Thank you for your time

On the right side of the blog, there is a column that shows the number of posts in a year. I just realised I have very little time to make sure 2015 does not go with a 0. So here goes a pointless post.

Thank you!

Eternal confusion of a restless mind

There are galaxies in my head

And black holes too.

There are sparks flying allover

And water sprays too.

My thoughts are lost in between

The walls of certainties and doubts.

There’s a labyrinth in my head

My thoughts can’t find the way out.

I thought I knew what I was thinking,

Seems my thoughts were drunk,

They'd get up and walk a few steps,

Before they'd just pass out.

My thoughts are lost in between

The walls of certainties and doubts.

There’s a labyrinth in my head

My thoughts can’t find the way out.

My train of thought derails,
and drifts away again.
So I'll have to live with
whatever's stuck inside my brain.

My thoughts are lost in between

The walls of certainties and doubts.

There’s a labyrinth in my head

My thoughts can’t find the way out.

Time - a western propaganda

No, the title has nothing to do with any publication by the same name. I'm talking about time, a phenomenon so complex that even Albert Einstein could only define it as 'Time is that which clocks measure'. That might sound like a simple explanation in the west, but in India, things are a bit more complicated. Not because we don't have clocks here, but because we choose to not give a damn about them.

Which leads me to my theory on Time. My theory is that time as a concept is a result of blatant Macaulayism. I don't know what that means, but I guess it makes me sound intellectual. My point put in simpler words is, Time was imposed on us poor Indians by our cruel colonisers. Indians culturally, socially or genetically were never designed to follow time.

Legend has it that Indians never played games that had timelines. Yes, we invented chess and later on embraced cricket. And deadlines were never heard of. We were so used to taking our own time that the under construction Qutb minar saw four coronations, four hundred thousand labourers and four thousand government files moving around aimlessly .

But come the evil colonisers, they chose to conveniently ignore such monuments of patience and brought to light our sundials through which they tried to convince us that time was a part of our culture. Just like they conveniently made us embrace Victorian culture as our own. It is a well guarded secret though, that what they successfully passed off as sundials were actually playgrounds.

So strong has been the impact of the concept of Time, that the television rendition of India's greatest epic, Mahabharata starts with a mention of Time.We never realised how they subliminally introduced the concept of time in India. Just like they introduced sex, greed, ambition and anything that is said to affect anybody's religious sentiments, which to begin with is extremely fragile.

But at the end of the day, our culture is the most important thing to us. And it gives me great pleasure to see many of us not budged by such evil Zionist/western propaganda. My eyes get moist with pride when I see people who keep others waiting eternally, those not making way for ambulance and making sure they don't fall for such evil concepts like time. And no years of colonisation and modernisation has been able to make us reach anywhere on time.

The evil west may have introduced 24 hours in a day with clocks that measure sixty minutes in an hour. But still the best they could manage to do for us is bring down the shortest measurable duration to 15 minutes. A concept better known as 'Bus do minute'.

In conclusion, I would say that our conscience might make us fight the evil propaganda, but we need to focus on it in a bigger way. Instead of wasting time on petty issues like Indianising education and making Hindi compulsory everywhere, I think it's high time we should focus on something more important. Time has come for us to ban this concept of time that has enslaved us and continues to do so every day. And we need to ban it as soon as possible. I have a deadline for next Wednesday.

The kitten

Once there was a kitten
with white fur and blue eyes
So elegant were its ways
it was an angel in disguise

It knew no malice
and radiated with benevolence
No matter what it was put through
it always landed on four legs

A little boy was so fascinated
He flung it to the door time and again
Devoid of any empathy
He tested the feline’s resilience

The kid has grown now
And karma has caught up
He’s now flung from door to door
And he manages to stand up

He cannot let the world know
The angst within and all the trouble
For what the kitten and his guilt taught him
was to never bite or stumble.

The life cycle of possibilities.

When you're small everything is possible. And then you start to learn. You start getting conditioned by things and people around you. This knowingly or unknowingly starts narrowing down your perceptions and imagination. And before you know it, a slipper stops being a phone and the round box of cookies stops being a steering wheel.

