Prose

Of an astonishing marvel

OF COURSE, this is a universal experience. Yet, the marvel of both -- of the book and of the friend -- never ceases to astonish everybody. What astonishes more is how a truly good book assumes greater depth with each reading. A true friend, too, grows in his/her warmth, all right. But that is understandable with a human being. The book is different -- non-human, so to say. Yet, in its depth it keeps growing -- as if it has unstated human dimensions. Every book engages the reader in a conversation. ..

Of the mist’s light hug

WHEN they come in, the winters are like that -- bringing a paradoxical warmth for the human soul. The mist looks and feels like a light, warm comforter that wraps around the shoulders -- giving the body a welcome warmth. By itself, the mist is cool -- even cold in later days -- and wet. Yet, for those who love the change of season, the mist comes in as a warm envelop to begin with. Welcome in touch and texture. True, later, the winter would assume a biting quality, and hit one’s bones. True, a winter ..

Romancing silence

A yogic condition, this ! The inner clutter is always terrible, and of course very noisy. It fills the head and troubles the heart. Silence is the answer, they say. Achieve silence, and the clutter would melt, they insist. Achieving silence ! What a task ! Collecting stray, random thoughts and throwing them out is the start of the process of silence. And that is most difficult. Like a restless, hyper-active child, the thoughts roam and dance and bounce around -- without any discipline, without any ..

Of hope in darkness

WHEN everything is dark -- the room and the mind -- even a spec of light is most eagerly awaited. For, when the eyes wide open see nothing, even a dot of light lights up one’s inner sanctum. That little dot of light, then, shows that there is an opening in the fortification of darkness around -- and through that minuscule opening, a little spec of light has found its way in. What a delight, that ! The stolid darkness is not impregnable, after all. There is hope, thus, that at some point, some more ..

Of the silent moment of blossom

THE process -- of the opening of the bud -- is always silent, and away from anybody’s eyes ! Most buds become flowers in the dark veil of the night -- away from any gaze, away from anybody’s contemplation on how that growth takes place. True, many people have recorded on the celluloid how the buds blossom; modern technology having made the difference. Yet, one remembers keeping awake the whole night to see those countless jasmine buds flower in the morning. In those good old days, summers were special ..

Of life of innocence

Simple words, of course, but they communicate the communion between the poet and the Lord within. Mathew McConaughey is much more than an actor winning world acclaim. He is an author, a poet, a thinker and an undeclared torch-bearer of romantic school of living. Tired of logic-focused world view, he felt mesmerised by the enchanting aspects of life -- full of faith and dreams, and of course, poetry as an expression of all those cumulative emotions. The poems in ‘Poems & Prayers’ have been written ..

Of time gone by

EVERY-day picture, this ! Yet, when memory darts back in time, emotions swirl up in the mind’s well. What follows is a train of mental pictures of the times gone by, of the scars left behind, of the marks of the momentous life ... ! True, when one is over the hill, aged with vagaries of life, wrinkles represent the road-map that one has followed. Each moment of life has a story of its own, a story most won’t want to hear -- since each has a similar tale to tell. The tale of life’s trail, of its fights ..

Of the inner destination

THIS is seen everywhere -- the urge to merge. This is the most common and most urgent and most ardent emotion that defines everything -- from Nature in its numerous forms to humans in their multiple roles and actions. There is always a movement -- forward and eager to be at a destination ... ! The sea-waves surge eagerly towards the shore. The rivers rush to meet the sea. The humans constantly chase a destination or a goal.... ! All these point to an inner emotion of wanting to merge or to be one ..

Of the drop and me

VERY spiritual, this experience -- and also very universal ! The rain comes. In trillions of drops that come in torrents. But then, stopped in their flow by the roof-overhang, they fall to the soaked, water-poodled ground drip-drip-drip-drip ... ! That music, soft and as if pin-pricking, forms a rhythm in the mind that fills one’s inner being -- every nook and corner, every grain. The rain stops after whatever time, but the drip-drip-drip-drip goes on for a long while -- taking over the space within. ..

Of wet earth’s fragrance

EVERY sensitive mind reacts thus ! When the shadows of grey clouds up in the sky douse the night’s glow on the earth and the air is uneasy, a wet fragrance of the earth -- from the rain in the distance -- suddenly fills the night, as if it is raining in the room ! Tucked under quilts, nudged by the happy invasion on the nostrils, one’s eyes just open in slits, and a crack of a smile breaks the sleepy lips’ gridlock. The vibe -- that moment’s -- is just divine. This, too, is a universal human experience ..

Of the view from the mind’s eye

THE metaphor is universal ! As rains dance under night clouds’ canopy, they pause for breath. Occasionally, through them, the Moon peeps -- and the earth blushes blue. She smiles. She hums in ecstacy ! This is usual, normal -- one would say. Mother did not think so. Often, she placed her arm across my shoulders, pulled me close, and showed the Moon peeping through clouds. ‘Look at the Earth, son. She is blushing in joy. All the time when the rains danced, she missed the moon. Now, she is happy”. Simple ..

Of a deal ... of emotion

When Khalil Gibran wrote what he would call prose, there was poetry in that. His poetry, possibly, was beyond metre or even verse. So much is credited to Khalil Gibran by way of great expression of human emotion, of human experience, of human peeping into future, of human looking back on time that went by ...! By some standard, Khalil Gibran could not possibly be called a poet...

Of moments of the morn

This appeal of the morn ! As the day peeps out -- over the wet earth, over the night’s veil, over nightmares, fragrant possibilities present themselves as the day’s promise. The lilies open their little eyes -- and smile. The grass on the front lawn yawns. The morning’s stillness refuses to wither ! In the mind, it endures, endears itself. In the distance, the cuckoo calls -- only deepening the silence, enhancing the stillness. The Sun is still waiting in the twilight’s cover -- rather unwilling to ..

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

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//)..