Patterns

shelter of patterns
offer hindsight or foresight
clear blatant vision

Aren’t patterns astonishing? We take shelter in them while also wanting to break them. Quite ironical, is it not?

The varied hues of clouds at dusk, stars at night, the rustle of a coconut palm, the ripples on a silent pool, the aggregation of ice crystals that present us the snow fractals, animal and human behaviour are all nothing but patterns. On a bigger scale, the Milky Way Galaxy which we’re a part of has spiral patterns depicting a Fibonacci sequence in space. Isn’t that stunning? These regularities that reveal themselves in our observations often offer a sense of satisfaction to confused minds, and act like a shelter to hazed thoughts.

Not only in nature are these configurations present. We plan our days, maintain a consistent routine to manage the time and weave a pattern around us consciously or otherwise. We accidentally meet a good old friend, and at once our brain frames a pattern of longing to meet them all. Rhyme schemes are also patterns used by poets to please their readers. Even chaos we face in our lives is an unrecognized pattern which barely gets recognized. That’s what has transformed into the cliché of ‘history repeats itself’.

But, as much as patterns fascinate me, I feel that they’re also a trap. 

International Tiger Day 2021

As many of you might have come across already, today, 29th July is observed as the “International Tiger Day”. This is commemorated every year since 2010 to spread awareness about the dangers faced by tigers, to conserve the tiger species, and to preserve their natural habitats.

This year, the theme for the day is ‘Their survival is in our hands’.

According to World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), these wild cats are one of those keystone species that are crucial for the integrity of the ecosystems in which they live. In short, when tigers thrive, the whole ecosystem thrives. They help in maintaining the harmony of nature.

In spite of being apex predators, do tigers really face dangers? Undeniably, that’s a yes. Most declining tiger populations are threatened primarily by habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching and wildlife trade, declining prey base, and conflicts with humans.

Tacenda

❝They say I'm an adamant child.
What else would I do? 
I wish I wasn't born.
I know it's too late. 
I'm 14 now.

There's another wish. 
I've locked it in out of fear,
of being labeled a monster. 
I wish to see "Her" in the coffin.
Don't judge.

Pitch Black

pitch-black

golden peeper

furry blankets

Did you think of night, moon and clouds? Or, were your thoughts about cat, eyes and its fur?

Aren’t we the same? Nights and us.

To Hearing World

A/N: Kindly read the verse in landscape mode if the lines don’t fit entirely on your screen.

To my beloved organs,
additional duties are assigned.
Eyes also act as ears;
hands assist or replace mouth.
Yes, I am a deaf,
hearing impaired
but capable of doing anything else.

Hostility

Once you get turned on,
you chase everyone away.

I’m left all alone, just because
you don’t like crowds.

I agree you add to my pleasure.
But still, you have a foul smell. 

More than all, you’re a murderer,
a sadist, and a person of no morals. 

Camera #Origami

“You run the slideshow of your favourite photographs on the computer.

You forget the world on seeing you together with that special one, just like the time it was taken when you had lost yourself in her eyes.

I shut my eyes to pause the world, and when I open them back, the lost moments come alive.

Anniversary – Random Thought

Today is India’s 74th independence day. It was the headline of the newspapers and a thought crossed my mind on reading it. It’s the 73rd independence anniversary.

Likewise, when we congratulate someone annually for a celebration, we usually address it an anniversary – job achievements, house purchases, wedding anniversaries, or any ‘firsts’ that we’d like to remember.

World Emoji Day 2020

July 17 is celebrated as World Emoji Day, an unofficial holiday.

Emojis, symbols of the visual language, have become a part of our everyday life. They were designed with the intention of adding emotions to the digital language. Peeking out from smartphone screens, they are now on clothing, shoes, arts, cakes, gift items, plush toys, and in many more forms.

Who created Emojis?

Emojis were first created by Japanese artist Shigetaka Kurita.  He worked with Japan’s main mobile carrier DOCOMO, on the development team for “i-mode,” an early mobile internet platform with the goal of finding new ways to express information. Emojis weren’t 3D in the initial days as we see them now. Kurita sketched emojis as a set of images that can be sent on mobiles and pages as individual characters within the i-mode interface, which implies that they were not international.

Relive – TLT #4

It’s a theme park run only for adults, by a lady with supernatural powers, and the caution board indicating “Mind Your Head” doesn’t mean anything physical but is more surreal.

Only brave ones come here because the person entering the door forgets all memories of the outside world that’s dumped in their heads and gets inside only with memories of a 5-year-old.

Annie was over the moon as she posed

Burning Desires – TLT #3

Varun loves summers, and so had planned to tick off an item from his bucket list of visiting Egypt on the summer solstice, where a viewer standing at the Sphinx could enjoy the sun setting precisely between two of the Great Pyramids – Khufu and Khafre.

Unfortunately, the lockdown collapsed his plans, the result of which he had to settle with a friend who was to trek to a hilltop tower in a nearby town.

He started his climb with sorrows brimming, but the mountain’s breeze soothed his wounds,

World Oceans Day 2020

World Oceans Day is to celebrate and honour the oceans that connect us all together, and to remind the role of oceans in everyday life. This idea was first proposed in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Jeneiro, Brazil, and was officially implemented by the ‘United Nations’ in 2008.

Disclaimer:
The post is lengthy, around 900 words.

Why do we need to concern about the oceans when we do no direct harms to it?

Climate and weather of the landmasses are strongly influenced by oceanic circulation patterns. Drastic changes can heavily affect agriculture, animal life, followed by human lifestyle patterns to a greater extent if left unnoticed.

