Poverty-to-Power of Poetry

Last week I enjoyed reading a review¹ on poetry culture.

The reviewer's declaration, about he being a rare-reader of poems, reminded me myself as a poor-reader of poems. That was years ago as a school-boy. 

Impression that I carried the way poetry used to be taught was that it had necessarily to be grammatically correct, full of flowery verses and stuffed with rich words, etc. etc. Foolishly I used to think that more it is incomprehensible, like some typical paintings of well-known artists that only a chosen few professors or research scholars are capable of, richer it is.

In fact, I was one among the best-poors at being unable to read as well as being unable to understand them. That in no way means I read them a lot now. 

But now often, although in the form of broken poems, I do try to express poetically. Believe me, it gives a lot of happiness and satisfaction out of such creations and sharing them if you get an audience. It is rare specie though.

Now that I got one in you, here is an impromptu expression on 'Power-of-Poetry' that the review¹ motivated me to pen down.

'Pover-ty'-to-'Power' of Poetry

आदीच पडलो आमी माटापेक्षा माट
त्यामंदी दीलायसा टकूरयाला तू कवितेचा शाट
आरं दोस्त हाय तर कायबाय ते सरळ सांगकी
हीतं गुरूजीसंगं सारं काडू राहीलं आमची लायकी

पूर्वी लय वाटूलाय, कवीचा इत्का का दरबारी थाट
समध्या भाषा-तासास्नी लावाया आमची पूरती वाट
आता गेलो लिहाया थोडंबी कायमाय-की
समजू येई गड्या मले तर टायमंच न्हायकी

येळ न्हाय म्हनीत सोडलं लेखांचं डराफ्टावर डराफ्ट
समजंना कोनालाबी व्हावलेच जर लाईनींचे सहस्त्रोव पाट
आरं येड्या, चारोळी कवितेची थोरवी न्हाईरं थोडीथोडकी
समजून घेकी तीज्यासमोर तूजीच जराबी न्हाई लायकी

The English version is as follows. 

'Pover-ty'-to-'Power' of Poetry

Already I was a Damn-Dum..m..mBest-Fool
Then how do I decode your poetry-in-school
Can't you befriend-n-prosaic simply-cool
Else they call me a useless Bigger-Fool

Today although I prose many pages-full
That even a Prosaist can't decode with big push-n-pull
Not even after a lot of time and her effortful
Says ²KISS.....s....s..s..sS, You-Damn-Fool

Now I know why poetry is Easy-Fast-n-Vast to mull
Rhyming-n-versing make it even more beau..uu..tiful

Actually both, the theme¹ in the poetry that was reviewed¹ in Loksatta as well as the way it was reviewed, reinforced my thoughts about 'Power-of-Poems'. 

In fact, poetry has power to conquer ( overcome 'poverty' of) mind also. If one takes them as tips, poetry is truly very 'Powerful', 'Easy-Fast-n-Vast' both to  express as well as to understand. 

Just as a picture has power to contain and explain so many words and thoughts, a short poem like it's modern counterpart a Tweet or like a Japanese Haiku can easily convey meanings of so many thoughts otherwise in-expressible even in terms of vast number of proses. It can speedily and easily communicate a vast subject or experience. Maiku is my version of the Haiku. 

It also gives flexibility and liberty to use  dual-meaning rants using slang-language. To that extent, it makes it easy and powerfullly creative for one to express. Rhyming and versing make it  beautiful and easy to digest.

Unlike a speech that activates 15 to 20% of brain cells, it's a fact that a writing exercise activates 85 to 90% of brain cells. Imagine the power of writing a poem then. 

Footnote-1: Review or you may say views of Sanjay-ji Pawar in Loksatta Marathi Daily about Aa-Sanskriti (असंस्कृती: the lack of culture) authored by Abhinaya Ramesh Kamble.

Footnote-2: KISS: Keep-It-Short-n-Sweet! In fact, poetry according to me is a KISS-language! Knowledge-In-Short-n-Sweet-language, I mean!!

