The aging ship sets sail again

Sri,

This one touched a chord somewhere. life and ship, great one...really tied up for words..maybe cannot imagine ....comeon sri don't make it so heavy..

You know i am the most practical person...but even then....

Dear Shanthi
Life is made of a variety of emotions, some are nice and enjoyable, some very poignant and heavy. Do we have a choice there? But when the heart is on a rewind mode, the emotions parade back seriatim. Old sorrows are as pleasant as new joys.
Sri

Dear Sri,

Great blog...

But can I suggest something... Pls... we (atleast me & shan) would like to see you with happy and fun filled posts/blogs.... The cheering, making us to laugh and think....

Veda

Dear Veda
It is extremely nice of you to associate me with joy and mirth. I dont fancy myself as a teacher wanting to make people think. I share my feelings and experiences as honestly as I feel them myself. Have you seen Raj Kapoor's 'Mera Naam Joker'? The joker who makes everyone laugh day in and day out is himself an epitome of sorrow. Fortunately, I am not that joker but I do get into an introspective mood at times when I count not my blessings. This is just one of them.
Sri

Dear Sri,

Please dont take me on the wrong.... I want to see you to be happy and cheerful.... that is what it is.... when you write little emotionally... it goes deep inside...

Love, Veda

Dear Veda
I certainly did not mistake you. On the contrary, I deeply appreciate your abiding interest in me. This is what friendship is all about.
Sri

Oh oh Cheeniya, i really needed the LIFE JACKET now., like you ahd said in one of ur replies to me.........what with the sailing ship and high seas etc........so full of emotions and "pheeling".
But still a great piece of writing and thoughts woven so well! though it was heavy , it had so much of depth and what visual imagery! I wish we can all understand and take charge of our life's ship.....what a grand voyage it can be!
Another great post and i enjoyed the good piece of writing...hats off!

Dear Sudha
Ain't you too liberal with your praise? You should know that a man at 65 will all be head and nothing else and everything you tell him will go only to his head! I dont want to end up with a swollen head!
Your 'pheeling' took me back to my college days when I used to tell my classmates(only girls of course) that they gave me too much 'pheelings'!
You can now put your hat back on!
Sri

Dear Sri,
This post is very beautifully written and the words are expressed as though chiselled out . Your description of the ship reads like the “naval version” of the beautiful pushpaka vimanam raved about in our scriptures.
Though it reads like an artistic creation, it is very profound and does strike a chord in a philosophical manner. But I refuse to myself, to look at it with a heavy heart. Let me explain it rather attempt to, look at it “differently” since you are our Inhouse Wodehose.
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The ship is “humour”, the much neglected but a beautiful aspect in our busy life. We are forever running a rat race that we forget to look at the lighter side of things. You were busy with your profession, family etc that you never found time to go with it , spending more of your time. Once you retired and started relaxing in your enjoyable way, you identified humour as your strong point in expression.
Sri, not all have it in them. Enjoying humour everybody does, but to write humorously is not every writer’s forte.
We, your readers are the beneficiaries once you took command of the ship. Remember you are in command, but we have the benefit of enjoying the voyage with you.
Yes, you and the ship belong to eachother and let not anyother thought cross your mind, my friend.
Thankyou for a beautiful creation !
Love,
Chithra.
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Dear Chithra
Very novel indeed! After reading your interpretation, I now know what thought I had in mind when I wrote this. It is said that a doctor's prescription can be read and understood only by the pharmacist. Sometimes, even the prescribing doctor can not understand what he has written and he will wait for the pharmacist to decode it! You are my pharmacist!
And rightly so. People say that laughter is the best medicine and as a Doctor of Humour, I prescribe this medicine to everyone. But your FBs make my prescription understandable for my humour to have the desired effect!
Thank you for your generous appreciation for my blog!
Sri

Sri,

What a beautiful blog, so full of meaning.Yes one day we have to go, but there are few like u, who are ready to go with a smile.You and me will go together, not to worry.We will blog from there.Regards.kamal

Dear Kamalji
That's a beautiful promise! The heavens need not bother any more about shortage of quality and light hearted blogs!
We'll paint the heavens red!
Sri

dear sri, when u write like this i consider this a transition of ur mind and it is slowly changing over, i feel when the time does really come the soul and mind is well prepared so it just sends signal to mind to slowly prepare each one with the role ahead, but yes it is heavy when a person known too close writes like this one feels not sorry but unable to digest as written by that one person..all the best, all ships do anchor somewhere..sunkan

Dear Sundari
I am afraid that too much is read out of this blog of mine. While I do not want to say if the feeling reflected in this blog is my own or someone else's as told to me.

Writing gives me a lot of pleasure. When I write, I write mostly in first person in order that I emote well with what I write. It may be my own story or a figment of my imagination. I am touched by all the concern expressed in response to this.

65 is certainly a stage in life when more mature thoughts come crowding and in the tussle between the mind and the heart, heart slowly takes over inching the mind out completely. When you reach my age, you'll know what I mean!
Sri

Cheens,

My bread-butter comes from the shipping industry, so while I love golden ships, a lacklustre, troubled sinking ship gives me the jitters! At first sight, a very grim, introspective, brooding piece. But on second reading, also shows the challenge of taking control, making ones own way. And finally after all the effort and success, in giving gently, willingly in to the inevitable! Very Bhagwad Gita! Since we are playing the guessing game here about what the symbolism is all about, I say 'destiny'. Destiny handed over generations, over individuals, over souls. And we are the makers of our own destiny. The ship analogy brings another memory. I visited the Wasa museum in Stockholm. The Wasa was a ship built centuries ago, something like Noah's Ark, something like the Titanic. It held everything and everyone. The building of the ship was a great, grand affair and the royal coffers were emptied into it. On the first run, from royalty to rag pickers- all asembled to watch the Wasa set sail. Within ten minutes, the ship sank and all inside died. It was the greatest maritime disaster of that century. What a beginning and how it ended! Well, not quite! About 50 years back, the wreck of the Wasa was discovered and the whole ship was hauled back and reconstructed. Today, it is one of the National monuments of Sweden. A glowing ship, sank to the bottom, now back to glory. We may go down, but never out.

Dear Vidya
The story of Wasa is at once impressive, inspiring and awesome! There is a lot of similarity between a ship and a human being from the point of view of the life span. Ships are remembered for the voyages that they had undertaken and the humans are remembered for their achievements in life. The question is how much attention a person should pay to the kind of foot prints that he leaves back as he marches through his life. It is not how long one lives but how well he does.
I strongly believe that no one comes this way without a purpose. Many may not know it and yet be playing that role as ordained. But certain finesse in that role play can be possible only when we get to know the import of it. People who never get a grip on their lives till they die hardly leave a mark by which they can be remembered. Some are blessed to get that grip early in their lives. Some, like the ship that I have described, may get it at an advanced age. But no matter when we take charge of our lives, instead of allowing it to toss about in a stormy sea, there is still hope of redemption.
Wasa is yet another great example of what can be done to a 'dead life'
Thanks a lot for the truly illuminating FB, Vidya
Sri

Dear Sri,

Here we see a different Sri, in a philosphical mood.well said, and very true.How come u are posting so less these days? Lost interest Sri, i hope yr health is fine and u are fit as a fiddle.Take care.Regards.kamal