A frequent dream

... I find myself in a huge hospital. There are many people studying medicine. Some are found discussing problems with patients and their relatives. There are many more moving here and there like me. I don't know if they really have any purpose of not. But looking at them I get a feeling that they are in search of something or somebody. I see them now, I see others the next moment. A huge number of people around me. Yet, thankfully, there is enough space for each individual and I see no one really entering the private space of eachother. One more strange thing about this place is that there is absolutely no noise. There is no sound despite the presence of host of people.
I don't remember the purpose of my visit to this place. I don't know if I really had a purpose. I don't remember why and how I had come to this place. I just remember that it is here that I find myself with no purpose or unaware of the purpose. I am in search of something. I want to get out of this place. I feel that is the first thing I can do. I don't know how to go out. I don't know anything about the hospital. How did I come here, I don't remember the path either?
I try my best. I move here and there. I see some stairs going down. I get the feeling that I need to go down before I can go out. I start climbing down the stairs. I don't see them ending. I am confused and lost. I pick up speed and start scurrying downwards. I don't know when this would end. I peep down the staircase to see how many floors to go. I find to my surprise that the bottom floor is out of my sight.
I get a strange feeling of being takenover by some force which is controlling me. Overtaken by the sheer force of this strangeness, I stop at the next floor. I go about the place trying to search of someone who could be well versed with this place. I am not sure whom to appraoch. I see a person in white coat. Looks like a person who is studying in this place. I thought he could help me with the way. I approach him and trying not to disturb anyone else, in a very low pitch I attempt to ask him the way out. I find myself not being able to speak out. Only lips and tongue move and try to make some signs out of this movement. But the sound element is missing. I make an attempt again and succeed in creating sound out of my signs of lips and toungue.
Me: Could you please help me with directions? I am lost in this place and want to know the way out.
He: I am not sure myself. I just know that you should take that route.
Me: Can you elaborate? I don't understand the directions.
Suddenly a middle aged lady come over to us and helps me with some more information. She says, pointing a staircase on the opposite side, "Take that route and climb down till you reach the end of the staircase. On reaching the end, you ask others about the route, they would be able to direct you further."
I am not conviced but was comfortable that I can atleast find my way out because of these directions. I thank both of them for their support and assistance. I continue with my journey. I called this a journey now because of the amount of time I spent on it and the range of events and observations that I have made so far. I met many people I talked to them. I spent time with them. But I still am not attached to anyone. I have a purpose in my journey - I want to go find my way of of this big hospital.

I wake up from my sleep disturbed, confused and lost.

I am frequently being disturbed from sleep because of this strange dream. I get this dream almost everytime. I would like to know why? Now I understand why so many people desire or desired to know the meaning of the things they dream or dreamt of. I can empathize with the people who believe dreams are important. These dreams disturb not only my sleep but also my routine. I spend most of my time contemplating over the dream sequence. I want to know why I dreamt the way I did. Does it have any deeper meaning? Is it because of some strongly rooted questions and musings about the purpose of my life? Is it at a higher plane and at a level beyond the reach of the humans? Is it at the meta-level that defines life? Can we ever interpret them? Multitude of such questions run in my mind.

The other obvious questions specific to this dream include:
1. Is this related to my life and finding purpose of my life?
2. Is getting out of the hospital equivalent to getting out of the birth-life cycle?
3. Is hospital equivalent to the world where I live?
4. Why hospital? Has it got any deeper, unfound and untraced correlation with my life?
5. Why did not I create bonds with anyone in my dream? Does it say anything about my personality or state of mind?
6. Like life, why no one I met or saw knows either the way out or the purpose of being in the hospital?

What is social upliftment?

Inherently, all of us are doing whatever we are, for our security (because our physiological needs are satisfied), for steady flow of income in our later years. It is selfish indeed. It is a very esoteric concept that "selfishness is a virtue". Let me elaborate on this for clarification.

Selfishness by definition can be treated as thinking about selfish motives and gains. This is driven by the fact that we want to secure ourselves from possible impending or future risks. If this is applied a level further, upliftment of general public can also be purely driven by selfish motives. How?

The main reason for existence of anti-social element in the society is presence of poverty and absence of income. What is the need for income? Obvious answer to this is: for subsistence. Ability to provide oneself with basic necessities for living can be achieved through this income. The root cause is "unsatisfied basic necessities".

If the root cause is atacked by providing everyone with the basic necessities, then there will be no need for anyone to turn against society.

So, providing the basic necessities of food, shelter, water, health, social security will solve the problem.

