Three young lives,cut short by the flash floods-Can we help their poor families please?

It rained for most part of Saturday of 15thJune and those three kids were tired of walking their ponies uphill amidst heavy downpour. As they reached Ghendurpanee- the place of their night halt- they tied their ponies at the designated spots and decided to cook their meals. While one of them was given the task to knead the flour, other two took the responsibility of preparing the fire and cooking vegetables respectively. They were busy sharing their day experience with each other, cracking jokes every now and then; while anxiously waiting for cooking to get over- for hungry they were!

But destiny had something else in store for them and all of a sudden, water came gushing down the slope. Scared kids began to run helter-skelter, towards higher slopes of Garurchatti. As they were trying to save their own lives, their eyes were on their ponies. They could see water and rocks, which flash floods brought with it, hit their ponies to wash them of their feet. Ponies were all gone in a matter of minutes.

River was in a murderous mood but the desire to live kept them going. They were crying for their ponies but no help was forthcoming; everyone else was busy saving their own lives. Dark night, extreme cold and hunger were busy conspiring with each other; the sole aim was to defeat their innate desire to live. Horrified and poorly clothed, all three hid themselves in bushes; waiting for rains to subside. They knew that the night is going to be long and lonely and will test their zeal for life to the limit. It was raining very heavily and the shock of flash floods washing their ponies was still afresh in their minds. Gathering their courage, they waited for dawn to break. But, dawn-break wasn't what they thought it to be; for it brought with, more horror and devastation.

And, the zeal for life began giving way to helplessness; hunger and thirst was sapping them out of whatever was left inside their frail bodies. All three of them were walking together, trying to find their way out of their misery, pain and suffering. But the situation they were in, got better of their desire for life and they became unconscious; to die after few hours because of hypothermia, hunger & thirst. Three young lives were nipped in the bud, their dreams remained dreams and so did aspirations. Those three young lives belonged to Kuldeep, Sumit and Bipin. Kuldeep- youngest of the three-was just 13 while Sumit and Bipin were 15 years old. Kuldeep and Sumit had joined Bipin, only two days prior to that fateful night. Kuldeep’s mom wasn’t in favor of sending him, but her husband-Vasudev-prevailed upon her as he had work back home in village. But she agreed to send him on the condition that someone will accompany him. That’s how Sumit, Vasudev’s nephew decided to accompany Kuldeep; never to return again!

I spoke to father of all three of them while we were at Raelgaon, building a wire-bridge atop river Mandakini to connect that village and 10 other villages to Phata, in collaboration with Shri Shailesh Pandey of Kashi’s Sakaar Seva Samiti. Moved by the plight of villagers of Raelgaon, Shailesh had arranged for material to be delivered to Guptakashi and was actively involved in laying the bridge. You can hear Vasudev speak about his son here.

The idea behind sharing the tragic story of Kuldeep, Sumit and Bipin is to request folks to help their families. All three of them were from poor families- who have not only lost their young sons but also their income sources-ponies- in this tragedy. It would be great if some monetary assistance can be provided to their families. Anyone willing to contribute to this cause can write to me at alok@natureconnect.in. I will provide them the numbers of their parents, for you to speak with them. Alternatively, I can get their account number and bank details and you can deposit money directly into their account.

Had our government been responsive and caring enough, there wouldn’t have been any need for this request; sadly they don’t care for loss of lives in this tragedy. Please do help families of Kuldeep, Sumit and Bipin. We know that they won’t come back but at least they can see from above that there are unknown people who are willing to stand behind their beloved families, in their hour of need.

Here are pictures of father of Kuldeep, Sumit and Vipin in that order!

Music Sees No Boundaries!

What better proof can you ask for but this song- "Kalinka"; a Russian song written in 1860 by the composer and folklorist Ivan Larionov and first performed in Saratov as part of a theatrical entertainment that he had composed. Soon it was added to the repertory of a folk choral group...After travelling from Serbia into neighbouring countries, the song has reached India courtesy Vishal Bhardwaj's Saat Khoon Maanf.....check it out-

The Indian version


Russian Version-


Russia dancing to its tune


Russian Folk Version-


Russian Army-


And now German version

Dantewada, Arundhati, State and 76 Men!

The latest incident in Dantewada have left me shell-shocked & numb......horrific is the sight of those grieving family members whose boys/husbands/brothers have lost their young lives to fight an enemy who people like Arundhati Roy calls "beautiful young boys and girl"....In her latest essay in the Outlook magazine, I don't know how many times she have used the word "beautiful" in the context of naxalites while justifying their acts/struggle in the name of rape/murder and attrocities....(used in general sense as she has not mentioned a single incident and have only quoted it to buttress her arguments).....Either her sense of meaning of the word "beautiful" is flawed or she writes only to further her commercial interests by playing to the galleries......In my opinion, it is both.

Writers, just because they have a fan following and a skill need to be objective in their writing.....I know she will not speak a word now when 76 men were butchered and murdered in broad day light, were kicked and beaten when they were already dead......(even enemy forces give respect to the fellow comrades, albeit from the other side as per Geneva convention) .....Everyone says naxals are misguided youth and our own boys and girls; but given what they have just done in Dantewada and the manner in which they did it; I have no doubt about naxals being worse than our so called enemy across the border........I still remember the hue & cry we have made, and genuinely so, when Captain Saurabh Kalia and his patrol party of 5 was butchered by Pakistani men at the start of Kargil war...........That one incident led to a full blown localised war....Here they have butchered 76 and ones who did it are our so called own men as per Arundhati Roys and Binayak Sens of the world....... Shouldn't this call for a war as well.....

