In response to Writing 201: Water
Tag: postaday
Haiku for Valentine’s Day – Part 5
Haiku for Valentine’s Day – Part 4
Haiku for Valentine’s Day – Part 3
Haiku for Valentine’s Day – Part 1
In response to Cupid’s Arrow: Here is first of my attempts at Haiku for Valentine’s Day….. 
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Daily Prompt: Play lexicographer
Play lexicographer: Create a new word and explain its meaning and etymology.
When I saw the prompt for today, I thought it would be a good idea to write about a word from India that has found its way into the English dictionary. Even before this thought would vanish from my mind, the word that I am going to write about flashed in my mind’s eye.
The word is Juggernaut (pronounced as ‘Jug-ger-naut’), the word means a mercilessly destructive and unstoppable force. The word has been derived from the Sanskrit word Jagannath meaning ‘lord of the world.’ The word has its roots in the festive chariot carrying ‘Lord Jagannath’ of Puri, Orissa. It is said that once the chariot starts to roll, bringing it a standstill was difficult, almost impossible and often the people would get crushed under the weight of the chariot either voluntarily (as a sacrifice) or involuntarily (due to some freak accident). Hence the English word has come mean an unstoppable force. The word is quite often used in sports a team continues its winning streak unabated (e.g. The Juggernaut of Team India continues).
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Journey
The Daily Prompt: Free Association
Write down the first words that comes to mind when we say . . .
. . . home.
. . . soil.
. . . rain.
Use those words in the title of your post.
There are so many words that comes to my mind as I think of these three prompts.
Home: Heart, Family, Happiness, Comfort
Soil: Life, Patience, Roots
Rain: Elixir, Joy, Water, Flood
But if I try to associate these three prompts with my life, the word that comes to my mind is, ‘Journey.’ Please continue to read on about my journey.
Like a child eating his favorite candy happily, I was enjoying the pleasant comfort of my home. Years flew like seconds which I could barely acknowledge or recognize. I was jealous of the eagles that were flying, the horses that were running and the fishes that were swimming. But I never made an effort to figure out if I was an eagle or a horse or a fish. Soon enough like a loose soil, I was swept away from home by the winds of change. No goal to pursue and no destination in mind, but yet I continued my journey.
And like a voyager lost in the sea, with every additional step I was more lost than ever. Every time I tried to make a course correction or return, hope triumphed over experience. Years passed and here I was; sometimes stuck on the root of plant or sometime stuck on a rock but always wondering if this is where I wanted to be. But one fine day, there was rain. A rain like nothing this loose soil had seen before. A rain that brought back the loose soil back to where it started from.
It looks like the journey is over. What is most valuable thing that I earned in this journey, is it fortune or fame? Is it love or legacy? It is the ‘experience’ that I gained in pursuit of all these. And in this journey I learned as much about myself as I have learned about this world. A journey with no destination to pursue but which leads to self-awareness is much better than a journey that leads to an intended destination but with no self-awareness.
All human beings are in their own unique life-long journey with no permanent destination. The journey is the only constant thing, all destinations are only temporary. If I look back at my journey so far and have to assign an adjective to it, what would it be? ‘Interesting’. It was an interesting journey. It is an interesting journey and it will continue to remain so in future as well. The journey continues from another temporary destination.
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The Daily Post – A Moment in Time: Kolams for Pongal
The Daily Post – A Moment in Time: “What was the last picture you took? Tell us the story behind it. (No story behind the photo? Make one up, or choose the last picture you took that had one.)”
Peacock Kolam
The last photo, in fact the last couple of snaps that I took were those of Kolams (Floor drawings made in rice flour or chalk/ chalk powder) drawn by my wife for Pongal, the harvest festival celebrated by Tamils. Earlier this month, I asked my wife to take part in the Kolam contest at Mylapore Festival. However my wife refused saying that she might to be able to come up with a good kolam. I tried to motivate her to participate but in vain. However when we visited the festival and saw all the kolams, she felt bad that she did not participate.
Ganesha Kolam for Day 4 of Pongal
In order to get over that regret she decided to draw kolams at our flat entrance for Pongal. She drew one for the 2nd day of the festival and one for the fourth day. Each one took about couple of hours to draw. On both days she started around 11.30PM and went till 1.30 AM. For about two hours she patiently sat down on the floor (in December weather) to make these kolams. The end results were beautiful.
Our neighbors were praising about the kolams the following days. One of my neighbors in fact took snaps of the kolam and posted it on her WhatsApp and Facebook account. The other day she was telling my wife that the photos got a lot of likes and encouraged my wife to continue the good work. Another neighbor came to see my wife and asked for the design so that she can draw it at her place. I was hoping to write a blog post about my wife’s Pongal Kolams for the last couple of days and this prompt gives me a good reason to write about them
My wife used to do canvas painting and oil painting in her school days. Somehow she did not continue with them after going to college/ work. After seeing her come up with the rough sketch of the kolams with such ease, I am sure there is dormant artist living in her. Yesterday, when we were at the book store, I asked her if she wanted to buy colors and canvas. But she said that she hasn’t decided yet to start once again. I sincerely wish that my wife rekindles her interest in painting in 2015.
<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/moment-in-time/”>A Moment in Time</a>
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The Daily Prompt – Brain Power
The Daily Prompt – Brain Power: ‘Let’s assume we do, in fact, use only 10% of our brain. If you could unlock the remaining 90%, what would you do with it?’
Do I use only 10% of my brain power or even less than that? Not sure and it doesn’t matter.
Are the results in my life the result of my brain power Alone? No.
If I am able to work with 100% of my brain power, will my life completely change for the better? An emphatic no.
As Woody Allen very famously once said, ‘Eighty percent of success is showing up,’ I would like to show up every time there is an opportunity. How much ever my ability is, I would still like to have the courage to face this world and put my ability to test when the situation demands. I would like to improve on my abilities every single time.
‘Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.’ – Calvin Coolidge (US president, 1872-1933)
One’s habits ares a much better determinant of success than intelligence. Therefore I would like to put my habits in order more than anything else. In his TED talk, Conor Neill said, ‘Success in life is not one massive good decision and failure is not one poor decision. Failure is repeated bad decisions; Success is repeated, consistent, good habits.’ More than hoping for increase in my brain power, I wish for exponential increase in will power.
<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/brain-power/”>Brain Power</a>
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