Secrets

My usual late-night stop at the grocery store to buy from flowers for my room, out of habit, I reached out to the pretty pink carnations (How Carrie Bradshaw can I get?). But then, something caught my attention, a bunch of flower buds. The botanist in me knew at once that they were some sort of lilies, but then, green? I had to buy them, had to satisfy my curiosity, green lilies how bizarre is that? Well may be not entirely bizarre if you scan through horticultural books, but then in a common grocery store? So I bought them, and placed them in my favorite vase (o.k. the only vase that I have in my room, thought favorite vase sounded better!). Two days and they were still green, and I thought, “that’s a pretty cool color for a lily”. But then when I woke up on a sunny morning on the third day, these most gorgeous white flowers were staring back at me. The elation that sight filled me was inexplicable. Now why would I want to spend time writing about lilies that I thought were green but were really not? That is because in some way or other I do believe strongly in symbolism, in the messages that nature sends across to us, to teach us the way of life.

It might sound quite silly for having attached so much importance to something so insignificant, but here’s my spin to it: first the cliché, never judge a book by its cover, the graphic artists are all out to deceive you. Just because front page is all bright and eye-catching doesn’t mean that it is going carry the same flavor when it comes to the assemblage of the words. Neither should a bleak looking, highly non-creative cover should ward you away, all the creativity and literary prowess might be hiding between all that cellulose and ink. Well, too many words used to say the same simple thing, do not judge a movie by its trailer.

A more philosophical and anthropomorphic perspective: an image that a person portrays of himself/herself is a performance, the same old Shakespearean adage - we are all actors and life’s a stage. All of us are ogres; Shrek-like we have layers to ourselves. And what makes life exciting about is, going through those layers and of course the joy involved in meeting people with whom you would like to perform this exercise on.

The other lesson those lilies gave me about looking at life is about the positive underlying every dump of negative. All it takes is a little bit of patience and biding of time and everybody can strike gold. Green buds well, there wasn’t anything exciting about them and quite like my usual me, I shrugged my shoulders and said “Hmmm, boring but interesting!” but then the pleasant surprise that greeted me, took my amazement to a new level. The botanist was suitable tickled and the philosopher aka fundebaaz was urged to pen all this down. I started off looking for something else and but what was placed in my bounty was something greater, to a certain extent custom made! The gift that this simple, natural phenomenon gave me was that of maturity. Maturity by nature requires time and what it has also brought along for me is awe and a sense of contentment.

EXPERIMENT AND RESULTS

Contamination why does it plague me so,

Dampens my excitement and makes me feel low.

Start off with all care but falter along the line,

Oh yes! It makes you pay a huge fine.

It sure does add time to your degree,

There would be very few who would disagree.

The time is nigh, there is no point in fretting,

Those precious seconds are lost while regretting,

Sitting down and putting words to your worries –

Is but a futile venture, ‘cause it is action that speaks louder.

Make amends with haste, never losing site of your goal

Don’t let time go waste, don’t be a ham in life’s role.

Scietific writing head or heart

It can be a disastrous situation; a creative, emotional and highly art-oriented person embarking on a mission to write a scientific document. I love words almost to the extent of verbal diarrhea. However, beating around the bush, can be a tiresome thing, when it comes to reading and when the main aim of the literary work in question is to impart a clear view of one’s thoughts. Scientific writing is quite unlike a poetic creation, where ends are left loose for the peruser to tie personalized knots with. So how do you let an alien style manifest itself upon yourself? Obscurity has been the norm with my writing style for a long time now, so how do I shed the Invisibility Cloak to say the things I have to in not-so-many-words.

Observing with a very critical eye; I really tend to get carried away, with the future or with my aspirations to be more precise. This however, should not addle the basic facts; that can actually amount to plagiarism of the future! It’s more of a dressing up the facts for its Sunday mass. However, at the end of the story, the truth is never hidden from a logical mind. It takes a lot to resist this temptation, often times it is an unintentional mistake, nevertheless, the fines that need to be paid are quite high. It not the just your image that’s at stake, it’s the justice to science that’s a part of the wager too.

