Dance like never before...

‘There are shortcuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them’- who so ever said this, has earned my respect. Dance is one of those abstracts in this world that defines expression. Whichever thought or emotion fails the literal boundaries can be best expressed through dance. Some say dancing is the poetry of feet. Well, why just the feet? Our heart dances with joy on seeing a loved one. Fingers of a musician dance on a piano while entertaining an audience. Our eyes, lips, nose; all dance as a team in expressing any kind of feeling. So dance is something that frees the bird trapped inside the cage of our hearts; dance is something that allows you to be just you; dancing is something that delivers one of the struggling emotions and passions fighting a never-ending battle in the deep grounds of our hearts.

Many possess this great misconception that dancing means ‘good’ dancing. Often I’ve seen people shy away from dancing, even the most confident of the lot. When one pulls your hand on to the floor, ‘No! no! I can’t dance’ is usually the call. To all those who get jitters in the name of dancing, I would like you to cram it that anybody who has set a foot on ground can dance. Delicacy and gracefulness is what makes dance good or bad. It has absolutely no relation with one’s ability to dance. And still if you are very much conscious about how odd your body looks while you are attempting to burn the floor with your dancing, well, you have the great TV at your rescue. If dance today has made its way into the ordinary household, it is via the route of television. There was a time when dance as a hobby itself was considered as a blasphemy, let alone making it a profession. And those who were destined to pick it up as their only means of livelihood were associated with names like harlots and ‘tavaayafs’. (We still remember the killing Madhuri Dixit of Devdas, don’t we?) But gradually as times began transcending, the attitude of the masses towards dance also started altering. The amount of talent associated with dancing is unsurpassed. Today, people have endorsed dance into their lives like never before. One is bound to find a teenager or sometimes even young kids, who barely can speak fluently, taking dance lessons either by their own choice or their parents’. This popularization of dance is credited to the ever so powerful television. With reality shows booming up the entire television industry, dance today has found a whole new dimension. The strong career prospective that dance proffers is well promoted by these shows, which have encouraged thousands of youngsters, who find solace only in dancing and think that they are born just to dance, to make it their profession. And the most interesting part here is that their families support them completely which is quite a contrast to the scene that existed two decades ago.  The astronomical talent that kids today encompass can be judged clearly by the amount of participation these reality shows get. Not just reality shows, a simple dance competition at a college or school has a galore of entries which evidently indicates the number of dance buffs. Any locality today is incomplete without a ‘dance class’ hoarding and even the smallest of the townships have ardent goers to these dance classes.

Dance today forms an integral part of our lives. This is notable by the long and traffic-blocking ‘baraats’ we see on the streets. A marriage is unthinkable without dance. We in fact have a whole day dedicated to it (what we call a ‘sangeet’) and still people don’t seem to get enough. And do you know what the most intriguing thing about dance is? It’s the wide yellow smile that lightens the countenance. One cannot dance without smiling. That is a proven theory. And that probably makes dancing so special and unmatched. A huge stress-buster that it is, dance can make you forget all your worries and tension for a while. This is the reason why dance therapy is recommended to many patients suffering from depression and hyper-tension. Even some mental asylums have sought dance therapy to aid the paranoid patients in expressing their thoughts and relaxing them.

Dance, according to me, takes one into a different world where it is only you who exists; you are the king; you rule yourself; there is no one to govern your actions. Ask how a performer feels while dancing on stage. ‘The stage is mine, I rule it when I dance’ is what is most commonly heard. One doesn’t have to be an artiste or skilled dancer to feel that way. So wherever you dance, whenever you dance- dance like you are the master of the earth. The happiness and contentment you’ll find will be divine. Trust me.     

   

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

“Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers”- said Lord Tennyson. The very statement says it all. Knowledge- what is it actually? The Oxford defines it as ‘information and skills gained through experience or education’. So materialistic, isn’t it? Well, I define it as something that sculpts you into someone who can dare to dream, strive hard to accomplish it and finally surmount the world! Better still, let me put it this way- Knowledge is something which gives you a desire so deep that you envision achievement as your goal. Knowledge is something that empowers you with an ageless strength to discover your own path and walk on it to leave a trail behind for the others to follow. Knowledge is something that can ignite the somniferous of the minds to see a new horizon for life. Knowledge is something that instills in you a spirit so indefatigable that victory becomes a habit!! So, can I not sum it up to just three words- KNOWLEDGE IS POWER??

