Sunday, November 13, 2011

The Alchemy to transmute Matter into Spirit

We Indians talk a lot about Samskaaras, and believe that they signify the goodness that we hold as people of this Sacred Land. The fact is that Samkaaras are beyond just goodness; they can be roughly translated as "impressions". The various rituals we have, be it for festivals, occasions or even the day to day activities we do as Hindus, are designed to leave a particular impression on our mind, body and soul complex. Hence, the rituals are no ordinary set of actions. When performed in the right way, they are supposed to change the very essence of the matter we are made of, to the extent of getting programmed in our DNAs. Its a very interesting topic to delve on, and I am already getting flooded with number of interrelated points which need analysis and reconciliation.

As per the Vedic Sciences, matter is Trigunatmak - Rajasic (Action oriented), Tamasic (Inaction Oriented) and Sattvic (Pure and Divine). Its not just our natures but the natures of the inanimate matter which hold these qualities. The whole idea of the practices and the rituals we have is to achieve manifestation of the Spirit; for the Spirit is ever-Perfect and will manifest its beauty only when matter is perfected. This is the matter which makes up our minds, the trees, the stones and everything in this Material World. Each object has its own vibrations, and the greatness of our ancestors lies in the methods they found to transmute matter into its Perfect State - like the alchemy of transforming lead to Gold. For Life and Creation is a never-ending process of material alchemy, which gets garbled due to the 3 gunas around. So intervention is needed to ensure that things go perfectly.

While meditating in the Datta Mandir today, i happened to think about the concept of  Pratisthapan of an idol. Though today for people, an idol is a symbol of the Divine, the fact remains that Divinity is everywhere; rather latent everywhere. A significant question here - Is it true that any idol acquires the qualities essential to be both worshipful, and capable of delivering the positive powers to the devotees? The funny fact is that we usually don't know why we pray in a temple, mosque or a church. In my opinion, we do so for acquiring Energy from the purest sources of it, so that we have the courage and the tenacity to face life and live it righteously.

Now some places of worship are perennial sources of power, and such points help maintain the energy states of cities and regions, making them prosperous and worth living. The ancients had identified them as sacred places and marked them for religious activities.

But today, we tend to open temples and install idols of deities in them, as the population needs convenient spots to offer its prayers to the Divine. At the point of installing the idol, lets remember that the idol is made up of the same matter which is trigunatmak, and is just a symbol as of now - it does not have the qualities for it to be worshipful. To make it worshipful, there is a process of installing it in the right way, on the right day and this process is called Pratisthapan. This paves the way for the idol of the deity to manifest the Divine Element latent inside of it.

Now how does one ensure that the alchemy of the Gunas takes place? Regular abhishekam, pooja, archana, bhajan, dhoopa, deepa, naivedya arpan help set the wheel in motion. We Hindus have so many practices - bathing before going to the temple, the choice of clothes, the foods to be taken, the mental states to maintain, the topics to avoid, the kind of people who should be barred from entering the temple etc. These were created not because our ancients were a bunch of hyperidiotic, over-reacting, paranoid fools but because they were scientific geniuses who knew about maintaining the vibrations of a place to ensure that this process is carried out properly, for the subsequent progress of one and all.

Over time, the idol of the deity acquires an energy so great that some places of worship acquire adoration overnight, and thousands flock to them to find deliverance from the unending problems plaguing their lives. No wonder, some places like Tirupati, and Shirdi are very popular with people, since they channelise so much energy that the results of ones prayers are 'answered' quickly.

You will notice that i have placed 'answered' in quotes. That is because, our prayers are not entirely answered by the Divine Element, but by the change It begets within us to approach our problems with better zeal and stronger faith. And we are usually not aware of it.

This is how, installing a deity and augmenting its Divine energies, helps bring about an alchemical transformation in our thoughts and lives, to make this World a better place.

