MODERN DAY MISNOMERS

The scholars of English language must be well aware of how the usage of certain words have been changed over the years.Certain words which denoted alarm at one point of time are now used to denote appreciation (for example,fantastic).But there are many other words describing virtues of human beings which lost its actual meaning in the modern day(especially in India).This may sound strange;but let me give you some examples.

Humility is considered as a great virtue.A person of great achievement with no aura about himself is considered to have humility.Sometimes, even after achieving a lot,a person can feel inadequate and this may be the reason of not showing off.So the humility here can be actually cowardice in disguise.Especially persons from armed force are supposed to have pride in what they are and next time you see a police or military fellow with extra show of humility, rest assured that he is unworthy.

The line separate arrogance and confidence is very narrow and most of the time people confuse the two.Many confident people(especially youngsters) are termed arrogant and vise versa.To put it simple,"I can do it" is confidence and "I alone can do it" is arrogance.In the same way,being careless is sometimes described as cool(doing things without much tension). A cool person will be efficient without breaking his/her head over something:never careless about things.

A wise person is the one who have seen the world and who is objective with a sound judgement.But now a days,people who states that "world is a bad place"are proclaimed as worldly wise.A person without optimism and faith cannot be objective and a good judge.Because the world still has lot of good things to offer.

Many a times a person who is adamant is called courageous and many people become too rigid in the name of discipline.Both courage and discipline have wider meaning.Courage is standing up for something which you believe in.But that does not mean that you refuse to change even after you are proved wrong.Same way,discipline is a way of life of self control rather than sticking to a particular pattern and norms.

A "modern smart person" often can turn out to be a cheap person .One who bargain and push himself cannot be smart in the real sense of the term. Smartness is all about efficiency and energy level not about smart talks and tactics and this kind of smartness can irritate people which ultimately pull one down.A real smart person will not be short sighted but view things holistically. Smartness is not cunningness.

Do not confuse between emotional and passionate. An emotional person cannot balance and judge properly because of the strong attachment. Passion is all about involvement but it will never shut one's eyes from reality.

Simplicity is all about not showing off and spend according to the needs.Many a times misers may look simple because they hate to part with money and end up buying less.

One bigest misnomer I come across is branding naive people as good. A person who never talk back and whom you can order around is often called as good and when something happen to them because this naiveness people say" it is a pity that such a nice person has to go throuugh all these".Being good requires a lot of strength and conviction and a weak person end up worser than a bad one.

The great Indian family converted the word love into dependency.The affectionate parents never let the kids to do anything of their own as long as they are alive. One's career, life partner,name of the kids and their future etc. are all being decided by one's parents in the name of love. The moment someone thinks about deciding oneself, he/she will be subjected to emotional blackmails by these type of parents and even if some one break free from this, they may feel guilty. Such is the vicious circle of dependency coated with LOVE where your choice of following your heart becomes the "rarest of the rarest and heinous " crime.

Finally let me tell you about power. In India the ability to misuse rule of law is power. If you do not need to stand in queue anywhere,if you can jump the traffick signal without any problem,if you have ten subordinates around you to salute, you have power. That is why Lord Akton says that "absolute power corrupts absolutely". Many people do not know that more than the symbols above ,power comes from personality and strength of character and just because aquiring a position does not ensure power.

So there is corruption in our vocabulary also.It is important to be good judges of fellow humans and oneself to get these things corrected and for that try to cultivate all the above virtues in the real sense of the term.

LET THERE BE LIGHT

"TIME IS MONEY"

I know many youngsters who are workaholics and want to make the most when they are young say,before they turn forty.Many even admit that once they reach middle age, they will retire from the mundane tiring jobs in which they are in and will chase their dreams.They want to use the time when they are healthy to make a secure future before they enjoy.For this they are ready to take up extra jobs in their leisure time(if they have any)also because they say "time is money".

