tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9340859398308869632024-03-25T00:07:14.876-07:00Bol Harry BolHariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-10089911070294193442024-03-25T00:06:00.000-07:002024-03-25T00:06:13.994-07:00तुम दूर ही अच्छी लगती हो<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;"><span style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: Mangal, serif; font-size: 21pt;">तुम दूर ही अच्छी लगती हो</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;"><span style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: Mangal, serif; font-size: 21pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;"><span style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: Mangal, serif; font-size: 28px;">तुम दूर ही अच्छी लगती हो</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;"><span style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: Mangal, serif; font-size: 21pt;">पास बुलाने से घबराता हूँ</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;"><span style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: Mangal, serif; font-size: 21pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;"><span style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: Mangal, serif; font-size: 21pt;">कहीं तुम्हारे ज़ुल्फ़
बिखर न जाये</span></p>
<pre style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt;"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;">कहीं <span class="y2iqfc">होंट</span></span><span class="y2iqfc"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;">फिसल न जाए</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #e8eaed; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt;"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;">कहीं <span class="y2iqfc">कदम</span></span><span class="y2iqfc"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;">डगमगा न जाए</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #e8eaed; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt;"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;">कहीं आंखें <span class="y2iqfc">धोखा</span></span><span class="y2iqfc"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;">न खा जाए</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #e8eaed; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt;"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;">कहीं मोहब्बत <span class="y2iqfc">ढल</span></span><span class="y2iqfc"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;">न जाए</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #e8eaed; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></pre>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-ligatures: none;">कहीं दिल बेकरार न हो जाए</span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-ligatures: none;">कहीं कोई ऊंच नीच न हो जाए</span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-ligatures: none;">कहीं जिंदगी के फैसले न
बदल जाए</span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-ligatures: none;">कहीं मन विचलित न हो जाए</span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-ligatures: none;">कहीं एकाग्रता न खो जाए</span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Courier New"; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-ligatures: none;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<pre style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt;"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;">कहीं हाथ <span class="y2iqfc">थामकर</span></span><span class="y2iqfc"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;">रास्ता <span class="y2iqfc">भटक</span></span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 21.0pt;"> </span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;">न जाए</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #e8eaed; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt;"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;">कहीं तुम्हें दूर से <span class="y2iqfc">ताकने</span></span><span class="y2iqfc"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;">का अवसर न <span class="y2iqfc">खो</span></span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "inherit",serif; font-size: 21.0pt;"> </span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;">जाए</span><span lang="AR-SA" style="color: #e8eaed; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></pre><pre style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt;"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "Mangal",serif; font-size: 21.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-language: HI; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></pre>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;"><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: Mangal, serif; font-size: 21pt;">सच में</span><span style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: "inherit", serif; font-size: 21pt;">, </span><span lang="HI" style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: Mangal, serif; font-size: 21pt;">तुम दूर ही अच्छी लगती हो</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: #303134; line-height: 24.0pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; tab-stops: 45.8pt 91.6pt 137.4pt 183.2pt 229.0pt 274.8pt 320.6pt 366.4pt 412.2pt 458.0pt 503.8pt 549.6pt 595.4pt 641.2pt 687.0pt 732.8pt;"><span style="color: #e8eaed; font-family: Mangal, serif; font-size: 21pt;">पास बुलाने से घबराता हूँ</span></p>
<p> </p>Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-79543227310954086772024-02-01T07:51:00.000-08:002024-02-20T22:10:42.797-08:00तुम्हारे बिना<p><b>तुम्हारे बिना</b></p><p>जिंदगी बस एक कशमकश है</p><p><br /><i>तुम्हारे बिना <br /></i><br />रोना ही तो है</p><p>बस थोड़ा सा हंस भी लेता हूं</p><p><br /><i>तुम्हारे बिना <br /></i><br />यादें भी अधूरी हैं</p><p>फिर भी तुम्हें दिल से याद कर लेता हूँ</p><p><br /><i>तुम्हारे बिना <br /></i><br />भी खुश रहने की ठानी है, अधूरी ख़ुशी ही सही<br /><br />और ये भी तुमसे ही सीखा हूँ</p><p><br /><i>तुम्हारे बिना <br /></i><br />अब वो बात नहीं रही जिंदगी में</p><p>फिर भी कुछ बात बनाने की कोशिश में हूं<br /><br /></p><p><i>तुम्हारे बिना <br /></i><br />घर घर नहीं लगता अब</p><p>केवल एक सूनासा मकान लगता है<br /><br />अपने ही घर में अजनबी सा लगता हूँ<br /><br /></p><p><i>तुम्हारे बिना <br /></i><br />ख़ुशी डगमगा गई है</p><p>और दुख हावी हो गया है<br /><br /></p><p><i>तुम्हारे बिना <br /></i><br />पैसे की एहमियत ढल गई है</p><p>किसके लिए कमाऊँ सोचता रहता हूँ<br /><br /></p><p><i>तुम्हारे बिना <br /></i><br />खाना तो खा लेता हूँ</p><p>बस अब तुम्हारे हाथ का बना हुआ नहीं है<br /><br /></p><p><i>तुम्हारे बिना <br /></i><br />जीने की वजह तो है</p><p>पर सब कुछ अधूरा लगता है<br /><br /></p><p><i>तुम्हारे बिना <br /></i><br />आंसू बेहना चाहते हैं</p><p>पर दिल निरंतर रोने से घबराता है<br /><br /></p><p><i>तुम्हारे बिना <br /></i><br />काम में अब वह रस नहीं रहा</p><p>कैसे बतायें अब तुम्हें कैसा चल रहा है सब कुछ</p><p><br /></p><p><i>तुम्हारे बिना <br /></i><br />गाने अब भी गुन गुना लेता हूं</p><p>पर अब खुलकर गाने को दिल नहीं करता<br /><br /></p><p><i>तुम्हारे बिना <br /></i><br />अब अपने लिए ख्वाहिश ढल गई है</p><p>अब हीरो किस के लिए बनूं?<br /><br /></p><p><i>तुम्हारे बिना <br /></i><br />कभी ठीक लगता है, कभी टूट जाता हूं</p><p>जिंदगी का मजा कहीं लेकर चली गई हो<br /><br /></p><p><i>तुम्हारे बिना<br /></i></p><p>अजीब स्थिति है</p><p>दुखी भी हूं और आजाद भी</p><p><i><br />तुम्हारे बिना</i></p><p>अजीब हो गई है जिंदगी <br /><br />शांति तो है, लेकिन कोई ख़ुशी नहीं</p><p><i><br />तुम्हारे बिना</i></p><div>लगता है तुम नहीं हो,</div><p>फिर लगता है हो, बस अलग <span style="background-color: #303134; color: #e8eaed; font-family: inherit; font-size: 28px;">तरिके से</span>, अलग रूप में</p><p><i><br />तुम्हारे बिना</i></p><p>तुम्हारे होने और न होने की कशमकश में दिनों को बिता रहा हूँ<br /><br /></p><p><i>तुम्हारे बिना........</i></p><div><i><br /></i></div><div><br /></div>Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-59167421696683666202021-05-16T12:19:00.001-07:002021-05-16T12:19:29.225-07:00WHAT IS IT ABOUT LIFE<p style="text-align: center;"><b>What Is It About Life - A Lyrical Exposition</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0z3Rg4c2R4Vwach5wDByloL_2SZCMxx_7TuKsLXoQWmcNhNjzEF9iDtPvT2-YMoAG3MSb-ZnwWfT9GK-5oMgxllyhZ_mL17d_mZmWpRDe2k6ch6WDLj4tk-E1TZbnmv4qqRHJF-XeXK8R/s1920/entrepreneur-2275739_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1074" data-original-width="1920" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0z3Rg4c2R4Vwach5wDByloL_2SZCMxx_7TuKsLXoQWmcNhNjzEF9iDtPvT2-YMoAG3MSb-ZnwWfT9GK-5oMgxllyhZ_mL17d_mZmWpRDe2k6ch6WDLj4tk-E1TZbnmv4qqRHJF-XeXK8R/w640-h358/entrepreneur-2275739_1920.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>What Is It About Life<br /><br />Where tragedy meets poetry<p></p><p>Success meets uncertainty</p><p>Love meets insecurity</p><p>Honesty meets incredulity</p><p>Selflessness meets disbelief</p><p>Selfishness meets acceptance</p><p>Help meets ungratefulness</p><p>Manipulation meets approbation</p><p>Trickery meets heroism</p><p>Uprightness meets punishment.......<br /><br />Really, What Is It About Life!</p>Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-79956832343089443142020-12-12T06:07:00.003-08:002020-12-12T06:11:37.286-08:00Character & Conduct: Lessons From Mahabharata Personalities - Part 4<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcwBD0cS1IfTvJGL_S479QoTY1J4O2YjZLB2vwyL9zTbgWRpIYBB22h0WiIQBMHx3Y2TurNqb13vSeOQs0yLZrcAMFdeatBj5LmwR2DwgAw6PrT92SjcrsUql3tJx2lEiz5jVhBIhC5pue/s1920/idol-1834688_1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1251" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcwBD0cS1IfTvJGL_S479QoTY1J4O2YjZLB2vwyL9zTbgWRpIYBB22h0WiIQBMHx3Y2TurNqb13vSeOQs0yLZrcAMFdeatBj5LmwR2DwgAw6PrT92SjcrsUql3tJx2lEiz5jVhBIhC5pue/s320/idol-1834688_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Link to Part 1: http://bolharrybol.blogspot.com/2020/12/character-conduct-lessons-from.html<br /><br />Link to Part 2: http://bolharrybol.blogspot.com/2020/12/character-conduct-lessons-from_12.html<br /><br />Link to Part 3: http://bolharrybol.blogspot.com/2020/12/character-conduct-lessons-from_4.html<br /><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b><br />Character Lesson 14: Never Lose Perspective<br /><br /></b></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Life works on certain principles, some bitter truths. Gandhari always knew the Kauravas invited their doom through their series of misdeeds and injustice meted out to the Pandavas. Yet, she lost sight of the larger picture when drowned in the sorrow of the loss of her sons. Life sometimes may push us to the limit, but keeping the perspective acts as an anchor to stay the course. Gandhari cursed Krishna that his Yadava dynasty would be annihilated just as the Kauravas were. Krishna had the power to withdraw any curse, yet he chose to accept Gandhari's anger and go his way. The Yadava dynasty did meet its fate eventually and Krishna too departed from the world.<br /><br />Even after the Pandavas start ruling Hastinapur, they continue to shower their love and respect on Dridharashtra and Gandhari, holding no remorse against them. This despite the fact that Dridharashtra tries to kill Bhima by giving him a 'fatal death hug'. Krishna saves the day for Bhima by asking him to place in front of the blind Dridharashtra his statue and expose the defeated King's intentions. Dridharashtra, despite his life and regime being in ruins, cannot overcome the death of Duryodhan, and so tries to kill Bhima. Duryodhan is killed by Bhima in a terrible mace duel, and the war is eventually won by the Pandavas.<br /><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b>Character Lesson 15: Maybe, You Cannot Forget, But Forgive And Move On</b></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Yudhishthir is truly a virtuous and morally upright leader. He has won the war at a great cost. Losing all his brothers, including Karna, is painful and a massive price to pay. He wants to let bygones be bygones and thus stops Dridhrashtra and Gandhari from proceeding to the forest. He feels pained at his own decision to fight the war and has the heart to forgive his father's elder brother who never treated the Pandavas justly.<br /><br />The Pandavas rue the fact that they lost their eldest brother Karna. They make amends by reuniting with Karna's family.<br /><br />In our lives too, we can benefit much by forgiving self and others. As much as possible, avoid burning bridges. Healthy relationships are central to our existence. Bitter experiences are almost impossible to forget, but we can certainly try to forgive and move on. Karma plays itself out in various ways. Maybe, someone hurt us back due to our past Karmas, which we cannot recall.<br /><br />Forgiving can be mighty tough though. Duryodhan could not forgive Draupadi for her insulting words, Draupadi could not forget and forgive her ill-treatment during the dice game when Dushasan tried to disrobe her. Draupadi, in a way, also pushed her husbands into war to avenge their spineless silence when she was being insulted in front of those present, including stalwarts like Bhishma, Kripacharya and Dronacharya.<br /><br />The silence of these so-called great men sowed the seeds of humanity's most terrible war, whose reverberations can be heard even today 5,000-plus years later.<br /><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b>Character Lesson 16: To Commit Injustice Is Bad, But To Tolerate Injustice Is Worse<br /><br /></b></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">The world continues to face the sin of silence. The Mahabharata is not just a story or an epoch-making event, but also a metaphor for multiple dimensions of human behaviour and nature. Even today, there is a 'Bhishma' who is bound by his own 'careless oath'; even today there are scores of Duryodhans whose lust for power is breeding unprecedented injustice; even today there is a Draupadi who does not know to bite her tongue to stop insulting words; even today, there is a Shakuni who is always on the prowl to manipulate the vulnerable and gullible........<br /><br />But where is Krishna? Right within us I suppose. Krishna is not just God-incarnate, he is our conscience. Through his role in the world and by rendering the Bhagavad Gita, he has left a legacy of wisdom which in the modern world can be acquired at just the click of a button.<br /><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b>We Are Not Done Yet<br /><br /></b></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">The Kurukshetra war was fought for eighteen days, each day more horrifying than the previous one. However, it could all have ended in just one day, if only Krishna had decided to take up arms. Instead, he chose to be a charioteer to Arjuna.<br /><br />Krishna chose to be, not a frontline leader, but a Servant Leader.