A sojourn in the Uttarakhand—1

“The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land.” Gilbert K. Chesterton

At times it happens when you starts for another job and ends up somewhere that is completely unrelated to your initial mission but is more invigorating, entertaining and mind boggling. The same happened with me last week when I went to Delhi to appear for MDI Gurgaon interview but ended up being in the beautiful and reposeful cities of Uttarakhand where the nature and religion blends together to give us a picturesque and soothing view of the surroundings especially at the time when the sun pull out all the stops in the plains and mercury rises up to as high as 45 degree centigrade.
After appearing for my interview at Gurgaon I contacted my friends at Noida and made a plan to go on a trip to Rishikesh, Haridwar et al. There were 6 members in our group including me. Among them, there were some whom I know very well like Hari and some whom I have met for the first time like Amit, Mukesh and Abhishek.
While we were planning our trip on Saturday, we received a setback when we got the news that Delhi -Haridwar highway has been closed for next four days seeing the heavy rush in traffic due to Kumbh mela. This prompted us to change our course of journey and we decided to take another route to Rishikesh via Dehradun. This shutting down of highway came out as a blessing in disguise as later we also included Dehradun in our tour itinerary.
So on Sunday, early in the morning at 7:30 am we started our journey. The initial part of our journey was tiresome and excruciating. The reasons are not difficult to fathom. Almost all of the roads of Delhi which we covered were having ditches big enough to be used as a swimming pool but filled with dirt and stones in place of water. Add to it the seething heat which we had to face, and my misery was compounded by the fact that I was occupying the back portion of our cab. But all of these issues were nullified by the fun and enjoyment which we were having in our group. Sooner we got used to all the jhatkas of the road and time passed with the help of radio songs and jokes on every member of the group. On our way we halted on couple of occasions to have ice-cream, cold drinks and other stuff.
When we were 15 kilometers away from Dehradun we had to face a jam which delayed our journey for about 11/2 to 2 hours. After recovering from the jam we moved forward. On our path we got the glimpses of mountains and valleys. This was enough to excite us for our final destination. We reached our camp at about 5 in the evening which was situated at a place called Shivpuri almost 20 kilometers from Rishikesh.
Camp was situated on the bank of river Ganges with sky kissing mountains on the other side. Here it seems that the nature is in resonance with the surroundings. This place appears like the location where you plan to spend your post retirement years. All the worries and concerns of the day to day life, seems to vanish overnight as the only sound which comes into your ears is the tinkling acoustics of the river. The purity of the nature leaves you spell bounded and you are tempted to admire the beauty of the mountains and the river situated along the camp. Your heart says that you want to stay here in perpetuity and you just want to sit on the bank of the river watching it flowing incessantly, playing with the rocks, making its way forward out of the several cuts and corners which it faces in the path. The life in the mountains excites you and you wonder that who is luckier. The one who lives in the concrete jungles with all the amenities of the modern life or the ones, who make their huts in the hillocks, sitting on the lap of Mother Nature, regularly relishing the pure, innocent and peaceful beauty which is left untouched.
As we were late at the camp because of the traffic jam we missed the lunch. In its place Maggie and snacks were served along with the tea. We were warned by the camp manager to not to go near the main river as it was 50 to 80 feet deep but there was a subsidiary of the main river (canal) where it was safe to go. Hence after taking care of our valuable belongings we decided to take a bath in that canal. It was also necessary so as to rid ourselves of all the dirt and tiredness which we have acquired on the journey. We spend next one to two hour in that canal. All our pain, fatigue and tiredness disappeared in few minutes and we felt light, reinvigorated and refreshed.
After taking the bath we returned to our camp. All the fatigue and weariness disappeared and we felt very light both mentally and physically. Soon the servant informed us about the dinner. Meals were fine but vegetarian dishes were not up to the standard. This is an issue which always comes across me. Since I am a pure vegetarian at times it happens when my friends enjoy the meals and I have to content myself with ordinary stuff. Well cest la vie.
After the dinner the session of drinking and dancing started. Here again I was at loss since I am a teetotaler. While my friends took a sip of rum/brandy (whatever they call it) I had my share of coca-cola. A bon fire was lighted and there we sat around, away from all the worries and tension of the life. The only sound which came to our ears was the tingling sound of the river. The only light was the light from the lanterns and the bonfire. The cool breeze filled our mind and body with fragrance and enjoyment. Sometime you wish that time should come to a standstill and you remain at that place, in the same surroundings forever, this was the same situation. After almost 7 hours of journey that too in the day time, this was the most apt way to end the day. All our efforts to reach this place fructified and we got the right deal for our money and sweats.
To spend the night, the arrangement was done in the tents. Each tent had provision for 2 people to sleep so we were given 3 tents.
So it was the end of a day which we partly spend in our cab and partly in the lap of Mother Nature. We slept in our tents expecting to have a similar enjoyment tomorrow. But little did we know that this was just the trailer of the main movie. The real thrill and fun was waiting for us tomorrow.

