Where's Humanity Leading To?

The clock just struck midnight. One more minute and it's a Sunday morning. I couldn't fall asleep and so I opened my Dad's poetry collection and read some of his old poems and they actually made me happy, on the inside. They are so eloquently written and beautiful too. If I could be half the writer he is, I would be more than satisfied. That would remind me that my life, is after all, not a total waste.

In one his poems titled 'The Saviour and The Saved'  he ends with a doubt: 'Where's humanity leading to?' That's what I want to discuss in this post.

I don't mean to suggest that everything I say is the truth. Some may agree and some may not. What is reality and where is it taking us? Humanity, the people inhabiting earth, so to speak, first of all has no humanity at all. Secondly, they still have no humanity. It pains me to see how the world is so driven by media these days. The love is gone. Everyone has a middle-class materialistic view now. Take the example of the ipod for instance. No doubt it's one of the greatest inventions but people are starting to care more for  the ipod and less for the music. It has become more of a status symbol. What I mean to suggest here is that people are focusing on the wrong things all of the time and it is sad that we are not doing anything about it.

Coming back to the question of 'Where's humanity leading to?' I say that it is leading us to nowhere. That is where we are heading.

No Angel To Save Us

Funny Feelings

When I was small I wanted freedom. Freedom to do what I want, freedom from parental supervision, freedom to watch late night TV, freedom to skip school, freedom to come back home late at night. I am older now and all my wishes have come true, slowly, one after the other. And for a moment or two it seemed everything was going as I wanted. Then one night I went to bed and I just couldn't fall asleep. I lay there trying to manufacture dreams and suddenly I realized that I was missing the comfort of my parents arms around me, when they used to tuck me in bed when I was a child. That instant I wished I were a child again. I longed to be a child again.

Maybe growing up is not a good idea, after all. I'm old now and I live alone. I can't ask my parents to hold me now when I can't fall asleep because those days are long gone. Life is really funny.You want something one day and when you get it you realize it is not what you really want. They say, "you 'll never know what you really want until you're 45, and when you get it you're too old to use it." Maybe that's how life works, folks.

Beauty

Another one of my early drawings from about five years ago.

Uninspired

Life's hard, right? There are so many beautiful people around us and we don't want to disappoint them. That is what makes life difficult because they are the ones who makes our life beautiful too. I honestly don't know where I am going from here. I've never known for sure. Families and friends I'll always love them wherever I am, wherever they are. Everything will be alright.

Baudelaire

I made this drawing one afternoon almost five years ago. I was just browsing through some of Dad's old books and found this artwork on one of the book-cover. It struck me somehow and I decided to make my own version of it.

Belle

This is a song by Jack Johnson titled 'Belle'. I really like how he uses 5 different languages in this remarkably short lyric.Below are the original lyric as well as the translation, which I believe is faithful to the best of my knowledge.

Oi Lienda

Bella que fa?

Bonita, bonita que tal?

But belle

Je ne comprends pas français

So you'll have to speak to me

Some other way

1: Hello, beautiful. (portuguese)

2: Beautiful, what are you doing? (italian)

3: Beautiful, beautiful, how are you? (spanish)

4: I do not understand French (french)

5: So you'll have to speak to me (english)

6: In some other way. (english)

Divine Comedy

Blake's depiction of Dante's Divine Comedy. Another masterpiece.

Keep Smiling

I couldn't fall asleep and so here I am, again. I feel I have changed a bit lately. I've become a manic insomniac and I can't think  positively anymore. At the moment I'm frustrated with the whole system around which my life revolves.

Every night no matter how tired I am the moment I hit the pillow my journey to my future life begins and I would become wide awake again. Just like tonight. Future life?? With the situation I'm in right now future seems to be nothing but EMPTINESS.

It seems like everyone's moving on except me. But no mater how frustrated I am inside, the moment I meet someone I smile, it is involuntary and it bothers a lot of people because they always ask,"Why are you always smiling?" and I just smile back to their question.

I Can Change The World, With My Own Two Hands

 

The biggest man made catastrophe of the modern world 'deforestation' has taken a huge toll on the environment. Statistics have revealed that by year  2030 only 10% of the the present forest will be left. The following shows the irreparable changes that has happened all over the world:

• In Nigeria 81% of its original forest cover is now permanently lost.
  
