Being Religious or Being Human!

"I am not religious...I am more human!

I don't know if I believe in God...but I certainly do believe in us... Only we can save us from ourselves!"

To which one of my freind added - "The only thing that scares & excites me is what people are capable of. thanks for the add soman and yumna. such positive energy people!!!"

And another friend seconded, "that was my line..thank U."

I could only add, "If my line and his line is your line too...then we are all in a straight line... and a straight line is the shortest distance to whatever end we are travelling... in this case, trying to make this a better world. Are you all with me still..."

On Religion...

A dear friend of mine from Pakistan posted: "old time religion...karen armstrong says religion is myth...another says religion is flexible with epochs accordingly... i don't get it...how can flex belief"

My response: Religion is acceptance...acceptance of the fact that there will be people of many kinds... and only kindness and love can bring us all together...make us stay together, irrespective of our beliefs or differences in beliefs. The only platform on which any and all religions stand is that we are all human beings, we are all one, the pain which we experience when our finger is cut is the same...blood oozes out in the same way... and so all of us should be treated equally... without bias...without prejudice...Giving a different name to our beliefs... doesnt make us any different! Religion with a name that includes and excludes people is NO religion at all!

Happy and Gay!

I have named the painting..."What does the future hold for my son...".

The painting was posted in another website called "Penciljammers.com", and few of my friends liked it and some even liked the title too... said it was very touching. I am glad it did touch their sensibilities.

After the initial seriousness...my quirky nature said, "Can you imagine...there was another topic running in my mind that I decided to forego for this one. Would u like to know what it was...well it was like, "Kahin mera betaa badaa hoke gay toh nahin banegaaa...." LOL!! Haa...haaa...haaaa... Considering the way things are moving, this might well be a real concern when he grows up.... Heeeeee...heeeee....hee...!!!

To which one of my friends said, "whats with 'u' n 'gays' ............... u come up with it more often than others .............. koi thesis kar raha hai kya ?"

My reaction was both funny and serious to some extent. Something like this - Haa...haaaaa...I am kinda exploring the idiom..."happy and gay"... trying to figure out whether they are independent variables or dependent...and if dependent...whether being 'happy' is dependent on being 'gay' or, being 'gay' is dependent on being 'happy'... haaa...haaa!!!!...

My world and my sensitivities are a case of muddled curiosity to explore the other side, and acceptance of the extraordinary. I dont generally speak for or against any experience....its each to his own actually. I just want to understand them all and respect them for accepting and standing up for what they believe in, as it is! The only underlying platform on which all my curiosity floats is that there should be no harm to anybody...both emotional or physical...internal or external...alien or earthly...practical or spiritual... haaah...its indeed a funny case with me... but biologically, I strongly believe, if all were to be gay... in the short term...some of the problems would disappear...and in the long-term mankind too! 

When 'Wrong' seems 'Right'

When it SEEMS like wrong is right...so right because its a matter of your heart and your love...you feel its not going to hurt anybody in the long run...does it really make sense to continue?

When you KNOW that its wrong to continue...but you still do...because you feel "its my life" after all...is it really so?

When you ACCEPT a wrong judgement...your own judgement...one which you would want to reverse but you don't/can't...because many more lives are involved and happy with it...will it really last?

When you SACRIFICE relationships or sacrifice your love...so that the others live happily ever after...because they did not understand your emotion/your relationship/your love...do they really deserve the sacrifice?

When you are COMMITTED to a relationship...and yet find solace and love outside of it...can you handle both of them if you take a chance...and for how long?

When you take a CHANCE because... you think you can hold yourself whenever and wherever you want....before you cross the point of no return...why should you start at all? 

From Excitement to Love...and then Concern!!!

We have these amazing weekend sessions at different locations. Hobby and professional artists from Bangalore congregate together at some or the other picturesque locations in the city to draw, paint, discuss, learn form each other and make friends. We had one such session at the Ulsoor lake. I had been there since 11am and I was now preparing to leave along with the last of the remaining jammers (the group is called Pencil Jammers).

As we were winding up and packing our materials, this boy came along with a tiny little puppy barely few days old...

When he came and sat in front of me, I had this child in me excited and grinning ear to ear...I was thinking...wow...such a cute pup...how I would love to cuddle it. Gradually, the teenage in me took over...and I took out the camera to capture the moment, like all teenagers...to keep it trapped in the film would make me happy whenever I would look at it later...However, the transition from the child in me to the teenager didn't stop... before long I had grown into this young adult, perhaps it was the young parent in me...thinking what on earth is this young lad doing with a pup so small...where was its (the pup's) mother...is the cold breeze making it shiver...is it hungry...does it need milk...will the boy keep the little pup safe...my thoughts wandered...so did the boy...as he got up and went past...

