Two solitudes

You
always stood up for me
consoled me
shook me awake
showed me dreams

You
always lifted me up
a sinking me
drowning me
breathed sanity in me

You
my solitude
open your eyes
to the image
of the earthbound sky

Michael Nyman is a famous English composer and pianist who composed the music score for the The Piano. Here is Michael Nyman himself performing a piece from the movie score :

Ancient Poetry, Modern Music

The Rig Veda is perhaps the earliest known poetry available to us. As tradition has it, the entire Vedas were transmitted by oral learning. Modern historians have it placed around 1500 BC but it is certainly much more older, considering the fact that the Buddha was born in the sixth century BC and the Rig Vedas do not mention the characters either of the Ramayana or Mahabharata, so it predates the time of these epics by several centuries, even the Upanishads, but that's not the point here. 

Of the presently available body of work which we call the Rig Veda, the most astounding poem is the Creation Hymn which is Hymn 129 of the tenth book. I am of course certain that much of the Rig Veda has been lost for ever, unless someone, somewhere, finds an ancient birch bark which is of course, most unlikely, and the reason I say so is that this particular Hymn stands out from the rest. Not only that, the sense of wonder it evokes, holds true even now and therefore, this must rank among the most outstanding poetic compositions across all ages and all times. 

The English translation by Ralph Griffith is out of copyright since many decades.
Ralph Thomas Hotchkin Griffith (1826-1906), who was principal of Benares College, translated the Rig Veda and many other Vedic and Sanskrit texts into English. I have taken the first few lines of the Creation Hymn from a pdf file created by Ulrich Stiehl, of Griffith's translation, in January 2005.

Here is Griffith's translation from the archaic Sanskrit (1889) - 

[10-129] HYMN CXXIX. Creation.

1. Then was not non-existent nor existent: there was no realm of air, no sky beyond it.
What covered in, and where? and what gave shelter? Was water there, unfathomed depth of water?

2 Death was not then, nor was there aught immortal: no sign was there, the day's and night's divider.
That One Thing, breathless, breathed by its own nature: apart from it was nothing whatsoever.

You would notice that even Griffith's English sounds archaic. Let me tell you that I first came across these lines from a little penguin paperback tucked into one corner of the library of the school where I used to teach after my graduation. Many years after, I was able to buy this book, which is a selection of 108 Rigvedic hymns, edited by Professor Wendy Doniger O' Flaherty with profuse Notes, comments and Bibliography. Her version is more easy to read than that of Griffith, so here is the Creation Hymn as in the book by Professor O' Flaherty:

10.129 Creation Hymn

1. There was neither existence nor non - existence then; there was neither the realm of space nor the sky which is beyond. What stirred? Where? In whose protection? Was there water, bottomless deep?

2. There was neither death nor immortality then; there were no distinguishable signs of night or day. That One breathed, windless, by its own impulse. Other than that there was nothing beyond

3. Darkness was hidden by darkness in the beginning; with no distinguishing sign, all was water. The life force that was covered with emptiness, that one arose through the power of Heat. ( The operative word is Tapas, which denotes austerity or the energy generated by austere practices )

4. Desire arose with the one in the beginning; that was the first seed of the mind. Poets seeking in their heart with wisdom, found the bond of existence in non - existence.

5. Their cord was extended across. Was there below? Was there above? There were powers, there were placers of seed. There was impulse beneath; there was giving - forth above. 

6. Who really knows? Who will here proclaim it? Whence was it produced? Whence is this creation? The gods came after, with the creation of the universe. Who then knows whence it has arisen? 

7. Whence this creation has arisen - perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not - the one who looks down on it, in the highest heaven, only he knows, or perhaps he does not. 


To imagine that there was neither existence, nor non-existence is truly mind boggling, as is the concept of finding the bond of existence in non existence. And when you come to the end, he who looks down upon creation, verily knows it, or perhaps he knows not, this is perhaps the surest sign of the true spirit of free inquiry without the slightest trace of bigoted beliefs. You would also notice that all the gods are also placed as created beings, like animal and plant life, subservient to the unknown motions and incomprehensible desires of the One.  

