Spray it like me if you can!

What are the issues that you boast upon? Your family, big house, cute car, clever son, cell phone, or a beautiful wife or a handsome husband? Good. Do you know what people boast upon here in Secunderabad? Wait. Dont be embarassed or shocked when I actually say it. I mean, be prepared.


"Sprewwwwww....." Did you get it? Hmm... This is a sound, with spectacular visual effect, that you can see on the roads here. Red coloured spray of 'pan' and spit emerging from mouths adorned with yellow teeth, making rainbow-like formation in the air! Ah! Those lovely little fountains can never be forgotten especially if the spray lands on your pearl white shirt, on your way to the office or University or a wedding feast. Thanks to a lot of such sprayers, all the walls in the city have a red base, with designs better than Hussain's paintings. Great indeed is this talent.


Not over. Spray is only one mode. Other modes of 'painting the city red' are, straight spray with lower projection angles and longer projectile, plosive actionwhere the material goes straight down at high velocity, angular spit which follows a spiral trajectory, achieved by turning the head around while spittine, etc.


The other day, while I was returning from the railway station, I saw a crystal white UFO-like object with a short aura, flying from above, to the ground just half a metre ahead of me! I was terrified. I stood just like that for a few seconds. Then I realized that it was also the artistic craft of a young man who wanted to ease himself by spitting long and sharp! The problem was that, he tried it from a bus parked on the side. By god's grace, I was saved, otherwise, I would have been bathed in that crystal white liquid. YUCK!!!


Now a piece of warning. Be on the look out while you walk in the city. Someone may spray from anywhere around. Beware. Be ready to be sprayed. Be ready to evade sprays.

Eyes like these...

You didn't see it. I saw it. Probably, you looked at it, yet you didn't 'SEE' it. What?

Today, in community radio class, some of my classmates were presenting small topics. And I saw a very inspiring montage. A series of pairs of eyes- paires of eyes of different sizes, of different colours, belonging to different cultures, different nations. Some eyes said, "We are confident", some said we're not so confident." Some eyes fluctuated like a low voltage neon bulb. Some flickered in anxiety. Some were silent, yet proclaimed silence aloud. Some wandered in search of a soul, while some radiated a settled calm.

Yet all were eyes, eyes, that talked.

Eyes like these make me feel proud of my creator, the master artist who crafted those little dark spots in white lakes.

Eyes like these make me sing of beauty.

Miracle

What is a miracle? Dead man coming back to life, cure of terminal illness, Sun going black, elephants flying, etc... Yes, these are miracles.

But, usually we dont see these things happening in front of our eyes. To be true, mirales are our projections of impossible dreams. In other words, we name impossible things as miracles. By doing this, we also are confirming that miracles are 'never-to-be' incidents.

Yet I disagree with this idea of miracles. I see miracles all around, because I believe miracles are possible. And I see miracles happening aournd. You know what I am driving at: the smile of flowers, a baby's face, sun rising,... Sorry I did'nt mean that too.

I meant the lives of people. Confidence sparkling in their eyes, Beauty gleaming, Compassion that flows, Determination, etc.

Is'nt it a miracle when a human being comes back to life from despair and pessimism of the highest degree?

Dont you think it is a miracle to see a smile on the face of a woman while the whole body writhes in pain?

Dont you think it is a miracle to see someone walking with a crutches, with great difficulty, yet determined to WALK?

Do you not see miracle in the eyes of an old man, still waiting in hope, for his saviour?

I see miracle in their eyes, I see miracle in the air, because, I believe in miracles.

Left Right Left Right

I have found something very interesting. Here I come... EUREKA...

The other day, Prof. Upendran was teaching us about development of languages. Going back to millions of centuries, he demonstrated how some of our forefathers came down from the tree and lost their tails and hair (which some of us still regret).
In the course of explanation, he was speaking of lateralization of the brain. Suddenly, he turned his attention into some lateral topics! He He.. He wanted to amuse us may be...
In course of time, human brain began to grow. Its size increased. And languages began to develop since wo/man had to spend much of her/his time in caves during the ice age. Wondering why? You!!! In the cave, it was dark and you possibly cannot see what your neighbour is showing you in sign language. Wow! So language grew and grew...
The place language got in the brain was in the left part. So the left half of the brain developed faster. As you may well know, left hemisphere of the brain controls the right side of the body. Therefore, People started developing an affinity to the right side! Right became dominant side. People used right hand more than left. Remember, until then both hands were of same importance...
Now, the Prof. asked us: "who stands behind the groom at any wedding? What is his name?"
We said: "The best man."
Prof: Why is he called the best man? Is it because he looks the best? or the is the BEST man in the world?"
We dint know the answer. Yet we told him all our ideas about what we thought. Obviously all were wrong.
Prof: "Hei, earlier there was no system of marriage like ours now. No dating and arranged marriage. Man went around other villages, found a girl whom he liked, and later, he went with one of his STRONG an TALL friends to that village and just kidnapped the girl. That was the way brides were found."
"How cool!" we thought.
Prof: "So, that STRONG and TALL man is called the best man. He is best in helping the groom kidnap the girl. BEST in that sense."
But where does lateralization figure here?
Prof: "Now, the best man stands behind the groom. Where does the bride stand? On the left or on the right?"
We thought, tried to remember the weddings of our own parents! "On the left." we said.
Prof:"Why on the left? Left is considered to be the worst side. Evil was associated with left always. All left handed were thought to be cursed. Then Why???"
We didnt have an answer.
Now see the answer:"Remember it was a kidnap. So the parents and friends of the girl may come to rescue her. In case of such an attack, there is the best man standing behind the groom. Now groom needs to protect himself. He needs a sword. Where do you keep the sword? On left or right?"
"On the left side", we said.
Prof: "So, imagine there is an attack. Also imagine that the bride is on the best side, the right side. The groom draws his sword out... and there he decapitates the bride who is now on the right side! Do you want it to happen?"
"No," we said.
"Therefore the bride is on the left."

