As I watch hundreds of people entering this office building, with boredom looming large on their faces... as if they were in the process of coming to terms with the drudgery of this life... I can't help finding a parallel to this in the faces of convicts who are taken to rocky mountains so that they can break some rocks, under the hawk eyes of jailors monitoring their every move, their every hammer-stroke... to ensure that they squeeze out all the physical and mental capacities for a definite objective unconcerned to the actual convict. And finally they are taken back to their prison cells in the evening, where they have their dinner and sleep, dreaming about the day when they would finally embrace freedom. Within the corporate highwalls, every employee seems engaged in a constant survival battle, out to ensure that some rocks are crushed, living up to the charters drawn by the establishment. And these men and women retreat into their own homes instead of prison cells, in the evening. That's some difference, although I wonder if they are really escaping any prison cell at all.

The parallel seems like a hyperbole, given that these jobs are actually the conscious choices of these people and that they wouldn't want to let go off them even in their wildest dreams, for these careers feed their needs, wants and luxuries... These machinated men and women, are needed to crank up and run the economic engines that fatten the wallets of the establishment, thereby feeding the engine in another industry... and so on...

But this whole survival mode of existence, for a good part of the day, day after day, could lead us to an obsession that can, without no exaggeration, handicap our ability to distinguish happiness from prosperity. Prosperity needs neither definition nor interpretation today.

Happiness, as I am coming to realize,... is a function of not just the wants as calculated by our burdened brains, but also of the soul, the compass of which must be calibrated everyday, consciously, by some thought... A thought unmindful of survival questions.

One of the greatest regrets I had was quitting (learning) music. In 2008, I enrolled for carnatic violin classes under a AIR artist but soon after I was bed-ridden for 2 months due to a leg injury, I discontinued the classes. I could have resumed after I recovered but I couldn't make time (or rather... I could not sustain my passion levels). But I always envied people who knew music, be it any genre. And I always wanted to learn a music instrument. I wanted to understand the context of the piece composed by the composer, the emotion behind it and of course, the technicalities. 

The years 2012 and 2013 have left a deep impact on me, in terms of life, choices, priorities and things that are beyond our control. I would not say that I came to a realization point... that moment of nirvana (if at all exists) still eludes me and I have stopped looking for it anyway. But as work-life got busier and busier, I began looking for my own space. I used to write something before. I have stopped that. I used to explore a lot of music. I have stopped that. My travels too have become too organized and sanitized that the unplanned adventures in life are now too scarce. The only endeavour through which I began exploring my own self-expression was photography. But then, a busy work-life and an effort to balance out other things like family and social lives, brings in its own limitations. Between all this, I do not know from where the desire to go back to music germinated. But it did. And one fine day, I had to say 'Enough' to myself. I went and enrolled for Piano classes. My heart still lies on violin, but since I do have a fairly expensive keyboard at home, I just wanted to put it to good use. Also, learning a music instrument and learning music is my objective. The choice of instrument is secondary. 

I have attended my 1st Piano class last saturday. Needless to say, it was an experience, to begin to learn something new. I really do not want to commit the same mistake again and this time, I want to give my all to this. I hope I will be able to sustain my passional levels this time, so that I really get to understand music... and play it to express myself. A journey into self discovery this is and I want to go to lands explored and unexplored... in this journey. 

I have a very low opinion about the quality of contemporary Telugu cinema. Most of the films look the same anyway. My issue is never with the plotlines (how many different plotlines are patronised in India anyway), but with the treatment and the story-telling abilities. Telugu films usually cater to hero worship and filmmakers do not dare to think beyond the trappings of commercial cinema much. Sincere and genuine efforts, at creating good cinema, are very few and the frequency of such films are extremely low - perhaps once in 2-3 years. If there is anything good about telugu cinema, it is probably the comedy elements that are stitched into the film, irrespective of its relevance to the plot.The last telugu film that I genuinely liked was perhaps 'Prasthanam' - which portrays the power games played in rich families in politics. 'Vedam' was another sincere attempt. 'Maryada Ramanna' by S.S.Rajamouli also seemed like a dignified attempt at creating commercial entertainer.