So, all actions are eventually about bringing human transformation - by regulating what we do, what we eat, how we pray and how we approach our fellow human beings and animal friends on this planet. Sadly for us, due to the degenerating effect of time and the invasions we had, the originally perfect process exists today in bits and pieces; such that it does not make sense to most of us to follow whatever little of it has remained. We may do the pooja, but will not do it in the correct spirit; we may be compassionate towards our fellow human beings but will think little of the trauma of the bird which was killed, spiced and cooked to decorate our dinner table. We may help our fellows with our money and time, but the idea of having helped someone and the expectation of being helped in return will be there in some corner of our mind. We will never think that we are entitled to pay a price for whatever time we are spending on this Planet so whatever we may do towards our fellows is not an investment but a payment procedure. And so goes on the list of our follies....

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Melody, Majaa, Mayhem and Madness - Mehfil - E - Unplugged

When i had met him for the first time after getting kicked out of Infy SuperSinger, he suggested we should jam in Infy Pune, phase 2. In a matter of a few months, this brainchild of our very own Nishant "Nana" Trisal, was flagged off in a most memorable session. Yes, Mehfil-E-Unplugged made its entry into the lives of work-worn Infoscions, to bring back a little zing into our lives.


The idea was to provide a setting for Punfoscions to relax and have a nice time before winding up for the weekend. With Mr. Trisal on the guitar and a few of us talented singers from Abhivyakti and the audience, we managed to pull off some really memorable renditions of songs - old and new, serious, funny and inspiring. We also ended up learning from our very own Sunder Balakrishnan that a bollywood/pop based jamming can be made better when a talented violinist like him is in company...:)

At times, the same old songs and the same patterns repeated, and to break them, Mitesh "Jhabar" Sharma and Rohit "Jageera" Dube brought in precious examples of their peculiar sense of humour, which left all present there in splits. Rahul "Amritas" Jha would usher in the winds of change, by playing some english numbers in his peculiar style. He, with one of his band mates gave us some wonderful guitar accompaniment.

Our colleagues like Ashutosh "Sonu Nigaam" Shukla, Shirish Sir, Farooq "Dancer" Hashmi, Anubhav "Dancing Flautist" Mujumdar, Bhageshri "Bacchi" Gulvady, Akshaya "All Rounder" Subramanian, Nishu "Chabeeli Alka" Dikshit, Mukesh "Mentor" Jadhav, Mitesh "Salsa Champ" Dalvi...our senior folks at Abhivyakti like Ravi Sir, Amit and Girish, were present there whenever possible and contributed in their own unique ways. Some of the Mehfil regulars like Pai Sir, Kumarpal, Nikunj and Nishtha were always a pleasure to jam with. Wow,already a long list, and so many others whom i dont know by name who should be thanked for being there and making those days really worthwhile!!:)

Enough of talks and thanks. Here are a few pics of the journey so far;

Nishant and Rahul

The first Mehfil

(L-R)Aniket, Sunder, Nishu, Mitesh Sharma, Sachin, Rohit 

Rohit, Rinky and others

Our champs, once more...:)
I had recorded a few of our performances. The qualiity is fine, though the final product is raw. But that is where all the appeal lies. When many creative minds come together on a lovely evening, what follows is something, i will leave for you to decide. I am sure the recordings will help you get an answer...:)

First up is a rendition of Sajni (Jal) by all of us. Jus listen to all that's going on in the background. Pure unadulterated joy!!


Now comes  Dil Haare (Jal again). This one rocks big time...:)


Missing the mayhem and madness and pure fun of our beloved Mehfil. Waiting for the good times to be back. I am sure they will be soon...:)

Arigatou Gozaimasu. Sayonara. 





Friday, October 14, 2011

Redesigning the blog and the few other important things

I guess for the first time in my life i feel proud to have made something which can be called as a piece of art - the new layout of my blog. More pleasing to the eyes and going more well with my lone, warrior, ocean deep theme of the samurai.

What days i am going through...my roomie is away to attend his marriage (which is tomorrow) and it feels i have lost all my will to cook food. We used to cook it and eat it together. It seems meals with rice always require company, just like how boozing is usually not practiced solo.

The dreams these days are really graphic, clear, and i have put a habit of recording as much as i remember. The trick is to be a lil sleepy all that while you are readying the pen and paper, so that you dont lose link. Very weird things i see; on some bridge in pune with my project mate watching some film shooting; my cousin, my mother, some people from office, cute gals, porn freaks, bottles of alchohol, burnt corpses, danda gangs(people who want to make the society better by thrashing people with danda's) etc.

