Untitled

From the heights of love
To its depths,
Bas tu hain...
Tu hii hain.
Aur tujhme kahi khoya
Hua main huu.

Aisi raat hain kii barsaat
Rukhne ka naam na le
Mein tanha hone par bhi
Tera hii naam luu.

Kaash
Tu aate hii
Meri zindagi tham jaaye
Aur tu jaane ka naam na le.
  
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In that sacred space
Between your quivering lips
And my yearning lips,
Love oscillates like a
Pendulum.

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Tears roll down my cheeks
Pausing for your lips
To pluck them
To their final resting home.

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To Tara Ma
It's midnight but my love is
An infant,
Seeking Mother's milk
From Her vermilion red bosom.

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Woh jaa rahi hain,
Phir ek baar akele sone ke liye.
Hum jaa rahe hain,
Phir ek baar akele rone ke liye.

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Unhe hum kaise bataye,
Woh kaun hain,
Hamare liye.
Jaise rab se koi pooche
Kii woh kaun hain
Is jagat ke liye.

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If you say so,
I'll sleep.
Deep.
In your love
Tossing about
On my waves of passion
On your stormy sea...

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Forgive my Malayalam, but here it goes anyway:
"Yende snehathinde adhir aanu nee!"  

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Yeh dhadkan yeh aahat
Pe machle
Kii, kahi tu na aaye
Bin bataaye.

Yeh machle
Kii, kahi tu na aaye
Aur, phir yeh kabhi
Sambhal na paaye!

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I listen to each sound that's yet to become a word from you.  

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You are every damn, beautiful adjective they have used to address a woman... Damn, inside I am dancing!  

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Am waiting for the good, old fresh burger at Jus Trufs. Thinking if only one could order love like this: fresh and hot. Waiting for it to arrive.

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You smile. And this world shall be earth again.

There is a woman of and in my dreams, in my imagination, who loves me like a deewani... I will live with her.

You have given me memories from where I can weave magic. From where I can weave my fantasies and in a world beyond right and wrong, at this very moment, we're making love in the midst of a thousand-petalled lotus... Embraced in an intercourse that never ends like Shiva and Shakti... 

That's what life, creation, and spirituality is: Union.

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Let me float. In that universe where humans no more exist as human beings. Where they've understood, and more importantly known, that they're just electric vibrations pulsating with love...

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For a very punctual and "ahead-of-time" man, I always arrive late in life.  

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Like you said, am a free bird.
And you're the tree of life.

The bird wants to perch on your branches for a while,
To chirp and sing a song...
But if the tree's unwilling, the bird will fly.
 
Soaring and gliding, it'll keep circling the tree
Alone.

From above.
 
But with an eye on its tree
Below.

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Love's a matter of largesse.
Some get excess; I get a trickle.
But my cup's overflowing! 

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Can I multiply infinity by infinity and maybe then tell you how much I love you?

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Love is such an illusory and fleeting word for what I feel. Now, I can't ever love anybody.

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Zindagi se kuch milna nahin hain, kuch haasil karna nahin hain, sirf paana hain.

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According to me, life is not black and white. Everything's grey. And grey is not a color but a process. 

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Men, Women and Children & Youth

Men, Women and Children is the kind of movie that you wish you had made. So much truth and love and all that jazz in one film. The voyager on its journey and the narration inspired by the famous pale blue dot photo... Just makes you love this gem all the more. 
All that has happened in human lives have all happened on that pale blue dot but that is exactly why human life and being human is such a wonder as well. So much has happened on that pale blue dot which has no effect on the universe. So much has happened on the pale blue dot that few of us have become one with the cosmos. There's no pomposity in exclaiming that only we have sent the Voyager... There's nothing wrong about our daily lives, which may apparently look mundane and dull. But each of us at the micro and macro world are the same... Go ahead and watch this movie for this review doesn't do justice to it. I'll rather fall in love again or fly a kite or sing a song. Because my existence deserves it. And so does this movie.

Youth is a look at our own selves in the past and what remains of it in the present and what may remain of it in the future. Looking through both ends of a telescope was a perfect analogy for what life is. 

Two old friends share lives and secrets and youthful passions. They look at where they've reached and what has become of their lives with as much objectivity as life can afford. And then there's music and film-making... Performances that make you long for slippery youth... This is one movie that deserves to be watched again.

Me N her song book

Ex-flame: "Yeh un dinon ki baat hai by Sonu Nigam. Heard this song???reminds me of good old teens"

Me: No, re.

