God & Me & Science

The time with an essence of God's presence has come. When everyone feels Him around. At workplace, at home, at heart. The home seems nothing less than itself a temple. The main Hindu festival season has commenced.
Invites from friends for puja at home is a very common thing now. With jagrans going on always in someone's or other's place, the bhajans are still echoing in the head after hours. Colors of festivals, shopping, new clothes, crackers making the sky seem of some other color except blue-black (for a little while though) with a hint of winter coming in- just like some amazing recipe of my favorite food!
I, hear some good sound two days back around 9pm. I look out of the window, crackers were doing what they do best with the sky. I listen to some jagrans going on in neighboring society. I imagine my family watching Ramayana at Ramleela Maidan and eating something great from outside (when I was supposed to 'manage' and eat something at home). I imagine it all in pin-drop silence- at home- alone- studying. Tolerating the curse of what they call- The Science.
Humans love the blame game. But I couldn't blame it on God, for Science is not His' and He is not Science's.
Stuck at home for some stupid test, I could only blame myself. I felt alone, left out, awkward and weird. When the entire world around me is busy celebrating God's Birth and Wins (of Good over Evil), I was sitting and celebrating birth of Science- which took away my life in some sense; in every sense I could think of on that day.
With Diwali coming in, all I can think of are my exams, scheduled for only a few days after Diwali- One of the festivals I look up to the entire year.
I wish Science was never made. I wish God was a subject I was studying and focusing on.

Cursing the curse called Science

Anyways, wishes don't come true in Science. Facts does. And the fact is- I have to study to score well and forget everything which comes in between- even if its God (sadly).

Kahin duur jab din dhal jaye

Kahin duur jab din dhal jaye

saanjh ki dulhan badan churaye

chupke se aaye

My one of the favorites of Rajesh Khanna. We all remember that song. Sung somewhere, heard somewhere, kept in heart somewhere.

I saw my dad's wet eyes as Rajesh Khanna passed away. He was his favorite actor. His' was the first movie my dad watched at cinema when he cleared 10th exams- in 2 and a half rupees- Haathi mere saathi. O! we all have seen it.

The career took a toll. He had fame, love, money and what not. Just a few movies and he was on cloud 9. Elevated with persona. 15 hit blockbuster movies came one after another in only 3 consecutive years. He worked 14 hours a day, daily. 

Ye shaam mastani

Madhosh kiye jaye

Mujhe dor koi kheenche

teri or liye jaye

A romance brewed up the screen with him and Asha. More films came in and he made a beautiful romantic image. Female fans wrote letters with their own blood to him and kiss his car when he passed by. His car had lipstick stains all over. They would marry his pictures and throw dupattas on ground so that his feet wont touch the ground.  3 female fans even cut their write out for him during a movie release. His fate was written now- by his own hands- A superstar was born. 

Karwate badalte rahe

Saari raat hum

Aap ki kasam.. 

And then with Mumtaz- a B grade actress. He gave 8 back to back hit films with her which made her an A-grade actress.

Mere sapno ki raani kab aayegi tu

aayi rut mastani kab aayegi tu.. 

He gave over 160 films. But the major turn was when he was asked to do a Angry young man role. He declined. And so it was given to Amitabh Bachchan who had already given several flops- he accepted. Time changed. We saw Rajesh Khanna vanishing off the screens but not our hearts. Everything changed.

None-the-less he kept his similar nature all throughout his life full of romance, tragedies, memorables and forgetables. On 17th June 2012 he was discharged from hospital. We thought he's fine and so he is home. Eventually, doctors could no longer treat him and sent him home to have his last breath. He never made a public announcement of his liver cancer. We never knew! True as he said in his movie Anand- 'nahi nahi babumoshaye, hum apna gum nahi baattein, yaha thode selfish hain hum'. Zindagi kaisi hai paheli haye Kabhi toh hansaye Kabhi ye rulaye...

His body was taken in a truck decorated with white roses with a huge picture of his' from Anand at the front. A glass coffin was his last carriage. 

His last words- "Time to pack up".