<br /><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b>Character Lesson 17: Serve Your People, Don't Boss Over Them<br /><br /></b></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Krishna was the Boss, everyone knew it, though some, like Duryodhan, did not accept it. Even the ruthlessly cunning Shakuni knew Krishna was unconquerable. Nothing was hidden from him, nothing could be hidden from him. He advised Duryodhan to have Krishna by his side, not his army. But Duryodhan, blinded by ego, could not see the wisdom in Shakuni's words. Duryodhan simply did not have the character to discriminate between truth and untruth.<br /><br />But Barbaric, the grandson of Bhima, had both the character and the vision to see Krishna's greatness. He was so powerful that he too could have ended the war in the Pandavas' favour in one day. But he had promised his Guru that he would always fight on the side of the weak. So even if he had fought on the Pandavas' side, he would have eventually gone to the Kauravas' side as they would have been weakened, eventually flip-flopping so much that he would have been the only one alive at the end of the war. Krishna knew this. So he asked for Barbarik's head and placed it atop a mountain so that he, though could not participate, could watch the war. Krishna asks Barbarik too if he did not give a thought before promising his Guru what he was getting into?<br /><br />Krishna at every stage demonstrates he is a Servant Leader. He is the Doer, but never interferes in anyone's chosen Karma. Yet, at every stage, he facilitates. He does not impose himself on anyone, but knows when to push and when to pull. He in a way 'allows' the war to happen, so that humanity never forgets its terrible consequences. Nations would do well to study the Mahabharata and the role of Krishna to understand the futility of unhealthy conflict, conflict management and leadership.<br /><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b>Character Lesson 18: Be An Adaptable Leader<br /><br /></b></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Krishna is a Complete Leader. He navigates through the various leadership styles as per situations and the personalities of people he has to lead. He leverages everyone as per their capacities and temperaments. He has specific roles for each of the Pandavas. He knows which Kaurava warrior needs to be defeated in which way. Krishna is a Strategist, Facilitator, Coach, Aggressor, Pacifist, Mediator, Peace Ambassador......<br /><br />Modern day leaders are not expected to be Krishna, as we are not God. But leadership does require high levels of adaptability and ability to switch roles effortlessly and endlessly.<br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b><br />We Are Done, Almost<br /><br /></b></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Krishna is the pivot around which everything in the Mahabharata revolves. The Mahabharata is a poignant story. It is a story of greed, deceit, lust for power, property, disrespect of women, heinous crimes, but it is Krishna who acts as a soothing balm. He is with the Pandavas, not because he is their relative, but because they are on the right side of the moral code and have been unjustly treated.<br /><br />Most of the Mahabharata is filled with pain and poignant drama, but the life of Krishna is the joyful part of the whole saga. His escapades as a child in Vrindavan, the miracles he performs even as a kid and the naughtiness of his demeanour bring a smile to your face. Krishna regales, educates and navigates through the complications and complexities he encounters during his lifetime. He himself is a King and also the protector of the world.<br /><br />Krishna pervades, presides and preaches. Somewhere, amidst the din and dust of human politics, Krishna constantly tries to get people to understand the true meaning of life. He chooses the chaotic setting of The Kurukshetra to preach to the world The Bhagavad Gita. He speaks not just to Arjuna, but to each one of us. The Bhagavad Gita is an example of a true legacy. Its relevance is increasingly felt with each passing day even 5,000 years later.<br /><br />The world more than ever needs Krishna. It seems little has changed since the Mahabharata. That the Mahabharata is still relevant from a moralistic standpoint is not a great commentary on how the human race has been conducting itself. Krishna is within us. We cannot expect that another avatar will come and liberate us. We have to take responsibility for our lives and perform our Karmas understanding the consequences.<br /><br />Krishna has offered to the world the blueprint of living. It is up to us now to start living those principles. The Mahabharata is not just an epic, it is a metaphor for human frailties and foils. The war still rages on in the various Kurukshetras of our lives - at home, in the office, in the streets, in politics....Let's invoke the Krishna in us.<br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b><br />CONCLUDED<br /><br /></b></span><br /></p>Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-9630507919470104462020-12-12T06:00:00.001-08:002020-12-12T06:09:24.798-08:00Character & Conduct: Lessons From Mahabharata Personalities -Part 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFI_msFlXeqzNEg2PRC3oz5facrhyI1iKLisQtrApOYYB3nOXzLSTGXq2f-Z5yICuGShvQ5JU6KrJxSZkHRkMXYIGj5QD9prw8_pTEF58tFUVE7GTcHPVy2w2CFofDGZXY7pDf_4foyMRS/s1920/gopuram-1943185_1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFI_msFlXeqzNEg2PRC3oz5facrhyI1iKLisQtrApOYYB3nOXzLSTGXq2f-Z5yICuGShvQ5JU6KrJxSZkHRkMXYIGj5QD9prw8_pTEF58tFUVE7GTcHPVy2w2CFofDGZXY7pDf_4foyMRS/s320/gopuram-1943185_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br />Link to Part 1: http://bolharrybol.blogspot.com/2020/12/character-conduct-lessons-from.html<br /><br />Link to Part 2: http://bolharrybol.blogspot.com/2020/12/character-conduct-lessons-from_12.html<br /><br /><b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Character Lesson 9: Never Lose Sight Of The Larger Picture</b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Krishna never loses sight of his purpose. His birth is to establish dharma and to ensure the right party wins, even if that means employing methods that are seen as 'unethical' and against the 'rules' of the game. For him, the war is not about the spoils going to the victor. He is clear who needs to win - it is the Pandavas. He spares no one who comes in the way, including the Pandavas' relatives.<br /><br />Krishna stops Bhima's grandson Barbarik from participating in the war as he vows to fight for the weaker side, not just with the just one. The invincible Barbarik could have won the war single handedly for the Pandavas, but he had promised his Guru that he would side with the weaker side in the war, not the stronger one. So once the Kauravas got weakened, he would have switched sides and attacked the Pandavas and so on and so forth. So in the end who would be left? A lonely Barbarik. So Krishna asks Brabarik to chop his head off as his Guru Dakshina, as Krishna after all is his first Guru.<br /><br />Krishna uses various tactics to ensure the right people are on the right side of the war. He stops Draupadi from allowing Karna to participate in her swayamvar. If Draupadi had married Karna, she would have ended up in the unrighteous Kaurava camp.<br /><br />During the war, he plots the killing of the great warriors amongst the Kauravas. Be it Jaidrat, Karna, Bhishma, Dronacharya or Duryodhan, he is not consumed by their personalities. He just knows that they are on the wrong side of the moral code and deserve to die.<br /><br />Sample the various acts of Krishna in the middle of the war. Arjuna is livid with Jaidrat that he plotted the killing of Abhimanyu, and so vows to kill him before sunset, otherwise commits to immolate himself in the fire. As the battle gets really tough and Arjuna sees Jaidrat getting out of hand, Krishna creates an illusion of sunset. Delighted, Jaidrat and the Kauravas start celebrating. The Sun however 'rises' again and Arjuna easily kills an unarmed and unready Jaidrat.<br /><br />Bhishma sets the code for the war and also lets the Pandavas know that he will not attack a woman during war. So Krishna asks Shikandi to come in front of Bhishma, exposing him to the arrows of Arjuna. Shikandi is half man, half woman, and Amba in the previous birth. Bhishma recognises him as Amba and puts his arms aside. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to defeat Bhishma.<br /><br />Krishna asks Arjuna to kill Karna as he descends from his chariot to fix its stuck wheels. Krishna has no sympathy for those who never followed any rules. Karna ruthlessly participated in the killing of a hapless Abhimanyu. Dronacharya and Duryodhan were also party to killing Abhimanyu unjustly and against the war code. Krishna has no remorse in killing these people through trickery.<br /><br />He asks Yudhishthir to tell Dronacharya that Ashwathama is dead. The one dead is actually Ashwathama the Elephant. But Dronacharya gets demoralised on hearing this from the ever-truthful Yudhishthir. He knows Yudhishthir can never lie. Dronacharya gives up and is killed by Drishtadhyum.<br /><br />Krishna asks Bhima to attack Duryodhan with his mace on his thighs. The blind-folded Gandhari had opened her eyes just once and with divine rays made Duryodhan's body as strong as iron. She had asked him to take bath and come completely naked, but Krishna tricked Duryodhan from going completely naked in front of his mother. His thighs therefore remained vulnerable, which he asked Bhima to exploit.<br /><br />Krishna in the Mahabharata speaks the truth and lives the truth. He is God. He can do anything. But he does not interfere with human karma. He acts as their mentor, and that too only to those who are ready to listen to him. He vows not to raise arms in the war. He becomes Arjuna's charioteer in the war. If Krishna had decided to fight the war, it would have got over within minutes. But that was not the purpose of his human birth. He was here to guide and educate.<br /><br />As the war is about to begin, Krishna deals with Arjuna's despondency. Arjuna is not ready to fight the war against his own people. He feels it is worthless to kill one's own brothers, elders and mentors and win the throne. Krishna educates Arjuna through the Bhagavad Gita and gets him to fight the war. The Bhagavad Gita is Krishna's greatest legacy.<br /><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b>Character Lesson 10: Leaders Leave A Legacy<br /><br /></b></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Leading up to Kurukshetra, Krishna is against the war. He even admonishes the Pandavas for their eagerness to fight the war to reclaim their just rights. He even goes as a peace messenger and asks Dridharashtra to give the Pandavas only five villages and not half the kingdom. Indraprastha was theirs but taken away through the second dice game. As a result, they were exiled for thirteen years. Yet, to avoid war, he asks for just five villages.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">But a greedy and arrogant Duryodhan refuses to part with even an inch of land and his father is emotionally incapable of going against his son's wishes. He fears Duryodhan will kill himself. Yet again, Dridharashtra puts his son before the good of his people.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Thousands of ordinary soldiers would lose their lives in the war and many families would be bereaved just for the sake of a dispute between two warring families. This is unacceptable to Krishna, but acceptable to Dridharashtra. He is not just blind, he is also blinded by the attachment to his son. His wife's Gandhari's warnings and sane advises fall on deaf ears. This happens in modern day wars too?<br /><br />Gandhari, in a way, perhaps is responsible for her own predicament. Perhaps, there could have been other ways to demonstrate her partnership with her blind husband. However, she chooses to blindfold herself to show she is an equal partner. This is one more instance of a vow in the Mahabharata that is impractical and self-defeating.<br /><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b>Character Lesson 11: Overcommitting is worse than undercommiting<br /><br /></b></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Gandhari otherwise is a reasonable woman. She does not discriminate between her and Kunti's children. She despises her own brother Shakuni and is never afraid to point out the mistakes of her King husband. But even she gets carried away during the war. She is unable to bear the loss of her hundred sons and holds Krishna responsible. So she curses Krishna that just as the Kuru clan has been destroyed, so would the Yadava clan be.<br /><br />Yet, she was the one who stopped Draupadi from cursing during that fateful day when she was dishonoured. Draupadi was completely entitled to curse those who watched her dishonour in silence. It was Krishna who rescued her from utter dishonour. But Draupadi, in a way, also invited the wrath of Duryodhan when she insulted him during his visit to Indraprasth by saying "a blind man's son is also blind" as he fell into pool of water which he mistook to be land.<br /><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b>Character Lesson 12: Never insult anyone with sour words<br /></b></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br />Draupadi is a powerful woman born out of fire. Though she repents her words for Duryodhan, her action unintentionally becomes a key reason for the Mahabharata war. Egotistic people like Duryodhan easily forget their misdeeds, but never forget any wrong done to them.<br /><br />Draupadi is unforgiving of her husbands, and rightly so, for failing to protect her honour. To remind them of their folly, she resolves to not tie her hair till she gets to wash them with blood taken from Dushashan's heart. Bhima promises to do the needful for her. As promised, he kills Dushashan who dragged her and tried to disrobe her on that fateful day.<br /><br />Through the thirteen years of exile, she never lets her husbands forget why her hair is kept untied. Her desire for revenge keeps the flame of war burning constantly. Without the war, neither she nor Bhima can fulfill their resolve. Krishna reminds them that peace is more important than the fulfillment of their resolve. But the desire for revenge blinds them to the cruel fallout of the war - unprecedented death and destruction.<br /><br />When Abhimanyu is killed, Draupadi realises the futility of war. She realises, in the end, there are only losers.<br /><br />When nations go to war, it is the duty-bound soldiers who die en masse. They neither have any ideological affiliation nor are they consulted on anything. It was the same when the Kurukshetra war happened and it is the same even now.