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Eternal and Exquisite- Ghalib and his Glorious Verse

Posted on by Penguin India

Fluid like the poetry the world loves him for, the inimitable Mirza Ghalib was anchored only in his craft. Reflecting the truth of his time, his words stand testimony to the turbulent world he inhabited. Despite the chaos of his own life, Ghalib’s poetry burnt bright like a flame within him. His verses were rich with philosophical insights and spiritualism even as they were a comment on the politics of the time.

‘Ghalib could write the most playful verses about mangoes and the most opaque poems about the nature of existence. Arguably, the Ghalib era symbolized the peak of Urdu sukhan, its literary expression.’ writes Raza Mir in his perceptive account of Ghalib’s life and work in Ghalib- A Thousand Desires.

Here are 7 verses by Ghalib that have stood the test of time

On Poetry

Revered all over for his exceptional turn of phrase, Mirza Ghalib was seen as the epitome of poetic skill. In a verse that may seem boastful, he takes the adulation rained on him and makes it his own-

HaiN aur bhi duniya meiN sukhanwar bahut achhe

Kahte haiN ke Ghalib ka hai andaaz-e bayaaN aur

There are many others in the world, poets truly great

  Rumour has it though, Ghalib’s turn of phrase stands separate!

On Longing

Shadowed by adversity his whole life, Ghalib struggled to live the way he felt a poet of his stature deserved. In this verse he wonders about desires that remain unfulfilled-

HazaaroN khwaahisheN aisi ke har khwaahish pe dam nikle,

Bahut nikle mere armaan, lekin phir bhi kam nikle

Thousands of desires, and each one worth dying for

Many of my desires were fulfilled, but yet, I feel unrequited

On Love

As was customary at the time, Ghalib wrote on romance and the cruelty of forced separation from a lover-

Ji dhoondta hai phir vahi fursat ke raat din

Baithe raheN tasavvur-e jaanaaN kiye hue

The mind harks back to those days and nights of leisure

That were spent lost in thoughts of my love, with pleasure

On Illusion

Critical of the illusion of afterlife created by ritual-driven religion, Ghalib- a self-proclaimed Sufi- questions the idea of paradise-

Hum ko maaloom hai jannat ki haqeeqat lekin

Dil ke khush rakhne ko Ghalib ye khayaal achchha hai

We know the reality of paradise

Ghalib, let’s admit, these are comforting lies

On God

The tumultuous period of history that Ghalib lived through raised existential questions. Bemoaning the limits of human agency when faced with the unrelenting boundaries of fate, he wrote-

Na tha kuch to khuda tha kuch na hota to khuda hota

Duboya mujh ko hone ne na hota maiN to kya hota

When there was nothing, there was god

Had there been nothing, god would be

The act of being was my undoing

What would have been had there been no me?

On the Beloved

At a grand mushaira in a haveli, among illustrious poets of the time, Ghalib presented a ghazal on the beauty of a beloved’s curl of hair which brought him euphoric praise from the gathering

Aah ko chaahiye ek umr asar hone tak

Kaun jeeta hai teri zulf ke sar hone tak

For a sigh to be heard sometimes takes an age

Who survives while you with your stray curls engage?

On Preachers

Ghalib eagerly embraced the idea of equality and unity that could bring all religions on an equal footing. His disdain for religious orthodoxy is reflected in the scathing sarcasm directed at the clergy-

KahaaN maikhaane ka darwaaza Ghalib aur kahaaN waaiz

Par itna jaante hain, kal vo jaata tha ke hum nikle

Where the tavern door, and where the preacher, Ghalib?

But all I know is this; he was entering as I left

Ghalib’s verses are layered with meaning, each with its own story to tell. Pointing out a common misconception, Raza Mir writes, ‘A ghazal is not a slave to amatory sentiment; it can and often does break free of the shackles.’ Ghalib’s poetry brings together his experiences to make a symphony which enriches the song of this beloved bard.

For more about Ghalib, read Ghalib- A Thousand Desires.

