Lighthouses and Human Beings

Are lighthouses like human beings?

What is the similarity?

Can we learn something from a lighthouse?  Like lessons for life?

The answer is yes. Read on to discover.

A lighthouse is a sentinel guiding the mariners at sea. It is a beacon for safe navigation when approaching land, harbour, cliffs, reefs, shipwrecks etc. It stands tall visible from several nautical miles away. It can withstand tidal waves, storms, cyclones, thunder and lightning. It has a strong foundation, yet it needs periodic maintenance. It has a character or characteristics in terms of duration and periodicity of light, day light colour codes etc, Do humans also have all this? The table below summarises Ghumakkad's take on lighthouses and human beings.

Attribute	Lighthouse	Human Being
Character	Characteristics of every lighthouse. Stays for life	Has character with values. Some values change over time.
Foundation	Built on strong foundation whether on rocks, cliffs or hills	Gets weakened with crisis/stresses of life
Provides service to	All mariners irrespective of nationality, religion, ethnicity, colour, race, gender or age	Most humans obsessed with race, religion, diversity, nationality etc.
Duty before self	Yes, navigational aid 24x7	Most humans are self-centered
Steadfastness	Faces storms, cyclones and tsunami steadfastly	Tendency to breakdown with crisis/bereavement/ailment etc
Helping others	Always	Few people have concern for fellow human beings, animals, environment etc
Ray of hope	Beacon of hope to all the mariners at sea	Very few humans act like a beacon of hope specially during gloomy periods like the pandemic
Spirit of Sharing	In-built	Whether sharing knowledge or wealth, humans are very possessive.
Maintenance	Essentials for sustained performance	Most humans neglect their health specially in mid-life leading to life-style diseases.

Character: Every lighthouse has a character which is marked on the nautical charts (like a map for mariners) and other marine publications like the Light List. The character also called the characteristics gives the type of light, colour of light, cycle period, height of the light and range in nautical miles. The characteristics of a lighthouse do not change with time. Humans also have a character and associated values. But does it change with age? Like honesty. As children, we are honest. But with life's journey, honesty takes a beating. So, be like a lighthouse. Maintain your character and values- like honesty and compassion throughout your life.

Steadfastness: A lighthouse faces storms, cyclones and tsunami resolutely. Remains steadfast. We humans also face life's storms and cyclones. But do we remain steadfast? Or, do we get shaken up? Learning from a lighthouse- remain steadfast in life!

Spirit of Sharing: A lighthouse guides all who seek help in navigation at sea. Irrespective of the nationality, race, colour or religion of the mariner, it keeps giving and sharing the information. We humans are hung up on nationality, alliances, wealth etc such that it clouds our spirit of giving and sharing.

Before we analyse further similarities and life lessons, we take you on a live tour of a lighthouse on the East Coast of India. For those who haven't been inside a lighthouse, get a feel through the pictures below. Lighthouses in India are managed by the Department of Lighthouses and Lightships, Ministry of Shipping. Ghumakkad had visited the Dolphin's Nose Lighthouse in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh in 2020. Here are a few pictures.

Here is a short list of tallest lighthouses in the world.

The lighthouse which we visited is already 65-year old with no signs of ageing! See the plaque below.

Here is a sample of a hydrographic chart showing the lighthouses on the coast of Andhra Pradesh.

Visitors are permitted during specified timings. Guided tours are specially conducted for school students.

The lighthouse was a perfect example of 'Swatch Bharat', clean India.

Ever seen a cactus train? See the picture below.

Continuing with the life lessons, lighthouses are a ray of hope for the mariners. Whether in distress or otherwise, it provides a sense of security and assurance. Ask yourself- during Covid times, did we humans provide any support to fellow human beings? With this thought in mind, we had conceived KBG-69, the 69th edition of Kaun Banega Ghumakkad. The participants of the online contest had to caption the following picture of a lighthouse on the west coast of USA. Picture courtesy Akanksha Bhargava.

KBG-69 Captions

The picture evoked massive response with more than 400 views. We received more than 60 captions with  many of them bordering on the theme 'Ray of Hope'. We thank all the participants. Complete list of captions received is given in the table below. 