When S.S.Rajamouli announced his next film as 'Eega', I thought it would trigger another new trend of movie-titles, replacing the existing trend of using negative words as movie titles. Film-makers must be superstitious at some level, else why would they name films as 'stupid', 'poramboku', 'kantri' etc., just because a certain 'Idiot' and 'Pokiri' were hits (no matter how rubbish these films are, in my opinion). I thought we will now have films such as "purugu", "saaleedu" etc.,. But subsequent media reports about Eega revealed that it is indeed about a house-fly. That got me curious. How can a current generation Telugu film-maker, who made usual junky films such as Vikramarkudu, Simhadri etc conceive a film around a house-fly?But as the buzz around the movie increased, I really wanted to watch it. I wanted to see if the movie is really worth the hype. In Andhra Pradesh, any film that is decently ok is praised to the skies. Given such benchmarks, I wanted to see if this one lives up to the praise it has been receiving from the audience.

The story is way too simple. 15 minutes into the film, the villain kills the hero for the girl he set his eyes on and the hero gets reborn as housefly. The house-fly is now out to take revenge on the villain. Dejavu? Back in 1970s, there was a Hindi film with similar concept - Two snakes are killed by a bunch of guys and one of the snakes gets reborn (i think) and takes revenge on them. The plot - ridiculous as it seems - however had an advantage. The protagonist was a snake - which can kill a human in seconds and human beings have a natural fear for snakes. But it is not the same case with a house-fly. A house-fly can irritate a human but it is usually difficult to kill a house-fly with bare hands. One can kill a mosquito easily but not a house-fly. It is this thread that becomes central to the overall story-telling in Eega.

Eega is not about the story, but about the story-telling. The film, with all the computer graphics, has brilliant execution overall. If Hollywood can make Spiderman and get away with it, eega surpasses it, in my opinion. Probably some of you might disagree with me, but I would stand by it. Spiderman has a source material - comics, that triggered the creative impulses of film-makers to translate the action on the celluloid. But Eega does not have any such references. Eega is born out of sheer observation in real life - that a fly can irritate a man to any length and the filmmaker has carefully constructed over 2 hour long screenplay using that single 'miniscule' idea. A screenplay that glues the audience to the seats, without boring them for a single minute. A screenplay that does not include any of these: larger-than-life introductions of hero (reflecting the sycophancy in the industry), mandatory vulgar song that is given the sophisticated phrase "item song", songs irrelevantly breaking out of no where once in 20 minutes, the crutches of a comedy track (no matter how good or bad) that has become mandatory in Telugu cinema, masala elements ie., double meaning dialogues and gravity-defying fight sequences. At a time when mass masala films are at peak (which means creativity is at absymally low levels) in telugu film industry, here is a film that avoids all the stereotypes and still offers what I would call as popcorn entertainment.

Performances-wise, Sudeep really stands out while Samantha has little to do anyway. Nani carries his role well in the short span he is given. It is natural for the audience to root for the fly but the director adds a masterstroke by depicting the helplessness of the antagonist brilliantly. The director does not blindly stick of "fly irritates the villain" idea by the book. Instead, he takes some creative freedom and explores how the fly can actually get to do things like lifting a pin. Usually, when Indian film-makers try to make something on the lines of Hollywood films, within the fantasy genre - what they miss is the believability quotient renedered to a fantasy premise. It might sound contradicting, but hollywood constructs its own realism even within the confines of fantasy genre. They employ a certain faithfulness to the premise and narrative, that is seldom seen in Indian superhero films. Rajamouli ensures that Eega is an exception. Though there are few flaws (cinematic liberties) employed for the sake of taking the narrative forward without taking more risk and more importantly for the sake of entertaining the audience of all IQ levels, it still does not massively obstruct the believability quotient much. And Rajamouli must be commended for that - for walking on that fine line between 'mass audience' and 'non-mass audience'. Another star performer of the film is M.M.Keeravani. For the 1st time ever, I was hugely impressed with his background score that aptly underscores the unfolding drama. He used the right sound textures in various scenes that lent them the desired mood. After watching the film, only one thought resonated in my mind - that i could actually see the commitment and sincerity of almost all the technicians in the film. It appears as if they all have genuinely tried to excel, commercial results not withstanding, and add their bit of 'best performance'.  Also, Eega is not just about technology alone. It is not plastic-art. Technology is just a tool, employed effectively to let the creativity of the director run riot, thus resulting in one of the brilliantly executed films in Telugu Film Industry.

