And again …. another holiday

The level of restlessness is now somewhere in between ‘not long to go’  to ‘why doesn’t the damn clock move’ ..

So many ‘experiences’ awaiting me and giving me the biggest sense of anticipation …

So many dates with friends – the biggest dilemma is ‘how do I fit it all without upsetting my folks!’

The sights, smells and noise that usually attack my senses the minute I reach are starting to haunt my every waking moment already …  I feel the colour and vibrancy already!

I can smell the neem tree, the aroma of spices in my neighbours freshly cooked meals  and the fresh smell of the ocean already …

I can already hear the loud honk of horns, the sound of traffic, loud music blaring in the background , the sound of midday soapies and the latest film hits playing loud in every house ….

I can already see huge gorgeous kids, beautiful ladies with long hair and jasmine strands in their hair, 4 people on a two wheeler, bill boards, processions, flowers, quaint markets, roadside food stalls and markets, footpath homes …

The swing in the balcony is already beckoning out me in my dreams and saying ‘come to me my darling.  I am waiting for you’  …

So many events to attend … so many people to meet .. so many places to see .. so many things to buy and in so little time!!  I say ‘Not fair that it has to be so short but thank you God for the simple pleasures in life’ …

 

The wisdom of Kabir

I’ve always been a huge fan of Kabir’s simple philosophy.   There are many beautiful couplets (or what are called doha’s).  I am sharing a few doha’s that touched me.  So simple and sensible and so easy to apply in day to day life .. if only we made the effort!  The translation is just the literal translation.  I’ll let you think through the deeper philosophy that he preaches.

कबिरा जब हम पैदा हुए, जग हँसे हम रोये
ऐसी करनी कर चलो, हम हँसे जग रोये

Kabir says: “When I was born I cried and the world laughed in happiness
Please let me live a life so worthy that I laugh and the world cries as I depart this existence.”

बोली तो अनमोल है, जे कोई जाने बोल
ह्रदय तराजू तौल करि, तव मुख बाहर खोल

Words are priceless and invaluable .. if one knows the right words to say
Says Kabir:  process within you what you want to say before you let it out

हिन्दू मुए राम कहि, मुसलमान खुदाय
कह क़बीर सो जीविता, दुहु में कहा न जाय

Hindus chant the name of Rama at death and Muslims take the name of Rahim
But no one ever realises Him during their lives

धीरे धीरे रे मना, धीरे सब कुछ होय
माली सींचे सौ घड़ा, रितु आये फल होय

Please understand oh mind that everything comes to fruition at the right time .. don’t despair
A gardener can water a plant with hundred pots of water each day, but the plant only flowers in the right season

बुरा न सिखिये और का,   गुण सिखिये सब केरा
जैसे मखी मीठे चुन चुन, रस लेही अनेरा

Says Kabir: never focus on the bad qualities of a person, just focus on the good
Like a bee that sucks the sweetest honey from each flower

पानी बाढे नाव में, घर में बाढे दाम
दोऊ हाथ उलीचिये, यहि संतों के काम

When water spills into a boat, or wealth fills your coffers
Throw it out with both your hands quickly, as wise men do

दुःख में सुमिरन सब करे सुख में करै न कोय
जो सुख में सुमिरन करे दुःख काहे को होय

We pray we think of him during times of need but forget him in times of happiness
Where would there be sorrow if we prayed to him and thought of him at all times

जाती ना पूछो साधु की ,पूछ लीजिए ज्ञान
मोल करो तलवार का, पड़ा रहन दो म्यान

Never ask a wise man for his caste, focus on his wisdom
Value the sword, not the cover that it comes in

काल करे सो आज कर, आज करे सो अब
पल में प्रलय होएगी,बहुरि करेगा कब

Whatever good deed you intended to do tomorrow, do it today and whatever you intended to do later today, do it now
Because the world could come to an end in a second and you won’t be able to fulfil what you set out to do

बुरा जो देखन में चला, बुरा न मिलिया कोय
जो मन खोजा आपना, मुझसा बुरा न कोय

I searched the world in vain for a bad person
When I looked within I realised that there was no one as bad as me (as I was looking for bad)

The world is a stage …

  “All the world’s a stage and

All the men and women are merely players

They have their exits and their entrances.”

