Burn's Night - Robert Burns

Robert Burns, the national poet of Scotland, and widely regarded world wide was born on January 25th, 1759 and lived to 37. He is regarded as a Pioneer of Romantic movement. He was born in Southwest Scotland into a poor farming family. At 27, Robert published his first volume of his poetry. It was a huge success, and he went to Edinburgh to arrange a second edition.

His most famous poems include To A Mouse, Auld Lang Syne and Tam O’Shatner. He was married to Jean Armour, and had 12 children. His parents were Williams and Agnes. 

On what would have been Robert’s birthday, the 25th January, the world  celebrates Burns Night with the traditional Scottish dish of Haggis! Made from lamb offal  (heart, liver, lungs), the dish is often served with neeps and tatties (swede and potato mash).

Dinner is followed by one minute of silence to remember Robert Burns’ life and accomplishments. The night continues to the sound of bagpipes and dancing. At the end of the night, everyone joins hands in a circle and sings “Auld Lang Syne”. Robert was said to have adapted Auld Lang Syne from an old folk  song.

Over the past several hundred years, Tartan has been worn by Scottish inhabitants. It can be referred to as ‘mottled’, ‘marled’ and ‘sundrie coloured’, but most commonly the Gaelic word breacan,  meaning chequered. Tartan was used to make clothing such as the philabeg, or kilt, and the trews. Early tartans were checks of two or three colours. The colours were extracted mainly from dye-producing plants, roots, berries and trees local to a specific geographic area.

Just a day after my parents Anniversary, was his birthday. 

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

 A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth was my 9th of 2022, The novel centres on Mrs. Rupa Mehra's efforts to arrange the marriage of her younger daughter, Lata, to a "suitable boy" and follows four families during 18 months, soon after partition, around the time of first elections. 

We do have Mira Nair’s 6-Part BBC-Netflix Series From Vikram Seth’s 1500-Page Book, well made and engrossing. Medium dictates the art, and there are deviations. Before we get into that, first things first. Summary of A Suitable Boy. 

Set in Brahmpur, India (a fictional town), the four families are the Mehras, the Kapoors, the Chatterjis and the Khans Throughout the saga, Lata must decide if she is willing to marry the young Muslim man (Kabir Durrani) she loves, To keep Lata away from Kabir, Rupa hastily plans a trip to Calcutta, where she sets her daughter up with various Hindu boys whom she deems worthy of their caste.  Amit Chatterji, a well-known poet and writer, gets along well with the worldly and cultured Lata but is probably gay.  Lata is also set up with Haresh, a Hindu man who really likes her and whom she deems to be tolerable but slightly boring. He owns a thriving shoe company.In the background of Lata’s marital decision is the foreground for the rest of the world: politics. Various family members are also caught up in different political happenings. Within the Kapoor family, the main conflict is that the youngest son, Maan Kapoor, has fallen in love with an infamous prostitute named Saeeda Bai, end up almost killing Firoz. As the saga concludes, Lata Mehra finally makes her decision, she marries the “suitable boy”  Haresh.

Now comming to the Netflix series, relationship between Mann and Firoz, is established right in the beginning, Lata and Kabir's kissing scene, Prominence of Mrs. Mahesh Kapoor, the meeting of the three suitors, flower on head rose or jasmine, colour of saree - pink or purple. 

Gandhiji..

World over Gandhi's ideology are being appreciated and followed. Sad that the people of his own nation are not understanding his ideology. Some have gone too far and justifying his assassination.

Mahatma was just an external appearance put up by him. The bare man in him had poisonous fangs. His legacy is kept alive with artificial respirations by Congress... The holidays and Jayanti's. Like the Amar Jyothi, the day is not very far, when Jayanthi's of some other people will be of prominence. 

Not sure how long homage would be made to him, going by the present trend of trying to wipe out Nehru, Indira and Gandhi - Can it be ever done? I feel the people trying to do it are fools, and is saddened by the plight. Instead of focusing on creation, their focus is on destruction. And who is doing it? Not people of any other religion. It's clearly a divide within. 

"If we say Indira Gandhi was killed by Sikh militants, and Rajiv Gandhi was killed by Tamil Militants, why don't we say Mahathma Gandhi was killed by Hindu Militants? 

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/rss-did-not-assassinate-gandhi-rahul-gandhi-tells-supreme-court/articleshow/53842769.cms

Sailakshmi forwarded this link from 2016, and when I questioned the below:

"RSS people killed Gandhiji and today their people (BJP) talk of him...They opposed Sardar Patel and Gandhiji," Rahul had said then. Naturam Godse was not RSS or Naturam Godse did not kill Gandhi?

Her response was "She gets agitated, listening about Congress"

I did not start the topic, she shared an old article link, and she is getting agitated. Why so much of hate, in sweet people?

 Looks like Nathuram Godse is Karna reincarnated. Since time immemorial, we have had Hindu versus Hindu divisions - it is even in the myths from the Mahabharata, it is in the history of the the Cholas versus the Pandyas versus the Cheras versus the Chalukyas versus the Rashtrkutas. Ashoka vs Kalinga; Harsha vs Pulakesin etc. conflict is in human nature. Muslim versus Muslim - again the various wars between the Mughals, Sunni/Shia and the Deccan Sultanates. The iniquitous caste system which so many people were so desperate to escape they converted to Christianity, Islam and , most recently under Ambedkar, Buddhism.

It is a pity that so many Indians today have so little idea of India's history that they keep repeating the 'alternative facts' of the RSS.

You were made to hate Muslims. Then Christians. Then Dalits. Then Sikhs. Labourers. Writers. Thinkers. Economists. Actors. Awardees. Social Workers. Kashmiris. Malayalis. NE Indians. Even farmers now. When will you realise you've been made to hate India? ~ Arif Malik

Happen to listen to this beautiful video. 

How well said, whatever comes out of the body, sweat, urine, blood, excrete stinks, let what comes out of our mouth be sweet. We can be careful about it. 

The only place where you can hold God is in your heart.  The mind sees everything as imperfect. It is dissatisfied with everything. 

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse - Charlie Mackesy

Charlie Mackesy's quiet picture book 'The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse', has been my 10th of 2021, Thanks to Karthikeyan. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse may not be able to save the world's problems, but it has reminded thousands of people of the qualities that can. Love, hope, friendship and the courage of asking for help resonate deeply at a time where mental health can't be taken for granted and kindness seems out of reach. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3023z2Io0E

The four titular characters meet one another and share each other’s confidence, live with courage and kindness.  Spread your wings and follow your dreams. The story with pictures, written in cursive for all ages in unputdownable. The  boy is lonely when the mole first surfaces. They spend time, gazing into the wild. In the wandering they meet the fox who is silent, because he has been hurt by life. Horse is the biggest and gentlest. We can see us in each of them. It's spring time, there is snow and the sun, like life. 

Mole even if small can make a difference, the boy wants to be kind, when he grows up. Success is to love. If at first you don't succeed, have some cake.  Biggest waste of time, is comparing yourself to others. Listen less to your fears and more to your dreams. One of our greatest freedom is how we react to things. Be in present, focus on what you love. We can only see our outside, but nearly everything happens on the inside. Be kind to yourself. Start now. Often the hardest person to forgive is yourself. When we are with friends doing nothing, its not doing nothing. We are less scared together.  Bravest thing is to ask for help. You are strongest when you show your weakness. Asking for help is refusing to give up. Love does'nt need you to be extraordinary. We all need a reason to keep going, it could be friends, home or food. Sometimes, just getting up and carrying on is brave and magnificent. The greatest illusion is that life should be perfect, it needs lot of paddling. Be curious. Being honest is always interesting. Don't bother if your glass is half full or half empty, Be Thankful that you have a glass. Keep going, even when the dark cloud comes. When the big things feel out of control, focus on what you love right under your nose. This storm will pass. We have a long way to go, but look how far we have come. We are enough as we are. To love and be loved. When our heart hurts, wrap it with friendship, share tears and time, till it becomes happy and hopeful again.  You matter, you are important, your are loved, you bring to the world things no one else can. Don't measure how valuable you are by how others treat you. Home is'nt always a place. Sometime all you hear about is the hate, but there is more love in the world than you could imagine. Just take a step, horizon will look after itself. 

History Repeats - Real and Reel - Destiny or Dharma

Am yet to watch the movie Hridayam, but it has made me ponder in multiple ways. Good to see Gen. Next uniting. Greatest blessing in life is having a good friend - our friends are our greatest critic, parents may not try to correct us. 

