Its pretty interesting when thoughts interlink, one idea connects to another, making a correlation of totally unrelated stuffs.
Subramanya Bharathi, one of the greatest poets of India who wrote in Tamil, wrote this poem - "Nirpathuve, nadappathuve, parappathuve..". This is one of his best poems according to me. This song also comes in his Tamil movie biography "Bharathi" (produced by my favorite Tamil writer Sujatha, on behalf of Media Dreams pvt. Ltd.). Watch this beautiful song with Ilayaraja's music here.
Bharathiyar addresses all the animals, birds, trees and in general, the Nature, and questions the very existence of all of them. He doubts if everything that his eyes see, everything he listens, even what he thinks, are all nothing but imagination. That which does not exist. He feels everything around him is like the oasis. Appears to be real but does not really exist. He suspects that the whole world could be an illusion. Ultimately, in a highly philosophical tone, he doubts his own existence is just a dream. He doesn't believe he belongs to this world in which his feet arr firmly set. Or at least, appears to be set.
Several decades later, in far future, while working as an underworld hacker-programmer, Neo got the same doubt. He doubted the world in which he lives. He 'felt' he did not belong here. It was only after Morpheus opened his eyes up that he realized he was inside a fictional, programmed, unreal world of The Matrix. The Wachowski brothers who created the Matrix franchise have thought along the same lines as Subramanya Bharathi. No denying the fact that the core idea is one of the basic theories in Hindu philosophy. But this comparison seems interesting (for me!). You might find it ridiculous but I see some logic in this. In case you still find it ridiculous and want to hit me you can't do that. Because of the simple fact that it is not "the me" who wrote this, which is simply because I don't exist. And you can't hit me also because you don't exist too.
Hello, non-existing, fictional, fellow dreamer!
--S--
Monday, January 17, 2011
7 hours adventure! - Part 4 - The End
The waitress at the McD asssured she has "Cheese burger" which was vegetarian for her, but not for me. When I enquired her about the ingredients I found out it was not vegetarian! I had to settle for French fries. We were laughing thinking of Vijay's "vegetarian" friends who'd been taking this Cheese burger for weeks by then.
Though it was only around 3-3.30 pm it was starting to get pretty dark already. Since we had to return to the cruise at 5 pm, not even a minute late, we decided to move towards the nearest Tunnelbana. That was when Vijay gave that idea (which could've cost us dearly). He suggested we visit his university which was "just on our way" to the port. We hesitated but decided to give a try. What is life without adventure!
His university was pretty good and we got busy clicking some photographs in front of everything that was visible there. Even the closed doors and fallen bicycles.
Minutes ticked away so fast that by the time we realized we were getting late, we were well behind our schedule. As we were accustomed to running in dense snow, which has been our "most favorite mode of transport" since our departure from my house @ Helsinki, we started sprinting towards nearest the Tunnelbana again.
Murphy's law got proved once again. If something has to go wrong, it will. And it did. Unusually, the metro train in our route got delayed. Though it was only by few minutes, those final moments were precious for us. I was a bit optimistic when we were in a similar situation only a day ago, but this time I was perspiring. It was a diffferent country, different situation.
When we ran just like Jack of Titanic, once again, rushed in to our cabin, took a sip of Redbull and witnessed the slow departure of the vessel from the port, we still couldn't believe how we made it. Vijay was so kind he ran along with us all the way from the metro station under the earth till the boarding point. This trip was so tiring and adventurous that I was so sleepy on the last lap to my house from Helsinki port.
Though I could see very little of Stockholm, Sweden, these few hours will remain in my memory as solid as the rocky ice of that December Scandinavian sea, until old age like summer melts and takes it away from me drop by drop.
-The End-
--S--
Though it was only around 3-3.30 pm it was starting to get pretty dark already. Since we had to return to the cruise at 5 pm, not even a minute late, we decided to move towards the nearest Tunnelbana. That was when Vijay gave that idea (which could've cost us dearly). He suggested we visit his university which was "just on our way" to the port. We hesitated but decided to give a try. What is life without adventure!
His university was pretty good and we got busy clicking some photographs in front of everything that was visible there. Even the closed doors and fallen bicycles.
