Prasanta Behera Blog

Wish all of a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year! Normally during the end of the year, we hear the top ten list (pictures, movies, books, etc).  Keeping that trend, here are some good movies I saw this year (what I remember): The Way, Anmal (Hindi), The Way Back,  The magic of Bella Isle, The Last Love, The Little Boy , The road within, Like Sunday Like Rain, Dhanak (Hindi),  Winter in Wartime, The Artist and the Model, The Boy With Stripped Pajamas, Night Train to Lisbon ...  Let me talk about an interesting micro-trend I saw in our community this year (or I observed it now ... I am slow observer) This year we had lots of graduation parties, 16th birthday, 25th anniversary and 50th birthday celebration.  In quite a few, there was " color theme "  based dress requirement.  After saying " Yes " to the "evite", I don't pay much attention to the reminders as long as I know the date, time and place to go and so  quite a few times, I end of ...

Oh midsummer night moon let me see your face let me soak you rays of light like a dew drop caressing a leaf we are connected we are connected forever but why do you hide from me? Are you afraid to show what is on the other side? The veil of universe shrouds in mystery what lies behind the facade what lies behind the brighter side. Why are you afraid to show the realm Do ghosts linger in them? II The banyan tree basking in glory shinning leaves shimmering in moonlight. Look at me, look at me I am the tree of life you can see all my sides. I can see you and you can see me we are connected as you are part of me I am the tree of life! But what about  the branches hidden deep inside They look short; they look barren hiding deep inside. Why was their life cut short Oh tree of life! Why did you let the branches fall before their time? Why do you not mention about it! Like moon, you bask in glory like moon, you hide inside do you hide ghosts inside O...

This is time to share and books are the best gifts to give.  I thought I will share what I have read so far. I would love if yo u can share some good books you have read which I can read in the  holiday break. Legend: (*)  - I like the book (!*) - Book recommended by a friend which I like   "Monkey and Monk" - Anthony C. Yu  "Shambhala - The sacred path to Warrior" - Chogyam Trungpa  "The Narrow Road to the Deep North" By Matsuo Baso (*)  "When Breath Becomes Air" - Paul Kalanithi (*)  "The Righteous Mind" - Jonathan Haidt (*)  "One hundred years of solitude" - Gabriel Garcia Marquez  "The Difficulty of Being Good" - Gurucharan Das (*)  "How to live on 24 Hours a Day" - Arnold Bennett  "Meditations"  - Marcus Arurelius  "Stories from Tagore" - Rabindranath Tagore  "Stray Birds - Tagore (*)  "Catfish and Mandala" - Andrew Pham (!*) ...

I think all of us must have seen the " Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory " film or have read the book (by Roald Dahl). It is an excellent movie to watch with kids!  In the movie the "Oompa Loompa" songs are quite funny. The song was stuck in mind for a long time ... My very young nephews and nieces have been visiting us every summer for last three years.  To make it fun, along with various activities like pillow fighting, tell funny stories to building caves out of chairs and bed-sheets, we started making funny 'oompa loompa" songs and now it has become a habit to  create a new  'Oompa Loompa" song together during each visit.  It is all gibberish but it is fun.  The song starts like:     "Oompa loompa doompety doo I've got another puzzle for you Oompa loompa doompety dee If you are wise you'll listen to me" But we do a slight modification .. " Oompa Loompa doom-pa-dee-do I got a question for you Oompa Loompa ...

It has been a year+ since I joined as the founding team member of a startup (scoredata.com). During this process, I have learnt a lot from meeting customers to VCs to lots of people for exploration. Last 3 weeks, we have been meeting with VCs to raise money.  Some days can be high and next day you to a low point ... it is a test.  If you believe in what you are doing, you have to keep pushing ...  (but it is also important to know when to pivot). I will do a write up about the whole process soon. I have not had much time lately to write (for blog). With flue for few weeks, VC meetings, and doing a guest lecture at Harvard Business school on " Critical Thinking on Big Data ", not much time left. Still, I managed to finish two books in the last month; " Over the Edge of the World " - it is a story of Magellen's journey and " The Universe in a Single Atom " by Dalai Lama. Both were quite interesting books. Have a great Thanksgiving Weekend!

