Author: manuscrypts

  • The Apple Tree

    just a lil story i picked up from somewhere…..
    A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday. He climbed to the treetop, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow…he loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.
    Time went by…the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree every day.
    One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad. “Come and play with me” the tree asked the boy. “I am no longer a kid, I do not play around trees any more” the boy replied.”I want toys. I need money to buy them.”
    “Sorry, but I do not have money… but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money.” The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.
    One day, the boy who now turned into a man returned and the tree was excited “Come and play with me” the tree said. “I do not have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?”
    “Sorry, but I do not have any house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house.” So the man cut all the branches of the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the man never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.
    One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted. “Come and play with me!” the tree said. “I am getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?” said the man.
    “Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.” So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time.
    Finally, the man returned after many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I do not have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you …” the tree said. “No problem, I do not have any teeth to bite” the man replied. “No more trunk for you to climb on””I am too old for that
    now” the man said. “I really cannot give you anything… the only thing left is my dying roots” the tree said with tears. “I do not need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years” the man replied. “Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest, Come, come sit down with me and rest.” The man sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears…
    This is a story of everyone.
    Father, mother, brother, sister, friend, it could have been anyone…….. all of us have wronged someone at some stage in our life, this is my way of saying sorry. i might not be able to correct what i have done, but at least i can pass the message.
    manuscrypts trivia
    an answer to one comment on a post sometime back….
    “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.”~ Albert Einstein
    “The answer to any problem “pre-exists.” We need to ask the right question to reveal the answer.”~ Jonas Salk
    this is a must read, and did you know they actually had a petition online against sonia becoming PM…. as for our sardarji, FM 91 to PM 2004, not bad at all!!

  • Polls Apart

    is generally what i am from exercising my franchise, and this time is no exception. not exactly proud of it, but still haven’t figured out the chicken and egg situation – me making a difference to the polls and the polls making a difference to me….
    but am still socially conscious enough to be closely following the results, have sometimes even wondered whether there is a totally different form of rigging (from what we see) going on in the background. someone has said that “politics is the last refuge of the scoundrel” and in these times, it holds true in india.
    it is very difficult for the common public to get anything done from any politician, especially when he is in power, which is why i was kinda happy about some things that a certain mr.naidu was doing in hyderabad. not that that he was getting milk and honey to flow(even water was dicey), but somewhere he was making a difference. given time, he might have got the entire state to be like hyderabad. …..but the junta felt otherwise, which in my mind raises the question whether the junta deserves the politicians they get. the junta who may/do not see the bigger picture and the junta who dont want to make a difference…hehe..we have been trying to get rid of poverty since 1947, and no one has succeeded…sanjay gandhi did get rid of some poor , and therefore poverty but dunno if that can be a legal count…what has been happening is roughly like this
    “What is Politics?”
    A little boy goes to his dad and asks, “What is politics?”
    Dad says, “Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I’m the breadwinner of the family, so let’s call me capitalism. Your Mom, she’s the administrator of the money, so we’ll call her the Government. We’re here to take care of your needs, so we’ll call you the people. The nanny, we’ll consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we’ll call him the Future. Now, think about that and see if that makes sense,”
    So, the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what dad had said. Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parents’ room and finds his mother sound asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny’s room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed.
    The next morning, the little boy says to his father, “Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now.” The father says, “Good son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about.” The little boy replies, “Well, while Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, the Government is sound asleep, the People are being ignored and the Future is in deep shit.”
    and now, onto
    manuscrypts trivia
    “Write a wise saying and your name will live forever” ~ Anonymous
    “I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done.” ~ Steven Wright

  • The God shaped Whole

    contrary to certain suggestions, i have not been stuck in anniversary celebrations :-)… just a whole lotta work!!!
    this post is a collage of viewpoints on god… i read a fwd on the age old dispute over the existence of god… so i thought this might be a good forum to get more opinions. am quoting two theories which were very thought provoking
    The epicurean argument
    Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
    Then He is not omnipotent.
    Is He able, but not willing?
    Then He is malevolent.
    Is He both able and willing?
    Then whence cometh evil?
    Is He neither able nor willing?
    Then why call him God?
    And the ‘freewill argument’, which is propounded by a whole lot of atheists – once human beings came to be, God invested them with free will, chose voluntarily to convert the world into an autonomous institution, to be run by humans, in which He would not interfere.
    Though this does explain away a great number of minor and major calamities, which descend on us-from a road accident that takes away a beloved to a war that kills and maims thousands. But it does make for a hard-hearted, remote, indifferent God.
    my take, what about a god who might have initially shown faith in humanity, but then given up??

