New Year '08

So this is my first post of the year. But unfortunately, my mind is totally blank today and I don't know what I should write about. It is one of those days, when you want to write something but can't think of anything.

Sometimes it is the other way around. In the sense, you have so many things in your mind that you want to express in words but unfortunately at that point you don't have any means to write it down. It happens to me sometimes when I am driving back home. Suddenly, something runs through my brain and I want to write it down but sadly can't, atleast not till the time I reach home. And then, when I reach home, the thoughts are not so profound as they were when I was driving. Finally, I end up not writing anything!!

Civil War

Benazir Bhutoo's assassination has confirmed that Pakistan is heading towards a major political crisis and a civil war might soon follow. Now that is really bad news, not just for the people of Pakistan but also for we Indians. I just hope that people of Pakistan awaken at this point and fight against these religious fundamentalists.

The G'NR song "Civil War" comes to my mind when I think about what's happening in Pakistan. It depicts how they are fighting a meaningless war in the name of religion and God.

Look at your young men fighting
Look at your women crying
Look at your young men dying
The way they've always done before

Look at the hate we're breeding
Look at the fear we're feeding
Look at the lives we're leading
The way we've always done before

My hands are tied
The billions shift from side to side
And the wars go on with brainwashed pride
For the love of God and our human rights
And all these things are swept aside
By bloody hands time can't deny
And are washed away by your genocide
And history hides the lies of our civil wars

D'you wear a black armband
When they shot the man
Who said "Peace could last forever"
And in my first memories
They shot Kennedy
I went numb when I learned to see
So I never fell for Vietnam
We got the wall of D.C. to remind us all
That you can't trust freedom
When it's not in your hands
When everybody's fightin'
For their promised land

And I don't need your civil war
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh
I don't need your civil war

Look at the shoes your filling
Look at the blood we're spilling
Look at the world we're killing
The way we've always done before

Look in the doubt we've wallowed
Look at the leaders we've followed
Look at the lies we've swallowed
And I don't want to hear no more

My hands are tied
For all I've seen has changed my mind
But still the wars go on as the years go by
With no love of God or human rights'
Cause all these dreams are swept aside
By bloody hands of the hypnotized
Who carry the cross of homicide
And history bears the scars of our civil wars

I don't need your civil war
It feeds the rich while it buries the poor
Your power hungry sellin' soldiers
In a human grocery store
Ain't that fresh
I don't need one more war

What's so civil about the war anyways?

Saloon on the Road

We saw these unique saloons in Lucknow. Though had seen these on TV, it was quite funny to see this in reality :). I wonder how people feel comfortable in such a setup :)

The Mystery Solved

Though I don't follow Indian classical music to a great extent, there are songs/ragas that I really like. Especially the songs like Piya Bawari, Man tarpat hain, Ek Shahenshah ne etc. However, the song I like the most in this category is "Laaga chunari me daag" from the movie Dil Hi To Hain (1963). But I never understood the meaning of this song. First of all I didn't understand why a man is singing this song as the lyrics would suggest that it is more of a woman centric song.

The only thing that I could imagine was that a woman is singing this song after having gone through a lot of problems in her life. But finally this mystery was solved when Javed Akthar explained the real meaning of this song in the reality TV show "Mission Ustaad", which I watch just because A R Rahman is a judge.

According to him, this is a philosophical song. In the song, "Chunari" is referring to our "Soul". So essentially the song talks about a man who has come to this earth ("Sasural") from the God's abode ("Baabul") and after coming here, due to his greed has committed lots of sins and polluted his soul ("Hogayi maili mori chunariya"). The man is now contemplating how he will face God after going back to him.

It really bowled me over. What a nice way to convey such great thoughts in such simple words! It also made me realise that I didn't listen to the lyrics of the entire song as the last few lines in the song really explain what it is all about.

