Black Widow Spider

A Quiz

Let me begin with a little quiz:

·      Which famous author made a debut in a cameo role in a Bollywood film made on his book?

·      Name of the book?

·      Which famous playback singer produced a hit number for the film, and acted in it, too?

·      What was the hit song?

·      Who is Indian cinema’s Hitchcock?

·      What connects all these questions?

If you know all the answers, you’re a Bollywood fan, and also read fiction.  

Here are the answers:

·      Ruskin Bond at 76 years of age

·      Susanna’s Seven Husbands

·      Usha Uthup as Maggie, the Maid.

·      Darling, ankhon se ankhen char karne do; roko na roko na mujhko pyar karne do[i]

·      Vishal Bhardwaj, as praised by Ruskin Bond

·      7 Khoon Maaf

Journey: Story to Screen

Why am I writing about a film that was released in 2011, based on the original short story written in 1997, and expanded to a novella in 2011 upon request by the prospective film-maker? Because I watched it recently on Netflix, after which I read the short story, the novella, and the screenplay, in that order, having bought a Kindle copy of Penguin India’s three-in-one book for 188.17.

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics, but lukewarm response from the audience even though it was a modest commercial success with box office collection of 33 crores against a budget of 15 crores. Most critics acclaimed Priyanka Chopra’s stellar performance, but some found her wanting.

How does a story become a film? Ruskin Bond suggested that the original short story, the novella based on the short story, and the screenplay based on the novella may be put together in a book to give the readers insight into the process that transforms a story to a film. The screenplay writers – Matthew Robbins[ii] and Vishal Bhardwaj liked the idea; and so did Penguin which published the book – a first such compilation in India to my knowledge. Reading this three-in-one book after watching the film was interesting and intriguing.

Are these creative works organically related to one another, or is each one an independent work? A detailed discussion on this matter is beyond the scope of this blog, but the many significant differences are evident from a quick look at how each work begins and ends.

The Beginning

Short story

“Locally the tomb was known as ‘the grave of the seven times married one’. You’d be forgiven for thinking it was Bluebeard’s grave; he was reputed to have killed several wives in turn because they showed undue curiosity about a locked room. But this was the tomb of Susanna Anna-Maria Yeates, and the inscription (most of it in Latin) stated that she was mourned by all who had benefited from her generosity, her beneficiaries having included various schools, orphanages and the church across the road.”

Novella

“I watched in fascination as a gigantic Black Widow Spider[iii], her body streaked with green and yellow, crept down the veranda wall in the direction of her sleeping husband. Her body was almost two inches in length, her slender black legs at least six inches long. She was the boss-lady, the terror of the veranda walls. Like all spiders, she lived by murder, and her victims often included her own kind. Her husband, a paltry thing about half her size, lived almost entirely on her earnings. He was circumspect and kept out of her way, because he knew she would eat him when she was in the mood to do so.”

(Image Source: National Geographic)

Screenplay

“We see a lady place the barrel of a gun to her temple. We will come to know her as Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes, 53–54. She has a grim expression as tears flow down her face….

Suddenly BANG!!! We see blood splatter on a wall. It slowly begins to flow downward as music creeps in. Fade to: The title of the film—7 Khoon Maaf.”

The short-story beginning makes no mention of the murders; the enigmatic heroine Anna is ‘the seven times married one.’ The novella begins ominously by describing a gigantic Black Widow Spider, a metaphor for Anna, the femme fatale. The screenplay and the film begin with gore and blood- a skull smashed by a bullet.

The Ending

How does the story end? The short-story, novella, screenplay – each has a different ending. What happens to Anna after she gets rid of her six husbands[iv] – ‘all imperfect men,’ as she observed. In the short-story, Anna lived to a ripe old age and died peacefully in her sleep. In the novella, her mansion is consumed by fire, but she was unharmed being out in the garden at the Naag Temple to retrieve some hidden jewellery. Ruskin Bond proposed three ‘endings’ to the film-makers who chose a fourth one which is in the screenplay and the film.

The film begins with gore – a bullet smashes a skull (‘whose skull’ will be revealed much later), blood splatters on the wall opposite, and drips to the ground; and the core story unravels in flashback. The violence, macabre, and gore – grist to Bollywood crime-suspense-thriller mill, and Vishal Bhardwaj’s signature style - are most unlike the genial world-view, tone, tenor, and ambience of Ruskin Bond’s stories. The film-maker has evidently taken many liberties with Ruskin’s story; maybe because he had the box-office in mind. Alas, the box-office didn’t much like the film, it seems.

Shakespearean tragedy?

Does the film aspire to be a Shakespearean tragedy? Is Anna (Priyanka) portrayed as a tragic heroine? Notably, Vishal had adapted Shakespeare’s tragedies for three films – Maqbool (Macbeth), Omkara (Othello), and Haider (Hamlet) - with sterling performance by Irrfan Khan, Ajay Devgn, and Shahid Kapoor; and critically acclaimed. Ruskin Bond may have written a few stories with a tinge of pathos, but he wrote no tragic novel or story, and his original short story and the novella are not tragic tales. In fact, the original story is quaint, evocative, and suggestive, with passing mention of the ‘murders’ (except for the molten lead poured into the ears of a stone-drunk husband) which are presented in the film with gory detail. Maybe Ruskin stepped out of his worldview to write the novella to suit the filmmaker’s need for a crime-suspense thriller.

The Blue Umbrella

If you haven’t already read Ruskin’s delectable novella The Blue Umbrella, or seen the eponymous film made by Vishal Bhardwaj in 2005, I recommend both. The film won the National Award for Best Children’s film, yet bombed at the box office. What a pity!