So what can the remedies be? Never make the mistake of inserting the references later, not only is it too tedious, it also pushes you towards ‘fabrication of facts’ mode. Putting in references acts a brake to make you stop and wonder if you are still within the confines of scientific verity. It doesn’t curb your flow of thought, rather makes you more critical and gets you closer to the ever-elusive perfection. Another way to do quality control of any scientific presentation is to start early, it is always easier to make amends when you have ample amount of time at hand; it’s a cliché but it is effective.

Tough job, like a drastic fashion make-over, nevertheless the fruits of this tedious endeavor promise to be delectable (if sweet is not what you like).

GOOD MORNING

What are the first thoughts you have when you wake up? Do you think about the today that is unfurling in front of you or the yesterday that went past in a jiffy? Are there days where you find it difficult to emerge from the pool of quilts to reach out and jam the relentless alarm clock shut? Do some the days start with a uncannily natural awakening with all the enthusiasm to start the new day. Nevertheless, the first five minutes of your day and the thoughts that go through your head are perhaps that most amusing.

A symbolic person would probably attach importance to the way the day started. "Oh Shit!" I have had many days that began with that. Irrespective of what generated that expletive, I dont think that the shit that I start off with has much to do with the nature of the my day. On the more romantic side, there are some days when I glance out of the window and I see a bright orange gold line emerging amongst the browish silhouette of trees, a slow warmth pervades and reaches straight to my heart. But the euphoria is momentary, it does not perpetuate throughout the day.

Of course, there are days that you awaken to the chirping of industrious birds, nature's music, so beautiful and pure that it could well be nature's lullaby and not morning alarm. Whom am I kidding here, William Wordsworth, you belong to a different generation, to a different world. I way up to the increased honking of cars on 695 north. More and more vehicles add on to the road and zoom past on the highway, many have already started their day and I am rudely reminded that I am wiling away my time with that extra hour of sleep while I could be doing some productive work.

The first five minutes, shouldn't I be taking more notice of it, is nt it quite like an infant, waiting to see what is in store for it, how would it been when it grows into mid-afternoon, early evening and late night. Shouldn't I nuture it, so that it would become a successful day? And even if it really doesn't have much influence on the rest of the day, what do I have to lose? An elated feeling is welcome at any time of the day. Many a times I have earnestly wished that I could create an account of all the euphoric treasures and encash on them when I feel low. But then, if I put on my cynic clothes I would say "Ah my dear! A heady-high early morn would probably put your brain cells in a holiday mode - not a very productive state to be in!!!!"

First five minutes of the day - it is quite the JIFFY and I am setting out to make a life-time experience of it!! One fun project....lets see......

M.E - MY ENEMY

Life is one complicated battle, you design strategies, gather troops and build up your stock of artillery, and you are all set to attack. And then, you realize that this is an internal conflict. A catch-22 situation, charging ahead is the only way you can go, the arrows have left the bows, the ricochet has sounded. Do you face your own attack, do you fight it back? Can’t you turn your back and escape it?

There lingers, a sense of a black carpet engulfing you from outside and inside. You desperately look for a glimmer of hope, a beacon to see you through this smog. It feels claustrophobic; you want to shout your lungs out, but to beckon whom? They are deaf ears out there, since this off-key tune is perceptible by your ears alone. Your ears however, can hear them, but cannot listen to them. Tears of desperation well up in tired eyes, but this tidal wave cannot ebb – it has to be suppressed, then where does the pent up energy go, does it wreck a timeless havoc in your inside? Gnawing away at your abstract treasure, feasting on your soul, bringing you to your own defeat?

Solution is eluding you, your trials go futile repetitively, you come to accept a defeatist situation, but when it comes to meeting your internal eyes you look away, why, oh why?

This is the way life is, you never meet your enemy, you carry her with you, it is you who is your worst enemy. Success in life is defined by your friendship with this enemy Learn his weaknesses, use them to fuel your advance. And when the time approaches to make your life’s inventory, you should be able to say, I bring with me, my friend ME.