Here are the lyrics of the song:

Laagaa, Chunarii Me Daag, Chhupaaun Kaise
Laagaa, Chunarii Me Daag
Chunarii Me Daag, Chhupaaun Kaise, Ghar Jaau Kaise
Laagaa, Chunarii Me Daag ...

Ho Gayi Mailii Morii Chunariyaa
Kore Badan Sii Korii Chunariyaa
Aa ... Jaake Baabul Se, Nazaren Milaau Kaise, Ghar Jaaun Kaise
Laagaa, Chunarii Me Daag ...

Bhuul Gayi Sab Bachan Bidaa Ke
Kho Gayi Main Sasuraal Me Aake
Aa ... Jaake Baabul Se, Nazare Milaaun Kaise, Ghar Jaaun Kaise
Laagaa, Chunarii Me Daag ...

Korii Chunariyaa Aatmaa Morii
Mail Hai Maayaa Jaal
Woh Duniyaa More Babul Kaa Ghar
Ye Duniyaa Sasuraal
Haan Jaake, Baabul Se, Nazare Milaaun Kaise, Ghar Jaaun Kaise
Laagaa, Chunarii Me Daag ...

Ignorance is Bliss

That is the famous phrase taken from Thomas Gray's poem "Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College". It essentially means that not having knowledge of something is a good thing as it means less disturbance to the mind.

I was watching one of my all time favourite movie, "Life is Beautiful", earlier last week (an umpteenth time) and this phrase came to my mind while watching it. The little kid, Roberto Benigni's son in the film, never realises what lies in store in the brutal Nazi concentration camp. For him it is just a game that he and his father have to play in order to win a prize.

On the other hand, if you have discovered something that the rest of the world is still ignorant about, it can spell great trouble for you. Some of the great scientists and philosophers in the past have faced this predicament. Italian scientist Galileo Galilei is a case in point. He created a huge controversy when he proved that the Geocentric model of the universe is incorrect and said that Sun is at the center of the universe (the Heliocentric model). The Catholic church forced him to change his statement and accept the earlier model. He spent the rest of his lifetime in house arrest. Here is a nice poem I found on the net written by Mike Finn, a Physics professor, on Galileo's inquisition:

Once again, the Inquisition questioned me,
Are you quite certainof what you have claimed to see?
I sweated, despite the chill.

Misunderstanding their intent, I replied,
through my lenses, I saw what I saw: spots on the sun;
valleys, mountains, and plains on the moon;
more moons circling Jupiter; the phases of Venus.

Heaven is quite a sight.
God’s creation is grander than we can possibly imagine.
Would anyone here care to see for himself?
Use the telescope lying before you on the table.

Their response was solemn and sure.
This Council will not be lectured
on that of which
we are already certain.

Let us speak plainly:
You are disturbing the people.
The truth will be what we say it is to be,
neither one word more nor one word less.

Defeated at last,
blinded by age,
broken in spirit,
I consented to their demands.

Your will be done, but, nevertheless,
Earth turns round the sun still,
no matter what you choose to believe,
or what I am forced to confess.

Youth Vs. Politics

In the last few weeks, we have witnessed some ridiculously humorous political situation in Karnataka. The way the different political parties have been playing Musical chair for the Chief Minister's post, I can't help but feel ashamed to be a mute and helpless spectator. Though it is funny to listen/watch our political leaders play mud slinging games with each other, it makes me put my head down in shame and disgust.

Politics is one area that is beyond my comprehension and I havent' tried to understand it much either. And I am sure I am not the only one in this "I-care-a-damn-about-politics" category.

The question is why does the younger generation hate politics while for our earlier generation politics seem to be a favourite dining table discussion topic. The reason is simple: Our generation has never been given the opportunity or the guidance to understand the meaning of politics.

Whenever I think of politics, few things come to my mind:
- Old men with grey hair
- White kurta and pyjama
- Big talks/promises
- Corruption
- Coalition governments
- Horse trading
- Parliament fights
- Terrible English
- Threats to pull out support
- Laloo Prasad Yadav and HD Deve Gowda

None of these would really motivate anybody to join politics or atleast be interested in it. So is that what Politics is all about? Is it as bad as we imagine it?

