Dance of the Birds

Sit in a train to some place far away. Play music on a device of your choice. Melodies; not some fast and insane numbers. Look out of the window. 

Acknowledge the greenery, cows, and other fauna. But focus on the sky. Watch out for birds (alone or in a flock) that are flying, gliding, soaring or zigzagging along. You will notice that their movements more or less coincide with the rhythm of the song or the interludes more often than not. 

The birds, however, are, mysteriously, unaware of their ability to choreograph to songs they have never heard in their lives. If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it fall, did the tree make a sound?

Learning from Nature

Miracles

A tree; A bare tree.

No green leaves,

No gentle breeze.

No shade to rest,

No cozy nest.

A tree nevertheless.

No special crown,

Branches gone.

No flowers or fruits, 

But glad for the roots. 

A tree nevertheless.

Trunk under water,

Got nothing to alter. 

Half wet, half dry,

Somewhat bold, somewhat shy.

A tree nevertheless.

Faith deep in the bark, 

Embracing the dark.

Silent and stoic,

Still a seed of frolic.

A tree nevertheless.

A bird in sight,

A bird with wings!

A bird that sings!

The Sun is blazing away,

Miracles are on their way!

The Living Root Bridges of Meghalaya

Ingenious. Inspiring. Brilliant. And a superbly shot video too.

Take a look at this video. It is the story of how people in the rural areas of Meghalaya, in India, connect and interact with nature and build natural bridges made out of tree roots! Reminds one of the blockbuster movie, Avatar. The video shows how an old man shares his knowledge of how these bridges are built with his grand-daughter. Someone from the source network said - very beautifully - in response to this video, "The joy of sharing the knowledge is its own reward".

More Information:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2035520/Meghalaya-villagers-create-living-bridges-training-roots-river.html

http://rootbridges.blogspot.com/

http://chrisgagne.com/541/the-root-bridges-of-meghalaya/

The Nature of Life

A quiet walk down the beach at sunrise 
A slow ride across the sea at low tide
A trip through fields of tall grass and bright flowers
A silent hour opposite the tall mountain
A frozen moment beside the roaring waterfall 
Soothing music at the foot of the motherly tree
Ears tuned into the melodious songs of birds galore
A journey that follows the flock of gliding birds
A celestial nap under the star-lit sky
A stealthy glance at the full moon
A brilliant book in the middle of nowhere 
Is what packs life with its ultimate punch  

It Starts With Me

Here it comes. Finally. Phew. The sweet spot of writing. The poem that escaped me for a long time.

For the past I-don't-know-how-many weeks, I've been craving to write a sensible (for lack of a better word) poem. The craving was severe particularly and more so because I think it's been a long while since I even wrote an original and satisfying blog post. Sometimes I feel alive only when I manage to write something that makes me think, learn and, of course, flows deep from the heart - from an unknown and magical source. So, not being able to write something satisfying means going around like a non-living entity, more often than not. But the catch is that it has to just flow - one can never force it out. Reading something thought-provoking, at times, does the job - it opens up the unknown and magical source - but what I love even more is when the thought just floats in or jumps out from nowhere in particular. Such an experience leaves you utterly butterly happy and vaguely conscious of a positive Force that leads you to joy, wisdom and soul-power.

No more of the chit-chat. Here's the poem:

I listened to the music of the waves rushing back and forth and stood still on the shore
I beamed at the magnificent tree standing tall, wise and green
I gaped at the vast and generous sky with its fluffy white clouds
I watched the lively stream gush with joy
I stood mesmerized in front of the powerful and strong waterfall
I wondered in awe at the flock of birds that flew in total harmony
I blinked at the beauty of the tiny blade of grass and the dew drops on it
I stopped to admire the colorful flowers smile with warmth and purity
I froze in shocked silence as my thoughts wandered toward human greed and stupidity
Suddenly a voice within said softly - "Be the change you want to see"

