Just a Thought: Eight

Between the 2 point of views lies the road less traveled.

Who will be brave enough to tread it is the question.

Be with Yourself

Be with yourself. Yes, I’m not mad and I’m not talking about some utopian concept. I’m simply suggesting that we should be comfortable with our own company. With the changing lifestyle - the glitter of malls, noise & smoke of pubs, multiplexes, we are increasing spending less time to sit down and think where we are heading and even lesser time with ourselves.

If left alone in a room for an evening without television, internet and a mobile away from city, most of us would go mad or think what the hell are we doing here. The loneliness would start killing us. The idea of sitting down and appreciating the silence and calm seems maddening. Most of us would think – “I’m not an oldie to be appreciating all this. I’m still young and energetic”.

Well I’d just say that you are afraid of yourself. You are uncomfortable in your own company. There’s no harm in slowing down at times and spending time with yourself. It’s not that bad. The need to be somewhere else, somewhere more lively or noisy or glitzy is just a way of running away from your thoughts and inner voice. It’s postponing reality for a little more time, but mind you it’s just postponing and not erasing or cancelling it.

I’ll end by quoting Elizabeth Gilbert who has beautifully captured this feeling in a few lines:

“Learn the way around loneliness. Make a map of it. Sit with it, for once in your life. Welcome to the human experience. But never again use another person’s body or emotions as a scratching post for your own unfulfilled yearnings.” – Eat Pray Love

A cricketing adventure

It was the month of March and the Inter House Cricket matches were in full swing. Amar, who was in standard XII and the captain of his house cricket team (Green House) was keen to get the cup home this year. Amar joined the Indian Public School, which is an all boys boarding school in class 1 when he was just 6 years old. In the 11 years of his stay he had achieved what every student would want to and was now a School Prefect. His closest set of friends was from the Prefect body. Just when Amar thought that life could not get better for him, the saga of the cricket inter house began.

Green House had won 2 of the 3 league matches and was already through to the finals. The last league match was between Green House and Red House (considered the weakest team for the season). This league match gained immense importance because the fate of 2 teams rested on it. If Red House won the match, they would play the finals against the Green House. However if they lost then Yellow House (the favorites for the tournament) would be the second finalist.

Now, Amar was in a position to choose his opponent for the finals and was obviously keen on playing the Red House. At this point the only thing that mattered to him was winning the cup and all other things like “spirit of the game” or sportsmanship seemed secondary. Amar decided to loose the last league match on purpose, knowing little that this decision would prove to be his nemesis.

All was well in the evening but trouble started to brew till dinner. Ajay, captain of the Red House cricket team felt insulted that his team made it to the finals on the mercy of someone and Vinay, captain of the Yellow Team simply felt cheated. Both of them were very good friends of Amar but at this stage temper clouded all reason. They began to create negative sentiment about Amar and his act and by dinner all the houses (Yellow, Blue and Red) were against the Green House.

They were jeered by the rest of the school while standing outside the mess, waiting for the dinner to be laid. But the worst brunt was faced by Amar. On the Prefect’s table where he used to have dinner, his friends refused to pass him the food. They passed comments like cheater, match fixer etc. and made him feel like he had committed a murder.

Angry by the reaction that his decision got, Amar took another radical decision. He decided that he would not play the finals and claimed that his team would win the trophy without him. This decision shocked his team members but he convinced them that at this stage with so much negative sentiment against them, this was the best thing to do. The members of the Green team stood by their captain’s decision and were even more motivated to get the cup home.

On the day of the finals, only a small faction of the school could be seen supporting the Green House. Green House won the toss and elected to bat first as that was their strength. They got off to a good start with the scoreboard reading 50/0 in 10 overs. However, Red House struck some unexpected blows and the final score line read a modest 107/8 in 20 overs.

This was a modest total, which the Red House could easily achieve. During the innings break, Amar went to the pavilion and gave a motivational speech to the team, urging them to give it their all. Every run scored by the Red House was cheered and every wicket taken by the Green House was jeered. Despite the hostility and their captain not playing the players were determined and keen to get the cup home.

Some disciplined bowling, a couple of good catches and some stupid shot selection by the batsmen of the Red Team poised the match evenly at the half way stage. The score line read 65/5 in 10 overs. The match could go anyway and everyone watched with bated breath. The last recognized pair of batsmen were batting and another wicket would expose the tail.

