Books which influenced me - 2. "Panipat"

"दोन मोती गलत, दस बीस अश्राफत् , रुपयोंकी गिनती नहीं"।
मला वाटत नाही मराठा साम्राज्यावर पानिपतच्या युध्दाचा impact  याहून जास्त चांगल्या प्रकारे describe आला असता. मी इतिहास तज्ज्ञ अथवा संशोधक नाही म्हणून त्यावर काही comment करण्याचे टाळून एक वाचक व इतिहासप्रेमी म्हणून विश्वास पाटील यांच्या पानिपत कादंबरीने माझ्यावर केलेल्या प्रभावाविषयी लिहिण्याचा हा एक छोटेखानी प्रयत्न.
मी शाळेत सुदधा पानिपत फक्त एका paragraph मध्ये वाचलेलं, आमचा विश्वास पानिपतात गेला आणि भाऊ हा अजिबात चांगला सेनापती नव्हता हे डोळे झाकून मान्य केलेलं असल्याने या कादंबरीविषयी माझा फारसा चांगल मत नव्हत. शुजा आणि मीर जाफर यांच्यातील शह- काटशह आणि रॉबर्ट कॅलिव्हचे डावपेच हे वाचून अरे रे किती वाईट झालं म्हणून सुस्कारे टाकले आणि कायम विचार केला इंग्रज प्लासी हरले असते तर आपण गुलाम झालो नसतो. पण इतिहासाच्या पुस्तकात कधीही अन्न पाण्याशिवाय लढलेले मराठे सांगितले गेले नाहीत ना कधी हे सांगितलं गेलं की मराठ्यांच्या पानिपताच्य पराभवाचे दूरगामी परिणाम हे प्लासीच्या लढाईपेक्षा जास्त होते.
इसवी सन1761, प्लासीच्या लढाईच्या 4 वर्षांनंतर मराठेशाही आणि अफगाण शाह "अहमदशाह अब्दाली" यांच्यातील घनघोर रणकंदन म्हणजे पानिपत. जीवाचं रान अन छातीचा कोट करून अफगाणाच्या बंदुका आणि तोफांना सामोरा गेलेल्या मराठ्यांच्या दुर्दम्य ईच्छाशक्तीच प्रतीक म्हणजे पानिपत. एका दिवसात आपला भावी पेशवा आणि सरसेनापती गमावलेल युद्ध म्हणजे पानिपत. एवढं सगळं असूनही कायम भारतीय इतिहासतील सर्वात दुर्लक्षित युद्ध म्हणजे पानिपत. अन या सगळ्याविषयी सविस्तरपणे बोलते ती विश्वास पाटलांची कादंबरी पानिपत.
मी पानिपत पहिल्यांदा वाचली ती 11-12 च्या दरम्यान पण तेंव्हा ना भाषा समजण्यासाठी लागणारी maturiy होती ना सदाशिवभाऊंचा मोठेपणा पटवून देण्याची समज. पण हल्ली म्हणजे एक दोन वर्षांपूर्वी मी पानिपत पुन्हा वाचली आणि खरंच सुन्न झालो.
अटकेपार जरीपटका लावणारे राघोबादादा नजीब खान रोहिल्याला मल्हारराव होळकरांच्या विनंतिला मान देऊन सोडून देतात आणि तिथून खऱ्या अर्थाने पानिपतच्या युध्दाचि बीजं रोवली जातात. मराठा साम्राज्याचा कोहिनुर दत्ताजी शिंदे नजीबाच्या खेळीची पहिली शिकार होतात. बचेंगे तो औरभी लडेंगे म्हणत दत्ताबा हसत हसत मृत्यूला सामोरं गेले आणि मराठी साम्राज्य हादरले. त्या नरावीरच्या मृत्युचा बदला घेण्यासाठी उभी मराठेशाही पेटून उठली. हे सगळे प्रसंग विश्वास पाटलांनी अप्रतिमरित्या अधोरेखित केले आहेत. पानिपत कादंबरीतील भाषा आणि योग्य शब्दांचा वापर हे सगळे प्रसंग जसेच्या तसे आपल्या समोर उभे करतात.
मराठी किंवा एकूणच इतिहासकारांनी सदाशिवराव भाऊंना पानिपतच्या पराभवासाठी जबाबदार ठरवून टाकले आहे पण पानिपत भाऊंच्या व्यक्तीमत्वाला पूर्णपणे वेगळ्या स्वरूपात आपल्या समोर आणते. गोविंदपंताना वारंवार खलिता धाडून मदत मागणारे भाऊ अगदीच अगतिक वाटतात पण तेच भाऊ जुन्या सरदारांचा विरोध पत्करून इब्राहिमखानच्या तोफखान्यावर निःसंकोचपणे विश्वास ठेवतात. आणि इब्राहिमखान देखील शेवटपर्यंत आपल्या धन्यासोबत लढून त्यांचा विश्वास सार्थ ठरवतात.
पानिपतचा सगळ्यात मोठ बलस्थान म्हणजे यातल्या सगळ्या महत्वाच्या व्यक्तीरेखा आहेत. भाऊ, समशेर बहादूर, नजीब, इब्राहिमखान, जनकोजी आणि दस्तरखुद्द अब्दाली यांची पात्र ज्याप्रकारे लिहिली गेली आहेत त्याला तोड नाही.
पानिपत आपल्याला त्या काळात घेऊन जाते आणि या युध्दाचे महत्व पटवून देते. भाऊंची अवहेलना कमी करवून त्यांना त्यांचे due credit देणारी पानिपत कादंबरी इतिहासप्रेमींसाठी पर्वणी आहे. भाऊ इतर इतिहासकारांनी रेखाटल्याप्रमाणे वेडे नसून एक महान योद्धा आणि कुशल सेनापती होते याची प्रचीती एक वाचक म्हणून आपल्याला येते.
विश्वासराव अकाली गेले आणि भाऊ सरसेनापती म्हणून अपयशी ठरले हा समज घेऊन जगणारा मी हे पुस्तक वाचून संपलं तेव्हा या दोन वीरांसमोर नतमस्तक झालो.

