Ranjit Kulkarni's Blog, page 12

Anybody can climb Everest

A friend of mine who climbed Mount Everest (yes, really!) was interviewed (many times over), and in one of the interviews was asked if he realized the enormity of his achievement.

He tried to play it down saying, “I am just a normal guy. Anybody can climb Everest.”

And the interviewer stopped him, and said, “Oh come on. You must be kidding. Anybody cannot climb Everest. I certainly can’t even if I tried.”

And then my friend went on to explain.

“Yes, it is not everyone’s cup of tea. But for me, mountaineering was my love. And Everest is the zenith of that. So I set myself to it – after many years of climbing smaller mountains. I never really set Everest as my goal when I started. But with every passing year, my mountains became bigger. And then one fine day, I thought – I am not getting any younger, time is running out. Why not Everest now? Why not do it for my mother? And so, I set myself up for it, prepared and trained for it over one or two years. It is not my own doing for certain. There are so many factors that helped me. But I had to give it a shot. And here I am.”

The interviewer stared at him in silence. And after a pause, my friend said, “Everyone can climb their own Everest.”

Now that made a lot of sense. And that inspired everyone who listened.

***

Drona: The Start of the End

In many ways, with the start of Drona’s reign as commander began a lowering a moral ethical standards in the war, not particularly because of him, but nevertheless. But Abhimanyu’s killing marked the start of the real end of morals and ethics in warfare. All that the great teacher had taught was laid to waste by his wards on both sides. One might say that it was started by one side. But there is no denying the fact that it was continued by the other. Tons of analysis and justifications have been written on them. Suffice it to say that the last few days of the war especially after the thirteenth day on which Abhimanyu was killed were not the best display of moral and ethical warfare.

Devastated and enraged by Abhimanyu’s death, Arjuna directed his wrath into another promise that sent the shivers down Jayadrata’s spine. While Jayadrata threatened to run away if Duryodhana and his army didn’t protect him, Duryodhana saw it as an opportunity because Arjuna had vowed to jump into the fire if Jayadrata’s life doesn’t end by the end of day fourteen. When Arjuna began day fourteen with a bang, Drona tried his best to divert Arjuna into combat. But at the bottom of his heart, he knew that his favourite student, when determined, cannot be stopped, and that too with Krishna was on his side, it was futile. For Drona, Jayadrata was as good as dead. It did turn out that the teacher was right and divine intervention ensured that his pupil could, after all, stand up to his promise.

But the standards of war declined with the armies not ending hostilities even during the night of the fourteenth. Bhima’s son Ghatotkacha was killed at night. Finally, Drona decided to stop proceedings considering the soldier’s wellbeing. But Duryodhana again suspected that it was due to a lack of commitment from Drona when Kauravas had the upper hand. That led to an angry Drona showering his fury on day fifteen of the war.

Drona, in particular, targeted the Panchala and Matsya armies, for whom he anyway had no special love, in the morning of the fifteenth. Their kings Dhrupad and Virata were casualties of Drona’s prowess. Even Drishtadyumna’s sons who stepped forward seeing their grandfather slain weren’t spared by Drona. Bhima goaded Drishtadyumna to step ahead and fight with Drona. Knowing fully well that it was his life’s purpose to kill Drona, Drishtadyumna stepped ahead but was no match to Drona’s power and had to retreat to safety.

The Pandavas were filled with fear seeing their teacher in such form. Something had to be done else the entire army would perish soon. They ran to, who else but, Krishna for help on handling Drona’s terror. Krishna reminded Yudhishthira that when he had gone to seek Drona’s blessings before the war, he had told him the way to stop him. If he was given a highly disturbing news from a trustworthy source, he would drop his weapons, Drona had said. Krishna told Yudhishthira to go tell Drona that Ashwatthama is dead.

This proposal by Krishna was received with shock by Yudhishthira and Arjuna. This would be highly immoral and unethical, they said, which was right. At that time, Drona was on a rampage and in the heat of the moment, he used the Brahmastra which led to the extermination of thousands of ordinary soldiers from the Pandava side. This was terribly shocking and could be construed as unnecessary and unethical use of mighty weapons on those without the ability to respond to it. It was an act against the code of conduct of warfare that the teacher himself had taught. At that moment, Drona could see his father Bharadwaj and other sages in the skies, chastising him from the heavens for using the Brahmastra. There was a distinct change in Drona’s demeanour.

