The Mad Ones

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!” ~ "On the Road - Jack Kerouac"

 

Madness for me, is a synonym for passion, for excellence, for being.

There are days when I search for people to understand me - the way I am, like the mad ones, as Kerouac mentions.

I find myself being part of a lot of situations, places and people. I consider myself to being their own, madly passionate to understand things inside and around me. I nurture a belonging to those realities.

 

Is such madness suited to our world?

Which worse is better?

I wonder .....

Having good friends or being lonely?
Love marriage or arranged marriage?
Having a boyfriend or not having one?
Being married or being single?
Having kids or being the 'woman' without kids?
Doing hard work or having no work?
Being loyal to family or being carefree?
Speaking the truth or wrapping the truth?
Being a fast learner or being ignorant?
Bearing pain or ignoring it?
Realizing things or being lazy?
Being cheerful yet unhappy or being only unhappy?
Being alive or being dead?
Knowing God or Being Materialistic?

Writing all of this or deleting it??
The last choice remained the only one I could positively make...

Higher Ground - State of my present self

Every hour of every day I'm learning more
The more I learn, the less I know about before
The less I know, the more I want to look around
Digging deep for clues on higher ground

Moon and stars sit way up high
Earth and trees beneath them lie
The wind blows fragant lullaby
To cool the night for you and I

On the wind the birds fly free
Leviathan tames angry sea
The flower waits for honeybee
The sunrise wakes new life in me

Every hour of every day I'm learning more
The more I learn, the less I know about before
The less I know, the more I want to look around
Digging deep for clues on higher ground

The fishes swim while rivers run
Through fields to feast my eyes upon
Intoxicated drinking from
The loving cup of burning sun

In dreams I'll crave familiar taste
Of whispered rain on weary face
Of kisses sweet and warm embrace
Another time another place

And every hour of every day I'm learning more
The more I learn, the less I know about before
The less I know, the more I want to look around
Digging deep for clues on higher ground

Courtesy: UB40 Higher Ground Lyrics

Compromises

The story of marriage is always an interesting one but with the usual cliches and quotes that it carries from yesteryear. Nonetheless, this story remains the same, even in the modern age of high-end technology and emancipation of women or whatever high-sounding words one can think of.

The story this time is of a young couple discussing pros and cons of shifting to a new city because the man of the house has been asked to do so by his company. It is inevitable to conclude that the woman should follow suit. She should be able to find a new job in the new city or relocate to the branch office of the current company she is employed with. All this is okay but what about the woman who keeps shifting wherever her husband goes. Even if, she does not have a job. What are her choices in either cases? She is regarded as arrogant in the case where she persists to stay in the present city because of her job. Else, she is asked to make a compromise - against her personal wish, to move out of the city to be with her husband.

Although women liberation and independence are catchwords of many political party agendas, there is no independence for many women in reality. Questioning decisions, going against those and stating personal choices are deemed as selfish motives in the society. The woman gets a praise if she does not indulge into this much thinking. Wonder if compromising women themselves, are thinking about this in the least?

"Recession" quote of the day

"The best condition in life is not to be so rich as to be envied nor so poor as to be damned."

-- Josh Billings

Too much noise

The apartment complex in Hyderabad where I live in, has kids of various ages, but those that are below the age of 3 outnumber the rest. Every evening, as I come tired from office, I am welcome to their playing around the parking lot or at the adjacent kids' park or on my apartment's floor. Most of the time, their noise continues till late around 10 p.m. Their endless chatter and games make the atmosphere lively as I keep watching them from my balcony.

It so happened one fine evening, as I was flipping chappatis in the kitchen, that I heard a group of them rush to the floor. All the while most of them shouting and make noises till they reached one end of the floor. One of them later on, shoo-shoos the entire group and then there is pin-drop silence. I wondered why. Then again, every one rushes back from the other end and this cycle of noise and shoo-shooing continues. Hearing them giggle, I cannot but help giggle to myself and at their innocence.

All of a sudden, one of the neighbors, comes out screaming at the kids - " hey all of you! Too much noise around this floor! Go downstairs and play! Will you? or I'll tell your mom!"

Poor kids, I think, as I hear them slowly dispersing off.

The incident reminds me of how as adults we have changed becoming intolerant to a little noise around us and worrying ourselves with the baggage of tensions, worldly wisdom, grudges and complaints all the time. The kids are a gifted lot though, with their innocence still intact, they continue giggling, shouting, shooing, irrespective of what's happening around them. The kids reminded me of life's lesson. To take it as it comes in life, irrespective of whatever happens around you, keep that "thing" going.

Year of the Void

It is but the topic to write for.

The year 2008 was an year worth living through. Personally that is. As for the nation, well, everyone knows the "downs" that impacted our lives - directly or indirectly - terror attacks, recession, financial worries, layoffs among other things.

By far, besides being the worst year of my life, 2008 meant literally living through silent and invisible hell. And at the end of that hell, stands nothing. Just void. There is this feeling of emptiness from within and nullification of those thoughts that used to preoccupy my mind.

The reasons for the feeling of hell on earth might well be because of personal reasons and several other factors. But, at the end of it all, I thought to myself as I do now: " Did I deserve all this?" or "Why did all this happen to me?" Unfortunately, the void stares back from within myself. No answers, no more questions to myself.

Probably that is what the year meant to leave behind in my life. At the end of all this madness in the world and inside/outside ourselves, there is this ultimate void for sure. It might also mean that no matter how much one may worry, yearn, achieve, lose,win in life - there is nothing going to be left behind us. Maybe this is similar to the end result of a tumultuous period like a war, or a depression and life in general. Just what this year was. An year of void.....