Arriving at this conclusion was easy. Now comes the difficult job of convincing people to get into action. By action, I mean providing everyone with basic necessities.

Let me come back to the arguement of virtuous selfishness. If I am selfish, it should motivate me to eliminate to the extent possible the risks of future. As is seen recently, the risk from anti-social elements is on the rise. To avoid this, attacking the root cause and providing everyone with the basic necessities will solve the problem to a greater extent.

According to Abraham Maslow's Need Hierarchy, if a persons physiological needs are satisfied, he would want his security need, then social needs and further up to self-actualization to be satisfied.

If the human society as a whole raised to the third level with everyone's safety needs and physiological needs satisfied, earth will by itself become a heaven to live in. As the focus of society and of every individual will change from food, shelter, security of body to a higher level of friendship, family and intimacy. So, it is the selfish interest of any person to bring the society to this level, more so, for the people with intellectual, physical, monetary powers or any combination of these powers.

Is this achieving social upliftment in true sense? I believe, this is and not by any means a higher average per-capita income with growing inherent disparities. In true sense even the higher-percapita-income countries have not achieved these. For example, in the US, there is higher disparity where top 1% of the population accounting for 16% of the income.

Comments invited.

entropy of a system increases if left uncontrolled

When a system's energy is defined as the sum of its "useful" energy, (e.g. that used to push a piston), and its "useless energy", i.e. that energy which cannot be used for external work, then entropy may be (most concretely) visualized as the "scrap" or "useless" energy.

In an isolated system(my room) such as my study table(low energy) and my book rack(high energy) taken together, the dispersal of books(energy) from warmer to cooler always results in a net increase in entropy.

This basically means that the amount of scrap or junk increases if the system is left to itself. My study table is largely uncontrolled and is left all to itself. In this scenario, the junk on my study table increase with time.

If I take efforts to ensure that the books are placed in appropriate places, the disparity in energy levels (books) will be maintained. If I don't do that, the disorganized stack of books (energy) on my table will increase. This basically proves that the entropy (chaos) increase with time, if the system is left uncontrolled.

Also, it iw worth noting that 'Spontaneous changes occur with an increase in entropy'. The entropy of my room would increase to cross the bearable limits. When it becomes unbearable, one day this entropy (chaos) triggers spontaneously an impulse to clean up my study table. The spontaneous change occurs to reduce the entropy in the system called my room.

The energy and efforts required to clean up my table will equal the efforts required to manage my table and rack daily. Thus adhering to the concept of law of conservation of energy.

Wrote for my friend on birth day

Days and years change,
We mature and age.

We spend and lose time.
But gain expeiences during the same.

We meet people, those we forget;
Those we wish we again met.

We learn things new,
We change our view.

Some get into a shell
And live like frogs in the well.

Others, enriched through experiences,
Shed all apprehensions and fears.

We make choices,
Win and lose races.

We change,
We mature and age.

Dedicated to my friend

Yet another dedication to 'the unknown mystery'

In her eyes, I see love
I share the same feeling now

How can I forget her face
The time spent in her presence
Her enticing eyes
The scent of her fragrance

I thrive not for money
But to win her whole heartedly
To be with her till eternity
I nurture this dream so lovely

The laughter so sweet
Her seductive gait
In her dreams I live
In the orchards of olive

She was never there with me
In future too she may not be
But for her, I shall wait
Day and night

Yeduta neeve Yadalona neeve - In my eyes! In my heart!!

A wonderful composition in Telugu by Aatreya garu. My inspiration for this:

The pain of separation
When I know that she is no more in my life
The moments I shared with her
The dreams we dreamt together
The impression that she is still there
in my eyes,
in my heart ...
She never leaves me...

I was aware of these consequences
I am not forgetful by nature
But...
I made a sweet mistake of drinking the dew of love and
got induced by her magical incantations

You don't allow the wound to heal
Nor do you leave my heart

The incorporeal God of time doesn't come to my rescue
Neither the goddess of death kisses me
Nor does it allow me to take respite from sanity
In my eyes,
In my heart ...
She never leaves me...

So threatening the dreams
Never I dare to sleep

Although dreams are ephimeral
Truth is always hell

Dream turning into reality shoulds so chimerical.
Does reality ever become a dream?

Is this the strength of LOVE?

I saw anger in those eyes

Today I saw something I never saw. I saw anger in those eyes. My eyes met them. My eyes saw some spark, some bright glare in them.

My eyes wished them. Cold came the wishes. I could not interpret the reason behind the coldness. Usually the wishes have always been warm.

Is it because of the way I was dressing? Is it because I have decide to not do something I was expected to do?

