I am a traveler, all alone
On Life, an adventure unknown,
I go through paths meandering
Leaving memories endearing…
These paths are full of obstacles
But offer marvelous spectacles
Sprinkled with uneven grains
Of wisdom on every terrain
I travel on every which way
That I find at the break of each day.
Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia
Palatine Hill, Rome, Italy
Vineyards, Napa Valley, CA
Atrium, Comcast Center, Philadelphia
You and I,
If we could travel
Back in time long gone
Maybe a secret we’d unravel
Maybe it would finally dawn
On both of us
How we both drifted apart
How did we fortify
Separately, our fragile hearts
Even now I wonder why
What happened to
The passion that once had
Held us in its throes
It wilted, leaving us sad,
To wallow in our lonely woes.
If we could
Get another chance, just once
We would make a brand new start
Get rid of any grievance
Break the wall around each heart.
We would love
Each other with every pore
Of our body, oozing passion
Together we would then explore
Our union, with fascination.
You and I
If we could find your’s and mine
Heart and mind and soul
We would make them intertwine
Forever, that would be the goal.
Here is my entry-
Rock formation known as “Elephant’s Head”, Ausable Chasm, Adirondacks Region, New York
Found this list on the 100 greatest books blog. Of course, I had to come up with my own list of books (that I read in 2014).
1. A book with more than 500 pages: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
One of the greatest books of all time, a must-read if you can.
2. A classic romance: Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A classic romance that is ageless..
3. A book that became a movie: The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
A moving book about friendship and repentance; the movie is equally touching.
4. A book published this year (I am using 2014 as the year): The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
Sweeping from West Bengal during the Naxalite movement in the 70s, it traces the journey of an unlikely couple to Northeast US. I think this was not as good as her other books.
5. A book with a number in the title: A thousand splendid suns by Khaled Hosseini
A very touching story of the bond between two women under the oppressive Taliban rule in Afghanistan. A rare book that brought tears to my eyes.
6. A book written by someone under 30: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
She wrote this bone-chilling classic at the age of 17.
7. A book with nonhuman characters: The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
The classic tale of Mowgli, the “man-cub” raised by wolves.
8. A funny book: If life is a bowl of cherries, what am I doing in the pits? by Erma Bombeck
Humor in the insipid things of daily life.
9. A book by a female author: The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Rai Divakaruni
Too many to count, but this one is an interesting, somewhat magical story of an Indian widow selling spices in San Francisco.
10. A Mystery Book: Six years- by Harlan Coben
My first encounter with this prolific mystery writer whose stories are set in almost my backyard..after this, I read almost all his books.
11. A book with a one-word title: Darshan– by Amrit Chima
The title is the name of the protagonist. This story recounts the adventures of a Sikh family through India, Hong-Kong, Fiji and Northern California.
12. A book of short stories: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
A fabulous collection of stories set in India and the US- my favorite was “The Third and Final Continent”. This book describes the Indian immigrant experience in the US, so it is very close to my heart.
13. A book set in a different country: Francesca’s Party by Patricia Scanlan
A universal book about the pangs of divorce, this book is set in Ireland.
14. A nonfiction book: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela
Inspiring autobiography of one of the greatest world leaders.
15. A popular author’s first book: In Evil Hour by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I love the cruel satire of this author’s books.
16. A book from an author you love that you have not read yet: Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer
Archer’s books are simply delightful- clever plots, easy style, really interesting cast of characters; I have loved each one that I’ve read.
17. A book a friend recommended– One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
One of my Latino friends said I should read it to gain more insight into the world of South Americans. I was literally eaten up by the chronicles of the Buendia family, written in long winding seemingly endless sentences…
That’s all for now, I’ll finish the list later!
Moments of life trickled away
Pleasing the world around her
Friends and family had their say
While she was a silent spectator.
Suppressing her heart’s inner desire,
She walked on a balance-beam
Set by others, so they could admire
Her virtue, while she smothered her dreams.
She did her best to conform
To the narrow confines they had set
She mastered how to perform
Synchronously, like a puppet.
The stubborn streak within her
Which sometimes would threaten display
She did learn to suppress forever
Her will she trained not to stand in the way.
Lived her life listening to everyone
And as she lay on her death-bed
She realized she never had done
Anything her heart had said…
“Nothing erases the past. There is repentance, there is atonement, and there is forgiveness. That is all, but that is enough.”
― Ted Chiang, The Merchant and the Alchemist’s Gate
I was angry, I was rude
I hurled some scathing comments;
Now I am left alone to brood
My soul, now guilt torments..
Hurtful words escaped my lips
Before conscious thought could restrain
How I wish those Freudian slips
Within the realm of my mind could remain!
Insults are like arrows once shot
To injure, they are destined
No apology can then blot
The stain they leave behind.
I repent, and writhe in pain
Pure forgiveness I seek
My suffering seems to be in vain
Prospects of it are bleak.
