Chance

People love you and hate you,

When in favor, they call you serendipity,

When against, they call you misfortune;

They rant you are whimsical,

But it is they who are hypocritical.

Be it a king or a beggar,

Be it a saint or a murderer,

You don't give a damn!

You treat them fair and square,

The thankless judge of the universe.

They call you an agent of disorder,

Oblivious, that you create the ultimate order;

In the game of dice called the universe,

Your permutation and combination,

Paved the way for Life's creation.

Life will be unexciting,

If everything was predictable;

You make this drama enjoyable,

Adding variety to make life spicier,

Oh masterful script writer!

You go by many names,

Luck, fortune, fate, destiny,

Will you reveal your real name? Probably.

What are the odds?

Some chance...

The Song of Darkness

Darkness isn't new to you,

In the warm dark womb,

You were a tiny spark,

Oh silly creature of the dark!

As the night gently descends,

It sharpens sensations, abandons inhibitions,

Come, explore your deepest desires,

In this mesmerizing masquerade!

Discard your solemn sober identity,

Be who you always secretly longed to be,

Turn enchanting as you can ever imagine to be,

Slither into the dark cloak of mystery!

Take darkness as your master,

Grasp the enigma of dark matter,

Delve into the depths of the mind,

Powers beyond imagination you can find!

Why fear darkness? what's there to be afraid of?

The universe is  a vast dark space,

Darkness reigns supreme, it is the grander scheme,

What are you waiting for? Jump into the dark abyss!

And land on the dark side of the moon,

Lose your senses to the haunting tune,

Of the spellbinding music of the night,

Come live your fantasy, with the spirit of ecstasy!

Impromptu

I see the world turned upside down,
In this quaint lakeside town,
I see white clouds on the ground,
Making their way skybound,
Joy splashes in the heart as the water falls,
I see this spectre of nature, Niagara Falls!

Hope

Moments occur in life when,

The body would swoon,

Like the waning moon;

The heart is engulfed,

By the darkness of solitude,

Making even your shadow elude;

The mind is gloomy,

Like the winter sky,

Vision obscured in murky waters;

When your actions,

Have no traction,

And meet a rocky dead-end;

Those moments shall disappear,

When the crescent of hope appears,

And illuminates the mind;

The waxing moon, a clear vision of hope,  

Its gentle white light vanishes dark sorrow,

And gives you back your shadow;

When the spring of hope looms,

The mind shall swiftly bloom,

Like the enchanting lotus from the dirty mud;

When hope takes root,

Through the rocks it shall shoot,

And your dreams shall bear fruit.

So near yet so far

Perfect full moon at dark night,

Ripples break to infinite pieces,

The moon and the lake's heart;

Still waters give back the moon,

And the lake's heart brims with joy,

Though ephemeral and fleeting,

For the lake it is soothing,

As it is always in anguish knowing,

It can never have the lovely moon.

Night ends and dawn breaks,

Shining silver turns to sparkling gold,

In the lake's pristine waters,

Blooms the pure pink lotus,

Atop a green carpet of leaves;

However deep the water desires,

It can never ever caress,

The bright beautiful lotus.

Like the lake that yearns for the moon,

Like the water that longs for the lotus,

I am in agony, my love,

You are so near yet so far!

Unconditional Love

There is no life without love,

It started with our first move,

Out in the world from the mother's womb,

Parents were our universe, showering love on us to bloom,

Father the guiding sun, Mother the nourishing earth,

Of protection, care, wisdom there was no dearth;

Venturing into the world, without knack,

We grew up with close friends, the wolf-pack,

Bodies growing taller and stronger,

Bonds with bosom buddies deeper,

In our vision every single day, we were so near,

Yet the cunning thief time, stole those pals afar;

Out of the parents' cocoon, the silkworm broke free,

And the moth flew out with glee,

With verve, in search of true love,

The precious silk it did, indifferently shove;

High on the potion of youth,

That causes amnesia of truth,

It was attracted to flowers so spectacular,

Got drunk on their intoxicating nectar,  

Heart and body filled with joy,

Little did it know it was decoy,

Flowers had a hidden motive,

Create an illusion highly deceptive,

For romantic love maybe fickle,

And leave the heart brittle;

The silk left behind, woven into a welcoming home,

Brimming with the love of the enlightening father,

And the love of the nurturing mother,

Love, unconditional and selfless to the core,

The eternal love of the waves and the shore!

