The Ship and the Sea!

Journey on a ship gives you a very old worldish charm. Though the modern day luxury ships are more like luxurious resorts in themselves, the choppiness of the sea in unpleasant weather conditions, still give you a thrill and the fear of the unknown that many a sea-faring traveler might have encountered, from time immemorial.

The reference to a ship and the sea is on account of the fascinating trip to the Andaman islands that some relatives of mine undertook. The relatives had come to pay us a visit in Udaipur and during our "adda" sessions, they recollected their tryst with a turbulent sea en route to Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal, off mainland India.

The capacity of our forefathers to tame the furies of Nature and harness it for the overall good of Mankind, also resulted in the "invention" and fortification of the boat and the ships emerged as the preferred mode of transportation as newer and newer areas were discovered across the world and commerce between far off places prospered.

Ships weather the might of the seas and despite the vagaries of the weather, keep on sailing towards their destinations. The whole of the sea can't sink a ship, if water does not enter it. It is only when,water gushes into the ship that it capsizes. Similarly, a person will face hurdles galore in pursuit of his goals but if he is steadfast in his approach and diligent and dedicated with a positive frame of mind, he will more often than not, achieve his desired result. Like a ship, he will not sink.

But on the other hand, if negativity enters his mind as water enters a ship, he is sure to capsize as a ship does.

Ah! The similarity is so uncanny but how many would actually understand it, I wonder??   

The Treasure Hunt!

One of my favorite childhood books has to be the classic by Robert Louis Stevenson, "The Treasure Island". The pirates especially the affable and at the next moment sinister one legged Captain Long John Silver and the virtual transformation of the innocent Jim Hawkins from a gullible country boy to a man hardened by experiences of loyalty, bravery and honor, have been etched in my mind forever from this book on a fascinating treasure hunt.

There is something that attracts one and all to a treasure hunt from time immemorial; El Dorado and Atlantis are names that come to mind immediately. In the present day, a treasure hunt that has grabbed eye-balls all across India, has been the digging that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has embarked upon in a small nondescript village Daundia Khera in the Unnao district of the central Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

This unusual "Gold" digging expedition has been undertaken by the ASI after the central government gave a go ahead on the basis of a dream that a seer of the region had. The holy man, Shobhan Sarkar dreamed that buried beneath the ruins of an old palace at Daundia Khera lie the fabulous treasure of Raja Rao Ram Baksh Singh, the king of Buxar, who was hanged by the British for participating in the great Mutiny of 1857 also referred to as India's First War of Independence.

The treasure in the dream, claimed the saint was a mind boggling 1000 tonnes (1 tonne = 1000 Kgs) of Gold that translates to roughly 35274000000 ounces. The price (as of today) of 1 ounce of gold is 1330 $, so calculated at the present value, the treasure's value would be in trillions of USD or in Indian rupees (assuming 1$=60 INR) it would come to an astronomical figure, enough to give the more than 1.2 billion Indians at least INR 2500 per person . However flimsy the basis, the amount was enough to spur every concerned party into action. The digging, which has been on for the last 4 days, has been slow but till date barring some 19th century relics nothing much has come up. But the interest in the treasure hunt has not waned and in fact even international media too has started covering it.

Most people dream of digging up great treasures and commence upon long illusory treasure hunts. They keep on living a dream and run all their lives in the quest of the "El Dorado" that they believe will change their lives. But the point they miss, as they rush through their lives, is that the greatest treasure that a person might find in the world actually lies within that person himself and his immediate surroundings.
  "It is ONLY Me and My Attitude, which is responsible for My Success". 

Peace, happiness and a contended personal life are probably the greatest treasures on earth, which most people in the present give a miss in their never ending Treasure Hunt for a better future....

The Durga Puja 2013!

