tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25397036814087966742024-03-05T08:33:46.441-08:00Sam@leisureWords crafted at leisure...Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-22386441020704400402023-01-22T21:57:00.004-08:002023-01-23T22:41:08.661-08:00প্রিয় গান এবং…<p></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24.5px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24.5px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">কৈশোরের</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">প্রিয়</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">প্রেমের</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">গানের</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">সুর</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">,</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">বিষাদে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">ভেজা</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">বালিশের</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">স্মৃতি</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">আর</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">আবছা</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">হয়ে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">আসা </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">মুখেদের</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">ভীড়</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">ঠেলে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">,</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">হঠাৎ</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">আঁকড়ে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">ধরে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">এই</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">পড়ন্ত</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">শীতের</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">রাতে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s5" face="KohinoorDevanagari-Regular">।</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24.5px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">এক</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">যুগ</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">, </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">নাকি</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">দুই</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">দশক</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">পেড়িয়ে</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">একে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">একে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">উঁকি</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">দেয়</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">রাত</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">-</span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">জাগা</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">তারারা।</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">জেগে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">আছো</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">আজও</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">, </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">একা</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">? </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">কল্পনার</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">আকিবুকি</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">, </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">সেই</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">নকশি</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">কাঁথার</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">মাঠ</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">পেরিয়ে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">বুঝি</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">যাওনি</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">কোথাও</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">?</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24.5px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">বন্ধু</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">, </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">ভাল</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">আছ</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">তো</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">? </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24.5px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">মুঠোয়</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">বন্দি</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">সময়</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">নিয়ে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">, </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">সেই</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">যে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">বলেছিলে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">চলে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">যাবে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">সব</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">বেঁড়াজাল</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">ছিঁড়ে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">অজানা</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">কক্ষপথে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">উড়ে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">যাবে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">শুধু</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">কেনো</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">এক</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">নাম</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">-</span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">না</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">-</span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">জানা</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">নভ্শচরের</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">মত</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">নিজের</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">ভিতরের</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">ছায়াপথ</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">খুঁজে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">? </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24.5px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">তবে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">কি</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">যাওনি</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">কোথাও</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">তুমি</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">! </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 24.5px;"><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"></span><br /></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">নাকি</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">অচেনা</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">গ্রহপথ</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">, </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">নদী</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">নালা</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">পড়ন্ত</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">বিকেলের</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">সবুজ</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">মাঠের</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">ঘাসে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">,</span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">সোনালি</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">আলোয়</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">ভাসছে</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">তোমার</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">মহাকাশযান</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">বসন্তের</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">নিষ্পাপ</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">ভোরের</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">মত</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span></p><p