Subroto's favourite shirt

This story is about the Sahara Chairman, Subroto Chatterjee. He, once during a delegation, gave a short snapshot of an incident that happened in his life.

Subroto was 10 years old. He was very fond of a shirt which was a birthday present. The shirt carried such a importance in his life that he would die and give anything for the sake of it. Once, what happened, was that his shirt accidentally fell to fireplace. He was quick to react and he was able to take his shirt out, just in time. He was happy.

But when he carefully examined, he found a small hole in it. And that was enough to break his soul, let alone his heart. He was disheartened and saddened to the extent that he stopped eating food. When his father came to know of it, he came to his son’s room and enquired about the reason.

On knowing the reason, he simply asked his son to bring the shirt which was his heartthrob. The boy obliged and brought the shirt. The fireplace was still burning at its exteme. He simply threw the shirt inside, in front of his son, and then ensured that it had burned even the last charred remains of the cloth.

Subroto’s left most important organ, popularly known as Heart, skipped a beat or two. Because, what happened, was something he had not imagined in the wildest of his dreams. He was awe-struck, shocked. Now it was the turn of the father, to tell the reason for doing the same.

He began like this – ‘Son, Never, ever in life attach yourself to any material or immaterial thing in this world. You should not give yourself as a scapegoat to anyone and to anything. Enjoy the worldly pleasures as it is but never attach or be a slave to it. And only then can you move forward in life, with ease. “

True in every sense, I think….Well, have you ever heard about the phrase “Aids With Strings”….it’s mostly used when big organizations like WHO or World Bank alikes give monetary aids to countries but these aids comes with its added strings attached to it…these countries are made to offer something else in return….that’s political aspect though.

What I intend to say is let us all enjoy all the beautiful, fun frolic things that life offers but there should always be strings attached to each of them so that we don’t cross our limits and indulge in overdoing a thing, than needed.

Live Life Baby Size !!!

Have you seen seen a small baby smiling to the apex of his/her capacity. How do you feel at that moment. Frankly speaking for me, it would be the moment when I just forget everything and observe the sheer simplicity in the smile. I feel good by myself for having seen this simple gesture from a life form so small.

Why, in fact, just the other day, I was brushing my teeth and opposite to my flat was a scene which was quite hilarious. The terrace of the other building had 4 small kittens who were playing with themselves. All were running after each other, mauling and biting over each other, stopping every now and then, and starting all over again. And in between if they happen to discover some noise or a living form, they would jump at that instance and try to figure out the meaning of it. There was this empty Coca-Cola bottle which moved by itself owing to suddent gish of wind and all our 4 detectives were circling around it to discover what it is.

After seeing them, I was wondering that if we happen to see clearly all around nature, we would have ample proof and solutions to our problems. Everything seems to be saying to us as to what is right and how it all should be, how we should be always active, how we should be just inquisitive about everything, and see the bright side of everything, and the dark sides which will always be there, should be forgotten as fast as possible and learn the lessons that come with them....the thing is we should have our ears and eyes open to engulf the real meaning.

Keep your eyes and ears open for there may be countless such instances for us to make us learn the chapters of life. Happy viewing !!!!

Chhuck Chhuck Kartee Railgadee

"All the passengers pay attention. Train No. 3210 is due to arrive at Platform No. 2 at 10:10 AM"....Sounds familiar, right. This is the usual bhavishyavani which reverberates in railway platforms when we are about to travel to distances in chug-chug railways. Of course, nowadays due to the ever-increasing lack of time, we are presented with other alternative, thanks to the Oliver and Wright brother's invention.

For me, travelling in a train, always carried that oomph factor. The excitement and fingers-crossed environment which it carries had been second to none, till date. Right from the time I leave my home, following events consistently unravels itself --- searching for an auto, letting him fly his three-wheeler, coming to the platform, first thing to notice whether the train is on time by seeing on the display board, checking the platform no., going to the destined place where my bogie should ideally come.

