'MAA' - I OWE MY EXISTENCE TO YOU ..........

                                   

  

ODE TO MY 'MAA'

From the moment, 'she' wished my birth,
'She' filled the air, with her mirth,
For ten months I dwelled in her womb,
An inseparable bond built my joyous tomb,
With her nectar, 'she' fed me,
Tried every way to relieve me of my agony,
She knows me much more, more than I do myself,
As every bit of me is filled with her nectar of thyself,Blessed that I am, I found my place on the soul of Mother Earth,
You have shown me the golden 'Truth', because you gave me birth,
'Maa', you are my elixir, your pure love for me unleashed, with your pure touch,
You are my 'GOD', you are my life, with you I feel 'HIM', and I have understood that much.
-- Self Composition--
SUMANA SHOME.

THE YEAR THAT IS .......... 2011..........

A frightful nightmare, the irreconcilable hollowness, the pangs of melancholy, pathos undefined, eulogies unwritten, the shadow of 'Death' encroaching over human lives.......... - Hungry tears that have not stopped - Death is the ultimate truth for everyone on this earth. Patients choked to death due to the carelessness of the rich - We have seen it all.

Yet, we must not lose faith upon man - Humanity does exist even now - The brave young men from the slum areas (who may not have a chance to get treatment from a luxurious nursing home) and our very own chief minister taking on the lead role in controlling what could have been a complete catastrophe - There is no condolence for death, no compensation to reconcile with the void - Still, a silver lining does exist in the form of humanism. The finite has found itself enmeshed with the Divine Infinite, for it is within us that the Infinite exists (the punishment lies in not realizing the the Divine within). The stream of consciousness takes me to the age when the Nazi's killed the Jews in tightly enclosed gas chambers - This incident at AMRI hospital reminds us of an aphorism that 'History repeats itself'. God manifests Himself in many forms - The two young nurses, having saved nine lives, were choked to death (reminds me of Florence Nightingale), the brave young men who broke open the windows to save numerous lives (realizing that even they could have had the same fate - Reminds me of the ideals of the disciples of Swami Vivekananda) , the doctor of the forensic department at SSKM, and needless to mention the Lady who showed real courage in leading from the front and managing the pandemonium which could have resulted in a stampede (nevertheless, reminds me of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose) - They appeared to be Godsend during the fatal moment and it is only because of the existence of such people we find 'HOPE' in Pandora's box.

Are we to survive with such ghastly reminiscences, haunting and hitting upon our conscience every moment ? Revelation dawns on us when things become too difficult for us to handle - Then why such punishment ? - Is that the answer to our actions in our past lives ? - No one knows. The brutality, the cry to be saved shall remain unceased, and shall resonate forever - But there has to be punishment, for punishment is the only source towards realization of what has been done wrong to the innocent - The judgement day is awaited, but no anointment shall heal the scars that have been engraved in our memories.

THE YEAR - 2011............ !!.

The year, 2011, manifested itself with the core 'TRUTHS' about life - It witnessed events that can only be symbolized as mixtures within a cauldron. But even then the human mind never ceases to change - We tend to forget that realization is the harshest of punishments that a human can face. Nature's vengeance is far more destructive than the damage caused by tomahawks and the F-16's - Earthquakes, Tsunami, Water Spout, Droughts, Famines, Floods, Landslides, Acid Rains... et al echo the magnanimity of Mother Nature over helpless living creatures. Man killing man became the constant factor in today's decade - the 'tandava' of Maoists, negligence of doctors that took the life of new-born babies, terrorism in the form of 'saving the world from terrorists', bigotry - All are premonitions of some ill-omen.

India witnessed the loss of some of the great artists of our times - M.F. Hussain, gazal samrat Jagjit Singh, Nawab Pataudi, Bhupen Hazarika - within a short span of 3 to 4 months - But it may be good for they will not live to see the further degradation of mankind.

Celebrations over the deaths of Gaddafi, the Maoist leader, Kishan Mahato, resonates that man killing man can only lead to hatred in its extreme form - Little do we know that revolution does not take much time to metamorphose into a rebellion.

There is no trace of tolerance and acceptance, that love begets love, as had been preached by our great reformists - We are inviting 'DEATH' in its wildest of forms, that can never be imagined in the worst of our dreams.

THE PHENOMENON CALLED 'HUSSAIN'...

It was all that could have been - It was nothing but 'ART FOR ART'S SAKE' for the great artist who took Indian art into the international foray. But, the 'knowledgeable' that we all are sometimes forget that that the greatest danger to mankind and our civilization is the 'Ignorance of the Learned'... An exiled man, gifted with powerful imagination, passed away at the age of 95 (June 4, 2011) at a home away from home - Perhaps the Gods and the deities have to decide whether or not to exile Hussain from heaven or not.

As a child, I remembered having attended a painting competition held at the Hyatt Regency, New Delhi, presided over by none other than this great man (little did I know then about his magnanimity) - We had to sketch his portrait and he would move around throughout the area (bare-foot !!). Times have passed but our thought processes little did change - The man made himself immortal through his timeless masterpieces... The strokes shall never die but our interpretations and criticisms would surely die its natural death.

Do we ever criticize or gherao the bare-bodied (half-clad) item girls of our movies - Anyone to comment on that !!.

EXAM TIMES ... THE PANGS OF INVIGILATION...

I used to remember the days when I took examinations as a student in my school and college - Nowadays, I find my students having a hard time during the examinations - Well, shall definitely say that invigilation is a much tougher job. At times it puts you in a no-exit situation and one might surely confront ethical dilemma. Pressure rises high with the temperatures and for three odd hours keeping an eye on every examinee calls forth nothing but patience of mind and tolerance.

MY FAVOURITE CARTOON CHARACTER.

My favourite, sweetest and the cutest of all times - Donald Duck. The boldness matched with immense craziness makes this character a darling !!

WOMAN POWER !!

FRIDAY, THE 13TH - Well, well - It's time we faced the truth. It was 'Woman Power' all the way that swept West Bengal and Tamil Nadu and left everyone's eyes wide open !! Now its time for us to see how this power of the women percolates to the lesser mortals and makes them powerful. The zeal to win is within us and 'now' is the time we realized it - If 'change' be the underlining word, then let's accept it and better not be aversive to it. Going against the tide and making a mark on our own makes the tough get going !!
The wave of democracy lay bare the 'truth' - It was like 'Now or Never'.