2014 Inner Space Odyssey

My friend Sangeeta Khanna has the good fortune to live in a place where she can garden.  She also has the requisite knowledge of the needs of plants and humans, nutrition, traditional foods and cooking methods.   To top it all, she has green fingers, and  excellent clicking fingers.

This is a picture clicked by her a year ago , (so FB says) ,  in the part of her garden where she grows Roquette and Arugula Lettuce.

Kind of brought back memories, of  space, rockets,  machines, propellers , and things drifting silently in space.   Looked for the famous 2001 Space Odyssey music to include here, but then realized, that there is music in her name itself... 

 

Floating
in Green Mindspace
Fuelled by the
bees and moths
a proboscis in honey
piston powering,
as the white propellers hum.

Leaving behind
the Bokeh memories..

2014 Inner Space Odyssey

Closed Doors, Open Eyes....

The folks at "Know Your Bombay"  have a page with interesting photos that highlight Bombay or Mumbai , depending on how you think.  The spirit and quirks of the city do not depend on what you call it.

This wonderful photo, of the closed door, at the International Driving Permit section of the RTO, was clicked at 10.30 am by Akhil Kapadia. The notification on the  wall  next to 139 says that applications are accepted between 10 am and 2 pm.

The closed door probably means one of two things :

1. They've opened a window round the corner, and forgotten to notify.  Or the fellow in charge of telling people has gone for tea.

2.  It represents the ethos of what Bombay/Mumbai has become, and that I need to write something about it.   

(photo by Akhil Kapadia)

So traditional
in Mumbai
(and possibly elsewhere)
to keep eyes wide shut..

Way back,
the RTO-IDP Man
proud of the rules
permanently inscribed
on the cerebral forehead wall,
followed them to a T,
with open doors,
eyes and minds,
particularly
when exporting folks.

When you unknowingly
authorize folks
to
park illegally,
spew sulfur fumes,
overtake from the left,
meander across lanes,
use helmets as bike decoration,
speed at 100kmph,
and sometimes
treat driving as a a sport,
the only option left
is to shut up
or shut down
before you certify.

The forehead
red in anger
and the rusted hinges
creaking
at having to bear
this heavy load. ..

Orthogonal Minds

My friend Mukta Atrey recently reposted this photograph of the innards of a building , on the campus of IIT Bombay.  This photograph, was originally clicked by Akhil Kapadia and posted on "Know your Bombay".  

  It is not important to know which building, but what comes to mind is a sense of unwavering rigidity.

I have lived here since the time where open green areas exceeded the land occupied by buildings.   40 years.


A closer look indicates this to be a photograph which is part of a "Know your Bombay" series.  

Don't now about "knowing", but ,  now on the wrong side of 60 (mine),  some questions come to mind ...


(photograph by Akhil Kapadia )

Severely Orthogonal
mindsets
trapped between
ambitious vertical climbs
and
sometimes
lateral horizontal moves,
allowing in
Nature's illuminations in
just so.

Did no one get inspired
by the lake,
the trees,
and
the undulating landscape
to create
a circular winding staircase
to soften those
unrelenting ambitious edges ?

And why is it,
that structures
like hugely tall
community water tanks,
a shared resource,
never climbed
by teachers and learners,
always have spiral staircases ?

Is education
all about
straightening out folks ?

Right to Education....

Elephanta Island, with ancient caves , on the eastern seaboard of Mumbai, is populated , amongst other things, by a huge amount of Simian folks. This is a capture of a mother and child, watching the hordes coming in, now that school vacations have begun, and people go on trips before the monsoons latch on, making the catamaran trip to the island infeasible. This was clicked by a young girl, out on a day trip to the island, with her friends.

This is also a time for seeking school admissions, a complicated, anxiety ridden procedure in Mumbai. There is also , now  the Right to Education(RTE) Act.

It might be instructive to know what the mother in the photo thinks.

(photograph by Pankaja Date)

They have
a Right to Education
on the mainland
just across the Sea.

A right to attend
schools
with no bathrooms for girls,
streets with
no security for them,
backpacks full of
loads of restrictions
and sometimes
no help
if you get hurt
playing,
or being unknowingly played with.

