Blog - Linking the Myths

January 18, 2023January 18, 2023

Analysis of “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I just finished reading one of the masterpieces by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and as you have guessed correctly, it is none other than “One Hundred Years of Solitude”. So this article is an honest and naïve attempt to summarize this novel. To be honest, I couldn’t stop myself from writing about it. So here we go.

This is a novel with no single main character in focus as you would find in other. Gabriel Garcia Marquez has ingeniously webbed the characters that the readers are susceptible to confusing one character to another, especially with the names that often repeat in the generations, viz. Jose Arcadio, Aureliano, Ursula, and Amaranta. There is an implicit reason behind this repetition which the reader may or may not be able to unearth at the end of the novel. Marquez must have known that this state of confusion will occur among his readers, and that’s why he included a family tree, in the beginning, to help the readers to differentiate between the Arcadios and Aurelianos, at least.

The novel is set up in a small town named “Macondo”, maybe in the Latin American region. The town seems to be founded by the Buendia family upon which the entire novel is based. The novel starts with Buendia’s journey of creating a utopian society, isolated from the rest of the world for several years since its founding, except for the occasional visits by the gypsies bringing to the town the technologies and inventions from other parts of the world.

One of the gypsies, most notably, Melquiades, has been pictured as the most important but easily overlooked character, both by the Buendia in the novel as well as by the readers because as it seems most of the transformations and generations of the Buendia family almost had some reference to Melquiades’ deserted workplace, which used to be ultimately the place for solitude to at least any one of the Buendia’s generations, from the first one Jose Arcadio Buendia to the supposedly last one, Aureliano.

It may differ on the readers’ individual perception, but it appears that, at the end of the novel, it was none other than Melquiades who was narrating the entire events throughout the hundred years that happened in the lives of Buendias. The final Aureliano realizes the encrypted message left behind by the Melquiades in the parchments to the first generation of Buendia. Upon the horrific view of his newly born child from his wife (who was actually his aunt) Amaranta Ursula, where the newborn was eaten by ants, it is shown at that prodigious instant Melquiades’ final keys were revealed to Aureliano and he saw the epigraph of the parchments perfectly placed in the order of man’s time and space: The first of the line is tied to a tree and the last is being eaten by the ants.

And as you can find somewhere in the middle of the novel that the first Buendia goes insane and his family binds him to the chestnut tree where he dies. Considering all these instances, the author has mysteriously slipped in the prophecies and the mysterious manuscripts by Melquiades as the ultimate text of the novel. In fact, the hundred years of solitude were predicted for the Buendias by Melquiades. Melquiades turns out to be the gypsy from the Oriental world and his manuscripts were found to be in Sanskrit which the Buendias have been trying miserably to decode for generations to generations.

The fate of Macondo town closely resembles the Buendias’. From the utopian and isolated from the rest of the world, the village loses its magical charm and innocence, and most importantly, its solitude state as it comes to contact with other parts of the world. Civil wars begin. Death, which was never heard of takes over the town. Politics take over. And behind all these unpleasant events, Buendia’s offspring seems to be responsible.

Marquez has been generous in providing the readers with the details of the events in the lives of the Buendias from birth to death, love affairs to marriages, and fantastic of all, the wild love-making scenes which seem almost real. Sometimes it also appears that there is an incestuous relationship among the Buendias’ generations Ursula was always fearing that such a relationship will bear children with pig’s tails—the fear that lingers throughout the books—which ultimately happens with the final generation of Buendia which the novel ends.

Just as with the turbulent history of Buendia generations, the town faces a similar fate, and with the hurricane, the existence of Macondo and Buendias come to a tragic end, only to realize that the entire events were just being played out of the predetermined prophecies of a cycle from happiness and utopia to the tragic and sorrowful end.

In order to truly appreciate the horizon of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, one must read this masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude”. Let me quote you one of the lines from the final pages of the novel that shows the author’s ability to capture the readers’ mind with his attention to detail (you can find plenty of such throughout the novel):

“He put the child in the basket that his mother had prepared for him, covered the face of the corpse with a blanket, and wandered aimlessly through the town, searching for an entrance that went back to the past.”

“One Hundred Years of Solitude” is truly a masterpiece.

