KAHIHI

We all have heard about great people, the famous ones, the successful ones, and so on. And we have also known that the key contributor of their success and fame has been dedication, hard work, perseverance, obsession to achieve that something. We give a great thought to these things. We spend hours on discussing how these great people achieved it, what made them follow their dream with such equanimity while still having a bubbling fervor in their bellies.
However, seldom do we think that even can achieve what we desire.
And it is neither impossible nor difficult, if practiced religiously.
What we call dedication, focused approach, determination is actually an energy that we transmit through our thoughts and actions that in turn attract the things you desire. Read Paulo Coelho’s Alchemist or Rhonda Byrnes’ Secret or simply watch SRK’s Om Shanti Om where he says, “Agar kisi cheez ko dil se chaaho to poori kaynath usey tumse milane ki koshish main lag jaati hai.”
Rarely have I seen people approach a thing with positive intent.
I was once waiting for an auto near a school. It was exam time, perhaps. A group of young boys were discussing how the exam paper will be, “fadu nahi hona chahiye, apne ko answers yaad nahi aye toh,” utter nonsense, I thought. Their fear then transmigrated into viscous thoughts of how to cheat in the exam, making chits, showing answer papers by sitting in a particular manner. The nervousness was leaching in gradually, which evidently would have made their learning evaporate. Had all this time been utilized to discuss what they had studied or discussing that let the paper be of any level of difficulty we will crack it, the entire feeling would have been different, a positive feeling could have made them feel good and that feeling would have made handling the situation simpler.
I see husband and wife cribbing about finances, domestic issues, children etc. If that constant cribbing solves the problems, no worries, go ahead and suppurate as much as you want. However, it does not, sadly. It only makes life more miserable. It brings in more irritability and in certain cases even creates cracks in the relationships. Instead if you remain calm, always have a smile, and tackle things cheerfully, life indeed will become beautiful. It is no use wasting precious time in weeping about the things that bother you. As a substitute, utilize that time in working towards achieving things you desire, something that will bring contentment to your life be it material desires or at emotional or physical or spiritual.
Same is true with dissatisfied job, broken relationship, ill financial conditions, etc. etc.
We have always learnt from our school times that opposites attract, however, that is true in case of magnets and physics. But we are talking human dynamics here. We are not magnets. We are a powerhouse of intellect, emotions, comprehension.
We are different in a way that we can think, analyse, interpret, adjust, and communicate. Utilize all this to target and achieve things you desire. And pursue them all throughout. Only one single thought should run through you of what you want in life. Negativity, pessimism will only help in accumulating nuisance value which can be encashed only for heart attacks, blood pressure, stress, insomnia. Where following your dream with a strong focus will bring happiness, cheer, joy, respect, and success to you. You decide what you want. The choice lies with you, within you.
Right from the time of Mahabharata in which Arjun saw only the birds eye whereas all his other brothers saw trees, leaves, sky etc to the time when my father use to show me a small magic by burning a corner of a paper using a magnifying lens, the whole point is about focus. A strong focus makes you strong from within, confident, and powerful.
Focus on what you want and not on what you cannot. Be with likeminded people who share thoughts similar to yours, who desire similar things as you. At a subconscious level keep thinking about your aspirations and act on them at your conscious level. Keep your thought process going, keep envisaging yourself as if you are someone you wanted to be, you have everything that you wanted to have, the things, bring in some habitual changes.
Life is like a mirror. It will show you exactly what you put in front of it.
Happy Living!

Octopus Paul is dead. Probably, world is mourning; Spain certainly; India too. For India is very sentimental about such topics – astrology, predictions, fortune telling; so what if it was an octopus this time and not a roadside jyotishi sitting with a parrot. Indians, by and large, balance well between getting emotional and credulous; hoping sides as per the convenience.

Had Paul not breathed his last on 26th Oct, we could have imported him to predict the Bihar elections and the subsequent KDMC one. At least Paul could have saved us from the pique of “Tu-Tu-Main-Main” sponsored by the Thackeray Bros. The animal could have, to some extent, lessened the cat-and-dog like fight.
  