Muse

In an orchard of apples, fresh and red,

A bird so pretty, perched attractively,

Feathers coloured spectacularly,

Singing a sweet melody unheard,

I saw you!

Like the touch-me-not, so meek,

The face tilts to the side gently,

Eyes look away from mine slowly,

Cherry blossoms in the cheek,

You blush!

A coral oyster in the sea,

Opens gracefully and I swoon,

The fleeting pearly moon,

In a cloudy sky I see,

Your smile!

Seductive twin dunes cover,  

A nourishing oasis beneath,

Fish tail of a waist my hands can wreath,

One look, a sensual high takes over,

Your womanly curves!

Slender and graceful in no small measure,

Those legs put flamingos to shame,

Perform an elegant ballet of fame,

Give an attractive posture, hide a pleasure treasure!

How lucky am I to stumble upon this beauty of nature?

Haiku

Ant grabs grain

Gust blows it away

Life goes on

Hot May day

Effervescence

Music to ears

Fall asleep

Wake up yesterday

Time traveller

Twilight

Autumn woods

Rainbow on earth

Recurring dream

Turns to reality

Deja vu

Nature

I have no words to describe thy beauty,

For what I have seen of thou is only dainty;

To glimpse thy enlightening face, tried many,

Come close to lift the veil they did, barely;

Your puzzling words, bemusing actions do mystify,

Making the task of conceiving you mighty;

Zephyr to tempest, your whim and fancy,

Deter many from nearing, for thou art moody;

Mesmerising  curves you got, like spirals of a galaxy,

Ingenious patterns those bends reveal, when peered closely;

Life giving and nourishing, thou so motherly,

Show fury to those who harm you, slowly but surely;

A magnanimous creator spawned you claim many,

Without you there is no life they forget dearly;

Deciphering you is omniscience truly,

Not so easy, for to win your heart, takes eternity.

The Return of Romrir

Do you remember movies or novels which are named after the protagonist, but actually end up giving more screen time and character depth to a supporting character or sometimes, surprisingly, to the antagonist? Batman - The Dark Knight comes up in my mind first. Boy didn't that turn out to be a brilliant move! The movie became iconic with the Joker's darkness engulfing the Batman's knightly qualities like the moon does to the shining sun during an eclipse. The recently out, Avengers - Infinity War, also pulls off a similar stunt by portraying the entire character arc of Thanos, the almost omnipotent nemesis to the Avengers. Forget about more time devoted to him than the whole bunch of Avengers put together, the movie went on to show the colossal Thanos decimating the elite bunch of superheroes and making half of them vanish. At the end of the movie, you would ask its creators, why not name the movie Thanos instead?

I am being accused of committing a similar titular homicide by my imaginary sidekick Romrir. "Treachery, deceit, betrayal of the highest order!", screams Romrir to a nonchalant me. "You name the blog after me, but I haven't made an appearance since the first post. You ramble about everything, the universe, time, haunted ships and what not, but me!" Well, I am starting to get a little uncomfortable now. Although I am not impressed by Romrir, as he keeps blabbering useless and completely incoherent things at me when I am trying really hard to focus at work, I am feeling a teeny bit guilty about leaving him out of the narrative for quite a while.

"Well, my dear Romrir, while I have a strong desire to write about you, don't you feel I need some worthy content from you to pen it down?", I ask my sidekick in an authoritative tone, hoping he gets intimidated. "Hmm....I have given some ideas. Wait, haven't you been bouncing all your thoughts on me? And I have responded every single time either agreeing or giving an alternate view when disagreeing with you. Doesn't that make me the contributor of half of 'your' content?" responded Romrir slowly with his voice firming up considerably towards the end.

 I am astonished by Romrir's plucky attitude today. "While I can't dismiss your claim outright, you negate your worthy points with your distractive behaviour buddy.  Playing a tune repetitively while I want to get rid of it, speaking out random incoherent and anachronistic topics like the universe,  anthropology, wars, pop stars, movies, sports and what not while I am in a meeting or in a conference call at work. This is only the beginning of the long list. Oh! the top slot in that list goes to flashing images of hot women in compromising positions when absolutely not needed!"