Minutes ticked away so fast that by the time we realized we were getting late, we were well behind our schedule. As we were accustomed to running in dense snow, which has been our "most favorite mode of transport" since our departure from my house @ Helsinki, we started sprinting towards nearest the Tunnelbana again.
Murphy's law got proved once again. If something has to go wrong, it will. And it did. Unusually, the metro train in our route got delayed. Though it was only by few minutes, those final moments were precious for us. I was a bit optimistic when we were in a similar situation only a day ago, but this time I was perspiring. It was a diffferent country, different situation.
When we ran just like Jack of Titanic, once again, rushed in to our cabin, took a sip of Redbull and witnessed the slow departure of the vessel from the port, we still couldn't believe how we made it. Vijay was so kind he ran along with us all the way from the metro station under the earth till the boarding point. This trip was so tiring and adventurous that I was so sleepy on the last lap to my house from Helsinki port.
Though I could see very little of Stockholm, Sweden, these few hours will remain in my memory as solid as the rocky ice of that December Scandinavian sea, until old age like summer melts and takes it away from me drop by drop.
-The End-
--S--
Thursday, January 6, 2011
7 hours adventure! - Part 3
What I thought would be a "short while" took much longer than that! Reasons being X-mas, New year and holidays :)
I mention 7 hours in the title because I was inside Sweden, in the city of Stockholm for just 7 hours. And adventure is not what anyone would normally imagine. No heroics. No tiger chased me in some deep interior forest. And I didn't climb any mountain. What made the entire trip adventurous was the time constraint I had. It was 10 AM when I left the cruise and set my foot on this amazing country which has given us Ingmar Bergman, Björn Borg, the Ericsson and Alfred Nobel! My return cruise was to leave Stockholm for Helsinki @ 5 PM the same day. So I had just 7 hours to see all that I want to. I did manage to see a lot. Or I should say, "experience" a lot. And yes, I did struggle (as usual) to catch my cruise in the evening, which made this trip very memorable :)
Before I move on I must tell something about the setting. The temperature was close to double digit in the negative. Dense snowfall had painted the city pure white. Whiter than the purest white I had ever seen. (Helsinki streets were filled with snow too, but it didn't seem so clean then.) And it was just a week before Christmas, and so it was celebration mood everywhere. All this together gave me a dreamy feel. If you are a fan of the Potter series you can relate it to how Mr. Potter felt during his first visit to the Hogsmeade village! This is the closest and the best comparison I can imagine. :)
My short stay at this foreign city was made comfortable and easy by my friend from college and later colleague at workplace - Vijay, without whom I wouldn't have seen as much as I did. He made the trip cheerful, unforgettable and exciting, not just for me, but also to my 2 friends (Athi & Anto) who came with me from Helsinki. Vijay even brought us his friends' travel cards so that we need not waste some Swedish Kroons (which we exchanged for Euros inside the cruise middle of that Nordic sea!!). He met us near a "Tunnelbana" which is the Swedish term for Stockholm metro stations, and we headed straight to the old town area. From my previous visit to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, I learned that the best place to visit in a European city is its old town area. The new, urban areas of all the cities have no distinction. They all look the same. Shopping malls, McD, clubs, etc.
The first couple of hours were spent in roaming around the old town area (called "Gamla Stan"), looking at the narrow streets decorated for Christmas, petty souvenir shops, Churches, etc. We saw the Royal palace where the guards changed duty at the hour (Sweden follows Constitutional/Parliamentary monarchy). Then we saw the Swedish parliament. While we were clicking some photographs in front of it we saw a lady come out of a room, lock it and drive away in her car. Vijay joked she could even be a member of the parliament! We were told, the MPs there are very simple (should I mention 'unlike ours'?).
We then moved to a small junction which seemed like some market place, with several souvenir shops, lots of pigeons, buildings painted in many interesting colors, Christmas gift shops, etc. Those tiny streets led me to the Nobel Museum which houses lots of information about the life and inventions of Alfred Nobel. I also remember seeing his Will regarding the Nobel prize awards. That one hour spent there was definitely worth it.
