Prasanta Behera Blog

Happy Holidays! Enjoy time with your friends and family! Donate. ----------- I have listed books I read in 2017 - hopefully you will find some of them interesting.  There is one book in particular which made me think in a quite different way. Let me talk about that. THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS THE HAPPINESS OF PURSUIT Exact same words but it's a completely different way of thinking. The first line about pursuing happiness and the second is all about being happy pursuing whatever you want. The goal is not important.  We say many times, enjoy the moment, be happy, it is all about journey ... The author talks about Quests - His quest was to visit all the countries.  He has defined what should be a quest. A quest has a clear goal and specific end point. A quest presents a clear challenge - It has to be challenging enough to get out of your comfort zone. A quest requires sacrifice of some kind - something has to be given. A quest is driven by sense of...

Becoming “21” (Poem) Now that you are Twenty-one you can drink wine like anyone but that is not why we celebrate “21” It is a point where roads ahead are empty It is a point where all possibilities exist It is a point where vastness becomes reality It is a point where love comes softly It is a point where dreams become force It is a point where life becomes a racecourse It is a point where memories of past fly like a bird It is a point where we cling dearly to the feathers of the past It is a point where we stand facing each other Yes, son, you have reached that point at last. The roads not taken are to be taken The dust of old shoes is to be shaken The broken paths to be mended The silent voices need to be awakened. The inner voice of “21” will say Take me to a journey    where dreamers meet    where ideals are unchained    where courage becomes love    where love finds love    where pursuit is a joy  ...

A silence, a cross-road and a journey begins   With support of my family and friends, I got enough strength to put together the poems in a book form. Most of poems have been published in this blog over the last two years. There are some new ones also. It's available in Amazon now (Kindle Books) Mystery of Leaves: A silence, a cross-road and a journey begins I wanted to make it free but the lowest price Amazon allowed me to set was $0.99.  So, thank you if you buy a copy for yourself or for your friends or spreading the word. I will donate all proceeds to my favorite charity IASF which I have been involved since 1999. If you want to send a note/comment after reading the book, please feel free to contact me via email: mysteryofleaves@gmail.com I would like to thank many of you who have helped in providing feedback and help edit some of the materials. Finally, to all my blog readers and supporters (known and Anonymous)  - Thank you!!!

If you are in US, you have to make a point to visit National Parks - America's best idea! I love the desert national parks. It's geological history, vastness to emptiness and the culture of Native Americans (True discoverer of this land) is just fascinating. List of canyon parks you have to visit. It's absolutely amazing!!!! 1. Zion Canyon 2. Bryce Canyon 3. Grand Canyon 4. Death Valley 5. Joshua National Park 6. Antelope Canyon (this blog) 7.  MOAB - Arches National Park (There are lots more  .. I am sure you can find it!). Two weeks ago, we visited Antelope Canyon,  You have to go to Paige, AZ and then visit the places. 1. Take the Lake Powell boat tour (it's a bit expensive but worth it) to visit Rainbow bridge 2. Horse Shoe Bend (a nice small hike). 3. Lower Antelope Canyon ( Guided tour ) 4. Upper Antelope Canyon ( Guided tour ) It's only 800 miles from Bay Area (San Jose) You can drive in one day :-) Rainbow Bridge ...

------ Krishna and the Dinosaur (A short story) Finally, it’s spring! The rainy season has lingered like a spider web, never seem to end. The desert flowers of California have sprouted in exuberance and many  make the pilgrimage to see their beauty.  It is also the time friends and family members start planning to visit.  I was overjoyed to learn that my young nephew would be visiting us from Seattle. I had seen him when he was one year old and now he is five. It seems like it was only yesterday I had visited Seattle to see him and he was jumping all over me. The day finally arrived. I saw him coming down from the van. Anxious moments  - we were both strangers to each other again. I am sure the long drive must have worn him out. How many Disney movies one can watch in this long journey? When we were young, looking outside the window was the only source of entertainment and I used to love it! The next morning Ayan was chirpy and started feeling comfortab...

