Author: manuscrypts

  • The Art of Giving

    There’s a theory about the internet I read somewhere that i keep bringing up in different contexts. It goes that if collective consciousness is the path to God, then the internet makes a great first step. To be in touch with the cosmos is perhaps the ideal state in spirituality, and while the cosmos does extend a lot beyond our planet, we could definitely start with being connected here first. And it is in this regard that I rate the potential of the internet to be very high.

    Every time we log in to facebook or orkut or twitter or any social medium out there, we come across people and things we didn’t know about before. It gives us perspective and changes our perceptions about who and what we are. And that reminds me of another quote that I keep using, from the Matrix series “….I do not see coincidence, I see providence. I see purpose. I believe it our fate to be here. It is our destiny…” To me, that rings very true for the web. There is a reason why a tool like this has been brought into the life of arguably the smartest species on this planet, and I for one, believe that its role is to further our evolution and bring back things that were lost somewhere along our ‘progress’ – compassion for fellow beings, and the willingness to contribute to things that lie beyond our selfish interests.

    And with that, I end my droning foreword, and would like to introduce to you, this website I came across – Rang De. No, this is not about Bollywood, but about adding color to others’ lives. I’d written about it in my other blog, and finally registered last week. The idea is to extend micro credit from socially conscious folks to the financially disadvantaged. And mind you, its not charity – you get back your money, with a modest interest.

    So I’d like to tag you guys on this. If you’re reading this, I request you guys to check out the site, and write about it (if you have a blog) or spread the word in any way you can. I have just used it for the first time, and  just got a report on how my investment would be spent. So maybe you can start with a small amount and see how it works for you. But we do so many trivial tags, maybe we could do one for what seems a noble cause. It will hopefully connect us and give more meaning to lives – ours and others’.

    until next time, add some color

  • Once in a year….

    He was very happy, someone was cleaning his toilet. It’d never happened before, in almost a year since he’d begun using this place, right on the main road. But just as he began his morning rituals, the man threw a bucket of water. He flew away, looking for another statue, wondering why today was special.

    until next time, happy gandhi jayanthi

  • On the Road

    Jack Kerouac

    A different America from the packaged version we get to see these days. Its a book that perhaps matches the times it was set in.. its, i think, essentially a book that looks at the wanderlust of Sal Paradise, the protagonist, his travel companions, influences and perhaps, at the very base, a quest for freedom..of self
    A warning though, you’ve to be very patient, and allow for boredom to set in, in between. Its not the ‘finish in one read’ kind of book.

  • Sick of puns

    She considered slapping him for his statement. Under any other circumstances, what he’d said would amount to a compliment, but not now. In her present condition, considering her dishevelled looks, and most importantly, knowing him, she was sure he’d used the words ‘You’re looking hep’ as a pun on her hepatitis. He pleaded not guilty.

    until next time, hep it is not 😐

  • Ride with a view

    The regular route that I take to the office, and one back. There are buildings, homes, people, shops, and trivia that I don’t notice when I pass them regularly every day. Its not that they’re not interesting, but somewhere down the line, they have become routine, a part of the landscape, something that I take for granted, without putting too much of thought into. It took an auto ride to make me see all this in a different light. Perhaps it was because I wasn’t riding.. I didn’t have to pay attention to the road, and had all the time to leisurely watch the scenes and the life unfolding in them.

    And that made me think whether the same applies to people too. The different people that we interact with, at work, at home. Over a period of time, do they become a routine in our lives? Unidimensional characters in our mind, who have been moulded by our own biases and subjective judgements, and so set in that mould, that we fail to see a human being with its own values, feelings, and a life that’s being lived in myriad interesting ways. Does our perspective become so set in its ways, that we take the people in our lives for granted. And we have to wait for life to give us an auto ride to make us see them from a different vantage point?

    And then, what about people who always take auto rides? Do they manage to have a different perspective, but one that still gets set over a period of time? 🙂

    until next time, look around