Love All, Serve All, Help Ever, Hurt Never

The stranger...

I remember attending a Sai bhajan in Kovaipudur, Coimbatore along with my Mom and Grandfather when I was a little kid. I clearly remember it because...let me put it this way...I just happen to have a very good memory :) Nothing important here.

The God Man...

In the summer of my 5th grade, my grandfather wanted to visit Prashantinilayam in Puttaparthi. So all of us made a trip to the ashram. I still remember our stay in the ashram and how beautiful it was. I even remember seeing some letters written and left by devotees who had previously occupied the rooms we were staying in. It was one of the first times I saw people from various nationalities and backgrounds assembling at one place for one reason. The cleanliness, discipline, and the facilities in that place also made an indelible impression on my mind.

The Educator...

When I was in middle school, one of my close friends was (and even to this date is) this guy called Kaushik whose family members are ardent devotees of Sathya Sai. There was a small Sathya Sai temple in a house very close to my place in Coimbatore. They used to have these weekend classes called "Bal Vikas" in which they told us stories from the Bhagavatham, the Gita, about Shirdi Sai Baba, Sathya Sai and so on. It was also accompanied by bhajan sessions. Kaushik's parents along with mine and a few of our friends' decided it was a good idea to send us all there. As much as I enjoyed the classes once I was there, getting to that place was one big problem. The classes were held on Sunday mornings at 7am!

The school I went to had a very peculiar timing - 7am to 12.30pm, which meant I had to get up every day at 6am. The most important thing that I used to look forward to in the weekends was getting up late. But attending this class meant sacificing that precious three extra hours of sleep. But I learnt a lot in return. Being associated with the Sathya Sai movement definitely helped imbibe in me qualities like self-belief, religious tolerance, and giving. Was totally worth it.

The Philanthropist...

My friend Kaushik attended high school in Puttaparthi. He also went on to get his degree in medicine in a Sathya Sai medical institute. I remember him telling me about the super-speciality hospital and the medical facilities made available to the needy for free. I myself have witnessed first hand the development in Puttaparthi as I had mentioned earlier. I have always been amazed by Sathya Sai Baba's ability to mobilize help and and channelize resources to those in need.

Many a God men have come and gone. But a few have achieved what Sathya Sai has in his life time.

Did he claim to be God incarnate Himself? Yes.

Did he perform tricks to draw crowds and strengthen his followers base? Yes.

Was he a controvertial figure in his lifetime? Yes.

Has he left behind a good legacy? My answer would be a big yes!

Did I ever consider him God and worship him? No, but I have immense respect for what he has done.

In my opinion he is one of the greatest non-political leaders of independent India because all he said to his followers was "Love All, Serve All, Help Ever, Hurt Never".

Now that ain't bad, is it?

Prayers

This is not me. I do not write about my feelings. I TALK to people. But I want to let this one be and not discuss with anyone.

We were a wonderful bunch at school. We were so close back then, in fact we still are. We might not be chatting with each other everyday, but we always wish and hope for the best for each and everyone of us. We have shared many wonderful moments as kids and we still cherish it. We have never seen suffering or pain as a group before. I don't know for sure what has befallen us now. But I sincerely hope, whatever it is that is affecting our peace of mind right now is just temporary and soon things will get back to being normal and good. May God bless us all.

-Hari

Lock, stock and two smoking barrels

A good friend of mine refused to watch "Kaminey" assuming that he might not like it. I was convincing him to try it out as I personally felt it was worth watching. Our conversation...

Me: Dude...it is worth watching...it is like one of those Guy Ritchie movies..fast paced screenplay, some dark humor and all the actors have done a pretty good job. 

Friend: Oh, is it? I don't know the guy you are talking about...can you name some of his movies?

I decided to give him the most famous example to make things easier....

Me: Oh I see....have you watched "Lock, stock and two smoking barrels"?

Friend: No...I haven't watched either of them

Me: ROTFLMAO

and so did the others listening to our conversation.....

-Hari

Delhi-6

"Dil gira kahin par...dafatan"

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, ARR, Prasoon Joshi, Ronnie Screwala......yes...I was expecting Rang De Basanti 2. Trust me, I wouldn't have been disappointed with that either. Delhi-6 was something far better than what I had in my mind. I just loved everything about the movie. The characters, the setting, the premise, THE music and lyrics all blend finely to give the perfect concoction. I have been to Delhi a few times in my childhood, but was not mature enough to appreciate its beauty in all the hustle and bustle. The Taj Mahal, Red Fort, India Gate, some gurudwara (I don't remember the name), RK puram, Noida and the samadhis were all I knew of this splendid city. 

