Death is not a big deal anymore. It has become commonplace.
People are dying of poverty, airplane crashes, train accidents, bridges falling, potholed roads, lack of medical care, communal riots, language one upmanship, mindless wars, you name it. Nobody is bothered. No more candle marches and authorities are busy mudslinging, fighting for power while the people are busy struggling for survival.
But we keep hearing that we are one of the largest economies in the world.
Is it worth it with life devalued?

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Having the key
For peace of mind

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The heavy rains happening now in Mumbai brings back a beautiful memory of our All India motorcycle ride in 1982. We were in the ghats on our way to Udhagamandalam aka Ooty. It was late evening and the rains were in full flow. Visibility had dropped due to fog and light from our headlights was scattered.
On one side was the cliff and on the other a sheer drop. We crawled through carefully shivering in the cold rain, drenched to the bone.
Miraculously we spotted a church on the hillside and we rode towards it for shelter. As we entered we were given hot boiled chana as prasad. Truly heaven sent. We sent a silent prayer to the Universe.
As we finished consuming it, the rain eased and we rode with renewed energy and confidence to reach our hotel.

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No, I don't trust you.

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A ride in the rains
Is invigorating
Freshening up the
Mind and body
Washing off
All the sweat and tears
Bringing
Joy to the Pluviophiles

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Man-made Gods are locked in temples and churches like prisoners of war and summoned once a year to be paraded in town as a show of strength.
It is for these Gods that wars are fought and humanity destroyed.
Religion used in this manner is at the root of all evil.
Satan must be chilling in his boudoir with his mates, happy that his work is taken care of without his assistance.
In this process of evolution where is man headed? Self destruction seems to be the only goal!

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The tree
Indulges in self love
Hugging itself

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Lose myself
In the writer's thoughts

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Ethnocentrism
Is on the rise

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Our epic journey of riding around our country was one beautiful dream realised. The charm of riding a motorcycle instead of driving a car was brought to the fore. Every few kilometres when we stopped for a break we would be approached by people from various backgrounds who questioned us about our ride and every answer that we gave enriched our knowledge of the types of people and their aspirations. This is a journey that needs to be undertaken by everyone to ensure we don't become ethnocentric and learn to respect all diverse cultures and languages that make our country culturally enviable.

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