Saturday, December 20, 2008

Prosperity is taking it's toll....!!!

Read a post in one of the mid day blogs. 'Death be not proud!'. Author worries about the death that is so prevalent in today's world- in the form of suicides and homicides- though quality of life has improved multi folds. Why? why do people kill themselves, and others including wives, children, beloved, families??

I feel that the answer lies in the improved quality of life. No dream is distant in today's world. The fight for survival has disappeared. Greed for more has taken its place now. The greed is not only for money and material well being. In today's world, 'I' has become the center of everything. Everything revolves around individual comfort. Sacrifice do not possess much value in day to day life. Yes, there are still people who sacrify for communities. But you and me, in our daily lives, DO NOT sacrify. marriages seek intellectual compatibility. Couples expect 100% harmony. And if it is not evident, they trust that there are ways to get out of situation. Getting out of wed locks is becoming easier day by day. This is a prominent change in culture and social structure. This is the first step taken towards collapsed families, broken homes, problem children and whole instability. This mental instability and material over prosperity lead to the belief that anything can be bought and bended as per ones wish.

Now a days, people do not like to face problems, to sustain in storms, to fight to get solution. They do not believe in indivisibility of relations. They do not respect others' emotions. They at times do not respect their family's emotions. And then they do not respect the fundamental right to possess life; the right that every individual gains right from birth. People do not like to struggle and suffer for the sake of relatives, families and loved ones. Perhaps people do not love anyone beyond self. When my well being becomes central, I tend to do ANYTHING to maintain it. That leads to broken homes, problem children, crimes.

The real question is how to stop this? How to bring prosperity and sacrifice together.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

गे मातृभूमि तुजला मन अर्पियेले

गे मातृभूमि तुजला मन अर्पियेले वक्तृत्व वाग्विभव ही तुज वहियेले
तूतेची अर्पिली नवी कविता मताला, लेखाप्रती विषय तूची अनन्य झाला!
त्वत्कार्य नैतिक सुसम्मत सर्व देवा, त्वत्सेवनीच गमली रघुवीर सेवा
सावरकर.

ही अहिंसा सत्यनीति वाटता नामर्दुमी
क्षात्रता दावा तुम्ही
सोडावा क्षेत्री लढूनी राज्यसत्तेचे लढे!
माधव जुलियन.

