Leisure

The other day I came across this beautiful poem by W. H. Davies and no later than I've finished reading it, I felt a pang of suffocation in my workplace. So, I got up and walked out of the place to somewhere devoid of that paper sheet reading "Pending Tasks", where there are things that are more than mere human contrivances...where there are trees and the bed of green grass instead of columns of concrete and the marble floor...where the wind that kisses you is the same that kissed the leaves, the birds and the squirrel.

Fortunately, in this part of hyderabad one could find a few remnants of natural beauty -- a pond, old rocks on dwarf(and almost barren) hills and some open spaces dotted with trees (all of which is being voraciously gnawed up by the upcoming software firm buildings). So, I set out to visit the nearby pond whose one side is cluttered with waste building material and the opposite side has a narrow pathway alongside the shore with a few tamarind(imli), neem & Acacia(babul) trees. Its been three months since I last sat beneath the tamarind tree on the opposite shore. The words were still ringing in my head -

                 "WHAT is this life if, full of care,
                  We have no time to stand and stare?"

But my steps today were unhurried, I looked at the office building and it looked back...different. Then I was thinking of my childhood...that village with its green farms...narrow pathways between two corn fields...those strolls with friends, each one putting forth his 'theory of everything' about things we saw around us...the barefooted runs chasing the peacocks since they can't fly much...and involuntarily, I was singin these lines from pink floyd's High Hopes:

                   The grass was greener
                   The light was brighter
                   The taste was sweeter
                   The nights of wonder
                   With friends surrounded
                   The dawn mist glowing
                   The water flowing
                   The endless river

Now I was beneath the tamarind tree at the pond shore, awed by the beauty and serenity of the place. Every now and then a small fish breaches the water surface as if to smell the air, on the nearby tree branch is perched a kind of Egret waiting for the opportunity, a water snake swam at a distance, I scared a few crabs as I went close to them - weird creatures, i thought to myself...they walk sideways; cool wind blowing and slowly I was being lost in the beauty of nature's creations that go unnoticed in our busy everyday life. Everything around looked to be ecstatic and I was feeling elevated too. Suddenly, it didn't seem to matter anymore if I fail to show any significant work for the day in the daily status report(the only other time it happens is when a few pints of beer think and talk for you :D). Seeing those merry creatures I thought, we may have learned to build cosy houses for ourselves but we certainly have forgotten how to celebrate life. Now I could appreciate better than ever as to why Thoreau chose to go into the woods. And since then I slow down to smell the air...to appreciate the beauty...to stand and stare!!

pushp

What, if not madness?

Rajni(kant) mania has struck again. His latest flick Sivaji - the Boss which was released sometime in mid-june is rocking the theaters across the world, thanks to his mad fan following. On the first look i read only half the movie title and thought it has something to do with the legendary shivaji (dumb me!!) and its only after reading the last part that i realized: the demigod is back in his new avtar. Despite his films being devoid of much meaning and having a counterpart only in fantasy movies or cartoon films, they are able to create (fools) paradise for his fans everytime. That's what happened with the release of his latest movie, the fans went mad...checkout these images. I'm forced to ask "what is this, if not madness?". I've nothing against rajni but a 'seasoned' actor like him doing such foolish roles and then the crowd going mad after it, really calls for some brickbats. Seeing his movies, any sane man could easily say, rajni would make a great comedian in a movie for the sensible.

They say, entertainers are necessary in every society, but then their entertainment must be seen in the right perspective...should people go mad behind a comedian, calling him god, killing innocent animals just to please gods (who are still supposed to grace the temples) to make his otherwise horribly pathetic movies successful? See the action in his films and you would wonder if all newtonian physics has been turned on its head while you were still sleeping. See for yourself. Three hundred years back pope exclaimed:

"Nature and Nature's Laws lay hid in night;
God said, 'Let Newton be!' -- And all was light."

I say: "Nature and Nature's laws lay petrified;
           Let rajni be and all is defied."

Hail rajni!!