Sleep time.

Generally the long day winds up at the sleep time. The loss and gain of the day is calculated. Some lessons are learnt and some milestones in life are crossed. Today in a half sleepy state I feel like . . . . 


(few days latter from the garbage of drafted posts I recovered these lines but could not recollect the feelings which had prompted me to write the lines.)

Deep relations need more care.

Many a time we fail to fathom the depth of intimate relations. We never understand their true value unless they are broken or lost. Most of the time we take such relations for granted and surpass the delicacy of the relation. And such neglect develops ego problems which may later turn into violent consequences if not checked at the right time. Every sweet and long relationship has deep roots so they must be cared delicately.

Hope

Man lives by hope. Hope is the best antidote to the ill effects of frustrations and failures. A generous person with his hopeful words and consolations can really relieve a heart from desperation. Hope rejuvenates sagging human efforts and infuses new strength. So in the darkest hours also it is wise to hope for a glorious new morning. If your hope is fulfilled then it is a victory and even if it is not fulfilled you are no loser. However, it is really a sin to give someone a false hope without any grain of sincerity. Giving hopes to others is a good quality but becoming committed to fulfill them in due time is a divine virtue. Hope can work miracles. In a micro level it may enriche a single individual but in the macro level it can start a revolution. Let us hope for a world of peace and harmony and put efforts unitedly for its realization and start to feel the all-absorbing and all-changing effects of a powerful collective hope.

Let all Blessings Descend Upon You.

After the engagement of my sister on 23rd May, when my would be brother in law and my sister bowed down to seek my blessings, I felt the most powerful & the strongest feelings of blessings spontaneously filling my heart and overpowering me. I blessed them with all my heart and at the same time earnestly prayed the Almighty for their well-being in the forthcoming phase of life.

The moment was divine and the fine feelings of that moment have no material equivalent nor any exchangeable value.Those feelings were exclusively  of the mind and that of the spirit. And on that very occasion I realized why our culture advocates for every   marriage to take place with the wholehearted consents of the elders.It is because a marriage which takes place with the happy consent and blessings of the elders pulls spiritual energy like a strong magnet from the environment and the people around them.

The Magnifying Glass Of Frustration.

Some times extreme mental disturbance and unrest induce a strong desire for some mental appeasement. Most often such sought after mental consolation comes by following one's preferred  creative pursuits. For example after bitterly falling out with the family members , an individual may withdraw himself from active participation with the outer world and he/she may take up a creative pursuit like writing a poem or painting or reading a good book or listening to music so as to relieve himself/herself from the agonized mind. Such temporary withdrawal  of a person from the busy world  reconnects the individual with the  heavenly gifted  inner resources  embedded in his person . Sometimes such incidents help that person to rediscover his/her own being more accurately.

Many a time the most beautiful thing in life come after the most  discouraging experience.Many a time we discover the rainbow only after experiencing the inconvenience rain. Moreover. it is a truth that the sweetest songs come only from a heart which is broken and life is rightly understood with the magnifying glass of frustration. 

A few days' Break .

A few days’ break from the habit of creative thinking  slipped me  into monotony and reduced drastically my sensitivity to life. Day by day the fine feelings freely flowing hitherto in my mind got slashed both in number and in magnitude and started to become more and more coarse. A few trivial affairs of a routine life used to eat up the total time of the day. And I found myself as if tightly stuck to a hard immovable substratum. I knew such a life had no progress. But life got stuck very deadly and I could not even sit meditatively for a few moments. It is because I had started to appreciate my gradual animal like transformation. The Animals whose lives center around only few basic necessities and who are happy with a bellyful of eatables and in fulfilling some biological necessities became synonymous with my way of living. I found no line of difference between myself and a cow moving in the market place dumb. My slothful idle days of the Summer Vacation and the life style of straying cattle had little difference. I was more sorrowful because I didn’t feel any positive inward wish to overthrow such a way of life.

