Happy New Year 2021

How will it be? Will it be better than 2020 or will it be worse? This is the biggest question on everybody's mind, today. Hoping to see and live a better day than today. How could it happen to us? Why us? Why now? Why are we so helpless? And we thought we were so powerful. Alas, the comic dumbness of man!

Man is a selfish foolish creature. No doubt. But that has certain limits. When the selfishness of man grows beyond the permissible limits of nature, then adversity is the caution button that the universe uses to remind him of his impudence. Beyond all the gore and trauma that we see around us daily through news papers and television, there is a beautifully blossoming world around us, in which we innocently fail to believe, or ignorantly choose to ignore. In the last 20 years, the world has grown to be a much better place to live in, in many million ways, in fact, in utter contradiction to what our so called "Media" projects to us. But for them, bad news is the most profitable news. Everybody knows. But bad news also makes us sad, angry, agitated & negative and produces negative energy from us. Any form of energy released into the universe, by way of thought, sound or action, comes back to us in the same form gathering more of its similar particles on its way back. So bad begets bad. Or like the old cliche', What goes around, comes around. So when it comes back to us, we are in deep trouble because it hits us when we expect it the least and it is much bigger than what we released. So something bad happens to us and then there is more bad news. And there are so many like us.

Thus, we keep the media in business all the time. Bad news brings in more money for them. So, every bit of bad news is picked up with greediness by the media and then it goes on air labelled as per what their political masters have decreed, and is flashed everywhere. It's an unending web, created with complete ignorance by the selfish man who cannot see beyond just himself or that moment. Only if we could realise and control what energy we release into the universe, only if we could be sufficiently aware of the consequences of our thoughts, this world would be a wonderful place for us to live. By doing that, by being aware of ourselves every minute, we will find an abundance of free time and energy to look into the simple yet profound goodness all around us. And when that experience of goodness becomes a habit, the badness and the negativity is controlled. Goodness wins the race and it overtakes the badness. As long as goodness increases in us, it grows everywhere around us. We unconsciously gift others with the sublime experience of goodness that we have within us. And as goodness grows everywhere, badness and negativity dies away. 

After all, who does not what to be good? The ego that stops us from acknowledging our own badness or mistakes, is the one thing that deprives us from experiencing bliss or complete peacefulness. And then the lies we wove to satisfy our ego thinking that it is harmless, enchains us forever. Though we very well know that even one of these lies exposed, will leave all our defences crumbled, our self-respect laid waste. So, we fight an endless fight to cover up one lie after another, unaware of the fatal wounds we receive along the way. And one day, we bleed out. We fail. We fall. 

However, there is a very simple and effective way out of this predicament. And that is, if we become consciously truthful to ourselves and others not bothering about what the world thinks of us, the matter is resolved right there. It is so very simple, but yet so tough to many. It is this continuous loop of conscious and unconscious comparison with others that makes us unhappy. Only if we were conscious every moment of our lives, conscious about not lying, conscious about doing good, conscious about thinking positive, how beautiful this world would be. Keep thinking. Keep growing.

Statue...!

Nobel George

Hyderabad

7 April 2020

"Statue…!"

Still waiting for the obvious.

Standing on the balcony with the warm wind kissing my face, on a hot Hyderabadi summer afternoon, I watch the movement on the road below. Nothing moves. No-one is out on the road. Suddenly, one man on a red bike rips off. The sound is deafening for a moment but then an eerily silence follows. Again, nothing. No-one. 20 minutes pass by and towards the end of my patience, a woman, perhaps a house-maid walks slowly, her shoulders bent inwards, eyes staring down at the road and a pale blue mask on her face, she walks tiredly step by step. Perhaps tired after doing all the household work of her employer for many hours. Even she disappears soon enough. Again, no sound. No people. Silence. No vehicles. No movement on the road, which was about 2 weeks back, a busy street with people swarming to the shops, moving in and out of their houses and parcel boys in their uniforms delivering their packages everywhere. Business was good and people were too busy with their jobs and targets tirelessly rushing towards nowhere, but still rushing. In one abrupt moment, everything comes to a grinding halt. Business stops in its tracks as if someone started the old childhood game of 'Statue'. Everyone stopped. Everything stopped.

[Note: "Statue" was a childhood game which almost everyone is aware of. When it's played, one player shouts "Statue" and the others instantly stops movement and stays in the exact same position as if frozen. The one who moves first gets out and loses a point and has to do what the others ask of him, like jump like a hen, walk like a dog, sing a song, dance, slap himself, etc. And so it goes on and on.]

