Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Slush:Chill Summers!Chill!


                                                           SLUSH

Crushed ice, saturated loosely with your favourite fizzy drink, in the sweltering heat...The fusion of two forms of water, hard, crystallized and grainy on one hand and cool and free flowing on the other works as a catalyst to speed up your reflexes and metabolic rate when all you want is an everlasting siesta in an air conditioned comfort of your room. Slush...it flushes away the summer sores in a jiffy. Try it...Chill a glass of your favourite fizzy drink in the freezer for half an hour and see the difference you make to your life! This was suggested by a friend and is the definite mantra to ward off fiery summer blues! Thanks a ton!
Now let me make an effort to be blatantly honest about description of the process of trying it out without meaning to sound offensive or  vulgar in any way.(I hope so...)Hold the glass in your hand. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Feel the cool exterior of the glass, dripping dewdrops, quenching the thirst of your warm hands. Cup the glass, just the right amount of pressure so as not to disturb the flow of the meandering cola through the channels of crushed ice. You’ll be transported to heaven. Not even a thousand blazing suns can bleach the colours of vibgyor in the horizon of your soaring thoughts. Bliss is the word you feel.
Now open your eyes and use a spoon to stir up a mini storm in the glass .This is done so as to create a sense of harmony and fusion in the two states-the solid and the liquid, the hard and the soft.
By this time your taste buds will be craving to reach out and be one with the cool delight in the crystal glass...Winking bubbles on the brink throwing inviting glances ,you will just not be able to resist. Simply irresistible...You make the first contact, the warmth of your lips meets the cool crystal and you lose all track of time and space, of temperature soaring or plummeting.
You shiver as your tongue feels the grains of ice, each and every one of it coated with the flavour of the fuzzy drink. But wait! You are not yet satiated till you actually suck the grains dry, sweeping the floor clean, not leaving a trace of intoxication abandoned anywhere. You are not a betrayer of flavours. ..Certainly not. The slush hits you on the fontanel making you ecstatic and desirous of many more such heavenly sips.
Slush...brings a flush to your countenance. Try it!!Summers will not be all that bad!


Monday, March 19, 2012

What's in a cell phone?


A cell phone is not just a machine; it’s an extension of your being, like your finger, or your limb. If you happen to sit in a public place AND if you happen to face another human species like your own self, (such as in a metro) notice the number of hands toying with the cellphones.Watch the expressions. Some minds will be mindful of what they are indulging in while others will be lost in a world far away .The mobile phone acts as a defence mechanism in such cases, a protective shield against the onslaughts of gazes and prying eyes. But is it really so important to do so? What is it actually defending? The vulnerable being...the unbearable lightness of being. The machines are gradually and steadily taking over the cognitive, the affective as well as the psychomotor domains of our lives. We feel restless if we don’t feel the vibrations of batteries under our nimble fingers, or the sound of ringtones. An animated world with animated feelings is what we are shrinking and stuffing our souls into. It’s surprising how quick we are at reciprocating to the demands of the mechanistic world ,neglecting the holistic perspective of life.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

The Clocks


The Clocks

A tree stood on the roadside
Strange it seemed to me
For there was not a foliage it could boast of
But an array of clocks
Nailed on to the trunk
Seven in all
Round, sour cream in colour
Displaying time
That chose to run on different tracks
My life was running on a four wheeled machine
So fast it was
That i could only get a glimpse of the needles
Running helter skelter in different directions
Under the tree on a mute wooden chair
Sat a man
Mute, gazing in the distance
At a tractor in the field
Dali’s watches came alive
In the hallowed portals of my mind
How irrelevant is time when we are asleep
It is a world of breathing memories
And breathing dreams
Beyond the curtains of black lashes
But the watches on this tree
Were rooted to a world of wakefulness
I wonder
What is real-sleep or wakefulness?
Memories or promises?
Timelessness ...
Only time will tell
And i shift my gaze to the sprinting trees

-Ghazal...11:30pm
(I saw this tree recently when i was on an official visit to Jaipur.I wish i could have stopped to click a picture or perhaps make an attempt to talk to that man in the  giant pagree,but somehow i was spellbound,held captive by the strange sight...)





Fresh and Stale


BASAURA
fresh and stale:have a tale!

There’s an interesting way of celebrating the onset of spring and summer in Rajasthan. This festival called Basaura marks the farewell of winter and welcome of summer. On 14th of march Rajasthan, marked by rugged tawny terrain and colourful pagris and ghagras celebrated this festival with cheer and gusto.The womenfolk did not venture into the kitchen to cook as was customary but chose to eat whatever was left over of the previous night.No fire crackled in the stoves, no embers threw off aroma of daal baati choorma. ‘Stale’was the flavour of the day.Why? because at that juncture of their lives it was apparently safe to consume whatever was basi or stale.Henceforth the harsh summer sun would not allow any stale food to thrive .It was only in the late evening that choolhas could be lit and fresh food cooked. Farewell winters, welcome summers!



Sunday, February 19, 2012

Air,Water,Fire and Ice



These are a few of my favourite clicks!


 Zeus raising his head to blaze the sky...
Nature trying its best to balance the warm and the cool colours of the sky
 icing on top of the world
 A bit of wandering wispy fluff,wind ..
 Blaze flash..
 I'm rooted to the grounds oh wind..you cannot shake me up so easily..you will be shattered like wisps of clouds that crown the sky above

 small wonder...braving the cold
 Raven in rest after sunset...
 There is an interplay of light and shadow if you look at the wings closely..
 water water everyehere..
 A mirage ..a reflection
 Closer to the mirage..i discover two worlds..
 an under-water wonder world

Friday, February 17, 2012

Crimson Ecstasy




CRIMSON ECSTASY
What did you have in mind when you crafted this piece!
A pair of scissors
A stainless steel needle
A reel of thread?
The blades pierce the heart of a lover
To fill up your palette with crimson deep
Deeper than the Mediterranean
Colours ...
what will they do without a base!
Suspended in idleness
A rainbow in the sky!
you reach out
 to grab a handful of white gossamer
worn as a veil by the goddess of beauty
how dexterously you cut out
one velvet petal after the other
Dipped in crimson
Sewed together at the base
Not a wrinkle or a crease to disturb the rendezvous
Of the petals with the green alcove
That holds them in an everlasting embrace
Your  dreams meander in the crimson whirlpool
You breathe over it...
Magical is the night
That loses itself in its fragrance
Enigmatic is the breeze that carries its message on its wings
Your angels sweat in anticipation
Waiting for your creation to come alive
And then
A tear from your eye falls on it...
The rose trembles in ecstasy

--Ghazal..17th feb 2012...21:15pm

All the precious words


you and I have exchanged


have found their way


into the heart of the universe


One day they'll pour on us


like whispering rain


helping us arise


from our roots again


.
http://youtu.be/Nbl0hbMC-Vc



~ Rumi

Soundscapes

Soundscapes A vast desert Ripples in sand Grains in crevices of my palm A red roof Against a Monochrome sky Co...