The Firefly

A lonesome firefly

wandering deep in woods

all alone, directionless

what worse could destiny imply?

The woods were misty 

they were dark

even his thoughts

bereft of hopes

not an iota of spark!

Then suddenly

came a faint light

unaware of the source

amazed, perplexed

he continued his flight!

In that feeble illumination

he seemed to identify his way

he went wrong at times

but finally found his destination!

Relieved to make

to a safe place

he went over the lake

In utter astonishment

he observed in water

the circle of light

coincided with 

his own trajectory

He quickly realized

he himself was the mysterious source

he himself the guiding force!

Alchemist

Alchemist, why did you settle

with the ephemeral gratification

which the oasis did offer

you lost the want for something more better?

You were a warrior

of battle of compelling times

a fearless sailor

navigating through ruthless tides

you're not meant to rest

you're yet to unravel the best!

Metals still aren't gold

an ignorant world

awaits a hero

to find them

the philosopher's stone

you can't quit in the middle

riddle doesn't want to remain a riddle!

The light in your passion

got a bit dimmer,

the faith, the belief

rusty, they lost the earlier shimmer,

Situations will bend

for a determined legend

Universe will conspire

If only you rekindle

the conviction, the infectious fire!

You were the traveller of desert

a capricious, aggressive place

the mirages couldn't detour

the caravans couldn't halt

a detached soul

you kept your own pace

Why now the webs of complacency

are holding you back

from running your own destined race!

The best landscapes

lie on the miles

you did not go,

Destiny far ahead

in the lands

you do not know,

Don't let the victory

of reaching the milestone

blur your vision,

fool you short and

deviate from the larger mission,

Don't let your dreams go frail

You have much to learn

Resume your journey

you're far from the Holy Grail!

Infinity and beyond

The vast expanse

the limitless charm

the mighty sea

stretched infinity and beyond

the sound of waves

the percussion of wind

a symphony of solitude

spread infinity and beyond

the lovely sunset

setting the sky fire

the goldenish rays

spread infinity and beyond

Amidst an arresting aura

a trapped soul

a cocooned life

wants to liberate

spread infinity and beyond! 

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Please give it a thought, for a moment.

Obviously, the answer is YES; how does it matter if a person is there or not, is the instantaneous reply we hear from our logical circuits up there, followed by a quick sense of superiority arising from the apparent triviality of the question. But one second, this deserves another thought. What is Sound? Sound is a perception which we get, when some vibrations hit our eardrum and is recognized as "sound" only at our nerve centers. So if no human is there around, can we say, the falling tree made some sound? Welcome to the unconquered lands of Metaphysics!

I was dumbstruck with the realization which dawned upon me, completely stupefied with the thought of numerous unperceived possibilities which can exist in this world. I felt like being awakened from some world of ignorance, as I steeped into the mystical depths of this conundrum. The world we see, is the way we perceive it through our senses. We are so much tied to our senses that we simply can't imagine what lies beyond and that sets a limitation to our interpretation of reality.

I found this conundrum immensely powerful and impacting. As this fact sinked in further, becoming a grist to my cognitive mills, I started developing a parallel theory myself stemming up from this weird realization. If we observe our daily lives in light of this idea, the very fact that at times we tend to be so adamant with our own notions and prejudices that we undermine other person's beliefs, simply because we can't feel them; the same way we ignorantly answered 'yes' for this tree-falling-in-a-forest question, driven by our default sense of perception. Just because we can't empathize with the scenario that how a tree will fall(silently?), we are pushed away from the world of clarity to the not-so-comfortable world of complexity. As we mature and age, the rigidity of our beliefs is further strengthened with whatever experiences and emotional reactions, our senses impose on us, and over the time we start attributing our own 'relative' sense of things as something 'absolute'. The moment we encounter contrary views, we tend to disregard them. The world today is caught in the mire of conflicts arising from differences, but more than the conflict itself, it is the intolerance towards 'other perceptions' which fuels most of the fires. We should always keep in mind, we can't deny something just because we can't feel it. Developing sensitivity towards counter-views and accepting things which are imperceptible to you can make somethings better, is what I felt.

Though the answer to the actual question is still open-ended and subjective, an intense food for thought for scientific and philosophical minds, but the way it struck me completely added a new dimension to my sense of judgment and reality. I am not confident on whether the extrapolation of the conundrum to daily life, is out of the way exaggeration or makes some sense, but this is what I felt, just another insignificant grain of sand in the desert of wisdom!

This conundrum is actually a famous philosophical thought experiment that raises questions regarding observation and knowledge of reality. Wikipedia  Reference : If a tree falls in a forest

Network of Women

Last week, I happened to attend an all-women's meet up at ThoughtWorks, called Network of Women (NOW) which aimed at bringing women from all walks of life together. The daylong session was lined up with interesting talks by inspiring women who managed to climb one niche higher. Majority of women in the IT industry join some firm after graduation where they serve efficiently for an year or two, to later settle down tied to their marital vows, for the rest of their lives. At forties, they develop the feeling of vacuum when the ones for whom they sacrificed their career seem to get busy in their own worlds. By then, the gap in their careers had turned into a wide, unfathomable abyss. The speakers here commanded respect for going tangential to the default trajectory of the Average.

