Brain freeze!

kkrish · Nov 6, 2011

I fretted, I fumedWitsend. I banged my head against the wall:bang, against the desk, I tapped a pen on my forehead:bonk, scrunched my eyebrows together. All in desperate attempt to invoke ideas. Alas…nothing worked!

Around last December I had the same problem and I had written in the Tamil snippets section on how I went from room to room seeking divine inspiration. Now, same problem.

My dear friends, for the past couple of weeks I have been desperately trying to come up with a topic to write in snippets, but my brain refused to work. I was and still am unable to find any topic to write about.

Yeah, I know you are all happy about it…but I am a sadist you see! I just can't let you all off so easily without writing at least a snippet or two every month.
Last Friday this desperation became an obsession and I feverishly:spin searched for topics.

I found myself focusing on my tea and how it tasted,:coffee and what I was doing while drinking it; maybe I can write about tea and the art of drinking it, hehehe! But my concentration was broken when I glanced at the clock. Oops! Time to hurry up!

Then on my drive to work I wondered if topics on cars and driving were already covered. I recalled that Sabitha had already written on car colors and license plates. All I can write is about driving. But then what is there to write except… “Got into the car, switched the engine on, checked the sides and back, reversed, shifted gear, and drove - turning, moving, slowing, stopping…”?:confused2:

My attention was caught by the tall trees beside the roadside. They were a riot of colors glowing in the early morning sunlight; too bad they all turned into such glorious colors just the day after IL announced the Fall photo contest winner. Dejected with the way Mother Nature robbed me off a golden opportunity to win an award I let myself concentrate on work.

While checking my workplace homepage for information updates I came across two topics that caught my attention.

One was that they have enough proof that water exists below ground in Mars! After reading it with interest I started writing…but after typing the title my brain froze.
I tried and tried but to no use. I concluded that I should give this heading to Satchi who will come up with a snippet to put all the corrupt politicians to work on getting that water to India by some means or other.

The second news was that an asteroid the size of a school bus was to come closer to the earth than our moon on November 8th! Whatever energy I had from my lunch I used up thinking of a way to turn this news to an interesting snippet! Only energy wasted… no product!

Tired and spent by the end of the day, not only with all my office work but with this parallel processing going on in my mind, I checked IL just before bedtime. :wow! So many new snippets and all of them interesting topics! Such brilliant and intelligent minds at work in IL! My hats off to them.:bowdown

I recalled an anecdote I read about one of the Carnatic music trinity Sri Thyagaraja. It seems that when he heard compositions in raga Bhairavi by Sri Shyama Sastry, he was so moved by the beauty and the skill in which the raga was handled. Since then, in deference, he avoided composing songs in Bhairavi.

So in deference to all the fabulous writers in IL I have decided to wait and write only when divine intervention blesses me, whenever it happens, and to stop trying.

Happy everybody:whistle?
Now go have a partyarty
Bye!
Love

ojaantrik · Nov 6, 2011

Dear Kamala:

I haven't been here for a while on account of other preoccupations. And then, just now, I stole away a bit of my time from other committed work, feeling very guilty no doubt. I stole, because I was bored doing whatever I was doing and wanted to come over and watch what was happening here.

The very first snippet I bumped into was yours. I was stunned by what I read and I congratulate you a thousand times for producing this. I don't know about others, but I am very, very, very, very, ... fond of reading stuff like this. It's intelligent, it's honest, it's something that went straight to my heart. It did things to my heart. I was elated, I was sad, I was up in the sky, I was drowned in an ocean.

And I will tell you why what's happened to me has happened at all. As I finished reading you, I remembered all of a sudden a song composed by Tagore. The first lines were: ami ki gaan gaabo je, bhebe na paai, or, despite all my efforts, I can't figure out what song to sing. And then he goes on --- meghla akaashe, utola batashe, the sky is so wonderfully cloudy, the wind is blowing restlessly. Then, khunje berai --- I search desperately. And I looked back at your piece and located the spot where you say

My attention was caught by the tall trees beside the roadside. They were a riot of colors glowing in the early morning sunlight
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. Yes, it was all there, all nature stood by you and yet you didn't know what song to sing. Like Thyagaraja, you were stunned by the beauty of it all and couldn't beautify further what was already beautiful. The ultimate offering a human can make to God or Nature. And that offering is: Please forgive me, I am too poor to offer anything to someone so mighty!

