There is something in the silence of the night. The serenity of the moonlight, that helps to heal. Take the force of nature and regenerate your body, mind and soul.
Tag: articles
Sorry, not sorry!
So it was Holi just a day ago. What fun! Meeting with family and friends, having festive snacks, music, dance, laughter, kids playing around bringing nostalgia for the older ones, Holi parties, colourful faces, colourful clothes, throwing coloured water at each other, throwing Gulal in the air, washing it all off in water… wait. Wait! In water? Swimming pools and tanks, right?
No. I mean natural water bodies. Let’s not talk about how inhaling these chemicals affect you or how they harm the soil. Let’s talk about people celebrating Holi with coloured water and Gulal near lakes, ponds and other water bodies. These chemicals conveniently labelled as herbal were all over on social media stories, boomerangs, and pictures. Beer bottles in one hand and Gulal in the other, people partying near beautiful water bodies got the most likes! Educated, aware people were dancing on Holi beats and throwing Gulal in the air (which by the Law of Gravity is surely to fall in the waterbody and flow away into frogs and fish and turtles).
Sorry, not sorry! Bura na mano Holi Hai!
Many Indian festivals like Holi are celebrated globally. The sheer number of people can make a positive or negative impact. We can prevent a lot of harm to our planet by doing things the right way instead of embracing shortcuts. But why don’t we do so?
It was Just One Day!
Maybe for someone it was once in a while, or just once. It was so for thousands of others too! Do we care to think how our lack of sincere effort, even for a day, harms the environment? To think about it, this mess was preventable.
But it was Herbal!
Are you sure it was? Read the components of these mass herbal Gulal and colours. You will be surprised to see many of these labels are misleading you. A genuine herbal gulal is made of cornstarch and food dyes. Just reading the word ‘herbal’ is not enough! Major holi parties see heaps of Gulal placed in the party area, with no information of what kind of Gulal it is.
Talking about herbal, has anyone tested these for environmental safety?
What the hell should we do?
Have you read about the original holi colours? Traditional holi is celebrated with pigments from vegetables, leaves, and flowers. The coloured water is prepared by dipping flowers like ‘Tesu’ in water for a day or two. Leaves from trees like neem are used. Chandan and turmeric are used. All of these are good for your health and our environment. In Indian culture, even Rangoli was originally prepared with grains like rice and spices like turmeric as an offering to the insects! They are a vital part of our nature too. Offcourse, if you can’t do this, reading the components of herbal products is a must.
Why write this after Holi? It’s done now.
Before Holi, I thought the options I have presented were a common knowledge and that smartphones have made people environmentally conscious across the world. After seeing many stories with clean water bodies getting polluted with vague herbal (or simply chemical) products, the reality pinched me. Why are we partially-sincere towards making a better future? Why do we throw logic out of the window during celebrations?
India is a land full of festivals, and in each festival, we can embrace our traditional respect for nature instead of leaving a trail of trash and pollution behind us! Holi may have gone, but festivals like Rangpanchami are on their way. Can we keep our awareness intact and do the right thing? Can we embrace our traditional love and respect for nature?
If we can do that, I think the butterfly effect will do rest of the good work.
Originally published in: Perspicere, TOI Blog
Sabotage of the self
I know it was not under my control and I tried everything in my power to make it happen. It didn’t. I know I should accept the reality and move on; I am more than capable of making a better future, but this feeling of disappointment doesn’t go away! It is crushing, it is irreparable.
And I know I have the power to move on, but I’m unable to let go.
Have you experienced a similar narrative echo in your head? Have you faced a situation where you have given your all for something but you couldn’t get it; a situation you know you can overcome but the feeling of losing despite giving your all is sharp enough to stop you in your tracks? Let this cycle continue long enough and it will be the sabotage of the ‘self’.
When I think about it, self-sabotage is something similar. It is a behaviour that interferes with one’s life goals and happiness. Self-medication, self-injury, comfort eating, procrastination are self-sabotaging activities. We usually have an option to consciously control these behaviours with focus on goals and alignment of habits. Self-sabotaging can be contained with some effort..
