Preface ... as an afterthought

"You should start a blog" said S, standing out on the porch with vodka in one hand and the smoke in other. I dragged on mine and exhaled smiling. "No, really", he said. "I know a few people who are doing it, and it's fun." This was many moons ago and I wouldn't have given it a thought except that this was from a guy who had introduced me to Walden (Henry David Thoreau). But a thought is where the idea remained.... bidding its time. Partly because the whole Web2.0 and the super-public lifestyle was a bit unsettling to me, really.

Recently on a visit to California from NYC, A, in the throes of unrequited love, read out a couple of his recent poems from his blog. The poems were good and the blog looked kinda neat. Then I stumbled upon Shikha's blog and there was something about her post 'I am # (Sharp), don't u C?' that got stuck in my head. It had a clever title and the post was simple yet heartfelt. How many times do we get small little breakthroughs in our day-to-day lives, doing the things that we love and find that sharing them often seem mundane, even with the best of our friends? Yet, they give us immense pride, albeit momentarily, and help us continue in our endeavours. It also made me realized that the kid with whom I had spent many a hours chatting on a hot, dry Pune afternoon, had grown up alright :) (way to go, kiddo!)

Driving to work next day, a few confused thoughts evolved into the title for a post, in my head and 'Still Waters.....' was born. Feels liberating... and cathartic. It allows me to go back to my first love, reading, and to my habit of keeping journals... a welcome break from my daily routine. In recent months, the pursuit of being good at what I do, has been taking its toll. The impending challenges seemed smaller and repetitive and my role hasn't been expanding at a pace to sustain my learning curve's steep angle, prompting me to look towards music, golf, etc.

Reading and writing (mostly letters and journals) have always been my refuge and muse... but lately, I haven't been doing that as much as I would like too. I guess life caught up and swept me off. (Being married to an awesome poetess, hasn't helped the insecure pen, either.) But reading about Extempore's sojourns to library/bookstores every now and then (and the resulting 'upper') made me envious and reminded me how much I miss that feeling.

More to come....

13 Shades of Green

Mark Twain called Golf, a good walk spoiled. I love the guy. He was a big help growing up. His biting humour, almost arrogant and deviant, was a big influence and made me feel I am not alone. Deconstructing Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn as a part of school assignments spoiled the fun of reading them, but then as he said... "Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned".

So its established that I really like him... but I disagree with him on golf. There's something about teeing off on the manicured grass that soothes my soul. Last week I had the opportunity to join my brother-in-law for an early morning round. As I trooped in with my golf set and everybody's cuppa of Starbucks, the landscape stretched out in front of me till the hills (the course is in the foothills of our local range) and I couldn't wait to start. The freshly watered grass was glistening in the morning sun. To my left I could see the valley below, where the shimmering streetlights were putting up a valiant fight to the descending sunlight. The sheer number of shades in green was fascinating... right from the young child-like spring green to the wise dark green on the leaves on the lower-end of those tall trees.

As we warmed up, the day was ripe with possibilities. The course stretched out... asking us to come explore. Where will my shots take me today? How will my choices of clubs turn out? Half-swing vs. full-blooded one? How many times will I hear that sweet sound... that moment when you hit the ball exactly where you wanted to and even before you lift your head to follow it, you know it went well. A smile spreads through your body and you forget the course, your score, the chatter of friends, the wind in your hair and the ache in your muscles. For that fleeting moment, you are one with yourself.

And then you move on.... chasing that one sweet shot for the rest of the day.

Afternoon Coffee Break Blues

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I have the 'Sarbanes Oxley Blues'.....





why am i still stuck doing this ?! (@#$%^&) ........ and where is that bottle of single malt when you need it....

What makes you tick?

Years ago, a friend of mine was filling up one of those questionnaires that business schools send you to fill in before admissions. At the end of the questionnaire was a really good question... it went something like this:

If YOU had a question to ask, what would it be?

My friend's room-mate came up with this, spontaneously (and almost nonchalantly!) - 'What makes you tick?'

Deceptively simple, ain't it. I'd say you are really lucky if you can answer that spontaneously... and truthfully ;) Very few of us have that level of clarity. What is it? ... challenges ... recognition ... opportunities to grow, master something... authority... helping others... feeling useful ...

How many of us really do what we love? How many of us know what we love? How long can we do it before we get bored and yearn for something new? Yeah.. yeah... I've always had my suspicions that Maslow might be right! But that pyramid is not easy to climb, is it? I mean, there are jobs/careers to change, cities/countries to be moved, families to be relocated, retooling of the attitude et al. Where does self-esteem end and ego begin? How much is enough? Is it ever enough?

Did you really think that a blog that has a question in its title will have answers?

Black Ray of Sunshine

Was watching the movie 'A Lot Like Love' the other day ... (sweet, real, happy ending) and came across the song 'Trouble' by Ray Lamontagne. There was something about his voice that captivated me. Seems to sing from his soul. Absolutely haunting. After a long time, heard a song that stirred something inside me. Simple lyrics but powerful delivery.

Ended up trawling the net to get the best deal on 'A Lot Like Love' (album had other good songs) and also bought 'Till The Sun Turns Black' by Ray Lamontagne. This second album turned out to be as brilliant as the song 'Trouble' (which by the way is NOT in this album :)) 'Empty', 'Barfly' and 'Three More Days' are riveting.

Brilliant cover art on CD. Minimalistic... black... purrrfect!

Don't miss it!