Be Like Me : Blog # 270

Be Like Me!

When we were kids, we all wanted to be like someone, isn’t it? For some of us, it was our father, mother for some and an elder brother or sister for some others. We tried hard to imitate and be like them. When we were in high school, we wanted to be like someone in XIIth grade. While in college, we looked outside. Many a time we wanted to be like a rock star, an actor or rarely, an accomplished professional.

When we were about to finish college, we slowly realized that we want to be unique. We no more wanted to be like someone else. Any comparison made to someone else started annoying us. We wanted to carve out our own identity .May be this is why we did not want to do what our parents were asking us to do. The parents want you to be like them. They have carved out a path for themselves and they have been fairly successful in that. In their mind, so why don’t you just be like me? Isn’t that a logical option? Now if the parents were not successful in whatever path they took, they would still want their children to choose the path that they chose. Again, Be like me and be what I wanted to be is the reasoning here!

Now, let us look at the work scenario. Somehow the person fights all the societal pressures and have chooses a profession which he/she likes. One thinks one is free to do whatever one wants to do and appears, the Manager! Their thinking is that they have endured many difficulties during their career and they would want you to go through the same difficulties. It doesn’t stop there. Whatever your idea of work is, it doesn’t matter. Your manager will have his/her way of working and you are expected to work like them! Of course, Be like them!

So we criticize all the people above and what do we do? In the early years of work, all of us are still open about life. Let a couple of years of experience enrich you (or should I say burden you). You want your juniors to be like you! The moment, someone comes to us for advice, we tell them the things which we have done and ask them to be like us! You start asking your younger siblings to choose the path that you chose. Wait for yourself to reach parenthood and you will see yourself telling your children to be like you.

I think there is no doubt here that we all (at least most of us) are in love with our own image. We want others to be mirror images of ourselves. We overlook the fact that we are trying to replicate ourselves and thus making this world quite a monochromatic, boring place.

Let people be different. Let the world around be diverse. Let there be little conflicts. Let us try to find peace in those conflicts. Let us try to find richness in that diversity. Let us celebrate the differences. Let people BE!

Of Fireworks & IPL : Blog # 269

Of Fireworks & IPL

You might have read about the fireworks mishap which happened at Kollam in Kerala a couple of days before. The state has not witnessed a tragedy of that scale in a long long time. The loss of lives is on such a large scale that an entire village is affected by the accident. I can’t even imagine the grief that would have blanketed the small village on that fateful early morning. All one can do is to hope and pray for the families to find strength in this time of immense sadness.

The event has given rise to a debate in Kerala, whether or not to ban fireworks during festivals. People of my state are blessed with an abundance of education and awareness.Hence you might think that consensus can be arrived at easily. If you are not from Kerala, you might wonder if it isn’t a binary decision and an easy one at that. People are losing lives again and again. So why not ban the whole exercise? Let me help you with a bit of perspective. Most of you would have read about the ongoing drought in Maharashtra. Also, whether or not to allow IPL to be conducted in Maharashtra. For those of you who are from Bombay and who are passionate about cricket, this is not a binary decision, is it? When you decide to say no to IPL, passion for cricket comes in between. When you decide to say yes to IPL, you are faced with the extremely difficult life situation of the farmers. This is what a Keralite goes through in the situation of fireworks too.

I think complete prohibition of anything will only lead to resistance, resentment and attempts to bypass the law.  What needs to be done is to strengthen regulations. There are social media posts springing up everywhere linking the regulation of fireworks to religion. I feel the moment we do that, we are losing the perspective entirely. It is not a matter of faith or religion. It is a matter of regulations and adherence to it. It is common in our country these days to link anything and everything to religion. All this does is hinder a constructive debate.

It is time we take one hard look at the way we conduct festivals, many a time throwing caution to the wind. If we can’t do away with the fireworks, we should agree to stricter regulations and methods to ensure that they are adhered to.As far as IPL is concerned, it is a slightly easier choice.Imagine this. You go for the match, have a whale of a time and come back home thirsty as a crow.You reach for the tap and all it gives is air!

I like my Work and my Company! : Blog #268

I like my Work and my Company!

The other day, I saw the Whatsapp status of one of my friends. It read “Happily Married and No, it is not an Oxymornon”. He was not being sarcastic. He is genuinely happy. Let me tell you another set of words – “I love my work”. Many of you might find it hard to believe. I agree with you for I have been in both situations – absolutely hating my work and absolutely liking it. The job that I took up after Engineering belonged to the former category and the one that I chose after my MBA course is from the latter lot.

