I guess most of us...except perhaps the most rational thinkers have some belief in strange phenomenon...ghosts, spirits, people with weird powers, aliens and ufo's...I've been able to believe that science has the answers to all things...at least not the science of today...and it doesn't stand a chance of getting further with the answers if it refuses to acknowledge the questions!And all peopple do need to believe in something..."There are no atheists in a foxhole."And in anycase I do believe that however far we get we will not find the answers to everything...that as Stephen Hawking said"would be to know the mind of God"...and we are limited by our mortality...perhaps wisdom lies in knowing what we need to know rather than trying to know everything.
Anyway back to unexplained things...I've never been much for ghosts myself...Spooky stories have always seemed to me to be just that...stories! But I do have a fascination for stories of people who can do strange things...read minds...see the future...see the past...heal people with a touch ...telekinesis(a favourite)...after all only 10% of our brain at most is used at any time...who knows what the other 90% is capable of!
And aliens...Its a terribly lonely idea that we are the only intelligent life in the universe...of course it isn't likely...after all no one said it had to be carbon based lifeforms...on a planet anything like ours!All the same...what are the chances of there being life out there...within the range of being able to communicate with us....somewhere along the same range of progress....for all you know they could be at the other end of the universe...still as bacteria...or some form of life that has sentience but no physical structure.
Almost as frightening (And I think that loneliness is the most terrifying thing in the universe)...is the idea that there are aliens already on earth..or that they have been on earth....after all...what chance do we have against a civilization with the capability to travel through vast distances of space;however benevolent their intentions towards us may be, it is still terrifying to think of us at the mercy of some powerful creatures.It was some famous chap who said that when two civilizations meet,one invariably overwhelms the other....it seems that we must either colonialise or be colonised be some alien beings(if they are out there).
And there are those who believe that we are already under invasion...how many stories have we heard of kidnappings...of people beamed up and kept in whilte rooms and having needles inserted into them!I don't give credence to that stuff myself...but if you've read Erik Von Daniken's "Chariots of the Gods?",it has an interesting theory that aliens were responsible for the huge geometric Inca signs and other things of the ancients...who to the best of our knowledge should not have had the need or the capability to do such things...but perhaps the questions should be directed not at the stars and the future but deeper into ourselves and our own world.
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Rain rain come again!
Finally Chennai saw a bit of the monsoons that are suposed to have (finally) graced us with their presence,much to the relief of practcally everyone. But the scattered showers that we have had have only served to highlight the heat that returns in even greater force,as if to exact punishment for the brief leniency in weather.I can't imagine why people would complain about too much rain -I equate it with complaining about too much money and too much ice-cream.
The rains used to mean rain holidays at school,and lots of puddles to jump in and rain dances with umberellas.Now schools have cement paths and both rain holidays and great big puddles named Pacific and Atlantic Ocean are long gone(The kids of today have been deprived of the rain holidays which are their birthright!)So for that matter is school-or at least I don't go to school any more.
Rainy days now mean hours spent sitting at the bay window with a book and a cup of chai,watching and listening to the rushing of water,putting my hand through the grills of the window and letting coin sized drops gather on the sunshade and fall,splashing into my palm.
It means watching the dark green heads of coconut trees swaying against stormy grey skiea like sentinels on guard against an approaching army.
I love the low rumble of distant thunder and the sharp crack as it comes ever closer and the way lightning shapes ordinary things into illusions out of spooky stories.
I love the warm afternoon showers and the cool morning drizzles although their timing could be better.As much as I love getting wet in the rain, I wish it wouldn't happen when I have no hope of getting changed before catching the college bus.
I love the tiny almost invisible drops that signal the start of a deluge, barely touching your skin before they evaporate into thin air.
I love sitting in the car when it rains at night,when the streets lights catch the drops of water and make them glitter like gems.
And I love watching the sea in the rain,when the sky and the ocean and the sand all dissolve into one.
And finally I love the way everything looks and feels after the rain,all fresh and newly washed and the smell of the rain drenched mud,and everything seems happier and more alive.
The rains used to mean rain holidays at school,and lots of puddles to jump in and rain dances with umberellas.Now schools have cement paths and both rain holidays and great big puddles named Pacific and Atlantic Ocean are long gone(The kids of today have been deprived of the rain holidays which are their birthright!)So for that matter is school-or at least I don't go to school any more.
Rainy days now mean hours spent sitting at the bay window with a book and a cup of chai,watching and listening to the rushing of water,putting my hand through the grills of the window and letting coin sized drops gather on the sunshade and fall,splashing into my palm.
It means watching the dark green heads of coconut trees swaying against stormy grey skiea like sentinels on guard against an approaching army.