Next you enter a stage of life where your ambition in life can change from footballer to army office after watching one movie. Your imagination is still rife and you start making boats out of paper, buildings out of lego blocks and castles in the air.

Then comes the age of dreaming big and trying to achieve it all. The age when young blood drives you to achieve a lot more. You start exploring ways to build the edifice for some castles in the air you had been dreaming of, if not all. And before you know it, you're in a hurry to make the most of whatever you have.

This slowly makes way to a phase where possibilities take a back seat and certainties start dictating one's life. EMIs, relationships, a steady life or as it is called, settling down. At this stage one aims more at retaining what one has rather than going for more. Then slowly naivety makes way for a well earned cynicism. And it all ends with the most certain reality of life - death.

Hence, it comes as no surprise that a creative person must be child-like. He/she must be able to see possibilities. A creative person hardly creates. He connects random dots, brings together unconnected thoughts and sees more reasons, implications and possible meanings to a given situation or thought. And above all else, he sees humour, hope and happiness.

So you should always try to look for possibilities when you can and make the most of them. Because once you grow old you stop seeing possibilities. Or is it the other way around?

55 word stories

I just realised that I have no post from this year on my blog. And turns out I have nothing to write about as of now. so instead here's a collection of 55 word stories I have contributed to http://55words.blogspot.in/ A big thanks to Vivek Tejuja to come up with the engaging blog for lazy writers like me.

Fear
Her husband treated her like dirt; only worse. Her ex-boyfriend could not see her plight; he was falling for her again. He asked her to come along and start afresh. She would never agree though she knew his feelings were true. The idea of freedom suffocated her. In fear she sought refuge

Zoo
Little Chintoo had heard a lot about the zoo and would do anything to catch a glimpse of it. In parks, on the roads, everywhere, he would just hear people talk about the Zoo. If only his mother would let him pay a visit. At every mention, she would scold him and say "They run the country in the Zoo. We dogs have no job there."

Airport
The beer was extra chilled and the ice was instantly broken. Ashish and Megha met at the airport bar and hit off instantly. The delayed kingfisher flights had landed them an unintended date. A good 5 hours later they had to part ways. They kissed goodbye as she winked and asked “Your city or mine?”

Relationships
They were in love once. But on that day, they ended it for once and for all. His mind was flooded with memories and thoughts as he drove to work after signing divorce papers. Dazed and lost, he stood outside his office staring aimlessly at his name board. It read “Bilal Mushtaq - Marriage Counsellor”

Boredom
Raju got up from his chair. He took slow strides as he walked towards the kitchen. He opened the fridge and gulped down some chilled water. He then walked back to his chair and sat. In another five minutes or so, he would pay another visit to the loo.

Alcohol
Mosquito 1: Let’s enter the house from the southern entrance. That’s the farthest from the mosquito repellant.

Mosquito 2:  Sounds good.

after 2 minutes of searching
Mosquito 1: Look what I just found? An arm!
Mosquito 2: Go slow. Don’t wake him up.
Mosuito 1: but...I...zzzz… (falls in a peg of whiskey)

Magic

He fell from the sky and landed next to a fully grown immature imbecile with six fingers. He was blue in colour, had three fingers and would keep screaming ‘sunlight’ in an irritable monotonic voice. The six fingered imbecile and his friends were awe-struck by his tricks. They named him… What was today’s topic again?

Fight
He was a born fighter, but he found himself helpless then. He would always give his best shot, only to fall prey again. On that fateful day, he decided to give it his everything. He picked himself up, dusted himself off and finally quit. Today it’s been 2 years since he overcame his cigarette addiction. 

Distant
They met in college. Their paths crossed. Soon they were on the same path. Some way down the road, things however changed. His insensitivity, her ego surfaced. They then grew apart. Now it’s been 7 years and they’re indifferent to each other. They’re on parallel paths, equidistant at every point - never closer, never farther. 

