"अभिषेक, तेरी चिट्ठी आई है|"
चिट्ठी - जितना संगीतमय अर्थ, उतना ही मधुर शब्द! जैसे किसी ने सितार की धुन सुना दी हो। अब घड़ियाँ कुछ देर रुकेंगी, और चिट्ठी पढ़ी जाने के बाद चलेंगी। कम से कम मैं तो ऐसा ही करूँगा। घड़ियों को जाना है तो जाएँ।
काराकोरम हॉस्टल की वो सीढियाँ उतरने में भी इतना आनंद! एक-एक कदम में चार-चार सीढियाँ - जैसे पैरों में पर लग गए हों। आज की बात ही कुछ और है! आज मौसम अच्छा है। आज मेरी चिट्ठी आई है। किसी को मेरी याद आई है।
यादें भी अजीब होती हैं। उनमें न तो वास्तविक जितनी वास्तविकता होती है और न ही काल्पनिक जितनी काल्पनिकता। दोनो मिली-जुली होती हैं। यादें ऐसे सपने की तरह होती हैं जिन्हें हम थोड़ा-थोड़ा तब तक देखते हैं जब तक हमारी आंखें पूरी तरह बंद न हो जाये| फिर ऐसे सपने को सपना कहना कितना सही है? और जो सपना नही हो, उसे भुलाने की बात करना कितना तर्कसंगत है?
पहली रोटी के तीन टुकड़े, बाद में आई दूसरी रोटी के फिर से तीन टुकड़े, और अंत में तीसरी रोटी के भी तीन टुकड़े । अगर वही तीन रोटियाँ एक साथ आ जाती तो हमारे पास आपस में बाँटने को क्या बचता ? थोड़ी सी कमी थी तो हम कितने पास आये, और आज भी कितना भरोसा है उस तस्वीर में ! क्या इस चिट्ठी में उसी तस्वीर के रंग बिखरे होंगे ?
पीतल की छोटी सी थाली पर रखा तुलसी का एक पत्ता और गुड़ या मिस्री का एक टुकड़ा -- मंगलवार के व्रत का मीठा-मीठा स्वाद । आरती की गर्म हथेलियों का चेहरे पर सुगंधित घर्षण । क्या ये चिट्ठी वही जीवनदायिनी स्पर्श लेकर आई है ?
या उजले बालों वाला वो समय जो घर आने पर अपने हाथों से पाँव पखारता था । और जाती हुई बेटी के आँचल में मुट्ठी भर अक्षत प्यार से रख देता था । कहाँ मिलेगी वह शीतल छाया इन वृक्षों के गिरने के बाद ? हो सकता है कि चिट्ठी खोलने पर उस जाते हुए समय की गूँज सुनाई दे।
चिट्ठियों के ढेर में एक वो अपनी वाली - जैसे अनजानी भीड़ में जानी-पहचानी सूरत। लिखावट भी चेहरे की तरह ही तो होती है - सबसे अलग, बस अपने जैसी। तभी तो लिखावट देखते ही लिखने वाले का चेहरा दिखाई देता है।
वो भी क्या दिन हुआ करते थे जब लोग चिट्ठियाँ लिखा करते थे। कागज़-कलम लेकर किसी के बारे में देर तक सोचना और फिर लिखना। सोचना तो ऐसे सोचना कि उसकी सुगंध मन में फूट पड़े। और फिर लिख-लिखकर फिर से लिखना। और पढ़ने वाले को भी एक रंग, एक स्पर्श, और एक गूँज का आभास। किसी का अंतरंग होने की सुखद अनुभूति।
बचपन में मैंने कुछ पत्र-मित्र बनाए थे। या बनाने की कल्पना की थी, कुछ ठीक से याद नही। लेकिन दो अपरिचित लोगों में ऐसा मधुर संबंध! क्या आज के युग में यह संभव है? लोग बड़ी तेजी से जा रहे हैं। न जाने कहाँ जा रहे हैं। ऐसे लोग पत्र-मित्र नही बना सकते, न ही बन सकते हैं। बहुत हो गया तो e-mail से एक forward भेज देंगे। उससे ज्यादा आत्मीयता... चलिए उनकी बातें नही करते।
बात चिट्ठियों की शुरू हुयी थी तो बात कोमलता पर ख़त्म की जानी चाहिए, 'कशिश' पर ख़त्म की जानी चाहिए, और "सरस्वतीचंद्र" के इस गीत के साथ ख़त्म की जानी चाहिए।
फूल तुम्हे भेजा है ख़त में, फूल नही मेरा दिल है
प्रियतम मेरे मुझको लिखना, क्या ये तुम्हारे काबिल है।
प्यार छुपा है ख़त में इतना, जितने सागर में मोती
चूम ही लेता हाथ तुम्हारा, पास जो तुम मेरे होती।
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
The Sodex-ho Code
Why would my employer take so much trouble to buy and distribute sodex-ho coupons instead of simply transferring money in our salary accounts? Why would a government allow circulation of a parallel currency in market? Who are the beneficiaries of this ubiquitous coupon system? And since no wealth is being created by this arrangement, who are being fleeced to sponsor its expenses?
One obvious beneficiary is Sodex-ho the company. But it can not be the only one. In fact it is only an incidental beneficiary in the game. Who are the real ones? My guess is - the decision makers - all those who allow this coupon system to run. My employer, despite all the operational and other costs that he incurs in managing coupons, must be gaining out of this system by getting the overall cost reduced. Though I am being paid the coupons of Rs 1000, he must be paying less than that. And the government gains by taxation. But then who are the poor losers?
As an employee I have no option here. I can not demand 1000/- instead of coupons of worth 1000/-. I have to take coupons even if I carry a lunch-box. And after getting the coupons I have to spend them too because they can not be saved - unlike currency notes they come with an expiry date.
A Saturday morning - I want to buy a packet of cornflakes. I step out of my house and walk down to the nearest supermarket. I could have bought that from the corner shop too but I didn't. The shopkeeper doesn't accept sodex-ho coupons. Perhaps the poor guy doesn't have enough money to buy a sodex-ho sticker.
A Sunday evening - A pizza in "Pizza Hut" is a bit hard on my pocket. I come from a middle-class family and for me Rs 250 still means Rs 250. I can, however, afford myself that luxury when the payment is to be done by coupons and not by cash. Since I don't feel the blow, I don't mind the blow. The coupons have to be disposed before the end of year anyway.
So the coupons serve two purposes. 1. They compel me to consume. And, 2. they compel me to consume from the selected stores.
It is not very difficult to make a rough estimate of the business that they do through sodex-ho coupons (since the coupons can not be used anywhere else). These chains grow in size not because they are better than the corner shops but because they are recommended by this system. People have to queue up in these supermarkets to get their goods billed instead of just dial a number and get the goods sent at their door.
The puzzle is solved. The profit these retail giants and restaurants earn - the cake - is shared between supermarkets, employers, and governments. And who is starving here - the man sitting in the corner shop.
The other victim is no one else but I myself. I buy costly Kellogg's because this is what they keep. And thanks to the Sunday evenings at Pizza Hut I have a tummy at 25, and a hideous craving for more!
One obvious beneficiary is Sodex-ho the company. But it can not be the only one. In fact it is only an incidental beneficiary in the game. Who are the real ones? My guess is - the decision makers - all those who allow this coupon system to run. My employer, despite all the operational and other costs that he incurs in managing coupons, must be gaining out of this system by getting the overall cost reduced. Though I am being paid the coupons of Rs 1000, he must be paying less than that. And the government gains by taxation. But then who are the poor losers?
As an employee I have no option here. I can not demand 1000/- instead of coupons of worth 1000/-. I have to take coupons even if I carry a lunch-box. And after getting the coupons I have to spend them too because they can not be saved - unlike currency notes they come with an expiry date.
A Saturday morning - I want to buy a packet of cornflakes. I step out of my house and walk down to the nearest supermarket. I could have bought that from the corner shop too but I didn't. The shopkeeper doesn't accept sodex-ho coupons. Perhaps the poor guy doesn't have enough money to buy a sodex-ho sticker.
A Sunday evening - A pizza in "Pizza Hut" is a bit hard on my pocket. I come from a middle-class family and for me Rs 250 still means Rs 250. I can, however, afford myself that luxury when the payment is to be done by coupons and not by cash. Since I don't feel the blow, I don't mind the blow. The coupons have to be disposed before the end of year anyway.
So the coupons serve two purposes. 1. They compel me to consume. And, 2. they compel me to consume from the selected stores.
It is not very difficult to make a rough estimate of the business that they do through sodex-ho coupons (since the coupons can not be used anywhere else). These chains grow in size not because they are better than the corner shops but because they are recommended by this system. People have to queue up in these supermarkets to get their goods billed instead of just dial a number and get the goods sent at their door.
The puzzle is solved. The profit these retail giants and restaurants earn - the cake - is shared between supermarkets, employers, and governments. And who is starving here - the man sitting in the corner shop.
The other victim is no one else but I myself. I buy costly Kellogg's because this is what they keep. And thanks to the Sunday evenings at Pizza Hut I have a tummy at 25, and a hideous craving for more!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Bike Safari to Kerala - A Reluctant Commentary
The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes "sight-seeing." - Daniel J. Boorstin
It is rightly said that one who looks within finds nothing. But the one who looks outside finds it within. Similarly, he who goes out to meet people comes to know himself.
A traveler seeks experience, and experience is what he collects. The men of business run after gold without knowing what to do with it (except selling it to someone else); whereas a traveler stops and enjoys the glow without making any claim on the gold. And such is his gaze that things start shining when he turns his eyes on them.
Sometimes he suffers in his pursuit, but he doesn't grieve his suffering. Because those who court the pleasures of life don't mind her tantrums. Her tantrums only incite him more, and invite him deeper. For a traveler, even a bad experience is a positive experience. For experience can never be negative. And he evaluates his life in terms of the experience that he earns, and it is only this that makes him feel enriched and fulfilled.
*************************************
Route: Hyderabad --> Bangalore --> Hosur --> Palakkadu --> Pennagaram --> Perumbalai --> Mechcheri --> Bhavani --> Tiruppur --> Palladam --> Chinnar --> Munnar --> Thekkady --> Kottayam --> Allapuzha --> Kochi --> Hyderabad
Hyderabad to Bangalore -- by Train, and Kochi to Hyderabad -- by Flight. Rest of the way was covered by bike (Unicorn).
Quite contrary to the popular belief, a five days long bike trip to Kerala is less tiring than you are likely to imagine. In fact a single day of drudgery in an air-conditioned office is more tiring, and I am talking about physical tiredness here. How sad that most of you wouldn't believe this!
Day 1: Bangalore - Mariyoor (Munnar) --> The lush green hills and the breathtaking blue lakes of Munnar attract thousands of tourists, especially honeymoon couples, every year. Understandably, hotels are costly there. For the couples, stories eagerly wait for the nightfall; but in our case, climax yawns at doormat and falls on bed asleep. It therefore makes little sense for us to spend too much on hotels.
We had started at around 9 in morning and entered Kerala just before sunset. After crossing Chinnar wildlife sanctuary we decided to stay at Mariyoor, which is located appx. 40 kms from Munnar. In the way we befriended Maharajan, a Tamil gentleman, who made sure we got a cheap place to spend the night. When we checked in, he also made a point to drop in and tell us everything that could be of our use.
After bidding the kind man goodbye, we celebrated our Diwali with Kerala Paratha, came back to our room and switched off the light.
Day 2: Mariyoor - Nedumkandam (Thekkady) --> Staying in Thekkady, home to the Periyar wildlife sanctuary, would have been a costly affair for us. So we used the old formula again - using native wisdom and choosing a lesser known place near the main location to pass the night.
Well, Munnar happened in morning. More than the place, the ways approaching to it impressed us more. Munnar is picturesque; in fact pictures follow your sight wherever you go. But no picture could have captured what we were feeling through our skin - the warm massage of sun and the gentle caress of air. No camera could have captured the cool freshness of the valley in our lungs. Its eye wouldn't be able see the vastness in which the scene was stretched. Standing on the road, which crawled amid tea gardens like a serpent, there were moments when our ecstasy knew no bounds. Looking at the tea gardens it seemed as if someone had covered the hills by a green velvety carpet, which changed its shades with every angle and every turn. We saw the earth's shades changing with the change in sky. No photography could have captured that change, which makes a place look alive. So, leaving the gold for others to capture, we decided to enjoy the glow.
By the sunset, I could cover much less than that I had anticipated. Far ahead of Munnar, the curvy roads became bumpier and jerkier, and to make the matter further interesting, it started raining as well. Things had started to be a little difficult for me. I removed my sunglasses to improve visibility but the insects flying on to the headlight threatened to hit my eyes. I had to put my shades on even when the road was dark and the headlight was not bright enough. We were late and I was slow. Thankfully, an auto-rickshaw went past us and I followed the two little red spots for rest of our journey. The drops of water kept falling on my sunglasses washing those little red spots away. Quite surrealistic that feeling it was, and what a memorable ride! But for good reasons I will advise you not to ride or drive after sunset when you are at such a place.
Day 3: Nedumkandam - Kottayam --> A side seat in a ship, a ride in Periyar lake, few deers and elephants at the shore and that's it. I was beginning to feel like a tourist there. Ideally I would have liked to go deep into the forest, and sit on a Machaan in a moonlit night waiting to get a glance of a tiger. Thankfully ideals stay away from reality.
We had clearly understood the advantages of started early, so we decided to leave for Kottayam as soon as we got off the ship. It was a downward journey to the plains. There was nothing remarkable about this ride until we neared Kottayam. I will always remember this road for having the best hoardings I have ever seen. Being the one on the driving seat I should rather have focussed on the road only. But those ads were so tastefully shot and those women were so sensuously posed that it would've been rude to ignore them.
From Kottayam we rode to Kumarakom only to find out that the boats in backwaters don't move in night. But the boatmen still urged us to go for a "Home Stay" or hire a houseboat. We could very well imagine why someone would like to spend a night in a still houseboat. Anyways, we came back to Kottayam and stayed there.
Refreshingly, this was not yet another town full of malls and multiplexes. the kind you see one and you see them all. There is hardly any character that defines and differentiates, and so severe is the identity crisis that now towns and cities are rated and compared on the basis of their malls! But Kottayam is not a cloned copy of Gudgaon or Noida. It has an unmistakable local flavor, and it tasted good on our palate. Keralites are politically aware lot - "Are you a Communist?", they would ask when they would spot my Che Guevara T-shirt. Otherwise they are simple folks who spend half of their time fidgeting with their lungis. The women wouldn't hesitate to indicate a passing stranger that his bike's headlamp is on. They don't seem to have any idea why they should be scared of men. Well, all this is unimaginable in North - such simplicity and such civilization.
