Blog & Blogger On A Vacation

Many thanks for stopping by
My blog & I are on a break.
Enough of words & their meanings we’ve had
…it’s all a mess & causes unrest.
A much needed vacation of the mind
Is the agenda for this life of mine.
Hope to meet u in a wordless world,
Where mind & meaning have little hold !

~ God Bless ~
Saba Khadri

New Spring Leaves In A Midsummer’s Bowl

Lost is my mind & quiet is my soul,
New spring leaves in a midsummer’s bowl.
An endless river becomes my mirror
Treasures of life & death here simmer.
The play of this world & after I see
It’s within & outside ….all coming from me.
Lost is my mind & quiet is my soul,
New spring leaves in a midsummer’s bowl.

Invading Privacy … Power Play ….Guilty As Charged

….Phones being tapped…secret photographs being taken…personal databases being made available to the government as well as the public…personal counseling data no longer being personal & much, much more…

“Where does all this end?”…I was asked by a very dear friend of mine. “Someone has to do something about it. People need to be treated with respect…Everyone is entitled to their secrets & private lives…No one has the right to take it away from us”…I was told.

I listened in stunned silence….Wow !....I had never really thought of it in such a way [truth being...I had never really cared to think about it at all]….Such passion & commitment to fighting for individual rights…truly moved me…Yes, it moved me to think about what was happening….& for the life of me I could not fathom the magnitude of the problem !

I have friends blogging about the importance of maintaining privacy at all levels …friends who have made it their cause to fight for the underdog….But for me I found all this hugely entertaining…So what if somebody knows your darkest secrets, your deepest fears or your most treasured memories…Is it really that BAD?

Are we so small and confined in our selves, that we feel the need to keep things under lock & key constantly….& yet we talk about growing, developing & finding the real Me…Please tell me Howz that possible?...when at no time are we ready to share. We are obsessed with ourselves & those around us…we guard & protect those we love [but from who … I ask]….we feel the need to draw boundaries….to keep secrets…And the natural result of this is – we as human beings like to solve mysteries…like to uncover what is hidden, it gives us a sense of accomplishment…a sense of self worth & we feel good about it in some screwed way & what’s wrong I wonder.

In my opinion…we grow when we open ourselves to the world…share our sorrows & joys...do as we want without fear of being judged. The other mortals will rejoice in the gossip & scandal we provide…So big deal…Why rob them of their small pleasures…I ask?...They will soon discover that its not worth the effort because of the lack of attention….while most of us on the other hand are so stuck up about what happened – that we just do not let go…& carry the baggage all our lives.

We resist these traits in other people because we at some level posses them & are unable to accept it as part of us…thus we begin to judge those who judge us or those who or those who do wrong or things we don’t like or don’t believe in…

…What if we just accept them as well as ourselves for who we are & just Be…wouldn’t that be so much simpler…But, NO…we give in to our ego so easily & thus the ‘Power Game’ begins…never to end !

...And then there were those, who came up to me & said – “You are the worst of us all, at least we fight & stand for something – You on the other hand are just indifferent & don’t care…This is the worst crime of All”…..To them I say – ‘Guilty As Charged’…Yes, you speak the truth….I have no opinions, no judgments to make or causes to fight for…for I have no boundaries & no distinctions. Yes, I am the worst of the lot…for I am You !

Coach Carter…My Views & Reviews

Keyed here r my thoughts after seeing a particular movie…Suffering from a short attention span & hyperactive imagination…don’t be surprised to see my views jumping all over the globe…But I guess who ever is reading this is either used to that by now or would get used to it….for the rest of them I really don’t care!

I went into Planet M to pick up some koooooool sufi music & me being a ‘shop-o-holic’ was soon drawn to the dvd & vcd section, wherein I chanced upon a movie called ‘Coach Carter’….& then like lightening it struck me….that a very dear though weird friend of mine[like most of my friends] had asked me to watch it at least 3 times…so how could I not pick it up[enough reason to splurge].

…All curled up in bed that night, with enough of goodies to nibble on, I switched on my television to watch this much acclaimed movie….& to be sure it was worth every penny & much more.

An awesome movie about overcoming fears, realizing dreams & more importantly love & respect for one’s self. It is a movie about coming to terms with one’s self….& yes, it is also a movie about team work & team spirit…but that is something secondary for me, b’coz when u r honest with ur self & when u learn to respect ur self…the same is automatically passed on to others…& teams thus formed are naturally invincible. So team spirit is just an additional perk of knowing ones self & doing what u believe in whole heartedly.

Two scenes in the movie really moved me:
(i) when the lock out is voted out by the school board & yet the students continue the lock out at a personal level & when one student stands up & tells Coach Carter that what he fears most is not failure but the power & light within himself….that scene ripped me apart...it was simply Brilliant !
(ii) the last scene in the movie when the team loses the state championship & are in the locker room…The sheer joy & pride the team takes in belonging to Richmond & the exuberance on their faces when they shout the name over & over & over again…is something we don’t see these days. Infact it is something I haven’t seen in a long, long time.

The pride that we have for our home town & country is long gone….

…I enjoy working with students more than with ppl in the corporate sector, primarily b’coz I have never really grown up[infact I have regressed…I should give some of the credit here to my friends]…but the point here is every second student that I talk to wants to go abroad for his higher studies…OR wants a job in an MNC so that he can go abroad for his training OR wants to go abroad on deputation OR go abroad in search of better opportunities …Basically everyone is trying to run away from home or from themselves or run away from something or the other. What they don’t realize is …if u r brilliant, u will shine Anywhere…u don’t have to go outside for fame & recognition, it will come automatically to u.

Most people forget that when they go abroad, they have to work doubly hard to sustain & prove themselves at every level…b’coz their families r not their to provide for them, the luxuries of home r no longer available, ur closet friends are leagues away…So who do u think these people would call in the middle of the night when they have a problem or when they need to hang out with someone….Any Guesses…..Strangers from their home land & in some strange way they are no longer strangers…they become extended family…Isn’t it?

…Let me rephrase that…What is the first thing most Indians do when they go abroad…Find other Indians who are already there…befriend them…Y?...B’coz it gives them a sense of security….Finding ‘Home Away from home’ !

We slog day & night in another land, away from home & pay higher taxes…but we don’t mind…Y?....is it b’coz we get the tag of ‘foreign returned’ when we get back home & that makes it worth the while. Then, aren’t we at some level working out of fear & insecurity … & is it a Healthy way? … I really don’t know.

…Just imagine if we had to work just as hard back home…we would undoubtedly be one of the wealthiest people in the country, would be more powerful & influential, plus we would be paying far lesser taxes & would be pampered & spoilt thoroughly by our family & friends [what more can one ask for...I wonder]. In addition, we would be able to travel around the world for our holidays every few months….but sadly, most people abroad come home for their holidays for just a month or so & go back to slogging the rest of the year in another’s land. [Who comes home on a holiday?……I always thought u go outside on a holiday....well as usual I guess I am wrong].

Y aren’t we at peace with what we have at home? What is it that we are searching for….when everything we ever wanted is right in front of us at home….Maybe, it’s the circle of life to wander around and then come back home finally…….But, my worry is, What if it is too late? Or worse still…have we gone to the ‘Point Of No Return’!

The Movie Coach Carter…talks about returning to ones self…it talks about being proud of who u r & reaching for the stars ….Though u may not reach the stars u will still get the taste of being high ..up above the world…. This is where I beg to differ…. “I no longer want to reach for the stars…I want the stars to reach down to Me!”