मुंबई मध्ये सुरू असलेला धुमाकूळ अखेर संपला. लोकांनी विजयाचा आनंद साजरा केला. पोलीस आयुक्तांनी 'मुंबई पूर्णपणे सुरक्षित असल्याची ग्वाही दिली. हे सारे कितपत खरे? दहशतवाद्यांच्या विरोधातला लढा संपला का? आपला विजय झाला असे समजताना आपण हे विसरू नये की दहशतवादी मरण्याच्या उद्देशनेच मुंबईत घुसले होते. इतकी हिंसा आणि जीवीत हानी केल्यावर जिवंत राहणे हा त्यांच्या साठी शाप आहे- चौकशी, छल, कोर्ट आणि फाशी हे त्यांना पुरते ठाऊक होते. प्रश्न इतका च होता की ते मारण्या आधी किती लोकांना मारतात! आणि कधी मरतात.त्यांनी खिंड चार दिवस राटरा अथक लढवली. १५० हून अधिक लोकांचा क्रूरपणे जीव घेतला आणि २०० हून जास्त प्रशिक्षित पोलीस आणि सैन्याला ४ दिवस झुंजत ठेवले! मान्य की सामन्या लोक अडकले असल्याने चार दिवस लागले पण ते लागले के सत्य आहे. आणि हा त्या अतिरेक्यांचा गौरव नक्कीच नाही पण ही वस्तुस्थिती आहे. आपण आपले महत्वाचे टीन अधिकारी लढाई सुरू होण्या आधीच गमावलेत! पुढच्या युद्धात एकूण २० हून जास्त अधिकारी कामी आलेत.
आणि आता मुंबई सुरक्षित आहे का? असा किव्हा ह्याहून भयानक हल्ला होणार नाही असे खात्रीने कोण सागु शकेल? ह्या घटनेतून जगासमोर काय आले? मुंबई सुरखही आहे/ काही दिवसात मुंबई सुरक्षित होऊ शकते हे, की मुंबईत कधी ही काही ही होऊ शकते हे?कोणाला वाटत असेल की आता आपण ह्या परिस्थितीसाठी सरकार, नेते आणि पोलीस खात्याला जबाबदार ठरववावे तर मला माफ करा. माझे मत तसे नाही. आता गरज आहे टी आणीबाणीच्या परिस्थिती मध्ये सगळ्या नागरिकांनी आपली जबबदारी ओळखण्याची. ह्यात मीडीया पण आलाच! आता गरज आहे ती अश्या प्रसंगी सुसूत्रपणे अधिकार्‍यांना मदत करायची. किती दिवस मुंबई चा सामन्या नागरिक आगतिक पणे कुणाच्या गोळ्यांना किव्हा बॉमम्ब्स ना बळी पडणार आहे? आता गरज आहे माझ्यासारख्या सर्व नागरिकांना आणीबाणीच्या प्रसंगाचे प्रशिक्षण मिळण्याची. खरे तर स्वप्रतिकारासाठी बचवचे शिक्षण घेण्यास काही हरकत नसावी. शस्त्रे बाळगायची परवानगी नसावी पण टी हातात आली की चालवता यावीत. आता हा वादाचा मुद्दा होऊ शकतो. पण हे जर हिट्लरी वाटते तर निदान बचावाचे शिक्षण तरी आवश्यक आहे ह्यावर दुमत नसावे. निदान जास्तीत जास्त मुलांनी लष्करात जायची तयारी दाखवावी. देशासाठी, जन सुरक्षेसाठी प्राण देण्याची मानसिकता तरुण मुळा मुलीन मध्ये असावी.
जी गीता गांधीजींनी प्रमाण मानली त्यात ही श्रीकृष्णाने 'तस्मात् युद्धाय युज्यस्व' असाच उपदेश केला आहे हे आपण लक्षात घ्यावे. आपल्या सामर्थ्याची शत्रुन्ना खात्री पटवून देणे हयात गैर काहीच नाही!
पोलीस नोकरीत सन्मान आहेच, त्यांना तसाच पगार, विमा व निवृत्ती वेतन मिळावे म्हणून प्रयत्न व्हायला हवेत. म्हणजे तरुण पिढी ह्या नोकरीकडे आकर्षित होईल. पेज थ्री संस्कृती पेक्षा डोळस देशभक्ती मनांमध्ये रुजवायला हवी. हिंसा करणे, निरपराध लोकांचे जीव घेणे ही आपली संकरती नव्हे. पण शस्त्राचे उत्तर कठोरपणे द्यायला आपण तयार असले पाहिजे. निरपराध जीव घेणे जितके भयंकर तसेच निरपराध आगतिक जीव घालवणे ही पापकारक नाही का? सिस्टम ला दोष देणे भ्याडपणा आहे. मी सिस्टम चा एक भाग आहे. सिस्टम सुधरावी असे वाटत असेल तर प्रत्येकाने प्रयत्न करायला हवेत. साधी गोष्ट आहे. जर लाच देणार्‍यांना उघड नावे ठेवता तर छोट्या छोट्या गोष्टींसाठी लाच का देता? आणि मग लाच खोरी बंद होईल अशी अपेक्षा का करता? प्रत्येक गोष्टीत हाच न्याय आहे. ही वेळ शहीद व्यक्तींना आठवून फक्त अश्रू गालायची नाही तर एक होऊन धडा ग्यायाची आहे. देश आणि नागरी सुरक्षे साठी सर्वांनी च रस्त्यावर उतरले पाहिजे. ज्या मीडीया ने बातमी दिली की रेलवे स्टेशन वरचे पोलीस संशयित व्यक्तिंची चौकशी करत नाहीत, त्यांनी ह्या पोलिसांचा उत्साह टिकून राहावा ह्यासाठी काय केले? ते वेळ काढून तिथे जाउन बसले का? देशप्रेमाचा ज्वर वरपासून खालपर्यंत झीरपट जायला हवा. मग पोलीस आणि सामन्यांमध्ये उत्साह सळसळेल. शाळांपासून मीडीया पर्यंत सगळ्यांची ही जबबदारी आहे.
काल पासून हा सगळा हलकल्लोळ बघून, वाचून, पोलीस व सैनिकांचे शौर्य, त्यांचे निर्भीड बलिदान बघून एरवी स्वताःच्या जीवाला अती जपणारा माझा १६ वर्षांचा भाउ आईला म्हणाला आई मला सैन्यात भरती होता येईल का? मला त्याचा इतका अभिमान वाटतोय. निदान परिस्थितिजन्य का होईना त्याच्या मनात ही इच्छा निर्माण व्हावी हा माझ्या पालकांच्या शिकवणीचा थोडा विजयच की नाही? बाबांची इच्छा होती की त्यांच्या मुलांपैकी एकाने तरी सैन्यात दाखल व्हावे. मला वाटायचे ड.Cक्टर म्हणून माझे क्षेत्र वेगळे आहे. पण आज जाणवते की देशाच्या आणि माझ्यासारख्या अनेक कुटुंबांच्या सुरक्षे साठी ज्याला शक्य त्याने लढायला हवे. आज मला घरी बसून बातमी वाचताना माझी लाज वाटली. ह्या वीस माणसांच्या जीवावर माझ्या सुरक्षेचा इमला उभा आहे हे जाणवून अस्वस्था वाटले. गरज पडली तर मला आणि माझ्या कुटुंबाला ह्या दहशतवादी लढ्यासाठी प्राण, बुद्धी, विचार काही तरी दिले पाहिजे. ही आज मला माझी जबबदारी वाटतेय.
देशाच्या सुरक्षा, अस्तित्व आणि अस्मितेसाठी भारताचे नागरिक काहीही पणाला लावायला तयार आहेत ह्याची जाणीव देशामाधाल्या आणि बाहेरच्या विघातक शक्तींना करून देणे ही प्रत्येक भारतीय नागरिकाची जबाबदारी आहे.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Money...

