The Haji Ali Dargah in Mumbai, seen here when the waters recede. Very soon the sea will be back with its restless waves and clamour while the mosque will remain in resplendent silence and peace.
To be humble in moments of glory. To be calm when the times are tough. To ride the wave when they threaten and to give in when they offer you no choice.
These make us complete.
(at Haji Ali Dargah)
To do nothing! How tough is that? Well it sounds simple. Actually a lot tougher to pull off.
For somehow we seem to give ‘action’ a whale of credit. Not without reason. The problem starts when action overrides the space for quiet times and thoughtful moments.
It hurts. The bigger wound will arise in the not knowing how of much damage all ‘action’ can cause.
Take time out. Stand. Stare. Live.
(at Delhi, India)
When the boats are at shore, they seem so out of place. The right place for this timber is when it rides the harsh waves of the sea with ease.
It is quite a sight to look at the boats that are raring to go. Ready, girding their loins, just besides the sea.
But do you realise, the long voyages that are made at sea are actually longer voyages. For they are made in the minds of the voyagers first. Then at land, where the boats are built.
When the boats aren’t built well and the mind doesn’t imagine broad enough, voyages don’t happen as well as they could have.
What voyages are you on? How far have you traveled in your mind? And by the way, how strong is your boat?
(at Thiruvananthapuram – Trivandrum City)
Where you stand depends on where you sit. Where you sit, depends on how much of a toe hold you have on the ground.
To make the most of whats available. To carry on hoping for the best at the end of the day and navigate new bridges with borrowed wheels. That is the essence of third world livelihoods.
No. This doesnt mean any less of aspirations.
No. This doesnt mean any less of dreams for change
No. This doesnt mean any less of happiness and smiles.
To many lives that know only this life, there is no happiness or sadness with how life is. This just is life!
Looking at the sea can be soothing. The waves compete with each other and seem to be in a perpetual rush to the shore. To beat the other wave, to rise above all else.
At the shore, they seem to dissipate into nothingness. Spent energy, and spent drive dominates the air.
Perhaps thats why we go to the shore. Perhaps thats what we need to remind ourselves looking at the shore. The pointlessness of daily frenzy. To hold ourselves lightly but tighly.
(at Pattaya, Thailand)
Its always about the frame. How you frame the problem changes the problem.
Here I was talking to people and then began a trudge down the rolling hills. After about 30 minutes of a happy downward trudge on a rolling hill, which is more than pleasant for a happy walk.
I turned around to find that the people who I was speaking to were but small objects in the distance. The hill in itself a mere hump in horizon and the light ( or the lack of it) made them look like mannequins in a store!
Try changing the frame. What we see changes depending on where we see it from!
(at Vagamon, Kerala)
There are markets and markets. Then there is Maeklong. Inviting sea food and delectable veggies all arranged and stocked with care. Remarkably clean for the volume of produce!
But that’s not the point. As any cursory internet search will tell you. Tourists get here to see the locomotive run through the market. The retractable awnings retract and in a flash they come back again!
Entrepreneurial with a smile. Calm. Composed and ready to strike a deal. Those are the people who sell their ware here.
For the tourist, the train is a sight. For the local it is routine. And as one of them said, ‘publicity’!
(at Maeklong Railway Market – 美功铁路市场)
When you change tracks, there is always a bit of an emotion. A bit of a hop skip and jump.
Changing tracks is important. The one track pony is a ‘could have been’ story.
What tracks are you changing? How long have you been thinking about it?
Richness comes from diversity. Stay rich!
(at Maeklong Railway Market – 美功铁路市场)
What seems to come in the way can enhance what is sought as the end outcome!
After much effort found an angle that held the building together. Only to find a thorny shrub come in the way.
Letting it be, added character. At least that’s what I think. What do you think?
That sure is the mode for life. What doesn’t destroy you makes you stronger. Your obstacles add character to the results you seek.
(at Bangkok, Thailand)
Swabs of cotton, clothesline clips and a palette of colours. In the hands of kids, that’s all it took for magic to happen!
Engrossed kids. Sans TV. Sans tablets. Sans all digital devices. Such creative play with imagination.
All it takes is the belief in kids and some energetic play in their world. It is incredible what happens when we believe in the magic that lies within our kids.
Yes. Magic. That’s THE word!
(at Bangkok, Thailand)