Cats In The Cradle Lyrics

Artist: Harry Chapin
Album: Cats In The Cradle

 

My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you dad
You know I'm gonna be like you"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home dad?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

My son turned ten just the other day
He said, "Thanks for the ball, Dad, come on let's play
Can you teach me to throw", I said "Not today
I got a lot to do", he said, "That's ok"
And he walked away but his smile never dimmed
And said, "I'm gonna be like him, yeah
You know I'm gonna be like him"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

Well, he came home from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
"Son, I'm proud of you, can you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and said with a smile
"What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys
See you later, can I have them please?"

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

I've long since retired, my son's moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, "I'd like to see you if you don't mind"
He said, "I'd love to, Dad, if I can find the time
You see my new job's a hassle and kids have the flu
But it's sure nice talking to you, Dad
It's been sure nice talking to you"

And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me
He'd grown up just like me
My boy was just like me

And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man on the moon
When you comin' home son?
I don't know when, but we'll get together then son
You know we'll have a good time then

More than what most knew..........

Yesterdays, in future, might look funnier. Then, everybody is likely to know more than what the most learned knows today. Like it could have appeared to shepherds a thousand years ago if somebody told them that every one on earth will be able to read and write one a day, It feels impossible to assume that one day every one will be able to know and do what the specialists of today do. I see it coming. A day when an average man on the street will know more than what the PhDs know today. Entirely new level of knowledge will flow around the world making all the complicated things of today a little less than trivial thing to do. I mean, if I am taken a thousand year ahead in time, I will be, what the new word they would have invented to replace and enhance the meaning of the word 'stupid', means.


Last few centuries saw everybody learning to read and write. The concept of public education that is so obvious today is probably one of the best policies that was made in the human history. Whoever thought of it deserves appreciation for it was partly responsible for information explosion we are talking about today. What I am talking about is an obvious extension of the phenomenon then.


More realistic imagination would be that there will be things that everybody can not do. We do not need a barber to shave as our ancestors did back then but we do need a barber to cut our heads. Only scientists used computers back then. Five year old kid designs a webpage, today, using computers. Yet there are things that only programmers can do. This distinction of 'leading' and 'being led' is likely to remain but in a different fashion.


Sun shall rise in the east if they abstain from turning the whole world around!

~rAGU

Christmas in Christopher Lake

We spent several days in Christipher Lake. Anglican community had organised this programme. We were taught Skiing skating etc. The food and fun were really great. I got good idea about Bible studies and we had bible discussion every evening.

A day before we left international food were served. We along with students from Nepal coocked Chana Masala and Chcicken Fried Rice.

We got an oppurtunity to present a slide show on India.

I made lot of friends. Warren, Rob, and the bear killer!(?)

Social Integration and Future of Canada

I would like to emphasize the need for cultural integration of the immigrants with the proactive initiatives from the local community. As immigrants increase, next 50 years will see an in creasing difference of opinions in Canada. To create hormony, community should take up social integration agressively by involving and educating the youth about the need for accomadating the immigrants. When the immigrants actively involve in local initiatives the become part of the nation and start to share the concerns. Social differences will eventually dissolve owing to mutual respect and knwoledge about each others culture.

Easier said than done. My understanding is that at present, cultural sensitivity is veryless. Open mindedness to different languages and traditionas will have to be highly emphasized before it becomes an important tool in social integration. For instance, wearing ethnic dress is seen as opposing local values. (An old Canadian lady toldt me "You are fine, you wear nice trousures.... but...why is that those people have long strange clothes...when in Canada the have to dress as Canadians do"). Speaking a different language is sometimes seen as being insensitive to local sentiments. Not that they do not have anything legitamate in their arguments, they lack a sense of openness. Being used to diversity is probably one of the gretest chalenges to soceity.

It appears that some universities such as in Regina are doing some research related to social integration. However the impact of social segragation has not been a topic of importance so far. Thinking in tha direction, if we concider the case of India where several socities exist with a huge cultural diversity, we can see that communal disturbances are an impact of alianation.