<br /><br />Krishna knew the war would happen, but tried his best to avoid it. Yet, when Gandhari tells him he could have avoided the war, he says yes, but it was essential. Maybe, humanity for ages had to learn the lessons from such a macabre affair. He perhaps also saw it as an inevitability towards the fulfillment of his birth amongst humans as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.<br /><br /></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b>Character Lesson 13: No one wins in a war, not even the 'winner'<br /></b></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br />Four women play a key role in the Mahabharata - Kunti, Gandhari, Draupadi and Amba. The role of Amba in the form of Shikhandi in a new birth is critical to Bhishma's death. Krishna smartly gets Bhishma to confess to the Pandavas in the middle of the war that he will lay down his arms if a woman comes in front of him in the battlefield. Krishna knows it is critical to get Bhishma out of the way if the Pandavas have to win.<br /><br />Amba is reborn as the half man-half woman Shikandi in this birth with the sole aim of vanquishing Bhishma. So the moment Shikandi comes in front of him, Bhisma exposes himself to the brutal arrows of Arjuna. Krishna prevails again with his tactics. Yet, for Bhishma, getting hit by Arjuna's arrows is both a privilege and an honour. A gravely injured Bhishma lies on a bed of arrows, majorly denting the Kauravas' campaign. He still holds on to dear breath as he has vowed not to die till he is assured the throne of Hastinapur is in safe hands.<br /><br />When Yudhishthir comes to know that Karna was the eldest Pandava and Kunti had hidden it from them, he holds his mother responsible for the war. As Kunti sits crying besides Karna's dead body, the Pandavas are perplexed at their mother's behaviour. If only the Pandavas had known about Karna, they would have simply handed him the throne and averted the war. Kunti however keeps this as a closely guarded secret, even from Karna, as he was born to Kunti before her marriage. Kunti, unable to disclose this to the world, abandons Karna, who is picked up by a charioteer and along with his wife brings him up. How much have society's norms changed even now, one wonders!<br /><br />This one non-disclosure deprives Karna of his princely rights and he harbours ill-will against the Pandavas, his own brothers. Arjuna is his sworn enemy. He believes he is no less than Arjuna in bravery and archery. But Arjuna is Dronacharya's favourite. However, Karna is denied training by Dronacharya as he is not a prince. Even Draupadi refuses to marry him as he is a mere charioteer's son. Duryodhana 'buys' his loyalty by making him a King and 'using' him against the Pandavas.<br /><br />Draupadi's denial of Karna, demeaning words for Duryodhana and burning desire for revenge contribute to the lead-up to the horrendous war, in which even the victors don't feel any joy. Draupadi, who brayed for the blood of the Kauravas to avenge her insult, cries inconsolably at the side of Abhimanyu's dead body, lamenting a war that benefits no one. Draupadi could not make peace with herself for the misdeeds of the Kauravas and the meek surrender of her husbands. She keeps her hair untied till she receives the blood of Dushasan to bathe with. Draupadi's untied hair acts as a poignant reminder to her husbands that they are duty bound to avenge her insult.<br /><br />Gandhari's is a sane voice in the unholy corridors of the Hastinapur regime, led by Dridharashtra, her 'selfish and short sighted' husband. She constantly urges him to rein in Duryodhana and give the Pandavas their due rights. Yet, when she loses all her sons in the war, she blames Krishna for the war and even curses him. When her sorrow becomes bigger than the calamity, she loses perspective.<br /><br /><b>TO BE CONTINUED. PART 4 IS CONCLUDING PART. </b><br /><br /></span><br /></p>Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-39174401391772618092020-12-12T05:52:00.000-08:002020-12-12T05:52:52.009-08:00Character & Conduct: Lessons From Mahabharata Personalities - Part 2<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLuD4HqxGsMd2wMOl8pxkwxOavZ6foI7cW0wNWQB12WGBpHlTE4Ktz2EdkSJ91D7huYXlQLmx9WlXZ4GLS28diu_Q3j5qhkDFNb8iBC3D6qHUPeHUl4hcVCJstOZ9FuojQ4ewPzqVQxIB7/s1920/gopuram-1943185_1920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLuD4HqxGsMd2wMOl8pxkwxOavZ6foI7cW0wNWQB12WGBpHlTE4Ktz2EdkSJ91D7huYXlQLmx9WlXZ4GLS28diu_Q3j5qhkDFNb8iBC3D6qHUPeHUl4hcVCJstOZ9FuojQ4ewPzqVQxIB7/s320/gopuram-1943185_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br />Link to Part 1: http://bolharrybol.blogspot.com/2020/12/character-conduct-lessons-from.html<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Krishna tells Arjuna during the war not to take oaths which make him focus on the result rather than on the task at hand. He cryptically mentions how Bhishma and Bhima are bound by their oaths. Arjuna pledges to kill Jaidrat before sunset, otherwise promises to immolate himself in the fire. It is Krishna's tactic that saves the day for Arjuna.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Krishna is Arjuna's charioteer, but most importantly The Lord Of The Universe. He is the conscience keeper and knowledge provider for the Pandavas, who adore him. They know Krishna's presence alone will enable them to win the war, not the size of their army. Krishna enlivens proceedings in an otherwise poignant saga serenaded with trickery, blind ambition, opportunism and lust for power. Sounds familiar? Looks like nothing has changed?<br /><br />The significance of Mahabharata cannot be understood without Krishna. He fills an otherwise violent saga with perspectives and moments of peace. Krishna himself though never had an easy life. His uncle Kamsa was braying for his blood. According to a heavenly broadcast, Krishna, the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudev, would kill Kamsa and put an end to his evil rule. So Krishna, at birth, is rescued from jail and given in care of Yashoda and her husband Nanda, Vasudev's friend.<br /><br />Krishna is born to re-establish righteousness in the world. He is related to the Pandavas by birth. He is their Guru, their protector. He performs various miracles during his childhood and throughout his life, but never once does he misuse his power. He is a tactician. He even uses 'deceit', but only against those who cannot be fixed otherwise.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>Character Lesson 2: Wth Great Power Comes Great Responsibility.<br /><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Krishna is God, but does not impose himself. His job is to guide humans on the right path. Throughout the Mahabharata he preaches peace and strongly advises against war. In fact, he even abandons Mathura and sets up base in Dwaraka to avoid war.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">In the build-up to the Kurukshetra war, he does his best to avoid the war. But once the war becomes inevitable, he fully commits himself and the Pandavas to fighting with all their might. For Krishna, purpose of the war is not to win, but re-establish righteousness. The Kauravas have great warriors in the form of Bhishma, Dronacharya, Duryodhan, Karna.....but they are all fighting on the wrong side of the moral code. They have an incredibly large army. The sons of Dridharashtra and Gandhari are hundred in number, whereas the Pandavas are only five.<br /><br />The Pandavas don't have such a large army, but they have Krishna. Before the war when Duryodhan and Arjuna are asked whether they want Krishna or his army, Duryodhan chooses the army, whereas Arjuna is wise enough to ask for Krishna. Shakuni, who all his life poisoned Duryodhan's mind against the Pandavas, realises his nephew's folly. Even the evil Shakuni realises Krishna is the factor that will decide the war, not the size of the army.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>Character Lesson 3:</b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>Know What To Ask</b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br /><br />In the modern world, like Duryodhan, people's ambitions make them ask for the wrong things - power, money, status - which, though important in moderation, blind them to the real source of happiness - love, compassion, empathy.......</span><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Arjuna knows what to ask. He is wise and brave. Duryodhan is brave, but not wise. He is the result of his father's lust for power and his uncle's crooked manipulation. Shakuni wants to take revenge against the Kuru clan for getting his sister Gandhari married to a blind King. Gandhari, in a moment of incredible sense of partnership, ties her eyes with cloth so that she too can lead a life of blindness. Shakuni, through Duryodhan, works out schemes after schemes to get rid of the Pandavas. Bhishma, due to his oath not to ascend the throne himself, watches all the dubious events helplessly. He knows he is wrong to side with the Kauravas in the war, but puts his oath above the nation.<br /><br />In this war between right and wrong, all the so-called great men are fighting for the wrong side. They know they are wrong, yet feel indebted to the Kauravas for one reason or the other. While Bhishma is bound by his oath, Guru Dronacharya, teacher to both the Pandavas and the Kauravas, is bound by his loyalty to the kingdom. Karna is bound by the loyalty to his friend, who makes him a King though he does not belong to a princely family. It is another matter of course that Karna later realises he is actually the eldest brother of the Pandavas, as he is Kunti's first son, abandoned by her before marriage.<br /><br />Karna is one of the most interesting personalities in the Mahabharata. He is great, complex, son of the Sun God, is a great giver - </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><i>a daanveer</i></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> - says a lot of right things, but often commits unpardonable mistakes. He knows his friend Duryodhan is evil, but he gives up his life for him in the Kurukshetra war as he feels indebted. Duryodhan gives him the respect that society does not deem fit, as he is mistaken to be the son of a charioteer and not of a royal. Karna insults Draupadi during the events that unfold as a result of the dice game. He is part of the cowardly act by the Kauravas when they kill a trapped and unarmed Abhimanyu against the laws of war.<br /><br />Just like Dridharashtra, he too feels wronged in life. He never receives his real mother Kunti's love. Draupadi refuses to give him a chance at her swayamvar as he is not a Prince. He falls in love with a Princess, but is refused her hand as he is not a royal himself. He ends up marrying the princess' maid. Karna judges his worth by how society reacts to him. He sides with the immorals though he often disagrees with their machinations.<br /><br />He feels so indebted to Duryodhan that he does not discriminate between right and wrong. He does what is convenient (even though not easy), not what is right. In the end, he pays the price for this.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>Character Lesson 4: In Life Do What Is Right, Not What Is Convenient<br /><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The crimes of Karna however are small in front of those of Dridharashtra. He is born blind. He is the rightful heir to the throne as he is Pandu's elder brother. But Vidhur, a man of great knowledge and advisor to the throne, feels Pandu should be King, as Dridharashtra is blind. The final decision is left to their grandmother Satyavati, and she chooses Pandu as the King.<br /><br />Dridharashtra never overcomes this feeling of having been denied what was rightfully his. He harbours ill will against Vidhur and the Pandu clan all his life. To add to his woes, Pandu's first son Yudhishthir is born before Duryodhan, thereby blocking Duryodhan's chances of becoming King as the elder brother's son. If ifs and buts had any meaning, if Dridharashtra was made King, would the Kurukshetra war have never happened?<br /><br />Dridharashtra is blinded by love for his son. Shakuni parallely uses Duryodhan to plant ill-will in his mind towards his Pandava brothers. The seeds of a terrible war are sown in the childhood of the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Gandhari's vociferous sane voices fail to make Dridharashtra realise his follies. He allows Duryodhan to commit mistake after mistake. He gives his tacit support to various plots to kill or dislodge the Pandavas and deny them their rights. His dream is to see Duryodhan become King. He wants to fulfill his own ambition through his son. Sounds familiar to how modern parents want their children to fulfill their unfulfilled dreams?<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>Character Lesson 5: Don't Live Your Dreams Through Your Children. They have their independent lives and dreams.<br /><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Dridharashtra lives all his life as a victim. He refuses to take responsibility for his decisions. He feels wronged. He never comes to terms with his own lack of character to be King. He places his son before the nation. Sounds familiar? Politics, nepotism, etc?<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>Character Lesson 6: As A Leader, Put Team Before Self And Selfish Interests<br /><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">As a result, Duryodhan becomes a symbol of evil. He can easily be manipulated. Duryodhan's personality is a classic example of nature versus nurture. Did he have a natural tendency for evil or his behaviours were a result of how his father and uncle influenced him? Through the Mahabharata, Duryodhan does show signs of his discomfort with winning through devious means. His friend Karna time and again urges him to win the battle at war rather than through treachery. He even forcefully stops him from killing an unarmed and in-prayer Barbarik, who is otherwise invincible with the divine weapons he possesses. Ashamed by his act, Duryodhan even asks his sworn enemy Bheem to cut his head off. Barbarik, after all, is Bhima's grandson.<br /><br />Duryodhan is a victim of his father Dridharashtra's ambitions and Shakuni's evil politics. Karna believes in the means to achieve an end, though his actions do contradict his beliefs - like when he participates in the collective killing of an unarmed and trapped Abhimanyu, or when he insults Draupadi. Shakuni however believes only in the end, not in the means. Duryodhan lacks the courage to refuse to adhere to the ways of his uncle. After all, he too is consumed by the desire to be King Of Hastinapur. He too believes his father was treated unjustly. So as his father's eldest son, he believes in his right to the throne.