While Yudhishthira and Arjuna hesitated, Bhima decided that enough was enough. He caught hold of an elephant named Ashwatthama and banged his head with his mace with all his might and cracked it open killing the elephant. He then went about shouting in jubilation with the loudest war cry he could muster, that Ashwatthama is dead. The Pandava army shouted slogans in delight. Drona saw Bhima celebrate and heard the sloganeering. Ashwatthama is dead, he heard Bhima howl. But he knew Bhima and his tendencies for both playing pranks and using devious aggression from past experience. It was then that he approached Yudhishthira to check if that was indeed the truth. Yudhishthira had never spoken lies and looked at him with hesitation. Krishna spurred the virtuous Pandava that a lie spoken to protect lives in defence, especially against a warrior who himself had used unethical means in war isn’t a lie. It was then that Yudhishthira went towards Dronacharya and declared Yes, Ashwatthama is dead. Dronacharya was shocked with Yudhishthira’s affirmation. After the declaration, Yudhishthira also said in a soft voice, “The elephant not the man.” But at exactly that time, Krishna blew his conch, amidst bugle and the trumpet sounds, so that Yudhishthira’s soft clarification could not be heard by Drona.

Drona kept his weapons down and sat down on his chariot. He grieved on his son’s death. He was in utter sorrow due to his attachment to his son Ashwatthama. He prayed to the heavens to forgive his act of using the Brahmastra. He declared to Duryodhana to take care of the war as he would not be fighting any more. He told the sages that he wanted to leave his body. He sat on his chariot with his eyes closed in meditation.

It was at that time that Drishtadyumna stepped ahead in a moment of anger seizing the opportunity. He held Drona by the locks of hair on the brahmin teacher’s head. And while his eyes were closed in meditation, Drishtadyumna chopped Drona’s head off with his sword and ended his life. Drishtadyumna celebrated immediately that he had met the purpose of his life that his father Dhrupad had given him birth for and thus fulfilled his preordained destiny.

Drona’s death was received with shock and anger from the Kaurava side. It was a blatant violation of code of warfare as per them. Even on the Pandava side, Yudhishthira did not approve of the way in which Drishtadyumna took advantage of Drona laying arms based on the lie he had spoken. Arjuna was angry at the way in which Drishtadyumna had killed his teacher. Bhima, on the other hand, asked Arjuna to control himself and reminded him that he was on the battlefield and not in school. His teacher was his opponent who was wreaking havoc with his army. Drona also hadn’t exactly covered himself in glory by the means he had used to eliminate Abhimanyu yesterday, and thousands of soldiers today with the Brahmastra. He had to be stopped and Drishtadyumna did the right thing. This was not the time to have divided opinions but to fight the enemy unitedly, Bhima insisted. Eventually, the Pandavas and Drishtadyumna reconciled, and Drona’s death became another epoch making event in the war that they had to leave behind, and move ahead.

At a literary level, Drona’s end was inevitable for the story to move forward. To that end, the characters played their role and Drona’s death at the hands of Drishtadyumna was known, even to him. The only literary question was how.

At a moral and ethical level, there is no doubt that the method of Drona’s slaying indicated the start of the end of the war. It became a no holds barred fight from here on. One can always debate who started it and who continued it. But in the overall relative sense, there is no doubt that the Pandavas had the higher moral ground as the Kaurava side had shown no respect for virtue or code of conduct not just in the war but even before it. With power vested in their hands, and with powerful warriors like Drona on their side, there was no choice for the Pandavas but to use means that may not qualify as moral and ethical in a strict absolute sense, but may be justified on a relative basis.

