Here's The World

'Here's the world', was a classroom project during my learning years at NID.
Subject: Understanding kinetics in animation / Assignment-Morphing.
Medium: It's a line test! (So please overlook the crude animation to see the purpose.)
Date: Early 2000 "BC "

The title of the animation is very much an adaptation from Micheal Jackson's - 'heal the world' lyrics, "here's the world, make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race."

The subject/storyline of the animation (to my surprise!) is close to the latest topics on this blog. Though it was supposed to be a classroom assignment it had a theme 'Noise Pollution & traffic congestion'. So 'Here's the world' for you >>




Shhhhhhhhh, give peace a chance. :)


Be cool, be green!
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yoga for motorists _ traffic trance remedy!

Yoga has become a universal attitude and approach as we see it being practiced beyond boarders. It has many aspects and most of which we are aware of (thanks to internet age!). This post will specifically talk about yogasanas (yoga-postures) that one could be practiced for both prevention and cure from the negative effect of traffic congestion on our body and mind. (Pl refer to my earlier post to know more about these adverse effects> HERE ) To check how our body and its functioning is connected to our ‘back/spine’, please click here >

Practicing yogasanas = Flexible spinal cord = healthy life /youthfulness

Traffickasana

Here are a few selected yogasanas especially for those of you who have to face traffic jams on daily bases.

Pl note that each of these yogasanas have many more benefits than those mentioned here. I have listed down only those benefits that are relevant to our premise; i.e., our spine. Hence the name, traffic-asanas > traffikasana.

1] Purna Shalabh-asana [ “Complete” posture]

Lying relaxed on the front of the body with hands on the sides, slowing raise your legs as high as possible. Stretch the soles of the feet. A pull of legs, thighs and lower part of abdomen is to be felt. The return to the original position is made slowly. As second part of the asana, now lift your upper part, i.e. raise head like Bhujangasana but keeping the palms flat of floor next to stomach line instead.

Benefits > This asana gives a twist backwards to the spine.

It removes excessive fat from waist and abdomen.

It brings pressure on the abdomen and strengthens the muscles of the abdomen, thighs and legs. It tones up the abdominal organs like, the gall bladder, the stomach, the spleen, and the bladder and cures abdominal disorders.

2] Bhujanag-asana [“cobra/serpent” posture]

The pose starts from a downward-a facing position with the palms of the hands flat on the floor below and shoulders. The spine is lengthened and the buttocks firmed as the head and the chest are slowly lifted. The elbows stay close to the body and the eyes look up. The return to the original position is made slowly.

Benefits > This asana removes spinal pain and cures and other spinal disorders.

It exercises the spine properly, activates the abdominal organs and removes abdominal pain.

3] Hal-asana [“Plough” posture]

From a relaxed position lying down with the arms at the sides, the feet are brought over the head toward the ground. The arms and feet remain relaxed. The position suggests a plough.

Benefits> This asana nourishes the blood vessels of the spinal column, the muscles of the back, the vertebrae and the nerves which pass by both the sides of the vertebrae.

Makes spine flexible and elastic and hence makes the person agile, alert and vigorous.

It also strengthens the abdominal muscles.

4] Dhanur-asana [“Bow” posture]

The pose starts from a downward-facing position. The hands are brought back to grasp the ankles. As the legs, chest, and head lift up, the movement suggests the tensing of a bow, bent and aimed at the target.

Benefits> This asana gives a good massage to the abdomen.

It cures spinal hump and rheumatism of legs, the knees and the hands.

Like Halasana, it also rejuvenates the spine.

5] Ushtr-asana [“Camel” posture]

From a seated pose where the buttocks are comfortably placed on the heels, rise upwards with arms on sides holding the ankles. The body forms an arc like the letter ‘D’.

Benefits> It removes pain in the neck, the shoulders and the spine.

It improves eye-sight.

It helps to alleviate headache.

6] Paschimot-asana [“west” posture]

This pose stretches the western part of the body, which is the entire back from the head to the heels. From a sitting position with the legs extended straight out, the upper body stretches out, the upper body stretches up the pelvis, arms over the head. The upper body bends forward, the hands reaching towards the feet. Relaxing into the pose creates a sense of the releasing into a place of surrender and humility.

Benefits> It reduces excessive fat around the abdomen with regular practice.

It helps the joints to regain elasticity.

