Recently I was reading Big B’s blog. And this was my reply to him:

Dear Big B,

I can’t agree more! You very emphatically drive home the point that we must restore/preserve/archive the heritage of our glorious Indian cinema. It indeed cuts a sorry figure at the world diaspora. You do genuinely feel sad about it.
BUT i have a stern objection; especially with powerful, able and resourceful people like you, SRK, Kareena Kapoor etc.

I have absolutely no problem with your sky-rocketing remunerations. Acting is no kid’s business. It demands some hurculean efforts and dedication but ideally you people long ago should have assumed this responsibility upon your shoulders. With adequate ammunitions, power, resources and good intentions, this ever-gaping void could well have been filled by now.

The beaurocrats/corporates have chosen not to be clairvoyant for this particular mission. Everybody wants to count their chickens before they hatch. That’s where you people come into picture.

Some efforts however have indeed been made in this direction but they are not robust enough. I personally know of a person who is immensely passionate about the very cause. No, he’s not running from pillars to post to fecilitate/fund his passion. He’s doing it all alone because he strongly feels for it.

Imagine if the superrich scions of Kapoor khaandaan of our film industry could restore RK studio, erect an RK film museum where all the films under RK banner could be safely restored, with a new lease of life in digitalised format. Imagine  if they could restore Prithviraj and Raj Kapoor’s interview tapes, manuscripts of the classic RK banner films, invaluable trivia, memorable film props which became immortal in the hearts of millions, etc.

It’s an apalling truth that before ‘a lot to be done’, there is ‘a lot left to be initiated’ and our indian film fraternity itself must initiate, for it’s they who would feel the pinch years later when they would have fruit tree that has no roots.

Tons of productivity

In this age of digital communication, we’re busier than ever. And yet, in all of our sound and fury, we seem to have no time for focus, for what’s important, for thinking.

To find this focus, we will need to completely rethink the need for productivity.

Think of our culture’s obsession with productivity: with the need for “hard work” and working long hours to get things done, with the need to be busy busy busy all the time, with the need to make lists and check them off, with the need to juggle countless projects and make more revenue and accomplish more and more. But for what? What’s the point of all this obsession? It leads to burnout, stress, anxiety, unhappiness, greed, confusion, and no time for family, friends, and yourself.

What would happen if we threw all that out the door? What if we said, “I want to get important things done, but the rest can go to hell.”? Let’s create a new creed: Simplicity, purpose, focus, silence, and joy. Let’s make beautiful and useful things, and love doing it.

With this “new” conception of productivity (which is actually as old as work itself), we can adopt some new principles. The principles I propose are inspired by Taoism, a philosophy that has deeply informed my life. I am not a Taoist, nor an expert at it, and many of the things I’ll write below are not exactly in line with it.

Be Content

Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.
~Lao Tzu

This is the foundation of the Tao of Productivity: the old version of productivity was founded in the desire for more, to be greater, to accomplish more. But instead, let go of this desire, and realize you already have enough.

If you realize that you have enough,
you are truly rich.

If you’re already rich, do you need to make more money? Do you need to do more and more?

If you’re content, you do because it gives you joy, not because of a desire for more.

When there is no desire,
all things are at peace.

Master Non-Action

The gentlest thing in the world
overcomes the hardest thing in the world.
That which has no substance
enters where there is no space.
This shows the value of non-action.

Teaching without words,
performing without actions:
that is the Master’s way.

This will be the hardest principle to master, I believe, because our old obsession with productivity was an obsession with doing. It helps me to think of nature: it does nothing, it doesn’t hurry, and yet everything gets done.

Why does everything get done in nature? Because:

1. There is nothing that truly needs to get done — whatever happens is good.
2. What happens is a result of the actual nature of things — they will do what they do because of what they are.

Think of how this applies to your work: can you relinquish what you think “needs” to be done? And can you rethink things so that things happen because of what they are, not because you force them to happen? It’s not an easy task, but it can happen if you keep an open mind and contemplate “needs” and the nature of things.

The Master allows things to happen.
She shapes events as they come.
She steps out of the way
and lets the Tao speak for itself.

Relinquish Control

The Master sees things as they are,
without trying to control them.
She lets them go their own way,
and resides at the center of the circle.

This is another difficult change: to let go of our need for control. We try to control our environment, control our behaviors, control our minds, control other people, control outcomes. And yet, it’s all an illusion: we have no control over what happens. Things go wrong all the time, plans fail, we fail, and we feel like failures because of it. Because we thought we could control something, and it didn’t happen.

Controlling other people is a huge source of conflict. Stop trying to control employees, co-workers, bosses, team members, loved ones. Let them do what they want, and work with you how they will.