  
• The tropical rainforests of Brazil are less by 90-95%.
  
  
• The forests of Central America are down by two-thirds lowlands, since 1950.
  
  
• Countries like India, Mexico, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Sri Lanka, the Congo and Ghana have lost much more than 50% of their rainforest cover.
  
  
• Harvesting of forest cover has left Afghanistan with a little over 25% forests throughout the country

In countries like Haiti this deforestation is having a really adverse effect on the people and the economy .

So let us all take a moment and think to ourselves what we can do to contribute to tackle this issue.

After all our arms are for hugging, and not cutting down trees.

Heaven Turning A Compass

 

William Blake's profound painting of God with a compass drawing a circle.

To All The Lonely People

 I want to thank my Dad who introduced me to this song back when I was still in school.

Ah, look at all the lonely people

Ah, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
In the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream

Waits at the window, wearing the face
That she keeps in a jar by the door
Who is it for?

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Father McKenzie, writing the words
of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near

Look at him working, darning his socks
In the night when there's nobody there
What does he care?

All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?

Ah, look at all the lonely people
Ah, look at all the lonely people

Eleanor Rigby, died in the church
And was buried along with her name
Nobody came

Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt
From his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved

All the lonely people
(Ah, look at all the lonely people)
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
(Ah, look at all the lonely people)
Where do they all belong?

 ~ The Beatles (Eleanor Rigby)

A Thing We Just Gotta Do

I know its a trending issue nowadays: all the environmental crisis going on right now. Probably people are even tired of hearing about it. But it is indeed a major problem and everyone will face its consequences sooner or later. So like it or not I'm going to talk a bit about The Crisis.

It is all a question of being sensible. Only our senses can help us fight this 21st century global crisis. Solving a problem of this mammoth proportion is beyond the power of a single individual. Each of us has to contribute our little best to save this place we call HOME. The solution can only be achieved by a global connected effort, involving the Governments and the citizens of all the nations. That being said, the actions at the individual level of everyday people are still very crucial, probably the most important. The only way I believe to tackle this problem is to break it into manageable bits. People can start by reducing their carbon footprints as much as possible. Park your cars and dust off those old bicycles, take long walks and enjoy what nature has to offer. After all this is our home, our only HOME.

The Saint

Once a while people need to be reminded what they really are. 

I believe this picture retells a story long forgotten.

10-10-10

Today is 10-10-10, the 10th day of the 10th month of the 10th year of the 21st century. Some have even named it the 'Global Binary Day'. This leads us to only one question: 'Are we finally ready for change?'

Frankly speaking I don't know the answer. I look at  the number 101010 and I see a picture. The world is spinning faster than ever. Let us hope that all deeds targeted for 10-10-10 be done.

When There's Love, Immortal Art Is Born

           
               Jean-Léon Gérôme (French, 1824–1904)
               Pygmalion and Galatea
               ca. 1890

Gandhi’s Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World

So lets move on...

1. Change yourself.
2. You are in control.
3. Forgive and let it go.
4. Without action you aren’t going anywhere.
5. Take care of this moment.
6. Everyone is human.
7. Persist.
8. See the good in people and help them.
9. Be congruent, be authentic, be your true self.
10. Continue to grow and evolve.

The Willow Trees

      I saw 'The Boy In The Stripped Pajamas' today and it reminded me again of the horrors of the Holocaust and with that brought back memories of Anne Frank. A sad movie, a sad blemish in the history of the human race. I still find it hard to believe how people can be so cruel. The truth, and what I believe is true too, Humans, Animals and Plants thrive upon a symbiotic relationship that is delicate, that's how we have survive and that is what we should maintain to continue surviving. Somewhere in time we have disturbed this vital balance. We just need to find the missing connection again. 

      I was driving down B.T. Road, back home, with my dad and a friend in our car. My hands were on the steering wheel, dad's eyes were outside watching  the willow trees, ages old, on the other side of the road. He said,"You know looking at those trees makes me so humble, they are so majestic and we are just puny little humans around them."

      I said nothing because I was lost in thought, but the two minutes of silence that followed was golden.

A Tribute to Mason Jennings

As a tribute to Mason Jennings I'm posting this song on my blog.
The simplicity of this song has a childlike beauty which haunts me every time.

