https://sriramviswanathan.com/Recent content on Sriram ViswanathanHugo -- gohugo.ioenThu, 28 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/work/bigotp/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/work/bigotp/Reading a small, fast-expiring OTP off a notification banner is hard if your eyesight isn’t what it used to be. BigOTP catches the code as soon as it arrives and puts it in a floating bubble in large digits, then reads it aloud digit by digit so it’s impossible to miss or misread. A full-screen mode adds a countdown timer, and transaction OTPs get an extra warning with the amount called out.https://sriramviswanathan.com/work/heritagespot/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/work/heritagespot/HeritageSpot is a guide to India’s spiritual and cultural landmarks — over 200 curated sites across every region, covering their history, architecture, religious significance, and the deities, saints, and festivals associated with them. It’s built for pilgrims, tourists, history enthusiasts, and anyone curious about the country’s cultural fabric. Everything works offline, so it holds up on the road and away from signal. It’s available in ten languages, and covers the practical side too — opening hours, dress codes, accessibility, nearby sites worth a detour, and directions to get there.https://sriramviswanathan.com/work/chalosansad/Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/work/chalosansad/After the 2026 NEET exam leak affected 2.27 million students, a protest movement grew around it — a 45-day sit-in at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, a march toward Parliament, and months of negotiation with the government. Chalo Sansad is a site I’ve been maintaining to track it day by day, from the exam leak itself through to where things stand now. It leans on primary sources rather than a single narrative: most claims link back to original reporting, and contested events — police response, force used, internet shutdowns — get a “same events, two accounts” treatment pairing the official version against protester and independent accounts.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/so_far_yet_so_far/Thu, 28 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/so_far_yet_so_far/Meet me at the dawn To escape the silence, the wrong Teach me how to nurse So that we can both reverse On the ground, I felt the cold Not my feet, it was me being bold A forgotten glimpse of what happened Did I do something wrong or did I break the pattern Following the line, is not easy Yet the line is what saves us from feezing In the darkest hours, in the gaps of time The pleasures unbounded, so fast, we define To the beginning, and the hike The light, its glorious, We are addicted to its delights Not everyone seeks what I seek An itch for the dark, or maybe the bleak A regret of words that were let go sooner than were meant The more I explore, the clearer the thought of intent Circling back to the end of the day I have no more to say To the next time, Will I do the same ?https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/while_they_were_asleep/Sat, 24 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/while_they_were_asleep/Turn around...I hope you do Listen now... I hope you do Far away... Its the feeling Far away... Can you come closer.. To me.. We surf the night While they were asleep... The blackest skies were blue It was just... Me and You... Time stood still.. As we shed our skins Fools we are What good we are If we can't love ourselves ‘Cause how far we are The lights are fading out Can we…walk… Can we…talk… We surf the night While they were asleep.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_11_physical_and_scanned_docs/Tue, 21 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_11_physical_and_scanned_docs/Let’s talk ‘documents’ containing sensitive personal information When we share copies of our documents such as Passport, Driving License, Educational Certificates and other types of personal and sensitive documents, they can primarily fall into two ways - ‘Non-digital’ forms of data - ‘Subsequently’ digitized physical forms filled up with PII data photocopies of all sorts of documents Scanned copies shared over - whatsapp email google drive usb drive What does the Indian Digital Personal Data Protection(DPDP) Act say about these ?https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_10_privacy_sandbox/Tue, 30 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_10_privacy_sandbox/Lets talk Ads The advertising/ad-tech ecosystem (or programmatic ad ecosystem as it is called nowadays) is what underpins the revenue model for most websites, including the biggest tech companies (e.g. Google, Meta, Twitter etc.). Of these companies, the one company that dominates the ad networks market by far is Google. Current stats show that Google Ads is used by almost 48.7% of all websites worldwide, with a market share of 98.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_9_security_vs_privacy/Mon, 22 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_9_security_vs_privacy/Preface If I mention the word security, the usual connotations that come to mind are - confidentiality, integrity and availability (CIA). This is usually the first definition anyone in the security domain would come up with. Ask the same question but now about privacy, usually people would talk about things like online tracking, surveillance, how they are being shown these creepy ads etc. The difference is stark in the sense that one (security) has its definition rooted in strictly measurable/testable terms and the other maybe not so much.