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><br />Amidst all this a sane voice in the form of Vidhur - The Prime Minister is often heard in the corridors of power in Hastinapur. He is convinced that the one competent to be King is Yudhishthir, not Duryodhan. He is the Voice Of Truth. Unlike Bhishma or Drona, who are bound by loyalty, Vidhur is bound by Truth. Any wonder then that when Krishna goes to Hastinapur as a peace messenger of the Pandavas, he refuses to accept Duryodhan's lunch invitation? Instead, he eats at Mahatma Vidhur's home. Duryodhan sees this as yet another insult, but Krishna could care less. He only sides with those who are right.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>Character Lesson 7: Leadership Is About Competence, Not About Rights.<br /><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Krishna and Vidhur are on the same page. They believe in Truth. They both never mince words when it comes to highlighting </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><i>adharma</i></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">. Vidhur's was the only voice which vociferously opposed the happenings during the dice game. He kept urging Dridharashtra to stop the game, but the King was happy his son was winning. Bhishma, Dronacharya, Kripacharya - the doyens of the Hastinapur Kingdom watched 'helplessly' even as Draupadi was dragged by her hair by Dushasan and was being disrobed. It is Krishna who saved Draupadi from total dishonour. Draupadi's five husbands too watched helplessly and allowed their wife to be insulted in front of everyone.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b>Character Lesson 8: Principles Matter More Than Capabilities<br /><br /></b></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Krishna sides with the Pandavas because they are on the side of dharma. He knows the warrior capabilities of each of the Kaurava leaders. He has no qualms using so-called wrong means to defeat the Kauravas at war. He continuously plots against them during the Kurukshetra war to ensure the Pandavas win and through them a just order can be created. He is a leader who always looks at the larger picture.<br /><br /><b>TO BE CONTINUED</b><br /></span><br /></p>Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-70337419523636256122020-12-11T01:09:00.003-08:002020-12-12T05:53:15.640-08:00Character & Conduct: Lessons From Mahabharata Personalities - Part 1<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLE3nND8CDnMqlbupEDnSkub1FCPEFfYQg8Ux9kFT53_Rc2lhnZTKLEVGAXnrf-7HT6wHY_-NYK7rW6sir76Y8cS7KCnibOXLOnrZqkUziM17P11pZCJmVKHAw0sqrNQUvuqsE-NbroEC/s1920/gopuram-1943185_1920.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLE3nND8CDnMqlbupEDnSkub1FCPEFfYQg8Ux9kFT53_Rc2lhnZTKLEVGAXnrf-7HT6wHY_-NYK7rW6sir76Y8cS7KCnibOXLOnrZqkUziM17P11pZCJmVKHAw0sqrNQUvuqsE-NbroEC/s320/gopuram-1943185_1920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><b style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">INTRODUCTION</b></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">The lockdown was a bolt from the blue. It caught the human race napping. Out went the next big career move, business decision, car, house, dream holiday, etc. It all came down to mere survival. Suddenly, everyone had to cope with not just an unforeseen situation, but an unprecedented and unimaginable context.<br /><br />Everyone started coping in their own unique ways, though some patterns ran common - like work from home and enhanced sanitisation habits. At the same time each family might have worked out its own unique or creative way to deal with the situation. We gathered around the laptop at lunch time to watch BR Chopra's Mahabharata.<br /><br />For my wife and me, it was a nostalgic experience. We travelled back in time into the '80s when we had witnessed something like a lockdown due to the Ramayana and the Mahabharata serials on Doordarshan. On days they were aired, streets wore a deserted look as everyone sat glued to their television sets to witness an epic saga of the two most celebrated epics in India.<br /><br />We grew up listening to the stories of Rama, Sita, Hanuman, Krishna, Arjuna, Draupadi, Dronacharya, Bhishma.....Our moralistic values were built around the stories from these epics. We learnt what was right and what was wrong. So the coming alive of our heroes through television serial characters held the whole country in awe. We watched every episode in disbelief. Many in the country even thought of the actors as Gods themselves.<br /><br />So the feeling of re-living those episodes during this real lockdown was fascinating to say the least. Were we also fulfilling our parental responsibility by getting our daughter to watch this great drama? Maybe.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">I watched all the 140 odd episodes diligently. At every step, I tried to reflect on what lessons does this great epic offer for humanity. Change the era and give the characters a modern look, you may as well be watching a 21st century drama, and not something which is said to have occurred more than 5,000 years ago. Even today, we are grappling with violence, property disputes, deceit, immoral politics, etc. So what really has changed?<br /><br />Besides the moralistic perspective, there is another fascinating aspect of the Mahabharata. It is one of the greatest stories told. Whether it is historical or mythological, there is no denying that it is a blueprint for great storytelling. Incidents - real or unreal - need to be narrated in an engaging way. What brings stories alive is people and their characters - the roles they play.<br /><br />In this writeup, I have looked at what lessons we can derive on character and conduct from some outstanding personalities in the Mahabharata, including Krishna, the pivot around which the whole story, plot and sub-plots revolve. Each one of them is great yet vulnerable. They are in possession of some unimaginable gifts, yet their failings are mighty hard to digest. For example, the silence of Dharmaraj Yudhishthir when his wife was being insulted within the palace of Hastinapur. Bhishma, Karna, Draupadi, Dronacharya are all celebrated for their greatness, but at crucial points they let themselves and their followers down.<br /><br />Through this essay, I have tried to decipher the key lessons we can derive from the lives and conduct of some of these great personalities.<br /><br />But before we proceed, here is a Disclaimer:<br /><br />My interpretations are based on what I observed in the serial made by BR Chopra and Team. If somewhere I have got the facts or interpretations wrong, it is purely my failing - the failing of a novice. This is not to be treated in any way as a comment on the makers of the serial and what they have represented. I am not a scholar and have not compared what has been shown in the serial with any other source. I have written this piece purely inspired by what I saw and as a common man. Hope you will take away some interesting insights from this amateurish scholarly attempt.<br /></span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b>CHARACTER & CONDUCT: LESSONS FROM MAHABHARATA PERSONALITIES</b></span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /><br />Bhishma lies on his bed of arrows awaiting the moment when he can decide to leave the world. After all, he has the boon of dying at will, which eventually turns out to be a curse. The Pandavas are by his bedside. They have won the Kurukshetra war and Yudhishthir is the new King. Bhishma is now secure in his knowledge that his beloved Hastinapur is protected from all sides and so is all set to give up his body.<br /><br />But Krishna has one last request. He wants Bhishma to give some lessons on kingship to Yudhishthir. "When you can do it, why am I needed for this task?," asks Bhishma. "Because I have the knowledge, but you have the experience," replies Krishna.<br /><br />Bhishma advises Yudhishthir to always put the nation before anything else. Somewhere he holds himself responsible for the Kurukshetra war. His oath not to be King so that his foster mother Satyavati's sons could ascend the throne meant he had little control over decision making. Series of unholy events unfolded in front of his helpless eyes and ultimately he ended up fighting the war on the side of the wrongdoers.<br /><br />The advise to put nation above everything else is timely and apt for Yudhishthir. He has a chronological advantage as he is the eldest of the Pandavas. But he is also the epitome of righteousness. Yet, he has often displayed his inability to draw the line. He commits without thinking. After a long and nasty war, when all he needed to do was vanquish a hapless Duryodhan, he tells him he will accept defeat if Duryodhan can defeat even one of the five brothers in a one-to-one duel. Krishna is flummoxed and shocked at this indescribable magnanimity. How unfair is this to the scores of soldiers who sacrificed their lives so that the Pandavas can regain their rights?<br /><br />Yudhishthir had committed the historic blunder of putting his family members at stake after he lost all his material possessions in the dice game. His sense of righteousness blinded his judgement of the powers of a King. His wife and brothers were not his personal property. So Bhishma's advice is not just for Yudhishthir, but for all leaders who often are caught between personal contexts and team interests.</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">Yudhishthir now has a third chance at the throne. The second time was when after the first dice game, Dridharashtra, ashamed by the insult of Draupadi, returned to Yudhishthir all that he had lost. This time Krishna wants to ensure he is balanced and does not get carried away. He often overcommits and gets everyone into a muddle. This and various other factors contributed to the terrible Kurukshetra war.<br /><br />Bhishma and Yudhishthir, besides being two pivotal characters, are also great students of life. They are ready to admit to their follies and take corrective action. They introspect and correct. They are great because they are aware of their great shortcomings.<br /><br />The Mahabharata is often interpreted for management and leadership lessons, and rightly so. But within this epic lie great personalities who offer timeless lessons on character. Whether the epic is a reality or fiction, the lessons for humanity are priceless. In the least, this is the world's best-told story along with the Ramayana.<br /><br />As in a well scripted movie, there are plots and sub-plots - complex, intriguing and eerie sometimes. Many characters make their strong presence as each of them have a well defined role and script. So the epic can also serve as a great lesson on screenplay and movie making.<br /><br />The genesis of the war itself lies in King Shantanu falling in love with Satyavati. He wants to marry her, but her father puts a condition that only sons born from her will succeed Shantanu as the King. This is unacceptable to Shantanu as his son Devavruta is the rightful heir. But concerned for his father and blinded by his love for him, Devavruta takes an oath that he will remain a celibate and never marry so that Satyavati's sons can be the heir apparents. Any wonder then that during the Kurukshetra war Shantanu, sitting in heaven, holds himself responsible for it?</span></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><b>Character Lesson 1: Think Before You Speak. Don't make grand impulsive commitments whose price you may have to pay all your life.<br /><br />TO BE CONTINUED<br /></b></span><br /></p>Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-9028001828262025202020-08-06T07:22:00.001-07:002020-08-06T07:22:29.420-07:00कहाँ से लाऊं वोह पहली वाली Feeling<div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">कहाँ से लाऊं वोह पहली वाली Feeling<br /><br />कहाँ से लाऊं वोह पहली वाली Feeling<br />अपने किसी चहीते को गले लगाना </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">पडोसी के घर चाय पीने पहुँच जाना </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">दोस्तों के साथ नुक्कड़ पर गप्पे लगाना </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">दोस्त के कंधे पर हाथ रखकर चलना </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">किसी से भी बेझिजक हाथ मिलाना </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Udupi hotel में Idli-Wada खाना </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Filter coffee को सिर्फ पीना नहीं, उसे महसूस करना <br />कहीं पर भी किसी वक़्त भी अपनी गाडी लेकर पहुँच जाना </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">बिना mask के बाहर निकलना </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Plane में सफर करना </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Train के दरवाज़े पर खड़े खुली हवा में सांस लेना </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">वोह छोटी छोटी खुशियों का शायद हमने कभी कदर नहीं किया </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">आज तरस रहे हैं उन लम्हों से मुलाक़ात करने के लिए </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">फिर जीना चाहता हूँ वही स्वतंत्र जीवन </div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">पर अब कहाँ से लाऊं वोह पहली वाली Feeling</div><div dir="auto" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></div>Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-16909402112663888652020-03-25T03:34:00.002-07:002020-03-25T03:47:34.888-07:00हाँ , ये तसल्ली हैं कि मैं अकेला परेशान नहीं हूँ <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
हाँ , ये तसल्ली हैं कि मैं अकेला परेशान नहीं हूँ<br />
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ये भी परेशान है, वोह भी परेशान है, हम सब परेशान हैं </div>
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अच्छा है, किसी मोड़ पर तो कोई साथी मिला<br />
आज तक मैं साथी ही तो ढूंढ रहा था</div>
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सोचता था वह साथी मेरे काम में मेरा साथ देगा </div>
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और मैं उसके काम में उसका साथ दूंगा </div>
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पर ये कैसा साथ है?</div>
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जहां पर, न तुम्हारे पास काम है, न मेरे पास काम है </div>
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विचित्र है ये दुनिया </div>
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ईर्षा करता है मानव जब काम होता है</div>
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सोचता है, जो उसके पास है, वह मेरे पास क्यों नहीं है, </div>
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ये नहीं सोचता कि हम सब एक दूसरे के सफर में भागीदार कैसे बने </div>
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पर अब देखो, न ईर्षा का कोई मौका है, न सफर का </div>
