Reflections from a Lonely Planet

Zakir Ji & more of Zakir ji

2009-05-03T11:22:00.005-05:00

Sunset Cruise on the Lambada at St. Martin

2008-12-23T09:28:00.000-05:00

Soaking it up on the sunset cruise aboard the Lambada - a catamaran at Pelican's Cay, St. Martin. being out in the sea was simply breathtaking

Durga Puja 2008 - Jersey City, NJ

2008-10-05T20:07:00.001-05:00

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But Pappu can't dance saala!

2008-08-14T20:04:00.002-05:00

Been listening to this super catchy and hilarious song! From this new Bollywood movie called 'Jaane Tu ya Jaane Na'. I've got it on repeat on my ipod & must've listening to bout 50 times today!! Totally hooked to the beats! Makes me get up and dance every single time! the lyrics are so funny and they have a sarcastic undertone which I'm totally lovin'! It's basically saying this dude has it all materially...and yet he's still missing out on something more precious....the zest in life! Sometimes bollywood does come out with little gems! :)

check it out:

Hai Muscular...
(Very Muscular..)
Hai popular....
(very popular)

Spectacular.........
He's a bachelor!

Pappu ki gaadi tez hai...
Pappu kudiyon mein craze hai...
Pappu ki aankhen light blue...
pappu dikhta angrez hai...

Rado ki ghadi haathon mein
Perfume Gucci wala

*And the tagline which throws in the final punch & says it all*: "But Pappu can't dance saala!"
Pappu nach nahi sakta!

In 'The Land of the Incas' Peru - Machu Picchu, Amazon Jungle

2008-07-02T18:40:00.010-05:00

I have been bitten by the wanderlust bug for a while now. Î was craving an adventure - to travel somewhere out of the ordinary - a ´place to see the bounties of nature and be enthralled by the sights and sounds of that destination. Europe is so passe - been there done that, overhyped and all that jazz! so figured it was time for a grand adventure - to someplace exotic and out of the way! So the famous lost ruins of Machu Picchu, a trek through the Amazon Rainforest Jungle and the country of Peru it was! Will be one of the most memorable and cherished trips of my life. Memories of a lifetime created and I am so psyched I actully got to make this trip!and what a fortnight it has been...

here's pictures to tell the story:

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and here's another album. We just couldn't stop clicking photos! :)

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Of 5K Walks/Runs...and then there was me....

2008-06-14T17:16:00.003-05:00

My personal fitness goal this year is to RUN...RUN RUN! Now, as anyone who knows me well would tell you that it might be easier to get cows to fly than it would be for me to run! :)
however, I had to prove my primary critic wrong.....dang it! my inner voice which would keep telling me I just couldn't do it before i even tried.

Hence, on a whim, impulse, madness whatever you'd like to term it...I registered for a number of 5K Runs/walks happening all over NYC in the coming months. I am now busy counting them off of my list and am proud to say I have managed to successfully finish 2 (The March for Dimes/ - March for Babies run and the Asha 5K Run on May 3). There are few more coming up (the most recent one being the JPMorganChase Corporate Challenge in Central Prk on June 19th and the Sloan Kettering Cancer Awareness Chariy Run in September) and I must admit I am looking forward to them.

I don't care if I have to crawl to the finish or if I'm the last one to complete the run...but I've started realizing that participating in these charity runs is giving me a 'high' of sorts! Not only is it for a good cause, but I get to train for them and the fitness and physical aspect of it is immense! I stll have a long way to go but my endurance has vastly improved from what it was a year ago.

The pratice gets me out there, motivates me and forces me to run...more so when I see numerous people around me doing the same. There was a time not very long ago that I couldn't run for a few minutes without feeling exhausted and tired, but I realize now it's mindover matter - it about taking baby steps and telling yourself you can do it. Its about building that stamina, endurance and pushing myself to that one extra step. In the end its about having fun and creating my own moment when I'm out there.