What’s more concerning is the sabotage of the ‘self’. We don’t even realise we are doing it to ourselves! It is invisible to us. In some unthinkable or hard situations you aren’t consciously harming yourself but subconsciously, you are. You may not be ‘self-sabotaging’ but you may be sabotaging the ‘self’!
What is Self?
The concept of ‘self’ in Psychology is about how you perceive yourself. It is about how you think you are as a person, how you believe others see you and how you think you fit into the world. Superiority, inferiority, motivation, determination, disbelief, the sense of quitting or braving hardships are some of the results of you thinking about ‘you’ in a particular way.
Walt Disney had self-belief in the power of his storytelling, Warren Buffet had the self-clarity as a child that he never wanted to be poor in life, and Hitler had the self-perception (or self-deception) that he was meant to purify the world..
‘Self’ is a superpower a human can wield, in many ways!
Most of our ‘self’ forms when we are kids, but it changes with circumstances, experiences and introspection. How to turn these experiences, even the worst ones, into something constructive is the challenge.
Enhancing the ‘Self’
Now that you have come across a hardship, what is your first thought? Is it to run away, find a solution or maybe to do nothing? In any case, there is a sense of fear. How you control that fear or uncertainty depends on how your self-perception has formed you over the years.
Is your self-perception weak in any way? That’s totally ok! Because now you have an opportunity to transform your subconscious and upgrade your internal software. If your perception of ‘self’ is awesome, then just go on, make it better!
Go back right to the first moment you can remember yourself being aware. What happened? What events scared you, made you happy, made you angry, or evoked any strong feeling in your heart? Often, the feelings that scar a person are formed in childhood. You have to embrace what happened as something in past that you could not have changed and move on from it. Forgive people for your peace of mind, make peace with any hard reality. It can seem impossible but the rest of your life can’t be spent in chains! Set yourself free, even if it means seeking an expert’s help.
Think of all these little and big events of your life up till now. Let go of every disappointment and nightmare. Just like a phoenix rises from its own ashes, rise up and fly!
Read up!
In history, from ancient to contemporary times, you will find brave souls around the world. Read about these men and women, read true events and stories, read about civilisations built to the epitome of glory and destroyed to rot in dust. You will find your sense of ‘self’ transform and even transcend with a shift in your perception of the world. Your knowledge and clarity about ‘self’ will grow.
Also, you will find people in this world who have had it tougher than you but have lived on true to their ideals. Be inspired by such role models.
Change the Words
Now, this comes from my personal experience as well as a lot of reading from books like ‘As a Man Thinketh’. Let’s rephrase the negative self-talk:
I know it was not under my control and I tried everything in my power to make it happen. It didn’t and I accept it. I know I should accept the reality and move on and so I will move on even if it’s babysteps; I am more than capable of making a better future, but this feeling of disappointment doesn’t go away so I will take it one hour a day! It is crushing, it is irreparable, but I will rise from ruins and build myself again.
And I know I have the power to move on, but I’m unable to let go, so I will forgive myself for the past and smile at the good memories. Alongside I will make new memories and explore my life for beautiful things I was blind to.
A change in narrative, a twist in tone, one at a time is all it takes. At last, I will leave you with words of Thomas Szasz:
‘The self is not something that one finds. It is something that one creates.’
Originally published for: TOI Blogs, Perspicere
Why I love Raj Kapoor’s movies
I keep on changing TV channels to catch one movie that I can watch. Usually, there’s NOTHING I can watch! There are not many movies today one can enjoy if they watch it a second time. That’s why I love Raj Kapoor movies. Though there were and are many other great directors whose movies I simply love watching again and again, RK’s movies leave more of an impact. Everytime I watch them, I discover a new side to his perspective, or discover what I couldn’t before! I feel ‘cinema’ oozing out of every second of his films. Each time, his movies seem fresh out of the factory, even his black and white movies!
Raj Kapoor was a fascinating man. He converted the simple things of life into things of beauty. Even today, when I see his movies, I can’t change the channel. And this is the 21st century! Maybe, it is because this is the 21st century that I can’t. My heart that craves for some substance and art in movies finds more satisfaction in the ones from gone eras! RK’s movies have substance, art, and meaning in each shot and line. If you have seen his movies, you will understand!