Whatever be the reasons, it is clear that eyes can't hide the mind. But the reasons behind the behaviour can't be read through them.

my all time favourite song

I feel poignant, when I listen to this song. The song, gives the sense of belonging when you are away from your home. The song depicts all the relationship and attachment we have with our home place. Not just depicts, but does it well.

Listen to this song, you would feel the pain, the pain of separation.

Aey mere pyare watan
Aey mere bichde chaman
tuj pe dil khurbaan
tu hi meri arzoon
tu hi meri aabroon
tu hi meri jaan
Aey mere pyare watan
...

The colse to heart summer morn -
sab se pyaari subha teri

The colourful evenings -
sab se rangeen teri shaam

...

The love of mother land -
Maa ka dil banke kabhi seene se lagjata hain tu

The sense of separation -
Aur kabhi nanhi si beti banke yaad atha hain tu

The more I think of you, the more I feel
Jithna yaad aata hain tu uthna tadpaata hain tu

...

Desire to die in your arms -
Hum jahan paida huye us jagah hi nikle dam


Music, lyrics, voice ... everything is at its best. I love it.

I feel bad, that I can't sing it as beautiful.

Coffee - My Drink

Coffee is a beverage, served hot or with ice, prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant. These seeds are almost always called coffee beans. Coffee is the second most commonly traded commodity in the world (measured by monetary volume), trailing only petroleum, and the most consumed beverage.

The first coffee plants are said to have come from the Horn of Africa on the shores of the Red Sea. Originally, coffee beans were taken as a food and not as a beverage. East African tribes would grind the coffee cherries together, mixing the results into a paste with animal fat. Rolled into little balls, the mixture was said to give warriors much-needed energy for battle. Later, around the year 1000 AD, Ethiopians concocted a type of wine from coffee berries, fermenting the dried beans in water. Coffee also grew naturally on the Arabian Peninsula, and it was there, during the 11th century that coffee was first developed into a hot drink.

According to one story, goat-herder noticed that his herd became friskier than usual after consuming the red cherries of a wild coffee shrub. Curious, he tasted the fruit himself. He was delighted by its invigorating effects, and was even spotted by a group of nearby monks dancing with his goats. Soon the monks began to boil the bean themselves and use the liquid to stay awake during all-night ceremonies. The other story is about a Muslim dervish who was condemned by his enemies to wander in the desert and eventually die of starvation. In his delirium, the young man heard a voice instructing him to eat the fruit from a nearby coffee tree. Confused, the dervish tried to soften the beans in water, and when this failed, he simply drank the liquid. Interpreting his survival and energy as a sign of God, he returned to his people, spreading the faith and the recipe.

Uses of coffee:

1. Antioxiditants: We consume fats and sugars that produce free radicals, and vitamins can't fight them alone. They need antioxidants. Coffe has antioxidants.
2. Great conversation starter with friends and business associates.
3. Ease Tension: It's a stimulant drink.
4. Being Active: Morning coffee keeps you alert and more active. Cup of coffee can help in the performance of tasks requiring sustained attention, even during low alertness situations such as after lunch, at night or when a person has a cold.
5. Fertilizer: Coffee grounds are a good fertilizer in gardens because of their high nitrogen content. coffee diluted with four times its volume of water can be used to amend soil acidity.
6. Art: Some use coffee to create art. Latte art involves designs in the foam of espresso-based drinks. Arfé is the use of coffee as a coloring for painting or other visual effects.
7. Well being: There have been associations between coffee consumption and lowered rates of certain illnesses, like suicide, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, Type II diabetes, colon cancer, Sirrhosis and heart disease.

So what are you waiting for? Just go grab a cup of coffe. Remember, keep the consumption under control. Wait! these benefits are seen only under exposure to moderate dose of coffee.

Great Victory - Team India creates history

Congratulations to Team India on their victory in the final test. They deserved it all from the very beginning of the test series. They always were better than the West Indians in both the first and second match. But they had to be satisfied with a draw. However their performance was very bad in the third match, when they were on the managed to save the match and draw it.

The final match was different. It was a complete low scorer. On the first day itself, the Team India's first innings was brought to an end. Captain's knock by Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble saved the face in the first innings. Good performance by the Indian bowlers put India on top again. End of the second day, India was 6 wickets down. They started with a lead of 97 runs, but did not add much to the total. Again the end of day 2, on the crease were Dravid and Anil Kumble. But they could not repeat the feat of the first innings. India ended their second innings with a target of 269.

Now the focuse shifted to the Indian bowlers. They lived upto the expectations and restricted West Indians to a total of 219. India won the match by 49 runs.

