“Chup Da Dhaan” – A Plea for Peace

I hand wrote this post some 8 months ago while travelling on the train on a Monday morning. Something had bugged me the day before at an event so I jotted down some thoughts.  The draft remained on the back page of my work notepad, ink dry on a rough sandpaper type piece of paper.  Today I attended an event and came across the same experience 8 months earlier, so I decided to transfer dry ink to electronic font!

I sat down gently, my posture facing the front.  The Divan Hall was packed, both sides balancing each other out.  Not pretending to know everything that was being spoken, I tried to understand, learn, cling onto phrases I may recognise and hence piece together the meanings.

But, my focus was broken and I sensed the focus of the one speaking was also beginning to waiver.  I felt an intense heat of shame on my back, starting to feel its way into my skin and to my head.  It was the noise of the others sitting behind me, talking, continuously, embroiled in conversation, almost like the sound of a swarm of bees.  I really felt angry, disappointed….suddenly, the stage reacted.  Someone stood up, nodded to the Priest reading from the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji (The Sikh Holy Scripture) to lower his tone, then addressed the Sangat (congregation) by saying Chup Da Dhaan Buckshaw – grant us the plea for peace. A hush hovered over everyone, I felt relaxed again, I closed my eyes, but then the heat started working its way back, the Sangat had started talking again, loudly, and I couldn’t make out what the Priest was reading.

The Sukhmani Sahib Path (prayer) is one of bliss and joy, which when absorbed brings tranquillity to one’s heart, like all Sikh prayers.  When we attend the Gurdwara (Sikh Holy place of worship) or any other place of worship then why do people insist on talking between each other?  Would you talk between yourself when someone at your workplace is giving you an important presentation?  The Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji must be treated with the utmost respect – realise your environment and its importance to you and those around you.  You may not understand each and every word that is uttered from the Guru Granth Sahib Ji or by the Priest, however this is your opportunity to learn, even if it’s in small segments.

Please, respect your surrounding, those around you, don’t lose the opportunity in your grasp.

One Day, you will have to come

[22:53 on a Monday evening and the above quote popped into my head and stimulated a strange story]

Dialog 1.

“Well Thanks for looking after me while I was in India Nitin.  You know when you come here with family, we will show you guys a great time”

“Sure, we will come, once your recession is over in the UK.  You know my work is very vital here, I just can’t pull away.  I just about got 3 days leave to see you when you came over to India”

“Don’t worry about no recession and don’t work too hard. You know, one day, you will have to come, I tell you that”.

Dialog 2.

“Afternoon Naveen, how are things in Delhi?  I spoke to your elder brother Nitin yesterday, we were discussing plans about him visiting us in the UK”

“Nitin will never come Vikram. Firstly he works around the clock and all the money he earns not only runs his household, but he also assists a failure like me.  He pays for my kids education, makes sure we have clothes and bills are paid on time.  He will never come while he has useless family members like me hanging around”.

“Don’t be hard on yourself Naveen, all will be OK, you just keep trying to find work and get yourself back on your feet ok”.

Dialog 3.

“Nitin darling, see who is ringing at this hour, so late baba….What’s that noise, Nitin, Nitin, what’s wrong, you are crying”.

“Bad news from the UK, Vikram passed away!”

Dialog 4.

[Door bell rings, Nitin’s house]

“Yes, can I help you”.

“Sorry to bother you Sir following the sad news yesterday.  I am, was, a good friend of Vikram’s. This envelope is for you, from Vikram…Thank You….Bye Sir”

[Opens the envelope to find a letter and two tickets]

“My dear brother Nitin, by the time you get this, I will have been no more.  You know I told you to come over and see me, you should have listened.  I said. One day, you will have to come.  So here’s that day.  These tickets will get you to the UK in two days time and there will be someone there to collect you both.  Come see me off dear brother, come see me off”.

__________________________________________________________

This evening I recalled a conversation with a very dear friend, strange these thoughts, turned into a story.

India – Industrial Monster in a hurry

Note: This is not an exhaustive read, my views are independent and based on 5 days and 6 nights in the Motherland

“So when’s the last time you went to India?”

“What!”

“The country has much changed my friend; you are in for a shock”.

A trip to the Motherland– India

Image Courtesy of http://www.unep.org

“Click….type……click……type some more……input details…..click to submit…..check notification…save e-ticket.”

1993 was the last time I graced the soil of India, I recall getting off the plane in July and being hit by a heat wave.  To make matters worse, I was wearing a suit jacket so the passport remained safe.  The car journey from the airport was a struggle, I had orange juice from a carton but it was hot.  My trip then was unplanned and more a cause of duty, the mood was not great however I learned a lot and my mother and I managed to visit Sri Hemkunt Sahib.  This was a journey I would never forget, an experience totally overwhelming.

This February I make the journey back to India for a family wedding.  I am excited because there are so many family members I have not seen for so long, I was 16 then, much older now and much wiser (I think).  On the other hand I have been grumpy too as my wife and kids cannot make the wedding as kids are at school and they have strict guidelines for pulling them out.

So it’s going to be a 7 day trip, 4 days of that the wedding, 1 day in travelling and hopefully 2 days off to rest/sight-see.

The last I was there, toilet rolls had still not surfaced the ground, I hear India has changed a little since then?

The Theory of Responsibility

Just like Albert Einstein, while sitting in an office realised that Newton’s law of gravity was somewhat incorrect, I kind of stumbled across the same notion about The Theory of Responsibility.

Before I embark on what The Theory of Responsibility is, here’s the definition around the term “responsibility”.

On a social aspect:

1. The state, quality, or fact of being responsible.

2. Something for which one is responsible; a duty, obligation, or burden.

On a business aspect:

A duty or obligation to satisfactorily perform or complete a task (assigned by someone, or created by one’s own promise or circumstances) that one must fulfil, and which has a consequent penalty for failure.

OK, so it’s safe to assume that responsibility is something to do with the fulfilment of something either given to you, or something you have taken on, to a certain point.

So, what’s my theory you ask?

Where Theory of Responsibility is R

Where Creativity is C

So in words – More Responsibility = less creativity

Mathematicians across the globe will probably throw their hands up in laughter at my feeble attempt to encapsulate my theory as a sum, but the (-) signifies creativity decreasing as responsibility increases.

There’s a famous saying, the more responsibility you have the better a person you are.  OK, so in terms of being a more experienced human being, this may well be the case.  However, the way I view this, the more responsibility you have the less creative you become.

How?

Where is Creativity born out of?  To be creative you need to be imaginative! To be imaginative you need to have the freedom to think! To have the freedom to think, you need to have less on your mind for that space to exist.

Today, we are shaping the next generation of children to be more responsible much sooner than what we were, however, the danger is that we may end up taking away their ability to be creative because they simply don’t have the freedom to think in this way.  I am not saying we educate the next generation to be any less responsible but that we tread carefully not to harm their ability to be creative.  Let’s delay the point at which they need to be pushed out to the big bad world to fend for themselves, let them stride across countryside, take adventurous walks, spend hours looking for motivation and a reason to be creative.

If we fill their minds with things they have to do, when will they get the time to do the things they want to do?