Deathly Silence

‘Itna sannata kyun hai bhai?’ (Why is it so (deathly) silent brother?)

The line from the film ‘Sholay’ was mouthed by actor A K Hangal's visually impaired character Rahim Chacha in a scene where silent villagers look on while a horse carries the dead body of his son brutally killed by the dacoit, Gabbar Singh. Hangal who was born on this day in 1914, could well have uttered this line many times in his life.

He was born in Sialkot (now in Pakistan) and grew up in Peshwar. He refused to work with the establishment as he did not want to play mute. Instead, he chose to be a tailor. His political activism made him form a trade union for tailors in Peshawar so that they could speak up. He also found a voice in Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA).

When the partition led to exodus in 1947, he chose to stay in Pakistan. He was arrested and jailed for his leftist ideology. After spending two years in prison, he was asked to leave and go to India. In Mumbai, he got a job as a tailor, and his skill with fabric soon earned him a reputation. He was doing well for himself, but he could not stay silent.

He hunted down IPTA members and rebuild it with the help of Kaifi Azmi and Balraj Sahani The latter and Chetan Anand were fans of his stage work, and coaxed him to join films. At the age of 52, he started off to play roles in 225 films over 40 years. In real life, he remained outspoken even when called a traitor.

The same character of Rahim Chacha says, ‘Izzat ki maut zillat ki zindagi se kahin achchi hai’ (Death with dignity is much better than living with humiliation). A K Hangal chose to be outspoken and paid the price for speaking up. His last days were in dire straits financially but he lived and died with dignity.

So often, we succumb to the pressure of living and we end up playing dead. Silence is our response to every situation that seems intimidating. But such indifference is a sign of the graveyard. We must escape apathy and the deathly silence. We must stand up for the truth. We must choose to be alive and outspoken.

The deathly silence hangs over the shroud
Rise to speak and move out of the crowd!

~ Pravin K. Sabnis

Journey

The last weekend was a two day road trip to Bangalore and back to Goa. Nearly two thirds of the time was spent in the car. Someone asked my friend Sadiq, as to what was gained by the rush tour. He smiled and replied, ‘I took two days off doing what I like most: driving, spending time with my wife and friends; and enjoying the journey!’ 

So often, so many of us focus so much on the destination that we lose attention of the journey. While destinations give us purpose and direction, it is the travel that gives us the rich diversity of experience. And the real joy is to be found in the passage.

Consider the analogy of the school. We go there with the purpose of passing the exams and getting the certification of qualification. Now imagine you get the certification but do not have the competency as you have not picked up anything else on the way. You have reached the destination without the experience of the journey.

It is said so well that success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the ending. The road of life has its twists and turns and no two terminus are ever the same. Yet our learnings come from the journey, not the destination. We don't take the trip... it is the trip that takes us... to our happiness!

So whether you set endpoints or not, it is the moving to there that brings along the joy of the journey. We must not lose sight of what is between and beyond the milestones. A good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving. The real voyage is not in seeking new landscapes, but in having an open mind towards discovering afresh.

Termini by themselves are restricting
it is the journey that is truly uplifting!

~ Pravin K. Sabnis

Accuracy

The Himalayan task of putting together the entries for the Konkani Encyclopedia was always running against time. The dedicated team was giving a full on effort. However the urgency was turning the working environment into a pressure cooker.

All that changed with a subtle quote by the head of the team, ‘Do not sacrifice accuracy at the altar of speed!’ The paradigms changed with the clarification of the vision that the assignment demanded nothing less than accuracy.

The wise one was Goa’s most doted poets, Dr Manoharrai Sardessai. He was a gifted communicator, not just as a writer, but as a speaker as well. In oratory as well as in everyday speech, his words would conjure up the finest of poetry, prose or philosophy.

In a highly competitive world where things move at furious speed, it is necessary to ensure that efficiency is not a victim to the test of deadlines. Too often in the hurry to finish the task at hand, we ignore the fine details and end up with a below par result. It is not enough to do tasks in time; we need to do them right.

Don’t rush such that accuracy goes for a toss…
Ensure that you do it right & deny eventual loss!

~ Pravin K. Sabnis

Sailing

Until the mid of the 19th century, sailing ships were the primary means for marine commerce; this period is known as the Age of Sail. Throughout history sailing has been instrumental in the development of civilization, affording humanity greater mobility than travel overland, whether for trade, transport or warfare, and the capacity for fishing.

Over the last 2 years, I have been introduced to sailing by my friend Hemant Arondekar who has a passion for sailing. I have been only on short serene sails with Hemant compared to his more adventurous longer journeys. His account of forays into the deep waters are exciting and inspiring.