class="p3" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: "Kohinoor Bangla"; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">নতুন</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">এক</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">দিনের</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;"> </span><span class="s4" face="KohinoorBangla-Regular">অপেক্ষায়</span><span class="s3" style="font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody;">? </span></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-78479833702313857512021-04-29T03:06:00.004-07:002021-04-29T03:25:37.314-07:00The Disrupted Gaggle (Sangbighno Pakhhikul - Mohiner Ghoraguli)<p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The runway stretches ahead in loneliness </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">While the clouds hang stupefied in the sky</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">In the pain-ridden stupor of the lazy radar</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">A gaggle of chirping birds fly by</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">It’s been years since a soaring airplane </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Touched down in this vacuous aerodrome </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Strewn with litter and garbage, while the winds</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Howl past the absent wings spread wide </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">A little girl with her hair caught in the wind</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Sobs with her face hidden in her frock</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The poet has seen this picture, that’s why </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Floating clouds line his empty heart </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The picture imprinted on his mind </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Fills the poet with worry and care</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Potent with the signs of an impending storm</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The clouds lie stupefied on the sky </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xY_jd13OW-g" width="320" youtube-src-id="xY_jd13OW-g"></iframe></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /><span class="s1">(Translated by Samarpan Dutta)</span></span><p></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-76367683710602308062021-02-22T06:27:00.005-08:002021-04-30T01:47:18.360-07:00Samson (Anjan Dutt)<p><span style="font-size: 17px;">Neon signs flicker their wares</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">The rains have drenched the streets</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">A damp heart still beats </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Like clockwork the last tram brings</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Them home—Samson and his saxophone </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">A rickety flight of stairs in a dank back alley</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Leads to his dilapidated attic room </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">A bed stained with cheap liquor</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">That has washed away their youth </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Samson and his saxophone </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">So many Samsons die every day</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Killed in a quiet corner of a shiny hotel</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">This busy metropolis puts an end</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">To so many songs even before they’re sung</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">There had been a Delilah too </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">A bliss that was over too soon </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Someone stole her away</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">From Samson and his saxophone</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">His crucified savior stuck on a torn calendar</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Samson too finds himself sentenced </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">To a lifetime of churning out </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">The same old film songs</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">So many Samsons die every day</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Killed in a quiet corner of a shiny hotel</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">This busy metropolis puts an end</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">To so many songs even before they’re sung</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Delilah isn’t coming back </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">To save him from this hell</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">They’ll rot in the corners of </span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">This shiny five-star hotel</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Samson and his friend, the saxophone </span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Countless melodies trapped in those old lungs</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">That none will ever hear</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">But the weary moon waking up from its</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Slumber to that old saxophone</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Baring it’s heart out in pain</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">So many Samsons die every day</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">Killed in a quiet corner of a shiny hotel</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">This busy metropolis puts an end</span></p><p class="p1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1">To so many songs even before they’re sung</span></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px; text-size-adjust: auto;">Original Song by the artist:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z10ARCIorm0" width="487" youtube-src-id="z10ARCIorm0"></iframe></div><br /><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><br /></p><p class="p2" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-size: 17px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 20.3px; text-size-adjust: auto;"><span class="s1"></span><br /></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-52541775969046768932020-12-18T20:15:00.002-08:002021-04-29T02:46:05.816-07:00Cycling<p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Pushing the pedals forward</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">To stream past the houses, trees, and</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The memories that lay hidden</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">In every corner of my little town</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I fell in love with cycling.