[A poem I started out of a random thought some months ago. I hadn’t completed it then. When I saw it today, I completed it. The last part differs from what I had planned the day I created it.]
In most countries, Friendship Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of August. There is variation in dates, however. Learn more on Wikipedia. Today, on the occasion of Friendship Day, I have brought to you exemplary stories of friendship from the epic Mahabharata.
In this post, you’ll read about…
1. Krishna and Arjun
Well, they were cousins. Arjun’s mother Kunti was Krishna’s aunt. But they were not just tied by the bloodline. They were intimate friends. One could understand the other through his gestures. Krishna and Arjun, according to the Mahabharata are the incarnations of Narayana (God) and Nara (Human), who together can destroy evil.
The most remarkable point in the story of their friendship is Krishna’s recitation of the Bhagavad Geeta (The Song of the God) to Arjun. Though a fierce warrior he was, Arjun was filled with compassion seeing his relatives. He did not want the victory obtained by killing millions of people. Arjun wanted to leave the battlefield. Krishna motivated Arjun by saying that it would have been a possible if the war had not started. At the battlefield, one has to fight. Else, he would be called a coward. “Do you want to be called a coward by the future generations?” Krishna asked Arjun. He also told that Arjun could establish righteousness in the Dwapar Yug.
This story, if considered from the point of religion, tells us that God is a friend of righteous humans. It is through the guidance of God that we can bring an end to the evil. The main moral in this story is, however that a true friend should never let a friend depressed. Neither does he should let him be ashamed.
2. Krishna and Sudama
A long time after Krishna set himself as the king of Dwarka, a poor man came to his door asking for alms. He wanted to meet Krishna but when he saw the grandeur of the fort-city, he repressed his desire. The poor man was about to go away, when Krishna recognized him. He was Krishna’s childhood friend, Sudama.
Krishna and Sudama. Source: http://appmithistories.blogspot.nl
Once, when they were young, Sudama had stolen Makkhan and had eaten it alone without sharing with his friends. Sudama was tall and his friends made him steal the pots kept on the higher places. He had done so because when they used to steal together in that manner, he often used to get the least share. Unfortunately, since that day, his family became poorer and poorer. By the time Sudama had reached Dwarka, he had nothing but thin clothes and not a morsel of food.
Seeing his friend and knowing his story, Krishna embraces Sudama and serves him well. Within a few days, Sudama looks better. Krishna then helps Sudama build a house within Dwarka so that he can meet his amigo frequently. Such a generous friend Krishna was! (I heard this story from my grandmother some days ago.)
3. Karna and Duryodhan
Karna, though a Kshyatria by birth (Surya and Kunti were his parents), was called Sut-putra (child of a Shudra) because he was raised by a charioteer and his wife. When this warrior wished to compete in a ceremony with Arjun, the Pandavas humiliated him. Duryodhan, who has been portrayed as evil for most part, stands up to his brothers. He can not make Karna compete but later on, as a mark of friendship, grants Karna the kingship of Anga Province within his empire. Though one may say Duryodhan wanted to exploit Karna to fulfil his evil design against the Pandavas, Karna always took the friendship truly. He supported Duryodhan in whatever he did and went on to the extent of saving his only friend’s life several times. The Mahabharata says that the only mistake of Karna was to support the Chir haran of Draupadi. When Kunti later told to change sides, Karna said that because Duryodhan had only one true friend, Karna could never leave him.
4. Krishna and Radha
These are the subjects of numerous songs often describing romantic relationship between them. But there was more than the romantic feeling between them. While Krishna was a smart boy, Radha was wise. She believed in following the traditions as they were. Whenever Krishna made mistakes she was the one to correct him. For example, when Krishna killed a bull, Radha was enraged. She told him to bathe in the major rivers of the world to eliminate his sins. Krishna is believed to have brought water from Yamuna, Ganga, Sindhu, and Saraswati into two ponds now known as Radha Kunda and Shyam Kunda. In that sense, though Radha and Krishna’s friendship is not much told in stories, they had deep regards for each other.