Prem Rog
This article comes while I watch Prem Rog with my mom, for the nth time! RK’s love for cinema and his inclination to deliver social messages is clear in this classic. When other contemporaries where releasing movies with action and glamour, he made a movie on widow remarriage. And beautifully did he make it! The script of this movie is something today’s scriptwriters and directors must learn from (I think they already do, though). Watching this movie brings all kinds of emotions related to life, love, tragedy, friendship, family, society and religion. Cosmopolitan listed Prem Rog in the top ten ‘Most Romantic Films Ever’ .Given the prominence of his name throughout India (as well as out of India) this movie did give the message that widow remarriage is not crime, but the way widows are treated in many parts of India is.
My favourite point about this movie: ‘Bhawre ne khilaya phool’ song was shot in a beautiful tulip fields in Amsterdam! How I wish to visit that field in my lifetime…
Bobby
I can’t imagine that among people aged 20 and beyond in India have not seen this teen romance (I really feel sorry for younger people who can’t get out of their smart-phones and gadgets, including my own brother, who haven’t). Bobby set a new era in Bollywood when Dimple strutted in bikini (it was 1973). And boy did she rock! I really miss the innocent love that The Showman of India introduced in his movies, especially in Bobby. Everything from the ideation to execution was perfect. Trust me, I can’t lie in this matter because jhoot bole kaua kate! The music is in sync. the dialogues and the direction… perfect, perfect, perfect! Why should you see this movie if you haven’t? To see romance from the perspective of RK! It will take you to a different world!
The blockbuster was the top grossing film of ’73. It won many nominations and awards in Filmfare. Indiatimes names it as the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.
My favourite point: Rishi Kapoor’s performance and the MUSIC! I still catch my dad singing ‘Mein shayar toh nahi ‘ for my mom, hehe!
Awara
In this movie, Raj Kapoor goes on to show that a child is influenced by his surroundings. A judge’s son won’t necessarily become a judge. Also, this movie shows what a stunning couple RK and Nargis were on screen! RK shows his super skills both as an actor and director in this movie revolving around his character as a ‘tramp’ (Influenced but Charlie Chaplin in ‘The Tramp’) and a childhood sweetheart. RK’s real dad was also his reel dad in the movie, and that is a great factor. Prithiviraj Kapoor was an actor in a whole different league! Role of a proud judge suited him as much as being Akbar in Mughal-e-azam did. The movie also portrayed some real life problems and carried a message, like all his movies do. Watch and discover what it was!
Awara is listed in the All Time 100 Greatest Movies by TIME Magazine and entered Cannes Festival. The movie got many more titles and a remake in Turkey called ‘Avare’.
My favourite point: The chemistry between Nargis and Raj!
Teesri Kasam
Ah! The pangs of love! More so, if it remains unrequitted. The third resolution that the rustic villager played by RK takes is to never give lift to a dance performer in his bullock cart ever again! Watch the movie for ‘why’! The movie shows how naive villagers can be, and how simple their lives are. Watching this lifestyle is like watching a whole different world. In a very beautiful way and natural setting, RK smoothly blends story with music and a message; the message of how woman working as performers in ‘nautanki’ are exploited. I think he wanted to show a much larger picture of performing arts industry and the society as whole.
Today, we talk about women empowerment, equality and gender bias. Raj Kapoor talked about it decades ago through his movies. He was not only an artist, but also a philosopher. In an era where male dominance was at its peak in India, he talked about the opposite gender’s issues!
Teesri kasam won the 14th National Film Award.
My favourite point: The natural acting of the cast and the music!
Mera Naam Joker
At last! My favourite RK movie. I know, I hate sad endings. I hate unrequited love type endings. I hate tragedies. I hate good men not getting the happiness they deserve. All the things I hate are there in Mera Naam Joker. Still, I LOVE this movie! The tragic life of Raju is so beautifully presented, that I can watch it through my tears as many times as I watch it. The fact that he still smiles in the end breaks my heart, but i still watch the movie. It is Indian cinema at its best! It truly is a masterpiece, though a sad one, and tells so much about Raj Kapoor. His love for cinema was unconditional! Mera Naam Joker has all the phases of one’s life. Right from chilhood and first love to the nearing end of life, Raju faces it all in this movie.