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">My face glistening with sweat and</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Eyes shining with the joy</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Of suburban independence </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I set out charting my small world</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">A little explorer.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Maps were formed by the sightings of </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Friends, foes, or abandoned </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Houses with promises of treasure </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Or some murky past that</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Lay waiting for me to uncover.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I charted my rides through lonely </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Streets that lay inviting--</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Avenues measured in dim streetlamps</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">And littered with flowers</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">All pointing me towards home.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">For home wasn't a just single place</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The lines on the map of my world</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Traced a home wherever</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">It found joy, wonder, or the warmth</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Of a familiar </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Place that helped me grow up a little</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">With every discovery</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-75260609912753825432020-12-10T23:32:00.002-08:002020-12-10T23:32:31.966-08:00Someday, on a rainy evening (Ek Din Brishti Te by Anjan Dutt)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Someday, on a rainy evening </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">We’d both forget our umbrellas </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">And bump into each other </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Drenched from head to toe</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">While the traffic vanishes around us</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Storefronts down their shutters</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Lingering in our heart of hearts</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The sweet smell of petrichor</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Someday, on a rainy evening </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">It’ll all certainly come back to us in a jiffy</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Broken promises and forgotten blemishes</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Pain that’s sweet and dear</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">While somewhere a lonely radio</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Chimes an old love song</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Raindrops slowly turn blue </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Against a greying sky</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Someday, someday… </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Someday, on a rainy evening…</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">A fading poster proudly announces</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">An old sold-out matinee</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">And the raindrops will hide</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Our tears</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Pittar patter…pittar patter…</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">raindrops…tears</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Someday, on a rainy evening </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">We’ll finally get caught, you’ll see</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Fears, tears, and unspoken despair</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Finally washed clean</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The moment frozen in time</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">We won’t be able to run and hide</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The roads will all be the same</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Just the two of us around…</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Someday, on a rainy evening </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">We’d both forget our umbrellas </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">And bump into each other </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Drenched from head to toe</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">While the traffic vanishes around us</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Storefronts down their shutters</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Lingering in our heart of hearts</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The sweet smell of petrichor</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Someday…someday…</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Someday…on a rainy evening…</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">(Translated by Samarpan Dutta)<br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
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Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-42662708964820897422020-12-10T23:32:00.000-08:002020-12-10T23:32:02.906-08:00Ecalyptus (Debdaru by Kabir Suman)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Even though he’s gone, the touch of his hand on mine </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Will persist like the memories that surrender</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Where the lone Eucalyptus </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Bows down its head</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Even though he’s gone, a sudden whiff of night jasmine</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Turns the morning entirely his own</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Remembrances transform </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">A moment into eternity</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Even though he’s gone, the touch of his hand on mine </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Will persist like the memories that that surrender</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Where the lone Eucalyptus </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Bows down its head</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Even though he’s gone, the eternal play of ebb and tide</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Will not cease to caress the waters of the river</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Down a familiar lane I will walk</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">At one with his memories</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Even though he’s gone, he really hasn’t has he?</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Like so many who never really leave us</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The steamer sets off for the horizon</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Sending waves galore to the shore</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></span>
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Even though he’s gone, the touch of his hand on mine </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Will persist like the memories that that surrender</span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Where the lone Eucalyptus </span><br />
