Hawayein Arijit Singh Jab Harry Met Sejal

 

Hawayein  - Jab Harry Met Sejal - Arijit Singh

"Hawayein" is a popular romantic song sung by Arijit Singh from the 2017 Bollywood film Jab Harry Met Sejal, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma. The track was composed by Pritam, with lyrics written by Irshad Kamil, and became a major hit shortly after its release. 

The song was well-regarded for its soothing composition and emotional depth, reflecting the romantic journey of the characters Harry and Sejal.

Hawayein...

Tujhe kahan le jaun

Tu mujh ko le ja

Hawayein... 

Anoop was driving us to Arya Nivas, Aristo Junction. 

Hawayein was flowing through his music system. We were hooked  and Arijit Singh became our favourite.

 Arijit Singh, one of India’s most celebrated singers is well known for his simplicity and excellent music. His life, hailing from an ordinary family had been full of challenges and struggles. Today, he is the most celebrated singer in the country. Singer, music producer.and leading figure in Hindi and Bengali music, he is the recipient of several accolades. 

We were shocked when we heard that he was retiring from playback singing.

Arijit Singh grew up in a musical family, with his mother fostering his interest in music, and he had received training in Indian classical music from a young age. 

Arijit's music is the heartbeat of his town, Jiagunj, Murshidabad, West Bengal. Arijit and Jiaganj are inseparable. He still plays cricket with the boys in the town. He prioritises the welfare of his own people. He has ensured that each and every boy he grew up with has found employment.  A few of them work as part of his team. 

He is the kind of person who can sit and talk for hours , unhurried, as if time itself can wait. We may even spot him heading out on his scooty at Jiaganj.

When he visits his school, he requests his teachers to sit on the chair while he sits on the floor. There is no hesitation in him, no sense of ego. At the Jiaganj Raja Bijoy Singh Vidyamandir, where Arijit had studied from classes 5 to 10, memory blends with the present. According to his teachers, music had been instinctive to Arijit. They had surmised at his young age, what had stood out about him was his temperament more than his talent.

Arijit has overseen the extensive restoration of the century old institution. He has restored the field in front of the school and its three acre playground.. When he realised the playgound needed development, he had it enclosed and  had set up a cricket academy and a sports academy  there, named after his mother Aditi 

Arijit  visualises the establishment of a 500 seat auditorium as well as a science museum in the space behind the school. As on date, construction work is in progress for the music academy Arijit is building to train young aspiring musicians. 

He was a shy boy when he joined the school. Arijit had been assigned to sing at every cultural event in the school. The senior teachers in the school had often thought he would go on to do something meaningful in life. Later, despite his growing engagement with music he remained gentle and approachable. Even today, whenever he meets his teachers, he touches their feet.

He has set up an advanced home studio at Jiagunj. Fame has not altered him. From childhood it was his mother Aditi who had shaped his love for music. Music was what he had lived for all along.  Arijit Singh's home is the place where  he effectively recharges himself.  Jiagunj is the location where the enigmatic musician lives, creates and follows his calling far away from the spotlight. He dislikes  being remembered solely as a singer. He is the artist who is on a creative exercise for ever.. Even if Arijit the singer slows down, he'll far more be  the most  valuable asset to music and cinema. 

He is relentless. Once he sets his mind upon anything, he ensures he achieves it.. 

It is to his greatness, he has  sung all kinds of songs.He knows if he doesn't make way new talents won't emerge. He is truly inimitable He has never insisted on singing a song. Quite a large numbrer of singers had received  a break when he had pushed for retention of the scratch singer.  He often does that. It seems he has announced his retirement from playback singing as he considers he has reached a stage in life where he should not box himself into just one identity.   You can't contain his creativity like that. He aspires to achieve more more 

.......................................................................................

Arijit Singh is of Bengali descent. He was born on April 25, 1987, in Jiaganj, Murshidabad, West Bengal, to a Punjabi father and a Bengali mother. While he is a renowned Indian playback singer, he has deep roots in Bengal and often sings in Bengali, in addition to his extensive engagements in Hindi cinema.  He is considered Bengali by the state and he brings a blend of both Bengali and Punjabi cultures to his life and music. 

Arijit Singh is married. He tied the knot with his childhood friend, Koel Roy, in January 2014 in a private ceremony. The couple prefers to keep their personal life private and distant from the media .They have three children. Consequent to his 2014 marriage with childhood friend Koel Roy, he became a father of two sons Ali and Jul from her.  They are enrolled in a school in Jiaganj, Murshidabad. He looks after the stepdaughter from his wife's previous marriage as his own.. The family resides in Jiagunj, Murshidabad, West Bengal. 

