Satya and Saanjh

Satya.. to me, this name symbolizes beauty in a pure form..angelic, innocent, pristine…Wiki tells me that the philosophical meaning of ‘Satya‘ is that which is beyond distinctions of time, space, and person..Satya pervades the universe in all its constancy. And yet, she changes like nature’s moods. Constant change?

Change alone is unchanging

As I mull over the immense significance Satya holds, I remember names which come back to me with their unique tenor and symbolism. Sanjh- the evening. The glory of twillight, with the fiery sun receding to cooler waters and tiny stars waking up in the young night’s shroud of mystery. The setting sun holds the promise of a new tomorrow-new hope to begin anew, and the poignancy of its departure from the azul sky peppered with clouds wafting by. Sanjh will witness the evenings in every part below the sky.. just-lit chulahs puffing to satisfaction, the kuthu-velaku lit and adorned with flowers in the courtyard, the diyas in front of the Tulsi, cars whizzing home carrying weary parents to their young ones, young ones beginning their ‘day’, the lone wolf scurrying further into the darkness in the light of civilization…

Raahi, the traveller. How many paths has he tread upon? How many suns has he seen rising? He entwines the constancy of purpose with momentary change. I am reminded of Melquíades- Garcia’s creation, no doubt, but he lives on in each one of us- a little voice beckoning us to board that chugging train to nowhere, drive without consciousness of day and night, ride the mighty winds..

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost”
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Artagnan.. Knower of all meanings. The knowledge-seeker, a gleaming beacon of truth standing tall in this world of hypocrisy. d’Artagnan-ring any bells? Alexandre Dumas wrote about this Musketeer’s escapades in the triology of the d’Artagnan Romances. d’Artagnan means from Artagnan in French and is often equated to a leader.

 

Knowledge is Power

 

Then again…even fractals have perspectives…

 

Pre-Gym Musings

Ho hum…you say… what else is new..you ask.. Well, I’ll answer that! Gym! ‘They’  (=M & D, anchors to the real world!) want me to gym! My friends would applaud at the idea, but the gym? In the wee hours of the morning? Every day?!

I’m one of those socially-classified-nerds-self-proclaimed-geniuses who loves the quiet of the night. The best time to work-When the world sleeps, my computer ticks to perfection. Blaring noises around my sanctum (read TV and the neighbour’s kid) and wind particles packed with scents from the kitchen which send me sneezing are at their bare minimum. And a walk outdoors is sheer bliss.. the dark, velvety night sky beckons this Child of the Universe to marvel at its mysteries and travel back in time to the days of yore…

I love early mornings too-provided there is something compelling enough (interesting reads, rain lashing at the windows, birds chirping, project deadlines and birthdays!) to wake me up!  Exercise early in the day would undoubtedly keep the adernaline flowing, and The Gym Idea is actually a good one. And although I prefer walks in the wild outdoors to a treadmill in a compact air-conditioned room, my walks turn out to be more of the languid sort- I tend to stop and pore at the young green leaves uncurling, rescue ladybirds from puddles, deeply breathe in the scents of nature, chase butterflies and to put it bluntly- act like a playful pup on its first tyrst with the outdoors! Exercise of the senses and brain, but the body.. well…!

Which is why I repeat time and again to that albeit-too-comfortable part of my brain that working out in the gym is a beneficial strategy. However, that beam of repetition got deflected to the part which loves to prod issues for their meanings and origins (the one that reminds me that lunatic comes from the Latin lunaticus or moon-struck, and translates, in the process of evolution, to refer to yours truly!).  

*Wiki Alert, with comments in Italics*

The word γυμνάσιον (gymnasion) was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men. The later meaning of intellectual education persisted in German and other languages to denote a certain type of school providing secondary education, the Gymnasium, whereas in English the meaning of physical education was pertained in the word gym.

The Greek word gymnasium means “place to be naked”  Oh, Mercy! Let the Ektas and Rakhis of the World never read this!    and was used in ancient Greece to designate a locality for the education of young men, including physical education (gymnastics, i.e. exercise) which was customarily performed naked, as well as bathing, and studies. For the Greeks, physical education was considered as important as cognitive learning. *nod-nod* Most Greek gymnasia had libraries that could be utilized after relaxing in the baths. This makes so much sense- holistic development.