<span face="Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Bows down its head</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">(Translated by Samarpan Dutta)<br />
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Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-76673827852162374592018-02-11T07:54:00.005-08:002021-04-29T02:50:28.668-07:00Wedding Wishes to An Old Friend<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Congratulations, dear friend </span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">On finding love </span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">That multiplies </span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">And shines on </span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">This beautiful day</span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Of your togetherness</span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 20.3px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I wish that you fall in love</span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Again and again</span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">With each other </span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">And discover </span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">The tiny little things</span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">That make you, you</span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; min-height: 20.3px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span></span><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">History is full of love stories</span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">But may yours be unique </span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">In metre, rhyme, and chronology</span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Etched in love and laughter</span></div>
<div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Yours to live and yours to keep</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><div style="font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><span>For ever and ever</span><span> </span></span></div>
</div>
Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-1395818848841698092011-01-03T13:07:00.001-08:002021-04-29T02:51:24.713-07:00Religion and Fanaticism<div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">This morning a saw <a href="http://www.facebook.com/notes/dhurjati-bhattacharyya/religious-fanaticism-sucks/10150090413524609">a note </a>from my friend <a href="http://www.facebook.com/dhurjati">Dhurjati</a> in which he expresses his outrage against religious fanaticism. </span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">He makes a very good point with Weinberg's comment:</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><blockquote style="border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 5px; border-left: 5px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; padding-top: 0px; padding: 0px 15px;"><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">"With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion."</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"> -- Steven Weinberg </span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div></blockquote><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Agreeing totally with the above statement, I couldn't help but think of what my take on this was.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Well, to start with, I wasn't sure! I have never been very religious, but I sure enjoyed singing in the school choir, still enjoy carols, love listening to Baul and Sufi music, and absolutely adore the evening Azaan. I also drool about visiting temples, especially the ones that server rich-ghee laddoos (sweets) or khichdi to people who visit :) However, I do not believe in following any set patterns or rituals of having conversations with God--ranging from the "Please see me through this and I'll never ask anything else of you" to the "Hi there" or "Thank you" ones. </span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">I get it when people feel very strongly about the way they say their prayers, where they say them, and how they say them. To me these are entirely a matter of personal convenience, habit, and preference. Well, maybe not in that exact order but something close. What I don't understand is 'why' or 'how' people think that 'the Almighty/the many powers that be' is commissioned to ensure their betterment at the cost of "the others."</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">To the best of my limited knowledge, all (human) religions are institutions based on the fundamental promises and tenets of 'faith,' 'love,' and a sense of 'community.' And that doesn't help me figure out this entire "mine's better than yours," or "I don't like you cause you face xyz when you pray" business. If these weren't enough, there are people across religions who are ready to kill, harm, and justify all actions against other human beings in the name of religion.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Religions are nothing but institutions, and there can be no institution that stands on the basis of 'doing evil' or 'causing harm' to other human beings. As a corollary of Weinberg's statement, it has been observed multiple times across history how people have reformed themselves and went on to live a better ( less harmful :) and meaningful life by virtue of their faith in one or the other religion. </span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">Would you, for that matter, support the killing of another human being just because they support a different football club/nation?</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" face="Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: medium;">It's the essence of fanaticism to 'justify' harmful, devious actions for a 'greater good' or 'better cause.' And that is what we should condemn, abhor, and criticize. If people tell you otherwise, ask them to get a life and, probably, shake a leg!</span></div><div><br />
</div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-52715044375276148782009-10-04T10:30:00.000-07:002009-10-13T23:20:33.377-07:00Midnight Ramblings<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">2'o clock in the night...three friends, all at different levels of inebriation, sitting listening to the soundtrack of the movie they just watched (FYI: Wake Up Sid)....</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">one of them slightly older than the other two....one very happily tapping away at the book on his lap, which by the way is a book on Hinduism and the philosophy of Swami Vivekanada...the other, a sensitive, free spirit, uncharacteristically chirpy and effervescent tonight...sitting relaxed on the chair to the extreme right...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">the conversations veer from the characters of the movie they watched most recently to a funny incident a couple hours ago...in the wake of an on-screen conversation</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">around "how's your sex life" a toddler started wailing uncontrollably...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">they resolve to spend the night chatting...not to sleep...if at all, crash around 5 or 6 in the morning...what'll they talk about...none of them seem to be in a position to continuously hold conversation around any topic....their conversation keeps veering from topic to topic...with the film being the anchor that keeps it going...