If our forces are at disadvantageous position and the enemy is shooting to kill, shouldn't we use full might of the forces we have at our disposal....why should we hestitate in involving air power support to neautralise the enemy to help our ground forces fight an equal battle......If unarmed supporters of naxalites get killed in the process, so be it as an enemy supporter is nothing but an enemy.....This is war that has been thrust upon state/commoners by so called beautiful boys and girls of Arundhati and everything is justifiled in war.....I am sure everyone would agree that people who have been left grieving for 76 men were nothing but the supporters in one way or the other- some were partners for life, some were hope while some were future of/for slain men.....and now they will die every moment/day till rest of their life.....If naxalites didnt think of these grieving men/women and children, then why should state think of enemy supporters........"Four and not two eyes for an eye should be the resolve"

I am wondering where is Arundhati now, why cant she speak for the rights of the next of kith & kin of those 76 men.....why cant she write essays for her contacts in naxalite movement telling/explaining to them what have they done.......If she has a freedom of speech, it doesn't mean that she will use it selectively so.....either she should use it objectively or do a favor on majority who doesnt agree with what she says biasedly.

Last but not the least, how about Arundhati Roy visualising herself in place of Meena's wife or many other young wives who were left grieving by her so called "beautiful boys and girls".......she cannot feel their pain as she has lost her mental balance which is required for any objective assessment.....please stop writing and do us a favour.

I have to literally stop myself from using choicest of words for her as I can't fathom this dichotomy in one's behaviour- writing long essays about beautiful naxalites, speaking for their rights but then at the same time keeping mum about the action of her so called "beautiful girls and boys" who have mercilessly butchered 76 men ......As mentioned above, she needs to answer the grief of Meena's (and many other wive's, brother's,sister's, son's, daughter's); who are left to mourn for their boys/fathers/brother/husbands........and will have to do it for the rest of their lives.......what has she got to say about the tears that are rolling down the cheeks of many family members of slain men......aren't those greiving men/women beautiful by her standards.

Arundhati- your ability to use words in an eloquent manner doesn't give you an authority to say anything and get away with it.....

Mr Home minister- there are enough laws of this land under which she can be prosecuted and should be, rightfully so. Make no mistake, her article glorifying and justifying naxalites appeared in the media few weeks back only and can be used to justify her arrest on the same lines as same establishment arrested Simranjeet Singh Manns, Yaseen Maliks or Shabhir Shahs from the extremist fraternity......Arundhati is sailing in the same boat as the mentioned names and many more alike.

In the end, I have no words left to describe my pain/sympathy for those 76 men and their grieving family members.....I can only lay down my head in shame as it was no one but the state that they were defending who failed them....for doing nothing when those beautiful boys and girls were taking their beauty lessons in the jungles.......state kept mum for political compulsions and they had to pay the price with their lives.....I salute those 76 men and many others who have lost, are losing and will lose their lives in the war against naxalites-a war, that has been thrust upon the state against its wishes......they have started it at the time of their liking, result thereof will that be of our liking.....This war needs to be won for India at all costs and it has been started to rip apart the very fabric of India.....

Mr Home Minister and our forces will have to do Lord Krishna as Draupadi (The State) is calling for help from the modern day Dushasans (Arundhati and her beautiful boys and girls-naxals).

Time to revive this blog

...... or should I say, time to go back to my blog!

I need my own space to express my views.....I have been ignoring this blog for way too long; but not anymore....

I don't want to go into as to what prompted me to revive this blog; but good that finally I did it....

When India & Bharat Won!

.......I felt motivated to write on this space again. Not that I had stopped writing; rather all this while I posted daily on my daughter's blog ........So what prompted me to write here again today?

It was nothing but the results of badly fought elections. I call it badly fought elections as bitter personal rivalry between politicians was at full display, non issues took centre stage while core issues were relegated to the background, money/caste/ religion/regional cards were shamelessly used.

But then like they say all that ends well is well; as in the end it was the Indian voter who had the last laugh. It showed its might and threw out all the opportunists and handed over a decisive mandate for stability.

Congress has all the reasons to feel good about the final result but Congressmen will do well for themselves by seeing this more as an opportunity rather than an outright win. This is a vote against the opportunistic politics of Left and other regional and marginal parties rather than for Congress or their policies. Having said that, credit must be given to the Congress for projecting a viable option to the voter who was feeling cheated by the Left and opportunistic parties.

Congress will now be confronted with a terrible mad-rush of sycophancy to project Rahul as the final saviour of India- an interpretation of the verdict meant to defeat the ultimate saviour-“Indian voter itself; who remains the undisputed king maker”. What Indian Voter doesn’t want to see is the repeat of what it saw during last 5 years of UPA rule. It needs no rocket science to understand his/her needs- access to uninterrupted power, good roads, water, education and dependable healthcare; basic requirements of human life. It is unfortunate that even after 62 years of Independence his demands remain same. Congress, basking in its present glory cannot shirk away from its failures of yesteryears after ruling India for 47 of those 62 years; make no mistake about it! It has to seize the opporunity and begin rebuilding India in the right earnest; in the way it requires to be done.