Was very disturbed after reading a post on Paulo Coelho's blog on Child abuse. Read a number of stories from the followers, watched a couple of videos and realised that heaven and hell both are here on the terra firma. The absence of God from our lives, materialism, enjoyment etc. makes monsters out of us. In India, we are saved by the punya of millions of our ancestors and saints who are still meditating for our good. But for other unfortunate souls, its veritable pit of fire.

Thoughts float in this mind of mine
From a long long time
My sis has always said, dear bro
Write down the things u say so well
And i, the lazy bloke always procrastinating
Though here is this blog where a rare entry comes
From the confusing mirage, this life of mine
Which is a story as intersting as anyone elses
Wanting to be recorded,
And my thoughts wanting to enlighten me
And help me be better
And then make my World better than now
Ah my thoughts, i shall try my best
To give you justice
Whatever it takes, a few of you
Shall always find the right place.

Samapt! Jai Hind. Hari Om.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Aloo Poshto

Theres a famous Calcutta Roll joint close to my place in Pimple Saudagar, Pune, named CPlus Calcutta. You get some real great chicken roll and also some cheap and delicious food out there.

The LPG in my room being empty, these days i have my dinner at this place. Yesterday, thought of trying the veg thali after a long time (usually i have fish thalis here). The waiter guy is a cordial and familiar face to me. He suggested i try aloo poshto, and so did i. It was simply amazing; very simple looking but wholesome texture and taste. Potatoes cooked in khus khus (poppy seeds known as poshto in Bengali), turmeric, greenchilles and salt. There were other components i know, but this is what i could make out.

Wanted to run a google search on the same and found some real nice recipes online. Gonna surely try them soon...:)

But one site gave a very interesting piece of information - in the Gulf countries, if you are caught posessing khus khus, which you may have carried for cooking or as part of some food item (khus khus laddoos for eg.), you will face imprisonment and even death. This comes into rule since poppy seeds are used to make narcotics.
What is worth pondering on is the seriousness with which the cases are handled. For eg, there was this foreign national, who had a poppy bun at Heathrow, before reaching the Gulf. He was arrested when the official found 3 poppy seeds(yeah 3) on his shirt, and he was imprisoned. And guess what, the minimum term is 2 years!!

I think that the people in Gulf need to tone down their stance on this; i dont mean lift the ban from khus khus, but be more culturally open and acceptable. But i am sure they will never change till the end of their race, for their culture makes them so strong headed. But what is admirable in some ways is their adherence to the laws of the land. 2 years in jail for 3 poppy seeds which fell accidentally on your shirt, thousands of miles away, only coz poppy seeds are banned in your nation! And look at us, we dont even hang the people who are responsible for so many deaths of so many hardworking individuals who could have enjoyed deliciously made aloo poshto in some Bengali restaurant.

Instead, we keep them alive and spend lakhs of rupees on their welfare. Our media considers the possibility of having them on shows like Big Boss. Our Humanitarian NHRC goes mad when one of their brethren immolates himself. We are such a bunch of hypocrites; no wonder we had the biggest one being called as the Father of the Nation. For that matter our Chacha was a bigger hypocrite (I think the biggest Desh Drohi we had here).

In hindsight, one good thing is coz of our laxness, i can write this blog and get away with it. So that I can prepare poshto and enjoy it too...:)

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Short videos - New thingy

New things keep coming on my plate when the days are boring. And then life takes a turn for the good. Expressions opened up a new chapter in my life..new people, new perspectives, new passions, new insights. And a realisation that one should expect everything life throws - be it failure, disappointment or big futures enclosed in insignificant looking opportunities.

Now the thing is we have to make a video on campus courtesies, we ourselves dont follow. Sitting down with my fellows from Abhivyakti, Infy Pune, the brain works in a straight line, as usual. The thought of my creativelessness always lurks (although in ILI i had 'written' and directed 2 good short plays...hehe..lemme be proud of them...:P), i need a constant reminder that creativity is there though dormant. We should not focus on negatives.