In a trap of such mental lethargy and agony I closed my eyes and mentally viewed the world around me. I was seeking in my heart a little emotional and spiritual warmth which was missing in me for a long time…..slowly in my mental eye the image of Jagannath temple of my home town was formed and I felt a little stir of emotion and a sparkle of the divine. It happened because I remembered how the Public was motivated and united by a religious allegiance to construct that temple. Most of the inhabitants of Tikabali (my home town) had joined their hands unreservedly and a nearby hilltop was developed to shelter the deities. At present the charming spot is a chief attraction of the town and bears the testimony of united efforts of some human beings. The flag of the temple shows the beauty of harmonious working and a royal road which can make life more beautiful and noble.  

New inspirations twinkle with prayer.

When man is fully defeated, he resigns himself to the provident and to some unseen power. When he feels that life has gone awry and life itself is on the verge of gradual disintegration, he starts to pray to some unseen almighty under a psychological compulsion.   It is a natural recourse because prayers shield us from our negative feelings of littleness and inferiority. Prayers instill faith and dissolve the mental blockades. Prayer is an exercise of imagining something beyond imagination and human faculties. And this healthy exercise expands the range of perception to life and fresh inspiration twinkle to lead life more meaningfully. 

Standing on life's long road

Standing on life's long road
The eyes cast ahead
Expectant looks
Of green trees
And gently tossing flowers.



But on the way
Life cruelly displays
Signboards
Of RETREAT.
And discouragement.



To riot the mind
With Dreams of the Mahatma,
High ambitions,
Collapsing faith
And the wretched wolfish motives.



In the course
Time flies.
The sun sets.
The little story is wound up.
And a vanquished is born somewhere.


Learning the ABC's of life
Only to let out
Long sighs and weak moans
Fighting a hard battle
Single handedly…..

Very tired because there was a lot of movement on the congested roads of berhampur and the comfort of home was missing. Money has to be spent like water for everything now and then. A single day's stay would mean an expenditure of some thousand rupees. Life is not at all comfortable if you are not ready to spend like a king. However, spending unreservedly may make you comfortable but not peaceful.

My journey to berhampur on 7th May, 2010

In the morning I set out to berhampur with my father, sister and wife. The journey was pleasant. We made it more enjoyable by taking up sugar cane juice available on the way side trolleys. The journey took almost 4 hours. Although I occasionally I drive, that day I did all the driving. We were about to reach at the destination and I was passing through a busy road. I noticed most cyclists are cunningly trying to maneouvre through the little gaps between the vehicles and making the traffic more knotty. At that time all my attention was dragged by a sudden sound of collision. Looking back I discovered that a cyclist has hit the left rear door of my car leaving a fresh deep scar on the body of the vehicle.

My love for books.

Somebody has rightly said that classics are for adorning the bookshelves. I fully agree to this point because many  people buy books but they seldom read them. I am not sure of somebody else doing so but I fail prominently in that category of bibliophiles. I am a good collector of books.Because I spend more time at the bookshop while choosing the book as compared to reading that very book  in my study room. It is because I read a few sentences randomly from a book at the book seller's for the purpose of buying the book for my collection.But in home that intensity of reading is diminished because I do not feel any urgency to read them.

Today under the hot sun of Berhampur I was selecting books from the footpath side vendors. I was profusely seating and feeling uncomfortable but I meticulously went through a good number of books before selecting three books for my bookshelf. I stress the word 'bookshelf' because I know for a long time the books shall remain in some rack of the bookshelf before I get the motivation and time to read them.

Summer vacation

Those who are in the teaching jobs enjoy a longer summer vacation. Normally the annual examination and declaration of results in the educational institutions are followed by summer vacation. This year the educational institutions of Orissa were closed from 20th April on account of terrible heat waves in the state. But the staff of respective institutions had to languor  in the headquarters till 30th April without fail. As a result I was also made to stay at my working place as per the govt instructions.The days were hollowed and vacant as I had little to do at my work station. The  days were mostly spent in idle talks and long sessions of watching TV.  It is because the place, where I am working as a lecturer, is a small cocooned place having nothing to do substantial.  Moreover, the matter is further worsened by the frequent strike-calls by the naxals. Sporadic Naxal violence have completely shattered a citizen's faith  in the Government law and order.. And my prolonged stay for some days in that place at such sensitive phase made me a witness to the anti-social activities of the Maoists.

