Off for an Exam; Into Something Serious

From

Arindam Saha

Random Thoughts

WordPress Community

whenitrovertspeaks.wordpress.com

Date: 26th November 2012

To

Readers and Followers

WordPress Community

Subject: Application seeking leave and best wishes

Dear Readers

With due respect, I beg to say that due to end semester exams, I would be unable to posts on my blog (whenintrovertspeaks.wordpress.com) up till 12th of December 2012. I understand that this might concern you a bit but I promise some posts when I return back which are as follows

1. A Poem to the Rains and Monsoon in India

2. Pictures of Chhath Puja in our campus

3. Snaps of some cuisines we enjoyed in Ahmadabad

4. Some Philosophy on Numbers

This is all I have thought for the moment. I invite suggestions for more topics from you. I also wish to take you in confidence with regard to the fact that I will read all your posts on a regular basis.

In return I solicit your blessings and wishes for my exams…

Seeking permission for the leave…

Yours Sincerely

Arindam Saha

Random Thoughts

Floral Snapshots: In Kolkata

Some snaps of flowers, plants and sky in the rainy season…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lost Childhood

A carefree face, a pleasing smile

So innocent; my heart stops for a while

Eyes large; and full of joy

Searching for his favorite toy

There it is! and flash, he goes

Out of his heart, laughter flows

A laugh which hides no pain

A laugh which knows no loss or gain

Hours of play; no rest or respite

Wanders his mind in unbound flight

Then greets his dad with hugs and kisses

Tosses his child up, and then he catches

Fearless, the child gives a zealous call

He knows his father won’t let him fall

He laughs without fear, tension or grief

So strong is the faith; so firm the belief

I stand and watch; the marvel of nature

And try to to peak into his distant future

Will he not lose the carefree face?

Will he withstand the mean world’s embrace?

Will clouds of fear not question his faith

When he encounters the unjust’s wraith?

Will he be able to smile as I could

In my own; lost childhood?

Kankaria Lake: The Final Destination in Ahmadabad

Here are the snapshots of Kankaria Lake: A perfect circular man-made lake in Ahmadabad.

 

 

 

 

Festival of Light; Not So Bright

 

The city decorated as a bride

Millions of faces gleaming with pride

Each home twinkling with light

Never seen the city so bright

But emotions in my heart fade

It seems deserted and betrayed

 

Birds which sing, Birds which dance

Announce the festival well in advance

The morning dew on a solitary leaf

Watches the people’s growing belief

In a season when happiness flows

Why is my heart in such a low?

The songs on the radio, out in the streets

Greets the people whom it meets

Reminding us of the same old day

When a king returned from exile, they say

On a day when people meet with gratitude

Why does my heart seek solitude?

 

Sweets are made, distributed when people meet

Why does today’s sugar, not taste so sweet?

A spoon of love; a pinch of care

I think is what may relieve me from despair

A little smile, a drop of tear

An emotion no word can bear

Oh Mother! I will miss you the whole night

To day the festival of light is not so bright.

Happy Diwali to all

Around Ahmadabad in a Day

The Sabarmati Ashram: The Memories of Mahatma Gandhi

Hathi Singh Jain Temple

 

Siddi Sayak Mosque

Jummi Mosque

 

 

Bhadra Fort

Shaking Minarets

Difficulties

Difficulties in your life do not come to destroy you, but to help you realise your hidden potential and power. Let difficulties know you are too difficult.

– Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Music Beyond Language

http://mp3hungama.com/music/download.php?song_id=22119

A track from Rhythmscape by Bikram Ghosh

The Joy that will never Perish

Being born and brought up in Indian culture; the ideas of mythology always fascinated me. And browsing though ‘religious’ books, watching TV soaps and through general discussions, one thing was very clear to me – there is something called ‘moksha’ that was sort of ‘preached’ to us as our aim of life. It was presented in a way that this is what we live for; this is what we must strive to achieve. As I grew up meaning of the word, became clearer to me; and simultaneously did the question – Why Moksha – became more tempting to me.

Let me first tell you how is the concept portrayed to the general Indian. We were told that once we die, we are bound to be reborn in some other form. Death is nothing but the departure of the soul from the body. This soul enters another body to give birth to an individual. They say that in a lifetime body suffers through sorrows. And hence we must make efforts to free the soul from the birth cycle and gain never ending joy. This freedom is what is called moksha. How do we achieve moksha? By doing ‘good deeds’.

Somehow this idea did not fit into the scheme of my logic. Too abstract for my appetite. I had to find out what does this actually boil down so that a person as crazy as me can digest. And hence sat a group of philosophical lunatics of the hostel to materialise the abstract. And that discussion – which ended at 3 am that night – added a dimension to look at life.

“Turns out that it is true that in a lifetime, we come across many sorrows; moments of shattered hopes and grave depression. But no one can deny the fact that life gives moments of joy, excitement, fun, love, peace and satisfaction. So the argument of the orthodox that life is full of sorrows stands on shaky grounds. The concept of rebirth is speculative. If I do not know whether or not I would ever be reborn, why should I care about what is going to happen in the next birth?”

OK, I get your point, but if I don’t care about what is going to happen after I die, what do I care about? Umm…of course my present life. So what does a person seek in life? Well surely… not money as it is only an agent…”

“Agent to do what? Buy… buy what? Happiness… Yes got it! We seek happiness. Or things which make us happy. Like we seek money to buy things of luxury; we seek fame as someone praising us makes us happy. We seek to listen to songs, go for outing; and that makes us happy. Gotcha!”

“But I you look carefully, there is one cause of all happiness – Realisation – you earn money; buy an air conditioner to realise what it feels like to be in an air-conditioned room. You go to Kashmir to realise what it feels like to be in a paradise. You seek beautiful places to realise that such masterpieces exist in nature. What is the greatest realisation? What is it that gives you unbound joy?”

“To know something is truly a joy forever. To discover how mysteries of nature unfold is what gives joy whenever we think of it. If the smallest of discoveries like how to make a pebble bounce on water, how to climb a tree and how to plant a sapling can give us unparalleled joy, how joyous would be the moment when we know why the nature is the way it is?”

The magical words had been spelled. The answer was there for the taking. To have a complete knowledge of how nature works is what I believe  Moksha is supposed to mean. Moksha is freedom in true sense. Freedom from all sorrows because if you know nature, you would be able to realise that all the materialistic sorrows have to perish and all materialistic joy has to end. What will sustain is the eternal joy – the joy of knowing everything…