Mahabharata! Then and Now ..

Mahabharata as a serial concluded it’s last episode after blind king Dhrutarashtra handed over the kingdom to young blood and honest successor Yudhisthira, an able administrator.

Thousands of years ago, the story ended with Bhishma leaving for heavenly abode believing his ‘Bharatvarsha’ was safe and prosperity was there to stay.

After hundreds of years of Mughal dynasty and British monarchy, 1947 saw ‘Bharatvarsha’ rejuvenating in the hope for Pandavas to return ending years of suppression.

If Hastinapur was the dream then Dhritarashtra was the symbol of greed but even after thousands of years, Mahabharata still runs in our society, politics and nepotism has not left its clutches on today’s Bharat(India).

Dhritarashtra is part of our culture. Blind leader is now replaced by blindfolded Chieftain.

1947 saw partition of Unified India exactly on the lines of Hastinapur and Indraprastha. It was never meant for welfare of the people, it somewhere satisfied the ambitions of the then leadership.

The leaders then and now, know that their offsprings are incompetent, are aware that their nephews/nieces are capable and they do understand the real potential of common people. However, when it comes to identifying the worthy successor for the throne, they have ensured that it remains in the family.

Mahabharata was by all means a story about coterie of people surrounding the leaders who mattered and unfortunately the equation of power has still remained the same with common public out of the scheme, as always.

In today’s Kalyuga, Kauravas and Pandavas may have changed the way they exist. They could be media, leaders or common people but the strength the Kauravas carry has the potential to overshadow the goodwill of Pandavas.

One wonders whether Bhishmacharya miscalculated the safety of Hastinapur and left very early. Whether Bhagwan Shrikrishna underestimated the spread of Kaurava mentality and assumed that the war was over.

The fact remains that Mahabharata is here to stay and the characters will keep on changing their names and faces. The Bharatvarsha will keep praying in hope for a modern day Shrikrishna to arrive in different forms and make a difference to our lives.

Image Courtesy: Jansatta

Disclaimer: The blog is personal observation and comparison between Mahabharata era with today’s world and doesn’t point out to any political party or a leader.

Celebrating Life ! Rishi Kapoor 🙏

The cute next door boy is no more and they say Rishi Kapoor,67 is dead.

An ageless, chubby and happy go lucky boy will no longer be seen in public life but then, he will never grow old as well.

Some people always carry positive vibes and Rishi Kapoor was synonymous with them. Whatever was the role, you always ended up liking him. If Chocolate boy in Bobby, Sagar and Chandani was loved forever then Rauf Lala was appreciated for a talent which was never seen before.

A powerhouse of talent couldn’t deliver a hit in  ‘Aa ab laut chale..’ and we missed making of a legendary director forever.

The entertainment industry is full of characters and faces but none amongst them are a match to Kapoor lineage. The family, over the years have become an important component of our lives. If Prithviraj Kapoor was favourite of our grandfathers, then Raj Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Ranbir have ensured that the connect is passed on to the next generations.

There are few who can live on their own terms. Recollect those days, when working in shifts was a norm, Rishi Kapoor worked only in general shift and still remained successful. When he wanted to speak out against the naming of institutions or monuments by a particular family name, he was loud and clear. His love for drinks was legendary when he expected wine shops to be opened during lockdown period.

Rishi Kapoor, will always be remembered for his enthusiasm, innocence and for speaking his mind, whatsoever was the public opinion.

The boy next door is no more a reality, but isn’t it true that there would never be any affable boy who was as good as Rishi Kapoor.

RIP is not the way we conclude Rishi Kapoor’s life.

Let’s celebrate the life of one and only ‘Rishi Kapoor’.

🙏🙏🙏

Image Courtesy: Deccan Herald

Disclaimer: The article is a personal homage to one of the most loved innocent boys of film industry Rishi Kapoor and thanks him for making us fall in love with him and life again and again.

Remembering Irrfan ! The other Khan 🙏

Some people have a habit of arriving quietly and make their presence felt in due course of time and when they exit, they leave without letting anyone know about it(quietly), but as the fact dawns, it’s already too late and they are missed forever.

A quiet personality called Irrfan Khan made an exit when the world is confined to home and Irrfan may not get the farewell, he truly deserved.

When the world was all about love stories, action or art films, an actor in Irrfan made his entry through content based roles. With the Khans ruling the box office, here was a khan in a complete contrast to the trio and one wondered how far the new khan had the potential to make a place for himself, rather he was ignored in a corner of living room in a medium known as idiot box(Television).

Irrfan Khan’s early TV serials made it sure that he was seen in some small but meaty roles which were worth a watch but not necessarily be remembered for a long time. Any other personality, would have lost the patience and perseverance to make a mark for himself but not Irrfan. Slowly but steadily, we started taking a note of a tremendous actor in Irrfan and after years of struggle, he established himself as an actor who was commercially successful without loosing his own identity.