Ex-flame: "Hmm listen when you get time. nice simple lyrics and my favourite singer ;-)"

Me: Heard this... I heard what u sent... maine dil se kaha dhoond laana khushi. Sonu Nigam is one of my fav too. Am sure you would be all fida over this song...

Ex-flame: "Hey yeh listening to it... I have heard this before. .. can't remember which movie it's a beautiful song"

Me: Rog. Irfan. And that firang girl.

Ex-flame: "Oh yeh"

Me: There's another good number in that. Here's to you... khubsoorat hai woh itna saha nahi jata.

Ex-flame: "Nice. Same movie na. Have heard this too."

Me: Most days i listen to either such unknown good songs before sleeping or i listen to sadhguru or mahatria.

Ex-flame: "oh yeh that's nice."

Me: Yeah. Yeah. Shravanam, Mananam, dhyanam.

Ex-flame: "Purrfect. God bless you."

Me: Hey have you heard/seen this? This is my all-time fav classic. U should dance to this: tu hai mera prem devta... Take 10 minutes. And watch and listen. We'll chat after 10 minutes, okay? 

Ex-flame: "Ok."

Me: Starting now. You listen there, I here.

(After 10 minutes...)

Ex-flame: "Nice."

Me: Just nice?

Ex-flame: "Awesome performance by awesome dancers."

Me: I get goosebumps always.

Ex-flame: "I dunno if I can perform in that."

Me: You can.

Ex-flame: "But will think about it."

Me: I have imagined you many times dancing...

Ex-flame: "What lovely theme of dance..."

Me: To this one. Oh yeah. Lyrics by Jalal. Sung by Mohd Rafi and Manna Dey. So study and do it. Will love to watch you dance.

Ex-flame: "Yup. I have watched this before but thanks for reminding. Such great pieces are rare now."

Me: Yeah. Want another great song? Romantic and unheard one?

Ex-flame: "Yeh. Send me will listen to it."

Me: Hahaha

Ex-flame: "Cooking and music going together here. It's good fun."

Me: To you - Chup tum raho... Is Raat ki subah nahin. Hope you watched and listened to the earlier one. Not just heard.

Ex-flame: "Yeh. Listening is important. I say that to my kids too. :-p Sorry for that. Lol."

Me: No probs. Tu hai mera prem devta is my all-time fav.

Ex-flame: "Hey, I have heard this song and you know I keep singing it often. It's one of my favourite."

Me: Deserves to be watched and not just heard. I knew you would love my fav songs.

Ex-flame: "Also Dheemi dheemi from the movie, the earth."

Me: Oh yeah.

Ex-flame: "Have you heard that one?"

Me: Oh yeah. The best from this one: Aaoge jab tum | Full Song | Jab We Met.

Ex-flame: "Oh my god. I can't believe this lol. We have the same taste. I have a song book."

Me: Samayam chadhichu. (Translates to "Time deceived (us).)"

Ex-flame: "Where I have written some of my favourite songs."

Me: Share that. Oh wow. 

Ex-flame: "I haven't done it for ages though. Got to go back to that book. But just surprised how you like all the same ones."

Me: What about this one: Yahaan - Naam ada likhna. Yeah, please do. Love this song for its picturization too.

Ex-flame: "No, haven't heard this one."

Me: Then don't worry. 

Ex-flame: "Oh yeh, I have."

Me: You will add it for sure.

Ex-flame: "Never saw the video though."

Me: Minisha Lamba's debut film: Yahaan.

Ex-flame: "Beautiful song... Wait sharing one."

Me: Am I delaying your cooking task? Watch this one first.

Ex-flame: "Shafqat Amanat Ali (Fuzon) - Khamaj. I am going to watch Yahaan."

Me: Will watch and listen after Yahaan. 

Ex-flame: "You watch this and guess gtg now. Will catch you soon. Thanks for the lovely songs. Hey yeah. Send me the link."

Me: www.summaryoflifetimes.blogspot.in Thanks for your time. It was well spent for me. Yeah, have watched once or twice... Thanks, . Listening now.

Ex-flame: ":-)"

Me: What's the emoticon? Doesn't show up.

Ex-flame: "Smile."

Me: For your smile, an emoticon won't suffice.

Ex-flame: ":-) :-)"

Me: For some reason, I am not able to send emoticons.

Ex-flame: "You are good at words so you don't need them. TC, goodnight."

