Sparkling Singapore

"It’s not that Singaporean cattle don't shit. It’s just that there are a lot of dung beetles to do the magic!"

Iyer

(Inspired by a show on Discovery)

2nd link bridge run

Mamoo and me

Machi, mamoo and me

Rob and Sebastian

My timing

 

Cambodia in October

Cambodia

We stood atop Phnom Bakheng and watched the setting sun spill orange over a sea of lush green tropical forests. The towers of Angkor Wat rose above the green mesh and glowed.

Standing there, we were at once aware of a power supreme. The power of human will spurred by the craving to leave behind unmatched legacy. The power that chipped, chiseled and breathed life into rocks. A dizzying spectacle of human creation.

Standing there, we were aware of another power. That of nature, waiting and watching from all around. Ready to smother all that we surveyed with her ageless arms.



Iyer

Hindu at the Helm?

Shashi Tharoor, a writer and diplomat, is vying to be the first practicing Hindu to serve as U.N. secretary general.
Interview by Visi Tilak

Shashi Tharoor is a prolific writer--nine books, in addition to many articles, op-eds and literary reviews--and is the recipient of several journalism and literary awards. And that's in addition to his day job as the Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information at the United Nations. Now, Tharoor is looking to take on an even more demanding role: He is running for secretary general of the U.N., and if he wins, he'd be the first practicing Hindu to lead that organization. Tharoor says he hopes to bring change to the United Nations; quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he says, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world. What is true for individuals applies also to institutions. The U.N. is no exception. If we want to change the world, we must change too.” Tharoor recently spoke with Beliefnet about his faith and how it empowers him.

How does faith shape a person's career and life? Or does it?

It does, if you have faith. For some, it’s merely a question of faith in themselves; for others, including me, that sense of faith emerges from a faith in something larger than ourselves. It’s what gives you the courage to take the risks you must take, and enables you to make peace with yourself when you suffer the inevitable setbacks and calumnies that are the lot of those who try to make a difference in the world.

Describe your faith and religion? What do you like most about your religion?

I am a believing Hindu. Hinduism is uniquely a religion without fundamentals. We have an extraordinary diversity of religious practices within Hinduism, a faith with no single sacred book but many. Hinduism is, in many ways, predicated on the idea that the eternal wisdom of the ages about divinity cannot be confined to a single sacred book. We have no compulsory injunctions or obligations. We don't even have a Hindu Sunday, let alone a requirement to pray at specific times and frequencies. What we have is a faith that allows each believer to reach out his or her hands to his or her notion of the Godhead. A faith which uniquely does not have any notion of heresy--you cannot be a Hindu heretic because there is no standard set of dogmas from which deviation would make you a heretic. Here is a faith so unusual that it is the only major religion in the world that does not claim to be the only true religion. I find that most congenial. For me, as a believing Hindu, it is wonderful to be able to meet people from other faiths without being burdened by the conviction that I have embarked upon a “right path” that they have somehow missed. I was brought up in the belief that all ways of worship are equally valid. My father prayed devoutly every day, but never used to oblige me to join him: in the Hindu way, he wanted me to find my own truth. And that I believe I have.

So many of the problems in the world today are a result of people’s beliefs and their faith. The role of faith ought to be to bring peace and happiness to the world, but is that really happening? What is it about yours or any religion that troubles you the most?

As U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan once said, the problem is never with the faith, but with the faithful. All faiths strive sincerely to animate the divine spark in each of us; but some of their followers, alas, use their faith as a club to beat others with, rather than a platform to raise themselves to the heavens. As I said, Hinduism believes that there are various ways of reaching the ultimate truth. To me, the fact that adherents of this faith, in a perversion of its tenets, have chosen to destroy somebody else's sacred place, have chosen to attack others because of the absence of foreskin or the mark on a forehead, is profoundly un-Hindu. I do not accept these fanatics’ interpretation of the values and principles of my faith.

Are you currently a practicing Hindu? Do you visit temples? Why or why not?

I believe in praying every day, even if it is only for a couple of minutes. I have a little alcove at my home in Manhattan, N.Y., where I try to reach out to the holy spirit. But I believe in the Upanishadic doctrine that the divine is essentially unknowable and unattainable by ordinary mortals; all prayer is an attempt to reach out to that which we cannot touch. While I have very occasionally visited temples, I don't really frequent them, because I believe that one does not need any intermediaries between oneself and one’s notion of the divine. "Build Ram in your hearts" is what Hinduism has always enjoined. If Ram is in your heart, it would matter very little what bricks or stones Ram can also be found in.