I think
I will keep her here,
and let her learn
to respect the greens,
other monkeys,
and folks who offer food.
She will learn
history from the caves,
geography at the island,
physics wile taking a leap,
mathematics
when counting bananas swiped,
commerce while observing shops
and Phy Ed,
as she swings from tree to tree
and lands on a step.

I don't need anyone
to give me a right;
I already enjoy it here.

The Sun has No Answers....

Those of us who grew up in Pune half a century ago, rue  the loss of the old qualities of the city,  which had to do with greens, playgrounds, clean air, excellent schools and colleges, history, tradition, and a quirky pride, often misinterpreted by outsiders.

My childhood friend Vidya Vartak Joshi, just posted this capture , possibly from her terrace/balcony.

It is an essay on how things have changed.  Under the guise of "progress" and "new technology".

Can we wait for solar panels that absorb CO2 and emanate O2 one day ? 

कुणी मुक्तहस्ते द्यावे , आणि क्रुतद्न्यतेने आपणही आपले उत्तरदायित्व समजून सढळ हस्ते सर्वांना अगदी समजून वाटून टाकावे … लहान पणीचे गाव , रम्य हिरवाई , बगीचे ,खेळ , सूर्याचा प्रकाशसंश्लेषण करण्याला सहर्ष पाठींबा , स्वच्छ असामंतात धावणारी किरणे उमलणारे प्राकृतिक सप्तरंग , सेंद्रीय फळे आणि जबाबदारीने , वृक्श्वल्लीन्मुळे विहार्णारा प्राणवायू . आज हिरवं हि चाललाय हवेतलं स्वछ्च हि चाललाय , आणि तरी सुध्धा सोसा सोसाने गढूळ हवेतून किरणे येतच राहतात , सौर फळ्यांवर पडतच रहातात , कोंक्रीटचे लीडर उर्जा ओरबाडतच रहातात , आणि एक दमलेले पण विचारी चाफ्याचे झाड , उगवत्या सूर्याकडे बघून म्हणते , " हल्ली सगळाच कसं बदललाय नाही ? मन सुद्धा … सगळच गढूळ , मिळेल ते ओरबाडा , त्याला काळे -पांढरे रंग द्या , अजीर्ण होई पर्यंत खा, आणि मग डोक्यावर खोटे खोटी सौर टोपी घालून नेते म्हणून मिरवा… अरे, कोणी आयुष्यात सत्याचे रंग दॆइल, का रंग ? ."

A very generous celestial solar outpouring, and a grateful receiving by so many willing greens freely committed to the Philosophy of Giving. My childhood place, adorned in greens, gardens, and woods, an enthused Sun, conducting the Photosynthesis Symphony, with its rays, Flowers in C minor, Sweet Fruits so sharp, and a meandering Dhun in Oxygen Major, emanating in the atmosphere. Today, the greens remain starved, the air doesn't qualify for MNREGA, and yet, some dedicated rays find their way through it all. In shock at the loss of green, they fall majorly on hefty solar panels, posing just so, to grab the power and transmit it to their mindless, avaricious concrete Lords. Way up in a balcony, a mindful, hardworking Champa tree, looks up woefully at the rising sun and asks, " See how everything has changed ? Even the minds ? Pollute everything, Grab everything, Curse it black and white, Swallow the black, and then wear a fake concerned solar hat to play a leader who worries about you .... Can someone return to me,  my world of truthful natural color ?"

एका वल्ड कप ची दुसरी गोष्ट

World Cup finals in Melbourne, and  unusual cold weather in Melbourne reminding my friend  Shruti Nargundkar of  childhood winter mornings, and the  happenings in Dhanurmaas.  

Dhanurmas, the wanderings of the Sun northwards to Tropic on Cancer and then in reverse;  the wanderings of kids, for dawn baths in the river, visits to temples, and back to a robust winter breakfast cooked by Mom/Aai, Bajri Bhakris hot off the griddle, lumps of butter, traditional bhajis and chutneys ; that's just to mention a few.  For getting a full meal, read her post here.    