Money.... is a power that can easily ruin! I always pray for enough money to feed myself, to build a small shelter and to fulfill my basic responsibilities. And at the same time, I do pray for keeping the flame of realization alive in my conscious mind that there are still many in the world who do not have even this much money.

Fortunately I never had enough money to misuse :-)
Still childhood was secured. I never got many luxuries and I never found all those thing essential which I never got. parents suffered through many difficult times but I never had the fear of being homeless, food less and without basic education. When now my bro tells me that when he heard dad's death at the age of 12, he assumed that then onwards he would have to work and find his own shelter and food without education, it shocks me. That is a terrible feeling for a 12 year old child- a feeling of being thrown into huge dump of insecurity from a pleasant and completely secured lifestyle!!

And today, at the age of 28, when I can no more depend on my mother, all alone, am facing a similar fear. After few months my course is going to end. I can not claim loan money that time. I will NOT have residency and if I write exams hurriedly I might not get into it ever... I can't even think of it. Moreover my loan repayment will also start, I will have to stay in this country without shelter to claim as my own and without a source of income.. and without a single relative. (though they are anyway of know use unless they are own blood and family) I am much worried.. Feel like talking to someone about it.. talk might relieve part of my burden perhaps...

Am not sure of anything right now. I hope situation will not make me pack my bags and go back without any solid achievement. Only good aspect is that I can work if I return and my loan is not huge; I can repay it with my earnings...

Life would be sad if any such thing happens, but it may not happen at all or if it happens it will bring another quality of mine to the surface. Till the time wish to fight is alive, I can not be a failure. :-)
This thought is so consoling!!!

Monday, March 10, 2008

Execution

I listened to a round table video published in online New England Journal of Medicine. It discussed the rationale behind using muscle paralytic agent in modern method of execution. This modern method involves injecting a combination of two anesthetic agents- muscle relaxant and a barbiturate and potassium chloride which stops heart.

The protocol claims to minimizing pain and suffering at the end of life of the prisoners... Hearing about ending some ones life unnaturally- let it be a homicide, suicide or a legal process makes me sad. On Earth, where every moment is a new generation, evolution towards something better, why should someone end something as beautiful and precious as life??

A life.... when I look at myself and even just couple of people around me- I understand the intricate woven nature of a life. A life is a world. Since birth a life carries so many experiences and memories with it- good or bad- those remain doubtlessly precious. It connects with many others, becomes part of other world while being a world itself... It's a mesh work of many circles huge n small, with a circle of own life being all inclusive. It needs a lot of negative courage to end it artificially.

Even about prisoners, many times I feel perhaps execution is not a right punishment. Then a thought raises, what about a prisoner who has killed a head of a family, a mother, an innocent child and most importantly another life- a world... When I think of an imaginary person, who has just killed my father, my mother, my child, a family member.. what would my reaction be. Or if someone kills my husband or me and I still have a uni-dimensional characteristic of this particular thought intact and alive, what would I think? It is difficult- difficult to forgive someone who does this to me... But I will not like to make him die... it makes me feel terrible. He can have life imprisonment with no work to do and no place to go except his room. That is the worst punishment I feel. Worse than death... But by doing this I do not snatch his world of memories and experiences from him...