It also rejuvenates the entire spine.

7] Ardha Matsyendrasana [Half Matsyendrasana]

‘Ardh’ means half. Matsyendra was a sage who spread the teachings of yoga. In this pose, the right leg is on the floor and bent so that the foot is on the outside of the left buttock. The left leg is bent and upright with the foot on the outside of the right thigh. The body twists to the left with the right arm passed around the bent knee of the left leg, the hands clasped behind the back. The head turns to the left to look behind. The pose is repeated on the other side.

Benefits>

It makes the spine elastic.

It massages the abdominal muscles and organs.

It adjusts and corrects the displacement of vertebrae, rejuvenating the blood circulation n that part of the body.

8] Saravang-asana [“Whole/entire”, “limb/body” posture]

From a relaxed lying down position, the legs and torso are brought to a vertical position with the weight on the shoulders and head. If necessary, the hands may support the back. In final stage, the arms are held vertically by the sides of the body. The shoulder-stand is sometimes called candle pose.

Benefits> It supplies abundant flow of blood to all the roots of the spinal columns.

It preserves the elasticity of spinal column and prevents it from being sluggish.

Thus youth is preserved for a long time.

9] Sav-asana [Copse posture]

“The best sign of a good Savasana is a feeling of deep peace and pure bliss. Savasana is a watchful surrendering of the ego. Forgetting oneself, one discovers oneself.” B.K.S. Iyengar.

In this pose, the body lies on the floor face-up and completely relaxed, while the mind is alert. The eyes are closed, the arms at the sides with the palms up. The body remains as motionless as a corpse.

Benefits>

This asana is Yogic relaxation in the ‘shortest’ possible time!

It relaxes skin, muscles and nerves.

It gives prompt relief to those who suffer from mental stress and strain, by stimulating blood circulation in entire body and is refreshing.

This asana helps one to calm anxiety and stress.

Some more remedies and precautions:

Other than riches of remedies that yoga provides us with, we are also grateful to have Acupressure and Acupuncture at our rescue and in our reach.

Acupressure is an oriental therapy which strives to treat disorders by stimulating specific points lying on the skin, with finger or thumb-pressure. In Acupuncture, the same points are stimulated by inserting needles into them. Both of the therapies help to relieve pain.

Pl note: Acupressure and Acupuncture are simple skills to master, but skills none the less; they must be learnt from a qualified and experienced specialist.

Prevention is better than cure.

1] It’s important to cultivate a ‘good posture’ and ‘maintain it’!

A body posture combating its ‘center of gravity’ especially for prolonged hours in a fixed position can cause backaches. To maintain this center of gravity, it’s important that you have a ‘balanced pelvic position’; whatever your posture; standing, sitting, sleeping or in action. Pl ref. to the diagram below to get a clear idea of the same.

Good posture = Balanced Pelvic position + Strong and supple muscles of back & abdomen.

> When driving for long hours you should also take frequent breaks> during which you should come out of the vehicle and flex your limbs.

> Resting the eyes> This can be simply done by ‘palming*’ and ‘blinking’ at regular intervals while you are in stuck traffic (caution: never practice it at the cost of loosing your concentration from driving).

While waiting at the signal, you can look around allowing your focus on objects/scenery from background to foreground. This is help to ease your eyes and reduce accumulated strain caused due to sitting in one posture

**Palming is a relaxing technique to get a greater degree of rest can be obtained by closing and covering your eyes so as to exclude all the light. This could be achieved by placing both palms on your cheek bones, fingers crossed over the forehead. Avoid any pressure on eyelids. Keep it for few minutes until you can blackness with no color patches and until your eyes feel relaxed. Remove your palms and slowly open your eyes.

> Deep breathing> is yet another practice if done correctly and regularly can keep you fresh all along in your journey by road. It allows good amount of oxygen going to brain and body, resulting clear thinking and alertness which one can't afford to loose when driving.

> Lastly, reserve 30 mins of their day-to-day activities for your yogasanas or stretches or exercises to keep their neck, back and abdomen muscles strong and supple.

2] Never compromise or ignore issues that could cause backaches.

Cyclists often experience back pain, which can often be rectified by adjusting the angle of the bicycle seat. That is, they attend to the issue that is causing imbalance in pelvic position and center of gravity. So how do we attend to similar issue for motorists who spend hours driving in traffic?

