Kabir: Words of Wisdom Part-II

As I already said here Kabir is one of the people I have been in awe of, I don’t claim to have understand him fully but I feel that his words of wisdom needs to be retold to the world.

Here are 3 couplets of Kabir depicting the great man’s though on God-

Pathar Puje Hari Mile, To Main Pujun Girirai,
Sabse to Chakki Bhalim Pees Pees ke Khay

Meaning- Kabir says, If god could have been found by worshiping the idols made of stone, then Kabir would worship the greatest mountain. No stone can have god bigger than that. He reiterates that god cannot be found in the stone idols, the simple chakki (traditional Indian wheat grinder having two round stones rotated and the wheat dropped from above gets grinded between two stones) is more divine at least it bears pain to feed the humanity.

Kubudhi ko Sujhe Nahi, Uth Uth Deval Jaaye,
Dil dehra ki khabar nahi, Pathar Kahan Te Pay

Meaning- The idiots are ignorant, when they can’t think of anything they keep visiting the temple in the search of god. Hardly do they know their own self, that they would realize that if they would have searched their own hearts, they would have find one which they didn’t find in those stone idols

Makke Madine mein gaya, wahan bhi hari ka naam,
Main tujhse poochon he sakhi, Kin dekha kis tham.

Meaning- When you visited Mecca, Medina and everywhere you took the name of the great lord. But I ask you my dear friend did you actually saw the great lord at any of the places of pilgrimage.

I so wish the communally charged people in India would relearn the lessons taught by this great soul.

 

Movie Summaries Day 7

Lately I have seen so many movies, not used to writing too many reviews. So I thought to define the movies as one liners. So here goes my one liners for some of the movies I have seen recently-

1- Rajneeti- Everybody kills everybody leaving only Katrina Kaif to contest the elections.

2- Prince of Persia- Super movie, you sit for effin 2.5 hrs just to realize that actually nothing has happened.

3- Kites- No entiendo un carajo (Translation for poor viewer: I don’t understand a shit)

4- Well Done Abba: When you plan to get a well dug from the government you get your daughter married

5- Paathshala- Sending you children to school which advertises is making them do bonded labor.

6- Badmash Company- Selling single pair of gloves and defaulting bank loans are bad business plans.

7- Alice in Wonderland- So finally the rabbit goes through the hole

 

Coffee – Day 5

I am a huge coffee lover, and I believe that coffee is one of the important aspect of my life. Though I won’t say I am addicted but then a cup of good coffee actually makes my day. Circumstantially coffee has been very closely associated with my life but then my understanding of what all goes into making of my cup of coffee came only when I did a consulting assignment with one of the biggest coffee retailers of the world.

There has been so much already said about coffee, but I love a dialogue from the movie Shaurya which is said about the single malt scotch. However I feel the dialogue is so appropriate for coffee too. “Is Duniya main do hi anubhav sache hai, ek Single Malt aur ek Shaurya”.

I love my coffee pure, not conditioned with the milk or sugar for that matter. My coffee needs to be just rightly brewed and served hot.

So here I say “Is duniya main do hi anubhav sache hai ek shaurya aur doosra single brew black coffee”

How do you like your cup of coffee?

Here I leave you with some of the coffee quotes I have loved-

“Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.” – Turkish proverbs
“I like my coffee hot and strong, like I like my women; hot and strong” – Eddie Izzard
“Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat.” -Alex Levine
“Life is just one cup of coffee after another, and don’t look for anything else.” – said to be Bertrand Russell’s last words
“Blacker than a moonless night. Hotter and more bitter than Hell itself… That is coffee.” – Godot, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

 

Deadly Dialogues-II

So I was tagged by D to take this one, I have done a similar tag where instead of lines I actually mentioned the dialogues from movies which I really loved. However the rules of this tag are as following-

On your blog, provide a link to the Great Bong’s page, May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss. The May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss contest
Then write down your top 10 Hindi movie lines or top 10 English movie lines (You can do both if you want. Only one set is required for the contest). If you cannot think of top 10, make it top 5. Cannot think of even 5? Make it top 3. No problem.
Only restriction: no two lines from same movie. This done to make it fair for other movies so that they dont get swamped by Gunda or Loha or Sholay. Tag five friends to do the same. Come over to the comment-space of this post and post your blog’s link so I can go and read it.
Remember: Before starting the tag, paste points 1 and 4 on your blog so that the rules are available to anyone who wishes to pick the tag up from your blog.