Fairy Tales
“He made his way past puddles and honking cars” the grandmother read out to little Diana. She continued “And finally, he reached the railway station where he would catch his train home.” Little Diana was bored of the Fairy Tale. She stepped out of her house and slid down a beanstalk.

Mystery
Suresh lay dead in a pool of pepsi. Besides him was an open book and a packet of chips. There were rope marks on his neck but no rope around. The windows were shut and there seemed to be no chance for anyone to have entered the room. Well, go ahead. Solve it yourself.

Monday
The whole world was going berserk with the start of another week. Everyone was ranting and tweeting about yet another manic Monday. But he sat in his jail cell unperturbed. For him Monday just meant a different Biryani.

Words
I sat deciding what to write and how. I then wrote on, but still felt something wrong. I changed the story, changed the characters, and changed the entire plot. Yet as I concluded, the word limit was crossed. I again edited, revised and reworked. I had finally completed my first story, exactly of 55 words.

Scream
She hated living with a drunkard male chauvinist. Alas! She had no choice. To channelize her frustration, she would occasionally scream into a jar. One day he came home drunk again. He took out his belt to hit her. As he lashed out the belt, its tip hit the jar and broke it.

Di Wa Lee

The evil Ra Wang joined his fist to palm and muttered ‘I bow to thee master. You are God lee!’ as he took his last breath lying outside his fort at Liangzhou. His 9 other heads looked on in confusion until all his 20 eyes shut for good. Lord Rang smiled with a glimmer of divine forgiveness in his eyes. His ‘arm of god’ move had done the trick, killing the demon who had kidnapped his wife.

He then handed over the kingdom to V.B.Chang, the younger brother of Ra Wang and headed back to his kingdom at Anyang in Northern China. Lord Rang was going home after serving a penance of 14 years of exile. During course of which, he along with his brother Lax Ming and wife Xi Ta toured innumerable jungles of southern China, lived a life of abstinence and sucker punched innumerable monsters. 

When the news of Lord Rang’s return reached home at Anyang, celebrations were in the air. And so were fireworks. The scent of gunpowder and incense filled the air as households brewed lavish feasts with generous amounts of Ajinomoto. The streets were adorned with Chinese lamps of all shapes and sizes. From little spherical red lamps to gigantic Dragon shaped lanterns, the city was a staggering display of lamps and light. Children and elders alike, gathered and chanted Di wa lee, we’re happy our king has returned. 

The festival would go on to be known as Diwali, the festival of lights. And till this date, Chinese fireworks fill the skies, Chinese lamps fill streets and Chinese flickering lights twinkle at homes, even in India. To be more specific, especially in India. The only thing, left Indian about Diwali was the legend around it. So I thought of doing the honours. Now let’s take it all the way by exchanging boxes of chicken Manchurian and wishing each other Di wa lee!

What's on your mind, what's happening, etc.

Social media has very often been projected in many ways. But here, the point I’m trying to make is how social media actually makes us altruistic.  And no, I’m not talking about those pictures you can share to save an elephant’s life or that like button you can hit to kick a corrupt police officer. I am talking about how social media has made every event and moment in our lives worth sharing.

When you see a beautiful landscape, you no more sit back and enjoy it as the selfish you in the pre-social media era would. Instead you incessantly click pictures to show the world how beautiful the scenery is. Such is our unselfishness that we don’t just show them one or two pictures but 700 pictures of the same place. And we don’t stop at places. We know the sufferings of those who can’t enjoy the same delicacies as us, so we instagram their pictures, add a filter and click pictures of coffee to help them overcome the boredom inflicted by 700 pictures of the same place.

We are so inclusive even in our celebrations that when the football team we support scores, we don’t just selfishly celebrate at home, we celebrate with the world by tweeting “YESSS!!!“  or putting up a facebook status like ‘What a goal!!!’ Or even better, we like or comment on such statuses to join the party. We are now in an era where we like things we used to merely acknowledge before. That’s how concerned we are about other’s feelings.

Some people take benevolence to another level altogether by helping their toddlers and pets express themselves and share their experiences (or what is believed to be their experiences) through specially opened accounts for them. The other day a friend’s 2 year old son replied to one of my tweets. The kid has grown so fast! Now if only, my friend would.