The greatest, simple, down to earth, very ordinary yet extra ordinary, superb actor passed away two days back. A great loss to humanity. I know he was the first ever Superstar but more than that, he was the a great human. His last ad we have of him: Havells. 

"Mere fan mujhse koi nahi cheen sakta".

RIP Rajesh Khanna. You will be remembered as long as cinema lasts. 

Admiration

I performed the sacrament that evening. Making a red Swastika at two corners of it. While remembering Him, we ignited it. We just performed the holy rituals of being Indian. On the contrary, here it stands for the Sunflame Mirror Relfecto Gas with three gas stoves which replaced our previous one which stood at the same spot for 22 years or so. "May it serve with us with food and never withhold us with hunger", would say my dad, for he is a believer of God in true terms. Isn't it wonderful to be born in this land of God?Its not just about the Stove of course! We all do it even on buying an AC, or a LCD, a car, a bike, a scooty, computer (the Swastika is still here at one of the edge of my computer), laptop and what not. All the things that make our lives simpler are worshiped here. No matter which God we all worship, but we ensure we do, in happiness, in struggle, in vein, in regret. How often we remember Him, is not a matter, rather how often we thank him is the matter.

"India is the only country which has over 300 crore Gods for which we are in Guinness Book of World Records", would say my dad with proud, transferring his proud in me. "Yes, we worship everything for plants to rivers to trees to stones to soil to animals to everything", he continued. I would keep it as 'superstition' in my mind long back. But, not now. I have grown seeing His presence in many things & people. For those who haven't witnessed Him, I wish they would do it soon, so that they know the real meaning of life.
I remember lighting up a diya in front of our scooty and car each year at Diwali. Never had I asked why we do it. Earlier I did it just cos dad had asked me to. Now, I know why I do it. At festivals however, even those who do not worship daily are filled with His vicinity completely in & out.
This happens only here. Here in the land of God. His ubiety in almost all the living as well as non-living things. We all worship the birth of Him, the return of Him, the marriage of Him, the victory of Him. Who knows when and where did this all betide. It was manifested long back. We all grow up and forget and move over the things from childhood to adulthood. But, dare we forget one thing- His emanation.
So, I ensure, I "Thank God for everything in life" daily. Whether at College (for we belong to & study at God's own residence) or at evening at home-temple (as I would say). For everything that was, is, and will be, is a gift and celebration of Him.
Yes, we belong to the land of vivacity, to the country of unity between thousands and crores of worshipers. And so, His fraction of soul resides among us all.

A woman prays on Chhat pujan

Amen

The intertwining of God and Him

A true inspiration for all.
R.I.P Hussain. 

It was my friend's post which brought me to the fact that he is no more. Trust me, social networking sites can be beneficial sometimes. In shock, outraged, antagonized, I start thinking deep down of him. 
He was the man! He was M F Hussain. An out of the world painter, artist indescribable, awarded both Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan as well as Padma Vibhushan. Film director, producer, as well as a poet. Then follows my second thought, how he was thrown out of his own land. Reason: he portrayed some sacred Hindu Goddesses in non-acceptable avatars. Was exile its remedy? He was disrespected as he was a Muslim. What the so-called- religious groups saw was a Muslim outraging Hinduism. Even though, that's their mentality. For a man with so much love in his heart, a man born even before the revolts of independence started in the blood of Indian's, a man with compassion and no impure thoughts in his mind and soul to outcast another religion, it is impossible to hurt the sentiments of anyone. In fact, a painter is considered as having given a god gift, he is the person with most soothing soul, the only field which has always been respected the most since 500 BC. 
Anyway, am not here to justify what was wrong, what was right, for I will hurt his soul more. Am just here to forecast his life, how he lived and what he lived for. A few facts which general people do not know. 