If you scrutinize the two words i.e. knowledge and power, they can be merely looked upon as two other words of the English dictionary or can be visualized as two weapons that can aid one to be triumphant in any battle during this drive on the path of life. Time and again history has borne testimony enough to say that knowledge gives man the paramount power to conquer. But hey wait!! I am not referring to the battles won at the cost of human lives. I mean the combats between the war-monger nations due to mutual belligerence and hostility result in nothing except annihilation and render a gory sight to the eye!! You must be pondering that what knowledge has got to do with all these stuff. Let me explain it with the best ever example that history possesses in this aspect. Ashoka, the Great, - who hasn’t heard of his vindictiveness and obsession for the throne?? His unscrupulousness and malice fetched him victory unparalleled and glory unsurpassed. But for what he is more remembered is the remarkable transcendence in his character after witnessing the mayhem caused by war and listening to the appalling cries of hundreds rendered homeless and lost. He sacrificed his ‘much craved for’ throne and took the path of benevolence and altruism. He became an ardent disciple of Lord Buddha and attained Enlightment and knowledge- knowledge so profound that gave him the strength to travel the entire world and spread Buddhism, knowledge so cavernous that he is remembered even today for his works. The quote “A raja is honored in his own country, a learned man throughout the world” is hence justified!! Isn’t it??

As we walk down the lane of history, there exists an example galore attributing to the fact that knowledge is the key to the most sought after things in this world. Be it fame, money, peace, honor, happiness or success- knowledge gives you all. Swami Vivekanand, Sir Albert Einstein, Karl Marx, Sir Alfred Nobel, William Shakespeare, are just a few to name. The only thing that matters is the right inculcation of the knowledge that one has. To quote Samuel Johnson,” Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful”. I think all of us are in absolute unison with this statement. A truth exists in whatever we do. How can knowledge be spared then? After all ‘knowledge’ is one of the universal truths existing in the universe. The profundity of this concept of truth and knowledge is intricate to intake. But to put it in a simpler manner- Man, the mortal, comes in absolute ignorance to this world. His thirst for achieving something in life acquires him knowledge, rather the kind of knowledge that he prefers to gain. As a ramification of that knowledge,  he achieves his desired goals and targets, with success following. Now, whether that success is lasting or ephemeral, what never evades him is the knowledge. The whole of the world may turn against you; but your knowledge is what stays with you till the last breath. It can be well compared or looked upon as your shadow- following you wherever you go. All the scientists, reformers, patriots, writers, philosophers can be categorized under the big category called “knowledge personified”!!! It was their knowledge that gave them the recognition and honor which is engraved in golden letters in pages of history!!!

“Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven”- said William Shakespeare. Yes, ignorance- the chief element responsible for attaining knowledge. Rather it’s the knowledge of one’s ignorance that triggers his desire for knowledge. Your admission about your own ignorance is what makes you worth acquiring the knowledge you crave for, after all the essence of knowledge is having it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance. The best judge of one’s own ignorance is the one himself; but same is not the case with one’s knowledge. The moment you do that, you will start to see your own end. Sir Albert Einstein has said- “Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of Gods!!” Kudos Sir!

Now it would be very unfair on my part not to mention about ‘wisdom’ while writing about knowledge. Quite a few definitions exist regarding wisdom. But the simplest of them all is –knowledge coupled with humility is wisdom. If knowledge gives you the desire to achieve, wisdom endows you with the fortitude to preserve that achievement. If knowledge gives you an indomitable spirit to chase victory, wisdom bestows you with the resilience to keep that spirit enlivened. If knowledge gives you the strength to revolutionize the world around you, wisdom bequeaths you with the modesty that ensures your pride not to come before your fall. If knowledge gives you power, wisdom gives you perseverance to conserve that power!! Now how to achieve wisdom- that’s what troubles us the most, right? The answer lies in what Benjamin Franklin has said-“The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is knowledge of our own ignorance.” Quite simple I guess. Try to touch the sky with your feet on earth- that’s how I put it!!

So, at the end of the day, I guess ample things have been said to justify that “knowledge is power”. If not, then I just have this to say..