The excitement continued till the last over when the score read 104/8 in 19 overs. The tail was batting with 4 runs needed of the last over and 2 wickets in hand. The first 2 balls went for 1 run. The third one was a wicket. 3 runs of 3 balls with 1 wicket in hand. The fourth ball was a dot and the batsman hit the fifth ball in the covers and immediately ran. They wanted to take 2 runs but a brilliant fielding effort resulted in a run out. Green House won the finals by 1 run. Amar and the rest of the Green House students rushed into the field to hug the heroes of the day. The rest of the school was stunned into silence.

The hostility against Amar and Green House continued for a week or so but then everyone forgot about it and moved on. Things began to normalize and Amar and his friends were back to their normal ways. Amar felt that poetic justice was done.

However, on introspection Amar learned 2 of the most important lessons of his life. Lesson No 1: Though it’s important to be ambitious and aim at higher goals, but the means through which those goals are also important. The seemingly right decisions catch up with you some time or the other if the motives are not right

Lesson No 2: When pushed to the wall, don’t back out. Take a stand and fight back.

Just a Thought: Seven

You reminiscence about old times

Smile to yourself about the silly things you did

Become nostalgic

Wish time could be turned back

Remember long forgotten friends

And then come back to reality and carry on

Heart of India

I visited MP about 2 years ago and i wrote this then. Thought it's worth sharing

Well I’ve been around in Madhya Pradesh for the past 10 days and I thought I’ll share my experience with u all. To start with my perception of MP being a dry and barren state was wrong of whatever little I managed to see of this huge state. I think the topography of the state is quite unique. You have vast stretches of land and in between the planes you suddenly have some highlands (mini hills or plateaus you can say). I found that quite amusing. The black soil in the state was also something new for me. The vast stretches of black soil with patches of greenish yellow vegetation on it was a good site. In fact there is a lot of green cover in the state.

I was staying in Bhopal for most of the time. Bhopal is sort of a dead town or you can say a perfect reflection of a bureaucratic town. The capital of MP is quite relaxed and laid back with nothing much to write back home about apart from a big lake which is decently maintained.

An hour’s drive from Bhopal is Sanchi. Sanchi’s claim to fame is the Sanchi Stupa which is a world heritage site. My visit to Sanchi was a good one. A very quite and calm place, it had a certain peace about its surroundings (or maybe it was because early in the morning me and my colleague were the only visitors there). However, the remains of the ancient monastery and Buddhist temple were worth a visit. On my way to Sanchi I also happened to cross the Line of Cancer (23.5 N – remember geography people). Not that it’s of much consequence but then I have to write something and bore you people.

Next destination was Dewas followed by Indore where I had to do warehouse inspections. Nothing to mention about Dewas. It’s a small district. However, en route to Dewas I saw a lot wind mills on the mini hills/plateaus mentioned earlier. Seems Suzlon has a big project here. Indore was the complete opposite of Bhopal. It was energetic, was far more developed/commercialized than Bhopal and very crowded. Didn’t feel like I was in MP which had been calm and laid back so far. My stay in Indore was for only a night. Next day being a Sunday, my colleague was very keen on visiting Ujjain before heading back for Bhopal. Now I was not interested in going but seeing how badly he wanted to visit the holy temple town I agreed. I tried to go with an open mind but please excuse me if I’m hurting anyone’s religious sentiments, but the experience was not something I’ll want to repeat. After waiting for an hour (quite a lot of it in heat) we finally got the chance to have a look at the shivling and that too for a few seconds. Not to mention that pushing and shoving was common. However, luckily the temple was not dirty. Some relief. Anyways, my colleague was happy and we headed back for our base.

For all those who have read till here and not abandoned the mail midway thanks for your patience.

Light at the end of the Tunnel

The phases of ups and downs are a part of everyone’s lives. What’s important is the way different people deal with them. There are days on end when everyday you get up and wonder why do you have to go through another wretched day. It’s just one of the phases that one’s going through when nothing seems to be working out.

Though everyone knows that there’s light at the end of the proverbial tunnel but what’s important is how one approaches that light. Some might just go in a shell and try to see the phase through, some take it heads on and laugh through it, some begin to lose confidence and feel the light will never show. Sometimes it’s also important to close your eyes when there’s darkness around and walk along the tunnel to reach the light. Whatever the approach, the best part is that the light does come.

So no matter how dark it gets, I think we should get up each morning with the belief that the tunnel will be crossed today. I’m sure the journey will become much shorter that way and hopefully there’ll be more ups than downs in our lives.

