Izzate, Sahorate, Chahate, Ulfate,

Sabkuch Is Duniya Me Reheta Nahi,

Aaj Mei Hu Jaha Kaal Koi Aur Tha

Ye Bhi Ek Daur Hai Woh Bhi Ek Daur Tha

(Regard, wealth, affection and even love, all these do not remain forever. Where I am today, someone else was yesterday. This is an era, that was an era too)

This was the philosophy of Rajesh Khanna. Experience made him matured to face the challenges of life. This man saw crazy fans, tasted unprecedented success, bitterness of private relations, dejection and almost everything one can experience in a single life. He made celluloid expression of all these during his four decade long film career. Emotions came to him as tides hitting a shore. Rajesh Khanna became a name of every household during his life-time and beyond. He was the first superstar of Indian cinema. While receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, he proclaimed that it was the ordinary film-goers who made him an actor, an actor to star and from star to a super-star. Rajesh said in comic tune, Ye Jo Public Hain, Wo Sab Janta Hai.

With the film Aradhana began a journey for two extra-ordinarily potential young men: Rajesh Khanna and Kishore Kumar. After SD Burman, another equally talented man joined the duo. The trio: Kishore, Rajesh and Pancham. During this period, India witnessed a unique era of films and music. Romance came to broad day-light as Rajesh Khanna presented the theme with perfection. He taught the entire nation the art of courtship through eyes. He turned out to a heart-throb of the ladies of his time. The handsome look, the winking eyes and expressions and emotions he is able to emulate on screen made him a virtual lady-killer. As a playboy, tragic hero, platonic lover, passionate lover or someone doomed for this single emotion, Rajesh Khanna ruled the film industry.

Rajesh knew how to adapt to the changing needs of the film industry. As times changed, Khanna rebuilt his image from the romantic hero he played during the time of Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Sanjeev Kumar. He never stood behind the shadow of any actor. He twice shared the screen with Amitabh in Anand and Namak Haram, but in both the films, Rajesh Khanna was never shadowed by his presence.

In the films like Babu, Avtar, Swarg, one finds a different Rajesh Khanna. His genius got true recognition in films like Agar Tum Na Hote, Alag Alag, Roti, and others. Both as romantic hero and tragic protagonist, Rajesh Khanna kept the audience hypnotized. In songs like Zindagi ke Safar me Gujar Jaye Jo Mukam, Main Tera Sahar Chod Jaungnga, Zindagi Ka Safar Hain Ye Kaisa Safar, Kuch To Log Kahenge, Hume Aur Jineki Chahat Na, Mere Naina Sawan Bhado, Kahi Door Jab Din Dhal Jaye, Nafarat Ke Duniya Chchodke, Zindagi Kaisi Ye Peheli Hai Rajesh Khanna made perfect photogenic expression of emotion. Equally unique are his roles in Achcha To Hum Chalte Hai, Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana, Shayad Meri Shaadi Ka Khyal, Hum Dono Do Premi. It seemed only Rajesh Khanna could do justice to all the roles. His ability to create pathos made him unparallel in this art.                   

During the last few years that he was ill, his illness could not keep him away from his fans. He emerged in his first and last television advertisement, Mere Fansko koi Mujhse chin Nahi Sakta. The ailing Rajesh did not fail to show the victory sign from the corridor of Lilabati Hospital, with his ex-wife Dimple beside him. As the superstar departed for his heavenly abode, thousands of fans wept and thronged around his house to catch a glimpse of kaka as he was popularly known.

With him, an era has come to an end.

My friend Tyanella wakes up with paranoia every morning since all the unfortunate episodes, aptly or inaptly named kandos, have been rocking the State. She’s paranoid about waking up and going for her morning rituals to the loo, terrified that when she’s out of there and comes to the bedroom, exclusive and explicit, frame-by-frame,  footage of her, in action within there, will already be flashed across television screens by news channels as breaking news. She has a gut feeling that those with cameras are hounding her from every possible and impossible angle and those without cameras, instead of plainly ignoring those visuals and respecting her privacy, are bringing the issue into undue prominence by making unfelt for and unconcerned noises about it. She feels, the electronic media now thinks itself to be synonymous to investigation. But for them, she says, no one would know where a wrong is being done, but for them, no one would know who is being wronged and once again, but for them, no one would know whose side to take when a kando happens.  And eventually, but for them, all investigative processes get screwed up. She has completely lost faith in her privacy. She says, for any wrong kando, the channels’ cameras are there. But then when the channels’ cameras do a wrong kando, who’s there?

Tyanella wakes up, sits on bed and reviews all that she saw on TV the day before. There is so much of negative reporting that she says others feel, when someone somewhere is doing it, then why can’t I? So that one negative kando makes happen ten more. And there emerge as many cameras to capture all those ten negative kandos to make breaking news out of all of them. With exclusive visuals. And multiply the number of such kandos by ten folds.

Isn’t there even one humane human among us to train those cameras on positive reporting? To give detailed, lingering, titillating visuals of some good kando some one has surely done somewhere? And yes, and then follow up with repeated telecasts of the positive kando as is done with every negative kando? Such positivity, Tyanella thinks, would surely make others feel, when someone somewhere is doing it, then why can’t I? So that one positive kando makes happen ten more. And then multiply by ten fold more.