Lemme come to the point for which i am writing this in the first place. I need an idea for the bus courtesy scenario. The issues are queue, seat reservation and loud speaker fones. How to make an interesting thing out of these is a problem. The memory searches for something insane, but only the cliche stuff drops out, for thats how i have always been trained. Though, when a number of people sit, some creativity does seep in from nowhere but in this case, i guess we were just done.

Ok, lets think now. List the scenes that come in mind

1. A guy has a bad day ride. No seat in bus due to reservation. He has an argument but to no avail. People play songs loudly, and no one complains. People are just passively listening to mp3s on their fone.

2. End of day scene, a tiring day at work, and people bugging you at the end.

3. One friend reserves seat for other. A guy not able to sit coz of this. The two friends are having a nice time. Behind them people play music loudly, disturbing these two. The standing guy gives his earphones to the ones behind and tells them its wrong. The two friends realise what they did earlier was wrong and give him the seat, as reservation is also wrong.

Good. Seems me got a nice idea now...Sugoi!

Friday, August 26, 2011

So jaa... E Haraami

Sooraj din khatam par dhal
Kahe, chal be...khaana khaake sone ko chal

So jaa...E Haraami
Raat bahut hui hai ab
Kahe hai tu ke jaldi so ooonga
Yeh baat sach hogi kab?

Din bhar office mein dekh sapne
TL ke saamne image ki waat lagaae apne
Raat ko FB ke chakkar mein
kya kar raha hai tu kameene ab?

Uthna toh hai na tujhe kal
Kabhi toh mera dost bane chal

Saath mein nikal zindagi ki sair par
Poore hosh aur josh se har pal mehnat kar
Taake yeh zindagi teri ho jaaye savar
Yehi karne tu janma hai, issliye issiko pehle kar
Warna tu bann jaega loafer

Yeh sab jo maine suna, toh suraj se kahaa
Chal hataa savan ki ghata
Bahut ho gaya natak, ab bakwaas band kar...:P

I was a pianist in my last incarnation

The sight of a piano always used to send me to raptures. Black and white keys making such dulcet sounds, and when in the hands of a maestro then Gosh!, what a melody to hear.

I was born for music - this thing is pretty clear to me. Be it the "ta.. ta ..ta ta... ta ta.. ta.." i used to do on the notes of "Saare jahaan se accha" which used to come on Doordarshan, or my legendary name as a singer (its my blog, lemme be a lil more liberal...:P), its music that has defined me from a real long time. My mum used to say that i behaved as a symphony conductor when i used to sing the "ta ta"...obviously emulating the conductor on the screen, but i am sure that it did indicate i should pursue music.

In ancient India, there used to be a samskaara, after the baby was 1 year old. Books, a weapon, grains and something else were kept in front of it. As is very true that the element of the Divine is still very visible in babes (the amazing smile that they give which makes one feel that the Lord Almighty Himself smiled at him!!), the custom was that whatever object the baby touched, it indicated the future profession or rather the aptitude the baby would have in the future. Although we never had such a samskaaric babyhood (i pierced my ears when i was 22, i wish atleast the karna bheda had been done when i was a baby..), this piece of "conductor" story of mine definitely confirms my inclinations.

Anyways, the topic is about Pianos. The inspiration behind this blogpost has got something to do with my sinusitis. I was trying to search for posts on Blood and Snot, when i came across this blog by a 40 year old divorcee. There, she had a post on "Passions", her passion being piano. Its here that i came across something called "Ragtime" music, pioneered by one Scott Joplin, in the early 20th century.

There was a youtube link to the piece "Wallstreet Rag" by Joshua Rifkin...a Joplin Composition...and listening to it sent me in a strange world. I like the sound of Rag...donno why it seems so familiar. It sounds like old America, but i am sure i was an Indian in my previous incarnation.

On suggestion from a roomie, with whom i shared this piece of info, i came across another brilliant piece (Joplin's best known work, i guess) named "The Entertainer". Any music person can instantly say that the song is used in all Funny Videos shows, where you see people tumbling and monkey's dancing.

On a contemplative note, the sound of this piece does go well with such things...:)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Hey Bhagwaan! Kya kya dikhaaya tune mujhe...:)

Such a weird time me having rite now. Sinusitis making living difficult. Blood and snot being ejected out of my nostrils. ECS Dept. organisers requesting me to sing songs for their event less than 24 hours before the show. Goodness gracious...the sinus pain is killing me. And so is the boredom me is having at office.

