Jugni Jamna Paar !

2020 is uniquely challenging for almost all human beings, it has given me new lessons and a different kind of time to reflect on life, myself and things and people around me. I have been writing this blog for almost 10 years and scribbling my thoughts and poetry. I turn 50 today and I think like all good things, this habit also must come to an end. I was a guest speaker at an event to welcome MBA students at a university and one of the things I told the students about the moving four, People, Product, Process and Places. All the four keep moving with time, people becomes friends and then enemies or strangers, Products outlive their life like the audio cassettes, processes change, like how we connect with people, letters become WhatsApp and above all places. My young age was spent in Jamna Paar, referred to as the poorer part of Delhi but what stays is Values. There is a Sanskrit word called Sanskaar, not sure if people notice but cremation has no exact translated term in Hindi, it is often referred to as sanskaar, daah sanskaar, the word sanskaar is also the "value system"  you learn and embed in your persona during your upbringing, which stays till the last day of your life and beyond. You are the thoughts you leave behind. Nothing else!

Jugni is one of the many folk songs, I heard in my childhood, by a lesser-known singer Gurmeet Bawa, she is now in her 80s but the music stays, my taste stays, Jugni is a folklore in its own right, Today's blog is about some such memories.

जो रंजिशे थी उन्हें  बरकरार रहने दिया , गले मिले लेकिन दिल  में मलाल रहने दिया
आखों में इंतज़ार रखा , उसे भुला भी दिया , नशा उतार दिया , बस खुमार रहने दिया

हम वो शज़र थे जो बुझ गए ,  हम वोह चराग़ थे जो कट गए
हम धूप  नहीं थे पर छट गए , बादल भी नहीं थे, पर बरस गए
हम वोह  घर के देसी  घी थे, जो वनस्पति से सस्ते बिक गए  

Some quick thoughts of the day percolated in 50 years. 

Shakti, the energy of life: I am a compulsive temple going person, one of the things, I have realised over years that we don't understand a concept of energy at all, life is energy, we absorb energy not just through food but through the entire universe, the spiritual energy gives us the purpose of living, the emotional energy which makes us selfish and selfless depending on which way we want to use. From the AA batteries which store energy and your rechargeable battery in a cell phone, everything needs stored energy. When you look at snow-capped hills, feel the wind in your hair, hear the rain, feel the flowing water in your feet, a special kind of energy charges you or Re-charges you. Devi Temples are also referred to as "shakti peeth", the myth peddled is that these are temples where body parts of Sati fell, but they are "places of divine energy ", I feel the same at Darbar sahib in Amritsar or at sis ganj in mornings, sit there and absorb . Energy of sun is what ripes our food and fruits. Nida Fazli wrote "Achhi Sangat baithkar, sangi badalay roop, Jaise milkar aam se, mithi ho gayi dhoop" , now we are deriving electricity from sun, wind and even tides. Our concept of energy is usually limited to electrical energy. Just like your cell phone needs a charger point, you need charging stations of a divine nature. It's not about how much energy you can store, it's about how often you charge or recharge yourself of all kinds. 

A lot of people can charge you positively but just as good batteries placed incorrectly will drain you,   wrong people can drain you, wrong places can too. Imagine living next to an abattoir and hearing dying shrieks of animals , what kind of energy will that be. We are disrespectful of energies around us, like trees, rivers, clouds, sun, and even wind. Divine wants to keep us charged so that we can recharge others and make the wheel of universe go around. 

Mirrors: I have always believed that people are mirrors too, sometimes you meet people who show your own self in them or make you reflect, I see children and young people and even very old people and in them a streak of my own self. There is a psychological hypothesis I believe in that negative people like dictators and serial killers feel intimated by people stronger than them. That's why dictators feel in a fool's paradise, the moment they see their own reflection, they run away or avoid. They cant see themselves in others, so they keep only meek and subservient people around them. One litmus test I have for people is the kind of people they feel connected with. Know their mirrors and you will know them.

Karma, Vivek and Gyaan: The word "Vivek" is translated as discretion, which is so wrong . Vivek means applying knowledge, wisdom to action. The term "Vivek" needs to be understood as to how karma affects our destiny, actions which are well thought through. I often say one must Disambiguate between Logic and Conviction – Machines will run logic! You drive conviction! Disambiguate between Knowledge and Wisdom! Knowledge is Googleable! Percolate Wisdom! The third tangent of this trilogy is Vivek. Decisions of "Vivek" are not one of discretion but have the merit of knowledge, wisdom and appropriate force of action. 

I often wonder if the "Kind" in mankind will survive ....Jugni Jamna Paar wonders!

Today's ghazal by Krishna Bihari Noor and its new rendition by Shujaat Hussain Khan!

ज़िन्दगी से बड़ी सज़ा ही नहीं, और क्या जुर्म है पता ही नहीं

इतने हिस्सों में बट गया हूँ मैं, मेरे हिस्से में कुछ बचा ही नहीं 

ज़िन्दगी,  मौत तेरी मंज़िल है, दूसरा कोई रास्ता ही नहीं 

सच घटे या बड़े तो सच न रहे, झूठ की कोई इन्तहा ही नहीं

ज़िन्दगी अब बता कहाँ जाएँ, ज़हर बाज़ार में मिला ही नहीं

जिसके कारण फ़साद होते हैं, उसका कोई अता-पता ही नहीं

धन के हाथों बिके हैं सब क़ानून, अब किसी जुर्म की सज़ा ही नहीं

कैसे अवतार कैसे पैग़म्बर, ऐसा लगता है अब ख़ुदा ही नहीं

उसका मिल जाना क्या, न मिलना क्या, ख्वाब-दर-ख्वाब, कुछ मज़ा ही नहीं

जड़ दो चांदी में चाहे सोने में,,आईना झूठ बोलता ही नहीं

अपनी रचनाओं में वो ज़िन्दा है, "नूर" संसार से गया ही नहीं .....

Adieu!