The-Day-of-Music: When is it not?

Today is the Day-of-Music!

Couple of months ago, in response to one of the worst draughts of the decade this year there was a cry for playing "Dry-Holi" to save water. Fearing that the movement may not last beyond the Holi-day,  soon  resuming wasteful Wet-Days rest of the days of the year, I published a blogpost titled "Don't Save Water on Holi-day".

Actually saving water is not a day's affair. It's a daily-cause. It's not a local or a national affair but a global-cause.

One doesn't have any right to waste anything. At least no right to waste what s/he can't produce. That doesn't mean that s/he grants herself license to waste what s/he can produce. It's about the value system more than arresting and preventing wastage itself. 

Like Save-Water-Days, there is a western-fashion of celebrating many 'Days': Father's-Day, Mother's-Day, Earth-Day, and so on, for-a-day and then forget the 'Days' as well as the cause behind it for rest part of the year.

I hope to dig into whether there are Watchman-Day, Servant-Day, Lift-Day, Door-Day, Window-Day, Man-Day, Day's-Day, and so on. If intention behind celebrating such days is good, why are we far from performing those intentions as daily-habits, as daily-actions?

That's perhaps because the dictionary 'says', celebrations are celebrations: formal performances by the proponents and celebrities rather than they themselves living those values. 'Naturally' celebrations do not last beyond the day of such 'causes'. For the followers of the celebrities, it's a precedence of not imbibing those values in their daily lives. The 'day' then goes on record as nothing but an entertainment day.
  
What's the actionable then?

Let the good intention of celebrating such Days stay in it's place. The Days do provide focus to those who get inadvertently de-focussed rest of the days.

Others on these Days get an opportunity to reinforce their sincere efforts to live the values behind the days daily. So let's act and then spread the message to our near-dear ones. Here is my 'poor'-poem that gives me happiness in lighting a little candle in doing so as a trail for the Day-of-Music:

For All, it's the Day-of-Music
For Some, the Way-of-Life is-Music
Wherever they go they breathe Music
Like for Birds, Chirping-Daily-is-Music
For poets, rhyming lines is Music
For an artist, producing art is Music
For a mathematician, numbers is Music
And for Sun-God, Shining-Daily-is-Music
The Universe... The Universe...
tired in rhythmic beats is Music
God-Bless-All to sing ||..OMmm..||
Thy-Language-That's-Sound-of-Music

I hope to leave trails for other such 'Days' too without the fear of whether the poor-poems turn into poor-jokes: P-PJ: Poor-Poem-Jokes!

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder:

Poverty-to-Power of Poetry
Do you exercise your choice meaningfully 
Do You Celebrate Mean-or-Green
Functional-Aesthetics
How To Make A Difference
Big-Be Or Bug-Be !
Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture
Strategise To Achieve Targets Daily
Wish To Be Planet-Friendly?: Save! 
Waste-to-eat Sea-to-drink
Don't Save Water on Holi-day
Be Shame-less Or Water-less
Prevention: The Best Cure! ... Is it really so?
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms !
You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable
When Safety Becomes Sorry
How Many Times Do You Wash Hands

Do you exercise your choice meaningfully

'Exercise your choice' they say. Remembering it, sometimes conveniently I 'choose' to read emails in part. 

Actually 'choices in life' are infinite if one 'chooses' to think so. Some 'exercise choice meaningfully'. Some do so 'meanly'.

A choice is 'meaningful' if intention behind the action is to add value to or to satisfy needs (not greeds) of the self or others. For instance, choice to stay clear of negative  emotions such as fear, anger or tension, etc. is meaningful. Because it grants us a moment of awareness, a moment to dwell upon it's damaging effects. Thereby it prevents emotional reactions, if any.

Adding value means helping generate more and more positive energy at the expense of lesser and lesser energy input. A choice is 'more-meaningful' if it's done to add value to or to satisfy needs of others (and to ecology in general) as the saints do.