I’m done with stories of amity from the Mahabharata. Happy Friendship Day to all!
August’s Monthly Feature is about some songs I am listening this monsoon. There are hundreds of songs I listen to. The songs here are just representative of their types.
First, Songs on Monsoon
Asarai Mahinama: There are several cover versions of this song, which I heard before the original. This original song sung by Chujan Dukpa beautifully tells the story of a man who is remembering his family from abroad.
Basai Bagayo: Aka Koshi, this is a beautiful song which carries the story of people affected the Koshi flooding about eight years ago. The song is significant even today as Koshi is shifting westwards from its previous bank and has been troubling many people who depend upon it. Next, Love Songs
Tiriri Murali Banyo Banaima: This song, originally sung by Panna Kaji (The link leads to the version later sung by his son, Pravesh Man Shakya.) is a beautiful reminiscence of love.
Ek Ladki Ko: All time favorite of mine, this Hindi song is penned by Javed Akhtar, composed by R.D. Burman and sung by Kumar Sanu. I particularly love the lyrics of this song. And finally, sentimental melodies
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna: Titular song of the Bollywood movie Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna translates into Never Say Goodbye. When I say goodbye to someone, maybe they don’t want me to go away.
Yo Dajuko Mirmire Aankha: This tragic folk song is about a couple about to be separated due to financial problems.
I talk about the art, music and movies that I have adored in the Monthly Feature. For the month of June, I present my views on a movie quite differently than I have done before.
What’s true love? Disney Animations and Pictures seem to change the notion that true love is always a romantic orientation. That’s what we saw in Brave, Frozen and Maleficent.
Maleficent: Meaning
The Dictionary.com defines maleficent as “doing evil or harm”. The dark fairy from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty (1959) is named and meant so. She is the villain who curses the beautiful princess Aurora to an infinite sleep only to be broken by “a true love’s kiss”.
Maleficent Revived
The same Maleficent was revived in the 2014 Disney live action movie of the same name. I had watched both the versions in the same year, unintentionally and I had felt that 1959 movie was more about the villainous Maleficent than the heroine Aurora. Yet, the movie seemed incomplete. I had not been able to understand why the fairy had to be angry at all.
Linda Wolverton, the script writer of the 2014 movie seemed to have noticed the same. So she added a back story where Maleficent’s wings are cut stolen by Stefan to gain powers for himself. The story adds details to why the fairy was angry with King Stefan.
The Villain
The king had stolen her wings- her pride and her fun. She even rescued a raven and named him Diaval. “You will become my wings,” she says something like that. She, however goes to the name-giving ceremony of the king’s daughter and curses that the girl would fall asleep on her sixteenth birthday after being pricked by the spindle of a spinning wheel. The curse could be broken only by a true love’s kiss. (She gives the condition of the breaking of the curse believing that true love does not exist.)
Wait! What was the little girl’s mistake? I don’t understand why Maleficent curses the little girl. Maybe she had psychological problems. (We do not know!) She has magical powers and all. She could have defeated Stefan then and there. Yet she chooses to curse the daughter. Maybe they wanted to show her association with the Princess who slept, which we see later. Maybe she did not like that particular child, we do not understand why. Thereby, Maleficent makes herself a villain.
But the land Stefan ruled must have suffered a lot. All the spinning wheels are thrown, dumped or burnt. Imagine the amount of clothes they could have produced in sixteen years. Forget Aurora and through the curse, Maleficent handicaps their economy.
Villain- Is She Yet?
To prevent the curse, the king sends his daughter with three pixies without even testing their competence. (What kind of father is he?) The dark fairy learns from Diaval that the little girl is not being taken care of. For her interest of bringing the curse true, she takes care of the child. But she also loves the child as her own as time passes.
