Meet Me At Starbucks: How professional encounter turned personal

December 22, 2014 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

This post is a part of ‘Meet Me At Starbucks’ activity by Starbucks and IndiBlogger with the theme ‘Good Things Happen When We Get Together’. Read more about it here – http://www.meetmeatstarbucks.in/

By: Keyur Seta

As a part of my profession, I have to regularly meet people to take their interviews. In terms of satisfaction, some of these interviews are fun, some are not bad while few completely forgetful. But even the ones that fall in the fun category don’t necessarily turn into friendship; the relation is more professional or work-related. However, unexpectedly and completely out of the blue, I came across one such interviewee, who became one of my closest friends in no time.

It was January 25 this year when I had to interview a filmmaker Ajita Suchitra Veera. (Honestly, I remember the date only because Salman Khan’s Jai Ho had released a day before.) The interview was related to her debut film Ballad Of Rustom, which qualified for Oscar contention this year.

I was looking forward to it as it is always interesting to speak with off-beat filmmakers. I personally appreciate those who are bold enough to show the courage to tread against the tide. Just looking at the subject of her film, I was sure she is a bold individual, who doesn’t shy away from speaking her mind. But my interest was limited to this only, not knowing there was more in store.

She reciprocated my hello with a warm smile as I reached the table she had chosen in the open air area of a coffee shop. There was nothing to feel joyful about it as it is a routine practice to exchange pleasantries in, almost, every profession. As the interview commenced and kept rolling, I realized my prediction about she being bold was spot on! But what was more pleasing was her informal manner of responding, which was more like a friendly chat than an interview.

Image Source: spiceroverindia.wordpress.com

Things became friendlier as we chatted for a good amount of time much after the interview ended. While returning home, I felt a sense of satisfaction as it was one of my most enjoyable interviews. So I was sure we both would be in touch from now onwards. But still, there was quite some distance to cover before becoming close friends.

As per my promise, I mailed her the links of my blogs and, later on, informed her when her interview was published in my magazine. Hence, we started being in touch through the net and realized we have absolutely similar views on politics, religion, social issues and, almost, everything in life. So it wasn’t surprising that we decided to meet up again at a similar place.

Our first informal meet was excellent. We spoke on various issues and didn’t realize when more than three hours passed by. I felt completely at ease, which doesn’t happen always with me so early with someone. Needless to say, there was a lot of laughter too. The same was the case with our next few meets. In this way, a routine interview provided me with a close and respected friend.

A peculiar feature about our chats was that they all happened face-to-face and not online or on phone. Of course, we have interacted through SMS’es and Facebook chats but all our discussions have happened only in person. I also realized that Ajita is the only person with whom I have had long discussions face-to-face in last eight years or so.

Mobiles, computers and other such gadgets were introduced to help us be in touch with all our close ones without meeting them in person. But on the contrary, this has distanced us from our near and dear ones as now all discussions and chats take place only in the virtual world.

Today when I look back over the last eight years or so, I realize that only the talks that have provided me with the maximum satisfaction are the ones that took place face-to-face. I have had long conversations regularly over the years on chats and phone, but the joy of meeting someone and discussion gives a different high.

As I have strictly limited my use of technology by not using internet or Whats App on phone, I feel my chances of getting such high are higher. After all, Good Things Happen When We Get Together.

PK Movie Review

December 19, 2014 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

Rating: * * * * ½

By: Keyur Seta

It is very difficult to commence the review of a film like PK. However, I have no problems with it at all because this writer’s block is an outcome of the greatness of the film. This is exactly how the Rajkumar Hirani film can be described – one of the greatest movies ever by a master filmmaker!

PK tells the story of Jagat Jananai (Anushka Sharma) aka Jaggu, who is studying in Belgium. Her chance encounter with Sarfaraz (Sushant Singh Rajput) blossoms into love but all doesn’t go well for them. Sometime later, she meets a weird man, who calls himself PK (Aamir Khan). Just like his appearance and talks, PK has a weird mission. What is it? And who exactly is PK?