When I came out of the museum it was quite different than how it was an hour earlier. There were lots of kids, playing with a Santa, and someone was arranging mikes and speakers. Within few minutes the cute little kids starting singing some songs, should be Christmas choirs I guess, which was lovely!
By this time we started feeling hungry. Being a 'strict' vegetarian I don't expect to get veg food everywhere. During such trips I prepare myself to mange with just some chocolate bars and energy drinks. Those are enough for me to keep myself active. But still, at that time we felt it necessary to eat something. Vijay said the local McD serves Veg burger, which I didn't believe. We decided to try my luck and started marching towards the McDonalds without knowing that I would remain hungry throughout the remaining of the day. :(
(To be contd..)
--S--
I mention 7 hours in the title because I was inside Sweden, in the city of Stockholm for just 7 hours. And adventure is not what anyone would normally imagine. No heroics. No tiger chased me in some deep interior forest. And I didn't climb any mountain. What made the entire trip adventurous was the time constraint I had. It was 10 AM when I left the cruise and set my foot on this amazing country which has given us Ingmar Bergman, Björn Borg, the Ericsson and Alfred Nobel! My return cruise was to leave Stockholm for Helsinki @ 5 PM the same day. So I had just 7 hours to see all that I want to. I did manage to see a lot. Or I should say, "experience" a lot. And yes, I did struggle (as usual) to catch my cruise in the evening, which made this trip very memorable :)
Before I move on I must tell something about the setting. The temperature was close to double digit in the negative. Dense snowfall had painted the city pure white. Whiter than the purest white I had ever seen. (Helsinki streets were filled with snow too, but it didn't seem so clean then.) And it was just a week before Christmas, and so it was celebration mood everywhere. All this together gave me a dreamy feel. If you are a fan of the Potter series you can relate it to how Mr. Potter felt during his first visit to the Hogsmeade village! This is the closest and the best comparison I can imagine. :)
My short stay at this foreign city was made comfortable and easy by my friend from college and later colleague at workplace - Vijay, without whom I wouldn't have seen as much as I did. He made the trip cheerful, unforgettable and exciting, not just for me, but also to my 2 friends (Athi & Anto) who came with me from Helsinki. Vijay even brought us his friends' travel cards so that we need not waste some Swedish Kroons (which we exchanged for Euros inside the cruise middle of that Nordic sea!!). He met us near a "Tunnelbana" which is the Swedish term for Stockholm metro stations, and we headed straight to the old town area. From my previous visit to Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, I learned that the best place to visit in a European city is its old town area. The new, urban areas of all the cities have no distinction. They all look the same. Shopping malls, McD, clubs, etc.
The first couple of hours were spent in roaming around the old town area (called "Gamla Stan"), looking at the narrow streets decorated for Christmas, petty souvenir shops, Churches, etc. We saw the Royal palace where the guards changed duty at the hour (Sweden follows Constitutional/Parliamentary monarchy). Then we saw the Swedish parliament. While we were clicking some photographs in front of it we saw a lady come out of a room, lock it and drive away in her car. Vijay joked she could even be a member of the parliament! We were told, the MPs there are very simple (should I mention 'unlike ours'?).
We then moved to a small junction which seemed like some market place, with several souvenir shops, lots of pigeons, buildings painted in many interesting colors, Christmas gift shops, etc. Those tiny streets led me to the Nobel Museum which houses lots of information about the life and inventions of Alfred Nobel. I also remember seeing his Will regarding the Nobel prize awards. That one hour spent there was definitely worth it.
When I came out of the museum it was quite different than how it was an hour earlier. There were lots of kids, playing with a Santa, and someone was arranging mikes and speakers. Within few minutes the cute little kids starting singing some songs, should be Christmas choirs I guess, which was lovely!
By this time we started feeling hungry. Being a 'strict' vegetarian I don't expect to get veg food everywhere. During such trips I prepare myself to mange with just some chocolate bars and energy drinks. Those are enough for me to keep myself active. But still, at that time we felt it necessary to eat something. Vijay said the local McD serves Veg burger, which I didn't believe. We decided to try my luck and started marching towards the McDonalds without knowing that I would remain hungry throughout the remaining of the day. :(
(To be contd..)
--S--
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