GAYETRI MANTRA – CALMS THE MIND AND CLEARS THE ILLUSIONS

 

I was 11 years old when my parents arranged my ‘Upanayana’ or the sacred thread ceremony. My head was shaved and my Guru, who was also my Jathamoni (my father’s elder brother), gave me the Gayetri mantra and explained it to me in great details.

Om Bhur Bhuvah Svah
Tat Savitur Varenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dheemahi
Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayat

I was first told about the word meaning of every word –

 

·         Om: The universal sound representing supreme consciousness.

·         Bhur: The physical realm (earth).

·         Bhuvah: The mental or atmospheric realm.

·         Svah: The spiritual or celestial realm.

·         Tat: That (referring to the Supreme Being).

·         Savitur: The divine light or Sun God.

·         Varenyam: Worthy of worship.

·         Bhargo: Divine radiance or spiritual illumination.

·         Devasya: Of the divine.

·         Dheemahi: We meditate upon.

·         Dhiyo: Intellect or understanding.

·         Yo: Who.

·         Nah: Our.

·         Prachodayat: May inspire or guide 

And then it was all summed up for me thus - We meditate on the divine light of the Supreme Being, who creates and sustains all worlds. May that light illuminate and guide our intellect.

 

I was told that this mantra is a meditative practice that aligns the practitioner with universal consciousness and recitation purifies the mind, enhances focus, and fosters inner clarity. By invoking the divine light, it helps awaken higher consciousness, dispel ignorance, and cultivate wisdom and self-realization. I knew all along that this is our Dharma, but there is no English equivalent of this word, and certainly not 'religion'.

 

As an 11 year old kid, though it left me overwhelmed, it did not sink in then. But today, when I look back, in the autumn of my life all that the mantra offers makes a lot of sense. There are many illusions in life, which we often consider real. Illusions of all kinds give us pause, either to look at them and understand them or in order to protect ourselves against something unfamiliar or intimidating. However, illusions are not just visible, but they exist in our psyche, and like optical illusions, they can cause our brain to become confused, to stop, and to avoid taking action until they dissipate. The illusions of life will never fade until you understand them and are able to see beyond them. We humans often use illusions as "excuses." It is highly recommended that you see the truth that awaits you beyond them. Let us delve into a few life’s choicest illusions:

 

1. The feeling of not having enough time to do the things you want to do

This illusion is one of the greatest because it makes us believe that eventually we'll have time later in life. The reason this is an illusion is because time is relative, having one free hour a day can seem as though one has no time to do anything, but to someone else, it can be seen as time to devote to what is important to them. Therefore, the secret is simply to understand what is important to you and what is not, and to put it into your daily routine instead of things that are not important, such as idly watching television or browsing social networks. 

 

2. Trying to take shortcuts in life

Although it is possible to take shortcuts while walking, when it comes to life this concept does not exist, at least not if you plan on experiencing a happy and productive life. Every goal in life has several milestones leading to it, and only if you pass through each of them will your life go as planned. Try to enjoy the journey to your goal and all of your small achievements, rather than seeing them as wastes of time. In fact, they make reaching your goal all the more satisfying. Taking the longer route will allow you to grow, improve, and develop enough to reach your goal in the best way possible.

 

3. Thinking that you have control over life

It may frighten you to hear that you have no control over anything in your life apart from your thoughts, but those thoughts will also make you look at things in a positive or negative way. Think of it this way: Your smartphone has access to the Internet, but it does not control the entire network and you can only see and respond to the information in the virtual space – similarly, your existence takes place mainly within your head, and everything that happens around you is not under your control. You can control what you are looking for in real space and how you respond to what you see, but not what happens at any moment. Your responses are within your control, that too if you do not lose your head in rage or fear or excitement, the stimuli to excite your respone was never under your control.

 

4. Waiting for happiness from an external factor

Your existence takes place primarily in your mind, and everything that changes in your feelings is due to your reaction to what is happening around you. However, many people hope that something will happen in the outside world that will affect their inner feelings for the better, but that is not how happiness works. You may be temporarily happy and even ecstatic if you win the lottery, but if you don’t know how to manage your feelings properly, the large sum of money can also be a heavy burden which will be a source of suffering - suddenly you’ll fear being robbed or losing all the money. So, each situation can bring with it positive and negative thoughts, and you must simply decide that you want to be happy in order to be happy - it will come with time as long as you decide that you want IT, and not something that will bring it. You have to choose to be happy, other people can please you from time to time but they can’t force happiness in you.

