A Tryst with Nature

It had a been a long day for me. As I head home in the bus, I notice a series of natural wave patterns created by the sand being dragged by the hot summer wind on the jet black tar road. It was a wonderful sight, to see how these art forms were being created – Nature at work.

Suddenly, the pattern is disrupted by a speeding car. The beautiful patterns, now converted to dust smoking in the air and I start to believe, that is what humans are – born to disrupt the nature’s way of working.

The human vermins, and their ever inflating desire to be lords of their own world, had never paid any heed or even respect the very nature where they breed or on which they are depended on. In the name of modernization, they have been ravaging the earth for years, scavenging on every useful material that is available to fulfill their desires of domination.

The result – the crisis of global warming seems to be on a rise. For example, India has seen a spike of 0.6 degrees in the last 110 years. Not only that, the previous decade (2001 to 2010) was supposed to be the warmest when compared to the last four or five decades. The death toll due to the abnormal high heat waves was estimated to be over two thousand across the country. These statistics are alarming and this is just one country. What about the rest of the world?

We have heard much about melting glaciers in the Arctic and Antartic circles. A recent news injected fresh fears, stating that the melting ice could expose (so far) dormant viruses into the waters. These ancient viruses, which were thought to be eradicated over a million years ago could now spread across the world in a matter of time. We talk proudly about our achievements and advancements in science. Well, is our science prepared to counter such a sudden pandemic attack?

These are just a few references of (mostly man-made) calamities and we know there are many more. I cannot blame humans entirely for their modernization. We have created wonders for the benefit of the world. When I say ‘man-made’, I would also like to bring forth a wonderful creation by man, the fantastic 48 mile waterway that interlinks the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, which is called the Panama Canal.

So, if we can create something as beneficial as the Panama Canal, we should also focus our creations to conserve the nature, for our future generations.

Just look around us and the diminishing natural wonders. If we do not preserve them today, there would be hardly anything for our future generations to witness and enjoy.

One such natural wonder is the Green Lake in Tragoess, Austria. It is just another beautiful park, but what enhances its beauty is something you could never imagine. Every year, the ice from the Karst mountains melts and the water submerges the park to form a beautiful lake. You could actually dive and see the underwater landscape. Walkways, bridge and even a bench could be seen in the crystal clear water.

All these could just vanish, if we do not handle the nature with care. Maybe we are more used to the catastrophic instance of being submerged under water. Well, lets us not allow that to happen.

Let us remember that nature has to be preserved with extreme care, as if it were a box of items made of glass. If we have plans for our survival, then, nature has to be nurtured with care and caution.

It is heartening to see what is being done at various levels now. Governments and other organizations are taking initiatives to encourage people to plant saplings in their surroundings. It is a good initiative, and if one locality takes the first step, it is likely that the same will infiltrate into other localities and maybe we could have a greener environment after all.

Rivers considered almost dead are being revived. For example, Art of Living’s (AOL) initiative ‘Jal Jagruthi Abhyan’ has successfully helped revive two rivers in the state of Maharashtra, with the help of volunteers and the support of villagers.

These are noble examples of how we could together contribute to the nature, to uplift it and then, to preserve it.

Let us not just say that the Earth is a better place without humans. Maybe we can disprove it and instill faith to fulfill our dreams of a greener, cleaner Earth and preserve the many wonders for our future generations to see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brimful of Geordie

Prologue

I borrowed the title (of this story) from the, then famous, Cornershop song “Brimful of Asha”. That song was dedicated to Asha Bhosle, whereas, this post is all about me being a Geordie. Infantile humour! you might think of, yet, I want you to continue reading…

The idea to write this story came from not long ago, after I had a friendly argument with one of my mates. It was the usual tete-a-tete on Facebook, when we hit upon sports. I knew he was interested in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), but, was unaware that he was its mighty fan. So, I randomly asked him what made him so fascinate about that sport. In reciprocation, he questioned what fascinated me in my club, Newcastle United?