Books which influenced me -1. "Thank you Mr. Glad"

Rajhmundri Jail, an Anglo-Indian Jailer who firmly believes in thrashing inmates of his jail as he believes getting thrashed by him is a part of their punishment. This Jailer who drinks whisky at night & has his doberman Chump giving him company at home is Mr. Glad. He is very particular about his duty irrespective of the regime he's serving, first it's the British Regime & then Indian. For Mr. Glad the change is merely that of Union Jack to Tiranga.

Then enters a convict awarded capital punishment by the court for waging war against the nation aptly named "Virbhushan Patnaik". A lad in his early 30s, who keeps on reading Mayakovsky's poems despite of being awarded capital punishment & being put in Glad's jail. 
Their first meeting on Virbhushan's first day in jail establishes that Virbhushan is a surgeon by qualification turned Communist Revolutionary who has waged war against the oppressions carried out by the State & dreams of revolution & Communist India. India for everyone, where no one is oppressed on the basis of class/caste/creed/ gender etc. An idealist who wants to seek redemption by waging war against the oppressors & seeking justice for the oppressed.
With this backdrop what unfolds in next 200 odd pages is an intriguing duel between Mr. Glad & Virbhushan Patnaik or Kaidi number 742 as Mr. Glad addresses him. Mr. Glad who has lost his wife to Nazis starts developing a Humane approach towards his inmates due to his conversations with Kaidi Number 742. He tries to understand how poor commit petty offences in order to get them lodged in the police lock up during rainy season including a  pregnant woman & two young boys studying for their boards. Surprisingly he even writes a mercy petition to the President Of India for Virbhushan; which Virbhushan refuses to sign. The Novel further takes an unexpected turn when Mr. Glad's pregnant daughter Jenny comes to stay with him for her childbirth. Mr. Glad acting unlike Mr. Glad takes Jenny to meet Virbhushan. Jenny & Virbhushan develop a strong bond through literature. Jenny goes to the extent of wanting Virbhushan to be reincarnated as her son.
The last few pages & conclusion of this novel leaves the reader speechless & awestruck. Just one night prior to the execution of his capital punishment Virbhushan gets called by Mr. Glad at his residence to perform C section of his beloved Jenny as its a stormy night & no surgeon is available. Virbhushan like a true surgeon performs C section & Jenny delivers a baby. While Virbhushan is about to go to jail & ultimately to the gallows Mr. Glad takes out his service revolver, addresses him as Comrade & fires shots on his chest & tells him he hasn't shot him in the back. Understanding the reality Virbhushan screams "Thank you Mr. Glad". Kaidi No. 742 Dr. Virbhushan Patnaik gets a hero's death, Mr. Glad ends in his own prison & this brilliant novel ends.

I usually avoid writing about things such as books, movies as the Fan boy in me gets too dominant on the blogger in me but the situation we are going through politically reminded me of my inclination towards Communism & what drew me towards it. I read Thank You Mr. Glad in my standard 9 vacation when I was deciding things for my own self. It was a period when Ganesh idol drank milk & people stood in queues outside temples, period where we  witnessed riots post Babari Demolition a period when religion was really proving to be an opium for the people in our country. In those days I thought the only possible answer to all this lies in Communism & revolution which could've only be possible by means of violence & bloodshed. I read a lot about communism & various socio-political thoughts but somewhere started realising violence & bloodshed cannot be the answers & in democracy change only can be achieved through Ballot papers.
Though I moved away from thoughts Communist Revolution what I read due to Thank you Mr. Glad laid a foundation for my own thought processes and contributed largely to the individual I am today. Thus, like Dr. Virbhushan Patnaik I also scream from the bottom of my heart " Thank You, Thank You Mr. Glad". 

"Tu Kaun Hai?"

A recent drastic event has shaken me as a person and has rocked my roots have made me question what life's all about have made me evaluate and assess people around me.

I came to know about this tragic news via "social networking site" and  it was pertaining to one of my childhood friends and I continued to read the news with a lot of disbelief and shock. It was about an highly unfortunate incident wherein my friend's wife tragically ended her life. Honestly I was shocked to read it. I immediately called up our common friends and my parents to confirm if the news was really true and they all confirmed it was indeed true. I haven't felt so disheartened and shaken in a long long time. 

My mind just went back to our childhood days when we played together went to school together shared our problems (having a lot of homework, having an argument with parents etc.) I remembered attending their wedding, how happy both of them were as their's was a love marriage and they went ahead with it against all odds. I remember feeling proud of them and wishing them all the luck in this world.

Meanwhile, I moved to a different city and moved on with my career so did both of them. We again became "Friends" through "Facebook" and chatted on countless occasions about meeting sometime as we had many things to discuss. We virtually became more "connected" through "whatsapp"and shared many forwards, jokes liked each others status and also conveyed the same to the other person. Life appeared to be an absolutely pleasurable journey from their facebook posts and comments which people made, comments like you guys are a made for each other couple confirmed "virtually" everything in their life was like a fairy tale, they both were very much in love and enjoyed being with each other. This news really shattered the fairytalesque world created by their facebook posts and whatsapp DPs and status messages. 

If everything was so perfect why did this tragic event occurr? could it have been avoided? could there have been any other outcome of the "fairytalesque" life shared by my friend and his wife? The people who commented "made for each other" could they have been of any help? could they have helped both of them in sorting out their differences and come out of the worst phase of their life? Instead of sharing jokes, forwards and only happening parts of our lives through whatsapp had it been helpful if we shared a bit of the real issues we faced? Why were we scared to share our troubles? why we only tried to portray happy side of our lives? Why we thought it was convenient for us not to share our troubles and problems?