 

5. Attempting to control other people

The human psyche is often afraid of any kind of change since a regular routine keeps us confident that bad things won’t happen to us, even if our situation is not positive – if we’ve been able to manage so far, we’ll probably be able to manage going forward. So when you try to change other people who have become unconsciously accustomed to a particular behavior or routine, you can expect some resistance on their part. They may know that they have to change, but it is mentally difficult for them to even begin thinking about the process. Moreover, the change you try to apply to another person probably applies to your values, but not necessarily to their values, so you must understand that you can’t change other people, but you can change the way you see them. If you understand their motives and have open conversations about things that bother you, you can change your perspective, and you will also see a change in others without them actually changing - the real change has taken place in you.

 

6. Waiting for a source of inspiration or energy

You may want to do something but you are waiting for the right moment, for example being inspired to write or motivated to exercise. Ironically, waiting for an external source of inspiration or motivation creates a vicious cycle that never ends, where those external elements are reluctant to arrive because they come only through an action that begins with you! The process of writing itself is what inspires the writer, and exercising is what provides motivation. If you’ve done these things in the past you probably already know the feelings that come with them, sitting five minutes in front of a writing page stretches over hours and exhausting exercise makes you more alert and energetic. Do not wait for an external source to arrive, because it won’t. Remember that the change in the way you feel begins only within you.

 

7. Believing that failure is a final and undesirable stage

Failure only exists if you want to achieve something and can’t achieve it, but its definition depends only on how we relate to it. Failure is not necessarily a bad thing, rather, it’s like a dead end in the maze- if you navigate a maze and hit a lot of dead ends, you’ll eventually start to map it out and understand where you stand and how to get out. Therefore, every failure you experience tells you about a stage or something in your path that is not right, so you have to take a step back and correct it. Life itself is a big maze, and our failures can hurt our sense of success, but they help us reach it as long as we learn from them.

 

8. Feeling that you are not good enough to succeed

This is the basis of all our fears. We fear our death because we do not know whether we will be satisfied with our lives when that moment comes, and also the death of our loved ones, because of fear that we won’t be able to cope with this situation. These are extreme examples of the fundamental fears that exist in every person's life, but this also happens with any other fear, and there is a little test that can help you know whether you’ll be able to deal with a situation well or not: Just ask yourself if you are already in a situation that you think you can’t handle – if the answer is yes, then that means you can get through it. You’ll never need to carry more than you can hold because you already carry the heavy sense of fear, and if you want to relieve yourself, give up that fear. You may need to lean on others sometimes, but your friends and family are part of the toolbox that makes you capable of dealing with everything in the right way.

So, back to the Gayetri Mantra, it is a prayer for illumination, guidance, and spiritual awakening, connecting the practitioner to the divine light that sustains all life and consciousness. It helps us to see clearly through the illusions and ambiguities of life. It calms the mind, reduces the stress, purifies the aura, enhances our concentration and memory, and attracts harmony in life. If life is throwing googlies at you only a calm and collected mind will help you to play it correctly and Gayetri Mantra brings that calm.

This blog is dedicated to the memory of my dear friend, Dr. Sunil Saxena

WHY THE GUTTER LANGUAGE?

 

 

Young people at the recent Jantar Mantar protest (primarily the CJP-led agitation over NEET and other exam paper leaks, irregularities, and demands for accountability including the Education Minister’s resignation) used abusive and foul language for a mix of generational, technological, psychological, and situational reasons. This harmed the optics of an otherwise legitimate grievance even as other Gen Z participants actively pushed back against it.

 

The protest drew large numbers of students and young people (often described as a “Gen Z revolution”), with creative placards, memes, satire, and genuine anger over repeated systemic failures that affect futures and trust in institutions. Police action on key days (including the July 20 march attempts) escalated tensions, injuries occurred on both sides, and the site saw both disciplined volunteering (cleanliness drives, medical help, human chains) and disruption (abusive slogans, hooliganism, near-lynching of a media person in one reported incident). Organizers and many participants themselves publicly urged against vulgarity, noting it undercut the cause.

 

Anger and adolescents

Conflict resolution skills are imbibed in childhood. It is not uncommon for adolescents to revolt against parents, who appear to them as species from alien planet. A gradual drip of acrimony turns into a bitter and unforgiving swamp causing a fossilization, or worse, death of their relationship. An ever changing world appeals to adolescents whereas parents often hold on to their experiences, beliefs and patterns. Revolting adolescents never react to just the moment, but to a 'story' they have told themselves several times about how low opinion their parents have of them! They dust an old ledger of unresolved arguments and grievances in their defense, using it to suppress guilt and rationalize.