Maleficent, when she understands that she loves the child, tries to break the curse. But she herself had told that it was unbreakable. Aurora, the Princess sleeps. The fairy brings up a Prince and tells him to kiss the girl. But it goes in vain. How could an attraction of some moments be true love? She knows she made a mistake. She asks for forgiveness and kissing her goddaughter’s forehead. Turns out Maleficent’s motherly love was true even if she had a selfish interest in the beginning.
So, is she yet a villain? Maybe Disney Pictures still say she is. Maybe Wolverton still believes in the villainous Maleficent. But the truth is that at the end of the movie, she does not remain a villain anymore. She has been transformed by the love she developed for Aurora. And she even regrets from having cursed her as a child.
That was the best thing about the movie for me. The transformation was the only reason I was able to forgive her act of cursing a child. Her name might suggest that she is still malicious. But she is not one dimensional word whose meaning cannot be changed. Maleficent is a fairy, cheated by a human. If her anger is justified, why not the change she undergoes? Wolverton still calling Maleficent a villain after a change of heart does not give her any justice.
सिद्धार्थ गौतमको जन्मका सम्बन्धमा
करिब २६४० वर्ष अघि बैशाख पूर्णिमाको रातमा यस धर्तिमा अवतरण लिएका थिए सिद्धार्थ गौतमले रानी मायादेवीको कोखबाट- लुम्बिनीमा । विभिन्न कालखण्डमा त्यो पवित्र भूमि विभिन्न देशभित्र पर्यो । वर्तमानमा त्यो क्षेत्र नेपालको सिमानाभित्र पर्दछ । लुम्बिनी संरक्षणको दायित्व अहिले नेपालीको काधमा छ । तर त्यसको अर्थ बुद्ध ‘नेपाली’ थिए भन्ने होइन । बुद्धलाई कुनै एउटा देशको नागरिक बनाउन इतिहास र नैतिकता दुवैले दिँदैनन्[१] ।
यो विज्ञान प्रविधिको युग हो । यस युगमा हरेक विषयमा तथ्य केलाइन्छ । बुद्धकालिन कला, संस्कृति, लेखोटका आधारमा लुम्बिनी नै सिद्धर्थ गौतमको जन्मथलो थियो भन्ने प्रमाणित भइसकेको छ । उनको यात्राको बाटो पनि पहिल्याइ सकेका छन् इतिहासकारहरूले । उनको जन्ममितिमा भने एकमत छैन । खोज गर्नै पर्ने विषय जन्ममिति हो, जन्मस्थल होइन ।
बुद्धको जन्मथलोको विकासको “गुरु योजना” २८ वर्षअघि बनेको रहेछ । आजको मितिसम्म योजनाले पूर्णता पाएको छैन । केही संरचना बनेका छन् तर ती पर्याप्त छैनन् । बौद्धहरूको चार धाममध्ये प्रमुख लुम्बिनीको विकासमा किन ढिलाइ ? २९ वर्षको उमेरमा त सिद्धार्थले राजपाट त्यागि सकेका थिए, सम्यक ज्ञानको खोजी गर्न । हामी बुद्ध भूमिका संरक्षकहरू किन आफ्ना व्यक्तिगत स्वार्थ त्याग्न सक्दैनौँ ? उनले बाटो देखाइ दिएकै थिए त ।
सिद्धार्थ र बुद्धका कर्मका सम्बन्धमा
सिद्धार्थको बाल्यकाल सुखसयलमा बितेको थियो । राजा (गणनायक?) सुद्धोधनले वातानुकुलित तीनवटा महल बनाइदिएका थिए भनिन्छ । यद्यपि भौतिक सुखले उनलाई छुन सकेन । मैले सानो छँदा एउटा कथा पढेको थिएँ, जुन यस्तो छ-
