The Eternal Thing

  Being a kid, we did not know many things. Nor cared about anything. Life was happening and we just took whatever it was. With adulthood looming, we start to learn. A lot. Even worse is today's age where so much data is being dumped into our faces. Many of us are willing to go back to the phase where we didn't care about stuff. It seems peaceful and calming not to take care of things. True though; But... It will not always work out. Being ignorant may not always be helpful. Sometimes, we have to know about things. We have to understand them. Sit with the disturbance it may bring. When starting learning something very deep, it may challenge our initial assumptions. We wonder what we knew till now is very different. This not at all feels good. You love a person, and you understand that person is not reciprocating your feelings. Being aware of this fact makes you uneasy. Unbelievable. You wonder what's happening. But it's just that. The only way is to accept and move forw...

Special relativity states that the light speed is always fixed. This was (and is) very counter intuitive to understand, but it is what it is.  For example, if you are going at a speed of 0.8c (c = speed of light) along the direction of light,  then the conventional (newtonian) physics says that the relative velocity between you and the light is 0.2c only! That light appears to go slower if you are travelling faster.  But special relativity says NO! Irrespective of our speed, we always measure the speed of light as 'c'. It's just that. Light speed never gonna change (in this universe). Also it's the maximum limit of anything that can move. Especially, if any particle has a mass (or to be more specific, rest-mass), then they can never reach speed of light. Now, see it in the other way around. If anything is going at less than speed of light, it should have a mass (again, rest mass) right? How about when light itself is slowing down?? Yes. Refraction. Does light gain mass ...

  Maybe when we were asked to pay for drinking water - we should have known.  That something was going wrong. It was not all right. When they were demanding money (or) selling it as a feature - the things that are supposed to be basic, we should have given it a thought.  We were too busy. We ignored many things. Maybe that was the cause for the today's effects.  NOTE: Thanks ChatGPT for producing this piece- We drank from rivers without fear, Now we sip from plastic, year by year. The water flows behind a brand— And thirst obeys a bottled stand. The wind was once a mother's balm, Now sold in purifiers, stripped of calm. Air itself wears price tags now, And forests bow to urban vow. The night once wrapped us in soft sleep, Now screens invade, and silence weep. We pop a pill to close our eyes, While time slips past in lullaby. The sun was free to touch our skin, Now we chase it in capsules thin. Vitamin D in boxes sold— A warmth we traded, cheap and cold...

  On the occasion of Teacher's day, I wanted to remember my fav teachers in school/teacher and their quotes that stayed fresh in my mind after many years. NOTE: I may not remember the exact words. These are just from my memory. Anyway, who cares?   From my social sir in school:- When does a revolt rise? When people lose their patience. From my Sanskrit sir in jr. college:- There is no edge for knowledge. From my chemistry sir in jr. college:- No one wants to return from the death. Maybe death is very beautiful. Also from the same sir:- When you comb your hair, your focus should be on completely on your hair and the comb. Also from the same sir:- In a forest, the tallest animal is Giraffe. The wisest animal is fox. The largest animal is Elephant. Lion is none of them. But still he is king of the jungle. From my maths sir in jr. college:- (he said in a form of poem which his teacher told) I am going through a forest,  On the way there was beautiful trees,  with bloomin...

I’ve thought about it more than once — what I’d do if I ever got a raise. People say, “Don’t settle. Ask for more. You’re worth more.” It’s become a mantra in today’s world, especially in the corporate space. Negotiation is considered self-respect. Hustle is a badge. More money means more success. But I don’t feel proud thinking about it. I feel something else. I feel uneasy. It’s not that I lack ambition. It’s not that I don’t want comfort. It’s that, somewhere deep inside, a question keeps echoing: “Why am I earning this much when so many others earn nothing at all?” And if I ask for more — if I negotiate — what am I doing, really? I know it’s not wrong to want fair pay.  But what is fair in a world that’s anything but? I see delivery workers biking through heat and rain, risking their lives just to deliver my food. I see sanitation workers cleaning up after us while we barely offer them a glance. I see parents in villages sending their kids to school with half-f...

  One pays EMI for a second car, One prays their rent doesn’t go too far. One signs deals in air-conditioned towers, One stands in queue for overtime hours. One upgrades leather seats with ease, One eats last night’s rice and peas. One clicks “Buy” with a platinum card, One skips meals, life running hard. One posts pics of home by the lake, One breaks their back for a one-room stake. One books retreats to cleanse the soul, One counts coins to meet the toll. Two EMIs. One for comfort. One for breath. Two EMIs. One chases luxury, One escapes death. One frets about taxes and stocks that dip, One clutches loan papers with a bleeding grip. One complains about fuel price hikes, One walks five miles on broken bikes. One buys homes for a future unborn, One begs the landlord to stretch the month long. One has a spare room just for art, One has three jobs and a heavy heart. Two EMIs. One for granite floors and view, One for leaking roofs and school dues. Two EMIs. One cushions dreams, One bu...

There are days I wish I could just leave my job. But I don’t do it. Because I need to pay my rent. I need to eat. I don’t have any other income. I am afraid that I am not alone in this. I see people who are smart and talented - doing things they don’t love. They settle. Not out of choice, but out of fear. The fear of being homeless, being hungry. They live in a world that demands payment of bills more than anything. That brings a simple, maybe naive thought: What if food and shelter were guaranteed for everyone? What if one need not be working just to survive? Is it wild to wish for these? Are these not the basic human rights… If the basic needs were covered, what could we become? Artists, teachers, thinkers, healers - they are made out of passion. People can volunteer more, care for the elderly, innovate better, or take time and get a chance to do things slower… The working class would not have to burn themselves to keep the lights on. The poor wouldn’t have to beg.  What if peopl...