But at a spiritual level, one can see that the Lord Krishna knew this. He said nothing but orchestrated everything. He knew that the Pandavas were virtuous and would not resort to the means required to defeat the Kauravas, especially Drona and Bheeshma due to their attachment to the elders, without his spurring. He had the right characters preordained for that purpose to achieve his goal of extermination of the elders who happened to side with evil. To that end, Shikhandi for Bheeshma and Drishtadyumna for Drona were preordained by the Lord to do what they did. Arjuna in case of Bheeshma, and Yudhishthira in case of Drona, played the roles of instruments for the Lord to achieve His goal. At that level, one can then reconcile the morality of the means with the spirituality of Krishna’s purpose. To that extent, the Pandavas who were Krishna’s true friends and devotees, ended up being tools to achieve His end.

Drona, while he might have erred in the heat of the war by strategising Abhimanyu’s death and using the Brahmastra in fury, lived a mostly virtuous life adhering to the principles of dharma. His failing was that he was a brahmin who couldn’t overcome his warrior like interests, and a teacher renunciant by birth who couldn’t control his anger due to his householder attachments.

The end of Drona paved the road for the rest of the war to meet it’s own logical and karmic end. It was truly the start of the end.

***

Notes to Myself: Craft of a Story

Every writer has a bunch of notes to him/herself for ready reference on the craft of story writing that suits that particular writer’s style of writing. For me, it has evolved over the past few years of writing. As I started with blogging to writing articles, and then jumped to humor and slice of life pieces, eventually settling on character-driven short stories, these notes have also evolved and settled now to a fairly steady definition of what I want my body of work to look like.

Every Story, for me, starts with a character, a situation that is a problem or conflict for the character, the character’s fight with the situation or another character, and then how the character either overcomes it or gets defeated or lives with it. There has to be a main hero or heroine, his or her conflict with someone, something or some situation, and how he or she tries to get over it, and eventually either wins or loses. I start with such interesting characters and their conflicts, and once I have that well-defined in my head, the plot and setting evolves.

Hence, in most of my stories, I start with character. I define what he or she wants first in terms of emotion or desire. anger, greed, anxiety, grief, envy, jealousy, betrayal, revenge, achievement, progress, love, belonging or any such emotion. Then I think of setting and plot and conflict. After that I start writing first draft. That way it works best. I try to define the scenes before the first draft but often the actual story turns out to be different. Later I get skill or craft into the picture during editing.

Also, important to me is to use story telling to bring about change in the reader – not in a preachy manner, but as a result of realization that happens to the reader as a result of his engagement in the story. Hence, the character and his motivations are important. And it has to be genuine in my case. I have come around to the realization that I don’t have the craft of simply using words to sort of trance, or even fool the reader into something unbelievable. In my style of writing, I find it more comfortable to articulate the character and conflict so that the reader identifies with it rather than gets transported to another world.

So I try not to be too smart lest that realization doesn’t happen and the reader feels cheated. I try to keep the plot believable and the actions in tune with character. My attempt is simply that the reader must like the story and the character, and identify with the conflict and its resolution in a realistic manner. The reader shouldn’t get away feeling that the writer is smart.

Elements of my Body of Work that I have settled on:
– Short Fiction
– Character driven
– Theme of Conflicts due Love or Relations or Emotions or Situations
– Underdog nature of main character
– Surprise or Twist angle
– Realistic or Mundane or Real Life or Slice of Everyday
– Spiritual or Meaningful or Thought Provoking

So, I try to write sensitive stories about people and emotions that move readers by providing meaning in the mundane. My attempt is to: Entertain, Educate, Inspire using the craft of storytelling.

***

Moods and Memories: Short Story

Sixty-Five isn’t quite different from sixty-four, as Devendra discovers soon after his birthday. By the same vein, thirty-five isn’t vastly different from thirty-four. They celebrate both today, his sixty-fifth birthday and their thirty-fifth anniversary.

He sips his wine watching his wife and the sunset alternately from the beautiful sands of the ocean. Both the sights calm his heart, as they have been doing for the past many years. It is a miracle that they have made it together for thirty-five years. Everyone says they are a strong couple.

The soft breeze caresses her cheeks and blows her thin hair. She rubs her palms together in the gentle cold. She isn’t quite what she was when she had been twenty-five. She isn’t even what she was fifteen years back or five years back. But she thanks her stars and so does he, that she is still around despite the disease coming back after being in remission for more than five years.

Last year both of them had thought this would be their last visit together to this beach resort that they had visited every year on their anniversary for the past ten years.

