ambrosia

2010-05-06T01:31:00.000-07:00

ACTS 27

When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete. Acts 27:13

There is no fail-safe way in Christian life. Many times we have the temporary bouts of comfort when our ship sails smoothly, failing to understand that the smooth sail would soon end in a violent tempest. How often we rush through decisions when we sense a trace of favorable conditions. Our intelligence, experience, knowledge, strength and wisdom all put together will never equal the omniscience of the Almighty. Yet we have our plans and schema to run our Christian lives. In ministry, a favorable wind will pump enough adrenalin that we lose the sense of depending on God completely. The captain, helmsman, the centurion, and the merchants felt the same when the south wind blew. They thought that they had received what they have waited for. They ventured out. It was time not to venture out but to winter. Is this not true in our lives? When we are supposed to be on our knees in the presence of the loving Lord, when we are supposed to feed on the living word, when we are supposed to meditate upon His goodness, when we are supposed to rest and enjoy the fullness of joy that is in His presence, we venture out. Our Christian life is so hectic, it is filled with a lot of Christians except Christ. Oh, how many times we have discounted the Lord so that we could say “hi” to somebody? How many time we asked the Lord to wait until we answered our emails? How many times we were caught in the thick of all these activities and patted our own backs saying, “well done.” It is sometimes good that God allows us to go through these experiences, He doesn’t impose His will, but he doesn’t leave us without warning us of the consequences we would face if we bypassed His will. O Christian, how are you today? If the circumstances around you are encouraging to get busy in activities, have you asked the Lord, “Lord is this the same south wind that encouraged the centurion and the captain of the Alexandrian ship to set out on the perilous journey or is it something from you?”

But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon. So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive. Acts 27:14-15

As we set sail on life’s journey, there are many tempestuous winds that arise. Oh yes, we may enjoy the comfort, peace, and serenity for a while; however, these things would not last forever. A Christian is never allowed to settle in this world. A Christian is called out of the world, and to journey in the world, but never be a part of the world. Remember the Israelites, not long after they crossed the Red Sea they came to Elim where there were twelve water wells and seventy palm trees. Humanly speaking, twelve water wells for twelve tribes of Israel. How meaningful it would be? But the Lord didn’t allow them to stay there for a long time; they had to march forward. Had they stayed back, they wouldn’t have inherited the Promised Land. From Elim they had to enter the wilderness of Sin. Oh yes, there would be times of refreshing, times of comfort, times of coziness, times of ease, times of rest in Christian life, but be aware soldier you are not allowed to settle down. You will be soon shaken from the position, as the eagle stirs up its nest and carries its young on its wings, so the Lord will stir up your nest. You may have long settled in the place where you are. Your ministry is thriving, you are successful in your job, you have no dearth of whatsoever manner in this world, you are about to say God has really blessed me, remember a greater test awaits you now. Notice the phrase in these verses ‘but not long after.’ But not long after, we have enjoyed the peace, abundance, rest and joy, a time comes when the accuser goes and says, has this child of Yours followed You for no reason, haven’t You blessed him in all that he clings to You. This is the time God takes things quite seriously, this is the time where He challenges the enemy, I have known my child, he is and will be faithful to me. This is the time when the wind arises. On one hand, it is to prove whether you would cling to God even in your adverse conditions, and on the other hand, it is your own folly of not heeding God’s words that brings you into these circumstances. The wind will be so strong that you would not be in a position to steer or head into it. Many times, we try to confront the situation in our own might; we want to take the bull by its horns; we want to pass out this phase as quickly as we can; still the tempest is too strong for you life to handle that you would be forced to be driven by it. Oh yes, your life has to be driven O Christian to make you understand that you could do nothing apart from Christ.

How often were we in these circumstances, life was running smooth, but not long after, the loss of a dear one, an accident, a sickness, a financial loss; we struggled to overcome these, but in vain. We’d be taught that the time is not to wriggle and struggle but to be driven, to be led by the wind, to acknowledge our nothingness, to wait patiently upon the Lord. See the wisdom of the sailors and the captain, they let the ship be driven by the wind. They were men mighty, who were seasoned by many a rough weather, yet they acknowledge their helplessness of overcoming and allow the wind to carry them out. They were playing safe by sailing close to Crete. You were also playing safe by treading on known grounds. This doesn’t fulfill God’s purposes. Familiarity breeds contempt and also over confidence. They were carried away by the wind or rather they allowed to be driven by the wind. Let us learn from these sailors, when life seems to be unfair, when the wind seems to be stronger than you are, know that God has allowed this so that you be away from familiar grounds.