For most people in Kerala, when asked, who is your favourite pair, in the movie, it would be 'Dasanum, Vijayanum'. Mohanlal and Sreenivasan combo in the Nadodikkattu Triology, first two, created by Srinivasan and Sathyan Anthikad by Siddiqu-Lal, other being Pattanapravesham and the third - Akkare, Akkare, Akkare by Priyadarshan.  

Lissi was the heartthrob of yesteryears, who's movies with Mohanlal were amazing, and ended up marrying Priyadarshan (unfortunately to be divorced after 25+ years of marriage). Priyadarshan and Mohanlal are known to be thickest of friends in the industry for years. 

And here comes the gen. next. Interesting with the concept of present taking one to the past, the present generation of Children from the past sensation of the Malayalam film industry. Sreenivasan's son Vineeth, creating a film with Mohanlal's son Pranav and Priyadarshan-Lissy's daughter Kalyani. 

The Nagmo song from Chitram, directed by Priyadarshan, with Lissi, enacted by Mohanlal and Sreenivas. So again, the kids reunite. 

Am yet to watch the movie, but just wanted to let this go out of my head. Nepotism - All Malayali's seem to be loving. Why not? They ask. What matters is the talent.  Srinivasan and Vineeth seems to be down to earth father-son with full of talent. From their interviews, it seems, the main focus, in bringing them up were having common sense, and participating in things around. For them madham (religion) is Souhrudham (Friendship) and Manshathvam (Humanity).  Father-Son due, was instrumental in launching and mentoring many others as well, including Mammootty and Dulkar. Art among some others is one place where religion has no significance. 

May this kind of friendship and love, be across, internal, and genuine. 

Be Your Own Torchlight- Geetha Ranganathan

Thank you Geeta Geetha Ranganathan for spreading your light, by guiding and inspiring us to Be our own Torchlight with 'SOP'.  This inspiring travelogue from Aspiration to Achievement was my 8th of 2021

To know the SOP one need to grab the copy of the book available here:

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B08HNFP8WX/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_glt_E0KAGKTCF72KSPMQQ6KP

SOP in chasing dreams is:

'S' - Self-introspection & dealing with Strenuous life experiences 

'O' - Observe around and face the obstacles 

'P' - Prepare for the fresh beginning 

Our inclinations have prerequisites, and our hobbies gear us up to follow our routine  vigorously. 

When we share our concerns with the specific person at proper time,  it would fetch the desired result. It is better to spell out  the views and feelings rather than carrying it inside.

Best of Jan - Letter from Neil

 One of the best thing to have happened in 2022, a post card received after long, and that too from nephew. 

We have grown up writing letters, on inland, paper and postcard, and then moved to emails and now whatsapp and SMS's . As we were missing those moments, here is a letter that has come as a surprise. 

And then there was this message, so very true: " No one changes unless they want to. Not if you beg them. Not if you shame them. Not if you use reason, emotion, or tough love. There's only one thing that makes someone change: their own realization that they need to do it. And there's only one time it will happen: when they decide they're ready. - Lori Deschene

Butterflies don't know the color of their wings, but the human eyes know how beautiful it is. Likewise, you don't know how good you are, but others can see that you are special.....

Never think I have nothing....Never think I have everything...But, always think I have something and I can achieve anything. 

And then saw this in FB

Loved to see how creative,  the gen next is.

Falls of Jan - Amar Jawan Jyothi

Amar Jawan Jyoti was moved to National War Memorial and this created lot of hue and cry. First announcement was due to the expenditure they are planning to merge, which was ridicules considering all the other expenses, including that of constructing two and a breach of promise when it was constructed that it will not be extinguished. 

With destructions and construction of statues everywhere - including that of Shivaji in Jammu and Kashmir, Shiva in Hyderabad; what is being done? Scope for further hatred and destructions? 

Rajan Chettan passed away in Dubai - Muttachan's elder brother's son and Narayan Chettan - Achan's sisters (Valsalammai) daughters husband in Potta. 

On 9th Dec. was the car accident, and 9th Jan was the leg fracture. One after the other. What does this sign say? 

These are times for introspection.  

Wondering if these discussions and debates  still continue?

Acres of Diamond - Russell Conwell

 “Acres of Diamonds” by Russell Conwell my first audio book, which says men and women need not look elsewhere for success and money. Russell shares his philosophy with multiple true-life stories from across the world. A content person is rich, and a person is poor when he is discontented. This was the 7th of 2021, 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU00E-vwxsw

Thanks to Blesson for his Linked in post, that prompted me to listen to this again, a book that encourages us to looking closer and see the opportunities that are around us. A positive and thought provoking book which has stood the test of time as a classic for any bookshelf.

A farmer living near the Indus River named Ali Hafed gets to learn from a travelling monk that a small stone of diamond could make him the wealthiest man in the region. The farmer sits through the night learns everything about the diamond from the monk, sells his farm to his friend & leaves in search of the stone called the diamond. Wandering, hit my storm he pass away somewhere in Spain. 

Nobody heard from the farmer later, the friend who bought the property chanced upon rough black stones & didn’t bother about it, the monk visited again a year later & seeing the slight spark coming off one of the stones checked whether the farmer was back. The friend responded in the negative. 

The monk confirmed that the black stones are  rough diamonds, the farmer who sold his farm had sold the Golconda diamond mine without realizing it at that time. The Golconda mine has ever since produced some of the world's most famous diamonds, including the colourless Koh-i-Noor (United Kingdom), the Nassak Diamond, the blue Hope (United States), the pink Daria-i-Noor (Iran), the white Regent (France), the Dresden Green (Germany), and the colourless Orlov (Russia)

So, what is the point here, Blesson posted in LinkedIn about his learnings as below:

1) As an individual, our creator has put acres of diamonds right beneath our footsteps, we need to be diligent & patient enough to work it through. 

2) As a leader, never take the ground (people you work with) on which you stand for granted, it’s a diamond mine whether you realize & value it or not. 

3) A diamond in it's natural form is rough, dark & never gives the best first impressions to the common eyes like that of the farmer. So don’t be the farmer who gives away his farm of diamonds for instant sparky stones, none exists.

What you wish has been served right at your feet by your creator, look around you & find it.

Other learnings are:

1. Never leave your one job, before you have another. Value what you have and your possessions.
2. Be honest, have faith. 
3. There are things more valuable than Money, example Love, but if we have money, it would definitely be an added advantage. Bible don't say, 'Money is the root of all Evils'; it says 'Love of Money, is the root of all evil.'; what is that ? Its making an idolatry of money. 
4. Take interest in the affairs of those around you - on what they want. 
5. Rich man's son can never know all things in life. You need not be poor to be pious. 
6. Know the demand, know what people need, and invest your time in it. If you cannot be rich, where you are in the world right now, you cannot be rich anywhere. 
7. Put your whole mind into what you want to do, and do it. 
8. It is better to be happy than it is to be rich. It is even better to be rich and happy. 
9. Greatness consist not in the holding of some office but in doing great deeds with few resources, as well as in accomplishing large goals without having things handed to you. To be great at all, one must be great here, now. 

Who invented the Jacquard loom, the most popular machine used for manufacturing textiles? Marie Jacquard. Women invented the printer's roller and the printing press. Who invented the cotton gin on the South that enriched our country so much? Conventional wisdom says it was Eli Whitney, but Catherine Littlefield Greene came up with the idea and showed it to Whitney. He, like a man, seized it. Who invented the sewing machine? Most people think it was Elias Howe. He was in civil war, worked for 14 years to perfect it, his wife made up her mind one day, that they would starve to death if something was not invented pretty soon, and in two hours she invented the sewing machine. He took out the patent in his name. Who invented the mechanical crop harvester? According to the diary of Cyrus McCormic, who is usually given the credit, it was actually invented by a woman from West Virginia. when they gave up. Most important textile manufacturing tool, farm implements, clothing features, trolley switch, and iron squeezers were invented by women. 

You can be great, you are not going to be great by getting into an office. Be a good citizen while living and make lives better, then you are already a blessing,  whether working in a shop, sitting behind a counter, or caring for child at home. Whatever your life, if you wish to be great, be great where you are.

“Abraham Lincoln's principle for greatness can be adopted by nearly all. This was his rule: Whatsoever he had to do at all, he put his whole mind into it and held it all there until that was all done.”

― Russell H. Conwell, Acres of Diamonds

Aranyak

 

An engrossing amalgam of crime and politics with dollops of myth-making, the eight-episode thriller Aranyak investigates human desires and transgressions, in the garb of a sadistic case of rape and murder, set in a fictional town in Himachal Pradesh. 