However, in these days I have given some hours of productive labour to my institution as a committed staff by arranging the library books of the institution in a suitable order. Today I am on the way to my home-town and while waiting for the bus at Jeypore I am in hotel Princess. Smita is chewing chowmin and I wrote the above lines.

Be more Understanding to a house wife

A professional woman has little insecurity but a house wife is always troubled by a pence of insecurity. She might feel that her life is at the mercy of someone else. She is more vulnerable to fear and trauma when her husband fails to give her constant mental support as a counterbalance to her insecurities. A house- wife needs the love of husband more desperately to assuage her insecurities. This should be taken care of by all sensible husbands.

Little joys of life

Life is a constant flow. With time we discover many hitherto unnoticed curves and way side landscapes. Many a times we worry about the tomorrow which we may not see. We often forget that " today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday.". Looking too far often obscures the beauty of the near. And we lose the beauty of the present riches. A silent sitting in the evening can be a treat with your own self. Your wife watching television in the next room can bring pleasure to you. So many little things in life are replete with innocent joys of living a simple life. Enjoy them and pray that life always goes on giving such delicate joys in all moments. Switch off the worry torn mind. Forget yourself in a calming silence. And remember all the little joys of life which you have failed to notice in your routine bound life.

Positive imaging

Few people give efforts to expand the horizons of their lives. And you may not be among those few. But it does not mean that you can not become one among them. It is never late to set life's sail in the right direction. Few years back I had read a book by Peale on the title 'Positive Imaging'. It is an inspiring book which reveals that thinking positively and imagining what you want and where you want to be and also feeling so, will drift life in right direction. Every person has unseen possibilities and at any moment those possibilities spur into giant actions. When a good thought is enlivened with positive imaging and faith, it works miracles. Just a little faith and a little consistency will show you up the way. Believe that you are always taken care by a supreme power. Think, plan and do everything silently consulting with His consent, you will never be hurt . Moreover, thoughts like this will greatly infuse in you the knack to appreciate life with innocent joys.

The fear to get lost in the average crowd often grips the mind. The true potential within could not come out in full bloom because of our excessive pre-occupation with the trivialities of life. The under utilization of human faculties disallows greater achievements. The will and efforts to extract the best performance from one's own self always lacks a strong edge. Therefore, constant motivation for a higher growth should be a part of daily thinking. A noble vision accompanied with sincere devoted action will transform our life into a mission. Somewhere I had read that man is endowed with the tremendous power of imagination and divine skills through which he can VISUALIZE, PAYERIZE AND ACTUALIZE all the wonderful things of life. Listen to the inner call. Discover for what noble cause you can spare your whole life-time. Be fully convinced of your convictions. And set out in your life's mission waving the flag of "HELP EVER, HURT NEVER." message. After a tiresome journey if your eyes are closed even on the sands of a hot blazing desert, be assured that your life will be an honourable example of meaningful living.

A visit to Anugul

Anugul district of Odisa is enriched with high-grade coal mines. The coal mines, where open excavation is conducted, are huge man-made gorges. The colossal machines at work are fast stripping the earth of its resources. The air at the mines is too dusty. The fine coal dust particles incessantly cover every open surface. Here, the temperature is rather high. The highways are often sprinkled with water to control the rise of dust powder from the ground

Selfishness

Man is extremely selfish by nature. Most often there are dissensions and quarrels because of unfulfilled self interests.

With you once again.

After a considerable lapse of time as I sit at the dashboard, I feel greatly joyful because in the mean while I have moved past the 31 year milestone of my life. As this is the month of March the educational institutions are all busy in the year-end examinations, so is ours. During this year's exam I am enriched with many new experiences. And the time period when I was unable to update my blog, I was engaged in exam works.