And yet, there is something similar happening now in Melbourne,  where it looks like a celebration of a late Dhanurmas, in a land where the seasons are opposite of ours, but the thinking clearly remains the same.

Cricket or food.

कर्कवृत्तात्ली थंड पहाट ,
नदीकाठी पाण्यातले सांघिक स्नान ,
आणि उडी मारून
मंदिराबाहेरची मोठी घण्टा वाजवताना
कौतुकाने खुलवणारी
वार्याची झुळूक;
सर्व देवांचे आशीर्वाद,
आणि मग
एका उबदार स्वयंपाकघरात
गोल बसून अनेक चटण्या भाज्यांनी
चटपटीतपणे बघित्लेले
तिळानी नटलेल्या बाजरी बाईंचे
आणि त्यांना बघूंन पिघळ्णार्या
लोणीरावांचे पहाट नाट्य ;
पोक्त्पणे समजूतदार खिचडीच आगमन
आणि मग कधीतरी
गळ्याखाली उड्या मारत धावलेले ताक .

आज मकरवृत्तातहि अनपेक्षित
थंड बर्फाळलेली पहाट,
अनेक संघांनी सकाळी सकाळी
केलेले घामाने ओथंब्लेले
अथक सांघिक सराव,
देशाच्या अनेक कोपर्यात केलेल्या
क्रिकेट देवाच्या आरत्या ,
डक्वर्थ्लुवीस वाल्यांशी दिलेली झुंज ,
अनेक देशांनी वाजवलेल्या विजयाच्या घण्टा ;
आणि मग
मेल्बोर्नी स्वघरी
उबदार गर्दीत एका धुन्धुर्मासाच्या
आठवणींची पंगत .

डीप फाईन लेगला
कोणा एका भाकरीला पकडण्यासाठी
आसुसलेले भरीत ,
स्क्वेर्लेग्ला अनेक भाज्यांना सांभाळत
त्यांच्यात गुंगून गेलेली लेकुरवाळी भाजी,
"इश्श, काय हे…!" म्हणत
लोणच्याच्या खारापासून तोंड फिरवणारी
जवसाची चटणी ,
"तरी मी सांगत होतो…" असं
पुन्हा पुन्हा सांगणारे दाणोजी राव ,
टाळ्यांच्या गजरात
झालेले औस्ट्रेलिअन बाजरी फलंदाजांचे
तिळाचे हेल्मेट घालून आगमन,
आणि
मनातल्या मनात हसत ,
भाकरीशी अंतापर्यंत झुंज देण्याची प्रतिज्ञा
करून आलेले
न्यूझीलंडचे लोणी गोलंदाज.

विजय कोणाचाही होऊ दे
महत्वाचे हे
कि
एक एक फलंदाज गेल्यावर
श्रुतीच्या स्टेडियम ताटात ,
"घे ग, अजून एक गरम भाकरी वाढते "
आणि त्याच बरोबर,
हळूच न्युझीलंड लोण्याचा गोळा
आणि चट्ण्यानची फिल्डिंग
लावणार्या विश्व चषक विजेत्या आजी
तिथे असणे . ….

Rose Lessons....

My friend Deepak Amembal just posted this wonderful capture, of rosebuds in his house balcony, mobilizing for a slow blooming, amidst a profusion of greens.

One wonders how the earth  cares for its young.  And then one wonders if we have learned any lessons at all, about bringing up daughters. 

Why just daughters ? In fact, all children .....

A planned celebrated birth,
amidst caring greens
and those that
cleanse the environment
and make it rich
with colorless flowing nectar
and useful nutrition.

A firm green support
while watching them grow up,
greatly protected
by the encompassing green folks
coming together
to protect
the still young,
from untimely visits
of wasps and moths.

A wonderful slow blooming
and unraveling
of beauty
at an appropriate time
in consultation with the
Greens,
the Sun,
and the Seasons,
and the Thorn Protection Force
on standby.

How many girls in India
are blessed with such a life today ?

Royal bytes.....

