PATRICK NGCOBO:A LESSON IN STRENGTH AND CULTURE

We are all modern Indians. Modernized Indians. Modernizing Indians. Modernized up to that extent that we do not even know what our culture is and what our traditions are. You ask a young urban going on the road, “What is the next album of Shakira?”There will be an instant reply. You ask another question, “Do you know who Tansen and Thyagaraja are?”The upcoming citizen of India thinks and thinks, but I am sure he finally gives it up. Such is the fate of Indian traditional music today, but ONLY IN INDIA. There is an excellent patronage to this music in most other countries of the globe. Cleveland Thyagaraja Aaraadhana is the best example to this. The migration of the traditional Indian musicians to these far off places suggests a considerable amount of lack of encouragement in the mother land though some of them had gone there with the motive of spreading our culture. It is fortunate that they are successful there.

However, did you know that there are foreigners who are proficient in our music? I too did not till very recently. The other day when I was casually turning some Wikipedian pages, I landed on the “List of Carnatic Singers”. I found one ‘Patrick’ among the orthodox names like Deekshithars, Murthys, Sastris, Nairs, etc. At first I checked my impulse of considering him a foreigner thinking he may be one of those Keralite Christians who gave a fair patronage to the traditional Carnatic music. But when I saw his last name ‘Ngcobo’ a moment later, I was indeed surprised and thinking of a possible African descent, I immediately clicked on the link attached to his name.

I came to know that he is indeed an African of Zulu lineage living in South Africa. I wondered how he came to be a seeker of Indian music.

The increasing curiosity made me click on the BBC news page link located at the bottom of the Wikipedia page.

Sri Patrick Ngcobo

There it was written, the whole saga of Sri Patrick Ngcobo and his Carnatic music. It was mentioned that Ngcobo was once very much impressed by a song of Sri K.J.Jesudas and being himself inclined to music, decided to pursue the style of music that was very pleasant to his ears. He was fortunate to find Sri Jesudas who being a wonderful human being had instantly agreed to teach him on the only condition of Patrick coming to Madras.

Then there is the mention of hundreds of hurdles and adversities Patrick had faced, starting from the poverty that made it difficult even to cross the boundary to the difficulties in practicing the great intricacies of Carnatic music.

After his formal training with Sri Jesudas he left India to his home place planning to make this as his profession. He believed his thoughts are justified by the presence of a large Indian population in South Africa. But much against to his idea, he did not receive that amount of encouragement which he had expected though he has sung in many concerts in Botswana. He says he want to sing in South Africa and it is remarkable that he expresses a lot of hope in singing Carnatic songs throughout the world.

Now the story is over. What is its moral, then?

It is a lesson to all those youngsters, who are running madly after the foreign customs and traditions, drastically endangering the culture of homeland.

It is a point of proof of the virtues of our traditional music when it had made a foreigner strive for it.

It makes us salute the individual who has become a patron of such an alien music, fighting the countless adversities that came his way. He could have been very peaceful without all these. But he did not care for all these and was finally very successful in pursuing his goal. This indeed showers us in a great inspiration.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Light and Warmth

Encountering the transition from home to hostel

Those Mystical False Assurances

Today, doubt sits in the mind of every individual, continuously hovering in the cloudy folds of his brain and interrupts the smooth transmission of almost every signal. Having a natural doubting mechanism is beneficial in the sense that it ensures security. But the abundant amount of it only worsens the situation just like a high resistance in an electrical circuit makes the battery ineffective and the circuit devoid of charge flow.

Generally, the rubbish of all sorts is that we doubt. Like, “Am I doing it right?”, after beginning the task. The task is also bound to be failure because of the excessive doubt we had while doing the task.

This false fearing, I think is present in all sorts of individuals. If a person is suffering from the feeling of inferiority then doubts his own talent, himself. If he is a confident person with a pinch of superior air around him, then he simply doubts others’ talents. If a person is introverted, he doubts the others’ feedback about him. If he is extroverted, then he doubts the effects of his uncompromising, sometimes rash style.