No shortcut to success

In life there is no short cut to success. Wishful dreaming never brings success. Life passes away only in empty dreaming. And the goals of life remain unrealized. The great persons, who have already lived truly purposeful lives, have one thing in common and that is their determined hard labour. Life becomes useful and meaningful in realizing the great virtue of helping others to realize their own dreams. A person will automatically rise to height when he constantly monitors his life for the growth of others. The noble wishes to do good to others activates the untapped divine potentialities of man. Out of thousands of dreams only few dreams are fulfilled. Life gives chances to materialise one's dreams but the chance of the fate needs to meet with hard work of the individual before ushering success.

Holy 2010

Yesterday I was terribly tired and was suffering from acidity of stomach. A nasty headache was troubling me since last night. So in the morning I felt heavy weak and discomfort. I was not in a mood to go anywhere and decided to stay indoor. But the contagious spirit of HOLY 2010 gripped me when some of my colleagues called me to john with them pressing the calling bell of my house. I threw away all my illness and lined up with them. Colour powders were sprinkled and the holy was celebrated in full pump. This festival is very significant because many egos melt and broken relationships are mended. That happened when Pradeep smeared my face with some colours. Life is short and we should care for having good relationship with others. HOLY is a festival which is gives ample opportunity to renew a healthy relationship.

Jayanta uncle's family and our family set out in the morning for visiting the important tourist places of undivided koraput. Our first destination was Gupteswar. This time we found the temple beautification work in full swing. The steps of the temple which meanders upto the hill top are widened and covered with orange-coloured slates. The siva linga which is worshipped at this place is enshrined in a cave which elongates to a considerable distance and mingles into darkness.I could not muster courage to explore the end point of the cave. The thick darkness overpowers all shorts of portable lighting systems. The congenial bats flutter in the cave at the sight of the visitors. The big rocks, which make the roof of the cave, bear weird structures which add a strange sombreness to the place.

Sweating by a hillside

I sat in the college library. Mind developed a kind of tranquility. I loved to sit there away from my home environment. I felt happy because I was sitting their alone in the company of few books. Ajaya was delivering a class to the students. The sounds of his speech I could hear. It was making the atmosphere more study centred. But our college do not have a garden. The campus is not well-kept. This may reflect our neatly functional approach to the institution. We the lecturers come, teach our lessons and go away, so it happens with other staff. We read about environmental degradation but we never put efforts for its restoration. The basic attitude of life has become superficial and rootless. Yesterday I had been to a hill side near our town. And I found that the hills are stripped off the green cover by the local people. The collection of fire wood and other plant products have left the place barren. The hills show up massive hard granites to the blazing sunshine resulting an unbearable temperature rise. In that winter afternoon when I was climbing up the hill I sweated profusely. The winter evening became hell like. There the stay was not at all enjoyable because human interference in the nature's laws had spoiled the refreshing qualities of the hillside.

Reliving some forgotten part of life

The life of an individual and his surroundings greatly influence each other. It would be more appropriate to say that life’s gradual progress accompanies an outwardly imperceptible but steadily deepening bond with the place where we live in and the people who are around us. This truth is discoverable at moments when we attempt at viewing the flashbacks of life which may range from extreme heights of happiness to abysmal depths of despair. Both sweetness and the bitterness in life collectively constitute the emotional bonding that makes life what it ought to be. Heated arguments, lovely hugs, moments of separation or association all go to form the very definition of life. Some memories linger and some memories gradually fade away leaving only a faint trail of trace. But occasions are there, when such old memories are reawakened or reminded significantly by many small things of life. And the influences of such things immediately refresh those faded memories into life once again.


This so happened when way back I had been to my old college for some official work. That was the college where I had graduated. That was the college which was so intimate to me. I saw those old walls, those same old pillars, same class rooms but many new faces and unknown and indifferent staff. In these days Life had changed a lot and I was there out of place. But I was with my old memories and tear filled eyes. The classrooms, the corridors, the common room, the library all reminded me how I was once wandering in those sunny days frivolously in the jocund company of my friends. But I was very nostalgic when I remembered that short-height girl with chubby chicks, lovely lips and that heavenly smile.

