The unknown soldier was a song sung by The Doors. A powerful piece I felt at the time when I first heard it, Morrison at the helm lamenting the fallen or unnamed soldiers of his times.
It is true for our times as well, there are wars being fought everywhere in this world at this point of time. For all of us who live in our peaceful surroundings it is these soldiers we have to thank for.
While they do that on the macro level, protecting our sovereignty, we forget to look a little closer. I mean there's huge support and gratitude for the soldiers out their fighting actual physical wars, created because of political/religious/corporate agendas, that affect us on a larger scale. But, there are soldiers right next to us, the kinds we cross paths with every single day, that go unacknowledged. Some of them help us making our lives better like our domestic helps, drivers, office boys, lift men, guards or even the one's that might not touch our lives but are equally important. People who can inspire us, through what they have overcome in their lives, people who might have fallen but got up and moved on, people who have that indomitable energy to brighten up a place with their attitude.
Today, my task is to send out a note of thanks to people who deserve recognition. I understand, that this is an assignment just for today, but it gives you food for thought. It plants a seed deep within, to imbibe certain values that we forget in our busy lives, that is to give equal love and respect to human beings from all walks of life, to not take them for granted, to live with the knowledge that each being in this world possesses the same gifts of greatness that we celebrate through some selective people who might have used it to amass wealth, fame or anything else that could be considered populist.
Each individual uses these gifts on a daily basis, maybe just for survival, maybe to make someone's life a little better, maybe due to passion or compassion, But, all of us have it. I mean, it would be easy to recognize this gift in ourselves, that's the easy egocentric part. But, to be aware of each individual related or unrelated to us is the thing to learn here.
So, I'm going to write a thankful note each to at least 5 people, that I have come across, who deserve recognition for sure.
1. Mani -
I'm starting from home, Mani is our baby's nanny. It would be very well to say, that we are paying her and she is doing her job, so why the need to thank her. But, the fact that she does it with love, especially from the very first day she came to our house, with no connection with us or our boy, she has not only taken care of the baby but us as well. She put her soul in the job. Does her chores and even some jobs she isn't asked to do, with love. That is more than what we can ask from another human being. You go Mani!! You make it possible for us to go out, get some time off, do yoga, have lunches, while you are left behind with our boy and you do it with a smile. Danke!
2. Pawan dada -
This man represent a large chunk of people actually. In our 'Industry', they are called the spot boys. they are the ones who handle the pantry of our sets, serve us whenever they are called for. But to be honest, they pretty much do any and every menial job that is pushed their way. Conventionally they are at the bottom most level in the hierarchy department of our industry. The pay isn't much, and most probably they work in this department because they need to earn for survival.
Why Pawan dada? He is the embodiment of this hardworking lot of people, who although may be doing 'a job so thankless and least rewarding' to survive and run a family, but doing so with pride, honesty and in all earnest.
Once, sitting between shots, I asked him, kaam pe kitne baje aate ho? [what time do you come to the set for work?] and he replied, in a matter of fact tone, shoot agar 9 ka hai to 8 baje tak, samaan unload karna hota hai... tab tak shift shuru ho jaati hai!'[if the shoot is at 9 then at 8, coz we have to unload everything, by teh time we are done the shift begins!]... I looked at him, my brows raised (because when the shift is at 9, I cringe when the scheduler gives me a call time of 8:30, my reasoning, dude... i get ready in 5 minutes!! I'm coming in at 9!) I probe further, magar chutti to 9 baje hi hoti hogi na, humaare saath hi? [but, you must be packing up at 9, with all of us!], and again without batting an eyelid he smiled and said, nahi, kareeb ek ghante baad, sab kucch samet ke... ghar pahuchte pahuchte 12 baj jaate hai! [no, almost after a hour of that, have to sort everything out... by the time we reach home its midnight!].
Needless to say, I learnt two things through his demeanor and answer. One, like years back someone had told me, 'koi kaam bura nahi hota! jo kaam mile usse dil se karo! [No job is ever undignified! Whatever we get, we must do it with our hearts in it]. And, you now what, in my days at the Yoga institute, this was a concept that was encouraged and imparted openly, KARMA YOGA!
