Dance, My Starling

Kishore Kumar's famous 1974 song "Nach Meri Bulbul Ke Paisa Milega" from the film 'Roti' became "Nach Amar Moyna Tui Poisha Pabi Re" in the voice of Khurshid Alam in the Bangladeshi remake 'Ekmutho Bhat (1976)' — a song that still springs unconsciously to many of our lips even today. This is how many songs achieve immortality despite being remakes. The song hasn't faded in 45 years, while many songs don't even last 45 days!

In the video of this song, we see our dream heroine Bobita dancing as a 'moyna' to the rhythm for the sake of her performance. Yes, quite literally "according to the song's words," she danced and earned both money and fame as a leading lady. In other words, she danced to entertain audiences precisely because she received money and fame for it. Would our mass-crush heartthrob Bobita have danced like that if she hadn't received these rewards? The question lingers. Common sense says no, she wouldn't have! No one in this world dances to someone else's tune without money or some incentive.

One dances to another's bidding only when dancing brings money, brings fame, and through these, comfort and joy — or when circumstances or necessity compel someone to dance. Otherwise, if someone expects you to dance according to their whims for no reason at all, what would you think of such a person? Senseless? Stupid? An ass? A fool? A goat? Mad? A cute ox? Or something even worse?

You would think such things, naturally! When someone who gives you neither money nor joy nor merit nor anything else for your work still says to you: "Brother, I didn't expect this from you." "I expect such and such things from you." "Why did I come here if I don't get this particular thing?" "Stop this work right now and do that work instead!" "You should conduct yourself this way, that way... do this, do that!" "I couldn't be pleased with this work of yours." "You should present yourself in such a manner." "Why didn't you do this for me?... Why didn't you do that?" "From today you'll behave this way, okay? From tomorrow you'll behave that way, all right?" And so on and so forth... how would you feel then?

Are you obliged to live according to their words? Do you get paid for living according to their wishes? Did you come to this earth just to please them? Are you bound to treat them like a pampered son-in-law because you invited them home? Will you gain knowledge by giving them your time? Will you get a promotion if they're pleased with your work? Is it your responsibility to make successful their mission of forcibly helping you earn merit?

One doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to understand these simple things. If someone is not your pet moyna bird, why do you expect them to dance, sing, and speak according to your heart's desire? Where does this expectation come from toward someone who receives no money for living according to your happiness? Will they gain any extra pleasure or joy by living according to your wishes? Are they related to you, close or distant? If the answer to these questions is "no," then why do you sit before them with your sack of hopes, expectations, and trust spread open? Are they close to you? Family? Friend? "Just friend"? "Friend with benefits"? Wife? Girlfriend? Son-in-law? Boyfriend? Darling? Or do you have an affair with them?

On what logic do you expect loving conversation from someone with whom you have no romance? Do they get money, happiness, or merit for keeping you pleased? Or are you their boss? Which is it, brother? Does seeing them make you angry? Why? Because they don't give you the attendance you desire? Get as angry as you want, cry as much as you want! Shout, compete with sheep in shouting if necessary. No problem! When your head cools, you'll see that in the meantime, they've moved further ahead than you ever expected from them! They weren't born into this world as chicken-humans to sit on the eggs of your expectations and hatch what you want. The jealousy of the incompetent increases the anger of the competent. This makes the incompetent even more incompetent and the competent even more competent.

If you feel like saying "Dance, my moyna" to someone, then let the next words be ready in your head... "you will get ___!" What you put in that blank space will determine whether they'll dance to please you, work according to your expectations, whether your scheme will succeed nicely, whether you'll get what you want from them, whether they'll give you advice or time, whether they'll listen to your sorrows and try to remove them, and whatever else you may want — study this beforehand. Without this much smartness, you'll become a goat, donkey, or ox in their eyes! They'll say "Brother!" to your face and "Bye bye!" in their mind.

If you know how to buy, everything can be bought — time, labor, skill, intelligence, advice — whether with money, with good treatment, by doing some work, with favorite gifts, with happiness-joy-comfort, or with something else! Show the reason for the work, and the work will get done! Everyone is hungry; you just need to know where each person's hunger lies! Satisfy their hunger, and you'll see your own hunger has also been satisfied!

There's no such thing as a completely "free lunch" in this world. Every "free lunch" is served for some reason or another. Remember, the time of someone whose time alone will get your work done is very valuable. On the other hand, the time of someone whose time won't get your work done even if given has hardly any value. What is not your due, you cannot demand at all — at most, you can beg for it. Whether you'll get it or not depends on the will of the person to whom you're extending your hand.

I vaguely remember a dialogue from Dipjol, once the "crush" of beautiful women... "Here ninety-five percent of work gets done with money, the remaining five percent... gets done with more money!"

I also say: ninety-five percent of what you need, you'll get in exchange for something; the remaining five percent... you'll get in exchange for more!

Sweets are never available at the price of sugar candy. Sweets must be bought at the price of sweets or received as temple offering. Now whether you'll pay the price for sweets or become a devotee of the temple — that's your affair. If you can pay the price and know the right shop, you'll get sweets according to your wish and time; but if you can't pay the price, you'll get sweets according to the temple's wish and time — you might not get them at all, or instead of sweets, you might even get sugar candy. If you don't like the offering, at most you can feel hurt, but you cannot express it, because the offering is the deity's will, and all offerings are to be received with reverence!