Musings Own Thoughts

 The topic of this blog is based on the choices we make in life at different stages in terms of age, the base instincts, nurture, knowledge, power or lack of power and finally the basis of intellect. Now the reason why this idea of writing on this struck me when I heard a story of choices made by a householder in different times. Once, in ancient India a householder was told by a corrupt minister of a King to lie on oath to protect him by lying to the King about his mistake. Since those were the days when moral values took center stage in life and most of the people were God fearing the idea that such an act will not only invite retribution to the individual lying and to his family in turn. Therefore he will refuse to lie for the sake of his family. The householder will say cut to a similar situation in 2025 if a politician forces one to lie on oath and in turn threatens him today he would lie on oath and justify in going so for the same reason to protect his family.  I think ...

 I was rudely awakened a few days back to a notification of a kind where we were suddenly told to be part of a mock drill to ensure that we are war ready. I can only say one thing that my reading of our world was that in the last 40 years or so man has reached a situation where famines, wars and pandemics were becoming more and more infrequent. This is also borne out by the fact that as man has advanced technologically, his power of imagination and ability to believe in a false order makes him capable of unprecedented collaboration and therefore renders the possibility of conflict becoming more remote than ever before. The doctrine of deterrence  and the threat of mutual destruction was a boon for the arms race and the ammunition industry, but yet paradoxically it reduced the possibility of their use.  In 2019-20, the covid 19 pandemic came from nowhere and engulfed the world with a deadly virus which was so virulent and so infective that it killed the vulnerable like mot...

  The fundamental aspect of the states of consciousness are very difficult to comprehend for us ordinary souls. This is more true in a world where body consciousness is so strong that we think it is the only thing that matters. The famous story of Ashtavakra and King Janaka is a fine example of the lessons to be learnt in day to day life. I am aware of the fact that the story of Ashtavakra being born deformed in 8 areas was on account of a curse given by his father Kahoda on account of pointing out the 8 mistakes he made while reciting the Vedas and explaining them to his wife Sujata. So the story is of false pride of a father who thought because of his ego that this small child in the womb could not rival his wisdom. Is this not the lament of youth that the adults refuse to believe that the generation of today can be cleverer than them? I recollect listening to a podcast where a very well read mature author lamented that the reading habit had declined in general and more so among ...

  There is a verse in the Isa Upanishad the first verse which talks rejoicing in renunciation. This almost seems like an anachronism in this day and age when there is a need to rejoice only in acquisition. The world of my childhood the sixties and seventies seems like a horror story. Imagine a world without Air conditioning,, a leaking roof on a cottage like house with an asbestos roof, no phones, no cars, irregular erratic water supply, primus kerosene stoves, no fancy toys. That tin asbestos house became an oven in summer and waterfall in the rainy season and on a rainy day sounded like staccato machine gunfire. As a small boy I have vivid memories of our house in Parel and even remember it was a one room, but large room and kitchen house. The house had a three step entrance to a porch covered with an asbestos roof supported by wooden columns with grey peeled off paint and supporting horizontal beams. The right side had an old but elegant pomegranate tree and some other greenery ...

 This is a debate which is really the crux of the battle of the organisations providing services. By services we are differentiating selling basic products vs creating experiences. Even though this definition of product versus service is crudely defined as a simplistic difference between giving standard goods like basic articles of daily living against providing experiences which create customer delight the lines between both are blurring. Today, articles like underwear banians, detergents, soap, humble stationary items are also marketed as an experience rather than a simple article of use for daily living. The classic example of at the humble tea/coffee served at roadside tapori stalls in glasses vs the franchisee Cafe chain restaurants and the ultimate coffee experience at a 5 star hotel book launch or art exhibition all go up the value change because of perceptions.  In healthcare the traditional approach is that hospitals and doctors are all about curing and providing a fa...

 Comedy and Humour is about timing and sharpness of words. There is this genre which is so effective that it can convey in a few well timed nuanced sentences with adequate pauses say something which is awkward when told in plain prose. The medium and the language along with the target audience play crucial roles in deciding the kind of comedy. Are humor and comedy different? Yes, humor is something which is used as a tool to lighten up and change a normal or abnormal situation into a lighter moment. It comes more spontaneously and makes serious situation less serious or actually funny. Humour brings a smile on ones face. On the other hand comedy is designed to evoke laughter and usually a loud kind to actually bring the house down.  The best humour I have read on a consistent basis in the past has been my old favorite Behram Contractor writing his column "Round and About" in the Evening News, later MidDay and finally in his very own paper The Afternoon Despatch and Courier. C...

A click and an otp or a pin or QR code scanned and one more item added to the vast paraphernalia of things we think we need but most likely we end up not using it or postponing its use to another day. The mania of shopping and the fear of missing out on the opportunity to avail a time limited discount are the traps which pull you into acquisitions which are unnecessary or in some cases harmful. There are two problems here which are the root cause of clutter creation. Desire and mostly mimetic desire and a weak scattered mind which succumbs to the algorithms of social media and advertising. If the truth is so self evident than why this blog and what does my experience tell me that I can share. To be honest I am a victim of this mania and I have  lot of clutter too.  I came across this book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning and felt that it is time to reflect on this aspect of life. Death is the only certain event in every creatures life. “Putting your house in order, if ...

  The most abiding memory of my childhood is a visit to the Sabarmati Ashram Light and Sound show on Mahatma Gandhi. In this show there was this lovely Bhajan (devotional song or hymn) which created the backdrop of a life of a saint who has been an indelible childhood memory. While Mahatma Gandhi has been named in India as the Father of the Nation (Bapu), in my childhood he was a history book figure. Our visit to Ahmedabad and Sabarmati Ashram was part of a tour to Rajasthan. My parents were professionals, Dad a lawyer and mum a teacher. However, as children we never realized that to give us a life of comfort they conducted school tours to help increase the family income and create financial stability. These tours were a learning experience. As parents both had instilled in me a sense of pride and respect for our freedom fighters and sense of patriotism. While the Gandhi story was well known the true values of the man and how well they got reflected in the hymn seeped into me when ...

 I have just returned from a play called Taj Khallu Pigeon Savak by Sillypoint productions a play on the Parsis created to entertain the Parsis on the occasion of Jamshedi Navroze festival. The venue was the iconic NCPA center at Nariman point. The directors script writers and most of the actors were Parsi talent nurtures from the past alumni of the Holiday Program for Youth (HPY) which has played a role in encouraging young Parsis to pursue their dreams.  As a secular Indian, I have been an atypical Bawa but the culture of Parsipanu, baugs, good humour and self deprecatory stuff makes the community a unique lovable breed. Underpinning this fun and humour is the stark reality of extinction and numbers that is staring it in the face. Yet, what inspired me yesterday was the spirit and resilience of Parsis who came to laugh at themselves, motivated and dressed with enough style and charm to listen to the old cliched humour. So many old and a reasonable number of youngsters came t...

  Among the many experiences I remember an occasion on a Women's Day celebration, we had a panel discussion on Medical Professional mothers, spouses and caregivers. While some of the readers of this blog may recollect this, I will only through this blog make some general observations and reiterate why is the Indian woman still a lonely creature.  The recent and yearly ritual of Women's day to my mind have failed to fulfill the purpose of celebration and in fact hampers the intention of emancipation of women. A token day of celebration and then back to normal is tokenism to salve the male conscience.  Let us get some realities clear:  Marriage is the largest internal migration parameter in India 46% migrate after marriage but of these 97% are women. Migration related to employment opportunities is only 24% compared to 46% in the case of marriage but in this case 85% are male and only 15% are female.  The onus for adjusting and adapting to new culture lifestyle an...