The best way to know the self is feeling oneself at the moments of reckoning. The feeling of being alone, just with your senses, may lead you to think more consciously. More and more of such moments may sensitize ‘you towards you’, towards others. We become regular with introspection and retrospection. We get ‘the’ gradual connect to the higher self we may name Spirituality or God or just a Humane Conscious. We tend to get a rhythm again in life. We need to learn the art of being lonely in crowd while being part of the crowd. A multitude of loneliness in mosaic of relations! One needs to feel it severally, with conscience, before making it a way of life. One needs to live several such lonely moments. One needs to live severallyalone.

Wednesday 30 April 2014

WHEN YOU HATE SOMEONE..

My reflections on life – in quotes (LXXVI)

“When you hate someone,
It’s natural; it’s about being human.
Don’t curse your Self for it.
But don’t love it either,
Like a love that refuses to die.
Don't let it win your sense of Self.”


©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Monday 28 April 2014

OSKAR SCHINDLER TELLS US..

Oskar Schindler (April 28, 1908 - October 9, 1974)

Today is the birth anniversary of Oskar Schindler, the Nazi party member and a German industrialist who saved thousands of Jews (the 1200 Schindlerjuden or the 'Schindler Jews' in his factories and their over 8000 descendants now), from Hitler's concentration camps and gas chambers. 


The movie Schindler's List is a milestone event in telling us the larger-than-life humanitarian side of Oskar Schindler who initially thought of and made quick money by manipulating the Jew resources and manpower in the Nazi ghettos for Jews. 

Oskar Schindler tells us the 'good in us' is certainly more powerful and is as universal as the evils like Nazism or Fascism. 



It just needs its spark. Realizing it is individual. Schindler could realize it. Countless others couldn't. And this prospect about 'good' and 'bad' sides of humanity is timeless. 

This final scene from the movie directed by Steven Spielberg is a moving tribute to the Man and to the 'good' side of being a human being, to the 'good' in all of us. 

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIp_8RNNX4k 

The conversation as filmed in the movie, as sourced from IMDB:


Oskar Schindler: I could have got more out. I could have got more. I don't know. If I'd just... I could have got more.

Itzhak Stern: Oskar, there are eleven hundred people who are alive because of you. Look at them.
Oskar Schindler: If I'd made more money... I threw away so much money. You have no idea. If I'd just...
Itzhak Stern: There will be generations because of what you did.
Oskar Schindler: I didn't do enough!
Itzhak Stern: You did so much.
[Schindler looks at his car]
Oskar Schindler: This car. Goeth would have bought this car. Why did I keep the car? Ten people right there. Ten people. Ten more people.
[removing Nazi pin from lapel]
Oskar Schindler: This pin. Two people. This is gold. Two more people. He would have given me two for it, at least one. One more person. A person, Stern. For this.
[sobbing]
Oskar Schindler: I could have gotten one more person... and I didn't! And I... I didn't!

Sunday 27 April 2014

SINKING DEEP..

The necessitated wisdom,
Was still inchoate
The 'isms',
Were acting inanimate, insensate
The moment,
Had failed to be the moment
It was like,
Sinking deep in the bereavement
Suddenly, life started feeling,
Like a negated concept
Something of an event,

Saturday 26 April 2014

THE NIGHT DEMANDED

The night was getting hooked to the blues of its Templar.
The attachment had a purple haze.
Like everyone decided to be left in a confused state.
Like the lines were drawn,

Friday 25 April 2014

THE LOSS HAD ITS IDENTITY REJIG

The clouds looked so tamed.
The pain it had caused was amiss.
It rained but was itself drained.
The loss had its identity rejig.
The clouds looked enamored by the pain.
The loss rained thus to make its gain.

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Thursday 24 April 2014

A PLEDGE REMAINS VIRGIN AS LONG AS..

Don't make a pledge 
If it breaks a life..
Don't keep it within 
When life plays with you..
Break free,
Taste the intoxication anew..
A pledge remains virgin 
As long as it makes a life..


©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Wednesday 23 April 2014

DECEIT SPEAKS IN MULTIPLE WAYS

Deceit, 
Speaks in multiple ways.
Betrayal,
Tails in sweeping sways.
Duplicity 
Runs amok on its gauge. 
Amor, 
Then comes to rush the days.
Immoralities, 
When crush the grace.
He read it. 
He had read 'that' person so many times. 
Yet..

