Is there Completeness in Incompleteness ?

Does incompleteness strike fire in the belly ? Accomplishment of goal is seen among those did not complete things formally. Rabindranath Tagore did not go to School but is considered one of the greatest poets of all times. India is proud of him. Each year we celebrate his birth anniversary on 25th Baishakhya ( DoB : 07/05/1861). He died on 22nd Sraban ( 7/8/1961). The book of poems , `Gitanjali' written by him won him the nobel prize in literature in 1913. It is not only Rabindranath who is an example of incompleteness. Sarat Chandra Chattopadhya the novelist who won the hearts of specially the women folk by speaking their hearts during the period there were no mobiles, facebook and other social media. In this age he is still relevant. But he said that if his writings would be relevant even after 50 years then Bengali literature would be considered to not have progressed. His novels have been repeatedly filmed. You can take the advantage of law to not include his name in the films , `Devdas' and `Parineeta' but it is in the heart of all that Sarat Chandra popularly referred, was the author of the two novels.

The Copyright Act,1957 as amended allows adaptations to be copyrighted. Further one can copy another's title of any piece of literature, dramatics,music etc., and take the idea from the original book and have your own story. You are allowed to obtain copyright over the creation through adaptation allowed under the Copyright Act,1957. It is shameful that the persons adapting do not consider it necessary to acknowledge the creator. But the adaptation can never rub the original `Devdas' and `Parineeta' from the minds of the people. Sarat Chandra could not complete his graduation due to paucity of money. But the degree that is awarded on passing out of college which Sarat Chandra could not stop his creations . That to; to win heart of the readers. Nazrul Islam. the poet, lyricist, music composer is another example. He did not hold a College Degree.Yet his poems and songs continue to be sung even to-day. His peoms and songs had the revolutionists charged up to take on the British, Nazrul Islam is the national poet of Bangladesh. We are remined of the words of Bhupen Hazarika, ` Sabar opore Rabindranath, Chetana te Nazrul." ( Above everyone is Rabindranath , in realisation it is Nazrul.)

Swami Vivekananda was a graduate. However, the degree did not help him to get a job. He begged for a job but could not find one. He was asked to leave a job of a teacher given to him by Vidyasagar. But as destiny would have it, Swamiji was the light of India and proved to be the best speaker at the World Convocation on Religions. He opened up India to the world then referred to the land of snake charmers. Swamiji is an idol for many not only in India but world wide. He said that modern education : (i) Did not teach a person to stand on his own feet; (ii) Did not give self confidence; and (iii) Did not give self respect. Unless education does not give the above as said by him any education is just a degree. This is proved in the age of globalisation.

Bill Gates the founder of Microsoft dropped out of Havard. He created `microsoft' to revolutionise soft ware industry world wide. His name appears among the first three rich persons in the world having topped the list for quite sometime. Steve Jobs dropped out of college. He, however, created `Apple' that became the most valuable company in the world. He did not have a degree. In his will he stated that all who attended his funeral should given the book, ` Autobiography of a Yogi' written by Yoganandaji. The book is on Kriya Yoga. Babaiji the living sage the Guru of Lahiri Moshy of Benaras wanted Mukunda ( Yogananda ) to complete graduation before going to US which he was destined to go. Here Babaji required Mukunda to become a graduate and hold the degree. So at time degrees are required.

This reminds of Hemanta Mukhopadhyay ( also known as Hemant Kumar) studied in Jadavpur Engineering College with Sound Engineering but he dropped out to be a singer and a music person. He was regarded for his voice said to be a gift of God. He was also a music director having given music for the films, `Ananda Math' and `Nagin'. The song of Nagin topped the chart of `Binaca Geet Mala' for two years . It won him the prestigious film fare award. He is still remembered fondly specially inWest Bengal where he spent his early life. Hemanta Mukhopadhyay was born in Varanasi. His Rabindra Sangeets are heard even today. He is said to have instrumental in popularising Rabindra Sangeet. Hemant Kumar sang, ` Pather Klanti Bhule ......' with a harmonium and tabla in London at the request of the producers of the film, `Siddhartha' to be included in the film after the song, `Oh Nadi Re....' was liked by all. The songs bought him international recognition. This year is his birth centenary year.

Arabinda Mukhopadhyay, the director of the film,`Dane Maye' lived for more than 100 years. He had many hits to his credit. But he sacrificed his career, studies in medicine to be a film director. If he did not chose film as his career he would have been a doctor like his brother ( `Banphool' or Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay) , one of the best short story writers of Bengal, who practised as also a Doctor.

The above all chased their passions to reach such heights. They did not fear to throw away a structured career for the unknown. Had they not done the above we would not have known them. This reminds us of Aristotle the Philosopher of Greece who said, `We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.'

Words of the philosopher must have guided them to their goal. It requires the combination of the head with the heart to achieve anything. Degrees cannot guarantee you anything anymore. They are just papers which you might like to disown at times.