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कुदरत ने दिया था हमें मौका साथ में आगे बढ़ने का </div>
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उस मौके तो हमने गवां दिया </div>
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आज हम साथ तो हैं </div>
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पर आज हम किसी का भी कोई वजूद नहीं है </div>
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पहले हम देखते थे कि वह क्या कर रहा है </div>
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कहीं मुझसे आगे तो नहीं निकल रहा है </div>
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आज एक अजीब संतोष है कि वोह भी यहीं है, मैं भी यहीं हूँ </div>
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अब हम बात करते हैं कि जीवन का असली मतलब क्या है </div>
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अमीर-गरीब सब आज रुके हुए हैं </div>
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वादे कर रहे हैं एक दूसरे से कि फिर कभी नहीं लड़ेंगे </div>
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जब सब ठीक हो जायेगा तब एक दूसरे का हाथ थामकर चलेंगे </div>
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बातें तो हम बढ़ी अच्छी अच्छी कर रहे हैं </div>
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पर जितना मैं इंसान को जानता हूँ, पहचानता हूँ<br />
फितरत के हम सभी मारे हैं </div>
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जब रास्ते फिर से खुलेंगे वही चूहे बिल्ली की दौड़ में पढ़ जायेंगे </div>
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फिर उसी ज़िन्दगी में लौट जायेंगे जहां सिग्नल पर लाल बत्ती लगते ही </div>
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बेसब्री से इंतज़ार करते थे हरी बत्ती का </div>
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हम सब फिर से निकल पढ़ेंगे </div>
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वादे भूल जायेंगे </div>
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साथ छोड़ देंगे </div>
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और फिर एक बार अपनी जमी हुयी आदतों में लौट जायेंगे<br />
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लगता तो ऐसा ही है </div>
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पर कहते हैं ना, उमीद पर दुनिया कायम है<br />
हाँ, अब भी उमीद तो है कि </div>
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जब सब चल पढ़ेंगे, एक साथ निकलेंगे और एक दूसरे का साथ देंगे </div>
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ईर्षा नहीं करेंगे, मोहब्बत भर देंगे अपने दिलो में एक दूसरे के लिए </div>
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दौड़ते दौड़ते भी कुछ क्षण रुकेंगे </div>
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एक दूसरे का हाल चाल पूछेंगे </div>
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अपने को और दूसरों को संभालेंगे<br />
एक दूसरे की ख़ुशी में अपनी ख़ुशी ढूंढेंगे </div>
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ऐसा ज़माने का इंतज़ार ज़रूर है </div>
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आपको भी, मुझको भी </div>
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हाँ, पर इस वक़्त ये तसल्ली हैं कि मैं अकेला परेशान नहीं हूँ<br />
ये भी परेशान है, वोह भी परेशान है, हम सब परेशान हैं<br />
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Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-67475402374451575832020-03-18T11:49:00.002-07:002020-03-18T11:49:28.901-07:00आज मेरी आत्मा ने मुझसे बातें की <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>आज मेरी आत्मा ने मुझसे बातें की </b><br />
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<b>हरिहरन एयर<br /></b><br />
आज मेरी आत्मा ने मुझसे बातें की<br />
पूचा कि कैसा हूँ मैं <br />पर मैं अपने ही अंदर की आवाज़ को पहचान नहीं पाया<br />
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लेकिन जब दिल के दरवाज़े पर फिर से मेरी आत्मा ने खटखटाया<br />
तब मेरे कान ने उस आवाज़ को पहचान लिया<br />
जिसके साथ सदियों पहले मैं गुफ्तगू किया करता था<br /><br />
मैंने हडबड़ाकर जवाब दिया, हाँ मैं ठीक हूँ, आप कैसे हैँ?<br />आत्मा हंसकर बोले, आप कैसे हैँ? अछ्छी बात है, मुझको भूल गए पर अदब नहीं भूले हो<br />
मैंने कहा, हाँ अदब तो नहीं भूला, पर अपने आप को खो दिया है मैंने<br /><br />आत्मा ने कहा, मैं तो तुम्हें इतने ही ज़ोर से कई महीनों से पुकार रहा हूँ, आज कैसे सुन लिया?<br />
मैं हसंकर बोला, बाहर की दुनिया का आवाज़ जो बंध है, घर पर ही बैठा हूँ<br />
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आत्मा फिर बोले, हाँ तुम लोग तो ऐसे ही हो<br />
जब तक वायरस तुम्हें धमकी न दें, कहाँ सुधरने वाले हो!<br />
दो पल रोज़ हमसे भी मुलाक़ात करो<br />
थोड़ा ध्यान करो<br />
परिवार के सात प्यार बांटो, सिर्फ ज़िम्मेदारी मत निभाओ<br />
अपने आप से जुडो, खुद से बातें करो....<br />
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मैंने आत्मा को टोका, और बोला<br />
आपका क्या है - न कोई इच्छा न कोई बंधन<br />
झेलना दौड़ना तो हमें है<br />
पैसे के पीछे, प्रमोशन के पीछे, बच्चों के पीछे, भविष्य के पीछे....<br /><br />अब आत्मा ने मुझे टोका<br />
मुझे क्यों कोसते हो<br />
तुम और मैं एक हैं - ये तुम जानते हो<br />
फिर भी अनजान बनाते हो<br />
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मैंने फिर से टोका<br />
ओह! आत्मा अब रहने भी दो मैं कौन हूँ वाला सत्संग<br />
बस कुछ ही दिनों की बात है<br />
फिर से मैं अपनी आदत भरी ज़िन्दगी में लौट जाऊँगा<br />
ट्रैफिक की आवाज़ में फिर से आपको न सुन पाऊंगा<br />
इस शोर में समा जाऊँगा<br />
और भागता भागता थक जाऊँगा<br />
पर आपको पुकार नहीं पाउंगा<br />
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बस फिर एक बार मैं विजयी हुआ<br />
अपने आत्मा को उनका जगह दिखा दिया<br />
फिर एक बार जो मैं हूँ उसी को अपने से दूर कर दिया<br />
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वायरस हमारी ज़िन्दगी को थमा तो सकता है<br />
पर हमारी नासमझी को कौन ठीक क़र सकता है <br />
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Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-16039959141392124562020-02-20T09:11:00.003-08:002020-02-20T09:12:27.322-08:00TRUST ME.....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #333333;"><i>Trust Me, The Experience Of The Path Is More Beautiful Than The Fruit Of The Goal</i></span></span></span></div>
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By Hariharan Iyer<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande", verdana, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Trust Me, it's okay to fail</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "lucida grande" , "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></span><br />
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Trust Me, it's okay to fall short</div>
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Trust Me, It's okay to be not loved enough</div>
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Trust Me, It's okay to be put down</div>
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Trust Me, It's okay not to believe in yourself fully</div>
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Trust Me, It's okay not to put a date to your goals</div>
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Trust Me, It's Okay to be confused</div>
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But Trust Me, it's not okay not to try</div>
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It's not okay to give up</div>
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It's not okay to not smile at your difficulties</div>
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It's not okay not to grow yourself</div>
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It's not okay to complain</div>
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It's not okay to be irresponsible</div>
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It's not okay not try to be happy</div>
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Success is a journey, not a destination</div>
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It's okay not to get to your goal</div>
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But it's not okay not to travel the path</div>
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Trust Me, The Experience Of The Path Is More Beautiful Than The Fruit Of The Goal</div>
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Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-25581484860828253182019-11-22T04:44:00.002-08:002019-11-22T04:44:41.975-08:00इस दिखावे की दुनिया में....<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>इस दिखावे की दुनिया में..... </b></div>
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इस दिखावे की दुनिया में थोडासा सच बोलना चाहता हूँ,</div>
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इस दिखावे की दुनिया में थोडासा टूटना चाहता हूँ, </div>
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इस दिखावे की दुनिया में थोडासा रोना चाहता हूँ, </div>
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इस दिखावे की दुनिया में थोडीसी सहानभूति चाहता हूँ,</div>
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इस दिखावे की दुनिया में अपनी इंसानियत का परिचय देना चाहता हूँ, </div>
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इस दिखावे की दुनिया में अपनी सच्चाई का संतोष महसूस करना चाहता हूँ, </div>
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इस दिखावे की दुनिया में `हाँ, मैं डर गया हूँ , मेरी मदत करो` निःसंकोष कहना चाहता हूँ, </div>
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ए दोस्त, ये दिखावा सिर्फ आत्मा पर ही नहीं अंग अंग में भारी पढ़ता है,</div>
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आखिर तो मरना है और सबको सब कुछ दिखना ही है,</div>
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तो फिर क्यों न जीते जी ही मैं क्या हूँ, मैं कौन हूँ इसका परिचय दे दूँ,</div>
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कुछ नहीं तो वो जो देख रहा है, उससे आँखें मिलाने का काबिल बन जाऊं।</div>
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Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-73180909386211433882019-08-26T08:28:00.000-07:002019-08-26T08:29:00.761-07:00When Emotions Turn Spiritual <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: left;"><b>When Emotions Turn Spiritual</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImn6A60LKG5cMUkn1UBh0wfc8XRQlMC4WkzU3BPBOiDLtjBrQa_XELV9ekUaGh3i8JbmWL_nXIZWGsg69QS_O2ZAGAnVDUe8bHQwv4O33-eYHRw5SzPNGqWlXakmXnBRLt-RRwPPSitjo/s1600/meditation-1384758__340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="493" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjImn6A60LKG5cMUkn1UBh0wfc8XRQlMC4WkzU3BPBOiDLtjBrQa_XELV9ekUaGh3i8JbmWL_nXIZWGsg69QS_O2ZAGAnVDUe8bHQwv4O33-eYHRw5SzPNGqWlXakmXnBRLt-RRwPPSitjo/s320/meditation-1384758__340.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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When Emotions Turn Spiritual</div>
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Stone Becomes God</div>
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Book Becomes A Granth</div>
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Beauty Becomes Divine</div>
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When Emotions Turn Spiritual<br />
A person becomes a Saint</div>
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Seeing Becomes Darshan</div>
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Love Becomes Pure</div>
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When Emotions Turn Spiritual </div>
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Food Becomes Prasad</div>
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Life Becomes Sadhana</div>
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Death Becomes An Experience</div>
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When Emotions Turn Spiritual </div>
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Attachment Becomes Detachment</div>
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Relations Become Relative</div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "lucida grande" , "verdana" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">Many Become One</span></div>
Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-1581833816908636102019-03-16T01:54:00.004-07:002019-03-16T03:25:11.200-07:00My Sister Vasanthi - Lived And Left On Her Terms<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><br /></b><b>Synopsis</b><br />
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<i><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Vasanthi
was more than just a sister for us. She was an inspiration. A
homemaker for a large part of her married life, she took to
entrepreneurship and created a small empire of sorts. As my brother
rightly put it, `TamBrahm Lady born in 1951 and Entrepreneur. As rare
as it gets.` </span>Thank You Dear Sister for what you were and what you taught us through your life and personality. I am sure you have already scripted your next adventure with life. Move On, Joyfully.</i><br />
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<b>Main Article</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><br />It
is incredible that within a year I am writing another obituary for
yet another cousin sister who called it quits from this world.
Vasanthi was the eldest amongst the cousins from the paternal side.
We were all looking forward to meet her on her visit to Mumbai. As it
turned out, meet we did, but mostly in the hospital. <br /><br />Life can
be cruel and unhumourously funny at times. From the time she reached
Mumbai to eventually exiting the world from Hosur, her health
deteriorated rapidly. We were looking forward to catching up before
she left again for the US to be with her daughter. But life had
another script written out. <br /><br />My penultimate meeting with her
in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Mumbai will forever remain etched
in my memory. She pleaded that I not pray for her health, but for a
fast exit. Soon after she reached Hosur, she breathed her last. She
was just like that - lived and died on her terms. <br /><br />Vasanthi
was more than just a sister for us. She was an inspiration. A
homemaker for a large part of her married life, she took to
entrepreneurship and created a small empire of sorts. Even as a
daughter, wife and mother, she was dynamism personified. It is no
surprise then that those qualities expressed themselves successfully
in the entrepreneurship space. As my brother rightly put it,
`TamBrahm Lady born in 1951 and Entrepreneur. As rare as it
gets.`<br /><br />Truly, traditionally, we TamBrahm Iyers are brought up
on a heavy dose of building loyalty towards our employers rather than
venturing into risky areas like business. "Not for us," we
were told. We were duly educated on the communities that did business
and the ones that served the `masters`. Vasanthi however was a
trailblazer. She took to entrepreneurship like fish takes to water
and showed that we too could do it. <br /><br />She was a symbol of
support for me when I ventured into entrepreneurship about ten years
ago. She always encouraged me and commented on my work. I was
thrilled that she admired my work and that truly meant a lot.