So how do you work without control? It takes time to learn this, but the idea is to let things happen, and act (or not act) within the flow of those events. Let people do as they please, and find calm amid this swirl of activity and people.

The Master allows things to happen.
She shapes events as they come.
She steps out of the way
and lets the Tao speak for itself.

Stop Planning

Other people have a purpose;
I alone don’t know.
I drift like a wave on the ocean,
I blow as aimless as the wind.

This goes hand-in-hand with letting go of control. Stop planning, stop trying to control how things will go and what the outcomes will be. Life never goes according to plan, so why stress yourself out worrying about the future and then worrying about the past when plans get disrupted?

Live in the moment, with no fixed outcome in mind. Let things happen, and be content with what happens. Do work, of course, but do it because it gives you joy.

My system for doing this: The One Thing System.

Because he has no goal in mind,
everything he does succeeds.

Let Go of Success & the Need for Approval

Success is as dangerous as failure.
Hope is as hollow as fear.

What does it mean that success is a dangerous as failure?
Whether you go up the ladder or down it,
you position is shaky.
When you stand with your two feet on the ground,
you will always keep your balance.

Success is something that’s ingrained in our culture, and almost every moment of our childhoods and schooling are geared towards success. But it’s a hollow concept. Who defines success? Why is it so important? What happens when we don’t achieve it? And what happens when we do, and still want more, or realize it wasn’t worth all the effort, and that we’ve wasted our lives?

Keep your feet on the ground. Find balance, and contentment. Forget about “success”.

The Master does his job
and then stops.
He understands that the universe
is forever out of control,
and that trying to dominate events
goes against the current of the Tao.
Because he believes in himself,
he doesn’t try to convince others.
Because he is content with himself,
he doesn’t need others’ approval.
Because he accepts himself,
the whole world accepts him.

That quote says it all really. I have nothing to add. Give up the need for approval, and the need for “productivity” fades away.

Do Your Work, & Step Back

Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people’s approval
and you will be their prisoner.

Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.

This is a lesson we have a hard time learning. We do our work, and then need to do more, and more. Instead, step back. You will thank me for it.

Connect with life!

The world is seemingly moving at a faster pace. Everywhere you turn, the pace is quick. Deadlines are moved up, workload is increased, kid’s schedules are packed, to-do lists are long, housework never ends – it’s chaos.

At least it feels this way.

Has the world really sped up? Are there more things happening today than 50 years ago? No, and no.

Some things around us may involve more pressure and feel like it’s moving faster, but many times it only feels this way. Thanks to the Internet and cable we hear about everything that happens, immediately.

Our interconnectedness through technology has helped create the illusion of a faster paced world. It’s also created the illusion of less loneliness and isolation – but there’s nothing that can replace real life connections with other people. Physical contact and interaction is vital.

This loss of contact and the perceived pace of the world produces a feeling of chronic anxiousness and a decrease in the ability to find pleasure in some of the simple things.

Honestly, when was the last time you stopped and took in the smell of fresh baked bread? Or colored with crayons? Or walked barefoot in the grass? Or took a few minutes to just breathe?

No where is the impact of our pace felt more than in marriage and family. It’s extremely difficult to move hurriedly through your day and then slow down enough to enjoy your family or your spouse in the evening.

Some of the reasons marriage and family relationships go through sour patches is the squeezing they get from our schedules, disconnection, and pace. It’s easy to get caught up in other things and have the immediate outweigh the important.

To reverse this, here’s a few ideas to try:

Start small.
No change in life is easy or comfortable. Working to let go of the pace around you and creating your own speed takes time and should be attempted in small, incremental steps. Begin by giving yourself permission to slow down. This may seem like a no brainer, but many people believe they don’t have permission to slow down. You do. Whenever life seems to move too fast, take a deep breathe. Three to five slow, deep breaths will slow everything down.

Leave the office.
And I mean leave the office. Shut off all projects, messages, emails, phone calls and conversations and leave the office at the end of the day. Most everything can wait until the next day, so leave it alone until then. As an added help, create a routine to help you disengage from the office on the way home. Walk down the stairs slowly rather than taking the elevator. Drive down tree lined streets rather than the interstate. Walk or bike home from work if possible. Listen to good music while on the train or bus. Stop by the gym for a workout. No matter which way you transition from work to home, make it intentional. Breathe. Relax. Breathe. Let work go. Then walk through the door to your home and enjoy time with those you love.

Turn off all electronic gadgets.
This one is simple. Turn off the phone. The Internet. The television. Spend time talking, playing games, take a walk outside. The point is, unplug and connect with other humans.

