chaotic order

There are many profound books which have radically altered my world view. Some of them heavy tomes of prose that needed months of concentrated reading and assimilation, others containing epigrammatic propositions, again needing a lot of cogitation and time; and then there are those few books -written in unassuming style and vivid clarity - instantly strike a chord deep within, obviating the necessity of thinking about it. The meaning is intuitive and plain to see like the beauty of a freshly watered rose, or the striking brilliance of lightning. They are their own witnesses and need no further elucidation. One such book was" Does it matter?" by Alan watts. A collection of his essays on diverse topics, written for periodicals and mainstream media. I remember a particular essay on Money written sometime in the 70's in which he writes: "Money is a way of measuring wealth but is not wealth in itself. A chest of gold coins or a fat wallet of bills is of n

Dan and me were sitting at one of the finest Asian fusion restaurants on the East coast- "Molly woos", a signature offering by restaurateur Cameron Mitchell. Its been around a for a long time, and adorns a prime spot within the sprawling Polaris mall in Columbus Ohio. It was a cold evening, and had drizzled during a bit during the day giving the skies that overcast look which imperceptibly adds a little nip to the air. Dan heads a performance testing team and has been with the organization for 15 years. After a quick round of appetizers (delectably spiced spring rolls with little meat in it) , Dan asked me a question: "Bala, Pardon me for asking you this. I have a lot of Indians working in my team and I have worked alongside many. They are great guys. Brilliant, hardworking and all of that. But one striking feature that stands out though for me is that most of them dont get along well each other professionally. There is always this strong undercurrent of , for want o

2002 - Hit and run - Ruminations on a judicial travesty and an act of magnanimity In 2002, a "car carrying an actor" drove over few unfortunate individuals who happened to be sleeping on the pavements of Mumbai. One of them lost his life, others incapacitated for life losing active livelihood. Like everything else there was national outcry, and the question debated in the courts of India for nearly fourteen long years was this : Was the actor driving the car when this happened, and secondly was he in state of intoxication during that period.? While common sense, the most preciously uncommon commodity, dictates beyond doubt that these were true, contrary to any arguments that may be provided by any learned exponents of law; our judiciary managed to prolong this trial for over a decade finally delivering a verdict last week, which anyway was a foregone conclusion that there is no "conclusive proof" against this "venerable actor". Though he was physically

"It's been a long time coming, but I know a change is gonna come." - Sam Cooke, writer and singer, 1964 As an immigrant, one of the first acts of spending in the US is on a car. Rightly so. It is considered almost impossible to move around unless there is one in our possession. Also, The system of trading cars here makes it so very simple to acquire one. From the time we conceive of buying a vehicle to the point of actually buying, it would take not more than a day to thr ee days. Add to it, the plethora of options not only in terms of what car, make, color, Mileage and the rest of it , but also different financial options available - it becomes almost impossible to resist buying a beauty that exceeds ones budget or expectations. Therefore It is not very uncommon to see young families driving a BMW, Porsche or a Mazda on a shoestring immigrant worker salary. But that's alright. This is supposedly a land of dreams, milk and honey , and one has the right to be a lit

Thoughts - A journey within Sometimes all that it takes for a ripe fruit to drop without effort is the slightest shake of a branch. No wrenching, no tugging, no spasms of pain on being uprooted from a source that had held it for so long. It just gives way, severs itself to begin a new life. Similarly, there are those precious moments in one's life when a casual conversation can suddenly reveal a side of a relationship that was hanging there all the time, but hidden by a thin veil of ignorance or self deception. And, all of sudden a chance remark pierces that tenuous veil, a gaping hole appears and everything becomes crystal clear to mind's eye. Things can never be the same after that. The important thing though is one's inner availability to recognize and change at that moment. It is easy to struggle, rationalize, argue with oneself, lose that poignant moment to be radically transformed and continue in our mutually uncomfortable relationships. But an intelligent, wise

The best way to study something is to look at its extreme manifestations, isolating it from what is considered normal flow and then subjecting it to intense scrutiny. All sciences, in a way, develop in this manner. Experiments are conducted in well defined boundaries or frames of reference, and results derived are generalized to suit hypotheses and propositions. And nothing bends itself to this kind of study more than that of human behavior and nature of the mind. Almost our entire knowledge and experience in Psychology and psychiatry are derived from human beings who have displayed extremities of behavior. Almost everything that sciences have known about Human mind comes from observing compulsive abnormalities than normal ones. The writings of Freud, Jung, Adler - fathers of this kind of study- abound in case studies of individuals who came to them with distinctively extreme behavior. It may be sexual, neurotic, schizophrenic, stress or all the rest of it. It based on such individua

The 1960's - Vidal-Buckley debates, a sign of times to come (To all my readers : This is a long essay, and I primarily meant to write it for my own understanding and use. It took about two hours to write this piece, and when I finished, I felt there may be few readers who would be interested in what I have to say. Hence the posting. The Vidal-Buckley debate is now captured in a wonderful documentary titled "Best of enemies", which incidentally is available on Netflix. For those us, who have time, interest and desire, it is definitely worth a watch. America doesn't produce people like Vidal or Buckley anymore. They were quintessential Americans: Free, opinionated, liberal and deeply wanted an America free of dogmatic encrustations. With Presidential elections round the corner, the Vidal-Buckley debates still resonates with intellectual vigor and enthusiasm for a better future, which sadly seem missing or lacking in what we see today) Charles Dickens begins his ep