Mookambika Temple: A Powerhouse

Last weekend, I had been to Mookambika temple, Kollur. I had been there only once earlier... That was such a long time ago.

This pilgrimage was a tour-de-force in my spiritual life. Mookambika Devi just ushered me in with her beckoning but elusive smile. Once inside the main temple, I was transfixed. The Devi's idol just tranquilized me and the hidden-from-view Shivalinga, in front of her, just emanated enough power to make me aware of His subtle presence too. :-)

I will try to put in words what I felt inside me...

Every time I went inside on all three days, a wave of ecstasy and euphoria engulfed me the moment I sat down after having theertham. I was not myself when my eyes were closed. I saw visions of a mountain, a ray of light as if it was dawn... And then I saw the Devi's idol in its pristine glory without the sari that adorns it now. Each wave crashed me and I felt as if I was on a boat all alone at sea. The rough waves tossed me up and down and sideways. Inside, I could not sense anything from the outside world, except the fragrance of thick smoke that emanated from Ganapati homam in the morning. Looks like smell was the only tanmatra left inside me. My head was heavy. It was empty but heavy. Once in a while, I felt as if I am choking inside.

Every time I sat down, I was away only for about 30 minutes or so in real time but I felt as if I was away only for a minute. As Sadhguru says, I have jumped beyond the walls now. Now, I yearn to be in that "jumped" state.

Virupaksha Cave (at TV Malai) and Neem Tree (at Alandi), come meet your match. 

The icing on the cake was the trek up to Kodachadri hill. Spent few moments alone at Dhyana Peetham/Sarvajna Peetha. This is where Adi Shankara meditated and had a vision of the Devi. The moolasthana of Sri Mookambika Devi is also just 2kms below this peetha. 

Oh mother, oh Devi, please call me back. Invite me again soon. For I have not drunk enough of your milk from your all-welcoming, warm bosom. You left me fulfilled but thirsty. And I need more than just theertham and ecstasy next time!

Your perfume... I still remember.

Perfume... A great one is remembered and noticed. It lingers in your memory as an aftertaste along with the person who wore it. Just like fine music, it has an opening note and a closing one after it dries out... I may forget how you look like, that may change. I may forget your voice. That may change. My memories of your voice may fade... But I will never forget your natural fragrance. 

Here's to that girl who smelt like a thousand lilies in bloom. 

I still remember you; every time I sleep with some body.

Bharatham - A retelling of an epic

Every once in a while, a movie comes along that makes it hard for you to write a review. Maybe, because that movie has the same cathartic effect on you that writing brings.

Bharatham is one such movie. As a retelling of the Ramayan, focusing purely on the relationship between two brothers, it is a contemporary story set in a classical musician's joint family.

The elder brother, aptly titled Raman, is an acclaimed carnatic singer. He has recently become an alcoholic, which starts affecting his kacheri performances. His younger brother, Gopi aka Bharat, accompanies him on the veena.

During one such kacheri, Raman is not able to sing as he's drunk more than usual. Then, Gopi has to sing on his behalf. This makes him an instant hit in the carnatic music world.

Raman becomes increasingly jealous of Gopi even though he loves him. Thus, begins a journey towards self-discovery, redemption, and exchange of their familial roles. 

Raman stops Gopi from ending his singing career, watches his brother's performance at Thyagaraja Music Festival, and leaves on a pilgrimage without telling anybody. Here, the flawed elder brother goes on a pilgrimage (as praaischitam) leaving the younger one to take care of his samsara.

While Gopi searches for his Raman's whereabouts, he comes to know that Raman had died in a road accident during his pilgrimage.

He comes home with a heavy heart to inform everybody at home about this news but sees that they have received a letter written by Raman before his death! 

Now, they are all happy and preparing for the wedding... He does not reveal the news. What happens after this is the crux of the movie, where Gopi starts donning his elder brother's role in the family. At least for a few days. He is burning inside and cannot reveal the truth. The mute younger sister's wedding is imminent.

What happens when the truth is revealed is the climax... making it one of the best endings in any movie I have seen. 

There are filler scenes here aplenty. Multiple reaction shots. And even those make you wonder how anybody can act like that. Mohanlal reveals his mastery over the craft in such movies... I think, Sibi Malayil gets the best out of him. Kireedam, Chenkoil (the often under-rated sequel to Kireedam), and Bharatham are movies that every cinema lover should devour for you can learn a lot from these.

The music and songs gives you goosebumps. Especially, Rama katha ganalayam...

