Blogspot.com blocked!

Post the 7/11 Mumbai bomb blasts, the Indian government has ordered ISP’s to block blogspot.com and some 17 other websites, because they believe that terrorists (and their supporters) are using the blogging site to post their anti-nationalistic views.

Here’s some news about this on the web: 

Are ISP’s blocking blogs?

Blogger blocked by some ISPs in India?

Blogspot.com Blocked in India By Some ISPs

The Economic Times is also carrying an article about the same, on its front page - I read it today morning.

Since yesterday, I’d been trying to access the blogspot blogs of my friends, and was puzzled to see that I couldn’t. Now of course, I’m incredulous (and sad :() to know the reason.

I don’t know what the govt hopes to achieve by blocking the whole domain. If terrorism was the issue, I’m sure it would have been a better idea to block some sub domains/sites which actually had anti-nationalistic content. Right now, apart from innocent bloggers (who’ve had their personal space on the blogosphere zapped out in an instant), its also sites like mumbaihelp.blogspot.com  (which was functioning as a helpline for emergencies such as 7/11) that have been deprived of the chance to make a difference.

I read somewhere that there is a move to protest the blocking. Read more about everything on the issue at http://groups.google.com/group/BloggersCollective.

As for me, I guess I’ll just have to keep the sulking expression on my face till my friends move their blogs to other domains, or till the govt. decides to lift the ban…

And as I write this post, there is something else that’s bothering me: Now that I’ve published this post on my website and indicated my unhappiness about the development, will the govt. order the wordpress site also to be blocked, since people like me are voicing our concerns on it?

Hmmm… talk about democracy and the freedom of speech….

Rain

I love the rain. It is truly the most beautiful and sublime act of nature (if we ignore its capacity for destruction).

Some of my most vivid sensations are of the rain; I love

• the smell that emanates from dry earth, when the first drops of rain fall on it…
• the feel of wet grass after a sudden shower…
• the sound of the rain, pitter-patter on the ground…
• the sight of rain drops trickling from the roof and car windows…
• cupping my hands to form a pool of rain, and wiping my face with the water…
• turning my face towards the sky, and feeling the drops fall on my face…
• the freshness in the atmosphere and the earth after the rains…
• fresh silvery green color of trees, dewy drops on leaves and flowers, puddles on the ground that go splash…

A lot many of my fond memories of life are also of the rains. I remember going to school on a Thursday many many years ago… it had been pouring non-stop for many days and I was waiting for the school bus at a bus stop which was about 10 minutes walking distance away from my home. The bus failed to turn up, and someone then came and told me that there wasn’t any school that day (the school had been partially flooded); so I started walking back home in my school uniform. It was pouring cats and dogs, and there was water on the road a little above my ankles - I was so exhilarated with the feel and sound of the rain, (and the thought that I didn’t have to go to school ;)) that I closed the umbrella, started singing my favorite songs and splashing around in the water, while walking back home - the people on the road must have thought that I was mad but I had not a care in the world…

Then again, during my college days, it was the day of my computer practical exam. I was walking to the bus stop, again with an umbrella since it was raining, and mid-way I realized that there was thigh-deep water in a huge stretch of the road that I had to go across. I continued walking, and slowly the water level rose till I was almost wading in the water, and my kameez was half-drenched. There weren’t many people on the road and most of them were standing in shops lining the side of the road… some of them called out to me telling me not to go on the road since it wasn’t safe… but I was having fun holding on to an umbrella and walking in the middle of the road (or rather, in the middle of the mini-flood) as if I owned it :D. Thankfully the water wasn’t all that dirty (unlike how it would be in Bangalore, say), so emerging out of the road, I was still fit to go to college and attend the exam.

Another very beautiful memory of the rain was when I went to Bombay/Mumbai once, during the monsoon season. I went to the Juhu beach, and as soon as I stepped into the water, it started raining like crazy… and soon, there we all were, being showered with cold water from the sky, whilst being waist-deep in the warm water of the sea, and having the tide throw us around in the water… heavenly :).

Coming back to my post, why am I talking of rain now? Well, it is monsoon season in India now, and I’m feeling privileged to witness this miracle called rain.

