Free Verse on Rain

 

The north sky changed to a hue of orange

A pall of chill descended from above

The breeze swaying the trees subsided

Suddenly there was an eerie calm

Then the drops started like a music

On the leaves it fell which rustled

On the roof of cars a metallic rhythm

The soil emanated its rustic smell

The tar road now with black polka dots

The pace grew like a conductor in trance

Large droplets flattened on the fall

Like innumerable tapping boots

The breeze now aiding the falling drops

Against the distant street light

An exodus of droplets is seen

Like the sand dunes shift places

Now the depressions on land get filled

Tiny rivulets are synthesized as you see

On the edges of the road or a highland

Many of them join to form a stream

As kids one would set a paper boat on it

As adults apprehensive to wet ones feet

What was a plaything in the past

Now a thing to be avoided

For a farmer this is manna from sky

The beauty of rain is its falling from above

The pure unadulterated water

It washes the land and the soul

It replenishes the dryness of the earth

Power of People

This is not about the power of people that we have conventionally known or have been conditioned with. That kind of power of people is associated with democracy, mobocracy, movements, power-of-one and so on. But there is this another soft power, a subtle one, a not-so-obvious one, an under-the-surface one which is equally powerful. Over the past weekend people from a myriad of background, from a variety of age groups, from a wide range of beliefs, from diverse training converged and in a span of three days both received and exuded that power.

As we move ahead in the ladder of life, whose angle with the wall is not a subject of discussion here, one usually becomes an island. Your job, your family, your few friends, your colleagues, your boss, your newspaper-walla, your iron-walla fit in your scheme of things and remain there for long time. Though there are a minority who shake that system off their shoulders and consciously make effort to change (not girlfriend or wife of course). Thus the island becomes comfortable and we get complacent.

Islands come with their inherent problems. In this case under the lens, the problem is with not meeting enough new people if your profession doesn’t entail so. Now prima facie there could be actually no problem with it, for if people are equivalent to problems many a times, new people would mean new problems. Thus the comfort of the cocoon. But for horizons to widen, for perspectives to be understood, for relations to be forged, for associations to be made, one has to meaningfully connect to people.

Yes there will be those egoists whom you will despise, yes there will be many with whom you will never agree, yes there will be few whom you will not be able to stand, but then there will be those wonderful people who will fill you with joy, then there will be those who will add meaning to your context, then there will be few with whom you will forge a forever bond. Disembarking a journey for the fear of the former doesn’t do justice to the fruitfulness of the latter. And in the process people get empowered.

There is positivity in everyone. Sometimes negativity masks it but essentially there is positivity. It is on that goodness that despite growing mistrust, growing hate, growing dislike, bonds between people survive test of time. Draw on that goodness of people. Believe in the goodness. In that goodness is power. For if one seeks to learn something from another based on materialistic needs, such opportunism will be replete with negativity and will not take someone further. Soft power is in the former, in the goodness.

Our deep conditioning prevents us from trusting people. We label them few seconds into seeing them for the first time. The baggage we carry are huge. It is important to get rid of them to be without conflict. Large source of our conflicts are not materialistic goods but people, and the very people we like, we love. To be not judgmental when meeting new people is important. If one can achieve that then you will see wonderful people adding meaning to your life, for the power of people and power in people is enormous.

And in the recent past...

When I don’t write for a long time, I feel a lot of events get missed, and are relegated to the past. And then the debate whether it is prudent to harp or let’s say write on the past. But the debate is won over by that one argument that reflection is a much necessary activity to keep things in perspective. And that it is one ability that we collectively are fast losing.

 

 

Regime change: A regime changed in India. Right of the centre took over the left of the centre. And did it emphatically. The beginning has been different and promising. The jubilation is in the air. Only time will tell if the great expectations of the 1.25 billion will be met by Narendra Modi. The chosen messiah has a tough task at hand. It is never easy to tread the path of power and especially in a country where demands are many. But firm resolve, integrity and accountability can make the powers that be take great strides. Positivity all around, isn’t it?

IPL 7: A tournament that keeps large number of Indians glued to their screens for over one and half months, a tournament that has been mired in shameful controversies in the past and a tournament that celebrates a marriage of glamour and cricket came to an end recently. The bowlers were thrashed wild and it requires introspection if we aren’t going to call cricket as baseball in a few years. The team languishing at the bottom of the table rose to win the title sending a very important message that it is hope that keeps us all driving and it should not be lost at times of adversity. Haven’t you looked up when is the next tournament?

 

Deputation: I got deputed to Kasturba Medical College, Manipal from Melaka Manipal Medical College (Manipal Campus) for a period of four and half months. Teaching in a different pattern of curriculum and its delivery was interesting. Adaptation did not take longer as biochemistry did not change, thankfully. The important thing and also a simple thing is that if the teacher has adequate level of interest, he or she will do his or her best. And sometimes that is what is seriously lacking. Theories, calculations, models, trainings are all meaningless if one lacks that essential interest. Are you thinking of the adage ‘those who can’t, teach’?

Surgery: My parents were in town, on their annual visit, and my father underwent two minor yet bothersome surgeries. It is never easy to see ones parent go through the trauma of recovery but that’s the way it is. Care with love is what one can provide and sometimes those little acts can heal more than the drugs. On another note, the medical bill was astounding, thankfully covered by medicare. But it caused me thinking for a very long time that would a poor common man afford such expenses. The cost of medicines is skyrocketing, the procedures unthinkable. Health needs to be the responsibility of the state, and it’s high time they do something about it. Are you perfectly fit, how long you think you will be so? 

 

Twitter: My activity and time spent on twitter has been increasing exponentially. And such is the trend all around I gather. I felt withdrawn from facebook. Suddenly it seems trivial, with some people posting their vacation pics, food pics, some candy crush requests, like-or-be-doomed messages etc. It’s not writing the obituary of FB yet, they have been keeping up with changes and will further make many, but twitter is by far the more mature version of social media (SM). SM is set to grow leaps and bounds, and we just need to choose what, if any, works best for us. Any of you still on Orkut though?

 

Media machinations: Though this little bit would require a separate post, a more detailed one, the summary could be conveyed I thought. If you care little about Indian media, the recent changes would intrigue you. Reliance spent a whopping 4000 crore to buy TV18. Nothing wrong with that, albeit the way people (I mean top editors etc.,) are getting shunted, shifting camps, boards reconstituted, and the impact of all these on freedom of media needs questioning. The fourth pillar cannot be compromised. Well are you already thinking about Arnab’s screaming?

RTA: Biochemists would call it renal tubular acidosis, but then one that is killing 1,50,000 people per year, is another RTA, Road Traffic Accident. It came into spotlight yet again as a union cabinet minister Mr Gopinath Munde succumbed to injuries following a visibly minor accident. If we are to climb that path of development, a holistic one and not just what the industrial output number says, we need to keep that spotlight on road safety. We hear stories, we become part of those stories and much of that is avoidable. Strict action can ensure a lot of safety, but it is awareness that needs to be inculcated and inculcated it has to be at an impressionable age in kids. But don’t we see parents with kid on lap, driving a car, while talking on phone?

Badaun: Much has been written on the rape and murder in Badaun, UP. Words don’t carry any meaning any more. Mothers and fathers in the beginning, later the schools; and then police and law enforcement, if act towards it, the heinous incidences stemming from perverse minds can be checked. We cannot let it happen to women. We should not.

There are a few things I remember off hand that could have been embarked upon. But the word count makes me think it would become arduous for a reader, so I better stop. And maybe avoid such long time gaps for issues to accumulate.