Mirror, Mirror..

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all”? For the time being, I would like the wicked Queen to take temporary voluntary retirement and leave the stage for me.

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who has the real beauty amongst all?”

Mirror: “My interim owner, your change in search word has caused enough trouble and hardwork for me. It was easier with the Queen and less strenuous to find the fairest person.  You see the term beauty cannot be encompassed within a specific definition. It does not denote any particular entity. The term beauty is very much exquisiteness incarnate. Anything lovely, soothing, wonderful, delicate, refined that touches your heart or perhaps your soul can be endowed with the terminology “beauty”.

In human world,  good looks are valued a lot. But you see, physical beauty is just an adornment like wearing good clothes. It is bound to fade away with the regular wear and tear regime of time. So what remains is your soul.

So I tried to find what makes a soul beautiful. The answer is Devotion. Devotion to Almighty, devotion to work, devotion to responsibilty, devotion to family, devotion to a noble cause, devotion to a vow, – makes a person beautiful. It is just a single word but its significance is widespread. Each is holding a unique flavour of core human value. Dedication, loyalty, commitment, compassion all these encompass this eight letter word. Living with values in line with principles, integrity makes a person truly beautiful.

Please do not be annoyed.  In my search process I bumped into your databank and found certain moments captured by you, to be beautiful. Nature is also beauty incarnate. 

Simple beauty with elegance is seen in this rosy snap.

This pink beauty was captured just after a drizzle in the hilly areas of Darjeeling.

I’m sure these crabs never made a deliberate effort to make their home look so beautiful. Their incessant laborious effort has given birth to this fine piece of artistic beauty. So you see, absence of an effort to look good but presence of an effort to make it constructive has bestowed it with outstanding beauty.

Crab's designer home captured at the Mondarmoni beach, West Bengal

Solitary moment has beauty of its own. Solitary provides the scope to realise happiness by drawing one’s attention within. At that time you are just you. Experiencing such moments enhance inner beauty through the guiding light of spirituality.

A dog enjoying a solitary moment at Mondarmoni beach, West Bengal

Music has unparalleled beauty. It appeals directly to one’s heart. I found the snap of these two boys playing a different looking violin. Can you share the event with me?

Young boys performing at the Chowk market in Darjeeling

Oh yes, they were playing a marvelous melodious tune sitting at a corner in the busiest chowk market in Darjeeling. I can not explain in words the fascinating and soothing rhythm that swayed in that place for that particular moment. Every shopper stopped to listen to their tune.

Mirror: Ah! So do you agree that music suddenly changed the humdrum market place into a place of bliss. Bliss is also synonymous with beauty. Do you agree with me?

I do agree to what you are saying. 

And all your search results remind me of a quote by Robert Browning, “If you get simple beauty and nought else, you get about the best thing God invents”.

In the form of narration I thought of expressing my views on real beauty for yahoo Dove Real Beauty contest

It's Summer time!

Water is definitely the second abode for ducks. But in this Summer, these two simply refused to come out of the pond. Even a hearty meal provided by their owner failed to allure them.

The Little Prince : An adorable book of all times

The Little Prince written by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is one of my all time favourite.  I read this book quite a long ago. A few days back my eyes fell on this book while browsing through my bookshelf. So thought of sharing my thoughts on this best selling book which was first published in 1943.  

Apparently, the whole story seems juvenile but at the same time it seeks to insinuate the finer aspects of human emotions that have got trapped in the vicious circle of mundane life. I felt as if the little prince represents the innate self of human being which always hankers to enjoy the puerile smell of childhood days long lost in the drudgery of life. The more we try to kill the child within us, the more we will be susceptible to a dilapidated condition.

The story is allegorical. Simple imagery but highly thought provoking. As adults we always learn to value things in respect of its utility. Since grown ups do not value imagination they try to curb it from the child. For e.g. the diagrams of boa constrictors support the view. Because of the materialistic nature of adults the dream of the writer to become an artist was nipped in the bud. Another illustration of the Turkish astronomer pinpoints the fact that we judge people by looks and not by deeds. Our methodical nature is obstructing us from enjoying the elixir of life. Nature is beauty incarnate but enjoying its serenity seems to be frivolous entertainment. But for the little prince nothing can be more soothing and enjoyable than watching as many as sunsets. Our constant negligence of relieving our tension will soon turn into “baobabs” and lead to an intolerable heaviness.

The conversation of the prince with his flower is so enchanting. It was like a newly blossomed love where the prince could decipher no clue to what his flower was demanding. The rose behaved like a pretty damsel trying to teach the naïve prince certain aspects of her life. Later it is seen how the prince felt his affection for her. The anguish of her absence became a constant presence for him.