What the hell actually happened? Let's go back before someone said "Statue". All of us were so immersed in the daily toil of life that we were completely ignorant that such a situation will arise. We even foolishly made plans for the Festivals this month. Shopping, Food, Parties, Outings, etc. From many years we had practised only to bother about ourselves. We were busy in making ourselves busy. Money - was the lover we all yearned for. We wanted her so bad, that everyone else, family, friends, relatives, neighbours, teachers, even God, was out of our priority list. It was a grind that we thoroughly enjoyed being in, even if we would whine about it’s hardships all the time. And we found a reason to blame - family - wife & kids. While the truth was that we were only doing it for ourselves and the family was eating out of our leftovers, always. And we were so blindly proud about what we did, that we never admitted it even to ourselves. We are afraid to accept the true nature of that man - I. If we knew him more, there would be no-one we would hate more than him - I. It was our greed, our inexorable ego to be better than everyone we know. The constant struggle to show-off that what I do and what I am is in someway better than others. We were the duplicate Kings, sorry Emperors of our own sand castles built on the feeble sands of ego, dangerously close to the savage sea of pride and insurmountable prejudices. And then that horrible wave came…

Everything seemed normal for a few days. No-one understood anything about what was about to hit them. Some Chinese virus is spreading worldwide - thats all we heard. Before we could realise or even react, someone shouted "Statue…!". And that was the end of it. Everything stopped, except time. The whole world reeled under the pressure of the highly contagious virus. Nothing was the same again. When working from home became the new normal, the world enjoyed it for a couple of days behind shut doors. Businesses around the globe came to a stand still. Then slowly, the comfort of our homes began to take its toll on our patience. Everyday the news reported more and more cases and the death toll was increasing. Fear gripped our souls and we stopped stepping out of our houses. The whole country went into a complete lockdown for 1 day. And then for 21 days. We were imprisoned by ourselves because of our own fear of death, inside the confines of our houses for more time than we imagined. This is the same house we spent a lifetime, making. This is the same family for whom we boasted that we worked so hard for. This is the same love we always wanted, which we were getting the whole day and night. But somehow, instead of celebrating every moment, we were upset by the fact that we were locked inside. Why are we so very contradictory in our mannerisms as humans? When we are driven out, we want to be in. And when we are locked in, we want to be out. Perhaps, a little balance of everything is the most perfect way to keep ourselves sane. Too much of anything could possibly make us, say 'non compos mentis'. This proves my point that we are all selfish beings. We are only our own. And nobody’s else. Harshest truth gets choked down your throat only by self-realisation. Slowly everything started to fade away from our minds, even structured memory. We stopped counting days, we forgot which day it was until we checked it on the mobile phone. We lost track of time, the one commodity which was always out of stock for the real things that mattered in our lives. 

On the other side, the burning streets of the capital were doused with the rain of precautions for the pandemic. A blessing in disguise for the rulers who were almost losing the battle for implementing some population register. At a point when it seemed that this fire would devour their power, their prayers were answered in the form of this virus. Every protest was silenced with an iron hand clad in the cloak of disguise of the lockdown. Suddenly the entire defence mechanism that we were so proud of, seemed completely useless. All those billions pumped into the Defence sector year after year looked like a stupid joke. All that tax money was not even worth as much as toilet paper. This is what life does to you. As someone said, Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans. All the while we were buying more sophisticated weapons spending billions of rupees. Not a single shot was fired, but still we were all fighting tooth and nail with a common enemy. All that power that the strongest nations in the world possessed seemed simply futile. The whole country shuddered with fear of the consequences of this pandemic. Day after day, the people who got infected was raising. But still, when compared to the rest of the world, my country was doing pretty good. The numbers were on the rise but slower was the rate at which it was growing. And we rejoiced at the fact that we have contained it well. Our unity as a nation was still intact and strong.

This could be the new norm. The new world where everyone is careful and fearful. Social distancing could well become the next way of life. We might not shake hands anymore. We might not invite people into our houses anymore. We might not meet our friends at our regular joints anymore. We might not go into a mall all excited anymore. We might do most of our shopping online. We would step out of our houses very rarely, only if necessary. We might become more and more lonelier in this world. The way things are done, will drastically change. Because there is a great possibility that the fear shall prevail long enough.