Although the subjects of Hirani’s previous three films were entirely different from one another, they had a common link in the content, which was a work of excellence. The same is repeated here too in a novel concept. The entire film is a pleasurable mixture of delightful, thought-provoking, emotional and hilarious situations. And like his previous films, here too Hirani and co-writer Abhijat Joshi have put forth their message in a brilliantly creative and entertaining manner.

But the biggest overwhelming factor here is the manner in which the film gives complete thumbs down to the so-called Godmen and, more so, to those who constantly divide us on the basis of religion for their own shoddy benefit. In fact, it gives a fantastic slap to the political class and so-called religious organizations spreading venom these days. It is a huge co-incidence that it has released exactly at a time when there are continuous efforts being made to divide us.

Like Hirani’s previous efforts, this one too has glaring errors. The biggest one is the base of the most important plot twist. But, again, like his previous film, it hardly bothers you for the experience it provides in return. The subject makes you recall Umesh Shukla’s Oh My God, but the main story is nowhere similar to it.

When I have already labeled the film as one of the greatest ever, it is needless to say that it scores high in the technical department too. Murlidharan Raja has done a fine work as the cinematographer. The special effects, background score and editing deserve praise too. The music also falls in the impressive category. Songs like ‘Chaar Kadam’, ‘Bhagwan Hai Kahan Re Tu’, ‘Love Is A Waste Of Time’ and ‘Tharki Chokro’ stay with you long after the film.

Like all brilliant films, the performances in PK too are highly praiseworthy. Aamir Khan keeps getting better with every film. He continues it with PK too and how! Only an actor with such high caliber of talent and dedication can pull off a character as novel, difficult and complicated as this one. His Bhojpuri talks are simply a delight!

Anushka Sharma too joins in with a mature performance. Saurabh Shukla is outstanding as a fake Godman. Sushant Singh Rajput has a cameo but he leaves behind a mark. Sanjay Dutt and Boman Irani, in extended cameos, are lovable. Parikshit Sahni provides decent support.

Overall: PK is not only Hirani’s best effort, it is a masterpiece. It provides a spiritual experience worth indulging into more than once. With such content and massive excitement, it is sure to break box office records with its enormous collections.

Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Producers: Vinod Chopra Productions, Rajkumar Hirani Films and UTV Motion Pictures

Writers: Rajkumar Hirani and Abhijat Joshi

Cast: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Saurabh Shukla, Sushant Singh Rajput, Sanjay Dutt

Music: Shantanu Moitra and Ajay-Atul

Genre: Drama

Patient Solidarity Day: Demand for healthcare access to all

December 10, 2014 by Keyur Seta 4 Comments

By: Keyur Seta

The ever-increasing medical cost is fast becoming a big reason for increasing number of deaths currently in India. Sundari Raju lost her husband due to the same reason. After being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, his troubles started increasing and with that, his medical bills too. “There came a time when he was required to take four injections per month and each cost Rs 8,000. So it was impossible for us to afford it. I wish I could have afforded. He would have been alive then,” she said.

Sundari Raju

She was speaking on the occasion of Patient Solidarity Day in Mumbai, where doctors, patients, members of patient groups, pharmacists, bloggers and laymen had assembled for a round table discussion on how to provide proper access to healthcare for all patients across India. The event was organized through the efforts of Dr Bejon Misra, Partnerships for Safe Medicines (PSM) India, Consumer Online Foundation and International Alliance of Patients’ Organization (IAPO).

When it comes to the high cost of medicines and treatment, the mention of multinational companies, which manufactures medicines, shouldn’t come as a surprise. “MNCs are here to make money. Philanthropy is not their goal; it will never be. Government wants to do something about this. But they won’t unless we and various NGOs keep pushing. They also have to listen to courts so we should use that option too. Medical Council of India can also help,” said Dr Salunke.

Another doctor present at the discussion raised the point of new doctors forced to recover the enormous amount they spent to study medicine. “People spend around Rs 1 crore in private medical colleges. So obviously they won’t do any social service. Government also keeps spending more on private colleges rather than government run colleges. The ratio of both types of colleges is very high in favor of private colleges.” He also stressed on the need for qualified nurses, who can take away half of the headache of the doctor.

