The varied personalities of a regular Homosapien

Continued from Part I...  (Since the gap between Part I and Part II is 3.5 years, I suggest you please read Part I before continuing below)  April 1 2005 The Bhajans reached its crescendo with the pace getting faster and faster, moving my thoughts along in similar speed. Suddenly, without warning, the sound of "Aum Jai Jagadesha Hare..." started, much to the disappointment of the assembly. We had all been made April Fools. Immediately, I rushed to my father and said, the tie is not all that important. I will share it with some classmate of mine. A scene of some Kamal Hassan film, in which he does that was playing in my mind. So, it seemed a cool thing to do. We would stay back for the evening session and leave for Bangalore in the night. During the afternoon session, I was seated on the third row but directly in front of Swami's Chair. IF , Bhagawan decides to sit on stage, I would have a wonderful view but THAT was not very regular. Swami used to usually take...

Now that you have read the worst story I ever wrote, It is time I introduced you to some of my better work, lest I lose all the respect of my readers. This story was written by me during my MBA days when I was fascinated by P.G.Wodehouse and Douglas Adams . There were many a night when I stayed up to read but not the texts. It was the brilliance of Jeeves and the eccentricities of Zaphod Beeblebrox that kept me up at night. Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1989/10/18 Ever since I read that Adams himself was inspired by Wodehouse and since he applied it in the genre of Science Fiction, it was almost unrecognisable, I thought... let me try it with Spirituality. Presumptuous? I suppose so but nevertheless, a short story competition in Asian Age spurred me into this ridiculous experiment and the result of it is down here for you to judge. Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado I present, "A matter of confidence..." "Kreeng, Kreeng", wa...

On the third day, we had a coastal ride and an ayurvedic massage scheduled. I was in the second batch of the ride and the last one for the massage. That meant a lazy morning with nothing to do. For me that means only one thing: A long walk and what is more, a walk along the shore letting the sea caress my feet with its temptingly chill and silky fingers. Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1988/06/27 Now an idiosyncrasy I share with many Tamils born during the 80s and the 70s is to walk with my hands in my pockets (why do we do that? It is never cold in Chennai. One answer: Style) and the boombox in my head playing "Kadalin Deepam Ondru". Despite being a Kamal Fan, this Rajini number is my default walk song.  Ilaiyaraaja 's music is extra-ordinary and Rajini's cool, casual and yet thoroughly love-stricken stroll in the woods is a visual thoroughly imprinted in our minds. Though Shankar and ARR tried to replace the above song with  Kadh...

"There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them." - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (J.K. Rowling) Our previous night's trekking had a similar effect on us and we were now a closely bound group. We woke up the next morning, fully refreshed and ready for our tryst with sea. The bad news was that the sea was still rough and we could not do most of the sea activities and the Jet ski scheduled for the morning would be manned by a professional with us as the pillion. The resort usually allows us to ride the jet ski ourselves. Kayaking and Banana Boat Ride also had to be cancelled. I wanna play rough! The Good News was that the SEA WAS STILL ROUGH. The Wet and Foamy Blue mistress is a lot more fun when she is angry. We spent the morning flirting with the waves, jumping and dipping to take the crests up or down based on her whim and our fancy . One of us c...

It was a calling twice delayed but not any more denied. I finally got to visit the much talked about Vegetarian, Non-Alchoholic Beach Resort, Sai Vishram with five amazing people. We were welcomed into the resort by two adorable Labradors, Fudge and Bozo. Fudge the younger and more enthusiastic host followed our jeep to our tents allowing us to pet him before making way for us to unpack.  Bozo the wiser and mature host was in attendance as the grand father of the house: Happy at the arrival of the guests, approving of them but with the knowledge of the easy perishability of the relationship. "This too shall pass" seemed to be etched on the scars on his face, an indication of adventures of a bygone era. Canine hosts apart, a cherubic young man with elliptic spectacles and a ready smile, already amused by our enthusiasm, gave us our keys and informed us that the sea was uncharacteristically rough and that we can forget going there on the first day. Not sure if we were to...

Why do we wish to impress? Why do we publicise our blogs and status messages. Why do we crave recognition? Is not satisfaction to be gained only from within? I beg to differ. The root of that desire, I claim, has been inherited directly from God. Sivoham! Sivoham! (I am God)       Source: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/10/26 Let us investigate this further. What was the purpose of creation? Initially there was only existence. Then with a single sound, Aum or the Big Bang based on one's personal inclination, the concept of space and time came into being. Earth was formed with all its beautiful flora and fauna. However God was still not satisfied. Yes there was beauty but there was no intelligence. He wanted someone to be able to appreciate the beauty and to appreciate the creator. He needed an audience. Hence man was created, evolved or imported from other planets, based on whether you get your knowledge from the holy books,...

I promise to unite India and Pakistan with the power of Love and Peace and strengthen the bond between various religions by the force of Advaita. I will persuade China to give up its claim on Tibet and place the peace-loving Dalai Lama in the seat of her power. I will send bouquets to the military leaders of Myanmar and pray to them to voluntarily make Aung San Suu Kyi their leader and reinstate Human Rights. I will abolish AIDS from this world and suck all the harmful bacteria, protozoans, fungi and viruses from the earth and stick it into the moon along with NASA's probe. I will send diplomatic peace missions across the universe and ensure that the Star Wars remain a silver screen phenomenon. Phew, that was tiring. I will now collect my Nobel Peace Price. Thank you. [Click on image to Enlarge it] Source: http://dilbert.com/dyn/str_strip/000000000/00000000/0000000/000000/00000/0000/500/526/526.strip.gif If promises are all that are needed to win a Nobel, our Indian Politicians sh...

[Click on image to Enlarge it] Courtesy: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/ " We can't all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by." Will Rogers How often have we felt a sense of great satisfaction, a moment of grandeur when we read a column on our favourite hero. Be it a Mahatma Gandhi or an Albert Einstein or a Sachin Tendulkar or for that matter (in the more literal sense) Kamal Hassan . For some reason it makes us feel good about ourselves. This hero of ours is not necessarily confined to being a member of our community, our nation or our race. Ha, how the world celebrated the victory of Barack Obama . This is in essence the celebration of the Human Spirit. Every man rejoices his Hero because he knows that he too is capable of being that person. (He merely chooses not be.[;)]) Man always takes more pride in his potential than in his work. Tell a child that he is not hardworking. He will probably shrug it off. Tell him that he...

What makes a terrorist? Are they a different species of human beings created by some mutation in the gene pool. [Click on image to Enlarge it] Courtesy: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/ Many explanations have been given to try and understand it. Quite a few voices (most prominent being that of William Tucker ) have raised stating that Polygamy in Islam is one of the leading causes for suicide attacks. The argument goes something like this. In a monogamous society, every man is more or less guaranteed a woman and he goes on to build a family and have dependents. This makes him value his life. However in a polygamous society, most of the women are concentrated with the rich and successful and hence there is a whole lot of men who not having any possibility of finding a mate, don't value their life anymore (Darwinian thinking at best, stating that reproduction is one of the primary purposes of any creature). Also there is the promise of 72 virgins in heaven if one where do die...