Came across this beautiful short verse posted on FB that read:

Strephon kissed me in the spring 
Robin in the fall,
But Colin only looked at me
And never kissed at all.

Strephon’s kiss was lost in jest,
Robert’s lost in play,
But the kiss in Colin’s eyes
Haunts me night and day.

The above sort of emboldened my view that in pure love, an affection laden look, glance, glimpse or exchange of sight speaks thousand times louder than a physical gesture, the basic premise of twenty four carat pure love between the main protagonists, Bittoo and Shabana of my new book “ A tryst with destiny”. While writing this book, I had the conviction that while material things could get dated, the matters of heart and soul, the human emotions and feelings were timeless. This universality ( language of love is universal), timelessness ( from Heer Ranjha to Bitto Shabana to the current day, love remains eternal and timeless) and purity ( the love emanating from the soul and bereft of material considerations) make my book unique and eminently readable. But this has to ultimately come from the readers rather than I blowing my own trumpet.

A video doing rounds on social media has a beautiful Hindi poem, the gist of which is human being’s tendency to yearn for something not possessed. As the poem goes, when one walked to the school, the ultimate desire was to possess a bicycle that only a privileged few could afford. Passing out of school earned one a bicycle, but by that time the privileged few had bikes. On finishing college, bike came as a reward, but those privileged few had moved to a four wheeler. When years of slogging made it possible to own a car, by that time health had assumed a top priority and those privileged few could be seen going to gym on their bicycles! 

It touched me deeply as instead of feeling happy and satisfied with what we have, we are always craving for something not with us or beyond us at that moment. By the time we possess it, the happiness is momentary as by that time our focus already shifts to the next thing. Or, sometimes by the time that particular thing we crave for is possessed, it has outlived its relevance. 

Sometimes a few words in verse are more effective than tons of knowledge that is meant to be disseminated out of management lessons and experts. 

Mahakumbh at the holy congluence of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers in Prayagraj is attracting world wide attention. This is Mahakumbh, happening after a span of 12 years, but all the more special due to a unique celestial configuration of Sun, Moon and Jupiter that happens once in 144 years or 12 cycles of Jupiter, as Jupiter takes approximately 12 years to complete one revolution around the Sun. Between the start of fair and its conclusion on 26th February, more than 40 crore people are expected to take a holy dip and the list includes celebrities such as Anupam Kher, Gautam Adani, Sudha Murthy and Laurene Powell, wife of the late Steve Jobs.

The word Kumbh is derived from Sanskrit Kumbha or vessel( Amrit Kalash) that contained the nectar of eternity ( Amrit) derived out of churning of ocean ( Amrit Manthan). As the story goes, in their struggle to possess this Kalash between gods and demons, a few drops got spilled over in four places- Haridwar, Prayagraj, Ujjain and Nashik and hence Kumbh mela is celebrated at these four locations every three years with Mahakumbh happening every 12 years.

It’s a matter of faith that holy dip during the Mahakumbh helps an individual wash away all his/her sins, though this fact does not give a license to any individual to commit sins in first place! More than it, it’s the size of gathering, profound faith, elaborate arrangements, efficient crowd management and the sheer scale of the event that lend an aura of grandeur to the event. Presence of sadhus from various akhadas ( orders), more particularly enigmatic Naga Sadhus, impart a sense of deep spirituality to the event.

It may be the holiest of the acts to believers to take a dip or a mere grand event to the sceptical, the undisputed fact remains that Mahakumbh celebrates one of the largest gathering of humanity in all its magnificence that has not only survived, but flourished over the centuries.

Kudos to all – the administration for superb management, the believers for braving the bitter cold and unprecedented rush to take a holy dip in the confluence of three rivers ( Triveni) and to us, all the Indians, for being born in the country that boasts of such a unique culture.

As is commonly said, learning is a lifelong journey and we continue to experience new things as we move ahead in life.

Destination wedding of an old friend’s daughter broke two common myths –

(1) Myth no 1- All Indian marriages happen as per IST. Here, it was a destination wedding and while the bride’s side came all the way from a long distance, the groom’s side, in spite of being based locally, also chose to move to the same hotel. With the both the families and their relatives co-located, it should have been recipe for time going for a toss! But the things moved with clockwise precision, with each ceremony happening as per the schedule. In one classic instance, when the previous ceremony was slightly delayed, the bride and the groom came for the next ceremony in the same attire and with the same make up. This is something very rare in today’s world of showbiz.

