The Journey to Ithaka

Poetry has the power to move us. 

Some poems stay with us and guide us on this journey of life. 

I read C.P. Cavafy, one of the finest Greek poets, in my final year at college. 
He published poetry only for close friends and gained international fame after his death in 1933. 
His poem, Ithaka, was published on the front page in our annual literary journal which was also titled Ithaka. Just reading the poem out loud is an inspiring experience. 

 Ithaka

 As you set out for Ithaka
hope the voyage is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
angry Poseidon—don’t be afraid of them:
you’ll never find things like that on your way
as long as you keep your thoughts raised high,
as long as a rare excitement
stirs your spirit and your body.
Laistrygonians and Cyclops,
wild Poseidon—you won’t encounter them
unless you bring them along inside your soul,
unless your soul sets them up in front of you.

Hope the voyage is a long one.
May there be many a summer morning when,
with what pleasure, what joy,
you come into harbors seen for the first time;
may you stop at Phoenician trading stations
to buy fine things,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
sensual perfume of every kind—
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
and may you visit many Egyptian cities
to gather stores of knowledge from their scholars.

Keep Ithaka always in your mind.
Arriving there is what you are destined for.
But do not hurry the journey at all.
Better if it lasts for years,
so you are old by the time you reach the island,
wealthy with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to make you rich.

Ithaka gave you the marvelous journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She has nothing left to give you now.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka won’t have fooled you.
Wise as you will have become, so full of experience,
you will have understood by then what these Ithakas mean. 

(Illustration courtesy: Anna Lemos)

 

A Secret Space

It was a challenge.
Aurea, my neice, had to draw a sketch and write an essay on the topic 'Secret Space'.
If the selection committee found her entry interesting, she would be called for an interview.
Presently, securing admission in a degree course of architecture in Mumbai is quite challenging. There are entrance tests, several admission rounds and a limited number of seats.

What do you think of when you think of a secret space?
Our family comprising of the youngest grandchild who is five to Daddyda who is eighty-two, gave it a thought and came up with interesting secrets locked in mental spaces we didn't know existed. How little we know of people around us!

While Aurea made notes, we discussed hiding places in the house, the interiors of pyramids, castles in the clouds, different perceptions of a sticker in the bathroom, concentric circles of positive and negative thoughts, creative spaces where artistic imagination originates, and the silent secret spaces of oysters and wombs.

Aurea who is born with artistic talent, amazed us with this drawing: 

The essay explaining this sketch talked of Man's dreams and fears. It gave an insight into our minds as secret spaces which inform our decisions.

After a successful interview, our Aurea now goes to an innovative School of Environment and Architecture which gives it's pupils the freedom to explore the landscapes of their imaginations.