'I thought they would get me, instead of the President' - Bobby.

Happened to read an old clipping while I was in a coffee shop, 7-8 line decription of how Robert Kennedy's life changed after his brother's, John Kennedy, assasination. And that he felt guilty of not being to able to save his brother and launching a single man investigation to identify what was behind the assasination.

I read that twice, thrice and a movie that I saw a couple of months ago, Bobby started playing subconsciously in my mind. A piognant film about the lives of 22 people in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968 , the day when Robert Kennedy, then US senator, was assasinated. End credits of the film will have the speech that Bobby made just before he was shot, playing in the background. One of the best speeches I have ever heard by a politician. A speech that made me realise that he could have possibly been the best man to lead this world. Integrity, Love, Passion and Sincerity were all a part of his make-up.



PS: Audio is a little feeble. With headphones, you could see what he thought of his brother. This interview was about 3 months after JFK conspiracy.

This short note and the film made me look for more about this man. He died 40 years ago but resurrected now in my heart. Book stores, Internet, Libraries - I visited them all in search of Bobby. That's when, I heard of this book that David Talbott, a leading journalist, had put together about the Kennedys based on interviews with numerous people who had worked with the Brothers and a few other close friends of the Kennedys.

'Brothers - The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years' is the book. About 400 pages of fantastic read. Stayed up all night to finish, wasn't difficult. My respect and admiration for Bobby grew even more by the time I came to the last page of this book. If he were alive, I would have bet on myself to go and see him in person to show my admiration.

Son, Brother, Husband, Father, Statesman, Politician - all of this could fit in excellently well this incredible human being, Bobby.

This post would never end if I go on about what I thought about Bobby. I just wanted to make a few observations about him and we, what a loss to this world, especially in today's situation. Another Bobby wouldn't hurt us but he is one of a kind.

This entry in my blog is a little tribute to the man.

Annoying really!

The after effects of a sticker removed from a new packaging leaves a a very untidy mark on its place of existence making the just bought look like a decade old. If I were to write down a list of 10 most annoying things, this surely would be one of them. Am sure everyone has a collection of things like these that would annoy the hell out of you.

Passion.

Passion - noun 1 very strong emotion. 2 intense sexual love. 3 an outburst of very strong emotion. 4 an intense enthusiasm for something. 4 (the Passion) the suffering and death of Jesus - Oxford English Dictionary.

I chose to write an entry in my blog on 'Passion' as an outlet to my emotions with more and more people around me living life for the sake of being born. Not sure if its anger or concern, nevertheless worthy of registering my thoughts. Frozen times in history are mostly an act of passion. Nothing significant in this world has been achieved without passion - be it Freedom or Success or Google.

To articulate passion, first name that comes to my mind is Che Guevara - born in a upper middle class family in Argentina, studied to be a doctor, went on a motor cycle trip with his friend across South America and ended up being one of the timeless icons of our generation and for generations to come. His passion lead to a revolution that is Cuba. He didn't stop there. He could have. His passion led to his journey towards Bolivia and eventually to death. Doesn't matter how many years he lived but he made it count with the life he lived.

Mahatma Gandhi is a name that most people associate with Indian Independence. Forgotten names, names not even registered in history stood for utmost Passion for the country - Bhagat Singh, Subash Chandra Bose, Bharatiyar etc. They were passionate fighters who went largely unnoticed. Passion, not always leads to glory but surely leads to a life well lived.

Every human born in this world should have passion for something that would define his/her life. Passion represents clarity of mind. Someone with no passion only means that the life lacks a sense of direction or purpose. It doesn't need to be world changing, least be self-defining. Albert Camus, absolute genuis of a writer (The Outsider) wrote, 'Without work, all life goes rotten. But when work is soulless, life stifles and dies'. This is how I have approached my work and in fact, my life.

I would like to end this entry with a few words from an inspirational speech by Che, 'At the risk of seeming ridiculous, let me say that the true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love. It is impossible to think of a genuine revolutionary lacking this quality... We must strive every day so that this love of living humanity will be transformed into actual deeds, into acts that serve as examples, as a moving force'. If this doesn't inspire to be passionate, nothing else will.

Life, inspired by passion and guided by knowledge will always be a satisfying existence.