Haunted Mansion

After we watched 7 Khoon Maaf, my spouse said, ‘Your Balasore story is fit to be a film.’ I was pleasantly surprised since I had written Haunted Mansion[v] a few years ago, and my spouse does not have a very high opinion about my stories, her preference being for WhatsApp stories which can be read in less than a minute.

But I don’t know Vishal. Maybe I should request my friends in UP (Vishal was born in Chandpur, Bijnor), or in Mumbai to recommend my story to him. Incidentally, Vishal had recommended Ruskin Bond’s story to a potential film-maker whose response was: I don’t find a film in that story. Later, Vishal himself made the film.

Bhavabhuti, a great Sanskrit author but not acclaimed during his lifetime, observed in a memorable shloka: Time is perennial and vast is the world; someday an appreciative reader would enjoy my works.[vi]

Ruskin Bond wrote The Blue Umbrella in 1980, which became a film in 2005, and his Susanna’s Seven Husbands written in 1997, became a film in 2011. Why should I be in indecent hurry?

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[i] https://youtu.be/q_b8tcbRhXE?si=R8CopvVy0WQMPd1U

[ii] Matthew Robbins is a veteran screenplay writer for Hollywood films. He co-wrote with Hal Barwood the screenplay for Steven Spielberg’s first feature film The Sugarland Express. 7 Khoon Maaf  was his debut screenplay writing for Indian cinema.

[iii] Females sometimes kill and eat their counterparts after mating in a macabre behaviour that gave the insect its name. Black widows are solitary year-round except during this violent mating ritual. (Black Widow Spiders | National Geographic)

[iv] Did Anna have a seventh husband? Watch the film or read the short-story or novella to find out.

[v] Haunted Mansion is one of the stories in my book Tell A Tale and Other Stories (https://amzn.in/d/2S6kFvs)

[vi] Reference is to the following shloka from the Sanskrit playwright Bhavabhūti's work, Mālatīmādhava:

ये नाम केचिदिह नः प्रथयन्त्यवज्ञां

जानन्ति ते किमपि तान्प्रति नैष यत्नः।

उत्पत्स्यते तु मम कोऽपि समानधर्मा

कालो ह्ययं निरवधिर्विपुला च पृथ्वी॥

Translation:

"Some may spread disdain about us here,

They know not anything; no effort is made towards them.

Yet, someone sharing my disposition will arise,

For time is endless, and the earth is vast."

This verse reflects the sentiment that despite current misunderstandings or criticisms, there will eventually be someone who comprehends and shares one's values or perspectives, given the boundlessness of time and the vastness of the world.

Odyssey of a Civil Servant: From Arrack Bottling to North Block to Mint Street

 

Odyssey of a Civil Servant: 

From Arrack Bottling to North Block to Mint Street

It is well-known that an IAS officer loves his own voice, often tells ancient stories in which he was the hero, and his actions as Collector in a certain district were so exemplary that people there still remember him with love, respect, and awe. However, as soon as he begins with ‘When I was Collector ….,’ the audience mentally switches off, while pretending to listen and nodding politely from time to time.

Why are autobiographies of IAS officers generally unreadable? They are so full of themselves, each convinced that he is the sun around which planets big or small revolve, for that’s the divinely ordained arrangement to maintain order! Most often, they are out of touch with reality. Further, after more than three decades of work in government offices, they have lost the ability to write simple, comprehensible prose. Why don’t they hire professional writers to do the job? Surely, they can afford to pay for that.

Duvvuri Subbarao, during his session at the Bhopal Literature Festival 2025, spoke about his book Just A Mercenary? What a pity, hardly any serving IAS officer attended the session even though it was a Sunday. His brief talk about his life and career was interesting, so I bought a Kindle copy for 359.31, finished it soon, and enjoyed reading it.

This is not a book review, so I jump straight to Chapter 6 – Make Haste Slowly: My relatively short tenure as a District Collector – from which I quote:

‘That I did not have a stable tenure as a district collector is, therefore, one of the disappointments of my IAS career.’

Mr. Subbarao was the topper of his batch (1972), and had a stellar career with several challenging yet deeply satisfying assignments. He worked in the World Bank for five years, resigned from the IAS a year before his retirement, and was RBI Governor from 2008–2013.

Why, then, is Mr. Subbarao ‘disappointed’ about his brief tenure as Collector? Because people, including IAS officers themselves, still believe that Collectorship is the defining assignment in the career of an IAS officer. The myth persists even after much erosion in the authority and aura of Collector.

So, how long was Mr. Subbarao’s tenure as Collector? ‘Twenty-one months but spread over three districts,’ he writes. Longest tenure was of ten months!

Even though this blogger was Collector in three districts for four years and eight months — a fair tenure, surely — he nursed a grievance that early in his career he had been transferred from a district in just nineteen days. Must be a record for the shortest tenure as Collector in MP, and maybe in the country, too, he often thought; till he read Mr. Subbarao’s book.

Mr. Subbarao, upon being posted as Collector, Krishna, enthusiastically took an early morning train from Hyderabad to Vijayawada where he was received by a lone deputy tahsildar who informed him that, as per a message received from the State Government, the posting was ‘on hold’ and that he was to return to Hyderabad. Thoughtfully, the deputy tahsildar had already bought a return ticket for the officer who was not his Collector.

This blogger mistakenly thought that he held the record for the shortest tenure as District Collector in the country!

Vignettes from Just A Mercenary?

• His UPSC interview had a disastrous start for he knew little about Muharram.
• Embarrassed to mention it to colleagues and relatives when posted as OSD (Officer on Special Duty) to set up arrack-bottling plants in each district.
• N. T. Rama Rao, the CM, always used the royal ‘We’! His meetings began at 4.30 am!
• ‘RBI takes cheap money from the government, banks and the public (yes, the currency we hold in our wallets is an interest-free loan to the RBI) and invests it in interest-bearing foreign and rupee assets.’
• Last chapter Letter to my Mother is touching.
• Just a mercenary? Or, was I more? ‘The judgement will perhaps remain reserved for ever.’

