Last week, Wednesday, I didn’t find anything of my choice in lunch at office; I just took some pieces of kakadi , carrot, dahi and papad. During lunch, I just thought about taste of kakadi. Is it sweet ? I don’t think as its taste is different from sweet dishes. Is it salty? No, until I spray some salt over it. Is it sour? Absolutely not. Whatever be its taste category , I always like its tasteless taste (that’s what I conclude) . One of my friends doesn’t like brinjal, other doesn’t like ladyfingers but I didn’t find anybody who doesn’t like kakadi. Almost everybody like it and its tasteless taste.

Same way, I didn’t find any taste in mumfali (peanuts) and chana (I don’t know English word for this). What about green peaces taste? What about the taste of hot bhutta, eating in a rainy day on the shore of a lake. There is a lot of taste in these tasteless objects.

On the same day, I and my colleague were working on a critical issue. Suddenly my colleague started singing song “Zindagi har ghadi ek nayi jung hain……………….” After every 30-40 minutes, he repeated same lines “Zindagi har ghadi ek nayi jung hain……………….”Every time when he sing this song, all member of my team looked him, smiled and again continued with their work. I don’t know why he sung this song. Whether he likes the music, movie or lyrics of this song or he was so much frustrated with work, I really don’t know. But every time when he sung, we shared smile and I feel an unknown happiness on every face around him.

Some days back I went to my farms in Ujjain, I looked some workers were working there. I noticed one of the worker, he sung the same song while working “Zindagi har ghadi ek nayi jung hain……………….”. Again people around him shared smile and again continued with their work. My colleague in office is an MBA from a reputed management college and this worker was ever gone to school in his life. But both people shared same activity of happiness.

I am sure my colleague and that worker didn’t do this activity for any purpose. There is no benefit behind singing this song. I can’t say that they were hungry, that’s why singing or they were getting money for singing. Even I was not sure about this argument that they were able to concentrate more on their work due to this activity. Here I faced same situation like kakadi, we can’t fit such activity in any category. No purpose, no aim, no benefit. But most important thing, they both enjoyed this activity and looks happy. And also make the environment around them healthy and happy. I don’t know much about both people, but when I look them it seems they are full of life and have ability to make atmosphere around them happy. I thought education never taught anybody to be happy. This thing, we need to learn from the nature around us.

As a child, we mostly do kakadi activities (no purpose, no benefit but full enjoyment). Children always do whatever they want and in which they feel happy. But this tendency lower down when our age is start growing. My nephew has special attraction for Dhol. Whenever he hears the voice of dhol, he starts dancing and nobody can stop him once he starts dancing. It doesn’t matter where he is or who are looking him. (Once I faced an embarrassing situation, when he starts dancing on road by hearing “Raghupati raghav raja ram …” music of a funeral ceremony). He has one more special habit, whenever he has to go at neighbor’s home; he never use gates to go, just jumped the boundary and enjoyed this activity very much.

As an elder, we also do childish activities sometimes. Singing, dancing, playing, cracking PJs, chatting with buddy, enjoying nature……………….. Even jumping, running, playing with pets , kids, bike riding, walking……..there are numerous action in which people find moment of happiness. Just imagine in the second week of June month (date around 12 or 13), a very hot day (temperature above 40), you are returning home after work. Suddenly rain starts; you take shelter under a flowers shop. You feel the smell of flowers inside shop, within span of fem minutes you feel smell of wet soil is also combined with flowers. A very cool air touches you and you feel very relax; you find that there are no worries in your life. Your favorite track is playing on radio in shop (something like sawan barse, tarse dil………..). You move hand outside to measure heaviness of rain. Cool water touches your hand; you pull down your hand and touch your eyes and then complete face with wet hands. You see some children playing in rain; Group of girls going somewhere under umbrella; Water is collected on the side of road; All the trees on the side of road are completely wet now. …………………………….I am sure you don’t stop yourself to wet and enjoy the rain in such situation and what about taking tea after reaching home. You don’t find such happiness by education, you can’t purchase this happiness by money; this is the beauty of nature; just feel and enjoy it.

Let s come to some real examples of kakadi activities after such hypothetical spiritual scene. (But you can find this scene in first rain of the year) One of my friends has special habit to go for tea at highway at 11 AM. When everybody is going to sleep, he starts his bike and move to the road. (Many times he came to me for company and I felt sleepy most of the time during visit to highways.) Other friend has special affection for pets, whenever he see pet (even roadside doggy), he can’t stop himself and start playing with it. (I always feel unhygienic and never shake hand with him after that). One has other habit, he always cracks PJ and start laughing irrespective whether other people are enjoying it or not. People around him always laugh by looking the way of his laughing rather on his PJ. Nobody can define purpose or benefit in such activity but I am sure they and people surrounding them enjoy these moments.