Many of us have this tendency to criticize openly and admire secretly wherein it should be the other way around. Be it the schools that we have been to, be it the colleges that we have graduated from, be it the companies that we have worked for, there is always a tendency to criticize them. Constructive criticism is good and should be done but many a time, we forget to laud the goodness of those institutions. Many a time, the realization sets in after one leaves the organization. This is the reason why many people talk fondly of their colleges and companies years later. So let me begin with an earnest attempt. I work for Infosys and I love it. Does that mean my organization is flawless and is hovering around the pinnacle of perfection? Absolutely not. There are things which need improvement. What makes this company different is the fact that there are genuine attempts being made to move in the right direction.

I still remember my first day at the Bangalore campus, in awe of the infrastructure. But I distinctly remember being much more impressed by the people that I came across. Right from the security to senior leaders, there was something likeable about them and it continues to be. Let me tell you one instance. Around the time of my marriage, I was walking in to the office. At the gate, security checks are done. The lady checking my bag saw a bunch of invitation cards and asked me “When is the marriage? Is madam also working at Infosys? Ask her also to join our company”. I was delighted beyond words.

“Be More” is the philosophy which Infosys is following these days. The idea is to try and do more than what is expected from oneself; discover more abilities which one has and thus maximize one’s own horizons. That security lady checking my bag was doing exactly that. You wonder what is so great about what she did? About 27000 people work in that campus and she is in the morning shift where maximum people walk in. It is at that time she found time to have this quick chat with me!

Above is a video of Yours truly talking about Life at Infosys. At the cost of sounding immodest, I must tell you that I have worked really hard to get the opportunities that I have got. But I am not the only person who does that. Most of us work really hard. This is where Infosys stands apart. I would want to give credit to the organization for the fact that it provides me with the right ecosystem which is of prime importance for one to thrive.

Which one are you? : Blog # 267

Which one are you?

Every morning in offices across the world, there are two kinds of people going to work. One, who are walking towards their dreams and the other, who are walking away from their dreams. Which one are you?

When it comes to relationships, there are people who are guarded, who approach them cautiously. Then there are people who gives it all that one has got. They love with as much compassion that they let go of their ego, don’t mind getting hurt and are ready to be broken if that is what it takes. Which one are you? 

Some of us live our lives constrained by boundaries of what others think are the rights and wrongs of the world. Some of us live our lives by what our heart tells us and walk those paths where our thoughts take us on. Which one are you?

When given a responsibility, there a people who own it. They want to do it so perfectly that people say that no one could have done it better. Then there are others who just want to crib away to glory. Which one are you?

Many are comfortable in a crowd. They feel at home right in the middle - holding fort, looking people in the eye, spreading a smile, shouting a cheer. Then there are those who find their own corners- watching from a distance, indulging in the comfort of one’s own silence, content and still. Which one are you?

For some, people are more important than everything else. The relationships, their complexities, the boundless happiness they gifts them with, the sadness which visits once in a while, the sacrifices needed to sustain it makes them happy. Then there are others who thrive on success, on what they do, on how respected they are. Which one are you?

Experiences enrich one’s life, believes some people. They move, travel, take chances, meet people. They look for new journeys for oneself to go through. Then there are others who find happiness in possessions. They yearn for new things, buys them and finds happiness in them. Which one are you?

All that is needed for some people to be happy is a book, a cup of tea and a hammock. And for some, all they can see is a larger house, a bigger car and a better phone. Which one are you?

When some people smile, their smile reaches their eyes. When they appreciate, it elates you. When they speak, it goes straight in to our heart. Then there are those whose silences could hurt too.  Which one are you?

                                                                                    Arun babu

What Game of Thrones taught me? : Blog # 266

What Game of Thrones taught me?

Having been nudged by my friends for long, I decided to start watching the series, ‘Game of Thrones (GoT)’. To say that it is gripping is a 2 floors below-basement statement (not just an understatement). If someone tells you that they started watching GoT, more often than not, they will be sleep deprived for the next couple of days. The story line is a refreshing departure from the tried and tired American city based youngsters and their woes. It is set in an entirely different era and the filmography really transports you to a time long gone by.

But what really upset my expectations was 'death' in GoT. It is so blunt and frequent. The first time it happens, you wonder if the writer of the story has committed a grave mistake. You are shocked to see that a character whom you thought was pivotal to the story is done away with such abruptness. There is not even as much as a fifteen minutes of shock or remorse from the other characters. Then you forgive the writer for the sin for the story goes on with all its layers and nuanced intrigue in place.

