If you have a problem, fix it. But train yourself not to worry, worry fixes nothing. - Ernest Hemingway

Sunday 6 May 2018

My two-penny philosophy


Idle musings
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Let me share with you a few lines from a folk song that have been going through my head repeatedly over the last few days. The original lines that we get to hear (by the lovable Bengali Pakistani pop singer Alamgir, and the equally lovable Bangladeshi Md. Badiuzzaman) are both in Bangla in Hindi.
আমায় ভাসাইলি রে, আমায় ডুবাইলি রে,
অকূল দরিয়ার বুঝি কূল নাইরে।
কূল নাই, কিনার নাই
নাইকো দরিয়ার পাড়ি
সাবধানে চালাইয়ো মাঝি,
আমার ভাঙ্গা তরী।
চাহে আন্ধি আয়ে রে
চাহে মেঘা ছায়ে রে
হামে তু উস পার লেকে
যানা মাঝিরে।
"You've drowned me in, you've pulled me up
On this immense river that seems to have no sides
You don't see the banks, there's no end,
Please sail carefully, Boatman,
My vessel is old and crumbling.
“Let there be clouds
Let there be tempests
Boatman, please do take me home”
*
Some people have a permanent boatman at their service, like a personal gym trainer. For people like me who are not that fortunate, it’s not completely hopeless. He emerges from within.
Give yourself a chance. Live well, as long as you have to.
06 May 2018