I can see Romrir's sheepish grin. After a momentary pause he asks me, "I try to entertain you my master. Variety is the spice of life they say." "There's a time for everything Romrir", I said sternly, hiding the smile on the edge of my mouth.  "Well, you are like a flashlight. You throw the much needed light in darkness, when I need a different perspective, when my mind is crowded by egotistic thoughts. But having said that, you also turn the light beam directly onto my eyes sometimes, blinding me in a maze of excessive thoughts", I said calmly. "I try my best to help you", replied Romrir in a docile tone. "I hope you do. However, it gets a tad excessive at times. Too much introspection leads to self-doubt.  An idea which should have shot out like an arrow gets caught in the dense shrub of inward thoughts. Remember those times when you and I get caught in endless loops of 'does he/she know that I know' questions? Not to forget the never ending 'what ifs'! Less is more. Occam's razor", I said.

"You know what my dear friend! An idea just struck me like lightning. What if I post this conversation of ours as the next post in the blog. Won't that make it a post completely devoted to you?  Et voila! Two birds in a stone", I told my sidekick with a spark in my eyes. He just smiled silently. I posted the blog and turned the laptop screen to show him, "Hope that satisfied you."

Romrir waited a couple of seconds and replied cheekily, "I knew it! I was right! I knew this would work right from the moment when I incepted the idea in your mind, when you got out of your seat after the Avengers movie!"

Vantage Point - Part II

Kim replied in defence, "I am just a summer intern. You can't expect me to have a portfolio up and running yet. But I do pick stocks for my dad's investment portfolio. He is not at familiar with American market. And he added Tesla six months back upon my suggestion. He is not a frequent trader like you. He can hold on to his investment for years. So my view is long term upside for the stock." Navin said, "Well, I trade a few swing positions. But that's not even 20% of my portfolio. My positions are for the medium term. I did buy Tesla a year and a half back at $180. I sold half of my holding when it touched $300. And now I will decide whether to completely exit or not depending on the results tomorrow"

 "Smart lads both of you", said Alex in a beaming tone. "This is the beauty of trading or investing. The same figures and facts lead to so many different interpretations. And whenever someone goes long with utmost confidence in the future price movement up north, there is an equally confident person at the other end of the trade going short, with an exactly opposite view. Only time will tell who is right or wrong", said Alex with a smile. 

The full year results of Tesla for 2017 were out on the evening of February 7th, 2018. By the time the boys returned home after work, they had managed to track the exchange websites and have a quick glance at the financial numbers. It didn't look positive. Alex as usual for the first at home. He was already analysing Tesla charts on multiple time frames. The stock had gone up 6% in the last two days anticipating results. But the results turned out a bummer with even bigger losses for the electric  car maker. Kim and Navin had also reached home by then and gathered to have dinner. Alex had already ordered Thai Wok for all three. Navin was beaming, naturally as the results weren't great for Tesla as he had envisaged. "There you go fellas. You mocked me yesterday as if I had thrown nails on your Tesla highway. What's your take now?"

"Well, I have to admit the numbers are down. Investor sentiment will take a hit and I won't be surprised to see the stocstk falling tomorrow. Yet, as I said earlier, I will wait to see the price action tomorrow before deciding any position," said Alex indifferently.  Navin remarked snidely, "It's always smokes and mirrors with you big trader boy. What about you Kim?" Kim stuttered a bit, "Yes the numbers are bad. I guess I will let my dad's money work the long haul like him and myself like to do. No change in status yet. I won't suggest him to reduce or exit the holding now. As I said my dad can wait for years." Navin retorted, "Hope that turns out well for your dad Kim. I would advise you to reduce holdings. But it's your decision at the end of the day.  As for me, I have decided to sell off the remaining shares I have tomorrow, before it goes down anymore". Alex interrupted, "I would still wait to see the price movement for next couple of days before taking any panic action." Navin replied, "Well half the value of the stock can wiped in a couple of days of panic selling. I am not taking the risk"

Once the opening bells gonged in Nasdaq the next morning, Tesla opened positively up 1.3% in the first hour of trading. Then it started reversing slowly, the hourly candle alternating red and green. Once it broke the day's opening price, there was no turning back.  At day end the stock had lost 8.3% of its value and closed at $315. On that evening , when in flat 202, West 54th apartment, 10th avenue, Hell's kitchen there was one face smug with the "I told you so!" look. It was Navin's. He didn't miss any opportunity to point out to his fellow mates how right his decision was to sell the stock. Kim was quiet looking down most of the time. Alex was his usual nonchalant self, though irked by Navin's cocky remarks. Navin was so high with confidence that he even took fresh short positions in Tesla's 1-month futures contract. The next day, the stock went down to break $300 and Navin was ecstatic having made some quick money. "It's gonna reach $270 for sure, the fair value as I told you!" said Navin. Alex replied calmly, "Hold you guns bro. I have no idea about your fair value number. But I see buyers getting active again in the charts. You should exit your short futures position soon." Navin didn't let Alex complete his sentence, "No way in hell, I am not covering before I see $270. And it's gonna happen soon."

