Blue Tent Dwellers

Winter was at its zenith in Delhi on 31st Dec night. I was returning from Noida to Delhi in my office bus. I saw a few blue colored polyethylene tents on roadside and flames coming from cooking stoves. Soon I realized that those tents were occupied and the dwellers inside were cooking food for their last dinner of the year and of course, the decade. At that night, when most of the readers of this article were in celebration mood, those people were not sure whether they would brave chilly winter winds of Delhi and would be alive to welcome the new year.

Sensitive nerves of my brain were jolted. We feel the fiery winter bite even though we are well protected by cemented walls of our rooms and ensconced inside our ‘Cosy Korean Blankets’. But these people on pavements give an open challenge to the tingling winds of January. And in their armour, you can find just a few blue polythene sheets, a couple of dilapidated blankets and semi filled stomach with negligible nutrient contents.

Why this contrast of destiny to citizens of the same city? Why?

In another scenario, on the very next day, the auspicious 1st January 2010, I went to meet my sister who also lives in Delhi with her husband and their four years old daughter. I was touched by their concern to protect their child from cold though she was fully covered by woolen clothes from ‘Monkey Cap’ at head to ‘Woolen Socks’ on feet. It is natural for parents to take extra care of their babies in winter. So after spending two full days there, I was returning to my place by Blue Line bus, the famous ‘Killer on Delhi Roads’. The drizzle had added more woes to commuters who were already struggling with the densest fog of the season.

Oblivious of the plight of bus driver and unfazed of inhospitable weather conditions outside, I was making full use of my window seat. I was peeping into the modern beauty of Delhi. Then at a traffic signal, I saw a girl who was probably five years old. She was holding a circular ring to show her acrobatic skills. She was begging for money from a biker with two pillion riders in front of the Police though our Government has banned the act of begging. Begging scenes like this at traffic signals are not unusual in Delhi. But what jolted my sensitive nerves again, were her bare feet. The five year old was standing barefooted on the rain soaked road in such chilly winter evening. I was deeply shocked to see this pitiful condition. Many thoughts crossed my mind like if she was insulated from cold, if cold has different levels of impact on different people?

But the most contrasting and ironical were the two pairs of feet, one of which was of my niece whose feet were under constant caring eyes of her parents, who were not letting her step out of the blanket without her socks. And the other one was the girl on wet street whose feet were bare. Her parents were not at all concerned whether she was wearing anything on her feet,she was feeling cold or hot. Their only concern was to count the money she would beg after showing her acrobatic skills to commuters at traffic signals.

Why such an extreme contrast of destiny to kids of same age group? Is it just because one is born to a well-to-do family and the other to seasoned beggars?

Though these kids are born to destitute parents and are compelled to beg at such a tender age, our Government or We as human can not ensure a better childhood to them. Can’t the Police prevent these parents from forcing their kids into begging? Can’t we ensure them the minimal needs of their childhood? Though dwellers of blue tents are born with pitiful fates, can Government or we as fellow citizens of the same country bring some better viable accommodation to those people for whom winter is nothing but a curse and the New Year is nothing but just another day to survive.

I wish I won’t see such dismal and disheartening conditions of our kids at traffic signals on next new year.

Unravelling Kejriwal the politician

Political Science is just a subject but politics is a different planet in itself. Political science is the science of politics, but when you enter into the arena of politics, all your literary knowledge evaporates and what comes handy is your adaptability. Adaptability is the key to survive in politics. In politics it does not matter how many degrees you hold or how many programming languages you know or how many journals you published. If you know the psyche of common mass that ‘really’ votes then you are fit for politics; rest is myth with an exception of dynasty.

In India we have seen many erudite and highly educated people to falter in politics. Whereas many school drop outs turned out to be king makers in politics. Dr. Manmohan Singh could not win a single Lok Sabha election. Mr. Arun

Jaitley could not debut his Lok Sabha even though Modi’s wave blowing in his favor. Mr. Mulayam Singh, a onetime wrestler still managed to win from two seats defeating Modi’s tsunami. All of us are aware of Dr. Manmohan Singh and Mr. Arun Jaitley educational qualification and vast experience in public life but winning elections remained a distant dream for them.  They are just examples. There are many such cases. We very often hear hues and cries that good and educated people are not joining politics and those who join it could not win elections. Have you thought why?

But there is an exception. When Mr. Kejriwal miraculously became chief minister of Delhi in 2013, many people were happy that a well-educated person had become the chief minister. At the same time there were many who raised pertinent questions on freebies announced in his election manifesto. People were surprised how a qualified person could bestow freebies to gain cheap popularity. His statements to appease minorities like Muslims, Sikhs also did not go well with the major section of educated middle class majority. He spewed venoms against major political and corporate personalities which took many people aback. At the same time it also sent signals to a major chunk of voters that there was an educated man who also dared to fight and that too vigorously. People love to adore such leaders. They always look for ‘messiah’, who can protect them, help them fulfil their dreams.