So here go my favorite lines from the hindi movies-

1- Maine tumhe kitni baar samjhaya nazdeeki fayda dekhne se pehle door ka nuksaan dekho. – Sarkaar
2- Ek paon past mein, ek paon future mein. Isiliye to hum aaj pe moot rahe hain- Rang De Basanti
3- Maine kaha tha na yeh duniya bohat chotti hai..aur yeh zindagi bohat lambi- Hum Tum
4- Aaj bhi main pheke hue paise nahi uuthaa- Deewar
5- Zindaga aur maut uparwale ke hath hai jahapana, jise na aap badalsakte hai na mein. hum sab to rangmanch ki katputlia hai, jiski door uparwale ke haath bandhi hai, kab kaun kaise uthega yeh koi nahi janta.- Anand
6- Apni zindagi toh hum jee chuke chunni babu,ab toh bas dhadkano ka lihaz karte hain,kya kahe un duniya walo ko jo aakhiri saas par bhi aitraaz karte hain!-Devdas
7- Perfection ko improve karma waise bhi bahut mushkil hai- DCH
8- Na shabd sunai nahi deta mujhe – Guru
9- Tumhara naam kya hai Basanti- Sholay
10- Kya khalu aapka Ishq, Ishq. Humara Ishq sex- Ishqiya

Now the favorite lines from english movies-

1- I believe…whatever doesn’t kill you simply makes you… …stranger.- The Dark Knight
2- The funny thing is, on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.- The Shawshank Redemption
3- “For June who loved this garden from Joseph who always sat beside her.” Some people do spend their whole lives together.- Notting Hill
4- Son, your ego’s writing checks that your body can’t cash.- Top Gun
5- Isn’t everything we do in life a way to be loved a little more? – Before Sunrise
6- It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking: How did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue. And maybe we can actually never have it, no matter what. How did he know that? – The Pursuit of Happyness
7- Some people can never believe in themselves, until someone believes in them- Good Will Hunting
8- Vanity, definitely my favorite sin. – Devil’s Advocate
9- The point is, ladies and gentlemen, that greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms – greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge – has marked the upward surge of mankind, and greed – you mark my words – will not only save Teldar Paper but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA. Thank you. – Wall Street
10-With great power comes great responsibility- Spiderman

So here are few of my favorite quotes. Now comes the part of tagging people, if you are reading this consider yourself tagged 😉

 

Haal Chaal Theek Thaak Hai

I wrote a post on Gulzaar Sahab some time back here. Undoubtedly Gulzaar Sahab has been a master of poetry & lyrics of our time. You know I can proudly said I lived in the times of the great poet Gulzaar.
I am sure a lot of people would be familiar with the serious and in-depth writings of Gulzaar Sahab on human nature, love, emotions etc.

Somehow you don’t find the sarcastic sides in the poets too often and then finding a sarcastic side to such a deep poet is something beyond imagination. Now here I got a song which captures his hold on sarcasm current issues and problems of the society and how beautifully he has imbibed in a poetry and then the lyrics of the song. Kishore Kumar has done a fabulous job with Mukesh singing it in such a mood that is so relevant to the depth of the song.

The movie is a 1971 movie when the country was struggling with problems like Corruption, Unemployment, Quota Raj or License Regime, spiraling high prices. And Gulzaar captures them so well making it funny yet deep. Sarcastic and absolutely true.
For those who haven’t heard this song before or got the lyrics completely I have compiled both of them below. Enjoy another beauty by Gulzaar Sahab.

Haal Chaal Theek Thaak hai
Sab Kuch Theek Thaak hai
Kaam nahi hai warna yahaan
aapki dua se sab theek thaak hai

Aab-o-hawa
Aab-o-hawa desh ki bahot saaf hai
kaayda hai, kanoon hai, insaaf hai,
Allah Jaane Koi Jiye Ya Mare
aadmi ko khoon voon sab maaf hai

Aur Kya Kahoon, Choti Moti Chori
Rishwat Khori Deti Hai Apna Guzara yahaan
aapki dua se baaki theek thaak hai

Gol Mol Roti ka Pahiya Chala-2
Peeche Peeche Chaandi ka rupaiya Chala
Roti Ko Bechaari Ko cheel le gayi
Chandi Leke munh kala Kauwa Chala

Aur Kya Kahoon, Maut Ka Tamaasha
chalaa Hai Betahaasha,
Jeene Ki Fursat Nahi Hai Yahaan
Aap Ki Dua Se Baaki Theek Thaak Hai.

