My echo, My shadow and Me...

Photo courtsey: www.robi-bobi.net

"Yuji San! Are you happy?" asks Frank. (San is the Japanese equivalent of Mr.). Yuji looks at the space in front in a meditative mood (as if he is trying to work out whether he is happy or not). Then he draws a typical big Japanese smile on his face that reflects extreme happiness and shake head heavily, "Yes, Yes"(the second yes to confirm the first yes). This would set all five of us into a roaring laughter. This was the second time I met with Frank. He is 67 and a manager of a European auto giant. He works till 2 O'clock in the night (!) and gets up at 6 in the morning. In spite of that I have never seen him dozing off on a ride as long as four hours. I also have never heard him raising his voice to express dissatisfaction. His silence was enough to set all of us into motion to correct what ever mistake made or occurred. However his voice shakes everything around when he is happy, when he laughs. Yuji is an engineer. As it happens with almost all Japanese, Yu...

a prayer for those who have lost their lives in the mumbai blasts on 11th of July, 2006...an also for those who is suffering because of this brutal act... photo courtsey www.lapster.smugmug.com

After fretting for a long time about the sameness of the days it was time to have a taste of the other side of the coin. At the end of a week long race against time and spaces, I am physically exhausted but mentally prepared to live n number of weeks like this. There were hundreds of occasions that made me aware of my limits. But there also were multiple of hundreds of factors that inspired me to strive to defy these limits. The three hour journey from Mumbai to Silvassa was a picturesque ride among the lush green hills, charged by the touch of monsoon. Watching them with wide open eyes, I struggled for words to appreciate the beauty. But somehow I failed to enjoy the sight. Open eyes does not necessarily mean sight. To enjoy beauty you need to have imaginative eyes, need to integrate the inputs from eyes with the imaginations of the mind. But the later was busy in searching ways to manage the loss that Mumbai rains have caused, messing up all our plans. Trapped for hours on the Mumbai...