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;       Where words come out from the depth of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way in the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever widening thought and action.... into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake…

-Tritraya Bose

                                                                                                             

FRIENDSHIP: an eternal bliss

Like the ten commandments of the Bible say it all about what God expects from his highest creation, this ten letter word “friendship” says all about what this ‘creation of His’ needs from each other. Man, the mortal, has been sent to this earth alone. He comes to this frenzied world in solitude, performs his predestined job and then passes away in seclusion. During this odyssey of life, some of the fortunate ones are bestowed upon by a bequest so blissful that nothing else is required to complete life. Yes, its friendship that I am talking about!! Friendship- A bond so strong that ascertains its existence even when every thing has turned against you- an attachment so effectual which enhances your worth- a connection so pristine that it understands the language of heart- and finally its a relationship that surpasses all the others by a mammoth!! Don’t you think so?? Well I do. Friendship has and will always get the gold in the race of all relationships.

I heard a saying long back-“Friendship is unnecessary like philosophy, like art…it has no survival value; rather is one which gives value to survival”. So true!! Ever imagined how your life would have been without your friends?? Even the imagination quite gives goose-bumps, isn’t it?  After all, life is partly what we make it; and partly what is made by the friends whom we choose! Now coming to the word “friend”, what best describes it is the word ‘alter-ego’, your reflection, your second self, your mirror! He is the one to whom you can confide things that reside in the deepest bottoms of your heart. He is the one to whom you look up to and exalt. He is the one who holds your hand when it’s stranded by others. He is the one who discovers a new path for you when you are between the devil and the deep sea! But hey wait!! All that glitters is not gold- not all friends do that. I mean friends come in many categories- true friends, best friends, close friends, just friends and false friends. There might be other types too, but I am acquainted only with these.

True and best friends- these two can be closely wound with each other or rather they kind of harmonize each other. True friendship is like water- transparent, pellucid and amorphous. Transparent because there’s no concealment, pellucid because there’s no pretence and amorphous because it has no boundaries. It just grows stronger with the passage of time. Friends can’t be best if they aren’t true- true to themselves and true to each other. Aristotle said “friendship is one soul dwelling in two bodies”. But I think a bit of correction is required out here; it should be “true friendship is one soul dwelling in two bodies”. Don’t you think?? I mean you can’t have your core to share with all and sundry. The one you do it with is your “true or best friend”. A small glance in the eye unveils the untold saga. That’s true friendship!! I don’t think I really need to include words like trust, loyalty, conviction, belief etc while talking about true friendship. The word ‘true’ itself speaks volumes!! It often forms the root of that one evergreen tree, love and the root is the one which gives anchorage to the plant. You stop watering the root and the tree dies automatically. So isn’t it proved that friendship is ranked first in the race of all relations??

Your true friend is your most severe, but best critic!!! No two opinions about this. He does not any have vested interest and this gives him the above title. It’s just your true friend, who is candid enough to speak unpleasant truths about you point blank. It’s rightly said “true friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost”. Your life seems lost because half of life’s battle is won if you have a true friend by your side!!

People often confuse friends with acquaintances. The category -just friends and false friends are nothing but customized acquaintances. Just friends are like fair weather friends- they shine with you in your sunny days; but will run for refuge when it rains leaving you to get wet alone! Such friends can be characterized by their conduct- there speech is more of sycophancy and obsequiousness instead of austerity and simplicity. False friends are somewhat similar to just friends. The only difference between the two is that the ‘green eyed monster’ plays its part more significantly in case of false friends. Mark my words- it’s ‘more significantly’! They are the ones who won’t hesitate to give you the advice you need the least. Beware of such ‘friends’!!! They are found in plethora!!!

“Best friends are like diamonds; precious and rare, False friends are like leaves, found every where”- I don’t know who said this; but feel like bowing my head before him!! Kudos!

As we are en route towards our destination in life, we make many friends sporadically and it is kind of indispensable, especially when we are subsisting in an era where “survival of the fittest” is the maneuvering mantra. In this metamorphism, we often tend to forget the alphabets which taught us to make words! Didn’t get me? Huh!! I’m talking about old friends fading into oblivion due to entrance of the new ones in our life. Just like alphabets teach us words, old friends form the pedestal in making the new-fangled ones. An old friend is like a photo album that gives you a walk down the memory lane in this busy life. “Forsake not an old friend, for the new one is not comparable to him. A new friend is as new as wine; when it is old, thou shall drink it with pleasure”-absolute justification!!!!

  

So, this is what friendship is all about! Call it a boon, integrity, veracity or ecstasy- friendship is eternal. You know its true worth, and you are the happiest person on earth, trust me. To brief it up in a single word, Friendship’s EDEN! I don’t have anything else to say except this:

Friendship is………….