<br /><br />Vasanthi was an example of how to be a support system for
people who mattered in her life. Be it her parents, sister, husband, daughter, son-in-law or even grandchildren, she was a pillar of strength for everyone. The ones she
served benefited directly, and people like us drew inspiration from
her achievements and interactions. Vasanthi lived two lives - one in
India and the other in the US with her daughter's family. We were
always updated about her whereabouts and never felt she was too far
away from us. </span>
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"I
have always been a support for people and don't want to be a burden
for anyone," is what she kept telling all of us in the month
leading up to her demise. This attitude emerged from her very
practical and grounded wisdom. She was fearless and fast paced in
life and fearless and fast paced in death too. <br />
<br />
In a way, we
are happy that we could do our bit in her moments of suffering. It
was a swift end, but our grief is not going to go away anytime soon.
<br />
<br />
Thank You Dear Sister for what you were and what you taught
us through your life and personality. I am sure you have already
scripted your next adventure with life. Move On, Joyfully.
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Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-38439170706756687742018-10-12T23:04:00.000-07:002018-10-12T23:05:26.148-07:00अमिताभ तो बस एक ही है <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>अमिताभ तो बस एक ही है </b></div>
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<b><br /></b>ये कहना कि मैं अमिताभ का फैन हूँ, बहुत आम बात है,</div>
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ये कहना कि मैं अमिताभ का भक्त हूँ, ये भी आम बात है,</div>
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पर यह कहना कि मैं अमिताभ जैसा बनाना चाहता हूँ, ये ज़रूर कोई बात है.<br />
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पर अमिताभ जैसा बनना मुश्किल ही नहीं, नामुनकिन है,</div>
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क्यों कि रिश्ते में तो हम उनके फैन लगते हैं,<br />
पर नाम अमिताभ सिर्फ एक ही का लोग जानते हैं.<br />
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वोह आवाज़, वोह अंदाज़ उस इंसान का है,<br />
जो जहां खड़े हो जाते हैं, </div>
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लाइन वहीं से शुरू होती है.<br />
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काबिलियत उसका नाम है जिसका नाम अमिताभ है,</div>
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बस नाम ही काफी है,</div>
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और काबिलियत का परिचय हो जाता है.<br />
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कद इनको कुदरत ने दिया है,</div>
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पर औधा इन्होने खुद बनाया है,</div>
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इनके कारनामें से देश का सीना चौढ़ा हो जाता है.<br />
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ये जब पग घुंघरू बाँध नाचते हैं,</div>
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तो देश झूम उठता है,</div>
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ये जब सुर लगते हैं, देश गाने लगता है.<br />
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ये भाई को सैन नहीं देते,</div>
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और `पहले इसका, पहले उसका सैन लाओ` कहते हैं,</div>
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पर सब इनके सैन के दीवाने हैं.</div>
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ये डॉन हो या हीरो, हर किरदार बखूबी निभाते हैं, </div>
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इनको सभी ढूंढते रहते हैं,</div>
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पर ये पता नहीं कहाँ इंतज़ार कर रहे होते हैं. </div>
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ये बेमिसाल हैं, लाजवाब हैं,</div>
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प्रोडूसर के लिए दो और दो पांच कर सकते हैं,</div>
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खुदा गवा है, अमिताभ तो बस एक ही है.</div>
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Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-42820365736469794972018-09-20T09:08:00.003-07:002018-09-20T09:09:35.151-07:00थकना ठीक है, थमना नहीं <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>थकना ठीक है, थमना नहीं </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>By Hariharan Iyer</b><br />
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थकना ठीक है, थमना नहीं,<br />
गिरना ठीक है, हारना नहीं,<br />
नासमझी ठीक है, बुरा व्यवहार नहीं,<br />
कभी कभी अनुचित संवाद भी ठीक है, पर बुरे सम्बन्ध नहीं<br />
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प्यार में गुस्सा ठीक है, पर औपचारिकता नहीं,<br />
समाज के प्रति कभी कभी खटास ठीक है, पर ग़ैज़िम्मेदारी नहीं,<br />
सबके लिए सहानभूति ठीक है, पर सबसे दोस्ती नहीं<br />
हर समय ना हसों थो ठीक है, पर छोटी बातों पर रोना नहीं<br />
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गलती करो तो ठीक है, पर उसे दोहराना नहीं,<br />
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खुशी ना हो थो ठीक है, पर अधिक समय तक दुखी होना नहीं,</div>
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दोस्ती न निभाओ तो कदाचित और किसी सन्दर्भ में ठीक है, पर दुश्मनी नहीं, </div>
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मरना थो ठीक है, पर जीतेजी मर जाना नहीं </div>
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Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-57054621667679677442018-07-22T10:50:00.000-07:002018-07-22T10:51:33.055-07:00My Sister Latha: A Legacy Of Cheerfulness<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><b>My Sister Latha: A Legacy Of
Cheerfulness</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b><i><span style="font-weight: normal;">Synopsis: Latha
leaves behind a legacy of cheerfulness. She epitomised a life of
fullness and laughter. She taught an important lesson - it is not the
length of life that matters, but the depth of life that matters. </span></i></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><b>Main Blog</b><br /><br />The prayer meeting for my cousin
sister Latha Iyer, who passed away few days ago, had a peculiar air
about it. Solemnity was written all over it as her large and
affectionate friends descended to offer condolences. Yet, after a
while, the audience could not stop themselves from being more
relaxed, picking up chatter and filling the air with 'happy' small
talk. </span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">The audience's behaviour was still
conditioned by the smiling presence of Latha in the picture in front
of them. There was a sense that Latha was still around and she just
did not approve of the eerie silence in the hall. Spontaneous
speeches honouring the presence of Latha in their lives was a
poignant moment for all those present.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">My sister was just like that - full
of life and laughter. Her little frame packed in a kind of laughter
that boomed across corridors infecting people with happiness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">Though she too lived in Chembur in
Mumbai, we did not meet often. But I knew she was doing good, and
doing good to others too. Whenever we met during family functions and
otherwise, the bond was instant. We shared wonderful times together
and were there for one another in happy and not-so-happy times.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;">My deepest memories are from our
childhood spent in Chennai and Mumbai. While my brother and me grew
up in Mumbai, Latha, her sister and brother grew up in Chennai. Our
visits to Powai and Vihar lakes during their visits here are enduring
memories. The simplicity of our picnics was far removed from modern
day get-aways in expensive cafes and restaurants.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Latha
leaves behind a legacy of cheerfulness. She epitomised a life of
fullness and laughter. She taught an important lesson - it is not the
length of life that matters, but the depth of life that matters.
<br /><br />She was a great wife, a fantastic mother and an amazing
friend. It would be a long and hard ordeal for people who love her to
come to terms with her absence. </span></span></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Rest
In Laughter Latha. </span></span></span>
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Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-53461450027574011152017-12-06T22:30:00.003-08:002017-12-06T22:31:26.237-08:00Shashi Kapoor: The Last Of The Kapoor Pioneers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4LPr4-HlubG3C2sAITJxIT1ZnsHPOhJ7eLebzYWlXfmJzB_hgH9AesOKbWJs-QvuYrRDZKaJXloDQk8MIsR-HKN3PaBDywj2mteJpAIik_xQUCQHc5KtCbHIi8uv2oFGfkRRbeUixLMF/s1600/Signed_photo_of_Indian_actor_Shashi_Kapoor_%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="435" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK4LPr4-HlubG3C2sAITJxIT1ZnsHPOhJ7eLebzYWlXfmJzB_hgH9AesOKbWJs-QvuYrRDZKaJXloDQk8MIsR-HKN3PaBDywj2mteJpAIik_xQUCQHc5KtCbHIi8uv2oFGfkRRbeUixLMF/s320/Signed_photo_of_Indian_actor_Shashi_Kapoor_%25282%2529.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
<b><br />Shashi Kapoor: The Last Of The Kapoor
Pioneers</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Though
Deewar is a Bachchan-centered film, Shashi Kapoor stood out by
choosing to let Amitabh's character stand out. Seen from a management
perspective, this is an outstanding example of team work, where the
individual ego is dismissed to make way for emergence of the larger
perspective. Shashi Kapoor not only looked good, he made everyone
around him look good too. </i></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span><span style="font-size: small;">The passing away
of Shashi Kapoor has invoked a feeling of sadness that comes with
losing your friendly neighbour. That's what Shashi Kapoor was – a
simple star, a friend who enthralled audiences for decades with his
charm, simplicity of acting and intellectual potency. He was simply
the star next door, not the one who rose above all of us on cinema
screens.<br /><br />Shashi Kapoor was never counted as amongst the
megastars of his era –</span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: small;">
like his own brothers, Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Rajendra Kumar, Rajesh
Khanna or Dharmendra. In the '70s of course Amitabh Bachchan's rise
relegated all competent and incompetent heroes to the background.
Yet, Amitabh's career graph is inseparable from Shashi Kapoor's as
they paired to produce some magnetic performances in movies like
Deewar, Do Aur Do Paanch, Suhaag, Kabhie Kabhie, Kaala Patthar, Shaan
and Namak Halal. In each of these films, Bachchan is the show
stopper, but Shashi Kapoor provides the anchor. <br /><br />The trio of
Dharmendra, Shashi Kapoor and Rajesh Khanna had women swooning over
them due to their incredibly good looks. In Sharmeelee, Shashi looks
stunning to say the least. As his career evolved, he did not strive
to be a specialist, like the `romantic Rajesh` or the `angry young
man Amitabh`. Shashi was not a brand in that sense. His branding came
only from the immortal `Mere Paas Maa Hai` line in Deewar. But even
there, Bachchan stole the show with his intense dialogue delivery.
Bachchan perhaps has a lot to owe Shashi Kapoor because he made him
look good on screen by being a back-peddler than an equal on screen.
