DreamingAway

You argue. You don’t agree. You remain unchanged and so is your friend. Yet it doesn’t trouble your relationship. It is one of finest qualities of friendship. Here is one of the arguments I had with my friend. I took a photo of a very poor old man on my commute and was showing it to my friend during our coffee break. “Why don’t these people die rather than living like this?” - I commented. He smiled and told me this: We are not machines. Despite the struggles, life is so precious. It doesn’t really matter whether one is rich or poor or sick or healthy. There are no problems and solutions in life’s purest form. It is just how we see it. So, it is wrong in saying “living like this”. Life’s magics are so tempting to one to believe in God. Anyway, I don’t say it is God’s plan. If it is God’s plan then everything is and including all the cruel things. In deed, I accept that I can’t comprehend on how this God thing works. So instead of thinking it from God’s point, I would rather recommend

They say it is romantic. Perhaps it is! They say that it is all because of the absolute synchronisation of the two brain waves. I don’t think I can believe that. They even say that a major portion of our brain is devoted to process this particular sensory information. I neither can believe this. Now you can believe these: It communicates affection. It makes you feel closer to the person. It relieves stress. It increases bonding and love. It frees you from fear, pain and anxiety. While it is easy to argue as to which is superior among the five senses, it is a lot easier to agree that hand holding gesture is one of the common forms of touch sense and it means a lot. Let me not think of history or origin or physiology or psychology or a hundred other words that I can suffix with “hand holding” and do a web search. I am sure I don’t want end up reading something like “ Brain-to-brain coupling during hand holding is associated with pain reduction ”. I would like to share a few hand hold

What is the right way of living this life? No matter how well I prepare, I am back to square one with no answers. That is ridiculous. Because there is an end, end of life and this life ends as a mystery. Am I living the right one, the right way? Can purpose, passion, peace, achievements and a hundred other things define the right life? Either individually or in combinations? Should I live for now or for the future or the so called balanced? I tend to believe that the more I define the less I live. Can everyone in the world pursue their passion? Oftentimes I feel that the passion is a fancy thing introduced recently and getting fancier everyday. If I say frog jump is my passion and I wish to jump throughout the country, then there could be people who would come and encourage me, after all passion shouldn’t be discouraged. I can Imagine a world where everyone is doing some “passion” thing to get the Noble prize - I can only imagine. Finding my passion of my life and achieving it are al

One of the wonderful things that all the mothers in this world can do is to make their kids eat food. They can always make the kid eat a little more. They know the facts and tricks to accomplish it. This is essential for kid’s growth and health. There are people who don’t like a particular food because someone forced them to eat it during their childhood days. Maybe, even the good things become bad when it feels forced. Blessed are those who get wonderful school teachers. Teachers have the magical power to shape someone’s future. They unselfishly spend time for the betterment of their students. There are people who don’t like a particular subject even when the teacher is great. Maybe, even the best is useless when it is not of someone’s interest. Coaches make someone shine on the field they love. They plan and guide. They push a person even when the person lacks confidence and enthusiasm. Many great people attribute their success to their coach. There are people who quit and vanish bec