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">they deliberate if there are any watering holes open around this time...surprisingly, it's the unusually chirpy one that brings up this topic....what if their favorite pub were open ? but they seem to bear the adolescence of the city they live in with amazing stoicness...while the happy one starts humming "Oh Darling," a recent track from a movie they watched a few weeks ago compensates for the lack of melody in his voice...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">At this moment...I ask for a story....</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">a spontaneous hug later...Hinduism lying unattended on the table, he starts jiving to the tune....shit! an unintentional change of track leads to momentary disappointment...but in seconds, we're back on track...the craft of a veteran poet and lyricist find company in a blink-and-you-miss-it embrace, a couple spontaneous steps and the comfort of the bed after a long day....</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">discussions on creating playlists on iTunes...the fragrance of the soil, fresh after the rains from the land of the erstwhile five rivers and unobtrusive tapping</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">of all six feet in the room...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">longing glances from the bed and unfazed concentration on the laptop...time i retired to my room downstairs? while the tempo sears up on iTunes and the search for future members of the current playlist continues, spirits liven up further in the room, perhaps acknowledging the lack of bottled spirits, sigh! and there goes Bob Marley... crying desperately for a sense of history...how i wish people gave history a chance!</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">unwieldy tresses join the fray with a little orchestration...bob marley's presence notwithstanding...in some corner of the globe, mothers playfully tell their kids their noses could be fixed with a little help from the ubiquitous kitchen, well too,l for the lack of a better word....</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">well, we all studied history at school...nothing so great about it....so, the eternal lover boy of bollywood easily bypasses Marley and a song he didn't sing but lip-synched to now joins the melangee </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">desperate pushing back of sleep...unfazed attention to the laptop...a PJ that draws me to the conversation...i quietly slip back...requests of playing tequila sunrise...tired bodies...and confident promises of fighting sleep provide the prelude to The Eagles' famous track....the attention now meanders to the FC Barcelona tee while comic jibes at the lack of nationalism infuse the air....</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Now more than ever it seems rich to die/To cease upon the midnight with no pain....long, long ago a sickly poet in a wet, cold part of the world immortalized these lines with his death a few years after penning these lines...well, if not the invocation of death but the celebration of timelessness will live much longer...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">i am brought back to the room...the neglected minstrel of the god-forsaken city we all belong to croons away to glory...why is decadence so painfully appealing?...he taught all of us to love the city...cities...and made us sit up to the ballads of the back-alley people...more of him sometime later...god rest his soul in peace...the city with its sights, sounds and people will probably continue to haunt him even after death...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">the night eggs me on...we laze around sleepless, while a popular bengali singer weaves his magic,,,for a change, he doesn't ignore the physicality of love...memories of almost forgotten concerts haunt me...invisible threads joining vignettes from the past spread its wings of fancy...i half wish i could be transported to another world....one that i have left behind...</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">the constraints of the medium of my expression surface in front of me...need to stop typing as my laptop is almost running out of power...well, lamest of all excuses that it is...i probably am too tired to continue this worthless experimentation of a writing exercise...see you later, friend...do drop by sometime.... </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style=" font-family:Helvetica;mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;font-size:14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style=" font-family:Helvetica;mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;font-size:14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:28.3pt 56.65pt 85.0pt 113.35pt 141.7pt 170.05pt 198.4pt 226.75pt 255.1pt 283.45pt 311.8pt 340.15pt; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style=" font-family:Helvetica;mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica;font-size:14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:-64.15pt"><o:p> </o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-70568550583930223092009-08-12T22:56:00.000-07:002009-08-12T22:59:42.287-07:00My New Wallpaper<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6OV07ds_1c4WDTJ8wrfkxfDZcxlfBL5vEVFLBd5ZlQJxx3JrJVDFUHHt-2GlLzOLwDmuHPhK93c-XonFjXf3vJKbfGODkQQikKk5y8fPZUo79GoqaFv4YPP3pPa7HLg9wVSuRtXsiGtv/s1600-h/Apple_Ubuntu.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF6OV07ds_1c4WDTJ8wrfkxfDZcxlfBL5vEVFLBd5ZlQJxx3JrJVDFUHHt-2GlLzOLwDmuHPhK93c-XonFjXf3vJKbfGODkQQikKk5y8fPZUo79GoqaFv4YPP3pPa7HLg9wVSuRtXsiGtv/s320/Apple_Ubuntu.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369323401902700402" /></a>Created this wallpaper for my Macbook. I have been using Ubuntu Studio via VMware for a week now, and love the power of two OSs on one system.Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-6833998848067390542009-05-05T06:45:00.000-07:002009-05-05T06:48:18.441-07:00In Conversation: I and Me<div>What do you do at times when you desperately want to talk to someone, anyone for that matter? You have thuoghts, emotions, very powerful ones welling up inside you that need a reciever if not a respondent. It just doesn't matter even if that person two hoots about you or your feelings/emotions or not. At such a point in time, all that you need is a release. Some way of letting all that lies pent up within you OUT.</div><div><br /></div><div>I log in to gtalk. My luck! There's only one of my gmail contacts that are online at this point in time. And, guess what? It's me again! I had added my work id to my gtalk for some strange reason, and today of all days, I am faced with the amazing gift of the online media. You can pretend that you are talking to another freind of yours when actually, it's no one else but you at the other end. Makes for brilliant psychological analysis or niche coffee table healing book material (probably) but just doesn't work for me!</div><div><br /></div><div>I stare in frustration at the green dot that signals that 'I' am available to talk to 'me' and most importantly, that 'I' am the only person available to 'me.' Am I reading too much into the situation or is it some sort of cosmic truth that's being handed to me on a talk clinet (literally)? In this age, when distances have become a virtual concept, because you can 'actually' reach any of your friends at any time over chat, phone, email, social networking sites, you name it, do we still have only ourselves to trust and sound out to when faced with cirses?</div><div><br /></div><div>The answer is complex and one that I probably am the last person fit enough to answer. I also want to make it a point to state that it isn't that I don't have trustworthy frinds who I can share stuff with. I have very few, but very good friends and I treasure them and guard our fiendship like a hungry hound. But, I guess we have to accept that everything in this universe happens within a time frame. And in this frame of time, I can only talk to myself.