A Real Jungle in a Concrete Jungle

It's amusing how most of us crave to live in a world different from the one that we actually happen to live in. I don't mean this in the literal sense but in the metaphorical sense. We'd love to escape the traffic jam we encounter every day, we'd love to experience silence and nature amidst the chaos at work, we'd love to run away from meaningless deadlines, the last-minute rush to finish something, mind-boggling tax-forms, lengthy procedures, office politics, annoying misunderstandings and what not! I'd bet that this dream of leading a different life remains just a dream for most people. We continue to chase routine like our lives depended on it and remain in the rut unable to take any physical action to exit the dangerous whirlpool of "civilized" and "modern" life. Some of us are lucky in the sense that we still manage to steal a few moments away from the daily despair and let our minds wander into something far away from it. I am not talking about day-dreaming but something on the lines below: Check out this view from the coffee place in my office.


What a riot! Bang in the middle of the city. Bang in the middle of one of Bangalore's busiest areas but difficult to recognize unless someone tells you! A sea of coconut trees and home to many local birds. Now, take a closer look.

According to me, the bloke who lives in that small house on the terrace of that 6-7 storey building in that somewhat large piece of coconut-tree filled land is one of the most fortunate blokes in Bangalore. I am almost sure the person who stays there is the security guard-watchman of the campus. What a view he'd have provided he doesn't always get distracted by thoughts of thieves! He is bound to have a wonderful breeze all day and night, spot flocks of birds flying overhead, and catch the twinkling skyline of the city at night if he wants a concrete (pun intended) change! He or at least his family would have their quiet moments and enjoy this "real" jungle in the middle of a concrete jungle! Believe me, if you take a look at the beautiful campus roads below, you'd understand what a perfect place this would be for early morning and evening walks! And, btw, the nearest building to this one, in the same campus, happens to be a library! That's the icing on the cake for you! :-)

OK...I think I'll leave you with this for now and see if I can catch more moments focused on this place when I take my tea and water breaks. Yow.

Imagine...

What I could not capture with my camera (because I did not have it with me at the time of witnessing this scene) I'd like to submit in words...

As they say, in my mind's eye is - The side profile of a small hill atop which are 3 huge rock-pieces (which seem - deceptively - about to fall off) and a small and pretty temple tower ahead of them, a little away from the foot of the hill. The sky above is painted in random streaks of orange, red, blue and gray.....

PS: Need to buy one of those smaller - compact - cameras that I will not hesitate to carry with me everywhere I go. (I now have a huge optical zoom camera that weighs quite a bit.)

ISPIM - Innovation Symposium

OK. I've finally managed to resurface into Blogosphere. Do you see me now? I've not been hiding but I've been running hither and thither. Whoever said "You can run but you cannot hide" had a brilliant brain. (Give me a teeny weeny opportunity to make an out of the context statement and be sure I'll grab it with both my hands! ;-])

Righto! I am sure you're waiting for the real story now. I was off to torture people at the Innovation Symposium conducted by ISPIM in collaboration with the Singapore Management University. I presented an idea that has been brewing in my mind for more than a year now. The idea revolves around establishing random connections between the employees of an organization to promote innovation. At a minimum level, I believe the implementation of the idea is likely to usher in a sense of belonging in the employee and help her understand how the organization works...by understanding the various parts of the organization and then connecting the dots to make out what the big picture looks like. When I conceived the idea, I was hardly familiar with Twitter. In retrospect, I believe that this idea will find a new form if implemented on a tool like Twitter.

While at the symposium, I came across three key ideas that I found to be fascinating!

- Phantom Innovation - It was a study by two people from Sweden on inventions that solved a problem/challenge not originally meant to be solved by that particular invention. In other words, innovations that found accidental use in other unrelated areas. Not surprisingly, this paper won an award.
- Bionics - This one isn't really new. Product development inspired by nature! The imitation/emulation of nature's ideas. A car that looks like a Box Fish, a structure that resembles a spider's web and so forth. I have been fascinated by Biomimicry ever since I first read about it a few years back. In fact, I've been looking to buy the book by Janine Benyus but it doesn't seem to be available anywhere in Bangalore! :-(
- Blue Ocean Strategy - I got to go through a workshop that provided us with practical tools to enable people to use the concepts of Blue Ocean Strategy for innovation.

