Who Do I see

Who do you see when you look in the mirror
Do you see someone that you know
Do you see someone from past long gone
Do you see someone in the future to come

In the mirror, is a reflection of the moment.

In the mirror, is the culmination of past.

In the mirror, is the fleeting present.

In the mirror, is the future taking birth.

What eye see is what the mirror shows.

But what I see is who I want to see within.

The difference between eye and I is to remove both.

To see me with my eye closed.

I see a kid playful, cheerful sans worry

I see a teen aloof and affable at the same time

I see a young adult full of hope and zest for change

I see an adult responsible tedious but tranquil

Mirror shows reflection is what eye see

Mirror projects many layers is what I see

Choice is mine to accept moment's image

Choice is mine to live the moment in place

Child in me cries in pain

Grown up in me laughs at pain.

Child in me rouses in anger

Grown up in me protects in danger.

Father in me loves and provides

Son in me craves and abides.

I am all those and more all at once

I am all that and one in the moment.

The very moment shows me the image

What I chose and what I became

I still am a child a teen an adult

I still am a father a son, an all encompassing Man

Who do you see when you look in the mirror.

What do I see when I look into the the mirror.

एक नयी कविता

 

आज फिर एक कविता लिखने बैठा हूँ मैं

आकाश पीले से लाल हो रहा है
दूर पंछी अपने समूह में लौट रहे हैं 
इस अट्टालिका के सातवें सतह पर 
एक छोटा सा आकाश देखने बैठा हूँ मैं 

अब पवन के झोंके महसूस कर रहा हूँ
गगन में तारे छुप से रहे हैं
वो पूरा चाँद भी ओट में हो गया है
चाँदनी को गहराता हुआ बादल 
मानो खा सा गया है 
शाम के धुँधलके में परछाईं देखने बैठा हूँ मैं

रात कठोर और गहरी काली है
अम्बर ने मानो एक चादर ही डाली है 
अटारी पर खड़े हुए प्रकाशहीन आकाश के तले
मानो जीवन रुक सा गया है
इस रात में जीवंतता खोजने लगा हूँ मैं

कब रात गयी और कब सुबह हुई
भोर के तारे ने एक नया दृश्य दिखाया
अम्बर की चादर सिमट गयी है 
सुरमई छटा पूर्व दिशा में दिख रही है
सूर्या की पहली किरण ने सोते फूलों को जगाया
धरा पर जीवन लौटते देख रहा हूँ मैं

आज फिर एक कविता लिखने बैठा हूँ मैं।

Silence - मौन

 

मौन हूँ मैं , क्योंकि
प्रतीक्षा में हूँ 

मुख से शब्द, 
जब बोले गए 
कानों ने सुना, 
तब सुने गए 

मगर नयनों की भाषा 
में संवाद हो रहा है

यह नयनों की भाषा 
कठिन हैं बहुत 

कैसे कहें किसके

नयनों ने कहे
और कैसे कहें किसके 
नयनों ने सुने

इसलिए मौन हूँ मैं 
मुख और कर्ण शांत हैं 
नयन के चीत्कार के समक्ष 

यह नयन जो दीप्त और शांत 
थे कभी 
अब यहि नयन सुर्ख़ सूखे और बेजान हैं 

मौन हूँ मैं इसलिए 
इन नयनों की आर्द्र चीख़ों का 
कोई उत्तर नहीं है अब 

प्रतीक्षा में हूँ मैं 
मौन हूँ मैं

सच क्या है - Truth is what you believe in

पहले एक कविता....