</div><div><br /></div><div>I try chatting across the chat clients on my desktop, but choose to use this notepad instead. There are things I need to sort out; first, with myself. I am confused, frustrated, scared of the unknown that I want to venture into. Also, I feel very vulnerable and weak. But this isn't what I want to be. I have been looking for an answer for quite some time now, and it has made me impatient. But I guess I have known the answer all along. This discussion just made it clear as daylight to me. I needed a strong affirmation from 'me' that I'm thinking right, that the path I want to tread is the right path for me (at least at this point in time), and more than anythign else, that I can. I can be what I want to be; who I want to be. No matter what I'm given to believe by whoever, I am ME. </div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks buddy! Thanks for signing off on my appraisal of me. It was great talking to you, and you know what? I don't give a shit to any nonsense anymore; I won't take it lying down anymore. I have gotten my answer and will make sure I reach 'my' destination.</div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-22972835089098669832009-03-11T00:49:00.000-07:002009-03-11T00:53:09.216-07:00A Winter Morning Long Ago<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">[Don't have a reason but thought I'd go ahead and post this today. It has been lying in my 'Documents' for over a year now. Is it wise to post it? Not sure if it even makes sense...nevertheless...]</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">A soft morning glow stretches across the sky. From up here, the distant skyline looks a tinge of light pink on the right. On the left, it’s still dark, and the houses of Fulbari are a mere haze. I feel my body awaken to a gentle tremor which makes me sit up. I don’t know why it’s always the same. I sit up, strain my eyes for any sign of movement in the northernmost horizon. There isn’t any. I know there won’t be any though I can definitely feel the tremor gradually increasing in intensity. I look down to see a hazy reflection in the water which runs almost gleefully away. There is a sense of expectancy in the air that is difficult to ignore. I try and gather my shirt around me a little tightly as if to counter the steady wind that makes my eyes burn. I keep wiping the trickles though I am not crying. It feels funny and all of a sudden I am seized with an uncontrollable urge to do something. I stand up. Throwing my slippers away in between the lines of cold steel i pull myself up to the best of my abilities drawing heavy gusts of breath. The chill almost hits the insides of my nostrils making a slight chill go down my spine. It’s not fear. It’s the excitement the makes your nerves tense for a second before relaxing into a state controlled unrest that eggs you on to take the plunge. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The tremor isn’t feeble any more. I can feel the cold steel vibrate under my feet. The northern horizon, barely a hundred yards away is still a curtain of mist and darkness but there is something beyond it that is steadily making its presence or progression felt. This is the moment. I turn left to see the houses of Fulbari once, fix my gaze on the north, turn right and let my instincts take over my reason. With a swift movement I heave my body off my feet and lunge in the air. The northern horizon a disturbed film of motion, noise, and smoke now, I stretch my right feet and land on the other end. My body still trying to regain the balance after a long jump, the morning local tears past signaling the official arrival of the new day.</p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-80181961847521159362009-03-02T05:05:00.000-08:002009-03-02T05:42:25.797-08:00I Hate...Well, it feels really surreal to be writing this...probably I've lost it or am going to pretty soon. But the fact is that I never thought I 'hate' something. The idea of hating something or someone seemed really appaling. Not that it was a philosophical stance or anything but just that, until very recently, I used to think that I'm capable of dealing with things, people, situations...not a problem, I can always 'think my way through.' 'You don't always have to react, right.' 'Just take it cool, think things through and you'll know what to do, how to react bla bla. Give people (peace) a chance.<div><br /></div><div>Urrrrrrgh. Nonsense. You can give people a chance only if they are willing to give themselves or you a chance; not otherwise. And, my friend, that's where the problem lies. That's why I 'hate'</div><div>situations where everyone is equally frustrated and incapacitated cause they really can't do much to help. As a result, they play the one-up game. You wanna see, I can flex my muscles here, just you wait, gotcha! You think I'm going to give you an easy time? Well, do I get it? Wait and watch how I screw things up for you.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>What's the solution? I really don't know yaar. I think it'd help if everybody came clean and just vented 'out' and not 'at' someone. Why can't everybody say, look here I'm really fucked up, and there isn't a lot I can do about it; can you help? </div><div><br /></div><div>Let's face it. There isn't going to be a second coming anytime soon (no religious sentiments please, I'm being literal) and I don't see any messaih around. The ones who claim to be are even more fucked up than you can imagine. So, it's really up to you. Do you want to necessarily hurt someone or do you want someone to listen to you, say you're going to be alright, maybe. offer a pat on the back?</div><div><br /></div><div>Be ready to lay bare. Don't hide your wounds. You're creating more by doing that. Remember, it's never too damn late.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-72539065751626714032009-03-01T09:37:00.000-08:002009-03-01T10:19:03.024-08:00You and I<div><br /></div>I've lost count of the times that I tried<div>To give vent to my thoughts and cough up</div><div>Or maybe, tweak and turn it a little</div><div>Flirting with the flitting words that I </div><div>Always wanted to say</div><div><br /></div><div>Call it providence, sloth or guile, what you will</div><div>I know it's not fair, not done.</div><div>Why couldn't you? Just say it!</div><div>Yes, it's not like it has to be creative</div><div>Or perfect. Just plain stupid would do!</div><div><br /></div><div>Why does it alwyas have to be like this</div><div>I mean some things are better felt</div><div>Than 'said.' Anyways, I bet she knows!</div><div>Does she? Oh wouldn't she have...</div><div>Nopes, she won't. I have to...</div><div><br /></div><div>----</div><div>So, here it goes. "You know what..."</div><div>And the rest is...well, if not history</div><div>Something no one remembers for sure.</div><div>Don't! Oh please, now they wouldn't agree</div><div>But you see, that doesn't matter anymore<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The truth is there for all the world to see.</div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-17522404290369121782009-01-17T02:26:00.000-08:002009-01-17T03:08:06.995-08:00Blugger!OK, so here it comes! My first attempt at 'blogging' the way bloggers are supposed to. I mean mostly in a blog you'd expect to find candid stuff from the blogger's life; not mine :( I am pretty lousy when it comes to that candid stuff. I am happy in my dreams weaving vignettes from life with the contents of a filmy (as in seen through a film; no bollywood please) bubble. <div><br /></div><div>But, this time round I feel like giving candid a shot. I was taught and brought up to behave nicely with people, especially with those who are elder to me. Never a beliver in any kind of protocol, I somehow had always abided by this one. Another one, never be rude to people. Blugger!