Hmm.. interesting.. (my most over-used adjective? You bet!)

A cute comic strip I came across in a previous life on the web comes bouncing back from the recesses of my memory..

http://sheldoncomics.com/archive/070318.html 

Source: Sheldon Comics  

‘Dave Kellet’s Sheldon is a sarcastic, nerdy family strip filled with pop-culture references and fun, random storylines.’ Clean humor.

Source: CartoonStock

And so relentessly I tread
Past the languid deli where lay the well-fed
Through the maze of of K-cars speeding on a whim
To the Gym! To the Gym!
  

 

Back and Bonkers! :)

Here I am!

The one..the only.....!

Well, the inertia is sent bounding away. Writer’s block melted with the prowess of poetic passion.  And the gazillion wheels in my brain ticking and twisting and turning contently to literary bliss! Akshaya is back..! *drum roll please.. and I would like the Indigo carpet.. red is post-passe!*

Exhibition of imbibed traces of narcissism apart, here’s a little ’something’ about myself. Posted this on Orkut a few weeks ago- the ‘Hai! I want to make freindshep with you’ requests decreased drastically!

I believe in the beauty of life, beauty that nourishes, inspires, and heals. I derive inspiration from nature and people…every single person has something beautiful within him which I yearn to bring out. Beauty to me translates into the endless skies, roaring oceans, the innocence of children, flowers, colors and scents of the wild, pristine water, the velvety night sky plundering the twinkling stars, the shroud of mystery. Notoriously workaholic, I love pondering upon the little mysteries of the universe inter-woven into one big puzzle, which inclines my thoughts towards the ‘building block’ sciences- particle physics, genetics, nanotechnology, neurology, and the apple of my eye-psychology. Eyes and body language often reveal more than words, and my current self-improvement project is to use these assets to be less of an open book than I am. I’m passionate about books- I must have been born with a Robbins instead of a silver spoon! My birthday renders me a Piscean- compassionate, empathetic, imaginative, and constantly metamorphosing into a different person every second. Imagination is also characteristic of a right-brained individual, as are intuition, creativity, the need for sensory input, and interestingly, the use of hand gestures and an active body language. The cultures of the world and movies happen to be my favorite sensory inputs, and I’m addicted to movies as I was to the initiator of the very concept. The untiring search for knowledge, synthesizing parts into a holistic whole, word play, an urge to contribute substantially to my Nation and humanity at large, and a drive to achieve are composites of my addictions as well. I enjoy acting, directing, and watching theatrical plays and performances, as well as participating in conferences and workshops glazing myriad arenas. I am fascinated by the myriad career options my generation has, and I believe that management is the foundation of every nook and cranny of life.

And I also believe you noticed the linking of ideas flowing from one sentence to the next!

 

coach carter + covey’s seven habits= ??

This is a movie review I wrote a few days ago for academic evaluation. We study The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey in depth, and had to relate Coach Carter-the movie based on the conterversial Californian Coach Ken Carter- to the same.

To know more about the book:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People

a summary of the book

www.profitadvisors.com/7habitlist.shtml

or the movie:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coach_Carter

 

The movie Coach Carter is based on a real life incident in Richmond, California, when a high school coach Ken Carter put a stopper on all basketball activities because 15 out of his 45 member undefeated basketball team were performing poorly in academics.

Coach Carter agreed to taken upon the responsibility of a team which had won just 4 matches in the last season as opposed to 22 losses. His initial confrontations with the team depicted a large amount of pent-up resentment and aggression in the team members, coupled with a tendency to play the blame game. The Richmond team was being extremely reactive to the scenario, with the individuality of the players more expressed than the team spirit.

The first meeting also saw the exit of the two top scorers of the previous season due to their disagreements with Coach Carter’s methods, and when this fact was expressed with much alarm by one of the players, Coach Carter answered it with a calm but firm belief that they would together build up other teammates to be the top scorers next season! This portrays the belief that nothing constitutes as the end of the world. There is always room for hope and improvement through introspection.

Coach Carter set the sights early on by getting the team and their guardians to sign contracts which, among other particulars, required a GPA of 2.3 (the national requirement being just 2.0) and regular attendance in lectures to continue on the basketball team. Outrageous as it sounded to the team and their families, Coach Carter began his mission with the ends clearly in sight. He consistently encouraged the team to believe in themselves, and emphasized that their sense of self-worth should come from their principle-centered core, and not from the rebukes of the society or taunts of their peers.