Ustad Zakir Hussain & Masters of Percussion Tour

2008-04-27T13:28:00.015-05:00

There's something about the Tabla which is mesmerizing. It is amazing how two seemingly unassuming looking pieces, made of the simplest composition of materials, can produce such a powerful range of sounds. On a rudimentary definition, the Tabla consists of a right hand drum ('dayan') and a lefthand drum ('bayan'). Undoubtedly, the most striking characteristic of the tabla I find, is the large black spot on each of the playing surfaces. These black spots are a mixture of gum, soot, and iron filings. Their function is to create the bell-like timbre that is characteristic of the instrument and produces varying degrees of vibrations which are adjust by the player using his palms and fingers

I've always enjoyed listening to music featuring the Tabla, or for that matter any percussion instruments. I'm not exactly sure how to describe the emotions it evokes when I listen to the music....but it leases this raw, unabashed and wild energy....this sense of breaking boundaries and reaching a tumultous zenith...which I absolutely love! The rhythmic beats on just the solos in teental, jhaptal can put you in a trance.

So you can imagine my excitement when I found out none but the Ustad himself was coming to town for a concert. Turned out it was on Saturday, April 26th. He was performing at the World Music Institute in NYC on a tour called 'MASTERS OF PERCUSSION'. It was a magical evening and the music was simply phenomenal.

The concert started at 8pm. Master tabla player Zakir Hussain was joined by an ensemble of musicians which included international percussion virtuosos, playing contemporary and classical music of India. The program featured traditional North Indian classical repertoire combined with contemporary and folk music, as performed on solo tabla and in ensemble collaborations, accompanied by the 'Meitei Pung Cholom Performing Troupe' - the dancing drummers as I call them. This troupe comprised of three dancers is one of India's premier performance troupes, combining dance, drumming and martial arts in their repertoire and dedicated to the rejuvenation of traditional folk and classical dance style of Manipur. To see them repeatedly sumersault in the air while playing the drums/dhols they carried had the audience gasping in amazement and there were times I foud myself holding my breath praying they wouldn't fall off the tiny stage.

The master musicians from around the globe, included two of his own younger siblings of the Qureshi family - Percussionist Taufiq Qureshi, and Tabla player Fazl Qureshi, Sitarist Niladri Kumar, Doyra player Abbos Kosimov, Nagada player Ram Kishan, Sarangi player Dilshad Khan and folk drummer Vijay Chauhan.

Ofcourse, what can I write in praise about the Ustad that hasn't already been written countless times before. With the prestigious honors of Padma Bhushan and and Padma Sri to his credit (given to civilians from the Indian government), Tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain is in short a phenemenon. His mastery of the tabla can only leave the audience in utter awe and admiration - when he plays time seems to stand still and all that exists is the Ustad and his magical coaxing of divine beats from the tabla.

This particular evening too he was at his masterful best (just as I remembered watching him in concert once in California 2002!) He started off with slow thumris, taals, jhaptals, teentals and progressed to faster jugalbandis with fellow sitarist Niladri Kumar and the other musicians. What I simply adore about Zakir is his affability, his friendliness, down-to-earth demeanor, sense of humor and last but not least his ability to involve the audience in the music. Classical music can seem very complicated and even a trifle boring for people who are not into that genre of music, but Ustad explained every composition he played, why he was playing it even citing examples from real life. For an acclaimed musician of his stature to take the time to joke with the audience and try to relate to them is what makes him so very endearing. Not to mention that I find him extremely cute to boot, what with that hairstyle of his! :)

In addition to Ustad ji there were two other musicians that night who I thought where brillant. One was a musician from Uzbekistan, a gentleman by the name of Abbos Kosimov, playing an instrument called the 'Doyra'(which closely resembled a large Tambourine. He played various sizes and shapes of it simultaneously!) What blew me away was the dexterity and flexibility with which this man handled multiple of these 'Doyras', placing one between his knees, holding two up in his arms or on his shoulders, while all the while producing some of the most powerful and soul-stirring rhythms, both solo and ofcourse in collaboration with Ustad on the tabla. Just pure magic!!

