"Tomorrow"

Whenever I listen to this song, I am touched by all that we can be, forgive others for their erratic behaviour, their ignorance and their bitterness. I am sure that time heals everything, and tomorrow, they will be back. Back to the love and promise that life holds.

This song has a lot of religious sentiment about it, it speaks of resurrection, as if Bono's asking Jesus to come back tomorrow, to heal the wounds and the scars. It is a song of hope.

On a personal note, he is known to have written the song after the death of his mother.

The music is quintessential U2, it starts off without a structured tune, the bagpiper leads the way and the violent beats of the guitar and drums take over mid-way. Bono, wanders off from the tune, marking a spontaneous and a sentimental departure.

Lyrics:
Won't you come back tomorrow?
Won't you come back tomorrow?
Won't you come back tomorrow?
Can I sleep tonight?

Outside
Somebody's outside
Somebody's knocking at the door
There's a black car parked
At the side of the road
Don't go to the door
Don't go to the door

I'm going out
I'm going outside mother
I'm going out there

Won't you be back tomorrow?
Won't you be back tomorrow?
Will you be back tomorrow?

Who broke the window?
Who broke down the door?
Who tore the gutter?
And who was he for?
Who healed the wounds?
Who heals the scars?

Open the door
Open the door

Won't you come back tomorrow?
Won't you be back tomorrow?
Will you be back tomorrow?
Can I sleep tonight?

Cause I want you...I...I want you...I really...I...I want...I...I...
I want you to be back tomorrow!
I want you to be back tomorrow!
Will you be back tomorrow?

La...la...la...la...la...la...

Won't you be back tomorrow?
Won't you be back tomorrow?
Will you be back tomorrow?
Open up, open up
To the lamb of God
To the love of he who made
The blind to see you
He's coming back
He's coming back
I believe it
Jesus come back

I'm gonna be there
I'm gonna be there mother
I'm gonna be there mother
I'm going out there

Cosmic Energy - Beautiful Paintings by Artist Machcha Gangadas

Very rarely do we find real life figures who inspire and after that surprise you with their grace, humbleness and talent. Had the pleasure of meeting someone personifying all the above words earlier this month. His name is Machcha Gangadas, a painter, an artist, a poet with colours who showcased his works at the Jehangir Art Gallery earlier this month. 

These are not paintings, these are concepts.

The concept that there is one and only one energy that flows in our soul. It is the origin of our soul and the collective soul of the world as well. According to the artist Mr. Gangadas, he's depicted the flow of energy of the entire universe. He says we carry this energy within ourselves and it is also the basis of the scientific term of "aura". 

Every person has a distinctive aura. Also, the flow of energy can be controlled by proper meditation and thereby "activating" chakras.  There are seven chakras in the human body.

A lover of the art of art for the past three decades, he currently works in the State Bank of India. Ask him how he finds the time to paint, while working in a Bank, he says that passion always finds a way. 

He rises early, and often paints till wee hours of the morning. He gives the credit to his family who has supported him throughout and mostly, his wife, who often prepares tea for him as he paints in the night. He has a son and a daughter-in-law and is based in Pune. 

His right leg is affected by Polio, but that has not stopped Mr. Gangadas from spending every single Sunday in Bombay, touring various art galleries and exploring and appreciating other artists' works. It is this insight and dedication that shows through his work and amazing techniques, which he was gladly sharing with onlookers and connoisseurs. 

Apart from the concept of cosmic energy reflected in his works, an important part of his paintings is the technique he employs. The concept of the flow of energy may be old, but to portray it in a radical way catches your attention. Even in his paintings you can feel something is alive, creating ripples around you, within you.

For those interested in seeing more of his work or better still, buying it, please email Mr. Machcha Gangadas at ggmachcha@gmail.com.

You can see more of his paintings here

Cherished Dream or a Soul's Secret?

The Drive

What if the dream was a memory?
A memory of a soul, who has come so far.
What if the cherished, ethereal dream was actually a memory stored in the deepest and mysterious recesses of the mind? A secret lesson of the soul? Something that the soul had picked up from a previous journey, not limited by time... only limited by consciousness.

Sometimes I think that instead of the soul journeying and finding its meaning and purpose, it's us who discover the secrets of our soul. I believe we spend time wondering what our soul is all about. What does it want us to see, to realise, to re-discover.

People say we have all the answers. Enlightened people say that divinity is within us, engraved to the core. But consciousness blocks it. May be in the real world, we only need a good apartment, attractive partner and a modern car. But our soul reminds us there's something else. There will always be something else. Some secret... a lesson learnt back in time... a memory cherished so badly that it becomes a dream. And we wait for it to be fulfilled.

Till one day you understand that the perfect dream already happened.

INVICTUS

Out of the Night that covers me
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.


In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.


Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.


It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul. 

- William Ernest Henley

A Beautiful Wednesday

Sometimes life just brings the best - all that can happen to you and even inside of you. It's like meeting a new person inside of you.