Tonight the sky is clear, and there is a thin sliver of a moon visible. Thousands of years ago, the sky must have been clearer without the particulate pollution that plagues us today, and under such a sky dotted with a myriad stars, perhaps by a roaring fire in a small clearing among the dense forests, one wonders at the intellect and genius of the ancient sages who thought about the mysteries surrounding us, the mystery of creation foremost among them. 

I would like to end with another piece of genius in Erik Satie's Gnossienne No.1 and here is Otto Tolonen playing it on the guitar at just the right pace, letting the music seep into you, filling you with a sense of wonder just like the 129th Hymn of the tenth book in the Rig Veda. 

To me, it seemed like the student or the disciple is asking three questions, to which the master replies. And all of it captured in so evocative, minimalist guitar tunes, like fundamentally all answers must be. Short and simple.

Forever

"The distinction between past, present and future is an illusion, although a rather persistent one", Albert Einstein

This gives rise to rather interesting possibilities. Can I be present now, and slip unobtrusively into the past? Those who have seen the movie MIB III would remember how Boris the Boglodite escapes from a maximum security prison in the moon and travels back in time to prevent his capture, and confronts his own persona, back then. They have a running spat haha!

Can we slip into the future, unobtrusively for a glance at what lies ahead? 

Oh could I raise the darken’d veil,
Which hides my future life from me,
Could unborn ages slowly sail,
Before my view—and could I see
My every action painted there,
To cast one look I would not dare.
There poverty and grief might stand,
And dark Despair’s corroding hand,
Would make me seek the lonely tomb
To slumber in its endless gloom.
Then let me never cast a look,
Within Fate’s fix’d mysterious book. 

Oh could I raise the darkened veil,
Nathaniel Hawthorne

Can time be perceived in a non linear fashion? There have been instances of some famous personalities speaking of their experiences, as if they have suddenly found themselves right in the middle of mighty upheavals in the past, such events intruding into their consciousness. Did Edward Bulwar Lytton have such a vision of the city of Pompeii through a fracture in the space - time continuum to be able to write so compellingly of the city which was totally destroyed by the eruptions of Mount Vesuvius?

Sometimes, exploring old monuments, one does get creepy feelings of being watched, of suddenly coming into the place which appeared to have just been vacated by its original inhabitants. As a child, I still remember gazing upon the battlefield of Khanua from Fatehpur Sikri, where the legendary Rana Sangram Singh fought valiantly with the Mughals. A child's imagination took flight, seeing the clamour of battle on horseback. Just imagination, nothing more complicated, thankfully! And there have also been instances of near death experiences, of people watching their bodies, all intubated while they seemed to be floating away. Imagine a peep into the future, watching your home or what remains of it after a hundred years, of your great grand children organizing trips to Mars and all that. Not the Hunger Games, hopefully. 

It is quite interesting to think of a yet unknown order that keeps the past from intruding upon the present and seeping into the future.  No wonder then, that in all religions, God is ascribed to be beyond all ordinary definitions, as the undefinable and beyond Time.

Every night, the express train rushes headlong, as it is doing now, slicing through the cold and the fog. I love the long drawn electric horn, which has remained more or less the same right from my childhood days. Wonder if I am really hearing the train or is it a throwback, a mental projection from the past?

"The past is never dead. It is not even past"

 (William Faulkner)

As the poets say, the dull pain of longing lasts forever. Perhaps it does, even though the actors in that particular drama may have moved on. Leaving the sighs attached to the stone cold walls of a dungeon, perhaps. Perhaps this is how the concept of a Soulmate has gained credence, that he or she has been present in our past lives. 

"Not just anyone can fulfill you the way your soulmate can. There's a world of a difference between your soulmate, your heart's other half and a life partner -- a person who lacks the elements to mold perfectly to you. Your soulmate makes you feel entirely whole, healed and intact, like no piece is missing from the puzzle. A life partner, on the other hand, can be a great supporter and long-time companion, but is limited in his or her capacity to enrich your spirit. If your partner is your soulmate, chances are he or she has been present in your past lives. Soulmates often choose to come back together during the same lifetime and scope each other out in the big world. You might suddenly and briefly experience flashbacks of your soulmate. You might even feel an odd sense of déjà vu, as if the moment in time has already taken place, perhaps a long time ago, perhaps in a different setting."