It isn’t until you go through life in all its glory that you really see the truth of these words.  There seems to be a script that has been written for you but you yourself are not privy to!  A lot of times, I watch my life from the outside and wonder the profound significance of these words.

The beautiful world with all its magic and mystery is the stage and the players…….

The many people who enter your life, travel through it with you, exit your life –  only to re-enter your life most unexpectedly. 

The many experiences these travellers give you, the gamut of emotions they all put you through and the many lessons they teach you.

The various states that you find yourself in – happy, sad and all the in-between states – happy-sad, sad-sad, sad-happy, the laughter, magic, exhilaration, the climb to the peak, the fall to the troughs and the rise to the peak again,

So many questions!  It would be good to know answers to all these questions –

why do people come into your life,

who brings them into your life,

what is their purpose in your life or what is your purpose in theirs, 

why do they leave you half way through,

why do they come back again,

do you ever meet them ‘beyond’,

why are mismatched people thrown together,

why do you do things despite knowing fully well that this will cause anxiety and pain,

why humans are innately animals of instinct, why are they disciplined and made to feel guilty about their instincts,

why do they get themselves into situations that you know are bad for them,

why can there not be eternal happiness in a world where no one hurts anyone and there is peace and tranquillity all round?

I could go on and on and on … so many questions, especially when you learn to look at life from outside.  Philosophers have eloquently written about this state of confusion.  Those who rely on religion preach that faith is the only release from this ‘state’

Annamayya sang:

nAnATi baduku nATakamu
gAnaka gannadi kaivalyamu (nanAti)

puTTuDayu nijamu pOvuDayu nijamu naTTa naTimi pani nATakamu
eTTa eduTa kaladI prapanchamu kaTTa kaTapaDitI kaivalyamu

“This day to day existence is nothing but a play.  Everything is clear except the end – liberation or salvation.  The only truths are that we are born and we die – all else is illusion.  The world that we are born in is the start and liberation is the end.  There are many things we need to live through, experience and learn from before we are liberated. “

No one knows for sure though.  No one has seen light yet!  Wouldn’t it be nice to see the master plan and see our place in this grand plan?

Survive I did … Thank You My ANGEL

I wish I could just drown and disappear off the face of this earth without a trace. I am tired of swimming against the tide and just want it all to end. I’ve had enough.

Some remnant ‘spirit’ within spurs me to battle on and I listen to this spirit.

I try to resurface without choking but find myself dragged deeper and deeper into a deep and scary whirlpool.

People who should stand by me and support me have let me down, disappointed me and upset me.

Friends that I thought the world of have thrown my love and gestures back at my face with a scathing character assassination that I feel I don’t deserve. I sting from the verbal attack and cringe deeper within.

Darkness, despair and despondency are my only loyal companions! They refuse to leave me alone even though I want them to. I thrive in their company and sink deeper and deeper.

An innate sense of pride prevents me from letting on to the wider world how fragile I am. I block it all out and pretend to be brave. I try to help others when I am falling apart.

 My heart cries out in pain – ‘Surely there is one person, just one person in this world who understands me and my motivations, just one person who can see through me, see through the facade I put up and see the real person within, just one person I can call a soul mate.’

 The cynic within says categorically – ‘no, this person doesn’t exist. Stop living in fool’s paradise! It is a selfish world. No one is going to drop their lot in life to come to your rescue. You are your only ally! Toughen up, will you!’

The idealist who is my alter ego says – ‘Surely, there is one person whose life I have made a difference to. I am a nice person. I’ve only ever done the right thing by people. Maybe one day they will realise. Maybe I will find that one person in this life I can call my own, my soul mate.’

As the negative and the positive clash in the mind, I introspect. There are two kinds of people in the world – the kind who blame others and the kind who blame themselves. I am the latter kind. I blame myself for everything. Maybe I am not doing something right. Maybe I need to change. Maybe people perceive me a certain way because that is the way I am. Perception is reality! I convince myself that these people could be right; maybe I am not that nice.

My feeling self worth drops, I start believing people’s perceptions of me. I feel like I am of no value to anyone. I feel that my drowning is really not going to make a difference to a living soul. No one will even look for me, let alone save me or miss me. I feel worthless. I cry. I calm down, then I cry some more. This cycle goes on for a couple of days.