Our compassion breaks all boundaries and touches an all new high when we even acknowledge the needs of stalkers. While walking into a restaurant, we just don’t walk in. We put up updates on Foursquare as a noble gesture. Because we understand that stalkers too, have feelings.

Inclusiveness is the key in today’s world. Meeting one person does not make us forget the rest of the world. We continue chatting with the rest of the world on our smartphones after greeting that person. Our lives are not just our lives, they are several parallel Big Boss/Big Brother shows that play non-stop on computer and smart phone screens across the globe. And it is our duty to do everything possible to keep it entertaining and fun as a service to mankind.

Now that I’m done with penning down my personal views, I will go ahead and do a selfless act of shouting about it on all possible social media. Thanks for reading. Please join the selflessness by sharing.

Me

Since when did I turn a deaf year to the tides.
Since when did Sunset become a stranger.
I don’t remember our last conversation.
But since when did I stop talking to me?

Was I running behind dreams
or fighting my insecurities?
Either way, I was stuck in a vicious circle.
But why did I turn a deaf ear to me?

Friends became facebook profiles
and numbers I never dialled.
I have no complaints, I was always a loner.
But I wonder when I ‘unfriended’ me.

Lethal agreement

Srijith hereafter referred to as 'I' or 'me' as the case may be, is as of now and or ticked off by the overusage of words in or and legal documentation and hereby expresses dismay at the verbose and loquacious agreements (with additional clauses in brackets to accentuate the complexity) and is pissed off at the usage of in and or instead of punctuation marks to lengthen sentences with no reason whatsoever and herewith agrees not to agree to anything hereto.

Further, I admits that he, time to time, is in complete awe and admiration of the art of documenting clauses that lis pendens if and of complicate and make redundant, sentences and trap one in a verbal labyrinth hereof therefore causing the Reader to hereby forget the beginning of the sentence as and of s/he reaches the end of the clause herewith.

Me solemnly agrees that any unencumbered lis pendens herewith is unencumbered. It is further agreed upon that despite the innumerable inexplicable clauses mentioned herewith and the extent of valuable time conspicuously consumed in vain whilst reading and or writing the above, anything and or everything aforementioned remains subject to change.

An unconscious effort

Have you ever wondered how stories help kids sleep? Even ones that make no sense, whatsoever. Sometimes you can make up stories and watch them sleep away happily. The funny part however, is that we continue doing it even once we grow; at least I do. Perhaps we don't get someone else to read out stories or don't even read them ourselves. We just form pictures in our head that follow to form a story, again one that makes no sense whatsoever. And then in due course of time, we'd be snoring our way to glory.

Recently I was trying to draw such pictures in my mind and in turn doze off. I was dead tired that day as I had been travelling the whole day. Surprisingly, I found that it was easier for me to imagine a picture when I was physically and mentally drained as compared to several earlier occasions where I had failed. What caught my attention was the fact that it was actually easier to imagine pictures when the mind and body were tired.

It got me thinking about how conscience actually hampers our imagination. We all experience that its easier to come up with more creative thoughts and better jokes when we're with our best of friends and not in front of say, bosses. Isn't that because we're less 'conscious'? Isn't it precisely why kids come up with the most creative thoughts. In fact the most creative of people are those who remain child-like despite showing the world they've grown up. We all have sensed our brains thinks wilder when intoxicated. It's rather fascinating how a tired brain seems to work more than an alert one.

I found one probable answer in Aldous Huxley's essay, the doors of perception. It states-
In one of his studies eminent Cambridge philosopher, Dr. C.D. Broad states "The function of the brain and nervous system and sense organs is in the main eliminative and not productive. The function of the brain and nervous system is to protect us from being overwhelmed and confused by this mass of largely useless and irrelevant knowledge, by shutting out most of what we should otherwise perceive or remember at any moment, and leaving only that very small and special selection which is likely to be practically useful."Quite a revelation. Isn't it.