“I sometimes wonder what is it that I really wanted,” Rupali says, sipping her coffee.

“Sometimes?” Devendra asks with a smile. “It implies that most times you didn’t wonder.”

The sound of the waves spreads a sense of calm. It suppresses the noise in the mind. A few metres away a family of three plays with the beach all to themselves. It is a pleasing sight. A lifeguard stands on a tall, vertical stand watching for potential danger. On the far horizon, a solitary boat sways on the waters. The sun is about to set.

A waiter disturbs their solitude.

“May I serve dinner?” the charming young fellow asks. His steward uniform makes him look dapper. His smile welcomes guests to be at home in his company. His name plate says Gauri Shankar.

Devendra steals a glance with a slightly raised brow at Rupali to check if it’s time. She closes her eyelids softly indicating yes, and Devendra nods. They have a good understanding even without words being said. The waiter walks away discreetly with soft steps.

“Who names their son Gauri Shankar?” Rupali says after he is gone.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Devendra says though he knows it is quite old fashioned for this day.

“Such a handsome youngster. The name spoils it all,” she insists.

“His parents might be faithful believers. Some families have their traditions. They must name boys after a family deity,” he says. “Or it might be a combination of his parents’ names,” he reminisces.

“Yeah, I know. But still.”

“Maybe his grandfather was called Shiva. Or his father is Shankar, and his mother is Gauri.”

Devendra speculates needlessly. He likes to tease her and see her irritated over small things.

“But there are so many modern names of Shiva. Why couldn’t they have named him Mahesh or Kedar. Even Kailash would have been okay,” she says. “There are so many better names.”

“True, Soham, for instance.” Devendra sips his wine. Rupali watches the ocean listlessly.

“Or why not Rudra? It is such a fine, fearsome name,” she says in excitement.

Rupali bites her tongue and steals a sorry glance at Devendra. The past haunts them.

She turns her attention back to the waves in the ocean. She gazes blankly into the sun that dips in the water. Her heart is filled with a sudden welling up of grief that she thought had dissipated away. Silence takes over the space between them, as it had then.

Devendra moves his chair a bit closer. He fears the gap that this silent space creates. He holds her hand. She looks at the sands below her feet under the table and presses his hand.

“That was many years back,” he says.

He sees a tear drop roll over her cheek. He curses himself to have continued with this discussion. He worries that he has caused an unnecessary change in mood. A needless awakening of a memory.

The sun sets while they sit in silence. It is dark and the beach is empty. The playful family of three has returned to their hotel. The two of them are all alone in the dark.

“Sir, your starters,” Gauri Shankar comes back and serves the starters. His cheer contrasts the sombre silence on the table. “Enjoy your meal, Madam,” he says with a smile and goes back.

“Have a bite,” Devendra says lifting a piece and feeding Rupali. She opens her mouth.

“Is it twenty-five years?” she asks. Devendra nods in silence. Fathers are supposed to be strong. He takes a piece from the starters plate every couple of minutes and feeds Rupali.

The solitary boat on the horizon has disappeared. The sound of the waves is all they can hear.

The heaviness of her breath comes down. She loosens up the grip of her hand. She picks his glass of wine in her hand and takes a couple of slow sips before putting it back on the table.

“Shall I get the main course, Sir?” the waiter comes back after a while.

“Another ten minutes?” Devendra requests him, and he nods.

Rupali stops him before he goes away.

“The starters were good. Get me a glass of wine too,” she says.

“Sure Madam,” he replies.

“Nice name, too,” she says, and he smiles back.

Devendra continues to sip his wine with a pensive smile. “Nice wine, too,” he says, lifting his glass.

***

On Strength

Swami Vivekananda on Strength:

The only way to rise is by doing the duty next to us, and thus gathering strength go on until we reach the highest state.

The infinite strength of the world is yours. Drive out the superstition that has covered your minds. Let us be brave. Know the Truth and practice the Truth. The goal may be distant, but awake, arise, and stop not till the goal is reached.

Strength, strength is what the Upanishads speak to me from every page. This is the one great thing to remember, it has been the one great lesson I have been taught in my life; strength, it says, strength, O man, be not weak.