(2) Myth no.2 – There’s no party without alcohol. Not only both the sides, youngsters included, danced non stop, there was an after event for the youngsters where they danced to the tunes belted out by the DJ till wee hours of the morning. This was very refreshing. If a few were served alcohol in their rooms , I am not aware, but the entire marriage comprising several events and ceremonies was bereft of any alcohol.

Kudos to both the families for breaking certain age old myths there are commonly associated with the great Indian weddings!

Our neighbouring country, not  known more for many progressive activities , has done something that may be worth emulating. As per reports on social media, under an intensive weeklong traffic drive in the city of Lahore, the authorities challaned 55 lakh violators, earning in the process a sizeable amount of PKR 300 crore. The numbers are mind boggling and are also reflective of the depth of the malaise. The report further says that the drive  is proving to be seemingly effective, even if temporarily.

We do come across such drives in our cities, but their deterrence for repeat as well as new offenders is low, if not altogether futile. How come in a city like Mumbai, years of convincing and penalising two wheeler drivers has not ensured 100% compliance for wearing helmets? In spite of several serious incidents of deaths and grievous injuries due to wrong side driving, why we are not able to stop such offenders? Why after so many years of little success in preventing signal violation, we have not been able to instal CCTVs, especially on important crossings? Why are the two wheelers outside the purview even if caught on CCTV for signal violation? Why can’t temporary personnel be deployed at every intersection where the “ right to cross first” results in massive jams? How the unauthorised parking and unauthorised pavement vendors be provided alternative spaces so that they don’t clog the traffic? 

Traffic management is not a one-off problem, but the one that has emerged a major issue relating to urban planning. The chaos on the road, apart from being a major nuisance has several social and economic consequences- road rage, fuel consumption, pollution etc. 

Incidentally, the above social media report also refreshed another post in my mind that I had penned a few days ago in connection with this “ten minutes assured delivery menace.” I wonder how will these delivery personnel fare if an intensive traffic drive like the one undertaken by our neighbour, is followed here too? In fact, one development aftermath the aforesaid post ( I am sure as an unrelated development ) has been inclusion of our more commodities under “ ten minutes delivery” category! 

It’s high time authorities bestow their serious attention to traffic management, which may simply be impossible without using technology. 

We celebrate passing of another year and arrival of the new year. However, we need to promise ourselves a life that’s beneficial for others apart from for us and our immediate families. 

We should make good the regret, if any, for having missed out on something that we should have done in 2024 and ensure that we tick mark all the agenda items that we set for 2025. 

While age is a number that automatically changes with the change in the calendar and is therefore, involuntary, the changes that we are volunteering to bring in ourselves for our betterment are more important. 

Let’s contribute to a world thats’s cleaner, greener, more peaceful and better place to live in. 

All the above and many more such ideas come to my mind as we prepare to wish 2024 bye-bye and enthusiastically welcome the new year 2025. 

 India has lost two of its diamonds in quick succession. First it was tabla virtuoso, an artist par excellence, a born genius and a goodwill ambassador of Indian classical music Ustad Zakir Hussain, who bade adieu to this world, leaving the Indian music scene poorer by several notches. His death in US was most unexpected  and sudden that left his millions of admirers and the connoisseurs of pure music stunned.

Yesterday, the architect of financial reforms of 1991, an economist par excellence, a scholar and a politician, the likes of which are much required today when the sanity is a much desired requirement in public life, Dr Manmohan Singh breathed his last. 

The common between both the above persons was their gentlemanliness that went much beyond their mastery in their respective fields – music and economics. They were humility personified, of balanced temperament, humble in spite of being super successful and true representatives of what India and its culture is all about. 

There’s no superlatives in this world. There will be more incisive economists and more talented musicians. But someone as talented as them and yet so much rooted to the ground is a rarity and for reemergence of such persons, we may have to wait , may be for infinitely long period. 

Festive spirit is nothing but a diversion from the daily rut and grind by celebrating the occasion by meeting people, wishing them, wearing good clothes and eating yummy food. The underlying message in all the major festivals is one of peace, prosperity and general bonhomie amongst the people. This spirit is slightly more prominent on the eve of Christmas, it being a global festival, celebrated across the geographies. 