To Kill a Mocking Bird

I was quite an avid reader in school. I still like to read but somehow with the distractions in life increasing, the frequency of reading has reduced. Recently, I was reading a classic – “To Kill a Mocking Bird” and wondered why I didn’t read this masterpiece earlier.

The best part about the book is the way in which it conveys important messages without being preachy. The ability of Atticus, the protagonist to stand by what he believes, even in the face of adversity is something that forces the reader to think. The innocence of the kids and how Atticus deals with it, along with laying certain important ground rules that would lay the foundation of their personalities is a lesson which all of us could learn from. The entire emphasis of the book according to me is to get the basics and the fundamentals right. Rest things will fall in place.

Hats off to Harper Lee for writing this masterpiece.

Little bit of a difference

Going through today’s paper I came across an interesting concept of Your Turn Now (YTN) which aims at spreading goodness. It’s about how when someone thanks you for some help, instead of just saying a welcome you also give them a YTN card and encourage them to do a good deed.

The article made me think that how most of us forget the little things in life these days. It’s very easy to get cynical and crib about how the world is becoming unhealthily competitive and not so nice to live in anymore. However, it’s even easier to just appreciate the little things in life and do little acts of kindness and politeness. Things like saying a thank you to the person who serves you food at home/restaurant, smiling at the acquaintances you pass by everyday or just listening/being there for a friend are little things that don’t take too much but might go a long way in making this world a better place to live in. It’s about pausing a bit in the daily fast paced schedules.

It’s very easy to get carried away in the flow of things but as a friend rightly said that it’s the journey and not the destination that matters in the end. In the quest to reach the destination we often forget the journey part. I think it’s worth pausing a bit and seeing where we are heading and in case I’m able to make a little bit of a difference, I think it would be a life well lived.

Just a Thought: Six

What do you do when the world around believes in you but the mirror tells a totally different story

Spark

Spending some time in Narhat and Thanagazi, away from the hustle bustle of Bombay has given me time to think about where I’m heading and what I might possibly want from life. I haven’t even come close to answering those questions but what I’ve definitely felt is that there’s something missing from my life.

I mean I don’t really look forward to a lot of things and the usual energy and optimism I used to associate myself with is missing. There’s nothing I would put my life and energy into and that really upsets me. Not having the attachment, the passion or the desire to do that one single thing. I’m missing the happiness and high that one gets from working towards that single minded goal.

I really feel jealous of people who are madly passionate about something. It gives you a certain confidence and spark in life. It keeps you going and life doesn’t become monotonous. Yes, the spark is missing from my life and I hope I’m able to find it soon.

Yellow with a dash of Green and Blue

One of the ways to make the most of my stay in Rajasthan is to travel whenever possible and see as much of Rajasthan as possible. Keeping that in mind we decided to visit Jaisalmer over the weekend which is more than 12 hours away from Thanagazi.

During the never ending train journey I couldn’t help but see the huge tracks of barren land with some shrubs and trees growing on it. For miles and miles one could just see barren land till the horizon. It struck me that here lies a brilliant opportunity to generate solar energy in a place where unusable land and sunlight are in is in abundance. An energy starved India could do with whatever extra energy it gets from whatever source. Though I did see some wind mills in the area but I feel solar energy would be more efficient in Rajasthan.

We were going to freshen up in the guest house before leaving for the desert. The guest house was inside the Jaisalmer Fort. Unlike most other forts, the Jaisalmer Fort is not a property of the Government of India or converted to a hotel but is inhabited by the descendants of the King and the people who use to serve him. Numerous hotels, guest houses, restaurants, shops and houses make up the fort. I always use to wonder how life would be in a fort during the times of the king. Seeing the Jaisalmer I got a feel how it would have been.

Another thing that was struck me was the architecture of Jaisalmer. All the buildings in Jaisalmer are yellow made mostly from the yellow jaisalmeri stone. From the fort, to the hotels, shops, houses and even the police station, ATM and petrol pumps. All are yellow giving a unique standardization to the place. Also a lot of houses had very fine carvings on their walls and windows. So from the desert to the city, all our eyes could see was yellow (with a dash of greenery here and there and the blue sky whenever we bothered to look up).

We saw a couple of Jain temples in Jaisalmer which have to be marveled for the brilliant carvings on the ceilings, arches and the walls. The desert as we had expected to find on reaching Jaisalmer was not there. The sand dunes that we see in the pictures and the movies are actually another 40 kms away from Jaisalmer. The trip to the sand dunes was a good experience with a bumpy camel ride adding to the fun. The night was spent in a camp near the dunes where we were supposed to spend the night in tents. However, the weather in the open being windy and cool we slept in the open which was far better than the tents.