The next trading day the stock closed above $300 and it hurried up to $360, about 22%, in the next five trading days. It was Alex's turn to say, 'I told you so'. Navin was wrecked. His euphoria just a week back had now turned to despair so quickly as he burned a deep hole in his pocket. Alex had caught up with the trend early, and as always, bought low and sold high. 

Vantage Point - Part I

It was the cold and windy evening of February 6th, 2018 in New York City. Sechan Kim finished work at Silkroad Capital office in Manhattan around 8PM. It was a surprisingly early finish at work, considering how intensive work can get at the boutique private equity firm focused on East Asian technology ventures. Maybe, it was because he was only a summer intern there. Kim, as he would like to be called in America, was doing his Masters in Finance at Columbia  University. No stranger to hard work being a South Korean, Kim put in his full effort to complete his project, like a war-horse.  He reached his temporary apartment in Hell's Kitchen, where he was put up, like so many other young millennials - interns or fresh pass-outs from college starting their careers- in the Big Apple. Hell's Kitchen, though sounding sinister and more suited to a neighbourhood of gangsters and drug dealers, to the contrary, was a docile locality with affordable rents, cheap yet trendy hangouts and consequently home to many young professionals, students and budding actors, where they, quite commonly, shared a one or two bedroom apartment with two or three other mates.

Getting off the 50 Street Subway station, Kim walked along the street, amidst the flurry of snow, to his apartment. He opened the door to be greeted by the comforting warmth and Alex, who was atop the bean bag in the salon. Alex Patterson, from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Not many Americans from the wild west traditionally made it to the world of finance. Alex, coming from a family of merchants, was the ugly duckling who veered away from the family trade. Having seen his dad and relatives doing business from close quarters he was street smart and had that intuitive knack of spotting opportunities, which usually are in the blind spots of other people. Good with numbers and in poker since teenage, he inclined naturally towards speculative trading of all kinds, especially the stock markets. His entry into the financial world was not the usual way. He only did a bachelors degree in finance to learn the basics. However, he had his own trading portfolio since he was sixteen and was making his own pocket money from trades, unlike other kids who rely on their parents.  Instead of learning from best professors in ivy league schools, Alex received his education from the two best teachers of the world, Self-learning and Experience. He networked with many traders.  Many noticed his skill and one of them, a trader with JP Morgan, gave him a chance to join him. Luckily for Alex, when his benefactor looked at him, he didn't see the lack of formal degrees, but only looked at his money making potential. 

When Kim entered the flat, Alex was scanning stock and oil futures for next day's trade setup, with a cup noodle in his hand and took his gaze away from the screen to look at Kim, "Evening mate! wanna have some noodle? There are a couple more in the kitchen". Kim was in the mood for some pizza that night, "Hey Alex! Good evening. Thanks for asking, I'll get some pizza I guess. So, what's your kitty for the week ?" , he asked with a chuckle.

"Well, the flavor of the season is futuristic technology and the full year earnings of Tesla is coming out tomorrow. Since the start of February, I have been having dreams about driving electric cars in Mars with Elon Musk by my side", winked Alex. "Haha. Cool man. I am impressed by his ideas too. However, I heard there is some delay in scheduled production of Model Three cars. What's your take on it?" asked Kim. "Are these few months or years of delay really gonna matter after a couple of decades? Oil's gonna run out in a few years.  Electric cars are the future!", retorted Alex, with vigour.

Navin walked into the salon hearing voices of his flatmates in a conversation. Naturally curious and always up for a good conversation or a debate, he couldn't resist joining in the milieu."Talking about Tesla, are we now boys?" Navin, was the typical young Indian professional you would find walking along Wall Street. Like many other kids of his generation, he grew up in New Delhi, like a race horse with blinkers in the eyes, to keep focused on the finish line. His target was getting straight A's in school and excelling in a profession most probably in engineering or medicine or business. Right from beginning of teenage, the seed of the American dream had been sowed in his mind and Navin had made his parents proud by achieving it. After completing business degree at New York Stern School of Business, he had just landed a job as an equity research analyst at Jefferies.