</div><div><br /></div><div>I have always had more than a soft corner for window seats. I make it a point to reach the airport on time, so I can ask the person at the boarding counter for a window seat. This time too, I was there a good hour and a half before take-off to secure my window seat. Having secured that, I spent the rest of my time at the bookstore browsing through over-priced good-for-nothing coffee-table books written by equally good-for-nothing socialites.</div><div><br /></div><div>On boarding the flight, and being greeted with the trained smiles of the flight attendents, I make my way to 26 F. There are a couple elderly guys sitting in 26F and E. I politely ask the dignified looking man in F," excuse me, that's my seat." He gives me a smug smile and replies with a question: "Do you have any problem sitting there at the aisle seat?" I reply with the practised smile my profession has taught me to use against rude people and prettly clearly put it "I prefer a window seat, so I came early..." He gives me an infurating smile and says, "All seats come for the same fare. Just sit on." !!!</div><div><br /></div><div>Not stopping at that, he turns to the man in E and says, "this is his seat, so I asked if he has a problem sitting at mine." I try and take it off my mind and concentrate on the Hindi movie playing on the monitor in front of me. After snacks is served, one of the flight-attendents come with a feedback form, and extend it to the man in E with a practised saccharine sweet smile, " would you like to give us some feedback, sir?" Response: He opens his eyes, looks at the attendent as if she's a detergent salesgirl and waves his hand at an invisible fly.</div><div><br /></div><div>I am astounded at the way these 'elders' travelling on a premier airline are setting examples of proper behavior for us 'youngsters.' We are rude, disrespectful, insolent, bla bla and what a fine example these 'gentlemen' were! </div><div><br /></div><div>I have made up my mind. I'm going to give it back to people who deserve it! Next time, I'm not going to go to the attendent and say sorry on behalf of others. I am going to turn around and say Blugger! No excusing someone for their age, just get up and vacate my seat, "yes I have a problem." Blugger!!!</div><div><br /></div>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-53956165847000437442008-10-16T21:39:00.000-07:002008-10-22T20:50:03.119-07:00Lost in the forest<p class="MsoNormal">A whiff of a familiar scent and touch that tells you a lot more</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Than an entire website</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Are things that allow me to travel back like a flip chart </p> <p class="MsoNormal">To an age free of appearances</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Lost in a strange forest with no foot tracks to guide me</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I grope my way through.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I hear the sound of broken twigs cracking under my feet like</p> <p class="MsoNormal">A mad drummer out of rhythm</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Endless series of cobwebs brush against my face, I stare</p> <p class="MsoNormal">At the vicious spiders,</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Dark, poisonous, and full of guile, they give me the creeps</p> <p class="MsoNormal">But I move on braving them.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">It’s pointless to think of cleanliness in this state, but still</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I try to keep the cobwebs away</p> <p class="MsoNormal">From my thoughts and that inner core of belief that keeps</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Me going through anything</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I close my eyes and do the flip chart; there I am back in the light</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Here I am back in the light.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">And I look back at the foot track I have created.</p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-48201484005926291952008-06-22T22:18:00.000-07:002008-06-22T22:19:10.963-07:00Still Hanging AroundDon't worry maa, your little boy's a kid no more<br />I am not scared by the shadows round the corner<br />And can speak up to hold my ground<br />See, I'm still hanging around<br /><br />You remember paa, how fascinated I used to be<br />When you'd tell your stories, there's so much to see<br />I wanted to see as much as there is in the world<br />And I am still hanging around<br /><br />How many dreams make a dreamer, you may ask<br />Well, isn't one enough if it's worthy of the task<br />Some day I'll dream my dream; Until then<br />It'll be just hanging aroundSamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-56669327217237864642008-05-11T23:16:00.000-07:002008-05-11T23:18:08.721-07:00The Ballad of the Consumer Friend<o:p></o:p>There are times you wish hadn’t come <p class="MsoNormal">Often, some leave you with a heavy heart</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And you part ways and say goodbye</p> <p class="MsoNormal">With a cosmetic smile now and then<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">But there are others, they come and go</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And so do tides, who cares how many</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Company is a shallow word, but keeps</p> <p class="MsoNormal">You going as long as you don’t ask for more</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">What then about more? Just ha-ha-hi-hi</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I see! Good job man! Awesome it is</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Stinks and then the craving for fresh air</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Despair, my friend, just cut the crap</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">All this bunkum isn’t much of anything</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Sing if you may or can, if not, excuse us</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So much fuss and no frills! Chill man</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Be happy or pretend to be</p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-50364273998612044932008-04-18T06:47:00.000-07:002008-04-18T06:48:43.360-07:00So what<p class="MsoNormal">Take a look, you won’t see the sky</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Don’t even try, your wings are clipped</p> <p class="MsoNormal">You’ve tripped, and no one will coax</p> <p class="MsoNormal">It’s all a hoax and you’ve been duped</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So what? Won’t you fight or try again?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Just plain walkout won’t look heroic </p> <p class="MsoNormal">It’s a trick and the clever trickster wins</p> <p class="MsoNormal">He spins a web and you were caught</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Logic is the new god and can be spun</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Out of turn? Well, not really if you think</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Just a wink can make your day, they know</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And show you what you want to see.</p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-51998462938611191362008-03-19T04:56:00.000-07:002020-12-10T23:40:11.968-08:00Music and I<p class="MsoNormal">Leisure isn’t always a time for you to indulge in things close to your heart, or things you don’t get the time to do but like—listen to music, catch up with friends, watch a movie, read a book etc. Especially for those of us who like to spend our leisure time doing ‘nothing,’ our leisure time at times involuntarily becomes time for introspection. A close but not always rational look at what I am doing, why I am doing it, and most importantly, should I do it? What else can I do?