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_8_is_india_ready_for_data_protection_law/Mon, 28 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_8_is_india_ready_for_data_protection_law/Preface The Government of India has tabled a proposed bill titled Digital Personal Data Protection Bill or DPDP 2022 for short. You can find the draft bill at the MeitY website - https://www.meity.gov.in/data-protection-framework. There are really detailed explanations of the bill in its current form by newspaper TheHindu at - A first look at the new data protection bill New draft of Data Protection Bill is fundamentally flawed And two podcasts -https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/the_fall_it_was/Fri, 04 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/the_fall_it_was/And there you stood The most beautiful Tip toeing through A bed of colored dreams The more it passed The more it enlivened Like the gentle kiss of the dew or the breeze that called for you At the end, it was more than a dream With open arms and open hearts Embracing, alive, the drizzling sky Maybe the skies were watching for us Maybe we were meant to be there So long our friends To a different time When we fall in love againhttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_7_vpn_and_india/Wed, 08 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_7_vpn_and_india/Context The Indian government’s cybersecurity wing is called Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). In April'22, CERT-In published directions to address gaps in incident analysis. Most controversially, this includes the following - Maintenance of logs of ICT systems; subscriber/customer registrations details by Data centers, Virtual Private Server (VPS) providers, VPN Service providers and These directions shall enhance overall cyber security posture and ensure safe & trusted Internet in the country.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/singular/Wed, 23 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/singular/In the follow up To the free you Did you decide on What to be, as you... Together we shall find A hiding place To shed, uncover, define Till one of us is whole Rest now, for we are one The path is here, for us to take Let's step ahead as we break And heal, forge, shape Once again we are singular Our insides, our lives Step out, rewind Here we are, lets redefine.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/agile_story_slicing/Tue, 01 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/agile_story_slicing/Disclaimer: There are probably a lot of cake related metaphors in this post, you might feel like ordering one by the end of this post, which is an unintentional side effect :) A well-defined story Creating well-defined stories is an essential part of software development nowadays, specially if you are following any of the “Agile” methodologies where the key motivation is to incrementally deliver value and at the same time building towards a goal or a product release.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/sure_word/Fri, 01 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/sure_word/Context Some dictionary definitions “completely confident that one is right” “sure of/to do something” “certainly (used for emphasis)” “true beyond any doubt” used to show assent (agreement): ‘Are you serious?’ ‘Sure.’ NOTE: Not going into parts of speech, that will make things more complicated. Examples Example 1 Q: “Do you think you can do this task by tomorrow ?" A: “sure” Here, by ‘sure’, the other person is saying maybe something match defintion 2 i.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_6_google_floc/Wed, 23 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_6_google_floc/Context Google’s main revenue stream is Ads and thus collecting the data that enables this business. Everyone is online nowadays, and it (in many ways) defines who we are - specially what can be considered private. Our window into this online world is our web browser, and we put a lot of trust in the companies that build these browsers to do the right thing by us and protect what is private to each of us as individuals.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/the_tech_interview/Sat, 19 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/the_tech_interview/Having gone through a recent period of job search and a sequence of interviews, I thought I’d pen down what I think of the different styles of tech interviews and why I think this whole process needs a complete relook. Personas - Who are the people involved in the process ? Recruiter(s) (can be multiple in some cases) Future Colleagues (More and less experienced) Future Boss (e.g. Engineering Manager/Head Of Engineering) Boss’s boss (e.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/wounds_beneath_us/Mon, 10 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/wounds_beneath_us/Am I too weak to walk Or stone deaf to all the talk Trudging along towards infinity Scarlet rays light up our eternity To walk amongst the grieved You felt... you were alive The day was towards an end An end...to a great ire The wounds are beneath us The wounds are alive The past can't be relived We still want to try Tired are these eyes The burnt souls that washed them dry The dusk is painted red A kiss of the sky that cries of dreadhttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/obituary_of_a_forgotten_believer/Sat, 16 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/obituary_of_a_forgotten_believer/She went through the motions As if she were in the lap of her mother Drifting through time With the pureness of heart that none could find Spread across the land were her deeds Who will be the blessed that didn't agree Tired arms, tired legs, a still smile The long way back to the earth that she calls home Another day, yet not the same The faith nor the night could help her while the meek and the rotten quenched amid a reality that the believer in her forgot Many, a witness to this dark hour All believers, they say.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_5_privacy_policies_and_you/Wed, 16 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_5_privacy_policies_and_you/Goal of a privacy policy Intended Protect consumer’s interests and in a digital world, their data and identity form mis-use. Actual Protect companies from consumers suing them - written by a lawyer for a lawyer. Readability of a privacy policy This nytimes article is the best research and visualization of how readable are privacy policies of some of the services we use on a day to day basis. For e.g. to read Facebook’s privacy policy, you need to be college level educated.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_4_end_to_end_encryption_and_your_messaging_app/Wed, 09 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_4_end_to_end_encryption_and_your_messaging_app/Disclaimer I am going to simplify a lot of concepts to a great deal so as to reach a broader audience and not make it very very tech oriented. Encryption? In simple terms, it’s about ‘obfuscating’ or ’encoding’ or converting plain text information into a form that is not human readable and is based on mathematical properties/proofs. Some Basics Principles Basic aims which any good encryption protocol tries to achieve -https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_1_awareness/Fri, 04 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_1_awareness/Let’s start with a hypothetical situation - You are craving ice-cream and it’s midnight. You open your phone and go to Zomato or whatever app to order your ice-cream and to your amazement, the app shows the ice-cream shop as “not available to order”. You can click on this text to get more information - it says “Your latest health report says that you are type-II diabetic and should not be eating ice-cream.