Walking on the same street --------------- I walked alone on the same street yesterday which we used to walk every Tuesday, crossing the busy street until the roads meet afternoon sun shinning bright I walked alone between the shades with fall leaves sprinkled along the way. Rows of houses with gardens in-front beautiful flowers welcomed all But I seem to be lost unfazed by the glorious flowers as there was no one to share. I walked alone on the same street which we used to do every week. What we talked on those walks I do not remember a tidbit of that May be it was the long silences broken by few sentences or the sudden stop to smell the flowers. All that I remember is that the flowers spoke the red and yellow fall leaves crinkled when we walked on the same street on Tuesday of each week. ------- Dallas Airport (plane delayed by an hour) 10.19.17

Rainbow circle (Poem) It was a clear day standing at the edge of Pacific ocean morning blue sky glittering the horizon, I saw a silent wave merge into the ocean never again to be a wave never again distinguishable never again alone never again to be seen. Cycles of sun and moon pulls and push the ocean waves, alone I stand in the midst between sunrise and sunset, I wait for a message. Is it a coincidence or an unknown force leading me to repeat the same journey two years later, I go near the Atlantic ocean on the same day when the wave met the Pacific ocean a full circle of journey with no ends. I saw a rainbow veiled in mist in this raging Niagara falls for eyes to feast a message of bliss engraved in the colors but the heart understood the rainbow circle what the eye sees is only a part the other half is only for the heart, an endless bliss from the ocean’s depth. When I saw the rainbow, I understood I have kept the promise I have kept your hope now...

Last Sunday (Poem) I ate a bug last Sunday biking uphill with morning sunrays. Between the huff and puff one small fly went straight right up, I could not catch it fast enough. Before I know it, another landed right inside my mouth like a jet I did not let.   It reminds me the rainy days of summer in my village where fields, mountains are friends and the house is where the day ends. Sitting in rows for dinner in the foyer rain dripping in spurs three dingy lanterns lighting circling them were flies fighting. When the winds and rain blows the light away some of those flies lands on our food anyway Grandma tells us to eat in hurry or else “you will be eating bugs in your curry.” I am sure I ate few bugs no matter how fast I ate It was not all that bad as far as I can say. I told my son about what I did last Sunday “ You are weird dad ”, he said in a funny way I also told my wife about it “ You behave younger than your son day by day. I do not know what c...

A 780 page book but beautifully written. Once I started reading it, I could not stop it. This book is like the "Team of Rivals" or "1776" - it feels you are part of it - hard to put it down. This was my third book on Theodore Roosevelt. This book only covers until Roosevelt becomes President.  He is just an amazing personality. Instead of writing about the book or the President, I encourage all of you to read about him. America needs a person like him now, a naturalist and a person with strong morals. Some of the books I have read on American history are listed here .

Brook of Stevens Creek Biking alone in this narrow path in the wee hours of a summer day mind wonders like a banyan tree with pebbles of thought from yesterday. Sun rays play hide and seek in the curved path between the trees, the dew in golden grass shimmer with the early morning sunrise. The road is empty, the air is fresh the sound of the pulsating water over rocks and twigs mesh uphill I go catching my breath. I always think of the places far away mountains of Peru, fountains of Rome but the brook of Stevens creek is nearby the tall redwood trees glorify where I can be lost in thought between the sounds of the stream and the touch of wind. Let me take you to the brook to touch the golden grass to let the water flow thru your feet to let you oscillate between shade and rays to show you the pair of blue Jays to the golden leaves caressing the creek to the westerly winds hissing to the leaves. Let us go to the brook where I can be I you can you and re...