You continue watching the series and BANG! the next death. You are reminded of the deceit you felt the first time. You feel the series cannot go on! It is about 1:30 AM. You wonder if it is worth watching the series any more. But the love for story and the way in which the end of each episode is designed keeps you going. The next time it happens, you aren’t shocked as much. Slowly you realize that you are getting used to the deaths.

May be it is this closeness to life that the series has in this regard which makes it so intriguing. Isn’t death as shocking and as untimely in life too? How often have we heard that a death was completely unexpected and that it couldn’t have happened at a worse time? We also think a death brings our lives to a grinding halt. But life goes on. As much pain a death causes to our churned minds and as much remorse it engulfs our souls with, we move on. The world moves on; quite often reminding us of our acute in-consequence in the larger scheme of things of the universe.

Apart from the reality of death, there is much more that Game of Thrones manage to portray perfectly about life. Be it the complexities of human relationships, the addiction to power and money, the lack of trust, the intense love and the equally intense betrayal, of friendships, of families, of traditions, of clans and much more. But what stays with me is the unpretentious portrayal of death without any paraphernalia whatsoever.

Last days of College : Blog # 265

Last days of College

It is that time of the year when one gets to hear a lot of thoughts on the college life coming to an end. Thanks to my very young Facebook friends circle, I get to hear it a lot louder. Oh what a bitter sweet time it is! I still remember the last days of both my college stints – Bachelor’s and Master’s. 

When you are finishing your Bachelor’s degree, there is a huge sigh of relief that FINALLY, studying (not learning) is coming to an end. One gets to bid adieu to a decade and half long academic endurance. Even then, there is a bit of heart ache – of losing relationships – of some friendships and of some even more dear ones. One cannot say that one is a student anymore. One cannot walk in to those college gates throwing caution to the wind. One cannot get in to those little fights only to become closer than before. But the enticement of the real world is equally appealing. There is this exuberant impatience to tell the world that I have arrived. I think the possibility of a higher education is what makes the farewell of a bachelors’ course less painful. Also, they are blissfully unaware of the real world that is awaiting them – of responsibilities, of work and most sadly, of routine.

A post graduate course is an entirely different ballgame. It is truer if you have a bit of work experience. For those who have worked, they know for certain that college and academics is any day better than working. It is like one has to go through a harsh winter to appreciate a warm sun. Ashan (my beloved friend from MBA) told me that the ones among us with work experience doing MBA are here on a paid holiday of 2 years. I couldn’t agree more. The deadlines are flexible, responsibilities less harsh and office politics replaced by the warmth of friendship. The intensity of manager's authority is replaced by the warmth and affection of professors which in my university was truly different. Our bunch of professors are really a cool lot. What more can one ask for? May be that is why PG farewells are more painful.

There is a sense of acute awareness that one is walking out of the college gates forever. I still remember looking back at my beautiful campus and letting out a deep sigh when I walked out of those gates. I knew I will never be the same again to that place; nor will my alma mater be the same to me. It is like one of those moments in a relationship where you realize something has changed irrevocably. We will both look at each other differently. It is not that the fondness has become any lesser. It is just that time and distance will come in between however much we try.

For all those friends of mine who are spending your last few days in college, pause and look around. Walk in to a loud group, Join a hearty conversation, Go on a long walk, Hug your loved ones, Get a cup of tea and talk to a friend for long, Take time to say your good byes, Say your thank you-s, Tell them how much they mean to you, Just walk around. Warmly embrace the spirit of college life for you know the winter of real world is coming ;) 

p.s. Pic (of the mighty elephant hills in the shadows of which we learned MBA) lifted from my friend, Gobi Jagan's album. I am sure he won't mind :)

More blogs on My Alma mater ~ http://praisesnbrickbats.blogspot.in/2012/04/asb-memoir-potpourri-ofmemories-6-asour.html 

Desire Path : Blog # 264

Desire Path

             Have you seen those small mud paths amidst the grass right next to elaborately laid out walk ways? Those are called desire paths. Those little walkways which emerge by virtue of people choosing to walk through often. It might be either because it is a shorter path or it has a bit of an adventurous appeal about it or just for the little pleasure of stepping away from mainstream, as my friend Abhishek often says. Whenever I ask him as to why he made a rather different choice about something, he tells me “Oh, the other choice was too mainstream for me!” How I love that word, ‘Mainstream!’ :)

            All of us have desire paths in life. A path we will be happy to walk through often but we are unable to, due to various circumstances or constraints. If you look at it, both the desire path and the concrete laid walkway are taking you to the same destination. Yes, the desire path is much humble in its appearance. There are no elaborate staircases or handrails approaching that path or going away from it. It is like one of those old acquaintances of yours who doesn’t speak with great eloquence but you know that whatever is being spoken is right from the heart. You need not guess as to what exactly did the words mean in the context. Nor does one compel you to read between the lines.

