Colors of society

This country amazes me. 

The amalgam of various cultures, cuisines, castes, religions and their variants. 
And then there are old, ancient rituals or ways of life  going side by side with the launch of satellites. 

There are mountains of modern civilization with valleys of ancient civilization. 

The society is progressive but still in many ways holding to its religious practices some of which seem utterly strange. 

For example there was this festival of colors - Holi 

Now there are many ways people celebrate this festival of being colorful and merry by playing with colors. 

But there was this news in a newspaper which gave me another impression of how people " celebrate" this festival. 
There is this nearby town where people throw the ash from the cremation ground on each other and hang dead animals carcasses (mainly dogs) outside other people's houses and shops  for good luck and to shoo the evil spirits. 

How strange ! 
And nobody minds it. 
Because it is an old ritual.... 

Can we do away with the strange rituals and give respect to the dead even if they have turned into ashes or the skeletons? 

My song - Precious Love

This week saw me in my old avatar of a musical being :)

The inspiration struck at midnight and out came a melody !

Simply raw. It came straight from the heart.

No " make up" or glossy exterior.

It was heart and soul making themselves heard and felt.

I wrote, composed, played and sang.....


Here is the link :


https://youtu.be/jY-oRnlhpcw



I might be talking to my lover or even God !


Rita 

Superstition & Politics

Superstitions and politics are like two inseparable entities. ... Like blood flowing in the veins. 
There is always some undercurrent of superstitions in the politicians mind and their actions especially during election time. 

One is witness to their visits at temples and other holy places to seek blessings of the gurus and divine powers,deities etc. 

But some of the strange superstitious practices make one laugh. 

There is election time in the State of U. P these days. 
And there was interesting news about some candidates. I burst into laughter on reading this. 

For example, there is one candidate who believes that getting a good beating from his teacher (of school days) brings him good luck and he always wins. 
So during election time his teacher is especially invited to give this candidate a thorough beating ! 
All this for good luck !  :)) 


Another candidate believes that unless and until someone doesn't wake him up in the morning by addressing him by his nickname, he shouldn't get up because he might not win in that case. 

So every morning his mother wakes him up by calling him by his nickname  !  :)) 

There is another candidate who has been wearing green kurta /long shirt always  for the last 8 years !  He says it brings him good luck . 

The hunger for power makes people do crazy, weird things. And to watch the politicians indulge in funny exchange of allegations against opposition parties using such terminology like  " adopted  son of the soil" , donkey, elephants etc is better than watching any comedy show.   :)) 

Indeed the public is kept entertained thoroughly by the leaders .  Public doesn't even know they are being stripped naked by the leaders' policies and oblivious to everything, they clap and vote for these leaders . 

Isn't it a wonderful comedy show ? 


Rita 

My song

Recorded this lovely soulful melody on Friday night.

Here is the link :


https://youtu.be/enZawuJXAvw

The song was written by Meena Kumari, a very famous actress of Indian Cinema. Because of the roles that she portrayed on screen, she was also called "Tragedy Queen"  of Hindi film industry.
She wrote beautiful poetry too.

The song is about lost love and loneliness.
She asks if this is called life? The loneliness of body and mind?

This song has always haunted me and I knew I had to sing it one day .....

Rita

Happy new year !

Last hours of 2016. 

Time flies !  

In today's fast world every thing flies . 

Days, months, years..... 

Even the memories... 

People fly away from the life and other people come  flying  in your life ! Whoosh ! 

There is barrage of new year wishes on the social media. 
Forwarded messages from friends and acquaintances. 

No one has time to call you up personally and say these three words  : Happy New Year  :) 

Still it is good to remain in touch even if it is in the virtual world. 
Even if there is no salt in the dish, or no sugar in a dessert, it is still a dish or dessert.  
What about the taste then ? 

So do we add some taste of Love and Friendship in our messages and communication ?  That is strongly needed ! 
How much difference it will make in making our lives " vibrant and fruitful" ! 

Spreading happiness is the best service we can render as humans. 

World needs it badly. 

I send a hug of love, a smile and beautiful words wishing all the beautiful people around the world a Happy New Year 2017. 

Amen 

Incredible India - 3

Amidst all the madness and confusion after Demonetization that hit the country on 8th November, there are many jokes going around on social media. 

Every where, everyone talks about this every day. 

The whole country became  " poor". 

One can't deposit more than a certain amount in the banks. 
One can't withdraw more than a pittance from the banks. 
One can't keep so much gold etc etc. 

So many restrictions on money and it surely has affected every one in the country. 

