"We do everything"

"Hello! We do everything!! Haan."


That's a comment Toi, one of my friends, made in response to a remark Raa, another friend, made in jest about how we need to find something better to do with our time, than take silly pictures.
(Of course he was kidding. =) I know that. But I LOVE that response!....)


WE DO EVERYTHING!


Ok, It's not the complete truth. But when I think about it, it's not entirely false either.
And when I think of "WE", I think of the everyday, young person out there, struggling with this roller-coaster ride we call life!
I had an intense weekend, in more ways than one.
It was eventful; involved meeting lots of people and doing lots of different kinds of things.
Hectic.
Educational.
Frustrating.
Inspiring.
Tiring.
Supremely FUN.


I've spent Monday pretty much just recuperating!
For once, don't tell me why I don't like Mondays. =)
But in the course of this weekend,
I've learnt a little more about technology. Another step in the right direction to overcoming Software on the battlefield of submissions. I've come to terms with the fact that flat tyres usually happen in pairs. It's happened before. It happened again. And if it doesn't happen again? Hey! I'll be pleasantly surprised.
It's probably better that way, to expect that everything has the potential to be worse.
I bonded over cakes and coffee with people I'd missed and sat at a crowded table in a coffee shop, catching up, laughing and bickering with old friends I don't get to see often enough, minus the holidays.
I watched action packed movies with star casts and hardly slept. And I realize how much I value sleep.
I know, "I'll live while I'm alive and sleep when I'm dead" is even an anthem of sorts. But really, sleep is just a very important part of life. MY life, anyway.
I drove more than I'd drive in 5 days put together. But, I love driving. I just wish the roads we're subjected to in this wonderful country were all maintained 'military style'.
The highlight of the weekend would be discovering Swami Chinmayananda, his philosophy and visiting the Vibhooti ashram in Mulshi. I'd still want to read more on his take on things before I blog about it or anything. But it's nice to expose yourself to what seems like "enlightened thinking" once in a while. It makes you think beyond the realms of our tiny minds that are very often easily trapped in the monotony we coast through, day in and out. The visit may have been for dissertation-al purposes, but coupled with good company and an epic personality with a funky accent, it didn't feel the slightest bit like work.
All of that, with good music in the background at all times, many silly games AND a bunch of sillier photographs, if not for the memories, just to prove it all happened.


Life isn't always this interesting. I'm glad even! I haven't built the stamina for it to be like this everyday.
Besides, I love not doing anything just as much as I love being busy.
It's my judgement in when I choose to do what that could probably use a little fine tuning!
But things are interesting enough.
As for life?
Taking it as it comes is a good way to do it, I've found.


November's been quite the month. I've felt everything.
I've done some of the things I planned and successfully avoided some.
If you read my first post this month,
I still stand by the fact that the wind in my hair on this crazy ride feels really good.
And I feel like someone gifted me a navigation system for the car I'm steering through space as well.
It's preset, obviously.
It's taking me somewhere for certain. I trust it.
But I'm not about to mess with the settings.


Technology!!
LOVE it. But,
ONE step at a time.

December. Show me what you've got.

Full circle moment

So, I happened to catch an episode of How I Met Your Mother this afternoon.
If you know me, you'd know I don't really follow anything on TV religiously...
But I've always liked this show.
It's funny, which goes without saying.
And also, 'cause of Neil Patrick Harris, who I feel in love with as Doogie Howser!
This was just one of those awesome moments where I got unnecessarily extra happy to have something so current bring back some really old memories. =D
It's strange how these things become so much more than JUST TV shows or movies or songs or videos. Very strange.

The show ended like this...

I know, I'm silly.

But, Oh Doogie!

Randy Pausch: Really achieving your childhood dreams | Video on TED.com

Randy Pausch: Really achieving your childhood dreams | Video on TED.com

The single most inspiring talk on TED that I've seen, yet.

This man was phenomenal.

Better than this.

I AM.

(Who invented bubblegum pop?!
They should probably be sued.
But they're GENIUSES.
I confess,
Toy-Box has made this afternoon!)