But there are many good things which came out of this, as everything in this world has a good and bad side to it. Pollution levels are at an alarmingly low rate. We are able to see stars in the sky from our cities, a phenomenon impossible to think of just 20 days back. Wildlife is coming back. Sharks, Whales, swans, elephants, peacocks, rare birds and many more are returning. We might learn to keep our air fresh and co-exist with these animals. We have gotten back to playing with our kids and talking for hours with our spouses. We have reverted to taking time to call our relatives and friends and chit-chat for a little while being genuinely concerned for them. We have started to pray to God everyday, sincerely. We have started to appreciate the amount of work women do at home and genuinely helping them. We have understood the difference between Wants and Needs. We have realised that what we have is more than enough for us and we don’t actually need when we thought we needed. We have started to teach our kids morals, values and lessons from story books. We have started to understand the importance of charity and kind-heartedness to the less fortunate in our society. And most importantly, we have accepted death as a possible eventuality and have started to see the value of life from death’s perspective. If we can take these lessons seriously, I assure you that not a single day will pass by without we living our life happily and fully. Every single day will be a celebration of life. Then let death come anytime - I would look him in the eye and say, Yes I am ready. I leave you with that thought. Statue…!

The Old Lighthouse - Poetic Version

Standing tall on an island I have witnessed a 100 years go by,

My golden colour a mast in shining brass, bold yet so shy.

The glorious days of my birth at the hands of Robert my father,

Bristows we were known to the sea and Kochi my beautiful mother. 

I was ageless to the millions of lovers who longed to see my light,

To rest and to feast they docked at my shores on my sandy bight.

They sailed away soon and I gaze until my sight starts to weaken,

Again I would scour my eyes and sweep the seas with my beacon.

Endlessly searching the seas for my next lover to come calling,

Oh! I see a speck in the horizon, a flag the waves were hauling.

Sometimes they waved at me from the sea, and I was overjoyed,

But I still kept looking, gazing yearningly into the vast blue void.

I stood alone, I stood strong, for I knew they would need me,

Years passed by like the wind but I never once was gloomy.

The incessant rains or the scorching sun, I never really cared,

The waves mostly soothing but sometimes even they flared.

The white soft sand at my feet had changed to golden brown,

Matching with the gleam from my golden mast and my crown.

I unendingly burned in order to guide more of my lovers ashore,

I have watched over, guided and harboured many to my shore.

Some traders, some warriors, some fishermen, some unknown,

But today I can’t help but feel so different like my own clown.

I have promised them I will and by the sea I swear I will keep it,

Even if it means to burn myself forever, either for love or deceit.

Earlier there were none, but now I have many a neighbours,

Big mansions and lavish landscapes along manicured harbours.

My relationship with the sea is eternal, like an immortal love story,

We have seen and mused over many transgressions in all our glory.

Still we loved each one of them and gave them every thing we had,

I am still standing as beautiful as I was years before, perhaps a lil sad.

I never rested though, never gave up on hope, never lost a night,

In your hearts let me always shine as your favourite house of light. 

            ~ END ~

Nobel George: THE OLD LIGHTHOUSE

Nobel George: THE OLD LIGHTHOUSE: By Nobel George Fort Kochi - 30 July 2018 Standing tall on an island I have witnessed a 100 years go by My golden colour...

Nobel George: St. FRANCIS CATHEDRAL, 1503 A.D.

Nobel George: St. FRANCIS CATHEDRAL, 1503 A.D.: I am thrilled with immense happiness when I see them enter my gate Even the stony Cenotaph in my garden smile at me with equal merri...

St. FRANCIS CATHEDRAL, 1503 A.D.

I am thrilled with immense happiness when I see them enter my gate

Even the stony Cenotaph in my garden smile at me with equal merriment

Though he is right in front of me, they ignore him as they walk towards me

They gaze at me with reverence and marvel at my timeless beauty

I am the Cathedral of St. Francis in my home town island, Fort Kochi.

I was born in wood 516 years back revered as the first of my kind in India

Those were the days when great men like Vasco Da Gama strode the earth

I was brought up with great care by the king of Kochi and the Portuguese

I was dressed up in brick and mortar when I turned a teenager at sixteen

Every day was a celebration with many a friends gathering in my bosom

More and more they grew until I hardly recognised them who was who.