I remembrance very well, I was in seventh standard, where we had a unit of M F Hussain, his life : From where he was, till where he is. He was still in India till then, else the unit would have been dislodged. These are the extracts:




"A self-taught artist, Muqbool Fida Hussain was born in 1915 in Maharashtra. His mother died when he was one and a half years old and his father married again. At an early age he learnt the art of calligraphy and practiced the Kulfic khat with its geometric forms. He also learnt to write poetry while staying with an uncle in a madrasa in Baroda, an art that has stayed with him through his life. His early education was perfunctory but Hussain's love of drawing was evident even at this stage. Whenever he got a chance he would strap his painting gear to his bicycle and drive out to the surrounding countryside of Indore to paint the landscape. In 1937 he reached Mumbai determined to become an artist, with hardly any money and lived in a cheap room. Initially Hussain apprenticed himself to a painter of cinema hoardings which he would paint with great dexterity perched on scaffolding sometimes in the middle of traffic, earning very little to afford his living in Mumbai. But, that didn't stop him from living his dreams. 
Hussain was noticed for the first time in 1947 when he won an award at the annual exhibition of the Bombay Art Society. Subsequently he was invited by Souza to join the Progressive Artist's Group. A great deal of experimentation in the early years led to some remarkable works Re Between The Spider And The Lamp, Zameen and Man. By 1955 he was one of the leading artists in India and had been awarded the Padma Shri. He was a special invitee along with Pablo Picasso at the Sao Paulo Biennial in 1971. Along with several solo exhibitions he had major retrospectives in Mumbai in 1969, in Calcutta in 1973 and in Delhi in 1978. He has participated in many international shows which include Contemporary Indian Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London 1982; Six Indian Painters, Tate Gallery, London 1985; Modem Indian Painting, Hirschhom Museum, Washington 1986 and Contemporary Indian Art, Grey Art Gallery, New York 1986.
In 1967 he won the Golden Bear at the International Film Festival at Berlin for his documentary Through the Eyes of a Painter and has made several short films since then. Hussain was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1973, the Padma Vibhushan in 1989 and was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1986. One of the most charismatic artists in India today, he is known for his emphatic understanding of the human situation and his speedy evocation of it in paint. The early evolution of his painterly language was overtaken by adventurous forays into installations and performance art. His experimentations with new forms of art are both unexpected and pioneering.
Hussain has studios in several cities in India but lives mainly in Mumbai."


Called the "Picasso of India" by Forbes Magazine, he was a man completely down to Earth. Even though his paintings would fetch him millions of dollars, his lifestyle was yet the same as before. 
At Dubai, where he had spent his many years of life, he was frequently spotted coming out of local cinema halls after watching latest Bollywood flicks. 

"I remember meeting the grand old man walking out of a cinema theatre. He gleamed like a teenager. I don't remember the movie but it was definitely a Hindi potboiler. That defined the man," said Raghav, a Dubai resident.

Hussain always interacted with common men on the streets, a habit he did not desert here.

"I think his best moment in Dubai came in November 2007 when he booked the entire tickets of a local cinema hall screening Madhuri Dixit's comeback film Aaja Nachle," said Ayesha, a Sharjah resident.

On this occasion, Husain booked 194 seats for the movie as a treat for his special guests from all walks of life. He distributed tickets as invitations on which the veteran painter's autograph and a sketch of Madhuri was
inscribed. The artist was known to be a great fan of the actress, whom he also cast in his film 'Gaja Gamini'. Hussain also held several private exhibitions during his stay here. He came to Dubai to work on the history of Arab civilisation.

True to the man himself, all his mannerisms were unique.

Even his apartment looked like an Arab majlis, a tent like structure where he used fabric instead of his own paintings. A round carpet in his studio was uniquely laid out half on the ground and half up the wall. He had on display paintings that he once sold for Rs 100-150.

Husain's last visit to his hometown was in 1995, when he received the 'Pandhari Bhushan' Puraskar instituted by a local organisation. Tears well up in the eyes of 86-year old Khudabuddin Sharifoddin, cousin of M F Husain, as he remembers his association with the iconic artist, who spent his formative years in this town in Pandharpur, western Maharashtra. 
"He asked me how did his mother, my mother's sister, look like as he had lost her at an early age. He asked me where was the 'kabr' (resting place) of his mother located," he said, talking to reporters at his house at Kalikadevi Chowk, in the vicinity of the famous Vitthal temple, which attracts lakhs of devotees.