Members of Rationalist International, an Indian-dominated forum for "rationalist ideas and positions of world-wide concern" have asked for the withdrawal your candidature, because of your belief in Sathya Sai Baba, the self-proclaimed saint who is very controversial but extremely popular. How do you react to that?

It’s difficult to take them seriously when they can’t get their basic facts right. I do not believe in Satya Sai Baba; the very article they cite in their attack on me is an article describing a visit to Satya Sai Baba with my mother, and I spell out very clearly in the article that she’s the believer whereas I’m a skeptic. My article made the point that in India, both infotech and spiritualism exist side-by-side. It seems to me an incontestable observation.

Inner satisfaction and peace is said to bring one closer to the divine. Describe the inner satisfaction and peace that you derive from working for the U.N.?

The United Nations has given me the opportunity to help my fellow human beings in the most basic way. For example, when I was at Singapore, early in my career with the U.N., the fact that I could put my head to the pillow at night knowing that things I had done during the day had made a real difference to other people’s lives, was immensely rewarding.

I could give you a number of stories from those days, but one episode crystallized my inner satisfaction: A Vietnamese family tried to escape their troubled country on a vessel powered by a dodgy tractor engine. It gave way in the middle of the South China Sea. They ran out of food. They ran out of water. They began subsisting on rainwater and hope. But that was not enough to feed the couple’s infant and baby at sea. So the parents slit their fingers for the children to suck their blood in order to survive.

When the family was rescued by an American ship, they were too weak even to stand; they had to be lifted on board. They were brought to Singapore, where I was running the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees’ operation. We rushed them to intensive care. To see that same family, three or four months later, well-dressed, well-fed and ready to embark on their new lives in the United States offered the kind of satisfaction that few jobs do. The U.N. is not simply a means of bureaucratizing our consciences; it truly works for a better world, and that’s why I’m proud to serve it.

And where else, other than the United Nations, can there be a truly global forum where ideas of faith or belief can be openly addressed in the context of their possibilities and dangers--including those inherent in their misinterpretation or misappropriation? Where else but the United Nations could all countries of the world have joined in a resolution to remember the Holocaust and resolve to work together to dispel hatred, bigotry, racism, and prejudice and to refrain from religious incitement?

In my own U.N. work, I was privileged to launch a series of seminars on "Unlearning Intolerance," where religious figures and scholars of diverse persuasions addressed questions including Islamaphobia and anti-Semitism. The discussion was free, critical, reasoned, receptive, and uninhibited. It is in restoring those elements to otherwise impassioned discourse that the true strength and uniqueness of the United Nations lies.

What do you believe is the essence of your faith? How can a Hindu bring a different and unique perspective to one of the most powerful offices in the world?

I take pride in the openness, the diversity, the range, the lofty metaphysical aspirations of the Vedanta. I cherish the diversity, the lack of compulsion, and the richness of the various ways in which Hinduism is practiced eclectically. And I admire the civilizational heritage of tolerance that made Hindu societies open their arms to people of every other faith, to come and practice their beliefs in peace amidst Hindus. It is remarkable, for instance, that the only country on earth where the Jewish people have lived for centuries and never experienced a single episode of anti-Semitism is India. That is the Hinduism in which I gladly take pride. That is the essence of my faith, and that’s the perspective from which I would seek to serve in an office, which must belong equally to people of all faiths, beliefs and creeds around the world.

Wish

And these are the days I wish I had u

When eyes well up in unknown angst
When reason you can’t find
When questions abound

These are the days I wish I had u

When all I need is the look in your eyes
When all I need are those words unsaid
When all I need are those shoulders

These are the days I wish I had u, my friend



Iyer

Visitor Q

The sea's so wide
You can't see anything.

The waves build up slowly, then break.

There are little bubbles everywhere.

They're born, and
shine sparkling in the sun.

They move about
slowly, floating and sinking.

They kiss, become one,
and then they float apart.

They slowly grow, then they burst...

...and sink back into the sea.

Somehow...

Somehow...

They are just like us.



Lyrics (translated) from title song of Japanese movie Visitor Q


Iyer

Triathlon Photos

Get, Set, Go!


Bike


The Finish


What's next?

Iyer

Photos courtesy: Panda & Nidhi

 

NUS Triathlon 2006 - Outswim, Outbike, Outrun

and I did it.

