Ok so I wrote something. *Gestures below* My browser doesn't seem to be able to view the proper indentations though, so those who're using anything other than Firefox tell me if you can see the poem (I disdain to call it that) in it's full indented glory?

I think we lack honesty. There's many a time we paint a rather farcical picture of ourselves in order to impress people, leave a lasting first impression etc. There're also times when we choose to be politically correct in order not to offend someone, especially someone who could ruin your career with just a flick of a pen. We fail to see that we can be honest but tactful at the same time. There's barely any humanity left these days. People are all preoccupied with the flux of the stock market, or whether baby Suri exists, or worse still, whether they can earn their first million by (insert age here). No one bothers about the Little Things In Life anymore. Things like your kid's first A in his reportcard. Like the lonely raindrop on your windshield. The fragile bubble in your morning coffee.

Perhaps I speak from experience. I know I've been lamenting about this for quite some time, but yet I've never ever been sufficiently proactive about correcting this in MY own life. Ever since I signed on, I threw myself into a realm where one is constantly being scrutinised. YOU ARE A SCHOLAR, SO YOU HAVE TO BEHAVE LIKE ONE. Sit up straight, flash a smile at your superiors, yes sir yes sir (three bags full). As a result, I've found myself slipping away, and what's left of me is but a hollow puppet whose strings are being yanked by an omnipresent, powerful being. It's like clockwork, yes, and I'm definitely losing my soul by the day. I've CHANGED. That's certainly what's happening around here. All day long I'm conscious about how I project myself, how I appear to my superiors, so much that when I reach home everyday I'm entirely immersed in my role of acting beatified. I've forgotten how to feel.

So I guess the coughpoemcough below is the brainchild of what I've been mulling over for the past few weeks. It took a while, yes, but it's a sure start. I'm going on a Quest! A sojurn into the Land of Whathasbeen - to slowly but firmly regain the ability to look at the world through eyes that aren't my own.

Well done, van.