25 January, 2009

Good wishes and hope...





‘Hope’ is a four letter magic word. I think every human being in this world live with this. What else could be better?

I am not very happy with the way last year rolled out.

During my train journeys I met lots of people. Though I spoke with many, I could remember only few. One old lady who was sitting next to me during one of my journeys, discussed the current affairs of the world. She felt very sad about wars. She told me that she had lost four people in her family in wars. The recent being one of her nephew in Afghanistan. I had a very interesting conversation with her. I have never met someone in my life that had lost so many in a family during war. She shared few of her stories with me. I felt very heavy. That made me to think. How many of the political leaders have lost their kith and kin in war? Why can’t wars be avoided? Why man is using science for war? According to me nobody wins a war. Why there is so much of hatred among human beings? What is it all for? How sad it is to lose someone dear and near to us? Imagine the plight of Dads who are serving in wars. Imagine the plight of young boys who have a dream to live. Imagine the plight of everyone who is involved in war. What an uncertainty?

The wars result in losses. Loss of life is a major concern. Even those who claim to have won a war have to lose many lives. Can we get them back? No we cannot. Can any political leader bring happiness to those innocent victims. No they cannot.

One more year in history has gone. We are seeing lots of destructions, happening. Mumbai incidents are still fresh in mind. The TV news of Gaza, Srilanka, and some parts of Africa is still echoing in our ears. But after all these, the only hope is a new leader who has sworn in as president of United States. Hope Obama brings in peace to the world. The whole world is hoping for something good to happen.

I am one among the billions who are wishing that the new, young and energetic, Charismatic leader will do something to bring peace to the entire world.

Let us ‘Hope’. Welcome Obama, and wish you good luck.

The pictures published in this post were taken during two different occasions. The first one was taken from the train. It was a sun rise. The second one was taken from the plane. It was a sunset. Thanks to the lady who was sitting near the window and co-operated with me while I shot the picture from the plane. She asked about my camera and I was proud to explain. She listened happily and complimented me, about the picture and the camera.


23 comments:

Anonymous said...

nice photos. Kalakals

Anonymous said...

The photographs are lovely.

Another President of the USA had this to say and I hope that the current one has heard this.
"You are not here merely to make a living. You are here to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, and with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world. You impoverish yourself if you forget this errand."

Woodrow Wilson (1856 - 1924)

Why don't you blog more?

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Brilliant pictures......and yes, what is life without hope....all of life's foundations have to be built on hope without which nothing exists!

Great post....my first time here!

Kavi said...

Wonderful snaps !!

And that gives hope too !!! Just like it did for the Obamas..!

:)

Jeevan said...

Does peace comes by killing someone, in wars? Just saluting a day in remembrance of lost lives gain anything to there families? This won’t give happiness than praise to there country, but does the government look after there families always and haven’t we hear and see the cries of those. Peace should come from heart, where lies the truth. Today the US sets an example for the equalization, sweeping out the black marks, thus convincing an idea to world peace and a political solution to the struggling groups with weapons. Lets Hope.

Those are fantastic pictures friend!

nsiyer said...

Fantastic photos! Now tell me about the camera. I am curious.

Kindly read my post on 'Drop your guard, bare your soul'. I have talked about hope describing the story of two donkeys.

Perungalathur reminds me of my dear friend PKK Murthy who passed away some time back.

Anonymous said...

I hope Obama will make useful changes.

Balaji S Rajan said...

Dubukku,

Thanks for your compliments.

Balaji S Rajan said...

Rummuser,

I shall try my level best to blog more. I have good plans too.Let me see how far I could implement them.

Balaji S Rajan said...

Rakesh,

Thanks for your visit. Yes. What is life without hope? Please visit again.

Balaji S Rajan said...

Kavi,

Thanks for your comments and compliments. To be honest, I preferred both the pictures related to Sun becase it gives always hope. Being in UK, I get excited when I see sun. The first picture was while I was travelling by train during early morning and the sun was rising up. It gave me a great freshness and I clicked it immediately. The second was while I was flying. It was nice to see the Sun set being on top of cloud (not nine).

Balaji S Rajan said...

Jeevan,

Thanks for your kind words. You are a wonderful man!

Balaji S Rajan said...

NSIyer,

Did Mr.Murthy work in ICF? Was he a chronic bachelor?

Balaji S Rajan said...

Tikno,

Let us hope so. He shows lot of positive attitude. Let us see how he handles them. Should be a great leader.

Anonymous said...

Balaji,

I feel like these are the best pics I have ever seen. and also the autumn/fall dry leaves pic was simply awesome. I liked the way the focus was on the dry leaves on the ground.

After seeing this I feel honoured with your comments on my blog.

http://pataampoochi.blogspot.com

arvindh said...

Beautiful colours in the photographs! World over there is hope in President Obama - let us see whether he keeps his promises or, like others before him, succumb to the power of corporations and war profiteers.

Swamy Srinivasan aka Kittu Mama said...

hi balaji,
how are you..very nice to see you back in my blog. also, thanks for seeing my music videos..I hope you saw some videos :)

Keep checking my youtube space for more to come.

http://www.youtube.com/user/prohomestudio

kittu

Unknown said...

lovely pictures Bala! I'm sure we all would chant with Obama after a while,"Yes we can". this recession is relly turning horrible day by day.


Rashmi

sangeetha said...

deep gratitude for weaving the magic word of 'hope' through your empathetic soulful post....


here is a dharma talk by Vietnamese Zen monk and peace activist,
http://www.floridamindfulness.org/dharma/talks/tnh/maraandthebuddha
---
inter-linking the personal and the collective, being pluralistic & inclusive, the talk weaves together a rich tapestry of wisdom, helping us find nourishment in our daily lives & the energy to embrace and transform suffering....


in deepest prayers & wishes,
sangeetha

Unknown said...

I love the word "hope" Bala! It's so positive. It brings an automatic smile on the user's face.

Great pictures!

Rashmi

Dany said...

Visiting your site after quite sometime Balaji due to lack of time. you have touched upon another sensitive topic. Think about all the soldiers who lost their life just because of two leaders decision. itsa sad.

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