Getting in and out of vehicle> A good posture is to follow the same angles like getting in and out of the bed; i.e, first sit sideways on the edge of the seat with your feet outside on the ground. Then lean back so that your head clears the doorway and enters the car. Finally, gently swing your legs inside.

The vehicle> Motorists should make sure that their car seats are comfortable and give good support to their spine.

Britain: Indeed, 57% of motorists suffering backache behind the wheel approached a professional to check over their car, and one-in-three of them found that the root cause of their in-car discomfort lay in a worn out suspension system.

To Read whole>

Some more extracts:

Detecting shock absorber problems

>Your car, when parked, continues to bounce if pushed down suddenly at each corner

>Your car tends to pitch forward or ‘wallow’ when you are driving e.g. stopping at a zebra crossing

>Difficult to control when cornering

>Uneven tyre wear

>Backseat passengers complain of feeling sick

>Your car has done more than 50,000 miles since your shock absorbers were last replaced

Hope this compilation helps, making your journey more enjoyable and less taxing than necessary. Pl do drop your comments/suggestions.

Livestrong!

:)

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Reference notes:

Hatha Yoga, The Hidden Language by Swami Sivananda.

Yoga, Yagasana and Prayanama for health by Dr. P.D. Sharma

Better Eyesight Without Glasses by William H. Bates, M.D.

Backache, Prevention and Cure by Dr. D.R. Gala, Dr. Dhiren Gala and Dr. Sanjay Gala

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Traffic Trance

“Where have you been? Long time!” said five of the six chat-windows on my computer, when I signed in today.

I have been mobile since a month doing some exciting projects for this new client-company. But unlike my smooth pace ‘at’ work, my pace ‘to’ work is apparently 3 miles per hour! And I drive. A good new Toyota Yarris. (Thanks to rental-car-services in the city, I get to have a choice!)

May be driving one of those Flintstone cartoon cars would be more fun instead, I think. Feet breathing freely underneath the car frame. No engine no noise and a good workout indeed. Weights and running. Or to add any practicality to this animated thought; walking. Weights and walking. Aha! Good deal in returns to the time consumed!

Driving is an intention/invention to get us humans onto a faster medium, transferring us from one place to another. To use our travel time in a best possible activity instead.

Drive, means force/ steer/make happen.

Both of these psychosomatically speaking are acts of liberation. Allowing us to free ourselves from a location, a moment, a situation, a thought etc.

“Let’s go for a drive!”

Driving is associated with relaxing, de-stressing, releasing and a happy flying feeling. In simple words, drive or driving adds ‘movement’ to anything that is ‘stagnant’.

Movement.

The very same means of liberation can sometimes leave us feeling overpoweringly sluggish when this movement is interrupted more than often, more than normally.

Traffic congestion.

In UAE (especially Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman), a person on an average spends 3 hrs in traffic jam everyday. Hence, going for a drive would may never mean as a liberating act in this part of the world (unless off road of course). It surely would sound more like a dark joke followed by a few cynical smiles.

Traffic trance.

Just imagine - A life; born to win is bestowed with a healthy up-bringing, education, with aspirations of his/her loved ones. A learned life with x number of degrees, driven with ambitions, is driving 3-4 hours everyday to his/her work place. Can I call it torment for labor on a much “sophisticated” level this time?

Are we bending too much to an extent of going unnoticed?

While the traffic-congestion voluntarily continues to become part of our understandings, almost as reasonable as drinking or eating; I would like to share some facts for us to 'revise' or 're-consider'.

x x x

Negative effects of traffic congestion on daily bases: click here to read more

Waste of time....
>Causing us ‘opportunity cost’ which means the value of the benefits forgone of some other thing which might have been done instead.

>Delays, which may result in late arrival for employment, meetings, and education, resulting in lost business, disciplinary action or other personal losses.

>Inability to forecast travel time accurately, leading to drivers allocating more time to travel "just in case", and less time on productive activities.

Waste of fuel....
>Caused by alternative use of acceleration air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions contributing to global warming.

>Wear and tear on vehicles as a result of idling in traffic and frequent acceleration and braking, leading to more frequent repairs and replacements.

Waste of mind.... which is one of the most hazardous ones:...
>A non-productive activity for most of the minds than driving in jams, reducing region’s economic health.

>Stress frustration due to inability to forecast travel time, causing road rage, health problems with motorists and passengers.

