The Pioneer

My Sadhguru says something very significant and profound in his latest Wednesday post:

This is clear to me that before I am done with life, I will see that Adi Yogi is recognized and acknowledged for the contribution that he has made in the shaping of human consciousness or the tools and methods that he offered for a rapid evolution of consciousness. In terms of exploring and understanding the human mechanisms, there has never been another one either before or after to rival him. In acknowledging him, all the possibilities that he offered can also be brought forth into currency. Raising human consciousness is the single most important task ahead of us. We, as a generation of people, are placed in a unique position where our survival process is organized like never before, comforts and conveniences like never before and above all, we have the capability, resource and technology to address all issues upon the planet like never before. The only missing ingredient is the human being whose experience is inclusive enough to propel into action of the right sort. Adi Yogi is a true antidote for all the ills of societies of our times. He is the man for our times as he does not demand belief or faith but offers a science of transformation.

Read the whole thing here. 

It's your birthday

I was cleaning a cupboard today (yes, I'm good that way, once in a decade) and unearthed a considerable bundle of Archie's and Hallmark cards. If only I could get half-price for the lot, I'd have a fortune. Birthday cards, 'do well in your exams' cards, notes... cards exchanged between ourselves, wishes from cousins, friends, neighbours, parents, one from Bapa (my grandfather) and three from a dog. A few are straight, sweetly sentimental but mostly the pile yields 'insult' cards that were all the rage at one time.

I found several wishing me on my 21st birthday - sigh, already they had started insulting about my age and at least two friends, I discover, urge me to be wild and drive Porsches. Err... note from the future: that would be a Nano, and no, I haven't gathered the guts to drive it around the colony at midnight yet.

I don't know how it started but no birthday card was ever, EVER complete without the adjuration to 'FREAK OUT'. It became a joke with us, and we never did fail to have that golden phrase figure somewhere. From Shweta to me, me to Shweta, cards from Nitya, Priya and Sriram... all bearing the famous words.

When she was here and cleaning her cupboard, Shweta uncovered a set of unused cards - no doubt purchased so to be handy when a dear close friend sprang an unexpected birthday. They are ALL age cards. She showed them to me and I chuckled over them. Then, she said, "No one gives anybody cards these days, so I'll just give them to you." But alas, I had seen them all. Never mind, she tells me bracingly, you'll never know WHICH one you're getting. That just makes me feel warm all over. 

Baatein yahaan wahaan ki

I put to rest a deadline yesterday that has taken all this week. I woke this morning and stretched to a delightful feeling of freedom. Time at last to write to friends, scratch about my favourite time-waste forums, change a display picture and even blog.

***

One post about Bombay Talkies was in draft mode for more than a fortnight. Since it seemed de rigueur, here is my list:

1) Dibakar Banerjee. Lovely, lovely vignette. Hail, master of the short form. Whatsisname Siddiqui! the layers of sound in that film... hell, the whole world-view. Loved. And Anjali, the Emu. Seriously, man. I suspect, my eyes started bulging even as the lines played out. "Anjali ne saara besan kha liya..." already my mind was reeling with speculation -- wtf! who eats besan? and hehe, the frame moves to the phlegmatic bird. Haha!

2) Anurag Kashyap. The madness of fandom in India.  Allahabad vs Kanpur. Amitabh Bachchan, the last superstar. The human-ness of security guards. The casual cruelties of occupants of top berths. The unreasonable demands of parents. The principles of storing murabba. Nice!

3) Zoya Akhtar. Sweet kids but she bit off more than she could chew. The complexities of transvestism and deeper psychological/gender issues compounded by inept parenting in a short? Didn't work.

4) Karan Johar. Same topic. Unlikeable characters, all of whom behaved badly. Very *shrug* for me.

When's the next portmanteau film? Can I direct one chunk? Please?

***

Then, there was a bit of time for some Sufis today, and I found a couple of things I wanted to keep in my folder Poetry\Punjabi.

Shah Hussain says:
Ashiq hovaiN, taN ishq kamavaiN 
Rah ishq sooee da nakka, dhaga hovaiN taN javaiN 

If you could be a lover, you could earn love
The path of love is the eye of a needle, you could pass if you were a thread.

***

It's being a weird summer in Hyderabad, hasn't it? First it wasn't hot enough, now it isn't dry enough. Icky humidity. Bleah. Still, my father has brought home this water sprayer and I walk about phish phishing the air in front of me. Come soon, rain - the Bangalore walas on my timeline are getting unbearable.

***

I managed to see Star Trek into Darkness (is that the right name?). IMAX, 3D, good seats. And Benedict Cumberbatch was good only in spite of Sherlock. Also Kirk. And Spock. Liked Sulu also. Everything and everybody, in fact, except Klingons.

Ashte.

Khwab juda...

You know what annoys me? When people say - over and over - that they want something and then, when life offers their heart's desire on a platter, they're too... oh, I don't know... too damn scared to reach out and take it. They step back, they make excuses and then they become wistful at how free other people are to do whatever they want.

It's too inconvenient right now, it's too expensive, my children have exams, the timing isn't right... may be next time.

Either take it -- take a risk, make yourself uncomfortable, go out on a limb and see if you like it after all -- or SHUT UP. Be happy with the life you've CHOSEN! Just don't tell yourself (and me) that your life would have been this wonderful, many coloured rainbow, if only you had had someone else's luck.

====

The title of this post is from this wry sher by the most quoted poet on this blog, Farhat Shehzad:
Khwab juda, rang bharna aur
Kehna aur hai, karna aur

ख्वाब जुदा रंग भरना और
कहना और है करना और

Dreams are very well, living them is another matter
Talking is one thing, doing is another matter

Indeed.