This incident made me realise the emptiness of the virtual life we all are living now days and I started observing people even more closely and realised this technology has taken over our lives. We have stopped living in the moment and have instead started living for putting things on facebook and whatsapp I see a lot of groups of youths who hang out together in malls, coffee shops but when they all are together all of them are on their cell phones showing something or the other to each other talking about things present in the virtual world. I got a chance to attend to a wonderful music festival in which renowned artists were performing and even there I noticed people clicking pictures of the event, recording the performances and sharing it on whatsapp and facebook. Very few people were sitting in their seats and enjoying the music and performances of these famous and brilliant artists while the others were keen on recording the event anyhow. The people trying to record that moment didn't realise that the moment which they were trying to capture and share was actually slipping out of their lives the way my friend and his wife didn't realise its not about sharing the happy moments through facebook or any other social networking site.

I hope and pray we realise this virtual world is disconnecting us from realities of our lives and we do something about it before its too late. Cant stop my self from reciting beautiful lines from Lucky Ali's song and question this virtual world "Kahan se tu aati hai kahan ko tu jaati hai? Sapnon ko sajati hai apnon ko ley jaati hai. Baaghon mein jab behti hai kaanon mein kuch kehti hai. Aati hai nazar nahin saanson mein par rehti hai. Hawaa, pawan hai vayu hai, purvaaee hai Jeevan hai, jaan hai, ya parchaayee hai . Lene aayi hai ya kuch mere liye laayi hai? Poochoonga mein kya tujhse kahan se tu aayi Tu kaun hai, tu kaun hai.?"

"Sukun wala Itvar"

"Itwaar/Sunday/Ravivar the most loved day of the week for every single individual, right from a nursery attending 2.5 years old to a 60 years old. Even God enjoyed his weekly off on Sunday after creating the universehe, it is that sacred day of the week. We all love it and at the end of it wish "if we can get some more time wish if we can add one extra  minute to this precious Sunday" but our wishes fetch us nothing Sunday comes and ends like any other day in our lives, yet we all love it and wait for this "Sunday".

The ways to spend Sundays have changed/evolved since my childhood days. After lengthy week in school Sundays always came as breeze of fresh air. Mom didn't ask me to get up early nor there was any hurry from maid who used to come a bit late to clean the house and back then Sunday began with some nice songs which were played in "Rangoli" and for a change day used to start with some melody. Since mom was a not a homemaker on Sunday she used to prepare breakfast for us, which me and my two sisters used to enjoy thoroughly. Though the menu wasn't as fancy as today's breakfast menu, typical Maharashtrian dishes like Sheera & Pohe used to make all three of us drool :). My father used to go out to get non-veg, in those days having non-veg once week (that too on Sunday) was almost like ritual and one through different aromas could actually smell different versions of curries and spices used to prepare them. Having a late lunch i.e. by 2.00 in the afternoon was followed with a nap as not many had the luxury to sleep in the afternoon on weekdays. 

Evenings were spent either by going to public parks or to some relatives place or some relatives or family friends used to drop in to have some "chai and gappa-tappa session".

Sunday's back then used to end on a positive note giving me enough energy for the coming week.

The clock kept ticking, and meaning of Sundays kept on evolving. During teen years my Sundays were spent in attending coaching classes where I wasn't keen on finding values of X & Y or chemical compositions of metals yet had to sit there as I had chosen Science. I was asked to get up early and attend Coaching classes and had classes right from 7.30 am to 2.30 pm. This was the time of my life when I used to hate Sunday and wished it never came. 

In subsequent years, during college days, Sundays were utilized to roam around in Pune on bike, catching up with friends having breakfast in some restaurants though the taste in the food served in Restaurants never matched Sheera, Pohe & goad churma prepared at home yet I kept on spending time and money in these Restaurants. Sundays in those days were like any other day as I almost followed the same schedule 24*7, 365 days..

Today, at this stage of my life there is no hurry to get up  and rush but still I feel like getting up early and watch Rangoli but dont I end up not watching it as I have a "remote" in my hand which prompts me to change channels constantly. After the breakfast we both call our parents who live in a different city and talk to them  about routine things for few seconds. I'm pretty sure all my relatives, family friends, my sisters their families also must be spending their Sunday's likewise hence, the question of catching up, meeting does not arise we "whatsapp" each other wish well to each other and end conversations with "take care" message.

Next thing on agenda is shopping of regular stuff which can't be done on weekdays and it also gives a chance to urban couples like us to spend some time together. (which we can do even by sitting at home and doing nothing, but cannot afford to do coz the shopping cannot be done on weekdays) So with a duel purpose of spending time and doing the shopping we plan to go to nearby Mall.

After spending almost the entire day in the mall eating out becomes a compulsion and not a matter of choice so you eat out somewhere remembering the aroma of curries which were prepared in households in childhood days. You come back home after having "fun" in mall tired and sleepy and worrying about your "Monday's schedule" and preparing a to do list in mind. Sunday now days ends making me realize the correctness of brilliant lines of a poem,

"Sukun ki baat mat kar e Ghalib, bachpan wala Itvar ab nahin aata"

 

"Papiha"

I grew up in a locality which was at the heart of the city and in an era when cooperative societies were a new thing in Pune, people were fascinated for moving into flats from "Wada". It was not only economical but a social & cultural change for people in Pune. Societies back then were not like today's residential complexes with proper defined lay-outs with demarcated areas for Residential & commercial activities. Most of the buildings had commercial establishments like shops, restaurants, garage etc.  Our Brahmadarshan was one such building located at the heart of the city, very close to a railway station. It was a cooperative society (at least for records) but still it had traces of Pune's famous "Wada Culture". We had "open door" policy amongst neighbors and sharing  food items &  gossips on a daily basis was a routine. People didn't need any invitation to walk into each others houses and things like getting a new gas connection were celebrated by all. Our Brahmadarshan had three wings and one could clearly make out three different economic and social strata represented by these wings.

Our wing had all one bed room hall kitchen flats and me and other children in this wing used to go to Marathi medium schools, our parents were government employees and we didn't have a telephone connection or a vehicle for that matter. One wing out of remaining two had two bed rooms, hall kitchen flats, kids in those flats were in English Medium/Convent schools and most of the mothers in those houses were house wives and the "Men" of the house indulged in business activities. The kids in this wing never played with us or interacted with us as the Economical divide was too disticntly visible even at such small age. 