 

When these children hit the streets for genuine grievances, instead of coherently speaking their mind they end up angry, giving emotional and volatile arguments, often ending in filthy abuses and violence. They feel that their parents, the government, the Judiciary, the police, the media all are conspiring against them. Little do they understand that violence, whether physical or verbal, is counterproductive to their cause?

 

The emotionally disgruntled and verbally irresponsible youngsters who yell back at a version of parents at home, who actually do not exist, are the ones who were hurling abuses at the authorities and indulging in violence in the streets. While parents can be all forgiving, it is good to see the government too trying to be the same. But physical and verbal violence and loss of public property and life can not go unpublished. 

Why the foul language?

Several overlapping factors explain it:

Social media and cultural normalization: Gen Z language is heavily shaped by Instagram, reels, memes, group chats, and stand-up comedy, where expletives, shock value, and irreverence are routine for engagement and “authenticity.” The boundary between private/peer speech and public speech has eroded. What once stayed in closed circles spills into streets. Virality rewards the extreme; a shocking slogan or misogynistic taunt travels farther than measured critique.

 

Anger + crowd psychology: Deep frustration over paper leaks, perceived unaccountable institutions, limited opportunities, and (for some) heavy-handed policing produced raw expression. In large crowds, individual restraint weakens. This is classic crowd dynamics. A section becomes impatient and theatrical; others try to hold the line. Some anti-social elements can amplify this.

 

Generational style of dissent: Earlier Indian protest cultures often prized moral high ground, restraint, and formal slogans (Gandhian or JP-style discipline). This cohort prioritizes immediacy, satire, ridicule, and refusal of deference. Humour and memes (“Kuchupuchu resign kar do” style baby-talk mockery, Hinglish one-liners) are effective tools, but they easily slide into personal abuse and patriarchal ‘gaalis’ that target women of the opponent’s family—ironically recycling the very language many claim to reject. Young women using such terms was particularly noted and debated as either subversive reclamation or a failure to invent better vocabulary.

 

Lack of understanding of the context: Many of those hurling abuses at the Prime Minister and CJI had no clue about what they were angry about. They could not coherently rattle down their grievances. Lack of substantive understanding was compensated by string of abuses. If the Gen-z thinks that this makes them look cool, they have to think again. It makes them look hollow. They at once lose the sympathy of the masses.

 

Performance and identity: For some it signals group belonging, toughness, or fearlessness online-to-offline. The same digital habits that enable rapid mobilization also import online toxicity and “mind virus” escalation once the first cheers for an expletive land.

 

Not every young protester did this—many explicitly rejected it and focused on constructive work—but the visible minority dominated coverage and damaged broader sympathy.

 

How to address it in future

Abusive language is not inevitable, nor is it effective long-term. Successful movements (JP movement, earlier student agitations, Gandhi’s campaigns) understood that moral legitimacy and discipline protect the cause from being dismissed as mere hooliganism. There are a few practical steps that can be taken:

 

Internal norms and leadership organizers: Protest leadership must set and enforce clear codes early—volunteer stewards, stage announcements against personal abuse, and rapid distancing from violence or pure invective. Self-policing by participants (as some did at Jantar Mantar) is more powerful than external lectures. Channel energy into the creative strengths already on display: satire, art, memes, documentation, mutual aid.

 

Civic and media literacy: Schools, colleges, and civil society can teach the difference between private venting and public persuasion, the history of effective non-violent discipline, and how optics shape outcomes. Young people already innovate linguistically; the goal is expanding the repertoire of sharp, witty, non-degrading dissent rather than moralizing away anger.

 

Root causes matter: Persistent unaddressed grievances (exam integrity, employment, institutional trust) keep the pressure cooker hot. Dialogue, visible reforms, and lower reliance on force reduce the fuel for explosive expression. Governments and institutions that treat youth concerns as legitimate lower the temperature.

 

Broader culture: Parents, educators, and media model the public language they want to see. Algorithmic amplification of extremes is a structural problem; rewarding substance over pure shock helps. Stand-up and online culture will continue normalizing coarse speech, but public political spaces can still maintain higher standards without sanitizing dissent.

 

Conflict resolution within a family

It all starts within the family, and conflict resolution between siblings and with other family members sets the tone for future. Parents can do a lot towards this end:

 

1. Defining rules and boundaries for arguments

Arguments are an inseparable part of relationships, regardless of whether they are between spouses, parents and children, or even siblings, so it is important for everyone to know what is expected of them during an argument. These rules and advice are valid for almost any argument or dispute ranging from fights over toys, through problems of adolescence to the relationship between child and parent and even between parent and parent. The basic rules for debate are:

(a)  Do not insult - you can disagree or be angry without using words or behavior that hurt.

(b) Respect each other - after all, we are a family, one that loves all its members. 