And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship. Acts 27:18

Why? You may ask. Why does God allow such circumstances in our lives? Is HE a killjoy? Doesn’t he want us to live in peace? Why on earth does He allow such things in our lives? Many of us without any exception have already questioned God innumerable times in our lives. When we read the 18^th verse last part the next day they lightened the ship. Oh yes, this is the reason why we tempests are allowed in our lives. God allowed us to rest at Elim, God did allow us to enjoy material blessings apart from the spiritual blessings. What did you and I do at that time? Oh we craved for the cucumbers, garlic, and onions of Egypt. We knew that soon after the rest, there would be testing times, so we wanted to play safe; we gathered enough of unwanted things into our lives. Now our life ship is full of cargo, unwanted things, displeasing things in the sight of God. God would have spoken to us many times through His servants asking us to get rid of these things. Did we pay heed then? No, we said this message is not for me, further what I have gathered, I have done in honesty and utmost sincerity. Self-righteousness crept in, hypocrisy crept in, what not crept in is difficult to name. Our trust in God was gradually replaced by our trust in our wealth, abilities, knowledge, and skills. God had to and has to allow such tempests so that you and I realize that what we are carrying in our lives aren’t as important or as precious as our lives. We would be forced to throw them away. They belong to the sea of this world; they don’t belong to our lives. Often we are at crossroads, what to choose and what not to. God brings us into this situation. He says today I have set before you life and death, choose life that you may live. Oh Christian, have you lightened your ship? How much junk are you carrying in it? is not the present tempest enough for you? Do you want to be exceedingly tempest-tossed? Why cling onto those things which work death in you? How long would you despise the counsel and the love of the Father and the Lord? Why don’t you throw the things and lighten your ship? If not you’d shipwreck, great would be the loss. See the sailors and merchants; their very lives depended on the merchandise they were carrying; in spite of the risk of losing their livelihood, incurring huge losses, going bankrupt, they decided to do away with the cargo and lighten their ship. Are you not wiser than them? Would you lose your livelihood? No. Would you incur a huge loss? No.Would you go bankrupt? No. You would enjoy the joy and peace of the Lord. You would tread the path to eternal life. Why do you want to clog your life with these unwanted things? God and you alone know what you are supposed to get rid of. Why don’t you do that now? The next day they lightened the ship.

On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands. Acts 27:19

Now we come to a more interesting phase. After getting rid of the unwanted things in our lives, let us not become complacent. This isn’t enough. No doubt, you’ve got rid of the unwanted things but still you have the ship’s tackle in your hands. What does this mean? You’ve got all the equipment to run the ship in your hands. Oh Christian, have you forgotten the fact that it is no longer you that lives in you but Christ. Is he not the Lord? Is he not the Head? Is he not the final authority in and on your life? Throw away the tackle. You have sailed enough with your strength. Now your life has to depend completely on His guidance. He won’t be satisfied with you discarding the things that displease Him. There is another step ahead. Your life has to be steered by Him and by Him alone. On the third day, what is the day in your life, the third day, three hundredth day, or three thousandth day. The sailors were wise enough to throw away the tackle. They knew that they could not tackle the tempest with their tackle. They knew the ship would not ply anymore on their strength; therefore, they discarded all control of the ship. Aren’t you wiser than them? Come now unto the Lord’s feet, tell Him your story, acknowledge that so far you have steered your life and it has got you into deeper troubles than before. Ask His forgiveness, He is willing to restore everything to you. One condition a complete surrender of your will and self, you need to throw away the tackle with your own hands.

Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up. Acts 27:20

How gloomy it would be your day is dark as night and the night is a horror. No sun by day, no stars by night, clouds covering the skies. You are saying Christian, “Lord I have got rid of the unwanted things, I have surrendered my will and self and have thrown away the tackle of the ship; still you seem to be far away. You seem to be nowhere. I am unable to recognize the day from night.” The sailors were no different from you. who were all in the ship at that time – Paul the apostle, Luke the doctor, Julius the centurion, the captain, the soldiers, the merchants, and the prisoners. They had given up hope. The Lord says “My hand is not shortened that I cannot save you neither is my ear deaf that I cannot hear you. Your transgressions have come in between you and me.” David prays to God asking His protection so that he may not fall into presumptuous sins and secret faults. If a man after God’s own heart pleads guilty; how much more you and I men and women after our own hearts should plead?

Have you come to a point where every minute is filled with despair and hopelessness? Have you come to a point where your very breath is heavy on your face? Have you come to a point where yesterday, today and tomorrow carry no meaning to you? Have you come to a point where you are cornered and attacked by your own and outsiders alike? Have you come to a point where you have given up all hope of being saved? Come my brother/ sister, you and I have hope. Oh see the psalmist in psalm125 - those who trust in the Lord shall be like Mount Zion which shall not be moved. Trust in the Lord. This is a passing phase. The sufferings that you are undergoing now are working a greater reward for you. Your brothers and sisters elsewhere in the world are also partakers of the same sufferings; you and I are no exception to it. How can we be conformed to Christ’s image if we shrink whenever the hammer and chisel are laid on us? Don’t you know that God works when we cease to work? Don’t you know that the eaglet which is about to hit the ground had already given up hope and heading towards it sure death when its mother swoops down and carries it back to the nest? Oh yes, one more day you would say everything’s gone. But don’t you know that Jonah had he stayed one extra hour in the fish’s belly would have died? Didn’t God bring him out at the right time? Oh yes, you and I may not see the mysterious ways, He works for us. Our God who has promised “I will never leave the nor forsake thee” is no liar. In him dwells all truth. Hope in the Lord. Oh my soul why have you disquieted yourself, hope in the Lord Psalm 42.

Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved. Acts 27:31

Has life become too weary to carry it any forward? Have you decided to give up? The day and night are alike. The darkness of broad daylight has outrun that of the night. You want to escape life’s ordeals. Take heed, unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved. Unless you stay in the ship, you cannot be saved. The ship is tossed. The ships controls are gone. The ship is going to wreck. The ship is headed towards an unknown direction. Yet the commandment is unless you stay in the ship, you cannot be saved. Noah was he not in the ark? Eleven months, he and his family were shut in the ark. No day, no night, but a day came much before Noah thought of the Lord remembered Noah. Before Noah cried out unto the Lord the Lord remembered him. Before you ask, your Father knows what things you have need of. Before you look up to heavens and beat your chest, your Father knows what things you need. Christ is your stay. You cannot and must not step out of Him. Oh remember Hymenaeus and Alexander, what happened to them? They abandoned their faith and were shipwrecked. You may be tempted to go back to your old ways. You may say all was well when I was on my own. My troubles have multiplied after accepting Christ. I’d better go back. I’ll have no more of Christ or Christianity. Let me tell you one thing, those were the days when things were going well, at the same time, death was looming large on you. Your life would have been sucked out any point of time. Satan had raised his sword on you; he was about to severe your life from you. at that point of time, the Lord interceded for you. He bought you with His blood. Today with all these troubles, trials, and tribulations life eternal is your prize. It cannot be taken away from you. Do you still want to leave the ship? The choice is yours. You can leave, but you will lose your life. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel will save it. Mark :35 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? Mark 8:36

O Christian, therefore don’t go back to your former ways. Don’t leave the ship. Don’t step out of the ark of your salvation.

And the rest, some on boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it was that they all escaped safely to land. Acts 27:44