A sojourn through the forests of uncertainty,
an expedition through the grasslands of jocularity.
a drive on the boulevard of dolor,
a voyage jam-packed with color.
a nostalgic odyssey,
a stalwart ship sailing over life’s sea………

                                                                                                             

           

       

   

MUSIC:the language of God

Ever comprehended as to why an infant stops wailing the moment he is in his mother’s arms? What is it that the mother conveys to him and all his pains are drowned in the sea of oblivion? What magic prevails in those arms that set the small “sun” shining? We all pass it on giving the universal reason- “Oh! That’s the ‘mother’ effect.” True. The mother effect is unfathomable; at least in words. But, if you take a deeper insight, you’ll understand that there is something more than those magical arms; something beyond the physical propinquity; something mightier than love that bonds the two. What could it possibly be? The motherly smile, the voice, the aroma?  Actually, neither of these really.  A new born is too young to reckon with these. Well, then there’s only one answer to it- it’s the sound of her heartbeat- the thump-thump, the rhythm, the cadence, the stillness- that reaches the smaller heart to trigger a communication-  ethereal enough to justify His ubiquity and pacific par human paradigm. Yes. The first ‘music’ of our life! The first harp on the stings of our heart! The first euphony ever learned!  

MUSIC- the word itself induces an aura so intoxicating that one can’t escape the addiction. The feel of it however cannot possibly be expounded in human tongue. To me, the feel of music is somewhat synonymous to the state of being drugged; hypnotized to the extent of drowsing one into a frenzy of peace; of calmness; of vacuum. It is one of those rare experiences of twilight when the reflections from within paint the sky of emotions scarlet. Actually trying to shackle music in the chain of few words would be like trying to count the stars. You may very well find an Oxfordian meaning of music. But that ain’t what defines it. It does not talk of soul, truth, divineness and chastity without which music cannot be apprehended. Some say it’s the speech of Gods; some say it’s the poetry of air. Whatever it might be, music is like a shadow, constantly following you from life to death. The only difference is that some are cognizant enough to befriend the shadow, while some go on unaware. It’s as easy as moving heaven and earth and still failing to find music; or finding it in the simplest of the things!

 

Confused???

I’ll tell.

Try listening to the din of the ocean; and you’ll know of the depth of music…

Ever heard the approaching of the wind? Dominant it is, isn’t it? That’s the strength of music….

The distant rumble of the rails gives way to an unending ache deep within, that’s the tenacity of music….

Doesn’t the sound of the bell that tolls at the church atop a distant hill take us a step closer to Him? It surely does. That’s the divinity of music….

So, it’s a matter of one’s perception. You feel music, you’ll find music. Now doesn’t that rhyme with what we say in context of finding God? I mean, ‘He is omnipresent. You believe, you find’- that’s what we generally say. So it can be somewhat concluded that music is His manifestation. I heard a quote long back, “Music is God’s gift to man; the only art of Heaven given to Earth, the only art we take to Heaven”. Well, that says it all. Since antediluvian times, music has been looked upon as the foremost boon from the Gods. And that’s the reason why one finds music woven so neatly in the kerchief of nature. Be it the gurgling of the river, the chirping of the birds or the thundering of the skies- music thrives in the very entity of the God carved universe.

‘Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends’- said French poet Alphonso de Lamartine. What an absolutely delightful thought! All the music that we listen to is nothing but expression of some heart-felt emotion. The beauty lies in the fact that music connotes this emotion without literal words. That’s how it differs from a poem. Music is what feelings sound like. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the greatest musician of history, once said-‘The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.’ Yes. Silence. Probably the deepest form of music. Silence is the fabric upon which notes are woven.  If music was to have a soul, then it would be silence. Music is that cup which holds the wine of silence. Some find solace in the rhythm of the silence, some fear it .For the latter, it is not actually the fear of silence, rather the fear of solitude; of detachment; of dolor; of anguish. A small piece of music is way mightier than the strongest mortal bonds that deprive one off agony. ‘He who hears music, feels his solitude peopled at once’, asserts Robert Browning.   

  

So music is the one eternal river that meanders along the path from Eden to Earth, ascertaining its existence through eras, drowning the pebbles of compunction and swelling the tides of rapture. One has to just float in order to soak in the music; soak in the life. Lastly, as Lord Byron says-   

‘There's music in the sighing of a reed;
There's music in the gushing of a rill;
There's music in all things, if men had ears,
Their earth is but an echo of the spheres’.
 

So find music, live it and life will be beautiful!

- Tritraya Bose