Iyer

Alex's Bday - II

Red Robbie


Honduran cigar


The puff

Iyer

 

Alex's Bday - I

Ayako n Lolly


Kerstin in bliss


Still in bliss


Anu, Kerstin n Maamoo

Iyer

 

The Mermaid Party

Alex


Ammu and Alex


Kerstin n Me

Iyer

 

At Momos

Dt: 22nd June 2006


Iyer 

That place

Machee revisiting that sweet spot at Momos!
Dt: 22nd June 2006


Iyer 

My Backpack

I got a Vaude backpack as a birthday gift recently - best gift ever.

Stats

Vaude Formula 60 I M

Metrics: 58 x 34 x 20 cm / 66 x 32 x 18 cm
Weight: 2800 g / 2900 g
Model number: 14614
Colour: d'grey/jeans

Well the next thing is to take some time off and go on a long backpacking trip!

Being in Singapore you often see cash rich or carefree or passionate westerners hop around the region with bulging backpacks smelling of exotic earth.

Wish I can take off on such a journey before it is too late! So let me now busy myself with learning how to pack for a backpacking trip!


Iyer

NUS Triathlon 2006 - Outswim, Outbike, Outrun

I have taken the plunge and registered myself for the NUS Triathlon 2006! So has Machee!



Category: Short Distance
Swim: 0.3 Km
Bike: 10.0 Km
Run: 2.0 Km

Training: Day 1
Run: 4.0 Km
Swim: 0.2 Km

Things to do
Buy a good pair of running shoes


It is going to be a lot of fun if I manage to swim those first 300 meters in the sea! :)

We'll know soon.


Iyer

Hard evidence

Richard Boucher, a mid-level functionary of the Bush administration, "advised" India to rely on hard evidence before drawing conclusions on the Mumbai terror attacks! TOI article>>

What HARD evidence did they have when the US attacked Iraq? What about 9/11 - Osama took credit much after the large scale offensive by the US against Taliban.

The only HARD and inappropriate evidence US ever had was against Bill Clinton!

Boucher goes on to say:

"The terrorists that we're fighting against have been fighting against Afghanistan, been fighting against Pakistan, been fighting against the US, been fighting against Europeans, and maybe some of them fighting against India, as well,” he said, almost grudgingly including India among the list of countries affected.

I hope this really was the case, and India hadn't lost countless civilian lives in Kashmir. And I hope he will realize soon how damaging a two-faced anti-terror policy can be!


Iyer

Obituary: Syd Barrett

Strange, I remembered Barrett this evening - only to find out he passed away a few days ago.


Iyer

and death... whispered a lullaby...

the grin of a drunk woman...: and death... whispered a lullaby...

Malaysia

the grin of a drunk woman...: Malaysia

The Constant Gardener and the hideous weed

A PANEL of Nigerian medical experts has concluded that the world's largest pharmaceutical company, Pfizer, violated international law by testing an unapproved drug on children with brain infections at a field hospital. Read>>

And watch this movie - The Constant Gardener - superb acting and a haunting sound track.

Iyer

How Opal Mehta Got Caught, Got Publicity, and Got a Little Fortune

You could claim the title is plagiarized but no one would care because I am not as famous as Kaavya Viswanathan, her novel How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild and Got a Life or her publisher Little, Brown and Co.

A friend of mine, Ranjana (stillmotion.blogspot.com), sent me this link earlier this month(requires log in):

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/06/books/06opal.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

The New York Times was full of praise for the young and upcoming writer and her two book deal with Little, Brown and Co for a reported half a million dollars, followed by a movie rights deal with DreamWorks.

The reason Kaavya caught my attention was not just because she was a curd-rice loving third or fourth Tam-Bram cousin of mine (it’s possible), but because the theme of her novel was something fresh, contemporary, and something I could relate to.

It is hardly two weeks since and we find her being slapped ruthlessly and led up the sacrificial pyre.

See: http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=512948

Ok, so what's the big deal in copying, that too blatantly, a few paragraphs from somewhere else? After all there is the remainder of the big novel to be cherished. What’s the big deal if she did imitate, in style, the writing of one of her influential authors - Megan McCafferty?

Imitation is basic human nature. It starts from mitotic cell divisions, to the baby learning to speak, and the young adult getting the same hair style as his or her Bollywood idol.

"For God sake man, be original!" they scream. What they really mean is: imitate so many different people that we can’t put a finger on any one!

Imitation is life preserving. We see, experience, and learn to imitate simple day-to-day acts that ensure we are alive and well at the end of each day. Just imagine – if Mowgli chose to be original and protested from suckling the motherly vixen's teat – would there be a Jungle Book?