CURIOSITY AND HARDWORK TOOK THEM TO THE TOP

 

CURIOSITY AND HARDWORK TOOK THEM TO THE TOP

They are Class XII students. They cracked the JEE Main 2026. One scored the perfect score of 100. The other scored 99.98. Unbelievable indeed.

Look, how they achieved the impossible.

Shreyas Mishra 100%

Curiosity defined his childhood. As a Class V student, the world around seemed buzzing with questions. Bridges, trains, monuments, and machines weren’t just every day sights. They were puzzles to be understood. Why a bridge is shaped the way it is? Why are trains designed differently? Why is it,  the Ashoka pillar is not rusted?

Aged 17, Shreyas has turned that curiosity into an extraordinary achievement. He is among the 12 candidates, nationwide, to score 100 percent from among the 13 lakh candidates who had appeared for JEE Main 2026.

Shreyas attributes his success to years of disciplined preparation that he had begun from 2019 when he was in Class.VI. It had been a 12-14 hours grind every day. Apart from the studies he had pursued cricket and music. He defines consistency as the key to sustaining such an intense routine over the years where he had been balancing rigorous study with personal interests.

His father states that recognizing his aptitude early on he had enrolled him in speed mathematics and Abacus competitions during his childhood. The exposure had sharpened his numerical skills and confidence. The interest in mathematics had raised him to a superior level that many consider unattainable..

Vaishnav ENK 99.98%

Vaishnav credits his incredible feet to his prolonged ambition and the relentless perseverance. He had a clear goal.  He unravels his success mantra, “I believe everyone has more or less the same intelligence. But you need to be ambitious to attain a high goal and work hard consistently to reach there.”

He gives equal credit for his success to the entrance coaching at Brilliant Institute, Thrissur where he stayed in the hostel. The coaching included the solving of previous years’ question papers. He joined the Institute from Class XI onwards and it had enabled him to prepare well for JEE. He says, he found peer groups with his own mentality there. It certainly had a positive impact on him.

However, according to his perception, the CBSC Board exams are tougher than the JEE (main) and he has to  still work harder for that.

PENSIONERS

 

During my service , they had elevated me to Scale III, Manager, level. I didn't go up further as they must have discovered, I was not suitable for  higher positions than that. 

I have no complaints. I am just happy they had allowed me to reach  where I reached.

They must have known I was no good and if I had been pushed up I would have dragged the organisation to the deep pits of devastation and ruin.

I am happy the organisation has survived the test of times and has ascended to the top whereas if I had been up somewhere, according to them, the scenario might have been utter desolation.

However I am always amused, when those who had been my juniors and who had been elevated to the higher echelons, hallowed precincts I had been debarred from, ask me,  from which post I had signed off from the organisation after their own superannuation.

I'd happily respond MMGS III, knowing very well, retirement is the defining moment for all employees from the Chairman to the lowest. 

Then we are all pensioners. The pensioners survive on the magnanimity and kindness of the organisation. There will never be separate queues for the varied categories of the employees after their retirement.

Perhaps the quantum of pension disbursed  would vary in accordance with the position you had bowed out. But as you grow in age your requiremoents also would shrink. The highest and the lowest pension earners may need minimum food only and like that other necessities would be fewer for them in their advancing years. Even if you wish to splurge, you would painfully learn, that splurging would be meaningless. 

I am grateful to all those clever people who had placed a spoke in my elevation to the higher positions of the organisation. 

May they all live long. 

May their tribe balloon in the organisation so that more and more could be debilitated.

I am grateful to them for enabling me to live happily this far.

Future is not mine or theirs.

But they no longer can put me down as they are already down and out.

What matters is not the rank I had retired from, but whether I had come out, with head held high and whether I had made a name for myself in all round efficiency.

That makes it worthwhile to have served the organisation for pretty long a time.

TRUTH IS INCONVENIENT

 

Truth is priceless.

But most of us and especially those in power,

disfavour the true presentation of  truth.

Very often, truth is inconvenient

WHEN TWO PEOPLE BECOME ONE

 

WHEN TWO PEOPLE BECOME ONE

It was on 29^th December 1977 we became one.

It was purely an arranged marriage.

She was the first girl I met. Her smile captured me. There was simplicity in her. There was honesty in her.  When we met I told her our family was transiting through severe constraints. I made it plain it would be quite a difficult proposition if she chose to live with me. I said that because I could see she had grown up in the city. Thalavady was a hell hole at that point. Though much has changed since then the divide still persists even today.  And there was a critically ill mother at home. I felt, I shouldn’t bring a girl to my home without revealing to her in advance what she was going to step into.

