Friday 28 January 2011

Dhobi Ghat

...is abstract.
Abstract like our life.
Life that started without meaning,
just with people,
people who are nothing but just characters.
Characters with their limitations,
with some that we adore,
and some that we despise.

But its the moments,
the moments that we share with these,
that gives meaning.
Meaning to the relationship,
relationship that defines life,
the life that started as abstract.

Sunday 16 January 2011

So... when was it

So when was the last time you actually wrote something more than a line or two, i mean not typing, mere writing.The last time i remember was a few discreet lines of notes that i took during my project meeting.Before that i guess its again another few lines of notes during a training sometime early last year.

Thinking about it, its been years together since i wrote something continuous, something long.Long and continuous like the way we write exams in college.Probably that's the last thing i wrote continously for hours together i guess.

When i happened to write today a line of 5 words for about 44 times continuously i realized how my hands have actually forgot to write for years together now.

Its not that i miss it badly(though its nice to write at times),it just that my hands are not able to actually afford it now. I started feeling a bit of pain or uneasiness after i started writing a few times.There was a discomfort for sure.

Don't know if this is because i had to write the same sentence again and again repeatedly or is it because of the lack of physical writing or lack of exercise.

I can still type for long hours and carry a decent amount of weight, so i can excuse lack of exercise. Given that, I wish its because i was writing the same thing, but i guess its more because of not writing for a while now. Its just five years from college and i seldom write already. I wonder how the future is going to be.

Children of the future don't have to know how to cursive write, just CTRL+I and CTRL+B is what all they need. Probably they may not even have to type, just tell how they want it.

Technology is the Wor(l)d.

Thursday 13 January 2011

Songbirds

The difference between a Nightingale and a Chicken is just not their voice alone. Looks like there is more to it. In an article about songbirds, the author explains why some are special than the other.

“Vocal patterns are hardwired in animals like chicken and frogs because they do not have to hear to be able to vocalize” remarks Dr. Ofer Tcernichovski

A nightingale, the Mozart or MS Subbulakshmi among the avians, on the other hand, has over 200 different songs in its repertoire. And it can improvise. First it might sing the note sequence ABCDEF and a while later it might sing BEDF

And it doesn't stop there.

Songbirds, just as humans, learn from listening and the younger ones learn and create more music than the older ones. Analysis of the brain circuitry (neuro-anatomy) of some songbirds shows a remarkable similarity with those of we humans.

It makes me wonder if it is from the nature humans learned to identify musical notes and its compositions.
Probably nature was the first teacher.

Thanks to wikimedia, you can listen to a song of Nightingale here
The full article on songbirds is here.

Monday 3 January 2011

Principle

In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock. - Thomas Jefferson

The above quotes looks fancy to say, but its not that easy to stand like a rock when it comes to principles. When the incentives are high, let it be positive or negative, people could get easily tempted to compromise or give up.

When Hashim Amla was offered to play for South African cricket team, a dream for any sports man, he stood for his principle. He requested the alcohol logos to be removed from all his playing gears and he is successful so far*.

The point here is not about what his principle is,but the courage to speak up and stand for the principle. His stance is quite impressive and appreciable.

Just in case if he happens to be at crossroads in the future,where he has to give up one of them, it would be interesting to see his stance.

Next time when you see Amla playing cricket, you might understand why his t-shirt alone is different from rest of his team mates.


*






Saturday 1 January 2011

புத்தாண்டு

சென்றாண்டுக்கு நீ மற்றொரு ஆண்டு
நேற்றைக்கு நீ இன்னது ஒரு நாளை
வெள்ளிக்கு என்றைக்கும் சனி
மணிக்கு வெறும் நொடி
மனிதனுக்கு மட்டும்
நீ தனி.

முதன்மையை வழிபடும் மானிடனின்
மற்றும் ஒரு முதன்மை திருவிழா.