The second musician was Ustad's younger brother - Taufiq Qureshi who played the percussion and play he did with such gusto and varying degrees of creativity, it remained to be seen to be believed! A premier percussionist of India, the youngest son and also student of the legendary tabla maestro Ustad Allarakha (Ustad's Zakir Hussain's father), Taufiq Qureshi showcased the traditional flavor and intricacies of Indian rhythm while blending the sparkle of contemporary world percussion in his performance. His trademark style, as I learnt later, incorporated body and vocal percussion to create unique rhythmic motifs spanning across cultures; his sense of tone and his command over a wide variety of percussion instruments and styles was phenomenal and he displayed his music knowing no boundaries that evening.

The two and half hours just seemed to whisk past and before I knew it the concert was over. The state of raptured enchantment was reluctantly broken and the audience got up to disperse. I wish I could have watched and listened the whole night.

Comfort Food....A resonance of sorts!!

2008-04-18T17:22:00.001-05:00

Comfort Food – What is it?

Wikipedia and the like define the term as "Food that is simply prepared and associated with a sense of home or contentment." Hmmm....my thoughts exactly!

Simply put, the term 'Comfort food' refers to any food or drink to which one habitually turns for temporary respite, security, or special reward. The reasons that something becomes a comfort food are diverse but include the food's familiarity, simplicity, and/or pleasant associations with say one's childhood, for example.

'Comfort food' conjures up different visions to different people. To some it is bread pudding, to others - steaming hot bowl of chicken sweet corn and noodle soup, and yet to many others, it is 'dal chawal' or rice & curry'.

For me it's mom's cooking or for that matter simple home fare. It's funny...growing up I wasn't a big fan. Given a chance, I was happier eating out and sampling all the gourmet delights & junk food. Who wanted to eat boring vegetables and the same old preparations day-in and day-out?!

But there's a saying: "the apple never falls farther from the tree!" I've realized that the very things I tried to minimalize contact or association with in the formative years of my life, (perhaps in an attempt to experiment with alternatives, rebel to given norms or merely trying to adhere to peer-pressure....not sure what I would attribute my behavior to); I now tend to gravitate towards those very same things.

Moving out of the comforts of home at the age of 17 to head off to university, and then eventually entering the working world & living on my own does that to you, I suppose. After subjecting myself to countless insipid and gastronomically mind-numbing variations of dorm food, fast food, eating out/take-outs, being the experimental object for various friends' culinary skills, and last but not least...being my own chef, I crave wholesome healthy yet always magically perfect fares that would be conjured up at home. I remember how the whole family would gather around the dinner table - my parents, my two younger siblings and ofcourse....yours truly - where inevitably my dad would mention how delicious everything was and how we kids should learn and perfect the recipes for ourselves!! :)

Now, I'm especially reminded of various dishes after I come back to my apartment after a long hard day at work or if I'm sick and feeling down and out. How I fervently wish then that someone would whip me up a bowl of 'comfort food'?!

It kept me healthy, happy and peaceful. Comfort food for me strikes a resonance of all things familiar and all things cherished...which all of us so want to hold on to....but are not always able to. A metamorphosis of sorts happens over the passage of time.

Me & Sallu Up Close & Personal

2008-03-03T11:55:00.001-05:00

Me & Sallu Up Close & Personal, originally uploaded by Piyali / Pia.

Found an old photograph!! one of my most precious & memorable photos!! was taken on the streets of San Francisco, CA on a lovely Feb evening in 2000

Somehow I can never seem to keep my eyes open in photos!

2008-01-01T12:57:00.000-05:00

How l love this time of the year!

2007-12-02T14:06:00.000-05:00

Winter Magic in Newport, Jersey City - 2007

here's some sights and sounds of my neighborhood.

To My Dear Thakurma....Farewell, audieu...till we meet again!

2007-09-25T18:48:00.000-05:00

This blog has been one of the hardest to write. In the past month and half, I had tried multiple times to write and each time I set it aside halfway. Tears would well up whenever I sat down to compose my sentiments and after a number of futile attempts, I gave up. My mind was a convoluted mess of jumbled and confused thoughts and I found myself struggling to draw a semblance of coherence from it all.