I don't think I shall ever be able to write something that reaches this standard. And, taking the cue from you, I think I too should

stop trying
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, unless of course

divine intervention blesses me
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.

Your snippet is the work of a magician, who produces something out of nothing. Let me end up by telling you that I will look forward to more magic from you. You have added colour to the empty indifference of eternity. I think I already see traces of divine intervention in your work, an intervention few are blessed with. Please don't let go of it. Hold on to it and fly, fly, fly.

I feel very happy this morning. I have found my finest post nomination first thing today!!!

It is a proud moment for me.

Love.

oj-da

vjbunny · Nov 6, 2011

Dear Kamala....
What a superb snippet you seem to have summed up our feelings and I too agree

to stop trying.
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Thank You for this golden suggestion...Congrats for being nominated by Ojda...I see the award is not too far......

@Ojda......,
You have summed it up so beautifully ....that I follow

couldn't beautify further what was already beautiful.
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Cheeniya · Nov 6, 2011

My dear Kamala

Oh, my God! Will someone stop this man from giving an FB of this kind? That too as the first FB?! Why can’t he leave the first FB to Iyerviji? I read Kamala’s thread as soon as it was posted and shut it off as is my wont. I always love to savor it in my mind before writing an FB. I shut down my PC and had a refreshing bath in cold water rendered doubly cold by the incessant monsoon showers. I smeared my forehead with the holy ash, said my hour long prayers and returned to my PC in the highest of spirits to sit and write an FB to Kamala’s latest. And what do I find? This Superman of IL beats me to it! Not only that, he writes an FB that blows everybody’s mind away!

Honestly, I was planning to write to Kamala expressing solidarity with her marauding mind looking for a topic to write about. I wanted to tell her that this was the problem that stood in the way of my writing anything new for over a year. I wanted to joke with her about it to take the sting off my frustration about my inability to write anything new. I wished to thank her for reassuring me that such things could happen to anyone, even to writers of her own eminence. I too have the same problem as she had so eloquently expressed. From my morning cup of coffee, nothing that I encountered during the day could inspire me to write anything. Tears of gratefulness at seeing a kindred soul in Kamala welled in my eyes obscuring my vision. I tissued off my tears and with the vision thus improved, what do I see? I see an awesome FB from this Middler on the Roof!

Can’t he stop with saying ‘Kamala, don’t worry! I too get into such moments of literary inaction. This will pass off’ or words to that effect? No he can’t. He talks about Tagore and as if that is not enough, drags Saint Thyagaraja for effect! Tears well again in my eyes for a different reason this time. I feel sad that my mind continues to be blank, so blank that it can’t even think of a proper FB to a post of my most favorite ILite.

But I can’t blame this guy OJ. How can anyone resist writing the type of FB that he has come up with when he encounters a beautiful thread about nothing in particular? If searching for a subject to write something on can result in an awesome post that makes the eminent OJ go gaga over it, I have no alternative but to stand aside and watch with awe and amazement. This is absolutely a delightful piece of writing Kamala. In Tamil there is a saying which roughly translates to ‘For the mighty, even a blade of grass is a weapon’ (வல்லவனுக்கு புல்லும் ஆயுதம்). For a gifted writer, even nothing is a good subject!

Sri

Srama · Nov 6, 2011

Dear Kamala,

what a delight to read this snippet. I know I know this is what we get when your brain freezes and when it is doing the rounds and dishing out, we get the Mysore pak (http://www.indusladies.com/forums/snippets-of-life-non-fiction/142791-my-mom-my-sore-pak.html)!! Either ways, we know the treat we will get!

While still enjoying the taste of that Mysore Paak in my mouth, I did not fail to notice either the mention of water in mars or that asteroid coming towards our earth, nether did I miss the mention of Thyagaraja nor did I miss the beauty of fall taking a later birth in your parts of the world - now tell me how many things do you want me to ponder about? It was not hard for me to follow you along as you took to all the different places and brought me back to the earth promptly!

While I enjoyed this snippet with a warm cup of coffee on this cold morning, let me hasten to assure you Kamala that if you choose to write about that tea you were savoring earlier, believe me I will only be an eager participant and lap it all up! You do have a way with those words - I know they are coming straight from your heart and that is why they make so much sense.

