Prose

Of moments of childhood

  By Vijay Phanshikar :Tyres crunchon the gravel ...Dad !- SelfFOR this moment, one waited -- every afternoon, every evening. Arrival of Dad from the clinic was that moment at which one’s little world came to a halt. Every day was specia..

Of the essence beyond words

VERY universal -- this experience ! This is the grief almost every poet, every artist, every expresser of human emotion and inner feelings suffers from. No matter how honestly and seriously may people try, it is truly not easy for everybody to understand those intense emotions with the same intensity. For, people read words and may miss the emotions embodied in those. Gulzar -- or any other poet or artist, for that matter -- must be feeling that pinch. ‘Oh ! That’s not what I said !’, he may find ..

Of the essence beyond

The essence lingers -- accompanied by certain fragrance, certain sense of belonging, certain warmth that stays on, certain sureness of comradeship. Beyond its covers and pages, well beyond the time after it has been kept aside, the book brings along all these nuanced experiences -- at times very profound, or just touch-and-go. A book is yet to be born that has not left behind the marks of its presence on the human mind. And surely, no such book will ever come about. That is the magic. Reading of book, ..

Of the wake -- of memories

As the light fails and afterhours begin to fall in, like homing birds, rowers, too, return to roost. On the placid, greying waters, the little crafts’ wakes glisten for a moment ... and then merge into the evening’s embrace. Though familiar to human experience, this sight sparks a vast range of nuanced emotions -- of the journey, of its ups and downs, of its looking forward to destination, and of the wake that lives for quick moments embodying memories of the distance traversed riding on waves. One ..

Of musings of a classic director

OF COURSE, there would be many people who would agree with Alfred Hitchcock. But then, there also would be many who would contest his opinions. And in this chasm between opinions Alfred Hitchcock -- the master craftsman of movies -- resides. No matter that, the classicism in his opinion is truly endearing. For, in simpler words, it speaks of his immense command of the medium -- and also his method, as well as his highly individualistic and at times I-care-a-damn-for-others’ ideology...

Of art the liberator

HIS medium changed, but not his pursuit of bringing into artistic expression the inner, abstract form that nudged him from within. In each of his artistic outing -- whether on canvas or on stone or metal or walls or buildings etc -- all the versatile genius of Satish Gujral tried to achieve was sculpting of the form his emotion was trying to assume. Of course, each artist -- in whatever domain of medium -- does the same thing, one may say. There need not be any debate on this. For, art is actually ..

Of the purpose of art

WITH this dominant belief, K.K. Hebbar directed his artistic inclination all his life to hold a mirror to the society. Because of the strong social content, his part became an important tool of cultural renaissance through art for half a century in post-Independence India. Though he belonged to a pro-social school of art, Hebbar was still different since he marshalled his artistic refinement to issue a deeper social message not just to connoisseurs but also to the larger society. Such a stand required ..

Of the source of art

WHAT a contemplation ! -- Complex, even confusing ! Is this how art gets created or crafted or sculpted ? But when a Francisco Goya says this, then the thought assumes an altogether different importance. For, even though he was known to be an artist of the romantic category, Francisco Goya produced art with a clear surreal touch -- as if the work emerged from the deep layers of his conscience, as if almost on its own without any goading from the artist, without any pre-determined or advanced ideation. ..

Of the mind loaded with doubt

This is actually the very essence of being -- of being oneself. Though the words are simple, and anybody may feel tempted to call this statement mediocre in import, the depth of its meaning is actually amazing -- if one chose to get to its core. Of course, even when he wrote literally hundreds of science-fiction books, Issac Asimov often loved to express himself in the simplest of words. He also believed that basically science, too, is a simple natural phenomenon that can be understood by anybody. ..

Of the dance in the heart

THIS is art’s essence ! The art -- any art -- is in the heart, and it expresses itself through different instruments. The heart -- and the head, too -- is the sanctuary of art, thus, where the art first germinates and sprouts and blossoms and sends out its fragrance. And then come in the connoisseurs who receive the rendition, rejoice its flourish, nourish their souls in its wake, rejuvenate their spirits. For a performing artist with an intense personality -- like Sonal Mansingh -- dance is an inner ..

Of the divine singularity

The import of this state of being is beyond common human comprehension. True, artists in any genre know of such a state of being, such a state of spiritual singularity with their art. The whole experience is just divine -- to say the least. Many persons steeped in their respective arts may use similar words to describe their relationship with art. Yet, it is necessary to admit that such an immersion is achieved only in rare cases. For, connoisseurs can sense two identities operating simultaneously ..