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_2_right_to_privacy/Fri, 04 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_2_right_to_privacy/Disclaimer I am not a legal expert or even with lay legal knowledge, so please do your research before drawing conclusions from this diary entry. Pretext According to Indian constitution, every Indian citizen has 7 fundamental rights (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_rights_in_India). As per the wikipedia entry above - ⇢The right to privacy is an intrinsic part of Article 21 (the Right to Freedom) that protects the life and liberty of the citizens. The right to privacy is the newest right assured by the Supreme Court of India.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_3_third_party_cookies/Fri, 04 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/privacy_3_third_party_cookies/What is a cookie ? Pieces of data that a website uses to ‘remember’ your activity so that it provide ‘better’ services. Types of cookies First party - basically from the website you are visiting. Third party - from other websites (not from the current domain/website). E.g. Google Adsense, Analytics, Facebook Like Button. The most common use of third-party cookies is to track users who click on advertisements and associate them with the referring domain.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/this_time/Thu, 14 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/this_time/A day, an ending To seemingly go quiet The heart dwells in silence To ache upon the miles That we walked together Turn on the lights We maybe out here tonight To mean, to rhyme Maybe its you, maybe its me How we pretend, its a dream.. How would you know If I was asleep How can I breathe This time... Maybe its a dream Maybe you are mine The songs ending Do I leave this time.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/this_moment/Tue, 15 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/this_moment/How wild... this all... In strange lives that we make How high... would it end... In a leafless path, never seems to end Cold eyes... can see through The trials of many, the faults of few To this day, to our today Could it be, would it all be ok What I ask is not strange What I feel is not inane What I fear is not a blur The still, the moment, for what its worth.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/sentient_me/Mon, 15 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/sentient_me/Repeat, repeat, the empty release The tangled voices that want to be free Repeat, repeat, what stems in me The higher meaning of what we could be Depart, descend, see the pretense Decay, destroy, the threads of false joy The construct, the being, of whats unseen Caged, scarred, the vision, the fallen star A freedom from this skin, from the alter self The simple, the plain, the outer crest, the inane Detach, defuse, the conscious, the lie Deeper, farther, an echoing cry The need to be awake, the need to separate The open, the free, to a higher sentient me.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/you_are_a_dream/Thu, 27 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/you_are_a_dream/To the hue of a vibrant roar To a distant desire left untold Hidden many are the many paths Where meaning finds its past I've fallen in love again To the sea of empty skies To the leaves that yearn the light 'Cause you're a dream... That never saw time... 'Cause you're a dream... That taught the night... 'Cause you're a dream... That feels only mine... 'Cause you're a dream... Where everything is sublime.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/keep_moving/Wed, 17 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/keep_moving/Tonight I walk away From what.. you might ask.. From what.. I ask... Tonight I felt sorrow From what.. you might ask.. From what.. I ask... Tonight.. the time.. it looks at me... Like what.. you might ask.. Like what.. you might ask.. Keep... moving... The lights... Will never die upon you... Like i'd never walk away... Keep... moving... The night... Will never die upon you... Like i'd never look the same.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/center_of_the_world/Mon, 04 Mar 2019 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/center_of_the_world/Caught in the waves of time Just another start... Hiding in, in these words of mine To a different self... Colors color the night Beauty ain't always bright The distance of our horizons The fall in our vices Hiding in, in the center of the world Hiding in, in the center of the world... While I dream our dreams, inside our walls... The touch..., the breath..., the smell... Is that all I long for.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/my_self/Sat, 13 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/my_self/In the wildest dreams The distance isn't gone In my firey being The truth doesn't come out And so I lie to myself That what is after Is better than now Is there a day That makes this go away Of what I am afraid To cross the line To explore whats mine I cannot touch you I cannot feel you I cannot breath you Whats holding me back Is it me or is it my self.