The curve of her smile had curved my career graph very downward. And afterwards in the zigzag course of life the smile had faded in some unknown, unseen and unheard land . But that day the concrete structures of the college building and the campus had made me feel the warmth of that smile once again very close to my heart. It was undoubtedly the reliving of some forgotten part of my life.

I looked sky ward and thanked god for reminding me of that lovely smiling girl so that with my tear-filled eyes I can at least pray for her to be happy and smiling so that the smile can continue forever wherever she may be.

A Life Enriching Relationship. . .

A life enriching relationship commences on finding someone who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will lie under the stars and listen to your heart beat, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep. . . .wait for the boy who smiles and stands silently by you, who holds your hand in front of his friends, who thinks you are just pretty without make up on. One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky he is to have you.

Newspaper, saloon and tea stalls

The civilised human beings read newspaper most intently when they wait in a que at the barber's. Reading the newspaper achieves special charm when the long que compells the men in que to scan through the pages of cheap politics, accidents, incidents ,lopsided views and numerous ads. In india the tea stalls and the saloons are the local parliaments where all sorts of views and reviews are made. Moreover, this local political centers are very informative where the informations reach from various sources. But sometimes these places become the chief agents in misinterpreting and miscolouring many a local incidents. However, such places are the proofs which assure us that we are enjoying freedom of speech.

The solar eclipse

There was much hype about the longest annular solar eclipse of the century. Everybody and everything seemed to be influenced by the heavenly occurrence The celestial movement even cast its shadow on our college holiday list and the institution remained close today. The forenoon was foggy and cloudy. So staying indoors and watching television were the natural course of the day. But in the evening my wife and I went on bike away from the locality and set on a culvert by the side of the road. Some moments we spent together.for my wife this was someway a break from the monotony of the daily household chores. So directly or indirectly the eclipse was enjoyable.

Evening stroll with some samosa.

The evening stroll often halts at a hotel engaging ourselves in gobbling up 2 to 3 samosas. And this evening during power cut sairam and me went walking upto Mr. Pradhan's hotel at Balimela junction and filled life with samosa. In most parts of orissa puri, idlly, chakuli and dosa form the major items of morning tiffin but in the evening time the menu generally includes samosa, vada, potato cutlet and gulgula. So if ever you feel like eating in a small village of Orissa, like our work-station Govindapally, be sure to ask for the above items as per the given time frame. If you ask for idlly or puri in the evening time there is enough probability to get the morning leftovers. So I say ASK right items at right times from the hotels of our locality and stay fit untill you meet me.

An emotional evening, 7th Jan, 2010

The times spent with a good friend is unforgettable. The understandings, the misunderstandings, the petty fights, the reconcilliations, the happy roars of laughter, the rolling drops of tear, the sobs, the feelings of genuine care and love , all come together to define such a friend. Life appears to be a multi coloured picture or a picturesque novel when we remember such friends. I may be allowed to add that such friends are beyond the ambit of mind. They belong to the heart and soul. Their presence or absence in physical terms has least influence on the general sense of good feeling between the kindered souls. Just the moment ,when one closes the eyes in thankfulness for being contemporary to each other and being good to each other, marks the spiritual bond. Today evening I strongly felt life as described above when the memories of Berhampur during my post graduation started to float in my mind.

Day One of 2010

While Walking on a road of chennai in search of a guest house, my eyes caught the sight of some colourful fireworks in the sky that gloriously heralded the arrival o a new year once again. People were rushing with tremendous speed on the highways. And I was only gazing their alarming rush to celebrate the zero hour. Except a few moments' concern to lead life in an exemplary way I did not feel anything special about the day. I went straight to BLUE MOUNT GUEST HOUSE , booked a suit and came to CHENNAI CENTRAL RAILWAY STATION to pick up my wife, who was at that time waiting for me in the station with some tribal students from Odisa. My wife and me went to the guest house straight because for the last few days we had been extremely tired in moving different tourist attractions of Chennai. We felt that the best way to celebrate the new year's day is in sleeping a few hours undisturbed. But from midnight onwards the new year greeting smss and phone calls compelled us to remain awake for a long time past midnight. In the morning we had our train at 8.45am.