 

 

 

Milind Soman Sashays Down Memory Lane in ‘Made In India’

Posted on by Penguin India

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of ‘Made in India’, the breakout pop music video of the 1990s that made him the nation’s darling across genders and generations, Milind Soman talks about his fascinating life-controversies, relationships, the breaking of vicious habits like smoking, alcohol, rage, and more-in a freewheeling, bare-all memoir titled Made In India.

Looking through the prism of hope and positivity, Milind Soman shares his perspective on life, ‘All we can do is stay curious and treat each new day as a great new adventure, packed with the promise of new experiences that may not always be pleasant but are certainly not to be feared.’

Here is a glimpse of his time with another supermodel who conquered the world of fashion:

—

But her podium finish at Miss Universe wasn’t the only reason Madhu Sapre made such a huge ripple in the popular consciousness or left such a lasting impression on it. In fact, it was her conscious and unconscious flouting of all kinds of norms, both societal and institutional, that made her a hero. Her unconventional looks—Madhu was too tall, too dark-skinned, too slim and too angular to fit the traditional Indian ideal of feminine beauty— did not deter her, for instance, from participating in a beauty contest (the Femina Miss India pageant). When she won it, she changed the country’s perception—and the perception of legions of dark-skinned girls like herself—of beauty itself.

When she scored an almost-perfect 9.9 out of 10 in the swimsuit round at Miss Universe, the highest ever by an Indian contestant, organizers of the Miss India pageant took note, and included a swimsuit round (horror of horrors— Indian girls baring so much skin!) in the Indian edition. Two years later, this addition, along with several other suggestions made by Madhu after her Miss Universe experience, would see two better-prepared Indian contestants—Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai—clinch both the Miss Universe and Miss World crowns in a landmark outing.

And then, of course, there was her (in)famous response to the final question at the Miss Universe pageant. Unlike most other female models of the time, Madhu had built her statuesque, perfectly toned body on the sports field— she had been a national-level volleyball player before she began to model. And therefore, when she was asked, in the pageant’s title-decider round, ‘What would you do for your country if you were prime minister?’, she answered, unhesitatingly and truthfully, that she would build a world-class sports complex, so that other girls would not have to suffer like she had from having to use inferior sporting facilities. That politically incorrect ‘gaffe’ (the ‘correct’ answer would have been something far more noble-sounding—and completely infeasible—like ‘I will do my best to eradicate poverty’) not only cost her the crown but also brought the whole country’s disdain upon her for being such a clueless hick. But Madhu was unfazed; today, her conviction about what the country really needed is borne out by an entire generation of world-beating Indian sportswomen who have had access to precisely such first-class facilities. Right.

All this elaborate scene-setting was simply to establish that Madhu was already a national celebrity by the time I met her later the same year. People think that we were drawn to each other because of our backgrounds—we were both from Bombay, both Maharashtrian, both sportspeople. The truth is that I fell in love with Madhu Sapre simply because she was such a sweet, unspoilt person, so comfortable in her own skin. Within the fashion fraternity, she was even more of an outlier than I was, in one key aspect—English was not her strong suit; when she did speak it, it was with a thick Marathi accent. In India, and within a certain set, that kind of handicap can be severely debilitating to one’s selfesteem. But even that did not come in the way of the goals Madhu set for herself and, with her strong work ethic and unwavering focus, achieved.

By the time we met, the media had already followed, tracked and love-hated the two of us as individuals. When we became a couple, we were pitched into a whole new orbit of media gaga. Madhu–Milind, in short, spelt Magic.

‘Keep your body in top condition as a matter of course, and you free your mind up to go after what it really wants.’ writes avid sportsman and fitness enthusiast Milind Soman who has lived life on his own terms. Co-authored with bestselling author Roopa Pai, Made In India is an unapologetic recollection of the people and incidents that shaped his life.