Hemant shared that the physics of sailing arises from a balance of forces between the wind powering the sailing craft as it passes over its sails and the resistance by the sailing craft against being blown off course, which is provided in the water by the keel, the rudder, underwater foils and other elements of the underbody of a sailboat

There are many positives from sailing: eco-friendly, harnessing Nature’s energy, no pollution and the list goes on. However this MondayMuse focusses on those two lessons of being powered by the wind yet not blown away because of the underbody elements.

Open-mindedness is nothing without being anchored in thinking. Without the safety weight of the latter, we will be swept off the discerning surface. In the hurry to just rush with the trend, logic and lives are often turned upside down. So to use the wind (outside), secure the things (inside) that ensure you do not topple.    

Harness the blowing wind while sailing

But heed the heft that foils overturning!

~ Pravin K. Sabnis

Lasting Lessons

2020 has tested us in more ways than one. It has taught us to cope, adapt and adjust. We learnt the new way to live. But, lessons learnt will be meaningless if we forget them. And the confirmation of learning will be in the behavioural changes that follow a new normal from now on.

 The first lesson is taking precaution of preventing infection. The face shield not only protected us but it ensured that we did not spread infection. We must remember it is not only about saving the self. Our largely safety lies in the safety of the collective. We are in the same boat, in the same storm, in the same turbulence.

 The second is about hygiene. Sanitisation is a reaction. It is vital to have collective responsibility towards cleanliness. Sadly, garbage collectors are treated with contempt and we are yet to fully learn the importance of reducing and segregating our waste. We must change attitudes and actions that load the garbage heap.

 The third lesson is about living within our resources. Grabbing and hoarding of resources increased. Social media was full of privileges being flaunted. The ‘haves’ made things worse for the ‘have-nots’. Nevertheless, many of us learned to live with less. The world has enough for everybody’s need but not for greed.

 The fourth lesson was to work-from-home. While it cannot apply to everyone, we must avoid stepping out without reason. We learnt to use technology to meet, communicate and connect. The needs and wants of ‘real’ meeting will always remain. While travel will pull us again, we must learn to cull the unnecessary trips.

 The fifth lesson is to share what we have with others… not just food and utility things, but we should share hope. We must embrace empathy at all times. Human rights are compromised when some stray away from their humane responsibilities. We must choose to be responsible and responsive in every action.

 But the important lesson is to ‘slow down’. We were running around at crazy speeds, hoarding and acquiring needless assets, creating a strain on natural resources and losing focus of our collective responsibilities. We must not let go of the new positive habits acquired during these trying times. We must make the lessons last.

 May empathy never go out of fashion…

Hold on to the safety of lasting lessons!

 ~ Pravin K. Sabnis

Story to Tell

Pedro was leading a group of teenagers on a cycling trail. A young girl slipped off her bike… her pants had a tear at the bruised and bloodied knee. Her friends gathered around and expressed concern. The young lady smiled and assured them, ‘it is a small thing!’ Pedro disagreed, ‘it is big… you have a story to tell!’

He was saying that the incident would turn into a story to be told. The trials and tribulations, the challenges and obstacles, the failings and failures… test our ability to cope with them. The hurt and the pain will fade but our response to it will turn into a worthy narrative.

It is important to note that our personality is empowered by such adverse situations if we take them on. The young girl was ready to move on and hence she would have a story to tell of her ability to rise after the fall. She chose to not be pulled back by momentary hardship.

We must be ready for setbacks and hurdles. They are part of life. Never mind the magnitude of an unexpected pushback, what matters is our comeback. We must remember the brave ones are the ones who face the deterrent, despite real or imagined intimidation.

Take ownership of every block that deters

A story to be told will rise from the jitters!

- Pravin K. Sabnis

Broken Cup

Young Ikkyu, happened to break his teacher’s antique teacup. Hearing the footsteps of his teacher, he held the pieces of the cup behind him. When the master appeared, Ikkyu asked: ‘Master, why do people have to die?’

‘This is natural,’ explained the older man. ‘Everything has to die and has just so long to live.’ Ikkyu, producing the shattered cup, said: ‘It was time for your cup to die.’

Like all Zen stories, there are lessons from the broken cup. We know the things we make will not last forever. Some things we make will join the heap. Some may last longer and inspire others too. We create things to be useful as well to last. But there will be a break point.

We must see the end as well as the beginning. The acquisition of an asset is the responsibility of its disposal. We must accept that our time is short. We will grow tired. Our utility will diminish. Our cup will break.

It is important to understand and accept that the cup will break. We can take outmost care and we could do everything in our capacity to ensure that it lasts. We have to move on without lamenting much for the broken cup. Instead bring to mind the joys it served!

Don’t cry for the broken cup & how it fell

Remember instead how it served so well!

- Pravin K. Sabnis