What we want is strength, so believe in yourselves.

Make your nerves strong. What we want is muscles of iron and nerves of steel. We have wept long enough. No more weeping, but stand on your feet and be men.

Give up these weakening mysticisms and be strong. Go back to your Upanishads — the shining, the strengthening, the bright philosophy — and part from all these mysterious things, all these weakening things.

All the strength and succour you want is within yourselves.

Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders, and know that you are the creator of your own destiny.

The remedy for weakness is not brooding over weakness, but thinking of strength. Teach men of the strength that is already within them.

Ay, let every man and woman and child, without respect of caste or birth, weakness or strength, hear and learn that behind the strong and the weak, behind the high and the low, behind every one, there is that Infinite Soul, assuring the infinite possibility and the infinite capacity of all to become great and good. Let us proclaim to every soul:  — Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached.

***

Writing Advice from Stephen King

I made a bunch of notes on Writing Advice by Stephen King. I like to refer to this list from time to time. Here I reproduce it for your reference and reading pleasure.

Stop watching television. Instead, read as much as possible.
Prepare for more failure and criticism than you think you can deal with.
Don’t waste time trying to please people.
Write primarily for yourself.
First write for yourself, and then worry about the audience.
Tackle the things that are hardest to write.
When writing, disconnect from the rest of the world.
Don’t be pretentious.
Avoid adverbs and long paragraphs.
Don’t use passive voice.
Don’t get overly caught up in grammar.
Tell stories about what people actually do.
Take risks; don’t play it safe.
Read, read, read.
Don’t try to steal someone else’s voice.
Understand that writing is a form of telepathy.
Take your writing seriously.
Write every single day.
Finish your first draft in three months.
When you’re finished writing, take a long step back.
Go where the story leads you.
Avoid too much backstory.
Make Stories about people.
Don’t Overdescribe.
Book Genres are not important – neglect them.
Have the guts to cut.
You become a writer simply by reading and writing.
Writing is about getting happy.
If you can do it for joy, you can do it forever.
Write because it fulfills you.
Persevere – stopping a piece of work because it’s hard, either emotionally or imaginatively, is a bad idea.
Your job is to show up.
Don’t wait for the muse.
Stay married, be healthy, and live a good life.

***

Drona: Promise vs Desperation

The battle of virtue and envy went on for many years and Drona always found himself fighting on the side of envy, though like Bheeshma, his heart was with the carriers of virtue.

The first instance of fighting against his favorite pupil, Arjuna, for Drona, was in the battle of Virata when it was suspected that the Pandavas were in hiding there, and Duryodhana decided to attack Virata. It was the first time that the teacher lost badly, but one might say gladly, to his blue eyed boy, Arjuna, who stood up to all the hype that had been created thus far around his skills and reputation. It was in that battle that it was established that, on his day or even otherwise, Arjuna was insurmountable as a warrior for even his own teacher Drona and, perhaps, the grandsire Bheeshma.

The role of Dronacharya in the final war was that of the second in command for the first ten days, till Bheeshma was the commander. He played that role to perfection destroying warriors in the Pandava army by tens and thousands. But when Bheeshma fell, and Karna entered the battle, Drona had the apprehension of fighting under Duryodhana’s friend. This was put to rest by Karna himself, who suggested to Duryodhana that, for the sake of the army, it would be appropriate to put Drona in charge. Once in charge, Drona, surprised and pleased, asked Duryodhana what he can do for him. To his astonishment, Duryodhana told Drona that he had realised, after ten days of fierce war, that it was impossible to defeat the Pandavas and hence, told Drona that he would like him to capture Yudhishthira alive. For a moment, Drona thought that Duryodhana had a change of heart and wanted to negotiate with Yudhishthira for a truce. But it turned out that it was short-lived as Duryodhana explained that he would invite Yudhishthira for another game of dice and pack him off to another twelve years of exile so that he could rule in peace. Be that as it may, Drona thought, but he did end up promising Duryodhana that he will do his best to capture Yudhishthira alive.