The Durga Puja was celebrated with great religious fervor by people of all communities especially the Bengalis all across the country. The Pujas in my hometown of Udaipur, Rajasthan too were full of festivities and the days from "Shasthi" or the 6th day (10th October) to the Bijoy Dashami or the 10th day (14th October)  went off in a flash with an array of cultural programs and religious ceremonies dotting all these 5 days. The Durga Puja culminated with the "Bishorjon" or the immersion of the idol of the deity, Goddess Durga and her family consisting of Goddess Lakshmi, Goddess Saraswati, Lord Ganesha and Lord Kartik in various water bodies, for them to visit the mortal world again, next year.

Bindu Bhawan, Durga Puja

Along with all the fun and festivities, there were some gloomy news as well during the Pujas. At the oldest Durga Puja in Udaipur at the Bindu Bhawan, the house of the Bhattacharya family, this year the puja was held in spite the loss of the head of the family, Mr Apurva Bhattacharya, at a relatively young age of 61 years due to cardiac arrest. The puja at the venue naturally had an air of gloom and the warmth of Opu Kaku as I called Mr Bhattacharya, was thoroughly missed.

The evening Aarti was almost divine at Bindu Bhawan

On 13th of October, the Mitters lost their matriarch, Mrs Leena Mitter, at a sprightly young age of 95 years. She was a lady who lived her life to the fullest and more importantly on her own terms.
Boroma didu, as I called her, would be missed by one and all, for her love for life and the zest with which she lived it.

Below are some more images from the Durga Puja in Udaipur, this October 2013....

Banga Samaj, Durga Puja

  

Town Hall, Durga Puja

The Theater of the Absurd!

As the penultimate quarter of the year 2013 comes to an end, the magnitude of absurdness encompassing us all seems to be compounding. Every sphere you look around, incidents bordering on absurdity keep popping up. The latest in the list is an incident which was narrated to me by my colleagues where a person from the hospitality was seen arguing with a "Taped Message" on an answering machine, leaving me to ponder whether to laugh or to cry.

Moving on to serious cases of absurdity, the case of a "Village Woman" seems to be hogging the media in India and neighboring Pakistan. The supposedly strategic meeting between the Prime Ministers of the two countries, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting, was hijacked by a quote attributed to the Pakistani Premier Nawaz Sharif about how a village woman always goes on complaining to village elders which was perceived to be in reference to the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's talks with the American president, Barack Obama. This "rumored" reference created furor in India while at the same time the Pakistani media played to the galleries and took satisfaction from "India-bashing". Any progress on easing of tensions between the 2 neighbors took a back seat with this "breaking news" hogging the limelight.


Based on this, even the national level Indian political leaders started a blame game in which the much maligned "silent" prime minister again was the favorite "punching bag". This comes in the wake of another bout of absurdity in which again the poor prime minister came out second best. The Supreme Court of India in a landmark judgement advocated debarring of convicted legislatures. The Parliament, cutting across party lines, fought tooth and nail against it and a resolution was passed in the Parliament wherein it was decided to dilute the judgement. The Government thought of bringing in an Ordinance countering the judgement and sent it to the President of India for signing. The President, not a rubber stamp authority as his predecessor, did not sign it readily but asked further questions about it. The opposition took this opportunity to belittle the government and the ruling party seeing that it was cornered, turned against its own prime minister, led by the heir apparent of the ruling party. Spoke person who were advocating and propagating the benefits of the Ordinance, virtually immediately backtracked and now saw flaws in it.  

While the Theater of the Absurd continues unrelentingly, the masses are reeling under rising prices, falling economy and unabated corruption. That a democracy has to endure absurdity day in and day out without any resemblance of respite at least for the next two quarters, are a sad state of affairs.
Absurd, Absurd, Absurd!  

Development or Destruction?

At the cost of being branded "biased", I have no hesitation in proclaiming Udaipur-The City of Lakes, my hometown, a paradise on earth. The reason is simple. From being a quaint sleepy tourist town, the city is fast becoming a buzzing tourist destination, a city that was proclaimed as one of the best cities to live in by the prestigious travel magazine Travel & Leisure. So, now I have big malls along with the local stores, wider roads and express highways. Multi-storied buildings that were once just the prerogative of the bigger cities have now started dotting the landscape of the lake city.