BJP, the principal opposition party will have to do a serious introspection on many counts. It needs to re-align its thinking to suit the mood of the voter and can no longer afford to do that. Politics of hate will not bring them votes and sooner they realise it, better would it be for them. They need to reign in those elements in the Sangh Parivaar who can easily be labelled as a Hindu version of the Islamist Taliban. Discipline, their biggest differentiator over Congress has already left them many years back. And, now they have a serious issue about leaders who can appeal an average Indian voter. In my various political conversations with colleagues and elsewhere, I came across a perception that BJP lack leaders who can govern this country. I am still clueless as to how a party that was the cynosure of all eyes over the quality of its second rung leadership few years back has this question staring directly in its face. A clear soul-searching will give them the right answer and it need not look anywhere else for that. Also, it needs to focus on expanding beyond its core vote base and for that they can take a leaf out of Mayawati’s strategy in last UP assembly elections. BJP will do a world of good for themselves by shedding the tag of “communal”.

It is high time that we debate on the issue of communalism and secularism. Raising issues of national importance must not be labelled as communalism citing religious sentiments. Till date, I have failed to understand as to how can Congress which massacred 3000 Sikhs in Delhi call itself more secular than BJP who did the same to Muslims in Gujarat or how does it make Left more secular after sharing dais with Madhani, a known Islamic fundamentalist and a blast accused; or for that matter, politicians like Mayawatis, Mulayams, Lalus or Paswans who talk about Muslims not out of their genuine concern for their betterment but for their votes. When would we learn to call a spade a spade? Why talking of majority is communalism and talking about minority secularism? How does Manmohan Singh’s call to forget Delhi anti Sikh riots acquires more legitimacy than Modi’s same call in the context of anti Muslim Gujarat riots? There are many questions that are left unanswered.

This is no time to look for answers to all those questions but to celebrate the victory of Indian voter; and this time both India and Bharat have won, a double victory!

World's Biggest Democracy Fair

World's much awaited biggest democracy fair opened for public today with the announcement of dates by the organisers- "The Election Commission of India". This fair will be up for display on a convention theatre spreading over 3,287,263 square kilometres. Although this theatre holds 1,100 million people; only 714 million of them will have a right to participate in the fair. The organisers have saved the best of this fair for a 5 separate day’s show- April 16, 23, 30, May 7 and May 13. A total of 543 prizes are up for grabs and the winners will be announced on May 16. Since, the fair organiser’s hold the exclusive territorial right to use the brand “ELECTIONS”; they have decided to name this fair as - “INDIAN ELECTIONS”. Part of Indian intelligentsia however feels that it would be better to call this a “Dance of a Democracy”.

Everyone; including murderers, rapists, dacoits, gangsters, people with twisted mindset or of foreign origins etc, is free to set up stalls in this fair either in partnership or even solo. It is widely expected that most of the stalls will be set up by 3 separate “Conglomerates”; each owned by Congress, BJP and The Left. A new age electoral politics Corporation, BSP is expected to be the 4th biggest player in the fray.....One thing that is common to all the 4 stall owners is their remarkable ability to divide the participants along religious, caste, colour, linguistic, regional lines........All 4 have done an extensive research on the divisive agenda and owns exclusive patents for it........they seldom allow anyone to use their patents.

Just to give you a quick example- Congress Conglomerate has an exclusive patent to the suffix “Gandhi” and the word “Good Governance” while BJP Conglomerate owns a patent for “Hinduism”. Left Conglomerate’s patent exists on the word “Pro-Poor” while BSP Corporation holds its patent on “Scheduled Castes”. In addition to these patents, certain “labels” too are in vogue- All 3, barring BJP have labeled themselves as “Secular” while BJP has a “Communal” label attached to it.

For next 75 days, every single person of those 714 million participants will count and will have a price for it.......people without jobs will be promised decent jobs; one who doesn’t have basic amenities will get a hope; downtrodden will hear as to how their future will be brighter than before; landless will receive a hope for land; education for all; justice..........so on and so forth. In other words-hope, ambition, aspiration, expectation, desire, faith, religion, caste, language, region etc of every single person belonging to the 714 million block will be traded in the market......

Come 76th day and a completely different style of horse-trading will begin........Old Conglomerates will break and new ones will form, new Corporations will be incorporated. Suddenly, a consensus will emerge around one name and Government will be formed.....543 winners will again win. News channels, newspapers, power-brokers, psephologists etc will rake in the moolah all through the fair.....

Alas! People of India will again lose............However, one thing they will not lose is “HOPE”-the biggest dividend of a democracy.....In the end, Democracy will be the only real winner.....

A Disclaimer

I want to add following as a postscript to my last two posts-

1. I am not a US basher; rather I strongly feel that answer to most of the problems faced by mankind lies in a cocktail of capitalism and democracy; of which US is the giant lab....It's an altogether different matter that the question of the type of democracy and capitalism is still open and needs comprehensive answers.......
   
2. Last but not the least, these two thoughts took shape during my conversation with Rakesh, my best friend.....

And The Contradiction Continues- II

February 24' 2009, various news channels and websites began flashing news of Standard & Poor's downgrade of India's sovereign rating from "stable" to "negative"......Moody's might be the next to follow suit.

Reasons cited by S&P for the move-‘India’s fiscal position has deteriorated to a level that is not sustainable in the medium term’. One of their credit analyst went on to say- "We expect the deficit to remain high at 11.1 per cent of GDP in fiscal 2009-2010. The fiscal deficit could widen if the next government implements another stimulus package."

Elite analysts from the much maligned investment banking fraternity were quick to offer their take on the downgrade- all of them justifies it......... I have no problem in their justification of this downgrade................After all who cares about their analysis.......... "Lehman", "Bear Stearns", "Sub-Prime", "Madoff" or "Standford" are telling examples of their capabilities and analysis.......At times, I wonder who will score more in terms of the understanding of "basic common economic sense"- a common labourer or a rickshaw-puller on Indian roads or highly paid but intellectually bankrupt analyst community........no doubt as to who will be the eventual winner.......our common man understands economics better, does that roadside vegetable vendor rings some bells!!!!

