Happy Teachers Day

Who is a teacher ?
Before one gives a specific definition, I would like to mention that just like a mother can only be good, a Teacher can also be only good.

Anyone who can urge others to overcome their shortcomings and become a better person is a teacher.
This is how I identify a Teacher from among  the spilling multitude of humanity.

And saying so I can't help but remember  Mummy
She was a graduate in English Literature and loved Urdu poetry.
She was a passionate and intense reader of books in both languages.
And she was a natural teacher.
"Natural" I say because anyone who has been in touch with her has learned something good from her because she preached through practice ....

By a fortunate chance she got an opportunity to teach in the school where we siblings used to study.
Instead of teaching English, she chose to be a teacher of Moral Science.
Yeah! Back then, in the good old days there used to be a subject called "Moral Science"...

Trying to keep pace with the ever-changing Time, and being nothing but another rat in the race of life one never realised when, but surely quite a  long time ago Moral Scinece books vanished from school bags ...
Now one hears that in the days to come  schools will replace character certificates with aptitude certificates ...

Sometimes in a glittering world of insatiable materialism, it becomes difficult to find morals ...

However some of the Teachers are now better paid.

Happy Teacher's Day

Uss ko Kahaan dhoondhey re bandey .... 💐

( A childhood memory and a spiritual awakening has triggered this write up. )

Soon after the Morning Namaaz, my father used to switch on the cassette player and we children would literally wake up to the voices of Sabri Brothers singing one of the most popular Qawwalis ever ...
"Taajdaar e Haram ..."
and
Lata Mangeshkar singing that heavenly Bhajan soaked in spiritual purity ...
" nis din barsein nain hamaarey ... "

Those voices, those words and those thoughts are forever etched in my heart.

Having been brought up with such fulfilling and plentiful diversity has not just enriched me spiritually but also prepared me for the life that I am now leading ...

Many times in life man needs a cushion (or perhaps a punching bag 😊 !) to rest upon in difficult times (or alternatively punch the pain out !!! )

So while no one really knows between Religion and Man, who created whom, logically speaking religion must have germinated from this seed called pain.

And therefore, religion, as a guiding philosophy should ideally bring peace in the lives of the believers and comfort them like that cozy cushion ( or the punching bag ) in their stressful time

The role of religion from being the guiding star to becoming a red herring is a subject of serious thought and discussion because it has brought more discomfort and misery on this Planet for reasons that are no more pious 

The shocking fact that God / Allah / Bhagwaan is being "sold" to unsuspecting believers sometimes in the form of bread and sometimes in the form of guns , has never dawned upon most of us ... !!!

And hence in the midst of life's tough times the believer thinks only of more Pooja , Havan , Waziifa (specific number of chants for a special purpose) taaviz , pilgrimage etc 

So when more than a decade and a half ago, I faced an extremely challenging and the most difficult phase in my life , some well wishers  advised me to go for Hajj / Umra to find peace of mind

(Umra is like Hajj , all rituals are the same , but it can be performed at any time of the year , whereas Hajj is performed in a specific month and on specific days of that month )

But my parents, sincerely religious and admirably courageous souls that they were, were against any such "escape" route.

They argued as to how could anyone find peace in pilgrimage when one's life was scattered like a city after a devastating storm ?
How on earth would going away from problems solve them ?

Indeed back then picking up the broken parts and reconstructing a walkable path ahead was not easy ... But bringing back some normalcy in life was the need of the hour ... and for that I had to put in my most diligent efforts by ensuring my presence where it was needed the most.

The pilgrimage was forgotten as I gradually began attending to the more worldly matters requiring my attention at that moment.

Some months later I met a cousin, who had gone for The Hajj Pilgrimage that year...

She told me something that even on this day makes my eyes moist ... How can it be true ... That feeling , I have never been able to put in words ... !!!

My heart flutters with joy and amazement ... Disbelief and gratitude ... !!!

