In my childhood, when I heard about Calculus,
I always wondered why everyone makes such a fuss.
a few numbers here,
and a few symbols there,
But for every math student, it felt like a curse.
Only when I grew up, my friends and I decided... it's not for us.
Vagrant Wanderings of my Mind
A continuing journey of random, vagrant adventures of my within as well as without.
Thursday, January 12, 2023
Calculus
Monday, July 4, 2022
ખાડા, ખાબોચિયાં અને વરસાદ
આજે સવારે મુંબઈમા અંધેરી તરફ ધોધમાર વરસાદ પડ્યો. ત્યારબાદ થોડીવારે હૂં સ્કુટર પર
રખડવા નીકળ્યો. મારા સુશીલ ધર્મપત્ની ને થોડી ખરીદી કરવી હતી, તે કરાવી દીધી. પછી
તેને ઘરે ઉતારી આમતેમ ફરતો હતો.
રસ્તામાં સારો સરખો ટ્રાફિક હતો. અને ખાડાઓમાં પાણી ભરાઈ જતાં, ખાબોચિયાં બની
ગયા હતા. ઘણી જગ્યાઓ પર તો આખો રસ્તો પાણી થી ભરાઈ ગયો હતો.
ટ્રાફિક, વરસાદ, ખાબોચિયાં અને ભરાયેલા પાણી માં સ્કુટર હાંકતા હાંકતા જ્ઞાન થયું કે:
- પાણી ભરેલા રસ્તા પર આપણુ સ્કુટર સતત ગતિશીલ હોય તો ગંદા પાણીમાં પગ
મુકવો પડતો નથી. - તેમજ સ્કુટર પર બરાબર balance maintain કરી રાખીયે તો કાદવ-કીચડ માં
પગ મુકવો પડતો નથી. - થોડુક વહેલું આગળ જોઈ લેવાથી મોટા ભાગના ખાડા સહેલાઈથી avoid કરાય છે.
જે ખાડા avoid ન થાય, તેનો impact ઓછો કરી શકાય છે. - સતત બદલાતા ટ્રાફિક ના પ્રવાહ સાથે મગજ ઠંડુ રાખી જેટલા જલ્દી adjust
થઈયે એટલા જલદી મુકામે પહોંચી જવાય છે. - પોતાનું અને સામાનનું વજન જેટલું ઓછું એટલું સ્કુટર વધારે fast દોડે છે.
બસ આવા ગાંડાઘેલા વિચારો કરતાં કરતાં પાછો પત્ની ની સેવામાં પહોંચી ગયો.
😌
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
તું મને શોધે છે ક્યાં
તું મને શોધે છે ક્યાં,
હૂં તો છું, અહિયાં નો અહિયાં.
જગત ની જાગૃત જંજાળ હોય કે નીન્દર ના મીઠા ખ્વાબ.
નદી, પર્વત, ઝીલ, ઝાડ હોય કે અનંત આભ.
વસુ છું સૃષ્ટિ ના કણકણ માં,
તારી સાથે રહું છું ક્ષણેક્ષણ માં
અદૃશ્ય નથી, સાવ સામે જ છું,
ખોવાયો નથી, તારા ખોબા માં જ છું.
ઝંખું છું હે વ્હાલા, તારા વિયોગ ની મુક્તિ ને,
ઝંખું છું એ આનંદ ની અનુભૂતિ ને.
ચાલ, ઝટ કર, ખોલી દે પાંપણ ના પડદા,
આપી દિધા છે મેં તને, મારા સર્વે સરનામા,
હવે પુછતો નહીં કે, તું છે ક્યાં,
હૂં તો છું, અહિયાં નો અહિયાં.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Tandem Jumping
The instructor made us go through the paperwork where we basically absolve them of all responsibilities. A boring video followed explaining how exciting yet dangerous this sport is. Then, we got really smart looking jumpsuits to wear & take pictures in. Finally, we went outside looking for our airplane which would take us up to 10000 feet. We heard loud whirring sounds from behind the hangar, stirring up excitement. But when the airplane came into our view, apprehension took over the excitement. The plane was only slightly bigger than a minivan, and the pilot was an old gentleman wearing just an undervest & flappy shorts. My cousins and I looked at each other, unsure of whether to hand over our lives to this situation.
Hope overcame our apprehension, and my sister mustered courage to go first. She crept up on the floor of the one-seater plane where the only seat was occupied by the vested pilot. She was made to sit on the floor under the flight control panel. The instructor holed up behind her, trying to make her enjoy the upcoming fun. Revving up the engines, the pilot started taxiing into the fields. With a very short run-up, the plane was up in the air. It kept gaining height as it flew in circles over our heads. Reaching about 10000 ft where the plane looked like a small speck in the sky, they made the free-fall jump. What was about 40 seconds to us on the ground, felt like eternity to my sky-diving cousin. Pretty soon, the parachute opened up and they sailed over the winds for about 6 to 8 minutes before landing right in front of the hangar.
She was almost deaf when she walked up to us. The wind had knocked out her ears. My brother started suiting up for his jump while she recovered. After about 10 minutes, when she finally got some of her hearing back, I asked her, "were you scared when you jumped?" Her reply was almost music to my ears. "I was not afraid because he was with me", she replied. Wow! She was not scared in her 10000 ft jump into the open sky, just because the instructor was with her all the time. She was not alone up in the sky... someone was with her in tandem.
I looked up 'tandem' in the dictionary, and it said: "having two things arranged one in front of the other". I never knew the beauty of this magnanimous word before that epic moment. Tandem! Yes... I am not alone. I do not feel afraid when I am not alone. I have someone with me in tandem... always! He is with me and since He has arranged Himself behind me, I do not see Him. Yet He is the power behind every thought and deed of mine.
I can enjoy the jump only if I know that I am tethered to Him. I do not have the parachute, He does... and I am tied to him. That's how I can enjoy tandem-jumping. That singular thought absolves me of all my worries. I do not have to worry about which strings to pull. He does that for me, while I enjoy the treasures that lie yonder. All I need is complete, unwavering faith in Him. That is all I need from my side. Everything else is provided to me by Him - the jumpsuit, the harness, goggles, earplugs, the airplane, the parachute, even the instructions, and most of all: His own companionship... all I need to do is hold His hand, and JUMP!
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Have a Nice Day
Cheers!
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Naked Weight
Initially, I found the thought of weighing myself naked, a bit amusing. But it is far more philosophical than amusing. The same is true for the self and its worth. What are we worth? What do we measure ourselves against? What do we value ourselves against? We usually value ourselves according to our wealth, our qualifications or status in society. These are external adjectives that we gather in the journey of our life. But these are at best, add-ons!
Do we dare to go naked and then value ourselves? If we were brave enough to do that, we would find out our true worth. If we can shed away all our belongings, attachments & external baggage, and then value ourselves unbiasedly only on the basis what's inside, that would be our true worth. If we can weigh ourselves on the basis of what we are, rather than what we have, that would be our true weight. It's extremely difficult, but that's the only way to know our true weight.