Two morally upright officers, who are fighting their own inner demons, seek to find the culprit behind the suspected rape and murder of a teenage girl, who had ostensibly come to spend the holidays in the picturesque town with her mother, who happens to be a foreign national. Aimee (Anna Ador) become a tool in the machinations of a wily politician Manhas (Zakir Hussain), victim of the hot-headed son (Tejasvi Dev) of the minister Jagdamba (Meghna Malik). As Aimee’s mother Julie (Breshna Khan) appears to be economical on the truth as well, the list of suspects keeps getting longer, so much so that supernatural elements also claw their way into the case file.

Raveena takes time to get into the skin of Kasturi Dogra, a local police officer whose methods of investigation are old-school but effective. Kasturi’s bond with her father-in-law Mahadev Dogra (Ashithosh Rana) is also one of the highlights of the series. A retired head constable with a fading memory, Mahadev believes in the myth of man-leopard behind the killings, but also exemplifies the progressive milieu of the hills. Deep inside, the other police, Angad is damaged as well, but Parambrata peels one layer at a time, making Angad immensely likable. His son's story, could be the next episode?  

Watched all eight episodes in one go, as it was so engrossing and why not, made my Ramesh Sippy and Siddharth. 

How to Attract Anything You Want - Puja Puneet

 

And she does this...

21 Steps to open up the flood gates of abundance....

I Create

1. Desire
2. Be Specific - Customise your desire: Where, with whom, how much
3. Visual representation
4. Affirmations
5. Creating Mind Videos - Marry Visual representation with affirmations
1. Be a person with:
6. Optimistic Mindset
7. Open to receive
8. Gratitude
9. Appreciate: Be generous with compliments
10. Power stone - Build Vibe, set intention, be calm
11. Take inspired action
12. Ask, Ask, Ask
13. Go within - Be with self - in whatever form
14. Victory Log
15. The jars - Stop complaining, blaming, making excuses - Be responsible to yourself
16. Forgive
17. Rule of 5 - Daily 5 actions towards Big hairy audacious goal (BHAG) everyday - Excited Stretch
18. Spirituality helps - Anything given up in material world comes up in spiritual world, Be open
19. Grow your heart - Charity. Kindness and Compassion is needed in the world right now. 
20. Hour of power - 6 habits - do daily: Eg. SAVERS: Silence/Affirmation/Visualisation/Exercise/Read/Scribble
21. Celebrate

Do and Attract things, that makes you feel alive, connected and fulfilled. 

P - People: Peri, Prashant & Arindam

 Peri Maheshwer had posted in Face book, the below; thought of reflecting on it, this Republic day. 

"A decade back, when I was leaving my job at Outlook, I was a confused man. I had four options - 

• A full time activist, 
• starting an NGO, 
• partnering with a huge corporate to start a media organization and 
• becoming an entreprenuer. 

And I ended up meeting a prominent and influential leader to take advise.

His advise was simple. The problem with our world is that well intentioned people have intentions but no wealth while some greedy ones  have cornered most wealth and dictate how the world is governed. It is important that good people earn money so that they can make a difference to the world. Intention without wealth is of no use. And money in good people's hand is ten times more impactful then those in bad people's hands. So, if you consider yourself a leader, then you must be an entrepreneur, create wealth and decide your life path afterwards. 

Similarly, a political party without power is as good as you and me - the people. You can't influence policies with mere intentions and no power.  Especially so in current times when brazenness and impunity are normal behaviour. Real politick is also about a few compromises. Prashant Kishore cannot be a bad man because he hasn't joined a party. Neither is Kamal Nath principled because he hasn't jumped ship. Strong leadership, firm decision making and alacrity in actions are a necessity in successful organizations."

Prashant Kishore - one more piece on the jigsaw puzzle of Indian democracy, is a marketing expert. He knows how to campaign successfully. Democracy cannot be reduced to elections only. He is merely an election specialist. 

Interesting people holding democracy of India today - Peri Maheshwer and Prashant Kishore. Peri Maheshwer had shot more into limelight (though he was already there), when he took on Arindam Chaudhuri of IIPM. The legal battle had its genesis in a business-school survey carried by Outlook magazine in 2003 that ranked IIPM in fourth place in terms of industry interface. IIPM had claimed 100% placements in its advertisements and in the data given to Outlook, but Peri says he was moved by a visit from a parent of one of IIPM’s students, who claimed his son had not been placed and remained unemployed despite having paid a large fee for the course. After six years of exhausting battle and legal costs that ran into eight figures, battles with IIPM was closed when both the parties decided to withdraw the proceedings. Now takes on similar case with Biju's  as they give inappropriate advertisment on majority of IAS students being those using their app. 

Had a detailed discussion with Nandakishore, who was in the innercircle of Arindam Chaudhuri, having been a student at IIPM.  Arindam Chaudhuri, son of Malayendra Kisor Chaudhuri,who founded the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM) in 1973 is an Indian author and the director of IIPM Think Tank at the Indian Institute of Planning and Management. He has produced movies that have collected three National Film Awards. On 23 August 2020, Chaudhuri was arrested for tax evasion of ₹230 million just five years after IIPM campuses across the country were shut down after a series of legal battles over its credibility,  undue claim of Central Value Added Tax (CENVAT) of service tax credit. He was known for his flashy dressing, crazy cars, quick drives, glossy magazines, and advises to government. He had also authored the book, You're a diamond! Now dazzle! 

Ultimate players and beneficiaries of the Indian democracy, who sit so high above us, for their own reasons. Perhaps we have taken Gandhiji’s monkeys to heart, and we do not want to see, talk or hear of evil, even when that evil is undermining our society at large. Endemic corruption in India is not limited to politicos and the babus. It has become the hallmark of our society and permeates all walks of life, including corporate India, which has never been scrutinized to the extent required. Now we have some doing it. 

One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Often sited as one of the supreme achievements of literature, the style of writing being chiefly Latin-American narrative strategy that is characterized by the matter-of-fact inclusion of fantasy or mythical elements into seemingly realistic fiction know as magic realism, 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was my 6th of 2021. Though it was kept aside to be read in 2021, before the movie release, got spilled over but finally, I finish reading it for the third time.

"The rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical but intensely real Macondo, and the glories and disasters of the wonderful Buendía family; make up an intensely brilliant chronicle of humankind's comedies and tragedies. All the many varieties of life are captured here: inventively, amusingly, magnetically, sadly, humorously, luminously, truthfully." So says Wiki. 

The novel's final move, has kept me haunting, and I was jaw dropped, when I read it first time. Every time I read it, my hair stands up and something happen to me. The lines 'The first in line is tied to a tree and the last is being eaten by ants', had haunted me for quite sometime, when I read it for the first time. 

The Inseparability of Past, Present, and Future,  the biggest and most obvious theme of One Hundred Years of Solitude is that of memory and the past. The characters in this story are haunted by past decisions, and several times over the course of the novel, the past events overwhelm the present.

The whole town is destroyed by a hurricane, leaving a completely flat, empty space with no sign that there was ever anything there. García Márquez basically takes a giant eraser and wipes the whole slate clean.

José Arcadio Buendía is hard-working, responsible, and dedicated, and Úrsula is energetic, tireless, and rational – it really does seem like they can do no wrong together. But they are not the only characters or main characters. 

"This is the author's epic tale of seven generations of the Buendía family that also spans a hundred years of turbulent Latin American history, from the postcolonial 1820s to the 1920s. Patriarch José Arcadio Buendía builds the utopian city of Macondo in the middle of a swamp."

"One Hundred Years of Solitude is the story of seven generations of the Buendía Family in the town of Macondo. The founding patriarch of Macondo, José Arcadio Buendía, and Úrsula Iguarán, his wife (and first cousin), leave Riohacha, Colombia, after José Arcadio kills Prudencio Aguilar after a cockfight for suggesting José Arcadio was impotent. One night of their emigration journey, while camping on a riverbank, José Arcadio dreams of "Macondo", a city of mirrors that reflected the world in and about it. Upon awakening, he decides to establish Macondo at the riverside; after days of wandering the jungle, his founding of Macondo is utopic

 The leader of the gypsies, a man named Melquíades, maintains a close friendship with José Arcadio, who becomes increasingly withdrawn, obsessed with investigating the mysteries of the universe presented to him by the gypsies. Ultimately he is driven insane, speaking only in Latin, and is tied to a chestnut tree by his family for many years until his death.