It began on a Saturday in September 1977. I was working at Mavelikara. Saturday was a half day for us at the office. And I used to have a late lunch at home on all Saturdays. While I was finishing my lunch five visitors arrived. it was around 4.30 in the evening. Their intention was to propose an alliance. They seemed good people. We conversed for some time. As they left they sought my photo. I knew I didn’t have that. Yet we searched. Fortunately we could fish out one from a storage cabinet. That was the only one we had at home.

I didn’t know they had handed over a photo of the girl to Mummy. After they left, Leela was telling me, “Thommante Thommi kollaaam.” Leela at that time used to call me Thomman at times. And Mummy told me she had seen the girl’s mother when she was a young girl and that she had looked pretty at that time.

The next day we took Mummy to MCH Kottayam. She was admitted there. Leela and I returned to Thalavady. She had to attend her classes at Mavelikara. BEd. I had to attend my office. However when it was around 11.30am I had a call. Mummy had to be transferred to CMC Vellore. 

Well, it took us all to Vellore. Mummy was operated upon. Glioblastoma. We both returned to Thalavady after that. While I had been going ahead with my work, the bank deputed me to their Trivandrum Statue Branch.  The branch manager there had been aware of the marriage proposal. He knew the people well. He said he would take me to meet the family and the girl. I quietly told him there was no need for hurrying it. I said, let the parents meet the girl first – the tradition at that time. Papa later wrote to me, as I was in Trivandrum, it would be good if I could meet the girl and her family. I conveyed to him my response to the branch manager.

By the grace of God Mummy had recovered – not 100 per cent - after the treatment at CMC Vellore. They were back at Thalavady.

On a Saturday after that, the father and the brother in law of the girl visited us. They said they wished to go ahead with the proposal. Papa, soon after, visited Trivandrum.

It led us to meet on 20th November 1977.

The wedding took place on 29^th December 1977.

During the gap we had conversed through post. It was the closest to dating those days.

Marriage underlined that what mattered most to us was our commitment to each other, not mere labels. We understood that people talking about us was part and parcel of our lives. When we met for the first time, my initial impression was, she was really beautiful. As companions, we had always been on the same page. We have seen each other through difficult times. As she was employed, she too had made it clear she had no time to fool around.

When two people become one, we learned that it was exactly the profound confluence of two eternal ideals. We could see that it was the reflection of the inner strength and spiritual depth anchored within ourselves. We saw marriage embodied righteousness, compassion and moral courage. We could see that it signified the harmony between inner power and empathy. We discovered that we were led by divine protection. The realization invariably equipped us with resilience. We knew, together, we could face anything and everything with grace, unwavering strength and courage.

We were both very independent when it came to our work. But if we needed each other’s opinion, both of us were willing to key in our inputs.

We understood each other well.

It was love at first sight when we met each other. Our idea of a good time was going on long drives, whenever we could and spend time talking to each other.

While I would state, ‘It’s like a free therapy session. As she likes driving, I don’t even have to do that,” the astonishingly sweet response had been, ‘“He’s my passenger king.”

Our love story is far better in real life. For me, it is very romantic to wake up with a woman this beautiful every day. Relationships are marked by romance, intent and friendship. We are happy the relationship is settled and anchored in the best way. I am happy I have been chosen by a wonderful woman, who is brilliant, beautiful and kind.

She just couldn’t believe when I told her soon after the marriage, “When I was young, I used to see these beautiful girls and I would wonder, ‘Oh, my God, who are the kind of men these women get hitched to? And I eventually ended up marrying a beautiful girl.”

Her response was, “When we started talking, there was an instant connection. I saw a kind of hard work, dedication and determination in you. They attracted me to you. The looks were a cherry on the top.”

She had gone on, “I have you to run to with all my problems. You bind me, keep me together. The life we have together is the best gift we have given each other.”

I admit to the people I meet, “Seeing her commitment and watching how she is flourishing, I went on encouraging her.”

And I add, “I’m an extreme introvert. She’s my liaison with the outside world. She coordinates my travel and everything. She’s my one point stop for everything. I am completely dependent on her.”

We have travelled. We have spent our time together at the beach or scenic locations or wherever we wished to be.

Ever since we had come together we had been sharing everything we were going through.  We never hesitated to make fun of each other either. We had worked around whatever free time we had without rushing into anything. We knew, as a couple, it was important to give time to each other. To make that happen, we would sit across each other making eye contact.

