THIS TOO WILL PASS

A series of setbacks leading to every action of yours trouly being misinterpreted and every word uttered being misunderstood led to a situation wherein silence was to be considered golden. As the debacles came to a downpour, the words uttered often by a well wisher "This too will pass" came to mind.

What do these words do? It just makes one realise that as the good times come to an end so do the bad times. 

It makes one realise that success was due to many others and as rightly said has many fathers. So will someone own up your debacles. No these are precious treasures which you need to adopt so as to be able to grow. It also teaches us to empathise and attempt understanding the reason behind the actions and words of others, however, unreasonable they may seem. Thus, this orphan for the world is your own creation and you are its father. Reflect on the day of fatherhood. Was it not a day you rejoiced? A day when a man tells the world that he has created a legacy. A day when the world admires the man who has convinced a woman to consummate, conceive and deliver. A day when the male rejoices his manhood with a babe in his arms. A day when a man relives his own childhood. A day he cherishes all his life with no measurable comparison and only second to that of the pleasure of motherhood. So the day you own up this orphan as a child of your own transforms the perceived sorrows into joys which in turn results in the world admiring you. Thus, this too will pass.

Let us in this background delve into the epic of epics, the Mahabharata where the worst of tragedies perceived comes to an end. So are the best of times. May it be the birth of the Pandavas and Kauravas or their weddings or the Rajasuya Yagna on one hand or the exile, the loss in the game of dice, the battle, the losses of lives of near and dear ones or the exile of the incumbent King with his consort. All did pass.

There is another fable that comes to one's mind. 

A devotee asks God "Why did you leave me at the time of distress?"

God answers "See the footprints on the sands of time"

Devotee: "In my good times, I see your footprints along mine but in times of distress there are only one set of footprints, My Lord"

God: " Those footprints are mine as I was carrying you since you could not walk through those times"

This parable also shows to mankind that one should not dwell on the present state but look to reason for moving forward.

Therefore, this too will pass is not only for bad times and hence cannot be a consolation. As this is the reality irrespective of good or bad times, it cannot be escapist. This is the real philosophy that everything has to pass.

To make this a bit more comprehensible, we can draw up two tales

A child is being taught the meaning of several words. It comes across a person named "Pichai" which means alms. But he is a rich man. Then comes across a beggar by name "Lakshmi" the Goddess of Wealth and so on. The knowledge that rose by any name shall remain fragrant hits the child when it comes across a corpse being carried only to know the name of the dead person is "Amar" meaning immortal.

The other tale is from the Mahabharata where Yudhishthira is to undergo the test of questions to quench his thirst and later revive his brothers. One of the questions posed to him is 

"What is the most surprising thing in the world?"

Yudhishthira replies

" The feeling of mortals that they are immortal"

This too will pass!!!!

AUGUST ABSENCE?

"An end of an era" has been a headline the frontpage has screamed through this month of August. Towering titans Karunanidhi, Somnath Chatterjee, Ajit Wadekar, Atal Behari Vajpayee, Kofi Annan have doffed their hats and bid adieu leaving millions baffled as to whether the spheres they once dominated would be able to survive their absence.

The Hindi doyen and the Tamil scriptwriter shared a single year of birth. Their poems shone through and paved paths for a new party to take root. The Jan Sangh, DMK, BJP owe a lot to them as the oratorial skills of these two doyens ensured a steady building of the parties. While the Tamilian's script could spur four Chief Ministers, the Hindi doyen was a master groomer of talent leaving a large second rung leadership who unabashedly wore him on their sleeve. If one could claim success even in his rival's success, the other could admire a Durga as well as castigate her. One chose to fight a battle through his life and even after death while the other built consensus through life and after death. One held Tamil against Hindi while the other held Hindi against English on the world stage. One became a Tamil icon while the other became a Pan India icon. Both shared a bond of being shrewd strategists and tacticians mastering the political landscape that the sun set as thousands walked behind even their cortege.

A cricketer par excellence and a great samaritan also in their demise shone through the grieving thousands. Wadekar and Chatterjee towered amidst these two icons in their exits showing that their place amongst the titans was very much in place. Even as the above sportsman and genial and sombretadministrator found their epitaphs being written the international diplomat Kofi Annan also bid an adieu. 

It would be common to say when we refer to them that in their august presence a deed was done but they have conjured an August Absence that is hard to fill. Though difficult to emulate would we be able to do so?