If not Rajamouli, Eega is a film that could have germinated in the mind of only one film-maker (i can think of) - Singeetham Srinivasarao. This film is the kind of innovative popcorn entertainment that only Singeetham used to offer once upon a time. Rajamouli's execution is probably 'Singeetham version 2.0' and by saying so, I dont mean to discredit him but I am putting Rajamouli's vision (for Eega), on the same pedestal as Singeetham's Genius. Rajamouli did not just push the envelope with Eega. He literally re-invented the envelope for today's audience and then pushed it.. a lot. However, I would not call the film a 'classic' or 'masterpiece' - for people now use such words very loosely. But the film is certainly a very brave attempt, that should makes the current crop of film-makers to rethink, beyond the mass elements and explore such diverse themes that can finally make us compete with other interesting cinema happening in the country. Ideally, Eega is the film that should be called as 'mass entertainer', not Simhadris, Pokiris and Racchas.

Kudos to Rajamouli for proving that all it takes is a small idea, a vision and sincere passion towards creating a product that is a cut different from the rest. Thats something I rarely see in Telugu cinema but I am just glad that I got to see it in Eega, which, if not fully, but atleast partially restored some of my lost faith in Telugu cinema.

When your eyes wander across the chaos,
in search of your identity,
lost in the worldly machinations,
they reveal the depth of your pursuits,
It is then that I seek refuge,
in the silences that sing about my quests…
Are they your pursuits, or mine?

Times and dates are man's inventions. So when the calendar is changing from 2010 to 2011, it is not that something is happening to our surroundings or nature or human minds. It is only that a number is changing. I wonder if people would have celebrated if there were no months but only days, numbered till infinity or if man developed the date co-ordinates with non-recurring unique names/numbers. By curious observations through science, mankind has given recurring scale co-ordinates to the movement of this planet and hence people feel that something is going to start now. In reality, I do not think anything new will happen as such, because what is changing is only the number on the calendar. The mind is still the same and so are the thoughts and they are not dictated by numbers we used to differentiate the time movements. Anyway, I do not mean to sound weird by writing all this. It is just my take on New Years day or Birthdays etc. But then, having accepted the system, we just tend to go with the flow and adapt ourselves to it. I too am trying the same. Now that 2010 is ending (what if some mathematician or scientist tells us that today is actually December 27th and not Dec 31st? Like how they change the time in their watches in the west, for Daylight saving etc.Will people change their calendars and cancel their Celebrations plans?), I too, like a million bloggers out there writing a "yearly round up", wanted to write one. I wouldn't have written one if it were a mere change in year. I am writing it only because 2010 was indeed an eventful year for me, compared to 2009, 2008, 2007. And it is that 'eventful'ness that I wish to record here.

2010 was perhaps a turning point for me, in ways more than one. The year began with me being with lot of operations related tasks - for my wedding and my sister's wedding. By a strange coincidence, both the weddings were on consecutive days.

I have seen people getting married and I knew that I would be in the line of fire too. But I was never much inclined towards this institution called marriage as such. Yes, I was open to living with a person with whom I would be striking that extreme level of comfort zone, in all my variant moods, temperaments and emotions. But whether to legally/socially bind with with this tag called Marriage - thats something I always wondered! But then, living in a South-Indian brahmin household, it would be considered too bohemian if I'd say that "I would like to live with this person". Lot of people tell me that people mellow down as they age and that the rebellious spark in them would soon fade out, once they move from 18 to 21 to 25 to 27. I don't know how much of a rebel i was and how much of it got faded. Sometimes I feel that it (if ever it existed), only intensified. I remember the days, my teens especially, when I used to visit a temple everyday. And now, I do visit it, but only when I feel like. And I have successfully kept away from crowded temples since last 3 years. For example, Tirupati - I am not sure if I'd visit it again ever, unless, by some miracle, they impose a curfew there and give only me the visiting pass for a day. Anyway, to end the digression, I feel there are facets of me which have mellowed down over years and there are facets of me which have become more aggressive. Going through the social function (of money spilling) called Marriage was inevitable. No matter how much I tried to keep it as a low-key affair, I have been snubbed by my previous generation and I had to give in. I drew a lesson here. I am not going to do the same, to my next generation.

Living with a new person in life, a life partner, was something I was apprehensive about. Apprehensive because I was more concerned about the person who would be sharing this space. I know and I have been told by my parents, that I am not an easy man to live with. So I wondered if she would really adjust. Looks like she managed well. And the peace of mind, i derive, out of this thought that I ended up marrying not some stranger but someone who is my alter-ego, in multiple dimensions... that's a great solace for me, that keeps me going even when I am entangled with negativities. Life gets lot easier when you live with a person who reads your silences and responds back with actions you'd expect. Not just about the match in the thought-frequencies and wave-length in the daily course of living, but a match in the likes/dislikes also adds more colour to life. I guess I couldn't have asked for more. It is like how a composer knows the precision of single note at a point of time. Just by a strange combination of knowledge, instinct and skill. You know what is exactly right and anything little more or little less is just going to spoil it. I do not have any skill but atleast by knowledge and instinct, I feel for sure that my partner is the exact fit, in my scheme of things.