Suddenly the powers above tell me in their own special way – ‘you are not who you think you are. You are special! You are fantastic! Don’t ever doubt yourself! For every person who hurts you, there is a person who thinks the world of you. I think you are a terrific person! You are one of a kind!’

Suddenly the whirlpool doesn’t seem that scary. I learn to swim with the tide. I resurface – exhausted but relieved to have pulled through.

I have a long shower. I wash away all my woes, my fears, my insecurities, my tears and my pain. I come out glowing with new resolve and confidence. I say to myself – ‘If people realise my worth, they’ll want me in their life and they will come back looking for me. If they don’t, it’s their loss!’

I am very comfortable in my own skin. I am my worst critic and I know I am gold! What others think of me becomes immaterial. I fall in love with myself all over again! If the others fall in love with me too, that’s great, but I tell myself it shouldn’t become a dependency. I don’t feel the need to prove my integrity, my affection, my motivations or my character to anyone. I don’t want to confront anyone or prove them wrong. I am not going to have any conversations, make any calls or send any emails. I don’t need to! I have other interests and passions in life that I had forgotten about. They are reaching out to me now.

The transformation is almost complete. I feel happy, beautiful and wanted! I put on my nicest dress and my prettiest face. I walk out to face it all with renewed confidence and energy!!

And I would like to acknowledge a gorgeous little angel who threw me a lifeline by sending me the link to Super Singer! She doesn’t know she gave me back my life with that single gesture! She brought music and hope back into my life.

To see my favourite young contestant Kaushik rise above his insecurities and fears to get back in the competition is almost symbolic of my own journey and is definitely the icing on the cake! I truly wish I could make him win the contest. I look forward to watching him and cheering him over the next few weeks as opposed to feeling sad and miserable!

This apple has fallen far from the tree!!

It is very unlike me to write a blog about my family or anything personal for that matter because I am a fiercely private person and hate bragging! This blog is an exception and I have been inspired to write this by my beautiful daughter – this child is beautiful inside out.

As a teenager, I was the biggest bludger on the face of earth. I was unfocused, had no goals worth mentioning and wasted day after day. If I did well, it was by pure fluke and if I didn’t I can’t say it bothered me much at all. Studying for an exam meant slogging two days before the exam to avoid being a disappointment to my parents and to salvage some personal dignity!!

I watch my daughter Shaz today and I have to say I am impressed, humbled, proud, all at the same time. Shaz is in her HSC, the most important year of her school life. She has assignments, tests, projects pretty much every day. Pressure is the norm. I watch this child effortlessly wade through stuff in an organised way. Never are assignments left to the last minute. She is always focused, ahead of time and determined. She asked me a couple of weeks ago, how much do you think I will score in my HSC and I said ‘in your 90’s probably’. Her response ‘amma I want to get at least 96%. Otherwise I will not be happy. I want to be that person in school that all my juniors look up to. I want my name to be announced in the assembly and I will work towards that.’ I look at her and cringe at the thought of what I used to be!! Of course, I haven’t told her that …

The child compartmentalises, multitasks and manages her life beautifully:

• She is blitzing through her tests and assignments! She is teachers’ pet and they all have only nice things to say about her,
• she is making an outfit for her costume day. She wants to dress like Pocahontas and is sewing her own costume. She has never learnt sewing formally but is making her own outfit through trial and error,
• she still pursues her hobbies. She had a performance last weekend (which I tried to talk her out of but she wouldn’t hear of it). Rehearsals were on every night. She had exams and assignments due throughout the rehearsal period and the week following. She took her books to rehearsals and whenever she was not dancing she was studying or doing her assignment. (BTW, she performed on Saturday and was amazing on stage!!),
• she makes time to help/counsel her friends when they show signs of stress .. she is the designated agony aunt,
• she still makes time to watch all her favourite TV shows and
• she makes time for her family. She always makes time for her brother and her mum. She comes in to my room and says – ‘I miss talking to you’, lies on my bed with me and talks to me!!!

None of those high school romances for her either. Her rationale – I am not old enough and I don’t want to be distracted. Maybe when I am in Uni but for now, friends are good enough for me!! And as if this is not enough she deactivates Facebook without any prompting when she feels it is distracting her!! Her only disgrace is her room – the room looks like it’s been hit by a storm ALWAYS. But that aside, she is PERFECT!!
The child is GOLD and what I did to deserve her – I don’t know! I want it to be known how proud I am of her. My message to her – Shaz, I wish I could have been like you. What you eventually will end up doing I don’t know, how well you will do in life, I have a fair idea – you’ll do the best you possibly can, but that you will be the best daughter, I have no doubts whatsoever!! I hope you never EVER change!!

