The Purpose

A word of caution - the lines below might get you thinking and if you do, I'd appreciate it if you could help me organize my line of thought or give me your answers because I've run through these internal conversations many times lately and have never reached a conclusion yet. The question is short and simple but has been asked for ages by so many people. 

I was just wondering why are we always on the run? We chase money, fame, position, status and many others. We all seem to be running after something. Right? We go to school we run after marks. For what? To score that cut-off that could get us into one of those reputed colleges. For what? Who knows, all we know is we have to, because that's how it's been for a long time now. Otherwise our future would be doomed. We then somehow make it to a college then we work hard to get a good cgpa while some of us try to prove ourselves in activities other than studies. We finally make our way into some job which we may or may not regret about, in a few years time, down the lane. Then, in the job we fight, compete, slog for hours for a promotion, hike and a list of others. So until we find a job and settle ourselves in it we are running after something either to prove ourselves better than others or just to feel good about ourselves, each of us may have a hundred reasons to do this but everything boils down to getting a good position in the society or a very few do it for the joy of doing it. Then finally we get married and we run after money and all those I listed above to support our family. While supporting and bring up our family is out of pure love for them, we are still obligated to be a part of this race one way or the other. Agreed? No? Then, point out atleast one middle-aged or old couple who hadn't felt exhausted and frustrated at some point in their lives because they just can't pause during this race? 

So where is this race heading to? For what joy? Ultimately what will we get out of this. In short, what is really the purpose of this existence? I have often heard learned people say, we exist for a reason. What IS this so-called reason? Is any of us aware of this reason for which we exist? What is the point in being born, running after something because the society says so and then running after something again because you have a responsibility on your head and finally die like you never existed. People close to you will cry, for say, a few days? Weeks? Or months? But after that? You are gone. You will be a forgotten past. A picture probably will remind them of you once in a while and a tear or two might escape their eyes. But, that's all you matter. So, again, I come back to my question. What is the purpose of our existence? 

I am certainly not saying that we should free ourselves from the societal norms because I don't think any of us have the courage to do so, as we are still a part of it and we are definitely not that brave or wise enough to make our existence matter by leaving this framework. But, a part of our lives should really be spent on creating a meaning for our lives, our existence. In my opinion, somehow (I have not figured that out yet) we should make a positive impact in other's lives. We live a short life and we should be remembered for the good part of us more than the bad one. We could just pause and look around us. So many things happen around us. But, are we really sensitive to all of those or are we too pre-occupied with ourselves that we fail to notice the world slowly deteriorating out of thirst for love and affection for each other? Where is all that? I see people working so hard to create a good attitude, strong self full of confidence and pride, respect and a lot of those management words used in most of the self-help books. Honestly, I am one of them too. I totally agree. But, sometimes, this small part of me asks me such weird questions making me stop and question myself which eventually leads to a spiral of thoughts and I reach nowhere. Today, I just ended up typing this out to all of you. So, again, the question goes like this... 

What is the purpose of our existence? 

Words of Importance.. Importance of words?

In our life, we utter so many words of which we have no count. Some hold meaning, some are meaningless, some are well-thought while some are just uttered in a flow of emotions. Some hurt others, some hurt us, some causes a contagious laughter while some result in tears. Above all this, there are a few words which we don't mean at all but we say it anyway without giving a thought about what possible consequences it might have on those at the receiving end. When words can have so much importance, so much weight, such a lasting impact on people, why are we so careless while using it? Why are we being so generous in our choice of words? Is it because it is free of cost? If you think it is, then let me remind you, very strongly, that it costs you people, the love and respect they have for you.

I was recently told by a friend that words are mere sounds and they hold importance only as long as we give it. I agree. But, that is to you my friend. We cannot expect such a level of realization in everyone around us. Why are we humans and what makes us different from things and in certain cases, animals? It is our ability to be sensitive to other's feelings. In which case, expecting THEM to follow this and trying to escape the burden of being responsible for what you speak doesn't define you or categorise you completely as a human being fully conscious of what a fellow being might end up feeling after you have said what you wanted to say.

So, it is a humble request to all those who are reading this. Please be very careful on what you speak. What you say out of a sudden gush of emotions, might cause irreparable damages on the people very close to you, who love you more than you think. You might lose a part of them once and for all and no apology can bring them back after that.

Spread love. Hurt Less.

'Amazing Auto' - An Amazing Experience Indeed!

'Amazing Auto' Annadurai. Some of you might have heard of him. For those who haven't here you go. 

My short journey in his auto started with - "Akka, how many of you are Tamil here? I'll ask three questions and for each correct answer I'll give you Rs.5. What is coffee, helicopter and auto in Tamil?" Everyone including me were surprised and a bit confused. But the curious me blurted out the answer for the first one. He appreciated and offered his promised prize money which I politely declined. He insisted, shoved it into my hand and asked me, "Will you deny a promotion or felicitation in your office for your excellence? Treat this as one." I had to take it now. Slowly the atmosphere of the auto began to set in. Guess what? It had the latest popular magazines in English and Tamil, today's newspapers like The Hindu, Economic Times and two others. It didn't stop there. 