"One Hundred Years of Solitude is the history of the isolated town of Macondo and of the family who founds it, the Buendías. For years, the town has no contact with the outside world, except for gypsies who occasionally visit, peddling technologies like ice and telescopes. The patriarch of the family, José Arcadio Buendía, is impulsive and inquisitive. He remains a leader who is also deeply solitary, alienating himself from other men in his obsessive investigations into mysterious matters. These character traits are inherited by his descendents throughout the novel. His older child, José Arcadio, inherits his vast physical strength and his impetuousness. His younger child, Aureliano, inherits his intense, enigmatic focus. Gradually, the village loses its innocent, solitary state when it establishes contact with other towns in the region. Civil wars begin, bringing violence and death to peaceful Macondo, which, previously, had experienced neither, and Aureliano becomes the leader of the Liberal rebels, achieving fame as Colonel Aureliano Buendía. Macondo changes from an idyllic, magical, and sheltered place to a town irrevocably connected to the outside world through the notoriety of Colonel Buendía. Macondo’s governments change several times during and after the war. At one point, Arcadio, the cruelest of the Buendías, rules dictatorially and is eventually shot by a firing squad. Later, a mayor is appointed, and his reign is peaceful until another civil uprising has him killed. After his death, the civil war ends with the signing of a peace treaty.

More than a century goes by over the course of the book, and so most of the events that García Márquez describes are the major turning points in the lives of the Buendías: births, deaths, marriages, love affairs. Some of the Buendía men are wild and sexually rapacious, frequenting brothels and taking lovers. Others are quiet and solitary, preferring to shut themselves up in their rooms to make tiny golden fish or to pore over ancient manuscripts. The women, too, range from the outrageously outgoing, like Meme, who once brings home seventy-two friends from boarding school, to the prim and proper Fernanda del Carpio, who wears a special nightgown with a hole at the crotch when she consummates her marriage with her husband.

A sense of the family’s destiny for greatness remains alive in its tenacious matriarch, Ursula Iguarán, and she works devotedly to keep the family together despite its differences. But for the Buendía family, as for the entire village of Macondo, the centrifugal forces of modernity are devastating. Imperialist capitalism reaches Macondo as a banana plantation moves in and exploits the land and the workers, and the Americans who own the plantation settle in their own fenced-in section of town. Eventually, angry at the inhumane way in which they are treated, the banana workers go on strike. Thousands of them are massacred by the army, which sides with the plantation owners. When the bodies have been dumped into the sea, five years of ceaseless rain begin, creating a flood that sends Macondo into its final decline. As the city, beaten down by years of violence and false progress, begins to slip away, the Buendía family, too, begins its process of final erasure, overcome by nostalgia for bygone days. The book ends almost as it began: the village is once again solitary, isolated. The few remaining Buendía family members turn in upon themselves incestuously, alienated from the outside world and doomed to a solitary ending. 

By the novel's end, Macondo has fallen into a decrepit and near-abandoned state, with the only remaining Buendías being Amaranta Úrsula and her nephew Aureliano, whose parentage is hidden by his grandmother Fernanda, and he and Amaranta Úrsula unknowingly begin an incestuous relationship. They have a child who bears the tail of a pig, fulfilling the lifelong fear of the long-dead matriarch Úrsula. Amaranta Úrsula dies in childbirth and the child is devoured by ants, leaving Aureliano as the last member of the family. He decodes an encryption Melquíades had left behind in a manuscript generations ago. The secret message informs the recipient of every fortune and misfortune that the Buendía family's generations lived through. As Aureliano reads the manuscript, he feels a windstorm starting around him, and he reads in the document that the Buendía family is doomed to be wiped from the face of the Earth because of it. In the last sentence of the book, the narrator describes Aureliano reading this last line just as the entire town of Macondo is scoured from existence. In the last scene of the book, the last surviving Buendía translates a set of ancient prophecies and finds that all has been predicted: that the village and its inhabitants have merely been living out a preordained cycle, incorporating great beauty and great, tragic sadness."

Few characters are:

Úrsula Iguarán is one of the two matriarchs of the Buendía family and is wife to José Arcadio Buendía. She lives to be well over 100 years old and she oversees the Buendía household through six of the seven generations documented in the novel. She exhibits a very strong character and often succeeds where the men of her family fail, for example finding a route to the outside world from Macondo.

José Arcadio Buendía's firstborn son, José Arcadio seems to have inherited his father's headstrong, impulsive mannerisms. He eventually leaves the family to chase a Gypsy girl and unexpectedly returns many years later as an enormous man covered in tattoos, claiming that he has sailed the seas of the world. He marries his adopted sister Rebeca, causing his banishment from the mansion, and he dies from a mysterious gunshot wound, days after saving his brother from execution,

Colonel Aureliano Buendía is José Arcadio Buendía's second son and the first person to be born in Macondo. During the wars he fathered 17 sons by unknown women, all named Aureliano. ventually, as revenge against the Colonel, all are assassinated by the government, which identified them by the mysteriously permanent Ash Wednesday cross on their foreheads. The only survivor of the massacre is A. Amador, who escapes into the jungle only to be assassinated at the doorstep of his father's house many years later.

Amaranta Úrsula from the fifth generation is the third child of Fernanda and Aureliano. She displays the same characteristics as her namesake who dies when she is only a child. She never knows that the child sent to the Buendía home is her nephew, the illegitimate son of Meme. He becomes her best friend in childhood. She returns home from Europe with an older husband, Gastón, who leaves her when she informs him of her passionate affair with Aureliano. She dies of a hemorrhage after she has given birth to the last of the Buendía line.

Aureliano Babilonia, or Aureliano II, from the sixth generation, is the illegitimate child of Meme. He is hidden from everyone by his grandmother, Fernanda. He is strikingly similar to his namesake, the Colonel, and has the same character patterns as well. He is taciturn, silent, and emotionally charged. He barely knows Úrsula, who dies during his childhood. He is a friend of José Arcadio Segundo, who explains to him the true story of the banana worker massacre.

While other members of the family leave and return, Aureliano stays in the Buendía home. He only ventures into the empty town after the death of Fernanda. He works to decipher the parchments of Melquíades but stops to have an affair with his childhood partner and the love of his life, Amaranta Úrsula, not knowing that she is his aunt. When both she and her child die, he is able to decipher the parchments. "...Melquíades' final keys were revealed to him and he saw the epigraph of the parchments perfectly placed in the order of man's time and space: 'The first in line is tied to a tree and the last is being eaten by ants'." It is assumed he dies in the great wind that destroys Macondo the moment he finishes reading Melquíades' parchments.

Seventh generation. Aureliano is the child of Aureliano and his aunt, Amaranta Úrsula. He is born with a pig's tail, as the eldest and long dead Úrsula had always feared would happen (the parents of the child had never heard of the omen). His mother dies after giving birth to him, and, due to his grief-stricken father's negligence, he is devoured by ants.

Gabriel García Márquez is only a minor character in the novel but he has the distinction of bearing the same name as the author. He is the great-great-grandson of Colonel Gerineldo Márquez. He and Aureliano Babilonia are close friends because they know the history of the town, which no one else believes. He leaves for Paris after winning a contest and decides to stay there, selling old newspapers and empty bottles. He is one of the few who is able to leave Macondo before the town is wiped out entirely.

City of mirrors (or mirages) came to an end, and so did Aureliano , who just a few minutes before could not move, "not because he was paralyzed by horror but because at that prodigious instant Melquiades' final keys were revealed to him and he saw the epigraph of the parchments perfectly placed in the order of man's time and space: 'The first of the line is tied to a tree and the last is being eaten by the ants.'" 

Bad Boy Billionaires: India

Bad Boy Billionaires is a 2020 Indian Netflix original documentary anthology webseries which focuses on the lives of four prominent business magnates of India, including Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi, Subrata Roy and Ramalinga Raju, who achieved predominant success in their businesses during their lifetime before being accused of corruption.

There were screened, Ramalinga Raju's was not released. It's hurting to know how in each of the cases, how the common men were let to suffer, with the culprits, getting richer and leaving life kingsize. 

Vijay Mallya ("The King of Good Times")

Vijay Mallya was the Pie in the sky, veritas report was brought out against him as early as 2011, that he was taking excess Bank loan from IDBI, based on brand and forecast. Epitaph of airlines was being written. Son of a rich father who was orphaned before he got grip in the industry, was like Donald Trump of India, Callous he became, wanting to have good times, he had become stone hearted.  His employees were not being paid , but he was running sports teams and other countries employees were being paid. Inspite of all loses on 18th Dec 2015 on his 60th birthday, there was a grand birthday celebration at Goa. 

Launch of aircraft 8th May, son turning 18, diversifying from the liquor business, with big dream he ended up at  Westminster magistrates  court charged with Conspiracy,  cheating and money laundering he was charged with looting bank, fleeing India and siphoning funds.