I felt wrapped in the embrace of a deeply protective divine power as my cousin described vividly in detail the miracle that she had seen ...

She had seen something that to rationale, logic and perception seems completely impossible ... !!!

She said that during the tawaaf (the parikrama) of The Holy Ka'baa , at that place which is the holiest and the most revered one for any Muslim , a little distance away from her  .... but right there in front of her ... 

She had seen me ... !!!

Had she seen me ???

Yes ... That's what she said 

She had seen me there !!!



💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝💝

Independence Day Greetings to all

Independence Day , 15th August  is just a couple of days away
And if I may be allowed an honest expression of what my heart tells me , I dare say , on social networking sites all kind of celebrations and debates begin like a  cloud burst , and rather early too , in a flood like out-pour where everyone is  trying to score quick loyalty points  .... I may be accused of doing the same :-)
Loyalty shows through deeds more than words ... Hence let my words be .... Carry on with your deeds dear friends :-D

Would like to share some interesting things I noticed in the past few days .... we Indians have been offered ways to reiterate and display our Indian-ness for this one special day  ....
Hence there are among other things:
1) A collection of  ring tones playing classic patriotic numbers to choose from,  that will greet everyone we call from our phone on 15th Aug and amply convey how patriotic we are

2) There are also dupattas and stoles in tri-colour, saaris with tri colour borders and pallus and other accessories to wear for Independence Day outings

3) If you choose to send messages instead of calling , there are a handsome number of "Ready-to-use"  quotes and tri-colour images celebrating this sacred National Day  available on the net to wish friends and family

Every celebration is now becoming class-oriented , limiting the reach of joy to a particular class of society ....
It is a  class that can afford mobile phones  and has access to the internet , essentially the moneyed and educated class whose morals are strikingly ironical ...
They may themselves break traffic rules but preach righteousness to others

But there is another class of human beings too who start celebrating  this day well in advance
They are those under-nourished and  malnourished children , who should have ideally been in school , and at least been provided one balanced meal a day , selling  replicas of The Indian National Flag on traffic signals


Ever since I started using messaging and Facebook , I have almost stopped using the phone for its basic purpose i.e calling people for a conversation , hence  the ring tones provided will not put across  my patriotic feeling to any audience
And in my opinion the other options available do convey greetings and best wishes , but  they are not my own words
Therefore I am writing down my feelings ...in my own words

I feel that it will be a much more profound greeting even if the words are few , but are our own and the  feelings come from our heart
The only compliment I like to give myself often  is that I would like to think of myself as  a very grounded person
Usually I buy clothes , food and other requirements from local neighbourhood sellers
Also I prefer Indian  fruits and vegetables , Indian cosmetics , Indian toiletries , Indian tourist destinations etc because I think this is the way we can help our lesser privileged countrymen and  in effect  serve our country a wee bit better

While I wish every Indian across the globe A Very Happy and Proud Independence  Day , I wonder if instead of asking foreign brands to come and  flood our markets , would it not be better for our governments to promote the local artisans and farmers  to improve their products and take that to the foreign market ... ?
Would that not be a more dignified way of  presenting ourselves to the world ?

Let this Independence Day be an opportunity for all of us to reflect a little and to look back a little 
Instead of just a "one day celebration"  let this be a process where we celebrate India every day not with token  ring tones and dupattas and stoles but with a sincere promise ...
Let us promise ourselves to put in our efforts to make India the nation  where our diversity is the strength of the masses ,  not a plaything in the hands of vested interests to exploit and loot us and our Motherland

Happy and Beautiful Independence Day Thoughts and Wishes to All
God Bless

May Better Sense Prevail

What do you do when you are facing some of the worst moments in your life ?

Do you go and kill people who have not done any harm to you because someone has harmed you ?
Or do you try to get over the shock so that your thought process is not influenced by outside vested interests ?

Do you start hating everyone, specially belonging to that community, sect , religion etc ?
Or do you allow space for the fact that every creation of God is born with both good and bad inside him/her/it

Still worse
Do you go and burn yourself up ?
Or do you sit and try to calm yourself ?

