossible to be corrupt free these days because one is forced at some point to not toe the line when they have something to be done (considering all the corruption all over) , but still, how clean those people thronging the protests were themselves? The media too keep bawling about corruption, but it doesn’t mean that they are free of it themselves. We are asking for change without realizing that change needs to come from within first, this is where hypocrisy creeps in.

Forget about these major changes; let us think about those small changes occurring among us from generation to generation. People are becoming a lot more modern, but at what cost? Is the body able to cope to these changes? In general, the answer is a simple “No”. You might wonder “what is this guy talking about?” I am talking about small changes in lifestyles that are happening gradually but perhaps more so over the last one or 2 decades. This is leading to increased amount of stress levels, which is leading to lot more suicides and killings too. People have become very jumpy, and the phrase “on your toes” comes to my mind, but sadly that too has its limits after which we lose balance.

In this manic society, even culture is being sacrificed and lot of common sense too. No one is saying “no”; to adopting western ideas… but to what extent do we adopt them? Let me give you the latest example- Recently after a particular film was released, there was a hue and cry for adopting “Tomatina” festival into our lives, which was ridiculous considering the spiraling prices due to food shortage, increased consumption, etc over here. Luckily people with common sense in that respect decided to quash any such ideas. Our basic inner core varies for people from region to region, and our tendency is astonishingly begun to take in things from other cultures but only keeping the wrong things of our culture in mind. Hence the discrepancy in the so called clones.

Now I too am babbling about things outside my control, but I do realize with change within myself, things will get better. It doesn’t mean that we need to stop our demands, but we need to demand things of which we know we are clear and aware of.

Most of this writing might seem pertinent only to a particular region, but actually it is true all over the world with only the situations and events changing.

Personality Crash Simplified

Have you noticed that one becomes much alike to the person they despise? The more they despise the one, the more alike they become. Now what brings about such a change? Can it make one totally different from what they actually were? Is it justified? Some people say that it’s not a change brought in because of the other, but its because that feeling always existed within all people, not just that individual… Could that be true?

Now considering the last point mentioned above, let us approach it from a different perspective, which arguably I stand by. And to those who do not agree with me even partially, I think they are in the wrong.  Now what is so special about what I am going to say? It’s just this, people change as per their surroundings, and such a change can only occur if they have gained knowledge of those surroundings. Humans like all other animals were born with the natural tendency to survive, as they became aware of what went on around them they began to evolve. Slowly, things have become much more globalised with various things and news spreading to all parts of the world. So, all this information gets shoved into individuals at an increasing rate these days due to increased proximity to other individuals and the information spread. What can the person do, with this much information flooding the brain? He begins to choose and make decisions based on what has been fed into him either directly or indirectly. That’s when things go awry.

Gone are those days when people used to live in communities independent of other communities and hence had a fixed style when dealing with situations. How does one then go about dealing with situations when they are aware of often contradictory reactions to that situation? That’s where things perhaps look to get random, but I’m certain that the reaction chosen also depends on the weight of information for each reaction that gets into the head from childhood. To make you understand more better, lets consider an example- if for situation 1, there are two reactions/ solutions Sol A and Sol B… If Sol A has been given lot more importance in some way or another, then the tendency will be to go with reaction Sol A.

What 0makes a person go even perhaps to the wrong path, once again it’s the question of survival and information fed in. Therefore, a poor person with no food to eat will automatically tend to try to pinch some food if he has seen another individual do the same or is in dire need of it. Slowly, he becomes aware of the chances of getting away with it if he got away with it the first time, and gradually he becomes bold and even goes on a robbing spree (for things which are not required for actual survival), once again here to information is being fed into him (by his own mind) that he can rob and get away with it.

Coming back to my very first point, what actually makes a person become so alike the person he despises? The answer has already been clearly indicated above… Are you still wondering where the answer is? Let me explain that to you; when Person A despises Person B, then Person A naturally tends to think a lot about Person B. What does he think? He thinks about Person B’s actions over all time he has known him. What happens then? Unconsciously, person A is molding his thought process along the lines of that of Person B. Therefore, the two slowly start becoming alike in actions and then we see the likeness being directly dependent on the amount of thought pertinent to Person B (due to the increased importance).

For those of you wondering, “is there a possible solution?” Yes there surely is. We need to give less thought to the person or thing that might push you to become something you weren’t earlier.

Musings of a harassed kid

Have you felt the sinking feeling… one from which you find it impossible to come out from……… I have!!! I feel it everyday….

Reminders…

Replies….

Answers….

Questions….

Refreshes…..

Mails….

More refreshes….

This is what life has amounted to. But i dont blame that... Technology has developed a lot since what my parents and other elders say it was before I became alert to my surroundings. Now there is technology everywhere. So you can’t blame me for naturally moving towards technology due to my curiosity.  

