To the internet

links beyond links

and links after those

some culminating in a rhyme

and occasionally in a complaint

some meeting a talking camera

and travelling with it

some walking with a censorious glance

and arriving at a passion

some, simply unoccupied

harmlessly addicted.

all of them together

a web of links

connected by their humanness

there is a god.

Many things can make me believe that there is someone who can make sense out of the world. Unexpectedly, blogs did that to me today. Perhaps I haven't come across a bad blog yet; but the more blogs I go through, the more I realise how many good hearts are beating out there, how many people work or at least want, to change what they do not like, how sadness always graduates to happiness and how that happiness is always there, like a talisman. I realise how many people are writing instead of picking up a gun or even shouting at someone. And suddenly, I see that all of them are similar: possessing similar angst, similar love and similar energy, and I know, there is a god.

Antilla

We were visiting a friend's house the other day, because he was ill. He didn't look the part, and not finding much to sympathise about, we began joking around, checking Facebook (yes, it is the end of the world if you check Facebook when all your friends are right beside you), and also, staring out of the window. One of our stares registered Antilla, Mukesh Ambani's residence, the one he built for his wife. The building reminded me of a particular paragraph from a particular book:

"The residence of Mr. Peter Pett, the well-known financier, on Riverside Drive, New York, is one of the leading eyesores of that breezy and expensive boulevard. As you pass by in your limousine, or while enjoying ten cents' worth of fresh air on top of a green omnibus, it jumps out and bites at you. Architects confronted with it reel and throw up their hands defensively, and even the lay observer has a sense of shock. [...] It is a house that is impossible to overlook; and it was precisely for this reason that Mrs. Pett insisted on her husband's buying it, for she was a woman who liked to be noticed."

Doesn't this excite you? Don't you notice the similarities?

1. Mumbai is a lot like New York. Or isn't it? It must be.
2. Antilla is one of the leading eyesores of south Mumbai.
3. Architects confronted with it do reel.
4. It does bring on a sense of shock.
5. It is impossible to overlook.
6. Mr. Ambani bought it (built it, same difference) for his wife.

Also take note of the discrepancies:

1. Mr. Ambani is more than just a well-known financier.
2. You don't pass by in your limousine in Mumbai. You halt every two minutes on account of the traffic.
3. The buses are red, not green; and you'd be hard-pressed for fresh air. No offence to BEST, though. It is a perfectly efficient and well-managed bus service.
4. There is no writer to equal Wodehouse in Mumbai or anywhere else in the world.

P.S. For those wondering where Wodehouse enters the equation, it's because the afore-quoted paragraph has been written by him. The book is called Piccadilly Jim.

It's Okay

"it's okay

it's going to be fine

look at the bigger picture

look at the future i am colouring

for you, so you would do this for me

just this once

and i won't tell you about my eraser

i won't admit i have it

i will accuse you of having one

and who can blame me?

what you don't know can't hurt you

if it does

i won't be there to see you cry

and crying's good for you, isn't it?

i will pretend i care

i won't tell you i am a great actor

let's just run to the finish line, baby

there's nothing else to do

you don't want to? fine. now you do?

it's okay, it's okay

it's going to be fine"

you say all this to me

i listen to you

and i tell myself

it's okay

it's going to be fine

Contentedness

It is all falling back into place

There is nothing to fear

And nothing to disbelieve in

And no reason to cry

Also, more importantly,

There is no reason to be pessimistic

To notice what is not present

Because there is so much to think of

And so much to remember

Fondly.

Contentedness, unlike happiness, wears off after a while. But it is worth enjoying while it is there, and unrealistic to fear a future without it. This is what I have learnt; and I am glad I have learnt it. These are happy tears, a little late in the day.

My world

Falling

Colliding

Vapourising: invisible

Ten million stars

And trying to catch them all.

India Today

1.) Babus cannot impersonate war widows for too long.

2.) It's a colourfully vibrant and awe-inspiring spectrum. The two G's could mean gaffe (the whole episode) and gallows (for it remains to be seen whom). And we're all poised for 3G. We're so gullible.

3.) The news about America saying, "LOL, we were just kidding" about the UNSC permanent membership promise has been given the cold shoulder. We trust Obama even if he's taking his policy of change a bit too seriously.