Imitation is time saving. And this might have been one of the reasons why Kaavya plagiarized parts of her novel. Time pressure imposed by school work, and more so, by the demanding publishers who need to get their product out in the market when the buzz is going around. What was the editor doing, btw? And don’t they use sophisticated software to run submissions through databases of copyrighted material of similar genre?

Imitation, some say, is a good way to improve your skills. Does any one remember the movie Finding Forrester? William Forrester (Sean Connery) helps Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown) improve his writing skills by giving Rob the title and the first paragraph of his own older works and asking Rob to give it a new twist and life. Chip Scanlan says it’s a great way to improve your writing skills! For example my poem – Strangers – has strong roots in Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken. My inspiration would have withered without Frost’s help on structure and rhyme.

What Kaavya needs for her folly is a good spanking (from Mamoo, a good friend and a self-acclaimed top-class spanker). Good spanking and nothing more. For, I see her as a little kid who got into the wrong company - too soon. Central to this whole saga is just pure money. Offer Ms. McCafferty a certain percentage of the book royalty and all will be well. People will move on.

Instead people are making it very personal for Kaavya – from questioning her writing skills to what effect it'll have on her career.

And this is where I see the other basic human nature – thrill seeking from seeing another human being disgraced and shamed. Thrill in seeing people fall, people suffer and people die.

When people make mistakes we go all out to get them and burn them alive (think Bill Clinton, think TT Durai). When faceless corporations make blunders, at times intentional and with profit driving the decisions, we give them a cursory glance and move on (think Union Carbide and Bhopal).

I don’t know how the events around Kaavya will unfold. We'll all see in the following weeks. One thing is sure, the publicity received, though negative, is bound to result in increased demand for the "original, un-cut" version, as well as the new and upgraded version of the book.

The publishers will capitalize on the shaming of a human and make a good fortune. Hopefully some of that fortune flows down to scapegoat - for, in this world, all wrongs can be righted with a few wads of green.

Iyer

Sitcom?

Dialogue with LKY

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1409818981384963003&q=lee+kuan+yew&pl=true


Iyer

Annavru - big brother

This surely isn't Annavru Dr. Rajkumar at his best, but it sure is funny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIcA4aV86Sg

Smile and pray his soul rests peacefully. He has given a lot to his industry, entertained and inspired 3 generations.

I'll miss his yearly "special TV appearance" on Rajyotsava to unite all those who were touched by his movies.


Iyer

the vice men say...

A pottie year

Today is a special day. 3 potties turned 1.

By that I mean we turned a year old. Of course, somewhere along that year, 3 potties also turned into, just, one pottie.

3 potties - the result of a drunken late-night orgy of thoughts and feelings, of desires and dreams, the plain stupidity and tomfoolery. Aptly named too. And it turns one today and I can’t help feeling nostalgic. The good old times when expression wore a new cloak. The excitement of it all!

3 potties has been a place to get away to. A place where you can run up to and shout out loud or sit with your head on your knees and whisper. Ripples of thought resonating with yours. Strands of feelings caressing you. Strange emotions given wings. If this is the only way I can touch you, so be it.

It’s time to thank the audience. It’s been a fun first year – thank you.

To the other potties – wherever you are and whatever you are doing – just remember this: you were a pottie once, and a pottie you’ll always be.


Iyer

Goofy Google

The image below is of a Times of India article. You can see the Google Ads displayed after the article. Wonder if the law student can sue Google for this!?



Iyer

Juices

its been a dry dry season.
not a single creative thought.

need to get the juices flowing.
any suggestions how to?

Iyer

Goodbye

There are wounds that heal if left alone,
Wish I had known.
It was a selfish sport with a deadly sword.
You lay bare and let me prod.

I have to run now from the gory scene,
Leaving the job half done.
Lest I decapitate you, as a favour,
And put you out of your pain.

Sometimes you get used to doing wrong,
Till it bothers you no more.
Trampling over sunny hearts, their wishes,
Their trust so pure.

Humans have a conscience, they say,
Which speaks in hours of quiet.
Showing right and wrong, it leads you on
A path of true merit.

But I am an animal, a selfish one,
A horny billy-goat.
Conscience left me long ago,
With a very sore throat.

It’s goodbye for now, Let me leave,
So you see another day.
If ever you meet this bastard again,
Slit his throat, right away!