Nirav Modi ("Diamonds Aren't Forever") 

Nirav Modi reminds of Gucci and Pradas -  PNB - controlled narrative. He was finally caught in  London in 2016. Surat was the Diamond city and people there were full of praise for Nirav, unlike his uncle, Mehul Choksy from whom Nirav learned the trick of the trade.  Their business was diversification from Githanjali, in 1999 they split and formed Firestar diamond and became, Diamond king. Since 2010, they started building luxury brand, with highest auction price, purchased, Golconda piece - Rolls Royce of Diamonds - in lotus design from Honkong. Christie's auction catalogue sold it to  Taiwanees industrialist for around 3000 crore. He very well married astatic with techniques. New branches were opened in all big countries. How was it funded? Series of loans were taken from  PNB-Brady House in South Mumbai on the basis of  Letter of undertaking but without collateral, he bribed bank officials and was given free money. He was given free money and he used it for charming the charmed circle, Ami Modi was his wife who helped him do it. He lived in pent house at Samudra life. In 2014 expansion, trade was slow so he borrowed heavily, mafia's, middle east helped him do it. To boost sales, his goods were sold through shell companies in other countries  in names of his children or relatives and he sold them at inflated prices. His ambition was to be a global figure and wanted to outlive his lifetime, More than 11,300 crore were syphoned. When the news broke out, at Firestar International private Ltd., employees left half day, he became fugitive, DM Gokulnath Shetty and Manoj Karat clerk were the ones arrested. It is said that they were bribed them for 6.5 years, MK said he was set up, he did not know anything. NM moved to London Pent house at Soho street, he was caught when he was on his way to Oxford street on 20th March 2018 extradition notice was given  and he was arrested. Guy who got away, denies all wrongdoing.

Subrata Roy ("The World's Biggest Family")

Saharasri Subrata Roy like KC, started his Chit business in  1978 UP, Gorokpur, eastern up on a lambretta scooter, Chit from rural poor, he was an expert in understanding what people want pulling them into it. Sahara means Savior. In 1980 they started recruiting agents, created an idea of family called Sahara India Parivar, an example of collective Materialism, claimed to be Robinhood, married off 101 girls, they used the greetings  Sahara Pranam, Aamby valley; downfall began with questions on 60 million spend for the wedding of his 2 sons, number of deposits started depleting, there were 30 million investors as on 31st Aug 2012; 260 billion dollars was to be repaid. It was run as a private business. They were into sports, and many other things. When two of the companies went public, documents were asked for, which they were unable to provide, and when jailed, indirectly intimidating market regulator 127 trucks full of documents were send, not in order. Millions of people singing national anthem together, and acts like that showed immense sense of patriotism. He wrote and released a book when in jail and finally was released on Parole. 

All three started big, with great potential, but lacked a sense of integrity. 

मूढ़ जहीहि धनागमतृष्णाम्,

कुरु सद्बुद्धिमं मनसि वितृष्णाम्।

यल्लभसे निजकर्मोपात्तम्,

वित्तं तेन विनोदय चित्तं॥२॥

हे मोहित बुद्धि! धन एकत्र करने के लोभ को त्यागो। अपने मन से इन समस्त कामनाओं का त्याग करो। सत्यता के पथ का अनुसरण करो, अपने परिश्रम से जो धन प्राप्त हो उससे ही अपने मन को प्रसन्न रखो॥२॥

O deluded minded! Give up your lust to amass wealth. Give up such desires from your mind and take up the path of righteousness. Keep your mind happy with the money which comes as the result of your hard work.

And then comes Peri Maheshwer's post:

1. Most Indians know about Vijay Mallya. But do you know who Andhra Mallya is? Sujana Choudhury is an MP and represents BJP. He was elected from TDP in AP but switched sides.  Sujana owned three companies, all listed on BSE/NSE but delisted now under NCLT orders. 

2. Sujana Metal: The Rs.10 share was last traded at Rs.0.45. It's marketcap was 15 crores. The sales fell from Rs.1541 Crores in 2017 to Rs.16 crores in 2021. The total borrowings were  Rs.2430 crores. Losses of 2010 crores in 2017 & 2018. It is a bank defaulter. In 2019, Sujana Metals changed its name to Splendid Metals.

3. Sujana Towers: It's Ra.10 share was last traded at Rs.0.65. It has a market cap of 12 crores and stopped trading. Borrowings of Rs.2610 crores and Accumulated losses 965 crores. It is a bank defaulter and changed its name to Neueon Towers. 

4. Sujana Universal: The share price was last traded at Rs.0.30. It's Marketcap is 4.22 crores

while it's Current Liabilities are Rs.2476 Crores.  Borrowings are close to 1500 crores. It is a bank defaulter. Its shares are no longer trading. 

5. The whitewashing of money trail continues. YS Consultancy Services, Sujana Transmissions, Sujana Ports, Esteem Hotels — were all struck off from the RoC. Sujana Chowdhury was a director in all these companies. 

6. In 2017, the ED started investigating GDR issue of Rs.1500 crores raised by Sujana Group through Luxemburg route. Shell company of Sujana Group in British Virgin Islands bought the GDRs issued by Sujana group from a Portugal bank. 

7. In Nov 2018 (before the general elections in May 2019), the ED alleged a Rs 5,700 crore bank loan frauds by 120 companies controlled by Sujana Chowdary. They found rubber stamps of 128 companies at a single premises in the raids.

8. In April 2019, CBI registered 3 FIRs against Sujana group companies on complaints by 3 banks that lost Rs 364 crore. The allegation was that the company submitted fake bills to avail loans. ED also Attached 315 crores property linked to Sujana under PMLA. 

9. In May 2019, BJP romped back to power. In June 2019, Sujana decided to do what Vijay Mallya didn't - He ditched TDP and joined BJP alongwith 2 other TDP MP's.  The MPs were on ED radar, facing CBI cases and are bank defaulters or facing income tax investigation.

10. Three years into CBI/ED raids, there is silence. Shareholders lost. Banks lost. Income Tax lost. Mallya atleast offered to pay 14000 crores. This MP changed the name and disowned the companies which owe 7500 crores. Sujana is worse than Mallya.  He represents BJP and hence a patriot.

Bhaja Govindam - Praise/Seek Govinda

 Bhaja Govindam also known as Moha Mudgara (Destroyer of illusion) is a popular Hindu devotional poem in Sanskrit composed by Adi Shankara. This work of Adi Shankara underscores the view that Bhakti (devotion) is also important part along with Jnana (knowledge), as emphasised by the bhakti movement. Have grown up listening to the popular rendition sung by M. S. Subbulakshmi, this tribute to her is also very soothing and well done by a team of  Tokyo Tamil Sangam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&edufilter=NULL&feature=youtu.be&v=b1FwEbrNY_c

There is a story related to the composition of this Hymn. It is said that Shri Adi Shankaracharya, accompanied by his disciples, was walking along a street in Varanasi one day when he came across an old aged scholar reciting the rules of Sanskrit grammar of Panini repeatedly on the street. Taking pity on him, Adi Shankara went up to the scholar and advised him not to waste his time on grammar at his age but to turn his mind to God in worship and adoration, which would only save him from this vicious cycle of life and death. The hymn "Bhaja Govindam" is said to have been composed on this occasion.

This composition is a reminder that Adi Shankaracharya, who is often regarded as reviver of Hinduism Jnana Marga (Jnana Yoga) or the "Path of Knowledge" to attain Mukti, also was a proponent of Bhakti Marga (Bhakti Yoga) to attain the same goal, and as C. Rajagopalachari put in his commentary, "When intelligence (jnana) matures and lodges securely in the heart, it becomes wisdom (vignyana). When that wisdom (vignyana) is integrated with life and issues out in action, it becomes devotion (bhakti). Knowledge (jnana) which has become mature is spoken of as devotion (bhakti). If it does not get transformed into devotion (bhakti), such knowledge (jnana) is useless tinsel."

In this prayer, Adi Shankaracharya emphasizes the importance of devotion for God as a means to spiritual development and to liberation from the cycle of birth and death. The prayer leaves one in no doubt that the renunciation of our egotistical differences and surrender to God makes for salvation. Many scholars hold that this composition encapsulates with both brevity and simplicity the substance of all Vedantic thought found in whatever other works that Adi Shankaracharya wrote.

The refrain "Bhaja Govindam" which defines the composition and gives it its name invokes the almighty in the aspect of supreme god Shree Krishna; it is therefore very popular not only with Sri Adi Shankaracharya's immediate followers, the Smarthas, but also with Vaishnavas and others.

The chanting begins with:

 स्थापकाय च धर्मस्य सर्वधर्म-स्वरूपिणे ।। अवतार-वरिष्ठाय रामकृष्णाय ते नमः ॥ meaning "(Salutations) to the establisher of Dharma who is of the essence of all of nature; salutations to that great incarnation of the form of Ramakrishna."