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/color_me_to_an_endless_night/Sun, 11 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/color_me_to_an_endless_night/And I saw somebody else In our design For all it means And I felt more than just In our hearts For all it seems Color me to an endless night Until truth comes over Sever broken ties Until the leaves blow over Thoughts and mind and all thats us Different forms of an ending The head rush Spiral down before it takes you Tired eyes wouldn't speak If at all its all true Color me to an endless night Until truth comes over Sever broken ties Until the leaves blow overhttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/untoward_my_own/Sun, 26 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/untoward_my_own/Even though I try And tried, I must have Even though I lied And it hurt, it must have Towards a dream Towards a try Towards a hope Towards a lie Towards a self Towards a meaning Towards a sound Untoward my own Even though I cry And cried, I must have Distant wars I decry Decried, I must have And I couldn't even hide This empty pretense The want to give meaning The want to make sensehttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/our_minds/Thu, 02 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/our_minds/In our heart, in our minds In our thoughts, intertwine In our lies, in our hate In our conscience, in our fate Discharge the wounds that feed Come around to make me feel The Hyde once said that hurt was near Truth be told I couldn't hear There's a why, to our distance The ways to sound to be To my instincts, to my song To lead... To be told, to lie To behold, the why And all the while it just seems real And all that's far, that is near.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/your_inner_wall/Fri, 25 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/your_inner_wall/All the cobwebs are lying at the scene Circling to a higher conscious, scream Watering them down and down it must be To a low, to the light To the fore, to the fight Don't ask the weight to fall Don't mind the mob, the call Here in the lights of certainty Lies the hole that hides endlessly Don't fall away this time Trust all the way in mine Fear all thats inside The tide is turning now A duty to calm the war To know its gone too far Overwhelming the thoughts The colors are caught In my scream, in my thoughts The watershed, the mirror Who'll protect your wall Who will start the warhttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/what_surrounds/Fri, 04 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/what_surrounds/Hero, want me... Trying hard to please... What is that you read Add it towards The thoughts we breathe Come alive now... To know the cards To know the wars... Don't stop to color The mind, the calm How we wound Wait, step forward, wait Delay the hours Delay the thought Truth gives up The truth surrounds A step, a two We all come around...https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/hope_is/Sat, 27 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/hope_is/Hope is, what is an unknown Hope is, falling down the throne And freedom... is all I ask Trouble... is all that lasts In your heart In our minds In our secret Thoughts intertwine Colors are Color off In it's reason To find the cause Until it's you..who Walks the line Telling truth To stay behind Hope is not what I seek It's you who makes me weak... Hope is not what I desire Without reason we walk the firehttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/reason_self/Sat, 06 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/reason_self/Decide over me How far we have got to go Listen to the world How much we've got to know And time without a season And why without a reason They came in all the forms To wake us To know whats wrong Faster, arrive To calm the race of fire Decide, old enough to lie Fight the colors inside True the meaning True the sound And faultless I am raged The turn of the fall I can't erase the lie I can't feel the fighthttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/and_the_dreams_sing_along/Wed, 03 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/and_the_dreams_sing_along/Together we are afraid Of what has it come down to A silence, a lonely place The fear of a sound that begins to erase The kindness of an open heart... A beginning that went too haste Delayed are our lines that start and end The words that never meant to pretend They spread like the wildfire Without a vessel, they expire Does it make the world a better place To know that it was not right Does it hear the cries To give it meaning, to transpire An open heart wouldn't take this on A distant thought which follows along The chance of being at one A chance of making the dream sing along.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/awake_are_we_now/Tue, 04 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/awake_are_we_now/Tell me the wise ways I could be wrong Stare into night space Follow me down Glimmering on the horizon A thousand lights Smoke in the air The roar of a flight Towards a dream Towards a try Is it more than me And you and I Awake are we now Too late are we now To start a new day..https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/an_empty_night/Sat, 19 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/an_empty_night/To cry in vain or do I smile in pain Words do not say the thought Thoughts do not speak out loud Too few are the interactions The trouble of unmet expectations Or the myriad reactions Sudden spike of troubled minds Abstract trails of past finds Little can I do to mince the facts They are there if you ask Tonight is heavy and I am glad it is At least makes me realize That I am still capable of loving someone else.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/fade_in/Mon, 15 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/fade_in/Fade into to you... I am fading too soon... I am waiting for you... Turning still... I am leaning in... I am alive.... Farther and deeper into a dream... You've become more alive... Than what could be seen.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_night/Fri, 05 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_night/A dream, a sound A wait for all we could be Turning in rounds To an endless serenity Fading, descending Parallels drawn apart Too few are the lights Too soon are the nights Dawning desires and the fear of fall End of the line The morning walkhttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_clearer_tomorrow/Sun, 31 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_clearer_tomorrow/Trouble finds me in varied phase Not knowing the time or the place The two ways to a higher conscience Deeper and farther, towards an unending defiance Steps too far, towards a broken desire Ending in places that soon expire Truth deceives the meaning of conception A flowing reality of myriad reflections Reaching for the unknown and the final A day, a night, the constant fight Seeming to hide the melody that calls me Resolve, alight.