KUNE: It MUST be magic

 2008 

2009

2010

There's a place on a hill, somewhere between two bustling cities. It's a simple place. The air is clean and it overlooks a valley, where you feel like if you made the plunge you'd probably start to fly. If the weather is right, there's the waterfall to add to your view and if the rain is heavy it'd probably be alive enough to spray you with some of it's water. 
There's something about this place.
It's captured our hearts and always leaves us wanting more or planning to go back.

This place is Kune.

Sometimes you wonder what really makes a place special.
As a student of architecture, I'm into studying and designing places and spaces.
There are so many parameters we have to consider. From function and form to the colours and textures.
As someone who's done a fair share of travelling, I'm familiar with different kinds of places.
From simple minus one star hotels in some obscure part of the country with bad roads, where there happens to be a beautiful specimen of historical Indian architecture to what could easily be considered a five star cruise ship.
My point being, for a place to become really special to you, none of that matters. 
What matters is your experience there.
What happened to you while you were there.
The natural, human or spiritual encounters you have at the place.
The interaction with other people, known to you or not.
The relationships you develop. 
The bonds you make. The ones you tighten.


In the pictures above, two things are common.
i- The place. Kune.
ii- The apparent, unmistakable joy in the faces of the people there.


It's strange not to be a part of the 2010 crowd. In fact it's what's gotten me all nostalgic.
It's reassuring and slightly saddening to see how things continue. 
How all we can really do is enjoy where we are right now and give it ALL we've got.
Because before us, someone did just that. And is probably better for it.
And after us, many more will come along and do the same.


We've made golden memories at Kune, and we're not even close to done yet.
It's the place we planned amazing races and pushed our creative limits (and watched some of our ideas literally burst into flames while we prayed- anyone remember the famous cellophane lanterns?).
The place we took charge and became leaders.
The place we fought on the playing field and sometimes bled, till we won.
The place we enjoyed ministering angels and cross-dressed way beyond what would be considered 'scandalously'. 
Where we conned people into washing our plates and where we told ghost-stories that weren't scary at all.
Where everyone was brave enough to bet on the girls in a boys vs. girls wrestling match and we lost. (We left our marks though!)
The place where monkey's attended sessions and a black dog would chase them around.
Where long afternoon treks under a blazing sun were totally worth it just 'cause of the waterfall reward in the end.
Where every night we'd sit in silence around a candle's flame listening to the gentle strumming of a guitar and we'd sing under stars.
Where dancing and football were at loggerheads for the 11 to 1 session.
The place we even brought in a new year while burning quite a good looking old man.

The place we went to escape from everything, and somehow found more of what we were looking for than we expected.

The place where broken friendships healed and new ones formed.

The place where some of our aching hearts found comfort and strength.

The place where friends fell in love. Where they still do. 
Where one even went on to propose sharing his life with the one he loved.
And she said yes.

Words couldn't be enough to describe what Kune means to us. But I urge YOU (yes, YOU reader.) to leave behind your memories of this place in a comment on this post, if Kune meant anything to you. 
Who knows! Maybe when we're all old and grey, I'll use this at some re-union and we'll laugh with the joy of it all. But it's an awesome feeling just reminiscing the times right now too!

To the memories,

being alive, alert, awake, enthusiastic!

To Kune. 

Our's forever.

Kevin Arnold: The boy we grew up with

What would you do if I sang out of tune? 
Would you stand up and walk out on me? 
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song, 
I will try not to sing out of key.
___________________________________________________
Maybe that's not exactly the way it happened, but that's the way it should've happened and that's the way I like to remember it and if dreams and memories sometimes get confused, well that's as it should be. Because every kid deserves to be a hero. Every kid already is. 

-Kevin Arnold

Alright, so the third personality on my list, from last year!, is a fictional one.

Kevin Arnold from an old TV series called "The Wonder Years".

Awesome stuff.

The role was played by Fred Savage.
Now, I don't know much about Fred or how he got cast or any of that.
And it's been really long since I watched the show.
But I remember the essence of it. Who could forget!
I probably wouldn't have been that into it had I not grown up with a sibling who is 7 years older than me.
I watched mostly because she did.
But that was in the beginning.
It grew on me. And then, I watched it because I loved it.