हरेक वर्ष रोपाइँ सुरु गर्नाका खातिर हलो चलाउन किसानका खेतमा जान्थे । उनलेे छ वर्षका सिद्धार्थलाई साथ लगेका थिए । रोपाइँको तामझाम छोडेर सिद्धार्थ चाहिँ एक्लै बसिरहेका थिए । वरपर कुदिरहेका कमिला हेरेर रमाइरहेका बेला एउटा छेपारोले तिनलाई खान थाल्यो । फेरि हेर्दाहेर्दै एउटा सर्पले त्यो छेपारोलाई निल्यो । एकैछिनमा, त्यो सर्प पनि बाजको आहारा बन्यो । प्रकृतिको समिपमा त्यस्तो अनौठो चक्र देखेपछि उनी गम्भीर हुन थाले । प्रकृतिमा यस्तो नियम किन छ भनेर सोच्न थाले । मनमा आउने दार्शनिक सोच हटाउनकै लागि ती तीन महल बनाइएका थिए । तर सिद्धर्थ प्रकृतिमा फर्किन चाहन्थे । २९ वर्षको उमेरमा उनी फेरि प्रकृतिमा फर्किए । उनले रोगी, वृद्ध र मृत देखे [२]। उनलाई त्यही दिन थाहा भयो पहिलो आर्य सत्य- दु:ख छ । त्यो दु:ख निवारण गर्न सकिन्छ कि सकिँदैन भन्ने विषयको ज्ञान प्राप्त गर्नु नै उनको लक्ष्य थियो जसका लागि उनले व्यक्तिगत स्वार्थको त्याग गरे । लक्ष्यमा सफल भएका कारण बुद्धका नामले चिनिए ।
दु:खका कारण र निवारणको माध्यम पत्ता लागेपछि उनका मनमा विचार आयो- ‘मैले पत्ता लगाएका कुराहरू अरूलाई सुनाऊँ या नसुनाऊँ । कसैले सुन्ला मेरा कुरा ?’ आम मानिसमा हुने प्रश्न उनमा पनि आएका थिए तर उनले कोशिश गरे । बोधगयामा उनलाई तपस्यामा साथ दिएका दुईजना अनि कुशिनगरमा भेटिएका तीनजनालाई उनले आफ्नो खोजका बारेमा बताए । उनको बोली मधुर हुँदो हो, सरल अनि लोकको भाषामा प्रवचन दिँदा हुन् । त्यसैले त उनको दर्शनबाट प्रभावित हुनेको सङ्ख्या बढ्दै गयो । संसारभर छरिएका बौद्धमार्गीहरूका आस्थाका केन्द्र हुन् गौतम बुद्ध ।
जन्मबाट होइन, कर्मबाट महान् भइन्छ । सिद्धार्थको जन्म राजकुलमा भए पनि संसारले उनलाई ज्ञानको अद्भुत खानीका रूपमा चिन्दछ । जन्मका आधारमा त उनी क्षत्रिय हुनुपर्ने, युद्ध गर्नु पर्ने तर उनले साधक भएर शान्तिको सन्देश दिए[३] । कर्मले महान् भएका बुद्धलाई म मनैदेखि नमस्कार गर्दछु ।
हाम्रो धर्म
मेरो विचारमा उचित कर्म नै धर्म हो । सिद्धार्थ गौतमको धर्म थियो चार आर्य सत्यको ज्ञान हासिल गर्नु, बुद्धको धर्म थियो जनजनलाई आफूले पाएको ज्ञान बाँढ्नु । बुद्धले त्यो ज्ञान नबाँढेका भए के हामी उनको चर्चा गर्थ्यौँ होला ? तर हाम्रो धर्म चर्चा गर्नु मात्रै होइन । हाम्रो धर्म त बुद्धका मार्ग र धरोहरको संरक्षण गर्नु हो । बुद्धका संदेशलाई आत्मसात गरेर नै हामीले उनको सम्मान गर्न सक्छौँ ।
[१. महान व्यक्तिहरू कर्मले चिनिन्छन् । जन्म त सबैले लिएका हुन्छन् तर केही मानिस मात्रै सत्कर्मका कारण प्रख्यात हुन्छन् । यस्ता महान व्यक्तिहरूले सधैँ सम्मान पाउँछन्, उनीहरू जुनसुकै देशमा जन्मेका किन नहुन ।
केही वर्षयता नेपालमा बुद्धलाई नेपाली बनाउने क्रेज देखिएको छ । बुद्धको नाम र तस्विर राखेर फोटोशप गरिएका नागरिकता पनि देखिए सामाजिक संजालमा । मन चिसो हुन्छ । हामीले बुद्धको संदेश लिएर शान्ति बाँढ्नु पर्ने हो तर बुद्धलाई नै खिचातानीमा पार्छौँ । नेपाल र भारतका लागि राजनीतिक विषय हुन्- बुद्ध र उनको जन्मस्थल । बुद्धका शान्ति संदेश रुँदै छन् पुस्तकालयका कुनै कुनामा ।