Of architecture of personality

 BVDoshi at work  By Vijay Phanshikar :“Architecture should be treated as designing for aspiration that allows people to become what they have the potential to be”. - Famous architect B.V. Doshi,on his idea of architecture.DESIG..

Of the fourth dimension

THE statement is very profound -- though, of course, crisp. It points to the great artist’s spiritual need to add more dimensions to his flat, two-dimensional medium -- canvas! This approach needs deeper scrutiny. The very word ‘sculpt’ points to an effort to lift a subject over and above the surface of the medium, to add certain depth to the subject, to offer it a relief from the confines of the surface’s flat arena. In other -- and simple -- words, Jatin Das tries to add more dimensions to the flat, ..

Of the fourth dimension

THE statement is very profound -- though, of course, crisp. It points to the great artist’s spiritual need to add more dimensions to his flat, two-dimensional medium -- canvas! This approach needs deeper scrutiny. The very word ‘sculpt’ points to an effort to lift a subject over and above the surface of the medium, to add certain depth to the subject, to offer it a relief from the confines of the surface’s flat arena. In other -- and simple -- words, Jatin Das tries to add more dimensions to the flat, ..

Of capturing divine spark

  By Vijay Phanshikar :“Photography is, to me, more than a means of expression, more than my particular profession – it is a way of life. And if I were asked to choose one word which holds the key to my work I would select ‘lig..

Of reinventing self

IN THIS 318-page memoir-like look back on his “beginnings”, the legendary Bill Gates presents a truly wonderfully documented account of his childhood blossoming into an early entrepreneurship that ultimately made a story that needs to be told to every child in the world. For record, it certainly is the story of a precocious little one who dreams shockingly big and earns strength to make those come true. But more truthfully, ‘Source Code’ is the story of a boy who has continued to be that eight-year ..

Where the sea meets the sky

THIS elemental dance is eternal ! Of the two blues -- the sky and the sea ! The line in the distance -- between the two -- is blur. It does not act as separation of the two elements. In fact, it acts as a cementer of the two, so to say. The line at the horizon that one sees at the far end of the sea, thus, acts more as a marker of the unity of the sea with the sky. Standing on the shore, or on a ship or even watching the play of the sky and sea at Earth’s edge from an aircraft high in the sky, one ..

Of a poem yet to be born

THIS is a universal experience ! -- of how poetry struggles to find expression ! Each poet -- or even a non-poet -- has suffered this trauma, this tumult, this tribulation. For many, it is a failure of sorts when a poem refuses to emerge. For many, many others, even that trauma, those birth-pangs, have a beauty, a romance of their own. A poem, possibly, could not emerge. Yet, the silent -- and even violent -- struggle to find expression to poetry offers its thrill, complete with emotional stress that ..

Of promise of tomorrow

WHEN darkness pops up in the distance, the passing day’s fading Sun leaves the signature of its brilliance on the river’s placid waters... ... then what endures in the mind is the lengthening column of the glowing copper-coin in the darkening sky. That is certainly a promise of tomorrow ... ... that tomorrow will come shining in all its glory ! The human community has lived on for ages -- since time immemorial -- standing up on this promise of tomorrow. No matter what happened in the day, good or ..

Of the ocean’s main attribute

THE description of the ocean in the first part of the verse paints a wonderful picture of the ability of the sea to accommodate the incessant flow of waters from all rivers of the globe -- and still remain undisturbed, like the sage who remains unaffected by vagaries and vigours of life ! The rivers -- each river -- rush and flush and gush into the ocean on a non-stop basis, bringing with them the different wash-aways from different lands and terrains that host different people and different cultures ..

Of a heightened sense of being

NO DOUBT, a tall order -- from multiple angles ! Yet, it is certainly within the reach of an inspired person who has at least tasted -- and tested -- the power within ! In other -- and spiritual -- words, a heightened sense of being means a more refined self-awareness (beyond the text book) ! This takes one to another level -- absolutely beyond the concept of here and now, as if into an ethereal zone where no definition applies, no dimension exists. A heightened sense of being !! Though that special ..

An ode to the kite

FOR the little child across the globe, there may not be anything as enchanting as the kite dancing -- sometimes indolently sometimes violently -- on the breeze ! The child in me has refused to die in all these taxing decades just because long, long ago, a bright red-and-blue-and-white kite had promised to take me into the unknown depths of the sky, floating at the end of the tenuous thread, merrily or morosely -- craning the neck to look beyond and beyond ...! That promise is yet to be fulfilled -- ..