நதி#நட்பு தாமரைகளும் ரோஜாக்களும் ஒரு மொட்டாயிராமல் மலராக மலர்ந்துவிடப் போவதில்லை. எந்த மலரும் அப்படித்தான். அப்படித்தானே ஒரு நதியின் துவக்கம் கூட! ஏதோ ஒரு சிறு ஊற்று. ஏதோ ஒரு சிறு உந்துதல். சிறு ஓட்டம். இயற்கையின் நியதியா, கடவுள் விதித்து வைத்த முடிவா என்ற கேள்வியெல்லாம் பொருளற்றவையே! இதுதான் வழி, இப்படித்தான் பயணம் என்றெல்லாம் எதிர்பார்ப்பு இல்லை. கடல் போய் சேருமென்ற கனவெல்லாம் இருப்பதற்கான வாய்ப்பொன்றும் இல்லை. முதலே கூட முடிவாகவும் இருக்கலாம். அப்படித்தானே ஒரு நட்பின் துவக்கமும் கூட! நதி#நட்பு சிகப்பு ஒரு வண்ணம்தான். ஆனால் பார்க்கின்ற சிகப்பெல்லாம் ஒன்றல்ல. சேர்க்கையின் விகிதத்திற்கேற்ப அதற்குள் ஆயிரமாயிரம் கலவைகள். எந்த வண்ணமும் அப்படித்தான். அப்படித்தானே ஒரு நதியின் தன்மையும் கூட! கருங்கல் பாறை நீர் வந்து இணைந்துக் கொள்ளலாம். செம்மண் வழியோடிய சிற்றாறு சேர்ந்துக் கொள்ளலாம். குப்பையை அள்ளி வரும் கழிவுநீரும் கலக்கலாம். தன் நீர் தன்மையைத் தந்து தன்னோடு கலந்த தன்மையையும் ஏற்று பயணிக்கும் நதி. நல்லது கெட்டது என்ற பேதமெல்லாம் இல்லை. அத்தருணத்தில் எது மிகுதியோ அதுவே அவ்விடத்தில் அந்நதியி

Me: How is China always getting lots of medals? Dad: They pick kids early and train very hard. The communists are well organised and too strict and blah blah blah. This was during one of the Olympics when I was in school. Now I did a web search and found many articles. Here is one of them: Why is China so successful in the Olympics ? and one more of them ;) Meteoric Rise of China in Olympics . Have you heard about Nazi’s concentration camps ? Your heart will cry hearing those stories. These stories show that the level of pain and suffering one can endure is limitless and directly proportional to the hope the person got for the stronger future. Have you observed the activities that this generation little kids do? Sports class, music class, … all coaching classes! You won’t find anything missing. I often feel their day is too busy. I don’t think any of my classmates were this busy. Are we becoming a little cruel in the name of betterment? Okay! The point is that I am capable of

Have you ever caught in a “moment” which you never dreamed of nor have any hope of experience it again? I am sure many have felt this before and wrote about it in this way. There is nothing new. But yet I ought to write my own experience. There is a moment, a very special moment, an inexpressible feel for sure, that knocks you down and says aloud that it is a moment to stay in your memory forever as fresh as it is now. [Let me use “you” and avoid any direct reference] Those who know you know that you come here, to this very campus, at least once in a month. The calendar shows that the last one was on May 19. It was a strange day and I am going to write about it or rather sharing my twaddle. There was a gentle breeze. There was a beautiful twilight. There were tall buildings majestically apart from each other. There were summer night clouds weaving their magic in the sky. There were noises from moving vehicles. There were people walking. There were hundreds of other things. And th

Phase1 : I was listening to an argument between my sister and her daughter. It felt very familiar. Yeah, that was almost the same kind of argument that my sister had with our mom when she was at this age. I am sure she wouldn’t have forgotten it too but still she has to be on the other side now. The reason is very simple. Now she understand things in a broader sense. There are things that we cannot understand when we are kids. The whole perception changes as we grow. Of course, we do drop a few but then we add a few and somehow we make sure that it goes on. The Golden rule “Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them.” is not going to be applicable everywhere. +Phase 2 : It is a misery when you want to vote and elect a good leader and find none in that caliber. The greater misery is when the one who you believed and voted becomes just another ordinary politician. Let us ignore the real bad politicians. Can the rest do what they promise? They can’t. It is quite unders