The next two days, the eleventh and twelfth, saw Dronacharya in full swing coming up with all kinds of strategies to capture Yudhishthira. The news of Drona’s resolve had reached the Pandavas and on day eleven, Yudhishthira was flanked all the time by Arjuna. Fierce fighting ensued between the teacher and his favorite student again, and despite distractions from Susharma and other warriors, Arjuna successfully defeated Drona and protected Yudhishthira on day eleven. On day twelve, Arjuna left Satyaki in charge of protecting Yudhishthira and he did an excellent job too. The net result was that despite two days of intense effort, Drona had failed in his promise to capture Yudhishthira. It was at that time that the insecurities of Duryodhana came to the fore and questioned where Drona’s loyalties and commitments lie. Duryodhana wasn’t convinced despite Karna passing his judgement that the issue was not of loyalty but of a tougher opposition. Irrespective of the rejection from Drona as a student, Karna did have respect for the teacher.

It was then that the pressure might have got to Drona. On day thirteen, he devised the strategy of chakravyuh knowing fully well that Arjuna was the only one who knew how to break into and out of it. He instructed Duryodhana to have his best warriors engage Arjuna so that the chakravyuh formation could capture Yudhishthira. The strategy worked. The Kaurava army had got closer and found Yudhishthira and Bhima wondering what to do, as both of them had no idea how to counter attack the chakravyuh formation.

It was Bhima who then said that he had heard Arjuna explain it to his son Abhimanyu and decided to check with him. Indeed Abhimanyu knew how to crack open and enter the chakravyuh but alas, he didn’t know how to find his way out. Bhima and Yudhishthira said that he need not worry as they will both follow him and together, the three of them could destroy the Kaurava army from inside. Abhimanyu agreed and stepped up to the task. What followed was the bravest onslaught in any battle ever seen in any war by anyone so young. But what followed that was the most abominable counter attack ever seen from the enemy, orchestrated by Dronacharya, the commander of the Kaurava forces.

It turned out that while on paper, Bhima and Yudhishthira had the right ideas, the execution was found lacking. While Abhimanyu cracked the chakravyuh formation and marched ahead, Bhima and Yudhishthira didn’t keep pace with him. On the way, they were blocked by Jayadrata and in trying to overcome him, they lost time during which Abhimanyu went inside and the chakravyuh formation closed behind him. So while the idea was to capture Yudhishthira, the person who ended up trapped was Abhimanyu. But the young warrior fought with all his might and finished so many warriors, that Dronacharya secretly felt happy inside, that the son of his favorite pupil was almost as good as him, if not better, at that age. When Ashwatthama and Dushasan failed in surmounting Abhimanyu individually, Drona couldn’t stop himself from uttering words of appreciation for the young lad’s prowess. Karna and Duryodhana weren’t amused and told Drona curtly that they weren’t here to listen to the enemy’s accolades. They reminded Drona that he himself was the commander of the Kaurava army and he better do something about it.

It was then that Dronacharya, in desperate pursuit of protecting his reputation, committed a lapse and came up with a strategy that he himself wouldn’t have approved of, in saner times. He admitted that Abhimanyu can’t be defeated by ethical means but he had a plan, which though not approved by Kshatriya law, would successfully bring Abhimanyu down.

He asked Ashwatthama, Dushasan and Kritivarma to attack Abhimanyu’s bow, chariot and charioteer, and get him on the ground without any weapons. He then said that Duryodhana, Karna and, he himself Drona, would attack Abhimanyu from three different directions. This unethical plan was lapped up by Duryodhana. With six mighty warriors attacking Abhimanyu from six directions, he still gave a valiant fight. Even then, those warriors had to run for replenishment of their weapons. It was then that Dushasan’s son Durjay engaged in a mace hand combat with a tired Abhimanyu, and with a huge bang on his head brought the mighty brave warrior down and killed him.

Dronacharya regretted his actions while the other Kaurava warriors celebrated in glee. The teacher of warfare, in his desperation to capture the virtuous Pandava, had used means outside his book to bring down the brave son of his favorite student. In the process, he had ensured that deceit would be used by even the virtuous on him to bring about his end very soon.

***

2nd Round Editing

After my first draft, my first round of editing is about getting the story right and sharp. In that round, I focus on getting the character, its conflict and the resolution of that conflict correct and smooth.