This post too has become hard to write for me by myself, I am forced to rely a lot on spell checks with language dictionaries and repeated corrections. Soon our language will become too hard for even technology to comprehend, hence reversing the trend of earlier when humans found it hard to comprehend machine level language (though I find it hard to believe that ever such a time existed).

Now, I am moving away from my main topic, so hard to concentrate nowadays…

All things are done electronically and I am quite sure that all of you are familiar with this. Now let me get to the first point… aah… reminders… now what would my life be without them… I even need a reminder so as to remember to eat my food… these mobiles are great, no? just type in –eat and set reminder for 2pm, and the buzzer sounds so that I can turn my face away from the game I am playing) on my newest playstation) and fill my stomach. This is just one such case but I use it regularly (at least 6-8 times a day).

Over to the next few points, these are quite a few points but it governs my life nowadays, come on!!! I have some friends, and they need chatting or mailing to… I msg them or comment on their status, and wait for their reply… You know I have more than 200 friends on fb but my friend Arun has more than 500, I tried to compete with him but finally gave up… and though I send mails to some of them, social n/w sites is the shorter way and we can keep posting updates, I am already running to 246^th comment with my friend Praveen… I know what you are thinking… NAAA!!! He isn’t my best friend, I haven’t even met him… but he is a friend of my friend and he seemed funny…

I don’t understand the concept of meeting people when I can just chat with them, I have contact with friends even from kindergarten… so who are you to give me lectures?     I keep everyone happy b that, and not only that it saves me unnecessary time and energy in going all the way and meeting them. These old people… BAH!!! Just good in giving lectures and moaning. They say my weight is more, I am only 52 kgs (and 13 years old) but my friend Goutam from school is 75 :O!!!

Technology has its disadvantages though, I get so frustrated when the page doesn’t load or a message that a friend types doesn’t reach me immediately when we are chatting… I even broke my old PC because I got angry but my parents bought me a new one which is faster and can store more games, so at least it is better now… Thank God!!!

Hmmm… it’s getting hard for me to continue typing as I am used to short lines or words, so I am getting bugged writing. I don’t know why though I still have that odd feeling like things are not what it should be; ohkayy… coming!!! I got to go for my bath (my mom is calling)… it must be the constant bullying by all my elders…

--Signing off--

The Genius in Music (submitted to https://spillwords.com/)

It is not only verbally bound

But also consists of other wonderful sounds

Filled intermittently with silence

To Ease the listener to nonchalance

 

It makes the world come around

And leaves those who miss it feeling drowned.

 

It has no fixed illustrious figure

Nor follows any system, go figure

It pays no respect to social biases

As it is loved by all from varied classes

 

One needn’t be either telepathic or empathic

As emotions are sensed from the surrounding acoustic.

 

Overall, it is both a joy and a medicine

The mind reacts to it like the body does to oxygen.

Music is glory at its best

It doesn’t matter if you’re from east or west.

TRAPPeD!

One day, a person was walking around his fields, enjoying the freshness in the air, and was lost deep in thought. All of a sudden, he stopped; he had just heard someone crying for help. Then he heard it again, it was coming from not far away. He went in that direction and he saw a boy trapped in a well, crying.
Being handicapped, he was unable to help, and since none of his farmhands were around, he was unsure of what to do. Then he noticed a couple of protruding stones that were present along the sides of the well. His advice to the boy to try climbing up the well using the stones as foot holds. The boy tells through his tears that he had already tried once, and the stone had dislodged causing him to fall and bruise himself more.
The man advices the boy to first check each stone with his hand before he climbs it. The boy is still scared and refuses to do so. His crying becomes louder. This angers the man and he threatens to leave the boy in the well along with ensuring that nobody else comes to his aid. This frightens the boy. Finally, he starts climbing up following the man’s instruction. After a lot of slipping and couple of dislodging stones, the boy finally comes out of the well, hurt and bruised but happy.
Does this story sound familiar to you? Consider the boy trapped in a well similar to a person trapped in his own mind and the handicapped man is similar to any presence outside that might not be able to help you in any direct way. The rest should be clear to you by now, but I will say it anyway. Once a person traps himself in his own mind, it becomes difficult for him to come out of it. Nobody else will be able to help him. It is up to him alone to come out of it. Though the route might be difficult and sometimes frustrating, but when he does come out of it, he will always be better. When changes do happen, this is when a person tends to go into a shell and it will become very difficult to come out of it. One needs to be always open to what is going on around him and should be able to adjust to certain changes that might happen.

