Category: Emotion
I Don’t Have A Sad Song
There was an online quiz titled, “Everyone has a sad song. Find out which one is yours!”
The title got me thinking. Sad song? Do I have a sad song? And then I understood something profound; something important. It is a truth that defines me and drives my creativity and choices in music, art and entertainment.
I don’t identify with any sad songs. And there are no sad songs that I listen to when I am low.
Even in my saddest hour, it is a peppy number that I reach out to. Songs with a good beat and beautiful lyrics make my darkest day bright.
Perhaps, the saddest song I can think of is the duet, ‘Thunderclouds‘ by LSD (#Labrinth, #Sia and #Diplo), which is more about the anxiety in a relationship and the partners reassuring each other about their mutual commitments. And that’s an ideal situation, rather than a painful manoeuvre in any romantic relationship.
When I was really young, a good friend gave me a Ghazal album by #AdnanSami– ‘Kabhi to Nazar Milao‘. It is rated as one of the most romantic #Ghazal albums, ever. Unfortunately, I found the album to be the most depressing ever.
Songs without a happy tempo, hold no light for me.
For me, music is a conversation with the soul. Anything that pains the soul is not worth a listen. Every bit that lifts the soul is worth being a part of my music collection. I rejoice with music even on the most depressing day.
I am unsure how many people would recognize my need to search for happiness in everything I do. But that’s the purpose of my life. To find and spread happiness.
And what is joy without pace?
What is delightful touches the inner core!
So, how can I have a sad song when it just trickles through my life unseen?
Yes, I don’t have a sad song. And yes, the happiest song makes me teary-eyed!
Remembering Larry
Friendship knows no bounds. Age, geography, gender, race, interests, finances, occupation or marital status; nothing matters when there is an intellectual connection and a common interest.
Such was my friendship with Larry. We discussed family, experiences, his love for his wife, Nancy, how deeply he cared for his children and how his daughter was his favourite person on earth! When I was the lowest, he would tell me about her, the lyrical story, he wrote for her- Flea, Fly, Floo and on my lowest moments, he’d make me smile.
A retired teacher, he inspired many, and he inspired me. He wanted to write; compile his life’s work in volumes. He often said, we have to write together! He prayed for all, he loved all and even when he was unwell and in the hospital, he dropped in a message on LinkedIn, “I think I have the COVID virus.” And when he left the world, he ensured, I knew instantly. This was Larry, a true friend, a soldier who lost the war to COVID.
He was a friend I had never met. He was someone I met on LinkedIn. But just like him, I have found the world’s best minds and hearts on a professional social media channel. Can I say more but in a line- The world is a much smaller place now.
Sadly, with all the going on’s, he would send me a message, “I’m glad you are okay. I shall wait for your message.” I shall always feel guilty for not messaging him enough. And I shall always be grateful that I had a friend who was there for me, even when I couldn’t show I cared.
Remembering Larry is about remembering true friendship. It is about giving hope and courage to your buddies even when you may be in a dark place. It is about motivating and keeping it in momentum. It is about giving and taking just a smile as a gift in return.
As long as I shall remember the word ‘friendship’, I shall remember Larry.
To Read Larry’s Awesome Work Check this Page Out http://fleaflyfloo.blogspot.com/
Janmashtami
Janmashtami is the day Hindus celebrate the birth of Krishna the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. There are 10 avatars of Vishnu namely Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, (Balarama) or Buddha, and Kalki (yet to be born).
Buddha and his philosophies are followed across the world. His intellect and his way of treating life is an inspiration in itself.
Yet, Vishnu’s avatar, Krishna stands out. Why?
His adoptive mother called Him Kanha out of love. His father and his entire kingdom adored Him. This little child wore a top-knot that had a downward left slide. He wore a peacock feather in His bun. His mother, Yashoda, adorned His crown with pearls. He wore a yellow ‘dhoti’ and a pearl and gold necklace.
He is the ‘Laddoo’ Gopal the world has loved for centuries!