These are the books I have read in the last six months ... Homo Deus - A Brief History of Tomorrow - Yuval Noah Harari. The "Sapiens" book was much better. Lab Girl - Hope Jahren Gene - Siddhartha Mukherje (*) How to be Alone: Essays - Jonathan Franzen Men without Women - Haruki Murakami (*) The happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin The Broken Wings - Khalil Gibran (*) Unshakable - Tony Robins The Improbability Principle: Why Coincidences, Miracles, and Rare Events Happen Every Day - David J. Hand (*) Tuesday with Morrie - Mitch Alboon (*) Algorithms to Live By - Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths (*) Whose Global Village? - Ramesh Srinivasan (did not finish) * are books I liked. Currently Reading: Desert - J.M.G Le Cezio    The Rise of Theodor Roosevelt - Edmund Morris (A father's day gift :-)

Few observation while biking, hiking and walking. ---------- Dead deer on road a cross from men a red cone for deer symbols of passing While biking near Stevens Creek canyon ... 6/3/17 ---------- Three paths on the mountain A sign post; a bird on top I see paths, it sees none! While hiking in the mountain ... 6/11/17 --------- Flowing water yesterday empty, exposed today reveal like the creek. Walking across the creek early morning 6/24/17

Back to writing blogs after few months of break. I was thinking to take a bit more "off" time but I feel the urge to discuss this important issue which happened last week. Yes, there is all kind of crazy news from the current administration like building a wall ... but getting out of "Paris Climate Agreement" is one the worst one ... it is beyond common-sense... ===== To  Mr. President Trump, Climate change is real. Science is fact based (not fake news!). If we can not think of preserving Earth for the future generation, what does it say of our generation. Each generation must preserve for the next. The national parks of TODAY is a gift from the past generation, who saw the need to preserve it for the future. The preservation of national parks is America's BEST IDEA as eloquently narrated by Ken Burns. Why abandon that idea now? We need to think like Teddy Roosevelt. The parks of last century is the planet of this century as we are more interconnected ...

I am a morning person. I inherited this attribute from my family and to my village where I was born. I used to go to the rice fields early morning with my grandfather. I love sunrise (who does not!). These are some of the pictures I have taken of mostly of sunrise over the past few months. Most of them are from the same few places i.e., while hiking or near Gym or near home or stopping for a breather while biking - all early morning. I want to see how things change on the same spot everyday. I am not trying to take beautiful sunrise pictures rather observe and take a moment to realize it. The pictures may not be that great (I am not a good photographer  - took the picture on a iphone) but it shows the variety of colors and transformations each day. That is the important part - everyday is new.  What I found out that before gym or while hiking early morning, I end up spending one min to absorb the beauty of the sunrise - sometime I take a picture and many times I stand to se...

Mountain’s Journey (poem) The mountain stands emotionless watching the battle in its land the victor go home but the scar of death lingers to the end. The grounds soaked of blood and sweat the mountain is waiting for the rain to lay the rest. Victory pillars built rituals performed battlefield sanctified the mountain is glorified the victor lays the claim the deceased lay in vain but no on knows the mountain is strained. The mountain endures hunting between glory and pain. History will note the time and place the victorious king in this glorious place the fallen kings in this desolate place but what about the thousands of life lost in the battle in this empty space. The bodies have long gone the withered victory column stay still the flowers have bloomed but no  one knows the scars beneath the downhill. Long ago the battle of Mahabharata(*) was fought in the land the winners were Pandavas the losers were Kaurvas but what about t...

It is rare that one one gets a chance to make a spiritual journey alone from our busy life - at least it has not happened much to me in the last two decades, it was always a family trip (Note - I loved the family trips also  ... they are focused for family bonding). A week back, I got a chance to take few days off and just be alone, away from work, family and Trump news (to say the least).  I have been hiking /biking alone but  it is the same route ... the journey has to be somewhere new  ... somewhere you can do things impromptu and some risks. To me, nature is the best place to connect with onself. That's why monks have gone to Himalayas or to remote location such as Tiger Nest monastery in Bhutan to reflect. I have yet to find any spiritual journey when I go to temple or church. Whether you visit the Puri temple or Vatican church or Blue Mosque, the external factors such as history, art, architecture, legend and mystery attracts more than the spiritual reflection...