And then, when everything is settled comes the great commentary --- "Train No. 3210 is running late by 2 hrs. It is expected to arrive at ...." We take a huge sigh, not sure though whether of relief or no-idea-what-to-do-all-this-time. Youngsters pick up their best friend (mobile) and then call their supposed-to-be-better-half and would be stuck to them. Families would get time to discuss about their hierarchical structure taking each family member's context one by one. Loners would be left with a couple of choices -- either stroll around as if to measure the length and width of the station or take a magazine/book to read.

But after 2 hours and of course, if everything goes well planned, we abode our vahana. First there would be a sudden hue and cry to sit in the alotted seat. And then after that, we would all be settled. Some take the avatars of kumbhakarana....some take the avatars of sorry-limited-stop talkers....some would be the audience, smiling every now and then....of course not to miss the little angels for whom its the play-time.

And not to forget the chai-chai's, bread-omelette's, samosa's, pakoda's, bisleri's, biscuit's, ice-cream's all coming in regular intervals to let us deviate from our avatars. And of course, the Ticket Collector entry to verify our ticket's identity. And then finally, we reach our destination....if we are going for a vacation, we would be full of energy but if we are coming back, we would be thinking "alas...Back to pavilion...".

Somehow this travel machine always carries with it the spontaneity and excitement of life with itself, which never ends and goes on and on and on.

Stay Connected

An old farmer lived on a farm in the mountains with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Bhagavad-gita. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa! I try to read the Bhagavad-gita just like you but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bhagavad-gita do?”

The grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.”

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, “You’ll have to move a little faster next time,” and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, “I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You’re just not trying hard enough,” and he went outside to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house.

The boy again dipped the basket into the river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, “See Grandpa, it’s useless!”

“So you think it is useless?” The old man said, “Look at the basket.” The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out.

“Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bhagavad-gita. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out.”

This story really heightens the necessity of keeping ourselves surrounded by layers of good vibes and sources. What I mean to say here is there may not seem any necessity to persist doing the right thing every time but you know what, one day we would realize that all of the righteous things which we did, had made us shine in our endeavours and at that point of time we would be endearing the fruits of our toil and hardship. Stay positive and stay connected to the right things for our own good.

Letting Others Decide Our Reactions

I walked with a friend to the news-stand the other night, and he bought a paper, thanking the owner politely. The owner, however, did not even acknowledge it.

"A sullen fellow, isn't he?" I commented as we walked away.

"Oh, he's that way every night," shrugged my friend.

"Then why do you continue being so polite to him?" I asked.

And my friend replied, "Why should I let him determine how I'm going to act?"

Simple, yet meaningful theory...isn't it? It doesn't matter how others behave to you....what matters is how you behave to others and how you react to them...stay on ground when you are up and when you are down.....and dont let others decide as to how you should react to a situation.....

Playing Music With Bare Minimums

On Nov. 18, 1995, Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a concert at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City.

If you have ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is no small achievement for him. He was stricken with polio as a child, and so he has braces on both legs and walks with the aid of two crutches. To see him walk across the stage one step at a time, painfully and slowly, is an awesome sight.

Then he bends down and picks up the violin, puts it under his chin, nods to the conductor and proceeds to play.

But this time, something went wrong. Just as he finished the first few bars, one of the strings on his violin broke. You could hear it snap - it went off like gunfire across the room. There was no mistaking what that sound meant. There was no mistaking what he had to do.

We figured that he would have to get up, put on the clasps again, pick up the crutches and limp his way off stage - to either find another violin or else find another string for this one. But he didn't. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again.

The orchestra began, and he played from where he had left off. And he played with such passion and such power and such purity as they had never heard before.

Of course, anyone knows that it is impossible to play a symphonic work with just three strings. I know that, and you know that, but that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that.

You could see him modulating, changing, re-composing the piece in his head. At one point, it sounded like he was de-tuning the strings to get new sounds from them that they had never made before. When he finished, there was an awesome silence in the room. And then people rose and cheered. There was an extraordinary outburst of applause from every corner of the auditorium.

He smiled, wiped the sweat from this brow, raised his bow to quiet us, and then he said - in a quiet, pensive, reverent tone - "You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left."