Coming back to the downgrade, I am still waiting to hear S&P's views about Doctor Obama's budget.......released 2 days after India's downgrade.......I was trying to add up the total number of Zeroes in $1.75 trillion federal deficit.......I sincerely hope S&P knows that this $1.75 trillion estimate is just $250 billion more than what was estimated few days back!........If this not enough, then read this -"The $1.75 trillion deficit projected for this year would represent 12.3 percent of the gross domestic product, double the previous post-war record of 6 percent in 1983, when Ronald Reagan was president, and the highest level since the deficit totaled 21.5 percent of GDP in 1945, at the end of World War II."

Wonder, if above calls for any downgrade for US!!!!!!! Or if 11.1% of GDP (India's projected fiscal deficit) is worse than 12.3% of GDP(US's projected fiscal deficit) .........perhaps lower the GDP, bigger the problem!!!! OK fine....then what about the fiscal condition of Europe-shouldn't they be downgraded?? ...........It is growth stupid...........economic growth contraction is a sure shot pill for no downgrade......US and Europe is contracting while India is not, don't you know their economy is still growing ......can't you understand this?

Stupid....it is not the economic fundamentals that decide the ratings.....it is the names of the agencies.... Consider this-Standard and Poor use its rating lever to lift the "Standard" and hit the so called "Poor".......It depends on the "mood" of the Moody's as to who to downgrade and who not.......Fitch has a hitch when it comes to informed judgement.....

Last but not the least, here are two reports filed by "BusinessWeek" while reporting on the fiscal condition in India and US, albeit the context is different....Decide for yourself

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D96JBAU00.htm?campaign_id=rss_daily

& http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/eyeonasia/archives/2009/02/sp_downgrades_i.html

And the contradictions continues.......

PS- I have deliberately used "Dr" as a prefix to Obama because most of the people look up to him as someone who has a cure for every problem.....I have my own doubts.........In my views he has done what he could have done-to create history by becoming the first Black President.....and his moment is gone.......Don't agree with me? Go back in history and we have numerous examples......Rajiv Gandhi of 84????

And, The Contradiction Continues-I

"How long can I continue to look for reasons to feel good about the contradictions that surround us on a day to day basis?”- is a question I often ask myself ...........more so after reading about the incidents in "Swat Valley" and "S&P downgrade of India's ratings"-latter one arising out of my conversations with my friend Rakesh...

Firstly, recent incidents in the Pakistan’s Swat Valley not only horrify me but also confuse me. I am confused because Swat, often labelled as Pakistan's Switzerland (I personally hate these "labelling comparisons" as all they do is to denigrate the "compared" (Swat) in front of "compared with" (Switzerland) by limiting their description/qualitative potential- more often only east/developing world gets these labels- would anyone call Switzerland as Europe's Swat?....how can anyone justify Kalidas to be called as "India's Shakespeare", even when he precedes Shakespeare by more than 5 centuries or Gandhi as India's Martin Luther King & not otherwise) and part of NWFP was the region that gave us a leader like Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan-someone, who single-handedly raised an army of apostles of peace-Khudai Khidmatgar and had a huge following amongst the residents of the region. So, how, when and what converted this peaceful and secular but an innately independent region into a hotbed of militancy and fundamentalism? Answer lies in nowhere but Jinnah's two-nation theory and America's cruel foreign policy.

A deeply secular NWFP region with in the realms of Pakistan would have defeated the concept or very idea of Pakistan. Hence, the establishment and its bigger nemesis-army, started a systematic nurturing and nourishment of fundamentalist forces as a counter force to peaceful tribal’s by playing on the innate sense of independence that prevails amongst the various ethnic tribes of NWFP region. This process of de-secularisation reached its nadir at the height of cold war....as American policymakers assisted by its Pakistani counterparts began using the people of this region in its bid for supremacy in the world order against Soviets.

An impoverished Afghanistan became the only real battleground for obvious reasons. I really marvel the astute policies of Western policymakers as they always manages to play their dirty games in the far-away lands...else how would you justify no battlegrounds in Europe’s neighbourhood of Romania, Hungry, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria or a larger Eastern bloc as reasons for war in Afghanistan were also present there.....

Once war got over, everyone left this region’s to its fate. The fundamentalist monster ably supported by the petro dollars continued to nourish itself until that ghastly attack on common man in US helped world sit up and take notice. Now, US is back in Afghanistan fighting with the people it once helped raise into a force....

This endless saga of contradictions still continues and will perhaps continue forever in the form of India and Pakistan. More so, because Muslims in post partition India have and will continue to enjoy constitutionally guaranteed fuller rights to observe their religious faith, peaceful life, freedom and relative prosperity as compared to their respective counterparts in a country that was carved out of India as a supposed home to all the pre-independence Indian Muslims. No wonder, Indian Muslim populace continues to outnumber Pakistan’s.......Two-nation theory has been comprehensively defeated yet the contradiction in Pakistan continues...........

The endgame is nowhere in sight. If there is one, then that horrifies me........because horrific is the thought of possible danger of Pak nukes falling in the hands of fundamentalists....and if and when that happens, many contradictions will get wiped off from the face of this earth forever.....but at a severe cost.