Tribute To Tribulations – TLT #1

As a part of ‘World Environment Day’ celebrations at school, it was a challenge to brainstorm any idea to paint without using paints.

Kavin, on his way to school, witnessed a bunch of daily labourers toiling in the Sun since dawn.

World Bicycle Day

Today, 3rd June, is World Bicycle Day.

It’s the first machine we master as children and the one we abandon when the seductions of the automobile take over.

– Colman McCarthy

On this day, let’s dust our memories and make bicycles part of our life.

Cheers!

World Book and Copyright Day

What is the ‘Book Day’ about?

Here’s a snippet from UNESCO in its original words:

“World Book and Copyright Day is a celebration to promote the enjoyment of books and reading. Each year, on 23 April, celebrations take place all over the world to recognize the scope of books – a link between the past and the future, a bridge between generations and across cultures.

By championing books and copyright, UNESCO stands up for creativity, diversity and equal access to knowledge.”

An interesting fact:

23rd April is a symbolic date in world literature. It is the date on which several prominent authors, William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died.

To All Indian Adults

Guess What?

This post is about the upcoming Lok Sabha elections that are to be held from 11th April 2019 to 19th May in 7 phases across India.

In short, it is the biggest democratic exercise across the world; more or less, a festival.

As we all know, voting is a Constitutional right granted to Indian citizens over 18 years of age to choose our own representatives. Yet, many of us refrain from using this right and rest at home since it is not mandatory.

Does a single vote matter?

Of course, every vote matters.

We may feel our single vote is trivial. But imagine what would happen if this becomes a national attitude. The entire efforts of the Election Commission (EC) and even more importantly, the only opportunity when a citizen overpowers and gets a chance to uphold the value of democracy turns futile.

In this world, where there are conflicts even within a nuclear family, it is not fair to expect the entire democratic experience to be smooth. Numerous government functioning, economic policies or corruption might have rendered us unsatisfactory impression on the government. But this single reason of poor governance shouldn’t stop us from voting.

All we can do is change ourselves.
But sometimes that changes everything.

Let us be determined to utilize the medium that is offered to express – through support or rejection.

How?

By casting vote on the day of elections.

Is that all, then? Can we just blindly press any button on the EVM/the NOTA or any party that our family prefers? Certainly, No.

Make some analysis on the candidates. It is important to make informed political decision.

But Why?

India follows First Past The Post electoral system to choose members of the Lok Sabha, according to which the candidate who gets the maximum votes in a constituency gets elected. The vote share obtained need not be a majority, i.e., need mot be more than 50%.

In such a situation, very small number of votes may change the margins of winning. So, it is needed to choose the right candidate. How do we do that?

Green Miniatures

“Do I look like the mini version of tender coconut?
No, I’m not.
I’m that unlucky fallen fruit nut of areca palm“.

Little Drumstick

“People of my family are usually tall.
I’m mature; but still dwarf.
That makes me cute, isn’t it?

That doesn’t make me inferior at all.
I’m special in every way.
You can’t preserve me.
But sure, you can adore me“.

Our death wish:

Now that we are to die very soon, we’d like to convey something.

Squirrel Appreciation

Going by fun calendar, Jan 21 is marked as Squirrel Appreciation Day.

Squirrel is one of my favourite animals. Though I do not pet any (I don’t want to interfere in their freedom), I just love them. I’d like to share few of my unforgettable encounters with squirrels.

SCENE 1:

It was a training programme at school for an upcoming competitive exam in my grade 8. It must have been 2008. There were hardly anyone present at school as it was a Sunday. Few of them left to their homes to have lunch.

There were few others including me, eating under the tree. There was this squirrel which was playing there, jumping from branch to branch and tree to tree.

World Braille Day

Today, Jan 04 2019, is the first-ever official World Braille Day. Though this day has been remembered for years to commemorate the birth of Louis Braille, this is the first observance after recognition by the United Nation’s General Assembly on November 2018.

About Braille

Braille is a communication form (writing) developed by a French man Louis Braille to help the blind people. It is some kind of tactical representation of alphabetic and numerical symbols so blind and partially sighted people are able to read the same books and periodicals printed as are available in standard text form.  At the outset, this was just an improved form of night writing.

Six dots represent each letter, number, even musical and mathematical symbols, to allow the communication of important written information. Later on, there were many developments made.  Now, the blind can even use computers and mobile devices with ease just like normal people without any eye defects, on account of technology and apps.

Are You a Food Lover? Then you gotta know this too

    June 18 is observed as World Sustainable Gastronomy Day. It is an initiative by UNESCO and FAO to create public awareness of its contribution to sustainable development.

        For most of us, Gastronomy is a new term. What does it mean? It is the practice or art of choosing, cooking and eating good food.

That’s fine. But why should this concern the food lovers?

      Let me just spill out few facts that have been recorded to better understand the significance of Gastronomy.

• According to United Nations, Food Waste consumes
  • 21% of all fresh water.
  • 19% of all fertilizer.
  • 18% of cropland.
  • 21% of landfill volume.
• If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, following the USA and China.

These data implies the intensity of the problem of food wastage, starvation, poverty, climate change and much more.

      They say “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”. But still, there are numerous people who don’t get food to eat. Then, how can humanity flourish? This day recognizes gastronomy as a powerful cultural expression that interlinks 3 aspects of sustainable development – People, Planet and Profit – showing a way to reach our development goals through our stomachs. In addition, this promotes

• Agricultural development;
• Food security;
• Nutrition;
• Conservation of Biodiversity;

How can Foodies contribute?

                Simply get committed to gastronomy, i.e., take up responsibility in production and consumption of food.