The biggest ship - Friendship

Mujhe mere Dosto se bachaeye
Dushmano se mein khud nipat lunga :-)

FRIENDS
F : Fight for you
R : Respect you
I : Involve you
E : Encourage you
N : Need you
D : Deserve you
S: Save you

In some case in real life, those we consider as close friends could not tolerate the differences. Test of friendship can be verified during "Dispute or quarrel  with friends". Do your Karma but do not expect for its fruits. Those can be termed as close friends with  whom you can satisfactary quarrel, shout, because these bitter moments are better in quality and quantity than the sweet moments. This is applicable more to personal friends than social or professional friends.

Very good example of good friends Sudama and Lord Krishna. 

Sticking to one incident or a particular comment some friends estrange relations and alienate themselves. But true friendship means that one should forgive and never think to behave in hostile way. Yes, in case if it is clearly your friend's mistake then it fine, but in the past if your friend has "Let Go" lot many things then we must give our friend a fair chance if he\she is making an attempt to restore the friendship.

A beautiful English poem which appeared in  Gujarati newspaper by Rebecca Slobada.
Hey I have typed it ;-) and not Ctrl-C Ctrl-V

I look at you and my anger
rages like an ocean,
A vast sea of wasted feelings,
And precious time.

Hurt by the things
you say and do to me,
And the things
you don't think I hear

Or you don't think I'll find out.
As words get between us until
Neither of us know what to say,
And nothing is left to do but turn around,
And look the other way.

I want to talk,
To try to work things out and
Repair the rift that keeps growing.
But words get in the way.
We get angrier
and more frustrated.

But somehow as I sit here
and write this,
Not because I want to
but because I have to
for you and for myself,
the rift seems to heal
itself and the ocean doesn't
seem quite bottomless.

And I'm smiling again,
Because I know
You will read this,
And understand it and me,
and the way I feel.

Because you always have
and I know you always will.
It's that bond reaches
over oceans and
repairs torn hearts,
Something that only a
best friend can understand.

Cover up! God is watching

I decided to write this article after I visited a temple in Baroda. Most of times when I visited Baroda, I happen to go to sports complex for jogging, basketball, football... On one such fine evening, my parents also accompanied me to sports complex for a walk. On our return home we
decided to visit a temple... I usually never plan such visits but on that day I agreed :-)

We entered though the main gate of the temple. Inside the temple premises there were many smaller temples, one each for different deity. People say God is unique but still they made them sit separately. My parents proceeded to one of the smaller temple. While I was removing my
shoes and socks, suddenly a security guard approached me saying,"Shorts are not allowed inside temple premises. Have u not read the notice-board outside the temple". I was wearing a round neck T-shirt, Knee length sports shorts, socks and shoes. So actually the bottom leg portion of skin which was not covered was from my knee to the top edge of the socks. I did not argue at all with the security guard as he was doing his duty, I told him that I would leave the premises and started to wear the shoes again. After a while as I was leaving he told that he has a dhoti kind of cloth piece which I can use to tie around my waist and then would be permitted to go for the darshan. But as I was not interested, I said NO to him and left the premises. Outside I waited for my parents to return and when they were back I told them this episode.

I was just wondering about who would have made this dress code. Do the God(s) have made it for their devotees? Hope not :-D

What would be the factors which the management would have considered to arrive at a decent dress code. Let us consider the factor "open skin" or say "visible skin". The temple pujari wears only a dhoti(that too at times translucent) and does not wear anything on the upper body. So comparing my visible skin area with that of pujari clearly indicates that the pujari's skin area is more visible. I can also comment on the women’s attire(Contemporary Hindu daily dress like saris tend to often show bare stomachs, but the feeling of culture and tradition covers such exposure.) to support my state but let me keep this aside for time being. The other factor which I thought might be because wearing shorts while visiting temple is a sign of disrespect. But do God really complain about it. I wish to pray to God in temple but I was not allowed as I wore sports shorts, but while playing game I can pray to God wearing the same attire. At that time the temple authorities do not come and say, "Hey boy u are wearing shorts and you cannot pray God wearing this". Cricketer while playing match pray to God, athletes, swimmers all pray to God and God has no problem with what they are wearing. Respect should come from the heart and not through the attire which one wears. My attire was neither revealing nor it was indecent. Only the management or trustees of temple have problem and they lay such strict rules. But I am very sure that these rules are not going to remain the same and would definitely change over a period of time, but the change would be gradual.

