The Mahabharata-Separating A Few Myths From Reality

The Mahabharata (for the uninitiated) is a Hindu epic. I was initiated into reading this by one of my Aunts(Those Indian ones you know of :P).She coaxed me to buy the 849 page book by Kamala Subramaniam.


(And no.. you can't look inside.. haha)

Since buying the book, I've read it more than 20 times and every read has led to more learnings. As I'm getting older and wiser(hopefully!), I'm finding myself consciously trying to separate the myth from what could have been reality. Here are a few observations -

-> There is a lot of talk of 'boons'. Boons were given by Gods(great men), Kings (also great men) - all men and women of power basically. What I've realized is that for a large parts, these boons were simply promises which involved enormous amount of integrity for the person giving the boon.

For example, one boon involved a hero on the antagonist side promising not to kill 4 others on the other side in combat. This boon could have made the difference between winning and losing but that's where the integrity i.e. walking the talk comes in.

-> Great men were characterized to a large extent by just one thing - their ability to make and keep promises. The greatest were those who never swerved from righteousness..

-> The greatest archer in the world, Arjuna, was, in reality, not the greatest archer in the world. There were others who were superior in the art and many others who were far more talented. But, he became great thanks to relentless practice, meditation and honing of the skill. He was also the ideal student, with extreme devotion to his teacher and incredibly focussed.

Great lesson.. and a nice application of Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule to becoming an expert. :)

-> There is a lot, lot about the choice between right and easy. At every point, the protagonists make the right choice and one such choice involved them spending 13 years as forest dwellers despite the fact that being kings were their birthright.

-> Divinity was characterized by valor and righteousness - this is understandable.

-> The role of women in determining the play of events can never be underestimated enough. Even during those days of seeming difference in social stature (given the lack of women's rights movements etc. ;)), the reason the events played were thanks to the influence of important women at every stage..

-> 'Any man can withstand adversity. If you want to test a person, give him power'
It was power that drove the massive war that was fought..

-> The fact that intrigued me was the losing side was actually much stronger than the winning side. However, it was a combination of the mightiest of heroes who were fighting on the side thanks to circumstances, lack of adherence to a moral code and a combination of circumstances that led to their defeat.

Interesting.. :)

Confessions Of A Serial Blogger

It takes a certain period of time before I feel part of a community, I think. It's taken in excess of a 1000 posts for me to feel part of this one..

What does happen to me is I'm generally fiercely proud of any community I am a part of, whether it be my university, my schools etc.. what is life without passion after all? :D

2 incidents took place that got me to write these thoughts -

-> I was excitedly telling a friend about the 'Success breeds success' story and he remarked 'Seems like your blog keeps you going!'.. and it's true, this blog does add a lot to life.. :)
-> Kian Leong, a classmate, just created his new blog 'Lessons learnt, experiences gained' and as I was excitedly welcoming him to 'blogosphere', I realized I'd become 'it'.. 'it' being a serial blogger, a part of the community..



Here are a few 'confessions' per se -

-> Firstly, my views are obviously biased and will definitely not be the points of view of the community as a whole. However, I'd hazard a guess that a few of these sentiments would be shared by many others as well..

-> Your comments are ALWAYS appreciated. There's a reason we create blogs. Take this blog for example, while its primary purpose is to make sure I am seeing the glass constantly half full by extracting learnings out of every situation, the other big purpose is to add value to your life.


-> Yes, Google Analytics does give me the truth and tell me that there are 100 or even 1000 people reading the blog every day, but your comments are the surest sign that you are reading these posts and they help keep the morale up, greatly! Atleast, in the early days.. :)

-> Both positive feedback and points of improvement work well. We all have to get better and its good to know if some posts are too strong or too biased. Spite doesn't help, though. We can do better than that, no?

-> I read this lovely take on a 'Photographer'. This one's taken off Satya Saya's Notes, who in had shared a note from his friend, Gerald Tay. It's called Unsung


--


I am a collector of memories.

Reading light, the ability to perceive, perfect timing - These are my traits as a lensman. I have honed my craft over the years, but alas, the memories I've collected are not mine.

Though I put a part of my soul into creating each image, the intricate link that binds viewer and photographer has been cast aside. The viewer, the purveyor of images, has neglected the role of the photographer.

I may not have made a Nobel Prize discovery, nor performed heroics that generations will sing praise of, but I am proud to be part of a group of unsung heroes; Men who labour relentessly to collect memories, all so that others may reminiscence the times of old.

Dear friend, the next time you see an image that takes your breath away, pause, and take a moment to remember the photographer. The man who made it possible, the solitary collector of memories.
--

I think it's very apt to bloggers as well. We are all(in my view atleast) giving you something to relate to in some small way.

Some of us write poetry - and enthrall those who love it..
Some of us write our own short stories - entertaining you and inspiring you to reconnect with your your own creative side..
Some others share our lives experiences - hoping we would find more friends who relate, who understand..
Yet some others share learnings and try in small ways to make the world a better place by jotting down little learnings and thoughts that inspire us..

At the end of the day, it's a way of expression..
to remind us that there are many who share similar, thoughts, feelings..
to remind us that we all share many things in common..
to inspire, motivate and give us something to smile about..
lest we forget.. that life is a gift..
A gift not measured by the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away..

Taking inspiration from Satya and Gerald, I'll take the liberty (rather shamelessly) to quote them, with a few edits of course..

Dear friend, the next time you see a a blog post that fills you with joy, gives you some much needed inspiration or just makes you smile, pause, and take a moment to remember the blogger. The person who made it possible, a collector of musings.

With due thanks to Satya(for sharing), and Gerald for writing this piece of genius! :)

Thank you!

--
As always, your comments are much appreciated! :)

Signing off..
A blogger, and proud of it! :D

Meeting My Math Coach!

Met my math coach 2 days ago..

Had a flurry of questions for him..

He cleared them all in barely 5 minutes..

with a nonchalant ease, and an expression of 'Come on, I expect you to be struggling with tougher questions'..

After those 5 mins, we settled down to having a chat..

Catching up, updates about other friends he had coached, school, life etc..

I left meeting him with a warm fuzzy feeling inside..

I realize now that it was because I felt welcome..

Felt welcome in his school like one of his own 5 years after having learnt under him..

I doubt if even the school where I spent my final 2 years studying would welcome me the same way..

All these years, he's been there and welcomed me just the same way..

Don't we all love that.. the feeling of familiarity when some things don't change?

My math coach.. I owe him a lot.. and I'm proud to be associated with him..
--
My Math coach taught a group of friends and me the subject for the last few years. He's a wonderful person, a head teacher at a different school and a person with a wonderful reputation. He's always lived up to that reputation with utmost integrity.. Always been humbled by his humility..

It's always wonderful meeting him!

The Story Of Cool...

I am a footballer..

When I just began learning football, I tried learning to whack the ball really really hard.. as I thought was cool..

and then I grew up..

When I was a few years into learning the game, I learnt every sort of stepover and trick that would bamboozle defenders and make fools out of them.. as I thought that was cool..

and then..

Years later, I realized all I needed to work on was learning to put the ball in the back of the net, every time I got the chance - learn it well enough to be able to do it when my concentration was slipping, when my spirits, morale and confidence were down, when my team was losing my hope..

If I could just score.. forget the fancy tricks, the fancy stepovers, the urge to whack the ball in, the urge to show off..

If I could just put the ball in the back of the net and get the job done, every time..

now, that would be cool..

--

Reminds me of Nike - Just do it!

--
I wrote this after some thought after a discussion with a friend on the whole 'being cool' concept.. Football seemed to be the easiest analogy. Apology to not-so-football-inclined readers..