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Showing posts from January, 2012

uncertainty (un)defined

…I think it’s much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong. I have approximate answers and possible beliefs and different degrees of uncertainty about different things, but I am not absolutely sure of anything and there are many things I don’t know anything about, such as whether it means anything to ask why we’re here. I don’t have to know an answer. I don’t feel frightened not knowing things, by being lost in a mysterious universe without any purpose, which is the way it really is as far as I can tell… ~ Richard Feynman

Will he, won't he? Salman Rushdie's visit to Jaipur uncertain

It still surprises me how easily it is to stir up  controversy  over Salman Rushdie’s book  The Satanic Verses  in India. Rushdie is due to visit the  Jaipur Literature Festival  next week, and his trip coincides with all-out campaigning in Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest state, where one of several holding-state assembly elections would be held over the next several weeks. Competition for the attention of television cameras (and hence, that of voters) is intense, and one Uttar Pradesh politician,  Sultan Ahmed, saw an opportunity in denouncing Rushdie  simply for being “an author who is known to hurt religious sentiments of Muslims” and has called for the Indian government to refuse him entry. Never mind that Jaipur is in another state altogether, that he has visited India several times in the past without incident or that he does not need a visa, as Rushdie himself announced . So why is playing the Rushdie card such an effective political ploy?  It points to the ruling Congress P

Sweet Lies

Life never promises anything but humans have a bad habit of promising. We make promises and we don't take another minute to think before breaking it. Most of the time we lie, and our loved ones believe us...easy as pie... Some say they will never leave your side...Lie! Some say they will love you forever and ever...Lie! Some say you are more important than their own lives...Lie! Some say you're the most precious one...Lie! Some say you are their reason to live...Lie! Some say you're the first and last one in life...Again a lie! We don't hate the people who say these lies do we? I don't. Life is made up of such sweet lies. What matters is how we react when we realize we were told lies. Wouldn't life be better without these lies? Answer...my answer is No...the time we lived on these big lies was the only time we truly lived-carefree, happy, assured of every affectionate presence...and truly loved. This is just a random thought I felt

Notepad

Years ago, Notepad was my favourite programme on Windows. I loved it. It was simple, and I loved how I could focus on the letters appearing before me in the monospaced, predictable manner as I typed them. I loved our old keyboard. It was gentle, and the keys made a very satisfying “tick-tack” when pressed. It was easier to write blog posts then because on that great expanse of white, there were no distractions. I’m older (and wiser?) and more experienced now, with a lot many more posts behind me. Now, it feels like every second post I’m about to write has already been written. Or that I’ve grown out of it. It’s tragic, really, in a way. But it’s also a good thing because maybe it shows I’m moving forwards. It’s like yet another depiction of the fact that life is changing (or well, it has), and I’m accepting the change by changing too. I’m not a kid anymore (that’s a lie … I so totally am still a kid … at least I hope I am!). So today, for the first time in a long time, I’m typing this

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara!

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   Dilon mein tum apni Betaabiyan leke chal rahe ho Toh zinda ho tum Nazar mein khwabon ki Bijliyan leke chal rahe ho Toh zinda ho tum Hawa ke jhokon ke jaise Aazad rehno sikho Tum ek dariya ke jaise Lehron mein behna sikho Har ek lamhe se tum milo Khole apni bhaayein Har ek pal ek naya samha Dekhen yeh nigahaein Jo apni aankhon mein Hairaniyan leke chal rahe ho Toh zinda ho tum Dilon mein tum apni Betaabiyan leke chal rahe ho Toh zinda ho tum A inspirational poem by  Javed Akhtar  Recited by Imraan (Farhan Akhtar) in  Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara . English translation- If you carry impatience in your heart then you are alive If you carry dreams in your eyes then you are alive Learn to live like the free waves of wind Learn to flow like the sea does as waves Receive every moment in life with open arms Every moment is a new beginning seeing with your eyes If you carry surprise in your eyes then you are alive If you carry impatience in your heart t

A Poem from Antarctica- to explain

Why there has to be the blues. There has to be the blues because Some kinds of sadness are as good as being happy. Or misery loves company. Why people have to die. People have to die because There has to be room for new people. Or living forever would be boring as hell. Why loneliness is fundamental physics. Loneliness is a universal constant because If you took every person who ever lived And gave them their own galaxy There’d be a lot of galaxies left over. Or because you’re far from me. Why there has to be Antarctica. Antarctica has to be so there was somewhere close we could go To see what the rest of the universe was like. Or because God forgot to put something at the bottom. Why it has to hurt. It has to hurt to remind you everything has a consequence That ripples through everyone else’s life. Or it’s sympathy for exploding stars. Why I smile when I look into your eyes. I smile when I look into your eyes because I’m happy I’m close to you again. Or I remember you from my dreams.

How do you feel?

How do you feel…when you just can’t make someone understand your point of view? How do you feel… when that someone is still the most important person in your life? How do you feel… when you can’t afford to give up on that someone? How do you feel… when you just can’t feel anything anymore?!

I see the wind blowing

Sometimes, Sitting inside an airconditioned cubicle, As I look beyond the tinted windows I see the winds blowing, I see the trees dancing with joy And a silent voice reminds me Of the sun, the humidity, the pollution The longing doesn’t subside I see the irony of my quest, Of happiness, satisfaction and things like that....