Arpan Panicker's Blog

September 22, 2015

The Pursuit of Isness

There are two ways to look at this. There are always two ways to look at everything. If you're indecisive, there might be three ways to look at it, or four or seventeen. But more ways aren't going to help you decide, so there really is no hope for you. And stop interrupting me!

So, there are two ways to look at this. You are here, at this point in life. You are trying to break free and live your life the way you want to. You are tuning in to things you feel are important and giving them the f...
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Published on September 22, 2015 02:18

April 10, 2014

The Great Fantasy Renaissance

This millennium has been far more fantastic than the last one. I’m talking about the Fantasy genre here; in books, movies, games, and other media. Fantasy has crept into other genres like action, comedy, and even romance. Superheroes have never been more popular, each with millions of Facebook fans. Even long dead politicians and religious messiahs are being resurrected to fight vampires and zombies.
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Published on April 10, 2014 01:49

March 13, 2014

The Cipher


“I love you,” she said. Her face was damp with tears and the misery made her look ugly and old. She was young and pretty; at least she had been an hour back. When she had believed that I loved her back.
I looked across the café at the barista. She was decorating a cream topped beverage with bright pink sprinkles. The moment warped and grew sparkly as everything became razor sharp but tinged blue, like a great TV screen going bad. I could see the sprinkles reflected in the barista’s eyes.
I t...
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Published on March 13, 2014 03:38

March 1, 2014

The Dream

The mind is cruel
It toys with you
It makes you think
You think you want
It makes you believe
You believe you need
It makes you dream
But it's all in the mind
It sets you off, chasing mirages
It convinces you that they're yours
Personal, irreplaceable dreams
It leads you on a merry chase
It makes you doubt
It makes you wonder
It makes you bitter
And a bit of a cynic
It might even make you crazy
Till that incredible point in your life
When you actually catch a dream
And hold it, fluttering in your hands
When yo...

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Published on March 01, 2014 23:07

December 19, 2013

The 5 Stages of Brotherhood... and Life!

My best friend and brother-from-another-mother just got married, exactly two months and one day after I did. The entire experience was strangely cathartic and took me down memory lane. It also brought on this slew of long dormant philosophical outpouring. This one though is dedicated to all the bros!

Boys will be boys and girls will grow up into wonderful, complicated women. Boys do grow wise too, but we also manage to stay stupid. We celebrate our victories and failures with delirious mirth...
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Published on December 19, 2013 03:57

October 15, 2012

Back and Forth


Is it beginning or has it endedYou’re hurt and aren’t yet mendedYou might have let go You don’t want to knowLooks like your life’s been upended
With flipping tummies and vertigo Gravity does push, pull, and throwYou plunge and rise With misery and delightLife’s scary if your phobia’s an acro
Your winter’s full of your criesStill not over summer’s surprise Gets better from hereNothing more left to fearTruth’s worse than the worst of lies
Lots more to come, my dear Laugh insanely or shed a tearIt...
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Published on October 15, 2012 11:01

May 31, 2012

The Tale of Everend


Her eyes grew large as he said the words she was waiting to hear; once upon a time…

She knew what was to come. She had heard this one a million times. Each time, the story was the same, and yet so different. She had so many memories, and she didn’t know how Papa did it; her favourite parts never changed; and still, there was so much new detail in every retelling. Papa had a way with words, and his stories had so much more life that her little crayon men had ever had. Each time the story start...
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Published on May 31, 2012 11:24

April 26, 2012

Staring into Space

I've been staring into space
It's dark out there
I see things
Swimming in the murky depths
Thoughts melting into fears
The future clawing its way up
Out of the past's long-dead grave
The same old stories
With the same old endings
And it's all still as scary
I've been staring into space
Seeing if I can spot myself
A happy me in a happy morrow
It's dark out there
Maybe it's night there
But then the shadows I see in the depths
Do not comfort, do not ease my worry
I've been staring into space
The moon's bright a...

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Published on April 26, 2012 14:05

April 13, 2012

30... 31...

One year, and so much has changed. I hit 30 with a sense of panic and desperation. With most important life's goals unattained, (I just typed gaol instead of goal... wow, talk about Freudian slips!) I was at that juncture where the mortality of life hits you and you realize that you might never get to live the life you always wanted. My book was still unpublished--a much-edited manuscript collecting digital dust and self-doubt. I was still in a full-time job and was still working late nights...
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Published on April 13, 2012 06:38

February 26, 2012

Think Write


To die will be an awfully big adventure Fly away, Wendy bird, fly away  How terrible it is, to be bound in this wayOur choices and our perception define us, limit us No, I do not agreeI can make it possible, anything possible What about… No, we’re not going thereGod, my head’s such a messI was simple enough when I was born Then, life happened Halfway through and so much left to doI have to build a totem pole The sheer joy of working with your handsWet mud, wood shavings, paper Writing… a...
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Published on February 26, 2012 00:34