The Motivating Song of Allama Mohammed Iqbal

Long ago, the Pandava Princes lost their entire Kingdom, wealth, and even their self-esteem as a wager in the Royal gamble with their cousins, the Sons of Dhritarashtra. They were sent to exile for a period 13 years. Literally in the modern parlance they were bankrupt, and the hope of regaining their Kingdom was remote even at the end of their exile. At that time while they were brooding over their fateful life in the forest and ruminating over their past glory and achievements, their Relatives, Friends, and well-wishers visited them and consoled them. But it was Indra, who rather than showing sympathy, warned Arjuna and his Brothers that war was inevitable at the end, and that they should treat the exile as an opportunity to acquire mightier weapons to annihilate their Cousins. Indra advised Arjuna to impress upon Shiva and seek the most powerful of all the weapons, the ‘Pashupathi Astra’ which no one on earth except Sage Vishwamitra possessed millennia ago. The ‘Pashupathi Astra’ had the power to destroy half the creation at the wink of an eye.

In adversity, when my Factory was closed, I was de facto bankrupt. At that moment there was one extraordinary Urdu poem of Allama Mohammed Iqbal which rekindled my hope and inspired me to raise from the ashes. it was my friend and well-wisher Sanjay who consoled and inspired me. My friend Sanjay recited famous Urdu poems of many greats such as the Legendary Ghalib, Josh Malihabadi, Allama Mohammed Iqbal, Munshi Premchand, etc; but none appealed to me as that of Allam Mohammed Iqbal. Sanjay recited the poem of Mohammed Iqbal “Khudi ko kar buland itna ke har taqder se pehle; Khuda bande se ye poche bata teri raza kya hai”, and he translated for my understanding; “Raise yourself to such immeasurable might, that God Himself might ask his favorite disciple before every turn of his destiny, “What fate do you wish me to grant you?”. This poem of Allama Mohammed Iqbal struck me like a lightening and kept on reverberating in my mind since then.

In the past, Prince Arjuna set off to Himalayas on the advice of Indra. When he reached the mountain ‘Indra Keeladri’, he set up a place for his penance standing on a single leg and went deep into meditation seeking Shiva’s grace. In the present time, I set out on my own adventure. My penance was only by deep study that I can acquire the required knowledge to deal with the threats I was facing. The priority was to acquire legal knowledge by research. The inspiration from Iqbal’s shayeri became the doctrine for my battle. I set out to achieve the impossible by sheer hard work and imagination. It required unconventional thinking and methods which had never been tried before by anyone. There cannot be any barriers or benchmarks; until the results yield. And of course, no self-sympathy. This had opened up new doors to extreme possibilities in me. My only tools of battle were, time, books, a Laptop, and a broadband connection; and I acquired them all. I bought my first Law book which I assimilated in just one night. Thereafter, I indulged in deep research based on judgements of several High Courts and the Supreme Court. I subscribed to a ‘legal search engine’ and got updated with the latest authority. Started accumulating a library of books and spent almost 14 hours a day only on research. After a year of penance in my research, I knew what exactly I was looking for. I then started preparing my cases on my own and forwarded them to my advocates to file before the Courts as per my instructions. Finally, I felt I required a Law Degree and then successfully obtained admission in a Law College.

The time arrived to measure my strength. My friend Advocate Joseph who had then resigned from a famous Law Firm at Chennai, started his own Office, and boldly took up my case as his first. My Writ Petition before the High Court of Madras was to be filed by Joseph as his first case under the new firm was prepared by me. On receiving the draft Writ by email, Joseph called me and said, “Prem, I just read your draft and I am shocked to see such unusual quality that only a Lawyer with a minimum of 20 years of experience could conceive.” I can never forget the sincere appreciation of my friend who himself had 25 years’ experience. He was very supportive. Then the miracle happened, he obtained a ‘Stay’ against the Bank’s recovery measures. That was a big moment for celebration.

In the meanwhile, the Bank became apprehensive of my day-to-day involvement in the legal proceedings, and the tough resistance I was giving them. Then one day I was called to meet their Deputy General Manager to discuss the possibility for a settlement. While I sat in the conference room three officers entered first. They were all concerned with the case. The Case Manager said, “So, you have now joined a Law College?” “Yes” I confirmed. “You plan to become a Lawyer in this age, and then confront the Bank in Court?” he continued sarcastically “and also win your case?” All three laughed loud in response. I knew they were making fun of my actions. Then I asked, “How many files do you attend in a day on an average?” They looked at each other, then the lead office replied, “This branch handles almost Rs 10,000 Crores of debt for recovery per annum.” “Oh, I see” and I continued, “and how much time you spend per day on each case file?” The Recovery Officer then informed, “We are a team of ten and we follow-up at least twenty to twenty-five cases per day depending on the priority.” Then I responded, “so on an average working day of 8 to 10 hours, you apportion half-hour per file.” “Well, it differs, we may allot one hour or more for certain cases, and few minutes for lesser value case” stated the Case Manager.