India has also become home to diseases like Fibromyalgia. Anuradha Khanna Pentapalli, who is suffering from it, expressed the need to spread awareness about it as hardly anyone in India knows about it. Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculo-skeletal pain, stiffness and tenderness of muscles and joints and also psychological issues. “Today I am at this event. So tomorrow or day after I might have to take bed rest. There are cases where parents ask their daughters to be active despite being diagnosed with the disease and not disclose it to their prospective grooms. But the daughters don’t wish to lie. There is an urgent need to include study of Fibromyalgia in medical curriculum,” said Anuradha and her demand was agreed upon by Dr Misra.

Dr Ketan Parekh

Since recent times, there has been a constant demand of making generic medicines available to patients as their cost is much lower. “Generic medicines are available in Tamil Nadu. So if they can be made available in TN, why not in Maharashtra? Our ex-Health Minister Suresh Shetty also didn’t do anything for this in 10 years,” continued Salunke. Dr Jahangir also echoed his sentiments and expressed bewilderment at some doctors criticizing it. “I can’t believe a doctor criticizing generic medicines. Rather than letting a patient die, let him get treatment.”

The situation in rural areas was also described. Said Dr Ketan Parekh, “Twenty percent districts in Maharashtra don’t have a pediatric surgeon, whereas 2% of all new born babies require immediate surgery. A list of 80 doctors, who were willing to volunteer, was given to the government. But there was no response.” Salunke also added an incident he witnessed at a village. “A doctor was giving just 1 cc injection dose to patients. When I asked him the reason for giving such a tiny dose, he said they have just one bottle of dose and the number of patients is 35.”

This wasn’t one of those events where people would discuss and then just disperse. Dr Bejon Misra announced and assured that the discussion will be followed by action. “We will collect evidences and each one present in this room (for discussion) will come together to make sure our voice reaches to the people in power. If they don’t listen, we will be compelled to go to courts. Universal healthcare should become a reality and not just remain a dream.”

More pictures from the discussion:

Dr Bejon Misra

All pictures courtesy: Partnership for Safe Medicines India

No Big Deal (Short Story)

December 9, 2014 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

I am going to #BlogToFeedAChild with Akshaya Patra and BlogAdda. This post is for the same.

By: Keyur Seta

Mumbai’s Versova locality is a residence for the rich and the super-rich of the city. As the price of a single apartment is easily over Rs 2 crore, it is impossible for the middle-class to reside in this suburban vicinity. This is solely the reason for the area to be home for a large number of film and television artists. Hence, owning a big apartment in this part of the city is proof enough of a family or a person’s healthy financial condition.

The same is the case with Dubey’s, who lived on the 10^th floor of a typical posh Versova tower, overlooking a famous multiplex. With Mr Dubey striking gold in his garment business since more than a decade, his house is blessed with all the luxuries Mrs Dubey could ask for. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that the family has maids and servants for every household chore. This ensures that Mrs Dubey can spend her day mostly watching television and socializing while their only child, Rajiv, juggles between school and coaching classes.

On one morning at around 11 am, Devi, their maid, returned with a stock of vegetables for the family. Like her normal routine, she stored them in the fridge. It was like an age old exercise except for the fact that the plastic bag carrying potatoes was torn, which the maid didn’t notice before storing. So the main bag, in which Devi carried all vegetables, had few potatoes left.

Around three hours later, Mrs Dubey ventured into the kitchen for her post-lunch fruit session when she noticed few potatoes lying in the bag. Cursing the maid, she decided to put them with the main stock.

A tower in Versova (Picture: Mid-Day)

Not so far away from Versova falls the locality called Oshivara. There isn’t much difference between Versova and Oshivara but for the presence of some shanties in the latter. In one such namesake of a home stayed Shanta with her seven-year-old son Ramesh. Her husband and Ramesh’s father passed away few years back after falling prey to alcoholism. Considering their situation and the place they call home, it is needless to say that they literally lived from hand-to-mouth. Plus, Shanta’s self-respect doesn’t allow her to ask or beg for food from anyone.

