Archive for September 2014
Nicknames
Laal naak, Lambardaar, Kholu, Dhakkan, Steel.
Before you think I am babbling like a mad man, let me clarify. These are few nicknames I remember of my college mates. I have forgotten real names of lot of them, still remember them by nicknames.
If you try and think, nicknames are not just random, they depict a personal trait. “Real names are by birth, nicknames are based on sh** you do in life”.
There was a Laal Naak with nose as red as anything you will see. When he asked a question in class, it went even redder. Kholu was the highest rank guy in our batch. Dhakkan was the closing rank. Steel had such elasticity when it came to arguments. Even if you said earth go round the sun, he would have a nonsensical counter ready to throw back at you. There were more of such names that I can’t discuss here sadly. They were based on various body parts down south, if you know what I mean.
What these nicknames do is create new friendships. We are all new to college; A bunch of strangers thrown together. Nicknames give us a sense of family. Just like parents give us a name at birth, nicknames represent a new phase of life, with a new set of people.
When you go home and your parents call you by some silly pet name, it means something special. No one else in the world calls you by that name. Same is the case with college nickname. You get a new name at work. Another by your life partner.
Each one represents a new phase, a new life, a new birth, new experiences and new memories.
बेचैन दिल
दिल रहता है बेचैनी में,
जाने क्यों मेरा कबसे,
हर आहट से है लगता ये,
कि आई वो मेरी चौखट।
आँखें मेरी तरस गयीं,
न हुआ पर दीदार मुझे,
मर्ज़ जो है मुझे लगा,
कोई इलाज़ पता तुझे।
रातों को करता हूँ गिनती,
तारे तो अनगिनत ठहरे,
झींगुर की झन-झन भी अब,
मुझको लगने लगी लोरी।
हवा के हर एक झौंके से,
मन तड़पा मेरा जाता है,
स्पर्श नहीं कुछ सुगंध सही,
क्यों लाता अपने साथ नहीं।
कोई कोयल कूकी डाली पे,
लगा कि संदेशा है लायी,
न तू लायी कोई बात नहीं,
एक मेरा संदेशा पहुंचा दे।
चांदनी में भीगा हर कण,
मुझे अपना सा लगता है,
इसी चांदनी को यार मेरा,
ओढ़ रहा होगा इस पल।
कहते हैं घूमती धरती है,
धुरी पे अपनी हर एक पल,
थम जाऊं गर मैं इस क्षण,
क्या धरती मुझे मिला देगी॥
BJP: Three in a row. ‘sup Bro?
Elections have proven to be a great leveler once again. Political pundits were left scrambling for the reasons behind by-election debacle of BJP. That it has happened three times in a row makes it all too noteworthy.
What can be the reason? Well I can think of few.
First is the ever thinning patience of the voters which I mentioned few days ago. People want corruption free, polarization free, appeasement free development. When General elections were fought on these principles, it paid. When assembly by-elections were fought otherwise, the party had to pay the price.
Next is the Modi wave or lack of? Modi didn’t campaign. Second rung firebrand leaders were at the center of it all. Had he campaigned, things would have been different. Also his silence on his party’s not so subtle forays of late, seem to have irked junta. Nobody wants another Manmohan. Hope these results instill some sense and for good.
Loss could also be attributed to the dearth of local stars. We haven’t had anyone of Rajnath’s stature in UP politics ever since he moved to Centre. It did hurt this time.
To put it in one word, it’s Arrogance. They started speaking the language of the ousted Government soon after taking power. Following the footsteps of the previous Govt in Governor issue, Less than honest means for Govt formation in Delhi and sting thereof, flaring communal tensions in UP, hiding behind norms and institutions, were few of such things.
If they need to survive, they must gain back public confidence. It can’t be earned by acting smart and by being arrogant. People see through it. Next time you try and hoodwink public, know this, we ain’t no fool no more.