The shadow of moon ripples in pond the flickering lights plays hide and seek  the barren mountain stands tall a nestled village layered in fog. The line slithers  on the mountain slope like a big black snake. Children close their eyes adults try to rush  when they cross. Every line has a story may it be a line  in the sand  in the leaves in the face every line has story a story to unfold. The black line of the mountain has a story, a story which gives chills to children reminds the adults of the valor makes the mountain proud. It was on his slope that the the big black demon snake slithering through the slopes was killed by Bhima(*) to save the village. The slithering line the mark of severed head the giants steps of Bhima it feels real it feels recent. The adult feel blessed the children are in awe  touching and feeling the black line   dreaming ... acting how it happend. It a story ...

May the light shows all of us the right path. Best Wishes! ===================================== After Nobel Prize for Literature is announced, I try to read at least one book from the author if I have not done it. It's a habit I picked up from my uncle. This year is no exception. I have listened to Bob Dylan ... but never took time to go deep into his lyrics. But after he was awarded the Nobel prize for literature, I started looking at his lyrics and now I see why he deserves it.  Amazing depth ... Please enjoy snippets of what I liked (I only read a dozen poems, a very small part of his collection) ======================= Blowin' in the wind   How many roads must a man walk down
 Before you call him a man? How many seas must a white dove sail
 Before she sleeps in the sand? Yes, and how many times must the cannon balls fly
 Before they're forever banned? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
 The answer is blowin' in the wind
 Yes, ...

Two interesting quotes for introspection .. ===================================== That spiritual friend knocked at my door last night.  “Who is it? I asked.  He answered, “Open the door. It is you!” “How can I be You?” I asked.  He answered, “We are one, but the veil has hidden us in duality.” We and I, he and you, have become the veil, And how well this has veiled you from yourself! If you wish to know how we and he and all are one, Pass beyond this ‘I’, this ‘we’, this ‘you’. --- Sufi poem  ===================================  (Not sure where I got it from) :-( )

What I  see is not me What I am, I do not see The shadow and I traveling together like quantum loops in this mirage of space and time. What do I see in the shadow? Sometimes it is there sometimes it is not sometimes in the front sometimes in the back silent always reminding of existence reminding of non-existence of light and darkness between the cycles of sun and moon. The shadow is not me but I need it. reminding the paths I have taken reminding of paths to be taken silent as usual playing hide and seek. It is the shadow who leaves me in dark when the light is not there .. unmasking the reality beneath the facade of thinking "What I am" and truly "Who I am". In the end, it is not me but the shadow left behind like a floating cloud hovering with the wind; a reminiscence a blessing to those left behind. When the rain pours and bright sun comes behind there is no shadow there is no "I", merged in the cosmic vib...

I has been one year since I started writing blogs. I was neither a good writer or nor had a good command on languages during my school days (I am still a amateur!). But in some crazy moment, I started the blog on Oct 25 as a journey, an adventure expecting it to die down after few months like many other projects I have done. But so far I have survived and that is because of you. It started with an audience of ONE  and still it is.  The blog is my journey but lot of you have encouraged me in this journey and you are part of it also. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I could not have done without you! It does take effort to write the blog. I end up waking at 4:30 am (I am a early riser anyway!) to do it but it is worth it - it has allowed me to push myself in different directions.  Hope what I share is worth your time.  During the initial days of my blogging, a friend of mine sent this to keep going ...  it has worked so far.  Thank You! Onward...

 I read three books in the last month (a long international flight with jet lag helped). It was a random selection but the succession of books was quite interesting reflecting back. Sapiens is about "our" history, a history of 200,000 years. History of God (" Evolution of God ") is only 10,000 years old and "Looking for God" is relevant today - it is a search for a path for all of us to find on our own. (You have to read the books and reflect yourself.) As  young adult, Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" book and TV serial was an eye opener. I still remember Sagan showing a calendar where if Big Bang happened on Jan 1, history of sapiens only represent the last 8 minutes and civilization has existed only in the last minute. It gives us a prospective of our relatively small history, a dust in the cosmic scale. Homo Sapiens evolved in Africa around 200,000 years ago.  The first migration happened around 100,000 years ago followed by the second...