२. बुद्धचरीत्रमा भवनबाट निस्किएका सिद्धार्थले तीन दिन तीन मानिसलाई क्रमशः देखे भनिएको छ- वृद्ध, रोगी र शव । कतै सिद्धार्थले एउटै मानिस त देखेका थिएनन् ? पहिलो दिन सायद उनले एउटा बूढो मानिस देखेका थिए । उनले पहिले कहिल्यै वृद्ध नदेखेकाले उनले चासो लिए होला । भोलिपल्ट सायद ज्ञान भयो कि ती वृद्ध रोगी पनि रहेछन् । तेस्रो दिन सायद ती बूढाको मृत्यु भैसकेको थियो । मानिस किन दु:खी छ र मरेर गएपछि अरूलाई पनि दु:खी किन बनाउँछ भन्ने साधारण प्रश्नले सिद्धार्थलाई बुद्ध बन्न प्रेरित गर्यो ।
३. बुद्धले मानव शान्ति र विश्व शान्तिको सन्देश दिए । उनले चार आर्य सत्य प्रतिपादन गरे: १) दु:ख छ ; २) दु:खका कारण छन् ; ३) दु:ख निवारण संभव छ ; ४) दु:ख निवारणका लागि अष्टाङ्गिक मार्ग छन् : सम्यक दृष्टि, सम्यक सङ्कल्प, सम्यक वचन, सम्यक कर्म, सम्यक आजीविका, सम्यक व्यायाम, सम्यक स्मृति, सम्यक समाधि ।]
LIFE IS IMPOSSIBLE WITHOUT LOVE. YOUR LOVE IS THE SPIRIT THAT BURNS THE LAMP OF MY LIFE.
Dear Family,
What would I do without you? You make me the person I am. You three are the best people around me whom I can trust forever.
I would never have written this without you, Ankita. If you are not come up with the origami booklet, these words would not have been penned and they would not have come up on my blog today. Thank you, my sister. If you had not brought up the idea, I would have been thunderstruck on the most amazing day ever- the day on which Mother’s Day could be celebrated together with Father’s Birthday. When will such a chance be conjured again? I would have missed it if you had not done it.
Thank you Mamu for tolerating me. I am not easy to handle. You have said it again and again. To bear the thoughts of someone who lives more on dreams and online than reality can be troubling. It’s difficult to take care of me. But you have taken it in your safe hands. That’s why I don’t need to take care of myself while you are around.
Thank you Baba for shaping my personality. My personality is influenced by all three of you in my family but you are the one I feel my characters match to a great extent. I have learnt a great deal through you. Thanks a lot for giving me your attention and making me the way I am.
I know I am not the best but everyday I strive to be better. I might lack the essential skills to face the world. I might have been obstinate at times. I might not have lived up to your expectations. But I’ll ensure that I use the goodness you have fed into me to go on with my life. I will always make sure that I will be with you, in both my joy and sorrow. I promise I will make you proud.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mamu!
