ART OF LIVING

Today, visited the famous ART OF LIVING (AOL) INTERNATIONAL CENTRE on the outskirts of Bangalore.
It is a unique expanse of tranquility nurtured by the love and devotion of volunteers under the leadership and guidance of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder and inspiration behind this humanitarian organization, to liberate people from the trials and tribulations of daily living.
A fulfilling experience gained by simply visiting a place indicates the power of Love and the futility of matters with which we tend to distort our living.
His solutions refine human values to such purity that they become impregnable shields against manipulative and destructive influences. His message is simple but makes you wonder why you did not realize it up until now?
Joy and Love are potent powers each human being has in abundance. It can be utilized to resolve all problems.
Truly wonderful day spent rediscovering one self. The place offers short lessons to learn simple techniques of living and find peace within. Intend to join one soon as it inolves staying on their premises for few days.
The AOL foundation does conflict resolution and social service around the world.
Ask yourself, “How can I be useful to those around me and to the whole world?” is the simple message they want to spread.

A WISH FULFILLED

A few months ago I finished reading Imagining India by Nandan Nilekani who is synonymous with Infosys.
While approaching the end of this 485 pages of insightful writing by one of Corporate India’s super star poster boys, I was wondering what could be achieved if only we had some people like Nandan guiding India’s future with his innovative ideas articulated in the book while imaging India in his imagination based on facts and latent potential.
Recently the Prime Minister convinced this Padma Bhushan awardee and Infosys co-chairman, who co-founded Infosys in 1981, to offer his services to the government by heading the national unique identity project tasked to give every Indian an ID card. Incidentally, his book contains a brilliant analysis on the utility and cascading effect on governance and service delivery of having an integrated system based on a similar concept.
The massive leakage of resources inherent in our existing corruption laid system of managing and reaching target groups will substantially reduce if not fully disappear once the backbone for ‘smart cards’ is put in place. Elimination of manipulative human interface will change the social profile of the largely deprived section of our population and raise their standard of living to benefit the country as a whole. The political impact will be a windfall for citizens since the ‘politician-babu’ nexus will be unable to abuse a technology based system.
Constitutional and other basic Rights will become power in the hands of the common man embedded in a plastic card!!
Last evening Infosys gave a touching and emotional farewell to Nandan Nilekani enabling him to take up this National duty which indirectly fulfills my wish that was triggered by his excellent book.
We all owe Nandan Nilekani a standing ovation for this wonderful gesture to contribute his skills and knowledge to build a better India.
Cheers to a thumping success in his mission. Long live India.

JOURNEY OF LOVE

Yesterday (2nd July) completed 31 years (actually it’s 41 if the courtship period is accounted!!) of togetherness with the lady love of my life and it has been a wonderful journey for which we (Runu with me) thank God and all our loved ones, friends and others who remembered/forgot the day to make it special in so many ways.
We had a quiet and relaxed no frills day with a movie and lunch thrown in. This year we were unable to plan a short get away - so enjoyed enduring Bangalore's notorious traffic since there was no deadline or plan for the day and in the bargain made the discovery that driving need not be stressful if the mind is intent on fun.
Special thoughts go out to our two beautiful children and the lovely daughter acquired by son’s marriage; my sibling, her husband and two fantastic boys in US/Canada, Runu’s six siblings and their families and of course dear Mum.
Please continue to shower your love and good wishes as always in our journey of love.
Love you all. God Bless.

POLITICAL PESTS

The right to blow up Rupees 1,000 crores to build and display statues is derived by the UP CM under which account head and funded from where?
Abuse of power cannot be tolerated and courts should suo-motu commence proceedings against Mayawati for corruption and dismiss her forthwith from office for total lack of propriety expected from the high office of State CM.
The blatant disregard for decency and wastage of resources for self satisfaction cannot go unpunished - are our laws so weak that the country has to tolerate demons like Mayawati (live + statues?).
Imagine the fate of the country if the 'political pests' lead by Karat of CPM, joined by Deve Gowda of JD(S), Naidu of TDP and sundry other 'worms' who aspired to form a "Third Front" government on the plank of anti-Congress/BJP slogan in the recent elections with Mayawati (dalit-ki-beti being projected as her brand value!!) as their Prime Ministerial candidate had managed to run past the finishing line?
May be we would then see the 1,000 crores multiplied by the number of States and Union territories in India for 'Dalit-ki-beti' becoming 'Dalit-ki-PM' installing ugly statues across India to remind us of 'dalit-ki-keeda'???????????
The Union Home Minister along with Finance Minister must immediately initiate enquiry into this affair and force Mayawati in her individual capacity to refund the huge sum of public funds diverted to building her statues installed across UP.
It is a shame that that we have to endure such disgusting wastage while millions in the country die of hunger and lack of basic resources.
The public in UP must destroy these ugly signs of Mayawati's non-governance and boycott paying taxes till she is forced by agitations to resign her office and render unconditional apology to them and the country.