Watching this movie again, made me cry. Again.

Masaan

Masaan is less of a movie and more of a metaphor. The Ganga must move on between floating dead bodies and burning ones. Just like life must move on between death on all sides. 

Death is the invisible, omnipotent character in this movie. Sometimes spoken about, mostly unspoken but recognized. Both protagonists lose a loved one: one lost her mother when she was just six years old and blames her father's negligence for her death. The other loses his beloved just as life and love was blossoming! Death, like life, has no rhyme or reason, and can come to anyone anytime.

Two parallel tracks show us the inner struggle of apparently modern India just like the stagnated waters of the Ganga in certain pockets during its continuous flow. It has become dirty and a sad reminiscent of its glorious past. This river, which is more than a river, is equated to the glorious Bharat of the past now trying to come to terms with confused modern India.

Facebook does not ask for your caste. But friends on both ends are aware of its implications. The male protagonist, who belongs to the Dom caste (burning human dead bodies has been their ancestral occupation; this is a most revered occupation as per me because they would have seen death from close quarters and the ones who do not lose themselves to drinking, am sure will become poets and philosophers) falls in his first love with an upper caste Gupta girl! Their old-school romance and courtship on screen reminded me of my first and second loves in school! Unrequited though they were, I must add!

The two parallel tracks do merge in the end and life goes on. There are two lines of poetry from the legendary Hindustani poet Dushyant Kumar that singe the heart... ""Tu kisi rail si guzarti hai, main kisi pul saa thartharaataa hun." Loosely translated to "You cross over like a train, I vibrate like some bridge..." Well, I have destroyed its essence in translation. 

Poetry in movies elevates the movie to an altogether different heights. Though not many films have done this as much as Pyaasa, Udaan and Masaan come very close in Hindi cinema.


There is a background shot of a brightly lit train in the night crossing a bridge on the Ganga... That shot alone makes this movie a masterpiece. That one, and the one where two red balloons float up towards the sky... These scenes make your heart beat a bit faster! You feel the excitement that only your first love can bring.

Every character in the movie is struggling and coming to terms with death in some way or the other: the child Jhonta has an unenviable occupation that may brush him closer to death, the father, Sanjay Mishra, is coming to terms with his wife's early death (understated that he never remarried), the daughter coming to terms with her mother's death, the lover coming to terms with his first love's sudden death... Earlier, he was always face to face with death but never internalized it... Later, the same two lines of poetry pours out of him as rambling train while his body vibrates as the bridge... 

This movie is a must watch; an ode to life, death, and love. To first love and then the ones to follow. As I said earlier, life must go on.

Pavithram, purity in love as a ritual

After a long, long time, I saw Pavithram again today. Just like the pavithram modiram (finger ring made of kusa grass worn during rituals in Kerala) is pure/purifying in nature, so is chetacha's love for his sister/daughter.

An ahead-of-time concept, wherein an old couple (played beautifully by Thilakan and Srividya) give birth to a daughter when they already have an elder son (Sreenivasan), a doctor, who is married, and a younger son (Mohanlal) who is of marriageable age. Sreenivasan has been married for sometime now and does not have kids yet. And his wife does not get along well with his family; being henpecked, he also lets things be.

Now, the mother dies during child birth and the father leaves the family out of frustration and guilt. This leaves only Mohanlal to look after his infant sister! He sacrifices his love and his career to look after her. In a way, he becomes almost obsessed with her. 

There are brilliant scenes in the movie where Chetacha (loosely translated to bro-father, which is what she calls him)... plays a dual role of being both a father and an elder brother to his sister! In some scenes, he reacts as a father first and then as a brother... And then, there are some more... 

His over-protective love and concern for his sister becomes his all-consuming love... Ever since she was born, she was the center of his existence... But he forgot that with time, even love should change its form and appearance. That love needs to transform into freedom. She moves to the city for studies and that brings new possibilities and life choices in her life. Which he does not approve of as a bro-father... To add to that, he gets angry very quickly due to lot of factors... His sacrifices, his old age, his unmarried life...

The movie shows us a kind of love, which is becoming rarer nowadays. Most people don't want to be loved like this anymore. This is an old-school movie for old-school romantics like me. And it belongs to that elite club of classic Malayalam movies made in the late 80s and throughout the 90s.

After watching Pavithram, I long for a daughter who would call me chetacha! :-)

Peace. Bliss.