Choice is exercised 'meanly' if it's done to satisfy greed. Because not only it depreciates ecology and planet but also one's ownself physically-mentally-spiritually. People who smoke for instance exercise choice 'meanly' because smoking is a want. It's a desire. It's not a need to survive. It's mean because it wastes (rather sucks) energy. It produces negative energy and reduces positive energy.

Anyway, I drifted a little by design. A couple of months ago when I received an email request to write a few lines on our feelings of being associated with a musical group "Swar-Sampada" on it's completion of a decade, I 'chose to be meaningful'. SS, as we fondly abbreviate it, bonds well-established professionals together by a glue of their shared interest in singing.

Selfish me 'chose' to add value to myself by trying to have 2-(birds)-in-1(shot): One, that of expressing my feelings'; Two, expressing that in the form of a poem. Creation of poem was the additional benefit aimed at. Of course the value may reduce if the so-called poem turns out to be a boring prose.

I mailed my feelings in poetry format to my SS-niece-in-law Chaitasi. The poem in Hindi language (see picture) revolves around 'Music as a way of life' and 'Life as a beautiful-melodious song'.

I 'chose' to read favourable part of her reply so that I feel 'Great' as a 'Poet': "Dear Aunty & Uncle, I must say that the poetry is beautiful indeed". Soon her subtler-slappish request "to send a shorter version" followed. She wanted to display it during individual singing performances. She went on to say, "4-5 short lines" would be "great". 

So, saying "Kabhi-kabhi mere manmein poetry bhi aatee hai, Par aab ki baar sirf satire hee bhatee hai", the poor-great poet conveniently 'chose' to settle on a satire of a Hindi song to express about SS in brief:

"Itna to yaad hai mujhe
Woh din jab (hame) geet (hi) na sujhe
Aab yari-yarana (aur) thoda-hi sahi
SS ke pyar bhare daar se Gana to saje"

Don't you find 'exercising a choice' to 'Make Lemonade when you get a Lemon' as Reiki Masters say is a great tool. You can become Great, Poor, Poet, or Happiest, Sad, Naughtiest fellow at the 'click' of your choice provided you don't allow others to control switch of your Life-as-a-Lift.

Actually by this time the 'keen' you might have noticed the 'mean' in me. I chose to do another 2-in-1: pushing so-called poetic myself under the disguise of writing this blogpost. But the 'keen' in you also knows how to keep switch of your Lift in your choicest control: not to read the poem. 

By the way, unlike the complicated me, Sanjivani my wife expressed about music and her SS connection in simple terms saying: "I never really dared to see myself singing on stage until joining SS. However, the encouragement and the 100-times listening mantra of Dr Singh brought me to where I am today in singing."

Jokes apart, it's really a great choice to immerse oneself in music as a great source of unblended and unblemished happiness. And it's really-really great to be able to 'exercise' various other 'choices in life more-meaningfully'.

Choice, not chance, determines your destiny.. Aristotle. 

Chocolate ad that makes you feel sticky

How would you feel if.. an adult like me sitting on your sofa opens a chocolate bar with unwashed hands.. presses fingers exploring deep into the brown colored mass of the chocolate.. manages to push two fingers ... (Read more)

In a Problem?: No Problem ! Dwell A While !!

Beginning of the winter, he was out to take an admission test. Just before boarding bus he realised that he had forgotten hall-ticket at home.

He rushed back. The door-lock failed to open ... (click link to read more .. )

Also read a few relevant blog-posts hereunder: Please do consider leaving a comment or sharing this post.

Strategise To Achieve Targets Daily 

Old-Problems, New-Reasons !

Ant Knocks Elephant Down 
Will It Work Here?
Can-changing-thoughts-change-nation?
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture 
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling 
IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important 
Talent-Is-Latent: Enable It! 
Judge If It's Paralysis-By-Analysis 
Will It Work Here? 
Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy 
Does recognition really matter 
Who Comes First: Consumer Or Customer ? 
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms ! 
Do You Ask Right Questions?
Am I 'Short-sighted' or 'Long-sighted'? 

Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy

Comprehensive-Strategic-Audits

Prevention: The Best Cure! ... Is it really so?
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms !
When Safety Becomes Sorry 
Drove To Hell ... Almost !  
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling 
In a Problem?: No Problem ! Dwell A While !!
Part-1
In-big-problem? Wear-hats-to-solve-it! Part-2
How To Make A Difference
Big-Be Or Bug-Be !
Make checklists your friends
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis
That's How Morons Work
You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable
Waste-to-eat-sea-to-drink

IQ, EQ or SQ: What is more important

March-April is generally final-exam-time in India. It's an anxiety period of the year both for parents and children alike. Parents of children in their mid-school days as well as those wanting to choose their career post-schooling do rush to take IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tests around this time. 

Educational institutes offering  professional courses have already been using IQ tests for admissions just as corporates been using for recruitment. In fact, IQ tests have gained too much prominence out of it's proportion at times. 

After all how important is the IQ test! Is there anything beyond it!

Is knowing answer to a typical question like "Is throwing trash on floor wrong and bad for health?" is enough.

(Picture from Book “World Of Kaizen” by Shyam Talawadekar) 

If a prospect appearing for IQ test (is confronted with such a question if at all and) answers it with 'correct' option, s/he may get points added to her IQ.

Choosing option "No" to the question, "Do you throw trash on floor?" also may add points to her IQ although s/he may not be practised-in in the 'answered' good-practice herself.

In real life if s/he practises this good-practice consistently then s/he may add points to her practical quotient, PQ (the term used by Bill Macaux in his blogpost).

In spite of negative reaction of 'trash-throwers' around, if s/he perseveres in finding and getting implemented ways-and-means (sama-dama-danda-bheda concept) to prevent them from 'throwing trash' without losing temper & patience then s/he may add points to her EQ (Emotional Quotient).

In spite of success in getting the good habit inculcated in herself and others, s/he doesn't feel 'great' about it, nor does s/he 'looses heart' on failing in her efforts then s/he is aware of her 'self'. S/he may add points to her SQ (Spiritual Quotient) since s/he supposedly continues to do her good work (Karma) with equanimity.

More the usage (i.e. PQ) of IQ-EQ in order to manipulate, worse it is for the overall good. More it's used ethically, better it is. That's the SQ: being Apex to all, the IQ-EQ-PQ!

Going beyond the IQ, how many parents realise the need to invest in enhancing the EQ and SQ not only in their ward but before that in their own self?

Now a days some educational institutes, if not universities, do realise the need for EQ training as well as a part of their private curriculum. Very few have begun realising the need for the SQ though.

Having good score in IQ is like a passport. One does need to do homework, hardwork and smartwork to get it. But to 'succeed' in life and to be a good leader one necessarily needs both the EQ and SQ, actually with more weightage at that than the IQ. Only then would the candidate be able to take so-called 'failures & successes in life' in her stride.

Methods to score in IQ tests are well established. 

How to score in EQ & SQ is the real challenge. 

It's a collective, long-drawn, practice-dominated process that necessarily involves one's own self alongwith not only the parents, teachers, professional guides but also media, society, government, etc.

A typical country might have had a better balance of IQ, EQ & SQ at some point in time on it's evolutionary journey just as ancient India had it a few thousand years ago. 'Principles' in that case may still be valid and accessible in history and management books but the 'practices' may need overhauling in order them to be adaptible in the 'current and the local context'.

If one were to learn from others, Japanese Kaizen process and it's adaptations in some south Asian economies are easily accessible. They are 'not-so-easy' to learn though unless the learner is ready to shed her ego and embrace them with 'open mind'. In fact one reason of them being 'not-easy' is the basic steps in installing the process that revolves around 'learning by practising rather than preaching'. Another reason is the tendency to discard it saying "it's pure commonsense".

