Abhijit Naskar's Blog - Posts Tagged "neuroscientist-poet"
Hometown Human Sonnet (Polyglots have more fun) | Vande Vasudhaivam
Everybody loves Rumi,
I learnt his tongue,
So I could pick up where he left off.
Better than basking in borrowed light,
Is to be an original light to the world.
Everybody yells, viva la libertad,
I learnt el idioma, so I could
humanize the paradigm of revolution.
Everybody loves Indus valley diversity,
Annitiki munde anni shaashtralu nerchkunnanu,
So I’m never out of spice for my humanitarianism.
Everybody loves boasting about their culture,
I spent years making all the cultures my own.
Thus my strength was amplified a thousand folds,
My sight expanded beyond all norms of vision known.
Polyglots have more fun – there is no question.
When science, poetry and polyglottery come together,
That’s the beginning of a paradigm bending revolution.
I learnt his tongue,
So I could pick up where he left off.
Better than basking in borrowed light,
Is to be an original light to the world.
Everybody yells, viva la libertad,
I learnt el idioma, so I could
humanize the paradigm of revolution.
Everybody loves Indus valley diversity,
Annitiki munde anni shaashtralu nerchkunnanu,
So I’m never out of spice for my humanitarianism.
Everybody loves boasting about their culture,
I spent years making all the cultures my own.
Thus my strength was amplified a thousand folds,
My sight expanded beyond all norms of vision known.
Polyglots have more fun – there is no question.
When science, poetry and polyglottery come together,
That’s the beginning of a paradigm bending revolution.
When Fear Reigns Sanity Supreme | Abhijit Naskar | Yaralardan Yangın Doğar
When fear reigns sanity supreme,
prejudice deemed consciousness,
all breath becomes futile air,
all heart is rendered pulseless.
When air becomes breath,
and cells become sentient,
Words become poetry,
and facts become science.
prejudice deemed consciousness,
all breath becomes futile air,
all heart is rendered pulseless.
When air becomes breath,
and cells become sentient,
Words become poetry,
and facts become science.
Naskar is Made by Naskar Alone | Abhijit Naskar | Bulletproof Backbone
Naskar is made by Naskar alone, not an industry or benefactor – or more importantly, by family wealth. I had a roof over my head, food on the table, and clothes on my back – that was more than enough.
I started writing with literally zero dollar in my pocket. Let me tell you how it began, because for some reason, I completely forgot a crucial event of my life when I wrote my memoir Love, God & Neurons.
I once met an American tourist at a local train in Calcutta. The first thing he asked me was, had I lived in the States? I said, no. Then how come you have an American accent – he asked. Watching movies – I said. We got chatting and he told me about a book he had recently published, a memoir. I believe, this was the cosmic event that planted the thought of writing my own books in my head – I had already started my self-education in Neurology and Psychology, and I was all determined to publish research papers on my ideas, but not books. Meeting the person somehow subconsciously shifted my focus from research papers to books.
So the journey began. And for the first few years, I made no real money from my books. Occasionally some of my books would climb the bestsellers list on amazon, like my very first book did, and that would keep the bills paid for several months. Then the invitations for talks started coming, but they too were not paid in the beginning. The organizers made all the travel arrangements, and I gave the talks for free. It’s ironic and super confusing really – I remember flying business class, but I didn’t have enough money to even afford a one way flight ticket, because I had already used up my royalties on other expenses.
Today I can pick and choose which speaking invitations to accept, but back then I didn’t have that luxury – I was grateful for any speaking gig and interview request I received, paid or not. One time, I gave an interview to this moderately popular journalist for her personal youtube channel, only to find out, she never released the video publicly – she posted an interview with a dog owner instead – whose dog videos had gained quite a following on social media. You could say, this was the first time I realized first hand, what white privilege was.
Anyway, the point is this.
Did I doubt myself? Often. Did I consider quitting? Occasionally. But did I actually quit? Never. And because I didn’t quit, the world received a vast never-before seen multicultural humanitarian legacy, that you know me for today.
There is no such thing as overnight success. If you have a dream, you gotta work at it day in, day out – night after night – spoiling sleep, ruining rest, forgetting fun. Persist, persist, and persist, that’s the only secret – there is no other. Remember this – the size of your pocket does not determine your destiny, the size of your dedication does.
I started writing with literally zero dollar in my pocket. Let me tell you how it began, because for some reason, I completely forgot a crucial event of my life when I wrote my memoir Love, God & Neurons.
