Language

I wish I could understand a dog,
I could hear the tales full of fun,
I could learn the lessons of loyalty,
I could know the news of streets.

I wish I could understand a horse,
I could hear the winds of nature,
I could learn the ways of frolic,
I could know the speed of forest.

I wish I could understand a fish,
I could hear the sounds of water,
I could learn the beauty of depth,
I could know the strength of team.

Yet I can only understand a human,
He tells me tales of his conquest,
He teaches me the art of deception,
He finds the meaning of hypocrisy.

Languages may be endless but the heart is what is meant to be conveyed. 

Desire

Raising that castle in sand,
I wanted it to stand forever.
Breaking at waves in ends,
I wanted to ride with them.

Cultivating those roses today,
I wanted them to spread away.
Collecting mangoes in my tin,
I wanted them to drop in bin.

Walking down the road alone,

I just wanted some company.

Travelling the road with her,

I just wanted some silence.

Working everyday so hard,

I just wanted a vacation.

Stuck in the mountain side,

I just wanted to get home.

Life is a big Question

Life gives you disappointments and you in turn give them back to people. There is nothing more good and still malignantly evil as HOPE. Hope is the power on which the future of mankind lies, as men get elected to power in a democracy using hope as a tool, while some extremist groups create terrorists using their hope of better life in the afterlife.  Even the people who believe or seek solace in religion are nothing more than hopeful people. They are the ones who hope for a higher justice and seek the paranormal help to obtain it. They believe in hope of finding truth and peace even in the acts of benevolence and prayer. Maybe I do not know how to live in this world. As I have seen that hoping in hope just gets people into trouble. A gambler bets his hard earned money for the slim hope of getting a greater reward. Yet I have also seen that without hope some people I met could not have survived their turmoils. It is hope that makes a lot of relationship stand for long times and same hope that lets the bad ones run longer. Hoping to find a perfect mate brings people together as they search for connections. While hoping too much just create multiple doubts and distances. Sometimes I just want to give up on hope and try to achieve utter and complete hopelessness. Yet as I think about it, I do not want to hope to be hopeful about giving up Hope.

The last para does not even tell you half the story about the confusion of my mind.  In life there are many big questions that we ask ourselves in our loneliness. Questions like: Will someone care when I die ? Is there someone who actually cares when I am hurt ? Is there somebody who would remember me for what I am or recognize the sacrifices I have made ? Do people really like me or they are there just for their own motives.

For years now, I have been analyzing as I met more and more people. I have seen that appearance or how you look affects the perceptions of people the most. I am not even talking about the judgement that people give based on first look but even the long term friendships and relationships are based on it. This prejudice always exist in every part of the world but in different form. Even the gender and ethnic based racism are just the advanced form of this particular bias. All my life I have attempted to look beyond the stereotypical idiosyncrasies of the masses while trying to make new friends. Yet deep in the mind, the thought remains as I watch them avoid people who they deemed do not look good.

It makes me think about the bigger question. Would my friendship with some of them have existed if I had looked any different. Is the truth of the statement "I love you no matter how you look" nonexistent. It does not even matter about the looks if the character is questioned but then surprisingly it is not.

Two days, Two parties.... Same but different...

It is that week of the year where two big and special parties have combined. One was the big Diwali celebrations at Pavilions in UL . The other was the night party at Costellos Tavern in Limerick courtesy the ISBT(International Student Badminton Tournament). One was a party of Indians with a touch of foreign touche. The other an Irish party with similarities to the Indian college mischief bonanza....
The first of the parties was an all out Indian community affair (with few people from international community who were interested to know more about the Indian festival of Diwali). Albeit forced under deception to wear the traditional clothes to the party(few in my neighborhood followed), it was a fun thing to do. The party did start a bit late following the traditions of the Irish Stretchable time zone. Yet the surprise of the day was the availability of Diwali sparkles (fulzhadi - fireworks). The component of interest was the safety concerning the use of them. They had a bucket of water arranged as a place of disposal instead of throwing them in the bins or the mud to cool down.

The fun time was followed by a very formal dinner, similar to the ones you see in IIFA or oscar awards. People sitting in groups in round tables, where food was served in buffet style. I still have memories of Diwali in US which was an all out DJ party and sweets sharing affair. So a sophisticated and calm party was a welcoming one.

The second party was more interesting as it was a learning experience as well as a enjoying experience. We started by the tradition of pre-party. Strange as it may sound there is a party before the start of every party. The most satisfactory explanation for such party was that the booze(alcohol) is cheaper at home. So drink at home and then go to the party in the bar. Well I don't drink alcohol so it never mattered where I had watch others drink.

The Irish do not just drink, they make a sport out of the whole thing. I enjoyed a card game with drinking attached to it. Just a small explanation for the game as only Irish people can give you intricate details about it. A card is pulled out for each person. Who drinks and how much depends on the card. Like if it is a 4 then all guys in the party drink, if it is 6 then it is all girls. If an 8 comes then you decide a buddy who will be drinking every time you drink in the whole party. There was another card which when pulled you get to set a rule for the whole night. Anybody breaking that rule would be drinking each time he/she broke it. The time was usually 5 seconds for each time drinking.

After the whole drinking came the singing. There were a few musicians in the party who showed us their skills while all joined in the singing. There were also some mischievous or funny songs sung as a group.

Next we moved and rode a bus on our way to the city. The time in the bus reminded me of the college tours in India. Singing, screaming, taking pics madly and even teasing each other. In the city,  the first thing that happened broke all my doubts that apart from some extreme differences Ireland is very similar to India. The thing was public peeing by the Irish and the Europeans in the blind alley. Out of the bus and a few feet from the bar, yet the prospect of doing it like the lion of the jungle, openly was too good to be denied.

The final part of the day was the time spend in Costellos which is a very nice place. Especially the dancing on the floor and the beer pong on the tables. In all both parties went amazingly well and I cant wait for the others to happen.

Gaelic sports time

I finally tried my hands at hurling and Gaelic football, the all famous Irish games. FYI have not yet found single Irish who does not enthusiastically discuss them.

I started my time with hurling. For those who do not know this sport. The goal posts are a combination of soccer and american football goals. You get more points if you get a goal in the soccer goal net and one point if it goes between the two very high parallel bars.

The game is a mix of cricket hitting and in over the ground field hockey. I really had to forget cricket style hitting as the stick is held in exact opposite way (left hand up and right hand down the handle). Overall it was a fun to play as the cricket training hit in and I made some wonderful shots in. Running with ball and stick on the other hand was not my forte. Balancing the ball on stick while running and avoiding people takes lot of concentration. Sometimes I would even forget where goals and other players are located.

Gaelic football had similar goals and scoring. Yet it was a combination of volleyball style passing, basketball style traveling and soccer style kicking. There were lot of other small and complicated rules but I can tell you about them when we play. Yes and I got two goals in the match which we won 9-4 .

Overall the experience was awesome. The one fact I really liked was the passion that Irish have for their traditional games. There is no money in playing these games and they are not even played internationally. Yet people love to play and support them.