The path laid down by the king Christian IV with his gloved hand- this is where the city of Oslo (Christiania), Norway was founded
The wonders of yesteryears- path leading to Qutub Minar, Delhi, India
Walk in royal (Mughal) style- Red Fort, Agra, the seat of Mughal rulers of India
The corridors of Sheikh Zayed Mosque, Abu Dhabi, UAE
“Stereotypes are fast and easy, but they are lies, and the truth takes its time.”
Deb Caletti
How do we learn, I wonder often
To put them in boxes, all women and men
Straitjacket them by country, race, color
By height, build, hair texture, gender..
Make some assumptions right off the bat
At times subconsciously, not realizing that
The stereotypical roles that we assign
To real human beings in our prejudiced minds
Represent them they do not, instead
They are a reflection of what we have been fed-
Preconceived notions borne out of distrust and fear
We take as gospel truth whatever we hear
Again and again, such that we do not realize
How we form opinions just by laying our eyes
On people, without getting to know them first
Of all our habits, this might be the worst..
**
Many of us are guilty, and many have faced
Similar prejudices; have heard comments laced
With criticism of cohorts to which we belong
When directed at us, such stereotyping feels just wrong..
**
My prejudiced notions I am trying to eliminate
Even as I teach my child not to berate
Anyone, based on their affiliations
Instead get to know them and their situations
People are more complex in this complex world
Than to be described in few generic words!
“If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
There was a time when I thought that I
Was successful, I was soaring high
In my own abilities, I was overconfident
Unable to realize the true extent
Of my skills, the world was my oyster
I was on the upswing of a roller-coaster
And when it hurtled down, as was destined
I was shattered, blown out of my mind
Why I had failed, I could not comprehend
I sincerely wanted to make amends..
In a while things by themselves did improve
Even without my making a different move..
**
That was years ago, but now I know
Upswings and downswings shall come and go
My reactions to success and failure are now
Much less extreme, I have learnt how
I cannot control the events that take place
In my life, but I can certainly face
Them with equanimity, and learn equally
From all of them, consider them impartially
My gurus in life- as I continue to grow
Older, I am humbled by how little I know
About the mysterious ways of the world
Every day it seems a new truth is unfurled
I keep trying to take life in its stride
It will always be a roller-coaster ride!
“It’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”- Marilyn Monroe
Getting bored is a dangerous thing-
First, it makes me loosen my purse strings
Shop online for things I don’t need
That’s pouring money down the drain indeed
Second, it makes me mindlessly chew
Food of all variety, anything edible would do
The fullness of my stomach tries to replace
The vacuum in my brain, fill up that vacant space
Third, it renders me exceptionally vulnerable
To the ill effects of social media, I feel unable
To tear myself away from posts of my friends
Filled with their accomplishments that never end
Elevating my sense of ennui to a level new
I fantasize about something unique to do..
Fourth, boredom leads me to procrastinate
Locking me in a low motivational state..
Despite all the ills that boredom brings
Being bored is one of those few things
That cause me, anytime, to fall asleep
Oblivious of everything, in a slumber deep
Thus when I am bored I get to eliminate
The sleep deficit which otherwise does accumulate
I started this verse bored out of my mind
Now my eyelids are drooping, I find
Luring me to sleep which otherwise
Would have eluded my tired bones and eyes..
P.S. Taedium vitae: the feeling that life is boring and dull
Here are some dried up things:
Skeleton of a camel dried and preserved in the Arabian desert, near Abu Dhabi, UAE
Dried exoskeletons of insects displayed as art- Renwick Art Gallery, Washington DC
The almost dry Bridal veil Falls at Yosemite National Park, CA
“Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is enlightenment.”
The Enlightened Ruler-
This is a pillar from Emperor Akbar’s tomb in Sikandra, which depicts symbols of all major religions. He promoted religious tolerance in India.
Enlightening young minds-
Inside the Naval Academy at Annapolis, MD, US
Honoring the enlightened-
Inside the Nobel Peace Prize Museum, Oslo Norway
Enlightened by the past- Colosseum at Rome
Water is beautiful- especially when it falls like this-
Seljalandsfoss waterfall, South Iceland
<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/h2o/”>H2O</a>
“I dreamed a thousand new paths. I woke and walked my old one.”- Proverb, unknown
Way to the past- at Fatehpur Sikri near Agra, India (historic site)
Let’s go the observatory- near Reykjavik, Iceland
The corridor of illusions-at Munch Museum, Oslo, Norway
Sidewalk in Oslo, Norway with quotes by the famous Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen- leading to his house
Path to the Akershus fortress, Oslo, Norway
Exposed to various cultures I have been
Myriad performing arts I have seen
Yet when I think of unparalleled grace,
The image that I conjure is the face
Of a classical dancer from India immersed
Into the very soul of her dance, well-versed
In fluid movements and facial expressions
Recounting tales from an ancient nation
Epitomizing years of practice, discipline and poise
With every performance, she gives Indian culture a voice
Showcasing thousands of years of tradition
Blending rhythmic movements and drama in equal combination
Using her eyes to express complex emotions
Moving her limbs to the beat of music in flowing motion
She combines various elements in her art
Dance, theater and storytelling each a part
Of her performance, making her art unique
Years of instruction are needed to master the technique
Of classical dance, and every time she performs
She breathes new life into an ancient art form.