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Tuesday 22 April 2014

THAT YOU ARE STILL IDIOSYNCRATIC..

My reflections on life – in quotes (LXXV)

“Feel good if you are still idiosyncratic.
It tells the child in you still has say in your life.
That innocence is a blessing in tough times.”


THAT YOU ARE STILL IDIOSYNCRATIC..

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Monday 21 April 2014

THEN, SUDDENLY, IT STOPPED RAINING..

LIFE - COLORES INFINITUM (65)


It was raining that night. The flesh was already soaked, almost invisible, in the notes of the drops, which left the voices only, after getting merged or lost.

Yet, the soul was not.

The corporeal presence was in the flow. And the flow was unrestrained, like a fully blossomed Monsoon night is.

It didn’t desire the surreal. Though disconnected from the flow, there was nothing like dreaming in or dreaming about.

Yet, the soul was not in harmony with this human aspect of the moment, of the night.

It was raining incessantly. The outpour was musical by the consistency followed by the drops in their eagerness to meet the final points of their journeys.

Sunday 20 April 2014

RATHER, THE DAY, SOMEHOW, TOED THE LINE..

LIFE - COLORES INFINITUM (64)


It was the first day. Or it was supposed to be the first day.

It did not conclude any phase. It did not add to the momentum per se.

But it did come to stay, to make the beginning a supplement to the paths that were to be converged.

Though a first day, according to some calendar of the different calendars of a life, it was not seen as the first day.

Rather, the day, somehow, toed the line it had been, and not what it was supposed to be.

Saturday 19 April 2014

A SATURDAY NIGHT IS..

My reflections on life – in quotes (LXXIV)


“A Saturday night,
is the best night,
to sit with your loneliness.
Have you lived,
your loneliness tonight?”


A SATURDAY NIGHT IS..

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Friday 18 April 2014

FROM BLISS OF BEING LONELY TO JOY OF BEING ALONE

My reflections on life – in quotes (LXXIII)


“If you have been in a relation
and have travelled the journey,
from feeling the bliss of being lonely,
to enjoy being alone,
you have been able to remain honest to your ‘Self’;
you have claimed your renaissance;
you have achieved your renascence.”


FROM THE BLISS OF BEING LONELY 
TO THE JOY OF BEING ALONE 

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Thursday 17 April 2014

GENERAL ELECTIONS 2014: WAR OF WORDS TO GET EVEN MORE DECORATED

GENERAL ELECTIONS 2014

Modi says hang me if found guilty in Gujarat riots. P Chidambaram says Modi is a compulsive lawyer and an encounter CM.

Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi, both are ‘comparatively’ readily and easily available for one-on-one interviews these days. We should expect to see good enough count before the polls are over, something that could clear the backlog.

On the poll theatrics and campaigning atmospherics, it is an all out verbal war between Narendra Modi and the Gandhi family taking the Congress Vs BJP bitterness to a higher acerbic level.

Meanwhile, the other mouths continue to dangle and dazzle, from nowhere to everywhere, from saying something that counts for nothing to saying something everything bad in the manual of the model code of conduct (MCC).

And with the 5th phase of the of General Elections to elect the Lok Sabha, the lower House of the Indian Parliament, over, the scramble is now to become even more visible and audible to the voters, as the remaining four phases account for more than half of the 543 Lok Sabha members to be elected through these elections. With the 5th phase over, the fate of 232 Lok Sabha constituencies are sealed in the electronic voting machines.

Then, there are the opinion polls, to add to the ambience, to make it even more colourful and vibrant.

Wednesday 16 April 2014

PUTINISM’S ARMOURED PROPAGANDA IN UKRAINE

PUTINISM ROUNDUP

Ukraine crisis: Militants, army face off in east amid soaring tensions – CNN
Ukraine crisis: combat vehicles with pro-Russian troops enter town – CBC

Ukraine’s crisis deepens.

Ukraine declared Crimea a ‘temporarily occupied territory’ as it suffered an ‘armoured’ propaganda in the Ukrainian town of Slovyansk.