As commented by The New York Times, “Should be required reading for the entire human race”.

Trust me… You wouldn’t regret a single moment you invested in reading this magical book by Marquez.

January 18, 2023February 6, 2023

Analysis of The Hitchhiker by Roald Dahl

Anyone who loves reading books or has taken an English course at the university must have come across “the hitchhiker”. If you have no freaking idea what this is about, I feel bad for you. My best guess is that you landed on this page through a Google search “Four Levels of The Hitchhiker by Roald Dahl” or any similar combination of keywords. If that’s the case, you have come to the right place on the web. The following analysis of the Hitchhiker was the part of the assignment I submitted to my English professor back in my college days and I got a good rating for it. And so should you!

Let’s take a look at this masterpiece by Roald Dahl. Drop your comments below and share this note with your classmates as well. Don’t be selfish! Thank me later!

Four Levels of The Hitch-hiker by Roald Dahl

Literal Comprehension

The “Hitchhiker” is a first-person Narrative story. The narrator was on his way to the jeweler in London, all alone in his new pale blue colored MW car of 3.3 l with and a top speed of 129 mph. He happened to see a man thumbing for a lift. As the narrator was attuned to the experience of being a hitchhiker, he invited the man to come into his car. The hitchhiker, Michael Fish, was going to Epsom. They talked and the narrator told the hitch-hiker about himself. He explained that he was a writer. The hitchhiker commented on the narrator’s profession as a skilled one, stating that he himself was also in a skilled profession.

The hitchhiker challenged the narrator to see if the car really could get up to its top speed of 129 mph. They drove to a stretch of flat even road, and the narrator opened up the throttle. He reached up to 120 mph just as the police officer flashed his sirens and pulled him over. The officer issued the narrator threats of license cancellation, and imprisonment, and gave him an offense ticket.

The cop also noted the hitchhiker’s address and occupation. After the cop departed, the narrator was worried. But the hitchhiker consoled him that nothing would happen. The hitchhiker then revealed that he is a finger-smith, a very skilled pickpocket by showing all of the narrator’s possessions with him. He then told the narrator that he had taken the cop’s ticket and notebooks, adding that they should leave the highway and make a bonfire to burn ‘em on.

Interpretation

The story may be trying to tell us that an uneducated man with the finest skills can be superior to the learned ones in some the cases. They can prove to be better in the field of their expertise. The story can also be interpreted that education is the means and ends to everything in this world; one can also be extraordinary with special skills without education.

A man with correct grammar and writing skills may not be able to tackle some tricky situations, but the same situation can be easily tackled by a person with extraordinary skills and no education. Besides, the story might also be trying to say that policemen are the most ill-mannered people in the world. Their level of thinking is too poor and they lack sense of humor. Furthermore, the story might be trying to mean that we should never undervalue anyone who looks ordinary as they can be hidden treasures.

Critical Thinking

“The Hitchhiker” is a masterpiece by Roald Dahl. This is one of the most readable gripping stories, with every second arousing reader’s interest. The presentation of the story is marvelous. The domination of dialogue over narration has made it more dramatic and more life-like. Its teaching will always be guiding its readers freshly with its greatest philosophy that the secret of life is to be very good at something that is impossibly hard to accomplish. It is too much agreeable that no easy work makes a man great. Hardships bring success in our life.

But despite all, for a critical thinker, this story is a gold mine. Michael Fish performs some Herculean job of taking off one’s belt, shoelace, and other belongings like watch… etc. from the narrator’s body, and the ticket books and the notebook from the policeman’s pocket. He also concedes that was the easiest job he had ever done. He also proclaims that he could even take out the narrator’s false teeth out of his mouth without his knowledge if he had any.

This all sound a little too much. The character of Michael Fish can please a reader when he outsmarts a policeman. But it is too tall to create a character with power of a phantom. So the prominent flaw of this story is to create a ghostly character that deprives the story of giving it a realistic touch. The character isn’t humanly and the readers cannot empathize with him. He is beyond anyone, maybe a much desired persona.

Assimiliation

Reading of this story has changed much of me. I felt that one needs a lot of formal education to be efficient, capable, genius, respectable, and likable. But my views are shaken badly after reading this story. I have realized that individualism is not a matter of education alone. One can make a career by being an expert in any field that is extremely hard to do. I have got an insight that I will never be able to achieve fame and success by doing ordinary, petty jobs. Therefore, I need to coach myself to do something that is pretty tough and sounds almost impossible.