Even the act of sweeping the floor, picking garbage must be done with complete awareness and devotion and you will never be unsatisfied with at least your output.
This is exactly what Pawan dada does every day, relentlessly running around the whole set, picking this or that, serving tea, coffee, food to a set that has almost 70 people any given day.
May you and so many others like you, never face hardships, or at least have the means and strength to face them. May you and many others like you in various industries across the globe be happy and grow.
3. Avi*Name changed (I know this goes against the whole idea of recognition, but its the spirit I want people to see, respecting his privacy) -
This person is someone I grew up with. He was elder to me, And as a kid I never left his side, I used to idolize him and his family. They were my adoptive family. I'm sure many of you who are reading this might have one such friend, whose family treated you the same. He is the most soft spoken, respectful and intelligent person I have ever seen and he still is.
So, why is he on this list?
As we are born into this world, I believe our lives rapidly begin to form a connection of events to test, make, break, rebuild and test again, for who we are and are going to be.
Good and bad events spring up in a our lifetime, due to karmic debts or otherwise to build them. Even if you believe it or not, inexplicable events do happen to us daily testing our character, reshaping our future, not the way we might have imagined it, but the way we are going to shape it by the way of our reactions.
Avi's life is pretty much the same, except for one little thing, his character has stood the test of time. I am not going to go into details of what happened to him, but, to cut a long story short, he lost his father, he was brutally murdered by his kidnappers, had a broken relationship, a broken engagement, got married but the woman was just after money, so she dragged him and the rest of his family through hell, so a broken marriage. All of this in a span of 6 years. I don't know about anyone else reading this post but, I dread to think what all of this would have done to me psychologically.
But, Avi stood tall. He had weak moments, all of us do... he was given to depression, but he didn't let any of that drag him further down. I mean there was no miraculous, moving of mountains story. He just simply stayed true to his character, the respectful and intelligent person that he was back when we were kids. He is truly one of those unknown soldiers, who teach us that, no matter how difficult the circumstances of our lives may be, if we quite simply stay true to ourselves, never forget self respect and respect for others, that no matter what we have faith, we can overcome anything.
And, I am so glad to say this, that now he had a happy ever after, married to a wonderful woman, moved to a beautiful place, started a new life. He is where he belongs.
See, I'd like to acknowledge, my friend Sanaya for this saying, cos she says this a lot, 'Good things happen to Good People!!' :)
They sure do.
4. Sargun Mehta - I am taking the liberty of writing about her. She doesn't know that I am doing this. And, those of you who know her, might be wondering, why her? She is recognized enough! Yes, she is but for the part that she chooses to show to the world. That of an actor, who performs in TV and films.
But, this beautiful soul of the universe, is a little more than that, and although she is humble enough to not talk about it in the media, I believe this deserves as much recognition as her celebrity profile gets.
I and my wife have known her for about 6 years now. Due to our crazy schedules, there are times we might not be in touch with each other for long periods, but I had always thought that we were close enough to know each other pretty well.
That changed a few years ago, when we met her for dinner. Like a lot of other times, we were meeting after a long enough gap, there was a lot of catching up to do. So we shared our bits, and she listened, she shared hers, work, personal life etc etc.... then my wife mentioned something about her desire to work for an NGO and that's when we were both swept off our feet by this girls humility and sense of service. It turns out, she had been a part of the teach India campaign for years, she would go to teach children in slums whenever time permitted. She had been doing it in college, but even after having done TV and becoming pretty known, she continued. She still does it, whenever she can.
I am in awe of this girl, not just because she does good deeds, but also because, she truly practices the fact that serving someone is not done for the fulfillment of the ego. It's sole purpose is to serve others. It's such a good lesson for me, and maybe for all of us, that charity or dhamma seva (as I'd like to call it) is a selfless act, where all ego must dissolve, only then does it truly become a good deed.
5. Anil Dogra -
By the name you must have guessed, that this person is a family member. He is my fathers' cousin. The reason for him to be on this list is because he is one of those people who teach us what loyalty is. Again, he is one of the most mild mannered human beings I have ever come across in my life. A gentle man, with his feet firmly grounded, with a very humble family history.
