Life’s purpose is achieved when a person moves over from the ‘human being’ mode to the ‘passionate being’ mode!

On Passion | Personal Reflections

Well, the prod and the propellant for this passionate post happens to be – a series of cute and concerned messages and mails from a bevy of friends, scholars, researchers and colleagues alike – who’ve been following our academic YouTube page – Literary Delights - for long!

Well, what started off as a space for sharing Literary Delights for more than a decade ago, then slowly branched off into a sweet spate of literary talks, discussions, book reviews, books & coffee, pandemic-time on-line lectures, etc!

But then, last month I had to close down my ‘Literary Delights’ blog!

Thanks to all your mails, love and concern, the latest being – Prof. N. S. K. Sundhar (Theni), Dr. Aparna, Dr. Sharon, Prof. Wesley, Prof. Dinesh, Dr. Srilatha, etc.

Thank you dear all for your love!

It’s something akin to a Dickensian analogy from The Old Curiosity Shop, or Hemingway-ish compare from his Old Man – if I could put it that way!

Ever since childhood, one thing that’s always impelled me or driven me on - is the word – Passion!

Yes! Passion!

To me, personally, this word seems to top the charts on my dictionaried hierarchy, among the plethora of 14,50,000-odd words you’ve got in the English language!

Something that I’ve always gently exhorted my students as well to do!

Last week in the I MA English class I had told them, ‘If you feel you cannot do this programme with passion and commitment, it’s better you quit this Programme, and gently donate the seat to a more deserving candidate, while you in the meantime, introspect on your USPs and strive to follow them!’

Passion then, to me would be this –

To do what you love, and love what you do!

That simply put, would mean – if you do something without passion, it’s not worth it. Just drop it!

I was on PoemHunter for more than ten years. But for the past three years I couldn’t feel the urge and the nudge to connect with that platform. So I had to take a huge decision – delete my Account on PoemHunter!

The same with Twitter. For more than 12 long years I was an avid user! But for a couple of years again, I couldn’t feel the urge to connect with the chirps on twitter. So yet again, I deleted my account in toto!

The same with my Academic YouTube channel! I was so passionate about it for more than a decade! When Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Spivak shared the dais in New Delhi, I went all the way there to the Indian Habitat Centre, video-ed their talk and uploaded it on my channel. Same with a host of other luminaries including Anita Nair, Amitav Ghosh, etc.

But you see, when the passion is at an ebb, you gracefully oblige your heart, ain’t you?

Never try to stick on to anything sans passion! You’ll do more harm than good that way!

That’s when I took a decision to delete my YouTube channel as well!

But yes, I’m on this my Academic Blog for more than 19 years now, and I am passionate about blogging!

The simple formula is –

When you read a book, read like you’re the bestest reader on the planet!

When you clean your room, clean your room as if you’re the most efficient connoisseur on the job!

When you drive your car, drive as if, you’re the most elegant driver in the whole planet!

When you play on the guitar, play as if you’re the most gorgeous groover ever on the turf!

When you teach, teach as if, you’re the bestest on the terrain!

When you write, write as if, you’re the bestest writer on the globe!

When you love, love as if, you’re the besest lover on the land!

When you sing, sing as if you’re the bestest singer on earth!

When you study, study as if you’re the bestest student on the academic turf!

When you write a diary, write as if you’re the bestest Pepy-ist on the planet!

That’s passion! There’s no substitute for this passion!

And well, well, well, if you feel, you cannot be the bestest on doing anything, it’s better you please don’t do it!

If you don’t have a passion for teaching, just quit it! Don’t do it with half your heart and half your soul on the job!

If you don’t have a passion for studying a particular programme, just quit it, and look out for what suits you best!

Same day, four years ago...

If you can’t love with passion, just quit loving!

In short, if you can’t do anything with passion – you better not do it at all!

As eminent critic Scupin Richard rightly points out,

the average person exists!

the passionate person lives!

Life’s purpose is achieved when a person moves over from the ‘human being’ mode to the ‘passionate being’ mode!

A Passionate being!

And that makes all the difference to our sweet lives and living, ain’t it!

Are you passionate about what you do?

So passionate about doing it, that it proves the impulse to your very being on this great grand planet?

If so, you’ve got company!

Well, the passionate ones reading this blogpost, just send me a message or a mail telling me what you’re so passionate about! And er… um… No comments here on this post, please!

Added, I also have a soulful wish for y’all –

May passion be your propellant!

May passion be your stimulant!

May passion be your motivation!

May passion be your inspiration!

May the passionate being in you propel, enthuse, motivate and inspire a stream of human beings, and help them cross over to the ‘passionate mode’ of living!

To conclude then –

If to Keats, the axiomatic lifeline to his life was – ‘Oh for a life of Sensations!’

To us passionate beings, it could be tweaked to a tee to tune to – ‘Oh for a life of passion’.

That’s all ye need on earth! And all ye need to know!

Here’s wishing y’all such a passionate life dear gentle reader!