Canada needs serious political and social initiatives to stop communal disturbances from flaring up due to alianation. As immigrants from differents parts of the world arrive, there is a chnace that they will form small groups of segregated communities. It is natural for such communities to develop a feeling of insecurity when they start to think they are a minority. That may bring canada to a situation where India is today: full of communities which do not entertain marriages into communities other than their own and continue to maintain segragation in the name of diversity. To prevent precisely this, that I feel that extra efforts should be made by local community to bring all the communities together.

I am not in denail that there is reluctance from the immigrants to integrate into the Canadian soceity. This, I think is common with most of the immigrants irrespective of the place they immigrate to. Being repulsive and rationalizing our acts, come naturally to us. But moving away from such dangerous instincts by not only accepting the diversity but also by appriciating it will aid efforts to build more hormonious Canadian soceity.

~rAGU

Nothing...............

We can always be more mature than people of our age but we can only go as far as 15-20 years ahead of the rest. Yet we learn that it was not good enough. I have lost lots of ego yet whatever remains is more than required! Our thoughts get more realistic yet not realistic enough! We get better bigger yet not enough......

I had told you; last time I left Belgium I had two bags. I thought they were all I needed. Yesterday I picked up my cabin bag to check some back account information while keeping it back realised that just that bag, I repeat just the bag I was holding was all I needed to earn my living! It had my university certificates, passports etc.

Extending that philosophy we may recall what Indian philosophers had argued since long. (My favourite: when days were not worth counting!)

We need nothing to be happy! Things only create trouble!







At first, they said in RigVeda:

was neither Being nor Nonbeing.
There was not air nor yet sky beyond.
What was wrapping? Where? In whose protection?
Was Water there, unfathomable deep?

Some mystic thing ...............

~rAGU

Problem with intellectuals

In every country and almost everywhere intellectuals are against the government. Anarchism seems to be only solution acceptable to them. I talk about this because I was reading this, thttp://www.tehelka.com/story_main14.asp?filename=hub110505_In_India_CS.asp interview given by Aundhanti Roy, where she talks about oppression, morality, corruption etc.

The day I find an intellectual who offers a practical solution to real world problem, I shall appreciate their existence. All the time I see so called intellectuals opposing every solution that an authority comes up with, and almost everything that exists in society. That is the problem with the intellectuals. They highlight problems and aggravate it by halting some solutions that may work partially. They never offer a solution. It is all in bits and pieces. Do not like that, that is wrong, That is oppression blah blah.....
Solutions? No they have no idea.

~rAGU

Napoleon's March on Moscow

This photo might belong to somebody. Being used just beause it looks nice. All right belongs to authors.

Bengaluru - Fetch me a glass of milk!

The day Bengaluru will be called by its name and when the colours of colonialism have faded, I will be so much satisfied. A feudatory of the Vijayanagara Empire and called Bengluru by my ancestors is an international city that truly deserves its own name.

It pains me to read those who say that the city is being renamed. No. A common name is being officially declared to clear the confusion. It is called Bangalore in English, Bangalour in Hindi and Bengaluru in Kannada.

Locals have sovereign right to call their cities by their own name. Imposing the name liked by the immigrants to the city can at best be undemocratic. I did not know until I was 16 that the capital city of my province was also called Bangalore. It smacks of intolerance when immigrants from other parts of India hate local culture and disrespect the language. I have been humiliated in Bengaluru for speaking the language of my mother. A native can not be a sitting duck, when his own language is being disrespected in the capital of his province.

Today the name of my country to the English educated is India. There is no harm in calling us what others call us. We should not forget what we call ourselves. Germans always call themselves Deutsch. Dutch are from Nederland. Belgians are from Koninkrijk Belgie. The French call themselves Français. The sacred Sahyadri mountain ranges are a strange name! Western Ghats are a more familiar name.

It is for us to learn respecting freedom of the people. Respect everything that contributes to the identity as something of value. I do not want New Delhi to be Hosa Dehali (as in Kannada). But I would vociferously protest those who think that Bengaluru is not trendy and the city does not deserve to be called by the simple yet soothing name.