If a compatible partner is one large and important part of the story, then having extremely wonderful in-laws with hardly any generation gap is another part. Imagine me experiencing a generation gap with my parents and yet not feeling the same when it comes to in-laws. Too cool eh!

I was/am extremely happy for my sister too, who got a fantastic person as her partner and a wonderful family. And ofcourse, I did enjoy the whole 2-day function affair.

2010 is also the year in which I took one of my interests seriously and made in into a passion, all thanks to my sister and her husband. They gifted me a DSLR and I immediately started learning it. Now I am about 7 months into it and although there is a huge pool out there from which I need to learn a lot, the growth so far has been satisfactory. It helped to think, to form my own school of thought, my own aesthetics etc. Aesthetics, many times, actually get borrowed... since, when we tend to like something, we indirectly appreciate the person who created it. And somewhere, the influence of that person does run in the mind. I think it is more true in the case of arts. But then, the aesthetics are not mere legacies that are passed on. Aesthetics get mixed up too, with our influences and our own innate thoughts. So, I think, the end result is a mishmash of influences and own signatures. I am still exploring myself and my thoughts using photography but the journey so far as been totally liberating. It is indeed a way of knowing myself a bit more.

The birthday surprise I got this year was probably the biggest surprise ever, in my life. A book of my poetry and photography. It also set a benchmark, for me and I am not sure if I will be able to live up to that or beat that. And by the way, I turned T-H-I-R-T-Y!

2010 was not all completely rosy too. I did have my share of few tensions, the shadows of which might hark again. But for now, I am ready to become one of the 3 monkeys, who refuses to see anything bad.

I have learnt to ignore lot of things in 2010. This has added a lot of energy to my patience levels. I have learnt to ignore negativities. More importantly, I am still trying to ignore things on which I have no control. I am trying to be less reactive about them. For instance, I am stopped being hopeful about the state of this country. I am quite convinced that greed has taken over the society. The levels of corruption in India would result only in multiplication of corruption. I mean, what if 98 out of 100 have 'don't care' attitude! I get to see this attitude even on our roads. Just count the number of vehicles that zoom past you on the right-side of the road, when you are waiting in a traffic jam. India is there... going to dogs. and I wouldn't even complain much about it, because I alone cannot change it. People themselves are not interested to change anyway. So, together lets all rot anyway, in this kind of system. And I would ignore this too.

I did good amount of traveling this year. I went to Goa in the beginning and then to Jim Corbett National Park in April. I also had been to Chennai couple of times and even to Bangalore. Had another trip to Delhi, Agra and Jaipur in December.

The 31st December Euphoria invariably makes people to plan things for the New Year. Call them resolutions or plans or whatever. Most people have new year resolutions. People who think that taking resolutions is cliche` or people who do not believe in resolutions, also do plan few things but would flinch at calling them as "Resolutions". I fall in the 2nd category. Yes, I do need to change few things in my life... some big and some small... but collectively speaking, a huge change is imperative, in the way I function. But I do not wish to publicize them. I just have them on the top of my mind and I hope I just work on them.

Adieu 2010! With all the mixed bag given to me, it is still a very important year in my life. And then, it all has to balance out anyway! I think it did, fairly well! But then i still have so many questions unanswered. A good part of my formative years is still breathing inside me. I still have many questions around many things and the habit of curiosity and question did not die anyway. So I think I got to keep pursuing the path, no matter how fast or slow the dates on the calendar change. After all, there are so many dreams, the seeds of some are still not sown.

Wishing everyone wonderful moments, no matter what the date is.

Life beckons! Bye!

 

This remains as my all time favourite.