The last wing was a different equation altogether coz it had flats of people from other cities in India especially Mumbai & were kept locked most of the times. The owners came once in a month or so. Elders in their discussions used to say "because of these people" our flats coasted us more and we kids who heard this used to hate these people :). 

Growing up in this locality with so many people around was special & I enjoyed every bit of it. 

As mentioned earlier we had commercial establishments in and around our building one of such establishments was a kitchen unit of a sweet shop in our locality. This shop was owned by one Marwadi man and all the people in our locality referred to him as "marwadi" and all the employees working there were from some village in Rajasthan & used to speak in a language which we never understood. They also used to play music continuously in order to entertain themselves, this was a point of conflict between our society and "Marwadi". None of the workers in the kitchen survived and used flee away in less than six months time from the kitchen and were replaced by new workers. 

During my 6th std summer vacation one such worker was brought in to the kitchen. This was a kid of 11-12 years, short in height he was very slim and always used to wear black chaddi & baniyan. He being the youngest in the lot got a lot of stick from other workers in the kitchen. They used to beat him up for small small things and he had a peculiar way of crying loudly. Me and my friends were very curious about this little fellow as he was working in an age when we were going to school and forget about we cooking our own food we didn't even know names of items in our kitchens. 

One day while playing cricket our ball went towards this kitchen site and one of my friend went there to get the ball  and the incident transpired as below -

My Friend - E ball de na.. 

response - blank stare...

My Friend - are sunai nahi deta kya ball de again no response ...

My Friend screaming back at us - are to ball gheun baslay det nahi (he's not giving the ball back)

We - To? Kon to? (He who he?)

My Friend - Are to radto na jorat to lahan mulga (the same little one who cries loudly)

Boy  - Muze khelne loge kya? (will you allow me to play with u)

My Friend - in shock screaming back at us -  are to vichartoy mala khelayla ghenar ka? (he's asking will we allow him to play with us)

We - Chalel tyacha naav kay aahe?

My Friend - E tera naam kya hai?

Boy - Papiha

My friend - busted laughing and told us his name, we all started laughing. 

Finally we allowed him to play with us. He told us he has two hours off everyday and he can come and play with us we also didnt mind it coz he never complained even if we didnt allow him to bat. Over a period of time he told us many things about him which were shocking for us. Marwadi had got him from his village and Papiha's parents had taken loan from him and since they were unable to pay it back & this little boy of 10-12 years was working here free of cost. As his salary was a part of repayment process and this boy was working just for twice a day sabji roti. We asked him how could he? the answer was , "are gaon mein to ye bhi nahi milta". We asked him why he cries so loudly his reply was agar mein jor se rounga nahi to aur marenge, as per his logic his further beating was prevented by his loud crying. 

Me and my friends innocently asked our parents can we take him to school with us which was curtly rejected by our parents. All these things continued for a while his seniors in kitchen stopped paying any heeds to his loud crying and his beating increased, our schools had resumed and playing time with "Papiha" reduced drastically. Once Papiha told us "mein idhar se bhag jaunga" ("I will run away from this place') we asked him will he go back to his village he replied "nahin udhar khana nahi milta aur baap marega karja nahi bharoonga to" (no i won't get food there and my father will beat me up for not repaying loan") We all laughed about it because we all thought it was impossible to sustain without parents or any support system (in his case that kitchen was his support system) and did not pay attention to whatever he said. 

One day none of us saw Papiha in kitchen nor did we hear his crying. We inquired with the kitchen staff they told us he was shifted to other shop's kitchen as one of the worker there had gone back to village and will be back next week. But he never came back we again inquired about him this time we were told "Papiha" escaped from this "Marwadi Sheth's" kitchen  and did not even go back to his own village his parents were also searching him. 

Papiha actually did what he told us, he just vanished from the kitchen without saying goodbye to us or telling us his probable whereabouts. He vanished from the scene as if he was never there...   

"Re" Union

It's been long since i wrote something and wow it feels good to be corralling your own thoughts after a long long time.

Its been around 20 years since I passed out from school and around 18 since I passed out my + 2  exam and around 15 since I finished my basic graduation and 9 long years since I passed LL. B. The reason for putting down all these numbers and years is now I think I have entered into the phase of "Reunion" and most of my "friends & acquaintances" are busy in arranging reunions and Alumni meets. Although everyone is aware about each others geographical location, social standing thanks to Facebook and whatsapp still appeared to be very keen on having a "Reunion" as soon as possible. 

This made me wonder, why everyone is so keen on meeting to those people who faded away in course of time? why everyone is so keen on reestablishing or exploring those lost relationships which did not survive the test of time? why there is this urge to know where are the people who at one point of time merely existed in our lives?

I haven't got conclusive answers to all these questions but I think this happens with every individual. I think there comes a time in our life where "our own people" remain occupied in their own routine, our life attains stagnancy, not much is happening in life apart from celebrating few occasions and repaying EMI's. This is the time when we realize that we are very much "lonely" in this phase of our life. This being alone in the presence of many people around is scary and we start to realize, "boss time is running out". This realization about the finite span which we have got and this journey towards the definite end makes us resist the passing time, we deny to believe that time is running out. We try and hold out on a smallest and thinnest thread of our own past which gives a false belief that time hasn't moved on and in order to make this false belief more believable we prefer being connected to our past. 

These Reunions are perfect examples of such futile efforts of holding on to our own past. We try and feel secure by our past glories and we boast our present achievements in front of  those who were a part of our past and we expect at least these people will give us our due recognition, attention and will make us feel there is plenty yet to come. 

In the end I was able to conclude that these Reunions are nothing but futile efforts of clinging on our own past and feel there's yet a lot come and I for sure don't want to cling on my past and live in any fallacy or denial and that's why I would be more than happy not to be a part of any such nonsense of "Re" Unions.

 

The Poet.............