You shall see some irregularities in the grammar me uses. It doesnt suit the former editor of one college magazine edition. But remember, that till now, you had no pain understanding what i said. So let it be...:)

I visited orkut and realised how beautiful those days were. Simple kiddy days. The thrill at someone posting a comment on a picture. Someones testimonial arriving. Being happy on seeing some unknown girl in your visitors list. Thinking of adding someone to your crush list, but backing off thinking...if she has added me too, then how shall i handle the outcome? Thrills and pleasures of a cowardly, innocent and far less connected life. Orkut was always a one hour thing for me at the most...although i had got hooked on to yahoo in late 2008. Even that wasnt a big part of life. TV was always worth watching...and now the opposite is true about it.

FB is definitely a pain in the ass...too much of data...too much of goodness about it and an equal amount of badness...Goodness!! we have become so fast! We just open the fridge door titled Facebook, look inside and close it. What do we really want. Adding friends is easier. Contacts with the opposite gender in real life is easier. We all earn, we spend...we can do what we want to...get as many GFs, screw anyone you want. But we definitely wont for we are morally upright...(let me say so...thats my morality...:))

Dont know what we want...we arent able to set things in place...the rooms always a mess, the cabinet overflows...the cockroaches screw and grow by millions...and we have Operation Cockroach almost every week, which makes silly boys like me go down with Sinusitis, after inhaling the fumes. The hotel food is no longer tasty...the cheeks are no longer red. A genuine, body shaking laugh is a rarity...and a relief when it descends on you. Superb relief for people who have stopped using their bodies, and who use more brains and fingers to do work.

The shop guys have no chuttas...we all do dealings with cards...such a fast fucking life we have...Gosh!!

Thursday, February 17, 2011

A piece of random art created on paintbrush...:)




Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The Day gone by

Seems joblessness can make some good things happen to you...suddenly i feel like blogging daily. And that would mean that the daily stuff ought to be put out here.

After having some roaring time during the preparations for Expressions 2011 (in which Infosys Pune team ended up being the first runner up...:)) its back to the routine of work and home. To add a zing to life (and put a stop on the flab thats started showing up on my belly), me has started a diet session - no fried food, no rice, only fruits for lunch. Proper breakfast and dinner. And lots of stomach crunches.

I am feeling great now, since the reduced quantum of food intake has helped my ailing stomach to take a break - things are really fine now in the morning and i wake up fresh...:)

Ok, let me share a recipe with you. A very simple dish i like to call Alu Mutter Baingani. I made this by chance yesterday. Actually some of my alu mutter from day before was still there; i tried making baingan ka bharta and threw in the alu mutter and voila! a new superbly tasty dish is here for you.

Serves 2 people who really like to eat sabji

Ingredients
2 fairly large potatoes
2 cups green peas
1 large brinjal
2 medium sized onions (chopped finely)
1 large tomato (chopped medium sized)
Spices(Turmeric, asafoetida, coriander powder, kitchen king masala, garam masala,red chilli powder) to taste
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste

For tempering
4tbsp oil
2tsp mustard seeds
1tsp jeera
1tsp green chillies(chopped)
2tsp Ginger-garlic paste

Procedure.

1. Par(half) cook the potatoes and the green peas in water, i wont tell you how...:P
2. Roast the brinjal on the stove, just like how we do for bharta. Try to cook it a little less than bharta standard, so that we can have pieces of it in the sabji. Cut it into small pieces and keep aside.
3. In a pan, add the oil; on heating, add the mustard and the jeera. When they are about to sputter, add the green chillies and the gg paste. Saute well.
4. Now add the onions and cook till tender and when they start showing signs of browning.
5. Now add the tomato and cook till you feel the things have started mixing up.
6. When this happens, add all the spices mentioned, as per your taste, and cook till you feel that the spices have been fairly roasted (dont worry, the tomato wont let them burn)
7. Now add the potatoes(chopped) and the green peas and saute well, add 3 tbsp of water, cover it and let it simmer on low flame,for about 5 mins.
8. Now add the brinjal, mix well, add salt to taste and saute the whole thing on high flame.
9. Taste it once so that you know the spices have blended well and are in proper proportion, as per your liking.
10. Once done, add coriander leaves, saute for a while, and turn off the gas.
11. Serve hot...:)

I hope some of you try it...neways i have put this one on record so that i can enjoy it in the future

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

On Adventure

They say you need to have adventure in your genes to have a liking for it; that explains why i was never adventurous since none of my parents are, and i was always brought up under the impression that adventures are always silly, and may cost you a lot.

