Framed memories...

Day after day, it reappears...
Night after night, my heartbeat shows the fear...
Ghosts appear and fade away - to come back another day...

I got that song by Colin Hay today -- "Overkill"
Apparently, Munch had asked me to download it weeks ago -- but, I was just being forgetfully lazy... Or, lazily forgetful...
It's sad what people around me have to put up with...

Well, the song has a very nostalgic-sense attached to it somehow. And, I made the mistake of stumbling upon an old photograph as I heard it...

I remember how during our last few days at school, all my friends got a camera to click pictures... Frame memories, I guess.

I was, at the time, going through the whole "Gautama Buddha said look only four-steps ahead" phase... The 'four-steps' philosophy was meant to make his monks focus only on the present, and perhaps the 'immediate' future... GB, much like me, wasn't a big fan of those 5-year plans, I guess. That's why he couldn't pick a career...
I mean, I am sure some of his haters must have thrown that at him as well -- "why don't you get a real job!"

And the answer to that would have to be -- "I am Buddha, I don't need a job..."

Well, so my friends would click the pictures of the whole group. For a change, you stand not only with the guys you loved, but some you'd normally insult otherwise...
Pose silly... Try and make it look natural though...

Digital cameras weren't too big back then either. So, another issue with clicking pictures was that you'd have to make prints, put them in an album, and then stock them in some cupboard (to gather dust)...

And, I've always been a 'space-freak' I guess. Not in the star-trek sense of the term -- just in the "can we get rid of that chair, none of us ever sit on it anyway" sense...

So, I obviously clicked no pictures...
I would question the sense behind a camera. I'd say "when I am on a vacation to some exotic island, if I m too busy clicking photos, I've pretty much missed the whole vacation. I've been so busy trying to capture a memory of the moment - that I missed the moment..."

Plus, carrying a camera to a new place, you're always checking if it's still in your bag -- secured...

Like Tyler said -- "Things you own, end up owning you..."

And, the irony of life -- I m almost a semi-aspiring photographer now.

I guess, things were a lot easier for GB in that sense... Cameras didn't exist back then -- so he didn't have to bother plucking petals, saying "I should take a picture. I shouldn't take a picture. I should take a picture. I shouldn't take a picture..."

A good memory-photo with friends though, just blends well with that line from the song -- "Ghosts appear and fade away - to come back another day..."

Ending with Kahlil Gibran.

"Let there be no purpose in friendship save the deepening of the spirit."
-- Kahil Gibran

I just remembered, I actually had a dream about me accidentally dropping my camera in the swimming pool. And then attempting mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in order to get all the water out from my camera!!

Mother...

Two mothers shared a wall during the time of their first born.

As each child entered the world, it became obvious that the mothers would end up losing their child in a matter of minutes.

Upon hearing the news, I noticed the first mother’s features change from expressions of joy to one of dismay and sadness.
She sat silent and patient, feeling helpless, as she saw her child die in her arms.
A tear rolling down her cheek, she said to me, “I wanted to spend my only moments with him in peace and silence...”

Upon hearing the same words, I noticed the second mother’s features change from expressions of joy to one of rage and distress.
She did everything she could, and made sure everyone did the same, in order to help save her child. However, his fate was much that of his neighbour’s.
Tears streaming down her face, she said to me, “I wanted to spend my only moments with him trying to save him...”

The first mother... resurrected...
The second mother... died...

I'll end with Bob Dylan:
How many times must a man look up, before he can see the sky...
How many ears must one man have, before he can hear he can cry...
How many deaths will it take till he knows, that too many people have died...
The answer blows in the wind...

Minimal Simplicity...

To wake, alive, in this world, where everything is mortal - what happiness! Summer rain!
-Shosha

My mid-morning boredom led to a new header for my blog today.

I never even saw it coming. I just started fidgeting with my camera in hopes to crack the art of perfect contrast in black and whites. While I failed to do that, I ended up with test images of myself – each in a slightly different shade of grey. Suddenly the Devil and Angel emerged – and the next thing I knew, I ended up with this header...

I guess, this ones a bit more refreshing – which is never a bad thing. “Minimal simplicity” as Floyd called it.

Less is generally more than enough.

Enjoy the change...

My friend, you and I shall remain strangers unto life,

And unto one another, and each unto himself,

Until the day when you shall speak and I shall listen,

Deeming your voice my own voice;

And when I shall stand before you,

Thinking myself standing before a mirror.

- Kahlil Gibran