I love the low rumble of distant thunder and the sharp crack as it comes ever closer and the way lightning shapes ordinary things into illusions out of spooky stories.
I love the warm afternoon showers and the cool morning drizzles although their timing could be better.As much as I love getting wet in the rain, I wish it wouldn't happen when I have no hope of getting changed before catching the college bus.
I love the tiny almost invisible drops that signal the start of a deluge, barely touching your skin before they evaporate into thin air.
I love sitting in the car when it rains at night,when the streets lights catch the drops of water and make them glitter like gems.
And I love watching the sea in the rain,when the sky and the ocean and the sand all dissolve into one.
And finally I love the way everything looks and feels after the rain,all fresh and newly washed and the smell of the rain drenched mud,and everything seems happier and more alive.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Confessions of an unhinged mind
A few days ago I had to stop myself from leaping off the bus at the sight of a book exhibition in T.Nagar.Today my resolve was further tested when I passed two second hand bookshops on the way to class. The fact that I have two books read half way(one for the bus and one for before bed) makes no odds, my greedy hands are always stretched graspig like talons towards new books(MINE,MINE ALL MINE!!!!!! MWAHAHAHAHA)
Landmark is my temple. Anything less than 2 hours spent within its hallowed portals,is a sacrilege. A proper pradarshanam must be done of each bookshelf and a good book taken home to read as prasadam. Any friend taking me there had better beware the big puppy dog eyes I will turn on them when it is time to go.
While it is certainly exciting to have the latest book to hit the stands, my favourites are the old ones at home, which belong to my grandfather. Their pages are yellowed with age and lovingly dog-eared at the best parts.
I lost the fight against bibliomania at the tender age of 11 when my friends and I had a smuggling ring set up to read and exchange books in school. Novels became forbidden in our class so we took to exchanging them in the loo.(Never underestimate the deviousness of an 11 year old!)
I guess my book addiction started about then.(Anyone know a bookaholics anonymous group?) ,and yes it is serious.I suffer severe withdrawal symptoms upon any attempts to wean me away from my precioussssssss.
You'd think my own mother would know better than to lead me furhter into temptation! But she was the one who bought me "Atlas Shrugged" for my birthday-right in the middle of my 10tht Quaterly exams! Of course I didn't have the willpower to wait until they were done! I read it bit by bit in torchlight,under the blankets. And when the exams were done? I read it all at once,all over again!
It is something that I have noticed-the best, most unputdownable books turn up right in the middle of the exams.Ironically,my grades were pulled down by my English marks.(Hmphhh).Must be one of Murphy's laws or something.
Landmark is my temple. Anything less than 2 hours spent within its hallowed portals,is a sacrilege. A proper pradarshanam must be done of each bookshelf and a good book taken home to read as prasadam. Any friend taking me there had better beware the big puppy dog eyes I will turn on them when it is time to go.
While it is certainly exciting to have the latest book to hit the stands, my favourites are the old ones at home, which belong to my grandfather. Their pages are yellowed with age and lovingly dog-eared at the best parts.
I lost the fight against bibliomania at the tender age of 11 when my friends and I had a smuggling ring set up to read and exchange books in school. Novels became forbidden in our class so we took to exchanging them in the loo.(Never underestimate the deviousness of an 11 year old!)
I guess my book addiction started about then.(Anyone know a bookaholics anonymous group?) ,and yes it is serious.I suffer severe withdrawal symptoms upon any attempts to wean me away from my precioussssssss.
You'd think my own mother would know better than to lead me furhter into temptation! But she was the one who bought me "Atlas Shrugged" for my birthday-right in the middle of my 10tht Quaterly exams! Of course I didn't have the willpower to wait until they were done! I read it bit by bit in torchlight,under the blankets. And when the exams were done? I read it all at once,all over again!
It is something that I have noticed-the best, most unputdownable books turn up right in the middle of the exams.Ironically,my grades were pulled down by my English marks.(Hmphhh).Must be one of Murphy's laws or something.
Sunday, June 05, 2005
A book is a garden carried in the pocket.
And I've been through a few in the last couple of weeks.Let me review the ones that I've finished so far.
The first one was John Grisham's "The Broker". While it is a thrilling page turner and certainly better than the ones that the author has written in the recent past( "The Painted House and "The Street Lawyer " come to mind),it lacks the class of his earlier works like "The Client" or "The Rainmaker". Besides, as a spy story ,it provokes inevitable comparisons with the Master, Frederick Fosythe, and then, the book is found lacking.