So, how can we wriggle ourselves out of this current crisis? Think out of the box-may be do a "Kautilya"; meaning.........float an idea for re-unification of India and Pakistan!!!!! But where will we get our Chandragupta Mauryas from ???? Perhaps in our social scientists, political commentators or economists...But what will they do? Simple.............they will study the idea and come out with various costs-benefit scenarios and possibilities..........or, they will toss up new refreshing ideas into the air.....a few of them might get awards for their work......and if successful, a "Nobel Peace Prize" as well.............. Trust me, beauty of this entire experiment is that it has no human cost to it........though it is an altogether different matter that human life comes very cheap in this region..........Not for someone who looses his/hers loved ones........... it is about time that we begin to work on these contradictions.............to make them go away...........so that, 1/5th of humanity gets to see and experience a much better world for themselves and future generations..........world and humanity at large will benefit the most.......

If this is a case of "hoping against hope".......or a desire to be labeled as a day-dreamer .....or to give all the sceptics and the doubting Thomases a reason to laugh out loud...........Certainly not.....Don't modern day Europe offers us that hope?.........Arguers will argue that the situation is not comparable......But we must not forget that even today's India and Pakistan share much more commonalities than what Europeans ever did at any point of time in their history. Besides, we are not that much divided as they were historically..........For confirmation, talk to any visiting ordinary Pakistani or an Indian and everyone will have hundreds of separate stories of mutual affection and respect to share.......On my part, I did put up this question to my brother after his Pakistan visit; and trust me he had all the nice things to say about that country and it's people....even about their immigration officers!

Think and propagate...........

S&P downgrade part to follow..........

Three Weeks of Contradictions

It’s been 3 weeks since I updated my blog last and the reason lie in the apparent contradictions, I found myself face to face with, time and again over that period. How ironical that it is those very contradictions that ultimately provide food and fodder to introspect, think and write. It happened so many times, when I began writing and did not continue as my motivation level and conviction in my thought process was at an abysmally low level.

But then, two events of last week brought me back to my usual self..First one was the last week’s request from my neighbour. It was the evening of 10th February when Rohit, my next door neighbour checked on my blood group; “B(+ve) it is”, I replied. He asked me if I can give my blood platelets to his friend’s mother, who was in the hospital fighting the last stage of blood cancer and I agreed. Next day, I went to hospital twice; first for blood tests and later for undergoing the separation process of platelets and plasma from my blood. Needless to say that the amazing feeling of doing something worthwhile was simply unexplainable despite the pain that I had to bear due to my weak veins. In fact, the doctor had to take the needles out as veins of my left hand swelled with an unbearable pain. Thankfully, my veins of the other hand helped complete the process. But the real learning lied elsewhere.

While I was filling in the donation form, the doctor asked me the name of the patient. I told him, “I don’t know her name”- an answer for which the doctor was not ready. But, what he said afterwards was simply awesome.....He said- "It is nothing but the good deeds of the lady that is making people, completely unknown to her, come and give her blood when she needs it most”... That comment was very deep and true and will stay with me forever.....Unfortunately, I just heard from Rohit that she is no more. It was very sad to hear that but then I am sure that her deeds will continue to help her wherever she is now...I pray to God to give her loved ones strength and courage to bear this unbearable pain and irreparable loss.

Second incident took place as as recently as previous Saturday, while we were at the engagement ceremony of Sunil (my wife-Bobby’s brother). I noticed that Mamta didi’s (my wife’s elder sister) sister-in-law left the venue abruptly with her husband. Later, when I enquired about the reason with Mamta didi, she told me that Anil, their son who is an army officer has suffered a major accident. As if it was not enough, his wife was not with him so the flow of news from Siliguri, his place of posting was not proper. Their other son left for Siliguri as soon as he heard about the accident but he would not reach there until next afternoon. Whatever little information they were getting from Army sources was not sufficient for them or for that matter any other parent in a similar situation. It was then I decided to do something about it even after knowing that Siliguri, until that moment is just a city name for me.

Soon, I had with me the contact details of three persons; I knew that one of them would be able to help me get the details. I was right as, Dhruv; my friend-Rajat’s cousin posted with Indian army in Jammu got me the complete detail of the accident and the injury suffered by Anil in less than 15 minutes. He further gave me a telephone number of one service-man that Anil’s parents could call to check his condition. I apprised Anil’s family of whatever I heard from Dhruv and also gave them the number to call at. I am sure, confirmation of the facts via different source must have brought them relief and satisfaction....

Two quick lessons in general- “Good deeds always stand by you when you need them most” and “A sense of responsibility not only help others but also help resurrect one’s own conviction and faith in his/her abilities’.

Personally, it made me feel good as these two incidents not only reinforced my faith in the beauty of human relationships; but strengthened it further. No wonder, I draw much of my satisfaction and contentment from those very relationships.

Though, it is an altogether different matter that same Saturday night interaction with one of our relative couple (who, I always felt very close to until an awful incident last summer) didn't go down well with me. Not because, I was found lacking in showing my respect towards them despite whatever they did to my father last summer; but simply because of a realisation that modern education system does not offer any guarantee of a good human behaviour of reciprocation. To my extreme surprise, only word that I could hear during those 40 seconds of interaction was a cold reply to my greeting......I could do nothing but smiled at myself.....as I am not going to let stray incidents like this desist me from investing in my relationships...

Spiritual Gyani

Well oiled hairs neatly combed as if every single hair has been personally attended to; a chic white shirt folded up his sleeves and black trousers covering his short and frail physical structure with a smile all over his face; that is how he will come across to you when you meet him; day after day. He is Gyani.... office boy at MPS Technologies-one of my past employers. Why am I writing about him? What has he got to do with me when I have already left MPS more than a year back?