The only difference was India had Rahul Dravid. He symbolizes his appellation "The Wall". He is dependable. He is a boon to Indian Cricket. India under his captaincy created history. They won a test series outside India after a gap of 20 years, in WI after 35 years. It is a very long period, more than three generations of cricketers. Many players changed, many captains and coaches changed but they all failed to make the country proud while playing overseas.

When team fails, it is Captain who is blamed. When team wins, the credit goes to the so called "team-play". But this time, it was proved wrong. India won and the credit goes and even went to Dravid, the captain. He performed and he was the difference between India and WI. He was aptly awarded Man-of-the-Match. He performed in all the matches, so the Man-of-the-Series was also awarded to him.

With this performance, Rahul Dravid created a special place for himself in the history of Indian Cricket. Many more players would come, equal number would go, many captains would come and go, coach would change many times. But this performance would never be erased. It would remain for ever.

First Innings:
India 200
WI 103

Second Innings:
India 171
WI 219

Ileana - the new girl in tollywood

Oh!! She is amazingly cute. She deserves more than just an entry in my blog on her name, but this is how I would like to give tribute to the beauty - Ileana.

I noticed her only when the telugu movie "POKIRI" was released. Oh my! She has got great vital stats. The new heartthrob of the movie goers in the south.

Her beauty magnified as she depicted her various feelings through her physiognomy. I guess she would continue to be the heartthrob of telugu industry if she continues to perform and concentrate on improving her performance.

I would love to watch her perform on the screen for atleast another 5 years. Hoping to see more of her in the next few months to come, I end this wishing her a great future.

Want to get lost

I want to get lost. Not in the world of books. Not in the virtual world. I am neither interested in the world of people. I want to find a place where there would be no one around. There would be only me and my loneliness.

I want to
get lost in the forest
explore the mountain ranges
get lost in a deserted island.

I want to be alone in a place completely new to me. A place, where I know not the boundaries, I find not any restrictions, I have all the time in the world for myself and only myself.

I want to be free, I want to be independent. I want to see no other human life intruding into my privacy. I want to live this way for as long as I am bored of that life.

Ability or Inability

Some of my friend are very good in the eyes of the public. They are appreciated for their social concern. They manage their impression so very well that I would surely appreciate them for that skill. The problem with these people is that they can attract a decent size crowd, then with their backing, do anything they feel is correct. I loathe them.

Should I admire their ability to capture the crowd or should I condemn their inability to judge something good/bad?

Cup of coffe

These days, I miss coffee a lot. I used to have a lot of coffee .. about 6-7 cups a day. Every one chides me saying that it is not good to take so much of coffee. I am aware of the consequences of consuming such obsessively high amounts of caffeine.

I suddenly reduced the consumption ot 2 cups a day... now it is difficult to have anormal day. I feel sleepy generally. I feel distracted. I feel ill (withdrawal effects). But still, I will continue to consume a maximum of 2 cups of coffe or tea per day.

Even for such a small thing that I got habituated, it became very difficult to get out of that habit. Consider the people who consume mood enhancers and stimulants. For them, once they get habituated, life becomes miserable without consuming them.

But how can these things be avided?

New things, new life, new year

Many of them wished me, a great, happy, healthy, prosperous, wonderful, blissful, etc. new year. Every year I wish to myself, how wonderful it would be if their wishes were fulfilled. Probably, one of those rare instances when I wished the others' wishes come true.

Things remain the same every year. I go through the same set of things.
1. New things happen, get very excited about these. Eventually, they become old and get into the list of things that are no more exciting. Some of them, move to the list of "always-exciting" things.
2. No-more-exciting things
3. Boring ones
4. Irritating ones
5. Things that are always exciting

But still it is a new year, marking the beginning of new things, new cycle for Sun, new cycle of seasons. Every thing starts again, but they are the same things. Then why is it called a new year. But it brings in nothing new along with it. It serves the same old wine in a new bottle.

Is this not a mockery of words? A new year is just the same old wine packed in a new bottle. It is for this peripheral new things that we celebrate, we eat, drink, make merry, probably even gift things to each other. Instead of gifting others, why don't we gift ourselves the same. We say that it shows your love, your caring for others. When do we love and care the most important person in our life, the nearest person to us. It is non-other then the self. If that was the case, then why do we need a reason to show how much we care about our dearest ones, or ourselves.

This celebration does not make any sense. There are many more things that we celebrate. Do we need an occasion to express love to lover, love and respect to Mother and Father, friendship and trust to our friends? This can be done on any day, today, tomorrow, 1st, 31st, January or December.