FRIENDSHIP - A RELATIONSHIP PAR EXCELLENCE

"A friend is not a person who need not ask you to do only what you like to do. U can also do something to please ur friend.  Friendship is mutual.  You need not hold on to ur opinions as always being right" was one of the comments that a post had elicited and as yours truly caught up with some posts on Facebook one of them had posted the need for a friend who would like Krishna not participate in the war but guide as well as another like Karna who would stand by the friend while pointing out his follies and try winning a war for him!!!

Lo and behold the need to blog surfaced instantly. Mythological friendships have always fascinated one and all. The honesty in the friendship between Krishna and Sudama bereft of the arrogance of post student hood achievements to lustily grab at the small pack of beaten rice or the straight forward approach of Suyodhana and Karna in the implicit trust they hold for each other. The interactions between these two characters from the time the former confers the title of AngaRaja on the latter to the day the former mourns the demise of the latter is a bonding which will make even the staunchest supporter of good v evil take a bow!

Another friendship that Suyodhana covets is the one with the son of his Acharya Drona - Aswathama who casts his dharma aside to fulfil a death wish of his friend. These in fact put the following saying to a severe test

Friendship cannot never subsist 

between a poor man and a rich man, 

between a man of letters and an unlettered mind, 

between a hero and a coward.

At least with these tantalising tales, yours truly has the fortune of being part of friendships which can be summed as

Understanding not agreement, 

Forgiving not Forgetting, 

Memories Last even if contact is lost

And

Ones who stay by your side

When the heart falls apart

But

Take pride in the 

Happiness from afar

While many think that friendship is about gossiping, chatting, sharing or caring for the problems they bring true friendship means while walking in opposite directions when they can stay side by side and reward each other with an abuse with a smile.

The coveted trophy of being referred to as "useless fellow" by the choicest of friends which brings a smile cannot be traded for a felicitation of tributes a la ones at a farewell. But none of us still have made the mark these mythical characters have made is a fact to be conceded while we unknowingly traverse to achieve the very same standards. 

Long live the relationship called friendship which Draupadi and Krishna showed can be between the opposite sexes too!

TREATS, ENTREATIES AND A DAY MADE!

The day had come to a close for the family and preparations were being made for retirement. The television anchor was at the highest decibel with a combination of his voice, the channel's volume and our own set's volume being placed at the maximum to suit the aging (y)ears of the inmates. The doorbell chimed over these tones to let in my late friend's son in who had come to collect some papers regarding claims to be made. As he settled down another laady landed with two kids to invite us over for a house warming.

Pleasantries exchanged, all attention centred on the younger of the two kids and to entice her into a conversation, chocolates were fetched and handed over. A couple were also handed over to the young man in his mid twenties much to the chagrin of the young kid. Soon we needled her and sought to compete for the treats in her hands. Liplocked and clenched fists moving to her rear for cover, the facial expression conveyed an absolute no to the entreating voices. The young man offered his quota to set an example which went in vain. Determination to safeguard her treats was writ large on the face of the young one raising chuckles all around. Her guardian espoused the cause of sharing, caring and loving whilst the young one quickly tucked away her earnings into a bag which contained the invites to join in the laughter.

The guardian was insistent on inculcating values while we profusely thanked her more for the wonderful prelude to retirement and less for the heartwarming invite. Innocence, Determination, Grit, Conviction embodied in a small body with a radiating smile which also conveyed her victory bid goodbye!

The day indeed was made!!!

GREEN - WITH ENVY OR WITH PRIDE

"Do not turn green with envy" was an admonishing tone overheard. Green and envy appeared to be distant in every manner. The remark took me to the kitchen garden of Dr Kadur and his display of the produce therefrom

The greenery on the towel alone is soothing. Imagine having a small stretch of garden from wherein you get your own vegetables and fruits. The garden patch on the first floor house was a small receptacle constructed by bricks and filled with mud to grow a beautiful jasmine creeper. Moving to a new place, the soil was treated to a host of plants from tomatos, potatos to the various greens and flowering creepers. Into our own dwelling meant that the rich rustic background of my parents would help nurture coconut trees, guava, gooseberry, plantain with the betel leaves creeper, jasmine creeper, and ornamental plants co habiting with each other. The lithe figure of yours truly was used to harvest the broad beans and guavas while the richness of the green tracts were guarded zealously by my parents.

It is true that green brings in freshness not only to the produce but also to the mind. Nurturing a garden helps one appreciate the wonders of nature's creativity. The high school days saw us stroll these wondrous paths of Cubbon Park

These trees dot the landscape till date and provide much needed succour to the fatigued souls. It is also said that the view of the greenery exercises the eye muscles unconsciously resulting in preservation of vision.

