The Age We Live In

If human kind across centuries was to meet and introduce the ages we lived in, what would we have to say about ours?

The age of unbound progress and technology, the age where your voice, thoughts and work can reach across the world in a matter of few seconds? When man first starting exploring outerspace and imprinting its footsteps on the Moon? When living was at its most comfortable and we had things at our disposal, we really didnt need?

Or the age in which we harnessed technology to further erode our happiness? Of an economy running on foundations so weak, that it could all fall down and shatter any time? When we are bothered about who twitted about what and who liked your status? And we don't know if the person in the house next door is alive or dead? When we have deadlines to meet and green paper to make, in the hope that it would bring us happiness? When people who cared about you and brought you up, were relegated to a corner of your mind or even a corner of the home?


The age where we lost all sense of reason and became extremely shortsighted?
The age when the inertia was so high, that every single being born in it, got sucked into the chaos?
The age when humanity convinced itself that there is no other way to live but to run after the concept known as money? The age when we had no time at all for doing anything we liked?
A race devoted to wiping itself and the planet out?


A whole planet of intelligent life gone wrong? Yes. Thats the age where I come from.

Oh, and what would the people from the next age have to say? Probably the age where humans transported themselves from one spot to another by mere technology, so much so that evolution took away their legs and feet and left them with just a single finger on each hand to push all them buttons they wanted to!

A detached existence

Some blog posts aren't meant to make much sense. This is one such.

Detached, aloof, wandering, watching the world from dizzy heights above.

A bird's eye. A desire to fly. To lose all cares and soar high.

Transported to a different reality. A different life.

Not making sense of the world around.

Much ado to know myself,

and yet remain,

unknown.

Music!

I hardly know enough to write on the subject. Our introductions to each other were late, apart from the nursery rhyme cassettes in school. Filmi love shove music was never appreciated at home. Neither was music of the blaring variety and I once got a reprimand for singing a certain Karishma Kapoor song during a family Antakshari :D

An attempt was made to learn a few ragas at school...and then came the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls and all the other zillion boy and girl bands. How I listened to BSB more and became an ardent fan because I thought Nick Carter was cute than for their music! ;) and my fandom was limited to the peppy pop songs sung by groups of 5 guys or 5 girls wearing outlandish clothes or standing a la MIB. I even thought the Titanic OST was highly overrated.

Enter college and the horizon expanded to music I never knew before. The Kishore Kumar songs and NFAK, the Old Hindi Melodies to the King of Rock n Roll and then on to Rock and Classical Indian Fusion...and its been a pure blast. There's so much undiscovered melody, and like a friend said, I have just begun to explore!

Music to lift your soul. Music to keep it light.
Music to bring it down and Music to set it right.
Music to drown yourself in and Music to keep it bright.
Music when you are down and out and Music when you can't sleep at night.

Ok, so you think you can spell?

.....That don't impress me much!


Ah so what is this post about?

A spell checker? Those wiggly red lines on a Microsoft document? (and my dislike for American English) , The teacher who used to mark spelling mistakes with red ink? -- Nope.

The further away we are moving from being consciously aware of our spellings as we type out more than we write? -- Partly. Didn't realise this until I began mis-spelling words and using a right click to correct them , rather than bother to re read and correct!

And contrary to the title lines of this post, mostly on how I base my judgement of people on whether they can spell or not. Of being put off by bad spelling and more so by bad grammar.

Some say that its the beauty of the English language that it is so fluid, others seem bent to give the language a runny nose!

Of late have noticed people writing their names online in all small letters. Instant put off. Some would argue its convenience. But its your name! You just don't do that to it! Ah and if someone says 'He don't' instead of 'he doesn't' then I would have instantly written him off! Okay. well not that drastic. But the good books are closed :P

Language is by no means a measure of the nature of a person. You might have a heart of gold or be a genius and still be horrible at spellings.

But language sure is the world's window to a person, one which allows us to take a peek in and form an impression. It is his presentation to the world and then some more. I daresay even a measure of how sophisticated and cultured a person is. Definitely more than the clothes he wears or the brand of his footwear - The very shallow hallmarks of judgement these days.

Had read somewhere that bad spelling is worse than body odour. Here is me vehemently nodding my head in agreement!

The wonder years

Reclaimed an old email account and an associated blog of 6 years back today. My! what kids we were and what we are now.The password I had used at that time itself was hilarious. Memories.

and the old emails. Of people I am hardly in touch with now. Just a new year wish and maybe a birthday wish. The years between us. Of how we thought the friendships would remain the same and the plans to always always stay in touch.

Of the twists and turns life has taken, for some for the better, for others for the worst.
Of the novel a friend had started on our lives. Still unfinished.
Of pacts... some silly and some still kept until date.
Of friends still cherished and as close and others lost forever.
Of pure innocence and joy.

The wonder of the bygone years and the uncertainty of the years to come. Makes for a heady cocktail on a quiet day off.