(To be continued……………)

why "civil liability for nuclear damage bill" will be a disater

When UPA government headed by Dr.Manmohan Singh signed agreement 123 with United States Of America we all welcomed the move. It was seen as a path breaking step in the Indo-American relation and signalled the acceptance of India in the developed world.
But after 2 years of the deal when the bill for "civil liability for nuclear damage" was introduced in the parliament it did not went well either with opposition or with general public.
lets see why the bill is not going well with the public:

1.)In case of any nuclear disaster , the private corporation will pay only up to Rs.500 crore. If the compensation is more than this then liability goes to government to pay the compensation.

2.)Maximum liability of the operator and the government combined is Rs. 2087 crore ($458 million) which is 23 time lower than what is provided under US law - price anderson act

3.) Passing liability to the government menas passing it to the taxpayer. So in the end it will be us who will be paying for our own compensation.

4.)In case of any disaster all the cases will be filed against Indian state and not against the corporation.

5.)the irony is that the victims cannot sue the corporation either in india or in their country.

6.)All the cases will be dealt in a "nuclear damage claim commision", all the decesions will be final and cannot be challenged in any court.

7.)Victims can only claim compensation for 10 years upto the accident but we all know that nuclear radioactivity has long term effects.

8.)Corporation will generate the high price electricity , will sell it to NPCIL (nuclear power corporation of India limited) and it will be the role of the government to subsidize it.


so if god forbid a nuclear accident like Chernobyl happens in India than it will be us who will suffer in the end.



lets pass this awareness to as many people as possible.

SANIA-MANIA

Last week the only big news apart from the right to education bill was Sania- Shoaib marriage. As I was looking for a pertinent topic to reflect my views upon I decided to take this high profile marriage as my centre of thought.
There are several questions which come in our mind when we think about this marriage. The questions relate to patriotism of Sania to the obsession of our media to the celebrities. Let’s address these issues one by one.
1. Is it really a high profile marriage
Off course it is.
Sania is the visible face of Indian tennis. She is the only female tennis player we have at the international level. Her photogenic face and high profile lifestyle contributes to her glamour quotient. Apart from all these reasons publicity seeking Muslim clerics, who criticizes her for her short dresses and various other reasons ensures that she remain in news every fortnight. Some months ago her engagement with childhood friend Sohrab Mirza and then its calling off also made news. So in all measures, yes it is a high profile marriage from bridal side.

Same things can be said about Shoaib Malik, who we remember more for his idiotic comment in 2007 T 20 world cup final when he said that he wanted to win for Muslims all over the world, just forgetting the fact that a Muslim from India (Irfan Pathan –man of the match in the final) ensures that Pakistan did not win the world cup. He is a useful all-rounder who has batted on many positions and contributes with his bowling also. Even if we keep away all his batting and bowling records the only fact that he is a cricketer, especially in the region where cricket is religion and some cricketers are also called god ensures that his marriage will be high profile.

And why should we talk only about the individuals? The relationship we enjoy (or suffer) with Pakistan is in itself so bombastic in nature that when the incidents of individual crossing the borders by mistake make headlines then this is the case of a cricketer coming on visa and marrying the most visible face of Indian tennis.

So this is a high profile marriage not only from the point of view of personalities but also from the field they represents and most important the country they belongs to.

2. Is media interfering in their personal life by making it a front page story?
No,
It is the role of the media to inform the public about the life of the celebrities. All these celebrities relish the public glare when the journalist reports about their day to day activities. They comment on their twitter account on the mundane activities and expect the general public to know about their pet and their favorite dish. Now if this glare is risking their peace of mind then they should have thought about it before.
If we talk especially about this marriage than ironically it has all the elements which are required in a spicy script to make it a blockbuster. A Pakistani boy engages with an Indian girl, than comes another Indian girl who claims that she has married the boy beforehand. There are claims and counterclaims from both the sides. In between there is a news of some intimate relationship between the boy and her supposedly ex wife. Is it a real life version of “LOVE, SEX AND DHOKA”?
I can bet RGV and Mahesh Bhatt are keeping a close eye on the developments.

How can media ignore something which is so sensational, spicy, news making and dramatic?

3. Is Sania taking the right decision?
Who are we to decide this?
Will media and public will decide that which B School I should join or should I take a drop or not? It is entirely my personal decision and involves only me and my family. The same principal applies to Sania and Shoaib. Off course there are some individuals like Rakhi and Rahul who want to marry after taking the votes from all over the country but better leave them for another blog.
If it is a correct decision then it is all right.
If it is a wrong decision then let Sania stew in her own juice.
Just don’t pass any judgmental statement about the accuracy of the decision.

Wish the couple a happy married life.

4. Is she unpatriotic?
No,
How can she be?
If marrying and loving a foreigner is unpatriotic than unfortunately Madhuri Dixit, Neena Gupta, Shashi Kapur and even Rajiv Gandhi is also unpatriotic. This list can go on endlessly. To prove her love for the country it is not necessary for her to marry an Indian. She can be both loyal to her husband and to India at the same time.

