"जीवन में सब जीना, कुछ मत छोड़ना| एक शॉर्ट स्टोरी है, उसमें जो है सब करना| जो बोलता है न ये ग़लत है वो मूर्ख है| जितनी पीड़ा जियोगी, प्रेम भी उतना ही करोगी| जितना झूठ जियोगी, उतना सच जानोगी| जीना नहीं छोड़ना, बस| जो 'टक' से आता है वो तुरंत करना|"
("Live everything in life, do not leave anything. It is a short story so do everything. One who says this is wrong is foolish. As much as you'll live the pain, you'll love more. As much as you'll live the lie, you'll know truth. Never give up 'living' it. Do what comes to your heart immediately.")
This is how an informal interview with Manav Kaul finished and began a new relationship called friendship.
So, this post is not at all about 'The Manav Kaul' who have done certain number of films, who is a playwright, who is an actor, who is the founder-director of a Bombay-based theatre group, nothing like that. This post is about my new friend Manav. If you wanna know his bio, google is happy to help. If you wanna know about his plays, he has all them on his blog 'Mere Natak'. If you wanna read his text, he has another blog 'Maun Mein Baat'. And if you wanna read his poems, that I suggest you definitely should, you can jump on to 'Meri Kavitayein'.
Though I'm too young to be a friend of such a person who had lived a lot of his life until I was born, but that's the beauty of this person. Anyone who knows him, is a friend. You only have to have an open mind to listen and accept to what he says and have faith in yourself too. Manav is a kind of person whom one can't really explain, and most of us, fans of Nirmal Verma, probably believe that there is no need for explanations every time!
If he really likes your company and appreciate you, you don't need to be surprised if he some day drops in your rental room where you live, or texts you up saying "Hey whats up? Let's meet!", or ask you to take him to 'chai ki gumthi' on you bike, or just anything! And trust me, he can do this!
Yes, he has worked really hard to get there where we see him today, but he has never seen struggle as 'struggle' but a happening part of life that helped him grow. Living in a city like Bombay, it looks nearly impossible to keep yourself away from the illusion of glamour, money and fame. Anyone would just run behind work and good roles in Bollywood, anyone would just fall to have a good connection in the industry and media. But this guy knows that what is important to him is 'self' and not others. Probably this is what gives him the strength, rather sense, to reject what he doesn't like. He says, we live in this misconception that we know something but the truth is, we do not know anything. "No matter what we do, how we do, how much we do, we all know nothing and at the end it doesn't matter if we do not like it", says Manav. Since he has realized this fact, he is as normal to me as he would be with any other person, be it Prakash Jha, Amitabh Bachcha, or just anyone. But, here is a small twist! The only person with whom Manav has ever felt start stuck is Vinod Kumar Shukla. Vinod ji is his very favorite writer, so much so that you can read it on his face when he is talking about Vinod ji.
One person whose philosophy Manav likes, and unintentionally follows, is Mahatma Gandhi. Manav thinks there is no one like Gandhi. While he was invited for an informal session called 'Theatre Talk' organised by Vihaan Drama Works at Tea Talks in Bhopal, Manav had said that he understood Gandhi ji when he wanted to, not when he was asked to. Later he also stated that he is a kind of a person who can say things contrary to what he said previously. This reminded me of what Gandhi ji had also said that he doesn't believe in the term given by his followers as 'Gandhism', as he is experimenting with his life with truth, he might say something contradictory some other day. Later on I asked Manav if he follows Gandhi, he said that he thinks there is no other great philosopher like Gandhi anywhere! 'Honesty' is the most important idea of Manav's life. He says that he always wants to be honest to himself and to others. That makes him feel liberated. That is why you need to have the strength of acceptability and faith in yourself when you meet him. "I think I do not have anything with myself than honesty and all of us will die with that only thing and nothing else", he says. So, if he doesn't like anything that you'll tell him, he will apologize for being rude but he will tell you he doesn't like it. Don't get offended, he is like that! :P
When you'll meet him after reading his blogs and watching his plays, you'll have to make yourself believe that this is the same person. He has so much of depth in his thinking, working, philosophy but he won't make you feel so when you meet him in person. He would say the hardest of truth and idea very simply. Surprisingly, it is a kind of challenge to take him seriously after being friends. Manav is a 'happy-go-lucky' kind of a guy but as he starts speaking on stories, literature, poetry, philosophy, he becomes someone else, but that too he would communicate so simply that you won't think it's a lesson! So much he has read that it makes me sick that I know nothing!
