It is Raining Outside...

I look out of the window - it is raining outside... Rains on a weekend means no going out... In childhood when it rained, that also meant not going out. But we kids stood on a window holding iron rods and looked at the rain drops falling on the water lodged ground... and we were told that the splutters were actually small frogs jumping in joy! So many frogs! And we could not see as many! 

In our small town, rains brought out frogs playing high and long jumps; snails starting on their slow pilgrimage to somewhere; wet birds playing around among themselves while trying to make it appear they were searching for shelter; sometimes yukky insects - Ramji ka Ghoda (grasshopper) appeared to be some alien species landed on earth by mistake! 

Once our cousins-brigade was jumping over our grandpa's bed and it actually came down! The joy of breaking down something was higher than any guilt which could filter down our childhood consciences!

(C) Rahul

Who Did Better - Those Who Sacrificed Or Those Who Didn't?

In our school textbooks, sometimes when I read about our freedom struggle and noncooperation movement; where students left colleges and studies; employees quit their govt jobs; so as to put pressure on the British and strengthen our movement; I wondered what a great sacrifice it was... To quit studies and jobs meant sacrificing not only their own individual future prospects but also of their kids; all for the greater good of our country...

But then I used to read about the likes of Gandhiji and Nehruji; who went to England to study Law; established themselves in professions of power and prestige, and then later on when the time was right, joined the freedom movement. They did not establish the Cong Party; they only overtook it. They were certainly late-risers, or slow-movers; but went on to grab the opportunity with great strength when time was right.

And they not only earned their name and fame but also positions of power because of their education (since they did not quit college), knowledge (since they established themselves in their professions; often law - which gave immense mass popularity), had seen the globe (always appreciated in national leaders); spoke flawless English (because of which many Indians thought these were better fitted to negotiate with the British). So those who sacrificed their personal lives and quit colleges earned meager Freedom Fighters Pensions while those who did not quit colleges but joined the race to the top when the time was ripe, established their family dynasties which are still in power... (Again, truly ethical Gandhiji did not promote his dynasty; so he witnessed dispute with his sons and in general his kins are not as well-off as those of the leaders who chose to acquire positions of power and privilege...)

So can we say that in general selfish people benefited while sacrificing people suffered?

I think it is not so easy to conclude so. One, those who quit their studies and jobs, if they understood the importance of these should have made sure to send their kids to schools and colleges after India got freedom. Though I think it was not always possible to do so; once you are down, it is easier for you to go down than come up. Secondly, for those who were slow-movers and earned qualifications; though their kids had competitive advantage, there was no guarantee of success unless they labored hard and earned their merit. Though again, I think many times it is easier to succeed if you have succeeded in the past; than to succeed if you don’t know how success is gained in general. In any case there are always exceptions. 

(C) Rahul

Bad Boss Likeness

In a television ad, a husband says, (about his own wife), "She does not work because she needs to; she works because she likes to". Statement looked like stolen from someone's tweet - though of course even FBI won't find its original source! Earlier I thought it was my dream but when the man kept repeating it during every commercial break, I had to believe him (what other choice I had?). I think if I don't have to work, I shall resign today and now, I won't even wait to finish Spell-check on my resignation letter... I mean, you get one Bad Boss scenario and all your philosophies of life vanish into thin air! I am already in the process to make a deal with God to make me a housewife in next birth - I am just waiting for his offer of good husband. After all, given my history of bad-boss sickness I can kick and run a bad-boss but a bad-husband will stick like a chewing gum for long enough...

Being a Fan

I have always been biased towards being fan of good looking actors/heroes. I was late in being fan of any kind, but when I observed friends keeping posters of a Salman Khan on their (room) wall, I would know that the idea of idol was one which you yourself dream of becoming like, or at least don't mind becoming like... Who won't want a Salman Khan body? Because of which he could look down on villains and make funny comments on others? Who won't like Hrithik Roshan's fitness? Because of which he could look as good as or even better than Hollywood stars? But then I thought why to like a stammering SRK who won't even speak his heroine's name properly - or so many actors who look like a paan-wallah, auto-rickshaw wallah, road side romeo, etc! Because of which at times they got such fitting roles to play when they went out of fashion! So while I liked Shahrukh's innocence and gentlemanly conduct, I won't like to be in his shoes even if I am paid all his money to be him!... Thank God the supply of Hero-like Heroes has not yet stopped in Hindi movies. And yes, I hate each Pakistani actor who intrudes into our movies and I also thank God that all of them look inferior when standing next to our Stars!

Movies in those days

During school days I hardly watched movies. Sometimes we were also made to miss DD's Sunday afternoon movies for studies. So every Monday in school the bad students (they were also the happiest in the class) used to tell me stories of the movies and I was so happy that I did not waste time in watching movies. Listening to stories was good enough for me... 