Then, to the delight of the nearly 10,000 people who crowded to watch him exhibit his deft strokes, Husain drew a sketch of a beautiful woman, in 10 minutes flat, on a bull!

Not difficult to guess that the drawing was of his muse -- Bollywood's then reigning queen Madhuri Dixit. For days, the locals paraded the bull around the town.
A local painter S Pataskar, recalled Husain's last visit here. "It was as if Pandharpur had come to a standstill.
Around 10,000 people gathered to see the master at work. Husain mingled freely, shook hands with people and spoke in chaste Marathi."

After receiving the award, Husain went to Vithal-Rukmai temple and had a "darshan" of the deity. 
He died in London this year, at the age of 95, where he longed to smell the soil of his country.

One can love MF Hussain or one can hate MF Hussain but one cannot ignore him. Here are a few paintings of him, which eventually are my all time favorites. 

He painted all bare-foot, as he worshiped his work.

Love

Blue head 

Mother Teresa- his inspiration

His favorite animal- Horse 

Poornima

Indian Mythology

GOD: HIS Exsitence

"There is an indefinable mysterious power that pervades everything. I feel it though I do not see it." - M.K. Gandhi.
Printed in TOI Crest (probably the only newspaper i read).
Then, I ask myself, "He exists?" Obviously not, i haven't witnessed Him as yet.

Then my mind starts flickering, which indeed is not something new to me. As soon as that, I start jotting down points in my mind for both the sides. People call these notes, I call these pros and cons [this is also the reason why I make delays in decision making which everybody is fed up of]. My mind notices the flamboyant sounds of birds, blue and white clouds seeming more like candy floss, various camellia and tress standing right in front of my balcony which makes me remember 'I love nature more than humans'. I am almost out of my topic which i was thinking about and trying to make the judgments to follow.

Soon enters more beautiful thoughts which are very close to me. Cavorting in downpour, sunlight entering inside my house from a particular angle making extraordinary shades, winter fog, earthworms crawling with which I love to play pick & throw using sticks, getting feared from squirrels especially after visualizing them in detail thanks to Kit-Kat advertisement and all sorts of joys which can never be complete without contribution of nature.

Has God created them all? Has He created us? Has he designed each body part and given us all our dignified duties to perform? Are all the serials being telecast-ed on our idiot boxes provide truth about Him? Is He the real autocrat?
Maybe yes, we have been manufactured by Him. The first ray of sun, the wind, the rain, the soil, the moon, the stars, the thunderstorm, everything has been created by Him.
But being a science student, I intend to co-relate it with my profession, Isn't it? When science enters, there's no room for Him.
Fulminating the pros, here begins my cons:

• Life started with a living cell (who's name I do not think is important to remember), not by God.
• All life forms are created due to the environmental changes, not by GOD.
• Living organisms evolve and perform duties which would help them survive the transition, not by God. And which cannot, eradicate.

Humans' imagination has created God as merely an old man with long beard showering His blessings (rays rather) through the palm of His hand and halo around Him. Is this our God? Who knows? Perhaps, who can answer this with a strong point supporting his pervasiveness?
My perception terminates from where it had begun. Feels like my boat is stuck somewhere in the mid ocean. None-the-less, my determination seeking for a sustainable answer pushes me to go ahead on the same road.
This brought me to a realization that my perception has got nothing to do with my pros and cons.

The person with no negative energy or thoughts, who has won over the 7 sins and predominates the doppelgänger within himself is God. But, not to forget, he starts his journey towards moksha as a "person".

I do believe in God as He is a part of me. The more i believe in myself, the more i believe in God and vice-verse; with a sign of proportionality (effect of science).

Yes, there is and undefinable mysterious power that pervades everything. I feel it though I do not see it. [Agreeing with M.K.Gandhi].

My perception can be a preconception to others and same the opposite way round.
Indeed as a human, I pray to God, He kisses us all and blesses us abundantly.

Going for a catnap now,
But do provide me with your auxiliary thoughts so that i can become more dilate to the readers.