>Emergencies: blocked traffic may interfere with the passage of emergency vehicles traveling to their destinations where they are urgently needed.

Hope we keep taking good care of ourselves and others, to collectively ease unnecessary elements like traffic jams by using our roles and reach to fullest; to ultimately bring peace ( literally!) within and around.

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Pickles:

Pickles aka Peeki is a tomcat. We met 3 years back when he was mere 1 ½ months old, all spiky-with-fear head to toe anxiously watching some tiny-humans shouting at his even-more-tinnier-self. Somewhere then we mutually agreed on adopting each other and what followed is today, when he charms a big part of our home, hearts and lives; giving a lot more than we had ever imagined.

Peeki sleeps 18hrs a day. He tries to talk human even if it doesn’t sound like one, he talks anyway. He is mostly busy in his own world which is half fantasy and rest is mix of lot many things… including philosophy!

Here are some of his thoughts for you.....

Sleeping is a must , relish it!

Junk food is not tasty

Be aware

Listen

Concentrate

Stretch. Hmmm it feels gooood!

Never underestimate the next

Things can never be so bad

Be grateful

Touch/sharing warmth, is necessary

Fennel seeds, anytime!

You are a center force

Keep yourself clean

Work while you work, sleep while you sleep & play while you play

Forget and forgive. And visa verse. Whichever works best for you!

Be sensitive to your surrounds.

Company if at the least, be a friend

Act stupid sometimes, it’s healthy

Be likewise, in good or bad times...Be wise, be Buddha!

Never over eat

Why worry, be happy

… This list goes on and on, extending, enticing and inciting us everyday as we grow and live together in time.

Thank you Peeki, we love you infinitely for infinity!

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From the 'GOD OF SMALL THINGS' :

God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, is one of those special kind of books that one could read more than once.

Yes, I too hear the echo of ‘one’ & ‘once’ occurring more than needful but thinking of it, I will let this part of the post sound biased until you get to the extracts from her book ( further below) and choose for yourself.

I personally adore her style of packaging-the-impressions in simple words. They are so very well composed, trimmed & timed that her style actually manages to let the book give out the very newness & truthfulness as it’s 'best-part', every time!

Sharing some still-very-fresh-lines from ‘God of Small Things’, as scribbled in an old dairy:

‘The afternoon was still & hot. The air was waiting’

‘Chacko didn’t slap her. So she didn’t slap him. But the air grew angry’

‘… cold, calculating, cruelty.’

‘… with frilly apron and a vinegar heart.’

‘Rahel looked at herself and saw that she was a part in a play. But she had only a small part.’ ‘… But the play went with her, walked while she walked. Stopped while she stopped.’

‘There was a short, sad-about-Joe silence.’

‘… no death for them. Just the end of living.’

‘… without warning the train began to move. Very slowly.’

‘He was careful not to hurt her. She could feel how soft she felt to him. She could feel herself through him. Her skin. The way her body only existed where he touched her.’

‘Night’s elbows rested on the waters and watched them. ’

‘…wet mud farted under their feet as they squelched through the swamp.’

‘.. victory had left him with no better off than when he started out.’

‘In a while the rain slowed to a drizzle and then stopped. The breeze shook water from the trees and for a while it rained only under trees, where shelter had been once.’

‘A sparrow lay dead on the back seat. She died on the back seat, with her legs in air. Like a joke.’

‘This arrangement suited her, because in her mind a fee clarified things. Disjunctions sex from love. Needs from feelings.’

‘And there it was another religion turned against itself. Another edifice constructed by the human mind, decimated by human nature.’

~
More about Arundhati Roy : here> & here>
More about ‘God of Small Things’: here>

Relish!

~

Tumble of Joy ~

Crowd waited for what it seemed like their favorite skit coming next. Majority of them were starry eyed children of all shapes and sizes. Some sitting on the edge of their plastic seats with their grins tucked-in-milk-teeth while some stayed motionless in air, somewhere in-between sitting & standing.

In the center of the animated crowd, stood a spot lit circus ring and a spot lit the ringmaster with painted cheeks and lips. “… and here comes your little tumble of joy, my frieeeeennnnn” And a tiny colorful cloth ball rolled it’s way between his stocking-legs from behind, stealing the ringmaster of his balance. The tent wobbled with instant uproar of laughs. Children clapped and cackled while they watched the cloth ball unfolding itself into their loved elfin clown.

