Adventures of a Challenger

Modes of Transportation

2008-04-21T12:39:00.001-07:00

"Is choice necessary for happiness?", asked the young man by the road,
To the richest lord, without any anger, fear or hope,
The lord spake through his eyes, dumbfounded was he,
For he did not understand, why this baby?
For he was the one she loved, the most;
Withered, tattered, but still full of hope.
A quake was felt, hurt - everything without a word,
Still is the young man, and his new promise - remote.

What should he carry - love, perceived reality, tribute, lifestyle or hope?
His decision was not binary, nor was it a suicide note.
Outcome is not decision, and decision not hope,
Someday he will choose a CRV, or probably just a Maruti,
Publicity never his game, but he may encounter sufficient pain,
Uncertainty is inevitable, but is every risk really manageable?

A day will come when he will look back,
and leave the tribute, love, lifestyle, hope all back.
Space, time and dimensions - all unknown,
Leave the earth, wind, water, fire and sky alone.

PopME

2007-06-01T12:59:00.001-07:00

This one is for the PoPers!

Audere Est Facere

A Close Shave?

2006-10-19T09:37:00.000-07:00

Shaving - a very cumbersome exercise in the daily life of a normal human being (male!). It can be a pest at times and here are some observations on the same

Not all hair-roots and tips seem to be aligned in one particular direction (how much ever you may want them to be)
Even if you practice shaving in one particular direction it doesn't seem to help. Sure it does make one feel that you have not shaved properly!
Randomly striking your skin like kicking a football around in a field full of opponents makes the skin burn and go bonkers in a few days!
Softening/ moisturizing and shaving - helps, but is time consuming and everyday? Yawn, too much of an effort!
Gillette safety razors rule! However they also don't solve the problem. Automatic razors? Forget them! They screw up everything/ anything.
Some hair-root patterns could be generated/ gained over time due to wrong shaving practices, however, that does not seem to be the case. On keen observation, I could clearly demarcate the patterns dependnce on the skin surface texture. Around corners the hair-root pattern changes abruptly and hence ones 'shave-angle' should be changed to avoid shaving the region again and to get a closer / close enough shave!
Don't care about a close shave? Sure, thats fine, I don't care about it most the time too! ;-)
I was amazed seening the 6 razored Gillette but am not sure if it will help solve anything. Anyway, lets see :D

The Rings and the Beggar

2006-07-18T12:30:00.000-07:00

There was no reason that a gold ring be bought,
It was not, and its source - Unknown.
No one to claim, no one to blame,
I thought gold will bring a smile on Her face, but it did not
Temples are a worship place, people pray for reasons - Untold,
The look on his face, and expectation, looking for pity
I offered it to an almsman, the ring - shiny and glittery.
He cried at my foolishness, the beggar at my gratitude,
At his unwillingness to accept, and mine to give something less.

The other ring - bought with an effort, a trek, and with the Lie
with the risk of reaching The Destroyer's Shrine, alive
Which lead to concern, deep though and a fight,
Probably with the thought that her brethren would recognise
Temples are a worship place, people pray for reasons - Untold.
I offered it to the almsman, The one of steel, and risks, behold!
He cried at my foolishness, the beggar at my gratitude,
At his unwillingness to accept, and mine to give something less.

Both the rings face a similar fate, Unpractical in nature,
Trying their luck out, their fate. However they have a place
Surrounded by a black net, zipped, along with the Rs 500 bait,
The highest note in the pocket, with the highest pitch,
Which was given to the snake charmer for his confidence
and his prediction of the unforeseen,
My perception - Money, the snake ate.
The beggar now wonders, do efforts matter or is it just luck and fate?

Granddad's Last Letter...

2006-05-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

It seems like ages since I have talked to him, debated with him, fought with him. Here is the last of his letters. There were a few things unique about this letter. Daddy never did forget to write a date on his letter, and this one did not have it. Was this intensional ?

The envelope which he addessed to me, (I was at IIT those days) had this written in the From Address:

C.L.Tiku, 157/1 AMR, Kasturinagar,Bangalore - 560 016. Any Q's?

Letter:

"Dear Rohi

Life, is a brief period between our birth & death
It is just like a burning candle, weather we like it or not we have to get consumed.
Life seems to be meaningless unless we give it a meaning by setting out targets & goals
We very often reach a saturation point and a plateau
We set short term goals and pursue a course of activity. We get satisfied and hanker for something new
Long term and lofty goals keep our activities on the move. We may not achieve what we desire but life seems meaningful and pleasant inspite of all the obstacles. One becomes deft in accepting challenges and surmount the difficulties.
We set a target. After we reach it we reach a stand-still state. But a live person does not stop there, he opens new paths for himself and goes on setting new goals till he really comes to learn the reality of life and also the things of higher value -> spirituality, philanthropy, research, fruitful discoveries and fine arts-music, painting etc.

Scriptures say that we have to use our faculties to achieve Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.

It means that we have to be righteous in every act, we must become a part of economic activities; We must be instrumental in propogating the human race. Yet we must know and always try for emancipation & liberty.

Our birth brings with it Dearth, Disease, dependence, and Death. To overcome all these we struggle and use out physical & mental faculties and ultimately we surrender to the Will of an Unseen and inscrutable power because we cannot face the furies of Nature.

With all the reality of this mundane world, we have to chose a course of action that allows us to achieve success in protecting ourselves with dignity and make out existance blissful. Bout, how?

