Exploring your Surroundings...Part II

The Key to reading the above map:

Color Coding:

• The green area is the Northern Ridge (now known as the Kamala Nehru Ridge), the greenest portion of Aravali’s left in the city.
• Blue area is the River Yamuna
• Yellow area is the Red Fort (Lal Quila)
• The red outline is roughly the area of what was known as Shahjehanabad, the Seventh city or the ‘Walled City’. It was ‘Dilli’, the city during the mid-later 19^th century. Later, it seems, even the outskirts were included and the entire area was branded as Old Delhi, just to contrast it with Lutyen’s Delhi, which was being built down South. Note how the Red Fort comes within the folds of Old Delhi and how it touches the banks of River Yamuna. Before the river was forced to recede, it must have been much closer to the fort.
• The black squarish dots are various places of historical importance.
• The colored and numbered dots (11 in all) are the important places associated with the 1857 mutiny.

Number Name of the place

1 Kashmere Gate

2 Nigambodh Gate

3 Delhi Gate

4 Turkman Gate

5 Ajmeri Gate

These are/were, it seems, the 5 existing gates of the city being defended by the mutineers (during 1857), who had barricaded themselves within the city walls. In all, there were 10 gates into Shahjehanabad . The British attack came primarily from Ludlow Castle (10) and Qudsia Bagh (11), just outside the city walls and very near to Kashmere Gate (1), which was finally breached by the British.

6 Red Fort

7 Delhi University/Viceregal Lodge

8 Flagstaff Tower

9 Chowburzi Masjid

10 Ludlow Castle

11 Qudsia Bagh

Now to proceed with the story…it is believed that baffled by the fall of Delhi into rebel hands, Lord Canning, the then Governor General, stationed at Calcutta took some severe measures. One was to deploy army units at all possible places on the outskirts of Dilli. This was somewhere in May 1857. The Baadli area was under the occupation of the rebel sepoys …the British unit coming from the north of Baadli confronted the rebels and pursued them till the northern ridge (yellow area on the map). Thereafter, the ridge became an important territory for the British because of it’s strategic location. Delhi (Dilli) lies (lay) on the west bank of the river Yamuna. There were ten gates leading into the city out of which three were near the ridge. The ridge thus afforded an ideal defensive position for the British. Also the northern half of the ridge was outside the range of the guns mounted on the walls of Dilli. The area to the ridge's west was protected by the Najafgarh Drain which was a complete water obstacle.

While in the ridge they constructed a number of structures…the Flagstaff Tower (pics below) and two guard gates (at least that is what they seem to be) on the north and south of the Flagstaff Tower. The records say that unable to take the Baadli defeat, the rebel sepoys launched a number of attacks and counter attacks on the British army units stationed on the ridge, but every attempt was thwarted primarily because the sepoys inside Dilli were a highly disorganised and unruly mob. They had no unified leadership. Bahadur Shah Zafar, their forced titular head was just an ailing 85 year old who had no intention or inclination to lead the sepoys…infact history says that given a choice, he would have sided with the British who were giving him some pension atleast!

Pics of the ridge

Old Viceregal Lodge (see map for location), presently the office of the Vice Chancellor of the Delhi University…early morning fog beginning to lift.

During the British times, the moment Viceroy used to move out of the place, a bugle sounded at the Flagstaff Tower (see map)…’Laat Saheb’, as he was popularly called, used to then proceed towards the civil lines area on an official routine inspection. Civil Lines, as already mentioned, served as the makeshift capital of Delhi till the time Lutyen was ready with his version, that is, from 1912-1931.

The Flagstaff Tower …from a distance, now all renovated by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Closer profile of the Flagstaff Tower…the Union Jack used to add colour to the flag pole that is still there (see picture closely). I suggest that we should have the Indian Tricolour now…any penny for my thoughts?! ; )

As mentioned in the earlier narrative, when the British occupied this place during the revolt of 1857, due to its strategic location, they constructed many structures. One of such structures you can see in the picture is the Guard House…there are two such buildings in the Northern Ridge—on the north and south of the Flagstaff Tower. The Guard Houses were obviously to keep an eye on the Sepoy activity below and to forewarn the British army of any danger. During the revolt, the British women and children gathered on the ridge to have a safe passage to Karnal through the greens (see map).