(c)  Stay calm - communicate with each other in a calm, slow, honest and clear manner.

(d)  Listen without interrupting - listen to each other without planning your response while listening.

 

2. Encouraging creativity

Once both sides in the argument know what they want and are fighting for it, then any conflict can turn into one big misunderstanding with each side "stuck" in their position. However, what if both sides will ultimately agree on the same things but chose to fight the whole way to a solution? As parents, you must encourage creative or unique ways to bridge the gap and reach a solution. Encourage fairness and full transparency, but teach them to recognize that the solution might not be for the benefit of all parties. 

 

3. Compromise and inclusion

Not everyone gets what they want when they want, but families can work on it so that everyone is satisfied; Not perfectly, but in a way that’s acceptable to all. Try to see the situation from the perspective of someone else in the family so you can at least try to figure out what it is that they’re feeling. When it comes to quarrels between siblings, this responsibility will be on the older one, and it is highly commendable for them if they fill it. In addition, teach your children to show empathy for others, and it will serve them faithfully in the future as well. Children who are exposed to compromise-based actions often become ambassadors of peace in their social circles, and in the future in the professions of their choosing.

 

4. Being mindful of the time and place

During an argument, it is important to remember the beautiful saying that if you have nothing nice to say, doesn’t say anything at all. In addition, there may be moments when one side of the conflict is very angry and cannot speak logically. In such a case, a break is necessary - step aside and agree to disagree, or to talk about it later. We all know someone or remember a situation in which one of the sides in the argument continued to escalate the situation and everything got out of control. To prevent this, we as parents should convey the message that it is okay to postpone arguments, the sun will rise tomorrow morning and all involved will continue to be members of the same family. Perhaps the debate will be no more important or than tomorrow, but it is better than exacerbating the current situation.

 

5. Expressing oneself clearly

In resolving conflicts, it is important that we not only listen to the person in front of us and try to understand their position, but also that we know how to express clearly what we feel. Therefore, you must learn to clearly share what you’re experiencing within you because people can’t give you what you want if you do not tell them clearly what it is. Small children usually have difficulty with this process, but if you help them do so, the situation will improve to the point where your help will no longer be needed.

 

6. Seek a solution to a problem that both sides will benefit from

In order to be able to meet this principle, I recommend that at the stage of finding solutions, you be careful about two rules:

(i)                Try to find a solution that both sides are satisfied with

(ii)              Propose as many solutions and alternatives as possible, so that there isn’t just one solution on the table.

The purpose of this tool is for each side to understand and agree on the solution and leave with the feeling that there is a way forward. So, keep in mind the following three points:

(a)  Both sides need to understand beyond a shadow of a doubt what the agreed solution is.

(b) Both sides must commit themselves to fulfill their promises in favor of the solution.

(c)  Both sides need to think of ways to prevent this conflict, or others like it, from recurring in the future.

 

7. Open and sincere communication is always the solution

Open and honest communication is no longer a hollow cliché, it is the way to solve conflicts, at both high and low levels. It is enough to look at the news and see how conflict resolution between countries is very similar to children learning to play together. Like countries, small children say everything they think, want and feel without filters, and often they do not understand the other side. On the other hand, most of us understand that we will not always get what we want, and we must also know how to lose and give in from time to time. The question is only, what do we do with this knowledge? Will we cry and complain every time we have to face a loss or compromise? The likelihood of this is not high. Therefore, even within the family unit, it is important to remember and remind ourselves that only through creative thinking, interpersonal communication, and an honest and positive approach can we reach a solution to conflicts.

 

If we choose to conceal information and not share our feelings, thoughts, and desires in a transparent and honest way, we will never reach an agreement on both the personal and family level. At no stage I am suggesting that those protesters who were incoherent, who lacked substance, and who were abusive, vulgar and angry, instead of calm, cool, collected and coherent did not have healthy parenting, but, did their parents feel proud of their gutter language the uttered on the streets? I don't think so. 

Genuine anger over real failures deserves hearing. Turning that anger into disciplined, creative, non-degrading pressure is both more strategic and more consistent with the better instincts many young participants already showed. Future movements will be stronger if they treat civility and focus as strategic assets rather than optional extras.

 

REMEMBERING PROF. K.N. SINHA FOR HIS ASTUTE MENTORSHIP

 

Prof. Krishna Nand Sinha was our teacher in the Department of Surgery in King George’s Medical College, Lucknow. He was a Cardio-thoracic surgeon and an outstanding one. I remember assisting him, Dr. Vijay Dikshit and Dr. Vijay Mohan Kohli in many experimental open heart surgeries in dogs before he conducted the first open heart surgery in a patient in 1980, and the first Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting in 1981. We all stayed up all night in the post operative ward. He had keen interest in video assisted thoracoscopic surgery and also started the first pacemaker implantation programme in KGMC. The cardiologists picked it up much later. He was a methodical teacher and a very keen observer of human behaviour. He retired as the Head of the Department of Surgery in 1998.