ISLAM'S FRENCH DIS-CONNECTION

The recent controversy emanating from the French President's views on dress code prescribed for Muslim women is agitating Muslims across the world.
Presumption of evil (male) elements in society is the weakness of Islam based upon which women are discriminated. All humans are equal and being born a Muslim woman need not be displayed by a dress code to send a message of being different merely on religious grounds.
Differences create conflicts and it is disgusting to find Muslims (specially clerics) hijacking society in the name of religion by displaying petty mindedness. Is their faith so weak and religion so brittle that they get offended by irrelevant issues setting aside important matters that can uplift one and all.
Followers of Islam need to speak up and clear misconceptions arising from manipulated interpretation of their religion which is creating an unhealthy environment world wide by dividing people into 'Muslims(We) and non Muslims(They)' based on hate, intolerance, misunderstanding and violence.
Blood and flesh are the same in all homo sapiens. Nature does not differentiate when giving us bounties or destroying us by natural calamities.
THE END IS THE SAME IRRESPECTIVE OF RELIGION. LOVE AND TOLERANCE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN HOW WE INTERPRET SCRIPTURES.

FOREVER

Tina left for Mumbai to commence her final year in college (majoring in Sociology) on Sunday June 7th after a fairly long vacation for which she arrived in Bangalore on 22nd March. We as parents are of course trying to cope with the ‘empty nest’ syndrome.
She has posted a beautiful piece on her blog (www.tinanandi.blogspot.com) on arrival at her Mumbai address which aptly expresses the happy moments we all shared. It is indeed our good fortune and God’s Blessing that she is blossoming into a beautiful human being capable of enduring friendships that radiates happiness for her and her pals.
In retrospect, our difficult and hard decision to send her away to boarding school across continents at a tender age appears to have been justified in shaping her pleasing and balanced personality which is in high demand amongst her wide and varied circle of friends.
Friendship is one of the most treasured relationships that are nurtured by choice as opposed to relatives whom we sometimes have to tolerate by default.
It was wonderful to experience the fun and frolic generated by some of her friends when they stayed over night at our home gorging on self made exotic meal cooked to the tune of live music and then depriving themselves of sleep although there’s an early morning transport to be availed next morning!!
Pray and wish that happy moments with friends continue to happen forever, wherever and whenever they can catch up. God Bless all the lovely people who have entered Tina’s life as friends. Thank you guys!!

RABINDRA SANGEET

Have casually heard and enjoyed Rabindra Sangeet on various occasions but recently after listening to a particular song (not for the first time) performed on a TV show some thing special happened to trigger a more than casual interest in this genre.
Sadly I realized that may be have been missing out on some thing really special as a Bengali considering the pleasure derived from just sitting back and listening to the unlimited tracks sung by different singers (have managed to build a small collection lately to derive unadulterated happiness.)
The richness and variety of the topics expressed in words is awesome and makes one wonder about the greatness achieved by an individual in a lifetime. (Can any one please provide statistics on the total number of songs/poems and other writings of this prolific writer?) I pay my respects to this larger than life personality and wish to thank all the artists/musicians who spread unlimited pleasure and happiness.
The following is extracted from Visva Bharati site which is worth sharing as it closely resembles what I want to express about my new found love.
"Music, like all other arts in India, had stereotyped patterns. There was and is the classical tradition, whether of the north or the south, which has behind it centuries of devoted discipline, and which has within its limits, attained near perfection. It is music, pure and abstract, and like all abstract art its appeal is limited to those who have taken pains to understand what may be called its mathematics. For them it can be very beautiful, hauntingly so, in the hands of a master, but ordinarily its appeal is limited. Its counterpart for the popular taste was the traditional religious and folk music, now rivaled by film music. The position was not dissimilar in literature where, before the nineteenth century, there was either the great storehouse of Sanskrit classics or the popular religious lyric and ballad.
What Rabindranath was doing in literature he also tried to do in music. While caring for both the traditions, classical and folk, he respected the inviolable sanctity of neither and freely took from each what suited his purpose. He was not even averse to borrowing from western melodies, although he did very little of that and made his own whatever he took from other sources. If his creative contribution in music has not received the same recognition as his contribution in literature, it is because, in the first place, the classical tradition of music in India, unlike that of literature, is still very alive and vital and there was no vacuum to be filled.
In fact Rabindranath did not attempt creation of new forms in abstract music. What he did was to bring it down from its heights and make it keep pace with the popular idiom of musical expression. In the second place, his own music is so inextricably blended with the poetry of words that it is almost impossible to separate the mood from the words and the words from the tune. Each expresses and reinforces the other. Hence his songs have not the same appeal outside the Bengali- speaking zone as they have in his native Bengal.
In Bengal, however, each change of season, each aspect of his country's rich landscape, every undulation of human heart, in sorrow or in joy has found its voice in some song of his. They are sung in religious gatherings no less than in concert halls. Patriots have mounted the gallows with his song on their lips; and young lovers unable to express the depth of their feelings sing his songs and feel the weight of their dumbness relieved."
Rabindranath had said, "Whatever fate may be in store in the judgment of the future for my poems, my stories and my plays, I know for certain that the Bengali race must needs accept my songs, they must all sing my songs in every Bengali home, in the fields and by the rivers... I feel as if music wells up from within some unconscious depth of my mind, that is why it has certain completeness."
RABINDRANATH TAGORE - BORN 7th MAY 1861; DIED 7th AUGUST 1941.