Northern Guard House

Southern Guard House

Slowly, the sepoys also lost Ludlow Castle, which they had earlier occupied, to the British. Ludlow Castle then became an additional post for the Brtish army. In quick succession, they occupied the neighboring Qudsia Gardens as well. Ludlow Castle and Qudsia Gardens were two very strategic positions as they were/are very near to the Kashmiri gate of Dilli (see map).

Pics of the Ludlow Castle and Qudsia Gardens (along with their history)

Entrance to Qudsia Gardens (see location on the map)…the place is as green as it must have been in the 1700’s and very tranquil. It is said that Qudsia Begum, the patroness of these gardens and after whom the garden has been named, was born Udham Bai, and was an 18th century dancing girl.

Huge trees still surround the pathways. The place was built by one Begum Qudsia, the Mistress of Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah ‘Rangeelay’, one of the later Mughals who ascended to the throne of Delhi when the Mughal rule was in its twilight phase. He died in 1748.

Qudsia Bagh as it is known as, was originally near the river Yamuna, and was more a camping ground than a formal garden. The Emperor, it is believed, came here on extended picnics that included jackal-hunting.

The mutiny of 1857 marred the beauty of the place. The Indian rebels barricaded themselves inside the Walled City (Dilli) to which the nearby Kashmere Gate was an entrance; the British, therefore, occupied Qudsia Bagh and made it their battery. In the subsequent shelling, hundreds died and Qudsia Bagh, not surprisingly, was more or less ruined (see map to get a better idea). Today, only three monuments remain in Qudsia Bagh: the entrance gate (as seen in the picture a very simple structure of cement and lakhauri bricks), the mosque, and the Baradari.

The structure clearly requires maintenance…plaster coming off at various places.

The inside walls of the gate…

This was the Baaradari once (an open airy pavilion—an archeological structure typical of the Mughal architecture…) caused to be built by Begum Qudsia. Later when the British occupied the gardens during the revolt, many functional changes were made to the original building. Consequently, the building, as it is now, appears to be a very amusing blend of the two styles. This side of the building is typically British.

As you may see, the lakhuri brick part of the structure is old Baaradari and the remaining additions…stairs etc were added by the British.

The place has a Mosque as well…built again by Qudsia Begum.

Lush greens…singing/twittering of birds…total serenity take you to another world.

A brief mention of the Ludlow Castle, which was opposite the Qudsia Gardens. Now, the castle is no longer there…a government school by the same name runs on the very spot. Here is an archival photograph of Ludlow Castle, outside the walls of Delhi, India, taken by Felice Beato in 1858 during the Indian Mutiny. In September 1857, the British forces stormed Delhi from the area of Qudsia Gardens as well as Ludlow Castle, launching an attack on the nearby Kashmere Gate (see map for a better understanding).

Ludlow castle was a British residence built by a Dr Ludlow. Felice (Felix) Beato, a Venetian by birth, initially worked as a photographer in England. He can easily be branded as the official photographer of the Indian Mutiny (1857-1858).

The picture has been taken from the following website: http://www.defencejournal.com/2000/jan/dehli-campaign.htm.

In the first week of September, records say that the last Mughal issued a proclamation that he would personally lead an assault on the British position at the ridge. On 12 September, in response to this call, some 10,000 soldiers and civilians gathered near the Kashmiri Gate and awaited their leader (Bahadur Shah Zafar)…who never came!

Anyways, prior to that in August itself John Nicholson, about whom I have already written in the earlier post, had been commissioned to Delhi…Contrary to the Indian position, Nicholson led an able and organized attack against the Sepoys via the Kashmiri Gate, which was finally breached after a bloody battle. The Sepoy camp was not only disorganized and infested with stoolies; it had almost run out of gunpowder/ammunition and food and hence was in dire straits.