In one of the pictures you can see small notices stuck in line. One said free WiFi and had the username and password on it. Trust me, it did connect. Another said something about Customer Relationship Development Contest. It supposedly had five questions and anyone who answers those five questions would be gifted a voucher worth Rs 1000 within a month. 

Auto rides are free for teachers, free on mother's day for those mothers coming with their kids, cards accepted  even for a ride of Rs.10. The auto was full of surprises. So I asked him to tell about himself as I was curious. I learnt that he is a school drop out, driving his own auto, spending on all this out of his pocket. He has two TED talks to his credit and his fondly called Amazing Auto Anna and he smiled and said people call me entrepreneur these days. He is often called to give motivational speeches in many IT companies. He recently flagged off a CEO marathon and actually met Frank, CEO of Cognizant Technology Solutions and many others. 

I asked him many questions but his answers to two of them left me spell bound. I asked him what was his actual idea of making this auto. He said please don't call this an idea. I'm not as great as Edison or Einstein to come up with ideas. Next, I asked him what was he aiming to achieve through this. For which, he said he who lives with an aim to achieve something can never live in peace. It will push you into a never ending race of what next. 

This person and my experience in his auto was a very different experience. An eye opener? A lesson? I don't know what to call it. But I realized nothing matters more than the happiness you get out of doing what you feel is right to your conscience and what YOU think is your HAPPINESS. 

He earns around 45k a month and spends nearly 9 to 10k on arranging these amenities. Not married. And his next plan is to have similar autos running in the city from next financial year. 

Update: I forgot to mention that the auto had Free iPad Pro and Tablet browsing for the customers as they travel. And,
Coffee  is 'Kuzhambi', Helicopter is 'Ulangurthi' and Auto is 'Thaani' in tamil :) 

I wish you all the best Anna! 

His website: http://www.amazingauto.in

Facebook Page: https://m.facebook.com/autoanna/tsid=0.258911872951759&source=typeahead

Facebook profile: https://m.facebook.com/Amazingauto5758?tsid=0.3557935596301389&source=typeahead

The auto in which I traveled: 

Madras Literary Society - A Resurrecting Treasure

We change.. We grow.. We mature.. We learn..
In short, we evolve continuously and so does everything around us. Some survive through the process on their own. Some stand intact because we make sure they do. While some perish or begin to perish because we no longer care. When we are always on the run we often forget or ignore the fact that the things we let to disappear due to our own ignorance and carelessness, are actual treasures which once lost can never be rebuilt to its originality.

One such treasure which is slowly deteriorating day by day to reach its end and finally disappear like it never existed is the Madras Literary Society - One of the oldest lending libraries of the South that houses some of the greatest collections as old as those from 17th century, including Aristotle's Opera Omnia in Greek and Latin, published in 1619. It was once a place most visited by Subhash chandra Bose, Annie Besant, and many others. I have shared links at the end of the article about MLS and it's history, if you are interested to know more about it.

As I went through my mails, on a Monday morning, one caught my eye. It was different from other invites. It was a call for volunteers to revamp the Madras Literary Society. I quickly registered for it and as always was my practice, I tried to first locate it in the map so I can find my way easily without wasting time on the roads of Chennai. I was shocked to find no matches in Google Maps. Madras Literary Society, which once was and is still a storehouse of many significant historic documentations was not there in the maps! I simply googled and found my way but couldn't come out of the shock.

The purpose of this article is not to narrate my experience as a volunteer in this project, but to bring to everyone's notice that there is a library out there, not covered in the Maps, sometimes conveniently forgotten by the securities at the gates of DPI Complex where MLS is situated. It is dying and many important documentations, books on religion, history, fiction, political science dating back to 18th and 19th century will be lost with it if left unattended. I saw the condition of the books there myself, felt the need to work for it's preservation and hence, this post.

A group of like-minded people have started an initiative called "The Library Project" the details of which are given in their FB Page(Link given below). It has two objectives. First to make available the approximate 55,000 books available to the larger audience and second, to identify books that are of literary value and which need to be restored on a priority basis before they are lost forever (Source: Madras Literary Society, Facebook). This is a call to all those who feel the need to protect, preserve and make available these assets that span a century or more for the generations to come. 

Below are the links about MLS: 

Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/MadrasLiterarySociety/

Times Of India article on MLS: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Forgotten-library-200-year-old-Madras-Literary-Society/articleshow/31979699.cms

The Hindu on MLS: http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/survivors-of-time-pages-from-the-past/article2512070.ece

BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-38246584

Madras Literary Society(Src: images.google.com)

Inside the Library

Dusting work in progress

Volunteers involved in cataloging the books