According to the reports, armoured personnel carriers and armed militants, in combat fatigue, marched to the central square of Slovyansk, an Eastern Ukrainian city, in apparent defiance to the Ukrainian decision to militarily confront the pro-Russian militants. Reports say quoting the Defence Ministry of Ukraine that these vehicles belonged to the Ukrainian troops and were seized by the militants.

Tuesday 15 April 2014

LIFE BEGINS THE DAY WITH THE GANGA: THE DAYSPRING LEADS TO THE GANGA (5)

A MORNING WITH THE GANGA GETS YOUNGER (14)
PHOTOGRAPHY

A series of sequential photographs  of a Morning with the Ganga, travelling from the last phase of a night at the daybreak to the spring of the morning as it gets younger.. 




LIFE BEGINS THE DAY WITH THE GANGA

THE DAYSPRING LEADS TO THE GANGA

Varanasi is because the Ganga is.

The Ganga ghats in Varanasi are the lively ecosystems of human living where life is always in motion, full of vibrant shades defining the every moment of day in its inhabitant’s lives.

A morning with the Ganga is the quality time worth living every day and a memory worth revisiting every day.

Sharing the moments of a morning with the Mother River when a day steps from the slowing rhythm of the night to the energized urge of the daybreak to evolve into a fully blossomed morning - soft, caring and motivating – is an experience of the lifetime.

It is a story that can be told and retold every day. It is a story that remains forever young, with Mother Ganga, with the Ganga ghats, with its mysticism, with its spirituality, with its flow of being Banarasi, with people from every walk of life and with people who are an inseparable part of this ecosystem.

And it is equally riveting to capture the moments.

Come, and be enchanted. 

Get interactive with Banaras Calling’s Facebook extension at: 

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/ 

Monday 14 April 2014

A POLITICALLY ENLIGHTENED ARVING KEJRIWAL IS REACHING VARANASI NEXT MORNING

GENERAL ELECTIONS 2014

Arvind Kejriwal has left for Varanasi and is reaching there the next morning to pick the thread of campaigning that he had initiated last month. Almost three weeks have passed since then.

During these three weeks, Kejriwal, on one fine day, got the half-baked enlightenment that pushed him to say that the time chosen to leave the Delhi government was wrong.

While saying this in a half-hearted temper, Kejriwal put his moral on the higher pedestal declaring the move a tactical miscalculation as the Delhiites could not understand his puritan motive.

And now, with this enlightenment (political) that has lighten the burden of his heart, he is reaching the city of Lord Shiva tomorrow to set in motion his campaigning that is directed against defeating Narendra Modi.

Sunday 13 April 2014

AFTER CRIMEA HAS FALLEN..NOW, VIOLENCE ESCALATES IN UKRAINE

PUTINISM ROUNDUP

Ukraine Forces and Pro-Russian Militants Battle Over Local Police Station – New York Times
US Tries to Help Ukraine, Reassure Allies Without Riling Russia - Wall Street Journal
NATO images purport to show Russia 'ready for combat' on Ukrainian border – Christian Science Monitor
Russia Plotting for Ukrainian Influence, Not Invasion, Analysts Say – New York Times

Putinism got Crimea delivered to Russia after six decades of a former Russian dictator ‘gifting’ the region to Ukraine.  

And this ‘nationalist’ act of the self-serving ultranationalist Vladimir Putin was more than enough to surge his popularity. But as the international affairs analysts say - only delivering Crimea is not going to be helpful for Putin on the question of Ukraine and Russia’s interest in the country.

An active control over the politics of Ukraine is a must for Putinism if Putin wants to remain as popular, as he is now, something, that would be a lethal tool to silence the voice of his opponents in Russia.

A Western control of Ukraine including the European countries is a saleable and lucrative prospect to incite the nationalist feelings for Putinism. Also, strategically - the US looking into the courtyard of Russia - it would be a compromising position for Russia.

Saturday 12 April 2014

LIVE YOUR SENSE OF THE DAY

Play or play not
May or may be not
Outlaw and outlandish
Sensible or gibberish
Shed the inhibitions
Tear into questions
Rewrite interpretations
Soak into the moment of,
Your resurrection
Enjoy the outlaw of May
Live your sense of the Day

Friday 11 April 2014

MUKHTAR ANSARI TAKES EXIT ROUTE FROM VARANASI

GENERAL ELECTIONS 2014

 Mukhtar Ansari decided to quit the battlefield of Varanasi saying he did so to consolidate the secular votes against Modi.

