Randomly thinking...

Just struck me that if I was a child of the Universe, then all that is in the Universe is made of the same elements that I am made of. So, if I feel hot, surely the trees, flowers, earth, animals, birds, insects, stones, air...everything... is feeling the heat as well...

Lessons from a seagull..............

Seagulls are, according to Wikipedia, ' ground nesting carnivores, which will take live food or scavenge opportunistically.' True, but sounds rather violent, and doesn't quite match the image above. This gentle looking bird standing so peacefully on this rock can hardly be credited with being an opportunistic bird. And yet, it is. Some more information on the seagull -

• they live on the coast and hardly ever venture out to the high seas
• they live in large, noisy colonies
• they are ingenious, investigative, and very intelligent
• they are communicative
• they have a well-developed social structure
• they are smart enough to use bait to catch fish
• they even resort to kleptoparasitism! as is seen when they unhesitatingly prey on live whales and as the whale surfaces to eat its catch, the gulls grab the flesh
• some species of gulls have learnt to live quite peacefully with humans

Coming as he does from this background, let's look at Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, for he has much to teach us humans. For, we too -

• are very rarely adventurous, preferring to stay in the known areas
• live in large noisy colonies made up of our caste, and social structure
• can be very resourceful, are quite curious and intelligent
  
• are extremely communicative
• can be quite amoral
  
• while SOME people can live peacefully with other people, there are others who cannot and will not

This is what we can learn from Jonathan, from what he discovered on his own, and from what Chang, his instructor taught him:

• There's got to be more to life than fighting for fish heads! How true. There has to be more to life and there is. We need to release our inhibitions, fears, and prejudices, as well as all our previously learnt knowledge to be able to savor and enjoy life. Jonathan wasn't as much interested in eating as he was in flying and learning all there was about flying. Gulls believed that they needed to fly only to get their food, Jonathan loved flying. This is our challenge too. If we think that we are on this earth only to eat, and do only what is required to attain this end, then we are not living. We are not fulfilling our real purpose on earth.

• We CAN lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free. We have to learn and learn and learn. Whatever be our source, there is always a lesson that needs to be learnt, has to be learnt. Many of our own fears are born out of ignorance. And, ignorance is darkness. Once we can pierce that darkness with the light of knowledge, we WILL experience freedom - from all our so-called, perceived limitations.

• Boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that gull’s life is so short and with these gone from his thought, he lived a long fine life indeed. We too are crippled by these three things: boredom, fear and anger. We allow these to govern us and make our lives short and miserable. Best is that, very often, we put ourselves in these positions. If we can battle these and eliminate them (it isn't easy, but it is possible with hard work. And anyway, who said anything good came easy?), our lives will indeed be fine ones.

• It isn’t flying a thousand miles an hour, or a million, or flying at the speed of light. Because any number is a limit, and perfection doesn’t have limits. How often we restrict ourselves with random thoughts that flit through our minds. Buddha says that we must never take our mind seriously, because it misleads us, limits us. Unless we push our minds outwards, how will we know what we can do?
  

• Each of us is in truth an idea of the Great Gull, an unlimited idea of freedom. Something we need to keep reciting to ourselves till we believe in it. And mind you there is no age for this--you might be a 16, 35, 58, 72, or 90. You can decide at any time that you are most certainly an unlimited idea of freedom. It will so totally release you.......

• To Maynard Gull, a gull born with a short wing, Jonathan said: "you have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way.It is the Law of the Great Gull, the Law that Is.” And when Maynard asks, "Are you saying I can fly?” Jonathan replies,“I say you are free.” See, we DO have what it takes to extricate and liberate us from the shackles that society, family and our own limited knowledge bind us with. All we have to do is to question these shackles. They will fall off automatically.
  

• It is right for a gull to fly, freedom is the very nature of his being, and whatever stands against that freedom must be set aside, be it ritual or superstition or limitation in any form. Freedom is the nature of our being too. We need to work towards overcoming our limitations, steadfastly, determinedly and patiently. We need to trash all superstition and all ritualism.
  

• To fly as fast as thought to anywhere that is now - you begin by knowing that you have already arrived...Knowing and believing, that we have arrived at that state of freedom. Just banish, forcefully if necessary, all doubts and thoughts that are to the contrary.
  