Eight years ago I was standing in one of the bus stops in Bengaluru. A smartly clad guy, who until now was talking in Kannada, asked me if the bus in front goes to the Bengaluru city centre. I said, "Yes, It does" and turned to my brother. I was wondering why he was asking me, a man who has just seen the city a day before. My brother pointed towards the rubber slipper I wore. He said, "Your rubber slipper told him that you can read Kannada"!

Fetch me a glass of milk, now my capital will be called in my mother's language.

Ragu Kattinakere

Deepavali: The Festival of Lights

(Image: Thanks to Sushruta Dodderi)

Deepavali is one of the festivals celebrated in the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the biggest festivals Indians celebrate. Sanskrit name Deepavali is a compound word made up of 'Deepa' (light) and 'Avali' (row). These two words are joined by most frequent of the Sanskrit compounds, 'Savarna Dheerga'. etymological meaning would then be 'row of lights'. [Most popular name however is the corrupted from which is 'Diwali']. Let us see how the festival is celebrated in my part of India.

This is a four day festival yet festivities go beyond. The festival starts on the 29th day of the 7th month (Ashwija) of traditional calendar and ends on the 1st day of 8th month (Kartika) [Note that months are divided into two groups of 15 days].
On 28th day (Krishna Paksha Trayodashi) it is time to clean and worship the water spring (water well). Kids go to every house in the village with bells and cymbals (Jaagate) and participate in spring worship performed by the women of the house. People believe that the water they use everyday as a symbolic representation of the Holy Ganges River (River Ganga). It is in fact called the Ganges worship (Gange Pooje). Kids leave for next house after munching the fresh coconut sugar mix. The lady of the house sprinkles the water freshly drawn from the well on everyone around.

Most interesting thing happens during the same night of the 28th day of Aswija month: The Steeling Night! It is called Boore Kalu Haayuvudu in Kannada language (Steeling for Boore Festival). People are free to steel from other's produces on that night. Normally the things that were traditionally required for the next day's festival are stolen! Mostly youngsters steel Coconuts, Beatle nuts, and some other agricultural produces. This probably stems from 'Charvakas' the atheist group of Hindus. They believe in life, not in GOD ("Borrow and eat but live happily").

29th day (14th day of Krishna Paksha) is Naraka Chaturdashi also called Boore Habba in Kannada. According to Indian mythology this day 'Naraka' a daemon was killed and hence is a day of victory. Almost everyone goes for an oil massage bath called Boore Meeyuvudu. Then wears a block bindi prepared by women of the house called Boore Kappu.
The last day of the festival is Bali Padyami, the day of Cow and Bali worship. Cow enjoys the day with nice starters (Turolge), main course (Rice) and desserts (Banana!). This is believed to be the day of King Bali, an honest and beloved king of the people as mentioned in the Bhagavata one of the ancient Indian chronicles. The 5th incarnation/Avatar of the GOD is named Vaamana. Vaamana steps on Bali and sends him to the world beneath the earth called Patala. But grants him a boon that he will be honoured with a day dedicated to him where it is believed he returns to earth. King Bali is thus remembered every year.

Evening that day is the time to party, a torch party. Folk songs galore. People sing songs while they march to the temple with torch in their hands. They shout, "Light Light Light So Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet". Climax comes when they set fire in front of the temple and start singing folk songs in rural dialect: "Mettilu mettilu chanda eemane mettilu chanda...."

Cotton immersed in vegetable oil glows with a blissfull light in earthen crucibles, rows of them as you see in the picture above. That is Deepavali Festival of Lights. The message festival carries is simple, "Asatoma Sadgamaya". From falsehood to truth, darkness to light, mortality to immortality.

To culminate, I should pray not in my own words but in the words of Tagore, "To that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake"

Waiting To Fall

I will, believe me! It is snowing you know, so early in the autumn. I am waiting I said, I am waiting to fall. Nobody hates snow. (I do!) But this ice that makes us float on the land is hmmm..... frustrating.
That is why I am going to fall. It is slippar everywhere. This should be last blog before y bones are broken.

¬rAGU

Stolen Thoughts

Not that I have not stolen. I was caught stealing a bunch of beatle nuts from my neighbour's attic, when I was a kid (must be 5 or 6). No, I did not steal anything this time around.