He had caught my imagination ever since I noticed him taking special care of my needs, while I was at MPS. Just a look at Gyani’s face was enough to make him understand my requirements- tea, coffee or water.......Reason, I thought lied in my designation- Head of Accounts....

It is almost 14 months since I left MPS...... yet nothing has changed vis-a-vis Gyani...A telephone call would come to greet me on every occasion- Deepawali, New Year etc. Moment, I step into MPS office, Gyani would come from nowhere with a smile on his face and glass of water in his hands followed by a cup of tea-exactly as per my taste. Why haven’t I been sent into oblivion by Gyani? I ask this question to myself every now and then...Reason was not at all difficult to find..........

I have always respected him for what he is and not what his job was at MPS. I used to lend him my ears whenever he had something to share or complain about. Never did he ask for any special favours or help........So, was Gyani paying me back in his own way for my behaviour towards him? Perhaps he was.......but then there are so many others who never did......So, what separates Gyani from others......

And, I managed to discover the real reason during my recent visit to MPS. I noticed him wearing a badge on his shirt and made an instant enquiry. He told me- it is Lord Krishna and Radha.....my curiosity grew further.....and that is when I came to know about his monthly pilgrimages to Mathura- birthplace of Lord Krishna.......It occurred to me instantly- meagre earnings are not enough to stop someone from pursuing his/her spiritual interests...Gyani’s spirituality was more important to him than the money he earns.

Someone might argue that he is taking those pilgrimages to pray to God for his wishes to come true. Even if he is, then also I beg to differ from those making such arguments for one simple reason- purity of his belief.

That one discovery brought me face to face with real but invisible Gyani- a deeply spiritual person who could create connections and bonds with people just on the strength of his faith in God. His spirituality gave him access to a never ending source of love and affection from where he could draw at will...

No wonder- “Gyani” means “knowledgeable.” Despite his lack of formal education, his understanding of spirituality and its power makes him more knowledgeable than anyone claiming to be so.

Sakim-Story Of Determination

He was rated highly by all his village school teachers in Saharsa district of Bihar; after all education was his best ticket to take a flight out of the hole of abject poverty, his family was into. His poor parents were doing everything they could with their meagre resources to help him attain his goal. “Resources and its paucity” was fighting a losing battle against the resolve of Sakim and his parents until it found an able ally in the village shop owner, one fateful afternoon.

Gory incidents of that day were powerful enough to crush the resolve of Sakim; who would soon found him inside a train to Delhi. A debt of Rs 200 or US $ 4 altered the course of life of an 11 year old kid forever. Fate alone knew that that village kid who used to enjoy reading his daily lessons would soon have to wash utensils in a big city restaurant to meet his ends.

His first salary was more than enough to repay that Rs 200 debt of the shop owner back home in Bihar; but it was nothing when compared with what he had lost- his childhood...For next 3 years he would break his back every day in his pursuit to fight that stigma, he was carrying since that afternoon. The money that he earned would help marry his sisters into respectable families. Whatever was left was used to construct a one room hutment for his family.

By the time he went back to his village, that kid who had left the village 3 year ago had become an adult. His erstwhile school teachers tried to persuade him to go back to his studies; but the charm and pull of big city life was too powerful. He found himself back in that train to Delhi after a gap of six months; his younger brother giving him company. This train journey was a lot different from the one he had undertaken in the past- he had new plans and a new goal- to save his brother from doing a Sakim on him.

When he had left Saharsa station, he had a role in sight for himself- that of a driver and he was relying on his fellow villager for helping him achieve that. His plan was simple- to learn driving in the night and work during the day. However, fate again had different plans in store for him.
The person who, Sakim was relying on to execute his plans chose to turn his back on him. Quoted reason- Sakim’s poverty doesn’t entitle him to sit behind the wheels. Unlike last time, Sakim would not have to fight a lonely battle. Another fellow villager who heard Sakim being ridiculed for his poverty came up to him and handed him his cab keys. He made Sakim sit on the wheels giving him driving instructions while playing the role of a perfect navigator.

That one gesture again altered the course of Sakim’s life forever. The fear of wheel was gone and in came a desire to excel in the driving arena. Now, Sakim drives a cab, stationed outside Hazrat Nizamudin (HZM) railway station and ferry visitors throughout the city. He calls the man who became his saviour that night, his “Guru”, perhaps rightly so. His younger brother is studying in a Delhi school and his parents live back home in much better condition than what they were 5 years back, all thanks to Sakim’s amazing grit and determination.

I heard Sakim’s story in his own words on the morning of 5th January 2009 after I hired his cab for Rs 400 following much persuasion and bargaining. His story really moved me and I felt ashamed of myself to bargain with him for 100 rupees- considering that it was double that amount which changed Sakim’s life forever.... with an apologetic note I handed him Rs 500 and told him to keep the balance.

We exchanged mobile numbers, he told me to save his number in my phone book and call him up for cab whenever I am at HZM railway station. Two days later, he would follow up our interaction with a phone call- something that reminded me of much talked about corporate etiquettes one is expected to follow to ensure one is registered in other’s mind....... Though Sakim never required one to do that; he is already registered in my mind.....