But it is going to help Modi only. And therefore, we have reports analysing the possible behind the scene deal between the BJP and Mukhtar on it.

That may, may not be. Mukhtar would have got Muslim votes only this time because he would not be contesting on a BSP ticket, and therefore was not to get the traditional BSP votes.

Mukhtar Ansari, who is in jail in the case of a BJP MP murder, is a polarising figure and carries the ability to polarise Muslim votes in his area, the belt of Ghazipur-Mau (he is contesting from Ghosi that covers Mau district) that extends to Varanasi as well. He has been openly communal in his acts and is facing case of inciting religious violence.

Thursday 10 April 2014

NARENDRA MODI’S WIFE: LET’S RESPECT PRIVACY, AT LEAST, FOR THE SAKE OF THE LADY

Narendra Modi’s marriage has always been a hotly debated issue. And Narendra Modi has always maintained a stoic silence about it.

And he is expected to continue with his silence even after admitting on oath that Jashodaben, the 62 year old retired school teacher is indeed his wife.

And his acceptance owes more to the compulsion of fulfilling a technical requirement while submitting his poll affidavit for the Lok Sabhal polls 2014 than to some inner enlightenment or to some other factor.

Though separated amicably, as in Jashodaben’s words, the marriage was never formally annulled, and so could have legal repercussions for Narendra Modi’s candidature.

Also, as reported, it is not a controversial nuptial arrangement that is in Modi’s past. It represents more of typical, circumstantial, social agreements in Indian families where disagreements still don’t have chances in many cases, especially in rural areas and in orthodox families. And Modi’s case dates back to late 60s when marriages were strictly family elders’ affairs, decided and affixed by them. According to the reports, both were underage when got married. 

And who cares about women in this country, especially politicians (and the men in them). Don’t we know how they have sabotaged the passage of the women’s reservation bill so far?

Wednesday 9 April 2014

THOSE DAYS OF CONTROLLED TV ACCESS

COLORES INFINITUM 


:) 

While randomly chatting with a colleague, this nostalgic subject matter of the good old days cropped up. The conversation began with the household discipline on milk-drinking habits when we were children, something that I was much undisciplined at, always intent to decline and sabotage the mission of my family members to get that glass of milk down my alimentary canal, and we went on discussing similar things in the short free time available during the hectic days of election planning and programming.

During this conversation, the subject matter cropped up that I intended to tell in the initial line here. Again, it was linked to the household discipline in our early childhood days and teens.

Many TV screens were flickering with content before our eyes and our discussion graduated to one of the most disciplined aspects of our lives those days – access to TV, and especially the category of content. And the person carrying the power to wield an atmosphere of discipline in the family happened to be the father or (and) any other family elder having stature similar to the father.

And our reactions were mix of respect and fear whenever we faced the situations of an approaching threat of being scolded (with some mild slaps occasionally) when caught some entertainment (read song) based programme on TV.

Respect, because a father is still the ultimate hero and the role model in the traditional Indian families.

Fear, because we wanted to catch the song, cartoon and movie programmes desperately and relished watching the TV to watch as much as possible whenever father was out.

Fear, because, watching entertainment content like songs was heavily rationed in those days and was certainly a no go zone from the father as such programmes were scheduled for the time band of the day supposed to be our study hours in my family. A heavily rationed TV content, regulated by the whims of the Door Darshan officials only compounded our misery.

Tuesday 8 April 2014

LIFE BEGINS THE DAY WITH THE GANGA: THE DAYSPRING LEADS TO THE GANGA (4)

A MORNING WITH THE GANGA GETS YOUNGER (13)
PHOTOGRAPHY

A series of sequential photographs  of a Morning with the Ganga, travelling from the last phase of a night at the daybreak to the spring of the morning as it gets younger.. 



LIFE BEGINS THE DAY WITH THE GANGA

THE DAYSPRING LEADS TO THE GANGA

Varanasi is because the Ganga is.

The Ganga ghats in Varanasi are the lively ecosystems of human living where life is always in motion, full of vibrant shades defining the every moment of day in its inhabitant’s lives.