Iyer

Funny Notice Boards

Having come across this “Funny Notice Boards” forward from a friend, I am reminded of a joke shared by Mr. Navyug Mohnot, CEO of QAI, during the recent Outsourcing Exchange at Suntec City, Singapore:

A notice board in one of the fenced IT/BPO parks read thus -

PRIVATE PROPERTY.
TRESPASSERS WILL BE RECRUITED.

Iyer

Eyes full of dreams

Lolly had recently posted a nostalgic piece on the changing face of Bangalore. This change, not just in Bangalore, but in the whole of India has been a much talked about subject with the Tiger (and Dragon) stories firing the imaginations of everyone from poets to economists to the paani-poori wallas. It is a great ego boosting tea-time story about my able brown-skinned brethren (some like Machee are excluded) and their exploits.

During one such tea session a fellow teh-tarik fan quipped “Is this change good for everyone?” I really don’t know. I am just happy knowing my garden city which turned into a pub city is now India’s IT city. People on the roads of Bangalore are all happy and smiling. They sport branded clothes and accessories. All sorts of faces have appeared. All sorts of tongues fly and fill the evening sky with murmurs. The street corners were once the exclusive haunts of Kannada Kanmanis. Then came along the idli selling friendly thambis, followed by diamond seeking Goltis and not to be left behind thrifty Mallus who brought the omnipresent smell of coconut oil and Gulf money. But that was in the beginning. The cohort now extendes to the Punjabis, the Bongs, the Marwaris, the Jats, the Banias and even the mongoloid brothers from Assam, Sikkim and Tibet.

That’s the interesting thing about Bangalore – it is like an India in itself. Like India it invites everyone and somehow makes them proud Bangaloreans rather than dividing itself into ghettos. But this post is not about the greatness of Bangalore. Let’s get back to the original thread – the wave of change and growth Indian cities are undergoing – and whether it is really good for everyone.

With such a festive atmosphere it can only be said that all are happy and change is good. Just see the smile on these little kids. They are 260 kilometers away from Bangalore and their eyes are already full of dreams of the great life ahead. The following picture was taken during one of my treks in Coorg when my brother and I lost our way and ended up in a village. We were in search of certain “leaves”, but that’s another story I’ll keep for later.

Of these 5 cheerful monkeys I remember 3 names – that’s Harish with the raised tyre, the tall Pratap in the middle and Darshan with his arm over Pratap’s shoulders.

“Kelaginda photo baruttha? (Does the photo come out from below?)” Harish turns around to ask me. Bugger has seen too much TV or he has met tourists with Polaroid cameras before. I try and explain that I need to print them later.

“Namge photo kalustheera? (Will you send us the photo?)” He grins with anticipation. Of course I will I say and I look around to see where I can send it. The village comprises of less than a dozen huts of varying sizes. Who do I address it to and where do I send it? I can’t see any street names or house numbers.

“Neevu worry maadbedi Uncle! (Don’t worry about that Uncle!)” Darshan assures me his dad works as a security guard at the resort downhill (where we were staying) and he would pick it up from them. Well that was simple enough, I could do that, but only if they stopped calling me uncle. After a few trials they managed to incorporate “Anna (brother)” in the sentence and they even lead us back to our trekking trail.

Those happy fellows and their angelic smiles! I am yet to fulfill my promise.

A surge in wealth in Bangalore has resulted in a lot more weekend tourists visiting Coorg. These little kids and their village see a little more action and hopefully some more money from the resorts that are springing up all over. So growth in the city spills over with farm produce getting better prices, better roads being built to ease the city travelers, increased mobile connectivity and all the other goodies!

But is this phenomenon a minority? Why do we still hear cases of farmers in Andhra Pradesh committing suicide when monsoons fail to arrive on time? Why is there resurgence in the Naxal movement? Is Deve Gowda right after all? With “India Shining” do we expect the farmers to have eyes full of dreams as they go to bed on an empty stomach?

Iyer

Rang De Basanti

Great things inspire, like a great movie, well even a good one for that matter, like Rang De Basanti.

With shame though I recall a Hindi poem we learnt in school where the poet derides the “Living room warriors” who get charged up reading novels of revolutions – brandishing the heirloom sword they run amok in their warm rooms, only to shed a few drops of sweat before they crash into plush sofas for a nap. The poet compares them to pans made of tin – which get hot in an instant and lose it all the moment it is removed from the fire. I am ashamed to feel such patriotism, after a movie, a patriotism which didn’t show a few days ago when India celebrated its Republic Day.