There was a momentary pause between me and my sparring partner and both knew that a message was conveyed to my sub-conscious mind. That message made me glad and inconclusive at the same time. Inconclusive because, I was unsure whether I was really passionate about my club and if yes, by what periphery?

2014-15: The Beginning

It was in the winter of 2014, I watched a movie called “Goal! The Dream Begins” on TV. The story revolved around a young lad from Mexico, who would travel to England to fulfill his dream to be a footballer and who eventually ends up being a superstar with Newcastle United.

The story and its soundtrack (since it mostly played songs of my favourite band Oasis) had an overpowering effect on me, that, there was an instant decision made to be a Geordie.

Now to tell you, Geordie is a native of Toon (or town [here Newcastle]) or in general, my club fanatic.

Next, I researched and did much to know about the club and its players. I was happy to see the heavily tattooed, well-built and physically fit players of the club (reminding me of Mutton Ka Dukaan as mentioned by Johnny Lever in one of his movies). I could now boast with my mates.

The English Premier League season had started by then, and I was soon watching my club play for the first time. I was now one amongst them and my fascination grew skywards.

2015-16: Height of Madness

As my liking to this new found passion grew, I also changed my profile name on Facebook by prefixing “NUFC” (for Newcastle Football Club) to it, something like Rupesh ‘NUFC’ UK. I see many cretins in the fan base do that, hence, my desire in doing the same.

I enjoyed studying banters hurled between different club members on the fan sites. Mockery it was, but all in good sense.

I came to know that my club had a healthy rivalry with another club called Sunderland. Tempers normally flare up during derby matches and the banters usually end up being nasty. Somehow all these made me believe that club rivalries turn fan bases into cliques.

In between, I asked my brother to order a club hoodie, as it was not available in Bangalore, and I had to ask him as it was easy for him to purchase the merchandise from U.S.A. Seeing my situation, he also bought me a name plate that had our (sacred) ground’s name engraved on it. I still have it displayed on my Facebook profile.

But despite all this fanatic fervor, the club ran into bad times as if someone had cast a spell on it. Problems took turns and it started to loose derbies and eventually dropped the pecking order to be relegated to the Championship.

To make a honest confession, the club became a mid-table team since I became a fan, so, I sometimes wonder if I were the curse. I shudder at that thought.

2016-17: The Resurrection

Upon relegation, I did not lose heart and by some astral influence the club played really well in the Championship and they bounced back to the Premier League, at the first time of asking (a rarity for teams taking the plunge into the chasms of the Championship).

Now, to make things worse for our rivals, they were relegated this season. As fans, we only think it was Karma that had be-felled on our arch rivals to get relegated (as opposed to their banters).

Epilogue

So, the happy news is we are back in the Premier League (and secretly eyeing the Champions league spot this time).

Howay the lads!!!

A gig and meditation

My wife and I were eagerly awaiting for the 13^th of May, to celebrate our beloved Guruji, Sri Sri Ravishankar’s birthday. On this day, the Art of Living (AOL) foundation was organizing a “World Meditation Day” event, which webcasted, would see a participating bean count of millions across the planet.

We were more elated, when we received an open invitation via Facebook from a certain organization, to attend Sumeru Sandhya, a musical program to celebrate Guruji’s Birthday at the Sharjah Expo Center.

Now, it was an exciting moment for me as this was my first musical event. I was always fascinated by the rock bands of the West and their gigs, but, this one was special.

I call it as “Special” because of my bondage with Sri Sri. I was a reluctant lot (nah, may be naive!) before joining Sri Sri’s foundation, but, then you might all have experienced certain miracles that have had happened in your lives, which paved your way to happiness.