After seeing someone going through a struggle for more than 20 years, one would have loved to see Irrfan bask in the glory of success and in return we would have seen some memorable performances in the future. The kind of talent Irrfan had, we might have just seen a tip of the iceberg through ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, ‘Life of Pi’, ‘Pikoo’ and never to forget the initial days of ‘Bharat Ek Khoj’.

A life is always born with an exit date, however the humans are not aware of it and as the saying which never goes wrong, “Man proposes and God disposes” is proved once again and a promising life has come to an end.

Irrfan might have left but not before proving to the world that an actor is known for the characters he play and not by the name he carries.

RIP Irrfan !!

Image Courtesy: Newsbaba

Disclaimer: The article is a personal homage to one of the finest actor of our times Irrfan Khan ( He added extra ‘r’ in his name) for the characters he played and liveliness he bought on the screen.

The GOD, Sachin is 47 ! Happy Birthday 🙇‍♂️

God is Great !
God is Kind !
God is loved by All !

Circa 1987, the original GOD of cricket Sunil Gavaskar declared recluse and all of sudden, India felt orphaned for what matters them the most ‘Cricket’.

2 years down the line in 1989, a small boy walked on the field in hostile conditions against aggressive opponents Pakistan. Waqar Younis’s bullet speed delivery found the boy’s nose and bleeding was all over to see. The world sighed but the boy walked back composed to his crease. It was the first indication that the GOD might be reincarnated.

1993 and the boy found himself bowling the last over in HERO Cup semifinals. Miracles do happen and the boy took India to victory against South Africa. We wondered whether the GOD was for real.

Year 1998 and the youngster was going great guns against the mighty Aussies and out of nowhere appeared the ‘Desert Storm’. Sharjah weather was never so harsh but when the nature goes against a common man, only ‘The God’ can withstand the calamity. Our belief in GOD got established.

A year later, the star single handedly took against the original rivals Pakistan in Chennai but failed for 136 as India lost the game. For the first time we saw the idol in pain. Minds started thinking whether GOD is human too!

With Dada at helm and team in supreme form, it was matter of time that Shoaib Akhtar was thrown out of the boundary ropes in 2003 World Cup. But the team returned empty handed in finals and even the GOD could not break the jinx.

A completely out of form superstar scored 241* against Aussies in Sydney in 2004 proved to the world that its only GOD who can control his emotions.

A long wait and the final frontier was ultimately won over. India became World Champions for the second time after 28 years in 2011. The GOD cried and so did the followers.

100 centuries , 50k first class runs, unbeatable record is just a by product of the genius who brought people together, made them forget their religions to cheer the GOD through one common DNA called ‘Cricket’ and the GOD never disappointed.

Finally in the year 2013, after 24 years of blessing his disciples, the GOD declared that he was a MORTAL too!

The GOD of Sachin Tendulkar will always remain our favourite cricketer but the world of cricket will never be the same again.

The human of Sachin Tendulkar turns 47 today and may he blessed to rule our hearts for many more years to come.

Take a bow GOD of Cricket, ‘Sachinnn.. Sachinnnn..’

Image Courtesy: The Sportstar

Disclaimer: The blog is a personal tribute to Sachin Tendulkar and does not intend to comment or compare his contemporaries.It celebrates his birthday with like minded fans.

Ramayana: A Management Perspective

When DD announced re-telecast of Ramayana and Mahabharata and with the new IN thing WFH, I could manage to pip in for few episodes which as a child, I had watched with a religious mind, as a war story and to learn ethics.

The re-telecast gave me an opportunity to look at these serials from a management perspective, especially Rama’s management skills.

King Rama is still revered and will always be in our hearts as an ideal son, true brother and a role model husband. However Rama also possessed excellent management skills which stand true even to date.

The first glimpse of the real prowess were realised at the time of ‘Sita-Swayamvar’. Rama did not rush towards the bow( till his guru ordered). He observed others, understood the challenge and when it mattered, won over the challenge posed.Wait for the right moment is an important aspect of management.

When Raja Dashratha, asked Rama to go to Vanvasa, without blinking his eyes Rama accepted the verdict. By no means, it’s on the lines of following the commitment given by the management to its stakeholders. A real management representative will adhere to the organisation expectations and goals.

As the time to confront Ravana was a reality, it was by all means a Big Bang opportunity. But, ShreeRam chose an agile approach to arrive at the final result. Rama first focused on team building to have King Sugreeva(and his army) on his side. Then he had his due-diligence completed through Hanumana who got a details of Lanka, in short, ‘Scope’ in today’s world. A real management person will never take up any project or an assignment without understanding the deliverables in hands.