He was my thesis guide when I was doing my M.S. in Surgery. I was attracted to him because of his sagacious nature and calm attitude. He talked slowly and his thoughts were invariably profound. He understood that the thesis was an occasion to familiarize me with surgical research – how to select an interesting research hypothesis which would later give me the opportunity to make a good podium presentation and result in publication of a few worthwhile research publications was his top most priority.

 

I was the first person in my family to become a doctor, and so unlike a few of my friends, I did not have the necessary mentorship at home to guide my medical career. Prof. Sinha filled that void admirably. He was my mentor, my philosopher and my guide. He was of the opinion that a research thesis must satisfy a few criteria

1.       It must be a topic that relates to public health of our part of the country

2.       It should involve a recent investigative modality that is of current interest to              the journal editors

3.       It should teach me a new skill

After going through many testable assumptions we zeroed in on ‘The effects of tobacco chewing on esophageal mucosa – a clinical, histological and ultrastructural study’.  Because we would be studying the esophagus, in the same set of patients we planned to study the oral and pharyngeal mucosa too so that this data could help us to compare it with esophageal mucosa and also document it separately into two more research papers.

 

True to his meticulous planning, I learnt a new skill – the use of both rigid and flexible endoscopes for performing esophagoscopy. Prof. Sinha made me assist 50 cases before allowing me to introduce the endoscope under his expert supervision. I learned to sprinkle Lugol's Iodine on the esophageal mucosa and biopsy the suspicious areas in the upper, middle and lower third of the esophagus. He then showed me how the gastro-esophageal junction looked and how the stomach mucosa was completely different. He also demonstrated foreign bodies and malignancies and corrosive strictures in his clinical patients, who had nothing to do with my research. He introduced me to his senior Prof. Pramod Nath, who in turn showed me what an electron microscope looks like and later what ultrastructural changes tobacco was producing on the esophageal mucosa.

 

While to most of my colleagues thesis was a huge burden, over and above their clinical work load, because of Prof. Sinha, my thesis was perhaps one of the most enjoyable parts of my post graduation days. He was a tough task master and those were pre computer days. He made me rewrite my 120 page thesis 14 times before approving it, but the bonus of this hard work was that I had three indexed publications from my thesis, one before my M.S. examinations. His benevolence and kindness was exemplified by the fact that I was the first author in all three papers.

Prof. Sinha, Prof. N.C. Misra and later Prof. S.K. Bhatnagar were the outstanding troika who emphasized upon me the value of research and publications. Prof. Sinha would often remind me that while others will approach a job interview with the reference of their influential father and father-in-law, your publications will be your calling cards, and they will be very hard to ignore. He taught me how to choose a journal for publication, what an indexed journal was, how to respectfully respond to reviewers and how to handle rejection, modify the paper and promptly send it to another and better journal.

 

Even after my M.S. days I remained in close touch with Prof. Sinha. He and his wife, Prof. Preeti Sinha, who was in Lucknow University,  stayed in Mahanagar, very close to my place, and his continued mentorship was priceless. After I returned from my overseas training and started my practice, a senior teacher, who was practicing in a hospital in Mahanagar, invited me to start my practice in his hospital. I went to Prof. Sinha for his advice. He looked at me for some time, smiled, and said “Nothing ever grows under a Banyan tree.” This sagacious insight, astute perception, and erudite understanding of such delicate matters was the hallmark of his wonderful mentorship.

 

I often remember my teachers by their lectures, but with Prof. K.N. Sinha I will make an exception. I will try to recall a long conversation I had with him one morning, while sitting in his lawn, and later, when the sun got the better of us, in the lounge room.

 

He was trying to emphasize to me that success in profession and in life are not very different. Those who achieve one and not the other, or those who achieve one at the cost of the other, have really got it wrong. Striving for success is a trait many people share but don’t always know how to accomplish. This need to succeed causes almost everyone to try their best, however, after some times, while some are reaching their goals, others still find themselves tired, exhausted and still lagging far behind. So, there was no dearth of effort in them, but perhaps not in the right direction.