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/breathe_again/Sat, 05 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/breathe_again/We walk around Enough to hide the pain In truth we abound For the meaning of same The telling way to our desires Fewer mutating thoughts that rise to aspire Into a fiction that is yet to be born A dream to understand the gone What begins now is a new wave Defiant, wiser, transient in thought Gently pushing the walls So that I can breathehttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_wild_run/Sun, 20 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_wild_run/Drowning, hear me fall Starting, to feel the draw Waiting, a call that never was Dreaming, to a joyful... What surrounds is all too numb A touch, a scream, a voice Quietly dumb Deafening, being, solemnly sane Am I what you wanted Am I wanted too A low rise is all I could ever make Carefully studying a different take Truth be told I am ok With how life has turned Into this wild run Deafening, being, solemnly sane I am wanted.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/unrealized/Tue, 12 May 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/unrealized/Would you last if I didn't stay To realize whats beyond the farthest lights Sparkling in the dying moments The breeze warm enough to dry the sand Embracing the souls that pass by In a wall of noise and a thousand dreams To the un-relished anger that came before the realization Rewind the tape to understand the path That leads to the lonely door At last the calling was heard That opened the mind to a new rehearsal Where its us again and no one else.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/the_longest_conversation/Mon, 23 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/the_longest_conversation/The moment went still As seconds crowded the gaps Where every thought became a gamble To an analyzing mind Never liked this game Of laying bare but to no avail Where the past doesn't count for much And the future is the prize Turn by turn, the cloud thickens As conversations come and expire Sometimes leading to one And sometimes none Casual and light - not how I'd describe it What does that say if anything.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/of_consequence/Tue, 17 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/of_consequence/Down with the sunrise The music, it fades away Drowning in the busy lights Am I alone in this fray Every step, a bit too far Every thought, a bit too sour Nearer to the horizon Than the shadow would say Too far, too long Am I about to break As I watch back Its all a blur Due drops on the teary eye A haze of violent incurrence Of consequence, only a few to please The pieces I kept collecting Towards a higher reality and an unending cease Only to know that they never fit togetherhttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/silent_night/Thu, 15 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/silent_night/Grains of noise reflecting from the walls You can hear them from afar Tunneling through the ambiance Stuttering to mask the voices... Voices that were heard only in whispers Just a little louder than the distant stars The ones that can't hear us Little pebbles soaked in yesterday's rain Make a bed for the faded remains Of the day that has just made its way Into the dark and the silent bay Solemn in my own gratitude As I watch her cry Her elegance stands tall Drawn in perfection and yet, still in silencehttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/solar/Wed, 03 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/solar/Still on a one off Caught in a storm And I played it still Feel all alone I try to fall off The cold divide My faith is torn Between the lines And we break out To listen in And we can spread out To hear the spin Don't you know I am still the same Talk within the rhymes That dissipate Faded under the morning sun Too close I get to my only one Feel the sorrow thats come out from you Shatter the shadow that grown over you And we break out To listen in And we can spread out To hear the spin Don't you know I am still the same Talk within the rhymes That dissipate I dance today We dance today.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_moment/Sun, 30 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_moment/Slow dance under the fading light Delicate balance of our imaginary flight Seeping through the corners are the whispers That echo a thousand memories Some that pull the moment towards infinity And some that make it still To forget the now would be a crime Cherish this song and all that is sublimehttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/life_machine/Fri, 17 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/life_machine/Find me now Through an empty space Call me now A different phase Steal the fire And pave the way My inner is cold For so long, I wait Dig me out The stone is born on me Scream and shout Tell the world What I see Forlorn are the dreams That sustain this soil Come by and feed Let it uncoil Don't whisper, just talk Into the void of between Closer, in and out To our differences To the life machinehttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/resolve/Mon, 13 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/resolve/A shudder to end the demise Of our long winding path Where the night says more than just a whisper Delving deeper as it sings the past To break the cycle In this trial of hope The footsteps slip In the midst, the breath slows Just enough to steal the moment And the solitary unknown Standing still to analyze the scene Tasting the rain and the has been Momentary lapse follows the split in the song In need of a resolve, I tread on.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/breathe_aloud/Tue, 15 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/breathe_aloud/Colours… they walk by… On my field of hopes A lustrous plane of waving notes A slight brush of the hand And a million thoughts rise from the sand As I relive the moment that has passed many miles The shadows, they tangle and the songs, they fumble The horizon is an unknown that I wish was here and now Which I could take in and breathe aloud...https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/inner_self/Tue, 10 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/inner_self/Clouds across the sky are breaking up The calm that the empty field was holding The decaying noise sweeps past the shiny mirage Embracing the pieces of a brittle being Birth of this creation leads to an evolution A warning, a reason that came close to judgement One that may have lead to a closer self Beneath the shallow, what reveals is an unknown Inner insights over the fumes of cracked stoneshttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/misunderstood/Mon, 