A story picked up from somewhere but forgot to keep track of it ... (most likely from Paul Cohelo ) ============ A man knocked at his Bedouin friend’s door to ask him a favor: “I want you to lend me four thousand dinars because I have a debt to pay. Can you do that for me?” The friend asked his wife to gather together everything they had of value, but even so it was not enough. They had to go out and borrow money from the neighbors until they managed to get the full amount. When the man left, the woman noticed that her husband was crying. “Why are you sad? Now that we’ve got ourselves in debt with our neighbors, are you afraid we won’t be able to repay them?” “Nothing of the sort! I’m crying because he is someone I love so much, but even so I had no idea he was in need. “I only remembered him when he had to knock on my door to ask me for a loan.” ======= Often we end up saying, “if he was in need, he should have asked."  but people who are paying attention to...

Most of the time, we are used to read memoirs of famous people, people who have contributed to the society in a big way, Gandhi, Lincoln, Mandela, MLK, memories from monks, great orators, statesman, scientists and well known people. It is important to read it to understand their thought process, struggle and the path they followed.  Each one is unique and each teaches us something new. These were extraordinary people. I have been a skeptical reader when I see memorial book of "normal" people whom I have (or may have)  come a across in the past; they can be family members or family member of friends.  All of them were nice people living normal life making contributions to society but is a book necessary? I consider myself an ordinary person living a normal life with no significant contributions to the society so far - nothing disheartening here. Every small contributions help and I have made few small contributions so far and one of them is just living life. Now, ...

I’m participating in the Canary Challenge, a premier cycling and fundraising event to benefit the Canary Foundation.  Funds raised by the Canary Challenge go directly to the cancer early detection research and innovative clinical programs through the Canary Foundation. The funds I raise will stay right here, helping with diagnosis, early detection and treatment for this disease http://www.canarychallenge.org/ I have signed up to do a 50 mile bike ride on Sept, 24, 2016.  I am committed  to raise $400. If you want to contribute to this cause, please click on the link below. Contribute to Canary Challenge 2016 or copy/paste the following URL in your browser. https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?SID=8003022&LangPref=en-CA&EID=188783 Thank you!  

This is my first foray in writing a short story ... I was never a good essay writer in high school - language was not my cup of tea.  It is bit long compared to previous blog posting. Thanks for reading and supporting me in this adventure ...   This is a story about a summer evening in my village in a remote place in India with few imaginations. ========================================================= The rays of the sun just faded away. The dust from the cows returning home after grazing, linger in the air. Men slowly trickle in from the farms after working a long strenuous day.  Women chatting among themselves return home bringing water from the pond in earthen pots, some on top of their head stacked up more than one and some on their hip and head. Kids play in the dusty road with a made up game of their own -- running around and trying to break a mound of pottery shells with a ball made of strings. Life has its own charm in this small village - a...

I can hear the sound the sound I was born with the sound I carry in my heart the sound of past the sound of love it is there, connected. What was so close is now far. An unfathomable deep gorge of silence in between. Listen into the deep you can hear the IT the sound of silence it is the same vibration reminding of existence reminding of joys reminding of blessings. reminding of the life ahead life which must be lived life which must be experienced life which must be traveled life which must be shared. Do not reminisce of what you can not hear of what you can not see of what you can not feel it is there, it is eternal. I do not feel stranded in the deep ravine I do not feel the need to hear the sound It is in me. I am part of the same cosmic vibration same journey in this infinity of unknown . ------------------------------------   08.21.16 (One year after)

Right in the silicon valley, some pictures from hiking to the black mountain on August 14, 2016. Hiking very early in the morning has its charm and benefits. Golden grass from Golden State (California). On top of the mountain ...