The time when I seriously spent time watching a few movies was Akshay Kumar era. As soon as hero would fell in love, he will get into a helicopter and shower flowers on the heroine and both always wore funky clothes even if they were poor... 

In some movies, hero-heroine were college students and that college life was always so interesting. All we needed were some colorful clothes, a good hairstyle (which could be achieved by growing hair longer), and being stronger than the villains so as to beat them every time in front of the whole college. And students always carried books in their hands - so that hero heroine would crash on the college corridor and all books felled down - so that hero could pick up heroine's books and show how much he cared... as if bags and backpacks were not yet invented in those days... 

These days Hindi movies are so uninteresting...

Disturbing Trends...

Some trends are weird - never expected things to change so fast... So many companies in the developed world are firing their employees who have done 10, 15, 20 years of loyal service, and outsourcing the roles to half-baked professionals in poorer countries (to save bucks)... And so many companies are hiring only women; sometimes it is written sometimes not, but jobs are going to males only if and when no female candidate remains in the list for long enough... In a way these trends are creating a level-playing field as a larger picture... But for the mass-firings in developed countries my heart goes for those men who suffer without any mistakes on their part... Many of them don't find another job easily... Don't know when this madness stops and there is some balance... One man should not need to become poor in order for another to become rich...

Cycle of Waiting

Just noticed that in the night I wait for or look for the morning so that I can go on my morning walk at the park. Then I wait for noon so that I can have nice lunch. Then I am eager to reach to office so that I can finish lots of work. Then I wait to leave from office so that I can go home and watch TV. On weekdays I wait for weekend so that I can watch movies. Only on weekends I don’t wait for anything…

On weekends I live life and expect it to never end. Then again Monday to Friday the mad rush or waiting and going through the cycle….

Some are boring parts and some are interesting parts... That is called life, we can’t change that… 

Recent Book Reads

The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

By Deepak Chopra

ISBN-13: 978-8189988043

Think Big: Make It Happen in Business and Life

By Donald J. Trump, Bill Zanker

ISBN-13: 978-0061547836

How to Shine at Work

By Linda Dominguez

ISBN: 9780071408653

The Last Lecture

By Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow

ISBN-13: 978-1401391447

The Seven Secrets of Influence

By Elaina Zuker

ISBN 13: 9780070730854

As you sow so shall you reap

We met a rude man in the train who fought bitterly with attendant just to meet his demand for an extra pillow; and threw many other tantrums. 

After a few hours his 5 year old son woke up from sleep and made his father's life miserable by being too naughty and demanding. Once the kid wanted to go to loo while his pa was eating lunch. The kid threatened to relieve himself in his pants until his father had to agree to his demand to go... 

In a few hours the man turned from being a bully to a meek victim... 

Perhaps that is why they taught us so many sayings and anecdotes in school. Its turn of "as you sow so shall you reap".

Temple in Haidar's Bismil Song

You must have seen ruins of this ancient temple in Haidar's Bismil song and did you wonder? This is Martand Sun Temple of Anantnag. It is one of the only two Sun Temples in India, the other being in Konark, Odisha. The temple was built by King Lalitaditya Muktapida around 725-756 AD. The temple was completely destroyed by Sikandar Butshikan in early 15th century. It took one year for Sikander Butshikan to fully damage and destroy it.

You can search google on this topic; Historians account: During his rule Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam and were massacred in case they refused to be converted. And Sikandarpora (a city laid out by Sultan Sikandar) was laid out on the debris of the destroyed temples of the Hindus. In the neighbourhood of the royal palaces in Sikandarpora, the Sultan destroyed the temples of Maha-Shri built by Praversena and another by Tarapida. The material from these was used for constructing a 'Jami' mosque in the middle of the city. Towards the fag end of his life, he (Sultan Sikandar) was infused with a zeal for demolishing idol-houses, destroying the temples and idols of the infidels. He destroyed the massive temple at Beejbehara. He had designs to destroy all the temples and put an end to the entire community of infidels.

In his second Rajtarangini, the historian Jonraj has recorded, "There was no city, no town, no village, no wood, where the temples of the gods were unbroken. When Sureshavari, varaha and others were broken, the world trembled, but not so the mind of the wicked king. He forgot his kingly duties and took delight day and night in breaking images."

Interesting movies...

Jane: Damon? How many fingers?

Damon: Orange.

--

Damon: You see, Fred, it isn't the size of a guy's IQ that matters. It's how he uses it.

--

Fred Tate: After a while I was the most famous kid at Jane's school. But then a year later, a 6 year old boy named Willie Yamaguchi got into law school, and suddenly I wasn't such a big deal anymore. But I don't care, because I was happy.