If one practises it in it's true spirit it does enhance all the three quotients (IQ-EQ-SQ) holistically, irrespective of educational background of an individual.

Faster this realisation dawns among parents and teachers in particular, as also leaders and decision makers in power be in society, at workplace, or at national level, faster shall be the progress of such individuals themselves, institutes and nations.

Otherwise more and more 'human robots' will keep getting 'made' who shall keep venturing into rat-race of producing and consuming more and more 'material wants', vying for quick-results (and getting depressed in absence of that or in case of adversities) inviting imbalanced health of body, mind and spirit for themselves and for others, endangering that of the planet itself.

(P.S. Please do value-add hereunder with your experiences, questions, suggestions and comments, if any, in this regard.)

Also read a few relevant blogposts hereunder: Please do consider leaving a comment or sharing this post.

Taken-For-Granted ? You Deserve It !! 
Strategise To Achieve Targets Daily 
Does recognition really matter 
IQ-EQ-or-SQ: What-is-more-important?
Do you know a Best-Career-Plan 
Take your career in fast lane! 
Succession-Plans In Fast Lane!  
Treat Root-causes, Not Symptoms ! 
Nauseous Communication Gaps 
Do You Cleanup-After-Crisis 
Raam or Krishna-Shyam: Tell me Hey Raam! 
Will It Work Here?  
Some Moron ! Some Great !!!   
That's How Morons Work
You seem Reasonable if you appear Un-reasonable 
Smart-Moron Who Breaks Your Glass  
WOW Work-Culture: By Telling or Selling 
Suggestions On-Sale, None-To-Buy 
Can-changing-thoughts-change-a-nation
Ridiculous Poison-culture versus Maverick Kaizen-culture 
Tolerate Once, Twice, Thrice? 
Make checklists your friends  
Make It Simpler, Rest Will Follow 
How To Make A Difference 
Big-Be Or Bug-Be ! 
A customer gets what s/he deserves: Shoddy Quality! 
Listen to iceberg of VOC to acquire customers

Happy Good(i)-Day

That's how I ended my reply to the SMSes received today. 

Today is NOT one of those typical Good(i)-Days, rather it is one of the most auspicious Gud(i)-Days titled 'Gudi-Padava' in Indian (Hindu) calender.

For spiritually advanced, it may be JUST one of those Good-days because for them every-day is a Good-Day. That's how it should be actually. (Not true for me yet).

One of the SMSes that I received was a picture that 'spoke' a lot. Houses (mostly in western Maharashtra  sport something like in the picture.

My reply to picture-SMS in anticipation of brick-bats for being amateur-istic poetic was: 

"WOW Loveable..
I was Casual...until I saw the Visual..
Now a little more Knowledge-able..
Need blessings to be Learn-able..
Happy Good(i)-Day... "

Actually, most Indian festivals like in other parts of the world try to communicate something Good-and-Right. May be 'these' festivals are those 'Special-Days' in order to re-mind 'Materialistic-Us' to be mind-ful of the forgotten 'Spiritual-Us'.

Our 'senses' are the entry-gates to our Knowledge-building and 'eyes' are one of the most effective-&-efficient ones at that. That's why there exist symbolic-festivals with symbolic-visuals like in picture above. Purpose is to make us Knowledge-able and to some extent Do-able i.e. making us 'Able' to practise the know-ledge that is left on-the-ledge on previous Festival-Day.

Unfortunately 'Materialistic-Us' do not take us beyond making us Knowledge-able ones. The real challenge is to practise the know-ledge on-the-ledge. 

'Spiritual-Selves' practise it everyday. That's why they are (a step ahead of the Knowledge-ables) known as the Learned-ones: the Saints. 

The Learned 'Do' the 'Good and Right' that others claim to 'Know'. The Learned 'practise' it every-time when needed. 

God, somehow on festival day I try to be Knowledge-able.
But I badly need your blessings to be Learn-able.