That might answer why the less conscious brain opens up more to imagination. But having said that, how do we channelise our thoughts and remember or note them, if not through a conscious mind? Well, there goes yet another confusion of a restless mind.

The pursuit of pain

The heart pursues pain wholeheartedly

makes me wonder why such vehemence

Every low in life is just an excuse

to unleash a chain of pain

You scratch open old wounds

Just to feel the heart bleed again

and then wonder why it wouldn't heal

and yet don't realise, it didn't come uninvited

Happiness causes such discomfort

The absence of turbulence is scary

The heart once heavy, clears all dilemma

and makes everything rest in pain

The truth is pain is a friend for life we can't live without

If it doesn't find you, you find it

Nothing to say

It’s surprising but as the year comes to end, I just realised that I've had nothing to post in months. My life has been through so much; good and bad phases. A lot has happened in this period. Still I find it hard to believe I couldn't come across a thought or an observation to bring up here.

One of my writer friends and a senior at one of my earlier companies once was discussing about the joy of writing and how he would go about it. During the conversation, he told me that an effective way to get around a ‘writer’s block’ is to write about it. So here I am, writing about ... well, nothing.

Isn’t nothingness strange? I guess it is a key emotion that we never acknowledge. It could take forms of bliss and later on, boredom. But it certainly forms an essential part of our lives, doesn’t it? It could make you see the beauty of life and miss it at the same time.

Incidentally, nothingness could also be a big void in a train of thoughts. The mind probably works like a train and you need to take out one thought in order to let another come and play. So probably getting out the nothingness might make way for somethingness. I really hope that made sense.

Now that I really have nothing to write about and have probably stopped to make sense, I'd just conclude by saying that there might be many more similar writings on ‘nothing to write about’ coming up. Anyways, here’s hoping I wouldn't need any.

The Great Indian Pendrive

They say education aims at making us better humans. But how effective is it, if it makes us underconfident, prejudiced and practical failures. Welcome to India, where education aims at making you nothing but another brick in the wall, to put it in the words of Pink Floyd. Even though that was a generalised take on education, I'd just like to add that it personifies India like no other.

Since the days of the gurukul education system, we've only been made to memorise and recite like parrots. Reasoning and questioning is never encouraged by parents or teachers. But in this era of google.com and virtual reality, isn't memorising a job that's just left to pendrives?

Talking about education as a whole, it is not a process that just starts at school. It starts from home. And our teachers and elders have the perfect ways of killing any interest that a kid may cultivate. We're so insecure as a nation and society. This insecurity combined with false pride and ego takes a toll on a kid's future. Job security rates higher than passion and the kid is made an instrument for parents' ego.

We would like to believe in chasing excellence in stead of success. But the truth remains that we succumb to "what has scope" and to "what our neighbour's son does". Just for the record, India would be one of the very few nations in the world where people want to become engineers for the fear of not getting another job that suits their "position in the society" otherwise.

We teach our kids to believe in idols, century old scriptures, holy books and superstitions. But make it a point to NEVER teach them to believe in themselves. A post graduate in India goes around asking help to fill a resume while even a kid in the west would know how to sell himself. The same theory of "give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day, teach him how to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime" applies here. But unfortunately, we're least interested in learning how to fish. We're glad being highly educated, complacent and less readier to face the world.

Albert Einstein once said that Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school. And here in India, once an exam is over, we're formatted pendrives.

Hello Auto

Three wheels, a pig like face and as synonymous with India as Elephants and snake charmers, welcome on board our very own autorickshaws! Apart from being one of the most common modes of transport, it is a face of every city in India. Funny but true, every city is recognised by it's Auto drivers. So I'd just like to take you through a ride of autorickshaws in different cities.

Well, let's start with the capital, Delhi. The auto drivers are absolute thugs who hardly use the meter and charge you as they please. But their USP is the long routes they take to justify the amount they charge. And if you're new to the city, nobody can save a hole in your pocket. They step out with a drilling machine and aim at pockets. One good thing however is that they hardly refuse to go to any area. Even if you want to go across the street, they'll ask you to sit while they take you for a ride.

