Joy of walking

Walking is a joy.

Ever tried to enjoy walking in the roads of so called Silicon Valley of India - Bangalore ?

Walking on roads of this city is a nightmare for people like me who believe that walking a while everyday can offset health problems later in life.

Pedestrians are considered outcast here. They are not even allowed to walk on footpaths which are utilized generously by two wheelers. You know, they even sound horns ordering you to give way while you walk on footpaths !

Traffic signals ?
Well, the traffic signal near my office is pathetic. It is switched off very often during evenings.
And a traffic police with a big belly stands there and controls the traffic. Damn it. He never gives time for pedestrians to cross. Even the signals are set not to show green for pedestrians at times.

Does that encourage people to use signals to cross the road ?
No, jay walking is the joy of walking.

Techies of India ! Wake up. Are you really enjoying the technology that you are creating ?
Realize that life is to be lived with simplicity. Else chaos will consume this mad world.

Let there be peace again.
Let walking become a joy again.

Sky Divine 

Sound feelings

Office.
Post lunch hour.
Productivity level dipping below zero.
Head free from thoughts about work.

My headphone promises bliss with its ability to bring subtle sounds to my auditory nerves. I sleepily add two songs to my Winamp playlist. Both From popular Tamil movies woven by two different young composers.

I hit the play button.

The first song.....
Unakkena Iruppen from the movie Kaadhal oozes sorrow.
My heart starts growing heavy as I listen to the song. Every sound lashes at my heart softly. I continue to listen intensely. to the burning voice. to the aching tune. to the pang of the sounds. The song takes me to the abyss of sorrow.
The song slowly fades out leaving me stained with sadness.

Starts the second song.....
Ennayithu Ennai Kolvathu from the movie Nala Dhamayanthi spills joy.
It transports me to a world of bliss. My body suddenly feels as light as a feather.
The crooning voice caresses every cell of mine. The music covers me with rose petals. The sounds spray nectar on my face. I start to levitate.
The song slowly slips into silence leaving me like an infant that knows only to smile and sleep.

I take a deep breath.....
It all feels so real though I am fully aware that I am only imagining.
My preconceived notions about the nature of these songs also provide extra effect.

Tricks that my senses play on me are sometimes very profound.

Programming Dreams

I wish I could program my dreams.
Like I choose my desktop wallpaper. Like I match my shirt with my pants.

When I go to sleep, I hope I don't dream about work, but often I do. I hope I dream about fantastic things, but I rarely do.
The way I program my life is far from perfect. There are too many infinite loops and unreachable statements. I tell myself that life cannot be perfect. that perfection can be found only in dreams.

But even my dreams are too ordinary these days. Some days, I even forget what I dreamt about and just remember that I had a boring dream. Dreams used to be more creative in my childhood.

Are dreams just hazy reflections of life ?
Does a boring dream only reflect the monotony of life ?

It seems to me that wakefulness is a myth. and that we are always dreaming - either lying eyes closed on bed or while doing other activities.

I wish I could program my dreams.

Mother 'Tongue'

Everybody is born with a tongue.

Our tongues tell us at some point in our lives that the type of food that we got used to eating in our childhood is the best in the world.

Why does my tongue tell me that Curd Rice with Sambar is next only to 'devamritam' (divine nectar) ?

Why does my tongue frown when it tastes the sambar of a state that neighbors my home state ?
"After all, sambar is sambar", I tell my tongue.
"No", it says furiously.

I wonder at this yet another funny trait of the funny being that inhabits the piece of rock that wanders in space around a hot ball of fire - human being !

Man is a slave of his habits.

Going inwards

Most of the time, I think of myself as just me.

Sometimes, in a few rare moments, I get a feeling that I am not just me. That I am part of something bigger, something more meaningful. That is when I forget myself and everything else. There is nothing that fills my mind. In fact, there is no mind at all. There is only bliss.

Some say that this is the meditative state. It does not matter to me. Words are too synthetic to describe certain experiences. A map can never be the territory.