New Sense » Blogging

Living in Moments…

Haas — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:01:09 +0000

8 years ago on this fateful day I decided to give blogging a shot. What followed was a roller coaster ride of experiences & ideas. Now, after over a thousand posts and after somehow managing to keep the fire burning this long, its almost ironic that I cant even remember why I started it in the first place.

Whatever it was that drove me to making sure I kept blogging, the one thing I know for sure is that my life probably wouldn’t have been the same without it. Writing into that empty textbox drove me to examine my life and that of others around me, it made me ask questions that I probably wouldn’t have asked otherwise and it truly taught me what in life is worth appreciating.

I can go on describing how this piece of real estate on the web was(and still is) a catalyst in my life, but I will spare you the monday evening philosophy and instead give you a video I watched recently. It truly echos my thoughts about life and happiness.

35 from ARC'TERYX on Vimeo.

The Best

Haas — Sun, 05 May 2013 07:34:49 +0000

This blog has over 1000 posts written in almost 50 different categories. It includes Short Stories, Essays, Philosophical Ideas, Movie Review, Song Translations, Photo Essays & Travelogues. Most people who visit this site get lost in the sheer volume of the content; So, here are some of the best posts in this blog. I have separated them into 3 different categories, hope it gives you a good overview of the years of writing that is stored in here.

My Favorite Posts:

Most Popular Posts:

Other Links:

My Short Stories & Plays
Travelogues
Song Translations

Lyrics Translation Month 2012… Well almost

Haas — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 13:40:17 +0000

Looks like 2012 is coming to a close and as we run out of months, I just realized that I didn’t do my customary “Lyrics(Poetry) Translation Month” for this year.
Considering the wonderful response I received and still receive (page views of my site have doubled since then) for the previous set, I was really looking forward for this… But looks like I have run out of months, so alternatively I just thought I would go for it and translate a bunch of songs I love. I might not do 30 of them but hopefully there will be enough to call this a project :)

Ps: Will be translating some of your requests from last time around too… Hope you like them :)

Here are some of my favorites from last time around:

Poetry from ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’(the one that started it all)
Kun Faya Kun [Rockstar]
Ae Ajnabi (Dil Se)
Main Zindagi Ka Saath (Hum Dono)
Tere Bina Zindagi (Aandhi)
Hoshwalon Ko Kabar Kya (Sarfarosh)
Maula Mere Lele Meri Jaan (Chak De India)
Afreen Afreen
Iktara (Wake Up Sid)

For the complete list you can browse them here: Poetry Translation Month 2011

Wounds, Scars & People…

Haas — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 15:23:09 +0000

A transaxial slice of the brain (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Have you ever had a wound that healed completely without leaving any sort of scar or mark behind? I have a couple of those and when ever I look at that part, for a moment I imagine how it had looked with the wound; And in that moment I feel utterly invincible…

Did you know that the human brain has this adaptive nature that literally ignores information that is thrown at it, in order to make better sense of the rest of the information.
For example if for any reason the cornea of your eye gets slightly damaged and leaves a tiny mark on it. Think of it like a dust particle on the lens of your camera. When ever you take a photo it appears in the exact same spot in each photo. Your brain recognizes this aberration and over time totally ignores it; ie, for the person, he has no idea that there is actually a blot in the cornea of this eye.

I sometimes wonder if we treat people the same way. Once you are close to them and used to them, you absolutely totally ignore some of the things they do. Its a bit like watching someone age, unless there are visible signs(Grey hairs?) its very hard to recognize the aging process in someone close.

I guess this is a good thing… It lets you go on with life without wanting to kill people close to you.

Hello, Is there anybody in there?

Haas — Thu, 31 May 2012 15:21:06 +0000

I think I have lost the ability of surprising people.

There was a time when I would watch gleefully how wide eyed people around me would get. Even people who had known me for years would have that occasional “hmmm interesting” moment from time to time. But off late I seem to have become incredibly predictable. People pick up on my responses and reply “I knew you were going to say that”, I just smile back in response.

More than a couple of my friends that came to watch my play over the last few months told me that half way through my play they knew that this had to be written by me. Fortunately they didnt predict the ending, so something is still going for me :)

I guess the novelty that was my style of writing and talking has slowly faded off for those who have known me for years. But whenever I meet someone new, I see that spark in the eyes once again and I cuddle back into the idea that I haven’t really changed that much over time.

In all this the true realization that has dawned on me is that its extremely important to meet and understand new people. Its easy and comfortable to lean back into your own world and watch the other people as if there is a glass wall in between. The real courage is to step out of your world and into alien territory, meet new people and open yourself to new ideas and thoughts.

Whenever I have thrown caution to the winds and taken that chance; I have been rewarded with new friends and ideas, but more importantly an understanding of who I have become…