I had many siblings after me, but for everyone I was the elder, the biggest 

Many a kings and queens came to see me, bowing their heads in humility

Even the great Vasco when he died was buried in my bosom with love

Over the years I became God, untouchable, invincible, arrogant and proud

Then came the Dutch with their new Gods and terrifying guns and canons

They razed every sibling of mine to the ground and burned them mercilessly

I was trembling with fear when they came to me, all my pride had vanished.

Somehow, I survived that fateful day, thanking and weeping I never slept

Hoping that they never came back, I prayed the whole night for a miracle

As the sun rose the next day I could hear distant rhythmic clatter of hoofs

I painfully realised that those were the Dutch horses marching towards me

The platoon came to a halt in front of my gate and I knew my end was here

The three wise men leading the brigade dismounted their ornate horses

They entered my gate and came inside and then to my utter surprise and joy

They walked through my aisle and knelt down at my altar and silently prayed

The fear, the anguish, the trembling stopped and I fell into a deep slumber.

When I awoke, I realised that the Dutch had adopted me with keen devotion

And they decorated me generously with a lot of new ornaments and clothes 

I was enjoying all the attention and care, it made me look younger each day

I started to be alive again with hymns mesmerising the air everyday morning

And feasting and gaiety on festivals lasted until the end of the month or more

And when electricity came, I was illuminated with colourful bulbs on Easter

My bells were strong and their gong rendered the air every morning of Lent

My lawns were lush green and grass was manicured to perfection every day

My gardens were rich with vibrant flowers whose fragrance pervaded the air

My people, the people of Kochi loved me and I loved them too fervently.

After the Dutch left, the English came. And again, I feared for my life

Can’t they just leave us alone? I used to ask the sea. And the sea replied,

'Our land is too beautiful and such beauty is more a curse than a blessing'

I knew she was right and we had witnessed many battles together, she and I

My heart longed I would someday be free from my foreign masters, but alas!

I had to wait another 200 years before my motherland would be free, again.

The English didn’t bother about me, they left me in the hands of the Dutch

Later in life I realised they had more important things to conquer than God

Everyday with the devout I would also pray that He will change their hearts

Why do men want to rule men, when happiness is in sharing and giving

If only I could speak I would tell them, out of the wisdom from 500 years

That there is no better happiness than loving one another unconditionally

That there is no secret way to peace than to forgive one another absolutely.

I still stand here witnessing every change through these 516 years

Earlier they used to sit for hours and paint me, now they capture me on mobiles

Earlier they used to walk or ride a horse, but now they ride a car or a bike

Earlier they used to be well dressed when they came to me, now they hardly come

Earlier they lived by the rules of the church, now they live by their own rules

Earlier they used to feast together, now they celebrate on their own

Earlier they used to be more human, now they act more like robots

I wish they were more loving, more kind, more caring, more forgiving, more human.

THE OLD LIGHTHOUSE

By Nobel George

Fort Kochi - 30 July 2018

Standing tall on an island I have witnessed a 100 years go by

My golden colour a mast in shining brass, they still gaze in awe

The glorious days of my birth at the hands of Robert my father

Bristows we were known to the sea and the beautiful little Kochi 

I was ageless to the millions of lovers who longed to see my light

They docked at my shores in peace to rest, to trade and to feast

None stayed back for long, they kept leaving me when it was time

Again I would scour my eyes and sweep the seas with my beacon

Endlessly searching the horizon for my next lover to come calling 

Sometimes they waved at me from the sea, sometimes they didn’t

But I still kept looking, gazing yearningly into the vast blue void.

I stood alone, I stood strong, for I knew they would need me

Years passed briskly without my knowledge, I never kept time

The incessant rains or the scorching sun, I never really cared

The waves sometimes soothing and sometimes menacingly wild

The white soft sand at my feet had never changed their colour

I unendingly burned in order to guide more of my lovers ashore

I have watched over, guided and harboured many a voyages

Some traders, some warriors, some fishermen, some unknown

But all of them thanked me and asked me to be there, always

I have promised them I will and by the sea I swear I will keep it

Even if it means to burn myself forever in ardent love of purpose. 

Earlier there were none, but now I have many a neighbours

Big mansions on all sides with lavish landscapes that chuckle at me

My relationship with the sea is eternal, like an immortal love saga

We have seen and mused over many transgressions in time

Still we loved each one of them and gave them every thing we had

I am still standing as beautiful as I was years before, perhaps wiser

I never rested though, never gave up on hope, never lost a night

Take me in your heart O’ lovers of mine, ’til we meet again, soon.