Nicholson died in the encounter but British had gained entrance into the city…they marched till the Red Fort, hunted for the Emperor (and found him hiding in the Humayun’s tomb), and his sons ...imprisoned the former in Rangoon (Burma) and murdered the latter in cold blood. The route that Bahadur Shah Zafar took while fleeing is presently known the same name…yes: the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg. The bodies of his unfortunate sons were dumped just outside the ‘Kotwaali’ near the Delhi Gate , as bringing the mutilated remains into the city had the risk of sparking off another rebellion (BTW, the Darya Ganj Police Thaana, just opposite the Delhi Gate is exactly the place where the Kotwaali existed during 1857. Yes, that is precisely why the station is still known as Puraani Kotwaali, Darya Ganj!)

Radical Law or Magical Nanny McPhee to discipline parents?

Before you start to read, I am happy to share that the write-up was published by the Hindu, Open Page on Feb 17, 2019.

Here is a link to those who would like to read it there: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/radical-law-or-magical-nanny/article26292053.ece

Happy reading! Comments invited.


Stubborn Child Law! I was quite intrigued the moment I set my eyes on the title of a write-up that exhorted about the liability of disobedient male children. This was Masachusetts in the 17th Century and more amazing is the fact that the law was not repealed until 1973! The contemporary times are, in my opinion, quite ready for an obverse law—one that defines the liability of parents for their kids’ bad behaviour. Radical as it may sound, if that ever becomes a law in India, more than half of even the ‘educated’ parents might end up being cast as guilty under it!

Pun aside, any such law, radical or (il)logical, would be socially undesirable for various reasons. However, that does not mean that parents should absolved of all responsibility for the misdeeds or even for the lack of basic civilities in their children. Sadly, in India embracing and displaying social graces and manners is an adult domain and their active teaching is conveniently abandoned. Children are expected to learn them ‘when’ they grow up and not as a part of their growth. The surmise is that suddenly, upon attaining a certain age, manners would automatically get downloaded in the childs microchip.

Till that divine intervention happens, they are allowed to scribble on walls-because any control there might just stifle their creativity and deprive the world of another Picasso. They can play outdoor games while being indoors (be it malls, restaurants or private residences) and yell and ricochet like a Jallikattu Bull. All this, while the bewildered host wonders how to get the George out of the jungle! They can pee in public for they are children afterall! And now that they are off diapers, they might as well make good irrigational use of their newfound ‘freedom’!Atrocious examples of such profound disinterest or complacency in disciplining ones own kids can be multiplied.

Last week I had to play host and guide to a Japanese Family with kids, on a heritage trip to the Old Fort. After the mandatory distribution of chocolates amongst children, I could not help but notice that kids were not eating any of those—all because there was no waste bin in sight to throw the wrapper in! With astonishment and praise of the dropped jaw variety, I found myself getting flashes of a contra memory. Memory of an Indian parent chiding his kid for not wiping his face properly after eating the golgappas –and then throwing the paper plate and napkin on the road! Any Nirmal Bharat or Swachch Bharat assertions are possible with this mentality, I wonder...

I do not claim to be an expert at parenting. Just an observant mother spoilt into logical thinking by legal education. And in my opinion, one question that begs attention is this—should we leave everything to the ‘oh-so-inadequate’ education system of the country for doing a messy job with kids or should we finally accept that there is something systemically warped in our own style of nurturing our young ones?

Indulgent Indian parents remain so besotted with inculcating an aggressive spirit of pursuing good academic scores in their wards, that children grapple with basic civic sense, civility, humility and compassion.

‘Be a leader’, one school motto says; and teachers doggedly insist that the child would ‘lag behind’, if s/he does not become ‘initiative driven’. The parents, in response, bludgeon that child with impossible number of tuitions and coaching. Only if we could collectively realise that leaders have to be good followers first—followers of a mannered, disciplined and civil life, which only parents can provide, leading by example. Whether we need a law to achieve that or only a magical Nanny McPhee can put us on the path of self correction is for us to consider and answer.

Mess is bad. It should always be

SUCH reckless and unnecessarily emotional babyhood or motherhood extolling tweets trouble me. Not only babyhood, we do not live any age twice for that matter.

So my suggestion would be never to align yourself with any mess. Ever.

Babies or kids are very perceptive and observant. They learn from us. If we offer them comfort in mess, they are likely to internalise being around mess as 'normal'. Messy surroundings, messy environment, messy eating, messy head and messing around... It would be totally unjust on our part to get them to discipline themselves all of a sudden upon growing up. Because we must reap what we have sown.