            What the humble path also tells you is that the walk is not going to be easy. It cannot provide you handrails to ensure your safety while navigating the quagmires of life nor does it promise you shade in times when intense rays of hardships beam down on you. But isn’t it these little desire paths that we take in life which helps us beat the monotony and routine of life? Isn’t it those detours which infuse life in to our living? Don’t you think such small trips will help us derive a sense of contentment?

            An interesting thing about the desire path is that it is compassionate. You might wonder how? By design, it is small. It cannot have too many people walking through it without being concerned about the others. Those who choose to walk should be accommodative of each other. You will need to slow down for others or to step aside at times too. It is more collaborative than competitive.

          In a laid out path, there is space for two lanes – one for those who walk in and one for those who walk out.  There is hardly any collaboration here. Whoever walks fast, gets ahead without bothering about people who are walking along or behind. Isn’t that what is at the core of our world’s problems today? We are concerned for only our class of people – those who are as educated as us, those who earn as much as us, those who speak like us, those who look like us, those who worship like us. What about those who are unlike us? Isn’t being human reason enough to spare a thought for them?

            As busy as we are in our lives, let us take the desire path once in a while - for us, for them and for the world to be a better place.

                                                                                                                        Arun babu

Never Do Nothing : Blog # 263

Never do Nothing!

            I don’t know if the title of this blog is a widely used phrase. But I heard this for the first time from Madhu Trehan, senior journalist of the media-observer cum commentator Youtube channel, ‘NewsLaundry’. I am yet to come across a more inspiring phrase which conveys the message with such brevity. Many a time, people try to inspire others by talking to them. But at times, the conversations go in circles and for durations longer than the gestation period of an elephant. In this day and age of 142 characters worth of twitter eloquence and conversations that are reduced to whatsapp emoticons, one shouldn’t expect one’s audience to be very attentive and patient. Therein lies the relevance of this phrase.

                  In the times that we live in, it is very easy to think that we all are doing something worthwhile. Thanks to the social media, it cocoons us in to the false belief that we are all leading constructive lives. Often, one needs to step back and see if we are really taking an effort to evolve over time. It is about making oneself better than one was the previous day, month or at least the previous year.

                  Being a better person means different things to different people. For some, it is to stop doing something. For others, it is to start doing something. It could be to learn a new language, earn more money, coach oneself to a new skill, explore new places, start a hobby, be part of a cause , play a sport or anything that your imagination gifts you with. The point is to change by oneself before a change forces itself on to you.

                  By putting oneself continually through such experiences, we become more open and willing to let in newness – be it of people, challenges or experiences. We gradually reduce our mental inertia and resistance to change.  Being part of new experiences helps one tide through the monotony of life. It also gives us small milestones to conquer in this long journey thereby providing pit stops of contentment. In less euphemistic words, by never doing nothing, Life becomes easy!

Arun Babu

A Big Bear Hug to Nivea! : Blog #262

A Big Bear Hug to Nivea!

If you haven’t seen the new Nivea deo Advertisement, watch you must. I cannot even begin to tell you how happy it made me to see this refreshingly new and different Ad. I have always loved advertising. All you get is a handful of seconds. In that, one need to convey a story or a message AND make someone buy your product or at least make them think about the product. The sheer joy of creative challenge! In many ways, Indian advertisements are rich in content and portrayal. The abundance in content might owe to our varied cultural ethos – the advantage of having many little Indias within India. The portrayal or the visual nuances should have evolved over time.

One product space where there was an acute lack of creative talent on display was the deodorants. All that our prolific Ad agencies could come up with were a bottle of gas, a few naked women and these bare chested men drawing those women to them like moth to fire just because they have used the deodorant. The very same concept repeats only change being in the surroundings. Oh yes, one product did try with a horse and then molecules and awesomeness et al. Frankly, I missed the point. I couldn’t GET that Ad at all.