All around the talk is about "Growth" and people and policymakers alike seem to be only concerned about development and growth. To cater to the housing needs of the ever expanding population, the hills adjoining the city are being flattened. To provide people with better roads, the Aravali ranges are being blasted off and tunnels are being bored through them. Trees and the greenery are the primary victims of the "Development " of the city and the lush greenery within the city is eroding fast.

 What is more alarming is that the local authorities in cahoots with the big real estate developers, have over the years, allowed constructions in areas which are fragile in nature. Innumerous, hotels and guest houses have come up near the lakes and many residential projects have been sanctioned, which has in turn resulted in the lakes getting polluted in the absence of proper sewerage disposal.

Udaipur's USP (Unique Selling Proposition) has always been its natural beauty and its lakes, if in the name of development, we create havoc with these two very distinct things, then the question whether we are actually on course for development or destruction, begs an answer, using the business lingo, ASAP!!   

Adversity shows true character- A top 5 of great characters

I once saw a presentation by eminent motivational speaker, Sharu Rangnekar in which he beautifully described a situation when a person is under pressure. He said that from time immemorial, it has been in the human psyche that when faced with an adverse conditions, one has only two options : Fight or Flight! 
Thus, an adverse condition honestly speaking is a necessity that shows the true character of a person.

There have been examples galore that showcase the greatness of people from all spheres of society because of their resilience and strength of character that helped them in withstanding the brutal onslaught of adversity.
Presenting a top 5 of great characters from a bouquet of spheres:

1) Mythological- The Hindu mythology is very vivid and colorful and is dotted with many characters who faced adverse situations admirably. Lord Ram, the prince of Ayodhya for one, did not bat an eyelid and went about doing what was required of him, even if it meant that he had to leave aside his royal luxurious lifestyle and lead a life of a forest wanderer. Another great example is the eldest living son of the Kuru King Shantanu, Devabrat, popularly known as Bhishma or 'the one who has taken a terrible oath". The most righteous, able and rightful heir of the throne of Kuru, Bhishma abdicated in the favor of this half brothers and vowed never to ascend the throne of the kingdom of Hastinapur. He even put his duty before preferences during the battle of Kurukshtera as per Mahabharata, the Hindu epic and sided with the Kauravas though he personally felt that the Pandavas represented the righteous path. He fought heroically and killed many of the Pandava soldiers but never killed any of the Pandavas themselves. He could have broken his promises made or he could have even retired but he put his duty before anything else.

2) Historical- The princely kingdom of Mewar has had many rulers but none as famous and revered as the might Maharana Pratap. Pratap become the king when most of the Rajputana was ravaged by the Mughal forces of Emperor Akbar and most of the other Rajput kings had become vassals of the Mughal emperor. Maharana Pratap could have chosen the easier way out and accept the suzerainty of the Mughals and retained his kingdom but he chose a far difficult path. He fought tooth and nail against the vastly superior Mughal army despite suffering numerous debacles. His fierce desire to free his beloved motherland from the marauding Mughals, saw him gradually inflict crushing defeats on them and virtually freeing his whole kingdom by the time of his untimely death.

3) Contemporary- Kisan Baburao Hazare is diminutive old man who galvanized the entire country on a single plank, that of better governance and anti-corruption. The social activist from rural Maharashtra in India popularly known as Anna Hazare nearly brought the policymakers and the political power of the country, to virtually its knees after his call and subsequent fast to enact a stringent anti-corruption law, the Jan Lokpal bill. The resultant fast tracked enactment of an anti corruption law (though a much diluted from the one envisaged in the Jan Lokpal bill) was a semblance of victory for Anna Hazare, who like most in the country could have accepted corruption as a way of life but decided otherwise.          

4) Political- One of the great characters from the political sphere from round the world has to be Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States of America. Though born in a poor family in Kentucky, the self educated Lincoln guided his country through great turmoils, though none more than the American Civil War. His life was a constant struggle but he never backed down from his beliefs and was instrumental in preserving the continuance of the United States as an union and also led to the abolishing slavery in the USA.