Note: Serving IAS officers, especially young officers, may like to read this book. By the way, my spouse finished the book before I did, undeterred by the references to implementation of LTR (Land Transfer Regulation) in ‘agency areas,’ preparation of government budgets, management of public finance, and RBI’s struggle to balance inflation and growth.

Further Notes

Encyclopaedia Britannica on autobiography

‘Formal autobiographies offer a special kind of biographical truth: a life, reshaped by recollection, with all of recollection’s conscious and unconscious omissions and distortions.’ The novelist Graham Greene said that, for this reason, an autobiography is only “a sort of life” and used the phrase as the title for his own autobiography (1971).

Quotes

‘Every autobiography is concerned with two characters, a Don Quixote, the Ego, and a Sancho Panza, the Self.’
— W. H. Auden

“The urge to write one's autobiography, so I have been told, overtakes everyone sooner or later.”
— Agatha Christie

“Autobiography is a pre-emptive strike against biographers.”
— Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

 

 

 

Smart, Subtle Slavery

My previous blog A Return Gift [i] was about the recent US deportation of illegal immigrants to India. Some readers were outraged at the inhuman treatment of deportees during the flight, some others argued that the illegal immigrants deserved no sympathy since they had knowingly and willingly violated immigration laws.

My brief response to a conversation in a WhatsApp group was:

‘Animals and humans routinely migrated in search of new territories till the emergence of Nation States, a fiction of recent origin. Every human is a migrant once we consider a longer timeline.

How quickly we forget the colonial times when adventurers and traders came in and became owners of vast territories!’

Slave Trade

As I write this, the rugged stone sculpture of five slaves at Stone Town, Zanzibar suddenly comes to mind; and the adjacent dungeon where slaves were stuffed like animals and starved to weed out the weak and non-sturdy. The altar of the Anglican Cathedral in Stone Town is believed to stand where the slave market’s whipping post once stood, where captives were beaten to determine their strength and endurance before sale.

Kumbukumbu Ya Historia Ya Watumwa/Memorial for the Slaves (Stone Town, Zanzibar, Tanzania); Source: https://slaverymonuments.org/items/show/1150

Stone Town, Zanzibar is now a UNESCO Heritage site.[ii]

The transatlantic slave trade, lasting from the 16th to the 19th century, was one of history’s largest forced migrations. It began with Portuguese and Spanish traders transporting enslaved Africans to work in their American colonies. Britain, France, the Netherlands, and other European nations followed suit and became deeply involved, fuelling the triangular trade system under which:

1.     European merchants transported goods (e.g., textiles, weapons, alcohol) to Africa.

2.     They exchanged these goods for enslaved Africans, who were forcibly transported across the Atlantic (the Middle Passage).

3.     The enslaved were sold in the Americas, and plantations produced goods (e.g., sugar, tobacco, cotton) that were sent back to Europe.

Over 12.5 million Africans were forcibly taken to the Americas – the Caribbeans, Brazil, and the country that later became the USA.

Slavery: New Avatars

Slave trade’s contribution to prosperity of western capitalism, though foundational, is too embarrassing to be remembered or discussed enough. But slavery is not dead and buried. Now, it is smart, subtle, politically correct, and law-abiding, too.

Capitalist economies still import workers, but they now prefer intelligent, educated, and highly-skilled workers – nurtured, educated, and skilled at the expense of poor, third-world countries.

What has changed from the times of forced slave trade? Now, no need for abduction, coercion, buy-and-sell transactions. Allurement suffices. Selling the ‘American Dream’ for example; luring talents by sponsoring scholarships. Once these dreamy-eyed immigrants land there, the magic land has enough charms to ensnare them for life. The only dream they chase thereafter is to upgrade from student or worker visa to Green Card to Citizenship. The immigrants swear by the lifestyle, culture, and constitution of the host country and happily contribute to their economy through their intelligence, high-skill, tireless work, and taxes.

Slavery is now manifest in new avatars – Outsourcing, Work Visas, Global Capacity Centres, Call Centres, to name a few –  euphemisms for hiring third-world talent at the cheapest wages with no need to comply with working-hours regulations applicable to native citizens. Projects must be completed in time regardless of the number of working hours required from the slave workers.

Although slavery as an institution has been abolished, its long-term impacts persist in several ways. The lasting economic, social, and institutional legacies that originated in historical systems of slavery continue to shape contemporary life. 

In many parts of the world, forced labour, human trafficking, and exploitative working conditions in agriculture, mining, manufacturing, domestic work, and other sectors are modern forms of slavery. These practices reflect the persistence of exploitative labour dynamics in a globalized economy.

Global Free Trade advocates for the removal of barriers and the equal treatment of all trading partners, but the reality is that historical contexts, economic power imbalances, and institutional structures have led to outcomes that often favour developed economies.

Slavery is not dead and buried; it has gone incognito; now it is smart, subtle, and subterranean. Politically correct, and irrefutably legal.

***

Notes

Throughout American history, numerous banks, institutions, and public figures have had direct or indirect connections to slavery - ranging from financial involvement in the slave economy to personal ownership of enslaved individuals.

Several American institutions, including universities and churches, have historical ties to slavery. Many Ivy League universities were built or funded by wealth generated through slavery. Harvard (2022), Yale (2024), Princeton, Brown (2006), Columbia, Penn, and Dartmouth have actively researched and acknowledged these connections. Brown was the first to formally investigate, while Harvard and Yale have recently issued public apologies and financial commitments.

