My Rumblings..

I used to have an argument with a friend of mine that, a change can not be brought in the system until and unless each individual takes the responsibility and onus upon themselves and strives towards it.He used to say that it should start somewhere, someone should lead people, inculcate in them values and responsibilities towards themselves, towards society and towards the nature either by force or by realization.Force is a ruled out option cz one can not be changed by force and even if it did appear so,its all very short lived and when it reverts back its even more hazardous..And realization..Yup..that may be possible, coz there are quite many a men in history who have proved themselves to be of great influence on the mankind. But i never believed in leaders or idols.I always thought that,power vested in the hands of few is always too delicate and prone to dilution and corruption.But..its a sin to be a pessimist and a bigger sin is to give up without even trying..

India is experiencing an interesting phenomenon in history like never before.Be it the media or the piled up frustations,unmet vows,the society is taking a plunge for the better.Its refreshing to see more and more people coming out of their closets; thinking, discussing, arguing, sharing and even actively involving in politics, me included. Politics which were brushed aside by almost all of the educated younger eligible generations as polite tricks and dirt are turning to responsibility with time, thanks for the welcome change brought forth by those few individuals who are striving towards a better future.

And the discussion won't be complete without the mention of AAP and AK.AK has given people what they were lacking all these years. HOPE. A hope of a possibility.A possibility that has been evading people and seemed a distant past that has been lost. Even if eighty percent of what he is speaking is truthful and sincere, that can bring a massive change in the society, for, the people haven't seen even ten or twenty percent in ages.Here is a man with his simple demeanor, calm and polite nature but unwavering aggression towards corruption, who has come forward with a broom in his hand and a vision to clean and wipe the slate of the same.A very tall order for the present scenario.But he made his first little step towards the same with the confidence in humanity. And people embraced his simplicity.The first stone has been laid which was all that was required.Now it has brought forth a great wave in the whole country and its quite surprising and at the same time quite appalling to consider how thirsty people are, for some honesty.

There was a whatsapp msg I received from a friend..
" How strange it is ..we wish to wear high brands, but we feel more comfortable in pyjamas,
we wish to sit in taj and mariott with elite people,but we enjoy roadside tea with our friends and with people we love the most.
we wish to own big cars and go on long drives, yet we talk our heart out only while walking down a long road.
we have 64 GB i pods filled with songs, but sometimes a song on the radio brings a smile that can't be compared.."

Strange yet true. And thats called our innate nature. People often close themselves and cover up with all pretentions.But the innate nature of human self is humility, happiness compassion and love.AK had stroked the right chord and at the right time.He is just holding a mirror to us to see the real self . To recognize ourselves and not believe in mirages and run after them and in doing so lose the connection with our own self and behave pretentious and become the predators ourselves.Its not just about the party people, or the aam janatha, its for the other party people too..for the ruling party and the opposition too..Its for everyone living..not just for the nation but for the whole human kind.. But what will we do of him? We will make him a hero.A warrior fighting against some corruption and evil and then we will place the entire onus of the state and then the nation on his shoulders, pressurise him till he crumbles and will make him lose the battle and then pour our disappointments on him and the likes and escape into our closets again. What he wanted is not becoming a hero by himself , but making everyone a warrior.An Ak should emerge out in everyone. Only then can we sustain the life of whats being desired by him and all of us..It should not be the power vested in few hands again even if those few are Aks., It won't be late before they succumb to the pressures and the people fall back into the pits blaming them,losing hope and bereaved of any higher possibility!! I hope we realize this and not let this fresh breeze turn toxic.

AND THE MOUNTAINS ECHOED

Finished reading..
'And The Mountains Echoed '....
They indeed did echo coz i can feel the vibrations of the flavor of Mr. Khalid Hosseini's writing.The book carried the same aroma as of his other two books but the taste, distinct and perspicuous. It was less of war and strife now but as pragmatic and realistic as before. His bewitching style, minimalistic and simple way of narration make the characters come alive and real. Sometimes, as he himself says about a character in the novel, I wonder if he is a gifted writer or gifted trickster ? A magician with a pen for a wand, able to move an audience by conjuring emotions he had never experienced, cz its impossible for one person to have experienced such myriad emotions..And even if so to pen them down so beautifully..Its very unthinkable for me at least.
Having said all that the book does have its flaws unlike his other two books.Or may be I shouldn't dare say them as flaws but many untied strings or unattended side tracks. But again to think from his point of view, Its a piece of fable that perfectly fits in the time slot he allocated for the tale.For,to venture into attending those side tracks would make for another story altogether.
This particular book from him, I think he experimented a little with his experience from the other two novels.He starts from certain point,goes to the start, from there to somewhere in the middle, then a lil side ways...He played with the narration straight, diagonal, oblique,transverse, devious , undulating..But every point he touches, its endowed with details so intricate that each outshine the other in the beauty of their own..It feels like a piece of art work weaved with different colors of threads,each rich, eloquent and vivacious on their own but yet make a scintillating magnum opus as a whole.Each character has their own story to tell, each unique, heroic, alluring and exquisite.The threads left un splintered made me longing for more from the master story teller. :)

You were just a seed of thought,
An outlet and a respite when brought.
To be safe,secure under the hood,
Never to be bereft of, U should.