I have also understood by reading this story that we should never be deterred from trying the impossible and achieving the impossible. I have also realized that “a book shouldn’t be judged by its cover.” We can judge a person only by having proper knowledge of one’s intrinsic capabilities and skills. Seems like I have to search for a new role model… A Pirate. All these years I have been wasting my time learning all those sh!t I will have to unlearn later.

That’s it! You are welcome!

Before you go… Since you will graduate through this BBA before you know what hit you… you should read this one: Wake up. Kick Ass. Repeat.

January 14, 2023

Decoding Nawaj Ansari: Lost in the Serengeti

This track “Lost in the Serengeti” is taken from the Album “The Retribution”, performed by Nawaj Ansari. If you know this legend and have purged your soul with his lyrical hymns, then I needn’t say more about him. If you haven’t even heard about him, then I doubt if you really live on the same planet as I do. But as I always used to say, it’s never too late to start praying. Morning is when you wake up (unless, of course, you wake up in the afternoon or as Nawaj Ansari puts it—when “the sun’s going down”. Now that you know about him… Welcome to the Club.

Lost in the Serengeti…

The title itself is self-explanatory. Serengeti is derived from the Maasai language and the term refers to “endless plains”. For your information, Serengeti is located in north Tanzania in Africa. But in this song, Serengeti signifies basically our life. Life is like the Serengeti and we are lost in it. Lost in a vast ocean or an endless plain of life. What we lack most in the modern world is a sense of a larger purpose to our lives.

All of a sudden and out of nowhere, I remembered Albert Einstein and his “Theory of Relativity” while listening to this song. Einstein said that everything in the universe is relative. And this song is full of theories of relativity in one form or another, especially in the first verse. For instance… Different lives, love or hate, wrong or right. It all depends on how you see these aspects of life. There are over 7 billion people in the world, and each of them has individually different experiences of their own. They have the lenses through which they see the world around them and form perceptions about it. In fact, it is not the reality itself but the perception of reality that counts. Einstein must have been really proud of Nawaj Ansari to see this extension of his “Theory of Relativity” into the Music field, particularly in the rap genre… Did Einstein live to listen to rap music back in his days?

January 14, 2023January 14, 2023

Nimsdai’s Project Possible: 14 Peaks

Lots of people have reached the top of the world ever since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa first put their human steps on the summit of Mt. Everest. It was no less a giant step for mankind than the one that Neil Armstrong put on the moon in 1969. Now take all the 14 giant peaks standing tall above 8,000 meters and think about leaving marks on their summits in less than a year. Seems impossible, right!? Well, that’s what “Nimsdai’s Project Possible: 14 Peaks” is all about.

Even the most experienced climbers will toss off this idea as being ridiculous and unattainable. The first world record for climbing all 14 peaks is held by Reinhold Andreas Messner which took him 16 years to accomplish. To beat that record, you should be either a Yeti or crazy.

Finally, there is someone who was crazy enough to give up everything and put his life at stake to make it happen. No, he is neither Yeti nor crazy. All right, he may be a little crazy to come up with this idea. He is our own Nimsdai.

Who Is Nimsdai?

First, Nimsdai is from Nepal. His real name is Nirmal Purja, but Nimsdai is so catchy! So, let’s just call him that. Before he took up mountaineering as a passion and career, he was in the British Army. Later, he qualified as special forces in the British Navy, the first Gurkha to accomplish that feat. But it was not enough for him. He wanted to challenge himself and mankind.

In 2018, he walked away from the British military service to pursue a full-time mountaineering career, starting with Project Possible 14/7. The plan was to summit all 14 peaks above 8000 meters within seven months.

January 13, 2023February 11, 2023

Analysis of “Eight O’Clock” by A.E. Housman

Take a quick look at your watch! Or maybe that clock on your Smartphone! If it ain’t no Eight o’Clock in there… get it to Eight! Okay… that was an intro to this post. Let’s get to the point, and do some down-to-earth analysis of “Eight O’Clock” by A.E. Housman, shall we?