There is a very beautiful scene on movie Jab we met about such childish/Kakadi activity. Kareena and Shahid sit on the shore of river and suddenly what comes in kareena’s mind and she make plan to jump in river and force Shahid to join her on same. There was a very remarkable statement of Kareena during these “Tumne bachpana try kiya that na, ab pagalpan try karo.“ Later, Shahid also feel good after such pagalpan (but I always feel sleepy whenever I go to highway with my friend; I think there is some difference in company of my friend and Kareena as I am sure I will not feel sleepy if I go to highway with Kareena for tea).

I have a nice experience of such kakadi activity during the wedding ceremony of my friend’s sister. In the night around 1 o’clock, we friends were sitting on the main hall. All the guests and baratis were sleeping; only we and some of the family members (who were working with us in arrangement during program) were talking there. We had a bucket with full of flowers and garlands (that used in ceremony) with us at that time. Suddenly, what goes in mind of one of my friend, he start throwing flowers on other friend. Initially other friend ignored it but after repeated number of times, he stand up and picked complete bucket and throw all flowers and garland to him. Within a period of 5-10 minutes we all friends involved in this activity and enjoyed it a lot. We make target to every person one by one, and start throwing flowers on him. After turn of every one, we started this action to some friends, who were sleeping at that time and disturbed them. For some time, these sleeping friends tried to cover their self with bad sheet and pillows and at the end they also joined us in this activity. After flower throwing activity, one of my friends took Dhol from somewhere and started playing it; other people joined him with dancing task. Nobody among us slept in that night; everyone enjoyed these childish activities, and in morning, we have the hall with full of flowers spread everywhere and, some guests complaining us that they could not able to sleep due to noise in night.

I don’t know whether you heard this word or not – Bakar and Thilwai. These words were very famous among us in college time. Two or more friends collected on one’s room and start discussion on any sensible or senseless topic. You were free to say anything during bakar/Thilwai; logical ,illogical, relevant or irrelevant. We spent complete night in such kakadi type of thilwai and everyone enjoyed it.

Nobody can define enjoyment of such kakadi moments in words but these have a lot of enjoyment, lot of life in it. When I was in class 6th, our Hindi teacher asked a question to us – whom should you want to do friendship? What qualities of a person inclined you to become friend of him?
“One who is good in study” Duffer most boy of our class answered (“so that he can copy him in exam “nobody can stop backbencher to whisper).
“One who can help us in study and we can learn good qualities from him “so called most intelligent boy of class answered (“teacher ka chamcha………kisi ko kuchh bhi nahi bata he aur dost aisa banayega jisko sab aata ho” comment from backbencher)
“ Kisi pahalwan se “thin boy of the class answered (“so that he saves him when someone beating him” again backbencher ………….). “
“One who has good dish in tiffin “fat boy of the class answered. (“sale mote ko khane ke alawa kuchh bhi nahi aata” back bencher are in full of action )
“One who is good looking” a beautiful girl answered from window seat (“taki dono pure school me itarati rahe” Back benchers on fire )
After such few more answers our sir answered, “irrespective of anyone’s look, intelligence or richness, try to be surround with people who has such habits –
1. People who love kids
2. People who love pets or nature
3. People who loves music
4. People who love to play any indoor or outdoor game
You will feel happy in the company of such people. Try to make friends, who know to crack joke on him. Who find happiness in any type of situation and you smiles or laughs most of the time when you are with him. A statement freeze for always in my ears.

As a professional, most of the time we think about benefit, loss, aspirations, purpose and goals. But we always forget about madness, craziness, childish behavior (rather kakadiness) inside you. Some lines comes in my mind on this –

ज़िंदगी तेरे आँचल मे आँखे रोज रो तो सकती हे, पर हमेशा मुस्कुरा नही पाती
और तेरी उलझने हमे समझदार तो बना देती हैं, बस फिर से बच्चा नही बना पाती

Mantra from me to you after this whole nonsense is very simple – Do whatever work you do with full honesty and dedication. But apart from that do something like childish when you don’t have any work; Do something madness or craziness when you get bored with routine tasks; and be spiritual when you take rest after completing all tasks.

Keep child inside you alive, do something without any benefit or purpose………….just yuhi…….jo dil chahe………………………………………..

(Next time when you eat kakadi, just think for a while about it…………………..)