My Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving. What is it ? Why is the dinner on Thanksgiving day such a big deal here in the U.S ? I’ve asked many people about that and have received varying interesting answers. Here’s a brief analysis of this holiday from my perspective.

History

The fourth Thursday in November, Thanksgiving Day, in the US is celebrated traditionally to give thanks to God for the things one has at the close of the harvest season.

Parallels

US – Thanksgiving : Fourth thursday in November
India – Pongal : Middle of January
Canada – Thanksgiving : Second monday in October
UK – Harvest festival : Full moon day in September
Germany – Erntedank : First sunday of October

A holiday by any other name, still is sweeeet !

Evolution

The modern day Thanksgiving seems to have diverged far from its origins and is usually marked with parades, huge family meals, wall-to-wall american football. The festival has become a commercial event bringing together family and friends for feast and marks the start of the official holiday season in US.

Nonetheless, in the basic principle of thanking God or whoever else they feel most obliged to do so, families do get together even amidst rigorous schedules. And that is probably the important aspect about any holiday – bringing people closer.

My Thanksgiving nostalgia

I was invited to a very informal Thanksgiving dinner by few friends. For my part, i made few delicious Rasagulla for dessert which by the way did not hit it off among everyone here. Sigh. Anyway, the dinner eventhough did not involve any traditional thanking speeches and toasts, still brought a deep nostalgic feeling that claws the heart. And needless to say, i watched a lot of american football games over the past few days even if i still think that it does not match the intensity of a soccer game. But hey, thats just me.

The point of that short ramble is that even a very informal dinner on such an occasion managed to bring back sweet memories into my fragile little mind. These new friends remind me of those old ones and family, so far away in India. And there lies the beauty of a holiday !

The closer the day of my visit to India draws in, the more i feel nostalgic over every simple action. 12 days and counting …

High hopes

“Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young
In a world of magnets and miracles
Our thoughts strayed constantly and without boundary
The ringing of the division bell had begun
Along the long road and on down the causeway
Do they still meet there by the cut
There was a ragged band that followed in our footsteps
Running before time took our dreams away
Leaving the myriad small creatures trying to tie us to the ground
To a life consumed by slow decay

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
With friends surrounded
The nights of wonder

Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide
At a higher altitude with flag unf#urled
We reached the dizzy heights of that dreamed of world

****

Encumbered forever by desire and ambition
There’s a hunger still unsatisfied
Our weary eyes still stray to the horizon
go down this road we’ve been so many times

The grass was greener
The light was brighter
The taste was sweeter
The nights of wonder
With friends surrounded
The dawn mist glowing
The water flowing
The endless river

Forever and ever”

— Floyd

There are so many things that feels absolutely right about this song. This is one of those things that gets me right back on my feet no matter how elated or depressed i feel.

This is something that has touched me so deep,
I cannot escape the inevitability of the meaning of the song.
Why ? You ask. Cant you see the beauty unravelled ?
Doth not need to fly in the sky to decipher
Such simplistic meaning of Life, even in obvious delusion.

Kiwi. Fly. Fly high

I saw this video just now and felt like writing something …

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Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

–Dylan Thomas

Beautiful !

Life

In life, the beauty of survival,
Reveals hidden truth in gentle end.
The sublime will, conveys meaning surreal,
Rejoice and celebrate with tears of joy.

A wish fulfilled

Blessed is he, who has found his work;
Let him as for no other blessedness.

In truth, wishes restricted
Aspiration drives life towards its end.
Divinity in essence
Isn’t it this life personified ?

One action after the next;
The steps in the final stone.
This completion, midway, with a degree
Validates partial fulfillment of the work.

One task complete, another remains.

Was it just another day ?

A long absence. A huge work-load. Reminiscent feelings rushing back. God i feel home-sick.

Usually, i do not go around hooting my horn when it is my birthday but yesterday, what the hell, i did. And guess what, many of the friends i know threw me one big ass huge party. I had one of the best times after coming here to US. But what made the day special and out of the ordinary was my visit to the big house for failing the breathalyzer test. Except for the part where i had to pay a fine, the experience was pretty funny, now that i think about it. I’ve been drunk a lot worse many other times but yesterday did not quite qualify for such a treatment. Anyway, the cells did look quite like what is shown in the movies and my comrades, in an effort to cheer me up, sang the ‘Happy Birthday’ song. I couldn’t stop laughing for a while after that ! Finally, after about 6 hours they let me get back to my peaceful existence.