Shail Mohan, the Chronicler of the Life and Times of Luci Shail, Kerala's First Blogger Dog, recently posted, what can be only called  a statesmanlike capture  of HRH Lucinda , otherwise known as Luci Shail to her folks-in-waiting, capturing her concern about happenings in the Kerala assembly.


Jameela Prakasam, a legislator of the Opposition Left Democratic Front or LDF,  bit the finance minister on his arm and said he deserved it; as she explained, "he had twisted my arm from the back. His other arm came resting on my waist. I was falling behind and I could feel a knee kick me at my back. I turned back to see it was Sivadasan Nair. I warned him to leave me or else I would bite him. He challenged me to do so and that's when I bit him. I had not even touched the Chief Minister.."

More here.

While we congratulate the chief minister on his escape,   you simply cannot ignore the concern in HRH Lucinda's eyes.

Her statement...

HRH Lucinda
Empress of the Realms
Monsoon Warrior Queen,
Shaker of the Plantains,
Supreme Commander of the Nikon Birds,
Guardian Minister
of Shail's Castle,
reacting seriously,
statesman like
and making her disapproval
known,
to the biting episode
in the Kerala Assembly.

Throwing chairs is OK,
but
disrespect warrants action.
As HRH Lucinda stated,
when asked about the lady MLC,
"She should have bit harder .....woof !"

Bovine Opinions

Velas, a small hamlet in the Kokan belt, near Ratnagiri, on India's western coast.

 A young girl on a trip to study the conservation of Olive Ridley turtles there, by a local NGO, gets an opportunity to stay with the natives at the village, and has posted some captures here.

Amidst beach scenes, candid village scenes, people at work, and village folks cooking for their guests, a meaningful capture of this haltered buffalo.

Captured in a thoughtful mood.  If this was a video, you could have seen the shaking of a head in disgust.  

A pucca dwelling,
clean air,
and honest greens.

I sit,
haltered,
with my ears numbered,
with fancy pierced earrings
sourced from
e-Blkart
in my native place,
watching city folks
come visiting
and assisting them
with milk
for their tea.


I hear things
and pity you guys.

Someone makes a law
to stop someone
from killing us,
and you go
haywire
opposing it
saying
the government cannot control
what you guys eat.

Then someone
plans  a law
to award death
to someone who rapes
one of your own,
and so many suddenly
quibble about age,
improvement
and giving him chances.

For a species
that herds males amidst us
to the abattoir,
extracts farm work
and dispatches us in retirement
in crowded trucks
to places of destruction,
and even pretends
that
we need to be killed
to appease Gods
in temples,
SHAME ON YOU ....

"Pi" ki Kahani.......

Personally, I go back to the time when Pi was 22/7.  Indian became a decimal country during my childhood.  So I've suffered both irrational behaviors of Pi....

As per US conventions or date (mm/dd/yy) , today , March 14, 2015 , at 9:26:53 am ,  is being celebrated as Pi Day.   3.141592653.......

In the meanwhile, Indian date conventions (dd/mm/yy), do not celebrate today as Pi Day. 


It seems Pi was discovered as early as 4,000 years ago, with the ancient Babylonians. A tablet was discovered from between 1900 and 1680 BCE calculated it as 3.125. A few decades later a document by an Egyptian mathematician listed it as 3.1605.

Greek mathematician Archimedes devised the first recorded algorithm for calculating the value of pi around 250 BCE. Clearly, there was something more to the "Eureka"  shoutout...

I am sure someone amongst our ancestors actually knew about Pi.  Maybe we called it by another name. 

In the meanwhile.....

Lady Pi

She wonders
why they celebrate her day today,
American Style as 3/14/15
with maybe digital fireworks
and Google Doodles,
at 9:26:53 am  .....

Meanwhile,
back here,
she flits
in and out of
circles, cylinders, and spheres,
making life difficult
for those souls
taking Board Exams,
a first in their life.

She actually flirted
with the idea
of travelling on a boat
with Yann Martel,
in the sea
off Pondichery.

But all that water 24/7 was too much.

She simply preferred to be 22/7 ....