What to ask god?

மனிதன் தேவதிநிதாம் என்ன கேக்க வேண்டும் ? சாதாரணமா அனைவரும் சுகம், செல்வாக்கு, பணம், ஆறோகியம் ஆகியவை கேக்கிறார். மனிதன் இப்பற்ற பொருள் சம்பந்த பட்ட விஷயத்துக்கெல்லாம் வேண்திண்து ஒரு முக்கியமான விஷயத்தை மராக்கிறான். இதெல்லாம் விட அப்பாற்பட்ட பொருள் என்னன்னு சிந்தித்தாள்.. ஒரே பதில்.. தேவத்தின் அன்பு.. சாயி பாபா சொல்கிறார்.. ஒவ்வூரு மனிதனும் தேவத்தின் இடம் இந்த அன்பை கேட்டாள், உலகம் மிக சிறந்ததாக மாறி விடும்.. இப்படி என் என்று சிந்தித்தால், விடை மிக தெளிவாந்து . மனிதன் தேவத்தின் அன்பை பெற்று ஒரு தெய்வம் ஆகின்றான். அனைவரும் இதை செய்தால், எல்லோரும் தேவத்தின் ரூபபமே என்கிற மிக பெரிய சத்தியததை உணருவார். சொந்த சந்தோஷம் எப்போ குலத்தின் நன்மைக்கு அடிமை ஆகிறதோ அப்போ தான் இந்த உலகம் நன்மை அடையும்.

ज़िंदगी का सफ़र

ज़िंदगी एक काग़ज़ की कश्ती है
इच्छाएँ लेहरों की तरह बहती हैं
कभी शांत कभी पुश्त
मनुष्य को अपनी बाहों मे समेट कर
किनारे से किनारे

लेहरें टकराती है और वापस चली जाती है
शुरुआत मे आराम
किनारा अब दूर नही
बेहते बेहते.. लेहरों की जकड़े
आदमी को लपेट लेती है

पहुँचते पहुँचते आदमी बिखर जाता है
कश्ती टूट जाती है
बचे हुए टुकड़ों को भी
लेहरें पी जाती हैं

यह एक अनूठी सी कहानी लगती है
पर हर आदमी इस सफ़र पर जाता है
और चिथड़े चिथड़े होकर बह जाता है
वापसी का नाम नही
चले तो बस चले
यही है ज़िंदगी का सफ़र

First post in hindi.. Pardon the rendering folks.... This is the best quillpad could do for me :)

Turmoil of emotions

Some smile while some others cry..
I smile while crying inside.. :(
Pangs of affection kick at my heart...
But the path to them has been long forgotten...
Fate has caught up with me

I smile counting my friends,
But cry when I see them drifting away one by one
Snatched away cruelly from my arms,
By the arms of fate

Laughter echoes in my head, tormenting me
Is it the laughter of my tormentors?
Their pleasure lubricated by my pain
Or is it just fate, laughing at me in contempt?
I wonder...


Passion drives man mad..
When all else fails, he turns to vice..
Just as I turn to God..
Selfishness takes root over him..
A poor soul wrecked to serve another..

But a time will come..
When all my worries will burn away to ash
A new beginning will emerge
I smile thinking of the future
I cry thinking of the past
Alas.. I am shackled in the present

Gopurangal Azhivadillai (கோபுரங்கள் அழிவதில்ைல)

Sounds like the famous gopurangal Saayvadhillai film, isnt it. Title's a bit tacky but will do. Singaara Chennai is home to many such gopurams; Tall edifices denoting the house of God. The traveller readily proceeds to perhaps the more famous ones like Kapaleeswarar Temple, amidst the hustle and bustle of Mylapore, or to the veritable Parthasarathi Temple, In Tiruvallikeni (aka Triplicane). But, some oft ancient and ignored ones, have seen my imprints upon them this year.

Stop 1: Bheemanapettai Temple

This ancient temple is well over 1000 years old. Huddled between the concrete jungles of flats and bungalows in Abhiramapuram, this Srinivasa temple is a small but beautiful edifice. Supposedly built by a devotee of lord Anjenaya, amidst the then verdant coconut plantations of Mandavelipakkam, the temple has inscriptions in age old tamil engraved into its walls.

Stop 2: Bairagi Mutt Kesavaperumal Temple

Bairagi Mutt, is a charitable mutt run in Sowcarpet area, of Chennai. The temple belonging to the mutt, is a small Sitaram temple, built in the Neo-Dravidian style, with a North Indian Pundit Ji, manning it. Step aside, through the Goshaala, and you are greeted by a huge gopuram sandwiched in a 6 feet wide lane. The temple is massive and is undergoing renovation now for the the once in 13 year Samprokshanam, to be conducted from July 4-8. The story behind the temple is an interesting one. A sage after wandering all over India, once came to rest in the Sitaram Ji Mandir, in Chennai for a night. He had a dream in which KesavaPerumal appeared and asked him to build a house for him nearby. The very next day, a wealthy sahukar of that area, gave his land, and thus came up the temple 300 years ago. The idols are etched in stone and the tirunaamam of all the deities is engraved in diamonds. Surprising that such a little temple, sandwiched in a corner of old madras, flourishes to the extent that the government has plans to regulate the crowds during the samprokshanam, when an expected 20 lakh people will attend over the 5 days.