In an examination of the genealogies of America’s political elite, Reuters found that at least 119 of the country's most influential leaders – presidents, lawmakers from the last sitting Congress, governors and Supreme Court justices – have a slaveholding ancestor. (Reuters, June 27, 2023)

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[i] https://pkdash-author.blogspot.com/2025/02/a-return-gift.html

[ii] https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/173/video

 

Advisory for Husbands: Dare NOT, to Stare!

A copy of an Advisory issued by IIWA (India Inc. Wives’ Association)  to IIHA (India Inc. Husbands’ Association) has been received from a reliable source who has requested not to be named.

The text of the ‘Advisory’ is placed below.

To,

President,

India Inc. Husbands’ Association.

Date: 16 January, 2025

Sub: Advisory for IIHA members.

Dear President,

On behalf of IIWA, I convey hearty greetings for the New Year to you and your distinguished members. We sincerely hope and pray that  2025 may bring you success, fame, and happiness, both at work and at home.

The following Advisory, unanimously approved by an Extra-ordinary General Body Meeting of IIWA, may be brought to the notice of all your members for necessary action and strict compliance.

Advisory

1.   Husbands are advised that staring amounts to ocular assault, and may note that wives do NOT consent to be stared at. Anyone who stares, on Sunday or any other day, at our honourable member at home or elsewhere; would be promptly outstared. Obsessive-Compulsive starers may keep a golden statuette of own spouse, à la Golden Sita, in their office drawer.

(Amul Ad in ET-15/01/2025) (Blogger's comment: But, butter melts only when bread is hot!)

2.   Husbands must be grateful, and periodically exhibit their gratitude, for having a very intelligent, beautiful, smart, and talented woman as spouse; and always remember that she is an autonomous person, no arm-candy to meekly accompany them to business lunches and dinners.

3.   An internal survey has revealed that our members are constrained to log in 100 hours or more of work with seven-day weeks round the year, and yet are poorly compensated for their untiring work; whereas men are raising a hue and cry over 70/90 work-hours a week!

4.   Since she manages her own Company, Charitable Trust, numerous social welfare and club activities, provides to husband healthy nutrition, minds his laundry, keeps his wardrobe fashionable and well-stocked (when did any husband ever buy a pair of socks?); she has a hectic daily schedule. Should a husband solicit her company at important events, request must be sent to her PA at least a month in advance.

5.   Should a husband wish to meet her at home on Sunday or any other day; purpose of proposed meeting, duration, and venue (drawing room, dining room, bedroom) must be mentioned.

6.   Husbands must share their detailed daily schedule with spouse, and provide real-time access to their GPS location when out of home. All unscheduled meetings, trysts, and rendezvouses must be reported.

7.   Husbands must share passcodes to unlock their phone and laptop.

8.   Husbands must take our mandatory online Refresher Courses: (1) How to be Productive at Home; and (2) How to achieve Domestic Happiness & Peace. Tests for these courses must be passed with Grade A or above (Grades A+,A++,& A+++).

9.    Husbands must submit Monthly, Quarterly, and Yearly ‘Home Productivity Self-Appraisal’ Report in our prescribed format; making sure to specify the ‘Quality Time’ they spent with spouse for period under reporting.

10.                  Husbands who snore (most husbands do, but vehemently deny it!); must sleep in the spare bedroom.

11.                  Our Association has unanimously resolved to celebrate each Sunday as No-Work Day, ME-Day, Serene Sunday- fully dedicated to the holistic health and wellbeing of our members, unencumbered by spouse, children, and domestic chores. Group and individual activities to be held include Yoga, Meditation, Relaxation & Detox massage, Zumba session with a personal trainer, Laughter-Chat-Gossip sessions, Nature Walk, music therapy, etc.

Protocol for ‘Serene Sunday’: phones on mute, no TV, no cooking at home, cook granted weekly-off. Our members would be on a liquid diet- only juices and other beverages. Should the husband be at home and feel hungry, he may request the gardener or the security guard to order a burger or biryani from Swiggy or Zomato. 

Venue for Home sessions- Prayer-cum-Meditation Chamber with dim lighting, and soothing Om chanting; entry permitted after bath, and on bare feet. Husbands are welcome to join spouse in the Meditation Chamber subject to strictly complying with the above-mentioned protocol.

12.                  Husbands must NOT:

a.   bring work-related tension home

b.   bring laptop to bedroom

c.    make business phone calls from bedroom

d.   check phone messages at 3.00 AM (the blue flicker disturbs the sleep of your spouse)

e.   scatter shoes and socks all over the house

Please acknowledge receipt of this Advisory.

Thanking you,

Sincerely,

President, IIWA.

***

  

Postscript

My blog was a response to L & T CEO S.N.Subrahmanyan's 90-hour work week comments:

“I regret I am not able to make you work on Sundays. If I can make you work on Sundays, I will be more happy, because I work on Sundays. What do you do sitting at home? How long can you stare at your wife? How long can the wives stare at their husbands? Come on, get to the office and start working," he added.

Readers' Comments

Two of my esteemed readers tell me that my blog is ‘too one-sided.’ I agree. But my humorous and satirical one-sided-ness was in response to the sexist, outrageous, ‘stare’ comment by the L & T boss!

Kedar Rout, a thoughtful reader and a friend got this WhatsApp forward:

‘Someone needs to tell L&T head that if you work 90 hours & don’t stare at your wife, someone else will;’ to which his response was:

‘Ha.. Ha..here we get some clues from TS Eliot...

Lil's husband is coming back after 4 years serving in the war. Her friend is persuading Lil to spruce up a bit so that Albert (Lil's husband) will have a good time. She further warns 'if you can't give it to him, others will'....’

My note: I had forgotten that Lil was a character in ‘The Waste Land,’ and read Part 2 of the poem once again. Here’s a longer quote:

“…think of poor Albert,

He’s been in the army four years, he wants a good time,

And if you don’t give it him, there’s others will,…” (The Waste Land- Part II-A Game of Chess: T.S.Eliot).