And then there were other familiar and yet exciting tidbits like studies to establish a link between KM and Innovation. I was thrilled to find that a lot of Innovation professionals were gravitating towards studies on collaboration and collective thinking. There was, as expected, a lot of talk about communities and wikis in the context of innovation.

One another interesting aspect of the conference was a very large representation from the Nordic countries like Finland, Spain, Netherlands, Austria...the countries that stand tall in the worldwide Innovation Index! Overall, it was the first ever time I got to see such a diverse set of Europeans all in one place!

Also, even though I tried very hard not to go on adding to my collection of unread books, I simply couldn't control the urge to pick up a book during the trip - Uncommon Wisdom by Fritjof Capra. Eager to read it. Will probably replace another book in my "Next 3 books to read" list.

|| and > (Pause and Play)

From here

Leonardo da Vinci spent countless hours ruminating upon things of the spirit as he worked on his famous canvas of the Last Supper. He spent so much time meditating in the cloister that some of the monks in the community became concerned. They remonstrated with the artist about his wasting precious time and money. "Why do you spend so much time with us in prayer when you have come here to work?" they wondered.

Leonardo answered, "When I pause the longest, I make the most telling strokes with my brush."

=================================

Hmm. In today's world, such pauses are considered to be nothing less than a crime. Especially in the corporate world. Ironically, lack of such pauses is what causes permanent gaps in the long run. Permanent gaps that smack of chaos caused by people who did not initially want to stop for a while.

Something tells me that most people will gradually and ultimately slow down when they need to and go in search of a life and work that allows them to take in life the way it should ideally be. I know of some people who have held their own in such a blind, meaningless and merciless world. These are people who have, paradoxically, escaped herd mentality but tapped into the wisdom of a wiser 'world'. Hats off to these folks! They've found the guts, faith and conviction to take the less-trodden path and lead the way for the rest of us....toward a more serene and fulfilling future.

Being busy can be addictive (Like Calvin says, "Everybody is a slave to routine"). We need more and more people who can overcome this addiction and free the world from its clutches. People who can make it a better place to live in - for the current crowd and generations to come. We may not be able to save the world from its eventual fate but we can at least make the remaining parts of the journey more meaningful.

Spiritual thinking, as I know it, would advocate that we need to be calm and composed even when surrounded by such chaos, ambiguity and uncertainty. If one were to rule out the thought of running away from such a world, it leaves us with the next best (to my mind) option. Pausing, slowing down, taking breaks, experimenting, introspecting and being happy with a life that's 'different'. These may be the wisest ways to continue to be in the 'real' world and yet lead a more meaningful life. Such a style of living, I guess, will make us less desperate to change the world in one master stroke and have faith in its (and our own) evolving destiny.

Coping with Life's Natural Pace

I think this is a wonderfully amazing view of life's 'gradual' and, if you like, 'naturally slow' ways....and I am inspired to apply this philosophy to situations involving change. Profound and admirable approach to life, I think. Come to think of it, I am able to relate this to Eckhart Tolle's concept of "Now" - focusing on the "Present" rather than anything else. Interestingly enough, I also see a paradox in here, as in, it is not really about being patient with things and allowing them to take their time but the opposite (!!) - enjoying and experiencing the natural evolution and growth of 'life' at its predetermined pace.....the various stages of life on its way to maturity.

And, loved the last line - “A flower is not better when it blooms than when it is merely a bud; at each stage it is the same thing — a flower in the process of expressing its potential.”

T.I.G.E.R.R.R.R

Thanks to my blog-friend here :-) I ran into this wonderful YouTube video on her blog and thoroughly enjoyed it. If you love Tigers, you simply should not miss this one. Ooooooh! What magnificent creatures, what charm, what beauty!!! Aaahhhh! Tigers are simply marvellous! I can watch them for many hours, I really can!