Finally, the mainstay of your life is going for one last treatment. The ship you have sailed so far has to be wrecked. The empires that you have built; the properties that you have acquired; the power and position that you have gained; the riches you have gathered; time has come for all these for the final treatment and thereafter is life. Are you willing to undergo one final treatment from the Lord? All that you have, you have to forego. Are you willing for this experience? No matter how hard you try to save your life, it is of no avail. The ship of your life will be broken and you have to cross over the Jordan. As we reach the threshold of life, death seems to be inevitable. You’d say a few more days O Lord. But the Lord says son enough of trials, let the ship wreck, sail on the plank you will escape safely to land. No matter how hard you cling the ship of your life will break. Oh yes, do you see there are two seas meeting. The currents are strong. The sea of life and the sea of death, the struggle is strong. The ship has to be and will be broken. But Christian take courage, you will reach land safely. Oh yes, as we pass through these phases, when we are all alone, drifting on a plank or on a board, with the sea and the waves tossing us around, a high and a low, when the very bowels of our belly are churned, when our heart would say, master I don’t want to beat anymore, I’m already dead, when the eyelids shut hard not to see the next tossing, Christian hang on you are very close to the shore. The world may be merry making, you are hanging on to your dear life, Christian hang on, the shore is very near. The dear ones and the loved ones are drifting from your sight, your eyes are growing dimmer and dimmer, your body is pleading mercy, your soul doesn’t know whom to justify, it is a place of two seas meeting, o Christian hang on the shore is near, the Lord is near. They all escaped safely to land. So shall you, your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in Me says the Lord. Jeremiah 39:18. No harm shall befall you. Lo I am with you always, even to the end of the ages. Matthew 28:20

May the Loving Lord bless you and keep you as the apple of His eye.

As tides of life rise against me,

My ship wants to part its ways with me,

My faith, O Lord I pray, be strengthened by Thy stay

I may not see night or day, but Lord you are near today.

Quotes from my brain

2008-02-08T13:05:00.001-08:00

Quotes from my brains

Man supposes; God exposes.
God composes; man decomposes.
Man thinks, shrinks, sinks, and stinks.
We want thinking people not people thinking.
What cannot be taken back shouldn’t be forwarded.
Everything that is soft outwardly is hard inside.
What knot is not a naught.
What you say is not what you want to say when you don’t want to say what you want to say.
If you have a head between two ears; you’re a fool. If you have two ears either side of your head then you are a genius.
Money buys many things, but a few cannot be bought by money; they are the richest inheritors of this planet.

Live for yourself the world will take the life out of you.
Laugh at yourself the world will stop laughing at you.
Look after yourself and the world will be after you.
Love yourself and the world will depart from you.

What troubles us most initially will give us pleasure later.
Life has problematic circumstances and troubles not to trouble us, but to make us master these.
Some are born to be granted; some are granted to be born.
Learn to love everything you do as long as it doesn’t hurt others.
Copying is something you do because of necessity; imitation is acquiring and imbibing certain qualities, for imitation is an art.
Don’t shake off responsibility, because it has perceived you to be the ablest person who can shoulder it.
Commonsense is the master of wisdom and wit, knowledge and intelligence.

To a wise saying:
A fool hears; An intelligent listens; A wise man practices; A genius masters.

Man thinks after acting, women before.

The mighty don’t realize that their mightiness is because of the people around them.

God can be man, but man cannot be God.

Ideas contradicted become views, accepted become truths.

The bad of good is better than the good of bad.

Men say:
Choose what is good and discard what is bad, but where can good come from someone who is instinctively and genetically bad?

Man chooses good and throws away the bad; whereas, God chooses the bad and makes them good.

All great men are great, because their greatness wasn’t recognized in their age.

Duplication guarantees the content not the emotions and feelings.
Perceptions are misconceptions of reality.

You cannot step on people to go ahead in life, but if they are standing in your way; you can jump over them.

A word can make or take away your world.

Experience is the name given by man to the mistakes he makes. O.Henry

A woman’s world cannot be seen with a man’s eyes and cannot be perceived by a man’s heart.

A lying husband is open book in front of his wife.

Man is after looks and women after brains.

It is not how tall you are that matters; it is how tall you tower your problems that matters most.

World is a maze; straightforwardness is unsuitable for it.

You fail to understand yourself; you are an ordinary man.
You understand yourself; you are a man.
You understand others; you are an extraordinary man,
You understand others as well as yourself; you are a superman.

Simplicity is the authenticity of purity.

The eventful history of everyman ends in a day.
Carry a word here and there; finally, you wear and tear.

Take away the ‘B’ from ‘blame’ it becomes harmless.

Politicians are citizens gone astray.

We express what we can’t suppress.
We try to impress, when we can’t express.

Love ends when lust begins; lust ends when love begins.

What is legal in the sight of man need not be legal in the sight of God.

Purity of heart leads to clarity of thought.

