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Tilak Rishi, born in India, has been working as a career corporate executive, after doing his MBA. Passionately pursuing his hobby for writing, he also remained a regular contributor to newspapers in India and the U.S. Many true happenings and characters he came across in life, including interaction with former president Bill Clinton, inspired Paradise Lost and Found, his first novel. A family saga, it starts from Kashmir, when this paradise on earth is lost for the tourists who thronged in thousands every year to enjoy its scenic splendor. Terrorists have turned it into one of the most dangerous places in the world. The family is not only a witness to the loss of this paradise, but also to another tragedy of much bigger magnitude. In the aftermath of the partition of India, along with millions uprooted from their homes in Pakistan, the family leaves behind all that it has in Lahore. Starting from a scratch on the difficult path to progress, it still has many joyful moments when along the way it makes a difference in many a life. The survival-to-success story climaxes in California where the family finds the paradise that was lost in Kashmir.

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Delete All The "I"s!

Dear Amitabhji,


“DELETE ALL THE ‘I’s’ from the entire text, please .. please .. that is not me .. the I’s .. that is another within me .. it is him that I despise and dislike .. just overlook and ignore this specimen of egomatic subconscious ailment .. such a joy to construct words and forms instantly .. hahehahaa .. !!!!” (DAY - 3061)

Sir, we all know that is certainly not you, not even another within you. On the contrary, you are the greatest example of the human who has humility and humanity at its highest in his heart and soul. There is absolutely no doubt that the ‘I’s in the text are just your inimitable way of enjoying the ‘joy to construct words and forms instantly’. Having said this, I may now progress with my response to your above post.

Sir, A man said to the Buddha, “I want Happiness.”
Buddha said, first remove “I”, that’s ego,
then remove “want”, that’s desire.
See now you are left with only Happiness.

Ego is defined as the “I” or self of any person; a person as thinking, feeling, and willing, and distinguishing itself from the selves of others and from objects of its thought.

As we in the U.S. are in the midst of presidential election campaign at its feverish peak, there is no better way to illustrate and elaborate on the ego defined as the “I” than to follow the campaign trail of one of the two main contestants in the race for the White House, an  ego-driven politician, marked by impairments in functioning due to exaggerated self-image, lack of empathy and trouble forming deep relationships. It makes sense that the people drawn to politics would be supremely self-confident and able to brush off the criticism sure to come their way. But the ongoing current  campaign shows something else: Presidents have been getting more egoistic over time. And in that sense, this particular contestant  may just be the logical conclusion of an ongoing trend. In general, this trend is becoming more acceptable to Americans than in previous generations. No wonder his popularity appears unblemished amongst his supporters, that includes one of our dear Ef, despite brash statements, personal insults thrown at his opponents and rampant speculation over his perceived egoistic tendencies. The contestant surely displays enormous self-regard; at one time, for example, he boasted that he'd be "the greatest jobs president that God has ever created." At another, he promised, "We will have so much winning if I get elected that you may get bored with winning." Egoism is a trait the presidential candidate seems proud of, in fact. In 2013, he wrote in a Facebook post, "Show me someone without an ego, and I'll show you a loser.”

Sir, as is expected of me, at least by our dear Ef, I cannot do better than to bring in Bollywood to put in my point of view more clearly and convincingly on your post. So, here I am to refresh our memory with your all time classic on the theme of ego, ABHIMAN.
A media report on the film:

Abhimaan
Sigh... What does one say about Abhimaan? We all know this manifestation of Amitabh Bachchan (Subir), a man who assumes his sulks convert into a word bubble, and that telepathy exists. Subir is a popular and successful singer, who meets, falls in love with and marries Uma (Jaya Bhaduri), a classical singer. He cajoles her to start singing with him but is gutted when she becomes more famous than him. His ego drives her away and the film ends with a tentative reconciliation. The early scenes of the marriage are fabulously shot by Hrishikesh Mukherjee— the chemistry of a young couple trying to discover themselves. The chemistry of tension between the husband and the wife, as ego becomes an insurmountable wall between them both, is also fantastically portrayed by both actors. The film has a fantastic soundtrack and, like most of Amitabh Bachchan’s films of that era, had a fairly grown up theme.
As “Abhimaan” completed 42 years since its release, megastar Amitabh Bachchan went down memory lane to reminisce about the film, which narrates the tale of how a couple drifts apart due to ambitions and ego hassles.
The actor feels it’s not only the striking storyline about the dark side of stardom, but its endearing music that injects an eternal quality to the 1973 film, which also stars his wife and actress Jaya.
“There is the completion of several years of ‘Abhimaan’, a most poignant film with some of the most haunting music by the maestro and genius S.D. Burman, the father of R.D. Burman…and the most delicate handling by Hrishi Da, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the director with whom I have worked in the maximum films of my career,” Big B posted on his blog.

With regards and best wishes

Tilak Rishi

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