Happy Birthday, Baba!
Yours forever,
Ankit
(A note on Matatirtha Aunsi aka Mother’s Day on Friday. Aunsi is the new moon in Lunar Calendar used in Nepal. Fortunately, it was also the birthday of my father according to the Solar Calendar.)
“I believe in luck. Call it fortune, coincidence [or serendipity], I believe in incidents that occur all of a sudden and change the course of life.”
As I was thinking of the above statement from an essay by Nagendra, I knew I had to present instances if I had to bring it up an article. I got them in a magazine. The stories of Buddhi Tamang and Kameshwor Chaurasiya made me believe the statement even more.
Would you have ever thought that a man who was doing labour works could get into movies? That’s Buddhi Tamang. He worked in different places as a porter until someone told him to work at a theatre. Gradually he got into acting and was soon doing dramas. After doing a few movies, he worked in the superhit movie Kabaddi Kabaddi. “Hait,”- the one word that made him famous. His acting was praised by all. He now aims to be a director. All the best Mr. Tamang!
When you have a passion for something it’s better to pursue it. But this did not happen to Kameshwor Chaurasiya. He got involved in stage acting but could not get a chance in the theatre- in Nepal and in India as well. One day he declared himself a failure and started selling ‘chatpate’. His passion came up alive once again when he met Anup Baral, the famous director on the road. Though details were not provided, he got a chance somehow and rose to fame after his work in the movie Resham Filili.
Call them fortune, universal conspiracy or Maktub (as Coelho says in ‘The Alchemist’) or ‘lekhaanta'(in Nepali) I believe in instances of sudden change in fortune. This dangerously means loss as well although I have mentioned gain here.
***
I believe in God. As a student of science, I should not just believe in God. I should be able to show evidence on God’s existence. But I am not only a student of science. I live in a society that believes in divine power. My parents tell me to have faith in God. In fact, faith is a way of life.
Nepal is known as the home of Gods. Most people believe that the mighty Himalayas and the plain of the Terai are gift of God to the Humans. Living in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal aka the City of Temples, there is no way I can avoid God. If I say I don’t want to believe in God a hundred times, God somehow makes me believe in the Divine existence.
This week I saw in much details the process by which Goddess was invoked into a stone sculpture. Through Tantra-Mantra-Yantra, when the Goddess was said to have entered the statue, we could feel the change in energy. Everything looked beautiful. You could feel the positive vibes of the Mother entering into you. There were smiles everywhere. A transformation of Goddess also promised a transformation of Human hearts.
That’s one way of having a faith in God but I also believe in the existence of all powerful God within us that we often fail to identify.
***
I believe in Love. The soothing feeling while you are with your family, the comfort you feel with your friends, the awesome inexplicable feelings while you meet your lover- Love comes in various forms.
Love is within us and among us. But we fail to recognize it’s presence most of the times. That’s why the Buddha, Christ, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Florence Nightingale are special to us. Had there been no Love, the World would have fallen apart. I believe Love is what we live by (just like Tolstoy penned in ‘What Men Live By?’
***
At last:
I believe Love can change our Luck, Luck can help us discover God, God shows us way to Love and Love makes our lives worth living. I believe that if we can invoke God into a stone, there is no way we cannot discover God within us. It’s just matter of time, patience and well doing.
I happened to see a photo on Facebook today. It says:
“Romeo died for love, Valentine died for love, Jack of Titanic, Samson from the Bible, Hercules, Achilles, and even Jesus died for love.”
And then it goes on to say that there is not a single woman who died for love. It challenges women to come with at least five names of women who died for love. I had a strange feeling towards this post. First I felt that it was a challenge to women. A few minutes later, I thought, “This post (most certainly made and circulated by men) is an example of stupidity. It was probably made by an arrogant teenager, who does not care the contributions of women in the world history and even in his life or an ignorant adult, who does not know anything.”