Behti Kyun Hai Har Nadi?
Hoti Kya Hai Roshni?
Barf Girti Hai Kyun?
Dost Kyun Hain Roothte?
Taare Kyun Hain Tootate?
"SOCHA HAI??????????????????????????"

You must be wondering why I have quoted this amazing song here? I just wanna lay emphasis on "Dost Kyun Hain Roothte" line of this stanza...and wanna write about one such Rootha hua Dost of mine...a person who defined selfless friendship for me.....a person who stood by my side in my toughest phase...a person who comforted me when i needed it most...a person who even got a hit on his face to save me...a person who even now remains my closet friend in-spite of this Rootha hua phase between us..

I had decided to get a degree in Geology and then go in for petroleum technology as the petro dollars appeared to be a very mouth watering option as even then I was quiet crazy about "hari patti" I got my self admitted in the Geology Department of one of the best colleges in India.

My class then comprised of students who had different subject groups in first two years of graduation and there were quiet a few unknown faces in the class...amongst those unknown faces this face was quiet strongly felt by everyone including me...This tall guy with sharp features,specs and beard appeared to be very rude to all of us..and unfortunately this rude G-14 (his roll number)thats all I knew about him then, came in to my practical batch and we were asked to do topography maps and something very boring stuff together. As I was very bad in it I asked G-14 that will he help me in getting that boring thing done and his answer to my surprise was "YES".
As he was gonna help me in completing maps, this rude G-14 appeared to me like a angel.
During that practical we got to know each others names and our earlier subject groups he had a very tough group CPMG (Chem, Physics, Maths and Geo) as compared to mine CBZG (Chem, Botany, Zoo and Geo). We shared our practical books but apart from his name and earlier subject groups I didnt know anything about this rude G-14.
Then came the day of our welcome in the department...on 14th August 2000 our department staff organised a welcome party for all of us who were a part of the millennium batch.. all of us were stunned when this Rude G-14 who was closely involved in making all the arrangements got up with a collection of some of his Poems and presented them....His poetry was simple but it was very sensitive..straight from the heart and very clear....After the program I went to him and told him that he is not only good in topography but he is also a amazing poet...This was the moment which sparked our friendship......

Our friendship grew, we got quiet close to each other. As I was suffering from a "heart break" that time, his sensitive poetry appeared to me as representative of my state of mind....This was the time when he gave the funda of "Tal Sukha hai megh nahi..." He was very clear about his own perceptions and feelings. He helped me come out of my so called "heart break".....
We spent a lot of time together..discussing everything possible under this sun from politics to cricket and from career to girls,...this G-14 who appeared to be very rude prima facie infact turned out to be very sensitive, caring and understanding person and became my closest buddy...

As they say time never stops for anyone it didnt stop for us either...we finished our graduation ..by the end of which I was very sure about not pursuing a career in anything related to Geology and I moved on in search of my own world where as he remained in the same field and achieved what we dreamt of together a Master's Degree in Petroleum Technology and got into a high paying job.. I went on to meet my best half and then subsequently to Legal field which turned out to be a field which I just loved...but even then our friendship remained the same and apart from our careers nothing changed.....Nothing changed till one moment our friendship became a pray of differences of opinions and misunderstandings and we landed in the "Rutha Hua" phase.....which has continued till date...

We have moved on, I don't even know his where abouts now, but this Rude G-14 continues to remain my closest buddy on whom I can rely on even now...I'm sure this Sensitive Poet will continue to exist in my life till the time we find out the answer to "Dost kyon hai Ruthate"......

"Keeping in touch"

Today, We all are living in a world where all of us have all sorts of equipment at our dispense to keep in touch with our loved ones and we all exploit them to maximum in order to "keep in touch". Gone are the days of land line phones where if one wanted to make an STD or ISD call he had to book a trunk call and wait for hours together or had to go to the STD booth, parents did not allow their daughters to receive calls from their male friends (i know it sounds pretty weird today but even I have been a part of that generation and I have experienced it to a great extent). Cell phones/internet have made things very easy, life now days is  so well connected and everyone of us is so easily accessible. The moment you feel like talking to someone; you pick up your cell  dial the desired number and you get connected with the person you want talk with...things are so simple right? 

But.... unfortunately things are not so simple......this Sunday afternoon, when me and my wify were enjoying siesta, my cell phone started ringing (i know its very irritating) since it was a Sunday afternoon and the call was coming from an unknown number I decided not to pick it up..but it kept on ringing constantly not once, not twice but thrice I received calls from that unknown number and I decided to pick up that call and I eventually picked it up......

To my utter surprise and disbelief that call was from a person who decided to walk out of my life for the reasons best known to that person, around 12 years ago. Initially, I could not react to what that person was saying and I just kept quiet...the explanation provided for calling up was pretty childish that just felt like talking to you and called you up...I just could not believe that reason given by the person who once had said I'd never talk to you again in my entire life....but yes there I was receiving call from the same person asking my whereabouts and my wishing me luck....in these long 12 years, many times I hoped, if we come across each other even once I'd just ask for an explanation about that decision but when I received that call, I just felt like hanging up the phone and not to pick up call from that number again......

That's when I realized "keeping in touch" with someone is not as simple as it appears...its not as easy as picking up your cell and dialing the number and wishing well for each other... it is not simple like the handset we have in our hands..... it is complex like the wiring and technology that runs this machine...it is complex like the codes which receive and send millions of commands at the same time...it is complex like the permission required to raise up the towers who facilitate the "connectivity".....the whole thing is very complex.....after all its just about one thing "keeping in touch"....