The options are not easy to choose when one is devastated beyond words

The person who has been hurt and wronged is not in a position to take a mature and prudent decision obviously because in a state of shock , anguish (and at times personal loss) the power to think rationally gets majorly compromised
Such a person needs friends to stand by him , to spend time with him and most importantly to calm and soothe his mind and heart
This is the time when Friends are tested for their sincerity
It is not always about monetary help that one expects from well wishers
Many times the more important requirement is guidance , showing a ray of hope in times of total darkness , healing the wounds and trying to erase the scars

This is true for all times
Human suffering may be due to a natural calamity or a man made / created / planned disaster ... or even a broken relationship or having not done well in an examination
It is always the response of the victim that determines his/her future

ALWAYS REMEMBER:
VIOLENCE ( and VIOLENT RETALIATION ) NEVER HELPS  ANYONE .... And in fact it HURTS THE VICTIMS MORE
There can be no valid justification for violence... mental, physical , verbal ... all kind of violence is criminal

If one is blessed with the power to ever give an advice to someone , they must take time to think rationally ( do the difficult job of setting the bias aside for a while ) , and  always talk about ushering in peace
This instantly brings positivity and surrounds the aggrieved person with an aura of hope which sets the ground for a better future ...
May better sense prevail

Eid Mubarak

Ever since I have joined Facebook and its other networking variants I am amused to observe  how much goodness  there is in the virtual world ....

No one seems to be endorsing violence or corruption and everyone seems to be on the side of peace and togetherness.
It is heart warming to see Eid , Holi , Diwaali , X'Mas , Gur Parab , Pongal , Navroz and an infinite number of other festivals being universally celebrated in the cyber space
Also  birthdays , wedding anniversaries , birth of a grand child , wedding/engagement/other festivities in the family etc are all celebrated with joyous and heartfelt greetings :-)
And as if this is not enough  there are birthday and anniversary celebrations almost every day on one or the other group and we see a long chain of cheerful wishes flowing through from across the globe  :-)

Yet in a surprisingly ironical real world people are not as accommodating , respectful and  polite  ...
There is wide spread  (almost unchecked) corruption which in turn results in barbaric terrorist activities  happening under one or the other pretext ... There is a glaring lack of tolerance and an alarming rise in intermittent acts of violence...
There is mud-slinging and name-calling  , there is heart break and depression , there are calls to "avenge injustice"  and oath-taking to "teach the other a lesson "
There is so much rigidity as though human hearts have turned  into stone ...

Everyone is entwined and entangled  in this demoralizing scenario and usually people choose their side of the fence as per their background and philosophy considering their circumstance at that given present time

Incidentally, this year  in the Holy month of Ramzaan , from having sermons on the benefits of Yoga and Namaaz ,  and  the warnings about how a "wrong " pronunciation of Arabic words could lead to blasphemy by Urdu speaking believers of Islam ,  to the mindless killing of one sect of believers by another sect  in a mosque  have left the ordinary followers of the faith speechless and confused.

A religion that is said to be preaching universal peace and brotherhood is being put to disgrace by a few of it's  "followers" misleading  an entire world of people who are at a loss to perceive the "compatibility" between peace and violence


Meanwhile Ramzaan is moving at a fast pace .... The intezaar for Eid has already begun ... I wonder kis ne kitney Qur'an padhey aur kitney sajde karey ...... ?
Who did it right and who did it wrong ?
Whose ibadat will be accepted by God Almighty ?