It's like you're sitting on a table, it's an elongated birthday party - yours - and you are unwrapping presents one after the other. I wonder what happened first - falling in love with him and then life, or the other way round. But then - does it matter?

And you look at every crisis that has occurred, and every crisis that's on its way, due in a couple of days, weeks, you look at everything, how bad you can be hit, and how deep you'll fall, still you find yourself smiling in this moment. May be this is the state I've waited for all my life. To live, to love the moment. And he's not even here. Nor are the crises. And his thought, this moment will be summoned to, in that moment.

****

For the nth time, I find myself quitting the company and taking a road never traveled before. Felt awesome when my family drove down to my office to pick me up. In typical Hollywood movie style, I got my photoframe (a sexy one, bearing a still from the movie, "The Rakes" starring Micheal Caine and Jude Law), a silver, diamond studded Ganesha and a deep (sea) blue paper weight, some law books, pen-holder, and three marker pens, pencils, and sharpener in the brown box. Tucked it in the car, and drove for dinner. I really felt like celebrating my freedom and a decision that might come to be regretted, but every time I've done something that felt like this, I've thoroughly enjoyed myself, even if it's harmed me!

Whenever I came to work to town, to that picture perfect sunshine filled horizon kissing the Arabian Sea, I felt I have come back home. Today I felt like I am going to be off to conquer a new land... somewhere far from home. May be that is home. So not 'Drops of Jupiter'. 

We ate at Gaylord's, though the first choice was the Continental food joint, RELISH, suggested by Dad, of course. But no one was willing to wait a good 30 minutes before we got a seat. Plus, that joint is always noisy, even in mid-week. So we walked to Gaylord's. Dad insisted the ambiance and so we moved inside, instead of the more comfortable open air section. I was carrying my lively- pink shawl, so I braced myself. We ate, and I felt like celebrating. I don't do dinners usually, since I am exceptionally lousy at it, but tonight, I felt like celebrating. I knew Alexander would be fixing himself something hot, and much yummier (he's an awesome cook). A couple of sneezes later, I enjoyed my chicken, and Goan Prawn Curry, along with some piping hot biryani. I could have even ordered Champagne tonight - only deal was that somebody had to drive a good 30 kms back home. I was enjoying a dinner. And the thought of telling it to Alexander (that I made it through it, and I had chicken!!!) made it more enjoyable.

Then we had some heated peanuts, and went to Gateway of India. There we clicked pictures. Nothing beats a nice family photo, and breaking into laughter over a joke cracked by Dad! The sea was at rest, all decorated with boats and cruise liners. I wish I could watch the sunrise someday on the west coast.

We got into the car, and since there was no traffic, the drive was particularly enjoyable. Autumn wind whispering in to your ears and kissing your face, as if it knew the secret of your smile, of your love. Got some balloons on the way, had a balloon fight with Shruti :D and that was one highlight of the evening! We later dumped those for Daku who chased them in the house. As I walked him later on, I realised that winter was setting in, a season ready to change. And so am I.

Vantage Points

The vantage points of a life.

Was reading a book yesterday that inherently highlighted that destiny is the ultimate thing/ entity. If we win or lose, it is our destiny. If we did something bad in our lives, it was destiny that made us do it.

Last weekend, as me and my family stopped at a place to have some tea, I saw a very old woman sitting at the footsteps of the small restaurant, having the last of her biscuit dipped in tea. And there was no tea in her plastic cup. Yet, she was trying hard to have any drop of the tea cling to her remaining biscuit just to make it softer to chew. And there were stray dogs, encroaching on her breakfast.

We ordered breakfast and tea for her too. She wrapped the "breakfast" and may be it was saved for lunch.

Dad said that feeding the hungry and giving water to the thirsty, is the biggest dharma of all. He said that if God chose your body for a good deed you should be happy. And that made me wonder, if God could also choose my body for a bad deed. So all the mistakes and errors and bad experiences in my life were meant to be. A perspective could make me bitter; else I could just see how much I have learned.

But no matter what vantage point you are at, that look of innocence in your eyes, is always passing by as you pass every single day. Our faces and eyes keep getting darker. We think we are "maturing" and becoming "wiser".

Trusting cautiously may be an intelligent move, but it does something to you. Makes you scared a little and bitter somewhere within. Forgiveness doesn't come easy.

Very few faces retain that look of laughter, a look of innocence -- and to me, that is the most beautiful face.

A man will rise, a man will fall

On the sheer face of love

Like a fly on the Wall

- "The Fly"

A Bird

What a love it was

To see and survive

A life

One side

Wants to be understood -

-- graces and blessings of a love spotted and cherished

The other

Wants to be left alone -

-- the yearnings of disappearing and erasing the existence of memory

What a love it was

To fly and fall

This soul

Trenches of bones

Walking over the past and memories

Smiling as they come