19 May 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/misunderstood/To this day I have been ignorant And i shall be, to an end The deepest sadness is all I have to show for Not sure if its even worth sharing It hurts to think how we eluded each other Responsibilities, love, affection… To this day I have been alone And I shall be, to an end Never knew the right word at the right time Even a goodbye seemed off by a moment Thinking every time, those things They could’ve been better said To this day I have been confused And I shall be, to an end The myriad illusions of the world are like drugs to me Too much to take in yet I want more My mind hypnotized by all thats possible Attracting, not knowing whats impossible To this day, I have been misunderstood And i shall be, to an end I am yet to understand myself How I can expect you to ?https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/wind_chimes/Mon, 14 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/wind_chimes/A stutter in the calmness Of this wind… the chimes They dance the dance Shifting poses at every glance Echoes of textures missing a beat Slowly reversing as if to meet Tangled and colored in their rings Resonating like perfect beings A trail of distant, fading sounds Emerges as I follow along...https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/disconnected/Wed, 02 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/disconnected/Body repels the mind In this fiction Which holds our disguise False pretense is the norm Feels like i'm against a storm My call for sanity is a broken dream The wider reality eludes the belief Connected spots pale themselves Shy for a lack of reason They fear the long shadow That has grown from within itself Solitary in their own remains Hope seems an illusion It drags in vain An answer is what will give me rest Connected dots to regain my inner selfhttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_little_over/Thu, 20 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_little_over/A little over The far fades Can't catch the wind Its over me The rails are scarred With the youth of mine I fear its falling in As I witness the lines Too late, the call Threading closer... I am in a fall Leaning on a ghost With a naked breath Beyond the fall of light An illusion is all thats left Color me beautiful As I scatter Into this void of reason And the vague afterhttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/my_duality/Tue, 11 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/my_duality/An enemy of far out reach Bells of fire that ring of screech Colder vicinity shares the warmth Of bitter duality, of silent songs Filling this void with drops of noise The between and the lost voice Light filtered through the slits A pattern that surprisingly fits How can I share this surprise These faded moments that come to uprise Lowering my stance to a naked inception Where lone and few are the needs for deception Slow sounds echo this stance Peculiar and still familiar at a glance The writings, the scatter, the abstract Still slumbering down a familiar trackhttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/actuate/Sun, 06 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/actuate/Wake up inside Slow down of a long ride Cover me This shadow is my will to be Furrow our longest lines Across the shaded sky Along this warm reverence Of our being Actuate.... its been waitinghttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/this_evening/Thu, 03 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/this_evening/The sadness in me has faded tonight Like the light from a window of a passing train The drops of rain still hanging from a leaf A little breeze is all it takes to send shivers Serene or just plain, the little sounds are much to blame A range of emotions in a split second Even my heart can't guess what comes next Lingering on to this moment, I so want to Just get to know the way through Hanging on to this passage of time Trying to capture the precious dews So that tomorrow might be a better tomorrow.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/carnage/Wed, 02 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/carnage/This carnage is a fear I can't let go Rolling down the neck, its so slow Vision of the horizon is pale and dry The closer I get, the fainter the white Beyond this blinding light There's a reality which lead to this war Spiritless and stateless Apathetic to this wide open cry I question humanity For this inadequate response The radiance of the wrong colors So much rests on the tone Of how we influence and acthttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/starlight/Sun, 15 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/starlight/The color of beauty when its white A dark desire to see the light An inner self that is sublime Hews of emotion cover this time Helpless in my own voice I can only look up for hope A sudden reflection in the stars A blemish is all I want Settle down in this ocean of dreams A wonderful array of me and you Some unknown, some new I wish this could be the most perfect day That the world knew Starlight.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/lost_stars/Fri, 21 Jun 2013 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/lost_stars/Stars are falling apart On this naked field Such brittle is the fantasy A display of my sanity Long gone is the fire That brought me here and higher Subtle cries from the inside Of reaching out to these stars That never existed...https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/broken_glass/Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/broken_glass/Broken glass has to break more To make way for the new The cracle doesn't seem enough The pieces, they are few Blowing low doesn't make it a fact Seeing reality is one Coming to grips with certainty The ceiling is too far to touch Reality - its as broken dream Too much to take in, I've never seen Beauty and awe and colors that blind you Of facts that make you find you A lover, a friend can help you find that A good disguise to the chaos Thats keeping you alive.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/an_aftersight/Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/an_aftersight/A split around the outside Is all it takes to make it go Like the wind, it never came Like the sound, it never made The thin voice from within Sanity in itself Thoughts of freedom and soul A sign of growing old? Its 12 here right now, 11 at some other Preaching the same thing Don't mistake me for a beggar A simple ask to be right And whats left is an after sight.