To be contd...

Hold on...

When a storm ravages your life,
And tears it to shreds,
When you lose all track of time and tide,
In a whirl of pain...
Deserted by one and all.. Hold on

Ride the crest with joy,
Behold the calm of the isle ahead,
Weather the storm of life, ye traveller,
Just some more time.. Hold on

Betrayal of trust,
Sympathy and pity,
Cast aside like rotten apples,
Move on move on...
And remember you are here.. jus becoz you held on

The deluge

Pitter patter.. came down the rain drops, disturbing the tranquility of a leisurely Saturday in Pilani. Rain at last after so many days!! But the mood was sombre as DISCO was just ahead :). A hushed look at the notes one last time, and I was out with my umbrella (First time since coming to BITS I guess), heading towards the exam room. With the paper finished, and spirits not yet so jubiliant, I returned hoarily to my room. Damn the rain i thought. Washing away all my plans of a nice walk and lounge in the bright sunshine in the QT. Instead, I was cooped up.. stuck in the room, for the entire day. A bad dinner (aka mess) was followed by a cool night and a pleasant ride to 1223 for the PTM session. I was confident it would not rain again, and so the umbrella was summarily abandoned. A rude shock awaited me, when I got back, and found that it was raining torrents. The rain Gods had abandoned me, forcing me to get back on my cycle.. Perhaps I wondered, why couldn't my glasses have wipers :)? Water still stands in eddies and puddles to remind us of the deluge that came to pass, deluging the land and washing away all my dreams in it's fury.

Misconceptions about linux

Here are a few funny antecedents which I recall, when I attempted to introduce Linux to my friends.. really bone tickling :)

1. This will lower my internet speed. Source: Some Fundoo senior yaar
2. Linux is an OS for hackers built by a convicted hacker
3. Linux requires a sky high system config and hard disk space :) (Somebody just didnt see that giant Vista)
4. Linux looks bad (as if XGL/AIGLX dont exist)
5. Linux is not for beginners
6. Installing Linux corrupts Windows
7. Linux is the most virus-prone/bug ridden OS (What happened to MS??)

I dismiss all this as absolute trash. Linux is a very good, highly customizable, scalable OS, that leaves Windows far behind. And above it all, it's open source.
Just a few more years, and when we see more standardization and documentation emerging, I guess the Windows will be closed.

I'm back

Undettered by anonymous comments.. I continue to blog.. Interested parties may note that I dont care a dime for them..

Back to blogging after nearly 6 months time :)... Well the new year started off on a nice note this time with me reading the Sai Satcharita once again.. Must say that its an extremely inspiring book and one never tires of it no matter how many times one reads it. Indeed, it gives great comfort and bliss to the mind. Have to finish by thursday and then folks its back to BITS for 2-2 :).
The year-end holidays went pretty fast this time around, all spent idly lounging in the Delhi winter sun and eating good home food. Now just last minute packing left before I get back to BITS.. And this sem I am gonna be more regular in blogging.. Less poems and more stories is what I have in mind.. :) Bye!!!

Kiss of death

Time flows,
Thirteen years gone now, memories are all that linger,
Blasts that shook,
Physically and emotionally, the city of a million souls…

Death scraped past me,
But mercifully spared me,
But is it really mercy or is it a veiled punishment?
Death snatched my happiness away…

A family lost in a moment…
One moment I had everything, the next moment everything cruelly snatched,
Such is the frail nature of life,
Fate is cruel and unforgiving…

It was these hands that lighted the pyre,
Of those barely recognizable bodies,
Which just moments before,
I had claimed as kith and kin…

Why did fate spare me alone…
Perhaps for a better purpose,
To bring solace to tormented souls,
To find peace in the sorrows of others…

Now again memories come back,
The tracks rocked that day,
The lifeline of the city severed though momentarily,
The one moment was enough…

Two hundred lives lost,
Many maimed and crippled,
Doomsday had returned,
Is so much irrevocable loss just enough reparation?

Kashmir is not the issue,
Nor is it terrorism,
It is the crooked mentality of a few misguided, wretched souls,
Guided by their masters…

Puppets on a silver chain,
With the carrot of paradise dangling at one end,
Desire has become uncontrollable,
Anything desired has to be achieved, no matter what the cost…

Life is the same,
Be it a Kashmiri, a Pakistani or a Mumbai-ite,
Death and pain spare none in the wake of disaster,
Has man stooped so much?

Love and peace is the answer,
Not hate and killings as reparation,
An eye for an eye,
A brick for a stone thrown at you by an ignorant soul,
Will it ever end?


Enough, enough, I have suffered and seen enough,
To last me more than a lifetime,
Have mercy my master,
This endless agony my lord,
When will you kiss me to death?
Where my tormented soul will find eternal rest…