However, there are certain things where we do not agree in person and there are differences on many issues. For instance, he doesn't believe in preserving things like tradition, culture etc. that I think exactly opposite. He doesn't believe in the importance of what people do as traditional rituals that I think is very essential for any culture or society. He let things die if there is a need and I believe in keeping them alive. He doesn't believe in past and history that I do. Some things about style of theatre and so on. But as we understand, everything is important, to have contradictions too, is very important. Diversity makes things different and so we are able to choose and live through what we like, or else everyone in this world would be the same and we would die out of boredom!
And to this, Manav says, "Isn't it interesting that everyone is so different? We get so many stories out of people!" Stories, that is his favorite thing to think, create, understand and write.
So! I feel good that I have got a new friend, way too old but even younger to me at heart. He is fun, intense, sensible and sometimes insensible too (I hope you don't mind me saying that Mr. Kaul!). When I tell him he is crazy, he says "I am normal, this world is weird!" But I think being crazy is awesome and I still believe you are crazy dear friend...Rather we are!!!
One person whose philosophy Manav likes, and unintentionally follows, is Mahatma Gandhi. Manav thinks there is no one like Gandhi. While he was invited for an informal session called 'Theatre Talk' organised by Vihaan Drama Works at Tea Talks in Bhopal, Manav had said that he understood Gandhi ji when he wanted to, not when he was asked to. Later he also stated that he is a kind of a person who can say things contrary to what he said previously. This reminded me of what Gandhi ji had also said that he doesn't believe in the term given by his followers as 'Gandhism', as he is experimenting with his life with truth, he might say something contradictory some other day. Later on I asked Manav if he follows Gandhi, he said that he thinks there is no other great philosopher like Gandhi anywhere! 'Honesty' is the most important idea of Manav's life. He says that he always wants to be honest to himself and to others. That makes him feel liberated. That is why you need to have the strength of acceptability and faith in yourself when you meet him. "I think I do not have anything with myself than honesty and all of us will die with that only thing and nothing else", he says. So, if he doesn't like anything that you'll tell him, he will apologize for being rude but he will tell you he doesn't like it. Don't get offended, he is like that! :P
When you'll meet him after reading his blogs and watching his plays, you'll have to make yourself believe that this is the same person. He has so much of depth in his thinking, working, philosophy but he won't make you feel so when you meet him in person. He would say the hardest of truth and idea very simply. Surprisingly, it is a kind of challenge to take him seriously after being friends. Manav is a 'happy-go-lucky' kind of a guy but as he starts speaking on stories, literature, poetry, philosophy, he becomes someone else, but that too he would communicate so simply that you won't think it's a lesson! So much he has read that it makes me sick that I know nothing!
However, there are certain things where we do not agree in person and there are differences on many issues. For instance, he doesn't believe in preserving things like tradition, culture etc. that I think exactly opposite. He doesn't believe in the importance of what people do as traditional rituals that I think is very essential for any culture or society. He let things die if there is a need and I believe in keeping them alive. He doesn't believe in past and history that I do. Some things about style of theatre and so on. But as we understand, everything is important, to have contradictions too, is very important. Diversity makes things different and so we are able to choose and live through what we like, or else everyone in this world would be the same and we would die out of boredom!
And to this, Manav says, "Isn't it interesting that everyone is so different? We get so many stories out of people!" Stories, that is his favorite thing to think, create, understand and write.
So! I feel good that I have got a new friend, way too old but even younger to me at heart. He is fun, intense, sensible and sometimes insensible too (I hope you don't mind me saying that Mr. Kaul!). When I tell him he is crazy, he says "I am normal, this world is weird!" But I think being crazy is awesome and I still believe you are crazy dear friend...Rather we are!!!
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| I'm sure you're loving the setting. The back poster is being designed by Sourabh Anant. |
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| Sudeep Sohni moderating the Theatre Talk session |
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| Closing with a crazy picture! Cheers!! |