There is a major section of voters who don’t understand and give a damn to the nitty gritty of economics or politics or foreign diplomacy but want a little savings in their monthly budget. They are completely convinced that politicians fight elections to fulfill their dreams and fill their bank accounts nothing to do with the aspirations of voters. If any of the leaders help them make a small savings and give them discount on their basic necessities then that is more than enough for them. They are more than happy to see slashed water and electricity bills and get cheap rice and wheat. Many stalwarts were defeated due to rising prices of onions. In Tamilnadu, the political parties which announce more freebies get into power.

Mr. Kejriwal being a good and laborious student studied politics very closely over years. He keenly observed political dynamics from Bihar to Tamilnadu, from secular to communal, from victim to accused. His studies reflect in his attires, his maneuvers and his statements. The adoption of untucked half sleeve shirt and loose trousers was to resemble a commoner. He had no problem being called ‘muffler man’. I have not seen a well to do person or a high rank bureaucrat wrapping muffler in Delhi even in harsh winter. But we can see rickshaw pullers, laborers or auto drivers using mufflers in winter in Delhi. He had no hesitation wrapping muffler because politics is not a fashion world especially for beginners. You need to look, behave and talk like your voters. He had a clear objective to succeed in politics and he had no qualms even to sleep on road with muffler and quilt with the condition of shutterbugs of cameras keep on flashing.This is called thirst, the fire in belly to achieve something by hook or by crook. He did not only adopt a commoner attire, he started talking like delhites too with the use of ‘haan ji’ after every line, calling ‘America’ as ‘Amrica’ with a pinch of aggression towards the lethargic and corrupt system. He made all efforts to remain in everyday headlines and moot point of the news hour. He did not bother to challenge the mighty Ambani and SPG guarded Robert Vadra. It was true that not all his tricks went well. He had to apologies, rollback his own statements, make back room compromises like a shrewd politician. Despite all these U turns, his magic had overawed his supporters and they became his stout supporters online or offline. He made himself the amalgam of Laloo’s rustic politics, Karunanidhi’s freebies, Mulayam’s secular card and Mamta’s tantrums. He rightly judged the mood of people against the large scale corruption and policy paralyzed govt. of Dr. Manmohan Singh. His well-oiled network of lawyers, social workers, leuteny’s intellects, media and social media at large helped him pursuing his political ambition which is nothing less than the PM post. Within a short span of three years of establishment of his political party, he became twice the chief minister of a small but very important state of Delhi without being son of Gandhi’s or Yadav’s. His party got four Lok Sabha MPs too.

It’s a spectacular political progress for an educated person having no political background. He made people dreamt of a utopian system without the dirt of corruption or coterie. He made people believe ‘lokpal’ as panacea which turned out to be a placebo. He has not implemented ‘lokpal’ so far in Delhi which was his ‘chariot’ to power in Delhi. A good section of people specially educated middle class majority community got disenchanted from him due to his maverick and blame game politics. They found him just another politician in hurry, to get the highest powerful post in the country. But there are reasons behind his all tantrums. He has to dribble the ball of politics between set and regular players who are big enough to swallow any novice fish in the pond. His playing skills were innovative, aggressive and appealing to the audience which took big players by surprise. He made those players mend their ways and play according to new rules which were somehow set by him. His audacity to target ‘big bulls’ and show himself a victim was a well taught plan to survive and excel in politics. In war or politics if you challenge the mightiest warrior, no matter you win or lose, you become martyr. Anyone can now guess why his every second statement mentions Mr. Modi after 2014 general elections and Mrs. Sheila Dikshit before Delhi elections.

Whether you like him or like to hate him, you have to accept that an educated person has finally learnt the dynamics of politics and that too in a very political way.

He is on the prowl to nibble political bits.  

इंसानियत की लाज रख

इंसानियत की भी कुछ लाज रख

एक नासमझ ने मंदिर पर पत्थर फेंका ,
और सारे समझदार लड़ पड़े ।
एक चिंगारी न सुलगी , यहाँ अँगारे भड़क उठे ॥

धर्म के कुछ ठेकेदार इधर थे तो कुछ उधर भी ,
मरने वाले कुछ तिलक वाले थे तो कुछ ताबीज़ वाले भी ।
झगड़े की नींव रखने वाला कोई शीश महल वाला था ,
पर घर जला उसका जिसका झोपड़ा बेहाल था ।।















मुश्किल है लबो पर शहद की जुम्बिश
पर  जहरीले तीर तो न रख ।
माना खुदा बड़ी चीज़ है बन्दे ,
पर इंसानियत की भी कुछ लाज रख ॥