The idea of the poem is simple. Time is the most powerful phenomenon in the world and we human beings have no choice. Death is inevitable and it is the ultimate truth of life. The following four-level analysis of “Eight O’Clock” will help you to better understand this masterpiece written by A.E. Housman.

He stood, and heard the steeple 
      Sprinkle the quarters on the morning town. 
One, two, three, four, to market-place and people 
     It tossed them down. 

Strapped, noosed, neighing his hour, 
      He stood and counted them and cursed his luck; 
And then the clock collected in the tower 
      Its strength, and struck.

Four-level Analysis of “Eight O’Clock” by A.E. Housman

Literal Comprehension (Summary)

Literally, this poem is about a man who is going to be hanged by the steeple in an old English town. He is counting the minutes he is left with few moments until 8 o’clock which is when he will be executed. It is really hard for him to fall asleep knowing that he is going to be executed the next morning. No matter how hard he wanted to live, he could do nothing other than wait for his death. At last, the inevitable happens. The clock strikes eight, and he faces his unfortunate fate.

Interpretation

Although the main character in the poem is shown to be a prisoner, it could be any common man from a normal walk of life. On a deeper level, this poem acknowledges the fact that time controls us and our life and death, seeing how it was the clock chime that decided the prisoner’s time of death/execution. Time is the most powerful force in the universe and everyone is helpless in front of it, irrespective of their wealth and social status.

No matter how much you run after money, fame, and prestige, death is the only ultimate truth of life and there’s no way we can avoid it. We are used to taking everything for granted, even the valuable time that we have at the moment. We don’t realize that we had something until it is gone, such as the time we wasted on something insignificant.

The title of the poem “Eight O’Clock” itself is rather symbolic. It refers to the traditional morning hour of execution in England of centuries past. The striking of the clock and the striking of the head of the prisoner is analogous. The speaker is the poet. The dramatic situation is that an unnamed male prisoner is standing, presumably on a scaffold, and waiting to be executed when the clock in the nearby church steeple tolls eight.

Critical Thinking

The poet deserves appreciation for his amazing music-like composition. The beautiful rhyming in the poem gives the reader a sense of inevitability as well as harmony. The significance of the word “struck” is really deep in the poem as it could mean both the time on a clock and the death execution. However, from a critical perspective, the poem is not able to convince its readers on certain points.

There are two sides to life. There are good times and then there are bad times. But the protagonist. Life is full of both happiness and sadness. Life always comes with death, otherwise, life would lose its significance. There is no point in cursing the almighty god for this natural process of life. Rather than staying there and doing nothing, the protagonist could have done something to change his fate or make his life meaningful before actually facing his death. But he just remained idle waiting for his execution. He seems to have a loser mentality.

Assimilation

Until now, I used to just pass my leisure time on insignificant things that made no sense at all. After reading this poem, I have become more self-aware of what I do and how do I spend my time. Time is limited and we have to make the best use of every second we have. I have come to understand the real meaning behind the age-old proverb “time and tide waits for none”.

But just because we are going to die at one point in life doesn’t mean that we die today. We have to give our best and make every day count. It’s worth citing Steve Jobs here with regard to time: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” Make a habit of asking this question to yourself every morning before you start your day.

Good Luck!

January 11, 2023February 11, 2023

Emerging Issues in Organization Design

As the organization operates in a dynamic environment, change is inevitable. Change in technology, knowledge, and globalization brings in new concepts in order to address emerging issues in organization design. Research and repeated experiences in the 21st century have time and again proved that it is difficult to get things done with the traditional concept of organizational design. The advancement of information and communication technology and workforce diversity has forced management to innovate in terms of their structure and business process.

While many organizations are still adhering to traditional designs, they will have to adapt to new concepts sooner or later to survive in this competitive business environment. Furthermore, the global COVID-19 pandemic has once again brought to the focus light the discourse on new ways of running and managing organizations. Following are some of the emerging concepts in organization design briefly described in points.

Emerging Concepts in Organization Design

Emerging Concepts/Issues in Organization Design

1. Re-engineering Concept:

The fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes
Intended to achieve dramatic improvements in performance.
Change the orientation from vertical to horizontal.
Change task interdependence.
Change in structure, technology, and people.