Say no to mess. Not even once. Never. What is wrong per se, has to be wrong always.

Law and Literature-II

It was a duel in my mind that settled in favour of literature and not law. The tussle between the two was to gain the topmost position as a medium of bringing about social change. The conscience decided that what powerful literature-both poetry and prose can achieve, law cannot even imagine.

Law requires a discourse. Literature  in the nature of poetry manages with a few words.
If I have to say something about how women have been treated and maltreated over the ages, the default action in me would invariably move in the direction of defining the systemic nature of patriarchy, the malaise of dowry, child marriages, violence involving heinous crimes against women etc etc...
while a simple yet cogent
सुनो द्रौपदी! ..मेहँदी छोडो ...
मेहँदी छोडो खडग उठा लो
खुद ही अपना चीर बचा लो...अब  गोविन्द न आएंगे।
केवल इतने में ही कवि ने स्त्री की दशा, दुर्दशा और दिशा को बता दिया है

Such power can be exuded only by poetry. And the emotions that it manages to evoke are enough to change the societal ideology if sustained for decent duration. Bhakti and sufi saints, kavi of veer rasa managed to create a massive following just because they brought the restricted knowledge of the texts  to public in the language they easily understood.
Literature manages that.
Law is not the panacea of all ills and besides is full of jargon for most.
Just my opinion

Law or Literature -I

आज एक परिचर्चा के माध्यम से डॉ किरण नंदा ने  सहजता से ये बताने कि कोशिश की कि  साहित्य भी समाज का दर्पण होता है.
साहित्य वो है जिसमें हित की भावना हो.
नारी का सम्मान क्या है इसे जानने के लिए कविता का माध्यम चुना जा सकता है.  कवियों ने कहा है की नर नारी बराबर हैं. राम  धारी सिंह दिनकर ने नर नारी के संबंधों की चर्चा की है उर्वशी में और कहा है की 'हम हो जाते हैं कृतार्थ अधिकार गवां  कर'...हमारे साहित्य में सीता, द्रौपदी, दमयंती, शिव और पारवती के उदहारण सम्मानपूर्वक दिए जाते  पर वास्तविकता ये है की आज भी बेटी के जन्म के बाद ये कहा जाता है की ''तुम्हारे कर्म खराब थे''
त्रेता में दशरथ की पुत्री शांता अपनी माँ कौशल्या से पूछती है...हे माँ, क्या तुमने मेरे लिए भी यज्ञ किये थे?  ये भाव  आज भी प्रधान है.
 धर्म की पावन पीठ से पीठासीन संत महंत ये उद्घोषणा करते हैं की 'पुत्रवती भव '...ये नहीं की संतान भव.
डॉ. नंदा ने  प्रश्न किया की अगर स्त्री देवी  है तो उसकी स्तिथि दयनीय क्यों...एक परिवर्तन की निश्चय ही आवशयकता है. 

Curiosity, Culture and Civic Sense--Ours and Theirs

On a regular walking tour of Delhi with the troupe I am registered with, I found myself in the company of a novice foreigner once again. The trip included a visit to a temple...I was about to grasp that elusive peace of mind when someone prodded my shoulder...’What is this on your forehead pointing at the tilak?’

‘Err...this is a tilak...the temple priest puts it on everyones forehead’...I managed to mumble and was proud of the answer but before I could swell my chest properly in that pride, pat came another query...'why does he do that?; whats the purpose?’ And that red thread around your wrist...does it have a meaning—this holy cord?

Huh...purpose? Holy cord? What’s that? My mind reeled under the pressure to fetch an answer.’ Oh this...isssss to declare to the world that you attended a Hindu ceremony or visited a temple...a sort of attendance record’.

: / Why me I cursed!...

I am sure that these are not the correct explanations to things I explained about...nonetheless, it was some response at least.

