Random Thoughts

A few months ago I came accross a definition of an "adult" as the "child that did not survive". It struck a cord with me and although cynical i saw the truth in it. The thought grew on me and i began to ponder on all the warm and wonderful attributes that we were born with but lost with the advent of time under the auspices of growing up. And the fearful fact is that every passing generation is losing the inner child earlier and earlier in life. Call it technology, call it lack of time or call it societal pressure; i see an army of beings that look like children but inside them is a mind, a brain and an emotional makeover that functions more akin to adults. When the clock struck mid night and another year came to a close; the familiar calling of the inner self to make the next year more meaningful helped me joined the dots. Would it not be nice to to retrace the steps of my own development in search of the child that i lost at the expense of the adult that i became....

I lost a dear cousin brother in the COVID pandemic early this year. We had grown up together and many a warm summer day had been spend together engaged in fun and simple leisure that only children and teenagers of my age could indulge in those days. He was the leader of the pack, a keen sense of humor, a responsible family member and a trail blazer for the rest of us. And yet as he struggled with the virus, As life slowly ebbed away, for all the advances that we have made in healthcare; his last days were very lonely. Social media and Messaging could not possibly convey to him what a valuable soul he was - the heart beat of the extended family. What would have gone through his mind? Vacillating between hope and hopelessness, worry and positivity, responsibility he felt and the tenacious spirit to cling on to every breath. Fear, Despair, Love, Affection - I'm sure a million thoughts went through his mind. And then he was gone, just like he had arrived in this world with a blank canv...

What a fantastic year 2020 was. Tumultuous YES but also an EYE OPENER. It yanked the eyepatch that clouded our vision and put it firmly on our nose and mouth in the form of a mask.  It kept us indoors and away from the distractions that we have come to accept as NORMAL life. It re- introduced us to our HEART & SOUL. It stopped our way of life dead in its tracks and reintroduced ourselves to what we have become. And it was shocking.  Not just because how ISOLATED we really are but also how FAKE we have become.  Not just because how OPINIONATED we are but also because how CLOSE-MINDED we have become.  Not just because how ALOOF FROM OUR MORAL COMPASS we are but also how SELF-RIGHTEOUS we have become. From time to time we need to stop, take stock, course correct and evolve for the road ahead. And what i realized was that because of the mad dash of modern life, hustle bustle of career and social and children and chores had no time for ourselves. For introspection and...

I don't know what is scarier among the two - events unfolding around us these days OR how various elements of our society are responding to these events. For the past several years i have observed a hardening of stance. I have lamented the victory of OPINION over FACTS, AGENDA over FAIRNESS, CULT over LEADERSHIP and VIOLENCE over EMPATHY. 2020 was supposed to herald a fresh new perspective or at least this is what i thought. Instead the first 150 days of this year have shown a stream of several thousand migrants forgotten, abandoned and abused by their own in the midst of a pandemic. I've seen young people hunted down simply on the basis of the color of their skin. I have seen a thousand lies struck down by a simple pardon. I have seen government servants humiliated, I have seen science desecrated and I have seen bullying go mainstream and worshipped. And yet for the most part a vast majority has accepted this unfairness in quiet outrage. Some have glorified it and pro...

About 40 miles away from our house in Texas is a wildlife preserve called Hagerman. It is a nondescript sanctuary where oil field and lake co-exist; which one could easily miss if they did not pay attention to the brown road signs leading up to it. And yet for all its secretive existence its home to one of the most impressive sights we have seen as far as texas wildlife is concerned. Thousands upon thousands of migratory birds make this place their temporary abode enroute to warmer climes. Standing there on a December afternoon i could not but admire the amazing sight of a zillion geese first descending on the green fields for a feed and then majestically taking off for the nearby lake to avoid becoming a feed for the larger predator. I felt for my winged friends and for the arduous journey they undertook every year to sustain life. And yet i felt with the passage of time we were impeding on their ...

I love kids. Always have. Always been partial to spending time with them. They give you back many times more love, affection and learning than you can ever hope to give them. I love their innocence, their blue sky imagination, their simple communication and their pure heart. In my earlier blog “Child is the father of man” I had alluded to how we poison their environment and how we should get out of their way so that they can achieve their full potential. That was a few years ago. Today perhaps I’ve become more cynical or maybe the world is indeed an even crazier place today than what it was back then. I look around me and the society which we as adults have created is no way the right place to bring up kids anymore. Children need our time (we don’t have any), they need space (we don’t give that), they need environment that doesn’t condition (we don’t know what that even means anymore) and above all they need support and encouragement and not comparison and manipulation. And...