The words with meaning from https://www.hindibhajan.in/bhaja-govindam-lyrics/ is as below, but in the your tube, not all para is sung, some are skipped:

भज गोविन्दम् भज गोविन्दम्,

गोविन्दं भज मूढ़मते।

संप्राप्ते सन्निहिते काले,

न हि न हि रक्षति डुकृञ् करणे॥१॥

हे मोह से ग्रसित बुद्धि वाले मित्र, गोविंद को भजो, गोविन्द का नाम लो, गोविन्द से प्रेम करो क्योंकि मृत्यु के समय व्याकरण के नियम याद रखने से आपकी रक्षा नहीं हो सकती है॥१॥

O deluded minded friend, chant Govinda, worship Govinda, love Govinda as memorizing the rules of grammar cannot save one at the time of death. ॥1॥

मूढ़ जहीहि धनागमतृष्णाम्,

कुरु सद्बुद्धिमं मनसि वितृष्णाम्।

यल्लभसे निजकर्मोपात्तम्,

वित्तं तेन विनोदय चित्तं॥२॥

हे मोहित बुद्धि! धन एकत्र करने के लोभ को त्यागो। अपने मन से इन समस्त कामनाओं का त्याग करो। सत्यता के पथ का अनुसरण करो, अपने परिश्रम से जो धन प्राप्त हो उससे ही अपने मन को प्रसन्न रखो॥२॥

O deluded minded! Give up your lust to amass wealth. Give up such desires from your mind and take up the path of righteousness. Keep your mind happy with the money which comes as the result of your hard work. ॥2॥

नारीस्तनभरनाभीदेशम्,

दृष्ट्वा मागा मोहावेशम्।

एतन्मान्सवसादिविकारम्,

मनसि विचिन्तय वारं वारम्॥३॥

स्त्री शरीर पर मोहित होकर आसक्त मत हो। अपने मन में निरंतर स्मरण करो कि ये मांस-वसा आदि के विकार के अतिरिक्त कुछ और नहीं हैं॥३॥

Do not get attracted to seeing the parts of a woman’s anatomy under the influence of delusion, as these are made up of skin, flesh, and similar substances. Deliberate on this again and again in your mind. ॥3॥

नलिनीदलगतजलमतितरलम्, तद्वज्जीवितमतिशयचपलम्।

विद्धि व्याध्यभिमानग्रस्तं,

लोक शोकहतं च समस्तम्॥४॥

जीवन कमल-पत्र पर पड़ी हुई पानी की बूंदों के समान अनिश्चित एवं अल्प (क्षणभंगुर) है। यह समझ लो कि समस्त विश्व रोग, अहंकार और दु:ख में डूबा हुआ है॥४॥

Life is as ephemeral as water drops on a lotus leaf. Be aware that the whole world is troubled by disease, ego, and grief. ॥4॥

यावद्वित्तोपार्जनसक्त:,

तावन्निजपरिवारो रक्तः।

पश्चाज्जीवति जर्जरदेहे,

वार्तां कोऽपि न पृच्छति गेहे॥५॥

जब तक व्यक्ति धनोपार्जन में समर्थ है, तब तक परिवार में सभी उसके प्रति स्नेह प्रदर्शित करते हैं परन्तु अशक्त हो जाने पर उसे सामान्य बातचीत में भी नहीं पूछा जाता है॥५॥

As long as a man is fit and capable to earn money, everyone in the family show affection towards him. But afterward, when the body becomes weak no one inquiries about him even during the talks. ॥5॥

यावत्पवनो निवसति देहे,

तावत् पृच्छति कुशलं गेहे।

गतवति वायौ देहापाये,

भार्या बिभ्यति तस्मिन्काये॥६॥

जब तक शरीर में प्राण रहते हैं तब तक ही लोग कुशल पूछते हैं। शरीर से प्राण वायु के निकलते ही पत्नी भी उस शरीर से डरती है॥६॥

Till one is alive, family members enquire kindly about his welfare. But when the vital air (Prana) departs from the body, even the wife fears from the corpse. ॥6॥

बालस्तावत् क्रीडासक्तः,

तरुणस्तावत् तरुणीसक्तः।

वृद्धस्तावच्चिन्तासक्तः,

परे ब्रह्मणि कोऽपि न सक्तः॥७॥

बचपन में खेल में रूचि होती है , युवावस्था में युवा स्त्री के प्रति आकर्षण होता है, वृद्धावस्था में चिंताओं से घिरे रहते हैं पर प्रभु से कोई प्रेम नहीं करता है॥७॥

In childhood we are attached to sports, in youth, we are attached to women. Old age goes in worrying over everything. But there is no one who wants to be engrossed in Govind, the para brahman at any stage. ॥7॥

का ते कांता कस्ते पुत्रः,

संसारोऽयमतीव विचित्रः।

कस्य त्वं वा कुत अयातः,

तत्त्वं चिन्तय तदिह भ्रातः॥८॥

कौन तुम्हारी पत्नी है, कौन तुम्हारा पुत्र है, ये संसार अत्यंत विचित्र है, तुम कौन हो, कहाँ से आये हो, बन्धु ! इस बात पर तो पहले विचार कर लो॥८॥

Who is your wife? Who is your son? Indeed, strange is this world. O dear, think again and again who are you and from where have you come. ॥8॥

सत्संगत्वे निस्संगत्वं,

निस्संगत्वे निर्मोहत्वं।

निर्मोहत्वे निश्चलतत्त्वं

निश्चलतत्त्वे जीवन्मुक्तिः॥९॥

सत्संग से वैराग्य, वैराग्य से विवेक, विवेक से स्थिर तत्त्वज्ञान और तत्त्वज्ञान से मोक्ष की प्राप्ति होती है॥९॥

Association with saints brings non-attachment, non-attachment leads to right knowledge, right knowledge leads us to permanent awareness, to which liberation follows. ॥9॥

व यसि गते कः कामविकारः,

शुष्के नीरे कः कासारः।

क्षीणे वित्ते कः परिवारः,

ज्ञाते तत्त्वे कः संसारः॥१०॥

आयु बीत जाने के बाद काम भाव नहीं रहता, पानी सूख जाने पर तालाब नहीं रहता, धन चले जाने पर परिवार नहीं रहता और तत्त्व ज्ञान होने के बाद संसार नहीं रहता॥१०॥

As lust without youth, a lake without water, the relatives without wealth are meaningless, similarly, this world ceases to exist when the Truth is revealed? ॥10॥

मा कुरु धनजनयौवनगर्वं,

हरति निमेषात्कालः सर्वं।

मायामयमिदमखिलम् हित्वा,

ब्रह्मपदम् त्वं प्रविश विदित्वा॥११॥

धन, शक्ति और यौवन पर गर्व मत करो, समय क्षण भर में इनको नष्ट कर देता है| इस विश्व को माया से घिरा हुआ जान कर तुम ब्रह्म पद में प्रवेश करो॥११॥

Do not boast of wealth, friends (power), and youth, these can be taken away in a flash by Time . Knowing this whole world to be under the illusion of Maya, you try to attain the Absolute . ॥11॥

दिनयामिन्यौ सायं प्रातः,

शिशिरवसन्तौ पुनरायातः।

कालः क्रीडति गच्छत्यायुस्तदपि

न मुन्च्त्याशावायुः॥१२॥

दिन और रात, शाम और सुबह, सर्दी और बसंत बार-बार आते-जाते रहते है काल की इस क्रीडा के साथ जीवन नष्ट होता रहता है पर इच्छाओ का अंत कभी नहीं होता है॥१२॥

Day and night, dusk and dawn, winter and spring come and go. In this sport of Time entire life goes away, but the storm of desire never departs or diminishes. ॥12॥

द्वादशमंजरिकाभिरशेषः

कथितो वैयाकरणस्यैषः।

उपदेशोऽभूद्विद्यानिपुणैः, श्रीमच्छंकरभगवच्चरणैः॥१२अ॥

बारह गीतों का ये पुष्पहार, सर्वज्ञ प्रभुपाद श्री शंकराचार्य द्वारा एक वैयाकरण को प्रदान किया गया॥१२अ॥

This bouquet of twelve verses was imparted to a grammarian by the all-knowing, god-like Sri Shankara. ॥12A॥

काते कान्ता धन गतचिन्ता,

वातुल किं तव नास्ति नियन्ता।

त्रिजगति सज्जनसं गतिरैका,

भवति भवार्णवतरणे नौका॥१३॥

तुम्हें पत्नी और धन की इतनी चिंता क्यों है, क्या उनका कोई नियंत्रक नहीं है| तीनों लोकों में केवल सज्जनों का साथ ही इस भवसागर से पार जाने की नौका है॥१३॥

Oh, deluded man! Why do you worry about your wealth and wife? Is there no one to take care of them? Only the company of saints can act as a boat in three worlds to take you out from this ocean of rebirths. ॥13॥

