Everyday when I perform the “circus trick” in getting my bike through the almost choked Shipra Underpass, a major hurdle on my way to office from home, I say to myself,” Why don’t they make the road broader? Why don’t they regulate traffic properly?”
“Let me file an RTI application seeking information regarding the PWD works of this underpass”
Till date, the thoughts get lost as soon as I pass through that underpass.
It’s my responsibility; though there are hundreds who share the same traffic trauma.
“Pathik Bhai, kahe itna sochte ho, apni gaadi nikaalo aur chalo, yeh India yai, kuch nahi hone waala”
The RTI act is a landmark achievement towards bringing in accountability in governance and enabling the citizens with a tool to fight the corrupt and inefficient government administrative setup.
The significance of Right to Information Act passed in 2005 can be highlighted with the amount of media attention the issue of appointment of the Chief Information Officer (CIC) of India is generating.
The current issue of the appointment of the new CIC in wake of the completion of term of the present CIC holds tremendous importance not only for social activists but for people like you and me.
To be honest, I have not filed a single RTI application till date.
I tried once, but then, lost the steam, in spite of the fact that it just costs Rupees 10.
I know I want to change the world; I want our government to fight corruption, yet I have not done the simplest thing possible: write a simple application seeking information from the government.
Looks like it’s high time I filed my first RTI application.
I would not have done it, but for the issue of CIC.
Aamir Khan, Rahul Bose, Arvind Kejriwal, Subhash Chandra, NR Narayanmurthy, Nandita Das, Anna Hazare and many more noted activists have put a strong recommendation to the govt to appoint Ms Kiran Bedi for the same, which is being termed as “lobbying” by bureaucrats who see this as a major check on their superfluous motives.
There are people who are doing it; there are people who are concerned, and there are people, who suffer because they retort to silence.
I am sure; I would be doing great justice to my passion, by breaking mine.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
King of Hope- Sachin
Post Match Presentation yesterday
Arun Lal-What motivates you?
Sachin- It's just playing for India. I care about playing for India. It has been a dream. It's my passion to play for my country.
17k runs, numerous records, immense glory and fame.
The greatest pleasure of watching Sachin play has been and will be his humbleness on and off the field, and the simple ingredient of passion towards cricket, for India.
The biggest fascination watching him play is the amount of hope he generates in the hearts of a country with over a billion people looking to win and celebrate in life.
And as is the irony with greatness, time and again the master will be reminded of the fact that inspite of his big knocks, India failed to win.
But then, Gods are worshipped, for they give hope to people.
So will be Sachin. Mate, may you be there, forever, as the symbol of Hope, in the hearts of all cricket lovers around the globe.
Today, I raise a toast to your passion, for cricket, for India.
Bravo!
Arun Lal-What motivates you?
Sachin- It's just playing for India. I care about playing for India. It has been a dream. It's my passion to play for my country.
17k runs, numerous records, immense glory and fame.
The greatest pleasure of watching Sachin play has been and will be his humbleness on and off the field, and the simple ingredient of passion towards cricket, for India.
The biggest fascination watching him play is the amount of hope he generates in the hearts of a country with over a billion people looking to win and celebrate in life.
And as is the irony with greatness, time and again the master will be reminded of the fact that inspite of his big knocks, India failed to win.
But then, Gods are worshipped, for they give hope to people.
So will be Sachin. Mate, may you be there, forever, as the symbol of Hope, in the hearts of all cricket lovers around the globe.
Today, I raise a toast to your passion, for cricket, for India.
Bravo!
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Karwa Chauth
O Re Manwa Tu to Baavara Hai, …….
Goonja sa Hai koi Ektara Ektara, Goonja Sa hai koi Ektara……
Humming to the melody of this tune being aired on the radio, driving my Stunner through the well lit streets of Shipra Sun City, I was caught by a culture shock yesterday. The scene before my eyes was colorful yet bizarre, orthodox yet beautiful. It was the night before “Karva Chauth”, a Hindu cultural festival in which the ladies fast for the entire length of the day, without food and water, for the well-being and long life of their husbands. Interestingly enough, the fast is broken by worshipping the husband in basking moonlight, a tradition which has roots in the ancient paternal society of India.
Coming back to the scene, well, it was around 10 in the night, and to my utter surprise, the markets were still open, and the streets were crowded with scores of women dressed in the most vibrant and colorful outfits, rushing towards the sacred “Mehandi Waala”. They were everywhere, on the streets, at the shops, trying to make maximum profit.