Here is a man who has prepared all his life to make music on a violin of four strings, who, all of a sudden, in the middle of a concert, finds himself with only three strings; so he makes music with three strings, and the music he made that night with just three strings was more beautiful, more sacred, more memorable, than any that he had ever made before, when he had four strings.

In this fast changing world, there might be situations when we have to play our music with bare minimum chords, even though the other side may get all available chords. Let us refuse to accept the minimum as the contraint to get the maximum. Play your music the best you can.

Warrior Of Light

A beautiful poem depicting the characteristics of real life heroes...some known and some unknown...and the way we all should never lose hope to be the warrior of light

Every Warrior of the Light
has felt afraid of going into battle.

Every Warrior of the Light
has, at some time in the past, lied or betrayed someone.

Every Warrior of the Light
has trodden a path that was not his.

Every Warrior of the Light
has suffered for the most trivial of reasons.

Every Warrior of the Light
has, at least once, believed he was not a Warrior of the Light.

Every Warrior of the Light
has failed in his spiritual duties.

Every Warrior of the Light
has said 'yes' when he wanted to say 'no.'

Every Warrior of the Light
has hurt someone he loved.

That is why he is a Warrior of the Light,
Because he has been through all this
and yet has never lost hope of being better than he is.

Best Peace Picture

There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.

But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest - in perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?

"Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."

Let us all be in peace at all the roughs and troughs times of our lives. Because that's how it should be ideally.

A 'Yes' Face

Our face do show what we would be upto in the next moment, if looked clearly, of course. If we are in a good mood, our face lits up like a halogen lamp. Vice-versa, its of course #000000(Hexadecimal notation for Black).

A beautiful story which narrates how much it means to stay litten up not only for our own good but in the lives of expected and unexpected visitors in our life.

During Thomas Jefferson's presidency he and a group of travelers were crossing a river that had overflowed its banks. Each man crossed on horseback fighting for his life. A lone traveler watched the group traverse the treacherous river and then asked President Jefferson to take him across.

The president agreed without hesitation, the man climbed on, and the two made it safely to the other side of the river where somebody asked him: "Why did you select the President to ask this favor?"

The man was shocked, admitting he had no idea it was the President of the United States who had carried him safely across. "All I know," he said, "is that on some of your faces was written the answer 'No' and on some of them was the answer 'Yes.' His was a 'Yes' face."

It does matter to stay 'Yes' in our lives for many lives that revolve around us.

Credit We Win Debit We Lose

Have you ever wondered as to why some people gets all good things in life and some, alas, gets only a meagre amount of their due share. The permutations and combinations which our God follows with us is almost impossible to understand. But let me guess his formula. Of course, this axiom may not be provable but it is worth giving a try.

Our whole universe is the total sum of positive and negative energies. All living beings are free to chose which energy they want to let-in inside them. So, if its a positive one, we will be in our best form of our life. Else, if its a negative one, we would be running through a lean patch of our life. The best part here is its always in our hands to filter the energies before they are inherited.

Now after the above phase, considering which energy type we take, comes the next phase. Just a small information in here i.e. we all are having one life account to the Universal Bank, owned by God. So, when we do a good thing or a good deed or the best-in-this-situation kind of action, we accumulate credit points to our account. On the other track if we do a mess of all things in front of us, we accumulate the debit points. Now, as we all know, the net formula would come out to be :

Total Net Points Earned(TNPE) = Total Credit Points Accumulated + Total Debit Points Accumulated

If TNPE = positive value, you are in for a big wonderful surprise in store later in life
If TNPE = negative value, time to reevaluate and change ourselves and do something good to someone and ourself, and being the best we can be

So, let us all try to always keep our net worth as positive, so that we don't have to rush at the last moment to do something good. Of course, there would be some could-not-escape debits but be the best you can be in any situation. That itself would carry some grace or bonus points.

Some Points which I could not assume are :

1) Points Table -- How much is the credit or debit equivalent for each accumulated point
2) Rewards Table -- What are the rewards we get on accumulation of points. And when do we get the prize, what would be the prize and so on.