Thou to me the flowing light ….

You are my light, I am your vision

You are my nectar, I am the enchanted bee

You are my rains, I am your dancing peacock

You are my harmony, I am your music

You are my love, I am the magnet that lures you 

You are my scripture, I am your knowledge

The message he is trying to convey is – ‘you are my inspiration’. So many analogies to just communicate this message! Was she really the inspiration or was he a genius? Why are others not able to translate their deepest emotions into beautiful lyrics like this? How lucky is this woman who has inspired song after song! To have lived in his era and to have known him is a blessing but to be his love and the object of his affection!!

What you see above is my own translation of some of the lines of ‘Paayum Oli Nee’ by Subramanya Bharathi. I was astounded to read his own English translation of this poem and I now truly believe that writing is an inborn skill. I never had any questions that Bharathi is truly a once in a lifetime poet but his capacity to write equally eloquently in two languages is just mind blowing! I wish I could go back in time and meet him or I wish I could meet him in my next life and at the risk of being called greedy be his love and inspiration!!

Here is his beautiful translation of his own poem …

 

Thou to me the flowing Light And I to thee discerning sight;

 Honied blossom thou to me, Bee enchanted I to thee;

O Heavenly Lamp with shining ray,

O Krishna,Love,O nectar-spray

With falt’ring tongue and words that pant

Thy glories here I strive to chant

 

Thou to me the harp of gold And I to thee the finger bold;

Necklace shining thou to me New-set diamond I to thee;

 O mighty queen with splendour rife

 O Krishna,Love,O well of life,

Thine eyes do shed their light on all

Wherev’r turn,their beams do fall

 

Rain that singeth thou to me; Peacock dancing I to thee;

Thou to me the juice of grape And I to thee the cup agape;

O spotless Beauty,Krishna bright,

Perennial fount of deep delight,

O Love,thy face hath grace divine

 For there the deathless

Truth doth shine

 

Silver moonlight thou to me, Exulting Ocean I to thee,

Thou the basic harmony And I the song that moveth free;

 Dear as eyesight,Krishna,mine,

 O Massed-up,sweet,immortal wine

Unceasing yearns my mind to scan

Thy endless charm,but never can

 

Inlaid perfume thou to me, Petalled blossom I to thee,

Thou to me the Inner Thought And I to thee the word it wrought;

 O honeyed Hope,O Krishna fair, O Joy,

O’er flowing everywhere, O Star of love,do teach me,pray,

To sing thy praise in fitting lay

 

Deep Attraction thou to me Living magnet I to thee,

 Thou to me the Veda pure And I to thee the Knowledge sure;

Voice vibrant of the world’s desire

 O Krishna Love all-quickening fire,

In utter stillness here i see

Thy face that yieldeth ecstasy

 

As life to Pulse and gold to rings,

As star to planet,soul to things,

 So Krishna,Love,art thou to me; Thou,the force,I Victory

And all the joys of Heaven and Earth In thee,

O Krishna,have their birth Ethereal glory,

endless Might O Heart of Mine,O Light,O Light!

Madness …..

Its official!  I am anything but normal.  I am surrounded by mad people ..

 A dad who nods at random strangers and says ‘hello’ just to confuse them and kills himself laughing at their reaction

A sister who giggles uncontrollably when anyone falls

Another sister who trips over things (like dogs!!), falls constantly and blames innocent passing creatures for her accidents

A husband who draws a moustache on an unsuspecting girl when she sleeps and kills himself laughing when she wakes up and walks around with a pencil moustache on her face

Kids who have their own vocabulary of swear words – ‘billa ba’, ‘dappi kaka lalala’, ‘prangaali’

A son who:

• Is fascinated with fire to the extent of burning his own arm hair by accident and screaming in pain
• Throws a t-shirt over his head, walks over to people when they least expect it and say ‘kabubu’ (God knows what that means!) and kills himself laughing at their reaction
• Who chucks wet tissue on the ceiling to see if it sticks! ://///

 A daughter who:

• Apologises to a woman who is hurling abuse at her and asks – ‘excuse me, but I don’t understand. What are you saying?’ making the woman 20 times angrier.
• Says to me – ‘amma, you’re scary. Stop acting like a kid sitting in the corner eating glue’ … whatever that means!!
• Has an aspiration of settling down with 20 cats and being called ‘crazy cat woman’

A friend who dreams of running on the beaches in Rio with a white skirt and nothing else and be whiplashed in the process by her own bazukas ..