On another occasion, a visit to the Yamuna banks, as a part of another trip, the leader of the group, a historian of repute was elaborating on ‘ghats’ and their religious relevance to the Hindus. All of a sudden a visibly upset trouper remarked...'why is that person watering the water? (animatedly)’, pointing at a person paying his watery tribute to the Sun, standing half deep into the river. The apparaently flabberghasted speaker managed to give an apt reply...the manner of praying to the Sun God to invoke His blessings and all that...I wondered in muted silence if we Indians would display such refined curiosity at the goings on in their culture and mores. Whether our interest in their culture, places and practices, if at all it exists, manifests itself only in the form of photographs promptly posted in facebook and instagram.

(The same person, btw, upon visiting the Rajghat had another question, ‘why is Rajghat not a ghat?’Ofcourse, the leader, being a historian managed more than an apt reply.)

Meanwhile, a small child accompanying the person was hungry. Upon being suggested to open the Mars Bar from his bag, he refused point blank...’but dad there is no trash bin here, (his eyes wide as saucers, as if he had been asked to take the forbidden fruit, committ a ghastly sin) where will I throw the wrapper’. The idea of keeping the wrapper back in the bag was clearly alien and did not appeal to him at all.

Wow! I thought....back in my mind emerged a picture of a pot-bellied lalaji chiding his child and telling him the virtues of remaining clean and hygienic and wiping the mouth properly after eating golgappas—and then throwing the napkin on the roadside.

Wow!

PS: I staunchly believe in the power of time. There is a time for everything...and destiny has something to do with it. So, this piece which had been brewing in my mind for the past 10 years finds expression today...today is the time for it. Take it away then...comments are invited

Parents who came, who ate and left-leaving my house a picture of a blast site :)

"Parents should not remain busy with earning their 'brad' (actually bread) and butter...", ranted the speaker... In fact she had so many gems to offer that 'alphabets' (actually the English Alphabet-the most pitiable and abused collective nouns) fall short of regaling the saga.

 

Sigh! Kudos to a bad choice (of deciding to attend the seminar), I had to spend traumatic moments listening to the speaker-a self proclaimed expert on 'good parenting'. The speaker rattled at length--an agonisingly long length on inculcating the value of discipline in children. Since I am a borderline control freak, I abstain from commenting on such issues. But that does not mean that I do not have questions.

 

One question is--leave alone what the child does or does not do, how she (mis)behaves--what if the parents dont do anything under the presumed notion that "children would be children afterall!" (sick)

 

Once I had a 12 and a 6 year old (children of invited guests) literally ricocheting in my house while the parents cared two hoots. They jumped on all possible surface areas, banged refrigerator doors and every other door possible-even the locked ones (wardrobe)...came close to dismantling the house altogether.

 

My muted protests (inside I was ready to detonate) only resulted in lame chidings for their mothers were busy exchanging notes on how their children had covered the normal milestones earlier than others of their age--each of them was actually a prodigy. I could not not agree less when I looked at the dilapidated house--they were no ordinary children--they were products of extraordinarily commiserable, numbskull parents!

 

 

 

 

 

ha ha :)

 

LOL guys and do share your thoughts!

 

DIE TODAY

Wish this post was a happy one!

The recent happenings in the city-my city made me revisit a few of my classroom presentations...am sharing one of them...

This one, I share through a PPt in the class; since here the purpose is different, am reproducing the poem version--adapted from something I read as a piece of a newspaper report...

Flawed Laws[A]pathetic Society

Does a woman have any respite?

•          Someone. somewhere said " I would rather be a cow in the USA--well fed but slaughtered, than be a cow in India--worshipped and starved"

•          We, here question: Is it any different for women?

•          We have Rules for Women

•          Don’t go out alone at night — That encourages men

•          Don’t go out alone at any time — Any situation excites some men

•          Don’t stay at home — Intruders and relatives can both rape

•          Don’t go without clothes — That sure encourages men

•          Don’t go with clothes — Any clothes encourage some men

•          Avoid childhood — Some rapists are turned on by little girls

•          Avoid old age — Some rapists prefer aged women

•          Don’t have a father, grandfather, uncle or brother — These are the relatives that often rape women

•          Don’t have neighbours — They often rape

•          Don’t marry — Rape is legal within marriage

•          To be safe--DIE TODAY!

Still I would say "Keep the faith" as my signoff

 

Tasty Teasers :)

It took 33 years and a marriage to reveal that I do not have a taste in food. I never was a fussy eater and the considerations of 'no food going waste bore heavily in my mind when I ate...they still do, so I eat anything without complaint. Unless, ofcourse, it's downright rotten.