Well, this exactly is the biggest difference between Delhi and Bangalore. If you ask an autodriver to leave you at a place 5 km away, he'll tell you directions and ask you to walk instead! They really are that dumb! But don't get mistaken when they seat you and turn the meter on. They fiddle with meters and you end up charging more than you would in a Delhi or Chennai. Even though not so common, it is something to watch out for in the city of pubs.

Next is the turn of the most notorious autorickshaw drivers! The cymbals clash, the trumpets blow and the applause roars! Make way for the undisputed winners, Chennai! First and foremost, meters do not exist. No, not even for decoration in some autorickshaws, hence exorbitant rates. Next is their attitude. I'm sure, Himesh wouldn't write "fulltu attitude dede tu zara" if he had travelled by Chennai autos ever.

And the biggest reason for their notoriety is their driving style which can make any atheist chant hymns and mantras out of nowhere. If you want your auto to stop, you better watch the incoming traffic because they would just switch lanes and hit the footpath without seeing anything that would be coming their way. It's at the end of the ride that you get to know the exorbitant rates were actually for a roller coaster ride in the guise of an autorickshaw.

Well, after going through all these cities, you finally go to Mumbai. Step out of the Railway Station or airport and hire an auto. He'll say yes, seat you and turn the meter on. All of a sudden life is simple.

Please Use Me

life nowadays is becoming more and more materialistic. More in terms of disposing material, rather than possessing it. There was a time when a pen used to be a treasured possesion. one would keep his pen for ages put together. Now even cameras dont last that long. The only option we have is to dispose. technology changes so fast that repairing costs more than buying new.

On one hand we talk about recycling and reducing wastes. on the other hand, we dump huge possesions becaus there's nothing we can do about it. Income is also treated in terms of disposable income. Quiet literal, it simply means the more income, the more you dispose.

"Disposability" as i may call it has creaped into our lives to such an extent that it goes beyond materials. Be it relationships, jobs or even contacts, nearly everything is disposable. Simply put, the disposition of disposing is quiet fast catching up.

The Reverse Big Bang Theory

Edwin Hubble in 1929 discovered that celestial bodies and galaxies are drifting away. Thus was discovered "The big bang theory" which states that the universe is in a constant state of expansion. The theory goes on to prove that spaces are ever-expanding

Having said that, I would like to say that today we live in times which holds relevance to what i would like to term as a 'reverse big bang'. The stars may still be drifting away but today spaces and distances are shrinking. Continents might not be merging to form the Pangea again but geography for sure has become history.

We talk regularly to people halfway across the world. I need not explain how technology helps bring people from various parts of the globe on a common communication space, though not physical or geographical. One of the most common examples would be that of chatting over the internet with people from all parts of the world. Ironically though, we may not even know who lives in our neighbourhood.

When I mention that spaces have shrunk, I not only mean distances between places, but also personal spaces. Earlier where families would use the same products and commodities and watched television together, today, each member has his/her own "brand" for every commodity. And also separate televisions playing separate channels/programs.

The time of joint families is long gone. Nowadays, even nuclear families are on the decline with the rise of single parenting. Thanks to shrinking personal spaces. The shrinking now goes beyond separate televisions that i've mentioned above. Media is getting as personal as possible with "media-on-demand", namely ipods and laptops. We are in the process of being reduced to secluded species, both socially as well as intellectually.

All that said, could Hubble's theory still hold true in today's social scenario, considering the fact that bodies are continually drifting away?

Am I the only one?

There is a saying which goes "you are unique just like everybody". I don't know how far it is true with everybody. But i believe that it atleast holds true for me. I sometimes feel that I am the only one who believes that "I" am the center of the universe. Not that others don't mean anything. I feel that my universe comprises of just me. When I won't be here, the world would still continue to exist but if I won't be there to witness it, it's as good as the world does not exist for me. Others are not a part of this "universe", they are just influencers. It might sound selfish, but I couldn't put it in pleasant words.