In 1999, there was a major cyclone in Odisha, India.  Millions of people were affected. Few of us who hailed from Odisha and working in silicon valley, California felt the need to act.  The grassroot moment was finally registered as a non-profit organization as Indo-American Sevaks Foundation . Over the years we have completed almost 40-50 projects worth more $500K impacting thousands children.  We have built schools, small hospital, provide computers, provide eye care, libraries and so on. Our team is still small (a dozen) but it has continued to march on over the years.  I am sharing what I learnt over the years. Everyone is a volunteer. If you are in a leadership role, don't think like a CEO - think more like someone who can bring the group together. Everyone is busy with work, family commitments and many other things ... people help in different ways at different points of time. So, it is important to understand that. Energy level fluctuates - It is very h...

Finding Youth (Poem) ========================== Finally, the rain gods have visited us sending dark clouds for many days soothing this drought mired land the creeks are full the earth is blessed. The clouds are still hovering over but today there is no rain you feel the joy you feel the energy let us go to the mountains for a ray of sun for a breath of fresh air for the lonely walk but why am I rushing when the trees look beautiful when the flowers are peeking and the air is fresh. Like the bikers and walkers I am also walking and running in this narrow path we all share. A puddle in the midst a decision infront how to circumvent it and go to the mountain as fast as I can. But not to this little girl who sees the puddle of water runs forward in excitement she criss-crosses it back and forth with arms open and wide circles around again and again like the swan with pride. A patient father stands still imagining of his youth a rainbow ...

The Salad Journey I like salad(s) and now making it is part of my ritual. I end up making the salad every party that I am invited (and asked to bring something). I use spinach, arugula, lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, grapes, cherry tomato, apple, orange slices, bell peppers, celery, berries and finally top it with cranberry raisins, walnuts and almonds. Either I use lemon juice as dressing or a salad dressing made with olive oil and few imaginations. Three things why I love making salad: It is easy to make - takes  less than 15 min You feel connected to the food in pure form. Finally, it's healthy! Try it ... be healthy! Best Wishes!

The bell rang. Few minutes passed - no one answered the door. It was early morning and the sunrays were spreading wings. Pranab was sitting in his chair enjoying the warmth of sun with a cup of tea. This was his morning ritual since he retired last year. Every morning, sitting in the balcony - enjoying a cup of tea with the newspaper.  He bought this tenth floor flat (apartment) ten years ago. He loved the view of the whole sky and city from the balcony. The bell rang again. Pranab heard and said in loud, "Ramu kaka, someone is at the door". Ramu was the old family servant.  His father got him from the village when Ramu was ten years old. Ramu's parents were poor farmers indentured with loans with Pranab's grandfather. They requested Pranab's father to take Ramu to the city to help them. Pranab was one year old at that time. Since that time Ramu has taken care of Pranab like a brother for almost six decades. He was like the old vine whi...

There is no a better day to start the blog journey for 2017 than MLK (Martin Luther King) Day.  The last few months have been tumultuous with the new election and it feels the " Promise Land " is still far... it feels uncomfortable... but we have to keep moving... Today, read few pages from a book on Gandhi, MLK or Mandela. The civil right struggle is not over ... it is as relevant as  before...  I was part of Big Brother and Sister organization (a while back and I became a big brother to two African-American kids (25+ years ago) - they. Tim and JJ were 8 years and 10 years old. This was my first close interaction with the African-American community and it was a surreal experience - the challenges Mom and kids faced (from an abusive relationship) - it was eye opener since I came from a stable and well to do family from India - these circumstances were remote for me. This was before I got married and so had plenty of time to take the kids to the park, movie...

I Tethered balloon southern winds unable to escape aren't we all. Was watching a tethered balloon in a small lamp post infront of my gym .. swinging .. I saw it for many may days ...until one day ... ============= II Foggy mountain afar red light infront paused moment light changes Most of the time, we are anxious about the traffic light turning green .. but this time it was not so ... ============= III Scattered fallen leaves waiting a tempest bug shelters under leaf ============= Happy 2017!