". .. the 'real world' is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group. No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds not merely the same world with different labels attached."

Edward A. Sapir, Selected Writings in Language,
Culture and Personality (1949: 42}

Continuity

New places
New encounters
Familiar moments

New people
New faces
Known relationships

New job
New school
Old work

New food
New clothes
same rituals

Seeking knowledge
Discovering art
Looking to the future
referring to the past

New paths to
old goals
New methods,
Same intentions

Honor by profession,
by craft,
by art,
by hard work and humility

Respect brought by the honor
Honor that brings status
Status that massages the ego
That fuels greed
The greed for power
The power and its illusion
Fear of the loss of power
The fear that fuels aggression
The fear that breeds hatred
That makes enemies
That brings war
Insecurity

Where is the honor now?
I don't see it anymore

"Architecture does not exist, what exists is the spirit of Architecture"
- Louis Kahn

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”
― Albert Einstein

Reminder

Something a friend asked me today reminded me of this space. This space that I once frequented and have now seemed to have abandoned.

I should pay a visit more often.

Living in the Urban Paradox

The broken wooden staircase
leading to a flashy store
The old paint chipping away
but the
the new glass abutting the window
the metal laminated cladding
A mismatch to the
Decorative exposed brick wall
The old street that houses the cozy book shops
and the old house rented out to the new pizza shop
The footpath that houses the beggar
and the
The polythene awnings tied to a tree
qualifies for the shrine in the middle of the chowk
Under the auspicious Peepal tree
the devotees that throng the temple
and the footwear that crowds the entrance
The elite glass building that contrasts
in the same visual frame as
the ad hoc jugaad of the chai tapri

The chaos amidst the order
And order within the chaos
Unpretentious streets which define
Living in the urban paradox

Feeling blessed

Some days are unforgettable
Some people cannot be replaced
For all those who believe in me .....
I am grateful .....
and feeling thoroughly blessed

Dreams

And the story unfolds
before the sun rise
and dreams reach out
and catch you by surprise

and the glory of dreams
that leave you yearning for more
because all it takes
is the call of the wake

To tell you its time
to pursue those dreams
To show you that's how
your supposed to live
To help you with the way
that you were supposed to find

Its the faith in the dreams
That keep you going
Its the truth of the dark night
that the morning reveals