5) Sports- Though there are many from the sporting arena who have inspired millions around the world including Indian boxing sensation Mary Kom popularly known as Magnificent Mary and cancer surviving cricket star Yuvraj Singh, the story of Arunima Sinha is truly awe inspiring. A national level Indian volleyball player, Arunima was mugged on a running train in 2011 (when she was just 23 years old) and thrown from it. It resulted in one of her legs being amputated below the knee. This devastating incident would have sucked the "life" from any person but not Arunima. She started her life anew and with tremendous will power and nerves of steel she embarked upon a new journey. While recuperating in the hospital, Arunima wished to conquer Mount Everest, the highest mountain peak in the world. This gave a new definition to her life and she diverted all her energies in achieving this seemingly impossible goal that too for an amputee. She fought on and on 21st May 2013, just 2 years after her life shattering accident, Arunima became the first woman amputee in the world to have scaled the highest peak in the world.

There are many stories of resilience that pop up everyday in each one of our lives, stories that motivate us to fight on with a vengeance at the unfavorable surroundings and situations, but more often than none we tend to find the easier way out and "flight" rather than "fight" but we need to always remember that
"Life isn't meant to be easy but meant to be lived. Somtimes happy, other times rough.With every up & down we learn lessons that make us strong".

The Social Media!

Even a decade and a half back for most, Social and Media use to imply 2 different entities. Social was something that related to society and media was a medium through which information was dispersed. But with the advent and proliferation of the internet and mobile technologies, Social Media has a new definition now. WTF. Watsapp, Twitter and Facebook has encompassed us from all sides and as is the case with virtually everything in life, they have had an effect which is "Great Good" as well as "Great Evil".

Social networking sites like Facebook have helped people get closer and stay in touch, destroying physical and geographical boundaries. Long lost friends have been united as have been families all across the world because of Facebook. For many, sites like Orkut and Facebook have been platforms through which they have been able to connect with people they love and "To Share is To Care" has gained completely new dimensions in the social media lingo.

Social Media is also instrumental in "Changes" beyond imagination. The genesis of the Arab Spring Revolution was in the Social Media. Millions of anonymous users of social networking sites united, initially virtually and then physically, to oust despotic regimes across countries like Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. The social media gave a vent to the suppressed aspirations of billions of youth, depressed by large scale corruption of the ruling elite. Even in India, the Anna movement and the tragic Braveheart rape case of New Delhi showed us glimpses of the constructive power of this new media.

But social media has also brought forward some very disturbing developments. The same media which is hailed as a connector has become a catalyst in the breaking of actual old world emotional bonds. People living under the same roof, now brag about how much they love each other on the social network in a false display of public display of affection. Private life has become much too public and everything is gradually becoming artificial, with a view to garner more likes on the Social Media. Real people are spending more time on the virtual sphere neglecting more pressing things in hand like job, duty and most importantly family. The children are aping their parents and what we are increasingly finding today, are picture perfect families with little emotional bonds within them. A real irony. The urge to check periodically (could be within hours, minutes and sometimes even seconds) whether one has been liked online has become so immense that the likes and dislikes of the loved ones at home, has become secondary.

The ease with which a lie can be propagated as a truth on the social media is also a very upsetting trend. It has become a potent tool for the destruction of harmony amongst communities world wide. The Muzzafarnagar riots and the mass panic movement of the people of the North East India are the recent examples of the destructive power of the social media. Character assassinations are done with aplomb, day in and day out on social networking sites and the tragedy is that the gullible youth is easily targeted by religious zealots and corrupt politicians, who in their quest for ultimate nefarious objectives, find the social network a very handy ally.          

Reading through Amish's Shiva trilogy, a fact of life kept on staring back at me, everything in this world is based on balance and if the balance is tilted in anyway, destruction awaits. So, too much good will always give rise to too much evil as Good and Evil always co-exist. It is for us to take a pick so that our evils are balanced out by our good.........

The Social Network is no doubt a wonderful tool and it is very difficult opting out of it, but we need to be aware of the evils that are lurking by; because today,  The Social Media has indeed become a necessary evil!