But I also think at the same time that this doubt Raja is partially inclined towards inferiority in the sense that the victims of inferiority are bound to be the victims of this tyrannical quality too. Ironically, we generally hate those highly doubting people who are indeed sufferers and the most notable observation of the irritating doubt expression is when people doubt themselves. However, inferiority is altogether another great aspect that only big people like psychologists can profess.

 Now, coming to the title discussion that is central to this article, “Those Mystical False Assurances” represents the natural relationship between people and the false assurances they sometime or the other, try to make use of.This can be adopted in technical situations also very relevantly.By doing so, one can escape the ill effects of chronic doubting (particularly in oneself) to some extent.

Instances:

Number one:

I am preparing for my examination. Suddenly, a great doubt creeps into my mind, “Am I really going to perform well?”The time available to me starts leaking away unnoticed in my thinking this way, and I finally end up with exactly what I expect. How could I avoid this? By incorporating a simple thought in me that, “No, I can write the exam well. I will get very high marks. After all, the subject is just the same difficult for me as it is for others.”

Number two:

My technical communication professor asked me to give a surprise oral presentation. Luckily, I know many things about the topic. But, as soon as I enter the stage, I suddenly see all demons and devils sitting in front of me! I become fully confused and God knows what happens next. What could I have done, instead? I could have thought, “I shall speak very well. All these audience shall receive me very well. Of course, I am providing all of them with valuable information.”

The above two instances are followed by many other situations we generally come across. Each has its own solution.

There is an enchanting (and well known even) quotation in Sanskrit;

य़द्भावम् तद्भवति।

(Yadbhaavam Thadbhavathi) that means

 “What you think will happen.”

Finally, I want to emphasize that this sieve of false assurances will be highly useful only at the starting point of any task. Once our work is half spoilt and once our speech is half disturbed, the chances of success further, will diminish.

Hence, making a point to create a wonderful, comfortable atmosphere around us prior to every important task we perform lets us pass out with flying colors.

The recent Hindi movie song line, “ALL IS WELL” indeed fits here well.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
A Warm Winter Day 
Light and warmth 

The Vital Vote

       If your feet are moving around this world for a time more than 18 years,then let me ask you what election day means to you.Do you take it to be a great relief holiday among the tsunamis of your office going days?Or as an exam day as important as one's university qualifying exam?'Oh,exam!How can election be exam?'you laugh at me.

       But,don't forget that the vote you cast is the only power that rests solely in your hands in today's corrupt democracies.Citizen is the undisputed master of democracy neither the prime minister,nor the president.Vote is the weapon of the citizen.When citizens are strong,nation will be strong,when citizens are weak,it takes no time for a nation to fall,at least in terms of ethics,fearless living,etc.
       You may also very comfortably argue,'What if I ,a single individual do not cast my vote?' and continue watching the TV show lazily.I reply,'What if many 'a single individual's like you hold the same idea?'Of course,you are aware of the story of Akbar,Birbal and the huge milk collection
       And also,very contrasting is the response of your village brothers towards election and polling.Of course,most of the times with an underlying purpose.They might be lured by an offer of few fifties to a full wine bottle (not all villagers) that easily makes them sell their very precious possession,the vote.Poor people without sharp knowledge of civics,social studies,etc.Therefore,it is our duty to educate them also in this regard.
       'I have planned a family holiday for this weekend.I cannot vote,let alone educating my village brothers;'You contemptuously glare at me.I tell you,'You can have your holidays five times the ensuing five years supposing the worst case of one holiday per year.But,does election wait for you?It is a twinkling "Paanch Saal Kaa Chaand".
        Fortunate enough as we are,we do not have the restriction of compulsory polling.Suppose you are an average earner and the government laid big taxes upon you for your being ill at the time of election and consequently not cast your vote.How could it be?Ours is a culture that gives respect to wisdom and common sense.Do we need force on ourselves to do our duty?
         We should keep this in mind.
        Not only vote,but also the entire study of general administrative civics should be kept in mind.That is not current affairs.The knowledge of the situations leading to an emergency,for example helps a lot in the case of a leadership with autocratic inclination.