Prof: "Why do you wear your wedding ring on the left hand?"
Again we had no answer.
Prof: "Ancient Egyptians believed that a vein from the left ring finger goes straight to the heart. Therefore the ring is on the left."


Enough of lateralization, right?
Ya, I too think so.
Yet it is amazing how human beings thought and how thought directed action and so on. Its really amazing. Isnt it?

Photographs of my life

Life is a chain of events, as seen on a movie screen. Ans as you may very well know, all the scenes on the screen are results of multiple illusions which try to fool us with much realistic sense. Of course, we need not worry about somebody cheating us when we are in the theatre watching a movie. But we should be certainly be thinking of the mechanism of these movies which we take home as we leave the theatres.
As anyone who thinks little deep can see, the visuals we see influence us a lot- be it a photograph, painting, scenery, or a movie. But what escapes even those who think is the fact that beyond these visible visuals, there is an invisible level of visuals and audio which subtly influence and overpower us without our concent. What is it?

What is it?
It is nothing but the way you look at your neighbour. Have you ever noticed your own feelings as you went out of those air conditioned theatre rooms after spending a couple of hours, travelling over the world with strange characters? How did you look at your neighbour? How did you walk? Didnt you feel that your feet were a little above the ground? Didnt you?
This is what i mean.

But you see, things dont end there. These visuals remain in the unconscious and conscious minds and work their way. Its like incarnations. The film maker and the camera man and editor and the whole crew work on your brain like no one else did before.

If you dont believe, next time you go to cinema, hault, take a deep breath and observe yourself. YOU are the greatest example to study your neighbour!!!

Danger on Wheels

I was shocked when I saw a boy falling down on the foot-board of a moving APSRTC bus, while he boarded the fast moving bus, in one of the busiest streets of Secunderabad yesterday. To add to my shock, the conductor who was a witness coolly asks the boy for bus fare, as if nothing has happened! No reaction to what he sae, no warning, no correction.
Not over, when the boy fell, there were four other students standing on the food board. I was shocked. But no one else was shocked.
While talking to a friend, after this incident, he told me that it was shocking for me because my eyes were new to these sights! As you go along, you will be ok!!!
Oh yes. I think I will be ok, if I close my eyes to thes nonsense. But I cant do it. Today, that boy fell on the foot board. What would happen if he falles under the wheels tomorrow? Are my eyes t digest and forget that too? No. I think some one has to bell the Cat.

The APSRTC conductors are so careless about safety of passsengers. They never instruct people to move away from foot boards, even when the bus is almost empty. The traffic police here plays a role, not more than that of a 'scare crow'. Often, I feel they are there to witness these dangetous tricks played by 'amateuf circus artists'! I have seen them mercileely using their 'Lattis' on such passengers, in other states of India. I would be happy if they do so here too.

Pain and fear are not desireable, But often, they TEACH us a lot...

Let us be ONE

Today, I heard an educated professor saying, "In India, the society 'IS' caste based!"
I wanted to corect her and make that 'IS' a 'WAS.' But you know, I am only a student! and she is a Ph.D. and is a professor and draws a fat salary from this 'caste based society.'
So, it is not your knowledge but degrees that determines whether what yuo say is right or wrong. Therefore, my heart told me, dear young man, do not tend to go against the rights of the educated. You may become the 'WRONG.'



Dear Reader, if you are one of those 'educated' gentle folk, please think again. It is our attitudes that hold us back. India is still caste based in your mind and mind you, in reality, it will remain so for you. A humble appeal I have to make is "please do THINK." Use your reason. Open your eyes. The one who sits next to you is a human being, not a fanatic, not a caste identity. Look at human beings and see humanness, longing for love and unity, need to love and be loved...

we are all ONE.


Come on, let us awake from this Millenius old slumber of discrimination and labelling.

LET US BE ONE