Mera naam joker was not accepted by the audience immediately. It was commercially unsucessful, but because it was beyond a normal understanding level. It did however win many awards, including the Filmfare Award for the Best Director. RK put six years into the making of this epic.
My favourite point: The story, direction, acting, music, dialogues… EVERYTHING! My favourite song is ‘Ae bhai, zara dekh ke chalo’. That song is applicable to us too, and to every generation that will come!
Though I love many more movies from RK, these are my absolute favourite. Check Shree 420, Barsat, Boot Polish and many other movies from The Showman of India!
Have you seen a Raj Kapoor movie? What did you like about it? I would love to know in the comments! Thanks for visiting us!
On This Indian Independence Day, a Simple Thought…
As the schools and colleges prepare for Independence Day celebrations and the Red Fort is decorated for our new PM’s speech, there are people who are so not interested in these things. There are students who think of this day as nothing but a mere holiday. What’s the big deal, they think, just chill! There are working people with the same line of thinking, and some people even find it irksome that the shops have to be closed for The Independence Day.
What’s the celebration all about? It’s just another 15th of another month! And anyways, what has India accomplished in the past 67 years besides being highly rated in corruption and standing 2nd in population?
Well, for people thinking along these lines, I want to say something.
We may not have the best bureaucracy in the world, but it’s not the worse either. We may have Pakistan firing on us unprovoked, but we do not our army murdering people because of their religion. We do have as many millionaires like in America, but we are not a debt ridden country either! We do not stand tall like China as the fastest emerging super power, but we do not have manufacturing industries creating mass cancer victims either! We may not have enough oil, but we have enough peace to bask in the glory of freedom!
Our government is improving. Our people are becoming aware and contributing. We have a large population, a young population, that will push us further up in near future! We have a strong culture, more families knit together by love and traditions, an evolving work culture, and an expanding pool of educated people!
We are a nation built on sacrifices of millions of people. Their ideas, ideals, and wishes for future have been absorbed throughout India. Even after many conflicts, we remain one and will remain so for eternity! That is the magic in our nation. We are a democracy that respects all cultures and evolves with time.
We should definitely think about the dozens of problems we are facing, but just for today, let us all stand tall with pride.
So, puff your chest out and keep your head up! We are a nation built by warriors, leaders, teachers, thinkers, kings, queens, brilliant men, and strong women! They deserve to be remembered and respected. The celebrations are held to celebrate their lives, and to remind us of their will.
Ramrajya, Sone ki Chidiya, Bharat…. Let’s make sure our nation regains the prosperity from the golden era, when these words were used to describe us! Let’s celebrate today with enthusiasm, hope, and pride.
Jai Hind!
Infrastructure vs The Basic Structure: How The Big and The Small Things are Connected?
In the latest joint-parliamentary meeting, the Hon. President of India clearly stated the blueprint of the new government. It is a laudable to-do list! They have covered the much needed points, especially about the Infrastructure, corruption, and black money. Infrastructure is an indispensable part of an economy, and India is leagues behind from its contemporary rivals China, Brazil, Taiwan, and South Africa. Corruption is the grass-root level of decay in India, so yes, it has to be weeded out of the system. Black money again is a big problem. It must be brought back in circulation and steps should be strictly taken against it in future. There are many more big problems like brain drain, illegal immigration, a moldy education system, messy town planning ( I think it should be a whole different department), environmental degradation, e-governance, etc.
But what about the small problems? What about the problems that we see every day and have grown so used to that we have learned to live with them? What about the problems that have direct effect on our peace of mind? Let me jot down examples to remind you.
If you are in Mumbai, you know about how dirty the railway terminals are. You would know about the nallas, the slums, Juhu beach loaded with filth, to point out a few. These are supposed to be grand and sparkling as they are in the Financial Capital and Bollywood centre of India, where thousands of people gather every day, including tourists. What does it do to our thought process? No amount hit movies or tall buildings can fix this image.
Delhi- ites know what a black and white city Delhi is, with clean and neat metros and roads in contrast with jammed and crammed, stinking market places and localities. The old and the New Delhi are two different worlds. So are CP and areas like Kamla market. What does it makes people who see the mess everyday think? No number of metro rails or even bullet trains can reduce this difference.