Day 4: Kottayam - Allapuzha -->
A charming good morning, soft golden sun, cool blue breeze and a road open to zoom through the heavy smell of aqua life - quite a delight of a ride this was along the famous backwaters of Kerala!
A. Backwaters - The backwaters foster a world on their banks. The green water grows coconuts and fish, and when winds blow from west, tourists would swarm to the merry of the ferrymen. Life was simple till came rich people with plenty at their disposal. The relaxed, rhythmic, romance of boating was ousted by the loud opulence of houseboats, which were owned by big businessmen of Bombay and hired by those who cared little whether they were in a house, in a boat, or in a houseboat as long as they were getting their privacy and their daily dose of vanity. Later on, some of them would expound on the interior aesthetics as well. However, this aesthetics has not done wonders to the ecology as well as the economy of the backwaters. If you seek a place free from noise and smoke of traffic, go somewhere else. And if you care to investigate, you'd find out that of the Rs 1200 that you had paid for a 6 hrs backwaters village tour, the poor man who rows the shikara gets something around Rs 60 (Rs 2000 per month)!
Those who know, know that big is not always better. Huge houseboats have no access to the narrow alleys of backwaters, where life prospers. Well, we not only got a village tour but also tried our hands in rowing. We also got a chance to talk with our boatman and other villagers. In the end he felt emotional enough to hug us. And that surprised me a little, because it was charming for us to be generous to him, but it must have been difficult, if not dangerous, for him to express his affection to those who were richer than him. It needs a heart of gold to love someone richer, and the poor man had that heart. But I could not have complimented him for this. Perhaps his peace of mind, which didn't even mind his poverty, didn't need that.
B. Beach - In night we drank some beer and lied down on the white sand to listen to the soothing music of sea. By the time I woke up the sand had soaked all the stress and left my body achingly blissful.
Day 5: Allapuzha - Kochi -->
Again a delightful ride, and this time along the coast. Though never visible, the sea always made its presence felt in air.
At Fortkochi we stopped to see the fishermen catching fish with their famous china net. A large number of visitors, especially foreigners, had gathered there and were waiting for the net to be lifted. The fishers would ask the spectators to keep back. The air was heavy with excitement and anticipation. Finally that moment came and numerous cameras rose to capture the awaited scene. And here came the anticlimax - just one fish in that gigantic net! And a few seconds later even that fell back into the water. So much for all those elaborate conspiracies. For some time there was a silent disbelief all around. What a goof-up it was! Good morning comedy show absolutely for free.
Kochi has a few good palaces and churches but we were not very keen on visiting them. In confusion I took the bike straight into the first lane that I saw. And that incidental ride took us through one of most exotic experiences I have ever had. The cultural affluence of Kerala was copiously scattered on both the sides of the lane. The exquisite works of art, delightful smell of spices, colorful handicrafts, beautiful paintings, and even huge snake boats: civilization at acme of its artistic accomplishment was there to behold. I was so overwhelmed that I didn't remember to note the name of the lane. Another goof-up of the day!
And then came a time when I had to see myself off at the airport. I was to come back to the real world. The air hostesses greeted with their fake smiles. I don't look at them while their eyes are on me. I realize that looks a bit impolite but I can't look at hypocrisy without looking rude. I am not crazy about flights anyway, and these air-hostesses make things even worse for me.
A few hours brought me five days back. I am again here in Hyderabad. Weeks come and go unnoticed. We don't bother to ask what makes a day any different from the other. Life passes by, only in planning and preparing for the future. We see people around us living in vain hope and dying with unfulfilled dreams. But we fail to see reality in our case. I am happy I have lived a life in these 5 days. These 5 days will always glow in my memories.
Useful Tips: Do not forget to use sunscreen lotion (SPF 50 or more) if you are to go for such a trip. I got severe sunburn on my face as I forgot to do so.
It is rightly said that one who looks within finds nothing. But the one who looks outside finds it within. Similarly, he who goes out to meet people comes to know himself.
A traveler seeks experience, and experience is what he collects. The men of business run after gold without knowing what to do with it (except selling it to someone else); whereas a traveler stops and enjoys the glow without making any claim on the gold. And such is his gaze that things start shining when he turns his eyes on them.
Sometimes he suffers in his pursuit, but he doesn't grieve his suffering. Because those who court the pleasures of life don't mind her tantrums. Her tantrums only incite him more, and invite him deeper. For a traveler, even a bad experience is a positive experience. For experience can never be negative. And he evaluates his life in terms of the experience that he earns, and it is only this that makes him feel enriched and fulfilled.
*************************************
Route: Hyderabad --> Bangalore --> Hosur --> Palakkadu --> Pennagaram --> Perumbalai --> Mechcheri --> Bhavani --> Tiruppur --> Palladam --> Chinnar --> Munnar --> Thekkady --> Kottayam --> Allapuzha --> Kochi --> Hyderabad
Hyderabad to Bangalore -- by Train, and Kochi to Hyderabad -- by Flight. Rest of the way was covered by bike (Unicorn).
Quite contrary to the popular belief, a five days long bike trip to Kerala is less tiring than you are likely to imagine. In fact a single day of drudgery in an air-conditioned office is more tiring, and I am talking about physical tiredness here. How sad that most of you wouldn't believe this!
Day 1: Bangalore - Mariyoor (Munnar) --> The lush green hills and the breathtaking blue lakes of Munnar attract thousands of tourists, especially honeymoon couples, every year. Understandably, hotels are costly there. For the couples, stories eagerly wait for the nightfall; but in our case, climax yawns at doormat and falls on bed asleep. It therefore makes little sense for us to spend too much on hotels.
We had started at around 9 in morning and entered Kerala just before sunset. After crossing Chinnar wildlife sanctuary we decided to stay at Mariyoor, which is located appx. 40 kms from Munnar. In the way we befriended Maharajan, a Tamil gentleman, who made sure we got a cheap place to spend the night. When we checked in, he also made a point to drop in and tell us everything that could be of our use.
After bidding the kind man goodbye, we celebrated our Diwali with Kerala Paratha, came back to our room and switched off the light.
Day 2: Mariyoor - Nedumkandam (Thekkady) --> Staying in Thekkady, home to the Periyar wildlife sanctuary, would have been a costly affair for us. So we used the old formula again - using native wisdom and choosing a lesser known place near the main location to pass the night.
Well, Munnar happened in morning. More than the place, the ways approaching to it impressed us more. Munnar is picturesque; in fact pictures follow your sight wherever you go. But no picture could have captured what we were feeling through our skin - the warm massage of sun and the gentle caress of air. No camera could have captured the cool freshness of the valley in our lungs. Its eye wouldn't be able see the vastness in which the scene was stretched. Standing on the road, which crawled amid tea gardens like a serpent, there were moments when our ecstasy knew no bounds. Looking at the tea gardens it seemed as if someone had covered the hills by a green velvety carpet, which changed its shades with every angle and every turn. We saw the earth's shades changing with the change in sky. No photography could have captured that change, which makes a place look alive. So, leaving the gold for others to capture, we decided to enjoy the glow.
By the sunset, I could cover much less than that I had anticipated. Far ahead of Munnar, the curvy roads became bumpier and jerkier, and to make the matter further interesting, it started raining as well. Things had started to be a little difficult for me. I removed my sunglasses to improve visibility but the insects flying on to the headlight threatened to hit my eyes. I had to put my shades on even when the road was dark and the headlight was not bright enough. We were late and I was slow. Thankfully, an auto-rickshaw went past us and I followed the two little red spots for rest of our journey. The drops of water kept falling on my sunglasses washing those little red spots away. Quite surrealistic that feeling it was, and what a memorable ride! But for good reasons I will advise you not to ride or drive after sunset when you are at such a place.
Day 3: Nedumkandam - Kottayam --> A side seat in a ship, a ride in Periyar lake, few deers and elephants at the shore and that's it. I was beginning to feel like a tourist there. Ideally I would have liked to go deep into the forest, and sit on a Machaan in a moonlit night waiting to get a glance of a tiger. Thankfully ideals stay away from reality.
We had clearly understood the advantages of started early, so we decided to leave for Kottayam as soon as we got off the ship. It was a downward journey to the plains. There was nothing remarkable about this ride until we neared Kottayam. I will always remember this road for having the best hoardings I have ever seen. Being the one on the driving seat I should rather have focussed on the road only. But those ads were so tastefully shot and those women were so sensuously posed that it would've been rude to ignore them.
From Kottayam we rode to Kumarakom only to find out that the boats in backwaters don't move in night. But the boatmen still urged us to go for a "Home Stay" or hire a houseboat. We could very well imagine why someone would like to spend a night in a still houseboat. Anyways, we came back to Kottayam and stayed there.
Refreshingly, this was not yet another town full of malls and multiplexes. the kind you see one and you see them all. There is hardly any character that defines and differentiates, and so severe is the identity crisis that now towns and cities are rated and compared on the basis of their malls! But Kottayam is not a cloned copy of Gudgaon or Noida. It has an unmistakable local flavor, and it tasted good on our palate. Keralites are politically aware lot - "Are you a Communist?", they would ask when they would spot my Che Guevara T-shirt. Otherwise they are simple folks who spend half of their time fidgeting with their lungis. The women wouldn't hesitate to indicate a passing stranger that his bike's headlamp is on. They don't seem to have any idea why they should be scared of men. Well, all this is unimaginable in North - such simplicity and such civilization.
Day 4: Kottayam - Allapuzha -->
A charming good morning, soft golden sun, cool blue breeze and a road open to zoom through the heavy smell of aqua life - quite a delight of a ride this was along the famous backwaters of Kerala!
A. Backwaters - The backwaters foster a world on their banks. The green water grows coconuts and fish, and when winds blow from west, tourists would swarm to the merry of the ferrymen. Life was simple till came rich people with plenty at their disposal. The relaxed, rhythmic, romance of boating was ousted by the loud opulence of houseboats, which were owned by big businessmen of Bombay and hired by those who cared little whether they were in a house, in a boat, or in a houseboat as long as they were getting their privacy and their daily dose of vanity. Later on, some of them would expound on the interior aesthetics as well. However, this aesthetics has not done wonders to the ecology as well as the economy of the backwaters. If you seek a place free from noise and smoke of traffic, go somewhere else. And if you care to investigate, you'd find out that of the Rs 1200 that you had paid for a 6 hrs backwaters village tour, the poor man who rows the shikara gets something around Rs 60 (Rs 2000 per month)!
Those who know, know that big is not always better. Huge houseboats have no access to the narrow alleys of backwaters, where life prospers. Well, we not only got a village tour but also tried our hands in rowing. We also got a chance to talk with our boatman and other villagers. In the end he felt emotional enough to hug us. And that surprised me a little, because it was charming for us to be generous to him, but it must have been difficult, if not dangerous, for him to express his affection to those who were richer than him. It needs a heart of gold to love someone richer, and the poor man had that heart. But I could not have complimented him for this. Perhaps his peace of mind, which didn't even mind his poverty, didn't need that.
B. Beach - In night we drank some beer and lied down on the white sand to listen to the soothing music of sea. By the time I woke up the sand had soaked all the stress and left my body achingly blissful.
Day 5: Allapuzha - Kochi -->
Again a delightful ride, and this time along the coast. Though never visible, the sea always made its presence felt in air.
At Fortkochi we stopped to see the fishermen catching fish with their famous china net. A large number of visitors, especially foreigners, had gathered there and were waiting for the net to be lifted. The fishers would ask the spectators to keep back. The air was heavy with excitement and anticipation. Finally that moment came and numerous cameras rose to capture the awaited scene. And here came the anticlimax - just one fish in that gigantic net! And a few seconds later even that fell back into the water. So much for all those elaborate conspiracies. For some time there was a silent disbelief all around. What a goof-up it was! Good morning comedy show absolutely for free.
Kochi has a few good palaces and churches but we were not very keen on visiting them. In confusion I took the bike straight into the first lane that I saw. And that incidental ride took us through one of most exotic experiences I have ever had. The cultural affluence of Kerala was copiously scattered on both the sides of the lane. The exquisite works of art, delightful smell of spices, colorful handicrafts, beautiful paintings, and even huge snake boats: civilization at acme of its artistic accomplishment was there to behold. I was so overwhelmed that I didn't remember to note the name of the lane. Another goof-up of the day!
And then came a time when I had to see myself off at the airport. I was to come back to the real world. The air hostesses greeted with their fake smiles. I don't look at them while their eyes are on me. I realize that looks a bit impolite but I can't look at hypocrisy without looking rude. I am not crazy about flights anyway, and these air-hostesses make things even worse for me.
A few hours brought me five days back. I am again here in Hyderabad. Weeks come and go unnoticed. We don't bother to ask what makes a day any different from the other. Life passes by, only in planning and preparing for the future. We see people around us living in vain hope and dying with unfulfilled dreams. But we fail to see reality in our case. I am happy I have lived a life in these 5 days. These 5 days will always glow in my memories.
Useful Tips: Do not forget to use sunscreen lotion (SPF 50 or more) if you are to go for such a trip. I got severe sunburn on my face as I forgot to do so.
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Being Emotionally Simple
Playing with Metaphors is a risky game. Metaphors show as much reality as they hide; and worse, they sometimes lock your mind. If you enter the world of metaphors then you can not escape using the arguments of Reason. Apart from your God and your Will, only the key metaphor can unlock and free your mind.
I will not dwell on this. In short, metaphors are generally impressive in nature. They are meant to be impressive. So get impressed, but think twice before getting convinced by them. Because valueless imagination is being marketed with great aggression. The sellers feed on people's appetite for complexity and pseudo-intellectualism.
However, with time I have realized the benefits of being emotionally simple.
I will not dwell on this. In short, metaphors are generally impressive in nature. They are meant to be impressive. So get impressed, but think twice before getting convinced by them. Because valueless imagination is being marketed with great aggression. The sellers feed on people's appetite for complexity and pseudo-intellectualism.
However, with time I have realized the benefits of being emotionally simple.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Making Yourself Vulnerable
Hitanshu Gandhi's presentation on "Breaking The Ice" triggered a heated debate in the class of "Language and Communication" (3rd year, IIT Delhi). The girl students were particularly outraged by his suggestion, which according to them dehumanized girls - guys, go to Ansal Plaza, pick any girl and strike a chat with her. If she says 'No', hit on someone else.
