Husain Journal

“The paths of glory lead but to the grave.” Thomas Grey, English poet When Alexander the Great, who conquered the world was dying, he called up his generals and asked them to do 3 things after his death: To have his coffin carried by top physicians, To strewn the path leading up to his grave with precious gems and rubies that he had achieved, And to cut off his hands to keep them outside his grave. His faithful generals, overflowing with emotions, said that they’ll certainly do as the master commanded, but they requested him to tell them the reason behind such weird orders. Ailing in pain, Alexander explained: He wants his coffin to be carried by top physicians to let the world know that death catches everyone, no matter how resourceful he is. Therefore top physicians should carry his coffin. Secondly he wanted the world to know that no matter however power or riches you grab, the path of life eventually ends in death. Therefore precious gems and rubies on the path t...

“As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.” Rumy In those silent old days our forefathers carried lanterns to navigate their way. The distance these lanterns illumined, you know, wasn’t that huge. Nevertheless, it alerted them of potholes and reptiles and thorny shrubs etc. In fact, having a view of so far wasn’t needed. If, presenting the excuse that they’re unable to see through so far they hadn’t started off, they won’t have ever reached where they had wanted to. Turns out that it’s plain common sense to move as far as you can see because then you’ll be able to see farther. Right? Well, take the example of car headlights. While driving we’re able to see only a little far ahead, but as we continue to cover the distance, our headlights also continue to illumine the course ahead. Will you ever bring your car to a creaking halt because you’re not able to see what’s 2 kilometres ahead of you? But, this is exactly what many of us do when it comes to steering our...

Am I productive or just busy? Am I using my potential to its best? Am I using my time optimally? If I were to take an important exam at this time, would I have been working with the same energy? Well, regarding the first question, I think that I’m not working as productively as I should be. And so far the remaining 3 questions are concerned – I admit it with a ripple of regret that it’s a resounding no. I accept that neither I’m using my potential at its best, nor am I using my time optimally. And oh yes, if I were to take an exam at this time, I would have been working with razor-sharp focus. Results would have sprang forth in a different style then. The overlooked fact … Even though we refuse to take it down our throat, the truth still is that every day, every moment of our work is an important exam for us. You know why? Because – What we do at this very moment ultimately adds a brush to the final picture. The sooner we chew in this morcel, the sooner we’ll begin to ...

You could be wasting your time. A sure-fire test to know if the work you’re pursuing is worth your time or not lies in the fact that it has to be tough for you. If certain work is putting stress on your mind, and you’re not able to do it easily, there’s a very high likelihood that it’s rewarding. Easy things generally aren’t rewarding, and therefore they can be timewasters. If something was difficult to you once upon a time and practising has rendered it easy, it’s a clear sign that you need to level up the toughness – else you won’t improve. Keep pushing your limits, as they say. If you’re in your easy area, in your comfort zone, no progress is going to take place. If you want to be an athlete, try covering a mile in 4 minutes if you’re doing it in 6. If you want to be a writer, try penning down 500 words in 10 minutes if you’re doing it in 20. If we feel complacent with the labour we’re putting up, we’re not going to ever improve. Lifting heavy weights, the ones that ar...

No, it’s not getting into a top university. It’s not your luck, either. It’s rather something old, easy, humble. But – let me give you a little context first. What I learn while juggling my day job with reading, personal journaling and publishing blogposts here is that when I try to go ahead towards 1 particular area, my focus shifts away from other critical areas. These days I’m racking my mind on the issue of offering my daughter a great education and what could be the most advantageous for her: Schools, private tutor or home education. Before this it was the renovation of my dilapidated house. Because you know that it feels selfish to think only about personal growth. It’s your top responsibility to think about your family also. Of course, focussing on all the things simultaneously isn’t fun. Even if you permit no extra traffic in your head (news, gossip, social networks) there’s already more than you can easily handle. So? There’s the need to adopt an exquisite tec...