• Your whole body, from wingtip to wingtip, is nothing more than your thought itself, in a form you can see. Break the chains of your thought, and you break the chains of your body, too ... What an exquisite thought! Something, really, to work for and toward.
  

• We choose our next world through what we learn in this one.The only thing we take away with us when we finally leave this earth is our knowledge. Knowledge is also the only way we can break our karma. It is the only cause that offers a wonderful effect. How important, then, to spend our energy in learning how to be free.

Lots and lots to be learnt from Jonathan Livingstone Seagull.

P.S. The movie is awesome!!!

It is only those who are defeated or aging who look back

What a powerful statement this is. I read it recently in The Far Pavilions, a book I must have read at least 5 times! Thing is, every time I read The Far Pavilions, I learn something new. This time, this statement caught me. And it is answering a lot of my musings and unspoken questions. Just like I wish we had learnt a whole lot of things which are so germane to happy living, I wish we had learnt how to grow old. I'll qualify that: how to grow old gracefully; How to give up the things of youth gracefully; How to accept the counsel of the years; and very, very importantly, how not to look back and sigh...if only...sigh...

Some of us do not have completely happy pasts. We may have been the victims of wrong decisions taken by those, in our lives, who were older and wiser; or we may have been the victims of unfortunate and unhappy circumstances; or we may have been guided wrongly; or not guided at all. As a result, we fell back on our inexperienced and unformed minds. We took decisions, acted on them, and behaved in a manner that, in hindsight, was totally wrong and completely avoidable. We made huge mistakes. But, what is the use of grieving for those days? They're gone...

Some of us might have blemished pasts. Blemishes caused because we did not know better, and thought that how we were, was the right way to be, and that what we were doing, was the right way of doing things. Life has a way of setting people right, and putting them on the right track. But, it can be very painful. Fact is, though, that this does happen. And we have gone through such times. Once again, looking back becomes a source of painful regret. However, what can be done now?

And for some of us, the present is awful. The past was wonderful. Here again, it is completely unwise to cling to happy memories and re-re-and-re-live happy incidents of the past. We have to release these strings too, for the simple reason, we are in the NOW and have to have our wits about us to convert what we see and know to be unhappy now, into happiness.

The whole secret, to my mind, lies in being conscious of the present. To live fully in the NOW. Then it becomes easier to handle all that comes into our lives as happy challenges.

What is the point of harking back, anyway? of thinking back? We cannot change any 1 single thing. The trouble is, that when we look back at those times, with the wisdom gained over the years through blood and tears, we wish it hadn't been so. We could have done things in a better way. We would have handled issues differently. Today, we know, and we have proper solutions. But we did not know then, remember? So, first things first - we have to be kind to ourselves and forgive ourselves. Love ourselves unconditionally as we would our best friend. There is, often, the feeling of frustration that we cannot go back and re-write the past. It seems so very,very difficult to accept the past as something that has happened, and which is over. But, this is the only, the absolutely only way we can live fully in the present. It's happened, it's happened. We have to release the hold the past has over us: release the good, the bad and the ugly. Let it go. Release the strings. We are here in the NOW, and we must not add to our list of unhappy 'pasts' or create unhappy pasts, by spoiling the here and now that we are in.

Accepting the limitations that age puts on us is another great challenge. Here again there are some of us who feel young at heart, and strain against the limits placed by age. Of course, it is very, very important to feel young at heart, because ONLY then can we enjoy all that life throws up. We need to take an interest in all that is happening around us, and in the world at large. We also need to derive great pleasure in the small, special world around us - in all the little and big things that take place in our world. We HAVE to acquire interests, no matter how it looks to others. We are at a stage when it really doesn't matter what anybody thinks, or how they react. But, we also need to understand and appreciate the limits placed on us by age. Our mental-emotional-psychological age has to match our physical age. We have to grow and learn to be attractive at the age we are and not be a 90-going-on-16 phenomenon!

And there are some of us who, because we are getting on in years, or have got on in years, and may or may not be ailing, spread gloom and doom all around. We have nothing good to say about anything or anyone. It is just criticism, cynicism, carping and disapproval. Ooooooooohhhhhhhhh this is one behavior that is to be avoided like the plague.