    ………to be continued
    meanwhile some
    manuscripts trivia
    “I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability.” ~ Oscar Wilde
    “God made everything out of nothing, but the nothingness shows through.” ~ Paul Valery
    “To surrender to ignorance and call it God has alwaysbeen premature, and it remains premature today.”~ Isaac Asimov
    and have to share this fwd , lets title it “mallu power”
    There is a popular saying that wherever you go, you will find a Mallu,but…

    Kuttappan is a Mallu…Kuttappan was bragging to his boss one day, “You know, I know everyone there is to know. Just name someone, anyone, and I know them.”Tired of his boasting, his boss called his bluff, “OK, Kuttappan how about Tom Cruise?”
    “Sure, yes, Tom and I are old friends, and I can prove it.”
    So Kuttappan and his boss fly out to Hollywood and knock on Tom Cruise’s door, and sure enough, Tom Cruise shouts, “Kuttappan! Great to see you! You and your friend come right in and join me for lunch!” Although impressed, Kuttappan’s boss is still skeptical. After they leave Cruise’s house, he tells Kuttappan that he thinks Kuttappan’s knowing Cruise was just lucky.
    “No, no, just name anyone else, “Kuttappan says.
    “President Bush,” his boss quickly retorts.
    “Yes,” Kuttappan says, “I know him, let’s fly out to Washington.”
    And off they go. At the White House, Bush spots Kuttappan on the tour and motions him and his boss over, saying, “Kuttappan, what a surprise, I was just on my way to a meeting, but you and your friend come on in and
    let’s have a cup of coffee first and catch up.”
    Well, the boss is very shaken by now, but still not totally convinced. After they leave the White House grounds, he expresses his doubts to Kuttappan who again implores him to name anyone else.
    “The Pope,” his boss replies.
    “Sure!” says Kuttappan. “I have relatives in Poland, and I’ve known the Pope a long time.” So off they fly to Rome. Kuttappan and his boss are assembled with the masses in Vatican Square when Kuttappan says, “This will never work. I can’t catch the Pope’s eye
    among all these people. Tell you what, I know all the guards so let me just go upstairs and I’ll come out on the balcony with the Pope. And he disappears into the crowd headed toward the Vatican.
    Sure enough, half an hour later Kuttappan emerges with the Pope on the balcony.But by the time Kuttappan returns, he finds that his boss has had a heart attack and is surrounded by paramedics. Working his way to his boss’ side, Kuttappan asks him, “What happened?” His boss looks up and says, “I was doing fine until you and the Pope came out on the balcony and the man next to me said, ‘Who’s that on the balcony with Kuttappan?”

  • Of Vows, Woes and Wows

    At the outset, lemme state that i am experiencing all the wows, touchwood. if you are wondering what i am talking about, its marriage!! something that is increasingly becoming out of fashion.
    i saw a malayalam movie this weekend, an old one, where the protagonist climbs the ladder of success by using women , promising them marriage etc. at that time, there were rare occurences of this happening. the poor scriptwriter would have had a tough time, if he had to write it now, coz its more of a norm. there are at least 5 movies either made or in the process of being made exploring various facets of infidelity, both by husband and by wives.movies are reflections of society, so it is only fair to assume that this is the way it is.
    after one year of being married, i simply cant think of a reason why anyone would want to chuck the comforts of a long married life for a few pleasures once in a while. but i guess, lots dont agree. but i guess if they are being inundated with semi clad images of mallika sherawats, meghna naidus, beyonces (names changed to protect privacy ; -) )etc, one cant really blame them.
    but is society driving to a point where marriages would become rare occurences as opposed to being a norm?? we’ll wait for events to unfold, but meanwhile, your dose of
    manuscrypts trivia
    So you see, imagination needs moodling – long, inefficient, happy idling, dawdling and puttering.~ Brenda Ueland
    Creativity is…seeing something that doesn’t exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God.~ Michele Shea

  • Hot and Happening

    Since the whole of India is like an oven, the title would have been apt even if it was out of context, but it is in context, nevertheless….
    i saw a malayalam movie thats become a hit recently. Its called “4 the poeple” (the pun, i think, is intended because it centres around four college guys).
    Four engineering graduates who are sick of the corruption, goondaism around, and take the law into their hands. their interface with the commonfolk is a website where people can register complaints against corrupt practices, gangs etc. the guys (typically, almost as a trademark) cuts off the right hand of the perpetrator and sends off the proof of his misdeeds to the police.
    I am happy for the movie’s success, coz it means the public is still at a stage where they are appreciative of (at least) someone standing for justice, fairness etc…. and more than that, willing to sacrifice a good life for the betterment of society. In a society devoid of morals, even thats a boon. right now, the process of accumulating wealth has become a passion. and it has to be, if only for survival. and therefore morals, ethics, virtues etc dont count.
    i need more money coz my old classmate has bought a new car, my colleague has bought a new house, my neighbour has two home theatres for his single home and so on and so forth…all the while listening to new age gurus, who, like a colleague so aptly put it, are only telling me what my grandma used to say anyways!!
    i am in the whirlpool, and even though i hate it, i have to swim vigorously to survive…. and if i can manage it, sink a couple of people swimming with me…
    society judges me be what i have, and not what i am, and so i play along, and will lose eventually, but yes, i tried. and i am a traitor in society’s camp coz i derive a sadisitic pleasure when i hear people talking about the heat (even though i get affected myself)..coz , its because of the tree cutting, plastic using, animal killing consumeristic greed of ours that nature is treating us with the same feeling that we treat it… no sympathies!! but hey, i am still with society, and pretty soon, hope to be hot and happening….
    meanwhile, some good quotes from some lucky people who had the time to think…… and do …in
    manuscrypts trivia
    “About the most originality that any writer can hope to achieve honestly is to steal with good judgment.” ~ Josh Billings
    “Everyone is as God has made him, and oftentimes a great deal worse.” ~ Miguel de Cervantes
    “God is at home, it’s we who have gone out for a walk.” ~ Eckhart