Narrator: When you're really really poor, everything you see is something you can't have.

Narrator: When you have very little, whatever you lose pains much more. (not sure about exact words)

Dexter: Suppose you kept going another 18 billion light years, what if there's nothing out there? Suppose you kept going another trillion times further, so far out you see nothing. The light from the universe would be fainter than the faintest star. Infinitely cold. Infinitely dark. Sometimes if I wake up and it's dark, I get really scared, like I'm out there and I'm never coming back.


Erik: Here, hold onto this when you sleep. And if you wake up and you're scared, you'll say, "Wait a minute. I'm holding Eric's shoe. Why the hell would I be holding some smelly basketball shoe a trillion light years from the universe? I must be here on earth, safe in my sleeping bag, and Eric must be close by."

--

Erik: Hey! What would you do if I come over there and whopped your ass?

Dexter: How long would that take?

Erik: 'Bout 10 seconds.

Dexter: I'd wait till you're finished and then I'd continue working on my mud fort.

Erik: You mean you'd just let me beat you up?

Dexter: I'd try to stop you but I probably wouldn't be able to, I'm not very big.

Erik: Well in that case it'd only take 5 seconds.

Dexter: So is that what you're gonna do?

Erik: Maybe later.


Dexter: Hello? You still there?

--

Jessica Riggs: Alright for you, Carol Wetherby! You are not my friend anymore!
Carol Wetherby: What did I say?
Jessica Riggs: That there was no Heaven!
Carol Wetherby: So?
Jessica Riggs: [tears up] What about my mother, then?

--

Happy Diwali!

Eat healthy, play safe, buy made-in-India, and enjoy! 

May your life be filled with all the happiness of the world! 

Happy Diwali! 

विभिन्न रूपों में श्रीमाँ

कालीघाट में भद्रकाली का दर्शन करने के बाद माँ पैदल नकुलेश्वर की ओर जा रही थीं। मार्ग में गेरुआ-धारिणी, त्रिशूल-हस्ता भैरवी उनका रास्ता रोककर खड़ी हो गयीं। कुछ देर माँ के मुँह की ओर निहारने के बाद भैरवी गाने लगी। माँ चित्रलेखा-सी खड़ी रहीं। भैरवी का भजन सुनने के लिए रास्ते में भिखारियों और यात्रियों आदि की भीड़ लग गयी। वे गा रही थीं- 

ओ पार्वती, बता, तू पराये घर में किस प्रकार रही 

कितने लोग कितना कुछ कहते हैं,

सुन-सुनकर मेरे प्राण निकलने लगते हैं॥ 

माँ के प्राणों को भला धैर्य कैसे मिले,

क्योंकि सुना है कि जमाई भिक्षा किया करता है! 

इस बार जब शिव तुझे लेने आयेंगे,

तो कह दूंगी कि पार्वती घर में नहीं है॥ 

भजन समाप्त होने पर माँ के संकेत पर भैरवी को पैसे देने को तैयार होने पर उसने मना करते हुए कहा, "जिससे जो प्राप्य हो, उससे वही लेना चाहिए, माँ। तुमसे जो लेना है, वह मैं स्वयं ही ले लूंगी। तू जहाँ जा रही है, जा।" माँ आगे बढ़ीं। मैंने देखा कि रास्ते में जहाँ माँ के चरणों की धूलि पड़ी थी, भैरवी ने उसे उठाकर अपने सिर पर धारण किया और चली गयी।

नकुलेश्वर पहुँचकर माँ दर्शन करने नहीं गयीं। नलिनी, राधू, छोटी मामी और गोलाप-माँ को दर्शनार्थ जाने को कहकर वे स्वयं एक चबूतरे पर बैठी रहीं। अपने आप में डूबी बैठी रहीं। गोलाप-माँ आदि ने लौटकर जब उन्हें कई बार पुकारा, तब वे उठीं और अनमने भाव में गाड़ी में बैठ गयीं। सारे रास्ते वे कुछ नहीं बोलीं। घर लौटकर उन्होंने पूछा, "वह भैरवी कौन थी?" मैं बोला, "लगता है गिरीशबाबू के थिएटर की कोई रही होगी, इस समय ऐसी हो गयी है।" माँ  विशेष कुछ नहीं बोलीं, 'ओह!' मात्र कहकर चुप हो गयीं। 

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साभार: "विभिन्न रूपों में श्रीमाँ", विवेक ज्योति (पत्रिका), अक्तूबर अंक, पृष्ठ ४६५

मूल: बँगला ग्रन्थ 'श्रीश्री मायेर पदप्रान्ते', खंड २ से, अनुवादक श्रीमती मधूलिका श्रीवास्तव।