Bharat from the "Lense's Eye"

Right outside Kolkata Highcourt a bunch of people trying their luck  in a  game of cards :)

He was happy to pose for me

In metros very rarely we see hand pumps

Importance of "Ängreji"

Ashutosh Gowarikar must have seen it million times before using it in  "Swades

Ek cutting :)

Awareness at its best

We all know, there are various ways through which a human being learns and various surveys, researches reveal that things which are learnt with  the help of  "Visuals" last long or are remembered the most. Here I wish to share few of those clicks which I could manage to click while I was traveling for my "papi pet".
The lesson which I learnt through these visuals is very quick and simple, we have two sides of our nation namely "India" and "Bharat".
On one hand we have all glittering "India" which is releshing various industry booms, with all kinds of brands available at its dispense, everything right from blackheads removers to luxury cars, which assumes that it can think and can actually have a revolution through facebook. This section of our population is unhappy about everything, unhappy about salaries so there are frequent job change, unhappy in relationships so there is a increased percentage of divorce and "break ups", unhappy with the entertainment they are getting so there are 200 odd channels, unhappy with the development taking place so there is a facebook revolution, unhappy with the politician so this section do not vote, unhappy with everything and yet is blessed with all pleasures and luxuries of life.
On the other hand we have "Bharat" which is comprised of majority of our population which on every day basis faces a struggle for survival but still is not assuming that it can think or it can be a part of any "revolution".
The pictures above represent situations and individuals which make u believe if you are content with your own self you can be happy whatever the situation around you may be.................
That's "Bharat" for you my friends from the "lense's eye"

Rainy day in mumbai

Varun raj is pleased with Mumbai and he is pouring his blessing on this city of dreams continuously for last 3-4 days. The city of dreams is at its beautiful best during these 4 months. Rains here are reflection of people's perception about their own lives. While it was pouring heavily i could click few moments which can be a reflection of these people' s mindset, which is evident from the way they react to the external factors, for example if we observe first two pictures a mother is accompanying her two daughters all have their independent umbrellas and are taking care of their own selves yet the mother is observant and keeping a close watch on her daughters. A typical urban centric middle class family picture which stresses that space and care both can exist with each other.






The third picture represents a mother who gets out of the auto with her kid opens the umbrella and holds it on her own head which reminded me of an old story in which a mother monkey keeps her child on her head till the water reaches her throat and after that in order to survive she gets her child down and stands on his head. Own survival is such a natural and selfish instinct :).





The fourth picture represents care free attitude of the mother son duo who are least bothered by the pouring rains. More of a rebel kind of body language which shows we are least bothered by the external factors we are the way we are.

This one represents a person who is  more worried about his materialistic belongings than himself, a typical youth who doesn't care if he gets wet but is more worried about his materialistic belongings. A classic representation of how possessive we have become about our materialistic belongings :).

The next one is a delivery person who has to complete his job come what may be it heavy rain or any other calamity the person has to complete it for his own survival.
Contrary to the above picture this shows survival can also bring out the selfless characteristic of human personality...... :)

Last but not the least a classic example of "Yaaron Dosti badi hi ajib hai....ye na ho to kya phir bolo ye jindagi hai".......... A picture highlighting the sharing of two humans in which neither is comfortable but yeah both are happy to share the shelter which is protecting them from the rain........





This heavy rain gave me chance to observe some basic principles of human nature at the same time also enlightened me about my own self by telling me "dude stop killing time by observing people around you, go get a life".

Najare Badlenge....................

Few days back I was sent for some management training, as a part of our Training and Development policy. The trainer along with other management skills, techniques and management nitigrities discussed quiet a few things with us. Team building and goal setting were noteworthy amongst the rest.  He  stressed on how goals should be realistic and should have a deadline, along with other prerequisites. He also said "Hum Honge Kamyab Ek Din" is pathetic since it is hopelessly optimistic and does not specify any deadline for achieving kaamyaabi and hence must be ridiculed to the core. Furthermore he also advised us never to follow it either in professional or personal life if we have any desire to accomplish our goals. As a manager I found it nice and I tried to apply this funda to my professional  and to an extent to  personal goals as well..

But in last two-three days I witnessed few events which again made me think that the "optimism"  is basis of human life.

Wish for a "better tomorrow" be it "hopeless" and "without any deadline still gives necessary fuel, that spark which is needed to survive against all odds and bring smile on our faces in all adversities.....

I had gone to south Mumbai for getting my yellow fever vaccination, it is an area where u get to see all the hosh posh cars in the world, people with ample of money, big corporate houses, various dignitaries, kind of life which all of us at some point of time wish to have...this incident happened right infront of my eyes when i was standing in the queue... All of us who wanted their yellow fever vaccination to be done were standing in line waiting for our turn to come and a fleet of BMW vehicles arrived their carrying some dignitories and all of  us just kept at looking those vehicles the people sitting in got down and went in a building where as their vehicles along with their chauffeurs were parked in the small lane....all of a sudden a small boy, must be of 7-8 years came out from a small dwelling on the foot path; bravely went near one of the BMW's and knocked on the  glass. He asked the chauffeur to lower the glass and he kept on standing there till the time he did that. The chauffeur finally listened to the boy and lowered the glass...this small boy asked him to turn on the AC and then put his hand in near the blower....and happily started running towards his hut shouting "maine AC ko haat lagaya meri gadi bhi ac karega".....I really felt overwhelmed and I witnessed jita jagta, may be hopless optimism of "hum honge kaamyaab ek din".

The Second incident happened when I was rushing to office after dropping my best half near a cab. I noticed one goods carrier tempo was infront of me, since it was raining heavily all the vehicles were moving at a snails speed and suddenly one half of the door of the tempo opened and a teenager boy took his hands out and followed by his head and he made himself get wet in the heavily pouring rains..... the other half of the tempo door had written "Najare Badlenge" meaning things will change......those words and the boy trying to enjoy the rains again made me feel "hum honge kaamyaab" is not worthless....  

Optimism and hope for a better tomorrow however hopeless and unrealistic it may be, is the basis of Human Life which keeps starving for more.......more and much more..........till that "ek din" comes in our grasp........

Struggle for survival to Survival of the fittest.....

WE all have learnt Darwin's evolution theory in our school curriculum....which talks about survival of the fittest..the concept begins with struggle for existence and sums up with a philosophy that only the fittest creature survive..in short only those who have the guts to fight it out have a place on this planet....many a times we bow down because of the adversities in our lives and give up and forget that if we do not fight we wont exist......