Shanta, off late, has been in a dilemma as to whether she should continue sending Ramesh to the government school as her income as a sweeper and through some odd jobs is clearly not sufficient to support the two in today’s price-rise era. She is toying with the idea of getting Ramesh employed as a worker in a nearby plywood store. Her idea has created a bad blood between the mother and son as the latter wishes to study.

The tussle between the two reached a new level today. There were literally no vegetables left and there was still time before she got her next payment. On top of that, the vegetable vendor had plainly refused credit any more. This was enough for Shanta to force Ramesh in giving up studies so that he can earn. Although deep inside she didn’t like this at all, the thought of starving was too scary for her to ignore.

After a lot of conflict, Shanta announced, “Okay. If we get some food by today evening through some miracle, I will let you continue your school. If God really wants you to study, he will arrange something for our stomach by evening. If not, you should join that store from tomorrow.”

Meanwhile, while feasting her eyes on the sunset at Versova beach from Dubey’s apartment and at the same time speaking with someone over the phone, the chief maid was waiting for the woman who brings groceries for the family from the market. When the woman arrived, the chief maid signaled her to take the main bag and the money kept in the kitchen, which was the normal practice since months.

When Shanta picked up the main bag, she felt some heaviness. When she peered in she realized there were a few potatoes. She was highly surprised. But soon a wide smile emerged on her face. She recalled how Mrs Dubey had long back handed over few extra vegetables to her. She was sure she had done the same again. Now, she didn’t need to drop Ramesh from school.

“God wants Ramesh to continue studying,” she happily thought while leaving the house. How would she know that a phone ring had stopped Mrs Dubey for storing those potatoes after which she forgot about it? Few potatoes were no big deal for Mrs Dubey. But for Shanta, they were not only a big deal but a new lease of life.

When an unintentional distribution of food can bring more than a ray of hope, just imagine the positive effect of a small amount of intentional donation by those with surplus wealth. Considering India has 100 billionaires (out of the 2325 worldwide) and many rich and super-rich, it is surely not a big deal for them.

“High time we clean up our country” – Prasoon Joshi during Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

November 26, 2014 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

We are well aware that well-known lyricist and script writer Prasoon Joshi has penned a heartwarming song/ slogan for the ongoing Swachha Bharat Abhiyan by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sung by Kailash Kher, the song is called ‘Swachh Bharat Ka Irada’.

But he didn’t want his contribution to be limited to this. He was keen to contribute physically too by literally cleaning up a locality. So he took up the task of cleaning the garbage laden compound of Sofi Mahal Building in Mumbai’s Lalbaug. He was joined by bloggers – myself and Heena Shah Dedhi and few volunteers. This particular event was called Clean Sweep and it was in association with IndiBlogger.

Children in Lalbaug’s Sofi Mahal building were unable to play cricket in their compound since long due to the presence of huge amount of garbage being dumped there. But after Joshi’s initiative, the kids were finally able to resume play much to their joy. The occasion was celebrated with a professional cricket match between the two teams of the locality.

Picture: Radioandmusic.com

“This initiative has induced consciousness in the country regarding cleanliness. It’s not that people didn’t know what cleanliness is. But in spite of that, there was this inertia regarding this issue. Even in this locality, it wasn’t that people were unaware about keeping their surroundings clean, which would also enable these kids to play. But I am glad that our PM’s initiative has spread awareness about this,” says Joshi.

An interesting thing about the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is that the celebrity, who cleans up a locality, should nominate 9 people for the same task. “I was nominated by Anil Ambani. I have nominated Kiran Rao (producer and Aamir Khan’s wife), Venu Srinivasan (CMD of TVS Motors), Mr Birla, Shankar Mahadevan (composer and singer), Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev (spiritual guru), Irrfan Khan (actor), Jeev Milkha Singh (golfer), Nitish Kapoor (CEO Reckitt Benckiser [Dettol]) and Aman and Ayan Ali (music composers).”

There is always a section of the public that is cynical for every social movement. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is no different. Joshi has a message for people with such a mindset. “To those who keep saying that we will gain nothing from this, I would like to assert that if I am asked to choose between doing something and not doing anything, I will always choose the former. Of course, there won’t be change overnight. But there will definitely be some difference. In our culture, we are asked to keep our hearts clean. But now it is high time we clean up our country too.”