No.	Name			Caption for KBG-69 Contest
1	Ajai Bhumri			Hope of life
2	Amandeep Kaur			Samundar ki ankhein.
3	Atul Mulkar			घबराओ मत. मै हूं ना.
4	Avinash Tiwari			Marg darshak. Safar men Jo bichde tumhi se milenge
5	Avinash Tiwari			Niswarth seva
6	Bharat Ladha			Andhere me roshani ki kiran
7	Bharat Ladha			Ray of hope
8	BU Vuppala			Beacon of hope!
9	CD Sawant			Be a Light House Not a Lifebuoy
10	Chaitanya Shiroor			Lead kindly light - and the Mariners rejoiced!
11	CP Srivastava			Be one for others.
12	C Raghuram			Speck of light, Casts away one’s fright
13	Deepak Jena			One travels more usefully when alone, because he reflects more.
14	Deepak Jena			Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining.
15	Deepak Jena			The rules is alternating shifts.
16	GB Sethi			The light of a Mariner is but darkness visible unless assisted by the light which is from above
17	GR Sreenivasan			Let Hope be our lighthouse guiding us through stormy waters of Samsara Sagara.
18	J Ramamoorty			Leading the way to a safe and secure passage
19	Jyoti Dixit			I stand alone
20	Jyoti Dixit			Intimidating I am
21	K Gopu			Glowing Angel on a stormy night
22	Kausalya Govindan			Hope of light amidst the dark clouds!
23	Lekha Sishta			My personal values- A beacon of safety in a chaotic world..
24	LS Bhargava			Darkness to brightness
25	Manju Khetan			Where loneliness will be the glimmer of luminous prancing upon ocean waves… rising and falling only for my breathing.
26	Manu Bhatnagar			In times of trouble, look for the light.
27	Narendra Soni			मार्गदर्शक अचल, निरंतर अविरल
28	Neelima Paroolkar			East or West, this lighthouse is the best.
29	Nidhi Bhargava			Let us be the Lighthouse for someone
30	NN Pashupathy			GPS of a bygone era!
31	Pallavi Bhargava			There is always a rainbow at the end of the storm.
32	Parag Sharma			No other edifice constructed as altruistic as lighthouse to serve .
33	Peter de Padua			The light that leads when danger lurks below.
34	Peter de Padua			Guiding light for the darkest night.
35	Peter de Padua			We all can be, a guiding light on a deep, dark night.
36	Poonam Bhargava			My name-Lighthouse they say, A hope for those who have lost the way!
37	Poonam Bhargava			तट का सजग प्रहरी
38	Prabhat Jindal			Sentinels of the Sea, Have been guiding seafarers through the generations
39	Pradeep Siwach			Ray of Hope
40	PRR Rao			When we sail in the seas of life, look out for God's lighthouse.
41	Radhika Sareen			In this dark hour, not only to the ship, show the way to us as well!
42	Radhika Sareen			On these dark days, may you light every house
43	Rajendra Singh			Ray of Hope when all is lost !
44	Rajinder Rihal			Standing on guard.
45	Ranajit Sen			The light of life
46	Rashmi Bhargava			Be the lighthouse in someone's storm
47	Ritu Bhargava			Be a light house to guide someone to the path of love and humanity.
48	Rohini Tiwari			Aspire to be a Lighthouse in someone's life.... give selfless service and strong support!
49	Shereen Sultana			A ray of hope!
50	SR Murari			Beyond trust - light house is as good as a star, it brought many an ace navigator's head hang in shame
51	Susmita Ganguly			Sweeping Beam of Hope, Promise and Caution.
52	Susmita Ganguly			Sentinel
53	Trixie Asirvatham			Standing strong, a beacon of hope in life's storms.
54	Trixie Asirvatham			Unique and individual, facing the currents of life with strength and hope.
55	TSR Swamy			There is light at the end of the tunnel.
56	Veeky Baths			Be the lighthouse for someone!
57	Vijay S Dixit			The Light in this House -an immortal Lifeline to many at sea
58	Vinay Prasad			All of us need one to sail through our life! The Guru!
59	Vinod Dhanuka			Adversities can't destroy one who Guides others
60	Yogesh			Marg-darshak
61	Zafar Naseem			Land's end
62	PK Lawrence			Unflinching through rain and shine.
63	Neelam Sawant			Oh with your light so bright you stand there all by yourself to be our guiding light
64	TRS Sankarnarayanan			Beacon: Be calm. Sea. : No waves, No way !
65		Jaishankar	यह रोशनी के मीनार तो केवल तुझे राह दिखा सकते हैं। नाविक तुझे अपना जहाज खुद चलाना हैं।

Winners

Our jury has selected five winning captions which are listed below along with a brief profile of the authors. Congratulations to the winners.

Atul Mulkar calls himself मस्त मौला meaning a happy-go-lucky guy. His caption in Hindi घबराओ मत मैं हूँ ना meaning 'don't worry, I am there' was an instant choice by the Jury. Atul is an engineer from BITS Pilani and was Director of a British company in Dubai for two decades. He enjoys singing and playing the keyboard. 

C Raghuram has been a regular reader of Ghumakkad's blog and has won the KBG Contest several times. As a Flag Officer in the Navy, he inspires his teams to achieve more. His caption 'Speck of light, casts away one's fright' reflects a mariner's perspective. Raghu loves travelling and interacting with people

Narendra Soni has a masters in Zoology but chose to join the Indian Customs. A keen environmentalist, he has won the KBG Contest several times. His caption in Hindi मार्ग दर्शक अचल, निरंतर अविरल means 'Shows the path- steadfastly, immovable and continuously' describes the soul of a lighthouse.

Poonam Bhargava is an alumnus of the Lady Irwin College New Delhi. She was a school teacher in Pilani for few years. She loves to be with Nature. Simplicity appeals to her and helping others is her way to happiness. Her caption in Hindi तट का सजग प्रहरी meaning 'Alert guardian of the Coast' is simple but conveys a lot about a lighthouse.

Susmita Ganguly is a keen traveller and photographer. He caption 'Sweeping beam of hope, promise and caution' brings out the characteristics of a lighthouse which we humans should imbibe. Susmita is an excellent communicator and heads a leading school in south Mumbai.

Another reader Vinay Prasad had equated a lighthouse to a Guru- who helps us sail through our life. Thanks Vinay. Many of the captions related to this theme.

Lighthouses are supposed to last a life time. It needs regular maintenance of both the stone structure as well as the optics and electronics inside. We humans neglect the aspect of maintaining our health. Only when a parameter like BP, blood sugar level etc goes beyond limit, do we wake up. By that time it is too late. So, be like a lighthouse. Undertake regular maintenance in the form of exercise, balanced diet,  disciplined life and vacationing. You will then continue to be like a sentinel for others.

We end with a PQ- picturesque quote about travelling and its impact on our life.

Hope you enjoyed our comparison of human beings with lighthouses and KBG-69 associated with it. There is much to learn and imbibe form a lighthouse. Once again we thank all the participants and both the Jury members of KBG-69. Anchita and Akanksha you both rock.

Stay connected. More KBGs are coming up to trigger your imagination.

Thanks for browsing

     -   Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/3rd Feb 2022
 

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