The dress code at the famous temple in south india - Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guruvayur_Temple  Strict dress code exists both for men and women. Men are supposed to wear Mundu around their waist without any dress covering their chest(OMG why the God would be interested in seeing bare chest of men ??). Women are expected to wear saris and not allowed to wear trouser like dresses or short skirts. Though the rules have been relaxed for women to wear churidaar and salwar kameez. So here comes a point, after a certain period of time, the dress code which existed(only saris for women) has to be relaxed. So the attire which I wore (sports shorts) after a certain period of time would also be allowed after some x years. x can be any number :-P

Temple means a place of worship for Hindus. While considering a cross-section of religions the problem becomes much more complex. Christianity allows to wear shorts for boys, short skirts for women. Also during the marriage ceremony the couple can also kiss each other in the church. But such acts are not allowed in Hindu religion. So for the same human being the religion preaches different things.

I am very sure that God irrespective of any religion have not created any such rules or restrictions, but the greedy human being has customised the religion according to his needs and forces others to follow it.

In Hindu religion, non-veg is not(never) allowed while Muslim religion preaches it followers to eat meat. Isn't this is a striking difference. Even those who followed Hindu eats non-veg, but some people at times say, “Today is xyz-day and we cant eat non-veg today” “Aree aaj mandir jana hai isliye non-veg nahi kha sakta”.. but this very person gets changed afterwords just to eat what he or she wants. Simply cant understand why to use religion for following/not following these things.

The discussion about dress codes might end up in a debate. Creating a dress code for a workplace, public or religious places can be a tricky thing ;-). Swiss bank has to make special dress code for women http://www.indianexpress.com/news/swiss-bank-dress-code-no-tight-skirts-no-c/725647/

Play @ Prithvi theatre Juhu

One of my close friend, told me, “Jignesh, watching a play at Prithvi is a unique experience. If possible do watch a play at Prithvi as now you would be in Mumbai”.

Prithvi Threate (http://www.prithvitheatre.org/home.php)
The theatre was built by the Bollywood’s famous Prithiviraj Kapoor and currently managed by his youngest son Shashi Kapoor. It is located at Juhu, Vile Parle(W). It seems that the theatre provides platform for upcoming artists to conduct stage shows in form of play. The rates charged at theatre are nominal and they run different shows on non-profit basis.

In order to avoid inconvenience and a possibility of a house-full show, I booked the tickets online when I went to see my first play at Prithvi(“Haath Ka Aaya... Shunya”). Along with my friend(roommate) I reached the venue 15-20 minutes before the showtime. At the booking window, I showed the printout and they gave me ticket which was not having any seat number. I thought that as audience would be less so there is no need for a numbered-ticket. But to my dismay when I entered the theatre, it was almost packed 90% full. The capacity of the theatre would be around 150-180, and the first three rows near the stage are in ‘C’ shape and the other area which I would term as balcony is having around 5-6 straight rows. The seating arrangement consists of cushioned seats without any partition, which means that the number of persons seating in any row may vary ;-) depending on size of the people ;-P The entry to the theatre is very strict, I mean to say, late comers are not entertained and not allowed to enter after the show starts. The lightning arrangement, acoustics, ambiance and seating comfort is laudable.

Play#1 “Haath Ka Aaya... Shunya” - Hindi
The play includes three parallel stories. 1) Couple and their idea of using Naal(Horse shoe) 2) A group of clowns 3) Two members who sit with the audience.

More information can be read from the review. Url is
http://www.filmimpressions.com/stage/2010/12/review-haath-ka-aaya-shunya.html

Play#2 “Mahadevbhai (1892-1942)” - English
I went on my bike to watch this play. Google maps show the distance 10.3 km from my place Malad to Prithvi theatre and in the peak hours i.e evening 6:00 pm I was just thinking as how much time would it take to reach the place. But because of my good driving skills and a bit of luck, I was able to reach in time.

Before heading for the play my friend who is a scrip writer in Mumbai had invited me to watch the rehearsal of his upcoming Gujarati natak. The rehearsal was at Bhavan’s College at Andheri. They had booked the 8th floor of SPIT building for the rehearsal. It was wonderful to visit a college campus in Mumbai. The crew of the play were seating in a semi-circle were rehearsing their dialogues with the director at the centre. It seemed that the director had memorized the entire scrip...if anyone skip any part of dialogue or if anyones way of speaking is not suited as the situation demands, then the director interrupts and correct it. Really enjoyed it :-)

My roommate has already reached the venue for the play ‘Mahadevbhai’ and collected the tickets. Good to have such friends who are punctual. As it was a weekday, the show was only 50% full(and not 50% empty). It is a one-person play(Jaimini Pathak) which attempts to remind us of the times that were, and of its characters' devotion to truth. The duration was around 60-70 minutes and it requires real stamina n confidence to perform alone for such a long duration. Mahadev Desai was Mahatma Gandhi's secretary from 1917 to 1942. During this period, Mahadevbhai maintained a daily diary. In this diary, he jotted down the innumerable letters to and by Gandhiji, as well as conversations and bantering, lectures and discourses. For those who likes history then I am sure then they would love this play. The play touches upon the lives of Gandhiji, Jawaharlal Nehru, Ambedkar, VallabhBhai Patel. The play attempts to understand the thoughts and principles that Gandhiji stood for; principles that are even more relevant in today’s world “non-violence, economic processes that favour the poorest of the poor, religious tolerance, removal of untouchability & discrimination, the status of women”.