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/sparkling_dew/Mon, 05 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/sparkling_dew/Lay across the furred land With glistening skies A million little smiles For now is beautiful A long way from Where you are Is it a fallen star That seems so bright An afterthought Of my life The echoes of thin voices That seem to fade When the lights go out...https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/beauty/Wed, 22 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/beauty/And somewhere she's around Comes calling the sound Forget the breeze, the lights The threads that fill the space Colors are winding her shadow To the beat of a blink A silhouette of fascinating life One step at a time into the light Straight lines seem to have vanished As have the shapes All in a pastel mirage I see the most beautiful face...https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/sideways/Wed, 18 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/sideways/Somewhere over In between a phase Up and down, saying to all This is how I see it Going sideways A simple motion The colors keep praying Please tell me more Far today, somewhere else tomorrow The cogs are wound too Breathe the silence The strain is same Its just a part of the rain The coldness suffers and asks Why me? Going sideways...https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_want_for_life/Mon, 12 Mar 2012 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_want_for_life/Sail away in two face Color me as free race And couldn't be so far This sanity I preach Closer than I thought The light of ones that fought Just feel me see her eyes Constantly changing surprise A whole that figures Of all you see And all you want Purity in parts Of a little life that I sought...https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/freedom/Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/freedom/Freedom is not what you are or not what you'll ever be Its not what you can see or feel or the tears that you ever gave away Go on, touch that leaf The color in it will change Wander around, do something Jump up, go round in circles Smile at whats in front of you no, seriously… Give the best of what you are to whats in front of you… Freedom, do you get it now?https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/timeless/Fri, 23 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/timeless/A touch, the smell, the warmth the floor that never smelled better wiggling around to remind me of something so special… a dinner, not the same not the water that rippled us together not the sound that woke us come back those moments the ones that felt like forever where we can be as wrong as we can be that the pale night doesn't mind so much timeless...https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_bang/Sun, 27 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_bang/There's a place we go Somewhere only we know See through the holes Of what we have been told Curtains down with you to feel me Close enough just to keep me breathing Feel the sense of desire Of ecstasy, of all thats higher Come take now what you want Care so much if you think I belong Feelings slight the water running Whisper sounds keeps me burning Now I feel it all in me A bang that wants to get me freehttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/reflections_on_a_rose_petal/Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/reflections_on_a_rose_petal/A week after his father died, he didn't call me I could understand the reason why Heard about it from another friend It was an attack, he said Life's fragile moments, I thought to myself He was like me but what did he feel Dissonant but arpeggiated at the same time? At school, he used to talk to his pillow We used to joke about it Would the pillow be a gentle friend to him?https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/insignificance/Wed, 16 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/insignificance/365, 100000, 1, 2, 18... 10, your first pocket money 1000, your first salary 100000, your first saving 24, hours it takes the earth to go around itself 29.5, days it takes the moon to go around us 365, days it takes for us to go around the sun 18, years it takes for us to realize our freedom 25, times you blink in a minute 90, the beats per minute of your heart 1, the first number you learn 2, the second 6775235741, one like you 1, second.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/social_living/Sun, 06 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/social_living/What is social living? Is it following what the society does? or is used to do? How's following the "rules" the safe thing to do? Why do I think this is not something which is discussed so often? Yet we talk about all these social networking websites and how people express themselves. Is it really freedom of speech? Your mom, dad, your sister, brother is on facebook. Do you really want to tell them about your binge drinking escapade that happened last night?https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/loose_myself/Wed, 12 May 2010 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/loose_myself/waiting for love just something that would hurt and feel the feel the bubbles that burst would sit along and write see her all alive and I... loose myself inside come... and feel me breathe in...side whither space corner silence leads to rest up away shimmer stars that die in rest nothing is the same as you are left for something that breathes for someone else that soil's away in fear and doesn't burn inhttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/my_inner_god/Fri, 18 Sep 2009 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/my_inner_god/Roar the silence Cut the bullshit I know you shut this bit Let me solo don't break it cover up your face be blessed with My time, My place My words its rage caught up in this reality let me call my inner god searing I am at such apathy the cold river turns colder Heap the grudge till its over you smell the sludge of the ego its foul.. I say, keep it straight don't mind lies are a thousand do not kill this timehttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_midnight_train/Tue, 12 May 2009 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_midnight_train/say forever say for us this night is all but just could've fallen could've gone a dream to which I belong this midnight train going all alone this midnight train going far alone, just wanna take a ride wanna be with me in this... kiss of a stranger just cuddle up behind the leaves talk in my ears the drops of rain that smell of your tears coming to the other side going all the way this midnight train going all alone this midnight train going far alone, just.