Obviously, the success of this initiative largely depends on whether the masses would stop littering the roads. Like many others, Joshi too feels they should be penalized. “There is a need for a law. If there is fear of getting caught and fined, people will stop doing it. Plus, they also need to be taught the difference between dry and wet waste and how to separate it.”

Even the most humongous task starts with a single step. Here’s hoping that this single step is followed by million more.

Feed a Child campaign: Small acts transform the world

November 20, 2014 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

I am going to #BlogToFeedAChild with Akshaya Patra and BlogAdda.

According to Business Standard, 100 of the 2325 billionaires are from India. In this way, our country ranks sixth in the list of most number of billionaires in a country. This sounds as an achievement, doesn’t it? Not for me though because daily millions of people in India face starvation; of which many are children.

Hence, I have no qualms in saying that there is nothing delightful in the fact that India has 100 billionaires when millions of kids are struggling to overcome a necessity as basic as food. As per 2014, India ranks 55^th in Global Hunger Index.

Picture: Reuters

So obviously, these kids are forced to skip education in order to make ways to feed their stomachs. Looking at such a tragic scenario, the question that lurks in our hearts is whether it is possible for these kids to get proper education and at the same time feed their stomachs at least two square meals per day. The answer to this, according to me, is a big YES!

In fact, I am sure that India has enough wealth to completely wipe out poverty. This might sound too fairytale-ish. But this is possible if all the rich, super-rich and few above them contribute few percentage of their income towards eliminating poverty. Considering the number of such people we have, this contribution will count to a humongous amount. In this way, I am also trying to indicate that poverty is just a consequence of unequal distribution of national income.

When eliminating poverty is a reality, making sure that every child in India gets access to both education and food isn’t a big deal. There are various ways to achieve this goal. These are few of them:-

Government: Both State and Central Governments have enough funds to make sure no child needs to skip education to feed himself. They can start various schemes or plans for the same. The best idea is to start a free canteen in government run schools that would enable kids to have a proper lunch. Of course, getting them to do something so useful is very difficult. So it is necessary for various NGOs and social organizations to keep pressurizing them.

Surplus: This idea is inspired from Amole Gupte’s movie Stanley Ka Dabba. There are hundreds of buffet restaurants in all Indian cities. Naturally, they face a situation of surplus food almost daily. Most of the times, this food is simply wasted. Instead, this food can easily be used to feed a large number of underprivileged kids. The same can be done by normal restaurants and wedding venues. The latter always has a large amount of surplus. Last year, some social organization had started a similar campaign from the surplus food from tiffins supplied by Mumbai’s dabbawalas.

Special Caterers: Government or NGOs can start a catering service with the sole motto of feeding underprivileged kids. People like us can sponsor meal or foodstuffs online or by visiting them. This is how it works – You visit their website and select the number of meals you wish to sponsor with one meal costing as low as Rs 20. So even if we sponsor one or two meals daily, it will help feed lakhs of children.

Recently, The Mind Unleashed shared a message on Facebook – Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. Let us all believe in it.

Picture: BlogAdda.com

Tata Literature Live – Objective of mythology to show life’s consequences: Devdutt Pattanaik

November 3, 2014 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

When asked about Mahabharata, many of us would describe it as the war between the Pandavas and Kauravas after the latter snatched away the kingdom from the former and tricked them into exile. And when quizzed about Ramayana, mostly people would say it is the story of Sita being kidnapped by Raavan and Ram, her husband, rescuing her by waging a war against the kidnapper with the help of Hanuman.

By knowing this much, many might feel they are well-versed with these great epics. However, one can be called an expert in such subjects only after doing some great in-depth study of these epics through many sources. This was felt by the large group of audience that attended the ‘Revisiting Our Epics’ session by author Devdutt Pattanaik, media veteran Mahesh Samat, filmmaker and writer Paromita Vohra at the literary festival Tata Literature Live in Mumbai.