Bhopal, my very own city, could be an international favorite only if the town plan wasn’t messy, if BRTS was introduced AFTER widening the roads (possible only and only with a good town planning!), if the areas around the lakes, dams and heritage sites could be built in a modern standard and saved from encroachment, if only people didn’t throw garbage wherever they wanted… No amount of building malls will correct the tainted scenery.
You begin to think- this mess is the reality, and that’s how it’s going to be. Deal with it, or migrate to a foreign land.
TO ALL INDIANS. You know how many throw garbage out of the train. Simply because there is no dustbin in the coach. Why can’t we complain, or collect the mess in a bag and keep it in a corner?
You know how many spit and dirty public places even if there are dustbins.
You know how you ignore complaining to the authorities when public toilets, places are not clean. That’s because the authorities don’t care, I agree.
But can this cycle of ignorance and blame game continue? It’s like a wheel in zero gravity; spinning without moving forward, eternally in one place.
The development in Infrastructure, manufacturing industry, and in every other sector will mean NOTHING if the walls are covered in pan spit and garbage, and if the toilets stink. Can you imagine entering a world-class railway terminal with stained walls and garbage all around, with no proper services? Zero corruption level will not help if people don’t wake up and realize that clean and beautiful cities are their RIGHT and they should demand it. Visuals have a deep affect on a human’s psychology. What you see is what you believe in. You see garbage, you believe that that is the reality. Ignorance settles in, but subconsciously you want out. This leads to unsatisfied and frustrated citizens. No amount of increase in GDP and PPP will satisfy these frustrated masses. If they don’t see the development, how will they believe in it?
So what can Policy- makers do?
With a new enthusiasm and energy, they can set a special department or team for reaching the roots of this mess. It starts from the higher ups in bureaucracy. Give them targets, give them incentives, give them strict instructions to keep a check. TRAIN them as per the modern needs and international standards. As you go lower, give the workers, cleaners and other people doing odd jobs training and equipment. Make their work respectable!Good administration and effective communication is very important here. What happens is, that people with seemingly insignificant jobs like cleaning, sitting on counters, making rounds to check on others, labour jobs, etc. are not educated, trained, informed, or equipped. Even if they know what to do, no one checks if they are doing their jobs right (For an example, the general and sleeper coaches in a train is a mess. Let’s not even bring up the toilets!) As people already have no expectations, there is no strict action. The cycle thus again goes to the higher ups.
I propose that at least half the jobs regarding administration, implementation and grievances/ complaints should be given to management students. The lack of training and proper standards for government jobs recruitment at railways, ticket counters, public hospitals, various registration centers should be corrected. Proper checks must be ensured, and their performance measured. Complaints should be quickly handled.
Cleanliness, government and citizen communication, quick solutions to the problem are the basic structure of growth besides trade and economy. The newer cities should be planned with future in prospects in mind to avoid repetitions of the present problems. These are the little services that make a ‘beautiful’ economy. The policy makers should introduce reforms and policies, to make what already exists, better!
What should citizens do?
AWAKE!! Realize that the higher standards of life can be reached for the rich and the poor alike if public areas are clean and beautiful! It is your right! The standard of living rises with better hygiene, more happiness, and communication with a government that responds and helps. A beautiful house can give you peace only until you stay in. But once you step out to work or just for a stroll, it depends on your surroundings to either frustrate or invigorate. Promote environment friendly culture, use bicycles whenever possible, stop treating your cities and towns like garbage cans or washbasins or toilets, be an active citizen! If every person keeps his area of the town clean, if every municipality does its work like it should be, the day isn’t far when we will ‘feel’ India becoming a superpower instead of just reading about it in newspapers. Society is another name for tolerance, patience, and unity combined. It can either strive to move forward or starve and die.
I am going to start an awareness revolution by questioning the authorities and telling them about what I see wrong. I will take advantage of the newly formed government’s energy, and help them it in reaching the bigger goals through small steps. It won’t matter if I’m in Bhopal or outside. I will do my part. Will you?
MinutesOut by Mansi Babbar 