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/i_am_mine/Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/i_am_mine/just after the other day my gaze fell upon this fray it was in me I realized trying to make me ionize the calm night, the magic light those pale eyes staring at such a sight my every spine stretched to its finality is this your reality? I am mine, I am a star selfless but selfish crying but not happy my broken thoughts stand in line the wind weeping in my senses today's all i've got you know my eyes want to speak to me why won't you let it go?https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/lines/Thu, 25 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/lines/the path that must be you are one of it lines after lines step through the signs shivering in light crossing my sight a cry to feel a part don't have to do this we are already so apart what's the feeling of the rain washed away in pain what's the feeling of trying not to run washed away in time the river runs, the stars shine you stay where you are, is it only time I wonder, if I could be one of you get that feeling of peace that I haven't knewhttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/cry_a_moment/Sun, 20 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/cry_a_moment/So long its been since we've talked about war and peace and all that is past you can feel the rain and the wind its not the same anymore people have wept for no reason with no consolation in sight far away we are from each other we still share some pride war is not a solution, its a way believing in it leads us astray no one remembers the fallen innocent lives soon forgotten cry a moment, cry a moment for respect, cry a moment for peace, cry for yourself.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/an_illusion/Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/an_illusion/Is it love, is it anger is it fright, is it madness Is it me or is it you Is it a moment or an eternal awe A mirror says a lot but what if it is a lie? Am I being fooled, or so I may think I am anxious, I am a mere human Embarrassed I stay low My eyes bear witness to my soul Brutal and bare, relations and feelings the invisible thread, the stare of a loved one hold onto to your seats the show has just begunhttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_liquid_dream/Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/a_liquid_dream/Soften the touch that makes the sound Feel the water in around Shimmering reflections in hindsight Cruising slowly in the moonlight A crest, a trough and then again one It feels me slightly, feels just a little dry Feels just a little happy, just a little sad The view across is all you Spanning the mirrors in all hues An escape, a walk that'll make you free A silence that will be serene The blend of elements so warm and quite Colors, the chaos all in spite Take me in, to your deepest desires A liquid dream and I conspirehttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/this_war/Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/this_war/its lonely, this war alone I am, you are not fear of breaking, my heart long lost the feeling, I wrought distant dreams of pure peace falling down like spring leaves discolored they are in my colored reality painted red fogging the dead are you for real, my friend can you hear my soul crying from deep within forgive me I couldn't save it all for I am a broken man, crumbled I fall wake up to this dream of fire and smoke and all the words that were misspoke fear for your life, for its written in stone live for today and die alone my end is near, my part is over goodbye my friend, its all yours the life I have yearned for is now lost hope I didn't waste my last breath hope you'll make it counthttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/never_been_so_real/Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/never_been_so_real/hear me now, its said and done no argument, no false promises whatever was asked, its been given no fake words, its all so real in these times what I feel like never was, never been, never felt it took time for this to come the sweat is gone but I am still here too much to wait for something so simple can't it be a little easier to get what you wanted, to get what i need its another day, another time.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/raindrops/Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/raindrops/Death is what awaits us all Forgive them for what you believe Soon it'll be over, seasons change Your time will come to bleed again You're falling down, falling down on me Frail and pure you cleanse my soul Without fear you lend your life In the sweetest moments of your cry Passion and anger are your ways Emotions run dry on your wet face I could see my reflection in you A relationship I have with a few Drip, Drip, Dripping till your last breath From the edge of a window, you hang to death Be brave now, for tomorrow is another day Starting a new life, wish I could sayhttps://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/sunrise/Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/sunrise/I await the silence that fills my blood Knowing what to expect, fear? I bleed One after the other, the same thoughts Wish you were me, wish I were you I wish, I wish I could see The sun rise up The sun rise up Blackened by the skies above Reflecting on the actions that I take Taken Over without having a say In their darkness, I get lost I wish, I wish I could see The sun rise up The sun rise up My intentions are scared, my vision blurred The thirst within me is making me worse I want to stop this game, I want to feel sane I wish, I wish I could see The sun rise up The sun rise up Help me get out of this world, of the me and you Show me the signs which I could live through Let me cleanse my soul, for this is my wish I wish, I wish I could see The sun rise up The sun rise up.https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/first/Sat, 09 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000https://sriramviswanathan.com/posts/first/My first blog! Really excited.