The wrath

Down the temple road, past the post office, the second shop on the right- painted on the yellow board in red and black, ISD, STD, Local calls.
Balamani collects coins from people who makes calls. Her late father had named her owner- manager of the booth. She was all of 18. On her forehead is sandal wood paste. On the way from home before opening to the shop she visits guruvayoor appan and collects her share of his prasadam. Daily without fail.
Only times she misses out that is on the day of bandhs like the one that happened yesterday. Most shops remain closed. She does not know why there was a bandh yesterday. She complies with all the bandhs the left calling or the right. She loses that day's income from the booth that her father left for the family. But that loss gets washed away by the collective helplessness of her society. She is not much bothered if she is not able to open the shop on that day. She is only too happy. She gets a day off to catch up on her life that she misses out on, laze around, watch television, catch up on some gossip... But the little Krishna in the temple missed her. He is a jealous god. The dark clouds rolled in at noon and it poured down very heavily.

Parashu warned that the parties should be careful about this little guy's wrath for lately they have been testing his patience a bit too much. For if his wrath falls on them they might not see the seat of power ever again.

reason for the unreason- a love letter

All human beings are creative and suckers for stories. A story is an illusion of order. To us humans, stories like dreams have therapeutic value. It numbs our minds and reality takes the back door.

We need reason because we strive to create order and make sense of the chaos around us; in doing so we end up creating more chaos. Ironic isn't it !!.

President Bush had to give a new story to the world to stay in power while catering to his country's needs. So Bush prioritized the problem of the world and decided the most appropriate action to save the world was war "Saddam is a danger to the world.... Weapons of mass destruction etc.." A new story idea, alongside Osama Bin Laden... since post cold war the Commies, Castros story wouldn't have any effect on the public psyche.

Human beings are a bundle of needs and the need 'monster' cant be reasoned with. Needs have to be fulfilled and like energy need cannot be destroyed but only changes its form. The need to justify the need does not kill the need. So why look hard for reasons and justifications.

There are identified needs and unidentified needs. The unidentified needs can be mistaken to be an identified need, in humans this mistake often sets in motion an unconscious repetitive behavior patterns leading to frustration and chaos. like when - need for touch manifesting as love, or smoking filling in for the need of silent introspections.
There is this an example of mistaken need that is particularly lethal and common in our worlds now; the need for unconditional acceptance fulfilled in a family scenario expected in a professional environment. You can only imagine the consequence.

Are the needs not reason enough?

When we try to justify the need we construct stories and then become a central character in it, we look around for villains and victims and drag the people around us and their emotions into our personal universes and created a chaos. It is when a lie is cooked up as a reason to justify the need and lull ourself to believe in the reason to act that i and you, suck the people around us into the self created black hole.

So I shall save the story of reason for my love for you. There is only a need, identified or unidentified. I Love You.

redlight for the last time

Monsoon: Mastershot- untitled

Monsoon: montage in the rain

Monsoon: state of mind wallpaper

vytilla crossing in the rain

Soumya will reach office in another half an hour. she does not know that she is being photographed by a blogger... and that she would eventually end up being a particle of data in cyberspace. that morning the traffic between vytilla and the south overbridge would stay jammed for the next one hour. That morning soumya reached office late. and was warned by her boss. this was the third such time. she was almost in tears. her daugher would in some years become a rank holder in the IAS exam and get splattered on the front page of mathrobhoomi... but as for now the monsoon of 2005 is raging. one june morning, on the way to the office...