The Four Dimensional Clock

The Title is more  philosophical sounding than the discussion. Just one topic and One ghazal today . Fact is that I have seen "Time" as a three dimensional unit for some years but today the time is right to discuss the four dimensions of Time. I have always believed that some moments , days or years have an inter connectivity, some days seem like a replica of some old ones . This is because time has four dimensions, they are NOW, the recent past, the moments from sketchy past and an overarching connect of the three , now add a fourth dimension, time and moments being stamped on the online world.

I was at Starbucks Koramangla a few days ago, when I stepped onto the first floor with my coffee, I realised that there were two new things about coffee. Wifi and Charger points . I glanced around and pointed to my colleague that No one comes to the coffee shop to talk these days . Everyone is capturing Moments in facebook, instagram, twitters and linkedins . We are  generating trillion terabytes of data for which we constantly need faster and more powerful devices but what are we storing and sharing ? Is the expression of eyes while sipping coffee appropriately captured in Instagram, Are the fragrance of coffee and the subtle noise in background posted accurately on facebook? While science can now measure a millionth of a second, me and you will still be able to remember only moments and these moments , my belief is what mankind is killing . We are running faster, eating faster , travelling faster and therefore have left behind the sheer pleasure of relishing a moment . I remember in childhood we use to sleep on the terrace with a humble noisy fan and we used to see stars , describe them , watch them move . Each fill moon night my Naanajee would insist on looking at the moon and focus on its own pale ivory shades, and its nuances . Time doesn't however flow in the digital world in the same way . People delete events on Facebook, pictures , tags and unfriend or Block . Digital world has a shift delete option, life doesn't . The digital moment has killed the wait for a person and the desire to look in their eye, every digital moment is pushing you to move faster , tweet it then wait for re-tweet and then delete it . The moments have now become the wait for the whats-app tick mark to turn blue.

Fact is that man is spreading this faster disease to nature , nature is running faster, we are breeding vegetables overnight, food is instant . Can a 2 minute noodle beat the love immersed in making a warqi Paranatha and Gajar Halwa cooked on simmering coal overnight . In the last few months, I have recollected some events of the past , some as old as 20 years or more extremely vividly, just as if they happened yesterday or even a few hours ago . I realised , the moments itself were so profound and deep that they were engraved on our personas naturally.

We have a bit of an abstract sense of life . Our story of our life is made of direct experiences and indirect reflections of revelations. We remember both. We remember when we were appreciated or humiliated , loved or hated . We also vividly remember when we "realised " and uncluttered some concepts . My favorite quote is that there are no degrees in emotional engineering , while most of our decisions are based on emotional conviction which lacks rationale . 

Life is like a novel, it has chapters, it has events , it has a climax and it has the turning points, it is all heart breaks and happiness , victories and disappointment , promotion or rejection and above all , it gives an overarching theme to all .

An inflection point in life is one which tells you whats most critical to life . Nature reminds you that it is stronger than technology . We need Food , shelter and the need to be loved or connected .

My concept of time therefore has all these dimensions . A long arch of time which is the 45 years of existence which some vivid moments engraved and a short arch, could be today , a few weeks or even last month . It also has the third dimension the NOW, the moment, is it shallow or deep, will it scrape and pass or will it engrave ? Our own emotions and state of mind help us encode the short arch, regret or nostalgia about the past, hope or dread about the future .

Life is living when moments aren't just passing , they are engraving deep marks and hence connecting dots to sketch your persona. I call them immersive experiences , like a bike ride after rain, like a walk up to Chintpurni Temple last 31st December and granularity of each moment . Moments are like soap bubbles, you touch them and they disappear , they form bubbles one after the other . Some we stare into and see the rainbow in and some just vanish , without a trace.

This is why we need the four dimensional clock , the human arch, the life, the recent past and the moment, add to it the digital moment . Time is not data , it can not be stored . memories are not data in a storage device , they can be archived but never deleted ,

Maturity is the merging and connecting the two archs , the self that lives the long arch and the short arch, must connect . Just like watching stars , i learnt to make tea from my naani, she would just wait for the right moment to add ingredients, timed  to the fraction of second. She wouldn't take her eyes off the tea . She was insistent on the "timing" of cooking and also always reiterated the value of timing in life .

We owe the present moment our full attention , attention is time and reality is attention is love . Look at how a farmer grows cane sugar over months but when we consume sugar came juice, we pay no attention to the time he spent in watching the one cane sugar strand grow. The digital marking of time is a threat to the depth of moments .

Love and attention are one and the same thing . Relish the moment, while it happens.

Todays Ghazal is my most favourite for many years , is by Ahmed Faraz . Many singers have sung it , I will post the Mehdi hassan one , which is shorter . 

ज़िन्दगी से यही गिला है मुझे, तू बहुत देर से मिला है मुझे
Zindagi se yehi gilaa hai mujhe, Tu bahut der se mila hai mujhe

हमसफ़र चाहिए, हुजूम नहीं, एक मुसाफिर भी काफिला है मुझे
Hamsafar chaahiye, hujoom nahin, Ek musaafir bhi, qaafila hai mujhe

दिल धड़कता नहीं सुलगता है, वोह जो ख्वाहिश थी आबला है मुझे
Dil dhadakta nahin sulagtaa hai, Woh jo khwahish thi, aabala hai mujhe

Aabla is  a like blister caused by burn .

लब कुशा  हूँ तो इस यकीन के साथ, क़त्ल होने का होसला है मुझे
Lab-kusha hoon to is yakiin ke saath, Qatl hone ka hosala hai mujhe

Lab kusha is outspoken and  a fearless orator.

तू मोहब्बत से कोई चाल तो चल, हार जाने का हौसला है मुझे
Tu mohabbat se koii chaal to chal, Haar jaane ka hausla hai mujhe

कौन जाने की चाहतों में फ़राज़, क्या गंवाया है क्या मिला है मुझे
Kaun jaane ki chaahaton maiN FARAZ, Kya ganwaaya hai, kya mila hai mujhe