But if it was intended to be a challenge, I said to myself, that it is indeed a good question. It checks the intelligence of his girl. This article, thus is an information to those who do not know the answers (or pretend not to know) and a help from my side who would like to get answers.
I have limits, though. I can’t tell anything from the Bible or the Iliad, whose characters appear above. And I am unable to provide answers related to the history and literature I do not know. I’ll try my best in providing information of the five women who died for love I have known from the history of Nepal, and Nepali, English and Sanskrit literatures.
1. Sati
I guess I had given primary information about her on my previous article. She comes back to show that hers was one of the most painful sacrifices for her love.
Sati, according to the Hindu Puranas was the daughter of Prajapati (King) Daksha and Virani. She was married to Shiva, the Lord of the Lords.
For the reasons that Shiva wandered around Kailash (his abode) on improper clothes taking narcotics, Daksha disliked Shiva. On one Yagya (a sacrificial worship) he did not invite Sati and Shiva but invited all his son-in-laws. When Sati knew of this through Sage Narad, she goes to the Yagya and quarrels with her father. He keeps humiliating Shiva, though. Unable to listen to those words, she sacrifices herself on the burning pyre set up for the Yagya. She burns slowly to death until Shiva himself recovers her body after a huge war against the soldiers of Daksha.
Amish Tripathi alters this story in the last book of The Shiva Trilogy. Sati, the wife of Shiva, fights with Daksha, the King of Meluha because he had been using the love of her life in suppressing the poor people of other neighboring countries. When she comes to know that Daksha has planned to kill Shiva, she fights the Egyptian killers. At the end of extremely violent and gory fight, she dies. Shiva comes later to bring about the destruction of Daksha and his country.
2. Muna
Muna is a famous character from Muna Madan, an epic poem by Laxmi Prasad Devkota. The plot follows Madan going to Bhot (Tibet) while Muna awaits at home in Kantipur (old name for Kathmandu).
Madan gets ill on the way returning back home. A Bhote (resident of Bhot) finds him deserted and saves his life.
At home, however Madan’s friend tell Muna that he has died. Unable to suffer the pain of loss, though false, she dies before Madan comes home. Muna and Madan reunite in the heaven, after Madan dies a few days later.
3. Rajendra Laxmi
If you talk about love and leave away the love for motherland, you are misinterpreting love. Women have died for love of their countries. And this brave woman survived the custom of Sati (I have discussed it on my earlier article) because of her child to extend the territory of Nepal.
After the death of Pratap Singh Shah, the eldest son of king Prithvi Narayan Shah, she took over the responsibility of unifying the small states into a bigger Nepal. Initially, helped by Bahadur Shah- her brother-in-law, she united the eastern states and some of the western states as well. Fighting the unhelpful courtiers and family members, she continued the campaign. By the time she died, Nepal had its eastern territory up to Sikkim and western up to the Kali Gandaki river.
4. Julia Rana
It’s just been some days I have read about her. Born in the Rana family, she was the love of Martyr Dashrath Chand.
Dashrath Chand was a friend of Dharma Bhakta Mathema (another martyr) and was employed at the home of General Rudra Shumsher. There Julia and Dashrath met and both knew sometime later that they loved each other. Rudra Shumsher had agreed upon their marriage but the wedding was cancelled twice because of the deaths in the families. Later, the then Prime Minister, Juddha Shumsher got against Rudra Shumsher and he was exiled from Kathmandu. Almost a month after the exile, Julia died of TB. It was said in that article that Dashrath Chand did the rituals a husband does at the death of his wife and her death also ignited in him the anti-Rana views.
5. Juliet Capulet
My question to the creator of that challenge is- how can you separate Juliet from Romeo? If you have read this world famous work of Shakespeare, you will know that Juliet dies not once but twice- once in a pretence to bring Romeo back and in real when he dies. The pretence is made by the use of medicine (anaesthetic?) but Romeo gets a wrong message to find her dead. So, how could you dare to say that only Romeo died for love.
