Interpretation of "Madhushala"

The late Dr.Harivanshrai Bacchhan wrote this great piece, which on the surface seems so simple.But as one tries to see under the surface and probes deeper into the words,you find so much to ponder over and learn.Everytime I hear the prologue in my weak moments,it gives me a new lease of life.

"Madiraalay jaane ko ghar se,chaltaa hai peene waalaa

Kiss patth se jaoon asmanjas main hai yeh bhola bhaala......"

The destination:Madiraalay

The seeker:Peene Waala(Sharaabi)

For the drunkard,the ultimate destination is the Madiraalay.He starts off from his house and wants to reach the Madiraalay where he will find the elixir of life,which for him is the sharaab or madiraa.Similarly, all of us want to find and reach our lifes ultimate goal.

But,he is confused (&%^*#).He has lost his path and doesn't know how to reach the Madhushaala.Being naive he is unable to find the right path.

The same applies to all of us.Though we have a vague idea as to what we want from life,more often than not we just don't know how to get there.

"Alag alag patth batulaate sab...par main yeh batulaata hoon

Raah pakad tu ek chalaa chal...paajaaega madhushaala....paajaaega madhushaala....."

The problem:Confusion/too many advices

The solution:Single minded focus/devotion/belief

In his quest to find his way to the Madhushala,he comes across many people.Each one telling him to tread a different path ,resulting in more confusion for him.Finally in a chance encounter he meets the poet ,who advices him to follow one path with all his heart and soul. He assures him that this way he will reach his Madhushala.

When on our way to realise and achieve our goals,we come across so many people ,each giving his own suggestions,ideas,words of wisdom whatever you may choose to call it.More often than not they do more harm to us than good.Its not always that people give us unwanted advice,most of the time its we who want it and run after it.

The poet ,in just one line offers a solution which seems so pragmatic.It reminds me of why Arjun(from the epic Mahabharat) never missed a target.He just saw the birds eye,nothing else seemed to bother him.So,if we just know where we want to reach and focus on our goal without drifting here and there,there is high probability that we may end up reaching our destination(Madhushala).

Mental commotion

Words like "self discovery" have become a fashion statement these days.So,I thought why not become fashionable myself.

Its been quite some time(many years infact) that I have been trying to find out who I am and what I want from life.There are very few people in this world whose work is their passion,the rest,like me end up where life takes them."Life takes them"??Well I don't neccessarily agree on this one.Its we who are responsible for shaping our lives but what we do most often is follow others.Now there is nothing wrong in wanting to be like someone but then there is a difference between respecting someone and being in awe.

My father told me once that son "Never be in awe of someone,it hampers your own individuality",and I totally agree with him on this one.Take my life for example.When I was small I wanted to become a cricketer but I soon realised or was made to realise that I am not good at it and moreover there is a lot of risk involved so it is always dangerous to tread the unknown path.But the fact remains,that did I realy want to be a cricketer or was it the fascination for the likes of Azhar and Sachin that made me think so???

Went through school mostly enjoying life and neglecting studies,if given a choice I would have dropped out.But then,guys from nice families don't become dropouts,they become Doctors or Engineers.I was not even sure which subjects I liked.But as it happened,I started scoring well in maths and physics and so it was assumed by everyone around me and to some extent by Me too that I had a great future as an Engineer.The next obvious step was IIT-JEE, indias toughest exam for getting admission into the top Engineering schools.You know ""IITians earn a lot","IITians are this","IITians are that",so so so......as usual I went with the flow. I landed up in an engineering college,realising that I didn't have any aptitude whatsoever to become an engineer.Still I continued for 4 years and managed to pass with relatively decent grades.What the hell!!

In college I realised that since I hate the idea of becoming an Engineer,so I should look for other options...the next option was and still is, an MBA.Why??? bcoz,well an MBA's job profile is supposedly better than an engineer,he earns more and being an MBA is kewl.

The present scenario(or call it irony) is,I am in a software job,which I feel sucks!!Still, I wanna switch jobs and do very well in this field.I also wanna go for an MBA from an international B School,I wanna be rich,famous,like him,like her.........but I have stopped hearing what that faint voice inside me(which died many many years ago) which realy speaks for me ,has to say...I realy donno who matiaoo is and what he wants.I donno wether the last 23 years of my life have been lived by "Me" or by trying to become someone who I never realy was or am.

Someone once said : "Its very easy to become brave from a safe distance."

Who says I don't Blog??

After months of following blogs,I have finally decided to start one of my own :) Don't ask me why.Maybe I love writing....do I??Or maybe coz blogging is the next IN thing.Well, I am not too sure either.Reading blogs was the easiest and most interesting thing...but as I write "My First", I realise that its not that easy after all.I don't have the slightest idea as to what I am writing,why I am writing or do I really wanna do this.....but neways it gives me some satisfaction that I finally wrote my first blog and I will get an opportunity to send the link to many friends of mine who blog...huh!!No big deal,I can blog too :-)