Just as a timepass excercise I did a Wikipedia search on Politics and here is what I found:
Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. Although the term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, politics is observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious institutions.
Politics consists of "social relations involving authority or power" and refers to the regulation of a political unit, and to the methods and tactics used to formulate and apply policy.
Political science (also political studies) is the study of political behavior and examines the acquisition and application of power. Related areas of study include political philosophy, which seeks a rationale for politics and an ethic of public behavior, and public administration, which examines the practices of governance.

Now that doesn't sound that bad. But unfortunately in our country politics is not that way and neither is it perceived that way. I wonder why can't we have a leader like Nicolas Sarkozy, the current French President, who within a short stint as the National leader has brought about so many policy changes. Just contrast that with our leaders. The Golden Quadrilateral project has been going on for eternity now.

But the whole point is that this angst can't be directed just at our politicians. I feel we all are equally responsible for this state of affairs. So what do we do? That's what I don't know.

Like our politicians, I believe even our minds are corrupted. We all dream the American dream, want to go abroad, make loads of moolah, buy a plush apartment, drive a fast car and blah blah blah. In this pursuit of our materialistic pleasures, our patriotism just takes a backseat. It only comes to the fore either when we watch a Rang De Basanti or witness something like the current political situation in Karnataka. Another reason is that many of us don't know what can we do in our capacity to improve the things around us.

Well, I am yet to be a perfect citizen myself. Atleast, I have realised that I am not one and I am making an attempt to become one.

Freedom

Taking things for granted is one of the worst qualities of we human beings. Freedom, is one such thing. I was earlier today reading a book on Indian history and was once again amazed by the passion with which people fought to achieve freedom aka Independence.

After more than 60 years of achieveing that "Freedom", what does it really mean to us? Do we really understand what Freedom is? Or is that just a good enough reason to get a National holiday?

As Osho says, you really understand the meaning of "Freedom" when you realise that it is not "Freedom from". Rather it is "Freedom to". When we achieved independence on that historic night, the real reason to celebrate was not that we achieved "freedom from" the British. Infact, the reason was that we achieved the "freedom to" build our country based on the way we wanted it.

When you look around and see the political situation in Pakistan or Iraq, you realise how lucky you are to have that freedom to do what you want. To live in a land where you can voice your opinion and be heard. To have that freedom to choose a career that you are passionate about. We probably don't realise its relevance on a day-to-day basis. But ask somebody who craves to have that freedom and you will know how blessed you are.

There are so many songs which talk about freedom and the fight for it. There is one song that is my favourite. It is a song called "Free" by Lighthouse Family. Whenever I listen to this song, I feel like a citizen of this earth where there are no boundaries, no religion, no caste, no bias whatsoever. Where I would crave to build a world free of wars and hatred. It makes me dream and pray for a world where love rules and everything else takes a backseat. Here are the lyrics:

I wish I knew how it would feel to be free
I wish I could break all the chains holding me
I wish I could say all the things that I should say
Say 'em loud say 'em clear
For the whole wide world to hear
I wish I could share
All the love that's in my heart
Remove all the bars that keep us apart
And I wish you could know how it feels to be me
Then you'd see and agree that every man should be free

I wish I could be like a bird in the sky
How sweet it would be if I found I could fly
Well I'd soar to the sun and look down at the sea
And I'd sing cos I know how it feels to be free
I wish I knew how it would feel to be free
I wish I could break all the chains holding me
And I wish I could say all the things that I wanna say
Say 'em loud say 'em clear
For the whole wide world to hear

One love one blood
One life you've got to do what you should
One life with each other
Sisters, brothers
One love but we're not the same
We got to carry each other

I wish I knew how it would feel to be free
I wish I knew how it would feel to be free.....