Thanks, Dear Kedar, for that.

 

God’s Surname

What is God’s surname? The question had never occurred to me. I’m familiar with the 1000 names of major Hindu deities, the 99 names of Allah, and the names of Biblical divinities; but have never heard of a surname of any deity, Hindu or non-Hindu.

Ram and Krishna were both kshatriyas, yet they are not called Sri Ram Singh or Sri Krishna Singh Yadav. Ravan was a brahmin, but wasn’t called Ravan Chaturvedi. Proper names sufficed, surnames- an appendage invented by man- were unnecessary.

May I come up, please, he asked, didn’t wait for my reply, and rushed up, as usual, to my study on the first floor.

Have you finished your work? He asked.

Of course, my work is finished as soon as you enter my study, I said.

I know that. Let us now play. Look, I’ve a big truck. A real truck; smoke comes out from behind when it runs. See for yourself; he held a quick demo. He was thrilled with his newest toy- a gift he had received the day before on his fifth birthday.

I put aside the book I was reading, and he led me to the veranda. Before ‘play’ began, he said, ‘I love you, Uncle.’ The little master manipulator knows how to wrap Uncle around his little finger, and get him to do just anything.

I replied, ‘I love you, too, Yug Bhatt.’

No, I’m not Yug Bhatt, I’m Yug Sachan!’

But yesterday, you were Yug Bhatt!?

Now, I’m five; and now I’m Yug Sachan; he declared!

My Dad is Varun Sachan, Mom is Payal Bhatt Sachan, and I’m Yug Sachan. Got it? Don’t forget.

Do you know how far this truck can go?

No, I don’t.

He had left behind the remote control at his home, and manually manoeuvred to send the truck rushing forward.

Wow, very impressive, I said.

Let us now play ‘goal.’

But, that’s a truck, not a football!

Stand with your legs apart; like this, he gave a demo. That’s your goal-post. If my truck runs past it, I score a goal.

We played goal for a while. I stopped a goal or two, but let others score. He was thrilled.

You lost, he declared.

Time-out, please; I requested.

I had a mild cold, thought I might sneeze, and went to the adjoining room to fetch a kerchief from the wardrobe. He followed suit. At the puja alcove, two-feet above floor-level, he noticed the incense sticks which spouse had lit a few minutes ago by for Makara Sankranti puja.

He put down his truck, took off his crocs, sat on the stool in front of the puja alcove, folded his palms, and said, ‘Thank you, God, for giving us food.’

He noted me standing near with a bemused smile on my face, and continued with his prayer, ‘God Sachan, Thank you.’

Who told you God’s name is God Sachan?

No one, I just know. And you are Uncle Sachan.

Yug Sachan had comprehended and imbibed Advaita Vedanta philosophy, and had delivered his first sermon to Uncle Sachan!

***

 

Gita Counselling: Supreme Healer’s Public Therapy

 

Gita Counselling:
Supreme Healer’s Public Therapy

Gita: Meaning

Gita generally refers to the Bhagavadgītā. However, Gita is a generic name ‘for certain sacred writings in verse, often in the form of a dialogue and devoted to the exposition of particular religious and theosophical doctrines; e.g. शिवगीता, रामगीता, भगवद्गीता’ (V.S. Apte).

Bhagavad Gita appears in the Bhishma Parva, the Sixth Book of the Mahabharata. There are 24 other Gitas in the Mahabharata including the Anu Gita (Ashvamedha Parva) where Arjuna prays to Sri Krishna for a reiteration of Bhagavad Gita. I have  forgotten your teachings, he submits; Krishna chides him for being so neglectful and forgetful, and says, listen once more, be attentive; but I won’t reiterate with comprehensive details as earlier.

The Gita sermon- transcendental knowledge of Yoga, ancient and mysterious- was first taught by Sri Bhagavan to Vivaswan (the Sun god) who taught it to Manu, the father of mankind, who taught it to King Ikshvaku; and thus, the wisdom was transmitted down the ages through the revered Guru-shishya Parampara. However, in course of time, this supreme knowledge was lost (4.1 & 4.2). Sri Krishna delivered the sermon twice to Arjuna- once prior to the commencement of the Mahabharata war, and again as Anu Gita.  

There are many other Gitas in the Ramayana, the Puranas, with some Gitas existing as independent texts.

Gita Upanishad

Though not one of the ten principal Upanishads, Gita is called an Upanishad since it is structured as one. Upanishad means ‘sitting down near’ referring to the shishya seated at the feet of his Guru. Upanishads are in Q & A format with the shishya asking questions and the Guru leading him to understanding.  

Arjuna, the shishya would ask questions; Sri Krishna, the Guru, would explain with patience, empathy, and compassion, and remove Arjuna’s confusion and doubts. Notably, Krishna addresses Arjuna as sakha (friend), and bhakta (devotee), extending and expanding the Guru-shishya relationship.

(Source: Wikimedia Commons- Sri Krishna preaching Gita Upadesh to Arjun - Unknown, Miniature Painting, Kashmir School - Google Cultural Institute- Date-1875-1900)

Who says What?

Gita is structured as reportage by Sanjay for Dhritarastra’s benefit. Sanjay was granted Divya Drishti – virtual audio-visual access to the battlefield – to give a blow-by-blow account to Dhritarastra whose blindness was physical as well as moral.

Gita is essentially Shrikrishna’s sermon, with 574  of the 700 shlokas delivered by Krishna. Arjuna has 85 shlokas of which the most are in C-11 (33), and C-1 (21); in the remaining, he asks a few questions responding to which Srikrishna expounds on different aspects of the mysterious and sacred Yoga, guiding Arjuna and other humans to navigate the turbulent seas of life.  Sanjay’s role is not insignificant; he has 40 shlokas; and  Dhritarastra has only one, the opening shloka.

