Why does every post need a title?
Seriously, why does every post need a title? Can’t I just start typing away without having to think of a title? Well technically, yes, I can. However, seeing the title as the first input item on a ‘Add New Post’ page does not convey that. It somehow breaks my thought process. I logged into wordpress to write about something else and the ‘title’ input box got this paragraph going.
So, the last time I posted something was on May 23 and there has been a lot going on since then. A lot of introspection and lot more deep diving into self. My mind somehow does not like to take a break from thinking. Even as I am typing this my mind seems to wander between the HJ composed MJ rip off ‘Naanghai’ song from ‘Engeyum Kadhal’ to the name of the planet where Superman came from.
Figuring out what one wants in life is a crazy thing to do especially when there’s a lot happening around. As life seems to move on, priorities keep shifting. What was ‘the’ most important thing yesterday does not make any sense today and what sounds great today will make no sense tomorrow. A couple of months ago I thought I had figured out almost everything and over the past few weeks I only get to realize that I had been all wrong. All this leads me to one seemingly straightforward but highly confusing question – ‘What is life?’ or in other words ‘Define life’.
My Dad put this question to a bunch of 10th standard students of which I was one way back in 2001. The intensity of this question failed to strike me when he told us that he, after all these years, couldn’t find an answer to this question which struck him when he was in his twenties. After giving this question a ten minute thought I came to a conclusion that ‘Life is defined but irrational’. Ha I even went ahead to conclude that ‘Love is undefined but rational’. Blame it on the beauty of numbers and equations that enticed me and still continue to hold a darling place in my heart. Mathematical as they may seem, these two phrases, I thought translated well into simple language. Life – can be explained but can rarely be reasoned and Love – may be reasoned but can barely be defined. Maybe it is the wicked charm of English that tricked me into believing that I was right and that I had figured it out. However, like almost all things with me, I never shared this with anyone, thus discounting the prospect of validating or even debating this deduction which was based on pure intuition.
So all along, since my 10th standard, there came a great number of twists and a nicer number of turns and I suddenly find myself studying Electrical Engineering in Chennai. Now for a guy whose worst nightmare was Unit 9 in 10th Standard Physics Textbook – Electricity, this was enough a twist to understand that the best he could do is stop expecting. The fact that I still remember the unit no. in the physics textbook should stand testimony to the relationship I had with it. As college progressed, life moved on and everything just seemed to happen. You don’t why, you don’t know how and you don’t even know if you want it, but it just happens and thus I landed in Cognizant.
Come July 9, I would be finishing four years here as an Interaction Designer dabbling away about user perspective, business goals, usability and design while I graduated as an Electrical Engineer who found his second love in Control Systems.
Now, design continues to fascinate me. Yeah right, they call it Life.