Congratulations on being nominated by Oj-da!

iyerviji · Nov 6, 2011

Wow Kamala dear glad that Oj da has nominated this post and also has given a very good fb appreciating your post . You are already a winner. Cheeniya Sir has also written a very good fb. Reading your post made me think of this quote

Winners accept responsiblity for their lives
winners are positive thinkers
who see good in all things
from the ordinary, they make the extraordinary

Winners are patient
they know a goal is only as worthy
as the effort thats required to achieve it
winners are people like you
they make this world a better place to be

I have also nominated this post and I am sure you are going to be the winner. All the best. I know you are not bothered about winning but only writing the best write up.

ILoveTulips · Nov 6, 2011

Dear K,

You wrote a beautiful snippet on "not writing"/"Cannot write"!! Wow!! Absolutely enjoyed this piece on writer's block. As Oj-da said in one of his renowned snippets, sometimes when you aren't expecting, the idea reveals itself! When you were searching for nice topics here and there, the idea of "not able to find a topic" revealed to your mind and flew smoothly through your fingers... [How I wish there is a smiley/emoticon to depict 'idea-flowing-through-fingers']??

Congratulations for the nomination .. Its been a while since I visited this forum, and Oj-da's nomination words brought me here...

ilt

satchitananda · Nov 6, 2011

Wow Kamala, I come to snippets late in the evening today and what do I see, but the most amazing bit of something about nothing.

You are indeed gifted Kamala. If someone can transform "nothing to write about" to "plenty to write about" with such panache, I can only wait for the day when they have something to say and wonder what I would get to read then.

Hats off and congratulations on getting nominated by the most celebrated writer of the site.

kkrish · Nov 6, 2011

ojaantrik said: ↑

Dear Kamala:

The very first snippet I bumped into was yours. I was stunned by what I read and I congratulate you a thousand times for producing this. I don't know about others, but I am very, very, very, very, ... fond of reading stuff like this. It's intelligent, it's honest, it's something that went straight to my heart. It did things to my heart. I was elated, I was sad, I was up in the sky, I was drowned in an ocean.

. The first lines were: ami ki gaan gaabo je, bhebe na paai, or, despite all my efforts, I can't figure out what song to sing........... the sky is so wonderfully cloudy, the wind is blowing restlessly.

........Please forgive me, I am too poor to offer anything to someone so mighty!

I don't think I shall ever be able to write something that reaches this standard. And, taking the cue from you, I think I too should , unless of course .

Your snippet is the work of a magician, who produces something out of nothing. Let me end up by telling you that I will look forward to more magic from you. You have added colour to the empty indifference of eternity. I think I already see traces of divine intervention in your work, an intervention few are blessed with. Please don't let go of it. Hold on to it and fly, fly, fly.

I feel very happy this morning. I have found my finest post nomination first thing today!!!

It is a proud moment for me.

Love.

oj-da
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Dear OJ Sir!
I am dumbstruck in awe! I am humbled to the core of my being. I am having tears in my eyes!

Dumbstruck at the sheer beauty of your writing! What a wonderful piece and such a lovely flow of words!
I truly understand now how Tagore might have felt and why Sri Thyagaraja made that decision. Like Tagore, what can I say to this beautiful piece of writng? You are so right.

The overpowering emotion I am experiencing is humility, right now not against God's creation but against your beautiful writing.
With a lump in my throat I am sending a prayer of thanks at the same time wondering, "to what do I deserve such a wonderful feedback".

My vocabulary always deserts me when I need it most - I am now deperately searching for the right words to express my thanks and gratitude, only in vain.

I am in tears because my mind is a cauldron of emotions. I feel helpless because whatever words I use will simply not equate the depth of my feelings.

In my heart I am paying my obeisance to you sir!:bowdown

Thank you for the nomination too! I am indeed blessed to be chosen to be among the best, by the best! Once again...:bowdown

Kamla · Nov 6, 2011

To dear dear dear Kamala, Oj-da, Cheeniya sir....

:thumbsup :clap :2thumbsup: :cheers :coffeeBow

Let me gather my thoughts...I will come back later........

Oooooof!

L, Kamla