Another book I read recently was Jeffrey Archer's "Prison Diary III-Heaven".The first two, "Hell" and "Purgatory" respectively were excellent insights into the British prison system and into the drug trafficking that destroys so many innocent lives. The third one, written on similar lines was pretty good,exept Archer came across occasionally as rather whiny-OK We get! The system has been totally unfair to him ;in trying to make sure he got no preferential treatment, they went to the other extreme. But reading about it in every entry makes it tedious;repetition leads to irritation.! Aside from that this series is right up there with Archer's best("Kane and Abel" and "As the Crow Flies") and I eagerly anticipate the set of short stories that he says he is working on.
Then I read the much talked about series "The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams.I assure you, the books are as good as everyone says they are.Actually, they're Bloody Brilliant! Its written with a wonderfully irrevernt sense of humour,which makes an insanely improbable plot seem utterly natural,as we follow the adventures of Arthur Dent.
The movie however proved disappointing. I didn't expect it to be as good as the book-no movie has ever been as good as the book that inspired it-from "Gone With the Wind" to " The Lord of the Rings" and this series isn't the kind that can be brought to life by a bunch of special effects. Marvin the robot was he only redeeming point of the movie.
Right now I'm reading(in an effort to improve my mind) "My Experiments With Truth". I have "Mourning becomes Elektra" to go next,and I'm trying to find"The Catcher in the Rye"
The first one was John Grisham's "The Broker". While it is a thrilling page turner and certainly better than the ones that the author has written in the recent past( "The Painted House and "The Street Lawyer " come to mind),it lacks the class of his earlier works like "The Client" or "The Rainmaker". Besides, as a spy story ,it provokes inevitable comparisons with the Master, Frederick Fosythe, and then, the book is found lacking.
Another book I read recently was Jeffrey Archer's "Prison Diary III-Heaven".The first two, "Hell" and "Purgatory" respectively were excellent insights into the British prison system and into the drug trafficking that destroys so many innocent lives. The third one, written on similar lines was pretty good,exept Archer came across occasionally as rather whiny-OK We get! The system has been totally unfair to him ;in trying to make sure he got no preferential treatment, they went to the other extreme. But reading about it in every entry makes it tedious;repetition leads to irritation.! Aside from that this series is right up there with Archer's best("Kane and Abel" and "As the Crow Flies") and I eagerly anticipate the set of short stories that he says he is working on.
Then I read the much talked about series "The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams.I assure you, the books are as good as everyone says they are.Actually, they're Bloody Brilliant! Its written with a wonderfully irrevernt sense of humour,which makes an insanely improbable plot seem utterly natural,as we follow the adventures of Arthur Dent.
The movie however proved disappointing. I didn't expect it to be as good as the book-no movie has ever been as good as the book that inspired it-from "Gone With the Wind" to " The Lord of the Rings" and this series isn't the kind that can be brought to life by a bunch of special effects. Marvin the robot was he only redeeming point of the movie.
Right now I'm reading(in an effort to improve my mind) "My Experiments With Truth". I have "Mourning becomes Elektra" to go next,and I'm trying to find"The Catcher in the Rye"
Friday, June 03, 2005
Tha Magic Bus
I love travelling by bus in Madras(And yes it will alwys be Madras to me) .Nowhere else doe being Alone in a Crowd take so much meaning.
Lets get the obligatory compliments to the bus service over with. It probably is the cheapest and most efficient bus service in India.Now that that's taken care of,On to the fun part.
The most interesting experiences can be got by travelling during the peak hours between 7:30 and 9 in the morning or 5 to 7 in the evening.In the unlikely event that you get yourself a seat watching everyone else in the bus can be a lot of fun.
PTC buses routinely defy the laws of physics....A bus built to carry around 70 people max. carries anywhere between a 100 and120...rather like the the Wealeys' flying car. And then there are the gravity defying stunts of the people travelling hanging off the doors and windows. And the ability of the person standing in the far corner to push their way into the middle (where a seat is getting empty ,probably right in front of you).
If by some lucky conjunction of the planets you do happen to get a seat,prepare to lose it to the sad young pregnant woman with a baby or an old toothless crone with a huge sack who stare at you with an oddly compeeling gaze that everyone else in the bus remains oblivious to.
If you are sitting down ,without doubt your neighbour will treat you to a lecture on where she is going and why,the details of her family ,the history of illnesses that she has suffered from and leave you convinced that the head cold that you have is a ssymptom of a fatal illness.
Passing change for the ticket is always a game on a bus...You have to find the one in a million person who is not blind to your standing and waving the change at their face to pass the change on for you.Then there is the routine fight with the conductor for the exact change.The likelihood of the tichet and exact amount being returned to you are minimal,so be warned.
Getting into a bus can also be an adventure as the buses stop anywhere but at the bus-stop and take off just as you get a foot on the first step!Running for the Bus is probably how most schoolkids train for the Hundred metres Dash.