Then it was my turn to make a statement. I started, “as you have closed my factory, I am presently jobless, hence I have all the free time in the world,” I smiled “I spend about ten hours for all my other domestic activities in a day including my sleep; and focus the rest of 14 Hours on my own File.” I continued, “my only goal is to identify all those legal loopholes and procedural breaches committed by your Bank and then strategize ways and means to beat you in court.” I paused and then continued, “I repeat the same exercise every day as if it’s a new assignment; to identify new areas which I could have missed earlier, and research for remedies improvising from those I had arrived at, the day before” I smiled “That’s my present job.” I finally declared “Your half or one hour indulgence is no match to my 14-hour study for a single file” and I rose to leave the meeting and offered, “I can consider 25% of my outstanding debt as settlement, against the return of my collateral. Kindly convey this to your DGM.” At the door, as I was leaving, I said, “by the way your filter coffee is excellent.” They all sat speechless to my dry wit.

Pashupati was watching Arjuna in dark shadows of the woods in the guise of a tribal hunter Kirata. He wanted to test whether Arjuna was mighty and wise enough to acquire a powerful weapon that can destroy half the creation. Pashupati summoned Mukasura and commanded him to take the shape of a wild boar and make a commotion to disturb Arjuna. Mukasura made a loud din and set off as the game. Arjuna opened his eyes agitated, disturbed by a deafening sound and then sighted the boar. His stomach wall was also stuck to his back starved for food. Being a Kshatriya, he had to hunt for his food, so he set off with his bow and the quiver filled with arrows. Both Arjuna and Kirata chased the boar from opposite directions. The moment Arjuna sighted a clear aim at the boar, he shot two arrows in quick succession in a split second, and so did Pashupati blasted three of his, piercing the boar through its heart. The game crashed to the ground with all the five arrows ruthlessly pierced through it. Both the hunters ran at lightning speed towards their prize. Arjuna claimed that he was the first to hit the animal, the Tribal hunter Kirata claimed that he was the first. As they refused to give up, they leaped on each other in a fierce duel. The savage fight resounded up to the heavens above, and to the far ends of the thick forest. Arjuna did not give up, fighting ferociously, unable to recognize the Lord of Destruction. Pashupati was laughing in fits of happiness enjoying the glorious fight, tickled by the dynamic blows of Arjuna. Finally, it dawned upon Arjuna, that it was none other than the Pashupati who had come to test him. Arjuna fell on Shiva’s feet bitterly crying to pardon him for not recognizing Him. Shiva looked satisfied with the might of Arjuna, and asked him, “Teri Raza kya hai” Arjuna begged for the Pashupathi Astra, and it was granted.

In my case, the penance was incomplete. After a long futile battle, even though the Bank agreed for 25% of the outstanding debt as One-Time Settlement, unfortunately I had no source of funds. I was once again facing the dead-end. I tried to market my factory, but the offers were too low, and I would be left with nothing after the settlement. Then a miracle happened. I had a friend named Kamesh at Hyderabad who was an ex-Banker, with whom I had no touch with since past 15 years. He came to my mind. I made enquiries through common friends and finally got his mobile number. I called him and was delighted to know that he was in Chennai for a personal visit. I immediately met him at his place of stay and narrated my story and the situation in hand. Kamesh, whom we also call him ‘Sarma’, without a second thought asked me, “Prem Teri raza kya hai,” “how much will you require?”, “I have resources who can arrange any amount on my word.” I could not believe it was happening to me. I was blown.

The modalities were finalized through my younger Son, as I was not fit for any borrowing. Sarma arranged the total amount through his sources. We paid the agreed Settlement amount in one shot to the Bank. On the day of Release of Title Deeds, the Bank had one condition. It prepared a Document where I had to give an undertaking that I shall not at any point of time sue the Bank, or any of its Officers, for the loss, damage or depreciation of my Factory or its machinery, and shall not file any criminal case against any officer who had been directly or indirectly involved in the recovery of its dues from me. I was puzzled but amused remembering the famous boon prayed by Hiranya Kashapa. My friend Sarma continued to support me by recommending a high value cases at Hyderabad, where the first one was a subject matter of Rs 100 Crores, and ironically it was the same Bank. From there on I took up many cases against the same Bank and resolved not less than Rs 3000 Crores for my Clients since the past 10 years. I am deeply indebted to my friends Sanjay and Joseph for their priceless support; and more importantly to Sarma without whom I would have been only a winner bereft of a prize. A divine force emanated through all my friends to support me appreciating my penance. The poem of Mohammed Iqbal reverberates even today in my consciousness while taking up any assignment. Thanks to Allama Mohammed Iqbal, the Urdu Bard to have composed such an inspiring song.