Truth be told, I don't think I really wanted to - that is, to look deep within and express in words what my soul was feeling. I think it was perhaps a weak and subconscious attempt to not accept the reality of life. Written words always seem to carry an air of finality around them that sometimes they are better not penned. Does that make sense?

My 'thakurma' (grandmother - father's mother) passed away on August 22, 2007. She was 86 years and in the last days of her life had become extremely weak and frail. Her last days were spent in Kolkata with my uncle (kaku), Aunt (kakima) and my cousin. My kaku called from Kolkata and gave my dad the news. My parents then informed me. I was at work that day when they called in the afternoon. The rest of the day went by in a blur...I felt so pained and restless inside. I dediced i need to go to India. I rushed to Calcutta soon thereafter as did the rest of my family. Alas! I was too late to see her one last time, to pay my respects and to say goodbye. But I was in time to attend her last rites and funeral prayers.

They say time and tide hath wait for no man; who can attest to that better than the surving family, relatives and friends of the departed. Life happens, and in its wake takes along our near and dear ones. And so the 'circle of creation' goes on....birth and death, construction and destruction!! However, to comprehend a life going forward devoid of a person's presence in it, is still very difficult and unimaginable.

I for one am still grappling to understand the concept of death. It leaves me feeling humbled, helpless, and yes...scared! Scared - not because I fear death in itself. But the feeling of emptyness and void left behind by a person's passing away, the thought of never seeing them again in the flesh - but merely a framed picture on the wall - leaves me troubled and anguished.

So many things left unsaid, so many moments never to be shared again. Perhaps I'm naive and impractical but how can someone just go away....and where do they go? Are they watching and observing from wherever they are? Are they too longing to be with us - their family - as we on our part pine for them?
I want to scream out into the cosmic void demanding that I want answers....but there is no one to hear me and there are no answers to soothe my soul.....only endless silence.

When a loved one passes away - a lot of emotions are entertwined. And to lose the oldest and last remaining 'matriarch' in the family is specially painful. But I cannot imagine what my Dad and Kaku must be going through or rather have gone through when each of them heard the news/ saw for themselves respectively.
Even though Baba must have mentally been preparing for it and probably knew it was inevitable, I am sure no one including him, ever wants to receive that fated phone call.

It will take a lot of time to come to terms with the fact that the kind, gentle, caring and always giving "thakurma" is not around anymore for me to hug, listen to stories and fun tid-bits about the family, share jokes with; or simply put my head on her lap. It is even more difficult to imagine that when I go to India the next time and walk into her room - she will not be there to welcome me.

There are many memories attached to every entity we meet in our life span - the most wonderful ones are with parents, and grandparents with their immense affection for their grandchildren.

As I write this today, on a lazy and chilly Sunday afternoon, the rays of the setting sun lilting gently over the Hudson.....I have made my peace.

I stare out of my window onto the horizon, I watch the skyline and I think of what my sister said to me recently. She said: "Didi, rather than grieving and feeling sad, let us cherish good, positive and warm memories of Thakurma, so we can always remember her life and feel comforted and happy".

I recollect my childhood and how her presence in my family was always an important factor. I remember how (when my mother would be angry at me) running to take refuge in thakurma's room always felt great. It was a sanctuary away from 'parental dictatorship' as I used to call it. It used to delight me immensely to see that there was someone who could actually stand up for us kids and tell my parents to back off.

As I grew up, I remember the visits to Calcutta, the stories, gossip and laughter that we would all share in the family and how thakurma was always overjoyed to see us. There was always good food and sweets around, she would share amusing tidbits and juicy secrets about my father (when he was a little boy) and other members of the extended family.

Inevitably, when the day of departure came near and we would have to leave India with heavy hearts, she would have tears in her eyes but yet she would see us all off with 'thakur er ashirbad' and 'durba' from her pujo ghar.

I have known my grandparents for as long as I can remember - from the time I came into being. Others may well have more altruistic reasons but a grandparent's love (like one's parents) is selfless and whole. To her, I would always be a little child - her dear 'natni' Minki (grand daughter). So, to my dear thakurma till we meet again........here is audieu, rest in peace and lots of love.