Tyanella wakes up with paranoia every morning. She feels she will be made, how and through which political or apolitical faction she doesn’t know, the reason for the floods in the State. Or for the resignation of high profile people in the media. Because issues these days have an outrageous way of getting twisted, turned, used, misused, overused and repeatedly used by every possible and impossible individual and group to mould them to benefit themselves. Embers that would have done with a little sprinkling of water and words of caution not to glow every here and there are instead fanned and blown to enormous proportions with tongues of flames lapping up to devour many a Tyanella. And those lenses, those transmitting dishes and satellites and intellectuals all aim to gain expertise and limelight from every lap of those tongues of flames by boasting of and exhibiting their communication skills and letting the winds carry those exploits to every nook and corner of the wide world. While in the refuge of her bedroom, Tyanella trembles and braces herself till she absentmindedly folds herself into a foetal position. Probably praying to go back to the embryonic stage and even backwards, to non-existence.  

 Tyanella is a part of womankind, and womankind is a part of mankind. So when Tyanella is paranoid, wouldn’t the paranoia, sooner or later, embrace the whole of mankind as well? Does mankind wish to live thus paranoid? Mankind, spare Tyanella, spare thyself.

And make good, positive use of all possible gadget and media available. Let Tyanella wake up happy and bright...!

rashminarzary@sify.com

How to handle the mind and slow it down? Flute therapy may be the answer:

Here is one more innovation from the world of wellness and this one is called Flute Therapy. A Delhi-based cultural organization which seeks to “conserve the tangible and intangible heritage and culture of India” has recently conducted a workshop called Bansiyog demonstrating the healing power of flute and yoga combine. We, as journalists, would not have taken notice, except that it had three biggies involved: Colorado based internationally acclaimed flautist Nawang Khechog, who is also a Grammy award nominee; the apex body of Indian industries CII; and Mohan Tewani, the first registrar of S-VYASA Yoga University, Bangalore.

Conducted at the CII headquarters in New Delhi, the session organized by Krishna Prerna Foundation drew in a number of industrialists, CEOs and the media. So what exactly is Bansiyog? “It is a Deep Relaxation Rechnique (DRT) that combines the principles of yoga with therapeutic qualities of the flute to create a module to harness energy and develop focus. It helps to de-stress and enhance productivity,” says Arun Budhiraja, the promoter of the event.

“My understanding of this particular therapy is that you utilize the flute as an instrument to build spiritual values, compassion, love for all humanity and all species. We use the energy and power of the flute to explore your soul and calm you down. The soul-stirring sound of flute comes out of a deep spiritual existence. The vibrations work to bring in harmony and keep you at peace. It has the power to heel,” says Khechog who counts Richard Gere among his biggest fans. Of course, it can be any instrument played with soul. But flute, adds Khechog, has a deep connection with your heart and soul because “you play with your breath which comes from within you.”

He should know because Khechog’s divine music has often been used in hospices (where terminally ill patients spend their last few days) in Australia and the US as well as in kindergarten schools to calm aggressive children. But then, flute therapy can work in our normal lives as well. Says Tewani, popularly known as Mohanji, “Our mind is bombarded with millions of thoughts. We suffer from information overload. It is forever racing, fast and furious, and never restful. We live in a world of fast cars and faster music. Flute and yoga work wonders to slow your mind.”

Mohanji goes on to talk about various states of our mind. For example, Tamas is when you are lethargic and your feelings and energy are suppressed. Rajas, on the other hand, is when the mind is in fear, anxiety, anger and boredom. That is a state of mind when many take the help of sleeping pills and tranquilizers. In fact, in the US, tranquilizers sell more than any other drugs. “Today 90 per cent of the diseases are a result of stress. We don’t get our eight hours of sleep and if we do, it’s disturbed,” he says, “leading to rage, back aches and other psychometric ailments.”

Interestingly, flute therapy is the exact opposite of high energy aerobics with up-tempo music and vigorous body moves. “Sometimes you need this kind of exercise to wake people out of their lethargy,” says Mohanji.

At the session, the deep slow hypnotic voice of Mohanlal urged one to “take off their watches and glasses, free themselves from all bondages and loosen the calf muscles, temple muscles, shoulders, toes and fingers and enter a world of dark blue ocean.” The soft and lilting flute of Khechog played in the backdrop, sometimes barely audible, sometimes hitting a high note, mesmerizing everyone present. At the end of the 55 minute session, it didn’t come as a surprise that some actually fell asleep. Said Shefali Chaturvedi, Director, Manufacturing, CII, who was one of the participants “One session is not enough to turn me into a flute yogi, but one thing is certain – this is the best flute performance I have ever heard in my life!”

Encouraged by the responses, Budhiraja, the promoter, now plans to conduct such sessions more often, especially for corporate houses (where stress levels are high) as well as in schools. Even if it doesn’t heal, it has the power to clean your ego. Says Khechog,  “Flute is hollow from inside. It has no ego and thus it helps you clean your ego as well. Flute is also a very divine instrument in the Indian context, played by Lord Krishna to woo women, animals and nature in Mathura and Vrindavan. You can experience tremendous bliss.”

We agree, especially coming as it does from someone who has been a monk for 11 years; trained by the Dalai Lama on Buddhist philosophy and meditation; and lived as a hermit in the Himalayan foothills for several years.