Often it is said that change is the only constant.

And yet, most often the biggest or the most important changes happen in a blur.

An external event, meaningless by itself, often triggers so many changes around you that leaves you wondering how fragile and temporary everything really is.

It amuses me how easily someone can change from being an underdog to a favourite and back - how little it really takes for the crowd to change the way they see things.

And so one needs to learn from the obvious lessons life continues to teach.

"Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous..." - Chanakya

Clearly, the great Chanakya recognised the value of perception as being far higher than the value of truth, especially for men who embark upon a path to get something done in the real world. 

And perceptions can change in the blink of eye - for they are borne out of complex, often irrational, biased and prejudiced views and attitudes of individuals. And one can condescend on such lack of objectivity, but the truth is that at the end of the day, people act only on the basis of perceptions.

Truth, information, data, opinions etc. can only attempt to get incorporated in a perception, but they exist in a thick shake of biases, prejudices, fears and insecurities. It is not that people can't close the gap between their perceptions and the truth, it is just that there is no real answer to a basic question - why should they care to ?

And it is through this muddled mixture that change either cuts through in an instant or squirms through unnoticed. And much in this world is determined by which of the two happens with any change.

As the metro train approaches, one closes the eyes to better feel the draught of wind coming through.

And before one knows the world as one knows doesn't exist any more !!!