The principle of making your own decisions and living the consequences shifts the dependence paradigm to one of independence. Accountability and commitment are two important aspects of the same.

Coach Carter introduces creative synergy in the team by teaching them to derive learning from all sorts of situations like he does, for instance, by equating basketball tactics to the women in his life. He also stresses on the fact that nothing is impossible, only thinking makes it so. When the people around us belittle us or our activities and believe that our achieving a certain goal is impossible, it is our choice to either succumb to their reactive mentality, or be proactive and move for the win.

The Habit of Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood is exhibited when a player’s mother meets the Coach and informs him about the loss of her elder son some years ago. She expresses her ardent desire to see her only remaining son successful, and Coach Carter empathizes with her situation, thus proving that differences in background or ideology are no longer stumbling blocks to communication and progress. Instead, they become the stepping stones to synergy.

The Habit of Synergy comes into play when other team members volunteer to do part of the exercises assigned to a player to allow him back into the team, thus proving that in both in times of celebration and adversity; interdependence is the best paradigm we can use.

Winning is the ultimate goal of a basketball game, but achieving is that of life. We need to fight till the last second to achieve our goals, but if we do not ‘win,’ in conventional terms, we need to realize that long term goals are what matter, not instant gratification.

Tactics and strategies are vital aspects to any game, be it basketball or that of life. A level-headed attitude is necessary irrespective of winning or losing. In all situations, a mentality of win-win or no deal should be adopted to achieve optimum results.

And if you firmly believe that you are right in your stand, you need to go ahead and do it! Risks need to be taken with alacrity, self-confidence, proactive attitude, and a drive to achieve. As Coach Carter stresses, to be able to realize your potential, you need to be able to recognize it in the first place and value yourself for who you are.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had to written to his daughter on her 13^th birthday about one of the most important principles in life…

Never do anything in secret or anything that you would wish to hide. For the desire to hide anything means that you are afraid, and fear is a bad thing and unworthy of you. We work in the sun and in the light. Even so in our private lives let us make friends with the sun and work in the light and do nothing secretly. And if you do so, my dear you will grow up a child of the light, unafraid and serene and unruffled, whatever may happen.

 This rings true both in the context of the movie as well as our personal lives.

Setting priorities is important at every leg of life, and Coach Carter stresses that his team strike a balance between excellence in sports and academic performance, so much so that he puts a bar on all basketball activtities till some of the team members pucker up their academic performance. His move is met with extreme resentment by the people of Richmond, to the extent that Coach Carter decides to tender his resignation in the advent of the gym being thrown open. When he does walk into the gym to collect his belongings, he is touched to see his team working diligently on their academics, and expressing their commitment and single-minded devotion to his plan to get them to a better life.

Although the Richmond Oilers lost the deciding game of the season, they found an improved, more positive way of looking at life. They understood that mastery over self and synergy directed towards pre-aligned goals are more important than the cursory win.

I would like to conclude with my favorite quote from the movie, which is, incidentally, a poem penned by Marianne Williamson, a spiritual activist and author, in her book ‘A Return to Love’.

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,
but that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give
other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.

 

Rather touching poem….

–A Simple Child,

That lightly draws its breath,

And feels its life in every limb,

What should it know of death?

I met a little cottage Girl:

She was eight years old, she said;

Her hair was thick with many a curl

That clustered round her head.

She had a rustic, woodland air,

And she was wildly clad:

Her eyes were fair, and very fair;

–Her beauty made me glad.

“Sisters and brothers, little Maid,

How many may you be?”

“How many? Seven in all,” she said

And wondering looked at me.

“And where are they? I pray you tell.”

She answered, “Seven are we;

And two of us at Conway dwell,

And two are gone to sea.

“Two of us in the church-yard lie,

My sister and my brother;

And, in the church-yard cottage,

I Dwell near them with my mother.”

“You say that two at Conway dwell,

And two are gone to sea,

Yet ye are seven!

–I pray you tell,Sweet Maid, how this may be.”

Then did the little Maid reply,

“Seven boys and girls are we;

Two of us in the church-yard lie,

Beneath the church-yard tree.”