Recently, I came across an article in which how the local colour is given to the traditions associated with Christmas made up for an interesting reading. And this happens in my daughter’s household in South Africa, where Christmas is celebrated with great enthusiasm and preparation is done for the festival well in advance. My young grand kids take out the Christmas tree and other decorations ( kept in the attic after Diwali) and decorate it to the best of their ability. 1000 odd houses within the estate that she lives in, participate in the contest that awards the “ best decorated house.” The usual traditional Christmas fare roast turkey, caramel pudding, cranberry sauce etc are generously interspersed with our own fares such as biryani and butter chicken. Christmas carols are played on the sound system in addition to the usual religious chanting played and a lamp that’s daily lighted and kept in the temple has added significance of celebrating Christ’s arrival in this world. 

And why go so far to South Africa, India, the land where all religions and faiths prosper, wears bridal look with markets, malls and houses decorated and Santas adding to the fervour by distributing sweets and toys to children. 

But our heart should also go out to people and more particularly children in war torn countries – Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Russia, Ukraine, those in terrorist infested territories and in general all those  deprived of the basic needs of food, shelter and education. Right now peace in the world is the top priority followed by hunger, medical facilities and education that all children and in general all occupants of this planet deserve. To say it in a rhyming carol on the eve of Christmas:

Christmas trees are decorated and socks are hung on them,

Santa will come riding on his sleigh at midnight and fill them.

Finest wines and liquor will be served to the sounds of cheer and toast

And tables will be laid with all the goodies and the traditional turkey roast. 

Those who can’t put up trees or have well laid out tables with no roast but only its whiff;

Let’s pray to the lord to better their fortunes with which they’re seemingly having a tiff! 

Merry Christmas ! 

Occasionally, I have the privilege of listening to the discourse by His Grace Ramrupa Prabhuji of ISKCON, who is periodically invited by an ISKCON devotee in our building. Prabhuji’s discourses are unique and highly inspiring for he intersperses his discourse from Bhagvad with relevant incidents from our Puranas and interprets them for real life situations. What l look for in his messages is the practical wisdom that can be applied in our day to day lives to better our existence. 

He narrated the mythological story of Dhruva, who’s advised by his step mother to seek God ( Narayana) and take rebirth from her womb to be eligible for being heir to his father’s throne and his affection. 5 years old Dhruva goes to forest to seek Narayana, where he meets Narad Muni, who advises the young boy to recite a mantra and seek Narayana with pure heart. Happy with his devotion, Lord blesses Dhruva to seek whatever he wants and he asks to rule a kingdom that’s larger than Brahma’s. 

To cut a long story short, his ambition is large, rather the largest, but he’s not seeking it through a backdoor or short cut, but by treading on the path of Dharma or truth. Management lesson here is that there’s no short cut to success. Also, it’s alright to aspire for the moon but the journey towards goal must be on a righteous path. 

Boarded a Mumbai local after a long time equipped with newspapers and pen to solve the crosswords and puzzles and while certain things such as rush, punctuality, efficiency remain unchanged, two significant changes are very visible:

(1) The mandatory fourth seat in a second class meant for three is no longer mandatory, but discretionary, depending on the existing lot occupying the seat. Seeing your age or condition, they may accommodate you as the 4th occupant, but you can’t enforce any right.

(2) No one is seen reading a magazine , a newspaper or a book or even chatting with a fellow passenger and each passenger can be seen surfing on his or her mobile phone – watching reels, videos, movies or chatting or talking  on WhatsApp! Obviously, as no one reads any published material, the railway platforms that used to be replete with book stalls and newspaper vendors are now totally missing there from and only major stations may have an odd newspaper kiosk. I was clearly an odd man out in the entire compartment. 

I recollect the good old days, when I would buy couple of newspapers from Andheri and an evening publication from Churchgate and would find almost every other passenger either reading or talking to a fellow passenger. Reading was informative, but that purpose from published materials is now no longer their  exclusive domain as apps on our smartphones keep us updated on world events virtually on real time basis. But other virtues of reading – improvement of our linguistic skills, enrichment of vocabulary, learning new expressions etc are now amiss , especially in the users of what’s popularly known as internet lingo! We are gaining information, knowledge, smartness, agility, ease of usage etc from our smartphones but losing out on social etiquette, good conversations, floral language and above all interpersonal connect !