His point was like this - effective communication greatly involves a skill that has to be acquired and developed. Today it may seem frivolous and flippant to you. But tomorrow you will feel for someone, seriously and sincerely, and it'd hurt you sorely if you miss her simply because you could not gather enough courage to come out of your shell to talk to her, or could not talk to her without being misunderstood. So it's vital for each one of us to get familiar with all the Don'ts of such intercourses before we face one. Go guys, break the ice, set yourself free from your self-imposed captivity, for learning communication is half about getting rid of useless inhibitions. For the rest of things, apply yourself.
Prof Srinivas backed him up simply for his heart, for his making himself vulnerable, which he maintained to be one of the touchstones of great communicators in the making.
********************
People are lonelier than we imagine they are. And if you care to look inside, you'll find out that the innermost regions of hearts are mostly desolate. Almost anyone that you see walking on road, no matter how rich or beautiful he/she may be, secretly but painfully longs for warmth and amae*. And in his/her heart, each one of us has always known this.
Then what are you waiting for? Break the ice which keeps you cold like dead meat. Let the sunshine of friendship spread its warmth through your arms. Don't be scared, and do remember that suffering is the privilege of the noble. Only the bravest of hearts are capable of making themselves vulnerable, if need be, to live their convictions.
And if you still can not, at least respect it; and if you ever happen to meet sunshine in your way, step ahead and embrace it. For you might realize later in life, that there is something sacred about sunshine.
* amae (Japanese) - a state of absolute acceptance by someone; a blissful dependence upon someone's love and benevolence; a feeling very much akin to what a child feels in presence of his/her mother.
His point was like this - effective communication greatly involves a skill that has to be acquired and developed. Today it may seem frivolous and flippant to you. But tomorrow you will feel for someone, seriously and sincerely, and it'd hurt you sorely if you miss her simply because you could not gather enough courage to come out of your shell to talk to her, or could not talk to her without being misunderstood. So it's vital for each one of us to get familiar with all the Don'ts of such intercourses before we face one. Go guys, break the ice, set yourself free from your self-imposed captivity, for learning communication is half about getting rid of useless inhibitions. For the rest of things, apply yourself.
Prof Srinivas backed him up simply for his heart, for his making himself vulnerable, which he maintained to be one of the touchstones of great communicators in the making.
********************
People are lonelier than we imagine they are. And if you care to look inside, you'll find out that the innermost regions of hearts are mostly desolate. Almost anyone that you see walking on road, no matter how rich or beautiful he/she may be, secretly but painfully longs for warmth and amae*. And in his/her heart, each one of us has always known this.
Then what are you waiting for? Break the ice which keeps you cold like dead meat. Let the sunshine of friendship spread its warmth through your arms. Don't be scared, and do remember that suffering is the privilege of the noble. Only the bravest of hearts are capable of making themselves vulnerable, if need be, to live their convictions.
And if you still can not, at least respect it; and if you ever happen to meet sunshine in your way, step ahead and embrace it. For you might realize later in life, that there is something sacred about sunshine.
* amae (Japanese) - a state of absolute acceptance by someone; a blissful dependence upon someone's love and benevolence; a feeling very much akin to what a child feels in presence of his/her mother.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Banquet Speech - John Coetzee
The other day, suddenly, out of the blue, while we were talking about something completely different, my partner Dorothy burst out as follows: "On the other hand," she said, "on the other hand, how proud your mother would have been! What a pity she isn't still alive! And your father too! How proud they would have been of you!"
"Even prouder than of my son the doctor?" I said. Even prouder than of my son the professor?"
"Even prouder."
"If my mother were still alive," I said, "she would be ninety-nine and a half. She would probably have senile dementia. She would not know what was going on around her."
But of course I missed the point. Dorothy was right. My mother would have been bursting with pride. My son the Nobel Prize winner. And for whom, anyway, do we do the things that lead to Nobel Prizes if not for our mothers?
"Mommy, Mommy, I won a prize!"
"That's wonderful, my dear. Now eat your carrots before they get cold."
Why must our mothers be ninety-nine and long in the grave before we can come running home with the prize that will make up for all the trouble we have been to them?
To Alfred Nobel, 107 years in the grave, and to the Foundation that so faithfully administers his will and that has created this magnificent evening for us, my heartfelt gratitude. To my parents, how sorry I am that you cannot be here.
Thank you.
"Even prouder than of my son the doctor?" I said. Even prouder than of my son the professor?"
"Even prouder."
"If my mother were still alive," I said, "she would be ninety-nine and a half. She would probably have senile dementia. She would not know what was going on around her."
But of course I missed the point. Dorothy was right. My mother would have been bursting with pride. My son the Nobel Prize winner. And for whom, anyway, do we do the things that lead to Nobel Prizes if not for our mothers?
"Mommy, Mommy, I won a prize!"
"That's wonderful, my dear. Now eat your carrots before they get cold."
Why must our mothers be ninety-nine and long in the grave before we can come running home with the prize that will make up for all the trouble we have been to them?
To Alfred Nobel, 107 years in the grave, and to the Foundation that so faithfully administers his will and that has created this magnificent evening for us, my heartfelt gratitude. To my parents, how sorry I am that you cannot be here.
Thank you.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
The wisdom of stupidity
Kissing on road surely looks better than pissing on road, but Indian male would rather practice the latter, or even the worse - the former done with spirit of the latter. Public display of phallus is considered more manly and less shameful than public display of affection. Similarly, he would never kiss his wife when kids are around; but he forgets all the codes of discretion when he has to shout at her. Which kind of one-way impulsiveness is this? Shouldn't this be the other way round?
What we choose for ourselves is what we permit others, and such choices and permissions speak volumes about our collective sense of expression.
Of late, I have noticed that my friends fail to read my mood when I am sad. In those gloomy moments, anything that saps my spirit or tests my patience causes irritation. Finally, and often suddenly, I would end up losing my temper. Since I can express my anger without feeling much of inhibition, my friends often suffer for something they can not be held responsible - my utter inability to express my sorrow.
Does my behavior follow any particular pattern? What are the other emotions that I feel difficult to express? And why? When I thought about it, I did found a pattern. I tend to hide emotions that make me look weak and helpless. With further inquiry, it was revealed to me that the root cause of this type of behavior was my ego and a fear of my ego getting hurt. I also discovered, to my dismay, that whenever there is a conflict between my and my ego's interests, the latter prevails at expense of the former!
Now this situation doesn't help anyone's purpose. There are too many things you want to do but your ego wouldn't let you. You want to say no to the commands of peer pressure but you can't. You want to say "Hi" to a girl you like but you can't. You want to patch up with your old friend but you can't. Submission to ego makes life unbearably suffocating sometimes, especially without alcohol.
There is a lot to be written but I will rather not (say Thank you :). I am writing too much nowadays and I feel heady. Thankfully, a trip to Kerala is coming up shortly. I think I need a break. I need to break away from this state of mind. I need some fresh air. I have not danced for a long time. Sometimes dancing does what thinking can not. Dance is an expression of joy, but such is the irony of heart, even sorrow gets purged.
What we choose for ourselves is what we permit others, and such choices and permissions speak volumes about our collective sense of expression.
Of late, I have noticed that my friends fail to read my mood when I am sad. In those gloomy moments, anything that saps my spirit or tests my patience causes irritation. Finally, and often suddenly, I would end up losing my temper. Since I can express my anger without feeling much of inhibition, my friends often suffer for something they can not be held responsible - my utter inability to express my sorrow.
Does my behavior follow any particular pattern? What are the other emotions that I feel difficult to express? And why? When I thought about it, I did found a pattern. I tend to hide emotions that make me look weak and helpless. With further inquiry, it was revealed to me that the root cause of this type of behavior was my ego and a fear of my ego getting hurt. I also discovered, to my dismay, that whenever there is a conflict between my and my ego's interests, the latter prevails at expense of the former!
Now this situation doesn't help anyone's purpose. There are too many things you want to do but your ego wouldn't let you. You want to say no to the commands of peer pressure but you can't. You want to say "Hi" to a girl you like but you can't. You want to patch up with your old friend but you can't. Submission to ego makes life unbearably suffocating sometimes, especially without alcohol.
There is a lot to be written but I will rather not (say Thank you :). I am writing too much nowadays and I feel heady. Thankfully, a trip to Kerala is coming up shortly. I think I need a break. I need to break away from this state of mind. I need some fresh air. I have not danced for a long time. Sometimes dancing does what thinking can not. Dance is an expression of joy, but such is the irony of heart, even sorrow gets purged.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Arranging marriage
ये किस मुकाम पर हयात* मुझको लेके आ गयी
ना बस ख़ुशी पे है जहाँ, ना ग़म पे इख्तियार है
ना बस ख़ुशी पे है जहाँ, ना ग़म पे इख्तियार है
The worst thing about marriage is that you need someone else. You can not do it alone.
And it must be done! Old people want to run a show. They want to host a party. They want to wear their suits and flaunt their jewelery and look good in the video recordings. So boy, park you bike there, get yourself fixed somewhere and dress up for the evening!
That's all fine. But where is the lady of the golden frame? Have you found her? Gone are good old days of yours. Arranging marriage was never easy, but it seems a real tough deal nowadays.
- We have or we imagine we have something which we call our identity. And we are very conscious and sometimes rather possessive about this identity, especially when we want to justify something or simply fight with someone. This something - identity - is the cause of some of the most serious relationship problems, sometimes from the very outset of a relationship.
- Your mantra of "Career First" has started to backfire. Our generation seems to have taken this mantra a bit too seriously. We have never understood why something as petty and as vague as 'career' can come first in someone's life. And we have no idea for how long career will be placed ahead of things that really matter to us. For if career comes first, we come second, third or somewhere farther behind. We never questioned you, but perhaps we should have. May be it's too late now. The horse has left the cart behind and is running for its own sake.
- The photographs you show don't show enough of them. And when I call them up (after realizing that talking to them would surely be less painful than otherwise), I feel that I have skipped some very important steps. Besides, we tend to be objective in such interviews, which leads us to assume such an attitude which is neither human nor conducive to the development of any genuine feeling. In short, I strongly feel that this marriage market is not a place to be in, though I might not be able to explain why. And so my head feels heavy when you give me another number.
- This duplicity of standards can not sustain itself for long. Either you marry us like your parents had been married - without all this farce of meeting and knowing each other - or you leave us be. We can be obedient, but then don't expect us to enjoy obeying. And me warn you that obedience in these matters has its own consequences.
- Loneliness is not a good habit, and could be dangerous if prolonged, unless dealt with utmost care. It keeps us in a virtual world and gives us a false sense of freedom, which we waste in self-indulging pursuits. This virtual life makes us self-absorbed and rigid, if not schizophrenic, and difficult to adjust with reality later in life. Moreover, some pleasures, if delayed for long, lose their essence with time. And they are replaced by obstinate abstinence punctuated with guilty deviations.
Not only the institution of arranged marriage but the whole idea of sexual morality and man-woman relation need to be rationalized as per the demands of contemporary lifestyle. The expectations will have to be moderated and the priorities involving compatibility will have to be revised - as I had said in my previous post, that things like caste don't hold much relevance anymore in marital life.
* Life
And it must be done! Old people want to run a show. They want to host a party. They want to wear their suits and flaunt their jewelery and look good in the video recordings. So boy, park you bike there, get yourself fixed somewhere and dress up for the evening!
That's all fine. But where is the lady of the golden frame? Have you found her? Gone are good old days of yours. Arranging marriage was never easy, but it seems a real tough deal nowadays.
- We have or we imagine we have something which we call our identity. And we are very conscious and sometimes rather possessive about this identity, especially when we want to justify something or simply fight with someone. This something - identity - is the cause of some of the most serious relationship problems, sometimes from the very outset of a relationship.
- Your mantra of "Career First" has started to backfire. Our generation seems to have taken this mantra a bit too seriously. We have never understood why something as petty and as vague as 'career' can come first in someone's life. And we have no idea for how long career will be placed ahead of things that really matter to us. For if career comes first, we come second, third or somewhere farther behind. We never questioned you, but perhaps we should have. May be it's too late now. The horse has left the cart behind and is running for its own sake.
- The photographs you show don't show enough of them. And when I call them up (after realizing that talking to them would surely be less painful than otherwise), I feel that I have skipped some very important steps. Besides, we tend to be objective in such interviews, which leads us to assume such an attitude which is neither human nor conducive to the development of any genuine feeling. In short, I strongly feel that this marriage market is not a place to be in, though I might not be able to explain why. And so my head feels heavy when you give me another number.
- This duplicity of standards can not sustain itself for long. Either you marry us like your parents had been married - without all this farce of meeting and knowing each other - or you leave us be. We can be obedient, but then don't expect us to enjoy obeying. And me warn you that obedience in these matters has its own consequences.
- Loneliness is not a good habit, and could be dangerous if prolonged, unless dealt with utmost care. It keeps us in a virtual world and gives us a false sense of freedom, which we waste in self-indulging pursuits. This virtual life makes us self-absorbed and rigid, if not schizophrenic, and difficult to adjust with reality later in life. Moreover, some pleasures, if delayed for long, lose their essence with time. And they are replaced by obstinate abstinence punctuated with guilty deviations.
Not only the institution of arranged marriage but the whole idea of sexual morality and man-woman relation need to be rationalized as per the demands of contemporary lifestyle. The expectations will have to be moderated and the priorities involving compatibility will have to be revised - as I had said in my previous post, that things like caste don't hold much relevance anymore in marital life.
* Life
Monday, October 29, 2007
The Knitting Continues...
Sensex has finally touched the magical 20K. Beta Ambani elbows out Bill Gates as the richest person in world. Jubilations! Celebrations!
Far from these cries of jubilations and celebrations, somewhere in the heart of India, about 250K people, men and women from 12 states of country, downtrodden and exploited, divested of their lands and homes by the claws of growth and development, are quietly walking their way to New Delhi. About 6 km long serpentine queues crawl slowly towards the citadels of power. They speak different languages but what unites these people is their pain and their hope, the former very much alive and the latter on verge of death. And no matter in what language these poor men and women speak, their demand is same - Justice.
- Hope every powerless realizes that (s)he is the very source of power in democracy and it is high time the powerful understands it without any ambiguity.
- Hope they realize that when the rich and powerful forget Guillotine, they become vulnerable to various maladies that unrestrained power often engenders. Evidences exist to support the fact that every democracy needs a Guillotine in its backyard to protect itself from corruption and other evils that power invariable entails.
When a strong tortures a poor, it is administration, but when the weak raises his voice against the strong, it is revolution. Violence is indeed deplorable, but condoning oppression is also a form of violence. Non-violence, though impressive to the mind of the simple, is a doctrine which is imagined by an idiot and marketed by the satisfied. This doctrine seems indifferent to the urgency that is felt by the mother of starving children.