6 Things you Learn about Sikh Hymns from ‘Hymns of the Sikh Gurus’

Posted on by Penguin India

The vision of Guru Nanak, the fifteenth-century founder of the Sikh faith, celebrated the oneness of the Divine that both dwells within and transcends the endless diversity of life. Guru Nanak’s immaculate vision inspired the rich and inclusive philosophy of Sikhism, which is reflected in this exquisite and highly acclaimed translation of poems,Hymns of the Sikh Gurus, from the religion’s most sacred texts: the Guru Granth Sahib, the principal sacred text of the Sikh religion, which consists of poems and hymns by Guru Nanak, his successors and Hindu and Islamic saints; and the Dasam Granth, a collection of devotional verses composed by the tenth Sikh Guru.

Here are 6 things you learn about Sikh hymns from this book:

 

JAP, respectfully known as Japji, was composed by Guru Nanak. It is the first prayer in the Guru Granth, and encapsulates the fundamental philosophical and ethical beliefs of the Sikhs.

 *

SHABAD HAZARE, literally ‘Thousand Words’, is recited in the morning, along with the Jap. It is a combination of poetic pieces from different Gurus in different rags or melodic frameworks, which are therefore found in different sections of the Guru Granth.

*

JAAP (with a long a) is a poetic offering to the Ultimate Reality. It is the obeisance to the Transcendent One by the Tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh, and is from the Dasam Granth (Book of the Tenth Guru).

*

SAVAYYE means quatrains. The ten Savayye that have been included in the Sikhs’ morning prayers are from Guru Gobind Singh’s Dasam Granth. They underscore devotion as the essence of religion.

*

RAHIRAS is part of the evening service. It consists of hymns by Guru Nanak (including, with a slight variation, stanza 27, Sodar, from the Jap), Guru Ram Das and Guru Arjan.

*

ARDAS (‘Petition’) is the basic prayer of the Sikhs which evolved as an anonymous composition within the community of the eighteenth century. It is recited while standing up.


Poetry from this highly revered texts is heard daily and at rites of passage and celebration in Sikh homes and gurudwaras, carrying forward the Sikh belief in the oneness and equality of all humanity.Read Hymns of the Sikh Gurus to know more about these.

Here are 5 Things ‘My Value Collection’ offers

Posted on by Penguin India

Nicky and Noni are just like you. They’re funny, they’re crazy-and like you, they love to have fun. But sometimes, just sometimes, they can be very naughty. That’s when they get into trouble.

Author Sonia Mehta’s series of books for children — My Book of Values, is all you need to make a preachy value education lesson fun for your child!

 

Here are 5 reasons why My Value Collection should be on your child’s reading list:

 

Like any kid, Nicky and Noni love to engage in fun. But as kids, they get into trouble too. Nicky and Noni know how to make learning good values cool.

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Each book is packed with a fun story and lots of activities like memory games,mazes and songs!

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Today’s child isn’t up to lectures and threats. This is the purpose of this series. It helps your child build a strong value system—all through relatable stories and fun activities.

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Each book in the series focuses on a specific set of values and lessons like loyalty,forgiveness, good manners,helping others, valuing money and valuing time to name a few.

~

These books encourage the development of emotional intelligence in children at a young age.

Flip open Sonia Mehta’s My Value Collection and jump right into Nicky and Noni’s world!

 

Uncovering the secret history of the Constitution of India

Posted on by Penguin India

Although Dr Ambedkar is universally regarded as the chief architect of the Constitution, the specifics of his role as chairman of the Drafting Committee are not widely discussed. Totally neglected is his almost single-handed authorship of the Constitution’s Preamble, which is frequently and mistakenly attributed to B.N. Rau rather than to Ambedkar.

With Ambedkar’s Preamble, Aakash Singh Rathore sets out to establish how and why the Preamble to the Constitution of India is essentially an Ambedkarite preamble. It is clear that its central concepts come from Ambedkar’s writings and speeches. In doing so, the book spotlights fundamental facts about modern Indian history – which makes this a highly relevant read today.

