chaotic order

Goldberg Variations.. It is one of those mysteries of life and art  how great artists sometimes produce something completely unpremeditated and almost effortlessly to satisfy a trifling demand, to please an acquaintance or merely at the spur of the moment. And that frame of painting, book or piece of music becomes a masterpiece in the eyes of future generations. History is full of such works of genius. For instance, In between laborious symphonic compositions Beethoven found time to write a short piano piece for a young child of 13, which is now universally and fondly called "Fur Elise" , or a Leonardo da Vinci painting "virgin on the rocks", almost out of boredom - which now proudly hangs in the Louvre, and acknowledged by connoisseurs to be one of his most profound works of art, or an Edgar Allen Poe writing the "Raven" on a drunken night with nothing to eat, and published as an afterthought by his Editor, or a Johann Sebastian Bach composing his immo

"Piku" - a tasteful adaption and glorious performances There is an apocryphal story about Tenali Raman ( the equivalent of Birbal in Northern India) and his King Krishna deva Raya. I have heard this story as a child, but I have not found any evidence of its literary source. However, the story itself is very meaningful and true , and sets the tone for this piece. It goes something like this. One day, the king had a curious question placed for consideration in his court. He asked his wise Men " What is the happiest act a Man can perform in a day, without which his life would be hell". As is customary, Poets, Ministers, intellectuals gave their answers. Some said charity, others lenience and justice, many others suggested money, select few dared to say devoted service of a good wife and many other ventured different answers to suit the ears of the king . Finally, the King turned to Tenali. The young and wise Jester looked around, hesitated a little, swallowed some

"Let the force be with you.., All the every best..." Amar was congratulating Mike's son's successful admission into good college. I said "God bless you...".  The group around looked at me curiously, and one of them interjected" Bala, do you really mean this wish. I Mean 'God bless you'. I am sure you don't believe in a personal God or any kind of anthropomorphic entity. What is the meaning of this wish.." It has become a fashion these days to not sound God-centric, if that's the phrase I am looking for. On social media, conversations, you will find a lot of people deliberately avoiding the use of the term "God" and in its place try and say something else, that in their minds sounds and means more neutral. To use the word "God" is deemed primitive and blind, and to use the word "Force" implies enlightenment and an agnostic stance. It is become a sign of modernity to speak in abstract terms like this, tha

Before you start reading this essay, Let me place on table a fairly long warning or disclaimer, as the case may be. Here it is.. The moment one starts talking about sex, and its tremendous ramifications in Modern society, there is almost definitely an instinctive withdrawal into a defensive cocoon. We have all three (not fifty) shades of opinions about it. From the ultra conservative bought up on puritan values, to the ambivalent individual who could swing both ways, to the modern libertine Who has no inhibitions or scruples  -  almost everyone has a definitive view on this matter falling within this broad spectrum. In the following paragraphs, I review one of the finest adaptions of this complex theme on screen, and in the process present my views as usual. So for those of us for whom the subject of sex is an anathema or would touch an uncomfortable raw nerve, I apologize. But It is my strong conviction that nothing is outside the purview of one's awareness, and to be intelligent

"A Home Owner now..." About 55 years ago, on a wintry day, Professor Lorenz, meteorologist at MIT was simulating weather patterns based on 12 variables on mainframe machines. That particular evening, he was recreating a weather pattern of two months ago with 12 verified, documented values. As he stood up after hours of concentrated work, and grabbed his coffee cup to walk out for a short break, he lazily punched in the decimal number .506 for one of the variables ,instead of the original recorded value .506127. When he came back after fifteen minutes, he stood staring at the screen in disbelief. All the wavy graphs on his monitor for last two months looked radically different from what he had earlier tabulated and observed. There was no resemblance between the original graphs and the new ones simulated by his software. At that breathless moment, he had a tremendous insight into what had happened to generate this drastically different simulation. The minute rounding off he

The seed of experiential spiritual search is sown only when there is grace -  call it grace of God, life, nature, luck or any other name you may wish. And what I mean by "Spirtual search" is genuine discontent with how we have been leading our lives so far, and allowing that ever present little inner voice which incessantly keeps humming in the background, pointing us to a more richer, deeper and more peaceful place within to be our infallible guide.. None can deny this inaudible voice!!. Even a full blown atheist feels it in the marrow of his bones. In the Gita, The master says " Rare is a human birth, rarer still are circumstances that pushes one to search for real peace , and  rarest are those who diligently pursue that faint thread of everlasting peace and attain it.."  Like the Greek myth where Prince Theseus  holds onto the thread given by his lover Ariadne to find his way through the complex labyrinth to kill the Minotaur and redeem his love; Grace, ofte

Jottings: Slice of life. The city of San Francisco always holds me in thrall. Especially, the eclectic downtown surrounding the Union square. I am not sure what pulls me into its vortex of attraction ; it could possibly be the strange mixture of beauty, vulgarity, class and style that abounds in every brick of this beautiful city. My work has taken me to many places in this country, but in none of them do I drop into such a contemplative spell as I do here. Here is modern Human life in a nutshell. Alongside the posh, affluent and high browed millionaires walking its elegant undulating roads; homeless men and women clad in cast away tatters, reeking with sweat and smell of their defecation, intoxicated with pot - smiling, laughing and dancing with gay abandon also walk oblivious of their pathetic state. The city embraces all of them and mixes their lives in its phantasmagorical melting pot. It accepts none, it rejects nobody - the atmosphere of the Bay Area transcends petty human in