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">These moments are the ones we spend in a state of extreme closeness with ourselves. We evaluate our goals in life and try to define the person we are against the person we want to be. The philosophical extent of such ruminations often turn toward the negative and we reach a stage of despair. However, there are times when we think/rethink our goals and objectives and gain crucial insights into the person we want to be and the direction in life that we want to take.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Whatever may be the strain of thought—positive or negative—what is most important is that these are moments when we can drop all pretenses and be the person we essentially are. Throughout the day, I am a professional, a peer, a report/subordinate, a child, a partner, or just a random face in a crowd. All these roles have their demands; the necessary rules of playing a role always guide and moderate our thoughts, actions, and personalities. The only time we can stop playing roles is the time we spend on our own.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">What do you do when you are low—vulnerable and weak, or dissatisfied and bitter, or disillusioned and vacant? In such times, I listen to music. Music has seen me through a lot, and hopefully, will see me through a lot. Like "a bridge over troubled waters," it helps me forget my state of being and helps me disentangle myself from the confusing web of failed expectations and promises and of misgivings and repentances. I don’t know whether whatever I feel when I listen to music is created by the soundtrack, or the lyrics, the singer, or the composer—what remains with me is the experience.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I don’t remember exactly when I realized this bonding with music or its power to heal and create. All I have are some moments frozen in my memory that I rewind and play as simply as a CD or audio cassette. I remember my grandmother sitting on our verandah and sing “Jhod utheche baul batash,” a song by Rabindranath Tagore, while the sky turned dark with clouds. What I also remember is that day her biopsy reports had arrived and the doctors had declared that she had cancer. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I remember a lazy summer afternoon many years ago when I happened to find my way to the secluded music room at school. I don’t know what it was that made me slip out of class and make my way toward the music room. Probably it was providence. The room on the ground floor with its splendid array of musical instruments was always special to me. But after that day, it had acquired a special status altogether. For, on that day, I experienced the sheer power of music that helps you connect with another person without their telling you anything. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The room was slightly dark and I was mid-way in my ritual tour of the room, gently touching the instruments, fiddling with the guitars, admiring the drum set, glancing through the music sheets even though I couldn’t read them, when I heard the clicking of the drumsticks against each other. It’s the first thing most drummers do before they start counting mentally, decide the tempo and then start drumming. That first click always made me automatically start counting and begin singing at the precise moment when the counting ended or I would hear the first note of the piano or the guitar prelude. I didn’t want to move. I was standing with my back to the drum set about seven feet away from me. Whoever had entered the room had obviously seen me there, and I definitely didn’t have any explanation for being there instead of listening to why the periodic table is important and memorizing the atomic numbers of elements which somehow sounded very distant to me. My heart thumping, all my nerves tense, I waited for an angry voice to address me.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Instead, I heard the crash of cymbals. But somehow it was very different from the usual effect of the crescendo or the last note of a particular progression when the drummer brings the sticks down on the cymbals before beginning the next bar. This was distinctly angry and, at the same time, painful. And then, finally, I heard a voice. But instead of calling out my name or addressing me, it sang : “Go away from my window, leave at your chosen speed….” I turned to see the back of a young man sitting on the drum stool and singing almost to himself “Go melt back in the night, everything is made of stone…” I knew the voice, but have never heard him sing this way. The words almost chocked in his throat; still, it was painfully melodious. I stood there in the dim light listening to him sing; but now I was not afraid of being caught and punished. I was afraid I would make a man baring his heart to himself conscious of my presence. My cheeks were wet, I was crying silently. I had heard the song a hundred times before and probably a thousand times in all these years, but to this day, whenever I think of that day, I feel a strange kinship with that man who never knew that he has given me one of the most blissful and enriching experiences of my life. </p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2539703681408796674.post-18015290104123958212008-03-11T23:52:00.000-07:002008-03-12T07:14:54.765-07:00Books for leisure<p class="MsoNormal">Leisure, as a concept, is much debated and discussed. I will not attempt to enter this heavily populated academic terrain of ‘leisure studies.’ Instead, I pose this simple question: What do you like to do when you have some leisure time? Well, this is with the assumption that you do have some leisure time for yourself that you spend doing the things you like; or, not doing anything at all, if that’s what you prefer.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Thus, we have this chasm dividing people who enjoy the luxury of ‘leisure’ and those who don’t. Let’s talk about the group that does enjoy the luxury of leisure first. Some prefer chatting on the Net—with people they know, don’t know, or even, don’t want to know. Others listen to music, watch a movie, or call up a friend. Some socially self-conscious people, on the other hand, cultivate hobbies that are creatively stimulating or are targeted at stimulating other people’s appreciation of their creative talents. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Now, for those who don’t enjoy the luxury of spending time the way they want to, by doing the things they want to but can’t at all times, it’s really sad. All they can do is mope about their leisureless states of being and feel jealous of the other half of mankind. </p><p class="MsoNormal">Needless to say, creative as we are, we find excuses to justify our states of leisurelessness. A common ploy is to show ourselves busier than we are, and in the process, ensure that we deprive ourselves of whatever little leisure we could have had.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Good question? What I do in my leisure time? Before I answer that, I must categorize myself into one of the two groups that I have divided mankind into (heights of oversimplification, don’t you think so?). Well, I’d say that it’s not that I don’t have time for leisure; but I don’t have a lot of it either. But when I do, I try to make the most out of it. <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></p>Samhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12568348945930449807noreply@blogger.com4