How cruel it is! Why deaf people? Why blind people? I can’t even imagine how that life would be. Eyes that can’t see the beauty of anything. Ears that hear no music of this world. A dark world. A silent world. Even the curse is a sin. Impossible: What is there in life when one is deaf and blind? She was just 19 months old when she had become deaf-blind. Life changing moments are not necessarily tsunami like forces. It could be a simple touch. A gentle smile. Or a few ordinary words. But then like a small stream transforms itself into a roaring river, these little things somehow shower magic powers that are available for us at a deserving moment. There is no reason why it is that way but it happens that way all the time. Impossible: Who will spend their entire life for someone else? An inspiration from Charles Dickens’ travelogue took her to Perkins Institute for Blind. It gave her education. It gave Anne Sullivan, a life long teacher and companion. It eventually gave meanin

I always find it very interesting to attempt to define two things: 1. Love 2. God. They keep changing, I mean the definition. The best so far is to leave them undefined. Anyway, that cannot be a definition. Let me attempt one more time here. Of course, only about love now :) By the way, you don’t have to agree or disagree with me as I am sure I am not really going succeed in giving it a definition. I have to observe the patterns. I have to understand the historical evidences. I have to watch some great movies. I have to interview people. I have to read hundreds of books. I have to spend time with people. I mean, I have to start somewhere… where do I actually start? Oh, don’t worry. I am not going to do any of these and share you a thesis. Do you think infancy is when the love is truly felt? Maybe yes! There is surely no mind or the mind cannot be corrupted that early. Oh, wait! Then, is there a heart involved? If no, OMG, a love without mind and heart, possible? Let me answer it a

As usual nothing unusual here :) Though it is only for fun, I try to follow it very seriously 😜 Health: For a change, instead of the regular 72–74kgs target weight, “Not more than 77kgs” is the 2019 target. Also setting 1250 pull ups and 2500 push ups for this year ;) I won’t count but I know whether I am on target or not.  [Jan 01, 2020]: Pull ups not done I am hoping for 6½ hours sleep everyday. Tidying Up: I got too many photos and videos. I should do a digital clean up regularly. In fact, I clean up now and then but add a lot to keep it messy again :( Learning: I get to read good quotes but I don’t remember any of them. I am setting 6 quotes as a goal for this year. [Jan 01, 2020]: Not done It is been few years since I have learnt any new word, 50 is the count I want to reach. [Jan 01, 2020]: Not done Also, I wanted to listen something for at least 30 minutes twice in every week. Movies: 50 movies at least is the target for this year. I

I love reading books in the predefined order, especially after completing my first two lists ( Reading List 1 , Reading List 2 ). So here is my third list. Kafka On The Shore by Haruki Murakami Murphy’ a Message to Dog Lovers by Ernest Gambier-parry The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life by Lilly Singh Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu A Walk To Remember by Nicholas Sparks ReWork: Change the Way You Work Forever by David Heinemeier Hansson, Jason Fried The Gory Story of Genghis Khan: Aka Don’t Mess with the Mongols by Nayanika Mahtani The Art Of Living : The Classical Manual On Virtue, Happiness And Effectiveness by Epictetus A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens So You Want to Know About Economics by Roopa Pai Wonder by R J Palacio Life is Tremendous: Enthusiasm Makes the Difference by Charlie Jones The Giver by Lois Lowry The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by don Miguel Ruiz Alexander the Great by Jacob Abbott A

The Wheel: Learning to ride a bicycle is one of the greatest pleasures of childhood days. Isn’t? How could you express the joy of your first ride — when you realise that the supporting person is just running without touching the bicycle? The “I made it” moment. Pure bliss! It is all about getting the basics right: Sit and see straight, hold the handlebars, pedal smoothly. Of course, the ecstasy is not doing the basics alone but doing all the stuffs that are beyond basics. You do a hundred and one things with your bicycle that doesn’t fit into the written science of cycling. Do you know where the real joy is? It is in doing something confidently that defies the basics and standards. It is crazy at times and glory at other times — that doesn’t matter, what matters is that you are doing it. The Well: It is really hard if you have to learn swimming in the well. Drowning even few inches will show how close the death is always. What a joy it is when you make your first swim from one