Existence

I love reading murder mysteries. My favorite is Agatha Christie’s Belgian detective Hercules Poirot. What I love about the books is the revelation of the kill. The author sets up a stage where all characters are together and through a method of assumption and elimination Poirot arrives at the method, the motive and the killer.

In life we all wish that we had a similar round up that would simply just explain why it is that we are here? If only life was as simple as an Agatha Christie’s novel. How utterly non complex life would be if we could just answer all our questions through a method of assumption and elimination.

People in quest for the answer take 2 paths. One is they spend their life questioning everything. They live in constant quest for solutions. Schools inbreed in us a sense that there always has to be a right and wrong answer. As a result we often spend countless hours debating in our minds about what is black or white.

Others go to the other extreme and live life to the fullest, excepting it with all its intricacies. They are happy with the fact that they don’t know what the future holds and are not really sure what their past means because they spend their lifetime only living in the present.

But there is another path… One where you simply accept life as a mystery you will never solve. When the greatest scientists are unable to solve the mystery of cancer or the universe you simply just accept it for what is while you learn and experience everything you can about it. As a person you accept your past though painful for what is was. You accept the decisions you make and though some may not be the best. You accept relationships, failed and successful because each gave you a gift.

By accepting you choose the middle road between both paths. You live your life in constant wonder of the beauty that surrounds you and at the same time you spend time pondering over the mysteries of the world…without too much expectation of an answer. Perhaps children have it right. Wonder is the most beautiful answer to the mystery of life.

Pangea

Pangea refers to the super continent from where all continents eventually borke away. Since the division the world has never since been considered one. Instead we prefer to concentrate on the imaginary lines that we create, the colour of our skin and not the blood that runs in our veins. Instead we concentrate on what divides us as against what unites us.

Pangea Day was celebrated on 10th May. Its a day where those in the film world come together to celebrate one world. Its an effort to make the world look at the world from the eyes of fellow human beings around the world. A wonderful initiative started by Jehane Noujaim. It showcased 24 short films by directors from across the world. In 2006 she won the TED prize and was awarded 1,00,000$ for a wish to change the world. Pangea Day was born out of this wish.

In India Pangea Day was organised at the NCPA. I had to satisfy myself with the live telecast on Star World. Some of the most touching films was Dancing Queen by India's very own Sumit Roy and I remember Lebanon by Zeina Aboul Hosn. Elevator Music by Serday Fertit and the ball by Orlando Mesquita( Making a ball out of a condom) had you in fits of laughter.

One wonders why no one ever thought about setting aside one day to celebrate the uniqueness of being human. Anyway better late than never.

Check out the website on http://www.pangeaday.org/

Goodbye

When is the right time to say goodbye?
Is it ever the right time to cut off all ties from someone?
What if you paths cross again in this journey called life?
How much do you give without ever receving any thing?
Did you really really give anything at all?
How honest can you be with someone when you know that no one cares for an eternity?
Why is it that the ones you dont like fall head over heals for you?
Why is it that you always want someone who never wants you back?
When is the right time to say goodbye?

Trees

Its amazing how much happier trees look in the forest. During a recent holiday to the forests around Karnataka, I got the opportunity to live in an environment with a thriving tree cover. It was one of the most wonderful experiences. There is a certain energy in forests. Its as if the place just pulsates a positive life force.

That's something you miss in the city. The trees in cities are covered in dust and soot and very often looked half dead. A far cry from the evergreens in the country side.

On our drive back I was extremely disappointed to see the trees that had been felled to widen the road.It was such a disappointing end to a wonderful trip because I felt like I was leaving heaven and entering purgatory.