अच्छे दिन आने वाले हैं
अलग-२ दल लगाएं अलग-२ नारे,
सब दौड़ें हितैषी बनने को हमारे,
टर्राने लगे हैं जैसे मेंढक बरसात में,
कुछ दिन तो गुजारिये गुजरात में।
कोई फेंके है रोटी, ललचाये है पैसा,
निकाले हैं आंसू, नाटक कैसा कैसा,
वादे झूठे सुनाकर, करे सीट पक्की,
हर हाथ शक्ति, हर हाथ तरक्की।
अभी की नहीं, रीत है ये पुरानी,
राजा की बेटी, हुई मुल्क की रानी,
सालों तक रखा, सबको हक़ से दूर,
एक शेरनी सौ लंगूर, चिकमंगलूर।
रुक रुक के बोले, बड़े हौले हौले,
विरोध मेरा, ये अच्छी बात नहीं है,
सबका होगा भला, नर हो या नारी,
चुनो अबकी बारी अटल बिहारी।
बाप और बेटा, साईकल पे डोलें,
सद्भावना फ़ैलाने की बात बोलें,
फूल को मसलें, रोकें हाथी का दम,
यूपी में है दम, जुर्म हैं यहाँ कम।
सरपट मैं दौड़ा, हो रेस का घोडा,
दर-२ पे भटका, भूका औ प्यासा,
जीतते ही हम भर पेट खाना वाले हैं,
क्योंकि अच्छे दिन आने वाले हैं।।
What Times are Now?
An unfortunate controversy erupted when a leading English Newsgroup published a not so subtle article about a leading actress. Without getting into the details of the write up, silence of the associated news channel amuses me. On all other issues, this TV channel is always here and Now.
Had it been a politician who would have made some unsavory speech; had it been a police head who would have issued a demeaning guideline; had it been some actor who would have made some politically incorrect observation, the channel would have raised hue and cry on primetime and rightly so. The primetime which it boasts have garnered highest TRP’s in the last 5 years.
But today all silence. It’s not an isolated incident. If you go to their website, you would see more of such obnoxious articles. Skimpy clad images of female models collated from across the globe. Explicit stuff posted at the very top, just to grab eyeballs.
Some of the headings with equally raunchy pics one finds there are, “Babes flaunt assets online”, “Bollywood babes unbuttoned”, “Hotties’ peek-a-boo moments”, “Celebs caught pantyless” and “Celebs’ oops moment!” I feel ashamed even typing them, but not the newsgroup which can do anything for money.
What I am afraid is that such acts leave the fourth pillar vulnerable to attack. In their lust for readership to plunder advertising revenue, they are ready to sell the very essence of news. I agree that these pics are collated from public domain but why plaster them on the news website?
I urge Press Council of India to take suo moto cognizance and issue appropriate guidelines. Now is the Time to put an end.
दाढ़ी वाले बाबा
कुछ बचपन की यादें ताजा,
करता हूँ तो उठते कुछ सवाल,
सुना बहुत, पर होता क्या है?
टिंडे की जड़ औ बाल की खाल।
बाजार से जा दो टिंडे लाया,
सुबह से शाम किया उन्हें हलाल,
लेकिन फिर भी ढूंढ न पाया,
टिंडे की जड़ औ बाल की खाल।
सुबह मैं तड़के नाई के पहुंचा,
औ सफा कराया एक एक बाल,
घिर गयी रात पर हाथ न आई,
टिंडे की जड़ औ बाल की खाल।
जब कभी मचाया था ऊधम,
जोर से मरोड़ा गया था कान,
एक बार जो तू हाथ में आएगा,
चूहे की कोठरी में डाला जाएगा।
पूरे दो दिन से जगा हुआ हूँ,
चूहों के पीछे ही लगा हुआ हूँ,
हर संभव मैंने कोशिश की,
पर न मिली कोठरी चूहे की।
एक और किस्सा याद आता है,
डराया करती थी जब माँ मुझको,
बेटा अगर तू खाना नहीं खायेगा,
दाढ़ी वाला बाबा उठा ले जाएगा।
एक दिन सोचा कि व्रत मैं करूँ,
औ दिन भर कुछ न खाऊँ पियूं,
चौखट पर बैठा टकटकी लगाये,
पर दाढ़ी वाले बाबा नहीं आये।।
Apology Tourism
One of my friends visited a WW2 Extermination Camp, Majdanek in Poland. He was all oohs and aahs about the atrocities committed and what he learnt of them. Hitler this and Hitler that! I agree that people endured some unspeakable atrocities there, but does that give us a right to turn it into a tourist place?
One major argument for turning such structures into tourist places is that future generations can learn from the mistakes. “Once you see it for yourself, the horror of it, you will become a better person”, is what we are fed. But does it really happen? Apart from adding to tourism revenue and serving some political agenda, they serve little purpose.
How are we better than Hitler? Do we not stand and let people get killed en masse all around the globe; by mighty and crippled economies alike? Some kill there own people, some kill abroad. Point being, tour of such places does not help reduce the horror. Attracting opulent patrons to such places, I call “Apology Tourism”.
The truth is we just want to sit in our cozy little houses, oblivious of the current. We wait for our present to turn into past so that our children can tour the upcoming horror houses. Thus keeping the Apology Tourism alive.