But the biggest of all questions is a thought that nags the mind :
Is this the kind of "ibadat" that one should be satisfied with ?
What is the purpose of such rituals ?
Should the customs that have religious sanctions not be evaluated and updated from time to time ?
Ramzaan , or for that matter any time of the year is not just for the followers to spend nights and days reading Qur'an , offering namaaz and reading some duas ( that have been "standardized "  and circulated over various internet groups )
As we talk of spirituality and find ourselves among a mind boggling maze of rituals the question of "har yug mein badaltey dharmoN ko kaisey aadarsh banaaogey .... " is of great importance

If we can just learn to stop being judgmental and also stop counting the good deeds of a person in relation to his/her roza and Namaaz , if we can respect the creations of God Almighty for what they are , and learn to ALSO  PRACTICE  what we so fervently preach on the social networking sites , we would go a long way in living up to the spirit of Ramzaan .... and perhaps be able to imbibe the truthfulness and depth of God's message better

So while we prepare to bid this year's Ramzaan an affectionate  Khuda Hafiz , and get ready to eat our sheer-khurmaas and qeewami sevaiN, let us spare a thought for the larger message of God , which is universal in whatever name/form it comes to us , shunning discrimination of all kinds :-)

Happy And Mubarak Eid to all
God Bless

Ramzaan Mubarak

Ramzaan is not just a spiritually gratifying time for the Muslims of the World.
It is also astonishingly a terrifying time for many housewives , now known as home makers.

There is a couple residing a short distance away from my house .
The husband has retired and is a hypertension patient
The wife too is no longer young. She has health issues all of which I don't know , but I could see heavy swelling on her feet as she scurried in and out of the Casualty Ward where her husband had been brought after he had fainted in the bank where he had gone for some work

After he was shifted to the ICU , and things had settled a bit , she told me that he had been fasting for the day. (It was an optional roza, which he could easily have avoided considering his condition)
She also kept insisting that she was preparing meals for the evening , thereby implying she was under pressure to have the table laid out elaborately with "iftaari"
This tension was certainly not doing her any good

There is another instance that I'm reminded of ...
This was a young couple.
Husband a fitness freak wanted to fast in Ramzaan to control his excessive eating (and I wonder if there was  any religious attachment to the act too ... but that is apart )
However at the iftaar table he would expect an extravagantly sumptuous feast  evening after evening ....
The wife naturally was under a huge stress to have peace at iftaar time

Is this what Ramzaan should entail ?
Is this the spirit of Ramzaan ?

Namaaz padho ,  Roza rakho , Qur'an padho .... All very good :-)
Ibadat is for self purification and Ramzaan is specially a time for introspection , when one controls hunger and thirst  as an offering of one's love to God Almighty and also as a means to enhance the compassion in one's heart for those who have to go without food (and at so many places even water is in limited supply ....or is even sold for cash/kind to the poor)
Ramzaan is also a time to think of such underprivileged people who go hungry not because they are fasting but because they don't have enough food

Also to perform any kind of  Ibadat / Prayer / Pooja one must be healthy and medically fit ...It should be an act of goodwill which must essentially result in peace and betterment of self and others....and not a burdensome complusion
Remember God does not have a favourite worship style and there could be infinite number of ways through  which one can pray and express one's gratitude and love for the Almighty 

As we welcome yet another month of Ramzaan , let us be thankful for the blessings we have and spend time in releasing the toxins from our thought process , relaxing our hearts and renewing ourselves into better human beings :-)

Ramzaan Mubarak to all

The "Guide"

Film "Guide" completed fifty years of its release in 2015.
An unrivalled, ahead-of-its-time film, "Guide", as we all know was based on a novel of the same name by reputed writer R K Narayan, directed by the legendary Vijay Anand and produced by Dev Anand.
Vijay Anand has also contributed to the screenplay of "Guide".
There was also a 120-minute US version written by Pearl S Buck which was produced and directed by Tad Danielewski.
"Guide" was screened at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, all of forty two years after its release.

From the conviction and faith the producer-director team had in the story to Waheeda Rahman accepting to play the female lead, "Guide" has been a very unique and special experience.
Special not only for the makers, but for the fans and viewers as well.