Purano Shei Diner Kotha.....Sheyi Ki Bhola Jaaye (The Days of Old)

2007-06-12T21:19:00.000-05:00

The other night after I got home from work and was lounging in my apartment, I caught myself humming an old bengali tune...one of my dad's favorites & mine too. I went running to my laptop and found the song on the internet. The strains of "Purano Shei Diner Kotha" drifted softly across the room. And with it, so did my chain of thoughts.......to 7 years ago.
I recently got back from a trip to Austin, Tx. Went there from June 7th - June 10th. I should mention tht I went to University in Austin for my Undergraduate/Bachelors degree. I spent a good 3 1/2 years of my life there - those were some years. Memories etched....impressions formed, and experiences built - both sweet and painful! I went back after a long lapse of time (couple of years) to the same sleepy town I'd left behind. I still have a few old friends who were in school with me, and who are now veteran employed residents of the city.

On my first morning in Tx, i felt the blast of humidity hit me. I also noticed the comparitively laid back and slower pace of life than in NYC. Here you won't come across people rushing around like mad, cars honking, phones ringing, subways deafening you with their roar...Oh no! here you'd come across a few cars whizzing across now and then, people walking around in shorts and tanks, the liquor stores nearby with their shades drawn...everyone seemed to be taking a mini siesta to stay away from the heat. How different indeed from daily life!

Took my friend and drove along to good ol' campus around which life had pretty much revolved as a student. Gosh! It did feel strange to be walking the campus routes again?! The same hallways, passing by the Univ. bookstore, the Business school, the Econmics bldg., and the Sciences bldgs where most classes were held, the Libraries & computer labs where I worked as a student for a measly few $$$!! Not much had changed...everything seemed almost the way i left it, except that the students had grown younger and I....a few year older!

Memories came flooding back to me. I remembered the trials and tribulation of classes and exams, of being a new student in this vast university campus - of feeling lonley and homesick - not knowing who to turn to for help or comfort. Slowly, I'd made friends some of whom would eventually become like family, others who would become acquaintences and drift away. I wondered where they all were now and how their lives must have changed since leaving school. We all shared a part of our lives absorbing 'the university experience' in a part of our lives.

My trip to Austin was a very pleasant and refreshing break. I went back to all my old haunts and hung out. the cafe's, the restaurants, 6th street, Kirby Lane, Trudy'd, live music, UT Austin - they were all there...just as I'd left them. :)

Coming back to the present and the other night.....Purano Shei Diner kotha played in the background. This is a famous song by Rabindranath Tagore. It is essentially a song for old friends who come together at a reunion and relive their memories. They promise and pledge to meet again, to keep in touch, to never walk so far away so as to forget each other.

The song goes: Purano Shei Din er Kotha, (O the Day's of Old)
Bhulbi kire...ha aye Oshei (How can you forget those memories...
Chokher Dekha, Praner Kotha (What the eyes took in and the heart felt)
Shei ki bhola jaaye (How can one forget those days)

I first heard this song on a family picnic in India a couple of years ago with my parents. The occassion was a reunion of my dad's old and dearest friends who he spent his Engineering university days with. The emotional reunion and the warmth between all his friends even though some had not met each other in years, was truly heartfelt and endearing. It was a beautiful picnic is a beautiful and serene locale and everyone ended the evening by singing the song. It brought tears to everyone's eyes. Ever since then...I have fallen in love with that song and it holds a special meaning in my life.

Hiking in Ringwood State Park - Governor Mountain

2007-05-28T16:05:00.000-05:00

yeayy...long weekend! Memorial Day - a much needed respite from the monotony of daily life! To commemorate the event, :) I went hiking with a few friends on Saturday, May 26th.

We chose a relatively easy hike in the New Jersey area itself, called Governor Mountain. This hike is on a Peninsula of state-owned land in the southwest section of Ringwood State park. It is located south of Skyland Gardens and Ringwood State Park. Out and back trail starts out going southwest, then it heads in a clockwise loop. There is a nice view of the Wanaque Reservoir from the top of Governor Mountain.