The excerpt below gives us a glimpse into Ambedkar’s role within the Drafting Committee:
 

Justice: The Story of B.R. Ambedkar

On 21 February 1948, Dr Ambedkar, in his capacity as chairman of the Drafting Committee, was ready to submit the first draft Constitution that had been prepared over the forty-two sittings. The meetings began on 27 October 1947, the first since the one on 30 August when Dr Ambedkar had been elected chairman. He sent it to the president of the Constituent Assembly, Rajendra Prasad, who had it widely published on 26 February, so that interested members of the public could consider it. The draft was also sent to all members of the Constituent Assembly, asking them to submit their views by 22 March 1948. A number of amendments were suggested, some specific to the Preamble, but not one of them was about the concept of justice.

Front Cover of Ambedkar's Preamble
Ambedkar’s Preamble || Aakash Singh Rathore

The Drafting Committee reconvened on 23, 24 and 27 March 1948 to evaluate the many comments and suggested amendments they had received. Since the committee had introduced both phraseology and substance that seemed to depart from the Constituent Assembly’s earlier decisions, president Prasad decided to assemble a high-powered Special Committee to look carefully into the matters in question—the draft Constitution, the numerous amendments suggested, the Drafting Committee’s opinions on them, and so on. The Special Committee was chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru and consisted of the who’s who of the Constituent Assembly. It included members of the Drafting Committee, of course, but also principal members of the Union Constitution Committee, as well as the Provincial Constitution Committee. Meeting on 10 and 11 April 1948, many of the names who subsequently enlivened the CAD included Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramayya, Khushal Talaksi Shah, Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani, Kanaiyalal Maneklal Munshi, Thakur Das Bhargava, and, of course, B.R. Ambedkar, who never missed a Drafting Committee or related meeting. Also present was Naziruddin Ahmad, whose suspicion that the Drafting Committee was prone to taking ‘secret’ and unilateral decisions was now beginning to crystalize.

The minutes of the Special Committee meeting on 10 April 1948 were unusually curious. They began: The committee considered the matters referred to in the letter of the Chairman of the Drafting Committee to the President of the Constituent Assembly of India, dated the 21st February 1948. Preamble: The consideration of the amendments to the Preamble was held over and it was decided that the final settlement of the Preamble should be left to the decision of the Constituent Assembly.

This was unusual because the entire reason behind assembling the Special Committee was to try and scrutinize the changes that the Drafting Committee had introduced to the draft Constitution, one of the most crucial being the unanimously adopted Objectives Resolution. As we shall soon discover, one of the earliest points in Dr Ambedkar’s letter to the president of the Constituent Assembly was to do with the unilateral changes introduced by the Drafting Committee into the Preamble. It appears that Nehru was true to his word and that he ensured—rather to the displeasure of Naziruddin Ahmad—that the Drafting Committee was given the latitude to adapt the Objectives Resolution to the changing times.

A narrative like Ambedkar’s Preamble is crucial for our times today – especially in helping us develop new and important insights into the most important document for our country.  

Who is Sir Salar Jung I? Meet ‘The Magnificent Diwan’

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The Magnificent Diwan’s author, Bhakhtiar K Dadabhoy’s ode to the spectacular Diwan of Hyderabad, Sir Salar Jung  I. He was eloquent about Salar Jung’s ideals, diplomacy and westernized governance in Hyderabad. He gives the reader a before and after account of the state of affairs in Hyderabad, during his rule.

Get a glimpse into Sir Salar Jung I’s life-

    • Salar Jung I exercised commanding influence over the destiny of Hyderabad, for a generation. A man with a broad and enlightened mind and a strong will, he applied his  energies to the improvement of Hyderabad and the amelioration of the condition of its people.

 

    • His long and illustrious career was also distinguished by his efforts to promote friendly relations between the nizam and the British government. The unexampled prosperity of Hyderabad since it fell under the administration of Salar Jung was a subject of much comment.

 

    • He was by far the most distinguished representative of his family. Salar Jung I had an enviable command of English and an intimate acquaintance with English ideas and with Western statesmanship. He did much to bring together the European and the Oriental in friendly social intercourse.