<br /><br />It is a tribute to Shashi Kapoor's humility that though he
was elder to the Big B and his senior in the industry, he played his
younger brother in Deewar. The film is a classic and is iconic for
its dialogues, story line, action sequences and direction. Though
it's a Bachchan-centered film, Shashi Kapoor stood out by choosing to
let Amitabh's character stand out. Seen from a management
perspective, this is an outstanding example of team work, where the
individual ego is dismissed to make way for emergence of the larger
perspective. <br /><br />Shashi Kapoor aged gracefully and never felt
tied down by any image. He seamlessly moved from being a commercial
star to doing films with a parallel cinema touch to being cast in
character roles. Though the chocolate hero next door in the early
days of his career, Shashi Kapoor transited to doing films with depth
like New Delhi Times. He even produced quality movies like Kalyug and
Junoon. He was perhaps ahead of his times when he directed a super
hero film Ajooba with who else, but Bachchan in the lead. While his
brother Raj Kapoor will always be remembered for the RK banner and
his path-breaking films, Shashi Kapoor too made no mean attempt to
add to the intellectual horizon through his brand of film-making. The
RK Studios banner has been fledgling since Raj Kapoor's death, but
the brand of Shashi Kapoor's films have created a space for
themselves in Bollywood. He was the last of the Kapoor pioneers. This
is no mean achievement as the masses had mad adulation for his
brothers Raj and Shammi and his nephew Rishi. <br /><br />My personal
Shashi Kapoor favourite is his 1981 film Baseraa, in which he
co-starred with Raakhee and Rekha. He presents a mature character
who is caught between his love for his sick wife and a practical life
situation. Though caught between two difficult choices, he stands out
as a character and as an actor. This role in a sense typifies Shashi
Kapoor for all of us. In his career, he never seen as a mega star,
but every mega star he worked with got a fillip because of his
presence. <br /><br />Shashi Kapoor not only looked good, he made
everyone around him look good too.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;">RIP Shashi Kapoor. <br /><br /></span></div>
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Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-85106938001218323962017-10-19T00:43:00.001-07:002017-10-19T00:51:57.768-07:00A Lesson In Customer Service From A Hotel Waiter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIgAEuw30nE8SRnGtzixuffziBLiIjMul1N8LY-LfSmZs1ZycobAkBFAf0cwekzDeuDiFJHPzYO69llfh7IDG9Di8lIfOKHgWboc1s0JhrGEwLhf-Mgijg4rDnhjPe1fV4poWXxpTBma52/s1600/IMG-20171018-WA0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1278" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIgAEuw30nE8SRnGtzixuffziBLiIjMul1N8LY-LfSmZs1ZycobAkBFAf0cwekzDeuDiFJHPzYO69llfh7IDG9Di8lIfOKHgWboc1s0JhrGEwLhf-Mgijg4rDnhjPe1fV4poWXxpTBma52/s320/IMG-20171018-WA0001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"><i>The lady at the counter simply did her job. She was playing it by the book. While she was not wrong, she did not get it right either. But our smiling and caring waiter friend ensured his customers got what they wanted. He ensured we came back happy and delighted.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #222222;">It is said we can learn from anybody, anywhere and anyhow. A wonderful lesson in creating customer delight came from an unexpected quarter - a hotel waiter.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Our family recently visited Pondicherry. We had to return to Mumbai by flight from Chennai. On our way to Chennai we asked our cab driver to stop at a restaurant which offered the quintessential South Indian meals. We arrived at a well known joint a little after 3 pm. It was closing time for meals but we hoped we could still get to eat. We saw a few people polishing off the meals and so I optimistically asked the lady at the billing counter whether meals were available. She said it had closed and we could eat something else, but not meals. I told her we had come all the way from Mumbai and were keen on having meals. I requested her to do something, but she said it was not possible.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I however persisted and shared our predicament with one of the waiters. I told him we had come from Mumbai. He asked us to sit and went inside. We got concerned as he took a bit too long to return for our comfort. But soon to our utmost delight he returned with three plates of meals and placed them on the table. He managed it though meals time had officially closed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">He ensured we got the servings we wanted. He said he got us the food from the staff quota. It truly was an outstanding example of someone going out of his way to ensure happiness for his customers.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">He probably took a risk, bur definitely ensured customer experience was top class. He demonstrated the power of ownership and went beyond his call of duty. He showed us that ownership is a value and has got nothing to do with the money we get paid for doing our job. The lady at the counter simply did her job. She was playing it by the book. While she was not wrong, she did not get it right either. But our smiling and caring waiter friend ensured his customers got what they wanted. He ensured we came back happy and delighted.</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">He showed that customer service does not stem from politically correct statements on walls, but from an attitude of service and care. He proved Customer Is God, not just in words but also in spirit.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Thanks to him, we came back not just with our stomachs full, but a heart filled with gratitude. An `ordinary` waiter offered us not just food, but an extraordinary lesson in customer service. </span></span></div>
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Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-12204646951178244502017-10-02T08:52:00.002-07:002017-10-02T09:01:31.395-07:00Home Is Where The Behaviours Are<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b>Home Is Where The Behaviours Are<br /></b><br />
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<i>Observing and discussing behaviour styles is now part of dinner table conversations at my home. The other day my wife's cousin who was visiting us discovered that he was probably an Examiner as he simply answered two simple questions: was he slow paced or fast paced and was he people oriented or task oriented?. </i></div>
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Charity begins at home is an old adage, but so do behaviours. After coming back from.the US post the Asentiv Train The Trainer workshop on Room Full Of Referrals there was a lot of curiosity within my family. "What exactly did you learn?," they asked. </div>
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The best way for me to answer that was to invite them to my first workshop on Room Full Of Referrals. Besides others, it was a family gathering of sorts. My brother, my wife and our daughter sat as participants. As it turned out, my brother and daughter realised they were promoters and my wife found out she was a nurturer. Normally it is hazardous to guess anything about your wife, but I got this one right - yes I knew she was a nurturer. </div>
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Observing and discussing behaviour styles is now part of dinner table conversations at my home. The other day my wife's cousin who was visiting us discovered that he was probably an Examiner as he simply answered two simple questions: was he slow paced or fast paced and was he people oriented or task oriented?. </div>
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We also discussed behaviour styles of other relatives and it seemed so easy for all of us to make an intelligent guess. </div>
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The power of Room Full Of Referrals is truly immense. It is now part of our daily consciousness. </div>
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For me its application is having a huge impact on my interactions with clients and potential clients. I am now able to adapt effortlessly to other people's behaviour styles and structure my communication accordingly.</div>
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The other great benefit is that I am able to educate others regarding my own promoter style, which helps them understand me better. The benefits for business conversations are immense if you are educated on behaviour styles.</div>
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Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-33062331491284200942017-07-21T23:29:00.001-07:002017-10-19T04:56:26.286-07:00People Are Different, Treat Them Differently<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<b>People Are
Different, Treat Them Differently</b><br />
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i style="color: #333333; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">Room
Full Of Referrals program helps people identify four behaviour styles
– Go Getter, Promoter, Nurturer and Examiner. Understanding the
dynamics within each behaviour style is life changing and
relationship altering because you realise why you connect with some
people more easily and not so easily with others. It is also
scientific as it involves a simple assessment that most importantly
indicates what your own style is. </i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
The
Golden Rule says treat people the way you want to be treated. But
Tony Alessandra's Platinum Rule says treat people the way they want
to be treated. <br />
<br />
This was an incredible insight I gathered from
the Asentiv Train The Trainer workshop in the US on Room Full Of
Referrals. Understanding human behaviour is one of the most
fascinating activities in life. Human beings present a wide range of
behaviours with varying personality styles, which makes the whole
aspect of dealing with people intriguing and absorbing. <br />
<br />
A
whole lot of research over centuries has been done on human behaviour
and personality. While personality types are stored deep within,
behaviours are more easy to decipher as they are expressed. Room Full
Of Referrals steers clear of personality analysis and simply vouches
for its expertise on deciphering human behaviour, which is visible
and `in action`. Yet, the trainers insisted we need to keep using the
words `tend to` and `typically` for any style of behaviour, as we
cannot put anybody into a box.<br />
<br />
Room Full Of Referrals is
created from a networking and referability context. However, the
architecture can be effortlessly adapted for corporates as Room Full
Of Relationships. After all, everywhere it is about dealing with
people and constructing meaningful relationships. Every business is
about working with people. As Dawn Lyons, trainer and co-author of
`Room Full Of Referrals` says in the book: “People know people, and
the people people know, know more people. So, if referrals come from
people, who should we learning more about? People!” <br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">When
interpreted in a corporate context, the principle of knowing people
better works here too. After all, no organisation can meet its
objectives unless its people are in sync with one another. Human
beings are wired differently and the key lies in appreciating the
difference, especially at the level of behaviour. As Steve Jobs said:
“</span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Great
things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a
team of people.” After all, the biggest challenge to any business
does not come from markets or products, it comes from people. <br /><br />Room
Full Of Referrals helps people identify four behaviour styles – Go
Getter, Promoter, Nurturer and Examiner. Understanding the dynamics
within each behaviour style is life changing and relationship
altering because you realise why you connect with some people more
easily and not so easily with others. It is also scientific as it
involves a simple assessment that most importantly indicates what
your own style is. <br /><br />It is an eye opener to know that Go
Getters and Promoters are fast paced, whereas Nurturers and Examiners
are slow paced. While Go Getters and Examiners are task oriented,
Promoters and Nurturers are people oriented. Having said this, it is
critical to understand we all are a combination of all styles, but
one or two of them may carry higher intensity. There is no better or
worse style or good or bad style. Each style is worth honouring and
appreciating.<br /><br />Now you can see why in a team if A is a Go
Getter and B is a Nurturer, they are unlikely to connect at a deeper
level unless they adapt themselves to the other person's style. That
is the essence of The Platinum Rule – we've got to treat people in
a manner they would like to be treated, for all the four styles are
wired differently. When we adapt, we are not manipulating, we are in
fact honouring the other person's style and wiring. <br /><br />For me,
this understanding has proved magical. Today, I am conscious of who I
am and the kind of style I am talking to. As I meet people, I try to
make a guess in terms of who could be what and try to adapt my
communication accordingly. The workshop provides a framework in terms
of being able to guess who is what based on body language, words,
etc. <br /><br />A great learning from the workshop was that within the
English language, you can learn four more languages – that of the
Go Getter, Promoter, Nurturer and Examiner. Yes, they speak
`different` languages. Unless we appreciate and honour this aspect of
human behaviour, we are unlikely to strike a great rapport with more
than just a few people. <br /><br />Each style's motivation is different
– the Go Getters and Examiners look for results, but their pace and
mechanism are different, whereas the Promoter needs fun and the
Nurturer wants to build long term relationships. <br /><br />The Room
Full Of Referrals workshop teaches you how to use the four different
languages. It is a package – it is result oriented, fun, helps
build long term relationships and provides deep insights into human
behaviour. Did you notice the language used in the sentence? It
speaks to all four styles. This is just one of the benefits of
undergoing the workshop.</span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>(To
know more about Room Full Of Referrals program, please write to me
at: hariharan@theentertrainer.in /
<a href="mailto:bharat.jethani@asentiv.com">bharat.jethani@asentiv.com</a>)<br /></i></span></span></span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
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Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-13448700363179728242017-06-19T04:48:00.004-07:002017-06-19T04:53:09.993-07:00My Journey Of Eight Years: Blogo-graphy Of A Reluctant Employee And An Unskilled Entrepreneur<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i style="color: #222222; orphans: 2; text-align: left; widows: 2;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Entrepreneurship
looks glamorous for those who are not in it, but aspire for it. But
the realities are far more excruciating than one can imagine. The
`security` of a job is incredibly comforting, but the `excitement of
uncertainty` is what defines entrepreneurship.</span></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #222222;">July
1, 2009, was the first day of my life when I got up hoping I will
never have to work for anyone again. A great friend from Delhi called
that morning to wish me the best and said I had opened up a world of
unlimited possibilities by my decision to walk out of a well-paying
career. His words have stayed with me and continue to inspire
me.<br /><br />The last eight years have been eventful to say the least.
I stepped into business with a strong employee-oriented competency
with very little understanding of how to sell yourself in the
marketplace. Years of practice had made me, like so many others,
adept at selling myself at interviews. But soon enough I realised
selling yourself at the marketplace was a different ball game
altogether. <br /><br />Business looks great when you are `settled` in it
and people are craving for your products. But even the most
established entrepreneur will tell you that as a businessman you
never feel settled. There is always the uncertainty of the
marketplace that stares at your face from time to time. In these
eight years, the greatest shift I had to bring within myself was to
`become` an entrepreneur and shed the employee mindset. <br /><br />I was
always a reluctant employee. Though committed to the core, I never
liked people telling me what I should do. I always wanted to be my
own Boss. The only reason I survived in a career for about fifteen
years was because from time to time I was blessed with great Bosses
and mentors. They ensured I had the space to operate. Space is
something I have always craved for. From time to time of course I
also encountered seniors who gave the entrepreneurial instinct within
me a stronger nudge with their not-so-good behaviours. Yet, I learnt
a lot from them too and am grateful for that.<br /><br />Many people ask
me how it feels to be an entrepreneur and some even admire me for my
`success`. Eight years on, they feel I have survived the onslaught
and stuck it out. Some even want `advise` on how they too can leave
their jobs and become `free`. I have always shied away from advising
people on entrepreneurship for I truly believe I am still finding
myself in the journey. I believe my path is unique. I want to create
something which will have my stamp on it. I am fairly stubborn about
my desire to create rather than merely tag myself along with an
established model or certification to ensure money making is easy.
Yes, money is very important – I have never understood its
importance as much as I have in the last eight years – but I want
to create an organisation of my dreams rather than merely make it a
profit-centric model. <br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><i>The
only advise I have for people who want to quit their career and be
on their own is never leave your job for the wrong reasons. Never
leave because you cannot put up with your Boss, company or work
pressure. Such people soon go back to a job because they never
wanted to be an entrepreneur, they just wanted to quit their job.
</i></span>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />For
me, entrepreneurship has been my life's most amazing and adventurous
journey. It has been a roller-coaster ride. The freedom from a closed
and structured environment has allowed me to express my youthfulness
like never before. Today, I write, sing, speak, train and strategise
with gay abandon. For me, the adage I learnt in school `success is a
journey, not a destination` has come alive in the last eight years.
The excitement of having the space to do what you want is incredibly
exciting. <br />Besides creating an entrepreneurship-aligned mindset,
the most important area of development for me has been skills.
Entrepreneurship requires varied skills, the most important being
selling and people management. Given my upbringing, I was never going
to be a natural entrepreneur. But I realised I had four critical
qualities required to be an entrepreneur: <br />1. Sense of purpose <br />2.