A friend who fakes bad pregnancy (for fun), pretends to be upset, hides under tables and giggles uncontrollably when people give her worried looks

A friend, who pretends to give food to his ten month old, waits until she opens her mouth and then puts it into his own mouth denying her the food. Point of the exercise – to test her intelligence and see how long it will take her to figure out that he is tricking her. He does this ten times – before the 10 month old wakes up to the fact and SLAPS him the 11th time and he tells this story with a goofy look on his face!

A friend who messages me at midnight with soccer scores after being out of touch with me for nearly 2 years. When I ask – ‘wouldn’t a hello have been better’ he responds with – ‘that wouldn’t have made me giggle .. I imagined the look on your face when you saw the score!’ Arrrghhhhhhhh!!!

A colleague who sends emails to everyone in the office saying – ‘Justin has brought biscuits for everyone. If you want biscuits, please walk over to his desk.’ And when people walk over to this poor soul asking for biscuits, Justin asks me – ‘what is wrong with everyone today .. why is everyone asking me for biscuits?’

A colleague who swaps the 1 and the 3 keys on the keypad of an analysts computer and giggles uncontrollably as the poor analyst tries to figure out why his ‘computer’ is doing silly things. After half a day of giggling uncontrollably, they tell him and he chases the tormentor around the office!!

A colleague who leaves this message for another colleague – “Louisa from Haymarket branch called for you. Please call her back.” and leaves the number of a brothel!! By the time the poor fellow figures out it was a trick, everyone else has killed ourselves laughing at the myriad of emotions on the poor man’s face especially as Louisa asked ‘is there a preference for the colour of the hair or ethnicity?’ when this guy thought he was calling a branch teller!!!

A friend who said ‘my aunt has a dog called Rocky but it won’t respond to our calls of ‘Rocky’. It just ignores us. It only responds to the way my aunt calls it in her typical Punjabi accent … ‘Rawwkeeeeeeee’!’

 The good thing is I kill myself laughing nearly every day! The bad thing is my sanity has deteriorated over the years!

Have we killed spontaneity?

In the name of civilisation we’ve taken spontaneity out of everything in life!  We are governed by a set of rules for almost everything!  Gone are the days when humans lived by instinct.  We’ve progressed so much in the ‘thought process’ that almost everything we do has to be governed consciously or sub consciously by the now written rules of whether it is ‘right or wrong’, ‘ethical or unethical’.

We’ve taken spontaneity out of eating.  We are not hunters and gatherers anymore.  We have a highly evolved cuisine.  Fine dining with the best ingredients is a way of life!  We’ve taken spontaneity out of ‘how we eat’.  Etiquette governs how we eat.  We now have rules on the right way to hold cutlery!  Wearing clothes to protect ourselves is a thing of the archaic old days.  Fashion has made sure that attire is not spontaneous either.  We are judged on what we wear – ‘Oh how revolting.  This person has no sense of style!’  We’ve taken spontaneity out of sex.  Animal instincts have been replaced with ‘romance’ and cultured ‘wooing’.   The animal instincts that are so natural and part of the human psyche are now hidden in the dark confines of our minds never to see light of day.  And when it does, it takes the form of perversion caused by suppressed desires.

 Has civilisation cultured and disciplined humans?  Yes and no.  As with everything there are no definitive black or white answers – there are reds, greens and purples too!  Yes, we’ve learnt to use butter, sugar and spices to enhance the taste and fine dining is a victory to the human race but aren’t we now confronted with a new set of problems – diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure.  So we are now re-writing the rules in light of this newly found knowledge!  The old ‘good’ is not so ‘good’ anymore.  I won’t delve into the rights and wrongs of everything I’ve said above because that would be like stating the obvious!

Music is another casualty of this civilisation.  There is music everywhere – the sound of breeze, waves, leaves rustling, birds chirping and man learnt from nature to appreciate sound.    Now there is music in the click clack sound of the keyboard, the slow hum of the coffee percolator … everything really.  Man evolved this sound slowly but surely.  He used his superior intellect to refine and structure sound and define it further. 