Guests are welcome on the first day, tolerated on the second day, prohibited on the third day. In other contexts, they are welcome any day until the outburst on the final day which can be the very first day.

Ideas are injected; proposals are projected; reports are rejected; employees are dejected; if this happens often, then you are in a private organization.

A film is one which defies and defiles the laws of Physics, sometimes other branches of science, and most of the time commonsense of man.

God gave man brain; to that added man vain, pain, and strain.

A successful politician is one who has an honest face and a corrupt mind.

What can you give your wife, who has slept, kept, and wept with you in times even and uneven.

The milder the countenance the wilder the passions.

A time being waits for an opportunity and an opportunist waits for time.

Precision in decision is indispensable for a business.

Arrogance is the fragrance of ignorance.

We enquire others worthiness, when we suspect our own.

Destiny takes the cause of the destitute.

Marriage – the institution that distinguishes man from the beast.

Over-expectation and under-estimation are two sides of the same coin – and are always dangerous for the user and receiver.

A true FATHER:

Friend in disguise;
Always and assuredly wise;
True to word indeed;
Helping hand indeed;
Enemy of none;
Revered by his sons.

God made us whole, but our conscience and guilt have drilled a big hole.

A woman laughing in public – remember, she needs attention acutely.
Gaze into the eyes of a woman and her heart will be revealed to you; for a man you need not for he is an open book.

A WIFE

Wise and witty in wielding worries
Impeccable interest to impress(husband not outsiders)
Faithful and forgiving
Enterprising and enthusiastic woman

Prose is a pillar and poetry a statue both made from the same stone.
Poetry is expressing lofty ideas in crafty words.
The richer we grow financially, the poorer we become morally.

Honesty needs no publicity; sincerity needs no popularity.

A man’s personality is in his height of attention and level of intention.

Often the most needed skill is the most neglected.

Read a person like a book and a book like a person.

Performing in pressures is discovering unknown treasures.

If leisure is your master then seizure is your pay.

Silence external noise to hear internal voice; silence internal noise to hear eternal voice.

A beast exhibits minimum rationale and maximum impulse; a man has to exhibit the exact opposite.

A psychologist is a person who understands peoples’ minds better than his own.

Do you want to know

2008-02-08T11:41:00.001-08:00

Do you want to know my teacher?
Just you have to reach her.
She’s such a wonderful preacher,
If possible she’ll teach every creature.

Do you want to know my student?
It’s worth spending a moment,
To find out what his li’l mind has,
Whether class, brass, or grass.

Do you want to know my parents?
They can spend anything(on us), but a few moments.
They are lost when they are sought(by us).
When they seek us; we don’t give a thought(about them).

Age

2008-02-08T11:29:00.000-08:00

When you are one; everything seems to be won.
When you are two; everyplace is for loo.
When you are three; everything is free.
When you are four; you start feeling bored.
When you are five; world comes alive.
When you are six; you are in a fix.
When you are seven; everything seems even.
When you are eight; you try to be straight.
When you are nine; you start behaving fine.
When you are ten; everything seems to be then.
When you are twenty; life appears to be bounty.
When you are thirty; the world seems to be dirty.
When you are forty; you try to be sportive.
When you are fifty; you thrive to be thrifty.
When you are sixty; you long to live till seventy.
When you are seventy; life is really hefty.
When you are eighty; death appears to be gaiety.
When you are ninety; you long to have ended it at fifty.
When you are hundred; o come on you are already dead.

The Interviewer’s Blues

2008-01-08T07:30:00.000-08:00

Someone said sometime ago, “What you see in the other person is a reflection of you.” This saying may not be really backed by research and for the sake of a few doubting Thomases it is indeed backed by research done by Cherry Carter (check Cherry Carter’s Ten rules of life). After being in the interviewer’s shoes for a few years, it was my turn to be on the other side of the table. An eleventh hour call for an interview and a two hour waiting ordeal, this was how the interview went on. Thank heavens for I had some rapport with one of the directors and the HR executive who constantly engaged me in some good conversation. The time had come for the CEO, a pretty young brat of a well to do family, to call me; I was ushered into his presence by the senior director who enlightened me with a piece of sage advice asking me to carry my laptop into the room. As soon as I entered, I was surprised to see an expression worth not explaining on this gentleman’s face. He wasn’t happy at all and I checked my attire once and then my language and started my introduction, when he rudely interrupted me and asked me to close the cabin door. “Well” I thought, “might be a part of the interview process.”
And thus the story went on:

I: I started working as a marketing executive for a pharmaceutical company and after a year I switched my career from marketing to teaching. I worked for a college before I came to the city, I was working as a content writer for a major publishing house when I landed into fulltime language and soft skills training. Today I head the training department and I have a stake in the company.