2. Teamwork concept

An approach to organization design that relies almost exclusively on project-type teams, with little or no underlying functional hierarchy
People float from project to project as necessitated by their skills and the demands of those projects.
Collective Performance: Generates synergy through coordinated efforts.
Breaks down departmental barriers.
Apple Computer and Xerox are moving toward it.

Types of Work Teams:

Problem-Solving team -a temporary team assembled to solve a specific problem.
Cross-functional team – made up of employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different work areas, who come together to accomplish a task.
Virtual team- has little or no formal structure
Self-managed team – groups of employees (typically 10 to 15 in number) who perform highly related or interdependent jobs and take on many of the responsibilities of their former supervisors.

3. Network organization concept:

Alliance of several organizations having a common purpose.
Contract out any business function, which can be done better or more cheaply.
Outsources business functions, harnesses volunteer labor, leverages information technology services, and adopts a minimalist model.

4. Downsizing organization concept:

Process of bringing an organization structure to an appropriate size.
Minimize the vertical size and maximize the horizontal size.
Planned reduction of levels, jobs, units, and employees.
An organization’s conscious use of permanent personnel reductions in an attempt to improve its efficiency and/or effectiveness

5. Boundaryless organization concept:

Not bound by predetermined vertical horizontal and external boundaries, i.e. not defined or limited by boundaries or categories imposed by traditional structures.
Also known as Barrier-free or Modular organization.
Elimination of Chain of Command: No barrier to information flow.
Unlimited Span of Control.

6. Virtual concept:

A temporary network of organizations.
Part of a network in which many companies share skills, costs, capabilities, markets, and customers with each other, i.e. Outsourcing.
Exists within a network of alliances, using the Internet.
Unlimited Span of Control.

7. Learning organization concept:

An organization that has developed the capacity to continuously adapt and change
All members take an active role in identifying and resolving work-related issues

Features:

Organization Design
Information Sharing
Leadership
Organizational culture

People at all levels, individually and collectively, are continually increasing their capacity to produce results they really care about.

The organization is a dynamic concept and change is the only thing that is constant about it. To meet the needs and demands of the market, it is important that the management react positively to its environment and adapt its organization timely.

January 8, 2023February 8, 2023

Development Management: Macro, Meso, and Micro Planning

Macro-Meso-Micro refers to the level of policy and institutions that govern and influence development activities in all sectors. Development and growth are typically associated with macro-level economics and “top-down” approaches, but this has more recently been superseded (outmoded) by poverty reduction approaches from the “bottom-up”, with an emphasis on community empowerment and capacity building at the grass-roots. Let’s understand one of the most important topics of development management, viz. Macro, Meso, and Micro Planning. The following sections describe each of these levels in brief.

Levels of Planning: Macro, Meso, and Micro Planning

Macro: Large in scope or extent-global/national level institutions and policies
Meso: Intermediate/in the middle-provincial/district level institutions and policies
Micro: Grass-roots/Community level institutions and policies

The distinctions between macro, meso, and micro levels remain arbitrary and depend on the size of the country in which the distinction is made.

At the meso-level, it becomes to identify sectoral programs and local plans or projects within the various sectors and to integrate the programs and plans in space and time.

At the micro-level, the regional plans can result in mutually adjusted local plans that have been worked out in such detail that cost-benefit calculations are made.

Horizontal and Vertical Planning

Governmental planning can be either horizontal or vertical. Horizontal planning can be done at the national, regional, or local level, and is called horizontal because it attempts to analyze and integrate the various aspects of the planning object at one specific (administrative) level. Vertical planning, aka sectoral planning, follows an approach per specific sector by which it analyzes and integrates the various aspects of the relevant sector through the whole range of administrative levels.

The interrelationship between the various types of planning can be described in two ways, viz. top-to-bottom, and bottom-to-top approaches.

In the bottom-to-top procedure, local plans are formulated at the base, either by the local population, by government officers working at the local level, or by a joint effort of both. Such projects can be aggregated into the village, sub-regional, regional, and sector plans, which in turn, can be combined to form the national plan.

In the top-to-bottom procedure, the national plan provides a framework for national development activities. These activities are formulated in more detail in the sector and regional plans, which, in turn, provide a framework for local plans, projects, and programs.