“During my television stint, I came across writers who think they know everything about these epics. They are overconfident. When I ask them how they know, they say we saw in the TV serial. Arre that is only 0.1%,” said Pattanaik and continued, “There are also people who keep saying ‘Humare shastron mein likha hai’. These people have never read any shastras.”

Devdutt Pattanaik (Picture: alephbookcompany.com)

The discussion also went on to the technique of telling stories of these epics. Samat explained, “The problem is that people like jumping to the moral of the story. They don’t visit the various interesting layers of the story, which are as important.” Pattanaik agrees with him. “They like telling parables; stories with moral ending. But the main objective of mythology is to show that this is how life is and its consequences.”

By taking the discussion onto right and wrong, he continued, “Action should not be judged as right or wrong. Different people have different interpretations. Those who benefit from war or violence will say it was necessary while those who are violated will say it was bad. Also, God is not a judge in these epics. One shouldn’t think why Ram did this. Ram did it; that’s it! Let the audience decide.”

Pattanaik, who has written more than 20 books on Mythology, also pointed out the limitations of the TV versions. “There are six chapters after the war of Mahabharata. There is also an instance of Bheem eating the flesh in the bones of the enemy. But you can only show things on TV that appear right, which is dangerous.” He elaborated this. “My friend lied to her niece or nephew that Kunti was taking bath in the river and by mistake the basket containing her child floated into the river. The kid knew the real story so he asked, why are you lying? So the audience has no problem, only the Censor Board has.”

He also stressed how these epics are hailed as revenge sagas on TV. “After the war, Draupadi’s maid points out how she lost her five sons in the war. How feasible is revenge at the cost of five sons? B R Chopra doesn’t discuss this because revenge sells. Also both Mahabharata and Ramayana have tragic endings but this is also not shown. Why tragic? In the end, Ram walks into the river alone and the Pandavas walk into heaven where the villain is already present.”

Our great epics are so vast that discussing them is a never-ending exercise. The same was felt during this discussion. Hence, it was ended due to time constraints. But it was a memorable enough to generate more interest in the subject of mythology for the full house present there.

Spirituality: Indianizing the world

October 22, 2014 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

Picture Source: Harekrishnaquotes.com

The word ‘Globalization’ has received a great amount of importance in last couple of decades. It is a good sign that the world needs to be known as a one global community, especially with the development in technology. But in this period of two decades, there has also been an emergence of Indianization in the western world. In other words, the rest of the world is becoming more Indian in various ways of life.

It needs to be mentioned that it was Swami Vivekananda who was one of the first persons to have enlightened the west about the greatness of India.

If one tries to write down the ways in which the world is becoming Indianized, it will be a very long list. So I would like to focus on how the west is getting influenced by Indian spiritual concepts of simple living.

I have elaborated the topic through the following points:

Food: It is everybody’s knowledge that a vegetarian will have a very difficult time in certain parts of the west. But things have been changing over the years. I have learned this from my friends and some news items that now, the westerners have started knowing the importance of vegetarian food for better physical and mental health. The ill-effects of junk food are greatly visible there. Therefore, the people over there have also gained the knowledge of having saatvik food for attaining peace of mind.
Ayurveda: Why is India’s ancient Ayurveda spreading its clout in the west at a time when modern medical science is making some mind-blowing progress? This is because the people from the west are slowly understanding the difference between getting treated and getting healed. As the latter focuses on natural ingredients that help in rooting out the illness, people are getting attracted to Ayurveda and also Naturopathy.
Yoga & Meditation: A monk, who happens to be my friend, has told me more than once, “In today’s stressful times, it is impossible to survive without spirituality, yoga and meditation.” With work pressure, addiction to gadgets, unhealthy food, too much of materialism and consumerism, the peace of mind has gone for a toss. So yoga or meditation seems to be the only answer. Slowly, this is been understood by the people of the west. This can also be seen from how hundreds of yoga and meditation videos featuring foreigners have cropped up in recent years on YouTube.
Mythology: Elders have always told us that epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana are universal. This is proved right by the fact that more and more foreigners are getting fascinated by these epics. I have heard this from my friends abroad and from my Indian friends who have stayed there. One can also see a movie on Mahabharata made by foreigners with foreign actors. Of course, it is not possible for them, like many of us, to believe every act, action or subplot mentioned in them. But it is the overall message that is fascinating them and lighting their paths with knowledge for the betterment of life. Hence, I feel it is wrong to say that these epics are applicable only to Indians or Hindus.