CEO: I don’t see a point why a guy who has a business wants to take up a full time employment instead of improving his own business. (With a frown on his face)

I: Well, (he caught me where it hurt the most) The firm is set on its course and it requires minimum supervision from our end. On the other hand the partners have a difference in opinion. As for my role, I have trained and deployed trainers and they take care of the day to day training activities.

CEO: Your English is not good. It seems that you think in your mother tongue and then speak in English. I understand you are from a regional medium and you have learnt English. There are breaks when you speak.

I: I really appreciate the feedback. However I don’t come from a regional medium background nor I think in my native tongue and translate it into English. Probably my pronunciation might have made you think like that. Let me tell you that English is a stress timed language and certain syllables are stressed and the others are unstressed. Where as in our language(because we share the same native tongue) we don’t place stress(this was the point I explained in the class I took in the university).

CEO: Somehow I feel that language is not natural to you.

I: (Who told him it was natural to me or him I don’t know) Well, if my pronunciation pattern gives you an impression that my language is not natural, I may have to accept it because I use the standard pronunciation (pruh nun see ay shon) pattern. I am sorry about it.

CEO: How different are you from the others?

I: (How different I am depends on how different others see me) Well as an individual I am someone who doesn’t get involved in others private affairs. Given a task I don’t rest until I get it done. I always ensure that people around me are comfortable, I am good at motivating people (which I have done umpteen number of times).

CEO: What books do you read?

I: Books on management, psychology and spiritual stuff.

CEO: What spiritual stuff?

I: Christian literature.

CEO: So you are a Christian? (Then he checks my resume for a clue, he doesn’t find anything there because my name sounds different)

I: Oh yes, I am a Christian.

CEO: What are the other books?

I: (I have a small collection of books around 1500 or so)The books that I have read so far are seven habits, first things first, transaction analysis, emotional intelligence, you can win and so on. Psychology and its role in management interests me much. At present I am doing a bit of research on IQ and its role in management.

CEO: Somehow I feel that I am doing a mistake by taking you in. I don’t see much of value addition to the organization because of you. If I take you in it’s going to be an experimentation.

I: ( I indeed appreciate this guy for being so frank in airing his opinions even though they weren’t justified nor supported by some valid observations)If you think that you are making a mistake by taking me in, sir, (I was polite as usual) then I will not allow you to make the mistake.

CEO: Tell me the cost of my mistake.

I: If you think that my selection is a mistake, I wouldn’t be comfortable working here as they say first impressions do matter a lot. So every time we see each other we will always be haunted by the same impressions.

CEO: Do you think you could take a cut on your salary?

I: Let me think about it and I will inform you later, sir. (here was a kid not knowing what to ask and not knowing what to say, so I was more inclined to leave the room rather than give any commitments to him.)

Finally we shook hands and closed it on a cordial note( though farcical).

After helping hundreds get into jobs and training a thousand odd guys I was indeed happy at the end of the interview; one reason being I could write something for my blog which has been starving for new postings and the other is that you need not eat a whole egg to find it rotten (It applies both ways for me and the guy as well).

The crux of the matter is I was called in for an editor’s job and interviewed for a team leader’s position.

Let the reader decide where the aberration took place.

Sky's the Limit

2007-12-15T11:05:00.000-08:00

2010 AD
7.45 A.M. Bill has 15 minutes to reach office. The drive to office usually takes him 45 minutes. Bill has to present his findings to the committee comprising of the CEO. But Bill’s face radiates an unusual calm. He saunters to his garage. Bill takes out his new X Hawk. The rest is history.