- Hope they understand that Red is the most convincing color. When a bull sees red, he loses his sense. But when a man sees it, he comes back to his senses.
Something that Gandhi's Talisman tries to sensitize has been rendered numb by greed in most of the people who are bribed by institutions like sensex. Perhaps a Chanakya is needed to rise again and rouse them to things that are more important than 20K.
May justice be done, urgently. Thankfully we, as a whole, do not believe in the cult of Guillotine, but I vaguely wish that we should make an exception sometime.
Above all, it must be understood that nothing but the dreams of Dharavi keep Hiranandanis immortal. Whosoever puts the crown on his head invariably becomes Dhananand. In that case, not only the crown but the very longing for crown must be destroyed, otherwise Dhananand will keep on coming to life, again and again.
Far from these cries of jubilations and celebrations, somewhere in the heart of India, about 250K people, men and women from 12 states of country, downtrodden and exploited, divested of their lands and homes by the claws of growth and development, are quietly walking their way to New Delhi. About 6 km long serpentine queues crawl slowly towards the citadels of power. They speak different languages but what unites these people is their pain and their hope, the former very much alive and the latter on verge of death. And no matter in what language these poor men and women speak, their demand is same - Justice.
- Hope every powerless realizes that (s)he is the very source of power in democracy and it is high time the powerful understands it without any ambiguity.
- Hope they realize that when the rich and powerful forget Guillotine, they become vulnerable to various maladies that unrestrained power often engenders. Evidences exist to support the fact that every democracy needs a Guillotine in its backyard to protect itself from corruption and other evils that power invariable entails.
When a strong tortures a poor, it is administration, but when the weak raises his voice against the strong, it is revolution. Violence is indeed deplorable, but condoning oppression is also a form of violence. Non-violence, though impressive to the mind of the simple, is a doctrine which is imagined by an idiot and marketed by the satisfied. This doctrine seems indifferent to the urgency that is felt by the mother of starving children.
- Hope they understand that Red is the most convincing color. When a bull sees red, he loses his sense. But when a man sees it, he comes back to his senses.
Something that Gandhi's Talisman tries to sensitize has been rendered numb by greed in most of the people who are bribed by institutions like sensex. Perhaps a Chanakya is needed to rise again and rouse them to things that are more important than 20K.
May justice be done, urgently. Thankfully we, as a whole, do not believe in the cult of Guillotine, but I vaguely wish that we should make an exception sometime.
Above all, it must be understood that nothing but the dreams of Dharavi keep Hiranandanis immortal. Whosoever puts the crown on his head invariably becomes Dhananand. In that case, not only the crown but the very longing for crown must be destroyed, otherwise Dhananand will keep on coming to life, again and again.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Gandhi's Talisman
"I will give you a talisman. Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man(woman) whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him(her). Will he(she) gain anything by it? Will it restore him(her) to a control over his(her) own life and destiny? In other words, will it lead to swaraj(freedom) for the hungry and spiritually starving millions?
Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away."
- One of the last notes left behind by Gandhi in 1948, expressing his deepest social thought.
Then you will find your doubts and your self melt away."
- One of the last notes left behind by Gandhi in 1948, expressing his deepest social thought.
चाणक्य - 39
धननन्द - महा अमात्य, क्या तुम विजयी हुए?
चाणक्य - नही सम्राट, शासक की पराजय में शिक्षक की विजय नही हो सकती| कहीं कोई विष्णुगुप्त चूक गया था, इसलिए आज किसी धननन्द को पराजित होना पड़ रहा है| यह विजय शिक्षक के लिए उपलब्धि नही हो सकती|
धननन्द - यह तथाकथित विजेताओं का दर्शन बोल रहा है, या एक शिक्षक का आदर्श?
चाणक्य - सम्राट, जो आदर्श यथार्थ न हो, वह शिक्षक का दर्शन नही हो सकता|
धननन्द - तुम सच कह रहे हो विष्णुगुप्त| जो दर्शन तुम्हारा नही, वह यथार्थ या आदर्श नही हो सकता|
चाणक्य - सच कह रहे हैं सम्राट| सत्य कि परिभाषा भी हर व्यक्ति के लिए भिन्न-भिन्न होती है|
धननन्द - तुम्हारे सत्य कि परिभाषा क्या है - जो ज्यादा ज़ोर से कहे वह सत्य है या जो जितने ज्यादा लोग कहें वह सत्य है?
सच तो यह है विष्णुगुप्त कि तुम विजयी नही हुए| सच यह है कि मैं पराजित नही हुआ|
चाणक्य - मैं जानता हूँ सम्राट कि मरने से मृत्यु पर विजय नही होती| धननन्द के मरने से धननन्द पर विजय नही हो सकती| मार्ग के कंटक से मुक्ति पाने से मार्ग निष्कंटक नही हो जाता|
पर इससे विष्णुगुप्त का प्रवास थम नही जाता| यदि कोई धननन्द उग्र होगा, तो कोई विष्णुगुप्त भी रुद्ध होगा| मेरा कार्य ही जागना और जगाना है सम्राट|
धननन्द - किसे जगाओगे तुम विष्णुगुप्त? इस सोये हुए समाज को? या उसे जो विचारों का आधार लिए आसन पर आएगा, और समय के साथ स्वयं को धननन्द पायेगा? वही मुझे फिर से जन्म देंगे|
- Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi
चाणक्य - नही सम्राट, शासक की पराजय में शिक्षक की विजय नही हो सकती| कहीं कोई विष्णुगुप्त चूक गया था, इसलिए आज किसी धननन्द को पराजित होना पड़ रहा है| यह विजय शिक्षक के लिए उपलब्धि नही हो सकती|
धननन्द - यह तथाकथित विजेताओं का दर्शन बोल रहा है, या एक शिक्षक का आदर्श?
चाणक्य - सम्राट, जो आदर्श यथार्थ न हो, वह शिक्षक का दर्शन नही हो सकता|
धननन्द - तुम सच कह रहे हो विष्णुगुप्त| जो दर्शन तुम्हारा नही, वह यथार्थ या आदर्श नही हो सकता|
चाणक्य - सच कह रहे हैं सम्राट| सत्य कि परिभाषा भी हर व्यक्ति के लिए भिन्न-भिन्न होती है|
धननन्द - तुम्हारे सत्य कि परिभाषा क्या है - जो ज्यादा ज़ोर से कहे वह सत्य है या जो जितने ज्यादा लोग कहें वह सत्य है?
सच तो यह है विष्णुगुप्त कि तुम विजयी नही हुए| सच यह है कि मैं पराजित नही हुआ|
चाणक्य - मैं जानता हूँ सम्राट कि मरने से मृत्यु पर विजय नही होती| धननन्द के मरने से धननन्द पर विजय नही हो सकती| मार्ग के कंटक से मुक्ति पाने से मार्ग निष्कंटक नही हो जाता|
पर इससे विष्णुगुप्त का प्रवास थम नही जाता| यदि कोई धननन्द उग्र होगा, तो कोई विष्णुगुप्त भी रुद्ध होगा| मेरा कार्य ही जागना और जगाना है सम्राट|
धननन्द - किसे जगाओगे तुम विष्णुगुप्त? इस सोये हुए समाज को? या उसे जो विचारों का आधार लिए आसन पर आएगा, और समय के साथ स्वयं को धननन्द पायेगा? वही मुझे फिर से जन्म देंगे|
- Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Going Berserk
Nanotech Productions Ltd presents "DEEWANA KAHIN KAA"
Introducing Abhishek* (Jawan Dilon Ki Dhadkan)
Background Score and Cinematography - Sanket Shrivastava
Screenplay and Direction - Akshaya Kumar
Friday, October 26, 2007
Lunatic Nights
I had not been on talking terms with moon since a long time. It had been difficult since you don't have too many choices in sky. In lonely nights, if you refuse to look at moon, you would gaze in emptiness and the emptiness in turn gazes back to you
Till a few years back we were best of friends. I had even introduced Her to moon. In those lunatic nights, when She would look at moon, the moon would shine in Her eyes. Oh! How fair She would look with those two little moons twinkling! That's the beautiful thing about beauty - when you look at it, you too look beautiful.
Last night moon had come quite close to earth. God knows what passion burns her every night, but she looked brighter than usual, and that effected a rift between the clouds. The poor clouds fell apart here and there in sky, as if something exploded inside them, perhaps envy. Suppressing her smile, she moved proudly like a princess, wearing a golden ring around herself. When her eyes fell on me, she caught me looking up at her. She smiled and I smiled back. We knew we had patched up.
Till a few years back we were best of friends. I had even introduced Her to moon. In those lunatic nights, when She would look at moon, the moon would shine in Her eyes. Oh! How fair She would look with those two little moons twinkling! That's the beautiful thing about beauty - when you look at it, you too look beautiful.
Last night moon had come quite close to earth. God knows what passion burns her every night, but she looked brighter than usual, and that effected a rift between the clouds. The poor clouds fell apart here and there in sky, as if something exploded inside them, perhaps envy. Suppressing her smile, she moved proudly like a princess, wearing a golden ring around herself. When her eyes fell on me, she caught me looking up at her. She smiled and I smiled back. We knew we had patched up.
Life of Meat
It takes a life to make a plateful of meat. Meat consumed is life consumed, and meat wasted is life wasted. Even if meat is not wasted, life is wasted. But if meat is wasted, life is doubly wasted.
Man too is edible. He sells best of his time, best piece of his body, everyday only to prolong the torture. What a degrading bondage wrapped in consolatory poetry!
Someone slips on bed and someone is born. Someone slips on road and someone is dead. A whole drama sandwiched between two gratuitous slips! Existence: cosmic joke! Desires, hopes and plans on one hand the cold stare of futility on the other! Important, serious, and worthless. Meaning of life scattered on slippery roads!
A disposable unit of a machine which runs for selfish reasons. An insignificant means to a ridiculous end. Identical dreams in identical cubicles. And identical delusion of being different! Of being indispensable!
Suicide - absconding from prison; but prison has surplus inmates to run its mills. It doesn't remember escapes. Its gates are open. Slavery is the most popular choice.
Temporary insanity and sustaining comfort of oblivion. Hobson's choice - Accept the absurd. And back to the mill. Over.
Man too is edible. He sells best of his time, best piece of his body, everyday only to prolong the torture. What a degrading bondage wrapped in consolatory poetry!
Someone slips on bed and someone is born. Someone slips on road and someone is dead. A whole drama sandwiched between two gratuitous slips! Existence: cosmic joke! Desires, hopes and plans on one hand the cold stare of futility on the other! Important, serious, and worthless. Meaning of life scattered on slippery roads!
A disposable unit of a machine which runs for selfish reasons. An insignificant means to a ridiculous end. Identical dreams in identical cubicles. And identical delusion of being different! Of being indispensable!
Suicide - absconding from prison; but prison has surplus inmates to run its mills. It doesn't remember escapes. Its gates are open. Slavery is the most popular choice.
Temporary insanity and sustaining comfort of oblivion. Hobson's choice - Accept the absurd. And back to the mill. Over.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Some more thoughts
1. Dodge:- In my Karate sessions (good old IITD days), I was told that a good fighter doesn't waste his energy in unnecessary antics. He doesn't throw around his punches and kicks to feel great about himself. If someone comes to fight him, he doesn't even go and block his rival's blows unless he absolutely has to. But what would he do if he doesn't block the blows that fall on him?
Well, he'd rather dodge! Just let them go! Because every blow doesn't have to be blocked. Every enemy doesn't deserve to be countered. Only shallow men engage in meaningless altercations.
Even in normal life, we must not dissipate our vital energy in blocking every nonsense that we meet in our way. Most of us exhaust our energy in defying (or conforming, it's all the same if you come out tired!) things that are not relevant or significant. We should learn to ignore them, to duck the bouncers. This is not to be confused with cowardice. This is rather a war strategy, if you please, for a higher purpose.
2. Man versus Economic Agent:- I might have posted this in my economy blog. But I decided not to because the matter is not, technically speaking, economic in nature.
Thanks to Kahneman and others, the role of behavioral psychology in economics has been widely acknowledged now. But the opposite is often overlooked, perhaps because it is obvious. But it is important that we do not lose sight of the obvious.
Yesterday, during a discussion, this idea presented itself with a fresh clarity. I noticed that many people exist who would passionately condemn ventures like 'Reliance Fresh'. But the same people would buy its stocks because they are convinced that it would fetch them rich dividends. So, at the end of the day, they would support the same venture in the manner that matters the most. Judging them from their own standards - these investors act lowly.
And each one of these ubiquitous economic agents act lowly - as a consumer, a producer or as an investor. I don't feel any need to use any rhetoric to get this point across.
John might get repelled by mere sight of blood. But if he starts producing weaponries, it is very likely that he would celebrate every prospect of war. After some time, he'd perhaps start defending wars by listing the benefits of it. Similarly, a majority of people hanker after things which were never important to them till yesterday. They don't need them even today, but such is the pressure of being up-to-date that they need them more than things that they actually need - health, leisure and love. In the frenzy of indiscriminate consumption, we forget to say 'No'. And we waste our life in taking things that we take because we don't say no to them. As a result we get indipop and junkfood. 'No' denotes backbone of a person or a society. And we all know what we become when we don't say 'No', especially when we are in market.
With advertisements in TV and economic times subscribed, market has come very close to us, closer than it ever was in the history of man. We stand confused. Perhaps it is for our overall good. Most likely it is not. We must be on guards.
I would rather remain a man than becoming an economic agent.
Well, he'd rather dodge! Just let them go! Because every blow doesn't have to be blocked. Every enemy doesn't deserve to be countered. Only shallow men engage in meaningless altercations.
Even in normal life, we must not dissipate our vital energy in blocking every nonsense that we meet in our way. Most of us exhaust our energy in defying (or conforming, it's all the same if you come out tired!) things that are not relevant or significant. We should learn to ignore them, to duck the bouncers. This is not to be confused with cowardice. This is rather a war strategy, if you please, for a higher purpose.
2. Man versus Economic Agent:- I might have posted this in my economy blog. But I decided not to because the matter is not, technically speaking, economic in nature.
Thanks to Kahneman and others, the role of behavioral psychology in economics has been widely acknowledged now. But the opposite is often overlooked, perhaps because it is obvious. But it is important that we do not lose sight of the obvious.
Yesterday, during a discussion, this idea presented itself with a fresh clarity. I noticed that many people exist who would passionately condemn ventures like 'Reliance Fresh'. But the same people would buy its stocks because they are convinced that it would fetch them rich dividends. So, at the end of the day, they would support the same venture in the manner that matters the most. Judging them from their own standards - these investors act lowly.
