Write, Left and Centre

I am no Leftist..Nor a Rightist. I am a Writist! Yeah, just coined the word.

I write, and I have not left it for a long time, nor do I plan to.

What's right, and what's not, is tough to say. It depends on whether you approach it from the Left or the Right..

But write about it, and you find that the Centre could be the way to go. Not because the Buddha advocated it, after being enlightened. But because it seems like the right thing.

So, right away, take up writing..and see yourself leaning in, from both the Left and the Right.

There are always two (or more) sides to a story. And more than one may be right. Right?

Lanka Images 3- A Temple

 I liked the pillars. The Buddha statue is serene, and there's an elephant tooth- a recurring theme. All these pics are from the Gangaramayya Temple in Colombo.

 Looking out from the left pavilion.

 A rich tapestry of colour adorns the walls.

 Some more wall decoration.

 This is an unexplained combination of two figures with multiple heads.

 Looking down at one of the halls.

 ..and looking up at the top of another...multiple statues. Decorative door, copper coloured.

This is one of the many murals on the outer wall on the right.

Kite-flying and Other Pursuits

Flying kites has never been my thing. But caught up in the enthusiasm of our students who organised the event (hopefully they did not have classes at the time), and a couple of colleagues, I went along with the idea, and we flew a kite or two yesterday. By the way, it's the done thing to do this at this time of the year, in many Indian states. My learnings from the escapade-

It is not as simple as it looks. (I also had this enlightenment earlier when I began playing Golf)

The kite continues to fly only if handled correctly, so the flyer is an important part.

There is a time to tighten the reins, and a time to let go. Both are needed for the kite to soar as high as it is capable of doing.

A kite can take a lot of beating, and still fly. It does not give up easily.

A breeze is what is ideal for it to fly, not a storm. Nor a dead wind. Strikes me as similar to Buddha's Middle Path...

Anopheles on Floods, Bombs and Love Stories

Anopheles, my old friend (she is a females mosquito with whom I have intellectual conversations about the world, for those who are new to her) was back, and we started talking about disasters.

I let her know about the deep tragedy caused by floods in three states. And asked for her reaction.

She said, "We'll get some new places to settle in, I hope."

Stunning as it was, it brought home to me the fact that one man's flood could be another man's (OK, mosquito's, in this case) fortune. Shakespeare had also said something linking floods and fortune, I vaguely remembered from my literature class in school.

"Like human beings settle on the banks of rivers, we settle in the remnants of floods" she shrugged. Then she asked me what I do for entertainment these days. I said, "Watch half-witted love stories, Ranjhana being a case in point."

"What's the love-story you mention about?" she wanted to know.

I struggled to explain " Well, it's about a loafer who is in love. The law of Equality, Liberty, Fraternity says that loafers have equal rights to fall in love with anyone they want. And the object of their love has no choice in the matter, if the director so chooses. So she does, but then she plots to get him killed, because he was responsible for getting the guy she really loved, killed. It's an eye for an eye, and that's the end of the loafer who is a lover-boy." I could see a look of disbelief cross her brow, and stay there."

"Let us leave love stories behind, and talk of something else. They are too depressing," I suggested.

Like what?" she asked.
"Bombing of Buddha temples?" I suggested, going from deadly love stories to just deadly live stories.

"Who is Buddha?" she innocently asked.
"He was a great soul who preached non-violence, and the way of enlightenment."
"And this is how you pay him back? By bombing his temple?" she seemed indignant.

I had no sustainable defence. I had to say, I was ashamed there were people who were so lost that they did not know what they were doing any more. Lots of them.