 

Kaminey

I have always respected Gulzaar as one of the best poets ever happened to Hindi language. His poems are so simple with so easy to use language and oceans of emotions and wisdom underlying those words. You listen the song once again you understand the depth of the words a level under.

This song written by Gulzaar sahab is a gem, so common place words and together they form so amazing depth. A commonly use semi-abusive hindi word and simply used to explore the realities of the word. This song from the movie Kaminey is continously playing around me over and over and simultaneously in my head too. I just wish to meet Gulzaar sahab once and ask him how he can create such beauty and deep down I know, as a matter of fact I can see him in my imagination, simply smiling.

Sometimes I feel lucky to be alive and living in the times of a great poet like him.

(Kya kare zindagi isko hum jo mile,
Iski jaan kha gaye raat din ke gile) – (2)

Raat din gile, meri aarzoo kamini, mere khwab bhi kaminey,
Ek dil se dosti thi, yeh huzur bhi kaminey
kya kare zindagi isko hum jo mile
Iski jaan kha gaye raat din ke gile

(Kabhi zindagi se maanga pinjare mein chaand la do,
Kabhi laalten deke kaha aasmaan pe taango) – (2)

Jine ke sab kariney the hamesha se kaminey
Kaminey, kaminey, kaminey, kaminey
Meri daastaan kamini, mere raaste kaminey
Ek dil se dosti thi yeh hujur bhi kaminey

Jisaka bhi chehara chhila andar se aur nikala,
Maasoom sa kabutar nachaa toh more niakala.
Kabhi hum kaminey nikale kabhi dusare kaminey,
Kaminey, kaminey, kaminey, kaminey
Meri dosti kamini, mere yaar bhi kaminey.
Ek dil se dosti thi ki hujur bhi kaminey

If you haven’t heard this song yet, you can hear it here on youtube.

On a completely different note, me and my friends were discussing the exact meaning/translation of the word ‘Kaminey’. Cunning was the closest we got but again Cunning is not derogatory which Kaminey is. Any suggestions???

 

Shakti Aur Kshama (Power & Forgiveness)

This is one of the best poems and a very relevant lesson in diplomacy. Written by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar. One of the most cherished poets in Hindi language.

I read the above poem when I was a school kids and the thoughts of it lingered with me for a long long time. It has stayed with me for over years and I wanted to produce something as my tribute and gratitude towards the great poet and his impeccable philosophy. This is my effort to portray the above poem in the English language.

Morals mercy kindness resolve and sacrifice
Everything possible on earth you tried,
Of the mighty Suyodhan we know
No signs of truce and acceptance he showed.

The merciful thou were to enemies old & new
Carrying the humility by your own virtue,
The evil Kaurava’s laughing & indulging in their vice
Mistook your humility as Cowardice.

For all the years of atrocities and bearing the pain
The result always is no gain,
The might of the male or the powers divine,
Have lost their glory for being soft & kind.

The mercy & forgiveness can be bestowed by everyone
But the glory resides only for the snake with the venom,
What value is the mercy of the soft & kind,
Like the snake who lost his poison, and its teeth been grind.

Remember the old legend of lord Rama my friend
Who with all humility asked the sea to make amends,
Three days only the words of love and kindness he said,
Urging with the limitless sea for a path to be laid.

When the sea sat unheard out of his own arrogance,
Lord Rama also enraged his temper and stance,
With all the masculinity on his bow and the fire on the tip of arrow,
The sea realized what he should have already known.

Came down to his feet, begging forgiveness of Ram,
Agreed to give the way getting his life in alms,
In reality the glory of the mercy and humility
Reside in the one’s power and ability.

The whole word is willing to worship the merciful, humble and the kind
Only if the prowess over the world is enlightened behind,
The essence of the humility as a virtue
Lies in you ability to destruct, not in stew.

 

The Dark Side of Morality

I have written this post after a long time and is in a state of grief, and shaken trust with what has happened with Satyam. I am not sue if the piece of text is coherent or it makes sense to anyone but the fact is the harder I try to dissociate the closer I find in believing the Joker.

“He is the hero Gotham deserves not the one it needs right now. So we will hunt him, because he can take it. Because he is not our hero, he is the silent guardian, a watchful protector, a Dark Knight.” This quote from the dark knight kept me thinking. Specially, in the light of the statement which Joker made earlier in the movie. “They need you right now, but when they don’t they will cash you out like a leopard lepper. Their morals, their code, it is a bad joke, are dropped at the first sight of the trouble they are only as good as world allows them to be. When the ships are down these civilized people will eat each other.”