It was a nice small trip which I’m glad we took despite the heat and the distance.

Bhangarh

Rajasthan has numerous forts and havelis spread across the state in varying conditions and each has its own tale to tell. During my visits to various villages in the Thanagazi area I came across an abandoned settlement called Bhangarh and like any other fort this one too has a tale.

The myth goes that Bhangarh was a very prosperous settlement and the queen was very beautiful. A hermit of the village fell in love with her and on being unable to win her, cursed the entire settlement to doom. Ever since Bhangarh lies in ruins (though recognized by the Archeological Survey of India as a protected site). The myth also says that whoever tries to settle there either goes mad or dies. Therefore no one ventures in the area after sunset even though it’s a tourist destination during the day.

The ruins of Bhangarh are simply majestic and convey signs of prosperity even in a dilapidated state. The settlement area is massive with 4 temples still there. One can see the equisite carvings on the temple walls and ceilings. Apart from temples there are havelis, an entire market and the majestic palace overlooking the entire settlement. The palace is covered by the Aravalis from 3 sides and the entire settlement is protected by walls and gates.

The visit compelled me to think and wonder if I should believe the myth. It made me wanting to go back in time and experience how life must have been in the settlement, how the king might come out at the palace balcony every evening and see with satisfaction the prosperous settlement he had created and how one curse could ruin it all. I don’t know whether to believe the myth or not but what I do know is that the palace, the temples, the havelis and the market of Bhangarh have stood the test of time and even in a dilapidated state reflect some glory. It seems as if they are all standing there waiting to tell their story.

The Rajasthani Goonghat

My village stint in Rajasthan so far has been pretty interesting (and difficult also logistically). Away from the hustle bustle of the city, living in a village is a totally different experience and makes you appreciate simple things like a running tap in your bathroom with we otherwise take for granted in the city.

The interesting thing that I would want to share and noticed here (contrary to popular belief) is the practice of ghoonghat. Strangely enough all the women that we have interacted with so far have not hidden their faces from us. In fact they are quite comfortable talking to us. The ghoonghat is immediately drawn the moment some elder of the house or the village is around. The hesitation also creeps in then. Thus, the veil and the hesitation is from the known and not the unknown. I’m yet to figure out the reason for the same. However, whatever the reason be I found the practice quite interesting.

T 20 fever

The IPL frenzy these days reminds me of the day that I think is largely responsible for T 20 being such a craze in India. It’s the day the Indian cricket team, against all expectations and with a bit of luck won the inaugural T 20 world cup. I was in Bombay that time and had the privilege of seeing a spectacle of a lifetime.

I went for my usual walk to Marine Drive after the match without knowing what was in store for me. There were people all over. The place was flooded with from people all walks and age groups. From uncle aunties to small kids all had come down to the streets to celebrate the Indian victory. Cars and bikes just kept pouring in. I hadn’t seen so many people with so many Indian flags ever, not even on Independence Day. Almost every car and bike had a flag. People were on top of car roofs, standing on bikes, standing on top of each other to wave the Indian flag. They were dancing, shouting, jeering Pakistan, cheering India, slogan shouting, you name it and they were doing it. Cars were parked with the boots open and “Chak De” India was blowing from every speaker. The National Anthem was sung so many times in those couple of hours. Diwali had just arrived a little early in Bombay, all thanks to some guys in South Africa. The fireworks added some light to the celebrations. The atmosphere was simply electric. There was so much energy around and the celebration just kept on going on and people kept on pouring in. Finally rain played the party pooper and people began to return to their houses though for some even that was not consideration enough.

A truly amazing experience.

Just a Thought: Five

The energy and dynamism of a city makes it harder to be lonely than the peace and inactivity of a countryside.

The boon and the bane of the “Local”

The train network of Mumbai (referred to as the “local”) that transports thousands everyday from one corner of the city to the other is often referred to as the Lifeline of the city and I couldn’t agree more. It’s undoubtedly the fastest, surest and cheapest way to travel in the city, which even the sea link failed to do. How on earth could one otherwise even think of living in Borivali and working in Churchgate. On Ganesh Chaturthi, when the entire city is in a jovial mood and is out on the roads, one couldn’t even imagine travelling form one part of the city to the other, had it not been for the local.

So there’s no doubt that the local is a boon for the city but then there’s no free meal after all. The train network has divided the city in east and west. What this has done is that going from east to west or vice versa in the same locality is more troublesome than going to a neighborhood in the same direction. For example going to Goregaon West is easier than going to Andheri East from Andheri West.