Be 100% present.
This is tough at times. But it also is a source of increased tension in life. When I’m with my kids and have other things on my mind, my kids become a pest and source of frustration – at least that’s the way it plays out. When I’ve got work on my mind, my son’s request to play cars is an annoyance rather than an invitation into the world of imaginative play with my child. Whatever you are doing, focus on being 100% present. Multitasking is impossible anyway. Focus on doing one thing at a time and being 100% present while doing it.

Take a walk.
Make it a priority to walk with your spouse and your kids each day. There’s tremendous benefit to being out in nature, even if it’s nature in the city. Want a sure-fire way to improve your marriage? Walk and talk with your spouse at least 30 minutes a day.

Eat outside.
There’s something great about being in nature. There’s something even greater about sharing a meal with others outside. Head to the park for a picnic, eat on the patio at home or restaurants.

Prepare for your day.
Spend a moment at the end of your day preparing for the next day. Pick out clothes, make lunches, talk with your spouse. Then in the morning, before you jump into your day, take some time a simply sit quietly. Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee. Breathe slowly, meditate, pray. What a great way to start each day.

Stop being busy!

“Doing nothing is better than being busy doing nothing.” ~Lao Tzu

Stop being busy and your job is half done.

Think about how busy we are, and how it has become a way of bragging: I’m so busy, I must be important.

“I have a million things to do! I never have time for anything! I can’t slow down — I’m too busy.” This is thought to be a good thing in a society where we must be productive, active, occupied.

But it’s a fool’s game. Busy is simply noise, action without meaning, lots of little unimportant things rather than a few important ones.

Stop being busy. Just decide to stop, today.

Now you’re halfway done. You’ve decided to slow down, and to focus on what’s important. All of a sudden, your schedule clears up, and your to-to list shrinks down to almost nothing.

Now you just have one or two things to do, instead of a million. You clear distractions, and focus.

But how can you stop being busy? It’s a simple change of mindset: you say, I’m not going to be busy anymore. Even if you have little control over your schedule, you can decide that you’ll slow down, and pick the important things to work on, and if necessary, talk to your boss about doing this. If you control your schedule, you can drop all the busywork, and just pick the high-impact tasks.

It might seem impossible, but once you decide to put an End to Busy, you have taken the biggest step.

You can now make time for work you’re passionate about, for work that matters. You can make time for solitude, for creating. You can make time for contemplation, for yourself.

Stop being busy, and your job is half done.

“Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.” ~Jane Austen

Visaal-e-waqt

“Visaal-e-waqt mein, tangi-e-vusuat par hoon pareeshaan.

Jo hogi na zamee, tab mere kadmon taley.” 

“Unka naadaan sa woh sawaal ki aapko humse kaam hai kya.

Ab kya doon unko jawaab, khada hoon sar maley.”

“Aatish-e-bewafayi ka ajab asar dekh.

Ki sholon se pehle, mere kaagazi ehsaas jaley.”

“Kya hoga koi khauffzada, apne husn–tehreer par.

Aks jiska meri aankhon mein, ahsq bankar paley.”

“Honth dabakar kyun has diye, gulaam-e-ishq apna banakar,

Keh dita hota, gar hum aapko itna khaley.”

“Nikalna bepardah tu jannat ki gali se.

Khuda ki neeyat toh saaf ho jaaye pehle.”

Ek nazm – Seeli jugalbandi

Seeli boondon ka kaarobaar karti baarish,

kal raat bhi bada munafa kamaane ki neeyat se mere ghar aayi -

saste daamon mein hamari masroofiyat aur roohani-sukoon khareedne nikli thi woh.

 Uska khayal tha ki hum dareeche par baithe milenge,

Chai ki chuski se honth khushk karte huye

aur aasaani se gal jaayege hum, uske tez chheeton se.

 Barson se baarish ne nam makaan, bheege darakhton aur

geele sheeshon ke siva diya hi kya hai?

Toh socha, chalo aaj baarish se kuchh vasoola jaaye.

 Kissa yeh hua ki tip-tip boondon se jab hum,

tak-taki baandh kar ek rishta sa kaayam kar rahe the,

tabhi ek puraani ghazal ne kaan par dastak di.

Ghazal yaad bhi utni hi thi, jitni bhool gaye the.

 Aankhon se sunte rahe hum, rooh raat bhar galti rahi,

Aur kitaab mein dafan hazaaron lamhe,

apni kaagzi kabra se baahar nikal aaye.

 Udhar baarish apna kaarobaar karti rahi,

idhar hum zung lagi kalam taraashte rahe.

Aur ash-aaron ki jaane kitni kashtiyan,

Kaagaz ke ghaat utaarte rahe.

 Kya khabar thi ki hum, raato-raat yun rayees ho jaayenge,

Ek gumshuda, beshkeemti cheez ka pata paa jaayenge.

