The eyes see, ....

"The eyes see, only what the mind is prepared to comprehend."

— Henri Bergson

• Nobel prize winner Henri Bergson (1859 -1941) was an influential French philosopher.

I want to be a politician

My friend Jaiprakash Singh, runs the 'Sujata School' in Hyderabad and Moinabad. 

During my visit to the school he requested me to speak to and motivate the young students in class 10, who were shortly due to leave school for college. The easiest thing to do in the world is, to lecture others especially the young and dole out unsolicited advice. Rather than lecture I prefer to have a dialogue with the young, for they never fail to surprise me with amazing new perspectives and their boundless enthusiasm and energy.


We spoke about several things and then a quick poll of the students revealed a great surprise. Several boys and girls said their career choice was to become politicians.

Wow! I never saw that coming.
I later realised that, we often ask what, but rarely why?
I have no definitive answers but yes a theory. 

Most people dream of being powerful, rich or famous. In India all these three things are possible in one profession represented by the Indian politicians of today. Politicians are a force that is not dependent on any other group in society. They are just one step below God in social standing.
All they need is a fig leaf of concern and service. 

Politics is the only profession in which no pre-qualification, formal training, skill acquisition or training is mandated or required. Politics is open for admission to all, and it seems to require no study or hard work.

Traditional Indian society had four classes. 
1. The warrior class who held the muscle power. 
2. The priestly class who were custodians of society's knowledge and wisdom. 
3. The traders who had most of  the money and controlled commerce. 
4. The working class, who had the skills to provide products and services and also those who tilled the land, the farmers.  

This arrangement ensured that no one group controlled more than one lever of power. This provided balance in society because each group was interdependent on the others. The is why India was an economic success and social stability, and there was no social unrest or revolution for over 5000 years.

Now in post independent India there has been a convergence. The people with muscle power now also have financial and administrative power. They are the politicians. Sadly they have made irrelevant religion and education by subjugating and corrupting them.

Though there are exceptions, it is generally believed that politicians exist only to serve themselves. 

During their team as elected officials, they are magically transformed into business and property tycoons. Their wealth grows by leaps and bounds sometimes a thousand fold in 5 years.They usually live in palatial homes and estates, and are surrounded by incredible luxury.  If you smell an incredible amount of money, you can be pretty sure a politician is nearby. 


Politicians are extraconstitutional authorities. Yes I know about that humbug, that everyone is equal under the law and as per the constitution. Politicians are not under the law, they are above it. The entire government administrative machinery is at their disposal. Their power comes by controlling criminal elements, the law and order machinery, the keys to the vault etc. Politicians withhold funds from opponents and those who do not pay, while granting favours and projects usually to cronies, themselves, their kith and kin through front men or to others for a fee. They usually misdirect tax and regulatory authorities to harass and destroy any voice that speaks or even contemplates speaking against them. They are powerful and they have no qualms about demonstrating it, and flexing their muscles often.

Famous, they are. Other than film stars and cricketeers media reports primarily on politicians. They cover almost every action, and expression. They hang on to every word politicians utter, as if it were holy gospel. This encourages more useless and often harmful verbal diarrhea. The media uses this 'info-tainment' to often fake concern for the people and affairs of the nation to make money while irresponsibility abounds

Kids are impressionable and they learn quickly, particularly fast the things that are not good. Is it any any wonder that politics is the preferred profession for many youngsters?

Isn't it wonderful that India is the worlds's largest democracy?

Pablo Picasso on, Art Critics and Artists

Science and Charity (1897) - Pablo Picasso 

“When art critics get together they talk about Form and Structure and Meaning.
  When artists get together they talk about where you can buy cheap turpentine.”

-  Pablo Picasso

 

Self Portrait -Pablo Picasso

Guernica -Pablo Picasso (1937

                                  _________________________________

Pablo Picasso, Spanish born painter and sculptor, was the founder of Western modern art. He demonstrated extraordinary artistic talent at an early age. 

A good artist is someone who either soothes or stimulates. A great artist like Picasso does both for he provokes and inspires.

He created an art movement known as Cubism. In Cubist paintings, objects are broken apart and put back together in weird forms and geometric shapes like cubes, cones, or cylinders. The final image provokes the viewer to step out of the normal and mundane and examine objects and situations with a refreshingly interesting and unusual perspective.