This is the summary of the show on IMDb:

An adult Kevin Arnold reminisces on his teenage years spent growing up during the 60s. As he goes from adolescence to adulthood, he experiences, along with his best friend Paul and sometimes-girlfriend Winnie, the full range of trials and traumas that come in just about everyone's life.

This 1988-1993 period dramedy takes place during the turbulent times of the late 1960s and 1970s. The show focuses on Kevin Arnold, a young teenager living in a quiet middle-class suburb, and his family and friends. Throughout the series' five-year run, Kevin deals with middle and high school, encounters puberty, has ups and downs with childhood sweetheart Winnie Cooper, deals with annoying older brother Wayne, and hangs out with geeky-but-lovable Paul. The series is told from Kevin's point-of-view. 

I'm not quite sure how to give you a feel of the show or the character, if you haven't watched it- ever. I suppose quoting the things he said and maybe choosing videos of some of the more memorable moments would help. 

A suburban junior high school cafeteria is like a microcosm of the world. The goal is to protect yourself, and safety comes in groups. You have your cool kids, you have your smart kids, you have your greasers, and in those days, of course, you had your hippies. In a fact in junior high school, who you are is defined less by who you are than by who's the person sitting next to you. 

~Kevin when entering the cafeteria

What I loved about The Wonder Years is the simple, honest way Kevin narrates his story; 

Ordinary, everyday things we think and feel. The moments we probably take for granted. The lessons we don't even realize we're learning. Even the lessons you realize you've failed to learn, while you watch.

Then there are relationships. 

From the kind you share with a sibling, who as much as you work to annoy, you will always stick by; 

to the understanding between a parent and a child. Between Kevin and his dad, for instance, words are over-rated. Sometimes you don't need to say how you feel. Your actions speak a lot louder. 

The show, in many ways, made me think of how often the fact that we love someone surpasses our need to understand them.

Love chooses to be blind. It's why we have the people we can always count on, no questions asked.

There's more to life than being cool, athletic, and popular.

~Kevin Arnold

If anything, Kevin's best-friendship with the geeky, endearing Paul would confirm that quote above. It's the quirky, yet completely real, no nonsense equation between the two that I love. Everyone needs that/those someone/s with whom they can say exactly what they think and not have to worry about how it sounds. That someone who will not be afraid to tell you exactly what everyone else is either too afraid to or doesn't care enough to tell you, even if it is something that's going to be hard for you to hear. I love how they manage to make the serious stuff funny too. It was a well written series, for sure!

If there’s one thing every kid needs growing up, it’s a best friend. Someone you trust. Someone who trusts you. Someone you measure yourself against. You go through everything together. Important things. Stupid things. Things that matter. Things that don’t.

~Kevin

When you're a little boy, you don't have to go very far to find the center of your universe. Mom. She's always there. It's a pretty good arrangement - when you're five. But around age thirteen, there starts to be... a problem. The problem is...she's always there. And I mean always. Now a mom has to be a mom, but a guy's gotta be a guy. And when an irresistible force meets an immovable object... Sooner or later - something's gotta give.

~Kevin

 It was a strange and passionate time. Some of our dreams dissolved into thin air. 

They almost seem comical now. But some of our dreams are lasting and real.

~Kevin

My favourite sub-story of The Wonder Years was the little love tale of Kevin and Winnie. Young love and the madness and wisdom it knows. Something I'm sure any person, young or old, could relate to.

Love makes you do funny things. It makes you proud. It makes you sorry. That night we talked. About life. About our times together. Maybe we weren't the same two kids we had once been. But some things never change. Some things last. And even though I didn't know what was going to happen to us, or where we were going. I just knew I couldn't let her out of my life.

~Kevin

Through the series, Kevin and Winnie's relationship sees many phases. From falling in love to drifting apart, to making the other jealous to beings friends to finding each other again. All the while she stays his main girl. 

Over the course of the average lifetime you meet a lot of people. 

Some of them stick with you through thick and thin. 

Some weave their way through your life and disappear forever. 