It would have been a great sigh of relief for them, us, and the media channels to have known whether it was “Uddhav’s Rajkaran” or “Raj Uddhavast” that would ultimately triumph. It then doesn’t matter what the end result it but we love to hallucinate in the galore of predictions and forecast.

Though we tried to sideline Paul claiming it is something we have been practising since ages, with a parrot though, somewhere deep within we all believed in the octopus theory.

Any social gathering or a group in college or residents of an apartment, anywhere once it is revealed that someone can read a palm or forehead, people start flocking to that person rubbing their palm hard on the bum or wiping their forehead with the forearm, to know about their future. Such is the craze.

Once at a wedding, I came across a person who could read palm of the foot. I wasn’t surprised. It is quite possible. Girls, with ghagra pulled up to the knee level, were dying to show him their feet. He was closely looking at the foot of short dark boy and proclaimed, ‘a fortune awaits this boy in next 3 years, and he is going to be a rich man with a business of his own’. The boy was actually a helper of a caterer there at the wedding. It is more than 8 years now, the by hasn’t made any fortune, he still works under the Marwadi caterer businessman. I haven’t seen that foot-palm reader ever since, fortunately for him.

 Our muse with getting predictions for the happenings in our life is abysmal. I usually don’t understand why people are so desperate to kill the thrill of their life.

Cricket channels too had started getting such fortune teller guests to predict the result of the match. The guests did all sorts of things with cards, numbers, stars etc, and gave some statistics. However, in the end, they do mention that the best team will ultimately win. Where is the fortune-teller’s skill then? Even I can make a statement like that.

Bejan Daruwala predicts the movement of the stock market. A reputed entity like CNBC and www.moneycontol.com believe more in what “Ganesha Says...” than what Gujral, Bhansali, Tulsian, etc say. Both the groups are useless anyways.

Channels make money for they know how to tap the emotional turbulence of Indians. We love getting exploited without applying even an iota of rationale to what we hear, see, and do.

Another instance where we love getting manipulated is “Vastu” and “Feng Shui”. Just because some Feng Shui consultant tells us to illuminate our home with bright red things, we buy all sorts of lustrous red that we can get and keep hoping that some great fortune will come kissing us. Feng Shui came from China. The climate there is extremely cold. In the colour wheel, red and yellow are considered to be warm colours, they depict warmth, heat. This is the reason why mostly in Chinese houses you will find abundant use of red and yellow; to possibly neutralise the effect of the cold climate. However, this may not be applicable in India. We already have a warm tropical climate, especially in Mumbai where humidity is so high.

But we are blinded by the sweet words of the astrologers, Feng Shui consultants, numerologists, and so on. By chance, if you make a fortune at all one day, it will be purely because of the hard work and dedication you put in.

Till then you may only dream to accumulate fortune, while your Feng Shui consultant and astrologer is collecting it by the way of hefty fees charged to you.

- P. K. Dastoor

“God bless us everyone…” Imagine what a song that starts like this would be! Rhythmic, fast paced, ideological, peppy lyrics and what else? In one word, an Anthem! A song from ‘A Thousand Suns’ by Linkin Park , after its launch become the most heard song in two to three days. A great start for a great song.

The music progresses gradually, gets a little fast, then faster, then gradually sets your heartbeat at its pace and takes us for a ride.  At a point it drops to dead zero, then goes on to its highest level just to give you a shiver at the sheer pleasure of hearing the base. The drums resound with the base beautifully and the vocals are amazingly done. The song, as sure as bells, keeps ringing in our ears for a long, long time.

The lyrics are peppered with metaphors all over the length of the song. The video has reference to Bhagvad Gita and J. Robert Oppenheimer according to bassist Phoenix.