Now that is one of the best birthday celebrations i’ve had in a long time. It had all the elements that makes a day special ; Friends, Beer and Adventure !

In birth and death

An occasion of ceremony,
In light of a passing death
In eternal bliss, devoid of money
Where heaven doth await us in mirth.

Sad and lonely, with wishes fulfilled
Wanting nothing more but life meaningful ;
Everything desired, willed, so easy
Why more does life hang in balance and dice.

Cause & effect, the only reason as seen,
In penance, i fail to see Him.
Such pain fills but logic overrules
What misery have thee led me to ?

Did i already know of my fate.
Sure. I wanted this.
Unsuicidal, with only one regret in hand,
There is no other right time to see this light.

A pawn in the eternity of time,
Like a grain in an universal desert of sand
One inconsequential life could be the center ;
Such balance and perfection at hand.

If there were another life,
Sure i would like to be born again.
With the knowledge i have, preserved
And understand even more clearly the reason for my pain.

Convoluted words, language insufficient
When will anyone understand what i want to say ?
Probably never, this maze of a mind
But i hope my thoughts will change universal movement.

Apart from the single regret
Of forsaking my mother in agony ;
And pursuing my wish and following my will
I am yet to find someone happier than me.

I haven’t seen failure, or rather felt,
but lessons learnt at every step,
teaches the way of life, the fickle gamble,
Perspective cleared, satisfaction in ample.

One last shot at poetry,
I might miserably fail,
but thoughts prevail,
And i shall exist forever in someone’s minds.

If you have known me,
thank you for granting me the privelege.
If i can be reborn, i will.
Watch out around you,
For you could be my next father or mother.

Ego, thrives. Again.

One day, Another time,
In life’s long path, another moment.
I wonder if i will remember this crime
During the serene period of soccer and torrent.

The feeling of being satisfied and bored,
Sets in like a pus in a wound,
Nagging and hurting more than the torn ligament,
This shall haunt me for another three years.

Where shall i run again to hide ?
How can i start meditating to releive the tension ?
In agony, i pray for strength
And I shall conquer, as before, always.

A gesture unlike anything i’ve seen before

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  Rather than pass on his $44 billion fortune to his adult children, whom he notes are already quite well-off, Buffett announced Sunday that he is giving away the bulk of his assets to a foundation run by his friends, Bill and Melinda Gates. This will double the $1.5 billion that the world&#8217;s richest foundation spends annually — mostly on health and education programs.
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  The gift is notable in several ways.
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  First, its sheer size. The donation makes industrialist benefactors such as John Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie look almost stingy and is rivaled only by the Gateses&#8217; own gifts of $25.9 billion. Calculating the impact that money might have is impossible, but neither Buffett nor the Gateses think small. &#8220;There&#8217;s no reason we can&#8217;t cure the world&#8217;s 20 deadliest illnesses,&#8221; Bill Gates said Monday.
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  They might.
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  The gift also underscores a little-noticed trend: a renaissance in philanthropy. In 2004, the latest year for which data exist, the USA had 70,000 foundations — double the number a decade earlier. They gave away $33 billion.
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  But perhaps most striking is the way Buffett&#8217;s decision stands out in this greed-is-good era, in which, to cite one example of gross excess, the average pay for top hedge-fund managers last year exceeded $360 million.
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  To a large degree, of course, wealth-building — if not outright greed — is good. Before they gave away a dime, Buffett and Gates created jobs and raised people&#8217;s living standards by building spectacularly successful companies. But when should the wealth-building stop?
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  &#8220;I don&#8217;t believe in dynastic wealth,&#8221; Buffett has said, likening inherited wealth to choosing the 2020 Olympic team by picking the eldest sons of the gold medal winners in the 2000 Olympics. That&#8217;s why he opposes efforts to repeal the estate tax, saying that without it, America would have an aristocracy based on inherited wealth instead of a meritocracy that rewards ability and drive.
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  As Adam Smith, the father of modern capitalism, said in 1759 of generous capitalists, Buffett feels it&#8217;s in his self-interest to help others &#8220;though he derives nothing from it, except the pleasure of seeing it.&#8221; Here&#8217;s hoping others heed the message.
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