In dodo's head

Early childhood days. He was the one I ran to every time I needed something, some place warm, some place safe. If a bad dream shook me and woke me awake, he is the one I reach out to, his arms protecting me from the darkness of the world. Never once did he raise a finger at me. Never once did he give up on me. Frowns of worry would crinkle his face if I was a little unwell or upset. Never once did he shake me awake. Gentle whispers of my name or dewdrops from the rubber tree that grew outside our house was his way of opening my eyes. French toasts and spanish omelettes, rice cooked with an array of vegetables and spices, these were the things he loves to cook the most. Never once did he say no to what I have asked for, and asked for I have many. He toils, never complaining. Gives up on his dreams so that I can have mine. Little quirks of his entertained me all through childhood. The way he would finish packets of food in the span of a few minutes much to the anger of my mother. T...

Friends, Manipuris, Countrymen.. Lend me your ears.. I come here not to condemn the actions our country has taken over the last few decades, but to share with you my worry.. Having been reading up on adaptation to climate change for some fodder to feed my dissertation, it seems pretty apparent, just how big a leap our country has to take to cross to a more sustainable future. One that does not have buildings and bridges which crumble with a slight breeze killing dozens at a go, but one which can withstand the natural hazards which seem so inevitable, with climate change effects... Japan was considered one of the most prepared countries for natural disasters, if not the most prepared one- tsunami warning systems, swaying buildings, and what not.. But what happened to it when an 8.9 magnitude earthquake followed by a tsunami hit its North-eastern coast? It demonstrated to us how no matter how much we prepare, it might not be good enough at all.. I shudder to think what would happen i...

We will not be here forever, In this moment, In this setting. March 2011, Manchester These memories will gradually be wiped away, And no trace of it will remain To remind us of what we used to be. The countdown ticks away, Unseen from our eyes. How I yearn to see, How many hours, minutes and seconds I have left Would it change anything? Would I do anything differently? Tick tock tick tock, The number of days keep increasing. March 2011, Manchester There are baited breaths, As people await. Await to see our miracles. What are you going to give to this planet? They all seem to ask. Pressure builds up gradually, As time flies. I find myself foraging, In the depths of my soul. Finding the answer to the eternal question, Why am I here on earth?

A picture I took sometime back. In 2011 for sure, month fails me I remember reading years ago Pride and Prejudice. It stayed on to be in my top 10 favourite books list for years to come, ten years on... But I still remember that feeling when I picked it up for the first time. And then there was the other book I read. It had something about all happy families being similar to each other, but all sad ones being unhappy in their own ways. Oh wait, why did I type that. Makes no connection, no sense. And yet I let it remain. Today I let broken chains of thought flow. Today I do not press the 'backspace' button. I type this warily, unwilling to make mistakes. And I realise, there is no fun in that. There is some fun to be had in living in reckless abandon. Some pleasure in doing all the things we bump into in the insides of our head. And then having the crucial backspace or delete button in our lives or rather keyboard. How I sometimes wish I had them in life as well, delete ...

Picture taken in February 2011, Manchester Life is fleeting, life is short,         Don't we already know that. Fragile as we are, With clocks ticking away. Whose time here will end now, Whose tomorrow. We know not. Why leave things hanging? Why live life wondering? Why not say what we feel? Why not tell people they matter? With all things so uncertain, With all things sometimes so empty, Why not fill someone's life with colour Why not tell them how special they really are. How much we care, and how much we need them. Why miss them and cry silent tears, And live in a world of 'what if's' Or worse still, live in silent hatred or wondering.

When tough challenges faces countries around the world, what comforts me is the humanity that emerges from the other countries.. Makes me feel the world is not so doomed after all. Watching on BBC the number of countries extending a helping hand, flying in with assistance and being there for Japan, even burying the hatchet even if temporarily (in the case of China) shows just how differences disappear when tragedy strikes.. Picture taken in June outside the Jama Masjid. June 2010

It has indeed been quite a while since I last wrote something. Yesterday was really one of the worst days of this new year. The Japan earthquake and tsunami.. Yet another testament to how much we underestimate the power of Nature's fury.. The world watched rather helplessly as Her tsunami literally took the world's third largest economy by storm and swept away in the blink of an eye what it had taken years to build. We cannot help but be reminded about how fragile how lives really are, and how little we know of this world that we live in. Picture taken on 9th March 2011 from my room

Being in a country with running water and heating deceives us.. Makes us worry about mundane things , shut our eyes to the ordeals faced by human beings around the world. Watching a documentary however shook me, brought me back in reality.. This time that of the challenges posed by rivers. There are no words to describe just how lucky we are, to be born in families who can provide for us.. Who have the resources to simply walk into a supermarket and pick up the salmon meal we are going to eat that day. And yet there are those who have to walk on a tightrope across the rapids of the Mekong to get their daily meal. Risking their lives, just to provide enough for their family. We have access to transport, one ticket booked and we find ourselves cruising in an aeroplane watching movies.. A few hours later, we are in our destination, whining about the lectures we have to attend. And yet there are those who have to embark on six day treks on frozen rivers called the Chadar trek in the Him...