And each one of these ubiquitous economic agents act lowly - as a consumer, a producer or as an investor. I don't feel any need to use any rhetoric to get this point across.
John might get repelled by mere sight of blood. But if he starts producing weaponries, it is very likely that he would celebrate every prospect of war. After some time, he'd perhaps start defending wars by listing the benefits of it. Similarly, a majority of people hanker after things which were never important to them till yesterday. They don't need them even today, but such is the pressure of being up-to-date that they need them more than things that they actually need - health, leisure and love. In the frenzy of indiscriminate consumption, we forget to say 'No'. And we waste our life in taking things that we take because we don't say no to them. As a result we get indipop and junkfood. 'No' denotes backbone of a person or a society. And we all know what we become when we don't say 'No', especially when we are in market.
With advertisements in TV and economic times subscribed, market has come very close to us, closer than it ever was in the history of man. We stand confused. Perhaps it is for our overall good. Most likely it is not. We must be on guards.
I would rather remain a man than becoming an economic agent.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Some Thoughts
1. Religion and Marriage: - Religion should have no say in the matters of marriage, though I do not deny the role of cultural compatibility in wedding.
Sometime back Religion was inextricably associated with Education. It is not so now. (It's another matter that now Market has taken over it. Greed has replaced Fear.) Morality, for many of us, is now based on the solid foundation of Reason and personal spirituality, and not on fear and superstition. Madarsa etc seems fossils of the bygone era, though they are still in existence. Similarly, there will be a day when people will laugh at the idea of religion and caste etc being the most important factors in matrimony.
When I say this, I want to make it very clear that I do recognize that marriage is primarily and ultimately a social institution. But that doesn't make it a religious ritual in which individuals have to be sacrificed at the altar of meaningless traditions.
Same holds true for caste. In connection with this topic, I have three points to make here.
First, culture and religion are not the same, as commonly supposed. Religious difference/similarity is not necessarily cultural difference/similarly. These two are two different things with nothing much in common.
Second, even the issue of cultural incompatibility must not be used as an excuse to curtail the freedom of adults. Modern times are all about more freedom and more responsibility for man and woman. Moreover, it is possible for two individuals from different religious and cultural backgrounds to strike a harmony at personal level, which transcends all these man-made barriers. It is for them to decide and it is for them to bear the consequences of their decisions. They have right to make a second best decision as well, as long as they don't harm others. Others must not poke their noses in their personal affairs.
Third, the real challenge is not ideological rigor-mortis or intellectual inertia, though nobody can ignore their presence around us, and the formidable frequency with which they present themselves to us. Reason has been made a mere agent of selfishness, a mere alibi to protect the status quo of the satisfied. The real challenge, which beats out the best of thinkers, is social pressure. And for financially and politically potent individuals, this pressure works at an emotional level - the mothers start crying and the fathers stop to talk. We usually succumb to it, and one more generation is sacrificed to perpetuate the traditional nonsense. How do we fight society in its ugliest restrictive form? We can not unless we understand it, and most of us can not. Who is society? How does it look like? Everyone swears by it and no one can see it or show it. But we have to see it, and also see how it works, in order to defeat it. To me, it's clear that this invisible system thrives on our collective ignorance and fear. And its only antithesis is truth and courage. Now can you see why society discourages both? :)
2. The villain inside: - Our mind is like a software that has been installed in our brain. This software has been designed (again, by society, and its powerful Agent Smiths) to control us and rule us through the maxims of the forgotten childhood memories, which primarily involves emotions like fear, guilt and shame. We see what is shown to us and we say what we hear from our surroundings. Original thinking is often a delusion. We think that we are thinking but we hardly ever do that. Doing 2 + 2 = 4 is no thinking. Excuse me for repeating The Matrix here. But repetition is necessary to establish thoughts in the unconscious. Reason alone can't achieve that. We really have to deconstuct our mental make-up in order to free ourselves from its slavery. For truth often lies beyond the mind. And ignorance is a state of mind, and so is slavery.
For instance, in movies, especially in romantic love stories, they show lovers and villains. In the end, the hero defeats the villains and wins his love. But real-life love stories hardly have happy endings. I think this is because real love stories have real villains, and most of the villains are, again, internal and invisible, and therefore difficult to defeat. The real lovers are often caught unaware of the real villains. And the villain, which is lovers' own mind, and its brain-children - doubts and jealousy, possess and strangulate their love in front of their helpless eyes.
perhaps mind can be conquered by Will, because will is not fully ruled by mind. We can say that will is the mind of Nature. Love is also a form of will, an irrevocable decision taken by Nature. A strong-willed man, a hero, laughs at his mind and its doubts and fears. "Say what you want to. Speak as much as you can. But I will not stop loving her." May be the ceremonial fire represents nothing but this will. It is not impossible, since Hinduism is so full of symbolism.
3. The Fruits of Solitude: - What a man gathers in his solitude is what he gives in his company. My friend Sanket spends his time with his guitar when he is alone, and, as a result of that union, we get to hear those lovely, soothing tunes when we are with him. On the other hand someone who doesn't enjoy his solitude is often a boring companion. He has little imagination, and little loyalty to anything but his petty pleasures; his life revolves around the superficialities of sex and sensex, and consequently he has nothing of any worth to share with others.
At the same time, loneliness is a very personal and very real problem, which sometimes we forget and sometimes we endure. But no medicine can cure it. Like disease and death, loneliness is also an existential inevitability.
One way to alleviate the agony of loneliness is an occupying interest. Finally, everything sucks in life. Intensity is required for excellence; but when boredom is concerned, the take-away word is diversity. Have as many interests as possible. Don't worry about depth. We are anyways a shallow generation. People will neither notice nor mind.
Sometime back Religion was inextricably associated with Education. It is not so now. (It's another matter that now Market has taken over it. Greed has replaced Fear.) Morality, for many of us, is now based on the solid foundation of Reason and personal spirituality, and not on fear and superstition. Madarsa etc seems fossils of the bygone era, though they are still in existence. Similarly, there will be a day when people will laugh at the idea of religion and caste etc being the most important factors in matrimony.
When I say this, I want to make it very clear that I do recognize that marriage is primarily and ultimately a social institution. But that doesn't make it a religious ritual in which individuals have to be sacrificed at the altar of meaningless traditions.
Same holds true for caste. In connection with this topic, I have three points to make here.
First, culture and religion are not the same, as commonly supposed. Religious difference/similarity is not necessarily cultural difference/similarly. These two are two different things with nothing much in common.
Second, even the issue of cultural incompatibility must not be used as an excuse to curtail the freedom of adults. Modern times are all about more freedom and more responsibility for man and woman. Moreover, it is possible for two individuals from different religious and cultural backgrounds to strike a harmony at personal level, which transcends all these man-made barriers. It is for them to decide and it is for them to bear the consequences of their decisions. They have right to make a second best decision as well, as long as they don't harm others. Others must not poke their noses in their personal affairs.
Third, the real challenge is not ideological rigor-mortis or intellectual inertia, though nobody can ignore their presence around us, and the formidable frequency with which they present themselves to us. Reason has been made a mere agent of selfishness, a mere alibi to protect the status quo of the satisfied. The real challenge, which beats out the best of thinkers, is social pressure. And for financially and politically potent individuals, this pressure works at an emotional level - the mothers start crying and the fathers stop to talk. We usually succumb to it, and one more generation is sacrificed to perpetuate the traditional nonsense. How do we fight society in its ugliest restrictive form? We can not unless we understand it, and most of us can not. Who is society? How does it look like? Everyone swears by it and no one can see it or show it. But we have to see it, and also see how it works, in order to defeat it. To me, it's clear that this invisible system thrives on our collective ignorance and fear. And its only antithesis is truth and courage. Now can you see why society discourages both? :)
2. The villain inside: - Our mind is like a software that has been installed in our brain. This software has been designed (again, by society, and its powerful Agent Smiths) to control us and rule us through the maxims of the forgotten childhood memories, which primarily involves emotions like fear, guilt and shame. We see what is shown to us and we say what we hear from our surroundings. Original thinking is often a delusion. We think that we are thinking but we hardly ever do that. Doing 2 + 2 = 4 is no thinking. Excuse me for repeating The Matrix here. But repetition is necessary to establish thoughts in the unconscious. Reason alone can't achieve that. We really have to deconstuct our mental make-up in order to free ourselves from its slavery. For truth often lies beyond the mind. And ignorance is a state of mind, and so is slavery.
For instance, in movies, especially in romantic love stories, they show lovers and villains. In the end, the hero defeats the villains and wins his love. But real-life love stories hardly have happy endings. I think this is because real love stories have real villains, and most of the villains are, again, internal and invisible, and therefore difficult to defeat. The real lovers are often caught unaware of the real villains. And the villain, which is lovers' own mind, and its brain-children - doubts and jealousy, possess and strangulate their love in front of their helpless eyes.
perhaps mind can be conquered by Will, because will is not fully ruled by mind. We can say that will is the mind of Nature. Love is also a form of will, an irrevocable decision taken by Nature. A strong-willed man, a hero, laughs at his mind and its doubts and fears. "Say what you want to. Speak as much as you can. But I will not stop loving her." May be the ceremonial fire represents nothing but this will. It is not impossible, since Hinduism is so full of symbolism.
3. The Fruits of Solitude: - What a man gathers in his solitude is what he gives in his company. My friend Sanket spends his time with his guitar when he is alone, and, as a result of that union, we get to hear those lovely, soothing tunes when we are with him. On the other hand someone who doesn't enjoy his solitude is often a boring companion. He has little imagination, and little loyalty to anything but his petty pleasures; his life revolves around the superficialities of sex and sensex, and consequently he has nothing of any worth to share with others.
At the same time, loneliness is a very personal and very real problem, which sometimes we forget and sometimes we endure. But no medicine can cure it. Like disease and death, loneliness is also an existential inevitability.
One way to alleviate the agony of loneliness is an occupying interest. Finally, everything sucks in life. Intensity is required for excellence; but when boredom is concerned, the take-away word is diversity. Have as many interests as possible. Don't worry about depth. We are anyways a shallow generation. People will neither notice nor mind.
Monday, October 15, 2007
To Kerala, On Bike
There are some pleasures in the world which are accessible only to explorers, and no one else. And that is the most charming thing about them.
This Diwali, I am going to explore Kerala. Akshaya and I will spend 5 days and 5 nights uncovering the land of gods, on bike! We will visit Munnar, Alleppey, Mahe, Kozhikode and so many place that we see on maps. But that is not what excites me the most. After a few years of wandering, I have realized that the most beautiful places are the ones who have no names. And the real travelers prefer only them. I am thrilled about those unknown, unnamed and unsold places. I am waiting to ride in forests and sleep on beaches. And I can not wait anymore!
This Diwali, I am going to explore Kerala. Akshaya and I will spend 5 days and 5 nights uncovering the land of gods, on bike! We will visit Munnar, Alleppey, Mahe, Kozhikode and so many place that we see on maps. But that is not what excites me the most. After a few years of wandering, I have realized that the most beautiful places are the ones who have no names. And the real travelers prefer only them. I am thrilled about those unknown, unnamed and unsold places. I am waiting to ride in forests and sleep on beaches. And I can not wait anymore!
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Azadi: Theirs and Ours
Preface
This is a story of a pretty girl called Mira. She lived with her old father in a beautiful village. She had two cousins, Indra and Islam, who lived in the same village, on either side of her house. And both of them had an eye on her. Mira, however, wanted to marry Azad, a charming young man who had recently come in their village. When the cousins made their proposal, she politely declined and said that she loved someone else. This refusal infuriated both, since each wanted to have her. Both used to brag around and claim that it was he whom she loved, and quarreled with each other. She had become a question of honor for them. "How dare she like someone else?", their fists clenched.
One night, mad with passion, Islam broke into her house to abduct her. Her poor old father woke up and cried for help. Indra immediately rushed in and offered his hand, on a condition that Mira would have to marry her protector. Helpless with anxiety and terror, the old man acquiesced. And what happened that night was to haunt her for years to come.
Everyone in village had guessed that marriage will settle everything. But marriages hardly ever settle anything. Marriages that are labeled successful just serve to hide and quieten things. This marriage, however, was not even successful, and so things were not hidden or quietened. Even 10 years after that fateful night, Mira was unable to forget her old love, even if her husband found her sentiments for Azad disgraceful and ridiculous. But her fondness for him was still there, at least partly, due to her husband only who never had any feelings for her, except that of an ownership. And in order to protect this ownership, he had kept her confined in a house, which was fenced by barbed wire and guarded by armed men, who felt free to do whatever they like if she tried to run away, or in alibi of the same.
Meanwhile, Islam, seething with insult and jealousy, and aided by his brother's enemies, sneaked around and threatened to gate-crash. This gave Indra quite a presentable reason to keep his wife immured, in name of her security.
The real reason, however, was dark and sinister. With time, the distrust and enmity between the two brothers had grown so much that Indra was afraid that Islam and his goons might try to intrude upon his land and property. Mira kept him well occupied, and thereby served as a buffer between the two sides and bore the brunt of Islam's aggression. What hurt her more, though, was Indra's indifference.
Meanwhile some kind-hearted women had visited the chief of village and raised their concern for poor Mira. As soon as this was made an issue, old graves were disinterred and Islam jumped in to make the most of it - to play the legal game and try his luck again. On the other hand, for every question asked, Indra had a ready made answer - Mira was legally married to him and so she was an inseparable part of his family. Most of the folks, especially Indra's kins, found this argument beyond any doubt or debate.
The case still goes on. The shrewd chief uses this case to manipulate the brothers and to meet his own ends. Mira still lives in that house with gloom and despair. But when she sleeps, she dreams of walking freely again some day, out in open, with Azad by her side.
One night, mad with passion, Islam broke into her house to abduct her. Her poor old father woke up and cried for help. Indra immediately rushed in and offered his hand, on a condition that Mira would have to marry her protector. Helpless with anxiety and terror, the old man acquiesced. And what happened that night was to haunt her for years to come.
Everyone in village had guessed that marriage will settle everything. But marriages hardly ever settle anything. Marriages that are labeled successful just serve to hide and quieten things. This marriage, however, was not even successful, and so things were not hidden or quietened. Even 10 years after that fateful night, Mira was unable to forget her old love, even if her husband found her sentiments for Azad disgraceful and ridiculous. But her fondness for him was still there, at least partly, due to her husband only who never had any feelings for her, except that of an ownership. And in order to protect this ownership, he had kept her confined in a house, which was fenced by barbed wire and guarded by armed men, who felt free to do whatever they like if she tried to run away, or in alibi of the same.