I once met an American tourist at a local train in Calcutta. The first thing he asked me was, had I lived in the States? I said, no. Then how come you have an American accent – he asked. Watching movies – I said. We got chatting and he told me about a book he had recently published, a memoir. I believe, this was the cosmic event that planted the thought of writing my own books in my head – I had already started my self-education in Neurology and Psychology, and I was all determined to publish research papers on my ideas, but not books. Meeting the person somehow subconsciously shifted my focus from research papers to books.
So the journey began. And for the first few years, I made no real money from my books. Occasionally some of my books would climb the bestsellers list on amazon, like my very first book did, and that would keep the bills paid for several months. Then the invitations for talks started coming, but they too were not paid in the beginning. The organizers made all the travel arrangements, and I gave the talks for free. It’s ironic and super confusing really – I remember flying business class, but I didn’t have enough money to even afford a one way flight ticket, because I had already used up my royalties on other expenses.
Today I can pick and choose which speaking invitations to accept, but back then I didn’t have that luxury – I was grateful for any speaking gig and interview request I received, paid or not. One time, I gave an interview to this moderately popular journalist for her personal youtube channel, only to find out, she never released the video publicly – she posted an interview with a dog owner instead – whose dog videos had gained quite a following on social media. You could say, this was the first time I realized first hand, what white privilege was.
Anyway, the point is this.
Did I doubt myself? Often. Did I consider quitting? Occasionally. But did I actually quit? Never. And because I didn’t quit, the world received a vast never-before seen multicultural humanitarian legacy, that you know me for today.
There is no such thing as overnight success. If you have a dream, you gotta work at it day in, day out – night after night – spoiling sleep, ruining rest, forgetting fun. Persist, persist, and persist, that’s the only secret – there is no other. Remember this – the size of your pocket does not determine your destiny, the size of your dedication does.
“My life is the best book I’ve written, rest are just spoils of my pilgrimage.” Abhijit Naskar, The Divine Refugee
My soldiers are my gift to cosmos,
archaic narrowness is no match for them.
I got martyred in the making of a life,
to shine as beacon for generations to come.
My life is the best book I’ve written,
Rest are just spoils of my pilgrimage.
Embark as explorer transcending words,
Service to the world is truest of homage.
Get so drunk with incorruptibility,
you emerge a walking Wardencliffe.
Get so drunk with accountability,
no Rorschach can analyze your spirit.
Today’s choice is tomorrow’s instinct,
Choose peace today, tomorrow it’s norm.
Yesterday’s choice is today’s instinct,
Give in to hate, and the jungle goes on.
archaic narrowness is no match for them.
I got martyred in the making of a life,
to shine as beacon for generations to come.
My life is the best book I’ve written,
Rest are just spoils of my pilgrimage.
Embark as explorer transcending words,
Service to the world is truest of homage.
Get so drunk with incorruptibility,
you emerge a walking Wardencliffe.
Get so drunk with accountability,
no Rorschach can analyze your spirit.
Today’s choice is tomorrow’s instinct,
Choose peace today, tomorrow it’s norm.
Yesterday’s choice is today’s instinct,
Give in to hate, and the jungle goes on.
Sonnets to Write Before I Sleep (The Sonnet) | Abhijit Naskar | The Humanitarian Dictator
When I finished my first 1000 sonnets,
I felt, now I shall take it slow.
But now at the finishing of second 1000,
I feel, I gotta write thousands more!
The first thousand took me four years,
the second thousand took me two years,
all without an ounce of industry support,
I am the sole maker of my literary empire.
Sonnets are my vessel of reason,
Sonnets are my bearer of justice.
Sonnets are my medium of divinity,
I’m my sonnets – antidote to malice.
Proof of poetry is in the spirit,
Proof of justice is among the just.
Worlds to unite before I sleep,
Proof of life is in standing guard.
I felt, now I shall take it slow.
But now at the finishing of second 1000,
I feel, I gotta write thousands more!
The first thousand took me four years,
the second thousand took me two years,
all without an ounce of industry support,
I am the sole maker of my literary empire.
Sonnets are my vessel of reason,
Sonnets are my bearer of justice.
Sonnets are my medium of divinity,
I’m my sonnets – antidote to malice.
Proof of poetry is in the spirit,
Proof of justice is among the just.
Worlds to unite before I sleep,
Proof of life is in standing guard.