Risk-taking ability<br />3. Love for freedom<br />4. Persistence<br /></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
love what Steve Jobs said: </span></span><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“</span></span></span><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm
convinced that about half of what separates the successful
entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.
Unless you have a lot of passion about this, you're not going to
survive. You're going to give it up. So you've got to have an idea,
or a problem or a wrong that you want to right that you're passionate
about; otherwise, you're not going to have the perseverance to stick
it through.”<br /><br />Entrepreneurship looks glamorous for those who
are not in it, but aspire for it. But the realities are far more
excruciating than one can imagine. The `security` of a job is
incredibly comforting, but the `excitement of uncertainty` is what
defines entrepreneurship. Employment and entreprenuership are two
different paradigms. Both are great if you are excited about the
space you are in. <br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">I
admire a lot of wonderful employees who are focused on what they
want and are clear business is not their space. I also find
entrepreneurs struggling to cope, but do not have the temperament
to be in a job. They lack the discipline to be an entrepreneur and
the temperament to be an employee. They are neither here nor
there. </span></span></i></span>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="color: #181818;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><br />If
success is measured in terms of money, you can be a rich employee and
also a poor entrepreneur. Just being an entrepreneur doesn't make
anyone rich. It is a process and at times an excruciatingly long one.
You make far more mistakes as an entrepreneur than as an employee.
Ability to deal with failures and one's own limitations is an
extremely critical quality to be a successful entrepreneur.<br /><br />My
ex-Boss once told me that entrepreneurship is a ten-year game. I have
completed eight. The journey and learnings continue with just one
guarantee – the excitement of discovering the precious gems in this
world is everlasting. </span></span></span>
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Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-49090515236195720262017-04-28T06:40:00.001-07:002017-04-28T06:42:09.731-07:00Vinod Khanna – The Man Who Ran Bachchan Close<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><u><b>Vinod
Khanna – The Man Who Ran Bachchan Close<br /><br /></b></u></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br />When the pages of Bollywood are
updated, Khanna would be portrayed as a would-have-been megastar,
whereas Amitabh will have the cake and eat it too in terms of
literary glory and representation of a career.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;">Amitabh Bachchan's career, amongst
other things, is about two Khannas – Rajesh Khanna, whom he
displaced as Superstar and Vinod Khanna, who breathed down his neck
by matching his skills frame to frame. Vinod could do whatever
Amitabh did – have massive screen presence, pack a punch into the
`bad man's` belly with conviction, do comedy and carry a film on his
sole shoulders. Khanna too had charisma and held his own in the 70s'
even when cast besides Amitabh, who was touted as the one-man
industry.<br /><br />Yet, when the pages of Bollywood are updated, Khanna
would be portrayed as a would-have-been megastar, whereas Amitabh
will have the cake and eat it too in terms of literary glory and
representation of a career.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #222222;">Interestingly, their careers too
took a divergence when they were at the peak of their success and
prowess. While Bachchan forayed into politics and then business –
only to get routed in both – Khanna took to spiritual seeking, and
later made a comeback of sorts into films. Yet, while Amitabh
reinvented himself and rose to a different orbit, Vinod Khanna faded
away from the cameras and did well in politics. In politics, he did
not need to run Bachchan close, as while the Big B moved away
decisively from the electoral din and dust, Khanna was a still
sitting MP when he breathed his last.<br /><br />Vinod Khanna perhaps
missed being destiny's child in terms of achieving the cult status of
Amitabh Bachchan. To my mind, he rose above Bachchan in two
parameters – machoism, next best only to the great Dharmendra, and
sex appeal. His walk, dialogue delivery, romantic expressions had
women fans falling head over heels for him. He was the `Dream Man`
who could do what his fans hoped for from such a personality on
screen. Yet he never was counted in the league of Amitabh, though the
talk was always about him being the Big B's closest competitor in an
era which was serenaded by such stalwarts as Rajesh Khanna,
Dharmendra, Shatrughan Sinha and Rishi Kapoor. But who knows if
Vinod Khanna had stayed the Bollywood course and not ventured into
spirituality at the peak of his fame, what history might have had in
store for him!<br /><br />Intriguingly, Vinod Khanna made a mark first as
a Bollywood villain. Later, he established himself as a hero with
substance. That shows his versatility and depth as an actor. <br /><br />Like
Rajesh Khanna, this Khanna too has left the world largely irrelevant
to the contemporary viewer – a shadow of what they were at their
peak. While Amitabh continues to amaze, age catches up with
Dharmendra, politics consumes Shatrughan Sinha's time and Rishi
Kapoor keeps his effervescence alive, Vinod Khanna has passed into
eternity, with few significant pages of dedication to this great
actor-star a given whenever a book on the superstars of Bollywood is
written. His contemporaries watch with agony one more Bollywood great
pass on and leave behind memories and a magnificent body of work.
<br /><br />RIP Vinod Khanna!</span></div>
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Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-84768449829185965212017-03-30T03:13:00.005-07:002017-03-30T03:13:48.080-07:00I Too Was President<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>If
at any time the history of BNI Super Achievers is written, I will
feature as one of the Presidents in the Hall of Fame. I indeed carry
a three-in-one feeling – delight, gratitude and honour – for
having had the opportunity to be on the dais in front of such
entrepreneurial stalwarts</i></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">Incredible
as it may seem, I too was President, albeit of my business networking
chapter BNI, whose member I am for about two years now. To be called
a President is an honour – wherever, for that is the power of
nomenclature and words. <br /><br />The President of a chapter is the
captain of the ship along with the Vice President and the Secretary
Treasurer. We three `rookies` were picked and catapulted to lead a
team of over fifty entrepreneurs whom we looked up to for our own
inspiration daily. The announcement came from nowhere and caught me
off-guard, though secretly I had wished for being in that
position.<br /><br />The reason was obvious – it gave me an opportunity
to stand and conduct meetings once a week for six months. A
motivational speaker and trainer could not have asked for more – a
captive audience for six months. The pleasure of welcoming everyone
with `Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to BNI Super
Achievers chapter meeting....` was an experience I will cherish for
time immemorial. <br /><br />The joy of interacting with members from the
dais and keeping control of proceedings was yet another amazing
experience. Authority in entrepreneurial forums, where everyone is a
leader is limited, but responsibility is high. And if you happen to
be a President who carries much lesser experience than a lot of your
fellow members, you don't just need to stand and deliver, but also
find ways to stand tall in their eyes. <br /><br />The President's role
of course goes beyond conducting meetings. The quality of any meeting
depends upon what happens post the meeting – the business
interactions amongst members on an one-to-one level – and before
the meeting – strategies and tactics. It is a leadership role where
your authority is defined by guidelines and processes, and does not
flow from a corporate-like position.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"> </span>
</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;">This
is unlike an organisation where you are Boss to your people by
position and there is an inherent compliance towards you and your
personality. But here it is different. In an entrepreneurial forum,
you need to earn your respect by constantly adding value and engaging
them in a non-threatening manner. Here, the ground beneath is as
vulnerable as the intimidating sky above. <br /><br />As President I
enjoyed setting the vision for the chapter and piloting it to a
different level. The idea, not the execution though, is simple – do
things that will help members make more money. Having lead teams in
my corporate career certainly helped a lot, but being blind to the
difference in contexts would have pulled the rug from under my feet
even before I could blink twice. That is the challenge when you are
dealing with self-made people, who know what they are there in the
forum for. Here I was dealing with people far more successful than me
in business and yet I carried the humongous responsibility of helping
them make more money. <br /><br />Whether you are a leader in a corporate
where your authority flows from your position, or in any forum where
your authority flows purely from credibility, the challenge is the
same – handling people. In today's world, even the leadership
authority that flows from one's formal title is limited; then what to
say of a context where you will be back amongst your people just as
another member in just six months time! As President, I had to be
acutely aware of this reality and conduct myself accordingly. <br /><br />I
took up the responsibility because here was another great opportunity
to grow as a person and learn leadership by doing, than just by
reading or teaching. I cherish all my leadership roles as an
employee, and I will cherish having been President too. Leadership I
realise is all about three key things:<br /><br />1. Adding value<br />2.
Making a difference<br />3. Leaving a legacy</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><br />All
these three are the end points of a leader's journey – the stuff by
which he will be judged. But getting there requires three other
things:<br /><br />1. Tons of tenacity<br />2. People management skills<br />3.
Conflict management<br /><br />Inevitably, a leader has to put up with
resistance, for human beings are scarcely easily accepting of
authority of any kind – soft or hard. Every leadership assignment
brings you face-to-face with people who challenge you and your ideas.
At times it can even be a personality clash of sorts. As a leader,
while you know who is with you wholeheartedly and who is not, you
cannot be biased. This can test your temperament and sense of
fairness. It is every good leader's job to rise above these
challenges, depersonalise the contexts and operate purely from the
larger picture perspective. A leader must always own the failures and
pass on the credit to his team.<br /><br />As President, I received
accolades as well as brickbats. While the accolades gave
encouragement, the brickbats provided great learnings and helped
build my temperament. The one thing I gained from the assignment was
a better temperament – the ability to stay calm when at times the
tides proved pretty rough. This was crucial for me as I am by nature
emotional and sensitive. <br /><br />All said and done, a leader's
fundamental responsibility is to ensure performance. In the end, if
you get everything right, but this goes wrong, your legacy is
questioned. The biggest satisfaction is that through the
rollercoaster ride, we performed. If at any time the history of BNI
Super Achievers is written, I will feature as one of the Presidents
in the Hall of Fame. I indeed carry a three-in-one feeling –
delight, gratitude and honour – for having had the opportunity to
be on the dais in front of such entrepreneurial stalwarts.
<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span><br />
</div>
</div>
Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-934085939830886963.post-32312737976751148692017-02-24T23:01:00.000-08:002017-02-24T23:03:04.268-08:00Keswanis, Madnanis And The Nehrus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhci4PFehYNLy3xxlsCkANjfbzNmetCFHKMqHdRlRiAt_1FlY5_yfMgw40T0hnqh7vMjDolQxy-1ClB3jXdio-DItWIGKhXKLqElKAk61C7jpcY8SBNuTNpPgknHFHT1osOgq_rryavp5XW/s1600/16473796_1438012512900030_7788822847750312560_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhci4PFehYNLy3xxlsCkANjfbzNmetCFHKMqHdRlRiAt_1FlY5_yfMgw40T0hnqh7vMjDolQxy-1ClB3jXdio-DItWIGKhXKLqElKAk61C7jpcY8SBNuTNpPgknHFHT1osOgq_rryavp5XW/s320/16473796_1438012512900030_7788822847750312560_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><u><b>Keswanis,
Madnanis And The Nehrus</b></u></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><u><b><br /></b></u></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #222222;">I
went to Allahabad to be part of a wedding celebration, </span></i></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1; text-decoration: none;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #222222;">but came back
with a piece of history and a string of legacy</span></i></span></span></div>
<div align="CENTER" class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Meandering
unintentionally into history can be fascinating as well as
intriguing. There is something about legacy which cannot be
adequately assimilated in the hundrum of daily.life. Legacy is
nurtured just like a gardener nurtures the plants and flowers.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A
recent visit to the historical-political-spiritual land of Allahabad
brought me face to face with history and legacy at different levels.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">With
the Keswanis of Delhi I share a bond which promises to create a
legacy of sorts in our personal trees of friendship. Through them I
got introduced and exposed to the Madnanis of Allahabad.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
Madnanis hold an important place in the modernisation of Allahabad.
The first generation entrepreneurs built a business as well as a
legacy of sorts. Though generations have grown and built their own
personal legacies outside of the original business model, their
community living with over 50 people occupying a common piece of land
is an inspiring story of bonding and trust. It is a case of being
committed and not just different when more and more people are
craving for personal spaces far away from the hustle and bustle of
relatives. Being with them I realised how they have built their
personal spaces - both physically and emotionally - by being around
one another - both physically and emotionally.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A
visit to the Sangam was a given, yet the serenity amidst the human
cacophony was yet another testimony to the spiritual legacy of this
amazingly diverse country.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Allahabad
and Anand Bhavan are inseparable. The Nehrus' personal and political
bastion stands out as a symbol of political struggle at the altar of
huge personal sacrifices. This legacy of the Nehru-Gandhi family
simply showcases their share in the national consciousness and their
unique place in pre- and post-independent India.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="western" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<br /></div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm; orphans: 1;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">As
I signed off from Allahabad, known for different things to different
people, I realised how I had gone there to be part of a wedding
celebration, but came back with a piece of history and a string of
legacy.</span></span></span></span></span></div>
</div>
Hariharan Iyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15374734994595836863noreply@blogger.com0