Seas Of Education

Both are well established systems. One is diverse and multi-cultured, one is not. One is producing more and more top talent whereas the other is adding talent to what already exists there. Wondering what I am talking about? I am just introducing the differences between the American and Indian educational systems.
There have been various things that have been copied from the west and have become part of our daily lives back in India, many of them have been beneficial but many have not been so (of course these opinions differ from person to person).
But, today I am not going to talk about all of the above mentioned points. Only one point is in my agenda and that is about the diversity in education (not people) that exists in the American system which is not much present in our system. From when I remember, there has always been a push right from school that the career for the future is always that of being an engineer or a doctor. So it becomes such that the people who do well in subjects related to these streams will assumingly become good engineers and doctors in the future. But what about those people who struggle in these (above mentioned field related) subjects, they are still expected to become the equivalent engineers and doctors. These compulsions are not exactly unfounded. There are very few worthy institutions that provide good education for other fields, and hence, fewer employers who would employ them. Therefore the employers might go for students who might not necessarily be specialized in that (the company’s) field. This will naturally bring out the standard of work done by that company which acts as a barrier for students who would have thought of pursuing this field. OH! What a vicious circle. Confused? You are not alone.
The solution to this problem would perhaps be for a couple of daring entrepreneurs to set up institution systems with world class teaching for varied fields and in many regions around the country. Naturally if this turns to be a success, this will slowly and steadily spread to other regions. This will clearly open the flood gates for rapid development of our country. The system with such improvements will definitely give lot of choices for students to pick from.
This solution might sound very slow and perhaps implausible, but no solution will change things overnight. Additionally, there are certainly certain top institutions that are there in the country which might already be doing that. But those are very few and perhaps mostly for the privileged. It is time for change and this change will make the vicious circle into a naturally productive one with our country producing not just top engineers and doctors, but also top people from other fields as well.

The Predator

The beaver family was forced to flee their part of the forest due to the large fire that had burnt not only their home but a large area around. Though they saw certain humans trying to put an end to the fire, little did they know that the fire was caused by a careless human in the first place. So they went deeper into the forest in search of a proper place to live. Once they found a suitable spot, they left the young ones (assuming it to be safe as it used to be in their previous home) and just went in search of some good wood to make a home with. A crocodile which just happened to be passing by sights the infants and decides it is time to have some dinner as it was hungry. The parent beavers sense the crocodile and immediately go to protect their young ones, but the crocodile reaches them first. The beavers try to stop the crocodile in vain as the crocodile uses its tail to ward any attack. But one of the beavers manages to distract the crocodile’s attention, while the other takes the young beavers to safety. The crocodile in its anger swishes its tail and injures the beaver that had distracted it, it now goes towards that beaver getting ready to have its larger feast. It grabs hold of the beaver ready to tear its head off. The other beaver, which was thinking of coming to the aid of this beaver, goes back to its hideout as it senses some other animals around. The crocodile opens its jaws wide open, unaware of what is around it.. Suddenly there is a big bang, and the crocodile stops in its tracks. The injured beaver immediately crawls away to safety. Then they hear voices (of humans). One of the human says “Did you see there was another animal there, do we search for it?” His accomplice shakes his head in disagreement. They come slowly and carefully towards the crocodile, examine it and then take it away.
The question that comes into one’s mind is- “Who actually is the predator, the crocodile that was just fulfilling its natural instincts, or the humans? “

Laugh Please

It is well known that laughing is the best catalyst for happiness. Here is a small anecdote with this regard. There were two children who were sister and brother. It is up to you to assume some names for them. Now it so happened that the brother was a very mischievous and jovial person while the sister was the more serious kind of person. Perhaps all of you reading this will guess immediately who was more successful in education and if your guess is that the sister (who was the elder among the two) was better in studies then your guess is right. She was not only better but was a consistent topper in her class as well. The brother was the more playful kind who played lot of pranks and many times his parents were summoned for his misdeeds. As one would expect, this put a lot of pressure on her little brother because he was constantly compared to her. This made the parents worried and they began to put lot of pressure on him, curbing all his activities believing that it was required for him to succeed.
His results began to improve and soon he too was topping the class. Meanwhile his sister had gone to another place to complete her further studies. In spite of their differences, she had always enjoyed her brother’s company and his pranks too. When she finally came back, she saw a different person in her brother and she soon realized that he was no longer as happy as he used to be and he did not seem to be enjoying himself as he should be. She decided to straighten things out. She felt the best way to do it was to relive their childhood days. So whenever possible she would spend time with him. This was taking time as he had lost his mirth it seemed. Finally she decides to show him a movie which was a very good comedy in the hope it will make him laugh and then things would improve. The movie was very funny and as expected at a particularly funny part, he began to laugh, but then he suddenly shouted in pain. On finding out she came to know that he felt like he had had damaged something in his neck. so when she becomes very worried, he shouts "FOOLED YOU!".
Some might be wondering what was special about that day, it was April Fools Day. He had begun to feel better earlier itself and he had decided he will play the fool with his sister on that day.

My message is clear- do not forget to enjoy life at all times, and in case you have a friend or relative who is in a similar position to the boy, make sure that things are made better for him before it is too late. It is never too late for anything. Never put too much pressure on a person, just making him understand his responsibility will be what is required. Remember to continue enjoying life as it is. Cheers!