Neatly Folded

It has become so common to come across Whatsapp and Facebook posts that come with the disclaimer that "media does not want you to know this". And it makes me wonder why any media house would be bothered with your opinion! In an age where knowledge has been rendered irrelevant and sensationalism drives almost all content, clickbait is no longer just a tactic but an acceptable way of life, news reaches you in a selective, handmade parcel - your social newsfeed. To better explain, you only get news of subjects you are interested in. And no, "smart is the new sexy" is a tagline, like most of the content you see around you today. If you haven't been living under a rock, you should know that Google and Facebook (add WhatsApp) already know more about you than you would like anyone to know. Which means that these social media groups know exactly what you want and when you want it. In order to keep you engaged, they keep delivering stories and posts that you woul

A movie I just saw brings back the memory of a very old friend. A question.."How can I be true to myself if I don't know who I am?" The very same has helped me make many mistakes in life, filled me with guilt and caused, I must admit, much trauma to my fragile sense of balance. Since I have never really known the truth about me, I have always chosen to be surrounded by those who identified with me at that point in life or, were as confused as me. It was a convenient thing to do. And now, I realise that convenience, no matter how articulately portrayed as reality, runs a certain course. So I am now standing at a point where those who related to me have no use for my existence, my quest is rendered redundant and my restlessness annoys them. If I play along, I'm being too polite and artificial, if I choose to keep away, then I am rude and insensitive. Somehow, though it still bothers me a bit, I know this will pass. My quest is mine alone and no one is bound to unders

It was after much persuasion that I have been able to bring myself back to writing. For some bizarre reasons the ideas in my head tangoed about quite a bit but never directed the body to putting them in ink. That's the way it becomes, every once in a while, I suppose. This post is about how deep the impact of the surroundings become on a mind that is clogged with too many thoughts and how mental stress triggers vivid dreams making unreal elements of a real life, the dream reality. After having watched Mel Gibson's Apocalypto yet again, I rushed to hail the night cab and get back into the confines of home. I watched yet another movie ( In Good Company ) on my phone before I finally slept after daybreak. What followed was a crazy labyrinth of dreams that became impossible to follow the thread of once I woke up. The usual problem of being in a dream emerged. It was all too real and I spent quite a bit of my energy on living through it. The scene started somewhere in my old ho

Life continues to be on a roll and I continue to fumble along with it. Now is the time to pause and reflect and also the time when the injuries take their toll. I go back to one of the conversations I had a few months ago. One about looking at life in blocks. When I started out, everything seemed to blend into a single block - behavourial patterns, circumstances and their effects. As I moved closer to the present, these blocks started to get smaller till it became one flowing mass of circumstances with a varying range of effects. Fast forward to a time when even pausing to catch my breath seems like a remote possibility. Barring the frantic pace of things of life forming and deforming around me, there is also the challenge of keeping an eye out for the obvious. The movement of the starts in the sky, the flight patterns of the birds, the falling and growing of leaves and flowers and the multitude of colours that dominate the expanse of my existence. They cannot and should not be over

It's a tricky question... For the past three days I find myself returning, every now and then to search for new tracks for my digital high. I have to admit it is quite addictive. Taking my curiosity to an all new high, I opened my sound cloud account today and VIOLA! discovered an entire community of people who have succumbed to the sound. It is the same feeling from earlier, just that now I don't have to worry about waking up with the stench of alcohol on me. I just sit in my office and punch a few keys and stay submerged in the sound. The problem is that like any other addiction, I cannot share this ecstacy with the world. I tried getting a colleague to hear one of the tracks but she didn't like its effects. Twenty continuous minutes of listening to the music and I feel so high. I feel light, I feel strange. I feel happy too. It's nice. I plan to get my music player and download some of the grub and carry it with me. Give it a listen for a few days and if it works fi

I take the title of today's post from a movie I saw a few months ago during one of my trips. The idea is not to let circumstances get the better of me. To be able to resurrect, no matter who or what I face and always, find my way back to the starting point from which I can make it all right again. No need to say that this is much easier typed than done. Going by the number of distraction that I face on a daily basis, the real challenge is to keep my focus. To analyse on an every day basis where my destination lies and how much I have been able to fare in the span of time alloted to me. It's never easy, considering telling a lie to myself is always an easier option but that's the real fix, being honest to oneself. We all like to believe that we do not tell lies. But is that really the case? Are we truly capable of being absolutely honest with ourselves. If we did, wouldn't that be the foundation of a utopian society? Or a perfect human being? The ability to be honest a