Meanwhile, Islam, seething with insult and jealousy, and aided by his brother's enemies, sneaked around and threatened to gate-crash. This gave Indra quite a presentable reason to keep his wife immured, in name of her security.
The real reason, however, was dark and sinister. With time, the distrust and enmity between the two brothers had grown so much that Indra was afraid that Islam and his goons might try to intrude upon his land and property. Mira kept him well occupied, and thereby served as a buffer between the two sides and bore the brunt of Islam's aggression. What hurt her more, though, was Indra's indifference.
Meanwhile some kind-hearted women had visited the chief of village and raised their concern for poor Mira. As soon as this was made an issue, old graves were disinterred and Islam jumped in to make the most of it - to play the legal game and try his luck again. On the other hand, for every question asked, Indra had a ready made answer - Mira was legally married to him and so she was an inseparable part of his family. Most of the folks, especially Indra's kins, found this argument beyond any doubt or debate.
The case still goes on. The shrewd chief uses this case to manipulate the brothers and to meet his own ends. Mira still lives in that house with gloom and despair. But when she sleeps, she dreams of walking freely again some day, out in open, with Azad by her side.
Freedom: Theirs and Ours
We often need some degree of impartiality to see the truth, and literature provides us that. As story readers, we are in a better position to see the human side of a situation than the characters; as in case of Mira better than her husband and her husband's kins, whose sights are blinded by passion and selfishness. The story of Mira is just a preface to this article, and just an attempt to prepare the reader to approach the presented perspective with more patience and tolerance. Ananya Vajpeyi, the writer, tries to sensitize us, the Indian readers, towards Kashmiri people and urges us to look towards their pains and their sentiments for Azadi more sympathetically, which is not easy to come by otherwise.
Though I do not subscribe to everything that has been written there, and I have strong reservations against some of the arguments, I would still admit that this article gives us a new perspective to look at the old problem. The writer unsettles our thoughts and compels us to question our long-held assumptions and beliefs. What is a nation - land or people? - or an agreement that holds a group of people, who cluster together because of some unique commonalities? Should breach of this agreement - demand to make a separate nation - be permitted? Permitted by whom? Why should someone have rights to control others' freedom? And when? There are too many questions. We'll have to think, and we have to think about our thinking. We'll have to ask ourselves - what are the principles we live by, and we have to assess whether they are consistent with contemporary social context as well as with eternal human values. We have to think to save what is human in us - for what are we left with if we lose our soul?
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Sony: safety or superstition?
Last to last sunday I was clicking with my team in the outskirts of Hyderabad. Suddenly, the lens of my cybershot got stuck and refused to move. Sajjad consoled me that it would just need a regular cleaning. Anyway I was not bothered much because I had not dropped it anywhere. And the name of sony was there to assure me. I kept it in the bag and came home after some trekking.
This sunday I gave the camera (DSC-H1) to Sony Service Center. I was told that they charge 500/- just to open it. So even to get it cleaned you shell out that much money, and some more of course! Okay! 'Not too much for the assurance that sony gives you', I rationalized and accepted their terms. They were to give me an estimate on Monday morning. They didn't. Today they did - an estimate of Rs 17,000! I didn't want to hear the details. I calmly asked them not to do anything. For me, it's over. No more Sony cybershot for me.
I am not the only one who has suffered for their incompetence and apathy. Sajjad and one of our team members, Vivek, have already had bitter experiences with Sony cybershot. And the story does not end with them. Read some reviews on web and you'll realize that Sony digi-cams are certainly not upto their reputation and their customer support is downright frustrating. They are as cold as the place they come from, and they just don't care for you. You are just one of their millions of customers, a mere point on a graph! If you harden your heart to pay their servicing charges, you will have to wait for weeks till the parts are procured from Singapore. One of my friends has even fired a lawsuit against them for poor product quality (DSC-H2) and continual harassment.
Sony deserves worse for their attitude alone. Coming to their products, their quality make things further unbearable. In digi-cams, Sony is far from being best. Old boys Nikon and Canon rule unchallenged - for they are superior in quality and they are consumer friendly as well. I wish I knew all this 2 years back.
Despite that, sony dares to go monopolistic. You can use only their memory card in their digi-cams, and only their recorders in their handycams. Their tripods are costlier than most. Even their ordinary covers cost ridiculously high! They seem to tax you for the tag that they give to you, as if you are going to feel something like the count of monte cristo with that damn tag.
I didn't expect my camera to last forever. Life has taught me how fragile things are. And it has taught me that we live in a messed-up world that follows the second law of thermodynamics, and the only thing we can control is our own response to the shit happening outside. I have lost dearer things, and now the very idea of having and not having, gaining and losing seems illusary to me. But this philosophy works at a different level. I don't allow this to be lucrative for the scoundrels. In market, we must demand the value for our money. The take-away message is - think twice before paying for sony cybershot. Sony is less safe than you think.
This sunday I gave the camera (DSC-H1) to Sony Service Center. I was told that they charge 500/- just to open it. So even to get it cleaned you shell out that much money, and some more of course! Okay! 'Not too much for the assurance that sony gives you', I rationalized and accepted their terms. They were to give me an estimate on Monday morning. They didn't. Today they did - an estimate of Rs 17,000! I didn't want to hear the details. I calmly asked them not to do anything. For me, it's over. No more Sony cybershot for me.
I am not the only one who has suffered for their incompetence and apathy. Sajjad and one of our team members, Vivek, have already had bitter experiences with Sony cybershot. And the story does not end with them. Read some reviews on web and you'll realize that Sony digi-cams are certainly not upto their reputation and their customer support is downright frustrating. They are as cold as the place they come from, and they just don't care for you. You are just one of their millions of customers, a mere point on a graph! If you harden your heart to pay their servicing charges, you will have to wait for weeks till the parts are procured from Singapore. One of my friends has even fired a lawsuit against them for poor product quality (DSC-H2) and continual harassment.
Sony deserves worse for their attitude alone. Coming to their products, their quality make things further unbearable. In digi-cams, Sony is far from being best. Old boys Nikon and Canon rule unchallenged - for they are superior in quality and they are consumer friendly as well. I wish I knew all this 2 years back.
Despite that, sony dares to go monopolistic. You can use only their memory card in their digi-cams, and only their recorders in their handycams. Their tripods are costlier than most. Even their ordinary covers cost ridiculously high! They seem to tax you for the tag that they give to you, as if you are going to feel something like the count of monte cristo with that damn tag.
I didn't expect my camera to last forever. Life has taught me how fragile things are. And it has taught me that we live in a messed-up world that follows the second law of thermodynamics, and the only thing we can control is our own response to the shit happening outside. I have lost dearer things, and now the very idea of having and not having, gaining and losing seems illusary to me. But this philosophy works at a different level. I don't allow this to be lucrative for the scoundrels. In market, we must demand the value for our money. The take-away message is - think twice before paying for sony cybershot. Sony is less safe than you think.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
the weight and the crumble
Pakistan crumbled again.
It seems to me that they carry some sort of burden on their shoulders when they play against India, especially in the crutial matches. The more crutial the match is, the heavier the burden becomes. With every defeat this burden gets heavier; and finally, laden with religious nonsense, it becomes unbearable. And they crumble under its weight.
- Obviously. Pakistan and India are old rivals and it is natural for them to feel stressed up in key contests.
- Rivalry has reduced with time. It is far less than it used to be. But weight has shown an opposite trend. It has only become heavier.
The way and the extent to which they mix up faith, honor and cricket is typically Pakistani and it embarasses decent people. Cricketers keeping long beards chanting strange mantras on mike look out of place and ridiculous. And statements like "insha-Allah we will not lose in the holy month of Ramadan" creates a bad taste in everyone's mouth. The idea of owning, mistressing, God is pathetic. If God exists, their God is our God too.
Before the T20 finals, parallels from 1992 were drawn by their side to take psychological edge. But as Dostoevsky rightly says, psychology is a double-edged sword and often it kills the one who holds it. And getting killed by your own sword makes the death more tragic for you and more amusing for the killer. Perhaps Pietersen can explain this in more detail.
But they would not understand, and keep piling things. On their bad days, a Tendulkar walks in and clobbers them to ignominy. On luckier occasions, they find their own way. Such is that burden that no Anwar or no Inzamam could carry, when it really mattered. Not even in 1992! The burden to do things, said in relaxed moments, makes itself heavy in the field. The burden to win and win with disdain doesn't work anymore, not even with so-called minnows. Aamir Sohail tried this with Venkatesh Prasad and we saw how he crumbled under the weight of his own hubris. The inevitable happened, again. Bitter memories have their own weight, and they lie heavily on Pakistani heads.
Misbah-ul-Haq had to score just a single off two deliveries. And the bowler was Sreesanth. What else can someone who calls himself a batsman (and indeed is!) can ask for! But suddenly he found his bat too heavy to be lifted. Pakistan escaped victory again in world cup. What followed the draw was a spectacle Pakistani fans will never like to remember but at the same time will never be able to forget. We had seen wild celebration of absurdity all around, from cheer-leaders to nonsense like bowl-out. But every travesty of modern cricket was overshadowed by the display of unbelievable incompetence on the part of Pakistani bowlers. More than the event, it was their response to that event which ridiculed the standard of the game. Harbhajan's hand-pumping after hitting the unguarded stumps was degrading enough; but their acclaimed bowlers' (man of the tournament included) failing to do that, not once or twice, and not by one or two, certainly topped the charts. And of course, not just defeated, they left dishonored out of the arena. Everything looked surrealistically stupid. But wait a minute. Was that incompetence? I don't believe that. Pakistan does have a quality attack. It was something worse. Perhaps weight.
Pakistan were not new and inexperienced in T20 like the Indians. They have been playing this form of game from long back (Read Rashid Latif's article on cricinfo) and they had all the skills to make it to the finals by beating those who were relatively new and inexperienced, except, of course, India. But in the final they had to face India and they started feeling that again. In the end, unsurprisingly, they were seen down on their knees, crumbled and defeated. They can consider themselves lucky for good reasons, and that luck helped them reaching pretty close to the cup. Sehwag was declared unfit and senior Pathan was not a fitting substitute for him. Chawla was already injured and Dhoni had hardly anything to choose from. Good omen and the meaning of having a good omen must have fanned their feiry minds. That fire was apparent in their attack and kudos to Umer Gul to wrap up the Indian middle order rather cheaply.
But the second half repeated the old story. Misbah, the poor guy, is not to be blamed. He just wanted to get rid of some weight by doing a Miyadad. Unfortunately his shot to glory backfired. In retrospect, doing something like that when you have to score 6 off comfortable 4 deliveries, without losing wicket, seems dull and insane. But this dullness and this insanity was not personally his, but was very much collective. In post-match ceremony, their skipper demonstrated the same dullness and insanity by thanking all the Muslims of the world for supporting his side.
It is high time Pakistan do some introspection. The fact is that they have lost in the holy month of Ramadan and more importantly, they have lost rather unfortunately. The only consolation for them is that they lost to a better, if not stronger, team that could hold its nerve in taut moments and could hit the stumps from 22 yards. Under an influence of stupidity, or something worse, Sohaib Malik might have thanked all the Muslims in the world for supporting his side, but he forgot that the man who sent him back to pavilion is called Irfan Pathan, who was also the man of the match. The very match that they had lost.
Mr Malik, grow up. Come out of your medieval mentality. Cricket is a game, and game is to be enjoyed and played with sports spirit. Winning and losing is important, but result comes after the game. And result is meaningless if it corrupts the very spirit of the game. Cricket has never had anything to do with religion. Stop humiliating yourself, your fans, and your religion by issuing irresponsible statements and instead play the game well. Entertain Pakistanis and entertain Indians. Don't embarass them. You have your supporters here in India as well, and all of them are not Muslims. May you get some peace of mind. Better luck next time.
It seems to me that they carry some sort of burden on their shoulders when they play against India, especially in the crutial matches. The more crutial the match is, the heavier the burden becomes. With every defeat this burden gets heavier; and finally, laden with religious nonsense, it becomes unbearable. And they crumble under its weight.
- Obviously. Pakistan and India are old rivals and it is natural for them to feel stressed up in key contests.
- Rivalry has reduced with time. It is far less than it used to be. But weight has shown an opposite trend. It has only become heavier.
The way and the extent to which they mix up faith, honor and cricket is typically Pakistani and it embarasses decent people. Cricketers keeping long beards chanting strange mantras on mike look out of place and ridiculous. And statements like "insha-Allah we will not lose in the holy month of Ramadan" creates a bad taste in everyone's mouth. The idea of owning, mistressing, God is pathetic. If God exists, their God is our God too.
Before the T20 finals, parallels from 1992 were drawn by their side to take psychological edge. But as Dostoevsky rightly says, psychology is a double-edged sword and often it kills the one who holds it. And getting killed by your own sword makes the death more tragic for you and more amusing for the killer. Perhaps Pietersen can explain this in more detail.
But they would not understand, and keep piling things. On their bad days, a Tendulkar walks in and clobbers them to ignominy. On luckier occasions, they find their own way. Such is that burden that no Anwar or no Inzamam could carry, when it really mattered. Not even in 1992! The burden to do things, said in relaxed moments, makes itself heavy in the field. The burden to win and win with disdain doesn't work anymore, not even with so-called minnows. Aamir Sohail tried this with Venkatesh Prasad and we saw how he crumbled under the weight of his own hubris. The inevitable happened, again. Bitter memories have their own weight, and they lie heavily on Pakistani heads.
Misbah-ul-Haq had to score just a single off two deliveries. And the bowler was Sreesanth. What else can someone who calls himself a batsman (and indeed is!) can ask for! But suddenly he found his bat too heavy to be lifted. Pakistan escaped victory again in world cup. What followed the draw was a spectacle Pakistani fans will never like to remember but at the same time will never be able to forget. We had seen wild celebration of absurdity all around, from cheer-leaders to nonsense like bowl-out. But every travesty of modern cricket was overshadowed by the display of unbelievable incompetence on the part of Pakistani bowlers. More than the event, it was their response to that event which ridiculed the standard of the game. Harbhajan's hand-pumping after hitting the unguarded stumps was degrading enough; but their acclaimed bowlers' (man of the tournament included) failing to do that, not once or twice, and not by one or two, certainly topped the charts. And of course, not just defeated, they left dishonored out of the arena. Everything looked surrealistically stupid. But wait a minute. Was that incompetence? I don't believe that. Pakistan does have a quality attack. It was something worse. Perhaps weight.