Then i came across examples of some great people of this world, who had to lead an adventurous life since the circumstances called for them, and achieved greatness. The more i read, the more it became clear that living itself is an adventure and when there is always a risk even while walking on a so called safe footpath, whats wrong in seeking out some thrills?

I came across another form of adventure - the more popular one. People say that 'doing this gives me the thrill'; that 'standing on the edge of an abyss or a slippery stone on the sea makes me feel great about myself'. My mind never agreed to this, since i knew that when there's danger of losing ones life while enjoying certain things, better be a member of the moderate class.

Let me relate an incident. My project team had gone for a trip to harihareshwar and there was a point, which people are supposed to visit for sacred reasons. As usual, most of us go there for other things - photography, shouting, cuddling etc. What made it glorious was that there was the sea shore at a stone's throw, and was pretty deep and raging. There was a point where the stone turned slippery and this is where most of my colleagues wanted to go, stand and have their share of thrill.

The people who had been staying around for a very long time warned them not to go, but my colleagues considered them a nuisance and did what they knew best - following their whims; 'life's too short to listen to the whinings of cowardly idiots who have nothing to do but sermonise, isnt it?'

Poor localites - their intentions were noble but what they received was ingratitude. Seems they were too naiive to understand that these folks(my colleagues) belonged to a class of individuals who consider that they are the masters of their own lives and live by the principle that "I am gonna die here, then so be it. Who the hell are u to tell me how i should live my life - its mine and mine alone, and i may just throw it to the dogs while seeking what i want."

On enquiring with the localites (they had all my understanding), they said that they had witnessed almost 56 such cases of accidental deaths and simply wanted to warn us, since its definitely a bad event and a more importantly a pain in the ass if someone dies there - we all know how investigations take place in our Country.

Today, i was speaking about this with a dear friend of mine and her argument was similar to that of my adventurous colleagues. It was then that i realised that i need to think about what makes adventure good or worth taking.

The noble souls who dignified adventure, did it for a noble cause. The intentions are always important, and at time extreme outcomes too can be risked - the intention must worth dying for. But how many of us think about the worthiness of intentions? Between getting a simple thrill, and trying to save a life or your own Motherland, tell me which is more justified as a reason for a life-threatening adventure?

Nothing against the people who like fatal thrills, just that a polite request to all such folks - please dont justify it - if you are ready to bet your life, better try it for something that deserves your life. A sheer thrill of a moment, if thats your reason, then you need to rethink your sanity. Its a different matter if you just dont care - to hell with you and your life, people die like ants daily and if u go up, not much difference to this World its gonna make.

You say you dont fear death, but i can see fear in your eyes whenever you take one single step - the fear of failure, the fear of rejection, the fear of the unknown. Clear these off first, be men and then talk of things like this. You will be then prepared to throw away this life.

I am still afraid of death, for i feel its too precious for a momentary thrill.

I realise the pains that numerous people have taken to get me where i am, and am aware of the pains that i may cause by one act of negligence.

I am not so selfish and senseless to risk this precious gift for a moment of adventurous ecstacy.

I would rather work on becoming courageous and then throw it away for a reason that shall make me rest in peace even if my end is not peaceful and beautiful - it would definitely be dignified, with no chance for the world to call me a silly fool who died for no good reason.

Not that i care too much for what the world says, but would love to create great examples in this world, which would eventually be better coz of them, and that is definitely a duty for me.

One thing is certain that i am slowly realising that what our elders say is always true. Now thats another thing that we need to be experimental, but lets keep one thing in mind, that when its the matter of life and death, let the cause for the adventure better be a deserving one...:)