A famous cartoon character "COMMON MAN" on election day,by renowned R.K.Laxman.

         We,as citizens,always possess the power of leashing our whip on the government bodies,but casting your vote is a clear prerequisite barring which you yourself will feel ineligible to do so.
         Oh,I forgot to share this piece of information with you.From this year onwards we will be having a "National Voters Day" on 25th January of every year.And tomorrow is the first voters day.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
The fate of Sanskrit in current India
The Doctors Day

A Warm Winter Day

       Every winter invokes the laziness in you.It may make you devoid of your interest to read,write.It may make your gray cells blunt.You feel like doing anything needed to not part with the cosiness attached to the thick layers of the winter rugs you are using.You feel like not at all caring the world around you,not even your employer when you are enjoying the vivid dreams being screened in your head under the huge,warm quilt of yours.Of course,that is not at all a luxury as it seems to be and not even a comfort.It is a need to have a thick blanket to fight the cold that tries to shatter our sleep to pieces by sending chills down our spine.Fortunate as many of us are,we are able to have that basic need which is still thought to be a comfort by many of the people in our country.But winter clothes and warmers are as essential as the food and water!If one cannot live without food and water,then one cannot live without sleep also!
        Often,many of us have more than what we need.Some collect all types of quilts manufactured in different corners of the country and display their collection to their friends.Some use the worn out quilts also for any other purpose except giving them away to the needy.After all,who am I to comment on them?It is all done according to their own wishes.But,let me share with you a rather rare experience of mine.
       Recently,the National Service Scheme,IIT Roorkee chapter,fondly called NSS,IITR, had planned a cloth collection drive and as I am a volunteer for NSS,I had to participate in it by asking people to donate any old,unused clothes of them that would serve the purpose of protecting many poor from the terrific cold very common in Northern India.
       I was given a companion and we two were supposed to ask for the old clothes in a small apartment housing four to five families all of whose employment is provided by the IIT.They stay just outside the IIT,in a small colony where all the apartments are of a same type and infact due to this,I came to the conclusion that the buildings were also built by the IIT.However,they are also a normal lot and are nothing more than general middle class people.
        My companion too held the same view."What can they give?"he said to me.But when we got the response which we did not,in the least,expect,we two were overwhelmed with surprise.
        First,we searched for people in the ground floor and we did not find any.We climbed up the stairs and continued to the second floor as we did not find any in the first floor too.In the second floor,we found four women and a young girl sitting near a bonfire and chatting.When we explained them our cause,one of them told us that she had already given the old winter clothes of their house to an invalid person.When we told her that the clothes need not be only those meant for winter and that any thick clothes would do,she went in and returned with a gunny bag full of jeans pants and shirts.We looked at her in surprise and asked her,"Auntie,what,all of these clothes will really be of no use to you?"She replied,"No beta,they are all used already and some of them are lightly ragged in some parts.Absolutely,I have no use with them.If they can help you,that is what we want.""Oh,why not?Why will not they help us?"replied we and looked at the other women.They too set out to get their old clothes and one woman descended the stairs to their home in the first floor.
      Presently,they returned with bags of old clothes.We were very much surprised.We almost might have asked that we had not expected this much from them but having sensed the inappropriateness in doing so,kept quiet.But,the amusement on our faces increased much more when the cloth count increased further on our asking a family in the ground floor.
      When I knocked their door,a lady opened it and I was very much surprised to find that they were already searching the clothes in their tiny hall cum bedroom.In no more than five minutes,we were again handed out a bag full of clothes and then the carrying of all these to the front yard really seemed a difficult task.Another man living in the ground floor too got a few clothes to give to us without even our asking him.
      All along,our other friends were busy doing the same thing at the other apartments in the colony.When we came out,we noticed that there are similar heaps of clothes in the respective front yards.
      Incredible as it may seem,we really had to hire two rickshaws to carry the stuff we had collected from a small number of families.
      I was really impressed by their gesture and was inspired too.After all,they seemed to very well know that they all, both the haves and the poor, belonged to that geographic which posed a great threat to the happy functioning of life in the form of cold.
      That day really was a warm and a sunny one among the snowy,chilly winter days of mine.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Encountering the transition from home to hostel
Sensitivity is the measure of maturity

