An auapicious start to 2009...

I visited the ISKCON , Mayapur on the 2nd of this month, it was an incredible experience. Though not a staunch believer in any of the many sects professed by the Hindu religion, my visit to ISKCON was indeed one which filled me with pride and a sense of glory for what Bhagavatism has achieved in the international arena of religions.
ISKCON was started by Srila Prabhupada, a follower of Bhagavatism and professing the "Bhakti Marga"... It became an international movement in the 1970's with the establishment of it's first 'mandir' in Chigcago. ISKCON emphasises on 'Bhakti'... singing in the praise of the lord Krishna... as a way to enlightenment and the subsequent salvation.It doesn't believe in the cult of sacrifice or hard hitting ritualism.
My best experience was the early morning prayer "Arty" done at 4:30 am.. in the prayer hall where everyone gathers. What amazed me most was the number of followers from different nationalities, regions, cultures, languages all chanting to gather "Hare Rama Hare Krishna", one ardent devotee whom I had the fortune to meet was a Chinese national, she doesn't know English, Hindi or even Bengali but can speak chaste Sanskrit!!! and the joy she felt while singing along was worth beholding. Then there is this ritual of taking out a procession of the idols of Krishna and Radha every Saturday evening, decked up elephants, two beautifully decorated chariots and scores of devotees take the deities around the ISKCON compound, the entire path is strewn with flower petals and and there is constant chanting of hymns and beating of drums together with the blowing of conch and the fragrance of incense sticks... the atmosphere becomes enchanted and magical and I can tell you that even the most staunchest agonist will become a believer.
The "Mahaprasadam" is another thing of amazement. Probably due to the international presence, a devotee can get anything as the Prasadam, from cakes to pastries to cookies to the very Indian 'mithaies', 'payasam', tasty 'jibegajhas' and what not... of course everything is strictly vegan..they do not believe in partaking of flesh of any kind... This visit of mine will be etched in my memory as long as it can be.. I m definitely looking forward to my next visit to Mayapur soon and hope I'll get another chance to visit soon enough. Hare Krishna...

Invictus.....

I was so encouraged by these lines...thanks Vivek...love u dude... :)

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

The Sprit of Christmas..

Merry Christmas to one and all.. :) the Christmas is here and finally the time for bringing out all the gifts we bought for each other..time for cakes and cookies, get togathers and merry making..in short time to have the 'time of the Year'... so i guess... all of u must have bought stuff for someone or the other...and may have received some in return... some were stuff that u had been hoping to get for many days and some that are pretty useless... only you don't throw them away because they are gifts and you can usually gift them to others later on....
The one thing going on in my mind is what's the best gift one can gift to someone... something they love??? something they have been eyeing for a long time??? something you know they'll appreciate...or simply something that fits into your budget... i know most of us choose a gift keeping all the above factors in mind... i would like to pose a question here..is gifting a 'thing'...something tangible... really important..can't we give something more intangible like maybe our prayers...??? of course most of us aren't really sincere when it comes to praying for others.. it may not be intentional at all... just something we may forget to do..quite natural and humane... But this Christmas..i have resolved to do something..pray for 3 people..who need my prayers..ofcourse people who i know that is mostly my frends..3 frends who i know are in need of something, i have resolved to pray for them..and of course without their knowledge..just pray unselffishly..till 31st December...let's see if i can do it... u guys can try it out... Merry Christmas... Joys be to all.. :)

Moments of Retrospection...

My heart tells me to run away,
My mind stops me...
' Run away, run away, run away from yourself;
Run away and be a lil' free'
At times think I, is it not better to listen to my heart,
Break the confines of my mind,
And seek a new 'start' ?
At times... to find myself, surreal it may seem;
Even of for a moment, even if in a dream.

The Divine Music...

I m not that great a fan of Indian Classical music,I really don't find any enjoyment in listening to ragas and taalams etc..but I do enjoy good music...infact I love music,whatever is pleasant to my senses I appreciate it earnestly... to be honest I have never made an effort maybe if I had made one I would have been interested. Once I very bravely went to this classical Music festival and people.. this is an honest confession I got a really really bad headache.. .either the vocalist was awful or I was a very bad listener,I suspect the later case to be true.
Anyways my younger brothe, he's deeply into classical music and stuff.He was like me, never taking interest in this segment of music but he went to the same festival and develpoed a keen interest. He is now a regular visitor to many a musical events held in Kolkata.Some days ago he almost goaded me into listening this Album by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, "Moksha"... ofcourse as usual I was extremely reluctant... but after listening, man was I floored... this is divine music, "Moksha" in English means Salvation, and this music is indeed so. I'll always be grateful to my brother for goading me into listening this fabulous piece of music.It's one of the most beautiful pieces I ever heard in my life. If any of you readers get a chance to listen to this album, please do listen to it... you'll fall in love with it just as I have...

The Magic of Festivities..