Back to our elated moment, we planned our trip to the Expo Centre. The Expo Centre, which usually has, a running calendar of events, was bustling with people for the three-day Consumer Electronics Fashion (CEF) event that ran simultaneously with our event. By the time we arrived, a sizeable crowd was already present in the neat conference hall, witnessing a list of cultural programs that followed soon after. There was a variety of programs, such as, song and dance, which then concluded with a Chanda melam (Kerala’s traditional drum artist’s performance).

The presenter then announced the start of the Sumera Sandhya program, which we all were waiting for. The chief invitee of this show was one Master, Sri. Manikantan Menon, who was an AOL teacher and a great musician. The master arrived with his retinue and the stage was set for the musical extravaganza.

Lights now dimmed across the hall and the only visible light was the one focused on the centre stage. The hall was silent apart from the mild cacophony of children playing in a corner. The master then started to sing songs praising the Divine or Bhajans, and requested everybody to join him. All clapped and sang. Since, I was not aware of the lyrics, I ended up tapping my hand on my thighs instead. My neighbour started to hum the tunes, perhaps he too was not aware of the lyrics himself. After a couple of melodious songs, the master sang a crowd favourite. My neighbour became delirious and started to sing loudly.

The fact that I want to highlight here is that admist all the singing of this cohesive unit, there was a blissful atmosphere that had formed, and one could actually experience the positive energy floating in the hall. You could see, this crowd was enjoying the moment!

This was followed with what I had not expected at all. Meditation.

The master guided us in a step-by-step procedural manner on how to perform the meditation. I have always noticed the similarity on how the masters of AOL guide us to this blissful form. In between, the master would play his flute which brought tranquility in the air. It is a proven fact that whilst meditating deeply, one would always hear the divine sound of lord Sri Krishna playing His flute and perhaps, that was what being conveyed in the moment.

I usually have the concentration of a gnat while meditating and I was searching for ways to overcome it. But today, I could actually connect with my soul while meditating in this congregation. It was energetic, peaceful.

The master asked us to slowly open our eyes. He then asked us how the experience was, and we all replied with a big thumbs-up symbol. True to its name, meditation has its own unique and unknown power.

There were more songs and people were requested to dance this time. The song and music began to play from the Bose sound system and people danced in delight. What a night!

In the end, the master cut the cake, followed by the meeting with the master. Several photographs and selfies were being taken by the attendees. My wife, an ardent disciple of Sri Sri, rushed to the front and was glad to receive the master’s blessings.

The crowd slowly dis-assembled and we came back home, happy with this mystical experience.

We now gear up for the World Meditation Day program and to celebrate Guruji’s birthday.

Jai Gurudev!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reviving my long lost interests

Pencil Sketch

To start with, let me say that I was always good at art. “Pencil Sketch“, I would proudly tell my family and they would agree to it, mostly by default.

That was aeons back, and for some reason I did not continue sketching or maybe I could not, because, the ever demanding expectations and the strict way of upbringing me, lead to gradually lose my interest in art, that, I never gave a thought about the fact that it would be extinct from my life.

In short, I never sketched again for the next 25 years, until last year, when I visited one of my wife’s cousin in Sharjah, U.A.E. The fellow (a novice at art) displayed his wonderful oil paintings. That instantly stimulated my brain and from nowhere it reminded me of my own creative instincts.

All I did next was to purchase a note book and some graphite pencils for practice. That said, I’am glad to say, I could still draw and with a certain ease that was made up of a renewed interest.

Blogging

In 2006, I developed a new hobby of blogging. I used to write on many interesting topics for the sole joy that it would be posted on the Internet.

I even wrote for a Cricket website. I was excited as my article used to be posted during an innings break, that is, I used to cover both the innings LIVE and post it during its break. Boy, I was an excited lot then.

The interest in writing molded me into a professional writer, but, strangely, the interest for blogging suddenly subsided.

Although, I did not make a serious attempt to restart my blogging interest, I was never far away from reading interesting blogs online.

I feel I should start my own blog posts, hence, this second renewed interest dawned in me.

God Speed to my interests!