Coming from the heart of India, i.e. from Madhya Pradesh, I had only heard of the custom of Karwa Chauth and yesterday was a blissful surprise for me. What surprised me the most, is the fact that maximum people of my locality are working professionals, and the so called modern Indians, following the age old traditions, whether as a fashion or belief, in the name of religion or romance, with tremendous enthusiasm.
A liberal will slam this festival as a symbol of the age old superiority of the male over the female, so much prevalent in the medieval Indian society, an educated woman may have reservations about the age old belief in this tradition and intellectuals across the globe may find it impossible to comprehend the idea of the lady worshipping his man in the space age.
The Indian women deserve reverence as well as credit for keeping this illogical custom alive and vibrant, for it is they who hold our family and society knit together in the bond of love.
As for travelers like me, instead of debating the relevance of this colorful tradition, we should mark it as a festival celebrating the institution of marriage as a whole, acknowledging the role of both the man and the wife, irrespective of who is fasting or not, the celebrations should be there.
India seems to be echoing this transition and hopefully, will find a way, through festivals like these, to celebrate the marriage of progress with tradition, the very essence of its culture.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Salary Day
YIppiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!
Rs 54,000/-!!!!!!!!!!!
Exactly on this day, the 30th of September 2008, my world had changed, forever.
For a boy whose monthly purse during college hovered around the 3k mark, I could not believe the text that was being displayed on my mobile:
Rs 54,000/-!!!!!!!!!!!
Exactly on this day, the 30th of September 2008, my world had changed, forever.
For a boy whose monthly purse during college hovered around the 3k mark, I could not believe the text that was being displayed on my mobile:
"Your Ac xxxxxx544404 is credited Rs 54,000.oo 29 Sep."
My first salary, the feeling of earning, and being independent, well, it was just a wonderful feeling.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Healthy Terrorism!!
CASE I
I was going through an article on terrorism in Guardian, UK, and it stated that India loses more no of people to internal and external terrorist strikes than any other country in the world, roughly about 3000 civilians and soldiers.
The word terrorism figures as many times an intellectual drama is airing across tons of thousands of news channels, the new found delicacy of the aam aadmi.
The aam aadmi fears for his life, and the government promises to fight terrorism at every cost.
CASE II
Indian government spending on the country's defense and home security is a whooping figure, even by official figures, which make India the biggest international buyer of arms and military equipment.
Strategic experts have time and again pointed out the use of "third world" equipments by our armed forces. India has lost more than 100 pilots due to test-crashes, either because of failure or malfunctioning of the outdated Soviet flight equipments. It would be interesting to find out the total no of pilots or flights that have been crashed due to terror strikes across the world.
I wonder, given a choice, they would have loved to crash their planes on the enemy lines and glorify death.
The aam aadmi reads these headlines, and every tom, dick and Harry comments," Is Desh Ka kya ho Raha Hai", cribs at his government, yet we don't feel insecure by these accidents, neither do we feel at loss, until a dear one vanishes into the abyss of serving the nation.
CASE III
One article on Health Safety services in India caught my eye recently.The author, expressed languish over the fact that two people die every minute in India because of TB, that makes it 2880/day and nearly over a million deaths per year.
The combined toll of Malaria, Diarohea, Cholera, AIDS, is way over the total population of some countires of the world.
Surprisingly, the public expenditure on the health sector was merely 0.6 % of the GDP in 2005.
The NHRM, a central government health care mission, aims to raise this spending to 2% of GDP by 2012.
In a country of over a billion people, more than half live under one dollar a day, those who cannot, succumb.
But the aam aadmi is helpless, he is himself fighting corruption, inflation, joblessness and many more evils. A middle class family income generator spends his life trying to secure his/her family, forget the rest.
So what to do?
Blame the bloody government, the selfish petty politicians and sleep in peace.
What does the government do?
Announce awesome plans, allot funds, and make sure that everything never falls in place.
When every argument fails, both the government and the aam aadmi blame the involvement of a foreign hand:
Terrorism!!
I was going through an article on terrorism in Guardian, UK, and it stated that India loses more no of people to internal and external terrorist strikes than any other country in the world, roughly about 3000 civilians and soldiers.
The word terrorism figures as many times an intellectual drama is airing across tons of thousands of news channels, the new found delicacy of the aam aadmi.
The aam aadmi fears for his life, and the government promises to fight terrorism at every cost.