What was the purpose of music?  To make us go through a journey of emotions and soothe/energise our senses?  We felt we had to evolve it further.  So we compartmentalised and categorised music!  We have now ‘regimentalised’ music to such an extent that music for the purpose of ‘soothing the senses’ is almost a thing of the past.

At the risk of offending many people, the current day Carnatic music scene is a JOKE.  Historically, unlike Hindustani music, Carnatic owes its origins to devotional music.  I listen to current day musicians and shudder!  There is NO devotion whatsoever.  In fact, I do wonder if most musicians even know the meaning or the context of the song they perform.  They split the lyrics in a way that makes absolutely no sense.  In the name of niraval, they butcher the devotional aspect of the song.  Displaying their technical expertise has now become the true test of their skills.  Who cares about the aural impact!!  In its highly evolved form – does current day Carnatic music largely appeal to a layman?  No.  The experts say – ‘he is ignorant, he doesn’t understand the nuances of music’.  But shouldn’t music by definition appeal to the lowest common denominator?  There is no need to understand the finer aspects of the art to enjoy sound.  Shouldn’t good music transcend all these manmade barriers?

I also HATE it when pundits get on their high horse and write off film musicians.  What’s wrong with MKT’s or Ilayaraja’s Raga based songs?  Why is it that their interpretation of Ragam is perceived as inferior?  The way Ilayaraja has used the normally soft Kapi in a very popular ‘dappankuthu’ song ‘Thannithotti tedi vanda’ to me is very refreshing.  In contrast, the carnatic interpretation of Ragams I believe is becoming increasingly cliché.  It takes a very original musician to bring novelty to his interpretation.  To be quite honest, there are seven notes and all the multitude of combinations have been explored, re-explored and re-re-explored.  How then is novelty possible? 

To conclude I’ll just borrow the lyrics from an old Ilayaraja super hit.

“paadalgal oru koadi edhuvum pudhidhalla
raagangal koadi koadi adhuvum pudhidhalla
enadhu jeevan onrudhaan enrum pudhidhu”

Sadly that ‘jeevan’ or ‘soul’ is largely missing in the Carnatic circuit these days!  We’ve killed the spontaneity in music too and we don’t even realise it!!

Subramanya Bharathi’s Short Stories – 2

 It is important to think beyond the self and think of the wider world.  This moral is imparted beautifully in the following short story.

A couple lived together in a house.  One night when the man of the house returned home the lady of the house was cooking.  As she was cooking, the lady felt a bit unwell and decided not to eat food herself but just to cook for her husband.

When the husband came back, he said “I am planning to fast tonight.  I don’t want to eat dinner.”

On hearing this, the lady did not turn off the stove.  She thought it would feed someone else’s hunger tomorrow even if they didn’t eat it.  She cooked the rice and went to sleep.

Similarly a karma yogi or a duty bound person will never leave a task unfinished – even if it will not benefit him.  He will consider the wider benefit and complete the task before commencing another task.

Story as written by Bharathi

ஒரு வீட்டில் ஒரு புருஷனும் ஸ்திரீயும் குடியிருந்தார்கள்.  ஒரு நாள் இரவில் புருஷன் வீட்டுக்கு வரும்போது ஸ்திரீ சமையல் செய்து கொண்டிருந்தாள்.  சோறு பாதி கொதித்துக் கொண்டிருந்தது.  அந்த ஸ்திரீ அன்றிரவு கொஞ்சம் உடம்பு அசெளகரியமாகியிருந்தபடியால், தனக்கு ஆகாரம் வேண்டாம் என்று நிச்சயித்துப் புருஷனுக்கு மாத்திரமென்று சமைத்தாள்.

புருஷன் வந்தவுடன் “நான் இன்றிரவு விரதமிருக்கப் போகிறேன்.  எனக்கு ஆகாரம் வேண்டாம்” என்றான்.

உடனே பாதிகொதிக்கிற சோற்றை அவள் அப்படியே சும்மா விட்டுவிட்டு அடுப்பை நீரால் அவித்து விடவில்லை.  தங்களிருவருக்கும் உபயோகம் இல்லாவிடினும் மறுநாள் காலையில் வேலைக்காரிக்கு உதவுமென்று நினைத்து, அது நன்றாக கொதிக்கும்வரை காத்திருந்து வடித்து வைத்துவிட்டு பிறகு நித்திரைக்குச் சென்றாள்.