सच 

किसे मानूँ  मैं सच 

जो किताबों में अंकित किया है  

जो सदियों से श्रुति - स्मृति ने सौंपा है 

किसे मानूँ  मैं सच
जो माँ ने बचपन में  बताया था
जो गुरुओं ने पाठशाला में  सिखाया था

क्या सच था वह
जो नालंदा एवं गांधार के साथ जल गया
जो मिस्त्र एवं यूनान के साथ लुप्त हो गया

क्या सच है वह
जो धरती के गर्भ मेन समाहित है
जो पर्वतों की कन्दराओं में  गुम है

वह भी सच था
जो इतिहास में  लिपिबद्ध है
जो पत्थर की शिलाओं में उत्कीर्णित है

वह भी सच था
जो किसी की आँखोंदेखी है
जो सिद्ध पुरुषों की अनुभूति है

सत्यता क्या प्रमाणिक है
सत्यता क्या किसी की खोज है
सत्यता क्या व्यक्ति विशेष वैश्लेलिक है

सत्यता क्या हृदय एवं मस्तिष्क का खेल है
सत्यता क्या छह एवं नौ का फेर है
सत्यता क्या केवल दृष्टिकोण का अंतर है

सच को तौलना अत्यंत कठिन है
समय के विशाल परिवर्तन या जन-जन की भिन्नता
या फिर जिसका शासन सच भी उसीका।।

Now the prose...

"You can't handle the Truth" scowled Jack Nicholson's character to Tome Cruise's in the Hollywood Movie "A few Good Men". It was a quest to find and uncover the truth. At least it was fresh in people's memory, there were eyewitnesses and some documented stuff which was very recent.
Now how do you deal with the truth that tests all these boundaries. Instead of recent events you are dealing with uncovering or truth over centuries. Instead of eyewitnesses you have stories passed through generations. Instead of impartial, unbiased and complete documentation, you have a version of history written by courtesans of that time's ruler. Instead of archeological evidences you have just ruins.

It becomes my History versus yours and an utter conflict ensues. Seldom this conflict makes any difference to population at large. Vested interests try to rally the population on their sides and make it an ego-centric issue of Win or Loss of the larger community.

Does it matter on what date the event took place or at what specific place it occurred? What should matter is that it took place due to certain circumstances and that it had an impact. What History is really for is to learn from circumstances and their impact. The socio-economic, cultural, political scenarios and conditions that led to the circumstances of the event and the fallout. What else is noteworthy is that all the conditions keep on changing as per time and hence what led to the historical event at a particular time and place gets null and void as the time passes or as the mentioned condition variables change.

Often it is seen that the historical event is judged not as a point in time event but on a timescale. How can one judge the event with conditions prevalent today? It becomes a difficult situation and raises a conflict that has no right answer. Someone has pointed out, there is nothing as a long term planning or long term vision because in long term, we are all dead. People part of the historical event and even their descendants are long dead in many cases and what we are left with are bits and pieces of history. We try and evaluate these bits and piece together the puzzle. Not an easy task for everyone. We put faith in the highest arbitrator available to us and hope that the puzzle will be solved. What comes out is a point of view that again is true to the evidence in hand and conditions prevalent. If any of the variables change, the arbitrator's point of view is again in question.

Historical events, thus, though have happened in the past but history keeps on evolving and the Truth becomes a point of view with many shades at that point in time.

Of Principles and making of "Who I Am"

Desire of portraying oneself unique guides our actions throughout our lives. From the moment we are born, parents try to differentiate us with other kids and instil a feeling of pseudo uniqueness in us. The education system is no better. From early on, there are ranks, grade point averages, percentiles for differentiation. In our actions gradually we start to prove every second that we are different than every person we are with or interact with. "I did this", "I think that" or simply "I am" as conversation starters show our eagerness to prove our unique persona.

However, there is no need to go that long, since, one is unique the minute one is born. There is no second copy of me anywhere anyways. Nature has already taken care of that aspect and made me different than others. I am not even same as my identical twin, if any, even though we may be born seconds apart. Nature has a way of putting its signature on its creation. Nothing that is created by nature is same as another.
Still the ironical part is that from the moment we are born, we spend rest of our life proving that we are different than each other. The "different" soon becomes competitive and starts to mean "better". In the zeal of proving our uniqueness, we mix the part where unique means better. I am better than the next person. This thought takes over rest of our lives. I am different but my different traits are better than someone else.