In reality, both procedures are necessary. To bring about development that relates to the needs of the local population and yet remains within the means and power of the government, two-way communication is essential.

Levels of Planning: Macro, Meso, and Micro Planning

As can be seen from the figure, planning at the regional (meso) level has an important integrative function in the total process of planned development. The level of regional planning is that level at which the projects formulated at the base of society can be integrated into a regional framework that contributes to the national goals; or the other way round, it is the level at which national and sector plans are detailed into local plans, and are integrated into a regional framework for local action.

Meso-planning should function in the aggregation process (bringing together the local plans into greater entities of action programs) and in the disaggregation process (dividing the national and sector strategic plans into more detailed tactical plans).

The top-to-bottom approach can also be called the functional procedure. In this procedure, the national (macro) plan or its equivalent defines the functions that the various regions of the country will have in the development process of the country as a whole for the coming plan period.

The bottom-to-top approach can be termed the resources procedure because the development plan is based on an assessment of the potential of the region (physical, economic, and social).

If the bottom-to-top procedure is not harmonized with a top-to-bottom procedure, the first will nearly always result in a long list of local plans, of which only a limited number can be implemented, even if self-reliance at the local level is stimulated. The result will be a feeling of disappointment among the people.

A top-to-bottom approach that doesn’t take into account the information supplied by the bottom-to-top approach will produce theoretical planning documents that people find neither relevant nor interesting. It will then become difficult if not impossible, to mobilize that most important resource, the working power of the local population without which no plan can succeed.

(Similarly, macro-meso-micro planning can be done at each regional level too.)

Conclusion

The importance of macro-meso-micro level linkages in any community cannot be overstated. At the macro-level, holistic national strategies are required on issues such as poverty, rural development, and local economic development for the planning and development of programs. The meso-interface between the micro-planning interwoven with macro-level policies is best managed at the district level, where services can be much more responsive. For this to be effective, decentralized policies and actions are required.

January 8, 2023May 7, 2023

What happened to the Atomic Bush?

Most of the 90s kids had the privilege of growing up listening to Atomic Bush in their teenage years. They started out as an underground progressive rock band in Kathmandu and soon became more popular than the other mainstream bands. This legendary band was formed back in 2005 and went on to set the bar high in the progressive rock music genre in Nepal. While the rest of the world was tuning up to Hip-Hop and Electronic Pop Music, Atomic Bush was experimenting with rock music to give it a completely new meaning. Even though the band is no longer active, the milestone set by the Atomic Bush still continues to inspire generations of music to come within the country and beyond. By the way, do you know what happened to the Atomic Bush? Let’s find out!

Is Atomic Bush Getting Back Together?

Click here to know more about Atomic Bush Reunion →

NEW UPDATE on Atomic Bush!

Atomic Bush is definitely getting back together, this time for sure. They are working on the comeback album, and Bibhushan Basnet even played a few lines from the song “Jhilimili” as treat to the fans.
Need a Proof? Thank me later!

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**Ballad of ‘Sano Prakash’**

Atomic Bush hit the underground music with its groundbreaking, head-banging epic progressive ballad ‘Sano Prakash’. The song keeps you mesmerized for the complete 7 minutes and 20 seconds with everything you want in progressive rock music. The first 60 seconds is the legendary riff played in ¾ beat that transitions into another 25 seconds of lead before opening up with the first verse. The lyrics are profound in meaning. If you have contemplated the lyrics of the song, you would feel it. The second lead starts around 03:15 which sets the mood for the next verse of the song to reach the climax. The final lead is the most amazing part of the song.

If you have been to the live performance of ‘Sano Prakash’ by Atomic Bush organized by ktmRocks, then you must know what I mean. Bibhusan Basnet, the lead vocalist of Atomic Bush plays the second solo so smoothly and then makes the crowd go crazy as he starts to shred and do vocals for the outro part. It just gives us goosebumps. Back when Rock and Metal Music were trying to grow up and get recognized in Nepal, ‘Sano Prakash’ by Atomic Bush set the standard for the genre. The guitar solo of ‘Sano Prakash’ is the most sought-after guitar lesson in Nepal. It is one of the best guitar solos ever created in the history of Nepalese Rock Music.

In a sentence, ‘Sano Prakash’ is the anthem of Nepali Rock Music.