We have to just live in the present. Be grateful for every day and every moment. Remember, we are looking at everything from a vantage point!We must NEVER EVER EVER MORALIZE AND MAINTAIN THE MORAL HIGH GROUND. Just learn to let the young find their own way around. Only, give them the assurance that we are there, just in case they need us... and if they don't, we would, I'm sure, forever gain their appreciation for not having butted in, especially when not required. Hugh Prather says, '...now is all there is of my life.' If we think of our life in terms of the Nows that go into making our life, there will be time only for happy things and happy times, peaceful times, serene moments. We don't have to spend it in trying to right the wrongs of the world, or the wrongs done to us. We just have to spend our time learning to be more tolerant and compassionate and happy.
we only need to remember to laugh, laugh and laugh. Look and learn from the Dalai Lama. How often his eyes crinkle up, his face breaks into a smile, and out comes a compassionate, non-judgmental, all-accepting, all-embracing laugh.Also, we must never go: WHEN I WAS YOUNG.... That is the worst possible thing we can do. Reminisce, if we must, only with those who are our age. Never with the young. Blessed, indeed, are those of us who have put the past very firmly behind.

That was a looooooonnnnnggggggggg ramble!!!

Brigade Chalo!

As a visitor, I'd seen this phrase 'Brigade Chalo' scrawled on every available space on every wall of the city. I soon learnt what it meant - that the 'Brigade' was the parade ground or the maidan. This maidan is a fabulous place - originally created by the Brits as a buffer zone to protect Fort William. The maidan is known as Calcutta's lungs! Now it has become a recreational area for the people of Calcutta. There are many sports clubs, mainly football clubs, but you can also see a lot of cricket being played by all age groups. During the kite season, this is a wonderful place to fly your kite. Colorful sheep graze, and you are likely to see a donkey or two as well, lazily moving around. The maidan is used for walks, and for lounging under the beautiful shady trees. Children can have pony rides, and there are also country-made merry-go-rounds for the little ones. The ubiquitous phuchka-wallahs have their baskets and trays all along the road, along with the ice-lolly stands and other utterly dubious but utterly delicious and totally charming street food stalls. (Oh how I love Cal!). Anyway, this maidan, or Brigade ground is also the place where wonderfully colorful political rallies are held. The photographs show people from the villages coming in and on buses. There is an assortment of transport that brings people of all age groups - from the old to little babies, all decked up in their finery for a day in the city. The buses are decked with flags and banners, and it is all very festive! It is another matter to ask what the government has done for these people. It is a rally day, and a day off from the regular everyday chores in the BIG city! Check out the man in the black tee on top of the bus in the second picture. I was fascinated to see that he is wearing a cross on a chain around his neck! I guess that is the spirit of Bengal, and which I hope will never die -

Serena Williams' comment

I thought Serena Williams' comment, which NDTV aired, was very, very true. She said that she did not like to play in India, because as she said: you live in this fabulous 5-star hotel, but as you drive out of the gates, you come face-to-face with so much poverty. This was something that had upset her sensibilities greatly. And, how true. We, in India, have gotten so used to these contrasts that sometimes it doesn't even register. Okay, so it is our reality. But, what we can do is to contribute our mite to reducing this terrible difference. We can start at home by being polite and decent with those who serve us. We can do something for their children. We can also associate ourselves with organizations that work with the destitute and deprived. What we have to guard against is the thought that --oh it's only us, and how much can we do when there is such a sea of poverty. Fact is, every little bit counts, every tiny little bit. One thing we simply HAVE to understand is that man's dignity is what he prizes the most (and by man i mean man, woman and child). No matter how downtrodden or how wretched poverty may have made him. What he needs more than anything else is that his human-ness be acknowledged, and that he be treated in a manner that does not destroy his dignity. Instead of using 'ayeii', 'tum' and 'tu', why can we not use 'aap', and 'bhaiya'? for in God's eyes we are all brothers. If we give of ourselves and of what we have, if we treat them well, the positive energies that are released will resonate in the world, and some good WILL come of it.

What 'Calcutta's spirit' means....

I've often wondered what people mean when they say 'spirit of Calcutta'. This picture made it all clear....

