Prasanta Behera Blog

Barren trees awaiting the spring transitioning between old and new Rain and cold testing the spirit. Sitting near fireplace struggling what to read in this cold lonely evening. Flipping thru a book, I see the red leaf awakens the forgotten memory Like lightning, mind starts  to illuminate what was forgotten. Why did she gave me the red leaf? Lost thoughts spring forward looking for answers in the labyrinth of possibilities but none makes sense. Night turns to day what was lost before remains unanswered now. The universe works in mysterious ways when you truly seek it. While strolling in the park one evening I saw her again, sitting on a bench alone full of jest with the unforgettable smile same deep blue eyes. Mind and heart struggle between emotion and reasoning With enough strength, I approached her questions that has haunted me for a long time. Why did she give me the red leaf? She sighs for a moment, closed her eyes recollecting the the past....

Growing up, history was taught the most boring way. The teacher asked us to read standing up while he dozed off. We had to memorize dates and events but we never went beyond to understand the story behind it. So, history became a slightly boring and not so important for science students. That's the worst understanding I ever had. I started reading about American history from my uncle's library when I came to US. He had a a very good library on wide array of subjects. Recently he and I were discussing, why at certain points in time so many great people come about, it may be during American independence or Indian independence. What conditions create it?  It is fascinating to think about it. I have read few books here and there about American Independence but didn't really picked up until late 90's. My interest started to grow along with my daughter's school projects (perhaps like many of you). The independence of America is like no other. It is jus...

I started reading one of the most famous Haiku poet Basho's " The Narrow road to the Deep North ". It's amazing to read about his trips and places he visits in 17th century. In has written haiku poems throughout his journey. The power of his observation of small things are beautiful. Here are few haiku(s) from the book which I liked. Breaking the silence Of the ancient pond A frog jumps into water -  A deep resonance Determined to fall A weather exposed skeleton I cannot help the sore wind Blowing through my heart A thicket of summer grass Is all that remains Of the dreams and ambitions Of ancient warriors So, I decided to give and try and wrote some Haiku style poems. Here is my first attempt. It does not follow the pure 17 syllable traditional haiku style. The above three haiku(s) have 22, 24 and 23 syllables and follows the 4 lines style which I liked and tried to follow the same format. --------------------------------------- Caged birds f...

We all have read Steven Covey's books and articles. There are many other books by eminent authors such as Dale Carnegie. I have read few of them and then after few months ... forget about it.  Recently I came across this video . It talks about the 7 effective habits in an animated way. I picked 4 habits that I think I want to focus on and start paying attention . I decided to put this in the blog so that I can go back and read it again when I need it. Easy to find (no excuse now!).  Habit #1 tells us to focus on what you can control - be proactive to the situation. We can curse the government, talk about the good old days .. but those does not change the current reality.  Be proactive to the current situation and adapt to it. There are lots of issues in the world, hunger, environment, and many painful like Syrian crisis,  sexual assault in college .... what one should do? You have no control to any of these. Some of the issues are horrific and if you think too...

During the trip to Costa Rica in December 2015, the tour director started with the concept of "Pura Vida" and what it means to Costa Rican. Simple translation of " Pura Vida " means " pure life ". It is also called "good life" and other variations. It's an amazing country ... they truly have integrated nature in their daily life. Costa Rica wants  to be carbon free by 2020 .. amazing. The roads are clean. The best way to truly know "pura vida" is talking to people in the streets and market. People say "pura vida" to greet, cheer  or say bye to you. It is integrated into the fabric of society. That is huge! Pura vida! Means that no matter what your current situation is, life for someone else can always be less fortunate than your own. So you need to consider that maybe...just maybe, your situation isn't all that bad and that no matter how little or how much you have in life, we are all here together and life ...

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.   We all are familiar with Robert Frost's poem "The roads Not taken".  We come across forks many times in our life and many of those decisions have made huge impact in our lives. We make many "less traveled by" decisions in life but it is not apparent but as you introspect, it is there. When we reflect back, it is much easier to see the roads and the decision we took. The key may not be which road to take .. but make a decision and take a road and not "worry" about it ... close the doors and move on ( Opening Doors ).  We also remember these lines very well from Frost's famous poem. The woods are lovely, dark and deep,    But I have promises to keep,    And miles to go before I sleep,    And miles to go before I sleep. If you think about it, the lines from both poems talk about time ahead and decisions to make...

The gentle touch Curious eyes The sleepy sighs Fitting in two palms Fatherhood begins with tears in the eyes The little flower blossoming The gentle kisses in the cheek The nibbling of ears The sound of trinklets I feel blessed that I have a daughter The sleepy head on shoulders The occasional hug The dancing footsteps The sound of your sweet voice Makes life experience beautiful. The drive to Berkeley The occasional talk The sound of Odissi music The rhythm of your dance Mesmerizing feeling of joy like never before the challenges for fatherhood vanishes at that moment. The emptiness when you left for college The occasional visit to home Always eagerly waiting for the opening sound of garage door... Fatherhood is like a river ready to give a hug and lift you up. Time is moving forward The little girl turning into a young women The young daughter turning into a friend The cactus birthday present The "you are awesome too Dad" text K...