Pakistan were not new and inexperienced in T20 like the Indians. They have been playing this form of game from long back (Read Rashid Latif's article on cricinfo) and they had all the skills to make it to the finals by beating those who were relatively new and inexperienced, except, of course, India. But in the final they had to face India and they started feeling that again. In the end, unsurprisingly, they were seen down on their knees, crumbled and defeated. They can consider themselves lucky for good reasons, and that luck helped them reaching pretty close to the cup. Sehwag was declared unfit and senior Pathan was not a fitting substitute for him. Chawla was already injured and Dhoni had hardly anything to choose from. Good omen and the meaning of having a good omen must have fanned their feiry minds. That fire was apparent in their attack and kudos to Umer Gul to wrap up the Indian middle order rather cheaply.
But the second half repeated the old story. Misbah, the poor guy, is not to be blamed. He just wanted to get rid of some weight by doing a Miyadad. Unfortunately his shot to glory backfired. In retrospect, doing something like that when you have to score 6 off comfortable 4 deliveries, without losing wicket, seems dull and insane. But this dullness and this insanity was not personally his, but was very much collective. In post-match ceremony, their skipper demonstrated the same dullness and insanity by thanking all the Muslims of the world for supporting his side.
It is high time Pakistan do some introspection. The fact is that they have lost in the holy month of Ramadan and more importantly, they have lost rather unfortunately. The only consolation for them is that they lost to a better, if not stronger, team that could hold its nerve in taut moments and could hit the stumps from 22 yards. Under an influence of stupidity, or something worse, Sohaib Malik might have thanked all the Muslims in the world for supporting his side, but he forgot that the man who sent him back to pavilion is called Irfan Pathan, who was also the man of the match. The very match that they had lost.
Mr Malik, grow up. Come out of your medieval mentality. Cricket is a game, and game is to be enjoyed and played with sports spirit. Winning and losing is important, but result comes after the game. And result is meaningless if it corrupts the very spirit of the game. Cricket has never had anything to do with religion. Stop humiliating yourself, your fans, and your religion by issuing irresponsible statements and instead play the game well. Entertain Pakistanis and entertain Indians. Don't embarass them. You have your supporters here in India as well, and all of them are not Muslims. May you get some peace of mind. Better luck next time.
Friday, September 14, 2007
कट्टरता - नरेन्द्र कोहली
"नववर्ष की बहुत बहुत बधाई।"
उन्होंने चकित हो कर मुझे देखा, "कौन सा नववर्ष? नया साल तो पहली जनवरी को आरंभ होता है।"
"वह ईसा का नववर्ष होता है।"
वे भौंचक से मेरा चेहरा देखते रह गए जैसे मैंने कोई बहुत अशिष्ट बात कह दी हो। फिर बोले, "हम लोग इतने कट्टर नहीं हैं।"
मैं मानता आया हूँ कि यदि ईमानदारी से कोई काम करना हो तो उसके नियम विधान का कट्टरता से पालन करना चाहिए। ढुलमुल रह कर संसार में कोई काम ढंग से नहीं होता। यदि हम कट्टर न हुए होते और उनके समान उदार बने रहते तो न कभी मुगलों का राज्य समाप्त होता न अंग्रेज़ों का। किंतु मैं यह भी समझ रहा था कि उन्होंने अपने विषय में कुछ नहीं कहा था, जो कुछ कहा था, वह मेरे विषय में था। शब्द कुछ भी रहे हों, कहा उन्होंने यही था कि मैं कट्टरपंथी हूँ और कहीं कोष्ठकों में यह भी ध्वनित हो रहा था कि कट्टरपंथी होना अच्छी बात नहीं है।
"ईसवी संवत को ईसा का संवत कहना क्या कट्टरता है?"
"और क्या? नववर्ष नववर्ष होता है, ईसा का क्या और किसी और का क्या?" वे पूर्णत: निश्चित, निश्चिंत और आश्वस्त थे।
"विक्रम संवत को विक्रम संवत कहना, हिजरी संवत को हिजरी संवत कहना, पारसी नौरोज़ को पारसी नौरोज़ कहना कट्टरता है?"
"वह सब हम नहीं जानते। हम तो केवल इतना जानते हैं कि यह नववर्ष है। सारी दुनिया मनाती है।"
"ठीक कह रहे हैं आप।" मैंने कहा, "शायद आपको मालूम भी नहीं होगा कि यह पंचांग केवल पंचांग नहीं है, 'ईसवी पंचांग है।"
"पंचांग क्या?" वे बोले, "वह जो पंडितों के पास होता है।"
"पंचांग हम कैलेंडर को कहते हैं।" मैंने कहा, "पंडितों के पास भी होता है और साधारण जन के पास भी होता है।"
"मैं वह सब नहीं जानता।" वे बोले।
"आपके न जानने से न तथ्य बदलते हैं न सत्य।" मैं बोला, "कबूतर आँखें बंद कर ले तो बिल्ली का अस्तित्व समाप्त नहीं हो जाता।"
"क्या बुराई है ईसा के नववर्ष में?" वे कुछ आक्रामक हो उठे।
"मैंने बुराई की बात कही ही नहीं है।" मैंने कहा, "मैंने तो इतना ही कहा है कि यह नववर्ष, ईसाइयों के पंचांग के अनुसार है।"
"पर काम तो हम इसी के अनुसार करते हैं।"
"मुगलों के राज्यकाल में हमें हिजरी संवत के अनुसार काम करना पड़ता था।" मैंने कहा, "वह हमारी मजबूरी थी।
हमने कभी उसे अपना उत्सव तो नहीं बनाया। वही बात ईसवी संवत के लिए भी सत्य है। अंग्रेज़ी साम्राज्य ने उसे हम पर थोपा। आज भी किन्हीं ग़ल़त नीतियों के अनुसार काम करने के कारण ईसा का वर्ष हमारी मजबूरी हो सकती है, हमारा उत्सव तो नहीं हो सकता। किसी की दासता, उसको बधाई देने का कारण नहीं हो सकती।"
"किसी को याद भी है, अपना देसी कैलेंडर?" वे चहक कर बोले।
"जिन्हें अपनी अस्मिता से प्रेम है, उन्हें याद है।" मैंने कहा, "सरकार से कहिए भारतीय पंचांग से वेतन देना आरंभ करे, हम सबको अपने आप भारतीय पंचांग याद आ जाएगा।"
"इस देश पर हिंदू कैलेंडर थोपना चाहते हो।" उन्होंने गर्जना की, "इस देश में मुसलमान और ईसाई भी रहते हैं।"
"मैं क्या करना चाहता हूँ उसे जाने दीजिए।" मैं बोला, "आप इस देश पर ईसाई पंचांग थोपते हुए भूल गए कि इस देश में हिंदू भी रहते हैं। ईसाई कितने प्रतिशत है इस देश में? और आपने उनका कैलेंडर सारे देश पर थोपा रखा है।
और उसपर आप न केवल यह चाहते हैं कि हम उसे उत्सव के समान मनाएँ यह भी भूल जाएँ कि हमारा अपना एक पंचांग है, जो इससे कहीं पुराना है। जो हमारी ऋतुओं, पर्व त्यौहारों तथा हमारे इतिहास से जुड़ा है।"
"वह हिंदू कैलेंडर है।" वे चिल्लाए।
"यदि संसार में आपका मान्य पंचांग, एक धर्म से जुड़ा है तो दूसरा पंचांग भी धार्मिक हो सकता है।"
मैंने कहा, "उसमें क्या बुराई है? किंतु हम जिस पंचांग की बात कर रहे हैं, वह भारतीय है। राष्ट्रीय है। आप बातों को धर्म से जोड़ते हैं, हम तो राष्ट्र की दृष्टि से सोचते हैं। ईसवीं और हिजरी संवत धार्मिक है क्योंकि वे एक धर्म- एक पंथ- के प्रणेता के जीवन पर आधारित हैं। विक्रम संवत अथवा युगब्ध का किसी पंथ अथवा पंथप्रणेता से कोई संबंध नहीं हैं। वह शुद्ध कालगणना है। इसलिए वह उस अर्थ में एकदम धार्मिक नहीं है, जिस अर्थ में आप उसे धार्मिक कह कर उसकी भर्त्सना करना चाह रहे हैं।"
"मुझे धार्मिक बातों में सांप्रदायिकता की बू आती हैं।"
"तो आपको अपने ही तर्क के आधार पर ईसवीं संवत को एकदम भूल जाना चाहिए। वह तो चलता ही एक पंथ विशेष के आधार पर है।"
"दुखी कर दिया यार तुमने।" वे बोले, "तुमसे तो बात करना ही पाप है। अब विक्रमी, ईसवीं, हिजरी और जाने कितने संवत होंगे। मैं किसको मनाऊँ?"
"इतना संभ्रम अच्छा नहीं है।" मैंने कहा, "संसार में इतने पुरुष देखकर उनमें से अपने पिता को ही न पहचान सको, तो कोई तुम्हें समझदार नहीं मानेगा।"
उन्होंने चकित हो कर मुझे देखा, "कौन सा नववर्ष? नया साल तो पहली जनवरी को आरंभ होता है।"
"वह ईसा का नववर्ष होता है।"
वे भौंचक से मेरा चेहरा देखते रह गए जैसे मैंने कोई बहुत अशिष्ट बात कह दी हो। फिर बोले, "हम लोग इतने कट्टर नहीं हैं।"
मैं मानता आया हूँ कि यदि ईमानदारी से कोई काम करना हो तो उसके नियम विधान का कट्टरता से पालन करना चाहिए। ढुलमुल रह कर संसार में कोई काम ढंग से नहीं होता। यदि हम कट्टर न हुए होते और उनके समान उदार बने रहते तो न कभी मुगलों का राज्य समाप्त होता न अंग्रेज़ों का। किंतु मैं यह भी समझ रहा था कि उन्होंने अपने विषय में कुछ नहीं कहा था, जो कुछ कहा था, वह मेरे विषय में था। शब्द कुछ भी रहे हों, कहा उन्होंने यही था कि मैं कट्टरपंथी हूँ और कहीं कोष्ठकों में यह भी ध्वनित हो रहा था कि कट्टरपंथी होना अच्छी बात नहीं है।
"ईसवी संवत को ईसा का संवत कहना क्या कट्टरता है?"
"और क्या? नववर्ष नववर्ष होता है, ईसा का क्या और किसी और का क्या?" वे पूर्णत: निश्चित, निश्चिंत और आश्वस्त थे।
"विक्रम संवत को विक्रम संवत कहना, हिजरी संवत को हिजरी संवत कहना, पारसी नौरोज़ को पारसी नौरोज़ कहना कट्टरता है?"
"वह सब हम नहीं जानते। हम तो केवल इतना जानते हैं कि यह नववर्ष है। सारी दुनिया मनाती है।"
"ठीक कह रहे हैं आप।" मैंने कहा, "शायद आपको मालूम भी नहीं होगा कि यह पंचांग केवल पंचांग नहीं है, 'ईसवी पंचांग है।"
"पंचांग क्या?" वे बोले, "वह जो पंडितों के पास होता है।"
"पंचांग हम कैलेंडर को कहते हैं।" मैंने कहा, "पंडितों के पास भी होता है और साधारण जन के पास भी होता है।"
"मैं वह सब नहीं जानता।" वे बोले।
"आपके न जानने से न तथ्य बदलते हैं न सत्य।" मैं बोला, "कबूतर आँखें बंद कर ले तो बिल्ली का अस्तित्व समाप्त नहीं हो जाता।"
"क्या बुराई है ईसा के नववर्ष में?" वे कुछ आक्रामक हो उठे।
"मैंने बुराई की बात कही ही नहीं है।" मैंने कहा, "मैंने तो इतना ही कहा है कि यह नववर्ष, ईसाइयों के पंचांग के अनुसार है।"
"पर काम तो हम इसी के अनुसार करते हैं।"
"मुगलों के राज्यकाल में हमें हिजरी संवत के अनुसार काम करना पड़ता था।" मैंने कहा, "वह हमारी मजबूरी थी।
हमने कभी उसे अपना उत्सव तो नहीं बनाया। वही बात ईसवी संवत के लिए भी सत्य है। अंग्रेज़ी साम्राज्य ने उसे हम पर थोपा। आज भी किन्हीं ग़ल़त नीतियों के अनुसार काम करने के कारण ईसा का वर्ष हमारी मजबूरी हो सकती है, हमारा उत्सव तो नहीं हो सकता। किसी की दासता, उसको बधाई देने का कारण नहीं हो सकती।"
"किसी को याद भी है, अपना देसी कैलेंडर?" वे चहक कर बोले।
"जिन्हें अपनी अस्मिता से प्रेम है, उन्हें याद है।" मैंने कहा, "सरकार से कहिए भारतीय पंचांग से वेतन देना आरंभ करे, हम सबको अपने आप भारतीय पंचांग याद आ जाएगा।"
"इस देश पर हिंदू कैलेंडर थोपना चाहते हो।" उन्होंने गर्जना की, "इस देश में मुसलमान और ईसाई भी रहते हैं।"
"मैं क्या करना चाहता हूँ उसे जाने दीजिए।" मैं बोला, "आप इस देश पर ईसाई पंचांग थोपते हुए भूल गए कि इस देश में हिंदू भी रहते हैं। ईसाई कितने प्रतिशत है इस देश में? और आपने उनका कैलेंडर सारे देश पर थोपा रखा है।
और उसपर आप न केवल यह चाहते हैं कि हम उसे उत्सव के समान मनाएँ यह भी भूल जाएँ कि हमारा अपना एक पंचांग है, जो इससे कहीं पुराना है। जो हमारी ऋतुओं, पर्व त्यौहारों तथा हमारे इतिहास से जुड़ा है।"
"वह हिंदू कैलेंडर है।" वे चिल्लाए।
"यदि संसार में आपका मान्य पंचांग, एक धर्म से जुड़ा है तो दूसरा पंचांग भी धार्मिक हो सकता है।"
मैंने कहा, "उसमें क्या बुराई है? किंतु हम जिस पंचांग की बात कर रहे हैं, वह भारतीय है। राष्ट्रीय है। आप बातों को धर्म से जोड़ते हैं, हम तो राष्ट्र की दृष्टि से सोचते हैं। ईसवीं और हिजरी संवत धार्मिक है क्योंकि वे एक धर्म- एक पंथ- के प्रणेता के जीवन पर आधारित हैं। विक्रम संवत अथवा युगब्ध का किसी पंथ अथवा पंथप्रणेता से कोई संबंध नहीं हैं। वह शुद्ध कालगणना है। इसलिए वह उस अर्थ में एकदम धार्मिक नहीं है, जिस अर्थ में आप उसे धार्मिक कह कर उसकी भर्त्सना करना चाह रहे हैं।"
"मुझे धार्मिक बातों में सांप्रदायिकता की बू आती हैं।"
"तो आपको अपने ही तर्क के आधार पर ईसवीं संवत को एकदम भूल जाना चाहिए। वह तो चलता ही एक पंथ विशेष के आधार पर है।"
"दुखी कर दिया यार तुमने।" वे बोले, "तुमसे तो बात करना ही पाप है। अब विक्रमी, ईसवीं, हिजरी और जाने कितने संवत होंगे। मैं किसको मनाऊँ?"