Hmm, let me guess… You have heard a ton of advice on the importance of planning. Yeah, they say that the soul of every project is its plan, and failing to plan is planning to fail. While this precious hunk of wisdom gets rehashed and reverberated in different new ways, we rarely come across the truth that no plan is executed accurately as sketched out. Guess why? Because as we go forth on the planned course, new and unexpected things pop up, and consequently we’re compelled to change the scripted steps. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the former general and president of the U.S. said, “No battle was ever won according to plan, but no battle was ever won without one.” This happens because when an army goes forward in the battlefield, unexpected situations come to surface. The enemy reacts in a different way, or the weather changes, or the ammunition supply gets stuck somewhere etc. If fresh conditions unfold but the general sticks with the same plan, he is going to lose. Going accurat...

Ever skipped down a blogpost feeling that the writer would have written it easily? Ever saw a jaw-dropping painting thinking that the artist might have made it effortlessly? Well, until recently I felt as if someone has thrown a glass of hot water on my face while I saw the attention-grabbing works of others. You know why? Because deep down I felt that I never will be able to bring the same charisma in my work. But not anymore. Now I know that if something looks lovely, then there have been many struggling hours behind it. If a piece looks polished and finished, then the worker would have toiled a lot before getting that beauty. The truth is that behind every finished product, there’re a terrific level of striving. But it’s a blunder that we don’t see how much a person has failed or got rejected before finally showcasing his best work. Rarely we hear guys talking about their failures or ham-fisted attempts at projects before getting a breakthrough. “I have not failed. I hav...

Without taking the time to decide the topic I'm going to write on, I have just started the timer and now I feel words will rush out. Even if you think I’m a fool, it’s fine because I have to just take out my thoughts on paper as rapidly as I can. No cares. I’m ready to destroy my reputation for the sake of productivity. I know that we human beings have the capacity of thinking stuff amounting to hundreds of words in a single sec. I also know that we require some effort of the mind to shape those thoughts to words, and when the writing task is also involved with it, the toughness notches up more. Yet I think that often it’s laziness and time-expensive to wait and wait for figuring out the topic because time – one of our most precious commodities – slips fast. It’s laziness because oftentimes what we need is just getting started and the topic takes form automatically. You have heard it hundreds of times that writing is tough as hell. But rarely the naked truth is heard tha...

What if, God forbid, tomorrow you’re thrown in the prison for 27 years? Not for killing people, not for looting banks, not for passing out any super classified information of your country…but you’re jailed just because you demanded the rights you’re entitled to. Would you feel that the cruelty of life has slapped you on your face? Most unfair huh? Well, this is exactly what happened with a lovely man whose name was Nelson. Yes, Nelson Mandela. Of South Africa. Who stood up against tyranny, against slavery, against injustice. And grabbed success. Who made the soil of his motherland so hot for the invaders that they eventually had to flee. Want to know one mind-quickening secret behind his success? You may be disappointed to know it. It was thinking, as he revealed in many of his interviews. Answering what he did in the vast time available to him in the prison, he said of thinking about the plan of action he needed to pursue. He said that introspecting about the past mist...

I gripped the glossy parapet and climbed up to hang on the other side which opened into a fear-provoking gorge – running hundreds of feet deep. Down on the slanting grass-carpeted hills, trees crookedly grew from different places as if telling that they’re stubborn and can grow up from anywhere. Had I slipped from such a blood-tingling height, my bones would have scattered in 40 different places. Whew! I was in the beautiful Nainital, at a mountain peak inside a shade where other tourists too were making picnic in the pure mountain air. Chatting with each other, they crushed fuming coffee and munched snacks, while some took pictures and played all around. And birds, white and red and green, some big and some small, flew and chirped beneath the sheets of clouds in the wide blue sky. Anyway, back to my foolishness: I was in my teenage then. I kept myself on the cliff of death because I fancied myself a Bollywood hero – a risk-lover. I wanted to signa...