"What the hell!? Were you in your room all this time? I thought you weren't back yet," asked a surprised Alex.  "Quite an illusionist, aren't I?", chuckled Navin with his witty sense of humor. "Let me guess, did the results day tomorrow get you two talking about Tesla?" Kim and Alex nodded in unison. "Well, our brokerage had a buy call on the stock for the last two years. But, since June last year, we went neutral with a Hold rating and it still remains", chipped in Navin. "Ah you guys are chameleons!, You just go with the trend", quipped Alex. Navin replied with frowned brows," Not really. We are only painting the picture that the numbers tell until this point in time. We come close to the bull's eye most of the times and we aren't throwing darts randomly either". Alex smiled and said, "Cool down  bro. I know what you do. I was just pulling your leg. The profit numbers could be low now, but they might turn high tomorrow and you will paint a rosy picture then. But the value of the pioneering idea shall always remain".  Kim felt relieved as he felt for a moment that the two would continue arguing seriously.

"So Elon fanboy, what's your trade setup for the earnings release? Going long all guns blazing I guess?", asked Navin. Alex paused for a moment and replied calmly, "Well, I might feel strongly about Tesla. But as a trader, I do what the charts tell me to. And rule number one, I don't trade events. News events like earnings release give you 50% hit rate. Ask any trader who knows his stuff, he or she won't take a trade with less than 70% chance of success. Just not worth the dime and time!" Navin rolled his eyes and said condescendingly, "Oh come on now! Don't give me this Wolf of Wall Street talk. You can't rely so much on charts. They aren't based on any proven method. They are just a bunch of patterns which may repeat once in a while." Alex shook his head and replied with a smile, "You are missing an important element of charting. They are not a tool to value stocks. You will realize what they are really used for soon." He asked Navin, "You have all the right tools and a mountain of data to analyse stock value. So what do you suppose is the right value of Tesla? Will you buy or sell it?"

There was a glint in Navin's eyes. Although not gregarious enough in social situations, when it came to his specialization, Navin's confidence was at its zenith. "Tesla hasn't been profitable since its inception in 2003. Although the company has been successful in winning investor's hearts with Model S and X cars, it is way behind target in the mass market Model 3. At this point in time, to meet its targets the company needs to produce 5000 cars per week, while currently the rate is just 2000. Add to that the massive cash burn over the last 3 years, which has left them a gap of 2 billion dollars to fill from debt. All this has been comfortably forgotten by the market which is valuing the company at $345 a share right now, while the fair value should be close to $250-275 a share", said Navin, completing his speech with as much seriousness as he did for his university thesis.

Alex paused for a couple of seconds and started a slow clap. Kim started laughing and joined him too. "Oh thanks for the accolades you sarcastic bastards!', screamed Navin. Alex and Kim laughed even harder. Kim quiet for a long time jumped in, "I see your point Navin. I agree with how the financial data right now will affect the valuation and bring it down. However, there is an intangible premium given to certain stocks considering their future impact and market dominance in the future. It's pretty common with technology companies and can apply to Tesla as well." Navin replied, "Not for long. People need results soon. Can't hang in on hope all the time." Alex put in a pointed question, "Ok so now both of you have got strong opinions on the stock price of Tesla. What is your plan of action? Are you guys already invested with positions or just talking without any skin in the game?"

Magnolia

The sky always appears blurred, ever since I got aboard the Magnolia. I have forgotten how long I have been on this cursed ship. Smith, who is also from my hometown, a bilge rat in this ship, used to strike black lines in coal each week, on our dishevelled basement cabins, before he ran out of space. Relentless, he started keeping a mental track of each passing day or night, before his memory failed him. It wasn’t long before it happened to me as well. Holy mackerel! I have lost track of how long I have been on this wretched ship! The constant ebb and flow of the sea, sometimes extremely tempestuous, being the only reminder of the journey still going on.