Hubby dear on the other hand is finicky, fussy and moody...tell me if any other combo in a husband could be more lethal! Oh dear, life is tough!

But, well...am developing a taste for it! ; )

He he!

:))

Till the next post...Enjoy!

Revisiting my diary...

Was reminded of Yudhishthira from Mahabharata, the great Indian epic, while sifting thourgh an old diary of mine. There is a legend that says that he was not able to learn an apparantly simple lesson as "सदा सत्य बोलो, क्रोध मत करो" because he could not imbibe the essence of it in his behaviour.

I chanced upon a quotation equally difficult to follow, if not more..."Worry is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but does not take you anywhere" :)

So simple and yet when it comes to the nitty gritties of everyday life, am sure not even a true blue Hunky Dory can avoid worrying!

Hey btw...for some, worrying is therapeutic too...read on...

http://sunanda-offthebeatenpath.blogspot.in/2010/05/irrational-feelings.html

enjoy!

I was the second of my parents...

Being second has nothing to do with inferiority complex. It is more about knowing your position in life; how you see yourself...


Even my parents gave me a second grade treatment, so that's the only one I had known. Naturally, I was always comfortable at that level till the time I was mercilessly pulled down and thrown off the list completely. It is then that I started feeling neglected, my position threatened...me taken for granted...

Ofcourse, this realization does not make me happy. Am also sad because something died in me, innocence perhaps...yes, the tendency to be nice by default is long dead in me; now I think of the probable repercussions first. This is the essential drawback of growing 'mature'.

(another piece from the novel, I would surely publish one day!)

Remember this one? -I love the moral it gives

शक्ति और शमा

रामधारी सिंह दिनकर

क्षमा, दया, तप, त्याग, मनोबल
सबका लिया सहारा
पर नर व्याघ सुयोधन तुमसे
कहो कहाँ कब हारा?

क्षमाशील हो ॠपु-सक्षम
तुम हुए विनीत जितना ही
दुष्ट कौरवों ने तुमको
कायर समझा उतना ही

अत्याचार सहन करने का
कुफल यही होता है
पौरुष का आतंक मनुज
कोमल होकर खोता है

क्षमा शोभती उस भुजंग को
जिसके पास गरल हो
उसका क्या जो दंतहीन
विशराहित विनीत सरल हो
I Love this one in bold...

तीन दिवस तक पंथ मांगते
रघुपति सिन्धु किनारे
बैठे पढते रहे छंद
अनुनय के प्यारे प्यारे

उत्तर में जब एक नाद भी
उठा नहीं सागर से
उठी अधीर धधक पौरुष की
आग राम के शर से

सिन्धु देह धर त्राहि-त्राहि
करता आ गिरा शरण में
चरण पूज दासता ग्र्र्हन की
बंधा मूढ़ बंधन में

सच पूछो तो शर में ही
बस्ती है दीप्ति विनय की
संधिवचन संपूज्य उसीका
जिसमे शक्ति विजय की

सहनशीलता, क्षमा, दया को
तभी पूजता जग है
बल का दर्प चमकता उसके
पीछे जब जगमग

Read Something Wonderful on Silence

"Sticks and stones are hard on bones, aimed with angry art; words can sting like anything, but Silence Breaks the Heart. "
-- Phyllis McGinley

Those who are familiar with this blog would have read the post titled 'The Golden Virtue', written ages ago. Recently, I read this wonderful quotation which reminded me of the same... http://sunanda-offthebeatenpath.blogspot.com/2006/11/golden-virtue.html- its postscript rather.

It is so true that silence of a loved one leaves you feeling wretched, guilty and miserable. It is the penultimate tactic under emotional blackmail/violence.
Comments invited...

Irrational Feelings

There are times when worrying is therapeutic and this happens only in females...times when any attempt, more so insistent attempts at trying to pacify you and settle your anxieties, irritate you no end-because worrying is the only thing you want to do. It is different from wallowing in self pity...it is not even a passing phase but something lesser than that- a bubble of emotion with just a 'while' as the lifespan.