The day started off beautiful and sunny. Woke up around 5:30 am, got ready and went downstairs to meet up with the group at the local Starbucks nearby. It always amazes me how I can wake up at the crack of dawn, on a non-working day...and yet I can't get up on time for work to save my life!! Must be one of those mental psychological conditionings! :)

Anyways, we all drove out there (about 40 miles from where I live) and reached Ringwood Manor around 10:30 am ish. Got ourselves maps and instructions from the park rangers to the start off on the hiking trail. And off we went - the interpid hikers! there were 6 of us so it was a decent group. There was a lot laughter, jokes, songs and wise-cracks along the way to keep us all entertained.

It was a 6 mile round trip hike.....said to be comfortably doable acording to the maps in about 4-5 hours. But we got a little side-tracked initially as we ended up following an incorrect trail marker which looped around and brought us back to the road. The hike was pretty uneventful....we didn't see any fauna, however, there was plenty of flora all around. I was hoping a deer or two would jump out and give us a treat but i guess they had better things to do than come in the way of wandering humans. :)

The hike wasn't that steep at all, in retrospect. There was an initial incline followed by majority of semi-flat/hilly terriain. It was extremely dense in some places with trees & shrubs and we had to bend and crawl through thick curtains of green. A friend on the hike, Andy, nicknamed it the 'Liliputian crawl'.

We made it up to the top of the mountain and sat down to enjoy the view of the Wanaque Reservoir. It was beautiful and quiet all around - a soothing cool breeze all around us, fanning away our exhaustion and the humidity. I lay down and closed my eyes....and let my mind drift.

You know, it is a totally different experience altogether to be out in the wilderness.....away from the maddening crowds and the humdrum of cars, music, cellphones, restaurants, & people. It provides one perspective and most of all time to contemplate. To be one with nature...to absorb the balance that exists outside of urban existence, to realize that things exist in mutual harmony is truly a humbling experience. I opened my eyes and look around me. Nearby someone had left some beer bottles lying by. I felt a twinge of sadness! If only we human beings took more time to appreciate and participate freely with the bounties of nature, rather than destroying it....life on this planet would be much more happier. IF ONLY!

Anyways, quiet time over...and much as we would have liked to have stayed a while...we started our hike back down. By then my feet and ankles had started aching and I was seriously wishing I could paraglide or parachute down to the base or something. :)
we made it back down to the park in an hour and half which was real quick. By then it was exhaustion all around, and the first urge was a dip in a cold pool and FOOD!

But all in all...it was a day well-spent and absolutely worth the effort!!!
Next up, camping, white-water rafting or a more strenuous hike to Cakskills or Adirondacks/Lake George etc.

2007-05-28T14:45:00.000-05:00

Dear Blog,

Can you imagine life without or before the 3W's???! Scary thought, isn't it....since you wouldn't be here without it either?! Actually, I'm trying to imagine my life before something called the "www" happened to me? :) How did I exist? what was I like, was I happy, was I as activeas communicative and was I as blessed with information both good and bad???

Gosh! how much we've all taken the internet for granted today, haven't we??!

Look at me.....I sit here in my room, all warm and cozy as I write out yet another chapter of my thoughts to you...and everything is done electronically on "The Internet" with the mere click of a few buttons! As a matter of fact, blog...you too are a part and parcel of this phenomena; without it...you would not exist!!!

What happened to your predecessors? I remember when I was in high school, I use to faithfully record all my thoughts and observations in an actualy physical diary/journal. It was my private haven and sanctuary. My escape from the world where I could unleash the power of the pen and write whatever came into my head! I kept it hidden on top my closet behind some stuffed toys and a few posters. Can't remember what I did with it or where it is for that matter. Hope it didn't fall into the wrong hands!

I stopped writing once I started University. I don't know how and when I lost the habit but I did and I didn't even realize it! Then it was all taken over by computerized typing right from submission of essays, projects to homework assignments! Exams were sometimes graded and submitted electronically, grades were posted online and even discussion boards for classes and various co-curricular interest groups found their homes on the internet.