I was not alone in my thoughts and my transformation...Dinesh, Prasad (did I get the name right??) and Francoise Bosteels too were going through the same transformation...

The Old Man@Ulsoor Lake, bangalore

I am told that many of us were drawn to this tree at the Ulsoor lake...I guess, we seek some wisdom for these old wise men standing there at one place...watching so many of us play, grow, cuddle our loved-ones, hop with our pets, and so much more...the old trees at ulsoor are some of the very best I have seen...

Since he was so old...I thought I might as well add some colours to his life...Many a times we forget that our old folks do need some colour in their life...Its about time we acknowledged their presence, love and care...and the protection they have offered all their life. That stands both for the trees and our parents/grandparents at home...

When a father grows with his son...

When my son was born...little did I realize that it was going to be a lifetime of learning for me again. Its a brand new companionship, a relationship where I will witness tremendous change taking place right in front of my eyes. The first time he looked onto my face and straight into my eyes, as if to say, "baba, now we are three...and I will always be there with thee...". Its a feeling that keeps on growing with each passing day. 

There were times that I could not see him awake for days on...but there was this reassurance that even if I don't see him eating, playing or adding new words to his vocabulary...I will always be his father, his "baba" - a word in his ever-increasing repertoire of words that will always remain with him throughout his life. Of course! I am prepared for the different meanings the word "baba" will take as he grows up into a boy, a teen, a young lad, a boyfriend to someone, husband to the one, a father to more...

"ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ" holds new meaning for me now...there is an overwhelming sense of joy when he speaks out all the seasons, the months in a year, the days in a week correctly. Its as if every day, every month, every season is so fresh and welcoming again...suddenly I am aware of all the fruits and vegetables that he names. 

He is just four now, and it is real fun growing up with him....learning not to speak the words I don't want him to utter, behaving the way I want him to follow and behave...I am learning again...I am growing again!

Less is more...If we really start observing

When people don't talk much I can listen a lot...when they don't show too much I observe a lot and when they don't ask for anything even when they have it less than what would be adequate...I feel like giving all that I have!

Sometimes, silence is all that it takes to converse...to convey what really one is holding close to the heart! Sometimes, its the look in the eyes that is enough to understand things are not right, or when someone is really overjoyed!

But, it has become a world so loud now...each is fighting hard to be heard, to be seen, to be felt...we have lost the ability to just stay still, watch, observe, converse and love without a word being uttered.

Maybe, we will lose sight of ourselves even when we look back into the mirror...with so much dirt and dust around...between us and our soul!

Daily News - The world hasn't changed much...

Every morning when my father wakes up, the sunrays fall on him with renewed vigour, bringing in hope of a new beginning - of better ideas…of enhanced sensitiveness towards the deserving. He eagerly holds the newspaper, expecting to read some encouraging news hitting the headlines. However, invariably and more frequently than he would like it, he is greeted by news depicting the sad state of affairs - one more scam…one more tainted public figure…one more example of government incapability and impotency... He holds the news paper to realize that the world has not changed much…It’s the same old story in fresh words, in some other part of the world, involving some more misjudgments, corrupting more innocent lives…and he exclaims…it’s the same old story…the world hasn’t changed much…until he picks up the news paper of the next day!

Realism VERSUS Abstractism

I quite like the conversation between a realism painter and a creative/animative or lets say an abstract artist...there is lot of thought and perspective coming into play in sentiments when both feel that their form of art is on a higher plane in terms of creativity and expertise...

Here are my thoughts - There would be no creativity without a platform called creativity... for, what would creativity be, and how would you separate it from realism, if one does not understand realism fully (that is being termed 'Copy' here). One needs to know realism to work away from it. And similarly, without creativity, one may not fully stretch the realms and boundaries of the natural world. One needs to dream and see the unseen to come out with works that tingle our fantasies, away from our mundane daily life sightings. But then one cannot isolate one from the other...its like reading a John Grisham novel or a Superman comic book. Both are equally important in understanding the inner human nature and our outworldly fantasies, and both cater to our sensibilities at different points of time....And I bet all of us at different points of time during our evolution from a child to a grown-up read both of them - and not necessarily in any sequence. As a 30-yr old I still appreciate and enjoy the animation series - The pink panther, the mickey mouse and stuff - they are amazingly creative. you cant agree less. But then I also immerse myself into watching the Blue Planet, Wild Africa...because they keep me rooted to reality, because they help me understand the present, the world, as it is.

By the way, do any of you follow, Calvin & Hobbes - You would admire how the author, the illustrator brings both reality, realisation of what you see with creativity, the tickle of what you don't see in the most subtle way.

Check out the comic strip below that brings both creativity and practicality to the fore.