Ever since I can remember he has been by my father's side. Younger to my father, he has been there whenever my father wanted him to be. If I needed a pair of bongos to learn the tricks of percussion, he was the guy to help out, if my sister needed to go to some class, he was the guy to go and find out. My dad would call him, and he would show up. When my dad was in need of finances, he has been the one to help out, even when his earnings were modest. When I had 'the' accident that landed me in the hospital, the first person I would see when I woke up, even before Sakshi would arrive, was him. He has helped every single time. He has smiled through it all. He has stood by all those who are a part of his life, family or friends. Especially for me and my family, he has given a lot of himself, without ever expecting anything from us.
For that he deserves my deepest gratitude, my utmost respect. Thank you.
As you can see this is no lament, but a celebration to such people we encounter each day. I wish that we can be a little like this for someone, to truly make this world a better place.
It is true for our times as well, there are wars being fought everywhere in this world at this point of time. For all of us who live in our peaceful surroundings it is these soldiers we have to thank for.
While they do that on the macro level, protecting our sovereignty, we forget to look a little closer. I mean there's huge support and gratitude for the soldiers out their fighting actual physical wars, created because of political/religious/corporate agendas, that affect us on a larger scale. But, there are soldiers right next to us, the kinds we cross paths with every single day, that go unacknowledged. Some of them help us making our lives better like our domestic helps, drivers, office boys, lift men, guards or even the one's that might not touch our lives but are equally important. People who can inspire us, through what they have overcome in their lives, people who might have fallen but got up and moved on, people who have that indomitable energy to brighten up a place with their attitude.
Today, my task is to send out a note of thanks to people who deserve recognition. I understand, that this is an assignment just for today, but it gives you food for thought. It plants a seed deep within, to imbibe certain values that we forget in our busy lives, that is to give equal love and respect to human beings from all walks of life, to not take them for granted, to live with the knowledge that each being in this world possesses the same gifts of greatness that we celebrate through some selective people who might have used it to amass wealth, fame or anything else that could be considered populist.
Each individual uses these gifts on a daily basis, maybe just for survival, maybe to make someone's life a little better, maybe due to passion or compassion, But, all of us have it. I mean, it would be easy to recognize this gift in ourselves, that's the easy egocentric part. But, to be aware of each individual related or unrelated to us is the thing to learn here.
So, I'm going to write a thankful note each to at least 5 people, that I have come across, who deserve recognition for sure.
1. Mani -
I'm starting from home, Mani is our baby's nanny. It would be very well to say, that we are paying her and she is doing her job, so why the need to thank her. But, the fact that she does it with love, especially from the very first day she came to our house, with no connection with us or our boy, she has not only taken care of the baby but us as well. She put her soul in the job. Does her chores and even some jobs she isn't asked to do, with love. That is more than what we can ask from another human being. You go Mani!! You make it possible for us to go out, get some time off, do yoga, have lunches, while you are left behind with our boy and you do it with a smile. Danke!
2. Pawan dada -
This man represent a large chunk of people actually. In our 'Industry', they are called the spot boys. they are the ones who handle the pantry of our sets, serve us whenever they are called for. But to be honest, they pretty much do any and every menial job that is pushed their way. Conventionally they are at the bottom most level in the hierarchy department of our industry. The pay isn't much, and most probably they work in this department because they need to earn for survival.
Why Pawan dada? He is the embodiment of this hardworking lot of people, who although may be doing 'a job so thankless and least rewarding' to survive and run a family, but doing so with pride, honesty and in all earnest.