 

    • Salar devoted his life to making Hyderabad a model state and lived long enough to see it prosper. The idea of an organized system of government in Hyderabad owed its birth to the vision of Salar Jung I. He reduced Hyderabad to order and settled government, restored its prosperity and developed its resources to such an extent that the nizam’s dominions were as orderly as any other part of India.

 

    • Jung was a vision and an inspiration for native princes. The native princes, inspired by Salar Jung I’s example, showed themselves ready to promote the well-being of their subjects and foster prosperity so as to make their states no different from British-administered province.

 

  • Salar’s strong individuality, firmness and caution gave him an ascendancy in Hyderabad which no previous diwan had attained. In spite of opposition of a capricious nizam, Afzal-Ud-Daula, Jung never left- a fact which makes his administrative reforms still more remarkable. 

To read more about Jung, his life and how he tremendously transformed the state of Hyderabad, read The Magnificent Diwan as he is reintroduced by Bakhtiar K. Dadabhoy to a new generation.

The Doctor Who Didn’t Give Up- Dr. B.S. Ajaikumar

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Do you only dream of achieving success one day or are you working towards achieving it? It is imperative to realize that success, which is in the uncertain future, is but a sum of our efforts in the present. Enthralling personal life experiences shared by ‘Doctorpreneur’ Dr B.S. Ajaikumar, in his book, Excellence Has No Borders make you realize that hard work, tenacity and self-confidence can go a long way in attaining the unimaginable.

Read to know more about this doctorpreneur:

 Ajaikumar faced many challenges in his childhood and his adult life. In hindsight, the former built him up for the latter. Growing up in the shadows of his superachiever elder brother, Ajaikumar, had learnt to work for his parents’ attention and affection.

*

His upbringing being relatively different from his brother’s seems to have given rise to insecurities within him. This feeling drove him to study hard as he was determined to do well and emerge from the shadow of his older brother. His success in doing so gave rise to him becoming accustomed to taking on challenges with gusto: If something wasn’t a challenge, it wasn’t worth the time or the effort.

*

Losing twenty million dollars in the dot-com bust pushed him into misery. It led him to almost end his life. What saved him was a singularly assertive thought that he was a fighter and he loved challenges. He was confident that he would do whatever it takes to build himself up from ground zero after the dot-com bust.

*

Poor condition of the Indian hospitals and Ajaikumar’s determination to achieve what he put his mind to, pushed him to travel across India and study the cancer situation. He considered this trip as a turning point in his life as he decided to give up the American dream that he’d built for himself and return to his motherland.

*

As an established oncologist, he considered it his moral duty to return to serve his people and help them live a healthy life.

To read more about Ajaikumar’s life experiences and his takeaways from them, read, Excellence Has No Borders. Tell us if it inspired you as much as it inspired us!

Naveen Chourey on Poetry, His Engineering Background and His New Book

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Bold, sharp and amazingly relevant, Naveen Chourey’s impassioned poetry-on mob lynching, Kashmir and the plight of out soldiers among others-will force you to think afresh on nationalism, patriotism and the state of our country.
Naveen’s youthful idealism, vision for an egalitarian world and progressive thoughts make Kohra Ghana Hai one of the most courageous works of our times.

Read on to know more about Naveen:

1. What drew you towards poetry?

It is hard to pin one event that drew me toward poetry. I moved towards it gradually and did not realize how much hold it had over me, till I was in too deep. But a few poets that played a significant role in pushing me towards it are Jagjeet Singh ji and Nukkad Natak.

2. Has your engineering background helped your artistic craft?

Yes, it’s helped me a lot! For me, engineering helped me find patterns in life. I think I can craft my poems with a fresh perspective due to my engineering background.

3. What does mukammal mean to you?

For me, Mukammal is the concept of an ideal human being. Something that I am walking and moving towards everyday. I wish to be that person before I die.

4. Which poem is the closest to your heart?

There are many. Bachchan Sahab’s ‘Us paar na Jaane kya hoga’, Javed Sahab’s ‘Waqt’ and ‘MahisasurMardini’ by Aadi Shankaracharya are few that come to mind.

