We Shall Overcome

We shall overcome, we shall overcome
We shall overcome some day
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall overcome some day

We'll walk hand in hand
We'll walk hand in hand some day
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We’ll walk hand in hand some day

We shall live in peace, we shall live in peace
We shall live in peace some day
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall live in peace some day

We are not afraid
We are not afraid some day
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We are not afraid some day

We shall overcome
We shall overcome some day
Oh, deep in my heart, I do believe
We shall overcome some day

हम होंगे कामयाब,
हम होंगे कामयाब एक दिन
हो हो मन मे है विश्वास, पूरा है विश्वास
हम होंगे कामयाब एक दिन

हम चलेंगे साथ-साथ
डाल हाथों में हाथ
हम चलेंगे साथ-साथ एक दिन
मन में है विश्वास, पूरा है विश्वास
हम चलेंगे साथ-साथ एक दिन

होंगी शांति चारो ओर
होंगी शांति चारो ओर एक दिन
मन में है विश्वास, पूरा है विश्वास
होंगी शांति चारो ओर एक दिन

नहीं डर किसी का आज
नहीं डर किसी का आज एक दिन
मन में है विश्वास, पूरा है विश्वास
नहीं डर किसी का आज एक दिन

हो हो मन में है विश्वास, पूरा है विश्वास
हम होंगे कामयाब एक दिन

Claylanguage checks the use of words and phrases in your writing.

Swachh Bhasha Abhiyan

Bo to D – Peak

A million people on a Bo platform.

A thousand people pass through a single door in under a minute. 

Fifty passengers race to catch one seat. 

Just seated passengers tell those standing 
to keep their bags and laptops on the rack. 

The plight of the fourth seat... 

An elderly man resting a hot stainless steel chapatti box on your shoulders. 

At Andheri, Mr Shoo manages to get into the crowded train, 
and then demands to know who stepped on his feet. 

One businessman gets up, two labourers can now sit. 

A huge suitcase may occupy the gangway. 

Monkeys swing on metal handles. 

Stuntmen dance on the roof beneath high voltage cables. 

Cool breeze over Mahim Creek. 

Dadar, bhai Dadar! 

A Close Crow Call

This morning the crows were cawing loudly. Although I am not a huge fan of crows, the noise they created made me get up from my chair and go to the window to see what the commotion was all about.

Normally, the crows look in the direction of the threat when they caw this loudly. I tried to look for a cat, the most common threat that would be worthy of such noise. However, no cat was in sight. A snake perhaps? However, no slithering snake was to be seen. Neither a dangerous dog nor a cheerful cow. Now, I was curious. Why were the crows making such a huge racket when there was no apparent danger?

I then looked at the crows. Are they gone mad perhaps? They seemed to be talking loudly to each other, actually more like yelling at each other. Their disturbing gathering was around the big badam (almond) tree that stands in front of my window and obstructs my view of the beautiful sun set in the evenings. There, in this tree was the threat — kite thread or, in Hindi, manja! 

A baby crow was entwined in the orange thread, stuck, and hanging for dear life. The glass-coated string went round her neck and had tied her legs; she seemed lifeless. I thought she was dead, but the crows knew she was not. They kept shouting words in their language at this young helpless bird. She listened carefully. Then, as if after complete assimilation of each instruction being thrown at her, she did what was told and set herself free by removing each knot that held her captive. After untying the last knot by pulling the string apart with her beak, she climbed onto the branch that she hung from about a few moments back. 

The onlooking crows cheered her with a joyful round of cawing. After a minute of exuberant cawing, each crow flew away in its own direction. I returned to my chair and wrote about it. 

Language and timely communication saved a listening baby crow today! 

Dil

Dil in Turkish is language.
Dil in Hindi is heart.
DIL in Claylanguage is an abbreviation —
Deeply in Love! 

Direction

Sometimes work seems so dull,
So I turn to my right
To catch a glimpse of Light ... दीप्ती|

Sometimes life seems to depress,
So I turn to my left
To find a friend in Happiness ... आनन्द|

BEST Language Class

My daily commute takes me approximately an hour or the time equivalent to the duration of a period of language class at a good school. Sometimes, when I am detained in traffic, this time spent in learning turns unbearable because commuters, the teachers, start speaking in the bus that which should not be learnt at class. However, with the exception of me picking up a few wrong words in Marathi or Hindi, the time spent in learning languages on the bus till I alight seems pretty decent.
For anyone who plans to take this multilingual class, the first thing to remember is the fact that you have got to do the learning. The second is to stretch your imagination.

Step 1: Get into the class 
Getting into the BEST is more difficult than the mild difficulty of an entrance test (ET) such as BET, CET, GET, LET, MET, NET, SET, VET, WET, and the other ET-abbreviated forms. The competition is fierce; it's not the number of seats here, it is a true-to-its-name ENTRANCE TEST. There is just one entry. Well, the elderly may enter through the front exit, but the others have to grow old enough to use this door.

Step 2: Pay the fee 
When in, we buy the ticket. My work place is not too distant, just one hour by bus. However, if you plan on studying more languages at a pretty reasonable two-digit sum, you are in the right place. This is where we start. Buy the ticket using what you hear in the other languages spoken, only say the right name of the stop or your teachers may think they are being truly followed. The conductor is a multilingual expert. He knows nearly all that you may say/nay say, so do not worry. I once asked him for two tickets in one Claylanguage sentence of Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati, and English words, and I got the right tickets.