If you take a life, do you know what you’ll give?
Odds are you wont like what it is
When the storm arrives would you be seen with me?
By the merciless eyes I’ve deceived
I’ve seen angels fall from blinding heights
But you yourself are nothing so divine
Just next in line
Arm yourself because no one else here will save you
The odds will betray you and I will replace you
You can’t deny the prize it may never fulfill you
It longs to kill you …are you willing to die?
The coldest blood runs through my veins
You know my name

If you come inside things will not be the same
When you return to the night
If you think you’ve won you never saw me change
The game that we’ve been playing
I’ve seen this diamond cut through harder men
Than you yourself, but if you must pretend
You may meet your end
Arm yourself because no one else here will save you
The odds will betray you and I will replace you
You cant deny the prize it may never fulfill you
It longs to kill you …are you willing to die?
The coldest blood runs through my veins
You know my name

Try to hide your hand, forget how to feel
Life is gone with just a spin of the wheel
Arm yourself because no one else here will save you
The odds will betray you and I will replace you
You cant deny the prize it may never fulfill you
It longs to kill you …are you willing to die?
The coldest blood runs through my veins
You know my name.

Written & Composed by: David Arnold and Chris Cornell; Film: Casino Royale

Eyeball of the Sky
Originally uploaded by Kamal Aakarsh

“Don't be dismayed at goodbyes, a farewell is necessary before you can meet again and meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends.”

                                                    - Richard Bach

 

O breeze, wafting through the mountains...
O breeze, bedecked like a bridegroom...
Descending after worshipping the cross at the altar...
God's own country shall consent for a warm welcome..

O` Beloved....O` Beloved...
Aaromale!

In the sacred fragment of this auspicious moment...
O Bride, May you be blessed with a long wedded life...
In the inner sanctum of the dark night...
O Star..what are withholding yourself for?
Like a ray of light in the mist of the dawn...
My lady! Are you standing afar?

On the withering boughs O` cuckoo, did you sing sweetly?
Did the festive fragrances trace the crimson flames in the earthen lamps?

O` Beloved....O` Beloved...
Aaromale!

Does the sea still possess the love... to serenade the shore?
Does the love still fathom in the heart... to be melted like wax?

In the sacred fragment of this auspicious moment...
O` Bride, may you be blessed with a long wedded life...
In the inner sanctum of the dark night...
O` Star..what are withholding yourself for?
Like a ray of light in the mist of the dawn...
My lady! Are you standing afar?

O` Beloved....O Beloved...
Aaromale!

Original Malayalam Lyrics: Kaithapram; Translation by: Anonymous; Source: Wikipedia; Film: Vinaithaandi Varuvaaya

I cant remember if I wished for anything in my life this strongly.. but today I want to...

I don't know if I have to ask God or science or whatever...

1 more day...

And I just hope my wish gets answered... by some miracle.

Praying!

Aur phir yun hua...
Raat ek khawab ne jagaa diya,
Aur phir yun hua..
Raat ek khawab ne jagaa diya,
Phir yun hua, chaand ki woh dali ghul gayee,
Aur yun hua, khawab ki woh ladi khul gayee,
Chalti rahee be-nooriyaan,
Chalte rahe andheron ki..roshni ke tale..
Phir nahii so sake..
Ek sadi ke liye...hum diljale..
Phir nahii so sake...
Ek sadi ke liye.. hum diljale..
Aur phir yun hua, Subah ki dhool ne udaa diya..
Aur phir yun hua, Subah ki dhool ne udaa diya..
Phir yun hua, chehre ke naksh sab dhul gayee,
Aur yun hua, gard the.. gard mein rul gaye,
tanhaaiyaan odhe hue..
galte rahe bheege hue..
Aansuon se gale...
Phir nahii so sake, ek sadi ke liye hum diljale,
Ek sadi ke liye hum diljale...

 

Written by: Gulzar; Music: Vishal Bharadwaj; Source: Soundtrack of Striker

Oh it's a mystery to me.
We have a greed, with which we have agreed...
and you think you have to want more than you need...
until you have it all, you won't be free.

Society! you're a crazy breed.
I hope you're not lonely, without me.

When you want more than you have, you think you need...
and when you think more than you want, your thoughts begin to bleed.
I think I need to find a bigger place...
cause when you have more than you think, you need more space.

Society! you're a crazy breed.
I hope you're not lonely, without me.
Society, crazy indeed...
I hope you're not lonely, without me.

There's those thinking more or less, less is more,
but if less is more, how are you keeping score?
It means for every point you make, your level drops.
Kinda like you're starting from the top...
and you can't do that.

Society! you're a crazy breed.
I hope you're not lonely, without me.
Society! crazy indeed...
I hope you're not lonely, without me
Society! have mercy on me.
I hope you're not angry, if I disagree.
Society! crazy indeed.
I hope you're not lonely...
without me.

written by Jerry Hannan. Performed by Eddie Vedder. From the OST of 'Into the Wild'

The temperature on the thermometer reads 102. And it is 3rd day already. Thats enough for my parents to confine me to bed, bread and coconut water. The last time i had a high temperature was in 2006. The temperate was 105 and I had an exam the next day morning and I also had a marriage to attend.