A morning with the Ganga is the quality time worth living every day and a memory worth revisiting every day.

Sharing the moments of a morning with the Mother River when a day steps from the slowing rhythm of the night to the energized urge of the daybreak to evolve into a fully blossomed morning - soft, caring and motivating – is an experience of the lifetime.

It is a story that can be told and retold every day. It is a story that remains forever young, with Mother Ganga, with the Ganga ghats, with its mysticism, with its spirituality, with its flow of being Banarasi, with people from every walk of life and with people who are an inseparable part of this ecosystem.

And it is equally riveting to capture the moments.

Come, and be enchanted. 

Get interactive with Banaras Calling’s Facebook extension at: 

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/ 

Monday 7 April 2014

WHEN LIFE TAKES A TURN..

COLORES INFINITUM 

When life takes a turn, you can take the leap of your life.

And life does take turns regularly.

Like the moves of a cheating partner, commitment phobic and misleading, exploiting and excruciating.

Like the moods of a caring family member, always by your side, come what may, healing and reviving.

And you do have opportunities to leap ahead, in gloom, or when you bloom.

Positives add but don't let the negatives drag you down.


Sunday 6 April 2014

GE 2014: SOME CELEBRITIES CONTESTING DON’T EVEN KNOW WHO'S THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF INDIA

GENERAL ELECTIONS 2014
Certainly not surprising folks!

I remember an answer by the film star Jeetendra that I had heard many years ago while watching random programmes on TV. I don’t exactly remember when but it should be in 90s.

It was about his decision to become an actor. Jeetendra said - after passing B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) in Third Division, I didn't not have any other option but to join the film industry – where would else I could find a job?

So candid a confession! And it reflects the reality of the Indian film stars (the lead pairs on screen-but not limited to them). I don’t follow film and sports celebrities and content on them. Even then, I can write this much.

Conservatively and safely, it is a dicey area for most of them they don’t care about. And interestingly, the problem is not a problem at all when seen from the perspective of the larger film fraternity.

After all, Indian film industry produces crap in bunches and ‘intelligent, meaningful cinema’ is a feast that is served once in a while. Yes, there are academically strong and ‘intellectually sound’ film industry professionals, but they are in absolute minority.

WHEN ANSWERS DON’T MAKE SENSE

My reflections on life – in quotes (LXXII)

"Travel within to seek questions..

When answers don't make sense.."


WHEN ANSWERS DON’T MAKE SENSE

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Saturday 5 April 2014

YOUR HEART: DO YOU CARE ENOUGH?

My reflections on life – in quotes (LXXI)


"Your heart may be, may not be with you.
But it always beats for you, round the clock.
No demands. No expectations.
Unconditional commitment.
It is almost impossible to find such a beloved.
Do you care enough for it?"


YOUR HEART: DO YOU CARE ENOUGH? 

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Friday 4 April 2014

LIFE BEGINS THE DAY WITH THE GANGA: THE DAYSPRING LEADS TO THE GANGA (3)

A MORNING WITH THE GANGA GETS YOUNGER (12)
PHOTOGRAPHY

A series of sequential photographs  of a Morning with the Ganga, travelling from the last phase of a night at the daybreak to the spring of the morning as it gets younger.. 

 LIFE BEGINS THE DAY WITH THE GANGA

THE DAYSPRING LEADS TO THE GANGA





























Varanasi is because the Ganga is.

The Ganga ghats in Varanasi are the lively ecosystems of human living where life is always in motion, full of vibrant shades defining the every moment of day in its inhabitant’s lives.

A morning with the Ganga is the quality time worth living every day and a memory worth revisiting every day.

Sharing the moments of a morning with the Mother River when a day steps from the slowing rhythm of the night to the energized urge of the daybreak to evolve into a fully blossomed morning - soft, caring and motivating – is an experience of the lifetime.

It is a story that can be told and retold every day. It is a story that remains forever young, with Mother Ganga, with the Ganga ghats, with its mysticism, with its spirituality, with its flow of being Banarasi, with people from every walk of life and with people who are an inseparable part of this ecosystem.

And it is equally riveting to capture the moments.

Come, and be enchanted.

Get interactive with Banaras Calling’s Facebook extension at: 

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/