I remember walking in the market lane in Plymouth, when I heard a couple of sailors atop a fish cart, addressing a crowd of onlookers gathered around the flagpole in the middle of the market. A crooked looking sailor was accompanied by  a young man, not more than twenty five, and who, by the fear in his face while looking at the older sailor speak, must have presumably been his subordinate. The old man was brawling at the top of his voice, the words rolling out of his drunken mouth, sounding gibberish. I got wind that they were looking for young sailors for a ship sailing to the lands of spices in the Orient. Rush of blood in my veins, a feeling of exuberance in my head making the filthy market feel like the stage of an opera. Could this be it? My dream of becoming a sailor!

Coming from a family of sailors, I grew up hearing tales of exotic faraway lands from my old man and my uncles. We kids used to play imagining ourselves as the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow manning the Black Pearl. The reckless life, the rush of testing uncharted waters, the promise of endless adventure and copious casks of dark rum, wanted me to become a sailor. Hell ya'll landlubbers,  you would have still believed the earth was flat, if not for us brave explorers.

On that windy new moon day of July, the Magnolia began her journey, with Captain Haddock shouting 'Ahoy' from the starboard. I couldn't quite get the sight of him somehow. The young recruits were exuberant in the initial few months of the voyage and the sails flew whole nine yards all the time. One of them, Smith who slept in the lower decks with me, became my close pal. We talked a lot, shared many a tale. If there was one gossip which every tongue on the vessel wagged about, it was about our skipper. It seemed many of us had never got a good glimpse of the captain. We had heard his hoarse voice, sometimes uttering curses on an unlucky crew. Even with the few who claimed to have seen him, it was only a shadow or just his back against a wall, never the complete face.

We estimated we would reach our destination in a year's time.  We had rough weather a few times, yes, yet we sailed constantly every single moment. We didn't stop anytime, anywhere, not a single instant as far as my memory can serve me. Months became years. Many wanted to question the captain. The few, higher up the ranks, who had the guts to enter the lion's den were always met with failure as they couldn't get to him.  We had three square meals a day, at least for a few months. Our supplies had been planned to last us for utmost a year. As months became years, we barely had a few morsels each day. Interestingly the rum started getting more intoxicating each day, making us see spectacular islands and hear the mellifluous cry of mermaids. It made us forget hunger.

Sometimes I wondered if all of this was just a dream or the sordid reality was we had become zombie prisoners of the Magnolia? Have we entered some forbidden enchanted sea with no way out to the land? The only change in our eternal journey was the colour of the sky. Sometimes shaky blue, many a times overcast with different shades of grey and charcoal black at nights. Waves lashed high enough to cover the sails many times and I wished one of those mammoth waves would just submerge the wretched ship and put an end to my bleak empty existence. It felt like getting tantalisingly close to the dark lips of Lady Death only for the whimsical maiden to turn her head away from one last kiss. 

Kazuo Takahashi, a seasoned fisherman, started his day well before dawn to make the most of the unusually calm sea, off the coast of Iwaki, in northern Japan. Over the years Kazuo had acquired Zen like tranquillity and sense of timing in his craft. He was precise in timing the casting and the pulling of the nets. He had already made a good enough haul the four times he had cast his net this morning. The sky had gone from deep purple to reddish orange and was now already dim yellow.  Time to cast one last time for the morning. The last haul, not as copious as the previous ones, was still sufficient. As he cast aside the fish by type, preparing to leave home, he noticed a shiny object glinting the morning sun across his eyes. He picked up the glass bottle and peered through its mouth. He found an intricately carved miniature ship , with English letters engraved on its side. He had never seen such a ship in his lifetime. Perhaps it was from his great grandfather's times when pale men from the lands across the Pacific came to trade with the Japanese.

Takahashi wiped the bottle clean and put it in his bag with a rare smile on the edge of his mouth. Akihiko, his youngest son, with his curious mind, would surely like it.  

The Illusion of Time

Ever had the feeling of having complete mastery over a subject? The feeling caused by the rush of dopamine to the head from a momentary illusion of omniscience. Give it some time. Your mind receives new information, analyses it and slowly plants the seeds of doubt in the crystal clear theory. And lo behold! It all comes crashing like huge waves on a rocky coast. A black smear on a white canvas. Smokes and mirrors. Muddy the still waters. We were happy knowing the large white rock floating in water was actually frozen water. It was only when we explored it further and started realizing it was only the tip of a gargantuan iceberg that we lost our cool. Is that all? Is there more? If what we know to be true is only an illusion, what can we be sure about? The more you know about something, the more complicated it gets and you have less understanding of it, than what you had before. Time is one such concept.