**
Years had passed, time had flown
The insult an incident forgotten
Since then, though, insomnia I’d known
Guilt so heavy, making me feel rotten.
And just as I thought to my grave
Without forgiveness I was headed,
God’s will intervened, a sinner to save
With forgiveness I was rewarded.
Some closed, some open half-way
I have no inkling where they lead
There are no signs that I can read
Some that do open with love
Others need a gentle shove
Some that lead to pastures green
Others hide horrors obscene.
Walking down life’s path alone
Many tempting doors I am shown..
Curious to peer ahead
I keep opening them as I tread
With every door, my hopes rise
Opening it will make we wise
As I am eager to explore
For me, what life has in store.
Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind.
-John F Kennedy
Wits scattered
Mind in commotion
Dreams shattered
In tumultuous emotion
Holding on hard
To everything known
Piercing shards
In all corners blown..
The universe oozing
Hot lava of cruelty
Slipping, losing
All grip on reality..
Senseless bloodshed
For reasons unclear
Destruction widespread
In a climate of fear..
How tragic is war
Feeding on plight
Who is it for?
No victor in sight…
The world is just one
In war there’s no gain
Wars may be lost, or won
Victor and victim both suffer the pain.
(Image: Raphael’s painting of a battle scene from the Vatican City)
Weather, the mischief-maker
Creeping up through the back door
To wreak its havoc in winter
Bringing a snow-storm to the fore.
(Looking out and watching the snowfall, not looking forward to my daily commute!)
Been a while since my last “Five favorites” post. So here are my favorite quotes:
1. “There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which taken at the flood leads on to fortune…”
-Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare
I first came across this quote in the detective novel “Taken at the Flood” by Agatha Christie. Later I found it in Julius Caesar which was part of my English literature curriculum in junior high school, and I have loved it since, though I realized its significance only as an adult.
2. “Full many a gem of purest ray serene
The dark unfathom’d caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.”
-Thomas Gray, An Elegy Written In A Country Churchyard
Love the imagery here, and the message as well. Jives well with “express yourself”!
3. (In Sanskrit)
“Karmanye Vadhikaraste, Ma phaleshou kada chana,
Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani”
Translation:
” You have the right to perform your actions,but you are not entitled to the fruits of the actions.
Do not let the fruit be the purpose of your actions, and therefore you won’t be attached to not doing your duty.”
-Ved Vyas, Mahabharata
http://pranajaya.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/krishna_arjuna.jpg
This verse is from the Bhagwad Gita, where Arjuna was not willing to fight the Epic war of Mahabharata and Krishna explained to him the importance of performing his duties.
I apologize for putting up this verse in Sanskrit, but that’s how I remember it and chant it to remind myself to do what I need to without thinking of the results.
4. “A teacher affects eternity, he never knows where his influence stops.”
-Henry Adams
This one is a tribute to all my teachers, past and present. I have spent almost all my years (yes, you heard it right, and I am in my mid-thirties) being a student or a trainee, and I cannot thank my teachers enough, for making me who I am.
On a separate note, my mother used to teach, and my sister and I would decorate the cover of her diary every year. This was one of our favorite quotations to place on the cover.
5.” Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
-Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken
First of all, this is one of the most beautiful poems I have read- simple in verse, but with a meaning as deep as it can get- quintessential Frost. The reason I have included it here is because I have had to choose a road out of two more than once in my life; and it was usually the one less traveled by. I do not know where I will end up, and whether that will be a better destination than at the end of the other road, but it did make a difference.
Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?
I would want Agatha Christie as a dinner guest (taking the liberty of including people no longer in this world) and ask her how she became a mystery writer. I have admired her deep understanding of the human nature and her ability to keep the readers riveted and guessing until the end.
http://www.biography.com/people/agatha-christie-9247405/videos/bram-stoker-full-episode-2178774393
Among contemporary people, I would like to invite Khaled Hosseini (author of “The Kite Runner” and other books) and ask him about his journey from Afghanistan to the United States. He is another writer that has captured my imagination. 
When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?
Today, I always sing to myself at home. I love singing old songs, both in English and my native language Hindi, and I remember literally thousands of verses, if not complete songs in both languages.
I sang to my son last week, trying to teach him “All things bright and beautiful”.
I believe that singing is the key to long life, a good figure, a stable temperament, increased intelligence, new friends, super self-confidence, heightened sexual attractiveness, and a better sense of humor.
– Brian Eno
( http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/singing.htm)
If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?
The ability to maintain a more positive attitude in the face of adverse circumstances and not let anxiety take a hold over my life. 
http://www.inspireleads.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/positive-quotes-1.jpg
What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about?
The loss of human life, by any means, for any reason, is too serious to be joked about. Also, I find joking about anyone who is clearly suffering (my patients, for example) extremely repulsive.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
I am grateful for a workplace presentation that was very well-received. In the coming week, I am hoping for somewhat greater clarity on things to come in the future. (Right now, I have no idea where I will be or what I’ll be doing after 5 months…)
Passion...unbridled 
