Sweet November

Breaking free from yourself is often the hardest thing you have to do.. knowing that it is almost inevitable that you will regret the consequences that follow.. and then again the school of thought that you might be wrong.. your beliefs define the person you are.. to break away is the highest degree of selflessness.. to accept consequence is pushing the bar right up there.. and so I did..

THE BELIEF
There is a right place and time for everything beautiful.. they call it circumstance.. outside of this realm, everything once thought of as godly is just another humanly object/chore.. matter of perspective? Yes.. Moving on..
There are things beyond human perception and to, for one second, think otherwise is the cause of devastation of entire civilisations.. And as God’s humour has it, he equips man to screw it up just then, to take it for granted.. Not funny! It is then taken away and then give man the power of realisation.. Enough cribbing.. The use of God’s doing is very conveniently used to glorify man’s inadequacies.. Poetic licence! A reader’s neuron!

THE BLUNDER
In a way too strong a word.. in a way an understatement.. the belief that time is a function of man’s whims.. the arrogance of intelligence.. more often than not man is allowed to get away.. and when he least expects it, it stabs his guts till he bleeds regret.. Right.. so when do you know? How can you trust the knowledge? So on.. so forth.. you just know! If you’re not too anxious or too defensive or too affirmative.. now that you know, you derive the right thing to do under the circumstance.. But now you’re scared.. things are just perfect.. what if you’re just assuming things? Why not let things just fall in place on their own.. maybe they’ll just work themselves out.. what if your decision is a mistake?........ And your time’s up..

THE REGRET
So you make a choice.. to be honest its not humanly to expect a man to be wise under the state of mind.. so he chickens out and waits.. waits till something happens on its own.. unfortunately 9/10 times what follows is disaster.. the fruit is no longer ripe.. its gone bad.. so what? You’ve got so much to blame it onto.. God, Luck, Karma, Politicians, Culture and the greater good…
But it slowly kicks in.. there is a right time for everything beautiful.. and as much as it seemed right, it will bring misery, doubt, fear and weakness..

THE SOLUTION
Is to ask a dead man how he survived death.. but life does have these perks called- second chances and –lessons to be learnt.. know the most overused (seldom appropriately) explaination to avoid stagnation- the only thing constant is change.. Do not run away.. You are bound to make the wrong choices.. it just helps to accept the effect knowing well that the cause is inevitable..

A musician understands it as notes of a scale.. outside the scale they make sense only to the deaf.. Life makes more sense in shorter spans.. strikes resonance with the human attention span.. it is easy to lead a worm’s life and ‘take things as they come’.. but there is a purpose behind your identity as a human.. there comes a responsibility along with the ability to calculate consequence.. Enough said.. Let it go..

Another day in the train

Really? So some things still do surprise you? The world is getting too old and wise.. Maybe your morals are an illusion.. IMPERFECT!
Words someone didn’t just say.. Trust you seek and never find.. Open minds.. Different views.. Food for thought.. Failures and excuses.. The secret and the secrecy behind its working.. Good bad.. Fortune and destiny.. Its right there, they say.. All you gotta do is ask the right questions.. But you know what the Chinese say, cookie? Beware what you wish for!
So what does matter? Means or the end? Man’s place in the hierarchy of planes can only allow him to envisage and theorize.. And it is his own self that hinders him from seeing beyond.. Then you have the option of relying on years of established prophecies.. Lets see.. You say- where am I placed in terms of competence and experience to judge? There are people who’ve been through life and shit.. Their conclusions must be dependable.. But then there’s always the chance that they’re doctored to justify, either a situation or a choice!
And a train ride can answer your questions? Go on.. Your point is? Listen to the song..

BLACK AND YELLOW

London’s black cabs or ‘hackney carriages’ boasted about being the best cab service in the world. Every driver was tested not only for his knowledge of London but also subjected to character tests! The old cabs, however, are failing character tests to newer models. The New York trademark checker cabs, made famous by the corruption fighting cab driver played by Robert De Niro, turned off its meter for the final time on July 27, 1999. Many New Yorkers will say Manhattan hasn’t been the same since. And yet, (with apologies to Shakespeare), “All taxis young, all taxis must, Consign to Thee and come to dust.” Then there is the Mumbai cab; an austere blend of the London-Black and the Yankee-Yellow. One could never paint the picture of the city without dabbing in the ‘Fiat Premier Padmini’. Trapped between the purpose of its existence and its existence itself, in the true tradition of a Himalayan sage, it arrogantly denies death.

“Yeh Taxi hai, Pajero nahi!” Nana Patekar’s delivery shadowed the lingering subject with humour, but the truth behind it is eminent. The newest Premier Padmini is over 10 years old and has outlived its utility. Was the taxi meant to be an attraction for the nostalgic? Or was the purpose of its existence solely cheap, convenient and safe public transport? Pushing it further, does the symbolism justify it being a threat to occupants and pedestrians, not to mention the ecology?