http://www.vulcantalk.com Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:26:45 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Of Men And Motorcycles I finally gave up on ‘Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance.’ I think that, at least in my case, the author (Robert M. Pirsig) achieved his probable objective – he proved that he’s smarter than the reader. This is, in my opinion, a questionable objective to ... http://www.vulcantalk.com/2008/11/of-men-and-motorcycles/ The light of sheer beauty appears before you Before your eyes adjust, it vanishes... No science can capture it glow For it was not meant to be harnessed This beauty's light is not a candle flame That you could trap in a lantern to dispel your soul's shadows This beauty's light is a firefly That owes its ... http://www.vulcantalk.com/2008/10/poem-2-the-firefly/ Enough has been written on this subject to wallpaper every square inch of the planet if the printouts were to a laid out edge to edge. The Internet space it occupies could, if put to more fruitful purposes, host enough information to the true nature of politics to put that ... http://www.vulcantalk.com/2008/10/the-purpose-of-life/ Deep in the most thickly populated part of a metropolitan suburb, the police break down the front door of an old single-bedroom apartment. The neighbors had reported an increasingly fetid odor coming from it – an odor that now hits the cops like an olfactory tsunami. We’ve all smelled it to ... http://www.vulcantalk.com/2008/09/a-soliloquy-on-solitude/ Ashish Debolkar is not his real name, and this overweight disgrace to my neighborhood could thank me for my discretion in keeping him anonymous. The man takes his morning walk an hour later than I do. This means that he’s just starting off on his perambulations when I’m on my way ... http://www.vulcantalk.com/2008/09/the-beast/ Between jobs a few years ago, I happened to chat with a friend in another town. I mean, I didn’t KNOW I was between jobs then – I merely knew that I’d chucked my old one and was looking for alternatives. The state of being jobless is a spiritual experience – ... http://www.vulcantalk.com/2008/09/confessions-workaholic/ Some days ago at Ghatkopar, I was knocked down by a speeding scooter. The guy didn’t look back… I think doing so did not even occur to him. I wasn’t seriously hurt, but it always takes the human mind a long moment to inventory the damage at such times. In ... http://www.vulcantalk.com/2008/09/money-madness-mumbai-shuffle/ The other day, I met Hemant Shutterkhalikar. A chronic Mumbaikar and Saffron Brigade fanatic, he lives in Dadar and takes that fact very seriously. Dadar is to Mumbai’s Hindus what Jerusalem is to the Jews – you can strut your stuff anywhere, but this is simply the best place from ... http://www.vulcantalk.com/2008/09/saffronization-of-borat/ Sometimes it all gets too much for me, and I have to withdraw. Yes, even from my family and friends. Mumbai’s frenetic pace can mesmerize you into thinking that manic activity is normal. That we have always lived this way. But I guess, deep down where we carry our legacy ... http://www.vulcantalk.com/2008/08/mumbai-by-night/ There are days when my family and I are don’t see eye to eye on certain things – like the validity of my life. On such days, I generally do something spiritually uplifting. The guilt-trip scene has limited entertainment value and fails to fascinate me after the first three rounds. Anyway, ... http://www.vulcantalk.com/2008/08/on-holy-ground/