Time was present before life on earth began and will be a witness to the apocalypse in the future that shall wipe out all known life. If life was born in the cradle of evolution, the hand that rocks the cradle is time. Time in its epic scales, millions and billions of years, is the key ingredient of evolution. For us, time has been the only constant in an ever changing world. It was our reference point to our actions. It was the manuscript on which history was written. We thought we understood all about time. Time was such a still observer that we could anoint different roles to it. For some it was the healer, some never seemed to have enough of it, some had it a plenty to the point of misery, while for  many time was death itself as it withered youth and eventually sucked the life out of us. We got smug and we started building devices to keep track of time, ranging from sundials to atomic clocks. We scratched the surface too hard, only to reveal the mysterious strands that make time. 

With this new knowledge of the building blocks of time, it wasn't constant anymore. It had become relative. It could go slower or faster to each observer under different circumstances. It is so interlinked with space, light and gravity that one couldn't exist without the other. Time, which we thought we knew like the back of our hands, became the foremost illusion of the universe. It is truly baffling to know that when you look at the sun right now, you are actually looking at the sun, roughly eight minutes back in time. 

Traveling across time became theoretically possible. This gave rise to novel conundrums of endless time loops, going back in time to change history and getting a glimpse of oneself in the future. Once time turned from the known to the unknown, it was subject to speculative imagination resulting in a rich lore of science fiction. So, what lies ahead for mankind in our quest to demystify time? 

We shall keep continuing with speculative theories and one of those could result in our mastery over time wherein we can travel back and forth along the arrow of time and even bend it. However, will we be happy having given the access to the past and the future? Each individual free shall multiply threefold and I can't help but picture a world predominated by chaos of the highest order. I am reminded of a saying from Buddhist theology, 'the man who dwells in the past and the man who dreams of the future are seldom happy. The truly happy man is the one that lives in the present moment'.

So what is the best way to navigate through the maze of time? I prefer to take Gandalf's words in Lord of the Rings as my course of action."All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us right now"

Stargazing

The gift that keeps on giving. Mankind has always been on the quest of a mythical gift that keeps giving riches, since the dawn of civilization. Needless to say, homosapiens, with their unique ability of collective imagination, the very same idiosyncratic element that catapulted them to the top of the food-chain, started weaving tales of such a legendary gift like a mulberry worm weaving its finest silk . Legends spun across civilizations tantamount to this. The Philosopher's stone, the Elixir of Life, the Akshaya Patra, Kamadhenu in Indian mythology, Midas from the land across the Aegean sea are a few of those. The riches need not necessarily be hedonistic. It could take various forms like truth, knowledge, the true form of nature to name a few. No question has baffled us more than the one of how our universe works? We have, at the most, made a few dots in the right direction in this quest, only in the last couple of centuries, through the brilliance of a few men like Newton and Einstein. Yet, there is still so much of the universe unexplained that what we know is a handful of sand picked up on a vast beach.

But how did it all begin? When did we start to ponder about such ethereal concepts? When did we get enough time to realize there's the most intricate labyrinth lying above us waiting for us to solve it? Oh it's when we turned our heads away from the mundane trivialities of everyday survival. It was when we lifted our heads up and looked above. We did stare long and many a time. The blue sky in the day and the endless darkness at night stared back at us. We noticed the big silvery white orb moving across our heads playing hide and seek once a fortnight. Then we found the planets and the stars. Though it took us thousands of years to figure out who these wanderers in space really where, the real gift of this intriguing process, guided by the beacon of curiosity, was, the questioning mind.

Every other moment, our heads were stuck too deep in day to day life like ostriches with their heads in sand. It was only when we looked up, we could contemplate on how it all began with a big bang out of nothingness. Various civilizations came up with their own theories which were purported to be the truth at those times. Those supposedly true 'theories' gave rise to an astounding pantheon of gods across ages. It didn't really matter if those theories would eventually turn into myths over the passage of time and advancement in human civilization. The process led to the development of creative imagination in man, which would eventually sow the seeds of modern science centuries later. It led us along the path of understanding the true meaning of Nature, which in essence is the meaning of life. Without doubt the ultimate truth of life has to be the most precious gift ever. It all began when man gazed at the stars. 

Truly then, stargazing has been the gift that keeps on giving.