There is no dearth of Sakims in this country or for that matter anywhere on this earth...... but then what separates this Sakim from other Sakims is his amazing grit and determination to erase the incidents of past while taking inspiration from them and using them as a tool to rebuild his life. Sakim is successful in his own way and his success is no less than anybody else’s- he was able to win a major battle in his war against the abject poverty. However, he has a long way to go as there are many more battles left to win this war.....with his grit and determination he will come out as a true winner in this war...

Soli- A Hope In Contradiction

“Hope and despair”, “happiness and sadness”, “celebration and fight” et al are not mere words but powerful voice tools lent to human beings by the Almighty God to help them describe their emotions of that particular point in time. The contradictory nature of these voice tools is what creates the distinction in the lives of those very human beings. The list of tools is endless and so is the contradiction in the emotions that occupies, both the mind-space and the mindscape of every human being- every passing moment does nothing but only fuel those contradictions either by adding on to the list or by flipping the characters..........circle of life continues....

This thought occurred to me today while reading today’s post about a daughter on a blog maintained by her mother. The post was titled "Wordless Wednesday.. well almost wordless." What made mother use those words to title her post- perhaps she alone would be able to answer that......while her mind, having lost for words was busy inventing that title; a father in another part of the same world was finding it extremely difficult to drop the words that were running through his mind........Had he been given an option he would have continued writing on and on and on.....Now consider this, both were writing about their respective daughters, separated at birth by 38 days only. THIS IS LIFE. Consider again....... Here is a family that is celebrating the growth of their precious gift on a moment to moment basis and then at the same, another family at a far off place is keenly following the growth of their precious gift but for an altogether different reason.

What is heartening in this entire comparison is the mutual respect and emotions they have for each other.....mother reads and follows the progress of the other daughter; father on his part waits for mother’s posts about her daughter while keeping a close watch on the counter on her blog with prayers on his lips. But “who” are they and “why” are they doing it?

Father and daughter are no one else but Alok and Reveda, while mother is Dani, an American who gave birth to the daughter- Soli at 11:53pm on 11th Dec 08. Solange Lea aka Soli weighed a whole 1 lb and 9.3 ozs at birth and was 12.5" long; she arrived on this earth a full 101 days ahead of her expected date of delivery. She is still 59 days away from her expected day of birth and yet at the same time she is 42 days old. Last 42 days have already seen her heart going under the scissors once but her amazing fight to life is on and she is ably supported by a competent team of doctors, her brave mother and a very supportive family with prayers from every quarter. God is watching her from a distance and is taking care of her. This answers the “who” part of the question.

Now to answer the “why” part, I dare to enter inside the psyche of a parent. When inside, my encounter with the thought process of a parent puts me face to face with a keen desire on their part to be able to witness the best things of this world hug their respective kids continually; while continuously praying to God to not let the negatives even think of their kids and if they ever choose to affect their kids then to do everything possible to throw them in trash such that they never come back to haunt their kids. No parent wants to use those negative voice tools in the context of their kids. This very thought process are making Dani and Soli connect with Reveda and Alok- Dani wanting to write about Soli same way as Alok is doing while Alok praying not to ever write about Reveda as Dani has to.. This mutual connection binds them together and makes them pray for the well being of each other’s kids.

I cannot stop from wondering as to how this world would be, should everyone starts to show similar bonding and mutual respect..... if not anything but for the future of our kids... Soli had already been written about on my daughter’s blog and I have no doubts whatsoever left in my mind about her zeal to see through this test of God. Our sincere prayers are with her and family in this hour of need. This is a test of Soli’s resolve and her zeal for life and Soli will SUCCEED. She has to- for her mother, her family, her doctors, all her well-wishers and above all for HERSELF. Before I conclude, I can’t help but interpret that picture of Soli with folded hands that captured my imagination- those folded hands were communicating whatever Soli wanted to communicate- I can safely assume that Soli was praying to God in her real words -

"God please shower your praise and care on me as I want to feel my mom’s touch, my lips want to help me energise myself off my mom, I want to feel the softness of my loved ones, my eyes want to look into my mom’s eyes to tell her how much I love her and care..... I want to lead a healthy life while enjoying all the beauty it has to offer to me.... My beloved God, please be my strength as YOU are my saviour”.

Amen!

No wonder Dani was found looking for words on a wordless Wednesday.....You can follow the progress of Soli on http://silvazoo.blogspot.com/ while Reveda is present on http://reveda.blogspot.com/

Mukesh- Hidden Chapter In An Open Book

He was full of life with an ever flashing smile all over his face; his short stature was just a mirage when looked at in the context of his overall personality- he was much taller than what he otherwise looked. His overall demeanour was so comforting that his very presence used to make other person forget the pain he/she was under at that particular point in time.

On a personal front, he was no less than an alchemist and could do anything he wanted to be a successful person. He was just like an open book. His circle of influence included people from all walks of life – colony bullies, college leaders, contractors, football players , historysheeters but then I was lucky enough to be his closest pal along with Rakesh. More than anything, he was sort of a mentor for me- always advising me about the things I should do or not do. He stood by me whenever I needed him and would graciously lend his ears to me. He made Renu-my younger sister, his sister as well and told her to tie Rakhi on him. When visiting my house, it never bothered him if I am home or not; after all he could connect to my entire family- he was a member of our family.

It was the summers of 92 when I met him through a common acquaintance. We were freshly out of class 12 and were digging the foundation to build our respective careers. Initially, the interaction remained cold and couldn’t scale heights to excite me enough to call him my friend- so he was just an acquaintance. But then this situation was not something casted in stone & iron and soon Mukesh reached a place that only belonged to him- he became my closest friend and confidante. He used to live in my neighbourhood and that also played its own part in furthering our bond of friendship.