And then I think the possible importance of these memories... It is just this and fear of destruction and decomposition of body that makes me afraid of death??? Yes. And was this the reason why few cultures and religions brought concepts of lives after life, world after death and new birth with same soul into existence?.................. Yes perhaps...
Science, which tells true composition of human body, who describes periodic table and dissects atom to its smallest units has not succeeded in driving this fear away.. Also, it has not been successful yet to tell precisely the nature of 'life' in the bodies and its origin...

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Time- a sensation.

A friend called me after a long time... He'd just come back from India and He had couple of good news about career, so we had many topics to talk and catch up with each other. But still, at the end of it, when we said bye, I felt as if I talked for a lot of time- perhaps 2 hours.....???

I checked my mobile and was surprised to see that I'd talked just for 40 mins!!!

The same morning my boyfriend had called up. After cutting the call, I felt I talked for just few minutes... for one hour or so max...

I checked my mobile and it showed me that I was talking for one hour 55 mins!!!

Time is not evenly graded on x axis. Sometimes a min means one hour and it really is one hour. Coz that is what I feel, I experience. And at times, one hour passes like one minute. That is also very true.

An Urdu poem says- days of togetherness are as short as life and nights of separation are as long and dark as my long think hair.... :-)

Saturday, February 16, 2008

ख्वाब बुन रही है रात......

Was getting ready to go out.... when I first remembered these lines like an old friend. I was in school and junior college then; when I was great fan of songs- especially old ones.. Memories of these songs thus bring memories of those carefree days to surface... And these songs directly connect to my inner emotional world.

This re union started day before yesterday... as I mentioned, i was getting ready... I pushed the lines back and walked out of my house. Air was exceptionally warm for winter days, few steps ahead I saw a beautiful yellow bird couple chirping on the brown skeleton of winter tree. And unknowingly I started humming-

ख्वाब बुन रही है रात...... बेकरार है.....
तुम्हारा ..... इंतजार है....
lines started pouring....
होटों पर लिए हुए दिल की बात हम... जागते रहेंगे यु कितनी रात हम...
बस इतनी सी बात है..... तुम से प्यार है...

Hemant kumar is amazing, his songs float in the air like a magical spell!

सितारे सिमसिमाते है तो आजा आजा ... मचलती जा रहीं है हवाए आजा आजा...
सुलगती चांदनी में थम रहीं है तुम पे यह नज़र...

पेडों के शाखों पे सोई सोई चांदनी; तेरे खयालों में खोयी खोयी चांदनी,
और थोडी देर में थक के लौट जायेगी
रात यह बहारों की फिर कभी न आएगी
आजा अभी जिंदगी है ज़वा.......

Talat mixes his voice in the mood,

दम भर के लिए मेरी दुनिया में चली आओ,
तरसी हुई आखों को फिर शकल दिखा जाओ,
मुझसे तो मेरी बिगडी तकदीर नहीं बनती... तस्वीर नहीं बनती....

The spell lasts long!!!
All the gone days and years seem to return. They make me laugh at this stage of life, especially when, future does not promise much... :-)

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Celebrating defeat

I can't welcome and celebrate this birthday for various reasons.
No, growing old is definitely not one of the reasons- I like to grow old, it only adds to my wisdom and creativity...

Simple material reason is I could not keep the commitment- could not finish step 1- a foolish reason to b unhappy perhaps, but it hurts.
My original plan was to finish it by Jan. And I kept postponing it hopelesssly.... and the worst is- am still not prepared...

My boyfriend asked me about my birthday plans today. I've no plans except to study better really. Of course I did not tell him this. He would have immediately said that am showing off... I will probably eat something good- now days good means Indian :-) I thought of buying flowers for myself as usual... but here flowers are hopelessly costly and I do not wish to 'waste' money on flowers!!! :-( Sad!!

Hehe, he added that he could not present me anything... :-) poor soul- he is funny. He never treats me specially and then confesses that he actually does not. N other times he feels that he is doing perfect justice to me :-)
I remembered a gift I received two years ago- a beautiful picture of Radha and Shyam and a handmade paper diary.. N I found it very foolish... so now, if this unromantic boyfriend of mine, my very first and last boyfriend, does not gift me even a small greeting card, if he does not treat me specially ever, I deserve it!!!

Well, its all about feeling bad about promises to self which I could not keep, and uncertain future.. there is nothing to celebrate really.. Me and my lone life- hope it turns out a success sometime......

Well, it is important to celebrate a defeat, a string of defeats!!