Power of play

You can learn more about a person in one hour of play than one year of conversation

- Plato

We were pleasantly surprised to learn last week that  Hotfut Sports a company promoted by our son Pavit and his partner NIkhil were awarded The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) prestigious award for the best sports startup in India for the year 2015.

Is it not strange that we only start appreciating our spouse or child after the world bestows honour on them? Probably being in such close proximity to our loved ones, we see the blemishes more clearly than the glow, the thorn more than the flower.

As the applause grows so does my curiousity. 
I analysed the courageous, and daring journey of these two remarkable young men who are just a tad over the age of 30. Looking at the passion, the professional, courteous and dignified approach to life, reinforces my hope that the future of the world is an optimistic one. 
Given an opportunity it is amazing what youth can achieve.

Four years ago, these two football lovers and their friends, could not find any suitable place to play. 

One evening a frustrated Pavit said, "Dad, its so sad that NIkhil and I, who come from well off families, can not find places to play, what then must be the fate of the average Indian child?" 

"So what do you want do about it?" I asked.
"I don't know what, but we will do something about it", replied Pavit.

Four months later he came back to me and said, "Nikki and I are going to set up and operating world class Futsal, venues to provide affordable play spaces and sports education for children and young adults."
"What exactly is it you are trying to do?" I asked
"Dad, in a nutshell, we want to do good."

Soon thereafter they set up Hotfut with their first venue on a piece of uncultivated farmland almost right in the middle of the city. Since then has never stopped having fun and setting up multiple venues across several cities.

I always looked at sport as something to be with friends and to remain healthy. Never looked at it as a means of education. But when prestigious soccer schools from across the world started approaching Hotfut for setting up soccer academies, it was an eye opener.

Soccer and other sports education is not merely about play and health but also a very powerful way of building character and confidence in people.

Sports education consists of four elements

• Technical
• Physical
• Social 
• Psychological

In India we have focussed only on the technical aspects of sport, but rarely on the other three aspects. As a result India rarely produces accomplished sportspersons.

Sport is much about building intellectual, spiritual and physical strength as it is for technique and style. 

This is why Hotfut's tie-up with the prestigious UK based Arsenal School of soccer is a key to in-school programs to catch and develop young people.

With sport, children often evolve into productive, responsible, happy adults. I look back at my school mates and realised that all those who were active in sport, seem to be healthier, happier and generally more successful in their professional and personal lives. 

It is a proven fact that no matter what career a person pursues, sports people generally perform better. But where are we going with sport in India? Hardly anywhere, because, there is a dearth of facilities, access to available facilities, and manner of managing the field of sport.

An awesome aspect is the work that Hotfut Foundation, the non profit NGO of Hotfut does in bringing play spaces and high quality sports education to the underprivileged child.

With several venues launched, each with a footfall of approximately 10,000 footfalls, Hotfut has spawned a vibrant and loyal community. Hotfut is where friends and competitors gather, play football and cricket, to blow off steam and generally have fun. 

As Neeraj succinctly put it, Hotfut is a place people come to discover themselves.

Youth, rebellion and conformity

The young always have the same problem - how to rebel and conform at the same time. They have now solved this by defying their parents and copying one another.

- Quentin Crisp

Eyes on the sky - Alfred Gockel

Men and Women, abuse and compliment

Men almost always abuse one another, but they rarely mean it.

Women almost always compliment one another but they rarely mean it.

Perception lasts longer than fact.

Perception,
lasts longer than fact.

Life is defined by change. If it is alive, it will change.

People change, families, organisations and societies also change, even countries change.

Based on our 'education', social and familial conditioning, media and our own experiences we judge and categorise everything we get an input on. Thus layer by layer our individual reality is constructed.

These categorisations become what we call perceptions. These become our 'truths'. What is good, what is bad, what is dangerous what is beneficial? Who or what is to be followed or ignored? Etc. etc.

It is natures way of allowing us to cope with life by constructing for us 'our  reality'. The longer we live, the more rigid the edifice of our reality becomes.

Now when we encounter something which is overwhelmingly at odds with our perceptions, we grow uneasy, and become disoriented. This is why we refuse to see facts until they cannot be ignored anymore, and helps explain why perception always lags behind reality. 

__________________

Wise people, like small children, have no preconceived perceptions, they are intensely curious, non judgemental and very open to change. 

It is the hallmark of a wise person to experience life and entertain thoughts without making judgments."