Tim, the tumble of joy!

Tim bowed to his little audience making a funny gaseous sound while bending. The ringmaster faded away twitching his pointy nose. A gigantic guffaw responded. Tim winked at the crowd and his comic snorts made his red-round-nose look bigger with every snort. Then suddenly dropping on his back and shaking his tiny feet in air; he enacted his signature mime-laugh. Children anxiously watched his moves for a moment and cracked up in the very next.

For nearly four decades, Tim had savored the special place in hearts & laughs of people of Townsville, a small town where he had lived & performed as a clown since he was a boy. He had dexterously mastered his comic style into a continuous play of clowning and audience-applauses that it was difficult to really trace out who really motivated whom.

Tonight was his last night of performance. ‘Or was it the beginning’, he smiled at the thought of having a hearty laugh with his circus-manager on the same lines that morning. His eyes had the radiance of a child and so had his heart. While juggling he scanned his audiences like always. Yet again two kids mimicking him tumbled their way across the seats causing commotion in a corner & invited some independent laughs. “My tumbles of joy”, he said to himself.

It was hours past mid night as he walked his way from the circus tent towards his caravan. Jovial sounds of the circus fading behind him were replaced by some inaudible beats that continued playing in his feet, finger tips and the jiggling head.

Tim had recorded it all. The circus tune, the sounds of drums, the bells and the rings, the commentary and the anxious pauses, the squeaky sounds of wheels with weight, the sounds of feet dropping hard on strong shoulders, the sounds of rope, the breath, the sighs and the phew-s, the beautiful girls and their smells, the makeup, the dresses, the feathers in the hats, the chuckles, the giggles, the cries, the colour drapes and changing colour lights, the whips and the roars, the bears and the snakes, the boos and the coos, the children and their parents who sat there when children once, smells of the gunpowder, the popcorns and the gas balloons, those rare sneezes and the coughs from the smitten silent audience with bulging eyes and open mouths, the never ending crying of the new-born-s from audience, the glitters in air same as that on the cheeks, the big teethe smiles, the stretched wide arms, the long legs with pointy toes in air, the sounds of horse shoes hitting the dusty-ground, the everything and the every essence from his forty years for passion, love and life in the circus.
And while the tune played in his heart, the tall-dark-handsome-shadow moving along (as he liked calling it) tap-danced once-in-a-beat, in the bright moonlit night.

That night was his last for performance but surely not his last in the circus. The circus never departed from their little ‘Tumble of Joy’. He lived with them rest of his joyous life as the care taker & laugh maker.

~

Mango Mousse

She decides to make him something from mango. ‘He would love it!’ she said to herself. He had always liked her cooking. He never said so but she knew it.

Thinking of the elation when he tastes her special recipe keeps her busy while she meticulously prepares the dish with all the best ingredients in stock. Excitement twinkling in her eyes in intervals.

Mango Mousse
Ripe mangoes, weighing about 4 pounds
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 envelope (tablespoon) unflavored gelatin
2 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup heavy cream

Peel the mangoes, cut the flesh off the seeds, and puree in an electric blender with the lime juice, being careful not to over -blend. There will be 5 cups of puree. Stir in the sugar. Dissolve the gelatin in 1/4 cup hot water, cool, and stir into the mango puree. Beat the egg whites with the salt until they stand in peaks. Whip the cram until it is stiff. Fold the cream into the egg whites, then fold this mixture gently into the mango puree. Pour into a large serving dish, or into individual dishes, and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours, or until set.

They sit next to each other and the candle-light flickers thousands of those similar-yet-untold-stories in their eyes. She looks at him taking a scoop of the 'mango mousse' and anticipates almost like a child who awaits even the most routine with a new hope, every time.

He smiles back.

“Hmmm. That is it or you have something more for me, inside?” saying so, he finishes his mango mousse along with the last of the chocolate flakes that she had earlier sprinkled ‘for that extra bit’ and thoughtfully smiled at. He looks up at her from above the empty plate wondering for her reply.

Her tender profile struggles for some more light from the candle to feel defined once again. She stays stock-still in front of the empty plate for a moment in time.

Then, stands up and walks away.... towards light.

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''Contentment (santosha) is a state of mind by which one lives happily and satisfied in congenial or uncongenial atmosphere.'' - anonymous yogi

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