Few speakers, gifted with eloquent oratory were brilliantly effective in their articulation as they discussed their journey lines. Apart from the scheduled talks, the event served the secret purpose of formal socialization, building the foundations of a women-network which in-prospect might lead to something productive, and more importantly, let the women attendees chat within themselves. With a bunch of phone numbers exchanged, courtesy smiles reciprocated, the event ended with attendees making inchoate promises of keeping in touch. I am trying not to be cynical here, but somehow I felt the event dint percolate to sufficient depth and just remained a nice memory or a commendable initiative by ThoughtWorks. After attending the event, I had this realization that events with subjective and broad agendas, such as promoting a women network, don't have much take-aways than filling you up with loads of inspiration. When I say this, I am fully aware that destiny has the full power to negate my statement anytime and turn my opinion upside down and I might write a counter-post for this.

No doubt, ThoughtWorks did a great job in extending generosity to us with intermittent high-teas, decent lunch and highly motivating talks which I have no intention to crib for a free event, that too in their uber cool office running in the elite Koramangala. Neither the exchange of words with 'my-types' did some harm to me. In fact it enriched my thinking and broadened the horizon of possibilities in my mind. With all the upside of it, somewhere it triggered my higher judgement on effectiveness of such sessions in the long run and I still ponder on its benefit to attendees of varied domains, apart from being another social event. If something worthwhile comes of it, I am more than happy. You never know some sub-networks built that day might have leveraged the event when I sit incognizant doubting its usefulness.  

Home

A soft rustle of leaves,
quick movement in the green,
Perched on the Narangi tree,
was a little sparrow, lively and keen!

She was hopping merrily all over,
in the arms of the tree,
over the fruits it could hover,
embracing it with affection,
as if it was her place,
revitalizing her past connection,
With a heavy heart, she had left her tree,
and with even more pain, set the attachments free!

But today the years of separation,
seem to vanish in the air of time,
and there she had no signs of exasperation,
back then, when they cut her branch,
to set up a mobile tower,
they bought the nearby ranch,
to reduce the foliage loss,
they cleared their entire colony,
cheers to the advent of cellular telephony!

She shifted to the other tree,
but her health had the impact,
with invisible rays going cross,
she couldn’t tweet, couldn’t talk,
she often lost her direction,
it is when she took seriously,
the words of wise, advices of benefaction,
and there she made her escaping flee,
miles away she left her beloved tree!

Life wasn’t bad in the land of fars,
but the memories of her good times,
all on that old Narangi tree,
seem to beckon her from the light of stars,
and she decided to give it a try,
miles across she flew to reach here,
other birds she asked the route and did pry,
she explored every old corner,
and felt the old welcome and warm,
but she knew she has to leave it behind,
the place still preserved its exquisite charm!

Today in her movements I could sense,
reunion with her old home,
had got her joy,nostalgia immense,
earlier the owner, now the guest of an hour,
she gazed forgivingly at the haughty mobile tower,
With time, she had moved on,
to a new life, to a new nest,
detaching her past, with renewed zest,
jovially chirping, singing , dancing,
with a soft rustle of leaves,
with quick movements in the green,
Perched on the Narangi tree,
was a little sparrow, lively and keen!

Turmoil

Run, my dear soul,

away from the clutches of reality,

into the lands unknown,

because greed permeates your corporeal role!

The nobler you has departed,

in the castle of ignorance,

under the shield of ego,

you are totally stranded

Before it gets too late,

let’s just escape the default fate!

Enough of that pretentious smile,

which yielded to serve a veil,

No seasons seem to breathe life back,

lands of your creativity ruined, sterile

Its time to break apart,

leave the world there and fly along!

There’s nothing to talk, to fight

feelings wilted,

words lost in turmoil,

no hope of light,

just a bleak dark night

Better embark the journey of solace,

for tranquility, peace, no compelling race!

Now the anchor of people feels heavy,

dance of desires no longer merry,

extricate yourself from this worldly drama,

Plunge into the waters of eternal joy,

Merge with the cosmos, its all your karma!

Out in the land of fars,

your freewill will rejoice,

unison with nature

will magically heal the scars,

every expression of yours will have voice,

rejuvinated and alive,

my dear soul, you will discover life!

The road not taken won’t make you rue,

Under the healing sky azure blue,

you will find the road to heaven,

a deep sigh for those who couldn’t,

snapping the last strand of bond,

will unleash boundless energy,

tune in with the universal synergy,

And here, you are the master of infinity and beyond!

O my dear soul,

lets escape for peace,

its not quitting your role,

just a sabbatical on lease,

Come back with renewed vigor,

right vision, selfless depth,

again rub against life’s testing rigor

But this time it would be a different level,

altogether a new game,

with the experience you had,

it won’t be ever the same!