For Ramasetu, Rama chose Nal and Neel as architects. A real manager will handover the task to a competent person rather than going to his favorite follower. Skillset is more important than favoritism.

Rama ensured that the good performers like Sugreeva, Vibhishan were rewarded for their hardwork and given their dues when the time was appropriate.

Mythology might look at Ramayana as a battle between Rama and Ravana, but when one observes Rama, it seems to be a team effort. During the journey to Lanka, Rama let his team drive the goals and when it mattered most, himself took the pole position as leader.

As the war erupted, Rama chose to lead from the front. He was visible to his team all throughout. A typical management principle tells that morale of team is high when the leader is visible.

Sita and Laxmana were true believers of Rama’s capabilities. Trusting abilities of each other is a key to success and if either of them had faltered, Ramayana might had a different story unfolded.

Ravana on his part was a warrior par excellence but did not work on his shortcomings. A leader has to know the loopholes and lacunae for the task in hand. Even after repeatedly being told to revisit his strategy, he chose his own path and failed. A good leader is one who has good listening capacity and abilities.

End of the day, a leader who works on his plan succeeds and the one who drives it on his gut feel fails. A real management will work according its plan, goals and strategy and the one which doesn’t, is bound to bite dust.

King Rama, our beloved ShreeRam has so many qualities to be imbibed but in this 21st century, probably his management skills are the most desired ones which we should try to learn.

Image Courtesy: Naiduniya

Disclaimer: The article is written from management perspective and does not look at Ramayana from religious angle.

Corona: An eye opener !

No Restaurants ! No Movies ! No Entertainment ! No Outing !

Human evolution has come a long way since  Charles Darwin gave his insightful theory for the first time.

From jungles, the humans moved to small towns, to cities, to metros and bridged the international borders.

Scientists like Newtons, Galileos, Watts and Edisons made humans worth ‘Being’ as it brought meaning to a standstill life.

In parallel, the borders and being supreme became the norm for the nations and then the very battle for power and control changed the lifestyle adoption.

The race from being supreme to being normal first, has reached an interesting state today.

Borders are closed, Humans remain restricted to their own shelters, Travels are banned and exodus from international cities to native countries, cities and back to village is the latest normal. It sems that the cycle is coming full circle as humans rush to safe walls called ‘Home’.

Being at ‘Home’ has reestablished the importance of science and technology and after many years, you start thanking the greats of Edisons, Marconis and Bose(s) for what they invented and then the nextgen technocrats for how they changed the way we deal our daily lives.

The science and technology has made us survive with our routine in current situation as we realise that intelligence is artificial, office is virtual, learning is digital and family is the supreme.

Corona has made us sit back and reassess the ‘Lessons Learnt’. It’s just a glimpse of what is in store for the future. It’s upto us as humans, how to evolve further or Darwin’s theory might just continue its run in a reverse mode.

Image Courtesy: Tata Steel

Disclaimer: The article merely looks into the current status post Corona and is an individual opinion.

Corona ! A new way of life..

Corona!

What a beautiful name?
Simply put, it’s the crown everyone would want to possess but not anymore 😀

It came, it conquered, it destroyed !!

One always wonders why such beautiful names are synonymous with natural disasters? Scientists will have their own analogy, but common man would never understand Katarina hurricanes , Bulbul cyclone, Abu volcano and now this Corona virus.

Virus!
By all means it’s an agent which can multiply it’s negativity manifold and can impact human beings when they get in contact with each other. Antibodies then come to rescue to get rid of such virus and we simply say antibiotics worked. But the fact of the matter remains, it’s negativity which is thrown out by the antibodies.

The struggle with Corona has just began. With no remedy in sight, the ‘Corona’ has made the world divided and united at the same time !!

It has made people quarantined to stay away from their families, society as they are looked upon with all the suspicion and on the other hand they have been made famous with their names being circulated on the social media.

If Corona brought cheer to sluggish pharmaceutical shops as mask is no more the proprietary of 2 wheeler drivers, then those in tourism feel hidden faces have impacted their survival, at least in short term.

Movies, Bars, IPLs and get togethers are no more a reality but online shopping, Netflix and Hotstar are the new way for family bonding.

If work kept people away from home, Corona brought families closer with the new ‘IN’ thing WFH (work from home).

Corona has brought some fundamental changes to our lives.

Namastes are no longer orthodox, NEWS are beyond any religion, Vegetarians are respected for their lifestyle and the world has moved closer. But the virus will remain stronger, till it meets its antibody or till the humans figure out a way to fight it out.

Corona as it’s called is the name of the new disaster and we will feel it’s anxiety till it’s not out of our minds and the biological system. Till then, be safe,be alert, meet each other positively keeping ‘Corona’ out of your minds and take care of yourself.

Disclaimer: The views about Corona are personal and do not comment on any individual or any official.

Image Courtesy: CNN