Gita Therapy

Bhagavad Gita is much more than a religious sermon, and may be appreciated as psychological counselling- the world’s first therapeutic session; administered in an emergency to a valiant warrior who had suffered an unforeseen nervous breakdown; open-air, public therapy viewed by millions of warriors; and completed in a single session with guaranteed healing!

With no couch available, Arjuna sat down on the floor of his ratha. He was confused, torn with doubts about the right course of action for him, sad, dejected, depressed, and declared his resolve not to fight. Tormented by moral dilemmas, I surrender myself to you, please instruct me, he prayed.

A significant departure from the typical Upanishadic setting of Guru-shishya dialogue in Q & A mode. Kurukshetra was a battlefield where rivers of blood would soon flow, no hermitage with a relaxed ambience conducive to teaching-learning. Krishna was no rishi or a regular Guru in his ashram; he was very much a man of the world, a master strategist, and an invaluable ally, Arjuna’s relative (cousin), and a friend (sakha). But Arjuna had surrendered as a devotee and sought his guidance as Guru. At that point, Arjuna was unaware that Krishna was the Supreme One; Krishna would reveal his identity later during the session, and upon Arjuna’s prayer display his Vishwaroopa.

How did the session proceed? Arjuna had suffered a massive, crippling anxiety-attack, and was psychologically and physically not in a position to engage in war, not to speak of leading the Pandava army to victory. The 18 Chapters constitute 18 modules or phases of counselling- proceeding from basic to complex and intense. Chapter-2 is designed as a potent, effective dose to help Arjuna unlearn and discard fallacious assumptions, comprehend the ancient, mysterious knowledge imparted by Krishna, and act upon it.

Arjuna enumerates his anxieties and submits most of his queries in Chapters 1 & 2, but continues to seek clarifications till the very end, and the session concludes only when he declares that his confusions and delusions have been cleared by the competent counselling.

Therapy comprised audio lessons backed up with never-before-seen visual illustration- Vishwaroopa. Sanjay narrated full details of the session to Dhritarastra, and Veda Vyasa transcribed it for others to benefit from the wise counsel of Sri Bhagavan.

No medication was required; the problem was psychological; the counselling was healing- it cleared the cobwebs of anxiety and confusion; and the healing came from within Arjuna who steadied his mind.

Gita’s universal appeal is owing to its secular counselling, not limited to believers and practitioners of Sanatan Dharma; it transcends all religions, is relevant to humanity, and speaks meaningfully to the modern readers, too.

Memorable Similes*

Gita makes dexterous use of alankara, a poetic tool in Sanskrit literature. It has numerous profound upamas (similes and metaphors) to convey deep philosophical truths with simplicity and brevity. These similes often draw from nature, daily life, and spiritual metaphors, offering vivid imagery to explain abstract concepts.  

Here are a few examples:

A thousand suns arising simultaneously! A what-if scenario that defies imagination. How would that look like; are human eyes capable of handling such dazzling, blinding radiance? Surely not. But Sanjay having been granted divyadrishti could describe the divine radiance of the Supreme One in Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita.

If the splendour of a thousand Suns was to blaze all at once (simultaneously) in the sky, that would be like the splendour of that Mighty Being (great soul). (11.12**)

Grieve not, tells Sri Krishna to Arjuna, for Death is not a terminal event, but a mere transition. Just as humans discard old, worn-out clothes and adorn new garments; the soul abandons the old, decaying body, and acquires a new body. Why worry about what is inevitable; for those born will die, and those who die will be reborn?

Just as a man casts off his worn out clothes and puts on new ones, so also the embodied-Self casts off its worn out bodies and enters others which are new. (2.22)

When, like the tortoise which withdraws its limbs from all sides, he withdraws his senses from the sense-objects then his Wisdom becomes steady. (2.58)

For, the mind, which follows in the wake of the wandering senses, carries away his discrimination, as the wind carries away a boat on the waters.(2.67)

He attains Peace into whom all desires enter as waters enter the ocean, which, filled from all sides, remains unmoved; but not the desirer of desires.(2.70)

As a lamp placed in a windless place does not flicker — is a simile used to describe the YOGI of controlled-mind practising YOGA of the Self (or absorbed in th e YOGA -of-the-Self). (6.19)

Song of God: Philosophy through Poetry

The Bhagavad Gita is of enduring appeal, not for Hindus alone. Of course, it is an important scriptural document; but it is much more than that. It is an eloquent song, where the distilled wisdom of the Vedas and Upanishads is woven into exquisite poetry, and composed in anustubh chanda for lyrical chanting. Philosophy made easy through poetry and song! Gita is thus eulogised in Gita Mahatmya:

सर्वोपनिषदो गावो दोग्धा गोपाल नन्दनः ।

पार्थो वत्सः सुधीर्भोक्ता दुग्धं गीतामृतं महत् ॥

All the Upanishads are the cows, Krishna the milkman, Arjuna the calf, and the discerning, diligent readers the partakers of this nectar.

Why are non-Hindus and non-religious persons also fascinated by Gita? Maybe, because Sri Krishna’s counsel includes many secular recommendations for a meaningful, balanced life; relevant to all humanity regardless of religion.

~~~

*Source for text in italics under this section is shlokam.org

** Verse Reference: Chapter-11 ,Verse-12.

~~~

1.   Bhagavad-Gita As It Is: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

2.   Sanskrit Documents.org

3.   Shlokam.org

4.   Sacred Songs: The Mahabharata’s Many Gitas (Rupa, 2023)– Bibek Debroy

5.   You Tube

6.   ChatGPT, CoPilot, and Gemini

 

 

International Day of Happiness

International Day of Happiness

The World Happiness Report 2025 was published today (Mar 20) in celebration of the UN’s International Day of Happiness. As per the report, Finland is the happiest country, and Afghanistan, the unhappiest. India is ranked 118 among the 147 countries surveyed and ranked. As per the report, "all countries are ranked according to their self-assessed life evaluations averaged over 2022 to 2024." 