There is something about the child that He universally loved. Krishna is the epitome of the perfect child. Everyone wants to have a naughty, intelligent, intuitive and humane child, like Krishna. I cannot fail to mention his childhood friend Radha. Kanha’s friend Radha is synonymous with the perfect girl-child.
In India, every year, parents rejoice in the joy of parenthood by celebrating Janamashtami. Every year, a young man or woman prays for a boon – the birth of that perfect man, men dream of being and women dream of having as their partner.
Let me not get into the nuances of religion. I only want to emphasise how Krishna is beyond religion. Kanha and Radha Rani are about loving kids and revelling in their glory. It is a celebration of youth and the happiness of being alive and thriving.
That’s the beauty of Hinduism and Krishna. The philosophy and this person is beyond all boundaries that define living.
I love Kanha, aka Laddoo Gopal, aka Nadu, aka Krishna. And I love Radha Rani the epitome of a girl-child. Krishna and Radha define an inexplicable pure devotion. They define the pleasure of parenthood. They define how it is important to celebrate every child who is born irrespective of their gender. Even pets have a Krishna and Radha in them. (Kanha loved all animals and plants. He spoke to them every day and it is believed they talked back to Him)
Krishna defines the love of an adoptive mother. His love supersedes species-specific regard. Krishna is about affection as it should be. Pristine, pure and non-judgemental.
Krishna and Janmashtami are all about true love, a love that transcends all boundaries and distinctions.
Hail Headache
I am not sure who devised the most elusive, surreptitious, disruptive and the possessor of all the negative adjectives in the world -'Headache'.
Strange as it may seem, my literary journey began at 13 years of age. After weeks of that strong ache hammering my head, I felt so emotionally and physically drained one morning, that I uncharacteristically picked up my diary and pencil and composed my first serious poetry: 'My head is a headache.' Phew!
My love and hate relationship with my aching head still continues.
There are different types of annoyances of the cranium. Some are constant, some intermittent. Some feel as if a huge mountain is strategically placed on my skull. A little tilt of the head and the neck sinks under the weight of the heavy object while the skull tries its best to adjust the weight and the twinge associated with it. Then there is that throbbing that occupies only a part of my head, it aches so much that I feel that one side of my cranial area is someone else’s, not mine. I guess my intellect tries to balance out the negatives from my positives and my deficiencies overpower my goodnesses, hence the hurt.
Yes, someone will say that medicines will work. No! 'Mind' has a mind of its own.
It works only the way it wants to. When it decides to be stubborn and unrelenting, you resign to it. This makes me think of the number of times I have said no to any reasonable advice imparted by my loved ones to me. Similar to the cephalic ignoring the plea of the sting-alleviating balm, I made it a point to turn a deaf ear to their counsels. The outcome of that wilfulness has always been my eye-opener.
My wilful head, its refusal to heed to the medicines', balm; therefore leads to my eyelids drooping in pain like a leaf succumbs to torrential rain.
A living being except some strange ones like ameba cannot exist without the cranium. Thus, a balance between the body and mind is crucial. While it is easy to train the body, it is impossible to sway a mind. Sometimes I end up accepting this pest of discomfort as a part of me, and sometimes I try my best to disown it. When nothing works, jadedly I forfeit.
I guess it is sometimes better to acknowledge weakness. It is the only door to self-improvement and development. My headaches although menacing and upsetting do fill me with astuteness. Every time it aches, it teaches me fortitude, leniency and most of all it makes me strong to fight – to have a clearer vision of life when the torment ceases.
To sum it all, let me share my first ever poem with you:
My Head is a Headache
My Head is a headache, As it always aches;
It makes my life miserable, Night and day.
It doesn’t happen once, It doesn’t happen twice;
It happens every day, Whether day or night.
I am always in a worry, That it will visit again;
But it is such a scurry, It will show up with pain.
The main problem is, The medicine doesn't work;
My head is too adapted, To the med and its dose.
I could’ve been happy If it would’ve been mild;
But it isn’t so friendly, As it wants me to die,
It's always been acute, Sure to drive me mad;
But now I find it cute; ‘Coz I don’t care a damn!
Author: Kleio B'wti