The other line in the song that strike the most to the common man, “We are broken people…living under a loaded gun.” This sounds so most apt when heard in a Churchgate local during office hours. Images of everybody hanging on one another’s shoulder, pushing each other, heads down, giving in to the situation, perfectly personify the song. Had the video been shot in our Mumbai local trains it would have gained more prominence. The lines suit the morning rush hour and when a train cruises through the air that blows in, the rumble that’s made, all just fit with the song like a solved jigsaw puzzle. The words “broken people” and “loaded gun” exactly describe the present situation wherein we live our daily lives, considering that there could have been a possible outrage ahead of Ayodhya verdict, possibly disguised as a constant threat to blow up a train. Like in the movie “Wednesday”, the “common man” says “When a man leaves his house, there is no guarantee that he might come back” (of course that sounds better in Nasaruddin Shah’s resonating voice) – that is the “loaded gun” we live under. This ‘Anthem of Mankind’ makes us prospect about the direction in which we are heading? What our future has in store for us? What is the consequence of our actions of our wars? We are leaving under a shadow of dark clouds. It is a prayer reaching above them, to Him. But will He hear? Not unless we change. And change is not fast, it’s gradual like, the trance of this song.

The music near the ending part has a quirky resemblance to a very unique feature of our locals: The Bhajans.

The fast locals that pass by with the Bhajans going on have a superb trance to them! The “dhad-dhad” of the trains and the “tin-tin” of the taals have an air of magic around them. When we hear this standing on a platform we are left astounded as to what was that? It’s a trance, a prayer, like this song which we have failed to notice over the years of tradition. It is powerful and it is the original ‘Anthem of the Mankind’. We needed this newer version to remind us where we are heading. Will this one be enough or should another ‘Catalyst’ be released? Will even that ensure a change in us? It’s a hope for the best!

It’s only “Us” who can lift ourselves above this “Gun”. Just to show that we are still humans, that we still not have forgotten this fact.

Catalyst criticizes our actions, prays to Him, and gives us hope. A song worth remembering, for the whole of humanity, indeed.

History of mankind in short is war between good and evil. Even our Indian mythologies believe and prove it’s always ‘truth that triumphs’. But is the truth always the truth? Isn’t it’s definition incomplete without a lie? What is good without evil? These ever-puzzling questions have been marvelously raised in an intriguing Japanese anime–series, “Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion”.

Produced by Sunrise, it is undoubtedly the best so far, showing almost every human emotion, and justifying the fact that ‘Good might do good unto somebody, but it’s still bad for another’.

Set in post world-war period in 2017 a.t.b, it’s a story about two superpowers, the tyrannical Britannia and The Nationalist Chinese Federation. The Holy Britannian Empire is a symbol of absolute tyranny for the Japanese, as they have stripped the Japanese of their rights, their freedom, and their name. The Japanese are addressed as “Numbers”, the residents of Area 11(the new name of Japan), for example.

The Britannians torture, harass, and indiscriminate the Japanese people. The Emperor of this kingdom, Charles VI Britannia, proclaims that “All Men are not Born Equal. Inequality is not Evil”. A kingdom whose ruler is that wretched is sure to be the same. There are rebellions among the Japanese to overthrow the regime. However, they are crushed mercilessly using a Humanoid powered armor called the ‘Knightmares’, a scientific innovation of unimaginable power, which constantly evolves throughout the series to become a formidable weapon for our scientists to ponder upon.

Lelouch Lamperouge, the hero of the movie, is a young Britannian student and vice-president of the student council at Ashford Academy, a carefree school with a carefree student council. Leading a simple life with his blind and physically disabled sister Nanally, of whom he is very fond of, he secretly harbors a ambition to overthrow the Britannian Empire. He never tries anything rebellious until destiny meets him on his track. That meeting sets off a series of marvelous and enthralling events that go on to change the history of world, and probably the perspective of the viewer about the true facet of truth. Lelouch though an ordinary Britannian, has an extraordinarily troubled past. The series is itself a revelation for him about his past; what he has believed and what actually has happened.  Often, a quiet and obnoxious boy, he has a brilliant strategic mind, owed to his exception chess playing quality, and a heart-rending love for his sister Nanally. He gets what he wants and doesn’t care who stands in his way.