Now some brainy leader in a city in  the State  of Gujarat came up with a strange order for the people /animals of the city. 

The order says that NO COW OR BUFFALO CAN EXCRETE MORE THAN 3 KILOS OF COWDUNG AND THEIR BABIES CAN'T EXCRETE MORE THAN 1 KILOS PER DAY ! 

This news had me in fits of laughter . :)) 

The order further says that the owner of the violater will be punished by blackening his face and sitting with his back towards the front of the cart and paraded through the city. :) 

The order has been issued to keep the city clean. 

Well, good intentions. But how the animals will control how much shit they throw  out and plop on the roads? 

Very logical order by the Mayor. But very funny and so confusing to the poor cattle !  :) 

Incredible India - 2

Another example of faith amongst all the Space and Nuclear programs. 

I mean such stories amuse me also. 

Individual faith ? 

I am not being judgemental about anyone. 

But surely one can share something interesting. 

This second news that caught my attention :

A couple wished for a daughter few years ago. But they never had any daughter. So they bought a cow and treated her as their daughter all these years. 

Now when the cow became pregnant, they were very happy and held a lavish " baby shower /Godh bharai ceremony" for the cow. 

Now I really appreciate their gesture. 

Showing kindness to the animals and being a good human being. 

Why should I be the one to challenge their faith and judge them? Their harmless actions? These simple people full of love teach us more than the complicated snobs who pride themselves in calling sophisticated and advanced. 

Amongst all the madness going all over the world, such incidents bring smile on our faces. And I really cherish these smiles. 

Incredible India !

India always amazes me. 

A land of different beliefs, faiths, cultures. 

Religious faith and Science go hand in hand here. 

Just like hand and glove ! 

Sometimes the faith becomes the glove and sometimes science becomes the glove.  

According to the demand of occasion, the role reverses.  Every religious Indian may also use  the complexities of science in his or her life. 

The chief of Space Program and Mars Mission may also be a believer in Astrology. 

The CEO of a business house may have all the luxuries but he may prefer to eat sitting on the floor, food kept humbly on the banana leaf.  

Still amongst all this I get to read some interesting 'deviations' from the usual practice of faith. 

For example :

This visually challenged girl getting married to God, Lord Krishna. 

Proper wedding ceremonies are to be held, with wedding procession of the 'groom' starting from the temple and reaching the bride's place. 

And the wedding feast. It really amazes me....... this manifestation of the individual faith............ 

The successful Mars Mission and being a Nuclear Power......... This also happens in India. 

India -  A mysterious land. 

  

Meet & Greet at MYFM

Friday, 25th November 2016. 

What a wonderful experience it was at 94.3 MYFM. 

I was invited for a program - Meet and Greet, hosted by RJ Geet. 
Some listeners were invited by the Channel and it was an interactive program in which I spoke about Skin Care in Winters. 

But what a lovely interaction it turned it to be ! 

It was as if all of us were a family and casually discussing about various skin problems in Winters and how we can prevent that. 
Never in my life I discussed as freely with people I didn't know..... 
Normally when I talk to patients in my office,  there is some professional and caring  approach towards them. 

But here the whole scenario was pleasantly different. 
Along with the academic discussion, we had such fun ! 

And the credit goes to the easy and lively approach of the charming RJ Geet. 
She made every one comfortable with her witty remarks full of humor. 
And sure enough everyone enjoyed the evening ! 
A guest also recited a poem he wrote. 
There were two friends who had met many years ago on a train journey and became  best buddies ! 

Amazing. 

I got a chance to closely associate with people who were there for professional queries. I got to see their lighter side, we cracked jokes and had a fun filled evening. 
And afterwards the guests got free passes for musical nights. Every one was so happy. 
It never seemed as if we were meeting for the first time. 

After the interactive session, I got a chance to try my hand in Cricket in the office ! 
What a wonderful way to relax ! 
Two smiling employees asked me to throw a ball and he gave a shot with the bat. 
What fun ! 

I really liked the ambience and pleasant attitude of every one in 94.3 MYFM.



Some glimpses of  the evening : 

 

With Charming, Vivacious RJ Geet 

Some lighter moments over coffee and snacks 

photo courtesy : 

(Yatin "the smart dude") 

 Beautiful memories 

Happy Diwali !

HAPPY DIWALI  

May there be light in every one's life.... 

Let the demons of darkness be engulfed in its brightness.... 

Let there be peace on this earth... 

Let every one at least enjoy this human birth... 

I pray for a peaceful world. 

Rita