Friday, July 31, 2015

LIFE


Lives are lost, tears are shed,
War makes people live in dread;
Yearning for a crumb of bread
The fear of living hangs by a thread.

Days may go, months may pass,
The sands of time always a crass,
Whatever, wherever… Life is a toss,
Heads or tails, the moment is our boss.

Bliss or sorrow, none to share,
‘Cause there’s no soul left to care;
Left with no one – alone and bare,
Speak to yourself, would you dare?

Greed does push for more and more – And
Hate and despair fill to the core;
Love and joy are shown the door – As
Lust for dosh comes to the fore.

Gossip fills in, humans pry,
Making the world dull and dry;
Come on, my friend, don’t you cry,
We will unite, let us try.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

அப்துல் கலாமிற்கு அஞ்சலி!!!


கண்டதில்லை உன்னை நேரில் இதுவரை இறைவா…
உனது வடிவில் வந்தவரை அணைத்தது மறைவா?
நல்லவரைக் கொண்டுசெல்ல இத்துணை விரைவா?
புவியைத் துயரில் தள்ளினாயே இப்போது நிறைவா?

இளைஞராக வாழ்ந்தவர்தாம் அவரோ நேற்று – இன்று
அவர்தம் ஆன்மா கலந்து வீசுது வாடைக் காற்று;
அப்துல் கலாமின் உயிருக்கில்லை இன்னொரு மாற்று
அவரை எமக்குத் திருப்பிக்கொடுத்து நல்வினையாற்று

ஏவுகணைப் பொறியியலில் அவதாரம் எடுத்தார் – பின்பு
கனவு எனும் வார்த்தைக்கொரு அர்த்தம் கொடுத்தார்;
மாணவரின் எண்ணங்களை மாற்றியமைத்தார் – கண்களில்
அறிவியலையும் ஆசிரியத்தையும் சேர்த்தே இமைத்தார்

கூற்றுவனின் ஆற்றலின்முன் நாம் வெறும் ஏழை – அவன்
பின்னிருந்து தாக்கியழிக்கும் மற்றொரு கோழை;
உடலை பிரிந்து சென்றபின்பும் வாழ்பவன் மேதை – அந்த
உயிரைப் பிரித்து எடுத்துச்சென்ற இறைவனோ பேதை

அன்பு நிறைந்த கலாமின் உள்ளத்தில் இருந்தது மாட்சி – நெஞ்சை
உலுக்கிக் கரைத்து, உருக்கியது அக்கடைசி காட்சி;
அவர் பயணம் செய்து விட்டுச்சென்ற பாதையின் நீட்சி – அங்கு
தொடங்குகிறது இந்தியாவின் புதிதொரு மீட்சி!
                    ***********************
அழ மாட்டோம் – கண்ணீரில்
அவரேற்றிய அறிவுச் சுடர்
அணையக் கூடாது என்பதற்காக

உறங்காமல் இருக்கச் செய்வதே
கனவென்றார்;
மரணச்செய்தி கேட்டபின்
வரவில்லை உறக்கம்
இதுவும் கனவுதானோ?

Sunday, July 19, 2015

THE JOY OF SUDOKUING…..



         There is a uniqueness for each and every numeral right from 0 to 9; 0 is the epitome of co – operation and teamwork (musters nothing individually), 1 for standing out from the lot (neither prime nor composite), 2 for doing things different rather than working towards different things (it’s the only even prime number), 7 for the number of notes in music. And for 9, it’s the SuDoKu.
         Focussing my interest in Mathematics and number crunching was nothing but a myth for me until I came across this Game of Grids. My affair with SuDoKu just began as a pastime due to my bro’s interest but now, it’s a part of my day – to – day life. A day neither begins nor ends without this 9*9 miniature model of the Microsoft Excel flirting with me.
         Starting in my 9th grade, I didn’t know at that time that some variants of the game existed as I was well into the CLASSIC puzzles. Just when I started to imagine, “Arey whaahh… You’re a legend in this game”, college festivals started mocking by showing the exit door to me. I was nothing short of dejected to know that there existed other different types of Sudoku, which were alien to me – Hex, Diagonal, Odd and Even, Chaotic, Diabolical, etc.
         Okay kid… you’re still a toddler. Maybe, it’s better to step out of this world of numeral checkers”, said I to myself. But, that wasn’t to be. I was oblivious to the prick of a fate that one bus travel would move me back to this number game. An old man, sitting next to me, was reading one of Sundara Ramaswamy’s short stories, Vikaasam. Thoughts meandered, covering several mean free paths between them, and a light dawned upon me. I took out my Sony Xperia C and solved a HARD level puzzle with my personal best timing. But what was that that could change my mind so easily by noticing the title of a short story?
         Vikaasam is not just a story merely. It just shows how the true love and care of human beings towards one another cannot be replaced by a machine, however programmed it may be. There’s an old man called Rowther, an illiterate villager who is unaware of the nuances of Abacus, but calculates at such speeds that he becomes an inseparable part of the large textile shop, maintained by another man. There comes few misunderstandings and Rowther is dethroned from his job and enter the calculator – the costly, mind – boggling machine – that replaces him at the cash counter. The story proceeds through a chain of events post Rowther’s exit that reveals that the old man is but more than a solving machine. He remains a friend, caretaker, well – wisher, and also a calculator for his master and his family. The trick of using calculator as an analogy to stress that Rowther doesn’t only solve numbers, but also the number of problems of his master, forms the crux of this story.
         All these thoughts of the story that had been a part of my English non – detail (translated version) in my 9th grade whizzed from one side of my brain to another just like the Auro 3D sound system. And, that was the reason I solved my immediate attempt with relatively better concentration and determination. Now, I have bagged four prizes (trust me, the cash awards are a way to avoid imploring and whining for pocket money) and the list is about to continue.
         But, what matters here am not me but the game itself. It teaches the way of leading a life. Each rule is philosophical in its own way, enlightening me towards a moulded state.
1)   Only one number can fit in one cell
This seconds the saying, Jack of All but Master of None. There’ll be something which I would be worthy of doing. Focus towards only one aspect of life and we’re sure to be rewarded. This made me contemplate on my area of expertise, and though I may be a boring writer producing junk in my blog, I have managed to keep up the enthusiasm of continuously staying on the line. Writing is my key to the unexplored doors of the world.

2)   Focus on rows, columns and grids, all at the same time.
This made me realize that though there are our own, ‘within the circle’ commitments, we ought to maximize our horizon beyond this closed circle called the safe zone. Grid symbolizes our closed circle, while rows and columns are the exposures to lead us to glory.

3)   There may be two logical solutions for a puzzle.
Never be a stereotype is what this one taught me. There may be alternative aspects which, when done, would make us feel pessimistic and outdone. But then, that second solution may prove to be the pathway of true success.

         There are many other psychological and visible effects after Sudoku embraced me, or rather, I became part of this logical sport. Such is the intensity of the game that I am forced to type this piece of junk in the gap between two rounds of the Times of India SuDoKu contest. Life is full of problems like SuDoKu, but once we start solving them, we fall for them even without our knowledge and long for more and more of them to come.