Geass is a power of the kings. A mind power, which accustoms to whom it has been bestowed. This Geass is a binding contract between an immortal and a human that implies the fulfillment of a wish of the immortal by the human. It is an unparalleled power beyond the science humans have achieved. In an interesting meeting, a witch called C.C, gave this power to Lelouch. This C.C. then becomes an integral part of the rebellion that Lelouch leads and in knowing his past and the answers he is finding. Lelouch has an ability to turn the will of the people he sees, and make them do things he wants them to. As there is limitation to every power, he can cast his Geass only once on a given person. Though the Geass has an everlasting effect, the tests that he carries out for testing his only weapon are also amusing enough.

The first war that Lelouch fights with this Geass against the Empire is almost with no resources and a handful of rebels. However, it was enough to strike fear in enemy’s heart or that of Prince Clovis, the King of Area 11. Then he adorns the mask of Zero, a rebel with a cause, a dangerous enemy, a powerful leader and a fighter for the injustice against the unarmed. What Zero embarks on is a dangerous path of treachery against a powerfully armed and scientifically dangerous Empire. But the rebellion he leads is not for Japan but to create a world wherein Nanaly could live in peace and with love. His ambitions take him to form a group of rebels known as The Order of Black Knights. Leading this group he gets recruitment in many forms even from Britannians who are fed up of the regime. One such man is Diethard, a byte-hungry media-man. His involvement in the rebellion shows the power of media the way it can transform a terrorist into a hero. Diethard states an astonishing fact that ‘Journalism is not information but Human Creation’. What is stated about the power of media in here is also a present-day situation in our country.

Suzaku Kururugi, best friend of Lelouch and his worst enemy, is a flaw in all of Zero’s plans. Always in Zero’s path Suzaku wants to change the system of Britannia from within. Lelouch and Suzaku are on the opposite sides of justice each going for the same heading. Suzaku, also like his friend has a troubled past, which is slowly revealed throughout the story. CC, the witch is depicted as a heartless immortal but still very endearing in the end. Charles VI Britannia the Emperor is bestowed his power of Geass by C.C. and another V.V his brother. The short forms do sound odd but their names are not known even after the series ends. Another mystery. One of the more characters that strike the viewers is Euphemia, a really lovable and kind girl just like Nanally.

Having a varied cast as such it gets into action with the murder of Prince Clovis wherein the viewers get another hint as to who Lelouch is. Introduced as the successor of the Throne of Britannia the shroud of mystery begins to grow around Zero. Even the Black Knights do not know of his identity. For them, he is a man alone who will lead them to victory, who will liberate Japan an idol to follow. For him they are chess-pawns to checkmate the king. Based on such startling human nature it slowly enters the supernatural world of Geass.

What becomes of Zero and his rebellion the Black Knights and his passion to murder the Emperor Charles is too thrilling to watch. What Zero is, is a mixture of coldness, strategy, winning and an unmatched oratory, ironically all for the sake of his love for Nanally. The story has a serious tone; however, some of the most comical characters like Count Lloyd, nonetheless a genius, even it out.

The end is so superbly done that none could ever have predicted it. The simple end shown and the way Zero builds his Empire of Black Knights for the downtrodden just destroy the very basis of our foundation that ‘the good can never be bad’.  What are the reactions of every character in the series, their motives for the actions they take, the nature of the actions they take justify themselves slowly and gradually. There comes a point wherein you have no idea which side is good and which is bad. They are both the same. In the end even the truth can’t be justified without a lie. The whole point of the series being epic lies in the fact that it’s still a good versus evil battle but here the good takes a turn for the worse.

'Behind every Great man there is a Crime’ this is what the series tells in the end. That there cannot be only good and only bad, both coexist. There is no definition of good and evil it’s only a perspective. But in the end it’s still a human world where everything just cannot be perfect and it shouldn’t be.