LOVE... REALLY?

I had a friend who would always talk about his mother’s greatness. After the untimely death of his father, she had gone through severe hardships to ensure his education. He kept talking of his dream to give his mother a better home and a better life. His love for his mother was obvious every time he spoke of her!

Once I happened to speak with my friend’s mother, in his absence. I decided to make her feel good by telling about her son’s respect and love for her. While speaking I was stunned to see the disbelief on her face. When prodded, she confided that her son had lied to me. He actually despised her!

It was a strange state to be in, for I knew both had spoken the truth to me!!!

In my interactions, I follow this story with a poser, ‘if both are speaking the truth, whose certainty matters?’ Eventually, after exploring all possibilities the reality is unravelled: my friend was telling the truth about his love for his mother but as it was not reflected in his actions, she was unaware of it. In fact, his mother found hate and spite in his behaviour and hence she was right to say that her son did not love her.

Now replace mother with any other relationship or team or even motherland. Is our love just in genuine intention or reflected in committed and consistent action that confirms our emotion. So often, so many of us mean well... but without aligned actions, such emotion is meaningless. In fact, for some it is a disguise to avoid actual action by just talking without walking the talk.

Love is sterile as an internal emotion
Ensure that it results in visible action!

- Pravin K. Sabnis

Ride more boats

‘Don Voddeani paim dovrunk zaina’

-       Konkani proverb (you cannot keep your feet in two canoes)

This proverb was referred to by the poet with the silver mane in 2001, at the International Goans Convention. Manoharrai Sardessai was always an inspirational muse to scores of the loyal fans of his poetry, prose and philosophy. On that day, he referred to the Konkani quote but unveiled a new paradigm… the ancient Goan tradition of combining two boats to create a larger platform called ‘sangodd’.

Today marks 10 years of celebrating his birthday in his absence. His take on things, both, Goan and global, continues to hold immortal inspiration. Manoharrai’s message of the harmonizing dimension of ‘sangodd’ has greater relevance in today’s times when every question arouses diametrically extreme viewpoints that spark off bitterness and hostility. His own life reflected the ‘sangodd’.

He wrote mature political ballads as well as delightful songs for children. Besides writing in Konkani, he also indulged in the mastery of Marathi, French, English and other languages. As a teacher he never gave up studying. He wrote about rationalism and socialism and simultaneously penned prayers to Shantadurga and Jesus. He published his books in multiple languages and scripts.

We can ride many canoes, if we build a larger platform across them to create a sangodd. In fact, when we ride single boats we confine ourselves to restrictive moats. But when we build the harmonising sangodd over diverse boats, we equip ourselves to ride greater seas and greater challenges... like the immortal inspiration of Manoharrai Sardessai!

Build the unifying sangodd, ride more boats

Diversity helps cross the confines of moats

- Pravin K. Sabnis

Yet another Stain!

YET ANOTHER STAIN

First claim victimhood
Then cry as if in pain
Speak of offended pride
Hide the past stain…

Hide the past stain
Threaten violence again
Unleash the hate venom
Drown voices sane…

Drown voices sane
Ride the pride train
Shout loud and louder
Flush peace down the drain…

Flush peace down the drain

Blow venom for the foe
Human venom is a blaze
flames will further grow…

The flames as they grow
they burn every side
In the heap of the dead
Buried will be puffy pride…

Buried will be puffy pride

Until resurrected again

And cacophony will repeat

As human plays insane…

Human will play insane

And cry as if in pain

Victimhood and venom

Will leave yet another stain!

Pravin Sabnis

poem written by Pravin on 5 January 2016 about those who cite victimhood as justification for their venomous violence against humanity

Auspicious

A son built a new house for his mother who had gone through immense struggle to nurture him, after the untimely death of her husband. Even though the new home was ready, he waited for an auspicious day to move in. Sadly, his mother passed away the previous day. His mother never stayed in the home built for her, due to his unnecessary wait for the auspicious day!

We wait for the New Year to put into action desirable resolves that we plan to implement… or we wait for some other auspicious day. And if we fail to do so on that chosen day, we reschedule our commitment to yet another propitious occasion.

Listing all such procrastination would clear the air about the real culprit of inaction. Looking for an auspicious occasion aggravates a perilous suspicion of confidence in self. It sows the seeds of doubt in our mind and transfers the probability of success to damaging superstition.

It is not the occasion that decides the action… it is the action that defines the occasion. If the action is good… so is the moment. Every moment can be the beginning of a new year in our lives only if we choose to initiate new actions…

Resolve to quit waiting for an occasion auspicious …
Success comes to the initiator, not the suspicious!