CASE II
Indian government spending on the country's defense and home security is a whooping figure, even by official figures, which make India the biggest international buyer of arms and military equipment.
Strategic experts have time and again pointed out the use of "third world" equipments by our armed forces. India has lost more than 100 pilots due to test-crashes, either because of failure or malfunctioning of the outdated Soviet flight equipments. It would be interesting to find out the total no of pilots or flights that have been crashed due to terror strikes across the world.
I wonder, given a choice, they would have loved to crash their planes on the enemy lines and glorify death.
The aam aadmi reads these headlines, and every tom, dick and Harry comments," Is Desh Ka kya ho Raha Hai", cribs at his government, yet we don't feel insecure by these accidents, neither do we feel at loss, until a dear one vanishes into the abyss of serving the nation.
CASE III
One article on Health Safety services in India caught my eye recently.The author, expressed languish over the fact that two people die every minute in India because of TB, that makes it 2880/day and nearly over a million deaths per year.
The combined toll of Malaria, Diarohea, Cholera, AIDS, is way over the total population of some countires of the world.
Surprisingly, the public expenditure on the health sector was merely 0.6 % of the GDP in 2005.
The NHRM, a central government health care mission, aims to raise this spending to 2% of GDP by 2012.
In a country of over a billion people, more than half live under one dollar a day, those who cannot, succumb.
But the aam aadmi is helpless, he is himself fighting corruption, inflation, joblessness and many more evils. A middle class family income generator spends his life trying to secure his/her family, forget the rest.
So what to do?
Blame the bloody government, the selfish petty politicians and sleep in peace.
What does the government do?
Announce awesome plans, allot funds, and make sure that everything never falls in place.
When every argument fails, both the government and the aam aadmi blame the involvement of a foreign hand:
Terrorism!!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Prem Patra
Koi Deewana Kehta Hai, Koi Pagal Samajhta Hai,
Magar Dharti Ki Bechaini ko Bas Badal Samajhta Hai.
Main tujhse door kaisa hoon, tu mujhse door kaisi hai,
Yeh Tera Dil Samajhta Hai, Ye Mera Dil Samajhta Hai.
Bawaa!!!
I don’t know what to write, where to begin from, and where to end. I even don’t know if you will read this or not, yet I write to you.
I still remember, pearls of tears rolling down your pretty face, and mine, for this was it, the moment had arrived, I had finished my graduation, and in spite of all my wishes, it was time for me to leave, to step out of the college, into a new world. I could see the pain burning in your eyes, those eyes which used to carry the happiness of the world for me, which made me laugh, which stood by me, almost every time and anytime.
To be honest, it was your eyes that did the trick and made an Aashiq out of me.
The first day I saw you, those lovely, playful, naughty, big eyes, I knew, I was gone. 5 years have passed since, and honestly, I haven’t seen a more beautiful sight in this entire period, but for your eyes.
I don’t know what love is, but many say it’s friendship, well, friends we have been, almost the shadow of each other, from the day I saw you first, at the college gate, till the day, I walked out of that same gate, forever. Four years of trust, fun, courage and friendship. I never realized, you became my habit, an awesome habit. Mata ki Chai, Drishtant ki meetings, events, Ed-Board, TPO, the evening walks outside 7 no, the corridors of 5 no, c-top, the cricket ground, almost everything, reminded me of you.
I was struggling with life, but you never gave up, as my strength, you stood by me, steered my ship across maelstroms right up to the shore, to safety.
Yet, I walked out, left you behind, in the pursuit of my dreams, at a moment when you needed me most. Neither did you complain. Just smiled at me through the wall of tears, hoping I will come back, some day or the other.
I know I am selfish, I have made mistakes, I chase my dreams, yet, I miss you. Over the past year or so, I feel as if a part of me has gone, forever, lost into the cosmos. Everything is just perfect, but for you. I never made any promises to come back, and I regret this fact today, for I don’t see myself in the mirror, but a body which has lost its soul.
I don’t know whether I will come back or not, whether you still like me or not, will you forgive me or not. But I do want to tell you something, whatever I breathe; it has a tinge of your fragrance, soft and warm.
Someday we shall meet, and I may live again…
Magar Dharti Ki Bechaini ko Bas Badal Samajhta Hai.
Main tujhse door kaisa hoon, tu mujhse door kaisi hai,
Yeh Tera Dil Samajhta Hai, Ye Mera Dil Samajhta Hai.