It is indeed a proud feeling for me as an Indian to see the world getting more and more Indianized. But this doesn’t mean that we should look down upon at the rest of the world with a feeling of arrogance. The motto of Indianization, at least for me, is to generate the feeling of oneness and harmony in the world. After all, we all have the same flesh, blood and bones.

As Swami Vivekananda said, “There cannot be any progress without the whole world following in the wake, and it is becoming everyday clearer that the solution of any problem can never be attained on racial, or national, or narrow grounds.”

This post is an entry for Lufthansa and IndiBlogger contest “More Indian than you think.”

For more details, visit: http://bit.ly/MITYTIndiblogger

Lufthansa advertisement

Lessons from Mahabharata – Episode 2: Quality is above Quantity

September 4, 2014 by Keyur Seta 6 Comments

(This is the second episode of the series ‘Lessons from Mahabharata’. The sole aim of this series is to highlight that the many messages given in the greatest epic are completely relevant even today and will be forever… Click HERE for Episode 1.)

By: Keyur Seta

All of us must have heard the phrase ‘Quality is above Quantity’ a number of times in our lives. Be it our elders, teachers, friends or bosses; someone at some point utters these words with regards to different contexts. One might think that this phrase is relevant to the current professionals from various fields. Although there is no denying this, I feel it has been relevant since ages; since thousands of years ago.

Yes, I am talking about the Mahabharata. There is a huge and obvious example of ‘Quality above quantity’ in the epic. Strangely, I haven’t heard or read anyone referring to this event in the context of this phrase. Or maybe many must have drawn a link of this incident with the phrase; such is the magnanimity of the many events of this epic. The episode I am talking about took place much before the commencement of the Great War of Kurukshetra between the Pandavas and Kauravas.

Picture Source: Radiosai.org

After the war was announced and the preparations about the same were on in full swing, Duryodhana, the evil antagonist, and Arjuna, the righteous Pandava, visited Lord Krishna to ask for his assistance in the war. Krishna said he can either offer himself weaponless or his huge army (with weapons) to any one of them. As Duryodhana was the first one to arrive, he was given the opportunity to choose first. Despite knowing Duryodhana’s evil intentions, Krishna agreed to help him too since it was against the dharma for a Kshatriya to say no to a relative.

We all know how materialistic Duryodhana was. For people with a materialistic mindset, numbers matter the most. In fact, their mindset always forces them to judge people and situations on the basis of numbers. Therefore, without giving it a second thought, Duryodhana chose Krishna’s army and was delighted about his choice.

On the other hand, Arjuna too was immensely pleased for getting the services of Krishna, although without weapons. Arjuna’s mind was unlike Duryodhana. As he didn’t measure things in terms of numbers, he very well knew the importance of having Krishna on his side as his charioteer. He knew Krishna alone is many times mightier than any army in the world.

The result of Duryodhana’s choice was devastating for the Kauravas. In fact, we can even infer that the biggest turning point in the Great War of Kurukshetra arrived much before the war commenced. A change of choice by Duryodhana would have turned around the entire result on its head. However, some people do believe that if Duryodhana had chosen Krishna, the latter would have either convinced him against fighting the war or would have still ensured a victory for Pandavas. I too would like to believe it.

So there we are! We have had the biggest example of ‘Quality above quantity’ thousands of years ago, which is relevant even today and will be as long as the earth exists; such is the timelessness of the epic.