- Pravin K. Sabnis
Goa, India.

NOTEWORTHY

Six year old, Luis had gone to buy some buns from a shop when he noticed a poor child begging for something to eat. The shopkeeper rudely shoved him away. He was impacted by the realisation that money determined the survival of a human being. If not for the capacity of his parents, he could have been the poor kid.

Luis opted for the profession of medicine but his passion was in music. While studying and practicing medicine in England, he became involved in amateur orchestras. During a music festival in England, he found two orchestras that comprised of street children - One from Venezuela and other from South Africa.

Luis found the teenagers could match skills with the adult experts playing alongside them. One of the boys, Samson, told him that music had saved his life… had he not been given that violin, he would have instead had a gun or knife or an injection and he would have been dead. Luis decided this was a good way of saving lives.


Dr Luis & Chryselle Dias came back to Goa and started their initiative - Child’s Play (India) Foundation along the lines of the Venezuelan movement. The task was not easy… from getting instruments to motivating children to paying salaries for teachers to organising performances. Their choirs and orchestra are noteworthy not only for their music but also for giving purpose to so many children.

The greatest gift is to give dignity to the human personality, especially young children who live in the worst of circumstances. Luis and Chryselle have shown how the future of our world can be nurtured to scale the melody of life. Their motto says it so well: ‘because every child is noteworthy’. We have to match the proactive empathy of the Dias couple and commit to adding value to their noteworthy initiative.


Indeed every personality is noteworthy
Only if we can contribute with empathy!

Pravin da

Check out more about the noteworthy initiative at www.childsplayindia.org

Fearless

The brave heart and her friend gave a valiant fight...

But the brutes were prepared in the dark of the night...

As she slipped to unnatural death, a nation was awake...

Resolving to put to the beasts to the hangman’s snake!

The fearless was resurrected as did indignation...

The streets represented the anger of the nation!

Determination rent the air to protest the brutal kill...

Young and old faced water cannons, cold and chill!

The emotion of fearlessness was deep and true...

But time is a healer, as the pressure went askew!

Now years later, the emotion comes back to haunt

As a culprit leaps a loophole to his freedom jaunt!

The fearless resurrect again as does indignation...

The voices are raised as angry again is the nation!

Some voices are from my zone, then and now again

But things seem to change as nearer gets a cry of pain!

Again another innocent is crushed by brutalisation

But this time it is nearer home in a closer situation!

The fearless are changing masks... and changing how

Some have turned fearful and some turned mute now!

For the culprit was wearing a dignified drape

He was one of us... how could he ever rape?

That silly girl must have asked for it for sure

And now she plays prey to victimize the teacher!

Then the fearless had put together a valiant fight

Now so many are choosing the option of flight!

Some flee to obscurity in the indifference wavelength

As others mobilise mobs to show their violent strength!

Fearless are the ones, who are steady in every zone,

Who resist the wrong even in the confines of the home.

Fearless are the ones who do not play dead while alive

Fearless are the ones who do not play selectively naive!

Choose to be fearless in intent, action and spoken words

Choose to stand up above the indifferent or collusive herds

May the fearless resurrect again with fiery indignation...

To bring the brutes to heel... with greater determination!

- Pravin K. Sabnis
(written in context of the brutal sexual assault in Delhi, three years ago... and a recent one closer home where the brutalisation of a school girl is being met with indifference or threatening mobs)

River of Interest

People are of two types: river people and goal people – Earl Nightingale

Goal people are ones who pen down their desires as well as the deadlines for reaching them. They focus on attaining their various listed goals, one by one. By envisioning the roadmap of future targets, goal people give themselves a clear set of motives to work on.

In contrast, river people shun such a structured route to success. They wade in a rich ‘river of interest’... a path of passion. Even without a set of clear measurable goals, they strike success due to sheer passion about their pursuit. They are explorers on a journey to discover new learning and experiences.

For river people, joy comes from the journey, not from reaching the destination -- exactly the opposite of goal people. Both types can experience success in life in different ways. However, it is the ones who flow with the ‘river of interest’ who are likely to be happy with the journey even without touching expected success.

We extract the maximum ‘juice’, out of our potential, by being an explorer, learning new skills, connecting to fresh knowledge, innovation and technology. In fact the ‘river of interest’ offers unexpected treasures in its flow which reveal hidden dimensions of our personality. And these will bring true joy which is greater than success that comes from achieving fixed goals!

Set out to sail on the river of your interest

True success lies in the happiness crest!

- Pravin K. Sabnis