A very moving photo

Photos can, sometimes, convey much more than words. The Pulitzer award winning photo of 2007, taken by Renee Byer, does just that.

The mother is racing barefooted, up and down the hallway of a hospital, trying to distract her son, during the wait before bone marrow extraction. Her son was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a childhood form of cancer.

The photographer has brought out a series of the family's photos, during their troubled times. It can be accessed at http://www.pulitzer.org/archives/8358.

I was moved beyond words after going through the images. By the time I had completed viewing it, tears were running down my cheeks. The worst form of sadness is when a parent outlives her kid. I was hesitant to paste it in my blog, because it is heart-breaking. But I also felt that accepting it, would reduce atleast my pain, as an outsider.   

Bob Dylan rocks!

I recently came across the works of one of the legends of protest music - Bob Dylan. And what a revelation! I was totally blown away by few of his greatest hits "Blowing in the wind", "Times are a changing" and " Like a rolling stone". It was tough trying to trace his songs thrrough YouTube, since most of the videos were cover versions. But finally found the originals! In my opinion, Dylan's original version stands out, because it has an honest and sincere touch. I have started to appreciate the power and beauty of poetry from such songs. Infact, I am going to try my hand at it. Wat say?

Thanks for a nice time, Bhagat

Chetan Bhagat's "2 states" was so much fun. Such a frank way of writing. Commendable. I was not inclined to read it at first, as it was advertised as the story of the author's marriage...which was a put off. But since Ram had taken the book from the library, and as I had finished reading all the other books which I had borrowed, I thought I might as well read it. Pleasant surprise. I imagined Yuvraj Singh as the hero, and Asin as his beloved ;-). Not that they are my favs. My favorite moments in the book - the translucent veshti which "hides" the mickey mouse underwear, the lady's Dad telling the couple(before they depart to Delhi) not to be carefree since they were not married, and the guy casually thinking, "I guess he meant sex"(when they had "done" it much before). Ha ha. So funny.    

Gandhigiri

Personally, I had always considered Mahatma Gandhi to be one individual among many, who had helped in gaining Independence. Why then the hype about Gandhiji alone?

Of late, a change has occured in my viewpoint about him. Triggered off by Richard Attenborough's film "Gandhi". I was intrigued and did some research about this famous Indian. Looks like Gandhiji was a person with tremendous amount of will power. How long can a person restain from striking back, despite repeated injuries by the enemy? How long can a person disobey the ruler? And most important, how long can u go hungry?! Gandhiji inspired millions and won just by saying NO. No fights, no insults, just "NO"!

The logic is that, it is possible to win a battle by tiring out the enemy by not retaliating to the taunts or tortures. This does not mean that one should yield the the other's demands, but rather disobey sans violence. Either the enemy will give in voluntarily, or there will be extreme pressure by the sympathisers which will force the enemy to give in. Of course, the easier way to fight might be to take up arms. But think about the bloodshed and the after-effects of such a fight. We still hold bitterness against the British, not because of their rule, but primarily because of Jallianwala Bagh.

Well then, will the path of disobedience without violence work against all instances of righteous struggle? In the cause against....Hitler? I doubt it. It is my belief that only 10% of the population are very bad, and 10% saints. The remaining 80% are normal, with equal proportion of compassion and hatred. The theory of disobedience might, perhaps work, with this set of population.

Second innings!

Atlast my own blog! Actually, I had one a year back, but I did not know what to write about in it. I started out by using it as an outlet for my feelings, but hey, it was too personl for others to read. So I abandoned it. I am starting all over again, as I do not want my mind to rust. They say an idle mind is a devil's workshop. I feel the devil is already creeping up slowly.

Now for the content in this blog. I have decided to stay away from current affairs in my life, coz again I do not like exposing myself to others.

I like reading. But not much introspection happens when I read. A blog, I guess, would be a good way to try reflecting and forming opinions about what I read. So there it is! The mission statement!