I would like to list down few examples of this theory out of our daily living:-

Today we have gadgets for almost everything. The basic aim of every gadget or machine is to save our time and at the same time achieve more perfection. However, we had more contentment and free time when we were less dependent on gadgets.
The number of TV channels today is well above a thousand! But we were more satisfied when there was just one channel or a handful of channels. And despite such huge number of channels, many are seen spending their time just flipping channels as they aren’t satisfied with any. The same goes for movies.
The numbers of shopping centers and shopping malls have increased rapidly over the years. People are also seen indulging in shopping like never before. The reason for this is their lack of satisfaction from whatever they buy. Although he or she is happy initially after buying something, the satisfaction derived out of it lasts only few moments, forcing them to shop more and repeat the cycle. On the other hand, people were more satisfied when they used to spend on simple items with less frequency.
Since a decade or so, we have also been witnessing an overdose of cricket. Obviously, this had had a great impact on our satisfaction derived from the sport. Plus, the emergence of Indian Premier League (IPL) made matters worse by staging around 80 matches in less than two months! And since it is becoming more and more a batsman’s game, the value of a century or six-hitting has reduced. For how long do we now feel happy when a batsman scores a 100?
In today’s social media savvy era, we have hundreds of friends. But how many are there really with whom we can share our heart’s content comfortably?

Lessons from Mahabharata – Episode 1: Will Lord Krishna ever return to earth to destroy evil?

August 17, 2014 by Keyur Seta 7 Comments

(This is the first episode of the series ‘Lessons from Mahabharata’. The sole aim of this series is to highlight that the many messages given in the greatest epic are completely relevant even today and will be forever… For Episode 2 click HERE.)

By: Keyur Seta

Yada Yada Hi Dharmasya,
Glanir Bhavati Bhaavat,
Abhyutthanam Adharmasya,
Tadatmanam Srujamy Aham

Through the above Sanskrit Mantra, Lord Krishna has assured that whenever and wherever evil or adharma will threaten to take over good or dharma, he will manifest or arrive on earth to ensure that evil is destroyed.

Although this is one of the most scared mantras, it is also making people ask this question again and again – If the mantra is true, why hasn’t God arrived on earth considering the numerous ghastly evils on earth? I too have asked this innumerable times. However, I have stopped asking it in recent times. In fact, I have also started believing that it is futile to ask such a question.

Before I explain the reason for this, I would like to clearly state that this is just my way of looking at an episode of Mahabharata and I don’t possess any concrete proof to support my theory.

It is well-known that Lord Krishna helped Arjuna and other Pandava brothers to win the great war of Kurukshetra against the evil Kauravas. Looking at this incident, one would ask then why isn’t he helping the world right now to fight these many evils. But the analogy is not as simple as it appears. A deeper perception is required.

Just before the start of the war, Arjuna straightaway refused to fight as he wasn’t ready to kill his own kinsmen, grandfather Bheeshma and his teacher Dronacharya. So Krishna encouraged him to fight through a long conversation, which later came to be known as the Bhagavad Gita. It is only after he agrees to fight that Krishna helps him by his various tactics.

So if Krishna is God, why he didn’t use his powers to eliminate the Kauravas right at the start of the war? He had the power to end the war in a matter of seconds so why didn’t he do that? Well, this incident gives a clear message that God helps us in our fight against any evil only if we are ready to fight against it with all our might. Until and unless we, in huge numbers, are determined to put in all our efforts in battling against various evils, God is not going to help us.

We humans have enough power and strength to wage a war against adharma. By fearing and underestimating ourselves and overestimating the evil forces, we are falling prey to negativity. And where there is negativity, there is no God. History is full of examples of ordinary human beings fearlessly battling against oppressors. So it is not right to blame Him of not doing anything to alleviate us if we are not willing to determine ourselves to wage a war against evil forces.

So, according to me, as a large majority of us (including me) aren’t doing anything to wipe out the corrupt and wicked forces, God isn’t using his powers to free us from various evils. Until and unless we don’t pull up our socks (mind you, in huge numbers) for the task, we shouldn’t expect God to perform any miracles.

No doubt, there are a lot of people selflessly working for the upliftment of the downtrodden but the number isn’t enough. We can expect some miracle only if a large majority of us enter the battlefield of the various Kurukshetras of the world.

Maybe the Lord is already present on earth just waiting for us to unanimously enter the battlefield. Maybe he is present in small quantities in many of us and just wants us to unite ourselves and Him. Either ways, the need is the same – stand up and fight!