5. Why this brouhaha over this decision?
To be blunt, we don’t like Pakistanis.
It doesn’t matter how moderate and open minded we claims to be in our public life but deep inside our heart we hate Pakistan and Pakistanis because of reasons not difficult to understand. Whether it be Kashmir dispute or it be the monster of terrorism which took a horrendous avatar on 26 November 2009 we know who is behind this. Pakistan is not as same for us as West Indies or USA. So Neena Gupta having an affair with Sir Viv Richards is different and Sania with Shoaib is different.

6. Why no one opposes the concept of Veer Zara?
Though the movie came much before this incident but we all know the fact that relation between India and Pakistan has always been tense right after the independence. But no one opposed the Veer marrying Zara in the movie (I know it seems silly to compare a movie with a real life situation but it is the only example I have at present of a cross border marriage) and now the public sentiments are against Sania marrying Shoaib, why?
Gender bias.
We live in a patriarchal society. In a marriage the groom side is said to have an upper hand over the bridal side. If you don’t agree to me then think about the terms such as “Zamai Raja”, “Kunwar Saab”etc which are used for the groom. It is not difficult to accept that the boy side is considered as the one who has done a great favor for the girl side by accepting the relation. Though the situation is changing in the urban parts of the country but even than the overall mindset of the country is more or less same. We never like our sisters and daughters being ogled upon by the boys but don’t treat the same behavior of our brothers and sons with similar disdain. Echoing the similar sentiment Pakistan’s tennis chief Senator Dilawar Abbas made a public statement that Sania should follow the tradition in Asia by accepting Pakistan as new homeland and should henceforth play for Pakistan. Hence for general public it is not a marriage between Sania and Shoaib but it is loosing Sania to a Pakistani boy.

7. Behavior of some lunatic elements(read Bal Thackeray)
The other day there were some comments in the media by an old, bed ridden man who is desperately fighting for political space in the state where he is facing tough competition from his own nephew who is hell bent on killing the political future of his own uncle’s party. And in his quest of getting media attention and keeping himself relevant in the politics he decided to took Sania as his new hate target (though next day being contradicted by his own son ). Let’s look in the matter from this point of view.
Why Shiv Sena and VHP targets Indian Muslims every now and then because they want to create an impression in the public that loyalty of Indian Muslims lies with Pakistan and hence they can’t be trusted. Their sole aim is to isolate Indian Muslims and polarize the public so they can reap the benefit in the elections.
But unfortunately for them and fortunately for us they have not succeeded. And as far as comment of Bal Thackeray is concerned by this comment he has further increased his IQ(idiotic quotient).

To conclude all of this it is a marriage between two high profile sports person from two different countries which are fighting with each other from past six decades and this marriage has all the masala which makes it inevitable for the media to report it on the first page. Apart from all this there are comments on the verity of the decision of the girl and even her patriotism is questioned. Main reason behind all this is the mixed emotions of religious, national and male chauvinism. It also gives an opportunity to some lunatic and insane elements to keep them in news.

मेरी मधुशाला !!!!!!!!

कभी लक्ष्य को प्रेरित करती,
राह दिखलाती है हाला ...
कभी प्रेम से पास बुलाती,
मन बहलाती साकीबाला ...
हूँ इस असमंजस में ,
किस रूप को मै स्वीकार करू ...
कभी प्रेरक , कभी विदूषक
लगती मुझको मधुशाला .......







लाख भुलाना चाहू
पर मै भूल नहीं पाता हाला..........
लाख भुलाना चाहू
पर मै भूल नहीं पाता प्याला...........
भूतकाल की निष्टुर यादे,
कब पीछा मेरा छोड़ेगी ...........
एक पग बढने पर
दो पग पीछे लाती मधुशाला .........








बहुतेरे प्रयत्न किये पर
पा न सका साकीबाला...........
बहुतेरे संघर्ष किये पर
पा न सका मधु का प्याला.........
मदिरा से मोह भंग हुआ
तो कर्तव्यों का भान हुआ........
"कर्त्तव्य परक मानव जीवन "
का पाठ पढाती मधुशाला ........







फूट फूट के रोया था
जब टूटा था मधू का प्याला .........
बाकी प्यालो की मस्ती से
था अनजाना मतवाला ............
टूटे प्यालो के पीछे छिपी
मस्ती का आभास किसे.........
हर हार के पीछे लिए खड़ी है
चार सफलता मधुशाला ..........









प्रथम बार जब पीना चाहा,
पी न सका तब मै हाला ...
प्रथम दिवस जब छूना चाहा ,
छू न सका मधु का प्याला ....
प्रथम प्रेम प्रस्ताव मेरा ,
साकी ने अस्वीकार किया ...........
पूछ परख कर ही अपना
जीवन साथी चुनती मधुशाला ................