அது போலவே, கர்மயோகி தான் ஒரு தொழில் செய்யத் தொடங்கி, இடையிலே அது தனக்கு பயனில்லையென்று தோன்றினால், அதை அப்படியே நிறுத்தி விட மாட்டான்.  பிறருக்கு பயன் தரும் என்பதைக் கொண்டு, தான் எடுத்த வேலையை முடித்த பிறகே வேறு காரியம் தொடங்குவான்.

Subramanya Bharathi’s Short Stories 1

Life is as complicated as we choose to make it.  No problem in life is insurmountable and no difficulty is big enough to worry about.  The difference is really in the way we look at it.  This is told beautifully in the following short story by Bharati. 

Translation of the story

In a far away land a man who was suffering from elephantiasis ran a fruit shop.   The area around his shop was frequented by lots of children.  Every time the children walked past, they were tempted to pick a few fruits from the shop but they refrained because of the shopkeeper’s threats – ‘if you dare pick a fruit, I will trample on you with my legs.’

The children perhaps would have risked it if he had normal legs but this man had heavy elephant legs.  Surely they’d get killed if he trampled over them!

As days went by a boy found the courage to pick a fruit when the shop keeper wasn’t looking.  The shop keeper immediately spotted the boy and kicked him hard with this elephant legs.  It was like being hit by a soft pillow!!  The boy laughed aloud and yelled to the rest of his friends – “Guys, come over and help yourselves.  His leg – it is just flesh, no bone!”

Largely, adults are like these children!  Have we not known people who look at their tribulations from far believing that their problems that are ‘hard as bone’ when in fact they are ‘soft as flesh’?  Have we not been victims of this attitude ourselves?

ஆனைக்கால் உதை

ஒரு ஓரில் ஆனைக்கால் வியாதி கொண்ட ஒருவன் பழக்கடை வைத்திருந்தான்.  அந்த தெருவின் வழியாகச் சில பிள்ளைகள் அடிக்கடி போவது உண்டு.  போகும் போதெல்லாம் அவர்களுக்கு அந்த பழங்களில் சிலவற்றை எடுத்து கொண்டு போக வெண்டுமென்ற விருப்பம் உண்டாயிற்று.  கிட்ட போனால் ஆனைக்கால்காரன் தனது பிரம்மாண்டமான காலை காட்டி “பயல்களே, கூடையில் கை வைத்தால் உதைப்பேன் ஜாக்கிரதை!” என்பான்.

”சாதாரண காலால் அடித்தால் கூட எவ்வலவோ நோகிறதே, இந்த ஆனைக்காலால் அடிபட்டால் நாம் செத்தே போவோம்” என்று பயந்து பிள்ளைகள் ஓடி விடுவார்கள்.

இப்படி இருக்கையில் ஒரு நாள் கடைக்காரன் பராக்காக இருக்கும் சமயம் பார்த்து, ஒரு பையன் மெல்ல போய் கூடையிலிருந்து ஒரு பழத்தை கையிலெடுத்தான்.  இதற்க்குள் கடைக்காரன் திரும்பிப் பார்த்து, தனது பெரியக் காலை சிரமத்துடன் தூக்கிப் பையனை ஒரு அடி அடித்தான்.  பஞ்சுத் தலையணையால் அடித்தது போலே அடி மெத்தென்று விழுந்தது.  பையன் கலகலவென்று சிரித்துத் தெரு முனையிலே இருந்த தனது நன்பர்களைக் கூவி “அடே, எல்லோரும் வாருங்களடா! வெரும் சதை, எலும்பில்லை” என்றான்.

மனிதர்களெல்லோரும் பல விஷயங்களில் குழந்தைகளைப் போலவே காணப்படுகிரார்கள்!  “வெரும் சதை”யாக இருக்கும் கஷ்டங்களைத் தூரத்திலிருந்து “எலும்புள்ள” கஷ்டங்களாக நினைத்துப் பிறர் அவதிப்படுவதை நாம் பார்த்ததில்லையா?  நாம் அங்ஙனம் அவதிப்பட்டதில்லையா?