Well, I was taken aback because for me this sentence meant something different."Time is money" I think, does not mean that you should convert all your time into money making. It talks about time as a greatest wealth one can have.In other words, those who have enough time at his/her disposal is the richest.It is important in life that one should have enough time for one self ,to do things one love.And as you cannot bring back time once it is passed,it is more important that one should live in present, do things which one want at this moment rather than postponing it till one feel financially secure.Sadly, in spite of all religious texts emphasising this point of living in present, very few only seems to realise its importance.

People once they are lucky say about the perfect "timing" with which the things happened.This timing or the "right things at right time" is a bonus for people who respect time and live in the moment.The prisoners of past and the gamblers of future cannot be blessed with "timing" because they may never be able to keep up with present.

So before you work extra time for the better future of your kid,think about the child who want your time now more than he/she want your money in future.Do not expect that you will chase your dreams when you are old and secure(you will be tired,only).Its now or never because "time is money".....grab it now and utilise it for you before it is too late.

COMMUNISM CAPITALISM AND EQUALITY

When I first heard about the "time when each human listens to other like music" it appeared to be such a beautiful world.There were also promises for an egalitarian world where everyone will be treated alike.But how can people with different abilities be treated alike was a puzzle.
Communism is the most influential political ideology happened in the world because of the huge promises it carried(almost like a religion) and the material analysis which was very appealing.Even after the end of soviet union,we still have china and cuba and a lot of people who practise different versions of it from the socialists to maoists.
Communism presents a highly narrow view of society which tend to portray rich as bad and poor as good.It made making money with hardwork a sin and fail to acknowledge individual merits and differences.It violates many principles of nature and basic human instincts.And in principle it put more restrictions to people and took more life than Nazism or Fascism.And the opiating effect of it is higher than that of any religion.
What about Capitalism which is the natural enemy of Communism?Well, the competition and chances of growth are the good things about it but the emphasis on making things big can always put pressure on human life.It always highlight instant success and state that one can sell anything with advertisement.It sometimes set unrealistic targets which can be often cancerous.Still The democracy which is supposed to be the best system of governance so far ,work best with capitalism.With the mantra "think global act local" capitlism can work well for countries like India with a proper balance of welfare measures and market forces.
In the name of equality one should not vouch for uniformity.No one should be banned from pursuing one's own path.State should not put too much restrictions on one's life but should try to give basic facilities to all so that people should be naturally ready to compete.Too much protectionism always hinder development.
Differences are the very nature of life.It does not make things superior or inferior.It is the hierarchical thinking which create problems.Even in the worst of times ,people have a choice.If one is free and confident within there is no need for any "isms"to make the world a better place to live in.
LET THERE BE LIGHT

EMPIRE SINGS BACK........

When Indian writers who write in English started winning awards across the globe,it was termed as "Empire writes back".Now it is the turn of singers.The Liberalisation generation who communicate in English is coming up with amazingly high quality English songs of all possible genres.They hate to sing popular numbers from the west but create their own songs with a touch of Indianness.The young kids who are still in college are saving money to come up with new albums of their own.The internet gives them space to propagate their tunes.
Confidence and camaraderie are the two things which makes this singers the real face of the changing India.The tradition of respecting senior musicians is replaced with singing along the tunes of your buddies whom you love.When reality shows concentrate on imitation,here the key word is originality.
Rahman is winning Grammy and Oscar and I am sure there is a bunch of youngsters who will follow....They are amazingly talented.(Anybody who is doubtful can check reverbnation.com and try e flat,skrat,blacklisted and touchwood).
LET THE MUSIC BEGIN............
LET THERE BE LIGHT

WAH USTAD!!!