Speaking of which, this (the third photo) is one of those photographs that people would find hard to believe I clicked - one I am therefore quite proud of. I happened to come across this chap when I'd been to a nearby forest and I promptly (and politely) requested him to pose for a snap and he obliged with an ambiguous roar. The way he settled down into a perfect posture, you'd be surprised why he isn't a common sight in movies that involve wild-life. Thinking thus, I clicked away, shook his dirty paw with gratitude and also contemplated asking for a pally-pally snap together but finally decided against it as I have no right to create a dent in his reputation. (Those of you who can't stand such nonsense, very quickly, before you get violent....this chap can be found in the Mysore Zoo...don't tell him I told you....he doesn't like too many visitors)

Lighting up Life....!

Just occurred to me. If the Sun as in the day is a metaphor for brightness, happiness, joy and the good times and Moon as in the night is a metaphor for the not so good times, the sorrows and the challenges.....why can't we take the analogy forward and learn from the fact that the Moon may not be luminous....it may not generate its own light....but it does a pretty decent job of reflecting the light from the Sun!! So, during the bad times, one should look up to the Moon and do what it does. Reflect on the good times and use it to 'see' things from a better perspective! Use the light as inspiration for working harder and keeping the spirit intact....! :-) And what's more....it's not the day but the night that sports those other twinkling stars that have the capacity to enchant us endlessly. The Sun is too bright to let us see the other stars that are further away and transmit less light all the way to the Earth. These are the smaller joys/miracles of life. Life is meant to be celebrated....irrespective of whether it is day or night! What? :-)

Colours of Life...

These days, one of my favourite things to do is hunt for and spot Bouganvilla trees and bask in the colourful feeling they invariably lend me. And the game got very fascinating earlier this week. I hit a jackpot. I reaped what I saw. (But isn't it "You reap what you sow"?. Hey, ignore me or ignore the spelling/pronunciation.) OK. So, I spotted three Bouganvilla trees almost at a stretch....Purple, Orange and Yellow flowers ...in the order mentioned. It left me speechless....my eyes widened to the size of I don't know what and I found the corners of my mouth reaching out to my ears on either side. I think someone next to me noticed the expression and got a bit scared, but I was too excited to care about a stranger's reaction to my feelings....

Come to think of it, I find very few people - when traveling - engrossed in thinking or soliloquy or such pet pastimes of late. Most people seem to be happy chattering away on mobiles. Sigh. No...nothing bad about it, I guess. Just felt like sighing.

The Visitors................

The water was admittedly dirty and muddy. Murky. But it was still. Absolutely still. It first seemed like the water body was unaware of the thousands of vehicles that tore past it almost every minute of the day. Vehicles that disturbed the peace in every way possible. They emitted smoke and chemicals. They honked and screeched. They chipped off the road. They spread the dust. Was the water body really unaware of (and unaffected by) these disturbances? Come to think of it, who was to be blamed for the dirt and the mud in the water? It is one of those questions that one raises despite knowing the answer! There were a few so-called trees jutting out of the water in one stretch....as if they were holding hands and wanted to deal with this together. United they stood. But they stood bare. The trees had lost all their leaves. There was no green. The trunks and the branches and the twigs were all bare except for a thick layer of dust that they tried to hold on to rather than burden the water with. A few small blackish grey ducks were drifting along the water creating small noticeable ripples around them. One would imagine the ducks were initially white in colour though it wasn't actually so. As the picture seemed to come together and provoke one to ponder over what she was looking at, a bird as pure as the driven snow suddenly appeared from nowhere and flew past the water body in a slow and graceful manner and alighted on one of the trees that seemed to welcome it with outstretched arms. The reflection of the bird in the water was so beautiful! Slowly, another bird followed the same path but chose another tree. And then, there were some more....one after another. One, not surprisingly, wondered what was so appealing about the place to these beautiful birds. Suddenly, the picture looked very different....it took the mind from a low to a high.