Coming back to the movie...I see that many are disappointed with what they got. This happens on a regular basis to good movie makers. Many movies did not get the recognition they actually deserved. Not all approved of Swades after Lagaan and Iruvar after Bombay. Critics even go to the extent of saying that this movie, in its effort to give a simplistic message loses its way at the end. I am surprised at their inability to understand that the message is what the movie is all about. Self introspection, divinity of the self and to what extent an individual can go to protect the peace and harmony in the place he/she lives and in the hearts of the people he/she loves. Similar simplification of messages from those aforementioned movies by some prevented them from reaching the people in their own terms like Rang De Basanti, Lagaan and Bombay did.

Everyone should have listened to the songs by now. They blend well into the plot. Especially the picturization of "Dil gira kahin par" song is mind blowing. This song and "Masakalli" I would say have been haunting me for some time now. I was eager to find out how they fit in the whole scheme of things and boy oh boy! It was amazing. 

Also, I don't care what people have to say about the cameo and whose idea it might have been. The way I see it is, the movie is all about people making peace with themselves and throwing the "Kaala Bandhar" out. Why not give that chance to even the dead Grandpa, after all he is a character too in this film :)  

My suggestion to all those who intend to have a good movie afternoon/evening/night - set all your prejudices aside, forget who the maker of the movie is and most importantly take Rang De Basanti off your mind, I promise you a memorable ride. 

peace out.

The story of India

"The story of India" is a 6 part BBC series first telecast in 2007 commemorating 60 years of India/Pakistan independence from the British. The show is a must watch for every Indian. Michael Wood, the narrator and also the author of a book by the same name provides glimpses of the people of different ages in the history of the subcontinent, their culture, belief system, idealogy, economy, political framework, military and even trade relations with foreign lands in a time period spanning 5000 years. The enthusiasm with which he explores the vast land, mixing and mingling with the local population, experiencing the smells, tastes and sounds of India and the child like awe with which he listens to the stories that the locals have to say to him are infectious.

I was a lover of history in my schooling days. Infact I still am. The history that I have been exposed to in my formative years in school have led me to accept as a fact that our present identity as "Indians" was given to us by the British and it is because of them that we are one nation today. But many great empires spanning the vast majority of the subcontinent, precursors of modern multi-cultural India, headed by enlightened rulers have existed throughout history and their founding and guiding principles have been what we consider the cornerstone for the largest democracy on earth : secularism, peace and universal brotherhood. It was an invigorating experience to take that journey once again through the rich and intriguing history of India, to take a fresh look at what our roots were, what we currently are and where we are headed. 

Here is the link to the Google video 

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=the+story+of+india&emb=0&aq=f#q=the%20story%20of%20india&emb=0&aq=f&dur=3

The series is also going to be telecast in PBS this month in the US.

Watch and experience for yourself the most fascinating tale in history, The story of India.

peace out.

And so it begins.....

It has been 2 years and 6 months since I opened this blogspot account. It was a time when blogging was beginning to gain prominence among my peers. Even though I badly wanted to try my hand at it, I had never written a diary, journal or anything along the same lines previously in my life. Then I moved to US for my graduate studies and my urge to pen down my thoughts slowly deteriorated partly due to lack of time and partly due to inaction on my part. I always take time to contribute, be it a simple discussion or a major debate just to make sure I have listened to everyone's views and assimilated as much information as possible before making my case for or against the issue at hand. The idea was always to be diplomatic but the essence of such exercise is lost if one does not truly express his/her opinion and just tries to appease everyone. To make one's opinion known to everyone is to have provided a new perspective on the issue at hand. 

For the past 4 years I have been closely following a number of bloggers whom I shall tag in this page very soon. I could clearly see them evolve as writers as time went by and also witnessed how this platform had been modified from a place where people just rant to a forum for forming collective opinion and bartering constructive ideas. Some of the blogs have served as looking glasses through which I had the opportunity to see and learn different people, cultures and perspectives. I had realized that the more people share the more the world has to see and learn from. So here goes the page where I intend to rant/share/criticize/celebrate and let you guys know my take on anything and everything. The seed that I had sown years back has taken roots and so it begins...

peace out .