Little airplane in the sky
You point up at it
I watch your face as you watch it go by
Everything is perfect

Where would I be right now
If all my dreams had come true
Deep down I know somehow
I'd have never seen your face
This world would be a different place
Darling, there's no way to know
Which way your heart will go

Summer sun on a sandy slide
Silver swingsets shining
How can life feel so alive
And still feel like dying

Where would I be right now
If all my dreams had come true
Deep down I know somehow
I'd have never seen your face
This world would be a different place
Darling, there's no way to know
Which way your heart will go

A stack of books beside our bed
Living out of boxes
Why does the empty space fill with dread
Why does change still shock us

Where would we be right now
If all our dreams had come true
Deep down I know somehow
I'd have never seen your face
This world would be a different place
Darling, there's no way to know
Which way your heart will go 
                                         
~Mason Jennings (Which Way Your Heart Will Go)

My Addiction to Bob Dylan

The first Bob Dylan song I heard was 'Blowing in the Wind' back when I was still in school. My dad brought home a music CD one day and told me, "These are the evergreen classics". I still remember there were 8 tracks in that compilation including 'Imagine', 'Let it Be' and 'Hey Jude' by The Beatles.I listened to 'Blowing in the Wind' again and again and again. I replayed it over and over again trying to figure out the lyrics. I always had this idea that Bob Dylan was a black guy from the 40's till that point. Once I got the lyrics in my head I told myself "this guy is a poet". I started collecting Bob Dylan songs from that day onward. I went to my friends, my cousins and collected from them every single song of Bob Dylan they had in their music collection. Three years later I was addicted to Dylan. I listened to him more than my dad did. I analyzed his lyrics and each time I did I found a new story behind every song. The songs which really pulled me to Dylan was the 'Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest'. 'Desolation Row' was a clincher too. I was awestruck when I first heard the lines:

Between the windows of the sea
Where lovely mermaids flow
And nobody has to think too much
About Desolation Row.

I still quote this now and then. I don't know why. It just hits me every time and puts a philosophical smile on my face. 

The Pencil

It's a déjà vu feeling, really. I was in class yesterday and the picture of my friend loading a graphite lead into his mechanical pencil reminded me of the day my dad bought me my first mechanical pencil.

It was back in 1999 on a dark winter evening. I was in 3rd grade then. My parents had just come back home with a bunch of groceries and stuff. They kept them aside and my dad turned towards at me and said,"son, look what I got you" and he took out a small packet and showed it to me. "This is the new engineers' pencil, made in Germany."  The excitement on my smile priceless. 

It had a red body with 3 black stripes which were carved out near the griping area and had a black butt. It was very new in those days and I was just a kid. My sister and I might have gotten into a little argument over who gets to keep it. We took turns using it before we got a second one. I think we were possessed by it, at least I was, and I used it as often as possible. I took it to school and showed it to my friends and they all gazed at it  in amazement.

I miss those simple days. They were good.

Life Or Death

With time moving at such a fast pace it is hard to keep track of days. I've been away and back over again.

I was going through my journal earlier today and I realized most of my entries are complaints about the shortness of life. And it seems a little weird how life is full of struggle everyday.

I've decided to live my life a little more optimistically and appreciate the little things. But lately I have also been thinking about how death is far better than life, but that's a different story altogether. When you really want something in life, you get it and that's no good. For now I'm gonna say my prayers and go to sleep.

Goodnight Everyone.

Brave New World

Life and Love was starting to bloom again only yesterday. It is gone now; mingling with my past, with my old memories.

"Hey", my friend knocked me out of my daily dose of daydreams. I had gone too far this time because when I came back to my senses I realized I was in the middle of something important, which of course did not make much difference to me whatsoever, our mathematics lecture.

I told myself then and there that life would have been much better if this was all just a dream and we wake up to a new world where everything is green and beautiful, the way it's suppose to be.

Yes, that would be a really nice thing. Life in a different place and time. Hopefully better than this one.

"Sir, what's the second best thing?"

I read the following humor in a Special edition of  The Readers Digest. I just wanted to share with you all.

While in Marine Corps boot camp, we were taught to keep our heads if taken prisoner by the enemy. After all, methods used to extract information, we learned, might not be the ones we were expecting. "Imagine that the door to your cell opens and in walks a beautiful young woman in a revealing outfit," said our instructor. "The best thing to do is not to touch her."

From the back of the room came the question, "Sir, what's the second best thing?"