I’ll share my example here when the other day I was going for a movie to Andheri East from where I stay (Andheri West). My friends had left in an auto and by chance I could not find one for myself. All autos refused to go towards east but were ready to go anywhere in the west. After twenty minutes of looking for an auto I began to walk towards the theatre and after crossing over from the railway station reached the theatre in thirty minutes (walking), earlier than some who were in an auto. A small inconvenience and an even smaller problem. The boons far outweigh the banes and there is no doubt about that. Nevertheless, I thought I’ll show the other picture also.

Bow down to The Genius

24 February, 2010, a day cricket fans and especially Indian cricket fans will never forget. Few would have imagined what lay in store for them when Sehwag and Sachin walked out to bat at 1430 hours. As the day progressed, Sachin scored runs after runs with complete ease, milking the South African bowlers. The elusive milestone (and the only one left in his cap) in ODI history awaited him as an entire nation came to a standstill. 200 not out. None other deserved it more.

The South African team, the Umpires and the three Indian batsmen were so privileged to see history being created at such close quarters that I envy them. It’s amazing how even after completing 20 long years in International cricket, the hunger for runs just never dies. In times where players come and go after their 15 minutes of fame, here’s a man whose stood the test of time and carried the dreams and hopes of a nation for over 2 decades.

It’s been a complete privilege to be in a generation that witnessed the magic and madness of this great player. I wonder what Indian cricket would be without Sachin and I pity those in the coming generation who didn’t have a chance to watch Sachin play. Hats off to you Sachin. The entire nation (or should I say the entire cricketing world) bows down to you.

Dissonance

It’s basic human nature to exaggerate, spice up things and portray oneself in a better light, at times a much better light. Why only humans, organizations are no different. They also like to put up an image with which they want to be associated. The problem creeps when it’s just all say and no action.

One can go on shouting from a roof top and claim to be the sole guardians of whatever little integrity, ethics and culture is left in the world but it’s important to believe in it also and put it in action. Imagine an organization which is so blinded by the garb of this belief that it has become a breeding ground for everything that it doesn’t stand for. No file moves without signatures, signatures are obtained only after some egos are massaged, no selection is done without negotiations, collaborations and pulling of strings. The place could give the Indian bureaucracy a run for it’s money. However, the place preaches about the Gita and ethics and culture and values.

Well I know what a lot of people will say – “welcome to the real world”. My point is what’s the harm in accepting that this is what the real world is all about and we are preparing you for that. But no, how is that possible. After all we are the only one’s left in the world who still believe in such novel concepts. Well, did someone say Dissonance.

GASP

I never thought that I’ll be able to do a full length play after leaving school but fortunately I had the privilege of being a member of the theatre group of SP Jain – the Guild of Actor @ SP (GASP). Even though I was a part of the production team, the experience of being a part of a team doing a play was simply phenomenal. It provided the team an escape from the banality of the daily schedules, from the boring lectures and the useless assignments. It gave us all something to look forward to every evening. To top it all up we were privileged to pick up a classic – “Evam Indrajit” which gave us all enough food for thought during this period. Actually it still is.

The poetry with which the “Writer” memerises everyone and raises pertinent questions highlights the beauty of the play. The monologues (specially towards the end of each act) are amazingly scripted bringing to the fore the struggle that each one of us go through. We all know about these struggles and want to escape, want to be different but can’t do so. Yes, as the writer himself says – “And yet there is no escape”.

I’m really glad that I could be a part of the team and do this exceptional play. Maybe these 3 months will be the best that I’ll spend at SP this will be the best memory that I’ll take with me from SP. J

Just a Thought: Four

There are theories, paradox, phenomenon, dreams, imaginations and then there are facts.

Absence

As usual the realization of a person’s impact in one’s life surfaces only in the person’s absence. The conceited me never wanted to believe that someone could impact my life in any way unless reality dawned.

I could never imagine that one person could impact so many lives, unknowingly binding people and weaving dreams for them, and then all of a sudden the absence brings everything down. The dreams vanish, disillusionment sets in and the weaving begins to wane away. Everyone holds on their respective forts, fighting their own ghosts, behaving like nothing has happened, giving strength to all the others, but in reality all of them need each other. It can’t be explained in words how one moment can change the lives of so many people.

The absence is a part of our life, an inseparable part that can’t be removed. It’s just about trying to accept the absence, face it and maybe try and find peace in it. Till then we are all holding our respective forts.