We are more dependent on others as compared to other animals. We must learn to gradually give up dependence on others and become independent, self-relaint and strong.
We must strive to create a social atmosphere that genetrates mutual trust and readiness for mutual help without a show of patronisation. We can't survive without a healthy society. Larger the social group, more are the possibilities of furthering your knowledge; and achieving your long term goals
Economic activity is the only key to overcome the feebleness, fear and fret. For becoming ecomonically sound one has to undergo a lot of pernicious toil. Wealth ill earned can never give peace of mind or honour. Self-sufficiency in fiscal matters must be gained by honest means. Even if the returns be meager, they bring you a sense of satisfaction & honour. Gain knowledge; try to excel others, Never accept defeat even if you lose at times. Be optimistic, zealous and industrious to win a significant place in the society. Your economic conditions will definitely be dependable.

To keep yourself healthy & disease free, you have to take sufficient care about regularity and discipline your food intake. Savoury food may not always result in good health. Incase you want to live disease free try to give due attention to each & every part and organ of your body and find out the items that cause your sickness. If disease and infections grads our bodies, we are sure to lack in our performance and get into a confused state.

Death is inevitable. So we have not to fear Death. It should only serve as a reminder that we are short lived. Lord Beverly said: 'Life is short, art is long, time fleeting, experiment uncertain and judgement difficult"

As such we have to move ahead with full faith, at a speed that allows us to achieve our desired ends expeditiously.

We must learn to use out time profitably. 'When to work and when to play', we must decide. Work should not result in tears or boredom but a pleasurable pursuit to gain the coveted rank & position. Whereas one should also be in the position to enjoy the period when he must loll & lounge but at the same time collect the pearls of knowledge and experience.

Whenever you feel you have reached a dead end, give some mental relief to yourself by thinking about the other things rather than the ones which bring you to a halt. The problem will get solved because everything is changing after every moment. The changed circumstances suggest a solution. Rest Next, Yours, Chaman."

An empty corner of the letter reads "My health has deteriorated because the Drs. were unable to make a correct diagnosis."

Daddy passed away while I was at H7, IIT Bombay, preparing for my exams. 18th April 2004, 9:10am .

Love you Daddy! Little did I know this would be your last letter. You have taught me a lot, in our 'little' times together. Whether it be the techniques of carpentry, the ragas you taught me, the paintings and sketches, your creativity, ingenuity and originality was beyond anyone's I have ever seen in my entire life. A simple clock showing different shades of your life; a rocking chair made out of used car tyres; the bed which you made by ply,hand & mind; my study table and cupboard; the "temple" of joy; your uniquely designed hand-made birthday cards; your letters; your hand made bags; and memories of everything about you, things that I learnt from you - stitching, carpentry, cooking, pronunciation, writing and infact "living life??" , still stand afresh in my mind. All of what you made, Daddy, believe me, ALL OF THEM, still stand, infact they work, and really well!!

The Martyr's Sacrifice

2006-05-19T23:05:00.000-07:00

A poem written by my lil sis, Shruti Jalali. A sweetheart. All the best for ur exams Shruti!

As the sun rose on the horizon,
a shadow was seen in the valley,
It strode steadily towards the border,
Not wasting a second, not stopping to dally.
In minutes, it was joined by others,
Together, they contained an army,
They clapped their hands together and said,
"We'll stop at nothing to free our country!"
Hand in hand, they stood for each other,
For their nation, for the Kashmir valley.
They reached their enemy's camp, and quietly,
Not to arouse his senses, but alas,
He had been warned by an inside traitor,
Who, for a rupee, allowed destruction to tresspass.
Out came the enemy, our soldiers, beware!
For here come the men with no heart and no hair,
He took aim with his rifles,
Trying in vain to shoot,
Our sons of the soil, who cared not,
Only lived to uproot,
the black snakes who dared go against the Almighty
They were banned by our patriots, to enter Kashmir Valley
The shoot out prevaied, killing many for both,
Each Kashmrir, who roared, "Save my Mother, let me die!"
Every martyr fought valiantly, but still, instead,
Each one died resisting, not failing to try.
They gave their lives, to make us all free,
To instill into us, that we need not flee,
But the question remains, as the martyrs' plea,
Will no one apply salve, to me wounded Kashmir Valley?

The sun set that evening,
Blood-shot with the paint,
that the martyr's had offered,
As their voices grew faint,
Who will avenge them?
For those dangers, till date.
Kill innocent children,
Who will bring thmem to their fate?

- Shruti Jalali (Written in Sep - 2003)

The Cycle Rickshaw and the Smile

2006-05-18T12:14:00.000-07:00

A chilly winter morning, the lazy sun & an attempt to break away from the mundane holiday schedule. This was an attempt to go to my Dad's Uncle's place, inaccessable by local motorised conveyance, 7 kms away, into the narrow streets of Old Gurgaon.

"I shiver in my loaded garb, and he in his flimsy pyjamas,
His half-shirt, semi-clad even for a sunny day; warmth,
Smiles on our faces, each in need of the other,
one for a living, one for a reason;
The destination: known, the path: known, long & murky;
Time wears 'out' the smiles, welcome to "Boredom's Inn";
5 minutes seem like an hour, relativity, They call it.

An idea, a thought of doing something new, a smile on my face,
Bhaiya,"Can we exchange places for some time?"
Rickshawalas are simple men, they do their job well,
Simple enough to let you try, experience;
He sits fretted, unconvinced, unsure, uncomfortably - behind,
clearly showing that he has never seen this ever before,
The rickshaw moves, a smile 'occurs'- one of a different kind.

A fool's attempt, something new, a mile has been left behind;
Smiles turn to laughter, the fool is unable to control the flight,
mastered them as a kid, has He, Oh! Those wonderful times;
Change is permanent, we change places, same old places;
with enthusiasms boosted, satisfaction across our faces,
The journey was an hour and five minutes experience.
Relativity!, They call it."