Hollow Reality

My sister called me up last night and told me that Dryden wrote a political satire at age 18 and asked me, 'How old are you?'

I'm 19 years 2 months and 6 days old and although I have written more than a few poems I'm yet to write a political satire. There are a lot of good ideas in my mind right now but I'm still learning to express my thoughts and imagination. I am not a prodigy as they were. I am more of an introvert.

But poetry, I cannot help but write it. I don't care what people think of me or the poems I write. I am what I am, a poetry lover and that's all I am, that's all there is of me.

How do you decide a thing as beautiful as a flower has nothing deadly underneath it?
'Reality can be deceiving. Reality is hollow.' my roommate told me once. I think he's right after all.

Tribute To James Dean

I thought about it over and over again, and have come to the conclusion that my blog would not be complete without a picture of James Dean. So, here it is... a handpicked profile from his many great profiles. 

Weary Sunset

Days are getting longer and I can't breath easy under the gravity of work . 

The only solace I find is in these weary sunsets.

She's A Phantom

I saw her in the darkness 

In the hospital parking lot. 

She looked at me,

And I looked back at her.

She slowly disappeared.

Dance With Me

Haunts

This is where we hang out every evening. It's fun just to sit and watch the evening creep in.

Noodles Vs. Soup

I just had the worst noodle of my life. The soup was good though.

Milkshakes

One more glass please.

BOW (Street Art)

 

This is our answer to the capitalist regime and all those crazy corporate megalomaniacs.

Don't even ask me what it means. 

(By the way, it's not piss. Its just leftover soda.)

Turning 19

Here I am again with you in my arms.

Happy Birthday to you, Anne. I'm 19 now.

P.S. My friends just got me some surprises. I'm flattered.

- Benzy

In Search Of King Kong

What fresh Hell is this?

I just came across what looks like a thousand confiscated bottles of illegal substance at a highway customs check point. These dark bottles looked like chloroform. Maybe they were trying to hunt down King Kong?

COVENANT

COVENANT

If you are happy, I will give you an apple,
if you are anxious, I will twist your arm,
and if you permit me, I will be glad to hold you
close to my heart forever and do you no harm.

If I am happy, will you give me an apple?
If I am anxious, you may twist my arm.
And if you would like to, I would like you to hold me
close to your heart forever and do me no harm.

This is a bargain, only two can make it.
This is a covenant offered with desperate calm,
it being uncertain that lovers can drive out demons
with the gift of an apple or the twist of an arm. 

-Tennessee Williams

My Inspirations IV

I want to end the series with a painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme.

Jean-Léon Gérôme
Harem Women Feeding Pigeons in a Courtyard
ca. undated

My Inspirations III

Herbert James Draper
The Gates Of Dawn (detail)
ca. 1900

My Inspirations II

Herbert James Draper
Pot Pourri
ca. 1897

My Inspirations I

This month I would like to share with you some artworks that inspires me. I'm a very big fan of James Draper's work. Here is one of my favorites.

Herbert James Draper
Mourning For Icarus
ca. 1898

April Snow Under The Roof

I forgot to post this one. It is from last year's Christmas. I thought maybe it's a good time to post this one because the temperature is really starting to rise this summer and perhaps these fake snowflakes would help bring down the temperature a bit.

Save The Dolphins

Let us do something about the 'Taiji' problem.

Going Nowhere

The old place has changed but somehow looks the same, feels the same.

I'm A Vegan Now

Yup, that's right folks, I'm a vegan now. It has been two months since I stopped eating meat, milk or any other animal products and boy I've never felt better.

View From The Bridge

I've been walking around a lot lately. I like this part of the city. The view from the bridge is breathtaking, especially at sundown.

WAR, What Then?

I attended a national conference on 'free software' movement today. It was followed by a photo exhibition showcasing the histories of wars, genocides and the countless unstable places of the world. It was a very humble exhibition organized by a small group of students, but the pictures spoke volume.

Salad Days

This was the best part of the day. Damn! I'm miss it already. 

Too Lazy To Walk

My two roommates indulging in some existential discussion outside, on the steps of a restaurant.
We just had a heavy lunch and was too lazy to walk.

Devil's Playground

Here the Devil does dwell.

Holi

It was a mighty fine day. Me and my friends celebrated Holi today in a very covert fashion. We celebrated in the evening. It was a working day for the college so we had no other option. But right now we are all happy, face covered in colors.