We would talk.

I know she has a way with words. She is diplomatic and sweet, while I am to the point and straightforward. She has a sense of humor. I have constantly observed, she is the softer touch in my life.

She has built her reputation on her own capabilities. I have nothing to do with that. I compliment her in whatever she does. We make it a point to say ’I love you’ to each other as often as possible. Everyone always says that opposites attract. But as far as we are concerned we know we are complementing each other.

She tells me I am overly analytical whereas she affirms she has a free spirit. She considers me intense and feels that I am wearing my heart on my sleeve.

She had revealed to me a few days after our wedding that she had gravitated towards me because she trusted me and I in turn had trusted her.

We would like to place on record our view of life. 

Life is full of chores. Love can’t be one of them. Love is not mundane. For both of us, the partner is the person we wish to gossip with at the end of the day. Our partnership is so strong, the companion is the first person we share things with, good or bad. We didn’t fall in love to impress anyone. We chose each other. Honesty is the base of our life. We are happy to confirm that the ease of being around someone is the best leisure. When you are free with each other everything becomes easier. Having each other by the side is the favorite part of everyday life.

It is said home is where the heart is.

We chose mutually to settle at our place we call home.

We’ll not swap it for anything else.

…………………………………….

 

I’ll have to acknowledge that this composition has been inspired by the life of four well known couples articulated so well in the supplements of The Times of India of February 14 &15, 2026. I have drawn from them in part.

As I respect their privacy, I refrain from revealing their names.

 

 

 

 

IGNORANCE

 

Ignorance leads to bondage

Knowledge liberates

BBA BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AT UNIVERSITY OF KERALA

 

The story dates back to the 1990s.

The University of Kerala faced with the fall in the standard of education and the lack of professional courses it offered, came up with BBA - Bachelor of Business Administration. Students were admitted to the course after getting through an entrance examination that was followed by an interview. 

The course had been designed by educationists proficient in management studies. The course content was drawn from what had been taught at the IIMs and similar institutions for their MBA programmes.

The BBA of the University of Kerala drew quality students. The teaching was of a high standard. The students were able to match the students from high profile institutes elsewhere.

Then the drift began.

Some of the students approached  a member of the Syndicate of the University of of Kerala. The gentleman was a clerk in a Govt.of India owned finacial institution. He headed the Union there. A basic degree must have been his qualification. However, he was high up in the political strata of Kerala. Militancy was his party's trademark. 

The students represented to him that the Syllabus for BBA was very tough. Obviously, they could have belonged to his paty's student wing. The Union leader cum University Syndicate Member batted vehemently for the dilution of the course content of BBA. He finally succeded in whittling down the well structured and well thoughtout Syllabus of the BBA course to less than  an ordinary  course in the  other states of India.

Imagine what the thoughtless action had done to our students.

Though they had the BBA degree no one was prepared to offer them employment or provide them admission in institutions of repute. And if at all they were offered a job, the compensation offered had been way down in comparison with what had been offered to the pass outs from  premier institustions elsewhere in India.

Recently it was in the newspapers that the current education minister of  Kerala had been clamouring to cut back the school syllabus by 25%. 

At the end, it is obvious Kerala would be churning out students from its institutions of learning who are qualified yet inefficient and unemployable.

On a personal note, after completing my MA,  I went job hunting. My SSLC was in Malayalam medium. After SSLC, I joined a college for Pre-degree - Physics, Maths, Chemistry. Afterwards I went for B.Sc. MA came after that.

While I had been aggressively on the look out for landing a job, I stayed at Hubli for a while. My uncle was there.  His elder daughter was in the IXth standard of the Karnataka SSC. One day I had a look at her text books. To my surprise, the IXth standard text contained what we had in our Pre-degree text books. No wonder the girl went on to finish her MSc and acquired a job at the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences, Hyderabad. She didn't cease in her pursuits. She upgraded her qualification to PhD and the last I heard was, she was being invited by foreign Universities to present papers.  

No one in Karnataka had striven to dilute the course contents.

Kerala, unfortunately, has politicized the educational field. Here, the students wish to learn as little as possible. The teachers are not particular, they should deliver quality education.

We are content to remain third rate. 

Politics is not bad. We need the system. But the politicians should never interfere in the quality of education offered to its students. As it stands, we are happy creating jobs that do not challenge the intellect. Creativity has no place here. 

Let the politicians rule the state. Let the educationists manage the education here.

If it doesn't happen the number of the unemployed youth in Kerala would forever be leapfrogging