By the Way a not to be missed sight can be got by travelling on a 3pm bus passing through a few schools ....Schoolhildren descending upon the bus in hoardes...it is an act of curage to stay on the bus while it is under attack by the invading armies.
Also fixtures on any bus are the Footboard Romeos and the women carrying baskets of Who knows what that stinks all the way up to heaven.
For all that, if you like watching people and don't mind a little discomfort to pay for your amusement....try a busride once in a while.
Lets get the obligatory compliments to the bus service over with. It probably is the cheapest and most efficient bus service in India.Now that that's taken care of,On to the fun part.
The most interesting experiences can be got by travelling during the peak hours between 7:30 and 9 in the morning or 5 to 7 in the evening.In the unlikely event that you get yourself a seat watching everyone else in the bus can be a lot of fun.
PTC buses routinely defy the laws of physics....A bus built to carry around 70 people max. carries anywhere between a 100 and120...rather like the the Wealeys' flying car. And then there are the gravity defying stunts of the people travelling hanging off the doors and windows. And the ability of the person standing in the far corner to push their way into the middle (where a seat is getting empty ,probably right in front of you).
If by some lucky conjunction of the planets you do happen to get a seat,prepare to lose it to the sad young pregnant woman with a baby or an old toothless crone with a huge sack who stare at you with an oddly compeeling gaze that everyone else in the bus remains oblivious to.
If you are sitting down ,without doubt your neighbour will treat you to a lecture on where she is going and why,the details of her family ,the history of illnesses that she has suffered from and leave you convinced that the head cold that you have is a ssymptom of a fatal illness.
Passing change for the ticket is always a game on a bus...You have to find the one in a million person who is not blind to your standing and waving the change at their face to pass the change on for you.Then there is the routine fight with the conductor for the exact change.The likelihood of the tichet and exact amount being returned to you are minimal,so be warned.
Getting into a bus can also be an adventure as the buses stop anywhere but at the bus-stop and take off just as you get a foot on the first step!Running for the Bus is probably how most schoolkids train for the Hundred metres Dash.
By the Way a not to be missed sight can be got by travelling on a 3pm bus passing through a few schools ....Schoolhildren descending upon the bus in hoardes...it is an act of curage to stay on the bus while it is under attack by the invading armies.
Also fixtures on any bus are the Footboard Romeos and the women carrying baskets of Who knows what that stinks all the way up to heaven.
For all that, if you like watching people and don't mind a little discomfort to pay for your amusement....try a busride once in a while.
These are the Voyages...
I've been inspired to keep a blog...more or less as an online diary after watching "Finding Neverland" last night (and after much persuasion by a friend). This isn't going to be so much a review of the events of the day...most of which I'd rather forget anyway...but an account of things I don't want to forget about.Books and Movies and People that I want to remember forever.
The movie itself was lovely.Some of the quotes really stuck in my head...."Sometime in the last 30 seconds you've become a grown up"...It hasn't happened to me yet...and I'm hoping I never will lose my passport to Neverland.
It was oddly nice to see the life of another person who lived more in fantasies than in reality. As a person given to day dreaming at the most inopportune times I can sympathise entirely. Indeed mose of my life has been spent in the worlds generated by various authors than in here and now.
Life is Nice but Books are better! I have been told that I have enough books to start a small library. But I never have quite enough as far as I'm concerned.My list of books to read would make most people quail...it makes me quiver in anticipation.My greatest tests of willpower come when passing by a bookkshop...I'm magnetically attracted towards the inside...and once inside nothing less than a few hours will do.
I'm never happier than with a book in hand and a cup of tea by the side....I never say no to tea-Does that qualify me for British citizenship? For all that I read however writing really is The Next Great Adventure!Now toBoldly go Where no Pen or Keyboard has gone Before!
The movie itself was lovely.Some of the quotes really stuck in my head...."Sometime in the last 30 seconds you've become a grown up"...It hasn't happened to me yet...and I'm hoping I never will lose my passport to Neverland.
It was oddly nice to see the life of another person who lived more in fantasies than in reality. As a person given to day dreaming at the most inopportune times I can sympathise entirely. Indeed mose of my life has been spent in the worlds generated by various authors than in here and now.
Life is Nice but Books are better! I have been told that I have enough books to start a small library. But I never have quite enough as far as I'm concerned.My list of books to read would make most people quail...it makes me quiver in anticipation.My greatest tests of willpower come when passing by a bookkshop...I'm magnetically attracted towards the inside...and once inside nothing less than a few hours will do.
I'm never happier than with a book in hand and a cup of tea by the side....I never say no to tea-Does that qualify me for British citizenship? For all that I read however writing really is The Next Great Adventure!Now toBoldly go Where no Pen or Keyboard has gone Before!
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