With the dawn of the autumn West Bengal and particularly Kolkata gears up to it's festive look...three different celebrations, three different communities, the Durga puja, the Eid, and then the Deepawali, but the spirit of celebrations and the festive mood of the people does not undergo any change. There is now a perspective change in how these three festivals are celebrated specially in Kolkata and especially Durga Pujo, clearly the Biggest of all the Bong Festivals, 5 days of unreined festivities and celebrations.
Kolkata is the city in transmission, it's slowly leaving it's post colonial hangover and it's over enthusiastic celebration of intellect and entering into that rat race of the newly liberalized and slowly globalizing counterparts like Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai and so on. In the past five years or so numerous shopping plazas have sprouted up in the city and so has the associated umber of commercial ventures. The number of Call centers and Engineering firms and the increased avenues of income generation brought an overwhelming change in the habits and thinking pattern of the ordinary Kolkatans.
The early Kolkatan was a shy, intellectually innovative and introvert kinda guy, the new Kolkatan is raring to go, he now knows his worth and is out to squeeze every bit of his potential into making his lifestyle "happening"... and therefore as a consequence comes a change in how he celebrates.
If someone has been a witness to the celebrations of Kolkata, the reader will agree with me that our parents and gran parents viewed these celebrations as being great family occasions where long lost cousins would all gather under one roof and celebrate the essence of the occasion which were in the main strictly restricted to being religious. Though the festivals had much to do with enjoyment, still "religion" got to play a big role.
Now these have changed, first and foremost in an age of computers, the old timed pujo Holidays are a thing of past, you can always keep in touch with the big guy in Amsterdam through your Notebook, there's nothing like the old "Pujor chuti"... secondly long lost cousins aren't same anymore, they might just be your favorite Facebook pal, more closer to u than your own sibling, and "religion", ok anyone who says the word is a huge bigamist.... Nowadays the "new Kolkatan" celebrates in shopping malls, they munch on Mac chickens and KFC buckets, wear Nike and Reebok, are big on designer kurtas and choli blouses,Manish Malhotras and Shania NC are in vogue, they binge on Fosters and Colas and once in a while and if they are lucky they do still manage to go around that "happening" Pujo which attracts the sexiest "babes" and the handsome "hunks"....
The khichuri, pore bhaja, Luchi, begun bhaja routine has long been tossed up for the pizza CCD and Barista routine. Yes some still do the all night "pandal hopping" thing but how much Pandal hopping and how much beer guzzling happens is anyone's guess.
Oh and before i forget, the Mahaashtami's anjuli has become a "Ma, mashi" thing, it's just not happening enough... today is Dashmi...Devi Durga will be immersed with the hope that we'll get to see her again the year next but whether the mode of festivities change or the place of gathering, one thing is certain , the spirit will never be gone, whether one is in City Centre or in a sarbojonin Durga utsav the essence of celebration will always remain, this the the magic of festivities, atleast in Kolkata... Jai Dugga.

IPL : Boon Or Bane???

The much trumpted IPL is now being maligned as the cause for Indian team's humiliating ouster from tht T20 World Cup. Last year when the IPL debuted it was the biggest draw in entertainment which Indian media had seen in a long time.. this year theIPL 2.0, has been mired in much controversy ranging from the shift in venue to allegations of match fixing... only a ubiquitious gentleman as Mr. Lalit Modi could pull through all the allegation with that disarming smile of his!!!PHEW!!!
So, let's just pause for a moment and reflect whether IPL has been good or bad for Indian cricket... or atleast for the National Team... the IPL opponents have long been voicing their greivances first for converting a game to an entertainment and then blaming the IPL for all that's bad in the National team...the proponents of the IPL on the other hand tout the IPl as being a platform for the upcoming junior criketers who cannot get a place in the national squal to show their skills...the latest voicing his opinion on this line has been none other than our national Captain, M.S. Dhoni. True both the sides have some element of truth in their arguements but how much does the IPL 2.0 have to do with the latest performance of the national team in the recently concluded World Cup. There are many who have pointed out that the team which did not parcipate in the IPl 2.0, Pakistan, took home the cup, but how many of us remember that the Aussie players were as much absent as were the Pak players in this version of the IPL and they were one of the first team to be shown the door. Out National Coach Gary Kirsten has pointed out a very important fact in the defeat of the Indian players which some of the players themselves have been refusing to admit..."Fatigue".. if anyone has cared to notice this issue did come up in the past also when Dhoni himself had commented that the team is playing too much cricket and he and some senior players had themselves asked the BCCI to relieve them of the upcoming tour... so the issue of fatigue or stress isn't too new an issue... and another important thing that many must have noticed that the other finalist Sri Lanka has been constantly tourring... they had the Pakistan Series which was cut short by the unfortunate shooting incident just before the IPl and most of the Lankan players not only participated in the IPL but also played impressively... did Fatigue or stress not affect them... ofcourse there is much truth in Mr. Kirsten's observation that the team was fatigued and stressed out because if anyone cares to notice the IPL schedule was a pretty gruelling one... also if someone has observed the IPl foreign players this year that the differnt teams bidded for, one cannot fail to notice how many grade B players from foreign countries have been selected... most of the Australlian, South African, and New Zealand players that came this year do not play for their respective national squads... so where does the arguement go that IPL is a brilliant platform for new and upcoming Indian players... it seems IPL has become a platform for all new and upcoming players of "all nations"!!
Therefore it seems that IPL is serving less and less the aims and purposes of Cricket as a game and serving more value to the purpose of cricket as an "entertainment" .But how far is it right to solely or largely blame the IPL for the World Cup disaster?? Whatever the advantages or disadvantages of IPL may be, ultimately the result of any game depends upon the performance of the as how they played "that" particular game... and the Indians blew it off big time... the debate over IPL will continue as long as it exixts... but what counts is all those who are in the know of things and as it looks in India there are too many people who think of themselves to be in the "know of things"... should examine the real reason for the Indian team's dismal performance in the World Cup. I m just a simple blogger who loves and roots for the Men in Blue wherever they are playing and will continue to do so but there is a humble request... please do not bargain anything at the cost of our national team...cricket is much much more to us than being just a game and when the Indian Team fails to perform at such an international forum... we are heartbroken...that's it..