It was that time only, when another bond was taking its shape- my friendship with Rakesh. As the paths were common and so were our goals , we three became closest of pals. We could spend hours talking and discussing every available topic in the world of politics/sports/business etc. We were friends in the true sense- always agreeing to disagree, used to fight for our respective values and beliefs and would do everything to hold on to our positions never fighting even once- our bonding was just like earth’s crust- so many layers, so much heat, so many volcanic eruptions yet always growing in strength with every passing moment. So much so that at one point of time we were pursuing same course- Chartered Accountancy.

Rakesh realised early enough that CA is not his cup of tea and dropped off; but we both continued to pursue it. Life was going pretty cool. However, with every passing year the career building pressure began to grow bigger and bigger. A stray mistake on Rakesh’s part made him start a job and with his sheer hard work Rakesh began to climb up the ladder. I could also clear my CA Intermediate well in time but then as luck would have it, I got stuck with one group of CA Finals which I would go on to clear later. Mukesh on his part could clear one group of CA intermediate and was slowly and steadily getting edgy about not being able to clear the other group.

In the meantime, I got myself involved with a stock broking firm and Mukesh shifted into their new house, 10 kilometres away. Rakesh’s job first took him to Kanpur followed by Ludhiana. This self created turmoil in our lives didn’t affect our relationship at all but the time that we used to spend together was on the wane and the downhill journey continued until we got that shocker of a news on 11th Sep 2001 at around 7.30 pm. His brother called me up to enquire about Mukesh as he was untraceable after he left home to meet me. I told him to wait for some more time. But when he didn’t get in by 9 pm, we began to get anxious. Rakesh and I began searching for him, we went to police stations, checked with railway authorities and hospitals making enquiries to allay our worst fears.

But Mukesh remained untraceable for next 11 days until the afternoon of 22nd September when his brother called me up to give me the worst news- his decomposed body was found in sugarcane fields near a school. A steel glass and a bottle of liquid pesticide was lying near his body. Apparently that was what helped him take his own life by his own hands. His lively face was still same with just one change- it had turned black. His black Reebok shoes were on his feet and helped us lift his body.

A neatly folded piece of paper hidden in a polythene bag was found placed inside his shoes. Such was his thought process that even when he was about to take his life, his mind was aware that the message needs to get home and that is why he chose to use a polythene bag to hid his suicide note. I only wonder why his mind didn’t tell him not to take his life. Had he been alive today, life for him would have been great as he had everything in the world that helps one achieve success.

What he lacked was not the lack of conviction in his abilities but his fear of a crumbling support system. His fears, howsoever unjustified are a lesson in itself- if someone has a belief and faith in you, do whatever it takes to keep that faith alive and kicking. Societal norms of success and failure cannot change but what is capable of change is the way how we perceive them individually.

Last but not the least is a need to hear and act on those subtle hints that any person with suicidal tendencies give to his/her closed ones. Mukesh too did that but we could not hear them and paid a very heavy price for that- I and Rakesh lost our dearest friend. A mother lost her child, a father lost his hope, brothers lost their comrade in arms and a sister (Renu) lost her Mukesh bhaiya... she remembers him every year on Rakhi day as he was the only one to bring a box full of Cadbury’s chocolates.

While I am writing this at my workplace, I cannot stop my tears from flowing down and am doing my best to hide them from fellow colleagues. No matter what, tears or no tears Mukesh will never come back.....But then all we can try for is to have no more Mukeshs take their own lives. Doing that requires no extra effort- just few words of comfort and a real care can undo the damage to one’s confidence and bring back that zeal to live life.

I know Mukesh will never come back but his friendship will always stay with me. He took his life but he will never be able to take away the moments that we shared together. I will never say that Mukesh was coward as to take one’s own life is no job of a coward- you got to be too brave to do that. But had he chosen to use his bravery in the arena of life, story would been very different. One pain that I will always have in my heart is my utter failure to locate and read that hidden chapter of an open book that Mukesh was... perhaps he wrote that chapter later but then too I should have known about it.

What Does This Blog Captures?

Folks, every day we meet so many people and everyone has a story to share. But, not all of them share and if someone does; he/she eventually find out that their stories are lost in the commotion and din of modern day life. The ensuing new dawn never brings any change and the circle of life keep getting darker and darker. One common thread that binds all the stories is the presence of same human emotions in every story; only the character changes.

It occurred to me recently that I should start capturing whatever I can and that’s when was born this blog- http://myheartfeltmusings.blogspot.com/. This blog intends to lend a voice to the amazing but untold human stories of achievements in sufferings, joy in despair, hope in utter confusion, optimism in pessimism et al and that of underachievement as well.

My narratives will try to untangle the closely intertwined melancholies with an aim to separate the achievements, happiness, hope and joy from the ubiquitous gloom, despair, pain and sufferings in those stories. Such is the beauty of steely resolve and strength of one's individual being that collectively human race continues to thrive despite being a witness to a secular rise in the negatives.

This definitely is no mere euphemism or an effort to use the magic of words to divert from the harsh realities of life. Rather it is an effort to carefully dissect it until we find reasons for that smile on those faces despite so much of agony and pain. After all the agony and pain is ephemeral while happiness, joy and hope is longer lasting in nature- a reason enough to look into future. I do not feel schadenfreude- malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others, while trying that dissection; to feel so will be an unpardonable truculent act on my part. While I narrate those stories, I pray continuously to God that He showers His blessings on everyone.. today and every day.