जटिलो मुण्डी लुञ्छितकेशः, काषायाम्बरबहुकृतवेषः।

पश्यन्नपि च न पश्यति मूढः,

उदरनिमित्तं बहुकृतवेषः॥१४॥

बड़ी जटाएं, केश रहित सिर, बिखरे बाल , काषाय (भगवा) वस्त्र और भांति भांति के वेश ये सब अपना पेट भरने के लिए ही धारण किये जाते हैं, अरे मोहित मनुष्य तुम इसको देख कर भी क्यों नहीं देख पाते हो॥१४॥

Matted and untidy hair, shaven heads, orange or variously colored clothes are all a way to earn a livelihood. O deluded man why don’t you understand it even after seeing it. ॥14॥

अङ्गं गलितं पलितं मुण्डं,

दशनविहीनं जतं तुण्डम्।

वृद्धो याति गृहीत्वा दण्डं,

तदपि न मुञ्चत्याशापिण्डम्॥१५॥

क्षीण अंगों, पके हुए बालों, दांतों से रहित मुख और हाथ में दंड लेकर चलने वाला वृद्ध भी आशा-पाश से बंधा रहता है॥१५॥

Even an old man of weak limbs, hairless head, toothless mouth, who walks with a stick, cannot leave his desires. ॥15॥

अग्रे वह्निः पृष्ठेभानुः,

रात्रौ चुबुकसमर्पितजानुः।

करतलभिक्षस्तरुतलवासः,

तदपि न मुञ्चत्याशापाशः॥१६॥

सूर्यास्त के बाद, रात्रि में आग जला कर और घुटनों में सर छिपाकर सर्दी बचाने वाला , हाथ में भिक्षा का अन्न खाने वाला, पेड़ के नीचे रहने वाला भी अपनी इच्छाओं के बंधन को छोड़ नहीं पाता है॥१६॥

One who warms his body by fire after sunset curls his body to his knees to avoid cold; eats the begged food and sleeps beneath the tree, he is also bound by desires, even in these difficult situations .॥16॥

कुरुते गङ्गासागरगमनं,

व्रतपरिपालनमथवा दानम्।

ज्ञानविहिनः सर्वमतेन,

मुक्तिं न भजति जन्मशतेन॥१७॥

किसी भी धर्म के अनुसार ज्ञान रहित रह कर गंगासागर जाने से, व्रत रखने से और दान देने से सौ जन्मों में भी मुक्ति नहीं प्राप्त हो सकती है॥१७॥

According to all religions, without knowledge, one cannot get liberated in a hundred births though he might visit Gangasagar or observe fasts or do charity. ॥17॥

सुर मंदिर तरु मूल निवासः,

शय्या भूतल मजिनं वासः।

सर्व परिग्रह भोग त्यागः,

कस्य सुखं न करोति विरागः॥१८॥

देव मंदिर या पेड़ के नीचे निवास, पृथ्वी जैसी शय्या, अकेले ही रहने वाले, सभी संग्रहों और सुखों का त्याग करने वाले वैराग्य से किसको आनंद की प्राप्ति नहीं होगी॥१८॥

Reside in a temple or below a tree, sleep on mother earth as your bed, stay alone, leave all the belongings and comforts, such renunciation can give all the pleasures to anybody. ॥18॥

योगरतो वाभोगरतोवा,

सङ्गरतो वा सङ्गवीहिनः।

यस्य ब्रह्मणि रमते चित्तं,

नन्दति नन्दति नन्दत्येव॥१९॥

कोई योग में लगा हो या भोग में, संग में आसक्त हो या निसंग हो, पर जिसका मन ब्रह्म में लगा है वो ही आनंद करता है, आनंद ही करता है॥१९॥

One may like meditative practice or worldly pleasures, may be attached or detached. But only the one fixing his mind on God lovingly enjoys bliss, enjoys bliss, enjoys bliss. ॥19॥

भगवद् गीता किञ्चिदधीता,

गङ्गा जललव कणिकापीता।

सकृदपि येन मुरारि समर्चा,

क्रियते तस्य यमेन न चर्चा॥२०॥

जिन्होंने भगवदगीता का थोडा सा भी अध्ययन किया है, भक्ति रूपी गंगा जल का कण भर भी पिया है, भगवान कृष्ण की एक बार भी समुचित प्रकार से पूजा की है, यम के द्वारा उनकी चर्चा नहीं की जाती है॥२०॥

Those who study Gita, even a little, drink just a drop of water from the holy Ganga, worship Lord Krishna with love even once, Yama, the God of death has no control over them. ॥20॥

पुनरपि जननं पुनरपि मरणं,

पुनरपि जननी जठरे शयनम्।

इह संसारे बहुदुस्तारे,

कृपयाऽपारे पाहि मुरारे॥२१॥

बार-बार जन्म, बार-बार मृत्यु, बार-बार माँ के गर्भ में शयन, इस संसार से पार जा पाना बहुत कठिन है, हे कृष्ण कृपा करके मेरी इससे रक्षा करें॥२१॥

Born again, die again, stay again in the mother’s womb, it is indeed difficult to cross this world. O Murari ! please help me through your mercy. ॥21॥

रथ्या चर्पट विरचित कन्थः,

पुण्यापुण्य विवर्जित पन्थः।

योगी योगनियोजित चित्तो,

रमते बालोन्मत्तवदेव॥२२॥

रथ के नीचे आने से फटे हुए कपडे पहनने वाले, पुण्य और पाप से रहित पथ पर चलने वाले, योग में अपने चित्त को लगाने वाले योगी, बालक के समान आनंद में रहते हैं॥२२॥

One who wears clothes ragged due to chariots, move on the path free from virtue and sin, keeps his mind-controlled through constant practice, enjoys like a carefree exuberant child. ॥22॥

कस्त्वं कोऽहं कुत आयातः,

का मे जननी को मे तातः।

इति परिभावय सर्वमसारम्,

विश्वं त्यक्त्वा स्वप्न विचारम्॥२३॥

तुम कौन हो, मैं कौन हूँ, कहाँ से आया हूँ, मेरी माँ कौन है, मेरा पिता कौन है? सब प्रकार से इस विश्व को असार समझ कर इसको एक स्वप्न के समान त्याग दो॥२३॥

Who are you? Who am I? From where I have come? Who is my mother, who is my father? Ponder over these and after understanding, this world to be meaningless like a dream, relinquish it. ॥23॥

त्वयि मयि चान्यत्रैको विष्णुः,

व्यर्थं कुप्यसि मय्यसहिष्णुः।

भव समचित्तः सर्वत्र त्वं,

वाञ्छस्यचिराद्यदि विष्णुत्वम्॥२४॥

तुममें, मुझमें और अन्यत्र भी सर्वव्यापक विष्णु ही हैं, तुम व्यर्थ ही क्रोध करते हो, यदि तुम शाश्वत विष्णु पद को प्राप्त करना चाहते हो तो सर्वत्र समान चित्त वाले हो जाओ॥२४॥

Lord Vishnu resides in me, in you and in everything else, so your anger is meaningless. If you wish to attain the eternal status of Vishnu, practice equanimity all the time, in all the things. ॥24॥

शत्रौ मित्रे पुत्रे बन्धौ,

मा कुरु यत्नं विग्रहसन्धौ।

सर्वस्मिन्नपि पश्यात्मानं,

सर्वत्रोत्सृज भेदाज्ञानम्॥२५॥

शत्रु, मित्र, पुत्र, बन्धु-बांधवों से प्रेम और द्वेष मत करो, सबमें अपने आप को ही देखो, इस प्रकार सर्वत्र ही भेद रूपी अज्ञान को त्याग दो॥२५॥

Try not to win the love of your friends, brothers, relatives and son(s) or to fight with your enemies. See yourself in everyone and give up ignorance of duality everywhere. ॥25॥

कामं क्रोधं लोभं मोहं,

त्यक्त्वाऽत्मानं भावय कोऽहम्।

आत्मज्ञान विहीना मूढाः,

ते पच्यन्ते नरकनिगूढाः॥२६॥

काम, क्रोध, लोभ, मोह को छोड़ कर, स्वयं में स्थित होकर विचार करो कि मैं कौन हूँ, जो आत्म- ज्ञान से रहित मोहित व्यक्ति हैं वो बार-बार छिपे हुए इस संसार रूपी नरक में पड़ते हैं॥२६॥

Give up desires, anger, greed, and delusion. Ponder over your real nature. Those devoid of the knowledge of self come in this world, a hidden hell, endlessly. ॥26॥