Till i was 26, I never had fever attacks frequently. I might have gone through Typhoid and Jaundice, but in all, fever might have struck me hardly 6 times. But ever since I started working, fever seems to be striking atleast once in a year. Apart from that, other health hazards keep popping up, thanks to my immobile job. I remember once my middle-finger (no pun intended), developed such a swelling and pain, that i did not understand what happened. It happened overnight. Then, my infamous leg fracture, which kept me on bed for 2 months. That was an year ago.

In all, if i look back, I think health issues are on rise and I need to do something about it. An exercise is a must for sure and I need to diligently practise morning walk or jog, once i am back in proper shape. I need to change my food habits too. Its high time i have proper breakfast in the morning. I have been skipping it. And yes, i need to have more fruits.

One decision I am glad about is that I have kicked hard liquor. And it is not a conscious decision but something that just came out of distaste during a moment. Last week I had vodka and strangely, I could not have it comfortably. I had to throw it. There was a time when i used to have only vodka and now, there came a day when i felt "enough is enough". I dont think i will have vodka again. And i feel good about it. Like they say, there is a moment for everything.

There is a reason behind this post. I want it to serve as a note, written by me, that reminds me that I need to get little conscious about my health and eating habits. The thought is running in my mind and i dont want to keep it there. I am afraid i might ignore the thought, but if it atleast stares at me, from my blog, I can get little more conscious about my care or negligence, as the case may be. I think this post is a good barometer, for the days to come. Let me see how i fare.

For now, its time to get back to my tablets, bread, coconut water and a nice book to read. A book is such a wonderful companion, especially when you are tied to bed with sickness. I dont know if sickness is a boon or a bane, but I am having time for myself.

 

Life happens only once.And it is up to us to make the most out of it, by what we do, what we want to do and the people we choose to share moments with . Just one life! And still, it is strange that people have hundred reasons to  enjoy chasms and negativities instead of enjoying life by instilling more positivities, togetherness, good friendships, good dreams and a feel-good inclusive attitude. Why do people always look for a reason to break, instead of making something? Be it a relationship or society or life or whatever. There is always a disintegration instead of consolidating and making the existing things stronger. People are not happy with relationships, they break. Families are not happy with the generation gaps and they break. The less I talk about society, the better, for it has always been disintegrating. Why cant people live life normally, in a simple and healthy way, drawing all the good things of their life (be it goals, or people or whatever) into their orbits and by having fun with them? Do we have multiple chances to live life? no... Just one and yet, people make such idiotic choices to please some idiosyncratic moment or idiosyncratic facet of their personality, calling it "the best thing for the moment". A moment doesnt make a lifetime right.

Life as such has its own way of getting back at us. Disappointments are always there, that arise out of chances or situations or from certain sequences of events which are outside our control. Then why cant people manage things that are atleast in their control? Why do people want disappointments apart from the ones that life throws at us? Every person has his own path of life, which will come to an end one day. Then what exactly are people chasing? A good quality of life. It can be in any form, but what ultimately matters is a good quality of life, characterised by happiness, wise choices, intellectual enrichment, fun, affections, people, ability to whatever we want to do and ofcourse the contentment. Are all these threads too difficult to keep? Do we have to compromise on something to get another? or Do we have to ruin one element to win another? Even 2 sworn enemies will smile at each other, may be, when they are at the gateway of death. Then what would make people foment so much negativity in their lives, when they have just 1 lifetime to lead? Why cant people just be, with all the good things that matter to them? Afterall it is just One Life and people are still caught up with the micro-level negative aspects instead of weaving beauty by dwelling more on macro-level aspects of living.

Either I am wrong in expecting all this? Or I need another land/planet to dwell with my idealism, if people call it so.

Living is a customisable art, that no 'art of living' course can teach. But why is that not many want to be an artist in that! And I am disappointed with that.

As the sun sets starts a new life,
Inexpressive and exhausting…
In my dim eyes, then, you can read,
Few unwritten verses …
rain-kissed songs of soul...
The beats of the heart,
Now steady…now missing…
In my utterances you can hear,
Those silences which were...
orphaned by words...
but embraced by music...
But once the sky wears the midnight,
and as I close my eyes, for a dream,
I see you writing my verses,
And I hear you singing my song,
A wind-swept song which fades into silence,
As I wake up…