Well, guess there are two kinds of Indians – one who make and move India, and the other – like me – who sit and watch and bathe in borrowed glory. May be there is a third kind.

Watch the movie.

Iyer

Calcutta Calling

A story of 3 American girls adopted from Calcutta and the journey back to to explore their roots.

http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2006/01/india_calcutta.html

Iyer

Wannabe Salesman

An entertaining email received by my company from a NUS undergrad looking for a sales position.
Love his enthusiasm, and that’s all there is. There was no resume attached.

Iyer



Dear Sir/MS,

This is Xxx Zzz from NUS, Singapore.I am currently a year one student of chemical engineering, but I am very very keen in sales and business.I believe in that a man who can do sales well can surely get a lot of money and achieve his goal of the life.For me, my main goal in life is to become a great salesman(which also allows me to have my own business), and earn 1 million dollars(the lowest amount) by 26(currently I am 20).

Since you are a start-up company as I know, I am wondering if I can join your team and we together make a better future for tomorrow.

My advantage is that I have very very strong desire to be successful and is a strongly self-motivated people, which I believe is needed greatly in any field of business.Besides, I am crazy with learning and love the feeling of making myself knowing more and more.I make goals for my daily life, school life as well as my business life.So I believe I can soonly adapt to your company culture and attribute to your company business as soon as possilbe once I joined in your big family.

Looking forward to your answering,
Thanks,
Xxx Zzz

Tum Itna Jo...

I generally don't get senti, at least not in Hindi, but I was listening to some songs from Reggie's music folder and "Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho" from the Hindi movie Arth started playing. And i got senti, so i am posting the lyrics.

Iyer

PS: If anyone requires translations then let me know!


Hindi Song Title: Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho
Hindi Movie/Album Name: ARTH
Singer(s): JAGJIT SINGH
Listen This Song on Gayaki

Hindi Lyrics:

Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho
Kya Gham Hai Jisko Chhupa Rahe Ho

Aankhon Mein Nami, Hansi Labon Par
Kya Haal Hai Kya Dikha Rahe Ho

Ban Jayenge Zehar Peete Peete
Yeh Ashq Jo Piye Ja Rahe Ho

Jin Zakhmon Ko Waqt Bhar Chala Hai
Tum Kyon Unhe Chhedhe Ja Rahe Ho

Rekhaon Ka Khel Hai Muqaddar
Rekhaon Se Maat Kha Rahe Ho

Tum Itna Jo...

Big B-ullshit

Big B may revisit Tirupati to offer ornaments worth Rs. 100 million for having recovered from a recent surgery. TOI Link.

Why not donate the money to CRY or similar organization which really needs the cash? Might even get some tax benefit out of doing that!

Your thoughts welcome.

Iyer

On "The Birth"

A very good friend of mine who is too shy (i think) to post a comment on the blog sent me this email:

Hey Dude,

Almost didn't say anything because I couldn't put my finger on why I didn't quite think that it was brilliant. Imagery was great and the thing pans out slowly and nicely. Something kept bugging me though. True that I could not relate to the emotions but I knew that wasn't it. I gave up and started looking around your blog when I came across this:

-------------------------------------------------------

Her face rose as angelic as it had set,
unblemished by star-light.
A view so divine,
even the moon lingered a while longer

-------------------------------------------------------

And for some reason I popped up the comments and saw "A let down after The Birth! :) " and then it hit me (I don't know why the comment triggered the thought). "The Birth" was missing on impact unlike the one above where the last line gives me something I wasn't expecting and I go back to read it. "The Birth" takes me through the whole process and I glide along but I don't remember it when I'm done.

Well, if you think I analysed the thing to death then do not read the post script.

Reggie

P.S.

The first time I read it I realized the rhyming was forced, I mean here:

-------------------------------------------------------

Wide-eyed and cold lying in the rust,
The babe divine, swaddled in blood.
“Breathe my dear, breathe my child,”
“May the night with your cries be flood
-------------------------------------------------------

and here
-------------------------------------------------------

It was almost as though all was lost
When this strange glow did spread.
The infant shone like the naked sun,
And the beasts trembled with dread

-------------------------------------------------------

Anyway I've always thought: Why rhyme :)

Plus, there isn't an emotion I could relate to so wouldn't be an all time favourite of mine :)

Reggie Falange


...

And I agree with him. First, guess I shouldn't try to force myself to complete a poem. Complete it in the same sitting or just post the half-done verses. Second, don't water down the climax!

Thanks for your comments Reggie!

Iyer

Happy New Year!

Wishes from the vice men.