Beautiful!

My friend was detected for malaria. When I asked him the type of malaria, he enthusiastically replied, ‘beautiful’! It was the same answer when he was asked about the curry his wife had prepared or his son’s research or his nephew’s drawing or the fish he had purchased at the market. His favourite term ‘beautiful’ was one of the meanings of his name – Manohar.

Today, we really missed him… during the rituals of his final rites. He would have been appreciating the dhoti draped by his son… he would pointed out the magnificence of the wooden stretcher that carried his body… he would have appreciated the gathering of his family and friends as they watched him on the pyre… he would have declared the event to be well organised and beautiful!

Our friend, Manohar Pai was full of life and will continue to live in our hearts. There is so much to remember him for – impromptu lyrics, enacting of theatrical gaffes, mimicking of songs, spontaneous repartee that played on words. Yet, what stood out was his ability to see ‘beauty’ in things connected with his family and home... and to be excited and enthused with these things beautiful.

It wasn’t as if his life was picture perfect. It had its ups and downs, like anyone else. But what he felt about his family, and the little pleasures of his home, had the attitude of a child that is easily happy as it finds simple things to be beautiful. After all, it is said so well that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. A sure recipe for ‘winning over the mind’ which is the literal meaning of the one called Manohar!

Discover life to be beautiful… keep saying wow
Win over the mind through simple joys… now!

- Pravin K. Sabnis

Poetry Aloud

The film ‘Dead Poet’s Society’ is a story of students who follow what their teacher did when he was a student – they revive a secret club that reads compositions of dead poets as well as their own. They sneak off their campus to a cave where they read poetry and this leads them to live their lives on their own terms. Of course, this results in conflicts and trials but it liberates them of the confines of restrictive beliefs.

Surely, poetry makes us connect easily with understanding of concepts of all complexities. From sonnets to haikus, from elegy to epic, from rhyme to free form… poetry has been luring us to multiple perspectives. And it is these varied visions that invoke insight, inspiration and even action. Revolutions as well as reformations have been triggered by the power of poetry.

Poetry has always been a great teacher. In the kindergarten, we learn easily as we learn with rhyme. In higher education, the relegation of poetry leads to difficulties in learning. However, some innovations have happened. The lyrics of ‘we didn’t start the fire’ helped us remember historical sequences. Since poetry involves the triggering of multiple senses, it is a fantastic memory tool, too!

Reading poetry loud is a great way to learn. And the better way is to read poetry in a group. As poetry is a vocal art, the reader brings his own understanding and presents it according to his sensibilities as well as those of the audience and the situation. Reading poetry aloud also underlines the ‘pause’ as an element of poetry. The articulation of sound generates further revelations of insight.

When we choose to indulge in poetry, it leads us to interesting perspectives. It transports us into a world of vison and sounds and possibilities. It takes us back to being child-like, open-minded and eager to embrace the new. Indeed, reading poetry aloud can wake us up to the true purpose, potential and path of our own life.

Read aloud poetry and listen well too…
Discover a world of perspectives new!

- Pravin K. Sabnis

Outcome

At his Business School, Fred presented his project paper on overnight packages deliveries. The outcome was a C-minus! The professors remarked that nobody would want to send overnight packages as they already had the service of the US Mail. An undeterred Fred went on to invest all his money into his idea and start his venture. 

On the first day of operation, they sought to deliver 167 packages. However, they were able to deliver only seven. Five of these packages were to themselves and only two were to outsiders. But Fred Smith did not quit and his Federal Express went on to be a huge success.

The primary reason for this success was Fred’s attitude. He did not see anything as failure. When he took action on his decision, he only considered the results as outcome. On the first day of operation when Federal Express delivered only two packages to outsiders, he said that he succeeded in learning how to send two packages. Now he had to learn how to send more packages.

This is an empowering principle - if we want to succeed in a bigger way we have to look at the positive side of everything, and take major and consistent action. Too often, too many of us are over bothered about the results. Results are the outcome of many factors. But it is steady actions born of positive belief that will eventually ensure favourable outcomes.

Results are the outcome of the occasion
Keep up the belief in consistent action!

- Pravin K. Sabnis

Salaam

Tiffany Wayne has described her as ‘one of the first-generation modern Indian feminists, and an important contributor to world feminism in general, as she was both addressing and challenging not simply the question of gender in isolation but also issues related to caste and casteist patriarchy.’

Savitribai Phule was modern India’s first woman teacher, a promoter of education, a champion of dignity for women and a progressive poet. There are many of us, who are oblivious about the inspirational life and struggle of Savitribai. But if we knew we would surely salute her work, saying ‘Salaam’ (salutations).

Interestingly, Savitribai’s death anniversary falls on 10 March which coincides with the birth anniversary of the popular Marathi poet-lyricist Mangesh Padgaokar who passed away on 30 December last year. He wrote a long poem ‘Salaam’ that mocks the attitude of saluting the powers-that-be or saluting mediocrity and conformity.

It is said so well that ‘if you do not stand up for something… you will fall for anything!’. The quote can be tweaked to say, ‘If you do not salute the worthy, you will be worshipping the unworthy.’ It is important to identify, understand and align with the right inspiration and emulate the right example. Otherwise we will be saluting the wrong ones and getting the wrong influence!

Say Salaam to the progressive…

Lest we salute the regressive!

- Pravin K. Sabnis