(Dr Carmen Harra, clinical psychologist)

Now then, since the soul is complete in itself, the very concept of  soul being in spiritual terms, as distinct from the mind or intellect and if so, the soul being nothing other than the universal consciousness, there is trouble with this concept of a soulmate. Mates there would be, at the physical, mental or intellectual level and these would be qualities of the body. The soul is nothing but the branch of a tree which pervades the entire Creation. In other words, my soul and yours, or that of that lowly cur, or that of the ancient redwood are all connected in a way that defies reason. 

That being the Indian way of thinking, I still believe there has to be something about soulmates, something that drives you inexorably towards the other, once again in a way that defies reason. 

Did you say forever
As in always and forever

Forever longing,
forever wanting
Forever for you

Meanwhile, the season of patjhar or the fall, has had a rather late effect on the pomegranate bush. One day I suddenly noticed it bereft of leaves for the most part, just ahead of the dip in temperature. Two unripe fruits remain. This bush has been a favorite stopover for most of the small birds in the vicinity. 

Before the fall   

After the fall

These pictures are from my phone, so the view is rather limited. Anyway, I would be waiting for the bush to turn leafy once again, for the birds to come nesting once again, raising another bird generation. All under the benevolent gaze of Father Time!

Kolkata Ramblings

The city of joy better sounds as Calcutta (doesn't it!) but that's all past tense now. The new dispensation is all blue as an infantile challenge to the reds who have ruled the State of West Bengal for thirty years and have now faded into the blue :)

Thirty years have backwarded the State to such an extent that the saner elements have preferred to seek their livelihood elsewhere (read Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Ahmedabad, not necessarily in that order) and yet, the city of Kolkata continues to thrive, continues to throb with an incredible abundance of life, joyous and playful, despite the fresh bout of hooliganism in blue since the newest challenge is from orange (haha!) but that's all besides the point, since this is not a political commentary, far from it.

The January moon in Kolkata looked equally wishy washy as in Delhi, only difference being in the ambient temperatures. Whereas Delhi was shivering in 2 degrees C, it was a balmy 20 degrees in Kolkata

And the city visibly takes pride in being the safest Indian city, as you can see from this street hoarding erected below the flyover at Gariahat

At 11 p.m. when I was coming back to my place of temporary residence, I was quite surprised to find an open air chess club on guard rails in full flow under the same flyover, on the other side, right at the Gariahat junction 

Old bookshops and bookstores are the best in Kolkata. In this streetside shop, I picked up a copy of The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, as I was quite curious about this book, having noticed several quotes from this book flying around

Read it flat in a day (night included). Sample the following dialogue by Augustus Waters, 17 year old formerly promising basketball player and an amputee with osteosarcoma, talking to Hazel Grace Lancaster, 16 year old patient of Stage IV thyroid cancer -

"I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you"

That's a big WOW, isn't it!

Another evening, I found Magic Dadu (Old man Magic) in one corner of the same place,

when he gently showed me a card with a floating head bobbing up and down, "Would you like to buy some magic trinkets for your kids?"

Mr Ashok Bose is running 70, and has been around selling such magic trinkets for 15 years after retirement. He also does magic shows for little children and it was indeed a privilege to have met him. 

Many shopkeepers, tradesmen in Kolkata are from the neighbouring State of Bihar, like this gentleman, who has been in the city from 1962, selling sarees from a pavement stall in Gariahat. I bought sarees for my mother from him. 

And there are yet other people in various jobs like this rickshaw puller, who was a bit shy when I took his picture. As I write this piece, the memories of our dear old cakeman come to mind; in our college days, this man in a simple dhoti and kurta used to do the rounds of the narrow streets, lanes and byelanes of North Kolkata with a small trunk on his head full of freshly baked cakes, pastries, doughnuts. "Cakeman, Sir!" was his ringing cry.

There is no other city in India with this kind of a rickshaw, which was introduced probably during the years preceding WW II, when thousands of Chinese people flocked to Kolkata, escaping communist rule. Ethnic Chinese enclaves continue to flourish in the city

New Year's eve, I found boomboxes blaring everywhere, the city determined to live intensely in the present. Should hope the new year brings good cheer to the grand old city with new opportunities and new beginnings!

The Oriental White Eye in Faridabad

Found these wonderful birds in our surroundings in late September 2014, was an absolute pleasure watching them flitting from branch to branch, pecking at the flowers and flying away in sudden unison

Oriental White eye in Faridabad, Haryana