(Source: Economic Times, 21 Mar 2025)

UN designated in 2012 the day of spring equinox as the International Day of Happiness at the behest of Bhutan which pioneered the concept of Gross National Happiness. Surprisingly, however, Bhutan is not among the 147 countries ranked by WHR 2025. Why? Because the survey data for Bhutan is not available!
Was the spring equinox designated as IDH because the day and night are of equal length on this day, signifying the presence in life of happiness and sorrow in equal measure? During some seasons of the year, the days are longer, in others shorter.

Should Indians be unhappy, and trash the report as a global conspiracy to denigrate their great country which has been chanting swasti mantras for universal happiness and well-being since ages?

Sarve bhavantu sukhinah

Sarve bhavantu sukhinah. That’s how a popular swasti mantra begins. Every being is entitled to happiness. A shanti mantra invokes peace for the entire universe including the Sky, Space, Earth, Waters, Plants, Trees; for holistic peace is unrealisable if the entire creation is not in sync and peace.

If the goal of life is to attain and enjoy happiness, what goes awry to create so much misery and unhappiness in the world?

What is Happiness?

Does the fulfilment of desires result in happiness? Does happiness accrue from owning valuable assets, or consuming the best products available: living in a premium villa, being transported from place A to B in a luxury sedan driven by a liveried-chauffeur, going off for exotic vacations, having the latest iPhone, or winning a fancy girlfriend? Desire is never satisfied by enjoyment, just as fire is never quenched by pouring ghee.

Happiness is insubstantial, intangible, impossible to capture, possess, or retain. It’s not a packaged product that can be bought off-the-shelf.

Happiness is a butterfly; chase it, it’ll fly away; sit still sipping your coffee in the sun-kissed garden, it may land on your arm; grab it, it dies. But some folks have strange tastes, they love to frame dead butterflies to beautify their homes! Happiness of man matters, not that of the butterfly!

Happiness is a tiny dew on a flower petal radiating the pure joy of a glorious sunshine. Touch it, the delicate dream vanishes. Happiness is each one of the two million flowers a worker bee visits in her lifetime to collect one-twelfth spoonful of honey. Happiness is the soul of a water-drop that ascends to heaven for rebirth as rain. Happiness is the flower that blooms to greet the sun or the moon. Happiness is the wind’s song in the orchestra of trees, mountains, and rivers. Happiness is rain from heaven, a gift, a blessing for all. It gurgles like a mountain stream, the water sprays cavorting with the rainbow colours.

Happiness is all around you, provided you’re not desperately looking for it.

Happiness ‘set’ point

Psychologists claim that each person has a happiness ‘set’ point to which she returns after periodic peaks and troughs. Win a lottery, get a promotion, you’ll get a ‘high’; verbally whipped by Boss, lost a friend or a dear one, you’ll feel ‘low’.

This theory claims that human happiness is determined - 50% by genetics, 10% by circumstances (personal health, profession, financial status, etc.), and 40% by lifestyle. Critics dismiss the ‘set’ point theory as too deterministic, and suggest that the brain adapts and recalibrates the happiness point, when given a chance. Anyway, lifestyle choices provide a large playing field, and can significantly boost happiness.

Mind your DOSE, Be Happy!

For scientists, Happiness is a cocktail of chemicals – the bundle of miracle hormones – Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Endorphin (DOSE) – that our body releases. If you facilitate your body to manufacture and circulate DOSE daily, you’re likely to feel happy.

For a quick primer on DOSE, an excellent link is:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/dopamine-the-pathway-to-pleasure

This piece is part of a series, and leads you to brief, informative pieces on the other hormones.

What can you do to be happy? Help your body to manufacture these essentials hormones through lifestyle choices: diet, exercise, rest, relaxation, and bonding.

•      Mindful eating and drinking. Avoid junk food, sugar-laced carbonated drinks, too much caffein or alcohol. Eat a healthy diet including mood-enhancing food. To boost each of the DOSE hormones, there are recommended foods.

•      EYM: Exercise, Yoga, and Meditation

•      Sleep: Adequate, restful sleep

•      Music, Laughter (Children laugh 200 to 300 times a day; adults only 20 or less!), Sunshine (totally free).

•      Social Bonding: Not the time you spend on social media, nor the number of followers you have on Facebook or Instagram. Have a few good friends. Engage in group activities.

•      Practice Positive Psychology – Maintain a Gratitude Journal; Charity is beneficial for the giver, too! Handling adversity with fortitude and resilience.

Gita Wisdom for Happiness

Bhagavad-Gita, Sri Krishna’s sermon to Arjuna, enunciates the duties according to dharma, and provides guidance for right thought and right action for attaining salvation; but it also gives many tips for sensible living.

At Kurukshetra, the battle-formations are ready, and the great Dharmayuddha, the war to uphold dharma, is about to begin. But, Arjuna, the peerless warrior and leader of the Pandava army, is not ready; he is sad, depressed, confused, and dis-oriented, torn with doubts about the right path of action. To fight and kill brothers, relatives, and revered elders, or to give up arms and get killed? He asks: If we kill our adversaries, and win the war, would we enjoy the kingdom with our hands stained in blood?

O Krishna, my limbs tremble, mouth is dry, body shivers, Gandiva is unsteady and slipping down, skin is on fire, legs wobble, mind is confused and dis-oriented; everything appears inauspicious to me. I’ve decided not to fight, says Arjuna, and falls silent. Arjuna’s symptoms make a text-book case of a sudden, crippling anxiety-attack!