We are not far away from the day when we’ll be flying in our cars to our offices, parking them on the rooftops, watching news filled with stories of mid sky traffic jams and flying cops. Sounds fantasizing, yet this is no fantasy; we are very close to ground reality which will take off vertically from the coming decade onwards. After a century the first flight took off, scientists and engineers are ready to unveil the new flying car for the general public. This mini mid air transportation will be a breather to all those who have been infested by traffic congestions and bottleneck brawls.

This may not be news for those who have eagerly awaited decades to see the flying car and let go their hopes; however prospects of mass production have started hitting the news headlines regularly. Though the idea of a flying car germinated almost parallel to that of Wright brothers’ invention, it took almost three decades for the idea to hit the skies. The earlier models were more or less miniature representations of their colossal cousins, the aeroplane and the helicopter. After years of R&D inventors are ready to launch the first PAVs ‘Personal Air Vehicles’ by 2010. These Personal Air Vehicles come with a plethora of features, combining the luxuries of a jetliner, portability, speed, ease of driving, sleek and stylish looks and most importantly fuel efficiency matching that of a regular sedan, 28-30 miles per gallon. Priced somewhere between $1.5 -3 million and the grandiose they carry, flying cars seem to be the convention of future transportation.

There are at least a dozen companies working on this dream machine and many carrying out individual projects. To name a few models that will be available are:
StrongMobile's Magic Dragon
LaBiche Aerospace's FSC-1
The Haynes Aero Skyblazer
The Moller Skycar M400
Urban Aeronautics' X-Hawk
Terrafugia
Source: Wikipedia
Most of these models have completed the developmental stage. The companies claim that these models will clock a maximum of 150 – 450 mph. Vertical take off, satellite controlled drive and minimum human intervention are some of the unique features the PAVs promises. For those who think that the flying cars are ritzy can find some respite in the ‘Air Scooter’.
If you are interested to know more about flying cars you can visit the following websites:
For information on history and latest developments www.Wikipedia.org
www.Travel.Howstuffswork.com
www.moller.com
www.the3dtechnologies.com
www.airscooter.com
www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/23/flying_car/ check this link for an amazing picture of a flying car captured on Google earth.

2007-12-10T04:36:00.000-08:00

DATE: 01/09/04

YET ANOTHER DAY

The singing birds invite the day,
The fading stars behind the bay.
The sleeping earth’s eyes are open wide,
The warming sun comes from his hide.

The pompous start of this day,
Impending perils it gives way
At dawn two babies too are born
One adorned other to be torn.

Niggardly beggar begs his way,
To find a half morsel just to stay,
Quarter quarters bread with ketchup,
Left on the platter as social patchup.

Oblivion has taken grips,
Aiding billions of moral slips.
Tender lives in sexual spasms,
Driven by cultural chasms.

Man in his divisive labour,
Hating brothers in his arbour.
Ignores societal disorders,
Invites doom to cross the border.

When night falls, falls another knight,
Ceases seeing distress and plight.
Gentlemen lurk in the dark streets,
Displaying their amoral feats.

Yet another day loses its way,
The sun shrinks in utter dismay.
The oceans roar to gulp the rest,
The earth shows her patience at best.

Tears flood and flow the mountain cheeks,
In vain to slow the stubborn streaks.
Nature guided by a creature,
Has become a common feature.

The crying birds all lost in their way,
Hissing serpents stalking to slay.
Yet another day’s lost its way,
Maybe this is the last I pray.

ODE: TO REVOLUTION

2007-12-10T04:22:00.000-08:00

I wrote this after the aftermath of Beslan, where innocent school children were held hostages for several days.
Time: 12 A.M. – 1.30 A.M.
Date: 04/09/04

ODE; TO REVOLUTION

Why hast thou cast thy cruel hand,
On innocent children ‘n’ their land?
What thy goals are? Beyond reason!
Why nip the bud in its season?

Why break the hearts of young mothers?
Shame! See, how the weather withers!
They (parents0 see children in blood and pain,
Fathers’ hearts torn in twain.

Wild notion who gave thee emotion,
Fiddle with lives to steer commotion?
What thy goal may be, go to hell!
Yet thy chances bleak, why doth swell?

“Revolution” thy name I stand.
Thou can rend the hearts not the land.
When they cry for their dead ones,
Hardest of hearts break; Thine least once?