But once in a while someone comes along who earns a permanent place in your heart.

~Kevin

So, for so many reasons The Wonder Years was wonderful growing up on. It may have been based in a time we're lucky enough or unlucky enough to have missed. (Depends entirely on how you see it. =) ) But it remains a humour-full reminder that whoever you are, in whatever decade you were born, you're probably not as special as you'd like to imagine 'cause what you feel and what you think has probably been felt and thought before. Yet, you're also probably the center of someone's universe or a huge, irreplaceable part of a bunch of people's worlds. You're probably giving yourself less credit than you deserve and sometimes too much for your own good. You're probably just making your way they best you know how...

Getting by with a little help from your friends.

Growing up happens in a heartbeat. One day you're in diapers, the next day you're gone. But the memories of childhood stay with you for the long haul. I remember a place, a town, a house like a lot of other houses, a yard like a lot of other yards, on a street like a lot of other streets. And the thing is, after all these years, I still look back, with wonder.

So, whoever you are and wherever you're from, no matter what you do with your life, 

here's hoping you always look back with wonder.

I choose faith

Usually I just delete forwarded chain-mail. When it's sent by someone close to me, I scan through it to see if it's worth it. This caught my attention. Now, I've always believed in God. Open minded and accepting as I might be of the different views and opinions I've come across in my time, I still choose God. I still stand by the fact that it IS extremely personal - The choice. Or for that matter the reasons behind the choices we make, that is, whether to believe or not. I've just never found atheism convincing. The agnostic point of view I can come to terms with. But atheism? Not so much. I'm too much in awe of everything around me to be able to settle with that.
And this e-mail just made me think that much more.
It's an interesting, thought-provoking argument.

An atheist professor of philosophy speaks to his class on the problem science has with God, The Almighty.
He asks one of his new students to stand and this is how it goes:

Prof:

'So you believe in God?’


Student:
‘Absolutely, sir.'


Prof:
Is God good?
 
Student:
Sure.


Prof:
Is God all-powerful?


Student:
Yes.


Prof:
My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to God to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But God didn't. How is this God good then? Hmm?

(Student is silent.)
  
Prof:
You can't answer, can you? Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?


Student:
Yes.


Prof:
Is Satan good?


Student:
No.


Prof:
Where does Satan come from?


Student:
From...God...


Prof:
That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?


Student:
Yes.


Prof:
Evil is everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything. Correct?


Student:
Yes.


Prof:
So who created evil?

(Student does not answer.)


Prof:
Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don't they?


Student:
Yes, sir.


Prof:
So, who created them?

(Student has no answer.)
 
Prof:
Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son...Have you ever seen God?


Student:
No, sir.


Prof:
Tell us if you have ever heard your God?


Student:
No, sir.


Prof:
Have you ever felt your God, tasted your God, smelt your God? Have you ever had any sensory perception of God for that matter?


Student:
No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.


Prof:
Yet you still believe in Him?


Student:
Yes.


Prof:
According to empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?


Student:
Nothing. I only have my faith.


Prof:
Yes. Faith. And that is the problem science has.


Student:
Professor, is there such a thing as heat?


Prof:
Yes.


Student:
And is there such a thing as cold?


Prof:
Yes.


Student:
No sir. There isn't.
(The lecture theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events.)


Student:
Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don't have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that.
There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat.
We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it .
(There is pin-drop silence in the lecture theatre.)
 
Student:
What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?


Prof:
Yes. What is night if there isn't darkness?


Student:
You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light....But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? In reality, darkness isn't. If it were you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?


Prof:
So what is the point you are making, young man?


Student:
Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.


Prof:
Flawed? Can you explain how?


Student:
Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it.

Now tell me, Professor.Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?


Prof:
If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.


Student:
Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shakes his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument is going.)


Student:
Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher? (The class is in uproar.)


Student:
Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor's brain? (The class breaks out into laughter.)


Student:
Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain,sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir? (The room is silent. The professor stares at the student, his face unfathomable.)


Prof:
I guess you'll have to take them on faith, son.


Student:
That is it sir... The link between man & god is FAITH . That is all that keeps things moving & alive.