I feel this statement from the Joker is so true about the real world. The people, their morals and code are just a farce put up to fake a social fabric. When a choice comes between the personal interests and moral codes it’s often the personal interests that survive. The people who actually stick to the moral and codes are the ones who do not have a choice to fulfill their personal interests. But more so they would like someone else to be the protagonist of the morals.

When Gordon says he is the hero Gotham deserves but what it needs right now. So we will hunt him, because he can take it.

And what happens when he cannot? Everyone has a breaking point, what happens when he reaches breaking point? They just disown him and move ahead seeing the other way.

How correct Joker was when he said that the people needed Batman right not, but when they won’t they will cash him out. Let him go down the drain.

When I see the world around me, everyone is pushing each other on the thin lines of morality. Think of what happened at Satyam, they would have been put so many controls and checks over the employee. They forced people to give up their personal life for the greater good of organization, all this because someone sitting at the top was preaching fake morality. I mean who is to be blamed the top honchos, the auditors, or the poor people who never did anything wrong but just got on the wrong side of a hypocrite.

I have a shaken belief on humanity, morality, ethics today. And I think I would believe in another line from Harvey Dent in the same movie-

“The world is cruel and the only morality in the cruel world is chance, unbiased, unprejudiced fair.”

These are four dialogues from the dark knight which made me think in the current age of recession, bankruptcies, frauds and falling moralities that may be morality isn’t the best way to live a life.

“They need you right now, but when they don’t they will cash you out like a leopard. Their morals, their code, it is a bad joke, are dropped at the first sight of the trouble they are only as good as world allows them to be. When the ships are down these civilized people will eat each other.”

“He is the hero Gotham deserves not the one it needs right now. So we will hunt him, because he can take it. Because he is not our hero, he is the silent guardian, a watchful protector, a dark knight. “

“Sometimes the truth is not good enough, sometimes people deserve more, and sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded. “

“The world is cruel and the only morality in the cruel world is chance, unbiased, unprejudiced fair.”

 

Virtues of Cynical Mind

This was a tag started by Bhai with Chai and I read it first on Nidhi’s Blog. This is not a proper tag and how it has been propagated is a different story. The idea was to relate it to incidents happened to you correlating these values, Bhai wanted to us to pick up one value, Nidhi didn’t specified to do so. So to make this post a bit of my kind I will skip the stories which just might sound like the MiracleNet televesion where they come up with sound like he is so humble etc etc.

I tried to think a lot and I remembered a lot of stories correlating to a lot of values have actually made me think of about them in a particular way. I will try to put in words what I think of these values which more or less define a moral scorecard of a person. The readers are cautioned that the post is produced by yours truly’s cynical self. So it represents the biased view of the world and is not meant to be taken too seriously.

1. Respect: is like short selling you have to spend before you can earn any.

2. Flexibility: is the argument to make you do things you didn’t wanted to in the first place.

3. Love: is like a Long Island Ice Tea; a very quick and elongated emotional high.

4. Trust: is the first step for getting betrayed

5. Confidence: is the thin rope lining for one to balance. Need just the right amount; over or under and you’re gone

6. Generosity: is the sentiment of the bullish markets where everyone feels they are rich.

7. Mercy: is the virtue which can be only possessed by the powerful

8. Obedience: Is the fear of crossing the line & the consequences of it.

9. Patience: glorified procrastination

10. Caring: is the feeling which makes you a child again.

11. Assertiveness: is a way to say no in a way that people like it.

12. Forgiveness: is the inability to take actions against.

13. Excellence: is a perennial tryst where the bar is always raised up and above.

14. Responsibility: is one which generally precedes the blame.

15. Orderliness: Monica Chandler Bing!!!!!

16. Justice: Capitalism

17. Enthusiasm: is a depreciating asset, enthusiasm for most part loses its value with time.

18. Honesty: or Truth is the bully we all pretend to like (From Shantaram)

19. Peace: George Bush & Laden locked in the same room

20. Creativity: is immeasurable and non comparable

21. Honor : Ability to stand up for own respect.

22. Humility: is the hot IPO which everyone wants to subscribe and sell it as soon as it lists. Only few buy & hold.

23. Reliability: is the ability to stand up for other’s expectation.

24. Detatchment: is moving on in life without being tied to possessions and peoples

25. Unity: is a virtue which surfaces in the tough times.

 

Facts of Life

I came up with this line while talking to a close friend. I am too good 😛

Life is like a river, the flow does not determines where you go but the way you row does.

Thanks to Sudi for putting these wonderful words in my mind. You rock babe!!!!