January 8, 2023January 14, 2023

Timeless Lessons from Bhagavad Geeta

Bhagavad Geeta is the most ancient Holy Scriptures in the world. It is the most important religious text in Hinduism and Eastern philosophy. This 700-verse Hindu scripture is the part of epic Mahabharata. The timeless lessons from Bhagavad Geeta still serve as a guide to modern life problems.

Those who have read Bhagavad Geeta know that it is a spiritual discourse between Lord Krishna and Arjun on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Arjun is in an ethical dilemma as he is facing his own brothers (Kauravas), relatives, and teacher in the war. He is not able to make sense of the situation. Sensing this confusion in Arjun, Krishna offers his timeless piece of advice which is inscribed as Bhagavad Geeta. The dialogues between them serve as the timeless guide for our life.

Timeless Lessons from Bhagavad Geeta

Do the work selflessly. Don’t expect results.

If we are to understand only one thing from Bhagavad Geeta, then this is the one. It teaches us to find meaning and purpose in our work. Lord Krishna said to Arjun: You can only control what you do, but you can’t control the outcomes. The results shouldn’t be the motive for your action. Detach yourself from the desires of outcomes.

Change is inevitable

The only thing that remains constant in this universe is the CHANGE. Change is the law of nature. You have to adapt yourself to the changes. If you are climbing up the hill, you can’t expect the hill to change, you have to change your perspective.

Nothing last forever

Nothing is permanent in this world. You, your family, your loved ones… nothing is permanent. Success comes after failures. The day comes after the night. Bad times will pass. Don’t be sad. Similarly, don’t get too excited about your fortunes.

Anger Management

Anger is mankind’s greatest enemy. It blurs our ability to reason. Anger gives birth to negative thoughts and leads to destructive acts. Don’t let your anger harm you.

Overcome your fear

Fear is the disability to think straight and focus. Human beings have been born with fear: fear about the future, fear of losing respect, fear of losing family, and so on. It only leads to pain and suffering. We can overcome this fear by putting effort to gain knowledge and wisdom. The tragedy of loss and death is just an illusion.

Final Words

It is never too late or too early to read Bhagavad Geeta. This holy book has become even more relevant today for our troubled times. Don’t just go through the verses, internalize their true meanings and you will feel it.

January 8, 2023January 18, 2023

Decoding Bohemian Rhapsody

“Bohemian Rhapsody” made it to the theaters in 2018 and took over the world as it was a much-awaited biopic about Freddie Mercury. The lead vocalist of the British Rock Band Queen, Freddie Mercury is largely regarded as the greatest singer in the history of rock music. But more than that, “Bohemian Rhapsody” was the song that shook the world and changed forever the face of rock music. Even after 45 years since its first release, Bohemian Rhapsody stands out to be one of the greatest rock songs for generations to come. However, decoding the meaning of “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a closely guarded secret.

No doubt, Bohemian Rhapsody is the most iconic song in the history of rock music. More than just a song, it sounds to be a timeless piece of art with an opera-like effect. This is the song where music comes alive: Capella. Ballad. Hard Rock. Opera. Perfectly knitted together into one whole six-minute song that shook the music world.

Nevertheless, Bohemian Rhapsody is also the least understood song, mainly due to the complex persona of its writer and singer Freddie Mercury. Almost half a century since it was released, but the actual meaning of the song continues to evade our understanding. In fact, Freddie wanted it to be this way. He described it rather simply as a song being just about relationships. But it’s not that simple.

Interpreting “Bohemian Rhapsody”

Going through the lyrics of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, it seems like Freddie is confessing something through the song. As one of the greatest performances of his life, he is telling his own story: How different his life could have been and how happy he could be if he has just been himself.

Reading between the line, it appears that he’s confessing his sexuality as being gay. He killed who wanted to be and instead he is trying to live a new life. And he is lamenting for the people he has hurt in his life, forever being haunted by the regret of what he had done.

Final Words

“Bohemian Rhapsody” is undoubtedly a masterpiece in the music industry and it is the legacy which The Queen and particularly Freddie Mercury have left behind. Once you hear this song, you can’t just stop listening to it. Bohemian Rhapsody might be just a rare case in music history that made Queen and Freddie Mercury a Legend.