So my inner voice has been talking to me quite a bit-here’s another dialogue that we had when I felt (unreasonably) tied down to daily life…
To this tyrannical life I am chained,
I lamented one day in a voice pained-
Caught in the endless web of life’s daily woes
Between home and work, I find myself in throes
Of an insipid life where freedom there is none
To laze around, travel, or in a meadow run
Like clockwork my life works on a schedule
Within constraints, following too many rules
I live in a free country, laws cannot stop me
From doing what I want, then why can’t I break free?
Take a vacation spontaneous, go out on a limb
Leave the chaos of daily life on a whim..
But myriad little details come in my way
Responsibilities I need to fulfil each day
I think this is unfair, life keeps me chained-
Frustrated, this is how I complained and complained..
**
When I was done wallowing in self-pity
My inner voice decided to challenge me-
Do you know your extent of freedom
Might almost appear vulgar to some?
You are fortunate to inhabit the land of the free
Your education and career give you discretionary
Income and power to choose quite freely-
You want the freedom to break free, really?
If you broke free from the life that you lead
How do you propose your desires you’d feed?
For absolute freedom is a concept absurd,
Chained to the sky is every “free” bird
There is a fine line between escape and freedom-
You probably feel the urge to escape the humdrum
Of daily life once in a while-do not confuse
It with lack of freedom, you have the freedom to choose
How you want to live life each day recognizing
That sometimes events in your life might be agonizing
You still have the ability to live with gratitude
You have the freedom to choose your attitude..
“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.”-Joseph Chilton Pierce
Conform, blend in, behave- so goes the litany
Of commands handed out freely
To children, by adults who are anxious
To mould them into citizens conscious
Of the unwritten laws of the society
To make them abide by rules of propriety-
So within lines they learn to color
Their curious nature becomes duller
The fear of being wrong is a deterrent
From trying to swim against the current
Even though we would like them to be creative
We want it within parameters that we give
To them, not realizing the creative process
Needs some freedom to bring success…
**
As a parent, I have been guilty, it’s true
Of expecting my child to conform too
But when I try to be creative, I know
I just need to go with the flow
Of my thoughts, uninterrupted
I do not want my project disrupted
By the demands of practicality
How can I then in reality
Expect my child to draw and paint
The way “it should be”, within that constraint
I should let his imagination run wild
I should hear stories concocted by my child
Without interruption, so that he does not learn
To fear being wrong, he does not turn
Away from his ideas that outlandish seem
He should have the opportunity to dream-
I hope I shall keep this in mind
Such that his creative side he can find
For creativity should a way of life be
Unhindered by rules of the society.
“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life”- Omar Khayyam
What would it take, my inner voice whispered to me
For you to be content, be happy-
Let’s make a list and some items cross out
For instance, money it is not, without a doubt,
Is it your career, focused that you are?
No, I said, I could keep advancing but never get far
Enough to satisfy my ambition, that would not be
Conducive to finding contentment and happiness, really
Is it recognition in the society that you desire
Are fame and applause to which you aspire?
I thought hard, being renowned did sound great
But the glory of fame would be a temporary state
Lasting happiness would not be possible
On the basis of something that ephemeral
So I shook my head again, prompting that voice
To come up with alternatives, a better choice-
Is it good health and vigor that would be
The key to your happiness and prosperity?
While good health is important, life might not
Be free from illness throughout, then what?
How about having unlimited freedom, asked she
That should make one happy, certainly
That sounds attractive, but lack of restraint
Might leave me spoilt, I am no saint..
**
So our discourse continued, on and on
Many desirable things in life were touched upon
While everything had the power to give me
Short-lived contentment, being happy
In the long run required something less tangible
Perhaps, something that was indestructible…
She ventured to include friends and family
If they were with me, would I be happy?
Now we seemed to be getting closer, I thought
Close relationships are what I have always sought
Yet I felt a pressing need to further explore
The answer to this question, there was something more-
Exasperated, she asked me if I would be happy
If I could just live fully in the moment and not be
Bothered about the dead past or future unseen?
“Eureka” I cried, never before I had been
As overjoyed as now, finally I knew
What would make me happy, it was true
That being fully present in each life’s moment
Was the way I would find lasting contentment!
Passion...unbridled 