It is not just another film.
It is an experience that leaves the audience enriched, pensive and entertained.
The songs of "Guide" have been among the best in Bollywood history, remain unsurpassed in flavour and popularity even after half a century.
The music (by none other than Sachin Dev Durman), the lyrics (by legendary poet philosopher Shailendra), ... and their presentation ... superlatively class apart ... !!!
And totally wowsome are Waheeda Rahman's dances, not to forget her amazingly accomplished portrayal of Rosie!!!

An interesting memory associated with one of the songs of "Guide" was narrated by Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma.
He said in one of his television interviews that Pancham Da being a good friend of his coerced him into playing the tabla for the song "Mo se chhal kiye jaaye ... " although Pandit Ji had left playing tabla and was concentrating on Santoor.

I have heard Waheeda ji saying Dev Saheb was so comfortable and secure in his performance that not once did he try to even remotely overshadow her in the film.

I saw "Guide" after more than a decade of it's release.
In those days the sprawling lawns of our Colony Club used to fill up with the residents every Saturday night.
The weekly film show used to be a much awaited event for most of the people.
And of course "Guide" was House(Lawn)Full !!!

A family friend who was staying about thirty kilometers away, had seen the film nine times already came over all the way specially to see it yet another time.
I am convinced that in doing so he was not exaggerating his reverence for "Guide".
He was doing exactly what I have been doing ever since.

I see a new Dev Anand every time I watch him in "Guide" 

I learn something new ... something good ... and I cry every time Dev Saheb sings "Din Dhal jaaye ... " , Kya se Kya ho gayaa ...." , and watching that dialogue with the antaraatmaaa ... 

 · 
"Guide" is an overwhelming and unparalled phenomenon.
From the beginning "Guide" was special.
Everything about it was so different from the films we were used to seeing in those days ....
It was a deeply engrossing saga of complicated human relationships woven with incredible sensitivity and ease.
Who can forget the philosophy of "Wahaan kaun hai tera .... "
The grandeur of "Piya to se naina laagey re ... "
The pathos of "Din dhal jaaye ... "

An ardent fan of "Guide" has mentioned this following small bit of interesting information on Facebook, and I am copy-pasting it here :

The conversation between a lesser known actor Dilip Dutt (a regular in B R Ishara films) and Dev Saheb is memorable and remains heart touchingly profound even to this day :
Dilip Dutt : "'kya baat hein Sir aaj akele hee pii rahein hein "
Dev Anand : "'Batein karne ko itna taras raha thaa Mani kee socha thodi pii kar apne aap se kuchh kahooNga "

Aur ...Mani ki chaal ... that small shot from behind ... when he leaves ... 
ek taraf ye aur doosri taraf puri picture "Guide". Am exagerating,? 
But not as much as I appear to ... " !!!

And another fan readily agrees , adding:
"Yes ... also captivating is the moment when he keeps the unfinished Glass on the table and looks upwards where he can see Waheeda ji ...
Thanks to Vijay Anand, Dilip Datt would be remembered in History "

And Dev Anand, the gentleman that he was, saw to it that even the smallest actor would not be ignored.
Such is the undying, unfading magic of  "Guide" that everything about it touches the soul.
Everyone knows they are watching a film.
But what a deeply moving, spiritually enriching and genuinely soul-stirring experience it is to watch Dev Saheb absorbing in himself the ultimate enlightenment!!!
The unadulterated bliss of it all was so real and so comforting, its aura engulfing and hypnotizing the audience completely ....

That was the kind of honesty with which The Great Anand Brothers created this legend on screen ... A stunning tale of Real Eternal Beauty !!!

When the film ended I knew once was not enough ...
Must have seen it countless times after that, but every time there is something enriching and refreshing to discover ... to learn ... to relive ...
The "Guide" never ceases to guide.

They say you live only once. But if you can do it right, once is enough.
With one matchless masterpiece, Dev Anand has ensured that he would be remembered for many many more decades not only as a heart warming romantic hero, but as an intense and compellingly magnificent actor film maker too !!!
He is ageless and timeless.
With "Guide", he attained immortality.