 We forget that Nature has already provided us with a genetic composition, a DNA signature or my biological identity i.e. my face, finger prints, retina, dental frame etc. Thses are so unique that it is impossible to be replicated. From phone companies to governments using biometrics, everyone is using this uniqueness to differentiate me from others. My uniqueness is my identity. I live my life with this unique identity of my own. My thought process, my logical reasoning, my decision making process and my behaviour, everything takes shape from what nature has given me.

So why is there an innate need to prove at every given point in my life that I am better than the next person? If we overcome this desire than we will overcome many hours of wasteful effort. The time we spend on social media broadcasting ourselves is a classic example. The sheer need to show the world what I did, what I think or what makes me what I am, is the entire premise behind social media publication these days. In that enthusiasm, sometimes people even forget who they really are or were.

One starts with a unique identity to begin with. This may be a normal state of being where one might bear similarities of some of the to others. But in the disguise of proving oneself better than others, people often create a fake persona of themselves and try to portray someone who they are not. Such behaviour can only lead to unhappiness.

One should be at peace with oneself. What you have been from childhood or through your teens is itself a signature to you. There is no need to get influenced by other personalities. Just keep on nurturing what you are and you will be happy with yourself. What makes myself "Me" is already inside me. There is no need to broadcast this and try to become someone who we are not. I am happy with who I am and I am unique.

Foundation of a Country

Countries are formed and the boundaries setup based upon language, geography or based upon its ancient history. But there is a permeating theme that binds it together, something that its founding fathers found so strong that they build either a constitution or a whole set of philosophical as well as practical guidelines surrounding that theme. Every Country is setup on that basic theme which becomes its foundation.
When Europeans sailed for India using the western route, they found America by chance. That chance gave them a unique opportunity to setup themselves differently on how they were in Europe. The boundaries were already there, there was already a legacy and culture. The languages were well defined and they had literary contributions based upon the cultural and social setup. They had rich foundation already. But what about the new generation that was brooding. How could they differentiate themselves? The boundaries are already set, how can they create and invent a new path for themselves? Its true that Europeans were always on the move and finding new colonies. But those colonies were giving a tough resistance since they already had their own foundation and they could not be ruled with any other super-imposition.
When the same Europeans found a new land, thinly populated and largely unorganised, they found a unique opportunity to start fresh with a clean slate. Hence America was born. Some may say, exactly opposite to how Europe, more particularly, Great Britain was setup. The new land, America, propagated free speech, capitalism, democracy and did not have to be bounded by thousands of years of legacy and culture. The theme was simple, the individual was empowered. His efforts were rewarded and individual rights were protected within the greater community. When the foundation is strong, so is the love for country. If country empowers you and like minded people join forces, you want to protect what you have got.
As with anything, over time things do get diluted. Neo thinking starts to appear and newer generations do not connect with the ideas of their forefathers. Much so is happening in USA right now. The democratic liberal thinking that, gives community and the minorities back their rights and treat them over and above generic individual rights, has taken over.
The country then gets divided. People want to uphold the founding father thoughts asserting that they knew better when laying the foundation. The new generation contends changing times and need to change the thinking. Liberal versus Conservative battle rages. Each pulls the country to far left or far right. Whoever gets into power starts to place its own agenda and the country starts to get polarised. Nobody wins. In reality if we look at us as individuals, we are not at any end. We are somewhere in the middle may be with inclination towards left of right. We want the people in power to understand and make issue based choices. If liberals are in power and there is some conservative agenda that makes sense, then why not implement it. But who is there to make the choice or decision on what makes sense.
It is always like, whoever is in power would put their agenda in place without regards to what people actually need. After all you vote only once. Whoever magically wins majority pulls the country in its own direction and the opposition in the other. The tug-of-war is to take the decisions to opposite poles and not compromise.
The entire world is witnessing the same phenomenon. The government and opposition are polarising the people, Middle path is not an option because it tantamount to losing your ground.
When the countries are young, Government comprises of people with the original thought and they know how much to give in to the other side and decisions get taken in general interest. As the countries get older, the original thought or the founding thought gets diluted and it only remains the clash of egos. Nobody really wins in this scenario.
Serious thought is needed as to why there are so many countries in the world. What makes them different? The boundaries are setup because of these differentials. If the citizen of the country do understand why their country came into being and what needs to be defended, then they would love their country more and will defend it at any cost.

