In two words a Persian proverb explains the philosophy of a successful life. The proverb is 'JOINDA YABINDA'. This can be translated into English also in two words. Seekers, find.
I was in a great hurry to reach home before 11 in the night to switch on the radio for the special programme of classical music from All India Radio. And I was more than suitably rewarded. The Raag was Basant Mukhari ( with which I had been ignorant until that time). The singer was a woman.
According to Taan Sen every woman sings better than Taan Sen. This half hour will remain shining in my memory until the last breath of my life. I cursed my luck that I had no tape recorder at that time and I resigned myself to my predicament, like millions of others who miss so many sweet things in life. The melody haunted me in my dream as well.
Early in the morning I rang up my friends, and one of them said Basant Mukhari belongs to a combination of Bhairveen and Bhairon Thaat and is popular in South India.
I went to my favourite shop in Saddar whose owner himelf is fond of classical music. He welcomed me, but said he could not recall if he had Basant Mukhari. Before me were three rows of cassettes of classical music. As it always happens God came to my help and the first cassette I picked up from the hundreds was Basant Mukhari.
'KOI ANDAZA KAR SAKTA HAI MERI KHUSH NASIBI KA'.
The year was 1954, the beginning of my third year in journalism. My seniors were discussing about the profession. One of them said to succeed in English journalism one ought to read Old Testament thoroughly.
I left the newsroom and went to the old books vendors on the footpath in Saddar as I had not money for a new book. Those days you could have world classics on footpaths, very cheap. Luck eluded me there, yet I persevered in my effort. From Saddar to Tower and back to Saddar and to the shop from where I had started my search. After me so many people must have rummaged through the heaps of old books. I found my book.
By the roadside I found a page of a book. I picked it up as though it was left for me. What I read was a classic. Upper portion of the page was missing, so I could not guess where it came from.
I went to my teacher and showed him the page. He glanced at it and said "It is Sonia's prayer in Leo Tolstoi's epic "War and Peace". I searched for the novel and I got all the three volumes.
My friend took me to his brother-in-law's house. He said I would be happy to meet him as he is a voracious reader and he has a very good library.
He took out a book and told me to read two pages he had just read. It was Mikhail Sholokhov's famous novel, "And Quiet Flows The Don".
-- I recalled my teacher's advice on books:
-- Never beg, borrow or steal.
-- Yet another search and yet another success.
I had read in a book that Goethe asked his father that Homer is silent on what happened to the people of Troy after its fall. Goethe was told to read The Aneid of Virgil. I was confident that I would get it.
Next day my junior colleague said that he was very fond of reading science fiction. In Khori Garden area he found a book which he thought would please me. I got up from my seat and embraced him. The book was THE ANEID OF VIRGIL.
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