Rang de, among other things.

Monday morning. I'm getting ready to leave for work. It's almost nine and the breakfast is getting ready. Dad leisurely reads the morning newspaper as he waits for the second round of tea. The atmosphere is bright and soft here, and a melody from yesteryears from the radio adds to this aura of comfort.

Dad is having the best of his time, reading leisurely, writing short stories, attending cultural programmes, sitting in old dusty libraries for hours, playing with grandchildren, watching television---his health is good except for one or two minor glitches, and he's free of all worries and responsibilities. This wasn't the case until a couple of years ago when we all were sick with a number of problems and Dad had to bear the burden of most of it. Today he looks a contented man.

Sometimes i wish i could carry that comfort and content with me as i go out into the world. I can make the most of my life and achieve all my goals and fulfill my wishes, but at the end of the day I'm tense, tired and drained of vitality. I'll be looking forward to hit the bed and lose myself in the comfort of sleep before waking up to fight my way through another day of struggle. Maybe I could fight my battle but with a sense of comfort and serenity that comes to a man who doesn't care much about the outcome of his fight and just enjoys every moment of the battle. I wish I could tap into that serenity and peace that's within me, irrespective of the outside circumstances.

I wish i could be in tune with that calm strength all the time.

Ravishankar's spiritual gathering ended on Sunday. People commented that it was all glorification of one person, and nothing worthwhile can be achieved by such extravaganza, blah, blah, blah..... but what was noticeable was that one person could pioneer and gather so many people on one platform for a positive purpose. When was the last time that all the people of this world united, irrespective of their religious and cultural differences under a common spiritual umbrella?

Whatever be the dilutions and shortcomings of Ravishankar's 'Art of living' movement, his effort and vision are commendable.

Watched 'Rang de basanthi' at last. This time it was with a bunch of friends, some of whom insisted that we watch this movie together. This is Indian mainstream cinema at its best---thoroughly enjoyable and well-worth your time and money. Despite a few minor glitches, this movie touched a chord within all of us with its message of 'A generation awakens'.

It tells the story of a british girl who comes to india to make a documentary on some well-known heroes of the freedom struggle. She finds a few 'free-wheeling' friends to act out the roles of Azad, sukhdev, bhagat singh etc, and these guys who're enjoying their youth in dance, booze, fun and frolick are gradually sucked into the roles they portray. The outstanding sacrifices and courage of the freedom fighters begins to rub off on these youngsters of the sms generation. The turning point arrives when one of their friends meets death because of the callousness of those in power, and when the same powerful people try to suppress the growing voices against them, the hidden fighter awakens in these youngsters. The trickle that started with just acting out a role of revolutionaries for a documentary becomes a raging river and soon the friends find mutual inspiration and a way to send out their message to those who matter in a hard-hitting way. The end--whether it's tragic or positive--is upto the viewer to decide.

The next evening, when we sat discussing our spiritual endeavours and the need to gear up ourselves to take up our Master's work, a friend remembered Rang de. He said,' The revolutionaries of the freedom movement had a common goal, a purpose, and that spurred them on together and brought out the best in them. How wonderful it would be if all of us had something similar to push us forward ?'

We discussed, argued, hemmed-hawed, disagreed and retired for the day.

It takes a moment to plant a seed. And years of nurturing to grow it into a mighty tree. Maybe the seed was within all along and it got spurred from its sleep on this occasion. Maybe the seed is within everyone. What does it take to nurture this seed and grow it into a mighty tree? What converts a small trickle into a life-nurturing river? What does it take to inspire one another in a common purpose, to keep aside all our differences, nurture one anothers strengths and reach out to something outstanding, something extraordinary?

Are we destined to live out our lives as it comes along? Or is this sms, blogging generation destined for greater things---beyond the imagination and dreaming capacity of cynics? How do we unite, gear up and surge ahead towards our purpose--whatever that might be!

You never know your possibilities. You never know what you are capable of achieving.