The Elusive Search....Can Google Help?

There may be no such thing as perfection!
But does that really stop one from looking for it?
Something….that is an ultimate combination…!
Something - A relationship - that is….

As bright and powerful as the sun
That can lend life to anyone
As tall and strong as the mountains
That can support millions of lives
As deep and introspective as the sea
That can connect one ‘world’ to another
As fresh and bright as the grass
That can make one feel like a new-born
As cool and embracing as the rain
That can oust a raging fire
As colourful and creative as the rainbow
That can erase the gloom of a whole era
As free and inspiring as the birds
That can make one’s spirit soar
As endless and protective as the sky
That can safeguard one and all
As beautiful and caring as the trees
That can change the world

The soul refuses to give up on the search for a single window to life. A perfect something....
The truth is that it cheats itself by wanting to live in a such an integrated make-believe world. Why can’t it take each of these in bits and pieces - independantly - and use its own imagination to create a single entity that may not be true in the actual sense but still can fill in the gap? Can Google help in this elusive search? I heard you. Time out. :)

I love blue...

Something I clicked last month....(The digicam seems to have a problem with the date though...)

The paradox of camouflaging

I watched a cute story on white lions (the cubs were soooo cute!) on Animal Planet and discovered yet another paradox of nature! :) The program anchor mentioned the fact that white lions find it difficult to camouflage themselves because of their colour. The next second, it dawned on me that camouflaging is a paradoxical act. While some living beings need to have the ability to camouflage themselves to protect themselves from danger, some others actually need to camouflage themselves to make their kill! And yes, these two purposes aren’t mutually exclusive…..the camouflaging ability might serve both purposes for a given living being (think of us humans ;))

The Waves of Life

Another poem...to break the silence.... (I'd like to thank Alok for encouraging me to write more poems :))

The Waves of Life

The horizon was dipped in beautiful colours!
A splendid visual treat for nature lovers!
The grand sun was just about to bid goodbye...
The charming moon was on its way in, with spirits high!
The water sparkled like gems galore!
I couldn’t have possibly asked for anything more!

As I ran unabashedly toward the shore...
The sea responded with an ambiguous uproar!
The waves though caressed my feet with a bubbly smile...
But, alas, the next moment they withdrew a painful mile!
I waited for them to return, full of faith and hope...
For I discerned this seesawing was fully in life’s scope!

I submerged myself in the wonderful sound of the waves...
It was just the kind of divine music for which one craves!
When from afar there came the distracting sound of a new rhythmic beat...
Perhaps someone who was to me meet and greet?!
There was darkness all around, but only for a while...
I could soon see a milky white horse come galloping in style!

I looked on as the stunning animal came to a halt.
But for its appearance, I could not trace who was at ‘fault’...
I hesitated just a bit before the animal saw me vault...
I knew I was the master and had to ride it alone...
Horse-riding skills I had to but someday hone...

As I rode away, it seemed like Nature felt no remorse!
To ask me to make mine alone the horse!
One more time, I looked back into the sea...
And saw just what I expected to see...

The waves had returned to the shore...
Of this seesawing, there would be more...
The charming moon was just about to bid goodbye...
The grand sun was on its way in, with spirits high!!

The Sunrise and other stories...

A week that could be aptly called "fighting for fitness"...! :(
Things are slipping (ouch, that touched a raw nerve...oh....that makes it two puns in all. Twisted ankles, you see) back to normalcy. As I attempt to get myself back in working condition on multiple counts, I must say I got to see an amazing sunrise this morning. Beautiful grey and orange sky touching a quiet and sparkling sea (probably a KM away though- got to clarify that KM is kilo meter and not the KM KM, given my association with the other KM. Confusing....) Wait, I am in Chennai. Bangalore hasn't decided to meet the sea face-face without telling you. :) The sun rose in all its glory....fiery orange ball between some tall trees....in about 3-4 minutes and a few crows - far enough for me to see just their shapes - flew past it. Cool. How lovely it would be if I could wake up to such a sunrise everyday!