गेयं गीता नाम सहस्रं,

ध्येयं श्रीपति रूपमजस्रम्।

नेयं सज्जन सङ्गे चित्तं,

देयं दीनजनाय च वित्तम्॥२७॥

भगवान विष्णु के सहस्त्र नामों को गाते हुए उनके सुन्दर रूप का अनवरत ध्यान करो, सज्जनों के संग में अपने मन को लगाओ और गरीबों की अपने धन से सेवा करो॥२७॥

Sing a thousand glories of Lord Vishnu, constantly remembering his form in your heart. Enjoy the company of noble people and do charity for the poor and the needy. ॥27॥

सुखतः क्रियते रामाभोगः,

पश्चाद्धन्त शरीरे रोगः।

यद्यपि लोके मरणं शरणं,

तदपि न मुञ्चति पापाचरणम्॥२८॥

सुख के लिए लोग आनंद-भोग करते हैं जिसके बाद इस शरीर में रोग हो जाते हैं। यद्यपि इस पृथ्वी पर सबका मरण सुनिश्चित है फिर भी लोग पापमय आचरण को नहीं छोड़ते हैं॥२८॥

People use this body for pleasure which gets diseased in the end. Though in this world everything ends in death, man does not give up the sinful conduct. ॥28॥

अर्थंमनर्थम् भावय नित्यं,

नास्ति ततः सुखलेशः सत्यम्।

पुत्रादपि धनभजाम् भीतिः,

सर्वत्रैषा विहिता रीतिः॥२९॥

धन अकल्याणकारी है और इससे जरा सा भी सुख नहीं मिल सकता है, ऐसा विचार प्रतिदिन करना चाहिए | धनवान व्यक्ति तो अपने पुत्रों से भी डरते हैं ऐसा सबको पता ही है॥२९॥

Keep on thinking that money is the cause of all troubles, it cannot give even a bit of happiness. A rich man fears even his own son. This is the law of riches everywhere. ॥29॥

प्राणायामं प्रत्याहारं,

नित्यानित्य विवेकविचारम्।

जाप्यसमेत समाधिविधानं,

कुर्ववधानं महदवधानम्॥३०॥

प्राणायाम, उचित आहार, नित्य इस संसार की अनित्यता का विवेक पूर्वक विचार करो, प्रेम से प्रभु-नाम का जाप करते हुए समाधि में ध्यान दो, बहुत ध्यान दो॥३०॥

Do pranayam, the regulation of life forces, take proper food, constantly distinguish the permanent from the fleeting, Chant the holy names of God with love and meditate, with attention, with the utmost attention. ॥30॥

गुरुचरणाम्बुज निर्भर भक्तः, संसारादचिराद्भव मुक्तः।

सेन्द्रियमानस नियमादेवं,

द्रक्ष्यसि निज हृदयस्थं देवम्॥३१॥

गुरु के चरण कमलों का ही आश्रय मानने वाले भक्त बनकर सदैव के लिए इस संसार में आवागमन से मुक्त हो जाओ, इस प्रकार मन एवं इन्द्रियों का निग्रह कर अपने हृदय में विराजमान प्रभु के दर्शन करो॥३१॥

Be dependent only on the lotus feet of your Guru and get salvation from this world. Through disciplined senses and mind, you can see the indwelling Lord of your heart !॥31॥

मूढः कश्चन वैयाकरणो,

डुकृञ्करणाध्ययन धुरिणः।

श्रीमच्छम्कर भगवच्छिष्यै,

बोधित आसिच्छोधितकरणः॥३२॥

इस प्रकार व्याकरण के नियमों को कंठस्थ करते हुए किसी मोहित वैयाकरण के माध्यम से बुद्धिमान श्री भगवान शंकर के शिष्य बोध प्राप्त करने के लिए प्रेरित किये गए॥३२॥

Thus through a deluded grammarian lost in memorizing rules of the grammar, the all-knowing Sri Shankara motivated his disciples for enlightenment.॥32॥

भजगोविन्दं भजगोविन्दं,

गोविन्दं भजमूढमते।

नामस्मरणादन्यमुपायं,

नहि पश्यामो भवतरणे॥३३॥

गोविंद को भजो, गोविन्द का नाम लो, गोविन्द से प्रेम करो क्योंकि भगवान के नाम जप के अतिरिक्त इस भव-सागर से पार जाने का अन्य कोई मार्ग नहीं है॥३३॥

O deluded minded friend, chant Govinda, worship Govinda, love Govinda as there is no other way to cross the life’s ocean except lovingly remembering the holy names of God.॥33॥

Flying High - 2 : R Sivakumar & V Pattabhi Ram

 Grateful, to be part of the writing desk of Flying High - 2 an humbling experience, here is the link to the release:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzz0DRbonYE

Phenomenal work by Pattabhi Ram Sir who was fully responsible for writing and Sivakumar Sir for coordinating with the CA's choosing them and ensuring that all this happened from the start to finish. All the settings were done by Malai Selvam. 

C A Ravishanker was given first copy of the book followed by Bhupathi Sir. Those present were:

In person: R Bupathy,

Thro Rep: Brahmayya, NCS, Kumbhat, PBV, M Balsubramanian

Absent: M R Narayanan, N Srinivasan, T Anantha Narayanan, G Sitharaman, T N Manoharan, R Balakrishnan

Would you like to get an entry ticket to a dinner party that has seven past presidents of the ICAI, a few central council members, three outstanding teachers, one Padma shri, One big four partner - in all 12. Yes, some of these positions are held by more than one person. What would you like to know about them? Flying High - 2.0 narrates the extraordinary of the rise and rise to fame of 12 men who have an entrepreneurial steak in them. 

Thrilling to see the people covered in the book, each ordinary man standing by values, did fly high; thus creating extraordinary tales. 

 12 men are:

P Brahmayya - Changed Lives - 1908: Only one here, who did his CA from England, gentle, urbane and suave, would have been 113 if alive. His bio written by Oviya fetched the best bio nomination.

P.B. Vijayaraghavan - Life Long Learner - 1925: Cool-headed, firm but fair stalwart, with a love for learning and teaching marks him out as a man to emulate. Given his erudition and good personal and professional values, he would be fondly remembered as a star teacher, a cerebral auditor, and an ace motivator. Was fortunate to write about him, and interact with his son, PB Srinivasan as he passed away at 94 and had been to office until few months before death, and stopped only because of the lockdown. 

M R Narayanan - The perfectionist - 1926: Like his height of 6'2; he was a tall man, who let go high-profile client as their moral compass did not match his. 

N.C. Sundararajan - Man of Steel - 1929: A solution provider at heart, suave and habituated to reading, he possessed exemplary arbitration and negotiation skills and was at the helm as president during the calamitous 1992 scam.

N. Srinivasan - A Pioneer - 1931:  set in motion a chain of events that saw Deloitte Consolidate in India, he was instrumental in Fraser & Ross's foreign connection being the youngest Indian partner in all-European firm.

Ashok Kumbhat - Cricket Aficionado - 1934: An ace go-getter, networker was one-time cricket administrator and close to levers of powers. 

G Sitharaman -The millennium surprise president - 1937:  intensely religious and bravely orthodox, he was a past master in taxation and incredibly strong-willed man. 

'

M. Balasubramaniyam : Avid Reader - 1940: At 81, with 60 years in his fathers office, he still works 6.5 days a week, spending half sunday with his wife visiting temples. Was fortunate to interact and write about him. 

R Balakrishnan - Man for the World - 1941: He could have been and IIT scholar, constitutional attorney, but choose to be a CA. Though he moved with powers, believed in non-solicitation. 

T Anantha Narayanan - Captain Cool - 1945:  strode the corporate world like colossus, karmayogi by practice, an organic farmer by passion and CA by profession be breeds innovative thinking and positive approach. 

R Bupathy: Consensus Seeker: 1951: Like a lion and PBV, he started his profession from scratch, loved teaching, has been corporate board member, eloquent orator, and past president of the institute. 

T N Manoharan - Padmashri Awardee - 1956 - Most of us know him, for his IT text books, first practicing CA to get Padma Shri, I remember his advise - to pass in CA exam what you need is 50% Hardwork and 50% Confidence. 

The writes were presented with a memento. 4th/5th of 2022, but am yet to get the hard copy of the book, and read about all. 

Traits common to all are:

• Work-discipline, punctuality and compassion
• Human approach, dissenting without hurting, and aiming for larger public benefit in every step
• Providing enough opportunities to peers and subordinates in decision making
• Sacrifices of professional or material opportunities while in office
• Proper mix of professional and personal life and
• Deep faith in divine grace

Am sure these 12 biographies of  Seven Wonders and the Famous Five will enthuse and inspire many; and it is 'a' list and not 'the' list of high-flying CA's.