About highways and the journey that is LIFE

Having lived in West and East of the globe for considerable time, I can deduce that a lot can be said about people of a region if you just observe closely on how they behave while driving on the road.

The roadways and the traffic is what the people in it make it the way they are. The behaviour does not only stay on the road but it percolates into the daily life or it could be other way round. One thing is for sure that the two are closely related.

What I observed in the West that the traffic is quite organised, it is very predictable and hence they are able to move fast. If one person does something unexpected, the whole system breaks down. The highway accidents tend to be fatal because they are high speed and often people are at loss to handle any exception that is posed to them. If I draw a similarity to the Western way of life, it is similar. People follow predictable path. They rarely struggle with life's basic necessities and the life is quite organised. The trust factor in people is very high as in they expect everyone in their chain of influence to play out their own part. Teacher is supposed to teach, doctor's heal, bankers and lawyers do their own stuff etc. Everything works nicely until one of them doesn't do the job expected out of them. It throws an exception and people get hurt. One rouge banker or a bad doctor can do unimaginable harm to so many people before getting caught.
Not all is bad in the system. Most of the time it works and does not impact the people at large. Like in a highway, people stick to their respective slow or fast lanes and are normally happy with their choices. If someone wants to make a lane change, they indicate by flashing the respective indicator and gradually ease into the new lane, preserving the predictability. The promotions, the advancement and the retirements are hence very predictable and known to people around them. There are exceptions here too, You have someone in the fast car who will criss cross and speed away without concern to others. These are highflier who take advantage of predictability and simplicity of others. These are by far fewer in the system and usually short-lived.
The right of way is to pedestrians. If they see someone on the corner of the road, they slow down and let the person cross the road. So little people get respect. There are more cars on the road than people on foot so easily minority wins here and there is a general consensus to respect little people and preserve that minority.
In US to be in particular one finds congestion and fast lane changes in metros. People are eager to move forward. Midwest and rural areas are very laid back. They respect people on the road and have low desire to make fast lane changes. Their choice of life are also simple and their approach very relaxed.

Now lets turn to East, manly India. The traffic comprises of less roads, more people. The automobile composition is more two-wheelers than four and a combined number of people on foot. So the hierarchy is obvious. People on foot have to give way to two-wheelers who in turn and have to give way to four-six-eight wheelers in that order. The bigger the vehicle, the more weightage. Minority wins here too since the cars and the trucks/buses are in minority compared to people on foot and two-wheelers. Each man to himself, the traffic is not predictable. In order to move ahead, the person at the back can honk and overtake you from anywhere. The person in front can turn left from rightmost lane or vice versa without indicating their choice. The race is on. The resources, namely, the road is less and the journey is the same for everyone. Hence there is a mad dash to be first. Me-First. Well, some wise man said, ''when everyone tries to be fast, everyone arrives late." Guess, the wise-one is still stuck in traffic. The me-first attitude is there everywhere. In queues, in education, in business or any services. People are looking for deals, exceptions or any short-cut so they can win. How can one win when everyone is trying to do the same thing. People trying to talk to their long lost aunt to save a few bucks on blood test. People looking for online coupons for movie tickets to spa services. Talk to anyone in your area of influence and tell them you paid retail price for your shoe and all hell will break loose. People try to give advice on how you could have saved 10% if you had just talked to them about their favourite shop.
The simple thing is to relax and use the available resources wisely. If you move slow, everyone can actually move fast. But how do you really get this message across. The difference between East and West is palpable. In West, people making exception are frowned upon, looked down upon and nobody tries to imitate them. In East, if the exception becomes a norm because it appears that the person making any exception is winning. In the end everyone arrives late.

My Goal here is not to provide a solution. It is something that everyone knows and can solve. It requires individual will and a firm belief that they are part of the solution, part of the chain who can individually make a difference if they follow what they feel is right. Exceptions will always be there. Sometimes they win sometimes they lose but they should remain exceptions.