Final Reflection
I listed out some women who died for love. But as I write, I also ask a question- what is the definition of love in that Facebook post? It surely is not only the romantic love between a man or a woman. Jesus is an example for the love of humanity. If he can be included, why not include the names of Mother Teresa and her followers, Florence Nightingale, Eleanor Roosevelt, Benajir Bhutto and so many women who have spent their lives for the care of humanity?
If sacrifice is what you call love, almost all women would be included. Women have sacrificed their parent’s house and comfort, changed their surnames, given up their jobs and interests, have died everyday and yet, have smiled just for you and your family. So if your girl or wife adds her name in that list, don’t get surprised. She has given a lot of things just for your happiness.
I am not someone who would take the first step in breaking rules. I am not the one who would like to be in a crazy situation. But one day, I was pulled- by fate or friendship, whatever you may call- to this weirdest, craziest birthday party ever.
We were on the geological excursion- a once in a lifetime experience. The tour was becoming too mundane. Wake up at about five in the morning, have morning meal at eight run to the field at nine. Return back within five-thirty in the evening, dine at six and work until midnight before going to sleep. Most of us were following the same routine. There was a need for change.
Some boys had tried spicing up life already. In the room where I had stayed, a friend of mine had been awakened in the night by some of the boys on his birthday. It was fun then but the teachers scolded them, albeit indirectly. Two nights later, we had to celebrate a birthday. We had to make it special.
Girls took the initiation. They prepared everything- unknown to most of us. They decided to take permission from the Field-in-charge Deepak sir. Laxmi did the talking. I was there when sir said to celebrate the birthday in silence.
The wait was long. I had some work to do, however. Time passed on easy. Rabi dai and Pawan dai made faces and took selfies and clicked photos. Sanjeev was probably waiting for the midnight but he did not know what was in store. Anish was busy in his work and we had to remind him at the last moment.
We waited in the dark. The birthday-girl had been sent away by the other girls. They came out as well carrying slices of cakes with them. It was almost January 14. What were we doing at the time when ghosts move around for food? We were talking in excited whispers, eager to wish the birthday-girl.
She stepped up. We all hid ourselves behind the walls of the dark corridor. Within thirty seconds, as soon as she stepped up the last stair, we all jumped and wished, “Happy Birthday to You! Happy Birthday, Romi!” We wished the birthday-girl in whispers. We had done it. We had wished her in the midnight, with permission, in whispers! (Bajrangi Bhaijaan’s ‘permission leke, taar ke niche se’ was running on my mind!)
Romi was awed. She could not believe it. She wanted to jump and shout. “Ssh! Keep your voice low!” We demanded. The same warning used to come up whenever someone tried to speak up loudly. The party continued with cakes. Everyone wished in whispers again. Apart from the aforementioned people, excluding Deepak sir, Prasmita, Bhawana, Pratigya, Ravi (not to confuse with Rabi dai), Nirusha and Sarita had joined the party. We even took selfies to commemorate the moment. Within half an hour, Anish posted one of the photos on Facebook.
What else happened? The boys slept. The girls said they had had a silent dance party. Rules and ethics ruled us out from the silent dance party. Yet we had participated in the craziest midnight silent birthday party!
[From left to right]1st row: Pratigya, Romi, Bhawana; 2nd row: Prasmita, Sarita, Nirusha, Laxmi; 3rd row: Ravi, Rabi dai, Last row: Anish, Pawan dai, Ankit (aka Sandeept); Selfie click: Sanjeev
[Before the end of this article, Romi, I would like to wish you Happy Birthday again. I know it’s been more than a week already but I also can’t wait another year to wish you.
Along the road of life – miles,
Never let go off your smiles!
May happiness devour all your fears,
Never you be soaked with tears!
With Pure Heart, may you win the World,
Blessed with Friends as precious as Gold!
Happy Birthday!!]
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