Interwoven

It is in the vague scent of a flower

and in the vast blue skies

It is in the candle's soft shimmer

and the twinkling fireflies

It is in the candid laughter

and also the silence that we shared

It is in our long walks

and in the assurance to be there

It is in all those true moments

that our lives are interwoven

Lone existence seems impossible

in the world that we have chosen

:)

Traveler

He is a traveler from THAT city

and THAT is not defined

now it is this and

it will be another in a while

Please don't impose that on him..

He is not here to teach

and surely not here to preach

He says, he has similar questions

Only his path is untrodden

Let him be free, let him be

as his path goes beyond our horizon

Some call him mad

because he can not stop

and some call him obsessed

as he has to walk

He is asked, 'which is your destination?'

He says, 'I don't know..'

He might realize one day,

that his journey was his destination

and he was THE traveler of his time.

P.S. Yes. I'm good at NOT putting the correct punctuation marks.. so, please ignore any mistakes. :)

Madman

While talking to one of my friend, I remembered the following piece written by Khalil Gibran

HOW I BECAME A MADMAN


You ask me how I became a madman.  It
happened thus:  One day, long before
many gods were born, I woke from a deep
sleep and found all my masks were stolen,
--the seven masks I have fashioned and
worn in seven lives,--I ran maskless
through the crowded streets shouting,
"Thieves, thieves, the cursed thieves."

Men and women laughed at me and
some ran to their houses in fear of me.

And when I reached the market place, a
youth standing on a house-top cried, "He
is a madman."  I looked up to behold
him; the sun kissed my own naked face for
the first time.  For the first time the sun
kissed my own naked face and my soul was
inflamed with love for the sun, and I
wanted my masks no more.  And as if in a
trance I cried, "Blessed, blessed are the
thieves who stole my masks."

Thus I became a madman.

And I have found both freedom and
safety in my madness; the freedom of lone-
liness and the safety from being under-
stood, for those who understand us enslave
something in us.

But let me not be too proud of my
safety.  Even a Thief in a jail is safe
from another thief.

Decentralization?

Lately, it has dominated my thoughts. Especially, because I can actually hear the alarm. When I walk on the roads, when I am stuck in a traffic jam, when I am agitated because I get up in the morning and there is no water, I hear it, Loud and Clear. I grew up in Pune and now I am in Bangalore. Two cities, growing beyond imagination at a reckless speed. I guess Bangalore was the earlier victim and I see similar symptoms in Pune. I panic. I love that city. Is decentralization a solution? I wonder.

Some years back, I read an article in Hindu, I guess. The way US organized educational institutions, facilitated easy access to excellent education without the need of relocation. The farmers did not have to leave their farms to get good education. Education was brought to them. I am not saying US should be followed. But, what will happen if a farmer's son has to leave his village in Bihar and go to Patna or Kanpur or any other city? His father is either illiterate or has gone to school up to some level. He is not updated about better practices in farming as the son who had access to latest information, is not with him. His son goes to a city which is packed with people, running short of all resources, but there are well known schools a million IT parks and equivalent or more number of cars. Bigger the city, more the money, more the tension and lower the quality of life (of course, this is my view point).

Let me revisit the problem with different examples. There is a small city. Nice weather, ample water and relaxed lifestyle. The connectivity between cities is not that great and people on an average have similar lifestyles- majority being middle class (In this thought process, I am not thinking about the lower class for certain reasons). Then there is some improvement, after few years, the progress picks sudden pace and this little city is transformed. It is a metro! People pour in thousands of numbers. The original small city now can't accommodate so many people. Now, the are nearby villages, small hills are included in city as suburbs. There is a rush of builders to the newly developing areas- in new layouts, soon multistory buildings rise to sky. The water supply and waste water management is still not planned well, but there is no time. People need space to settle. People think, well, will adjust for a while. One day, there is no water. People call for the bore-well. The time passes by and one day, again, there is no water to the tap. People think, the previous bore-well was 750 ft. deep, should we go to 1000 or deeper? I face it. I stay in a suburb which supports more number of people than it can handle. People around are least bothered if water is wasted, if there are heaps of garbage around. I can see the deterioration of the unplanned suburbs. I pay rps 10,000/month to stay in a flat which is an a place that I absolutely dislike. And why do I do that? Because, it is close to my husband's and my workplace. We don't have other options. Can we track the trajectory?

Instead of flocking to Bangalore, if IT companies disperse to Belgaum and Aurangabad how would the picture change? Today, I see only old or very young people on the streets of even cities like Kochi and Aurangabad forget the villages (that's my observation again and not a statement). Where is the youth? Where is the earning class? The situation is some countries is so bad that 60% of the population comprises of aged or children. And when I know this, what am I doing? I am thinking. Not doing anything. I am waiting to finish my Ph.D because, I think then I can do something. After I get Ph.D, I will think after blah blah happens, then I can do something. Will this go on and the thoughts will just be incubated?

It might be difficult to to gauge the volume of what we will face one day. The process seems unstoppable and the aftereffects unimaginable. Can we see the problem? Can we identify the cause(s)? What should be done?

Mandar posted this on buzz http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b5dfac22-4dd1-11df-b437-00144feab49a.html

Take a look.

Coulors of life

Source: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/03/holi_2010.html

I remember playing colours with my friends.. it is a pure form of joy! You laugh , you play.. shed the inhibitions.. for few hours, you are free.. free to be a child again