Gently Falls The Bakula

       Alas!Gently fell the bakula off the tree standing there still since ages,in a sleepy town in a remote corner of the country,off the tree that had made two young people one.However,it fell not normally,but heavily,with the mixed feelings of a sorrow of its own failure and a sense of gratitude to the Almighty,that,at least,at this moment,he could bring peace and satisfaction to that child of the great bakula tree,whose life is compared to the life of the child and also whose presence transformed the life of the same child.

       The reason for the sorrow of the bakula flower was not at all expected and was not even sudden.It was constantly and complexly growing as the tree on which the flower grew, bore a dumb witness to all the struggles and calamities the woman faced in a life that had been greatly affected by the bakula tree itself.

      And then the sense of gratitude for the Lord!Why did this come into the forefront?It is because of nothing but the solace of the bakula that the woman has ultimately chosen her way after so much of struggle in her marital life.

       What is the tree and what is the woman?If you want to know,then have the privilege to read "GENTLY FALLS THE BAKULA",by the accomplished writer of her own kind,Smt.Sudha Murty.Though I try to present here,a brief outline of the touching masterpiece,I very clearly admit that no sort of review can make the story so heartrending as the author herself.And that,nothing can be better than oneself reading the novel oneself.

       The novel begins with the description of several characters under different genres such as age,social position,shrewdness and mainly maturity level.The setting is in a small South Indian town of Hubli  and the evergreen activity bustling city of Mumbai and the author freely and aptly uses the culture of that part of South India for her work.

      With the prime concern being the life story of two young people,Shrikant and Shrimati,the author judiciously uses all the other characters to highlight these two characters.For example,the boy's friends are shown to be small elements of the cause of his marriage. 

       The story takes on its first twist when the usually never ending silence between the introverted,yet sportive Shrimati and the extroverted yet overambitious Shrikant is broken in a train journey and leads to the birth of a new and a sweet friendship that further blossoms into an unconditional and innocent love between these two,Shrikant and Shrimati.

       But where was the bakula tree till now?Yes,it was there ,is there and is the most significant part of the story until the third quarter.It was the bakula that joined the two souls and even witnessed their union when in marriage ceremony.How?To know,go on to read GENTLY FALLS THE BAKULA.

       Next,the marital life of Shrikant and Shrimati.This forms the major chunk of the novel.Shrikant,initially is a n ambitious and aspiring graduate but later becomes overambitious,workaholic and neglects his wife,no her sensitive feelings and ideas.Armed with his practicality,he manages to climb the corporate ladder very easily,from a normal employee to a bright officer to a general manager and to a director.The family's affluence starts increasing very rapidly.On the other hand,Shrimati,a very intelligent woman,a post graduate in history,is a loving and caring wife to her husband and even does jobs against her will to help her husband.She thinks before marriage that she can continue with her Ph.D. after marriage,which she later realises to be not possible.Solely because of the simple,mostly unnoticed,yet highly sensitive problems of the human heart.

       Her feeling of dissatisfaction increases exponentially over years,owing to the added agonies of not having children,the ever increasing workaholism of her husband,etc.Her correspondence with a great American historian and more importantly,a good,elderly human happens to be her only solace and that serves like an oasis for quenching her thirst in an endless journey through a desert.However,initially,she gets adjusted to the situations around her only for her life to worsen.

      As the story unfolds itself to the reader,the initial delicateness,charm and surprise transform into a saga of never ending mental turmoil,agony and misery of 'a simple woman and Mrs.Managing Director'.

       Finally,one of those fine many emotional outbreaks of her paves the way for the conception of a decision in the woman's heart which changed her life and made her live according to herself.

       The story though being not strange or new,and also being common and known,yet is very special.GENTLY FALLS THE BAKULA is really great!