My second (and usually last) round of editing is more technical and focused on finishing. Here is my checklist for 2nd Round Editing:

2ndroundediting

– if there are many scenes, separate them with a ***
– Starting two words capital letters
– British spelling and grammar, he said, not said he. one not 1

– add setting. weather, objects, senses, time and date to every story and create contrast and tension. use senses of the main character to show emotion
– smell, sound, colour, light, heat/cold/rain/weather

– if story has many scenes, identify inciting incident, plot point two, climax, resolution

– identify the focus character (protagonist) in every story and the opposing character (antagonist)

– show don’t tell, this is very important. make the reader feel with the senses all through the story
– use similes.. looks like, sounds like, smells like, tastes like, moves like, feels like..as tall as.. as fast as.. as pretty as..

– end of the story shouldn’t be tell, it should be show and don’t tell the conclusion. let the reader deduce himself on reading. it has to leave him thinking.

– use italics for forceful words, for numbers, for Indian words etc.

– use flashback and backstory carefully, reveal only what is required, give clues but don’t reveal

– induce tension (character worried about something) and conflict (character struggling or fighting against something)

– use symbolism for the literary touch, applied with a light brush

***

 

On Religion

Swami Vivekananda on Religion:

We know that all religions alike, from the lowest fetishism to the highest absolutism, are but so many attempts of the human soul to grasp and realise the Infinite.

It is an insult to a starving people to offer them religion; it is an insult to a starving man to teach him metaphysics.

All religions and all methods of work and worship lead us to one and the same goal. I have already tried to point out that goal. It is freedom as I understand it.

All religions admit that, apart from the body which perishes, there is a certain part or something which does not change like the body, a part that is immutable, eternal, that never dies.

The next idea that I want to bring to you is that religion does not consist in doctrines or dogmas. It is not what you read, nor what dogmas you believe that is of importance, but what you realise.

The end of all religions is the realising of God in the soul.

Though all religions are essentially the same, they must have the varieties of form produced by dissimilar circumstances among different nations. We must each have our own individual religion, individual so far as the externals of it go.

The first idea that this world was created out of nothing was rejected, and some material out of which this world was created was wanted. The whole history of religion, in fact, is this search after that material.

Whenever any religion succeeds, it must have economic value. Thousands of similar sects will be struggling for power, but only those who meet the real economic problem will have it. Man is guided by the stomach.

If you want to be religious, enter not the gate of any organised religions. They do a hundred times more evil than good, because they stop the growth of each one’s individual development. Study everything, but keep your own seat firm. If you take my advice, do not put your neck into the trap.

Enter not the door of any organised religion. [Religion] is only between you and your God, and no third person must come between you.

Talking is not religion; parrots may talk, machines may talk nowadays. But show me the life of renunciation, of spirituality, of all-suffering, of love infinite. This kind of life indicates a spiritual man.

From time to time, there have been reformers in every religion who have stood against all symbols and rituals. But vain has been their opposition, for so long as man will remain as he is, the vast majority will always want something concrete to hold on to.

We find that in almost every religion these are the three primary things which we have in the worship of God — forms or symbols, names, God-men. All religions have these, but you find that they want to fight with each other.

The final idea is that my religion cannot be yours, or yours mine. Although the goal and the aim are the same, yet each one has to take a different road, according to the tendencies of his mind; and although these roads are various, they must all be true, because they lead to the same goal.

Religions and sects are not the work of hypocrites and wicked people who invented all these to get a little money, as some of our modern men want to think. However reasonable that explanation may seem, it is not true, and they were not invented that way at all. They are the outcome of the necessity of the human soul. They are all here to satisfy the hankering and thirst of different classes of human minds, and you need not preach against them.

Religion is not in books, nor in theories, nor in dogmas, nor in talking, not even in reasoning. It is being and becoming.

***

Good vs Great Music

When a piece of music is good, it gets a lot of claps. When a piece of music is great, it gets silence.

It is easy to compose and deliver music that gets claps. It is the work of a true genius to compose and deliver music that gets silence.

No claps, no words, only a spellbound audience. That is God in action. Rare and divine. Eternal and timeless.

***