O P o t B

5 a.m. in the morning, Wilson's Warf, and I was getting ready for my aventure on the high seas in an attempt to land the "big one".  The skipper looked confident that although there was a significant wind, the seas were much calmer then the last few days when the deep ocean swells, visible from the shoreline, were white capped.  Filled with confidence, despite the internet weather report of two meter swells, I boarded the rather small boat and swallowed a tablet to prevent the onslaught of that scourge of the seven seas that lays waste to the strongest of men.    The boat could not have been longer than eight meters from bow to stern, and by four meters across at the stern.  Two rows of bunk seats, that doubled as storage hatches, reached from the bow to the bridge,  approximately halfway to the stern.  The bridge was the size of a wardrobe with its back facing the bow and a door opening the port side of the boat.  T...

In recent months, after many years of absence, I decided to start fishing again.  In the hope of landing the "big one" I have kitted myself out with some nifty fishing tackle-although there are a few bits and pieces that still need to be had-and a good dash of camping equipment to make life a little more comfortable at waters edge.  After arriving and setting up I cast the lines in and settle down to enjoy the day. If there is one thing that I cannot not seem to get right is the placement of equipment.  For the rest of the day I would be stepping over things and bumping things over negotiating a maze of stuff to get to where I want to be.  In spite of the wide open space, I successfully manage to economize on the little area under the gazebo to mine own detriment.  All hope faded at finding a solution to this problem. That was until a few weeks ago when everything changed.  I was looking at the gentleman fishing next to me and I could not believe mine ...

Happy New Year and may your days be filled with love, peace, happiness and prosperity!  I know its a tad late, however I did resolve to get this blog written on New Years day however I just could not get around to it.  This year I have taken a new spin on the resolution issue and have a list, approximately five A4 pages in length (double sided) of new years resolutions.  This will increase the probability of achieving at least one of my resolutions.  Like the guy who bets on every number at the roulette table, he has got to win something, even if his net position remains the same, well almost. In the past I would pen at least ten resolutions believing that the small number of resolutions would be easily obtainable, but you guessed it by the time I reached the end of the first week of the new year, or even sooner, the list would be filed in some prime estate in file thirteen. In an attempt to find the reason for this failure to achieve these few simple ...

Now if there is one secret you need to know about Indians, or as we so often fondly refer to ourselves charos, is that we love airports.  Don't believe it, next time you at an airport, take a look around and you will see what I mean. In India, if you do not have a ticket, you are not allowed into the airport. Security they claim, but I know better.  If they allowed people into the airport freely, people would spend days in the airport lobby basking in thought of international travel.  Filling up the eating places and leaving no room for those passengers who are waiting to check in or waiting to catch their connecting flights.  I strongly suspect that this is the same reason they locate airports far from residential areas. I have thought long and hard about this tendency to gravitate towards the airport, have spent hours nay days meditating on this trying to figure out what is it that draws me to airports.  I must admit that even now the reason eludes me. ...

The other day I received an SMS and could for the hell of me me not make head to tail of it, from a number I did not know.  Suspecting that it may be some new encryption routine, I sent it over to a group of encryption experts, whom I happen to know, and after three days of deliberation over the content of the message threw their arms up in despair and handed me a report stating that there was no known cipher that would be able to make head or tail of the message that was sent. Being determined, and I must admit, feeling somewhat like a spy in one of the spy thrillers, that I have been addicted to for years, akin to 007, or the likes, I proceeded on my mission, to determine the content of the message.   Was this some message that related to the impending attack on some government agency that would eventually lead to chaos, or some international organisation that would invariably change the world as we know it. I had to know! The Mall, and into a cell providers store....

9am, the air stuffy with heat.  The sun beating down on the asphalt and the AC barely able to keep the air inside the car bearable.  My t-shirt damp with perspiration while the driver tries to negotiate the traffic.  I will have to leave this haven of comfort soon and join the throngs that are making there way across the path that leads to our destination. The hot dry dusty air meets me as I step out of the vehicle, quite unusual for a coastal city The pathway, a slab of concrete and rock, is only accessible at low tide. It is wet from the ocean that has barely receded and slippery from the algae that has attempted to lay claim to its rough surface.  The limbless, the destitute, the homeless, anyone in need line the edges of the pathway, sitting or laying down, extending their hands or a cup or a piece of cloth in the hope of receiving some alms. Looking on I think these are the fortunate, and unlike me, they are in need of the material, a need that can more eas...

Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if I had made different decisions, taken a different road through life.  Considering the possibilities and thinking how it may have turned out.  But this lasts for but a fleeting moment because the reality of it all is that I am here now and this is where I am right now and all I can do is the best that I can right here and now. I have been bearing the burden of my past failed relationships and finally I have come to terms with it.  It takes two to tango and I can only take and accept responsibility for mine own actions. And more often than not these were at the peril of my own self and my own soul in an attempt to provide and fulfil the needs of my partners in the hope that they will someday reciprocate.  How mistaken I was because in reality how often does one get what one expects from life? Instead I move into a new existence, alone but not lonely, separate but not apart and with the knowledge that my Creator is ...