The Al-Qaeedas, ulfas, Cubans,
The Maoists, the Bosnians,
Chechens ‘n’ a few Afrikaans,
Still at heart we are all humans.

‘Rebel” thy intent may be whole.
Art thou pure in content and soul?
Why then trouble the troubled waters,
World is not fit for fresh starters.

The poor among you fight for them,
Widows before you strive for them.
Request thee, lay not thy icy hand,
Ever on this already dead land.

Woes of a would-be writer

2007-12-08T09:26:00.000-08:00

All travails cease when you ease on them.
Premchand.R

What it takes to do something? And if you know ‘What’ it takes to do something, you will be confronted with the ‘How’ of that thing. Like many who have tried cracking Da Vinci’s Code in their ingenuity; we too, after a relentless pursuit, conclude that thing and are left in the lurch to figure out the ‘Why’ of that thing. Seems odd and sounds bizarre, doesn’t it? And what else it can? If you are a would-be writer and you want to write something; and you don’t know what that something is; when compulsion overtakes; passion overrides logical reasoning; instincts start playing havoc with intellect; when motions downplay motives; and the fingers rush to press the keys on your system, what you have on the screen, between you and I, is a genre. Yes, it’s a genre of your writing.

Nine months is the gestation period for humans. It’s no exaggeration, for a writer it can be ninety nine months. There are volumes of books written and rewritten each day. The content seems to be very obvious. One doesn’t need to rack one’s brains to guess what the writer wants to say. On the other hand, we have some masterpieces missing the very eyes of the so called avid reader. They just drift with the tide uneasily. Thirst for information, thirst for knowledge, thirst for storage, thirst for retrieval have quenched the thirst for wisdom. What could have been and ought to be said and done in a few words is being said and done in voluminous accounts. When a precarious situation prevails and perplexity is pondered with all enthusiasm, everyone like you and me has a chance to be a writer.

After stating the reasons and qualifications why you and I can be writers, I would like to make a few ostentatious recommendations of what it takes to be a writer:

By default
A writer should be a good reader.
A writer should be an owner of a good dictionary.
A writer should have appreciated the works of other writers.
A writer should have been swayed and smothered by the works of other writers.
A writer should have the prowess to enjoy a vicarious success even at the face of utter rejection.
A writer should have read different styles of written work.
A writer should be a poet at heart and an essayist at head.
A writer should be at loss of words.
A writer should have faced the itch of the writer’s glitch.
A writer should have survived at least dozen rejections and half a dozen insults in the hands of publishers and reviewers.

Having spent enough on these Ten Commandments, let’s foray into the realms of the writers’ world.

It’s not an easy task entering the Writers’ kingdom. No one is to be blamed. We have to jump through hoops as our predecessors did, before we can actually view the debutants with an unreserved cold-eyed stare. As we make our way perilously through the hedge called basic tenets of grammar and sentence structure, we face a glass ceiling. Many a writer often resolves to resign at this juncture. Above the glass ceiling is the catchment area. One cannot barge their way through the glass ceiling, however after mastering the rudiments; one can impregnate the glass ceiling and enter the catchment area. It’s a no-brainer, if a new writer is given a cold shoulder. As time progresses, when the good oldies are lost and they crave for something new not found in them and by chance discover a glimmer of hope in the junior then the tables will turn around. The new writer achieves the much desired and sought welcome into the kingdom. Now the new writer has a privilege of ruling his own banana kingdom.

Before we start ruling our banana kingdom, we need to define the scope and purview of it; whether we want to be a ghost-writer, co-writer, speech-writer, technical writer, content writer or a copy writer or we want to dwell on fiction, non-fiction, science fiction, poetic, historic, futuristic, persuasive, compulsive or impulsive. Once we define our scope, we can relentlessly and ruthlessly pursue our passion, where the pathos and bathos of our works are justified and we receive the oohs, oops, ooh aahs and oomphs from our colleagues for keepsake.

Once we become accepted more than we should in our circles, the time sets in for us to get the writ onto the sheet. It’s indeed every writer’s inherent desire that the articles may be published on par with Thomas Friedman’s or Paul Krugman’s or Natwar Singh’s or Kushwant Singh’s.

“’What we have to do to get our articles published?’ will be posted later.”
Please send your comments and review to premchandrallapalli@gmail.com