Longest Night

I just had to put this one in... 

Is it dark, where you are? 

Can you count the stars where you are? 

Do you feel like you are a thousand miles from home? 

 Are you lost, where you are? 

Can you find your way when you're so far? 

Do you fear, where you are? 

A thousand nights alone.

So here we are set into motion 

We'll steal a car and crash in the ocean 

You and I, caught in a fading light 

On the longest night 

It's enough, just to find love 

It's the only thing to be sure of 

So hard, to let go of 

A thousand times or more 

I was close to a fault line 

Heaven knows, you showed up in time 

Was it real? 

Now I feel, like I'm never coming down 

So here we are, set into motion 

Steal a car, crash in the ocean 

You and I, caught in a fading light 

On the longest night 

I recall when we were together 

Even now it seems like forever 

So alive caught in a fading light 

On the longest night 

Can we go too far to find, what is waiting here? 

A little fall from grace 

On the longest night 

Did we go too far to find, what is waiting here? 

We'll take a little time, to open again 

Is it dark where you are? 

Can you count the stars where you are? 

                                                   - Howie Day

The Maximum City

Mumbai - the city of dreams, the city that never sleeps, and the city that waits for no one. My first week here has been a blur. It has been a ceaseless race to get around. The world doesn't stop for anyone. But somewhere in this thriving metropolis are people who make this city what it is.. people who make it real.

I often hear that it is easy to lose ones self in a city so big. I came to realize that in this big city, it is possible to get to know ones self too. Finding yourself while experiencing the lives of others can be a therapeutic experience for the soul. Random acts of kindness leave you unsettled. And then you, quite suddenly, see this beautiful city for what it is.

As Javed Akhtar put it,

Pighlay neelam sa behta hua yeh samaan
Neeli neeli si khamoshiyaan
Na kahin hai zameen
Na kahin aasmaan
Sarsaraati huyi tehniyaan, pattiyaan
Keh rahi hain ki bas ek tum ho yahaan
Sirf main hoon meri saansein hain aur meri dhadkanein
Aisi gehraiyaan
Aisi tanhaiyaan
Aur main sirf main
Apne honay pe mujhko yaqeen aa gaya.

The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

They say that flowers grow out of the darkest moments. In our darkest, most hellish moment, we face all our fears, our inadequacies, our demons. Why do we let ourselves fall so far? Why do we allow ourselves to feel the crushing pressure of all of them at the same time? We were not made for that kind of emotional torture.

Then again, the relief comes at a time when it is most unexpected. Upon exploring the darkest crevices of our distorted psyche do we find a way out in to the open. That moment of liberation is glorious, majestic and a sight to behold. The pieces of our life's puzzle begin to piece themselves together.

Curiously enough, the pieces now connect in ways that were not possible before. Gaze with wonder at the beauty and mystery your recovery has wrought. Its a time for appreciation. I wait for the end of the tunnel too. Just how long its going to take to come is what will show me how dark this night is going to get. All I know is that there is light at the end of the tunnel.