“You run about, my little Maid,

Your limbs they are alive;

If two are in the church-yard laid,

Then ye are only five.”

“Their graves are green, they may be seen,”

The little Maid replied,

“Twelve steps or more from my mother’s door,

And they are side by side.

“My stockings there I often knit,

My kerchief there I hem;

And there upon the ground I sit,

And sing a song to them.

“And often after sunset, Sir,

When it is light and fair,

I take my little porringer,

And eat my supper there.

“The first that died was sister Jane;

In bed she moaning lay,

Till God released her of her pain;

And then she went away.

“So in the church-yard she was laid;

And, when the grass was dry,

Together round her grave we played,

My brother John and I.

“And when the ground was white with snow,

And I could run and slide,

My brother John was forced to go,

And he lies by her side.”

“How many are you, then,” said I,

“If they two are in heaven?”

Quick was the little Maid’s reply,

“O Master! we are seven.”

“But they are dead; those two are dead!

Their spirits are in heaven!”

‘Twas throwing words away;for still

The little Maid would have her will,

And said, “Nay, we are seven!”

— William Wordsworth

 

Murthy and the National Anthem: Old wine, new bottle?

Narayan Murthy..the entire blogosphere seems to be discussing his stand on the ‘embarrassing’ national anthem-are we making a mountain out of a molehill, or is it time to re-examine our thought process?

For those who came in late, Narayan Murthy, the co-founder of the giant software company Infosys, represented the reel Gurukant Desai in real life-the son of a Karnataka school teacher who rose to great heights with sheer hard work and a spate of luck. He retired from Infosys Chairmanship last year, handing over the reins to co-founder Nandan Nilekhani, and now functions in the capacity of Non-Executive Chairman, besides membership in other decision-making boards of various companies.

The controversy: our President Hon Kalam ji visited Infosys, Mysore, last week, and as per protocol, the national anthem had to be played to receive and send-off the Hon President. In a twist worthy of Christie, Narayan Murthy decided to have the instrumental version of the national anthem played, and the good-natured Kalam ji sang along-albeit alone. It would have ended there, perhaps, if not for Murthy explaining the reason for the instrumental version: apparently, it would be rather “embarrassing” for the foreign employees and interns at Infosys to hear the Indian National Anthem, for they wouldn’t be able to join in the singing.

Ironical statement-considering the fact that 90% of viewers of a popular news channel voted for Murthy to succeed Kalam ji as President just a few days before this event. Another irony-the previous day, news whizzed in reporting the cutting of a cake with colors of the Indian tri-color by cricket ‘maestro’ Sachin Tendulkar in West Indies.

The Indian Constitution describes the Fundamental Rights viz. Right to Equality, Right to Particular Freedom, Cultural and Educational Rights, Right to Freedom of Religion, Right Against Exploitation and Right to Constitutional Remedies. When we claim our Fundamental Rights in the annals of the Indian Judiciary, are aware that along with Rights, the Fathers of our Constitution have also laid down certain Fundamental Duties, which must be performed by every citizen of the Nation? The first duty: To abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National Flag and the National Anthem.

Are we embossing public images like Murthy and Tendulkar with sparkles of glamour and glitterati to such a high extent that we tend to excuse their wantonly imbecilic doings? Have we become that entwined with their lives that we subconsciously downplay their actions and reactions in sensitive situations? Of course, Murthy has already apologised, and so will Tendulkar, when his media manager tells him that another apology from his stables is due. But is this the end of the discussion?

We, avatars of Laxman’s Common Man, forgave the Film Industry’s heart-throbs Salman Khan and party when they brutally killed endangered animals a decade ago, we forgave Khan’s negligent driving when he ran over innocent labourers sleeping on the footpath, we forgave our cricketers involved in the dirty game of match-fixing (they got us the World Cup in 1983-that erases all their faults), we forgave macho Dutt’s ‘links’ with the mafia, and in barely a few months, Murthy and Tendulkar’s disrespect would be forgotten, too.

I’m brashly sarcastic about the Indian nature of ‘forgiveness’, but that obviously doesn’t imply that we must string the public figures by the thumbs or resort to some other ancient form- we need to tackle this issue with an open mind through self-assessment, and we also need to imply, through our actions rather than words, that we are a no-nonsense people-we will tolerate wrong-doings neither by stalwarts of the public domain nor by our next-door neighbour, for we believe in the Lady of Justice, and her scales do not tilt towards the famous.