Today afternoon I saw a classic case of survival of the fittest....Me and my friend went to this place called Harsh Bakery to get our lunch....as the place was crowded we placed orders for our parcels and came out.....there I witnessed this awesome thing.... since the place is a eating joints it has many dustbin where the food lovers throw the wastes and because of the dustbins in the place there exists a symbiosis of birds, cats and dogs....this whole episode happened in fraction of moments...this dog was relishing the left overs and suddenly one small kitten and a crow arrived to join the party...the dog resisted initially with full energy and by looking at his stance the crow fled off from the place....however the small kitten who resisted the dog bravely (you can see the last picture ) and by looking at the cat's aggression the dog left the food and fled away.....

This small incidence sparked a flow of thought in my mind.... and I tried to relate this incidence to our life...we all come across adversities as they say life is not a cake walk....but the choice remains with us.....the choice to be the crow and fly away and not to fight for our own thing or to be the kitten who fought the adversity bravely to get what she wanted....... We have to make choice whether to give up and get extinct or to fight and become fit and survive...............

So lets fight out and survive.....what say friends........

  

Mumbai winters.....

For a change we are experiencing winter in Mumbai and I'm loving it....just when we are going through this cold phase I saw something very interesting today morning which i have clicked and posted here........ I feel on one hand we treat animals with so much of humanity and on the other we treat humans like animals....so is it good to be human with animals and animal with humans... **m not saying we should not treat animals in good way but what about the humans who need attention and who need some care and support to be alive....... 

Beginning of an End or End of a Beginning??

In life I have often come across a situation where everything around me has gone crushing down on ground and many a times i have seen a new thing being created out of that debris.....I often wonder what should be my reaction to such situation..shall I be happy that the debris have given rise to something new, more beautiful or shall I be sad that whatever was created with so much of efforts, hard work, creativity has gone crushing down on ground and thereby has lost its very own existence....
I seriously have not understood how to tackle this tricky situation....relationships often woven with so much of efforts reach to a point from where they can not move on so at this point shall I sit and weep because they can not move on the way I always thought about them or shall I be happy that I have got the maximum output from that relationship which I could have ever got.... shall I hold it tight with my both hands and try and hang on that burdensome relationship or shall I let it go...... let it go to get it replaced by a new positive, fresh relationship which may bring in some fresh air in my life?
Am I scared to loose the present or am I too skeptical about the future? Travelling into the unknown passage often seems exciting when done by other but when comes to me why am I so scared to take that passage....why am I scared to end whatever I have started and begin something new....what it should be a beginning of an end or end of a beginning????

The Judgment Day

As a lawyer I have faced this strange feeling many times, feeling of sinking down...feeling of being knocked out..feeling of being helpless...feeling where you have played your role and you just wait to get a result. A result which can either give you a lot of satisfaction,money and fame or it can give you a feeling of not being good enough to save some one... it is a pressure cooker situation which i never enjoyed... being a criminal lawyer judgment day used to be a full of dilemma for me..on one hand I used feel that my client should be acquitted on the other hand I used to feel am I betraying people around me? As the person in question most of the times did not come to us with clean hands...
Today,with billions of my people I'm facing this feeling again, feeling of anxiety, insecurity,helplessness...hoping and praying nothing goes wrong and the judgement delivered by the Hon'ble High Court is accepted by all the related parties and rest of the people of our Country...
The clock is ticking and pressure is high I just hope this judgment does not provide fuel in this already grown fire of communal divide... 1992 caused lots of disparity, doubts, anger and hatred which till date has not hilled up....just wish we dont get to see a repeat of 1992-93...lets pray to almighty that in his name we do not strike out his own creation.....Humans.................

Ye Delhi hai mere Yaar..............................

Recently got a chance to visit capital of the Largest Democracy in the world for ..i was pretty excited as this was my first trip to our capital...20 years back when i was a kid my dad got a chance to visit the capital city and he made an adventures trip to Delhi by refusing to follow the railway reservation chart and opted for a road journey and that too with 2 of his juniors in a truck...my journey was not as adventures as him but still I it was amazing.....

The moment I landed in the Delhi i really felt very proud and honored to be a citizen of this wonderful country...the city is really gearing up for the 2010 games and its in the mood of change...

but still has maintained its own charm and culture dont know but i found every corner of the city very welcoming....

History being my favorite subject I got attached to almost all the places I visited during this short trip..i really felt mesmerized when i stood in fornt of the India gate and had a look at the Rajpath. I walked all along the Rajpath from India gate till the Rashtrapati Bhavan and tried to imagine and feel what our  men in uniform must be feeling on 26th Jan every year.

Visit to Lal Kila made me feel very small, the monument is a sign of greatness of our architects and visions of the emperors who made impossible things possible....

But the most memorable thing for me during this stay was my visit to Rajghat. I have always admired Bapu for his honesty,"my experiments with the truth" always kept on telling me that "to be honest is the most difficult thing in this world". I found Rajghat a place where u can sit for hours together without getting disturbed by anything. I spent almost an hour there but when I left, I felt it wasn't sufficient. Its a place which offers you peace and comfort and one cant just stop himself from folding his hands in front of the remains of the Father of our nation... the Mahatma....

All in all I just loved the place, the place which decides the fate of billions of Indians, the place which has got invaded hundreds of times from its existence but still has refused to bow down and stood tall and welcomed all be it Afghans, Moughals or any other invader who arrived here to destroy this beautiful city but could never leave the city and became Indians and remained here forever..... the city whose every corner has a history to tell you, the city which offers laziz kababs and awesome chole bhatura on every nukkad, the City called Delhi the capital of our country......

Raincoat................