Lets not be hypocrites. We just need tourist places to go and spend our holidays. And since we have lots of weekends to kill, we have gone a step ahead and converted tales of human miseries to our convenience.
Hardly any tourist would have sobbed at Majdanek. One thing he/she would have done for sure is to click pictures to put online. We should stop hiding and admit that we just go there to enjoy. Learning from history is a sob story and a bad one at that. If any tourist ends up making a difference, I would be proven wrong. But I seriously doubt.
Given the inaction of people like us who sneeze when it breeze, such tourist destinations will keep presenting themselves around the world. Our weekends stand booked.
भक् साला
जब दिखी कोई सुन्दर कन्या,
मन मचला सा क्यों जाता है,
जैसे बिन चाबी का ताला,
दिल करे कि बोलूं भक् साला।
उस दिन तो यारों हद हो गयी,
घर का रास्ता ही भटक गया,
कोई वशी-इत्र उसने डाला,
दिल करे कि बोलूं भक् साला।
सब्जी लेने को गया था मैं,
वहां किलो-२ भर तोल रही,
धनिया भी मुफ्त में न डाला,
दिल करे कि बोलूं भक् साला।
सोचा चलो जांच मैं करवा लूँ,
आँखें हैं ठीक, बोली डॉक्टर,
पर चरित्र है तेरा कुछ काला,
दिल करे कि बोलूं भक् साला।
फूलों की टोकरी, रख सर पर,
बेच रही वो, लगा पुकार,
मेरे मन ने बना ली वरमाला,
दिल करे कि बोलूं भक् साला।
सोचा कई बार, त्याग दूँ सब,
आखिर कब तक करूंगा मैं,
मस्ती तफरी, और मधुशाला,
चल हट दिल नौटंकी साला।।
कश्मीर त्रासदी: माँ के आंसू
न देखा कभी सैलाब ऐसा,
क्या ऐसी भूल मुझसे हुई,
चहुंओर नीर तांडव पसरा,
लगा रात रोई है माँ मेरी।
प्रकृति कहर था सुना बहुत,
दिखा तो मेरी रूह काँपी,
जल-थल आपस में समा गए,
लगा रात रोई है माँ मेरी।
धन-धान सबकुछ तबाह हुआ,
मुह मोड़ तूने न सुनी दुआ,
हिम्मत भी मेरी डगा गयी,
लगा रात रोई है माँ मेरी।
बन्दूक से दुश्मन करता वार,
सह जाता वो भी एक बार,
पन-हमले से ऐसा लाचार,
लगा रात रोई है माँ मेरी।
हूँ दाने-दाने को मोहताज,
अपनों से भी मैं बिछड़ गया,
है नदी जहाँ था भरा बाजार,
लगा रात रोई है माँ मेरी।
मानव, जंतु सब बहे निढाल,
मेरा घर क्यों तूने छीन लिया,
अमृत ही है विष बन बैठा ,
लगा रात रोई है माँ मेरी।
डर लगता मुझको सन्नाटा,
दुआ आज मैं बस यही करूँ,
हिम्मत मुझको देना दाता,
माँ के आंसू मैं पौंछ सकूँ।।
Necessties v/s Luxuries
Recently I received a forwarded email. Author put forward the popular view about Necessities v/s wasteful Luxuries. I didn’t agree with him. Below are the excerpts followed by my reply.
Original Post
- Author was habitual buyer of wasteful luxuries items. He owned an iPod unused for 6 months; a Handy Cam unused for 2 years; a DVD player unused for last 1 month.
- He said that people are not happy with what they have. They always strive for bigger car, house, TV, laptop etc. He questions if these things are actually required.
- I have a LCD TV and a smart phone. “My old man was happier with just a BPL TV and a modest cell phone”, he said.
- If we strive for things that make life easier rather than so called luxuries, we will be happier.
- “Our predecessors treated Necessities as Luxuries; we are looking at Luxuries as Necessities”, he concluded.
My Reply
- The reason of not using a lot of old things is that we get bored after certain time. Simple.
- Need is a subjective term. Helicopter might be necessity for Narendra Modi but is a luxury for layman like me.
- Lets stretch authors argument a little. Why even a modest phone when we can post a letter? Why even a BPL TV when we can have newspapers, magazines and kathputali shows?
- Today I check email on my smart phone, do video conference, relish 3D TV. It’s called technological advancement.
- Our predecessors had a set of Luxuries and so do we. Flight travel, a luxury earlier is a necessity today. My Dad avoids it still. Does it make me any wrong or him any right?
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