 

If you feel stuck in place, stagnating in life, the "5-Hour Rule" can help you get out of this situation, he said. “What is the 5-hour rule” I asked.  As its name implies, the 5-hour rule speaks of a dedication of 5 hours a week, or one hour per day of work, to deliberate learning and self-improvement. This means that in order to succeed, you have to leave yourself 5 hours a week and devote your attention to learning only, without distractions or excuses. Not everyone learns in the same way, but there are several methods to do this to produce the best results from the process and to understand what you need to change in order to be more successful:

 

1. Reading

The hobby of reading is shared by many successful people. Swami Vivekananda, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan were all avid readers.  They all attributed their success to their reading habit which ensured that their learning never ended. In order to make sure you read and grow, always keep a book in the bag you carry around, set reading goals like several hours or several pages a day, and do your best to meet them.

In today’s day and age, we also have the option to read books on our cell phones or portable tablets, making reading books that much easier. This is one habit that has never deserted me.

 

2. Thinking 

When you truly want to learn instead of just read, you have a very different mindset. Instead of approaching a book as “I need to finish this” you instead say “I’m going to master this. I’m going to know this like the back of my hand. Understanding what you have read and the information you’ve collected is a key condition for success and learning. When you spend time reading to learn and improve yourself, it is also important that you take the time to understand what you have read so that you don’t feel overwhelmed and tired. It is essential that you spend the time to cut off distractions when internalizing this information. A good way to do this is to keep a journal that will help you process your feelings and thoughts. Writing a summary of what you have read will also help you process the things you’ve learned and apply them to your work or any other field you wish to succeed in.

 

3. Experiment / Practice

Once you have begun to learn and understand what you need to do to get ahead and succeed, you can start the practical stage; make time for yourself every week or day to try theories or ideas you have. It could be a project in a job you've struggled with which you've found an interesting way to do or anything else you want to succeed in. When it comes to practical experience, there are no bad ideas, and experimenting with different things, "crazy" as they may be, will allow you to test what works and what doesn’t. A surgeon should practice a new idea again and again in the mind, before translating it in clinical practice. When you find what works, you can apply it to the "real world," that is, at work or other places where you are struggling to succeed.

It is also vital to learn from the mistakes of others because none of us will live long enough to do all the mistakes ourselves and learn from them.

 

4. Don’t confuse working with learning

It is easy to confuse work with learning, and when we do, people begin to feel that they are standing in the same place and stagnating. It is important that you realize that investing many hours at work is not what will guarantee you success in the future. When you begin to devote time to learning and not just to work, you can develop significantly. This way you will focus not only on your daily problems but also on the future and on the way you can strive for it and your goals successfully. Set apart time for deliberate learning so that you’re not only consumed with work, but also with other important things that can push you forward in life.

 

5. Focous on self-improvement rather than just productivity

People often mistakenly think that having a product of their actions means being successful, but that isn’t true. Success in life is not measured only by material achievements that can disappear in an instant, but in constant improvement. Achievements are important, but try not to focus only on them and what you have at a given moment, but on what you will gain in the long run.  

 

The biggest challenge in the 5-hour rule is perseverance since people are constantly out to reap rewards and good outcomes. However, when that doesn’t happen they may give up and make mistakes that will only push them further away from their goal. To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, try to focus on learning and improving yourself, not just on the number on your paycheck, for example. When you learn that you can do things much more complicated than you thought you were capable of before, success will come in a way you could never imagine. For a surgeon, this is priceless!

 

The next time you pick up a book that you believe will be helpful to you at work or in life, slow down. Take notes. Don’t finish the book until you feel you have a mastery-level understanding of the concepts. Then build a plan for how you’re going to implement these concepts. It’ll take you twice the time but give you ten times the return. And, that is how our morning discussion on self improvement culminated.

 

INSTAGRAM REELS OF TOURISTS – THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

 

How many times have you seen tourists ogling and making reels of things in the road that you might think as petty ordinary to you? So, what are they actually doing? A child happily beating an old cycle tire as it runs ahead of him, a family of four sitting on an Activa scooter, an elephant moving at a leisurely pace disrupting busy traffic, a fortune teller sitting with his parrot on the roadside, surrounded by his patrons, all these may be regular stuff for you, not even worth a second look, but to foreign travellers these are scenes petty unimaginable back in the country to which they belong. So, what is regular and not worth your attention becomes a viral Instagram reel! What is this phenomenon? How can a quiet book shop is Woy Woy, NSW or the train street in Hanoi, or an ordinary fish market in Kandy become an Instagram hit?

 

This is primarily the "Tourist Gaze" (and its social media evolution, sometimes called the "selfie gaze," "Instagram gaze," or "digital gaze"). Sociologist John Urry popularized the concept in his 1990 book 'The Tourist Gaze'. It describes how tourists are socially conditioned to seek out and visually consume scenes that contrast with their everyday life—focusing on the "out of the ordinary," unique, or picturesque. What locals see as routine becomes exotic spectacle for outsiders because it differs sharply from their more regulated, homogenized environments.