Of the artist’s profound humility

ABSOLUTELY typical mindset of a -- any -- maestro ! You are not the creator of the music. You are not the master of the ‘raga’. You are only a medium through which the music expresses itself. Or, in other words, music chooses you to be its medium -- every music maestro reminds self all along, every waking or sleeping moment. On this count, there is no compromise. True, there are some music masters who are extremely proud of their art, their mastery. Some of them also appear to be extremely arrogant, ..

Of inventing one’s own God !

“Si Dieu n’extait pas, it faudrait l’inventer.” (If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him) - translated into English from French. - François-Marie Arouet Voltaire, French enlightenment philosopher, in an Epistle (long advisory note) to the author of a book that sought to debunk founders of abrahamic religion..

Of seeing the whole picture

THIS basic truth is often missed in the humdrum of life. But even a little scratching beneath the surface brings us to its awareness. Of course, Salman Rushdie has talked of a tough reality -- of how one really knows the truth. This is almost universally right -- for if one wants to take a good look at the complete picture, then one must step out of the picture, walk some distance away from it, turn back and then pan one’s eyes from this side to that and up and down to take in the whole scene, the ..

Of poetry and prose

WHO would know better than Virginia Woolf the difference between poetry and prose -- or poetry and good prose ? A stark -- and dark -- prose apart, good prose is almost always full of poetic touch, poetic expression, poetic nuances. Many writers of prose excel even while writing technical papers even on sciences. Good prose always flows like a smooth stream, clear and vigorous -- at times calm, at times storm, at times warm, and at times cold. Yet, in whatever form it appears, good prose often offers ..

Of the urge to merge ... !!! - I

After the tumult At the shoreline -- Jostling, hustling, Wrestling, writhing, Heaving and hissing, Sighing and nighing And sinking Into soft sands -- In themselves merge The ocean waves !..

Of the urge to merge ... !!!

THAT early November morn, the eastern sea was truly boisterous -- as if eager to converse with anyone who was willing. ‘So much I hold within’, He meant to say. ‘So much I want to emote’, He added. And then suddenly, He fell silent -- as if dipped in deep ponder. Then came the roar -- of waves heaving and sighing and hissing and rising and surging on the soft, wet sands, drenching those who stood on the beach. In the distance, two grey and hazy outlines of ships breached horizontal line where the ..

Of the eternal truth

ONLY an Emily Dickinson can handle such paradoxes ! And what a connect she attains in these simple words -- spiritually ! Human soul ! -- Atman, Brahman, the emotional core, being carried forward in a frugal chariot, so to say ! So fine this ‘soul’ is that it also can move on on the strength of what a book wants to say, or even what a poem has to suggest in a fine nuance ! But the poem is about ‘A Book’ -- and, naturally, its power as a spiritual thruster. It also treats a poem as a courser -- that ..

Of the evening’s memory file !

“Shaam utari fir ahate mein (The evening descends on the yard) Jism par roushani ke ghaav liye” (Carrying the hurt of the light on her being) – Bakul Dev, new genre Hindi poet ..

Of purpose of prayer

WHAT a profound and thought-provoking statement, this! Considered deeply, one does realise it has the power to alter the general perception about prayer. It proposes and defines the actual purpose of prayer -- as a step to self-discovery and subsequent self-recovery from whatever may be undesirable in one’s personality. So, if a prayer talks of sowing light where there is darkness, for example, the proposal is that the person who prays must step out of his or her shell or cocoon and light a lamp -- ..

Of true discovery of science

THAT most scientists realise that spirituality is the core of science, is common knowledge. However, when Professor Albert Einstein talks of how the scientists get confronted with a higher spirit, then the words assume the power and strength and authority of a Vedic hymn. The point here is not about God as such. Of course, Nobel laureate Dr. John Mather had famously said, in effect, that even after isolating ‘God’ particle, the scientists felt that they were still missing something -- “and that must ..

Of science and spirituality

QUITE a complex and deep observation linking science and spirituality! But why Fritjof Capra alone, countless other scientists also have reached more or less similar conclusions about oneness of the universe that cannot be understood by segmenting it into different parts. But Fritjof Capra takes the comprehension to another level -- including the observer as integral to the complex web of the universe. In his deep and lifelong consideration of physics, Capra arrives at an invariable conclusion that ..

Of mortality and immortality

Amrutam chaiva mrutyuscha dwayam dehe pratishthitam/ Mohadyutpatye mrutyuh satyenotpadyute amrutam// (Immortality and death both reside in the body/ Death comes from temptation and immortality from the truth//)..