Then along came something called "Email" and "Instant Messenger"....and that just added a whole new dimension to life! I stopped writing letters to my near and dear ones. I can't remember the last time I actually sat down and wrote a nice long letter to any of my friends or relatives. Instead, all I had to do was log onto "the internet" and voila!! I could either chat with them instantly or type out a few electronic lines and send it off into the unknown cyberspace. :)

I suppose this is what is known as advancement in civilization and the new technological age and all that jargon! But Blog, it is discerning at times...to realize how dependent my life is on this medium. It's like that fix of heroin...I just can't get enough it...the thrill of information at my fingertips that I keep coming back for more!! Help me! I feel trapped...yet I can't imagine a life without it?!

What do I do?

Deadly Carnage at Virginia Tech

2007-04-16T22:35:00.000-05:00

There's been a shooting carnage at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia yesterday (April 16th). It has been a horrific incident on a university campus in the united States and the deadliest ever. According to News reports so far it has claimed lives of at least 31 people (students, faculty) and scores more have been injured. They finally identified the shooter this morning as being as Asian Male (a student apparently), who lived in one of the dorms (Norris Hall) and was a student at V. Tech too.

I can't even begin to comprehend the feeling that must have gone through each student's minds when the shooter walked into the classroom and randomly started shooting??! What must it have been like to stare death in the face, to know there was no escape......to realize with horror and panic that the 'innocent looking' fellow-classmate who had just walked in through the doors was going to pull out a gun and start pumping bullets into everyone?

It is such a sad and senseless act....one that is beyond comprehension! The loss of lives, the shattering of peace in the hallowed halls of an academic institution, where one is supposed to be safe from the outside world and the only challenges present should have been intellectual.

I have been contemplating on this heinious act and the question that continuously plays in my mind is just WHY? WHY? WHY? How far - to the edge of reason - could someone be pushed before they would snap and go on a wild killing spree? There just doesn't seem to be a logical answer. The killer as it has been eventually reported turned out to be a 23 year old student at the Univ., who eventually took his own life too. What must his family be going through? Could he not have reached out to them, or to any friends or relatives to let them know he was suffering? Was he so angry at the world that he sought revenge and justice in only this macabre manner?

I feel saddened and humbled as I write this. Anger and hatred is a very poisonous thing...it can perpetrate the depths of one's being and consume a person in its eternal flames. But in moments like that, we all need to take a step back and try to put life in perspective. We need to reach out and talk to people - whether professional or at a personal level. Violence is definitely not the answer...it will only lead to more hatred and retaliation, like a vicious circle that can never be broken.

I say a prayer for all the innocent students, faculty and people who lost their lives in this unfortunate tragedy. May their souls rest in peace. And may their families and dear ones have the strength to get through this difficult time.

Shubho Nabo Borsho..........the dawn of a new beginning

2007-04-16T10:28:00.000-05:00

'Nabo Borsho'.....'Poila Baishak'.........the start of the Bangla New Year! The new calendar year in Bengali coincides with the start of Spring....hence the term 'Baishak'. It normally falls on the 14th or 15th of April. Incidentally, the occassion is also marked in other parts of India by various communities (Tamil, Punjab)

Aah....'New Beginnings' ...I've resolved to write a blog more frequently. I've decided not to think too hard about a good topic and just let my mind wander......and subsequently pen down random thoughts.

So as I was saying....... What a way to herald in 'Spring'........ The night of April 15th (Sunday) & April 16th, we've been hit by a torrential rainstorm and flood!!! Most of the East Coast actually is experiencing severe rain and snowstorms! Never seen the showers come down so strong and the force of the wind is just unbelievable!! It's almost like earth is washing all her sins away and getting ready for a new avatar. I live on the 12th floor, right on the waterfront (across the Hudson) so the whole night I could hear the wind howling outside and the windows rattling! Was a little unnerving! :)
The water levels have risen ..........i can see that so clearly from my window...I can't imagine people who have houses in low-lying areas....i'm sure a lot of basements have been flooded.