            And comes, our dear dearest Nivea. Just when I was about to press ‘Skip Ad’, Nivea takes me right to the beginning of mankind. I wondered why and was curious! It goes on to say Eve snubbed Adam with a hand wave because of body odour. Then it talks about Maharajas and the handshake, long lost friends and the high-fives and fist pumps etc. The Ad implores the audience to #Banbodyodour and get back to the endearing and sincere bear hugs.

            It delights me to see so many little things woven in to a minute worth of time. They have touched up on how human interactions have evolved (of course on a lighter vein), what we can do to make them more intimate and why we should use their product. Thank you Nivea for liberating us from the oft repeated monotony of humans hurling at each other among smoke just because of some scent! Thank you Nivea for giving some sense of meaning and soul to the story line. A big bear hug to your team!

Link to the Ad : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pXmQAZvQHI

Arun Babu

Indian Railways – One hell of a ride! : Blog #261

Indian Railways – One hell of a ride!

India has the world’s third largest rail network in the world. To know how great this organization is, you also need to know that we are the second most populated country in the world. A whopping 1.25 Billion Indians use this network to commute.

Now usually, large transport networks around the world make a booklet available to help passengers. We do not under estimate our passengers that way. We know they will learn things on the fly. Come on! what is life without some adventure and adrenalin rush? There are a lot of things you need to know if you were to use this mammoth of a service. There are some hidden tacit knowledge which Google might not be able to tell you. There might be some interesting questions that come to your mind like “Who is that guy in black blazer in the train and which disco is he going to? Is he Barney?” This blog is an attempt to answer such questions.

How do I get started on a train journey? – Well if you are among those who believe in travelling with dignity, you will need to have a ticket. You may book it either through a railway station or through the website – www.irctc.co.in .Now, if you are trying to book it through website, get some Chinese bamboos, a laughing Buddha, arrange your table as per feng shui - all that will bring luck to you because you need a hell lot of luck to book a ticket through this website. Am I being too harsh on them? Yes! Ok then, it works wonderfully well during normal hours. The problem occurs when you want to book a ticket on short notice. But isn’t most of our travel on short notice? So I am not being too harsh on them, am I?

How to book tickets on short notice? – Through an option called ‘Tatkal’ for booking tickets a day before your travel. So if you are travelling tomorrow, you can book a ticket today under ‘Tatkal’ option for a higher price. Timeslots are allotted on the website to book Tatkal tickets depending on the class of travel you choose. For AC (Air Conditioned) classes, booking is from 10:00 – 11:00 AM and for Non – AC classes, it is from 11:00 AM.

There are classes of travel? – Yes, in AC compartments, there are three types – 1^st AC, 2^nd AC and 3^rd AC. They are also known as 1 tier, 2 tier and 3 tier AC compartments. The tier is indicative of how many berths are present in a coupe. If there are 3 berths on one side of a coupe, it is a 3 tier compartment. If there are 2 berths, it is a 2 tier compartment. You get the drift, right?

Now coming to the Non AC compartments. This is interesting. Take a notepad and pay close attention. There is a first class,sleeper class, a sitting class and a general class. A first class is one where you have the privacy of a closed room and it is luxurious .A sleeper class will have berths on which you can lie down. This is essentially a 3^rd AC compartment with the AC taken away and the glass windows replaced by iron grills.

The sitting class as the name implies is to sit and travel. You won’t be able to lie down. This has 2 variations – CC and 2 S which stands for Chair Car and Second sitting respectively. Chair car will have AC and 2S will not have AC.

The general class is one when you travel without reservation. If you are one of those who love to travel on an impulse, this is the class for you. You take a ticket from the counter at the railway station, hop on and travel. Statutory warning – This class will be extremely crowded and travel will not be a very pleasant experience.

How do I spot my train at the station? - Each train has a 5 digit number and a name to it.

Names will be mostly with the cities between which the train commutes like the one is picture here is Chennai Express. The name will be written on a board on the first and last compartment of the train. If you are lucky, there will be an electronic display of name on all compartments. At the station, it will be mentioned as to on which platform does each train arrive. You need to look for 'coach position' chart which indicates where exactly on the platform does each compartment arrive. Many a time, this chart will be missing at the station. How do you figure then? Ask the shopkeepers on the platform. They will be more than happy to tell you.