My husband took this picture while on his way to work in Howrah. The time -7.30 in the morning. Along the way, he passes numerous abandoned factories that stand as a mute testimony to Calcutta's once-industrial might. People say that there is still some activity going on in these forsaken places. Small scale industries have set up base in them...(nothing, not even a building is wasted in India - they all get recycled). The setting of this picture is the gateway of one such abandoned factory. The man is a barber, and you can see how carefully he has set up his work station. Using the factory boundary wall as his inner wall, he has carefully tied a tarpaulin to the parts of the wall that jut out. (Could this have been a sentry box once?). He has the tools of his trade in the blue box that you see in the corner. After taking out his instruments, he probably uses this box as his stool. There is a shell of a battery with a small pattiya on top, which he uses as a chair for his customers. On the wall behind him is probably a mirror large enough for the customer to see if his hair has been cut properly, or he has been given a clean shave, or his moustache and beard have been trimmed the way he wants. With a small stick broom, the barber is sweeping his salon, for to him it is a salon. (There is a small place in the wall where he keeps this broom). Obviously he is proud of it, or else why would he take the trouble to sweep the earth and keep it clean. He also obviously respects the fact that his customers need to be comfortable when he is attending to them, hence the tarpaulin, for it affords shade. Look at the barber himself. He is neatly groomed from his hair to his sandals. He wears a watch. This is a clear indication that he respects himself. To surmise: he probably has a family; wife, kids, maybe old parents and maybe even a sister or brother. He has huge commitments which he tries to fulfill in the best way he can. He is neither begging nor stealing. He is earning his livelihood in an honest and dignified way. This gentleman, no matter how difficult his job, ensures that there is food at home, that his family has clothes to wear, and that the children go to school. He is not letting the conditions in which he is carrying out his trade affect him negatively; he is not allowing himself to be depressed. He is carrying on with his life, and seeing to it that his family is also carrying on with their lives. No matter that housing is a problem, running water a luxury, the price of basic food far too high, and that everything but everything costs a lot of money. There are huge demands on energy, both physical, and mental - physical strength just to exist and mental strength to remain reasonably psychologically stable. Yet one sees to it that there is the occasional outing to the city, maybe catch a movie, maybe have some of the tasty street food available everywhere. However it is that he feels life should be led, he is helping his family live. He is not allowing any of the numerous hurdles, that living in the way he is forced to live, affect him. He and his family too have their place under the Indian sun. There is a task to be done, there is a family to care for, and there is a life to be lived. There are responsibilities to be shouldered, but there is also fun to be had. There are the numerous festivals that lighten the spirit and bring an element of fun. There is Indi-Pop and Bangla-Pop that add zest. There is the circus of politics to debate and opiniate about. There are the Shah Rukhs and Aamirs that make life really enjoyable and worth living, and give us the dialogues 'we shall overcome' to face life boldly, and assure us that at the end of it all 'aall izz welllllllll!' And, there you have it--the spirit of Calcutta.

Existential issues

There are three issues that have been on my mind, but I wanted to be a little removed from them, emotionally, before writing about them.

The first is about this couple that sits on the lane near our home. The lane ends in a cul-de-sac, so there is very little traffic here. They are ragpickers - they come to their spot at 4 in the morning, every morning. When I go out for my walk at 5.30, I see them sitting huddled over a small fire near the pile of discarded stuff and garbage, they had left here the day before. Sometimes, they sip tea from the little tea stall that some other displaced persons have set up at the end of the lane where it meets the main road. Often they chat in low tones with each other, but sometimes, they sit in companionable silence. There are only gentle, positive vibes that they emanate. No one touches their bags. Then, the wife settles her husband who is bent and old near the huge bundles, and taking an empty one, she sets off, while the husband sorts out the stuff in the other bags. Very methodically he sorts out the papers, bottles, and all the other stuff that people have discarded. Periodically, the lady comes back with her full bag, leaves it, and sets off with another one. This goes on till the afternoon. By which time the old gentleman has sorted out all the bags, and cleaned up the place so that there is not even a single scrap of paper around. Then, in the afternoon, when the lady brings in her last bag, they sit together and chat and sort... sometimes, she tells him things that make him laugh. One can make out that she is telling him all that she has seen and heard during the course of her roaming around looking for stuff to bring back. While we so carelessly chuck things away, these people, and there are many like them, collect and sort everything. Sometimes, a deaf and dumb lad, comes around and helps them. At these times, he too sits down with them in the afternoon, and while the lady talks away, the two men sit and look at her, one listens, and one feels...The young man has a wheelbarrow and when there is enough recycled stuff, he puts it into the wheelbarrow, and takes it away. Sometimes, there is so much stuff that he gets a cart and takes it all away. To say these people are destitute is to say less, but when you see the way they care for each other and the companionship that exists, there are only tears in your eyes....