Once, sitting between shots, I asked him, kaam pe kitne baje aate ho? [what time do you come to the set for work?] and he replied, in a matter of fact tone, shoot agar 9 ka hai to 8 baje tak, samaan unload karna hota hai... tab tak shift shuru ho jaati hai!'[if the shoot is at 9 then at 8, coz we have to unload everything, by teh time we are done the shift begins!]... I looked at him, my brows raised (because when the shift is at 9, I cringe when the scheduler gives me a call time of 8:30, my reasoning, dude... i get ready in 5 minutes!! I'm coming in at 9!) I probe further, magar chutti to 9 baje hi hoti hogi na, humaare saath hi? [but, you must be packing up at 9, with all of us!], and again without batting an eyelid he smiled and said, nahi, kareeb ek ghante baad, sab kucch samet ke... ghar pahuchte pahuchte 12 baj jaate hai! [no, almost after a hour of that, have to sort everything out... by the time we reach home its midnight!].
Needless to say, I learnt two things through his demeanor and answer. One, like years back someone had told me, 'koi kaam bura nahi hota! jo kaam mile usse dil se karo! [No job is ever undignified! Whatever we get, we must do it with our hearts in it]. And, you now what, in my days at the Yoga institute, this was a concept that was encouraged and imparted openly, KARMA YOGA!
Even the act of sweeping the floor, picking garbage must be done with complete awareness and devotion and you will never be unsatisfied with at least your output.
This is exactly what Pawan dada does every day, relentlessly running around the whole set, picking this or that, serving tea, coffee, food to a set that has almost 70 people any given day.
May you and so many others like you, never face hardships, or at least have the means and strength to face them. May you and many others like you in various industries across the globe be happy and grow.
3. Avi*Name changed (I know this goes against the whole idea of recognition, but its the spirit I want people to see, respecting his privacy) -
This person is someone I grew up with. He was elder to me, And as a kid I never left his side, I used to idolize him and his family. They were my adoptive family. I'm sure many of you who are reading this might have one such friend, whose family treated you the same. He is the most soft spoken, respectful and intelligent person I have ever seen and he still is.
So, why is he on this list?
As we are born into this world, I believe our lives rapidly begin to form a connection of events to test, make, break, rebuild and test again, for who we are and are going to be.
Good and bad events spring up in a our lifetime, due to karmic debts or otherwise to build them. Even if you believe it or not, inexplicable events do happen to us daily testing our character, reshaping our future, not the way we might have imagined it, but the way we are going to shape it by the way of our reactions.
Avi's life is pretty much the same, except for one little thing, his character has stood the test of time. I am not going to go into details of what happened to him, but, to cut a long story short, he lost his father, he was brutally murdered by his kidnappers, had a broken relationship, a broken engagement, got married but the woman was just after money, so she dragged him and the rest of his family through hell, so a broken marriage. All of this in a span of 6 years. I don't know about anyone else reading this post but, I dread to think what all of this would have done to me psychologically.
But, Avi stood tall. He had weak moments, all of us do... he was given to depression, but he didn't let any of that drag him further down. I mean there was no miraculous, moving of mountains story. He just simply stayed true to his character, the respectful and intelligent person that he was back when we were kids. He is truly one of those unknown soldiers, who teach us that, no matter how difficult the circumstances of our lives may be, if we quite simply stay true to ourselves, never forget self respect and respect for others, that no matter what we have faith, we can overcome anything.
And, I am so glad to say this, that now he had a happy ever after, married to a wonderful woman, moved to a beautiful place, started a new life. He is where he belongs.
See, I'd like to acknowledge, my friend Sanaya for this saying, cos she says this a lot, 'Good things happen to Good People!!' :)
They sure do.
4. Sargun Mehta - I am taking the liberty of writing about her. She doesn't know that I am doing this. And, those of you who know her, might be wondering, why her? She is recognized enough! Yes, she is but for the part that she chooses to show to the world. That of an actor, who performs in TV and films.
But, this beautiful soul of the universe, is a little more than that, and although she is humble enough to not talk about it in the media, I believe this deserves as much recognition as her celebrity profile gets.
I and my wife have known her for about 6 years now. Due to our crazy schedules, there are times we might not be in touch with each other for long periods, but I had always thought that we were close enough to know each other pretty well.
That changed a few years ago, when we met her for dinner. Like a lot of other times, we were meeting after a long enough gap, there was a lot of catching up to do. So we shared our bits, and she listened, she shared hers, work, personal life etc etc.... then my wife mentioned something about her desire to work for an NGO and that's when we were both swept off our feet by this girls humility and sense of service. It turns out, she had been a part of the teach India campaign for years, she would go to teach children in slums whenever time permitted. She had been doing it in college, but even after having done TV and becoming pretty known, she continued. She still does it, whenever she can.