Sri Krishna’s sermon would resolve Arjuna’s doubts, dissipate his confusion and anxiety, and pull him out of depression. He’d be made ready for war, a metaphor for engaging with the challenges of life.

Of Krishna’s detailed counsel, several provide secular guidance for sensible living. Here are a few examples from Chapter 2:

सुखदुःखे समे कृत्वा लाभालाभौ जयाजयौ ।

ततो युद्धाय युज्यस्व नैवं पापमवाप्स्यसि ॥ २-३८॥

Yuddha may be understood as a metaphor for the formidable challenges of life.

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन ।

मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥ २-४७॥

An individual’s best efforts cannot guarantee the desired outcome. Too many variables are at play, several of which are beyond the control of the individual.

योगस्थः कुरु कर्माणि सङ्गं त्यक्त्वा धनञ्जय ।

सिद्ध्यसिद्ध्योः समो भूत्वा समत्वं योग उच्यते ॥ २-४८॥

In an uncertain world, maintaining equanimity and equipose is essential.

दुःखेष्वनुद्विग्नमनाः सुखेषु विगतस्पृहः ।

वीतरागभयक्रोधः स्थितधीर्मुनिरुच्यते ॥ २-५६॥

Do not be distressed by unhappiness, nor be overwhelmed with happiness. Balance is All!

यः सर्वत्रानभिस्नेहस्तत्तत्प्राप्य शुभाशुभम् ।

नाभिनन्दति न द्वेष्टि तस्य प्रज्ञा प्रतिष्ठिता ॥ २-५७॥

Neither exult over a good turn of events, nor grieve for momentary setback.

Postscript

Comments by an esteemed reader

“You have written a comprehensive piece on happiness, one of the most abstract and undefinable feelings. The prescriptions listed in your blog to feel happy are too much to carry out. That is the precise reason why people live their lives and experience happiness and sorrow as they come and rarely follow the regime outlined here.

Happiness like sweetness is a very personal experience, impossible to share. Gurus and scriptures say that fulfilment of desire is not true happiness for new desires would soon crop up. But the truth as we live daily is that desire and its fulfilment, fully or even partially, are the two triggers that propel us to continue living. All that we call progress and has ameliorated our lives has come out of this pursuit; doesn’t matter if it gave the pursuers any happiness.”

My response:

I broadly agree with my esteemed reader, and my response pertains only to his observation: ‘The prescriptions listed in your blog to feel happy are too much to carry out.’

But why are these suggestions for a healthy lifestyle ‘too much’? Why do we take our body for granted, take liberties with it, and mindlessly abuse it? Why do we dump into it food that we know very well as harmful; why do we deprive it of adequate sleep when we know ‘sleep-debt’ is never recovered; why do we sit for hours in front of the idiot box and skip even minimum exercise?

I am reminded of Shiva’s gentle reminder to Parvati, who was performing extraordinarily harsh ascetic austerity, that our first and foremost obligation is to the body - our only instrument for fulfilment of all worldly duties and responsibilities.

Even for believers in rebirth, there is only one life and one body for certain, and the rest are in the domain of faith and speculation. That’s why, every human has a fundamental duty to sustain and nourish her body.

शरीरमाद्यं खलु धर्मसाधनम् (Kumarasambhavam, Canto 5, Verse-33; Kalidasa)

A Quote

"If you want to be happy for a year, get married; if you want to be happy for a decade, get a pet. If you want to be happy for life, make a garden." - Martha

The World’s Happiest Man

The ‘World’s Happiest Man’ Shares His Three Rules for Life – The New York Times

Aug. 11, 2023

By David Marchese

(https://www.matthieuricard.org/en/articles/the-worlds-happiest-man-shares-his-three-rules-for-life-the-new-york-times/)

Excerpts from the article:

Excerpts:

Matthieu Ricard is an ordained Buddhist monk and an internationally best- selling author of books about altruism, animal rights, happiness and wisdom. His humanitarian efforts led to his homeland’s awarding him the French National Order of Merit. (Ricard’s primary residence is a Nepalese monastery.) He was the Dalai Lama’s French interpreter and holds a Ph.D in cellular genetics. In the early 2000s, researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that Ricard’s brain produced gamma waves — which have been linked to learning, attention and memory — at such pronounced levels that the media named him “the world’s happiest man.”

World’s Happiest Man

“For a while now, people have been calling you the world’s happiest man. Do you feel that happy?

It’s a big joke. We cannot know the level of happiness through neuroscience. It’s a good title for journalists to use, but I cannot get rid of it. Maybe on my tomb, it will say, “Here lies the happiest person in the world.” Anyway, I enjoy every moment of life, but of course there are moments of extreme sadness — especially when you see so much suffering. But this should kindle your compassion, and if it kindles your compassion, you go to a stronger, healthier, more meaningful way of being. That’s what I call happiness. It’s not as if all the time you jump for joy. Happiness is more like your baseline. It’s where you come to after the ups and downs, the joy and sorrows. We perceive even more intensely — bad taste, seeing someone suffer — but we keep this sense of the depth. That’s what meditation brings.”

Secrets of Happiness

“… once I was on the India Today Conclave. 1 They said, “Can you give us the three secrets of happiness?” I said: “First, there’s no secret. Second, there’s not just three points. Third, it takes a whole life, but it is the most worthy thing you can do.” I’m happy to feel I am on the right track. I cannot imagine feeling hate or wanting someone to suffer.”

Dalai Lama’s advice

What’s the wisest thing the Dalai Lama ever said to you?

I remember I came out of this one-year retreat to take care of my father. 7 At the same time I was interpreting for the Dalai Lama in Brussels. So I told him: “I’m going back to the retreat. What is your advice?” He said, “In the beginning, meditate on compassion; in the middle, meditate on compassion; in the end, meditate on compassion.”

***