It's going to be morning soon. The light touches my face exactly at 7:09 am.

Goodnight.

28 Days

The day is almost over. February is almost gone. In a few minutes it will be March and before we realize, the year will be over, again, just like that (click). It will just slip by slowly, silently. 

28 was the number of days this month, the shortest of the year. I disagree. For me this was probably the slowest, longest month of my life. Hearts were broken, dreams shattered. 28 days.

28 days.

Empty Spaces

Back where I must be - empty spaces.

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind.

How happy is the blameless vestal's lot?
The world forgetting,
by the world forgot.
Eternal Sunshine
of the spotless mind.
Each prayer accepted
and each wish resigned

- Alexander Pope

2000 Miles Away

Strange times we live in, huh? I woke up this morning at five. I was home, I was in my bed. I tried to remember what happened last night. Ah right, the wind was cold, it was dark and the stars were out, and I was walking back home listening to Jack Johnson's 'Constellation'. My Dad was on my right and Mom, on my left. We had just had dinner at a friend's place a few blocks away and were on our way back home.

It is but a memory now. I'm here more than two thousand miles away from home again. Tomorrow I will be back in college, back in my hostel. I'm spending the night at my cousin's apartment. He picked me up at the airport tonight. It's always good to see someone you know waiting for you at the airport wherever you go. It is late and I am tired. I miss home already. Maybe a rainbow in the morning will set things straight.

Goodnight.

Who Cares

8:31 pm. 8th of February, 2010. I am starting to lose myself in a nostalgic haze as the candles burn out one by one. Five more days to go, no more, no less, that's the danger. I want to stay here and watch over them, so that I know they are safe, really safe. I'm going to miss them when I'm gone.

What fresh hell is this?

Classes must have started today.

Who cares? Who Cares?

Those Horses In That Grey Lobby

This one is not really my drawing but I want to share it anyway. This was an artwork on display on the wall of a hospital that I went to in December 2008 in Assam, India. I was in the lobby waiting for my medical report and this particular artwork caught my attention. As far as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by horses. There is a whole sense of vicarious freedom that seeing horses run free in the wild gives you and I've always relished that. I even rode one a couple of times when I was a kid. This picture brought back those feelings and some fond memories while I was sitting, waiting in that cold grey lobby.

Mr. Bryan Adams

I'm a big, big fan of Bryan Adams. He's is probably the reason why I became so passionate about music. I remember listening to Bryan Adams' records back in 1997 on my cousins cassette player. I was hooked to his music and I was just 6 years old!

This is a drawing of him I did back in 2004 or '05. I was still in high school back then and me and my friends religiously followed the music scene on a monthly music magazine called 'The Record'. They included free posters from time to time and I was lucky enough to get hold of a particular issue. I got Bryan Adams.

The Fab Four

Here is a drawing of 'The Beatles' I did when I was 12 or 13. I'm a big fan of 'The Beatles.' My dad introduced me to rock n' roll and country music quite early in life and for that I'm very grateful.

I will be sharing some old sketches with you guys over the next few days. I'm home right now and I just discovered a bunch of old drawings that I did some 4 - 5 years ago. I'm really happy to see all of them again.

Celebration At The Dhaba

It has been a hectic couple of months. Exams finally got over and with it the nightmares. Our first semester is officially over but damn it wasn't easy. I went out to celebrate with a few friends. We had dinner at a really fancy Indian restaurant called 'The Dhaba'. The food was really good. 

Our first ever vacation starts tomorrow and everyone is excited about going back home. Me too.

New Year, Old Song

Started the New Year with an old song.

"The Green Green Grass Of Home" by Tom Jones.

There's nothing like an old song on such a fine New Year's day and the knowledge that the ones I love are safe back home, back on the green green grass.

I'm not making any resolutions whatsoever this New Year. I don't want to make any promises that I know I can't keep. Exams are only three days ahead. Ok, let's forget about the exams for a while. We both know it'll come and go just like any other; and whatever happens in between stays in between.

I want to thank all of my old friends who took the trouble of tracking down my number and calling me up to wish me a happy new year. And Oh! I want to thank my lovely sister as well for calling me up, and Miss S. who remembered me after all these years. Happy New Year to you all.

Happy New Year, Anne.