From my own compositions, I enjoy performing the poem ‘Aham Brahmosmi’ ‘Pinjara’ and ‘Main, Wo aur Main’.

5. Why ‘Kohra Ghana Hai’?

When there is unrest, everything becomes confusing. Like the dense fog, you can see but can not make anything out of it. I felt this book will help people see through the dense fog of unrest and show people what is happening in our society.

Are you ready to go on this journey with Naveen and see through this fog with Kohra Ghana Hai?

The Four Paws of Spiritual Success

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When the Dalai Lama’s inner circle is set the task of providing His Holiness with a book that he can give his visitors, an unexpected volunteer stretches out her paws. The Dalai Lama’s Cat and The Four Paws of Spiritual Success summarises the four key elements of Tibetan Buddhism and, more importantly, communicates how it feels to be in the profoundly reassuring presence of His Holiness. And who better to do this than his much-loved feline?

Read on to know about what these four paws:

First Paw:
Without suffering there was no motivation to seek transcendence.

Our thoughts are like claws. They can be helpful when we turn our mind to things. Develop ideas. Set goals. Express emotions. But if we aren’t careful, these same thoughts can turn on us and become the sources of our greatest pain. They no longer help us take purposeful action, but instead become the cause of self- inflicted misery.

Second Paw:
Compassion has a calming effect on all those that it touched.

‘I am pleased she is offering love and compassion,’ the Dalai Lama continued. ‘Motivated by bodhicitta, this is one of the most important elements of our practice, is it not?’

Third Paw:
Wisdom eliminated the darkness of ignorance.

‘Wisdom is different. It involves the transmission of insights that have the capacity to change us.Only when we understand an insight deeply enough can it create change.At that point, knowledge becomes wisdom.’

Fourth Paw:
Everyone has the capacity for enlightenment.

 ‘Just to be born human is exceptional.’

 

If you have ever sought a summary of Tibetan Buddhist wisdom, albeit, from an unusual and whiskery source, The Dalai Lama’s Cat and the Four Paws of Spiritual Success is just the book to get you purring!

7 Lines that Prove that True Love Never Dies

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In Find Me, Aciman shows us Elio’s father, Samuel, on a trip from Florence to Rome to visit Elio, now a gifted classical pianist. A chance encounter on the train upends Sami’s visit and changes his life forever.
Elio soon moves to Paris, where he, too, has a consequential affair, while Oliver, a New England college professor with a family, suddenly finds himself contemplating a return trip across the Atlantic.

Find Me brings us back inside the world of one of our greatest contemporary romances to show us that in fact true love never dies.

Read a few beautiful lines from the book:

 

I’m listening.
And you know, you do know I’ve been floundering all these years.
I know. But so have I.
What lovely music you used to play for me.
I wanted to.
So you haven’t forgotten.
Of course I haven’t

*

We’re still the same, we haven’t drifted. This is how he always spoke to me in such moments, We’re still the same, we haven’t drifted —with a jeering languor inflecting each of his features…I try to remind him each time that he has no reason to forgive me. But he utters an impish laugh…

*

She reminded me of someone who storms into your life…only to remind you, once she’s added flowers to a vase that’s been standing empty for ever so long that, in case you were still struggling to downplay her presence, you wouldn’t dare ask for more than a week, a day, an hour of this. How close had I come to someone so real, I thought.

*

“I don’t want to stop knowing you. So there’s the long and the short of it.”

*

“Everything I have is yours. Not much, I know,” she said.

*

“But you didn’t know you’d meet me.”
“A meaningless detail. Fate works forward, backward, and crisscrosses sideways and couldn’t care less how we scan its purposes with our rickety little befores and afters.”

*

You fool, it takes two of them to make one of me. I can be a man and woman, or both, because you’ve been both to me. Find me, Oliver. Find me.

 

Fans of Call Me By Your Name, it’s time to get excited for Find Me, Aciman’s newest novel that revisits the world of one of our greatest contemporary romances.

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