Am I the only one who believes that "rat race" is the most derogatory term? I get infuriated whenever I hear the word. I'd rather be called a mediocre than being c alled a member of a rat race. It's prepostrous that on one hand we say that human life is divine, god's gift etc. and on the other hand, we make such detrimental comparisons. I wouldn't mind being reborn as a rat but I would hate it if anybody called my life a human race then.

Am I the only one who believes memories are a pointless indulgence? I would like to make it clear that i do not despise memories. I like meeting old friends and reliving the days, incidents and anecdotes from the past. But i feel it's useless to indulge in memories. To be stuck to the rewind button in life. That, according to me is a sign of stagnation and is the root for what one refers to as loneliness; I firmly believe in solitary bliss as an advantageous alternative when I don't have the luxury of a social surrounding.

Am I the only one who daydreams of being interviewed on TV for watever reason? Am I the only one who sets on solitary tours? I could go on and on... But I would just like to end with one main question.
Am i the only one who comes up with such a meaningless blog?

Sleep tripping

I was sleep deprived for over 36 hours when i got onto a train from Jolarpettai junction. I was returning to Chennai from Yelagiri. I had gone there for a solitary trip amidst the mountains. So after a full day of trekking and roaming around, I was tired and craving to hit the bed

The train came one hour late and people started rushing in as it reached the platform. I had a ticket for a general compartment. It was full and crowded. Which meant I had to stand for three hours. The very thought of standing up for so long and that too in such a rush for such a long duration was a big turn off. The fatigue and deprivation of sleep added to the discomort. Eventually, one of the co-passengers sat on the floor. I was too tired to stand so i followed.

Now i'm sitting on a newspaper sheet inside the train, besides the door. I start feeling drowsy. Sleep was starting to take its toll over me. I made it a point not to give in because a mere 3 hours would not suffice. I knew I would end up with a headache, had i given in to insufficient sleep. I wanted to remain awake so that i could have all the sleep at a stretch after reaching home.


Gradually, I started to feel my eyes getting heavy. It was similar to sitting in a boring lecture. I would widen my eyes occasionally, a tried and tested method of driving away sleep, atleast temporarily. Eventually, I found myself on the border of sleep and conscience. I'm not sure if i crossed the border but i was sure i didn't for more than a few seconds; an experience i had come close to many times but this was a first time and unique.


The experience was intoxicating. I had started to dream with my eyes open. People who were talking around seemed to be talking famous dialogues. A person on my left was talking to a person on my right. There were a lot of questions and answers passing between the two. I suddenly turned to the person on my left. He was quiet and by his body language i knew he had been for a long time. This was only getting worse. I was hallucinating. It was as though i was on an intoxicant, a drug.

Now the borderline of my conscience was moving further. I knew a strong nerve impulse could only do the trick. My tired mind could not gather the strenth for now. Rather I did not want to move out of my comfort zone. I could feel myself getting irate and restless. I wish I could explain some more of my experiences more clearly. Unfortunatley I don't remember much.

The fact that baffled me the most was that when the body requires more rest, how could the mind get all the more restless. Shouldn't it be pacified? What happens when we sleep? Does bloodflow to the head reduce? A million questions come to my mind. If any of you know, please let me know. Now you may ask why i posted this on my blog? Just a strange experience. Thought I'd let you know.

Tranquebar and the symphony of mystery

The waves roar louder and louder
Bringing alive many an emotion!
They join hands to create a symphony
Of melancholy, yet of rejuvenation.

When the night is at its darkest
and stars are hidden by clouds,
the waves collide with rocks
and create that enigmatic sound.

The sound can not be deciphered by mind;
It converses with the soul.
It elevates you to a higher level,
A euphoria one can not control!

Thoughts just wander aimlessly
in a pensive state of mind.
Searching for answers and reasons,
we trivial humans can never find.

I’m still waiting for the sun to come out of the sea
and give it’s first rays, still rubbing it’s eyes
To give a new dawn and shed some light
over nature’s musical instruments in disguise

Slowly the sea turns from black to dark blue
The sun is on it’s way
A shooting star falls from the sky
What more can I wish for today?

For more on tranquebar check http://travellok.blogspot.com/2008/11/tranquebar-place-of-singing-waves-and.html