 

Social media amplifies this into a performance loop: tourists hunt for shareable, "authentic" moments that stand out in feeds, often recreating or staging them. The hermeneutic circle (Urry's idea) means pre-trip images from Instagram shape expectations, which travelers then recreate and share, reinforcing the gaze.

 

Why Mundane Becomes Viral

Novelty and contrast: In many Western or developed countries, daily life is more predictable, car-centric, and regulated. Chaos, improvisation, animals in cities, multi-generational/shared transport, or informal street economies feels vibrant and "unscripted."

Visual appeal and algorithms: These scenes offer high contrast, color, movement, and human stories—perfect for short-form video. A quiet bookshop in Woy Woy, NSW (Australia), might go viral for its charming small-town vibe or literary quirk amid suburban normality. An Instagram reel from the account @booknspace, run by Grace Choi, a Korean mother who is studying in Australia and who seems to use social media much like the rest of us do, documenting interesting things she sees and does, is now a days making rounds and has been viewed more than 150,000 times so far. In it, she very charmingly documents her journey from Sydney to the NSW Central Coast, and her day in Woy Woy. So, what are the things that grabbed her attention? A second-hand bookstore, which is “filled with the smell of books”. There’s Fisherman’s Wharf, where she overhears “the warm chatter of Aussie grandmas”. There’s the wharf itself, where “kids run off with their fishing rods”. There’s the public library, with its “attic-like” reading room. Incidentally, this is her Instagram reel:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZeB8jCp5hp/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=ANE4qJzb2ZO-iOnwvnZVCqP

Similarly, Hanoi's Train Street became an Instagram hit (and safety hazard) because trains barreling through a narrow alley lined with cafes is thrilling and photogenic—ordinary local life turned adrenaline spectacle. Kandy's fish market gains fame for its sensory bustle, colors, and "real" commerce that feels more alive than sanitized supermarkets back home.

Performance and connection: Posting signals "I've been there," builds personal brand, and lets viewers vicariously experience difference. It turns travel into content creation. The Woy-Woy I remember, though I crossed it while on a road trip from Sydney three decades back, had a large cemetry, was not at all charming, and it smelled of many things, though books are not the first that come to my mind. So, there we are, we both were travelers, but saw the same place with different eyes, different understanding and different social background. And, I was there in pre-social media era.

 

Good Aspects

Cultural exchange and appreciation: It highlights overlooked beauty in everyday life, fostering curiosity and empathy. Foreigners filming "petty ordinary" Indian scenes can humanize places often reduced to stereotypes (poverty, chaos) and showcase warmth, resilience, and vibrancy. You can laugh all you want, but we are all Grace Choi when we travel. We are all guilty of this idealized treatment of foreign places. And it’s only when you see someone else do it to your own country and your own culture that you have the shock of recognition, when you realize, oh God, this is me. I do this too.

Economic boost: Viral spots bring income to locals - cafes on Train Street, vendors near markets, places like Santorini in Greece, democratizes visibility for small businesses or regions. They have created many unlikely tourist places almost in every country due to their unique visuals, fairy-tale aesthetics, or surprising settings. Collonges-la-Rouge (Corrèze), a medieval village is built from striking red sandstone, creating a surreal, uniform crimson glow especially at golden hour and Sainte-Enimie (Lozère, Gorges du Tarn), a cliffside medieval village in a dramatic gorge with emerald river waters, stone houses, and a fairy-tale perched feel are two excellent examples in France. In Spain we have Setenil de las Bodegas (Andalusia, near Cádiz) where homes and streets literally built into/ under massive rock overhangs, creating cave-like passages with restaurants and shops beneath boulders, and the Pink Lagoon of Torrevieja and Cabo de Gata's dramatic volcanic coasts. Italy has Boccadasse (Genova/Genoa, Liguria), a preserved old mariners' fishing village with pastel-colored houses around a cobblestone/pebble beach, fishing boats, and narrow alleys. It also has Procida Island near Naples. Instagram reels have given their economy a real boost.

Preservation incentive: Awareness can encourage maintenance of unique practices or spaces. These spots surged in popularity via short-form video (dramatic flyovers, golden-hour walks, local eats), so they can get busy in no time and get the attention of the tourism industry. So investing in their maintenance is a great preservation incentive.

Personal growth: Tourists gain perspective; locals might see their culture anew through fresh eyes. They offer authentic, visually striking experiences beyond over-touristic icons, perfect for Reels but rewarding in person for their history and atmosphere.