After the end of the play, we could see a notable theatre personality Makarand Deshpande.Looks really crazy with his curly hairstyle.

The next day when I did some search for “Mahadevbhai” on internet, I was amazed to see that Narayan Desai, son of Mahadevbhai Desai tells “Gandhi Katha” and this katha is a big draw in Gandhinagar these days. I am impressed with Mahatma Gandhiji.... Bole to... Bapu rocks :-)

Train: Berth#6 Vs Berth#3

Some good to know facts about Indian Railways, its the worlds largest employer(wiki mentions as 16 lac employees). India is the only country which has a “Railway Budget”. During the past 5-6 years I extensively used the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route which is considered to be the busiest train route in the world.

It was a Friday late night 11:30 PM train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. The train route follows. Mumbai-Borivali-Surat-Bharuch-Vadodara(Baroda)-Ahmedabad. I had a confirmed ticket in the second sleeper coach and my berth number was 6 which means the upper berth. It always feels relaxed when seat is confirmed and even more better if its not the side upper. I sometimes think of giving suggestion to the Indian railways to consider height as a factor and priority while booking tickets, specially when someone is taller than 6 feet ;-). I dont know whether such a suggestion would be considered valid. There are enough reservations already in-effect and addition of one more exception would not be a problem :-D

OK now coming to the point. My berth number was 6. But when I boarded the train at Borivali someone was already sleeping. I could not make out if the person was he or she. But as it was my berth I wake up that person.. she was a girl and asked her, “My Seat number is 6”. She replied instantly saying to me, “My seat number is 3, can you take 3”. Initially I was bit perplexed as to why this absurd kind of seat exchange and that too the berth is just the opposite one. Passengers generally exchange berths when they want to be in groups, else elder people wish to have a lower berth in case they have problem climbing to middle or upper berth. But my priority was (confirmed+upper) berth seat so I told her “yes, I would take 3”.

Ticket checker usually comes in 15-20 minutes so I thought to get my ticket checked and then go to sleep. TT had not arrived but as other passenger wanted to sleep I need to climb to my new berth#3. No sooner I climbed to the upper berth than I saw a thin layer of oil spilled on almost the entire surface of the berth. Just as this moment I could understand and link facts as to why the girl decided to exchange berths. Now comes the cunning part of her. Right from the beginning she was behaving as if she was in deep sleep so no-one could wake up her.  In the beginning after I agreed to the berth exchange request she quickly slept in a manner as if nobody should disturb her. I again wake up her and told that the berth#3 was not clean and it has oil on its surface. The girl replied, “Is it? Zyaada kharab hai kya?” . I could easily understand her foxy and sly nature, but still keeping cool I asked her, “Did u already know about the dirty seat thats why u shifted to berth#6? and asked for exchange”. . She replied,” No, I dont know abt it at all.”.. further added that,”my friends had come to drop me at station and so I just slept”. But I was knowing her intention. How could any person occupy a wrong place. I told her, “ I want my original place and asked her to get down.” She told me to contact the TT so I could get a replacement. Rather I asked her to get down again and she should contact to TT as it was her berth which was spoilt. She further asked me to call the TT. I was not able to understand as to why should I be made to wait and suffer for no fault of mine. Then I had to be a bit bolder and told her, “you have almost wasted half hour of my time keeping me in wait state, please get down and do whatever you want... contact the TT and ask for a replacement of berth.” She raised her voice saying, “You have no manners, instead of helping me you are telling me to vacate the berth.” She added, “ I always travelled in AC class”.. I dont know why the hell she was telling this to me. She came down and without even examining the berth#3 she directly went to the TT. This makes it clear that she intentionally did this. Other co-passengers told me, “yaar tumhare mein bahut patience hai”. Another senior female passenger also told, “jaan buj ke ladki shaani baan rahi thi”. Even the TT told her that, train has no vacant berth so please clean by yourself, but she could manage to get a berth after some time through her crafty means.

It is said by some famous person perhaps by Gandhiji, “The sympathy, kindness, love, respect and behavior which you bestow upon someone, the same you would get in return from that person”. Don't know whether this fact is true in real life :-?