Words uttered by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Russian novelist, dramatist and historian, ring true…

Justice is conscience, not a personal conscience but the conscience of the whole of humanity. Those who clearly recognize the voice of their own conscience usually recognize also the voice of justice…

May we awake to realities which bind us not but shape our wings and enable us to grow into Children of the Light.

 

Diwan-e-Khas

Diwan-e-khas is an exotic marble chamber with intricate artwork inside the Red Fort where the Emperor held private meetings with “Khas” (important) people. The famous Peacock Throne adorned this magnificent hall before Nadir Shah carted it off to Iran in 1739. Perhaps the Persian inscription on the ceiling of the Diwan-e-Khas (Hall of Nobles) in Shah Jehan’s Red Fort fired Lutyen’s imagination.

The poet, Firdaus, extravagantly claims, “If there be a paradise on Earth; it is this, oh it is this, oh it is this”. Certainly echoes of the paradise, in the form of architectural style, details and materials, are found in Lutyen’s neo-classical design for the new city. Thin marbles lattices separate the Diwan-e-Khas from the Khas Mahal, housing the Emperor’s sitting room, prayer room and bedroom. The king would grant audience to important people.

Opal Odyssey’s Diwan-e-Khas- meant for those who wish to keep track of my fancies and fallacies, activities and amusements..

 

Push the Envelope

“Push the envelope” is used figuratively to mean “stretch the boundaries”. The image is not of pushing a mailing envelope across a desk: those who push this sort of envelope do it from within.

The phrase has its origins in the world of aviation, where ‘envelope’ has, since at least the late 60s, had the meaning ‘a set of performance limits that may not be safely exceeded.’ Test pilots are often called on to ‘push’ a new aircraft’s performance envelope by going beyond known safety limits, as in determining just how fast an airplane can be flown. In 1979 Tom Wolfe’s best-seller ‘The Right Stuff’ vividly described the life of test pilots during the 50s and60s, and it appears that this book, and the subsequent movie, did much to popularize the notion of pushing the envelope.

Opal Odyssey’s extension Push the Envelope deals with the recent socio-political happenings around the World, and discusses ways and means to attempt to change certain over-bearing systems and practises which have done much to hinder the progress, peace, and prosperity of Nations.

 

Melting Pot

Globalization has become the most-used buzz word in socio-political circles, and with the resulting amalgamation of the cultures and civilizations of the World into a Global Village of sorts, each of us has now metamorphosed into a Citizen of the World.

The luminescence of long by-gone civilizations shimmers through the cultures and traditions of the Citizen of the World- he is formless, transcends borders, and can indulge with equal ease and enjoyment in activities which were once restricted to geo-political settlers-a Dim Sum culinary treat in Japan, a snow-skiing lesson in Alaska, a desert safari in the Sahara, learning about the boa in the Amazon, shopping in Milan, sleeping on hot stones in the freezing Gobi…

A Citizen of the World’s views on culture and its obelisks-Melting Pot

 

In black and white…

Tulsi, Parvati, Kesar, Kusum, Kajal, Kasish- if these names seem painfully familiar, then you may be yet another, rather bewildered, victim of the Great Indian Soap Saga-where heroes never die-they just get their cars blown to shreds, are pushed off cliffs, kidnapped one-too-many times, poisoned by ‘beautiful’ vamps, suffer from amnesia, get plastic surgeries done, and in the worst possible scenario: dissappear for a few weeks from the screen owing to them being ‘dead’ only to be resurected thanks to public demand! (Yumraj ji-are you listening?!)

There was a time, not too long ago, when Doordarshan ruled the roost. Many generations, including mine, grew up on Chitrahaar, News Bulettins @ 2000hrs and the eagerly-awaited Sunday movies…

A cursory flick of the remote landed me to the present-day Doordarshan a while ago- it has obviously changed quite a lot, perhaps catering to the hysteric K-brigade fan following! But that familiar DD logo triggered off a wave of bitter-sweet memories from yesteryears, so this week’s Memory Lane will attempt to take you on a walk down memory lane-in black and white…