Music is said to be the bridge connecting oneself to the supreme self.The songs appeal to the cognitive part with the thought provoking lyrics and the music along with the voice which render it soothes senses.Being a music lover who enjoys all genres ,I still had apprehensions about my ability to enjoy instrumental music until I heared two greatest artists who literally took my breath away.
Pandit Shivkumar sharma and Ustad Zakir Hussain are one of the most popular pair in Hindustani Jugalbandi.The stream like sweetness of the Santoor when joins the storm of Zakir's Tabla create an out of the world experience.In the end Zakir performed such unbelievable strokes as if he unleashed the power of all elements into the concert hall.
It was amazing to see such greats with so much of humility and abundance of talent.They truly represented the secular India.
Jai ho
let there be light

FAITH

Faith is one word which can be used in different ways.It is an emotion,an identity and more than that a great force which literally, can move mountains. In the name of faith the maximum number of bloodshed happened.People are very posessive about their faith and they are ready to die and kill for it.Because they believe that their faith is the truth, nothing but the truth.This belief has been the root cause of all wars.But how can a noble emotion become a killer?
Faith in mass level can be a larger energy reservoir which can be used by a manipulator.When faith turns to a concrete religion,the list of do's and dont's adds up and any violation ends up in destruction.
All the established Religions in the world are now in a dilemma because leaders of religion never tried to re interpret moral code of conduct in holy texts which are actually mere reflections of the reality of the time of its creation.Anything which does not try to adapt is supposed to perish in the near future,as per nature's rule.But religious fundamentalism is growing because of people's fear of new phenomena like globalisation.
In Europe,the Catholic religion is deeply criticised by many new age film makers.Many protest all over the world is happening against religious hegemony which is the source of inequal laws.In India where religion is part and parcel of life,one still wonder about faith because it has more connotations than religious.
Faith is that belief in something which you hold strong when something goes wrong.It is your backup when you fail.It is the extreme trust that things are going to be fine.If this can be kept in an individual level,it can create wonders.It gives immense strength to one .All people who changed the world had faith in plenty.But equally important is that one should never impose this faith on anyone else.One has to search and find it freely without any bondage.Only a strong person can stick to it.Weaker people forget the core and run for symbols and become faithfully FAITHLESS.
Everybody has to have faith in something and it should be whole hearted.Let us forget the boundaries for a while in this New Year eve and hold our FAITH tight for a better tomorrow.
HAPPY 2010.....
LET THERE BE LIGHT....................

THE MOVIE MAGIC

Films are an integral part of our life now especially in India where people live and die for their favourite stars.It is an industry which is a prime employer to many and at the same time a complex expression of art where many talents come together. There are people who think about it as a weapon of social change and political propaganda. But majority take it as a method to relax.Some movie makers only like abstract ways of telling a story which they claim as realistic.Some like to show more violence to make things real.Some prefer pornography.Well, whatever be the theme, the way it has been told matters a lot.
A good movie is one which communicate the feelings and situation of characters to you.A good screenplay,proper casting and characterisation with good editing and moreover the sincerity of the film maker makes a movie memorable.It should use the visual possibilities more rather than depending entirely on dialogues.Movies like WAY HOME(KOREA) in spite of simplicity atracts you because of these factors.It should not shout the social message louder but help the viewer to interpret things in a subtle way.
I wish to share some of my all time favourite movies here(The list can be longer,of course but I am sticking to 10).
1 BICYCLE THIEVES: The Italian neo realist classic of the early 50's is still surprising with excellent camera and universal theme.
2 AMADEUS : What matter when you love and hate someone so much at the same time?Watch Murray Abraham as Saliery in this wonderful musical to know.
3 SOUND OF MUSIC :A tale of bravery with immortal music.
4 CHILDREN OF HEAVEN : The most sincere movie about children.You start adoring every character.
5 SHATRANJ KE KHILADI : The best example of a story adoption to movie.A master stroke by the great Satyajit Ray.
6 MONSOON WEDDING : Get transported to a Punjabi wedding where some universal family issues attract your senses.
7 CHAK DE INDIA : The best Indian sports movie(IQBAL IS ALSO GREAT BUT THIS ONE WAS TOUGHER)
8 I SERVED THE KING OF ENGLAND : Erotically humorous.
9 NOTEBOOK(malayalam) : Extremely bold,balanced and sincere take on teenage.
10 RATATOUILLE : This animation movie talks about importance of being yourself in a very different way.
I prefer positive movies and like Hrishikesh Mukherji's movies very much.Action and thriller also are always welcome.
Hope to see more...
LET THERE BE LIGHT,camera and action!!!!