Random Thoughts

New Mexico held a special allure for us. We had very pleasant memories from our first trip to Santa Fe and Taos. The southern part of the state was reputed to be equally beautiful in a very different sort of way. The idea of a desert and mountain next to each other was quietly appealing. Add to that the possibility of the best star gazing location in the US made saying "yes" when a buddy of mine proposed this as a thanks giving break destination even easier. We started early as we would have to traverse large swathes of Texas enroute to New Mexico. Passing through Abilene, Sweetwater and other quaint oil towns suddenly brought us face to face with the real Texas and the important cog of this money making wheel - Oil.  The stench of the liquid gold was unrelenting and mile after mile the hard working wells kept churning the elixir of modern life. Ironically in this mecca of liquid energy there was also room for hundreds of wind farms almost reminding us that oil won't be a...

Do this....don't do that...this is right....that is wrong.....too strong....too big....very small...the voices went on and on in my head. And they were all directed in one direction - children!!! The unending string of command and control was maddening. And as wrong as it looked everyone seemed in perfect harmony with its need!!! Justification were many: Children need it, that's how it was for us, I want to make them a winner (what does that even mean?), I want them to be self-starting!!! This did not sit easy with me. Children teach us some of the most important lessons in life. They are our comfort, our joy, our stress busters and our best buddies. But sadly they are treated these days as the extension of our ego, a report card of us in our avatar as parents, as precocious accessories. The more I delved into this uncomfortable dichotomy the more inverted I felt as an adult. My thoughts turned to what was wrong with us. Here is what came to mind. 1. We paint their bla...

I read the news with a mix of sadness, resignation and Deja-vu. (http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/am-inviting-pakistani-premier-but-not-pm-modi-says-shahi-imam-614024) The Imam had decided it was time to retire and the best successor to the post was his own son!! This was the man he chose to provide spiritual leadership to a tight knit community. No election, no responsibility only a privilege adorned for several centuries albeit largely irrelevant today. To effect the dynastic change what better  message to send than one filled with divisive manipulation and one intended to create trouble. Invite the man who like him is a symbolic head of state and to leave from the guest list someone who really wants the Imam's nation to progress. I was saddened because after a long long time a country had spoken in one voice - not Hindus, not Muslims, not Christians but Indians and provided the new PM a unified mandate for growth. And here was a so called spiritual leader trying to push his com...