Planted with love,
Under the shade of a nursery which stood above.
From it came the strength,
that it can help me see you grow at length.

Such a pleasure it was,
to see you sprout to a sapling.
And when you were dressed in those first leaves,
A hope also sprang to be seen,
that forever you can stay green.

Many storms came along,
But you never did let me down.
Always made me proud whenever I walked past you.
Though little and fragile you tried to stand like a mighty oak,
Always smiling at me, giving me that comfort .

An year passed.
You were growing tall and strong,
through gale and gust.
But this time it was the tempest.
It came on you too heavy.
Shaking you from the roots ,
suspending you in the air,
exposed you to the nature wicked and wild.

You look at me for help.
With everything turned to a mirage,
I stand here helpless!
Neither can I see you wither,
nor can I tolerate you suffer.
I can only ask for your excuse.
for not providing you enough shelter to fight the storm,
for not keeping up my promise to you,
for letting you down when you always stood by me.

Will you excuse me ever, Dear?
I wonder!!

ek baarish ki tarah,
baadalonse samet ke,
hume bigaake chod gaye.
Abhi abhi beeghe the hum,
lekin eisa lagta hai ki sadiyon se sukha hai.
raah dekhte dekhte ee aankhe jaage hai
sadiyonse jaisa yaadein aansuon mein chupake chalte hai,
khayalon se sahi e jheel ko behkne aajaaoo,
jaagi in ankhonko sulane tho aajaao.
rute hue sahi, nafrat jatane to aajaao.

Blue and violets spread,
the white, green and blacks rolled under friction with a tinge of red, giving it a dash of pink,showered with crystals and foamy whites on and into the smooth browns,smoldered then chilled fresh and served with coffee browns..
It was a "SPLASH".

Once a sapling was brought home,

Nurtured with love,
Watered with faith,
Waited for the blossom with hope..

But..

Faith was frosted,
Love was betrayed,
Hope was crushed..

For when the bud did bloom..it was found empty..!!

A Thousand Splendid Suns

I don't know what captivated me in this book.The narration, the story, the characterization, the impossible possibilities, the ugly truths of life, the unnatural twists that turn the life so naturally, the unacceptable acceptances, the simple complexities, the complex compromises..the list goes on..
It left me with the same feeling as his first novel, "The Kite Runner".
Deeply and immensely touched!!!
He made me walk through the book, their lives.Mariam and laila, the two imposing characters..
As I started reading, their every small detail in life, every emotion, every struggle became mine as much as theirs.Situations and lives which are impossible to even imagine came alive before my eyes. I could see how a happy kids life with rainbows in the eyes, dreams of a colorful future can lay shattered and transform into ugly possibilities. How easily with time, memories and dreams can be betrayed and how easily time can make anything and any level of ugliness a stoic acceptability in life. For sometime it pained me so bad that I just closed my eyes not able to accept what I was reading, half wishing that he should have written that differently, like it was impossible to accept such life and compromise, Was wishing that,may be in the next few pages I will find something pleasant than the harsh truths. But when something is inevitable, it becomes a habit even when imposed! what a harsh truth to know!!! Yes, its not a pleasant read. The book will torment you, torture you and will affect you intensely. I felt a deep seated pain, A repugnant helplessness directed towards life, the laws of nature, the human behavior itself. Life had been this way since its inception. Hardly some of us will get lucky to make it take course as per our whims and fancies.
Its very difficult to put it in words what I felt after reading this book.For some it may sound morose, disagreeable and cantankerous. It is , I agree but its an experience to be transported into a different life and to live it in this life. Those few hours that you read this novel you can experience that.A compelling, captivating narrator as he is, Mr. khaled hosseini, he mesmerizes, enthralls and finally enslaves us to his simplicity of story telling. Its as if he devised a key to our hearts and have a knowledge of whats in there and how to reach out. He found that universal language of expression that can connect anyone, anywhere,anytime , in any country or in any religion.
This book gave me a few of those very rare moments in life where I stood happy, thankful and blessed for what I am and I have got in life and fortunate for what I am not and haven't got exposed to and my heart filled with empathy, compassion and gratitude for life. Am glad I read this..