I am in awe of this girl, not just because she does good deeds, but also because, she truly practices the fact that serving someone is not done for the fulfillment of the ego. It's sole purpose is to serve others. It's such a good lesson for me, and maybe for all of us, that charity or dhamma seva (as I'd like to call it) is a selfless act, where all ego must dissolve, only then does it truly become a good deed.
5. Anil Dogra -
By the name you must have guessed, that this person is a family member. He is my fathers' cousin. The reason for him to be on this list is because he is one of those people who teach us what loyalty is. Again, he is one of the most mild mannered human beings I have ever come across in my life. A gentle man, with his feet firmly grounded, with a very humble family history.
Ever since I can remember he has been by my father's side. Younger to my father, he has been there whenever my father wanted him to be. If I needed a pair of bongos to learn the tricks of percussion, he was the guy to help out, if my sister needed to go to some class, he was the guy to go and find out. My dad would call him, and he would show up. When my dad was in need of finances, he has been the one to help out, even when his earnings were modest. When I had 'the' accident that landed me in the hospital, the first person I would see when I woke up, even before Sakshi would arrive, was him. He has helped every single time. He has smiled through it all. He has stood by all those who are a part of his life, family or friends. Especially for me and my family, he has given a lot of himself, without ever expecting anything from us.
For that he deserves my deepest gratitude, my utmost respect. Thank you.
As you can see this is no lament, but a celebration to such people we encounter each day. I wish that we can be a little like this for someone, to truly make this world a better place.
8 comments:
It takes a kind human to acknowledge the goodness in another. Bless you Akshay. For being as warm as your thoughts
Enjoyed reading this Espically about the spot boys and Shargun
:)
Loved reading it Mr Dogra😊
For a human being to being human, it takes a lot of compassion and consideration. Hearing about kind-hearted souls in this mad, bad world is quite overwhelming! Thanks for your note.
This is really sweet. Reminded me of the people in my life who I am eternally grateful to even if I dont say it all that often...have you wondered (you may have, this is the first post I am reading of yours so dont know for sure) how difficult it is to just go up to someone and say "Hey, thanks for being there. Thanks for being you and thanks for just letting me be me but also for telling me when you thought I was in the wrong"
I wish it wasnt the case and maybe it isnt for other people but for me its always been a bit of a task...maybe thats why I enjoyed reading this so much. Like your Mani, I too had a person in my life when I was younger (I am never sure what to call her...cant say "help" or "nanny" cos she was so much more than that) and I think about her some times and just wonder where she is now...she was a great person and I learnt a lot from her. She of course had her idiosyncrasies (who doesnt?) but even with all of them, she was one hell of a person!
Anyway, this list reminded me of her and many others and propelled to be more forthcoming in my gratefulness...will now be reading the rest of your stuff! Thanks! :)
Applause for your efforts to acknowledge the importance of others in your life. If any of my closed and loved ones read this then I would like to foremost thank my parents and then a few people who have been a constant companion of mine through thick & thin. Maddy Bhaiyu, pumpkin (Saniya), Sri Mumma, Gigi Didu thank you so much for helping me out through my toughest phase of life till now and still helping me through this depression. Though not present with me physically, even from miles away you all have always trusted me and encouraged me to fight through it. Thank you so much guys!
hey Akshay,
This is the first article i have read from you and I am truly impressed. it is such a great thought to acknowledge people around us and how they contribute to our lives and lives of people around them....I agree that each one of us have people in our lives who have influenced us in some way or the other, this article has truly inspired me so first and foremost i would like to Thank you. I hope you will be writing more often....
I've read this one again after a long time, and I really wish you would continue with your blog! Your thoughts and writing are truly inspiring (just like your sister's :)) Hoping you both could pen down a book someday! Happy 7 year anniversary of IPKKND. Here's wishing you all the best for all your future endeavours. May you reach much greater heights of success!
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