These gardens also help us understand the tilling of one's own mind, nurturing the greenery as well as promoting freshness in the mind and body. This invigorating feast of gardening can never foster envy but only help in marvelling at  nature's play. A good day's labour will turn the garden into a pride for the entire neighbourhood too.

SMILE TO MILES

A camera rolls with the photographer saying "Smile please" or "Say cheese". Today we have the era of selfies but the photographer within still says "Smile Please". The common refrain of judges of musical reality shows is " Sing with a Smile" and it would be much better. There are sayings which speaks of the number of muscles used for a smile and a frown.But what makes a smile so important?

Let us turn to one of the fabled tale of Akbar and Birbal. On one occasion, Akbar tells his courtiers about how Salim is the most beautiful child and none except Birbal dared to differ from the Jahanpanah. Birbal told Akbar that he would take him into the town to show the most beautiful child. He takes him to a slum where a child is in the arms of its mother with not as much as a loincloth but beaming at the mother who exclaims " Oh the moon of my life". Akbar understands that every child is most beautiful to its parents. But the most important portion of this tale is that the child was beaming and was wearing nothing. Thus, its lustrous toothless cherubic smile gets it the best of compliments from its own mother.

Moving to more recent times, we find that the Mahatma disarmed his adversaries with his smile whether toothless or otherwise. The Saint of the Gutters Mother Teresa could win the world to the plight of lepers and homeless with a smile. While the former was termed a "half naked fakir" the latter was in a white sari in a nation where the much despised widows drape themselves in white saris. The iconic Tendulkar's smile spoke much more than his willow and definitely more emphatically than his words. 

Turning to cartoon characters, the smile of Donald Duck makes him more affable than his Unca Scrooge. The smile on the face of Mickey Mouse or of the chipmunks Chip and Dale can crack any irate nut's frown. The impish smiles of Huey, Dewey and Louis remain with us even after we age. Would someone match the irrascible smiles of Tom and Jerry? The goof ups of Goofy gets pardoned only because of the smile on his face and the ones on the readers' faces. Even a ghost becomes affable because of the smile as Casper has proven beyond imagination.

First hand yours truly wore a smile as an answer for most queries in the younger days inviting attention of most people. In the name of evolution the smile became a conscious effort in the late teens and early twenties. Thereafter, when public relations was the portfolio to be handled, the disarming smile was turned on to meet the most challenging of grievances. Yours truly can now vouch that the smile is not an ornament to bedeck or embellish but the main attire to be worn to move miles ahead!!!

Can therefore be anything more important than a smile which relieves oneself and the people around of a whole lot of stress and move people towards a bonding? Tomichan Chetan, you have nailed it!!!

SEEK SIMPLICITY BUT DISTRUST IT

The Indian freedom movement had many stalwarts whose intentions were single- achieving political freedom. The dawn of the twentieth century saw the entry of a new star on the horizon - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. His biggest virtue was he approached complex issues by identifying the simplest of all routes. His encounter with a bare breasted woman led him to choose the role of a half naked fakir. He understood that the backbone of the occupation was economic gain. He struck at it with a call for boycott of foreign goods. Easy for millions to adhere to considering the costs involved. The intelligentsia with a nudge understood the import of the move. Similarly, his travels gave him the insight to the power of passivity resulting in the birth of non cooperation movement. A chat by the seaside led him to confront the salt tax with salt pans. The complexity did not deter him to look into the simple solution.

A change in perspective. The British looked at his attire and laughed him away. The diversity of India had laid the foundations for simplistic methods of divide and rule but the simple methods to unite the millions in a non violent movement was beyond comprehension. The underestimation of the simple chess moves by this barrister put the British chess machine into a turmoil as these were not configured moves. The stop clock ticked and pointed to a disadvantage.

The moral: Gandhi sought simplicity while the British failed to distrust it in time.

Let us go further back in time. 

In the outrage of being scorned King Shahryar decides to marry everyday to kill the new wife. The daughter of his advisor named Scheherazade walks into wedlock despite being aware of the conditions. She then opens a story which leads to many other stories which remain untold over a night. The simple task of crossing a few nights without any knights in shining armour spinning tale after tale gives us not only the fabled Arabian Nights but also the simple cue that to overcome an issue "Keep it simple" and also that "Killing being a king is also not that simple".

Not just that may be it was the inspiration for the famed Canterbury Tales too!!!

Though the venerable Alfred North Whitehead told to seek simplicity but to distrust it in the context mathematical and scientific problems, it is equally applicable to all as the above examples with that of the challenge between Ved Vyasa and Lord Ganesha or the Panchatantra being examples to lead more light!!!

Simple but complex eh!!!