Train Street in Hanoi

 

Bad Aspects

Distortion and superficiality: It often captures fragments out of context—romanticizing or exoticizing without depth (e.g., "exotic" poverty or chaos as aesthetic). This can perpetuate stereotypes, "othering," or cultural voyeurism rather than understanding.

Commodification and staged authenticity: Places adapt for the gaze (souvenir overload, performative rituals, "airport art"). Real culture gets packaged, simplified, or altered, losing meaning. Over-tourism follows virality, overwhelming infrastructure The safety issues in the Train Street in Hanoi and the trespassing of private property in Santorini are excellent examples of this malady.

Disruption and resentment: Crowds disrupt daily life, create safety risks, inflate prices, and breed local hostility. Social media rewards spectacle over respect (e.g., intrusive filming, ignoring norms). People in Barcelona are no more as welcoming today as they were during the Olympics in 1992

Santorini - a victim of over-tourism

Environmental and social costs: Viral Reels drive sudden and concentrated tourist flows to specific “Instagrammable” locations, often natural wonders or fragile ecosystems—leading to trail erosion, vegetation trampling, soil erosion, disturbance to wildlife and alteration of  their feeding and mating behaviors, traffic, littering and increased pollution. It can erode the very "authenticity" seekers crave. In Bali 65% of the water is consumed by tourists. Local communities get displaced as cost of living escalates and visitors replicate curated digital content, reducing spontaneity and authentic engagement.

 

Does It Represent True Culture or Distort It?

I am of the opinion that it does both, but leans toward selective distortion. The gaze reveals genuine elements—India's improvisational energy, Vietnam's resilient urban fabric, Sri Lanka's market vitality, but through a filtered, outsider lens prioritizing visual drama and shareability. It misses nuances, complexities, and mundanity (bureaucracy, inequalities, quiet routines). "True" culture is lived, contested, and evolving internally; tourism versions often become performative for visitors. Social media accelerates this into echo chambers of highlights, not giving a balanced portraits.

Fish market in Kandy

Quiet spots like Woy Woy's bookshop or Kandy's market hit big because they offer escapism or contrast: peaceful literary haven vs. digital overload; raw, tactile commerce vs. clinical efficiency. Algorithms and human psychology reward the novel and emotional. This phenomenon is a modern extension of age-old travel curiosity, turbocharged by phones and platforms. It celebrates difference but risks reducing places and people to backdrops. Travelers can mitigate harms by seeking slower, deeper engagement—talking to locals, learning context, treading lightly—rather than just chasing the perfect reel. Locals benefit from the attention when it respects their pace and realities. The key tension: tourism thrives on difference, but mass pursuit of it often erodes that difference.

Travellers see the world through rose-coloured glasses. We are primed to indulge our sense of whimsy and magic. We also tend to fetishise the everyday when we’re in a foreign country, to turn routine rituals and probably meaningless events into examples of beauty and sophistication. Those old men playing chess in the Italian piazza are a sure sign that this is a tight-knit community where the elderly are held in such high regard. Those kids kicking an old football against a wall in Buenos Aires are loveable rascals who are killing time until their mothers call them in for dinner. That dive bar in middle America is a pillar of the community, where a grumpy but warm-hearted owner polishes glasses and listens to the woes of her customers.

Cherry Blossom and Kimono - two Instagram hits

And have you seen people go to Japan? A convenience store becomes a place of high culture and authentic experience when it’s viewed through the lens of social media reminiscence. The sight of an elderly lady in a kimono is an example of Japan’s reverence for the past and appreciation for beauty. Every tiny village is the next great discovery, the “real” Japan where you can get away from the tourists and have a proper experience.

We Indian travellers do this when we visit Europe, a lot. We idealize everything we see, turn it into reels for our Instagram or Facebook to demonstrate to all our friends how much better they do things over there in Europe. As now that our economy is looking up, our reels from African countries show how people there “just so happy even though they have so little”. It feels a little condescending, right? It’s also a way of “othering” foreign places, assuming that everything they do is so different, even if we perceive that difference as good.

 

So, our Instagram reels tell a lot about the places we visit, but they tell a lot more about us. We are regularly posting misty-eyed photos of elderly people just trying to go about their business and telling everyone how lovely and sweet it is. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this. It’s normal human behaviour. It’s also a sign of the mindset we tend to adopt when we’re travelling, the sense of positivity and wonder, the attention we pay to the little details that so often in our life back home just passes us by. That’s a great thing. But it just pays to bear it in mind that any time you’re about to declare the old-world charm of a rundown village in the middle of nowhere, or the greatness of those poor people who are so happy with nothing, there might be a little more to the story.