The second one is about a group of women who were brought to the road where I walk, by a man who was giving instructions as he walked with them. He left them at a crossroads. The women were clearly new to what they had set out to do. I wondered what it was that they had to do. And then I saw it. There was a huge pile of pipes in one of the lanes leading off the road. Their job was to steal the pipes, break them into pieces and take them in the bags they carried. The women could hardly lift the pipes. But they toiled, pipe after pipe. As soon as it got light, they disappeared. They came again, and again, and the pile of pipes diminished slowly. One morning, an elderly walker saw this and kicked up a huge cry, calling them thieves and chased them away. Frightened out of their wits, the women fled. However, about 2 weeks later, they were back. It was obvious that they had been told to get the pipes or else....They stood huddled together and whispered, and from their tone of voice and body language, you could make out that they were scared, but were planning what to do. Anyway, off they went and a couple of pipes were broken and put into their bags. However, as luck would have it, as they were going away, the para dadas stopped them and asked them to empty their bags. Para dadas are the big dads of the area. Their word is the last word. They defend their territories, and are very helpful to those who live in their para. They kind of keep an eye out for their para people. Now, the women started crying and pleading with the dadas - to no avail. After much shouting on the part of the dadas and pleading on the part of the women, the women emptied their bags. They said if they were not allowed to take these to wherever it was they were supposed to sell them, their families, their little children would starve, They begged to be given a last chance and that they would never ever come to this area again - on and on it went....finally, I don't know what happened, but I do hope they were allowed to take those pipe bits....

The third is about the tea stall at the end of the lane. It is amazing the way this displaced couple has created this space for themselves. Their cycle cart has been set against the boundary wall of a housing complex, and the cycle has been propped up with bricks, so that the cart forms a table of sorts. The good lady keeps her cups and various cans on this. Next to this, they have erected a mud platform which has an inbuilt chulha, and a small area, where while one kettle is on the chulha, the other is kept close by so that the water in it remains warm. A part of the platform has a shelf propped up on it which has jars of the local biscuits. Another part of the platform is not as high as the chulha platform, but there is a seat made for the lady to sit or curl up on. The lady lights her chulha way around 5 in the morning. Opposite this 'stall', the couple has made 2 seating arrangements for people to relax. There is a long board fixed in the ground on which the daily communist newspaper is pasted. Above this is another board which features some political person or the other. So, while having tea, you can read the paper, and engage in the ongoing discussion. The whole place is kept spotlessly clean. That small bit of the road is their cafe...When I go for my walk at 5.30, the taxiwallahs and some security guards are having their first cuppa. In the cold of the winter mornings, someone would collect dry leaves and paper and bits of wood, and light a fire around which everyone would stand and discuss the chat in low tones. Companionable silence and talk over an early morning cup of tea! Sometimes, a lorry would stop by, or a car, and the drivers add to the group standing around. Everyone is welcome. There is a kind of peacefulness that pervades the area. Throughout the day people stop by for tea - small cup, half glass, full glass and special chai, with the inevitable bishkut! Around breakfast time, the good lady kneads dough. I'm not sure whether it is besan for sattu, or atta for rotis. But she makes these, and this forms the breakfast of many a worker. What is fascinating is that there are 2 small children who come sometimes in their clean, neatly-ironed school uniforms and bags for their morning milk and bishkut. They belong to the family, and are treated with great affection by all who are there. Today is Republic Day and you should see the little cafe. There are streamers of the National Flag decorating the crossroads, and there is even a decorated flagpole in front of the newspaper board. At 9 I could hear the crowd of taxiwallahs, security guards, ironing-wallahs, cleaners, redi-wallahs, Bihari, and Bengali, poor, poorer and poorest, and all those who society has marginalized, singing the National Anthem and shouting Jai Hind. The Government, mind you, has done nothing for these people, and yet, what is it that makes them sing Jana Gana Mana so proudly, and lustily? The emotional pull of the eternal motherland, I suppose...

What strikes me every day, is the caring that exists between these people, the dispossessed, the displaced and the destitute. They have their own code of conduct, and their own understanding of fair play and justice. Their only condition for living is that they are treated well by those who happen to be more fortunate. And why not? They too have a place under the sun, as much as anyone else.

This is our reality, much as we would like to not see it or recognize it...