Step 3: Learn 
The BEST has the following faculty and resources:

• Conductor - A multilingual expert  
• Passengers - Teachers who speak in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Konkani, Urdu, Punjabi, Hinglish, English, and so forth. I have a choice of an Express class, but the ratio of the number of teachers to a student decreases if few get on board. In addition, my other option, the air-conditioned class limits learning to high Hinglish alone. 
• Senior Passengers - Masters (They teach well.)
• Flat-screen TV (I once heard an advertisement in Marathi that when first translated in my mind said "Speak English in your language Marathi." Fortunately, I later learnt that the phrase "Learn to" had to come before the sentence.)
• Newspapers - I have read a lot of Gujarati via this resource.

A class on wheels has the advantage of no scores and the disadvantage of you missing the bus.
The bell rings ... Bye!
(Claylanguage celebrates its three years of BEST travel.)

India Wins!

India
भारत
ভারত
இந்தியா
ભારત
ಭಾರತ
ഇന്ത്യ
ਭਾਰਤ
భారతదేశం
in some of its various languages.
With regard to finding so many languages in one place,
I love India! 

मुझे ना चाह

मुझे ना चाह कोई

सदा तुझे चाहा, 

न मैं कहीं भटकू 

तु मेरा चरवाहा |

जहाँ हरित उपवन 

वहाँ मुझे ले चलो,

जहाँ वहे मीठा जल 

प्रभु मुझे ले चलो | 

जहाँ हो राह सही 

वहाँ मुझे ले चलो,

जहाँ हो सत्य अटल 

प्रभु मुझे ले चलो | 

प्रेम in Conversation with आनंद

Twins प्रेम and आनंद are Love and Joy. 

Both cannot be separated.

Although humor, jokes, sitcoms, and comedy make us happy temporarily,

This conversation could tell us why Love and Joy live together permanently.

आनंद: I am happy to see you always smile प्रेम.
प्रेम: I smile only when I see you आनंद.
आनंद: Why? Am I funny प्रेम?
प्रेम: No. You are always happy आनंद.
आनंद: You know why प्रेम?
प्रेम: No. Please tell me आनंद.
आनंद: I love प्रेम.

आगे बढ़ने

आगे जाना ... आगे जगह है |

Have you heard these words?

In English, these words mean "Go forward ... there is place ahead."

Every morning I am reminded to go forward.

These words are not from a great Hindi motivational speaker. No.

They are spoken from the mouth of a bus conductor.

Besides providing a ticket for our journey, 

Imagine the constant motivation this person shouts out to us when we travel by bus.

His shouts not only tell us to go forward but also enforce the fact that there is for us a place ahead.

I am happy to travel by bus because very few motivational speakers remind us of a hope that lies ahead.

Bus Conductors as Motivational Speakers

You

I had deleted this blog thinking that it would benefit no one to read.
I uploaded the blog backup feeling that it would encourage me to write.
I will update this blog knowing that it would be You to love.
Much Thanks to You.
धन्यवाद |

Chain Communication

The buses on certain routes in Mumbai are overcrowded.
After fortunately entering at the bus stop, if the bus stops,
Trying to get a ticket is another difficult endeavor.
Your voice like the conductor tends to go unheard
With the surround noise testing your listening skills.

In my deep silence, I hear an old woman yell...
“Mandir se Nagar … Mandir se Nagar.”
I looked at her as she yelled into my face.
I thought an enthusiastic mantra she was chanting
Until she handed me her money repeating...
“मंदिर से नगर |”

It then struck me, to the conductor she was pleading.
To please pass on the money, my hand I was lending.
“Mandir se Nagar” to the conductor I uttered;
My long hand returned the ticket of which she had endlessly muttered.

Communication on the bus is a different story.
When the total holding capacity of a bus is met,
Commuters start to pass on their fare till a ticket they get.
The conductor returns a ticket slowly
If he has understood this his round of a Chinese whisper.
This language system is a wonder
Because everyone involved makes no blunder.

वचन

वचन तेरा है प्रभु
जीवन की ज्योती है |
वचन तेरा है गुरु
अनंत जीवन है |

तु ही प्रेम है मेरे प्रभु

तु ही प्रेम है मेरे प्रभु
मुझे प्रेम से भर दे प्रभु
तेरे प्रेम मै जग में फैलाऊ
ऐसा अनुग्रह पाऊ सदा |

तु ही करुणा है मेरे प्रभु
मुझे करुणा से भर दे प्रभु
तेरे करुणा मै जग में फैलाऊ
ऐसा अनुग्रह पाऊ सदा |

तु ही शांती है मेरे प्रभु
मुझे शांती से भर दे प्रभु
तेरे शांती मै जग में फैलाऊ
ऐसा अनुग्रह पाऊ सदा |

Translation:
You are Love, My Lord
Fill me with your Love
To be able to spead your Love throughout the world
Such is the grace I seek

You are Compassion, My Lord
Fill me with your Compassion
To be able to spead your Compassion throughout the world
Such is the grace I seek

You are Peace, My Lord
Fill me with your Peace
To be able to spead your Peace throughout the world
Such is the grace I seek 

प्रभु तेरा प्यार

प्रभु तेरा प्यार
सागर से भी गहरा,
तू है महान आसमानों से भी उंचा,
तेरा विचार सागर की रेत से ज्यादा,
प्रभु तेरा दिल सृष्टि से भी बड़ा |

आप = You

“Aap” means “You” in Hindi—the widely spoken language in India.

This word is used instead of “Tum” when one wants to convey respect.

For example, one says “Tum” to a friend and “Aap” to a parent or teacher.

AAP also means “Adopt A Plant” in Claylanguage.

This abbreviation conveys respect for Mother Nature.

For example, one adopts a plant because they respect Mother Nature.

Therefore, try something new: Aap AAP

Because AAP is all about You = आप।