 Ek seeli-si jugalbandi chalti rahi raat bhar,

Aur der tak bheegte rahe, hum teeno –

mera maakan, ‘main’ aur khoya hua ‘main’.

Akhir baarish se humne khaasi vasooli kar hi li!

Idiot Idol

Yesterday I was flipping through a book on pschycology. It was fraught with many ‘tough-to-verbalise-difficult-on-tongue-hard-to-understand’ jargons but surprisingly amidst these heavy jargons, a simple four-letter word (a rare commodity in such books) caught my attention. It was – Fear.

In the next few pages, the author flirted with the types of fear, the root of fear, its impact on human mind, etc.

Suddenly the words began to blur and amidst that hazy concoction, I found the face of my old friend called Varun – a docile, suave, honest and sensitive Maharashtrian singer.

In no time, I got transported to the Irani Café at Dadar. It was 10:30 by our watches but the serenity made it look like midnight. I dipped a brun pav into my tea while Varun waited patiently. No, Varun doesn’t drink tea, coffee, alcohol, cold water, aerated water. He religiously stays clear off anything that may even remotely damage his vocal chords.

As I was about to order another tea, Varun casually started humming a song. Even his casual humming sounded so seriously in-tune that any music lover can’t help but ask for more. I for one, was no exception. I requested and he obliged.

As he finished, I instantly exclaimed, “Wow! Awesome! But you are such an idiot yaar!” He gently smiled as he knew where I was coming from. I reiterated, “No, seriously. What a lazy bum you are! You sing so fuckin’ well and you don’t feel like going for Indian Idol auditions next door! You will end up in top 10, easy! Tell me what’s stopping you?”

With a long pregnant pause, he began, “Fear. Fear of getting insulted, my music getting ridiculed, me going into shell, growing under-confident.”

He further explained, “See, even I know that I sing fairly well but what if I fumble? Just look at the Indian Idol judges. Haven’t you seen when an already-nervous singer fumbles or goes out of tune, how stupidly they express their feedbacks. They start monkeying around, making funny faces, adding insult to injury.”

He quoted, “Once a judge declared to the world that if this person ever sings, you should slap him hard or an FIR be lodged against him.” In another incidence, some judge commented after the singer finished, “Guruji, will you do me a huge favour, please never ever sing in your entire life. You are a kaala-dhabba on music.”

Varun picked up his bag to leave but stopped and added, “….And imagine, how painfully embarrassing it is for such people! They would be hiding their faces from millions who watched them on national TV. If these so-called music ustaads don’t like someone’s singing, they have all the rights to reject the contestant but there is always a decent, diplomatic and respectful way of telling a ‘No’.

“But Varun, if everything is so sweet-sweet, the show would be extremely boring yaar”, I reasoned.

“Wait! I am no cynical”, he retorted.

“Even I know that such auditions are meant to be dramatic, funny and supposed to yank up the TRP. In fact, many a time, we get to see some contestants who are the live advertisements of idiocy. They themselves show so much disrespect towards music that if they expect any respect from the judges, they are asking for God-like modesty but I am not talking about them. They come for fun or cheap publicity or to simply meet their favourite judges.”

“I am concerned about the half-decent singers who when fumble, are taken for a ride, that too in the ugliest way. The TV channel is so TRP-hungry that they offer free license to the judges to go ahead with this nonsense and spice up the shows. But the question is at what cost? These show judges have learnt their livelihood from the very field of music and they are insulting it themselves. Isn’t there some other genuine and interesting ways to make the show popular or garner TRP? Am sure there are but being sensitive to anything is fast becoming a sign of idiocy.”

My rapt attention suddenly broke as I heard the loud TV sound. I got up and reached the next room and found my friends watching a fresh episode of Indian Idol auditions. Not surprisingly, it was all about a simple UP guy being taken for a ride. He started crying. The camera zoomed into his eyes, exposing his weakness to the world. Some funny emoticons and a dialogue bubble accentuated his misery. The world laughed at him for good 30 sec. The channel TRP zoomed. The producers felt there hard work paid off. The poor crest-fallen guy picked his bag and went back to Allahabad, swearing to never sing again.

Everything is drama. Insult. Redicule. Mock. Abuse. Bully. Mock fights. Hurt. Create controversary. Expose weaknesses. Strip someone off his most guarded issue in life. Be rude. Be harsh. Be insensitive. Do whatever it takes but make the show bloody dramatic. Because if it’s not dramatic, it’s not ON. And I think music is made of sensitive things, by sensitive people, for sensitive people. Therefore no more insulting auditions for me. I switched off my TV because I fear for music, I am sensitive to music.