The journey of the prince in the galaxies and his confrontation with different people actually illuminates various faces of human character. The dogmatic king, conceited admirer, drunkard, businessman, lamplighter, geographer, everyone had a message to give. But I liked the paragraph where the king was asking the prince to judge himself. Indeed judging oneself is the most difficult job. Then the drunkard who is drinking because he is ashamed of drinking. It all seems to be in line with human tragedy.

An illustration of Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry 

I have never before read such a fairy-tale like description of planet Earth. I wish if I could be the lamplighter of north or South Pole….I would have so much of leisure for loitering around. In the desert the flower’s view on caravans is indicative. If we dnt remain grounded or rooted, a gust of wind is sufficient to shake our existence. The imagery of echo and signalman portrays the picture of the restless people who have no time to listen to their own heart. They are rushing to and fro like ships without any rudder. When the writer was thirsty, their long travel to find a well establish the saying, “believe what you set your heart upon for it surely shall be yours”..

The discussion of the fox is another eye opener. “ what is essential is invisible to the eye”.. is a quotable quote.. its so true..we view things through coloured glass and hence we fail to see the real elegance or importance of  circumstances. End result being, our woes are amplified day by day.

“for what u’ve tamed, you become responsible for ever”...

It seems the little prince came to revive the jovial nature of the writer. He inculcated in him certain thoughts that will help in elevating the spirit and adorn his life as never before. He came, did his job and then he left. At this point the words of the snake during their first meeting is so vital..”whomever I touch I send back to the earth from which they came.” As the story moves, the reader’s love for the prince is sure to magnify in leaps and bounds. I felt a choking feeling when he died. During the last part of the story, I felt as if the little prince was the mouth-piece of god. Due to over practicality, people become insentient and often avaricious. The prince as if came to revive the human soul and that’s why he said the shell is not important. The sudden revelations in the story came like a boon. I remembered a saying “ he that sent me here is with me—the Father hath not left me alone”..I still think there is so much to derive from this book which may be obtained by reading it  recurrently.

A fisherboy sauntering along the beach…

This photo was taken during a trip to Mondarmoni, a seabeach resort in West Bengal.

Panchlingeshwar - An embodiment of serenity

Cascading stream

In 2009, our office took us to a religious spot, Panchlingeshwar for our Annual Conference.

Panchlingeshwar is situated in the Balasore District of Orissa. The name itself connotes that the significance of the place is bestowed on the esoteric beauty of the five lingams of Lord Shiva. Nature here has unfolded itself in the most bounteous way. The bucolic beauty has gracefully fused with the numinous splendour of the place.

The stream flowing over five lingams

The five lingams are enshrined in the Nilgiri hills. It is an amazing sight to see the stream continuously flowing over the lingams. We were unable to see the original and ancient lingams because of the cascading water. One local guide told that during the month of Shravan, devotees from various places assemble here to pay homage to Lord Shiva. They pour holy water in the stream which flows over, bathing the lingams. People need to lie over the rocks to touch the lingams. 

The bael tree with five leaves in one stem

The guide showed us one more interesting and distinctive breed of Bael tree. Bael tree is considered to be one of the sacred trees of India. It is said that worship of Lord Shiva can not be completed without bael leaves.We generally get to see three leaves together in one stem of the tree. But here this sacred tree bears five leaves together in a stem. Five leaves, five lingams…the divine correlation enthralled me. 

Since the place is quite a few kms away from Baleswar City, it might take some time to arrange for something on an emergency basis. So it is better to be well-equiped with medicines and other necessary items.

A moment before it started to rain heavily

We met these humble company on our way to the temple

A trip to Outram Ghat

I wait the whole week for my dearie Sunday. I never allow Monday blues to overpower me. Instead I say myself…”Sunday is on the way. So make plans to splurge into good times.”

One Sunday me and my friends went for an outing to Outram Ghat. Outram Ghat is situated in Babughat area. It is one of Kolkata’s popular riverside spot. Ghats are always fascinating because it allows ample scope to see people performing various activities of their belief or taste. At one side one might see someone doing any religious ritual. On the other side one might witness a photographer waiting patiently for the sun to go down. And as the right time approaches his camera becomes tremendous busy in taking snaps.

We took a ride in boat across River Hooghly. From balancing on an oscillating boat, sitting on the wooden seats, feeling the ripple of small waves with palms…all were so soothing and amazing. We got to see the breathtaking view of the Vidyasagar Setu (Second Hooghly Bridge) named after Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, famous Philanthropist and Reformer of Bengali Education.

We, who stay in metropolis, seldom gets any scope to enjoy the surroundings of a rural area. However the appealing beauty of the place and the meticulous movement of the oar by the old ferryman gave us a transitory feeling of being amidst a milieu pertaining to a village. 

We played the song “majhi re” sung by Shaan from the movie Bong Connection. It was like icing on the cake. It blended aptly with our moment of bliss.

Sharing some snaps taken on my mobile.