नोट -- कृति धर्मपरायण ब्राह्मण द्वारा

Don't Give Up

HOPE

There are many magical four letter words. Love, life, pain, gain, hope are few of the strongest words found in the English dictionary. Though all the above words are interdependent and very powerful but I will pick “Hope” in this article. As long as you have hope, you are living. If hope ceases to exist in your life then you may be breathing but you are not living in reality. God is nothing but hope. It’s such a kind of hope that exists even though you have gone hopeless. When there is no one to give you hope, there is this biggest source of hope and ironically you cannot even see this great source of hope, the god. When you are in deep mess or trapped in a pitch dark tunnel, you look for way out and you strive because there is a ray of hope in your eyes and your heart beats for a better tomorrow.

I ‘hope’ most of the readers of this article must have watched the movie ‘castaway’. The actor Tom Hank’s plane got crashed and he was swept away to an isolated island. There were no traces of existence of human race in the island. The life was almost an end for him but he had hoped to survive and had dreamt to meet his dear ones again. The soccer ball ‘Wilson’ became his companion and source of hope and it finally helped him to survive. Someone has rightly said” hope anchors the soul”. All the great achievements in the history came only when the achiever had hoped to accomplish it. In the last decade, all the major elections were won by political parties which were able to give hope to the common mass. The parties which kept on criticizing the ruling party or other rival parties without any vision for the mass were defeated massively. It’s innate psyche of public to look for a better future, look for hope. The general public always looks for ‘heroes’ who can give them hope and one of few such heroes will be revered as ‘god’.

Have you ever thought why the religious gurus have such a strong fan following? How come gurus or modern day ‘babas’ have so much hold on the common people? Why and how? There may be many factors but hope is the strongest one for such a mass following. Gurus may be clueless about the real problems of the disciple but they can recommend heavy dose of ‘hope’ which really does miracle. This heavy dose sometimes becomes more effective than medicinal doses of doctors. Even a simple but genuine statement like ‘you will get it’ brightens the hope inside the person. The hope infuses flow of positive energy in the body and thus inspires the “Karma”. Even person with high caliber sometimes fail to realize his true potential if he runs out of hope. We all know the famous story of lord Hanuman and astute Jaambandh. Lord Hanuman forgot his true potential and wondered how to cross the ocean to meet Sita. Jaambandh made a timely entry and realized the lord about his true potential and gave him much required quantum of hope to succeed. 

The recent case of martyred soldier Hanumanthapa in Kargil is a classic case of miraculous hope. The survival of the soldier buried under the deep layers of snow for ten days was nothing sort of miracle. There must be elements of hope inside the brave soldier which had kept him alive for ten days. Only those communities or civilization had progressed or taken great strides which had hoped for a better tomorrow. Indian freedom fighters had dreamt of a shackle free ‘Bharat Mata’ and their karma made the dream possible. Poet Iqbal had dreamt of a separate Islamic country, Pakistan and karma of his followers made his dream feasible.

A recent study revealed that candidates who appeared for interview and had even false hope of success had better chance of clearing the interview. Hope is not only a powerful word but a powerful theme of life which can challenge difficult obstacles and hardships in the pursuit of happiness and for a better tomorrow.

अंतहीन दौड़

अंतहीन दौड़

हम कहाँ जा रहे हैं , कहाँ भाग रहे हैं ,
बदहवास किसके पीछे ,ये कौन सी कस्तूरी है ,
जिसने इस विवेकशील मनुष्य को मृग बना दिया ,
न कोई ओर है, न कोई छोर ॥

अटल सत्य, समय से स्पर्धा करते है ,
गिरते हैं ,उठते हैं ,दौड़ते हैं ।
दौड़ निरंतर जारी रखते हैं ,
अनियंत्रित,असंख्य इच्छाएं उबाल लेते रहते हैं ।।

तो इसमें बुराई क्या है
 इच्छाओं  की पूर्ति करना क्या ख़राब है ।
समय की रफ़्तार पकड़ना क्या गुनाह है ,
अरमानों की उड़ान भरना क्या गलत है ।।

कदाचित इसमें कोई खोट नहीं है ,
लेकिन गलत है संवेदनशून्य हो जाना ।
दूसरे के दुःखो से मुँह फेर लेना,
किसी असहाय को इसके हाल पर छोड़ देना ॥

क्या अंत है इस अंतहीन दौड़ का ,
क्या हम कभी थक के बैठेंगे और सोचेंगे ।
हमने इस दौड़ में कितनों को रौंदा ,
कितनी धूल उड़ाई ,कितने कुचले गए हमारे ठोकरों से ॥

कृत  -- कुणाल