"इतना संभ्रम अच्छा नहीं है।" मैंने कहा, "संसार में इतने पुरुष देखकर उनमें से अपने पिता को ही न पहचान सको, तो कोई तुम्हें समझदार नहीं मानेगा।"
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Freezing The Footloose
It was beginning to get on my nerves now. Helpless since I was, I was feeling badly tired. The discussion came back to the same point again.
- Why don't you try to understand? I don't want this.
- No, you do. But you don't realize that now. Now be a good boy. Take this, it will do you good.
- Look, I think I can decide what is good for me. I am not a kid.
- That's why. Don't get scared, it is not bitter. It tastes rather good.
- I know that. How many times you'll say the same thing? I know it is not bitter. It's not about that. The question is - why should I take this?
- Because everyone does so. Are they all idiots?
- I don't know about them. But I know myself. I am happy and I don't need anything.
- We know you and your needs better than you do. It was not you who asked us to vaccinate you when you were small. You needed that though. You were crying then and you are crying today too. But we know what is good for you. Now don't be difficult.
- Let me think. May be sometime later. But not now.
- You had said the same words last year too. There is a proper time for everything. Late done is not done. And who do you think will wait for you?
- I don't ask anyone to wait for me. But why can't we allow a man to decide for himself, unless he begins to harm others?
- Because this is not America. You people read few books and you think that you know life. No book will teach you experience.
- Let me earn my experience. I have only one life, let me live it.
- I, me, mine... as if nothing else matters for you. Do you have any respect left for our sentiments?
- Oh!
- Come on. Take this.
- I can't.
And so on... It is getting heavier day by day.
- Why don't you try to understand? I don't want this.
- No, you do. But you don't realize that now. Now be a good boy. Take this, it will do you good.
- Look, I think I can decide what is good for me. I am not a kid.
- That's why. Don't get scared, it is not bitter. It tastes rather good.
- I know that. How many times you'll say the same thing? I know it is not bitter. It's not about that. The question is - why should I take this?
- Because everyone does so. Are they all idiots?
- I don't know about them. But I know myself. I am happy and I don't need anything.
- We know you and your needs better than you do. It was not you who asked us to vaccinate you when you were small. You needed that though. You were crying then and you are crying today too. But we know what is good for you. Now don't be difficult.
- Let me think. May be sometime later. But not now.
- You had said the same words last year too. There is a proper time for everything. Late done is not done. And who do you think will wait for you?
- I don't ask anyone to wait for me. But why can't we allow a man to decide for himself, unless he begins to harm others?
- Because this is not America. You people read few books and you think that you know life. No book will teach you experience.
- Let me earn my experience. I have only one life, let me live it.
- I, me, mine... as if nothing else matters for you. Do you have any respect left for our sentiments?
- Oh!
- Come on. Take this.
- I can't.
And so on... It is getting heavier day by day.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Wake up, Neo...
It is sad that most of us are blind, sometimes knowingly, to our literary achievements, which lends life to our cultural identity, though many of us follow, in obsequious detail, what happens on the other side of the globe. We have produced some of the best writers of the world. At the same time we are, I am beginning to believe, the worst readers anyone can find. Why? Because we don't read at all, and those few who do, choose not to read the best writers.
And why? Perhaps because they are our writers and they write in our language. And we are still to get rid of our mental blocks, so firmly placed in our collective psyche by (post-independence) colonial rule. We have simply failed to forget that 200 years long nightmare, haven't we? Even after 60 years of independence, we can not honestly claim that we are completely free from inferiority complex, thanks to the Nehruvian policies. Result - using little or no judgement, we embrace anything that has anything to do with west. And worse - in the maddening frenzy, we disregard whatever is in our house, and we end up throwing the baby with bath water.
I have had a chance to visit foreign lands, but quite surprisingly it is India, my homeland that surprises me the most. What surprises me, among other things, is our collective apathy for our own language, our own culture, and I have painfully observed that this behaviour is most acute among the Hindi speaking people. Enough of that. After 60 years, it is hightime we stopped being possessive about that humiliation and move ahead. Here we can learn from the Chinese, who believe that they have always been a great civilization, and the bygone century was just a rough patch in their otherwise glorious history. And they work hard to match their conviction.
We, on the other hand, are running away from our own shadows. And this is not only futile, but downright pathetic. The defeat was collective, and the redemption will have to be collective. But people are in great hurry and they don't have time to understand this.
The privileged ones throw coins and get their skin white-washed in their convent schools. A good number of these idiots, if they are not pathetically ignorant or indifferent, which most of them are, assume a condescending attitude towards likes of Premchand and others, and smile like corrupt politicians do when they talk about Mahatma Gandhi. The shrewd ones mummify them by wrapping them in words - as if they are approving of something, which also existed in same world, and then they rush back to their business. Oh thank you very much. With the phallic confidence they buy in those English-medium shops, they can easily afford that audacity without hurting themselves. Anyways, I don't expect anything else from this god-forsaken breed.
For others, I am writing this post. I am not here to sell nationalism here. I am writing not only because I love Hindi Literature, but also because I find it worthy of highest respect. And that's why this post deserves to be written.
Like most of us, I had little awareness of the developments in Hindi Literature. I hardly knew any other good writer except Premchand. And I had read most of his works, novels and short stories, by the time I joined IITD. The other writer I had been exposed to was Yashpal - in relation to my mother's thesis topic. Other than them, I hardly knew anyone. Had I known more, I would have read more.
In IIT, I wasted my initial semesters asking others to suggest me something good to read and they recommended me likes of Ludlum, Sheldon etc. If you don't know about them, let me tell you - they write shit. And only pigs can consume that. Why? Because it comes from west. Anyways, I had to wait, and my reading in Hindi was kept on hold till I made friends with Debu in a chat room. He suggested me Gunahon Ka Devta by Dharmveer Bharti and "Sanskriti ke char adhyay" by Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar'. The latter is a Sahitya Akademy award winner masterpiece, and reading this was an illuminating experience for me, though I had read Nehru's "Discovery of India". If you want to see India in better perspective, do read this one. I am telling you all this because you might not be knowing someone like Debu.
In Ranchi Pustak Mela, I found "Rag Darbari" by Shrilal Shukla. I didnt know about it then, but I had huge respect for Sahitya Akademy. So I picked it up. But the book was left dumped on my shelf for years. And in autumn of 2005, when I finally started to read it, I chided myself - "why so late?" Reading this was an experience to cherish. No novel has ever tickled me like this one did. And it is not a book of jokes, but a consummate work of satire. After every fit of laughter, you feel a faint ache in your heart. By the end, the reader is left awestruck by the depth in which the author has understood the rural character of UP. And what a precision this man possesses in his expression! Without being sub-standard in quality, his language is credibly rustic, with a distinct flavor of its own. He has erected a Malgudi, with greater details, in UP - named Shivpalganj. Still, after two years when I had been there, I vividly remember Shivpalganj and its people, and the petty games they play with one another. Reading this book was somewhat like watching Sholay, in which every character breathes real air, and continues to breathe even after the movie ends. Don't miss this, and trust me you'll feel like coming to Hyderabad to thank me. Sometimes back, I saw an english translation of this book in Crossword. India surprised me again. Nowhere else in world, they translate their books in others' language. Anyways, let me assure you, the smell of Shivpalganj can not be translated.
Two months back, after I had finished Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, I picked up a couple of books, and they all bored me immensely. Why the hell Hemingway writes at all? Is he the same guy who wrote Old man and sea? Doesn't Russell try too hard to look smart? Can't he relax for a while and forget the self-imposed burden of being a philosopher? Well, the time was ripe to come back home, and I visited Sahitya Akademi website and ordered some books on Hindi Book Center. Now this is a big problem. First, we don't know what to read. And then we don't know where to get what we want. Our friends don't read them and our book shops don't keep them. But now you know something, don't you. At least this could be a good point to start.
When I have said so much, let me also mention a few books that I have read and really liked.
Anything by Premchand.
All poems by Dinkar.
All Sahitya Akademi award winners.
Gunahon Ka Devta - Dharmveer Bharti
Andhere Band Kamre - Mohan Rakesh
Pratinidhi Vyangya - Harishankar Parsai
Madhushala - Harivanshrai Bachchan
Anything by Saratchandra, and Tagore. Mrityunjaya by Shivaji Sawant.
I am yet to read Maila Aanchal by Phaneeshwar Nath 'Renu'. This book is considered to be a milestone in Hindi Literature.
I could have written this post in a better manner. But that doesn't take anything away from the matter I was writing about. The main things is - a whole new world awaits you. And you have a choice. If you listen to me, go inside.
And why? Perhaps because they are our writers and they write in our language. And we are still to get rid of our mental blocks, so firmly placed in our collective psyche by (post-independence) colonial rule. We have simply failed to forget that 200 years long nightmare, haven't we? Even after 60 years of independence, we can not honestly claim that we are completely free from inferiority complex, thanks to the Nehruvian policies. Result - using little or no judgement, we embrace anything that has anything to do with west. And worse - in the maddening frenzy, we disregard whatever is in our house, and we end up throwing the baby with bath water.
I have had a chance to visit foreign lands, but quite surprisingly it is India, my homeland that surprises me the most. What surprises me, among other things, is our collective apathy for our own language, our own culture, and I have painfully observed that this behaviour is most acute among the Hindi speaking people. Enough of that. After 60 years, it is hightime we stopped being possessive about that humiliation and move ahead. Here we can learn from the Chinese, who believe that they have always been a great civilization, and the bygone century was just a rough patch in their otherwise glorious history. And they work hard to match their conviction.
We, on the other hand, are running away from our own shadows. And this is not only futile, but downright pathetic. The defeat was collective, and the redemption will have to be collective. But people are in great hurry and they don't have time to understand this.
The privileged ones throw coins and get their skin white-washed in their convent schools. A good number of these idiots, if they are not pathetically ignorant or indifferent, which most of them are, assume a condescending attitude towards likes of Premchand and others, and smile like corrupt politicians do when they talk about Mahatma Gandhi. The shrewd ones mummify them by wrapping them in words - as if they are approving of something, which also existed in same world, and then they rush back to their business. Oh thank you very much. With the phallic confidence they buy in those English-medium shops, they can easily afford that audacity without hurting themselves. Anyways, I don't expect anything else from this god-forsaken breed.
For others, I am writing this post. I am not here to sell nationalism here. I am writing not only because I love Hindi Literature, but also because I find it worthy of highest respect. And that's why this post deserves to be written.
Like most of us, I had little awareness of the developments in Hindi Literature. I hardly knew any other good writer except Premchand. And I had read most of his works, novels and short stories, by the time I joined IITD. The other writer I had been exposed to was Yashpal - in relation to my mother's thesis topic. Other than them, I hardly knew anyone. Had I known more, I would have read more.
In IIT, I wasted my initial semesters asking others to suggest me something good to read and they recommended me likes of Ludlum, Sheldon etc. If you don't know about them, let me tell you - they write shit. And only pigs can consume that. Why? Because it comes from west. Anyways, I had to wait, and my reading in Hindi was kept on hold till I made friends with Debu in a chat room. He suggested me Gunahon Ka Devta by Dharmveer Bharti and "Sanskriti ke char adhyay" by Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar'. The latter is a Sahitya Akademy award winner masterpiece, and reading this was an illuminating experience for me, though I had read Nehru's "Discovery of India". If you want to see India in better perspective, do read this one. I am telling you all this because you might not be knowing someone like Debu.
In Ranchi Pustak Mela, I found "Rag Darbari" by Shrilal Shukla. I didnt know about it then, but I had huge respect for Sahitya Akademy. So I picked it up. But the book was left dumped on my shelf for years. And in autumn of 2005, when I finally started to read it, I chided myself - "why so late?" Reading this was an experience to cherish. No novel has ever tickled me like this one did. And it is not a book of jokes, but a consummate work of satire. After every fit of laughter, you feel a faint ache in your heart. By the end, the reader is left awestruck by the depth in which the author has understood the rural character of UP. And what a precision this man possesses in his expression! Without being sub-standard in quality, his language is credibly rustic, with a distinct flavor of its own. He has erected a Malgudi, with greater details, in UP - named Shivpalganj. Still, after two years when I had been there, I vividly remember Shivpalganj and its people, and the petty games they play with one another. Reading this book was somewhat like watching Sholay, in which every character breathes real air, and continues to breathe even after the movie ends. Don't miss this, and trust me you'll feel like coming to Hyderabad to thank me. Sometimes back, I saw an english translation of this book in Crossword. India surprised me again. Nowhere else in world, they translate their books in others' language. Anyways, let me assure you, the smell of Shivpalganj can not be translated.
Two months back, after I had finished Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, I picked up a couple of books, and they all bored me immensely. Why the hell Hemingway writes at all? Is he the same guy who wrote Old man and sea? Doesn't Russell try too hard to look smart? Can't he relax for a while and forget the self-imposed burden of being a philosopher? Well, the time was ripe to come back home, and I visited Sahitya Akademi website and ordered some books on Hindi Book Center. Now this is a big problem. First, we don't know what to read. And then we don't know where to get what we want. Our friends don't read them and our book shops don't keep them. But now you know something, don't you. At least this could be a good point to start.
When I have said so much, let me also mention a few books that I have read and really liked.
Anything by Premchand.
All poems by Dinkar.
All Sahitya Akademi award winners.
Gunahon Ka Devta - Dharmveer Bharti
Andhere Band Kamre - Mohan Rakesh
Pratinidhi Vyangya - Harishankar Parsai
Madhushala - Harivanshrai Bachchan
Anything by Saratchandra, and Tagore. Mrityunjaya by Shivaji Sawant.
I am yet to read Maila Aanchal by Phaneeshwar Nath 'Renu'. This book is considered to be a milestone in Hindi Literature.
I could have written this post in a better manner. But that doesn't take anything away from the matter I was writing about. The main things is - a whole new world awaits you. And you have a choice. If you listen to me, go inside.
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