Nothing prepares you for this event. No amount of movie-watching, imagination, analyzing, nothing. No amount of mental preparation and aspiration makes you ready for this meeting, which took ten years in the making. All those years of subconsciously waiting to bump into her at Thiruvannamalai or Chennai... Nothing matters. Nothing mattered.  

Maybe, the two weeks of being in touch briefly over WhatsApp and mobile reduced the self-created hype... I met her over a casual lunch after coffee.

I am free at last. From a ten-year-old obsession. Oh yeah, that's what it was. That is what I made it. In my own mind. I can finally say that I was in love with her. With emphasis on the past tense.

It's finally over; the deepest chapter is over. The book has been closed; the bridge has been burned. By my very two hands. 

My yearning, my churning, my wishful thinking, my imagination, my dream world that I had painstakingly created by myself and for myself. All vanished and crashed. It was a beautiful destruction; I wanted to destroy it in reality. I wanted reality to destroy this of all my grand illusions: my painter girl. Which is why I met her when the opportunity arose, even after I had decided to not be in touch with her after that brief communication period on WhatsApp.

Now, I am on my own. I am seeking; and not looking back again.

Four days in Pune

Pune. I was in Pune for four days... I keep going to Pune because... I really do not know why. It's like Pune will always be my mistress while Bombay will always be my first love.

Met few of my best friends in Pune this time: 

• Rohan

• Samruddhi, Appy, and Deepa (enjoyed a lot even though we did miss Shailesh and Bobby)

• Last but not the least, Sachin Chipkar

Rohan and I spent a lot of time talking about the days gone by. How his life has changed post marriage and I feel, it is for the better. We drank and laughed and watched old Hindi songs on Masti channel and Sony Mix... just like old times. We had the famous misal pav from Katakeer. In the evening, we also had Bombay sandwiches and vada pav.

Kalyani Restaurant stills serves the best Tomato Onion Uttapam in Pune! :-)

Moving on to Baner... Well, Baner is almost like Vasai to me. Brimming with memories. I am sure that after Vasai, Baner must be the place most mentioned in my blog since 2005.

Sam and Deepa ensured that I had Baingan ka barta in typical Jalgaon style. Super spicy. In between round of beers, we managed to talk about our days as neighbors together. Deepa still calls me bhaiya (very few do and actually mean it too). Appy (Shailesh's and Sam's daughter) reminds me of Kuchu a lot! 

I had so much wanted to make this trip and thank God, it was perfect. I munched on Balewadi phata's lovely vada pavs and talked with the uncle who runs the shop. He remembered me at my first greeting itself; he kept telling me to come back to Pune... :-)

I am glad I met him. He hasn't changed an inch... Same big, beaming smile. Same love. Same humility and love coming from his very root of existence. Sachin Chipkar. My brother, I am so happy for you now. Your loving wife, Anu, and son, Agastya, just made me feel like a family member within few minutes...

From sharing sob stories at Goregaon railway station to now sharing happy stories... You've definitely made it in life, yaar. The moment of the entire trip was when you told me that you have everything you need... That this is all you ever wanted... That made me spectacularly happy and joyous... because I know how we used to sit together and hear each other groan! I am so glad to see you move up the corporate ladder completely on your merit. You are a true self-made man. I am proud of you. In every way.

I was speechless there for a long time because I was completely overcome with happiness and quiet sense of peace that you feel when you meet a best friend, an elder brother after about ten long and eventful years.

I rest my case; I am going to revisit my mistress as many times as possible. Zindagi aa raha hoon main...

Inside Out

This is not a film. This is not a movie. This is existentialism, psychology, emotions, and looking at life with feelings. This is being a child, this is parenting, this is growing up. This is about coming of age. This is death of few memories into deep black voids from where there is no return. This is a lesson in movie-making. This is conversation. This is about relationships between various feelings both inside and outside of us!
 
This is life...

Inside Out is an experience worth cherishing many times. Easily, the best of 2015, it takes you to a world of imagination, thoughts, and feelings. It has metaphors and simple scenes which convey mighty truths.

The emotions and their controls and how they change with time. Writing about Inside Out is so overwhelming that I do not know where to begin. Has my train of thought stopped? Or, has abstract thinking changed my feelings? :-) Or, is the joy inside me unable to understand why the movie brought so many core memories to light? :-)

Inside me, I am sure Joy and Sadness have already understood why I have loved this movie like no other. Some movies are like that. They make you cry tears of joy.

Vasai, my home

Time is ephemeral. Rather it shows the true nature of all around us as being ephemeral.