Bawaa!!!
I don’t know what to write, where to begin from, and where to end. I even don’t know if you will read this or not, yet I write to you.
I still remember, pearls of tears rolling down your pretty face, and mine, for this was it, the moment had arrived, I had finished my graduation, and in spite of all my wishes, it was time for me to leave, to step out of the college, into a new world. I could see the pain burning in your eyes, those eyes which used to carry the happiness of the world for me, which made me laugh, which stood by me, almost every time and anytime.
To be honest, it was your eyes that did the trick and made an Aashiq out of me.
The first day I saw you, those lovely, playful, naughty, big eyes, I knew, I was gone. 5 years have passed since, and honestly, I haven’t seen a more beautiful sight in this entire period, but for your eyes.
I don’t know what love is, but many say it’s friendship, well, friends we have been, almost the shadow of each other, from the day I saw you first, at the college gate, till the day, I walked out of that same gate, forever. Four years of trust, fun, courage and friendship. I never realized, you became my habit, an awesome habit. Mata ki Chai, Drishtant ki meetings, events, Ed-Board, TPO, the evening walks outside 7 no, the corridors of 5 no, c-top, the cricket ground, almost everything, reminded me of you.
I was struggling with life, but you never gave up, as my strength, you stood by me, steered my ship across maelstroms right up to the shore, to safety.
Yet, I walked out, left you behind, in the pursuit of my dreams, at a moment when you needed me most. Neither did you complain. Just smiled at me through the wall of tears, hoping I will come back, some day or the other.
I know I am selfish, I have made mistakes, I chase my dreams, yet, I miss you. Over the past year or so, I feel as if a part of me has gone, forever, lost into the cosmos. Everything is just perfect, but for you. I never made any promises to come back, and I regret this fact today, for I don’t see myself in the mirror, but a body which has lost its soul.
I don’t know whether I will come back or not, whether you still like me or not, will you forgive me or not. But I do want to tell you something, whatever I breathe; it has a tinge of your fragrance, soft and warm.
Someday we shall meet, and I may live again…
Main tujhse door kaisa hoon, tu mujhse door kaisi hai,
Yeh Tera Dil Samajhta Hai, Ye Mera Dil Samajhta Hai.
Love
Pathik
Note:
The post is inspired by a love letter that I wrote in early 2008 for a letter writing contest in one of my college festivals. I choose to write a love letter to my college and the pretty girl in this story is my college MANIT Bhopal.
Mata ki Chai is a historical part of MANIT college life.
Drishtant is our literary society, TPO is our placement cell and I was a part of the Editorial Board as well.
This post is dedicated to MANIT, it's students and friends.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
A Good Human
Today, India lost one of it's most popular and respectable politician, Late Mr YSR Reddy.
Ironically, this is the only nation in the world which seems to loose the gen-next leaders in some weird and untraceable air-plane crashes.
In a country of a billion demands and tensions, few politicians command respect for their work and achievement, and I am sure, Mr Reddy, sitting pretty in the adobe of heavens above, will know, his work had just started. A charismatic leader, not by populist propaganda, but by the sheer strength of his socialist schemes and humble attitude, the people of Andhra Pradesh have definitely lost someone more than a politician.
It's a bigger irony that politicians are always looked in the dark shades, even after their deaths, and no matter what they do, controversies arise out of ashes.
I hope, he will get a better treatment, for above everything, he was a good human.
As far as politics goes, Congress has lost it's king of the south, TDP can regroup and target 2014.
But for now, pray for the man, his aides who died along with him, and their families.
May God Bless us all.
Amen!!
Ironically, this is the only nation in the world which seems to loose the gen-next leaders in some weird and untraceable air-plane crashes.
In a country of a billion demands and tensions, few politicians command respect for their work and achievement, and I am sure, Mr Reddy, sitting pretty in the adobe of heavens above, will know, his work had just started. A charismatic leader, not by populist propaganda, but by the sheer strength of his socialist schemes and humble attitude, the people of Andhra Pradesh have definitely lost someone more than a politician.
It's a bigger irony that politicians are always looked in the dark shades, even after their deaths, and no matter what they do, controversies arise out of ashes.
I hope, he will get a better treatment, for above everything, he was a good human.
As far as politics goes, Congress has lost it's king of the south, TDP can regroup and target 2014.
But for now, pray for the man, his aides who died along with him, and their families.
May God Bless us all.
Amen!!
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