Ok I have found my train. Now, how do I know which is my seat? – There is a train attendant for each compartment who will guide you to your seats. Yeah right! Are you kidding me? It is a complex set of codes which one needs to decrypt to understand where your seat is located among the 1000+ seats in a train. All we will tell you is S11, SU 64. Now you know why all the Indian kids are great at coding & decoding? ;). The meaning of this alpha numeric string is as below:

S11 -  Sleeper coach number 11. If is it B2, it means Third AC coach number 2. If it is A1, it means second AC coach number 1. If it is CC4, it means Chair car coach number 4. If it is D5, it means second sitting coach number 5. FC stands for First class.

SU is Side Upper. It has other variations – SL is Side Lower, LB is Lower Berth, MB is Middle Berth and UB is Upper Berth.

64 is your seat number. If you are 6 feet and above in height, pray and hope that your seat number is not a multiple of 8. If it is a multiple of 8, it would mean that your seat is side upper which is shorter than other berths and you will find it difficult to sleep.

Why do other people come and claim my seat? - There is a PNR number which you can use to check the status of your ticket. The status of your ticket will be any of these three – CNF (Confirmed ticket), RAC (Reservation against cancellation) and WL (Waiting List).  

If it is CNF, rejoice and revel; you can travel with a berth/seat allotted to you. If it is RAC, you are sharing a berth with a fellow passenger. This is when another person comes and claims that it is their seat. Calmly and patiently, tell him/her that it is RAC. If there are any other seats vacant, then the TTR will come and allot the free seat to either one of you and the berth becomes yours. If there are no free berths available, you will need to sit and travel.

Who is that guy in the black blazer? – Good question. He/She is the Ticket Examiner(TTR). If you see a person in a dashing black suit and a crisp white shirt, don’t ask him which disco he is going to. Because, he is not! He is just doing his job of the ticket examiner and that is his uniform.

How will you know that you have reached the station that you want to get down? – Other rail networks around the world might be resorting to usual methods like announcements or electronic displays. But not Indian Railways! We do things in Swag! What the passenger needs to do is to ask people sitting next to you, pray and hope that they were keeping a watchful eye on the stations passing by. If this doesn’t work, look outside. There will be one yellow board somewhere with the station’s name on it, like the one here. So if it is night time, how do you know which station it is? Follow the same process except asking the person sleeping in the next berth.

            Is this blog an exhaustive description of the wonder that is Indian Railways? Absolutely not! These are some of the many queries that occur to a first time traveler. Inspite of all its foibles, Indian Railways have kept our vast country connected and on the move and continues to do so. We are mighty proud of our railways!

Other useful railway sites :

A one stop shop - http://www.indianrail.gov.in/

Site for passenger trains' information - http://erail.in/

1942, A Love Story : Blog # 260

1942 , A Love Story

Having got some quiet time amidst my travel, I was listening to this Hindi song, ‘Ek ladki ko dekha to…’.It is composed by R.D.Burman for the film, 1942 a love story. The Lyrics are by Javed Akhtar and the voice is lent by Kumar Sanu.Adding to the beauty of the song is the effervescent presence of Manisha Koirala & Anil Kapoor.  

Being someone who is striving to become a writer, what amazed me is the depth of Javed Akhtar’s vocabulary. I must say it a vast ocean of priceless pearls. I mean how on earth can a person describe a girl so beautifully!!! The similies used here are hold your breath, 24 in number. And the beauty of it is that it is written in the simplest of words.

Javed Akhtar goes on to write that he saw a girl who is like

A blossoming rose,

A poet’s dream,

A rising sun’s ray,

A doe in a forest,

A moonlit night,

A sweet conversation and

A divine lamp……

 If you thought that is it; it is just the first stanza.

The song goes on to compare the girl to a wonderful morning, a winter's sunlight , playful waves, the musical pleasantness of Veena, a dash of all colors come together and  to the fragrance that a cool breeze brings along.

We are not done yet! The final stanza of the song talks about the girl who is like a beautiful dancing peacock, a thread of silk, a fairy’s song, a sandalwood flame, an ornate beauty, an unblemished mist and a slow and gradual engulfment of intoxication!!!

Javed Akhtar went on to create many more master pieces. But none else has managed to create as much wonder and admiration in me about the creative magnificence of this artist than this particular song.

Many a time, we set boundaries for what we think we can achieve. All one needs to look at is brilliant creations like these to know of the boundless power of our blessed minds. All we need to do is to set the imagination free,

Like a drifting cloud,

Like a gliding feather,

Like a rising fume,

Like a hovering eagle,

                      Like a twisting whirlwind,

                        Like a mid-summer rain,

                                    Like a child’s prayer,

                                                Like a mother’s love,

                                                            Like a lover’s gaze…

Arun Babu