Recently, we drove down to Vasai all the way from Bangalore. The road has changed for the better. 14-hour drive.

I have met many good and noble people in my life. Bhadra Aunty and family and Sapna Chechi and family are among the best. They are the kind of people who make you feel wanted. Cared for. They make you miss places, memories, events, and shared incidents of joy. They've always been there for you. For us. They're the epitome of being well-wishers.

They make you human. 

The kids have now all grown-up and how! They sing, they travel and they are certainly going places! I love how Praveen and Sonu and Meenu have shaped up. I mean, just the other day, they were two-year-old kids who you took out for walks and played with... 

Tears welled up in my eyes when I heard Meenu play the tanpura and sing. It was a truly meditative experience. I shared with her Jaggi Vasudev's video wherein he converses with Pandit Jasraj.

Tears welled up when I had three vada pavs from Amrut Ganga; the taste has not changed even after so many years. The young man at the counter has changed; he is the grandson of the man who established the shop. His father still comes in and helps him once in a while.

Sonu has become a tomboy but one who is a pakka Bombay girl. Tears welled up in my eyes when she cooked great pav bhaji for us! When she insisted, in her own sweet way, that I should not go to Pune. 

I could not go. The rain gods and Gods were against it.

I have decided to visit Vasai as many times as possible. To keep going back there to know that this too shall pass. That this is where home will always be; where life will welcome me even though I am a black sheep. 

Because Vasai is where they truly love me. In spite of me.

Anandham's loss for life

Once upon a time, there was an old man. My valliachan who I met only five times but left an indelible mark upon me. 

He led a very virtuous life. He taught the poor and disciplined them for life; one of them came all the way for his cremation from Dharmapuri to Palakkad. 

He was remembered fondly by one and all. Even his elder sister and family, who are not in talking terms with his family, came and cried. 

The unexpected coming back of his prodigal son after a long time and then, a more unexpected twist wherein he committed suicide for still unknown reasons, had made him very, very upset. That suicide had begun his countdown.

But like valliachan's life, his death was a blessed one too: he passed away quickly among all his loved ones. He even waited for his beloved grandchildren to come back from their school; that fateful day they arrived earlier than usual by 15 minutes. He was fortunate to sip water from their loving hands before breathing his last.

My kuttus have looked after him and his wife all their childhood. They have experienced the deaths of three close ones till date and each death has made them stronger, but humbler. He had taught them excellent values and skills in life. 

Anandham (his man Friday) and me had a long chat while waiting for takeaway at the nearby Iyer restaurant. He was completely at a loss for words. He was mourning his death. He was nostalgically reminiscing every event and incident with the old man. 

If Anandham can feel the irreparable loss and can cry after valliachan's death, he has led a blessed life. May his soul rest in peace.

Lightning strikes. Sometimes twice.

Love and spirituality... People think and seek separately. I got it at one go. From one.

You never realized. You have always walked beside me. You were in my every mantra. In my every pilgrimage. In every lamp that I ever lit.

Let such small miracles happen...

10 years. Not a day has passed by when I have not thought of you. Not a night has passed by when I have not thought of you beside me. 

And now, you call me. We discuss things new and old. You talk and I listen. You laugh and I cry; with happiness. We discuss how we parted ways and I talk about what-ifs, buts, and all that jazz! :-)

You have started speaking Hindi and have a four-year-old god-child now. Well, well. 

I am glad. I am happy. I am glad that finally, you could talk and open up. I am glad that finally, I have the patience to listen. 

Is this the beginning of a blossom? Of a beautiful bloom? Of an undefined love beyond borders?

Is this the beginning of a world, where only we exist... Of Tarapith and Tungnath and all our questions and answers and theories and rituals and realizations. Where Shiva dances and suckles... where the Goddess whispers and it booms. Where callings are heard and mantras uttered in every beat. Where the Goddess is fed and bathed and loved. 

A world where the Goddess feels she has reached home. And the god-child is at peace. 

Kabhie kabhie mere dil mein khayal aata hain... Let such small miracles happen. 

Peace. Bliss. Bitter-sweet love and all that jazz!

Reflections of a seeker while driving to work today morning...

Till now, I have always thought that lack of understanding is what causes misunderstanding. No amount of openness and frankness can remove misunderstanding because what really causes the misunderstanding in the first place is my desire to be understood. That is the root cause.

Awakened to this understanding while reflecting on a silly misunderstanding.

No more shall I harbor the desire to be understood. Peace. :-)