Rain in Kerala is a beauty to behold - transports you to a completely different world altogether. I’ve often felt that if there is heaven on earth, it must be in some parts of Kerala during the rains. Below are some pictures (courtesy Manorama and Tata world) that may justify my statement :

Lyrical Love

 

Love is an endearing emotion. Its seeds are sown young and sometimes we spend our entire lives in pursuit of the eternal love that we may probably never get on earth.

What makes love totally paradoxical is that the more we love, the more we want to possess, but the more we try to possess, the more love escapes from us.

By its very nature love is pure, divine and free. Its the acme of all emotions on this earth, and a riddle for anyone who’s been in its midst. Poets wax eloquently about love; yet no poetry fully characterizes it.

Recently I came across a site that had English translations of popular Hindi songs, and I realized that some of our Indian film lyricists did really try to infuse poetry in their songs, and most of the beautiful lyrics came from songs about love.

I then thought I’d blog about some Indian love ballads and their translations as a precursor to better poetry in film songs, and many more beautiful love songs to come, and as a tribute to this wonderful emotion called love…

Song	Translation
Film: Gangster Language: Hindi Lyricist: Sayeed Quadri Tu hi meri shab he, subah he, tu hi din he mera. tu hi mera rab he, jahaan he, tu hi meri duniya… Tu waqt, mere liye, mein hoon tera lamha, kaisa rahega bhala, hoke tu mujhse juda…	You are my night, my dawn you are my day. you are my god, my universe, you are my world... To me, you are time and I'm every moment for you. How can you ever live apart from me...
Film: Ayudha Ezhuthu Language: Tamil Lyricist: Vairamuthu Yakkai thiri Kaadhal sudar Jeevan nadhi Kaadhal kadal Piravi pizhai Kaadhal thirutham Irudhayam kal Kaadhal sirpam Jenmam vidhai Kaadhal pazham Lokam dwaitham Kaadhal advaitham Sarvam soonyam Kaadhal pinnyam Maanudam maayam Kaadhal amaram.	Body is a wick Love is the flame Soul is a river Love is the sea Birth is a mistake Love is the correction Heart is of stone Love is the sculpture Birth is a seed Love is the fruit The world is dual, Love is singular Everything(sarvam) is zero(soonyam) Love is infinite Life is an illusion Love is immortal.
Film: Summer in Bethlehem Language: Malayalam Lyricist: Gireesh Puthenchery Oru raathri koodi vidavaangave, Oru paattu mooli veyil veezhave, Pathiya parannen arikil varum, azhakinte thoovalaanunee. palanaalalanjamaru yaathrayil, hridayam thiranja priya swapname, mizhikalkku munpil ithalaarnu nee, viriyaanorungi nilkayo pularaan thudangum oru raathriyil, thaniye kidannu mizhivaangave, oru nertha thennal alivodevannu nerukil thalodi maanjuvo… malarmanju veena vana veedhiyil, idayante paattu kaathorkave, oru paazhkinaavil urukumnoren, manassinte paattu kettuvo… nizhal veezhum ente idanaazhiyil, kanivode poottha mani deepame, oru kunju kaattil anayaathenin, thirinaalam ennum kaathidaam.	As one more night bids adieu, and the sunlight falls whilst humming a song, You are the feather of beauty that wafts and settles next to me... In my travels that have gone on for many days, oh dear dream that has sought my heart, are you, draped in petals, waiting to blossom in my eyes? As the night was giving way to dawn, and I lay alone, with my eyes open, A breeze came with love, and disappeared after caressing my forehead... On a path in the forest decked with mist, as you're straining your ears to listen to the shepherd's song, did you hear the song emanating from my mind which is melting in a futile dream... In my corridor which is filled with shadows, You are the lamp that has flowered with mercy, Forever, I will protect you from every breeze that tries to blow your light out.

These are of course just a selection of three different songs from Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam… I got the lyrics for the Hindi and Tamil from other websites, but the Malayalam song translation is solely mine [I think it may be a bit crude here and there, but then this was all I could come up with in the short duration of time I had to write the post].

There are thousands of Indian film songs written on love, and some are sheer classics in terms of their poetic excellence… all written and inspired by the most beautiful emotion in this world: Love.