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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