       Of course,the capability of Smt.Sudha Murty that makes the reader read the entire novel at a single stretch is very much worth mentioning here.I found myself sticked to this novel from daybreak and was simply surprised when I had completed this by lunch.


YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
Light and Warmth

Extreme care leads to complications

       Simplicity is always the best policy.Every action to be performed,is in general,governed by some simple ideas and rules and it is fairly enough that these ideas and rules are followed successfully.Unnecessary hype and over attitude is not at all beneficial.It often results in health deterioration,emotional breakdowns,etc.So,in addition to showing no good results,this phenomenon of 'over care' worsens the situation also.

       I am not talking about the (extreme) care which is required for some professionals like doctors,international players,athletes etc.It is that 'over care',adopted by people in some what trivial house hold and other things which is emphasized.

       This extreme care may be of many forms and in all of them the outline of attitude is almost identical.Here,I consider the case of raising a child, that to particularly dealing with an adolescent.Extreme care is a required character when the child is in toddler stage and until early and middle adolescence,but later,it is not good.Early and middle adolescences require that much care because that period is dangerous and needs elders' supervision.However,in the late stage of adolescence,individuals are like bird lings with fully developed feathers and they should be allowed to live on their own.By saying 'living on their own',I mean that they should be able to get hold on those important aspects which are to be handled by them in future like booking tickets,dealing with the youngsters and the elderly,shopping,etc.
       At the end,this small story will definitely give a hearty laugh.
                "Once upon a time, a boy lived who was raised by his grandmother.As we expect,she was of an over caring nature.This boy had already been treated a nerd among his friends.On a particular occasion,he had to go to a xerox shop for getting photocopies of some important papers.He had willingly asked his grandmother not to come with him with the intention of making it himself and had set off.While his work there had been in the middle,he had noticed his grandmother coming into the shop.He had tried to avoid being seen by her,but in vain.After she had enquired him about the safety of the originals among all others,huge amount of embarrassment had been the only feeling on his face!"

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Steven Paul Jobbs
Sensitivity is the measure of maturity

Determination is the key to success

        Determination is a quality that makes one reach the summit of their purpose with a great ease.Miseries are common in every life cycle and worries are very frequent visitors.Drooping away for these things which occur in everyone's life is not at all correct.That individual who stands against all these adversities and be able to reach his goal,is considered venerable.
        However,the presence of mere determination also cannot lead to success when there is absence of enough self confidence.Self confidence naturally seems to wash away when the goal set for is too hard to achieve.Therefore,one must select the utmost right option that he can accomplish by all means,physically and mentally.Thus,the quality of Rationality seems to be the mother of determination because,once one feels that he has chosen the right task,the desire to achieve naturally springs and required amount of determination is also born.
        In some situations,there may be a wrong choice.That adoption of wrong choice may also be final.In such cases,it is better to do the work wholeheartedly with determination and achieve even a little bit of success than to completely abandon it and curse the fate.
        This is a poem that is specially intended for the passage.

            "It's dawn,My friend!Wake up!

              Heartily wake up My friend!

                                     

              Worry not My friend!For the grievances

              Of the morning will be withering as the day passes

                          See the sun My friend!

              He is smooth and sensitive at the day break

              And grows brighter towards the dusk

              Work hard My friend!For this is a quality
              That makes you worthy of the every loaf you earn
                          See the pecker My friend!
              He has been able to build so many houses
              Just because of this


              Accept challenges My friend!For they turn out to be sweet meats
              When done though they taste bitter in the beginning
                         See the human My friend!
              He has topped the world
              As he proved this"
        Possessing over determination will definitely lead to problems.If it is an exam and you do very well,then well and good.But if you failed in it,do not take dangerous decisions like killing yourself,etc.If the girl you liked does not accept your proposal,then it is fair to leave the thing than to create unnecessary hell by pouring acids or some sort on her on the name of taking revenge.After all,revenge is an unhealthy thing to possess.
        So,I conclude this passage by emphasizing that determination leads to success in most of the tasks,provided they are good and worthy,but not mean and vicious.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:
Light and warmth
A Warm Winter Day