Finally Monsoons have reached Mumbai...the beautiful Mumbai rains have started pouring in. All the Mumbaikars finally have a sigh of relief, off late most of the Mumbaikars have faced water shortage and some major rise in the temperature and this beautiful rain have provided relief to us from all these crappy things happening around and not to forget now we have strongest of genuine reasons for reaching late to office and having some more garam garam chai with some nice gapshap....
My love for rains goes a long way back..it started when i was in school, my school being situated in the heart of the city had to accommodate all the flood affected people in and around the area and we used to get around two weeks off from school and i as a kid that was a good enough reason to love rains...My dadi always used to tell me that rain is a blessing given to all living beings as it provides relief to everyone...it provides a reason to flourish to everything..it brings along prosperity and i used to get mesmerized by her logic and i started loving rains more...as i grew up i just loved playing football and riding my bike in rain and so on....
Now when i sit in my AC office and see the beautiful Mumbai rains pouring heavily out i feel like analyzing it. As I'm doing it I'm again and again reaching to a point where I can stop myself from thinking about human relationships. Surprisingly the thought process and analysis has pointed out some very basic and interesting similarities between the beautiful rains and human relationships....
If i have to put in my Dadi's words rain is a blessing to all living beings, as it brings along a relief to already troubled beings from the killing heat and dryness so if I consider this aspect of rain i can not stop myself from saying that human relationships also provide the same kind of relief to us...A relationship, especially one very special and close to our hearts, provides the same kind of relief to us...in our stressed and dry life it provides us the relief and calms us down and gives us a hope that at the end of a dry and stressed spell of life its gonna get in the freshness and beauty which the rains bring along.....We can largely depend on this relationship to provide us relief and provide us the strength to keep on trying and inspires us to flourish....
At the same time I think about the chaos and destruction caused by this beautiful creation.... I can not stop myself from thinking about after effects of a beautiful relationship gone out of the hands of both people involved in it...rain doesn't think about the after effects of its pouring the same way in a relationship not a single individual who is whole heartedly involved in a relationship never thinks of any after effects of his whole hearted involvement and gives his everything to it.
Once a relationship goes out of hands, the individual who finds himself nothing less than a destroyed victim of a heavy rainfall and at this point of time he stops appreciating the beauty of his relationship and just remembers the destruction caused by it..the same way most of us wont remember the beauty of Mumbai rains but will remember 26th July 2005 and the destruction thereon..........
But again one must understand this is just one instance and the next time around the beautiful rains again gonna pour in with the same dedication and blessings of the creator and gonna bring along prosperity and gonna provide the strength to flourish...
As they say "Tal sukha hai..Megh nahi...firse Megh aayenge aur phir....."
So guys just love beauty of rains and forget all ill effects and destructions........

Achates.....Meaning a good friend or Companion.........

This word Achates was put up as status message by my best half on her google chat.... when i asked her whats the meaning of it she explained me that the word means a good friend or a companion.... and then we had a discussion about it as to what exactly makes a good friend or a companion... After the discussion as well I kept on thinking about the word and the discussion.... seriously what is a good friend or a companion? we expect our life partner to be our best friend or companion but is it really so? are we really 100 % transparent with our life partner? If yes then why do we need to delete chat history or call records? Why we have someone apart from our life partner who gives us that comfort which we always keep on expecting from our life partner..........i think we as individuals are very inferior by nature and need constant approval for everything we do... we need appreciation for our every act, that appreciation may be in the form of prize, rewards, simple praise or a few good words we need it and i think Achates is someone who fulfills this need.............. who pampers us, who is just there when we need someone, who can be a mirror....................

Sometimes we come across certain individuals who give us a feeling of companionship or selfless support and sharing but ultimately it turns out to be momentary and again we start looking for achates........

We have a beautiful play called "waiting for the godo" wherein all the characters in the play keep on waiting for a character called Godo, as he is expected to give them all the happiness in this world he is supposed to end their sorrows and in this hope all the characters keep on performing their day to day acts......and at the end of it everyone realize that there is no godo but that hope of meeting him one day have provided the energy and strength to fight with their sorrows, and fight for their survival till the last moment....... This way i think achates is synonymous to this godo waiting for whom we keep fighting with our day to day problems, tensions and hope this achates will have this magical wand with which he will correct everything for us...He will be there for us, he will care for us and we will share everything with him without deleting the call records and chat history............

Hope all of us find our own Achates and I hope next time when my best half puts this word as her status message it stands for me :) till then keep googling for "Achates".............................Good bye............

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

Blogger Buzz: Blogger integrates with Amazon Associates

India Vs. Bharat

Sounds shocking? It is indeed shocking..but we can not deny the presence of this existing divide between India i.e. the urban, educated (English news channel audience class) and Bharat the rural agriculture oriented class. We are going through a phase where the inflation has attained its peak, where our agricultural production has reached to lowest, farmers are committing suicides but still "we" not bothered by anything of this sort are enjoying the Indian Premier League as it has given us a tool with the help of which we get entertained and we can screw up any got dam player in the world.

As far as the scene in Maharashtra goes; the rural parts of the state are facing the heat of Load shading and are running short of electricity, the farmers are not getting enough electricity to provide water to their crops and we on the other hand are celebrating this event of life time in day-night cricketing grounds. The Farmers in my state are not getting diesel/fuel to run the water pumps and we are having a new cab service in Mumbai especially designated for the IPL matches (Helicopter Service).

The violence of the Maoists is not getting covered by our hundreds of news channels who are on 24*7 discussing lives of film stars and cricketers and now the big cricketing bash the IPL,

Everyone back in Pune observed two minutes silence remembering the innocents who were killed in German Bakery Blast on 12th of this month but we hardly bother to even mention about those who are killed by the Maoists just to put across their message.

We raise our voices in talk shows debates on the news channels, we write in the news papers and express our concerns on the fall in the agricultural production but we at the same time justify the land acquisition for the purpose of SEZs........We easily and conveniently forget that a son of farmer in this generation does not want to be farmer...he wants to be a part of fun filled careless life style which he can only get if he migrates to the urban centers ......he wants a secure life which is free from the threats of the Maoists, the private money lenders, the ever lying and non functional politicians....he wants to reach to a stage where drought situation will not hamper his day to day life....he is getting frustrated by not getting all his needs fulfilled and this is again adding to the ever increasing divide between India and Bharat..................

It's getting very frustrating man........need something............need one jadu ka chiraag and a jenny who can give us a solution...........