It is illogical and emotional and yet the truth. Since I feel it is a typically female experience-females being the more expressly emotional part of humanity, homemakers and primary carers in a family, I think what I mean would be better understood by married women.

God! On second reading, if the intensity of and with which I have written this piece is understood by even one other person, s/he would be deserve a medallion. : )

Using Cuss Words

Using profanities in language suggests a limited vocabulary, reflects on an indecent mind and a perverse upbringing, in consequence to which one feels inhibited to express oneself without relying on expletives.

Indiscriminate and often mindless use of abusive words set me thinking today ...

Take no tension, its just a thought. :))

Finally Chauffer driven...

One of the many perks of being driven around is that you get ample time to sit back and read. Managed to complete 'Two States' by Chetan Bhagat...nice simple read (as against a great piece of literary work) with just the right dose of witty comments at the right places. And yes, it is a perfect bollywood movie plot again. A cute narrative of what it takes sometimes to convince ones parents in the Indian inter-caste marriage scenario...good one!

A wonderful poem by Harivanshrai Bachchan

This poem has amazing potential...

जीवन में एक सितारा था
माना वोह बेहद प्यारा था
वोह डूब गया तो डूब गया
अम्बर के आँगन को देखो
कितने इसके तारे टूटे
कितने इसके प्यारे छूटे
जो छूट गए फिर कहाँ मिले
पर बोलो टूटे तारों पर
कब अम्बर शोक मनाता है

जो बीत गयी सो बात गयी ...

जीवन में था वो एक कुसुम
थे उस पे नित्य न्योछावर तुम
वो सूख गया तो सूख गया
मधुवन की छाती को देखो
सूखी कितनी इसकी कलियाँ
जो मुरझाई फिर कहाँ खिली
पर बोलो सूखे फूलों पे
कब मधुवन शोक मनाता है ?

जो बीत गयी सो बात गयी...

जीवन में मधु का प्याला था
तुमने तन मन दे डाला था
वोह टूट गया तो टूट गया
मदिरालय का आँगन देखो
कितने प्याले हिल जाते हैं
गिर मिटटी में मिल जाते हैं
जो गिरते हैं कब उठते हैं
पर बोलो टूटे प्यालों में कब मदिरालय पछताता है ?

जो बीत गयी सो बात गयी...

मृदु मिटटी के हैं बने हुए
मधु घाट फूटा ही करतें हैं
लघु जीवन लेके आये हैं
प्याले टूटा ही करते हैं
फिर भी मदिरालय के अन्दर
मधु के घाट मधु के प्याले हैं
जो मादकता के मरे हैं
वो मधु लूटा ही करते हैं
वो कच्चा पीने वाला है
जिसकी ममता घाट प्यालों पर
जो सच्चे मधु से जला हुआ
कब रोता है चिल्लाता है?

जो बीत गयी सो बात गयी...

One of my favorites...needless to say!
Enjoy the learning!

Life's Experiences

Professional life is issue based (people hardly appreciate it)...you may agree with one person on one issue and completely disagree with the same individual on the next matter...display of blind faith and rigid loyalty in any one at the workplace is smartless and spineless at the same time. Smartless because you are not applying yourselves and letting your mind atrophy; Spineless because perhaps you do not have the guts to retort, refute or simply disagree...for it requires some conviction and courage to face the adversities that would eventually ensue upon disagreeing.

Ogden Nash has something wonderful to say regarding this...

"Sometimes with secret pride I sigh
To think how tolerant am I;
Then wonder which is really mine:
Tolerance or a rubber spine?

Ogden Nash, 'Yes and No', 1938

Ok, so it is heavy duty stuff, but do not let your brain take so much load guys... :)
Btw...I plan to include it in my book. Plagiarists beware:it's my life's experience! Go make some faults of your own! ;)

Yes, I am this and that...

Finally I seem to have found that opening to my book ...that would exlain 'me' completely :)

Since childhood I have been a person to whom brainwave comes only as an afterthought, come-back lines come way after the onslaught of insult...yes, I never was swift on the uptake.

So, you want to sue me over this?

:)

Just the beginning...more to come

Su

जब फ़ोन की घन्टी बजती है तो कहते हैं "हेलो"

The arrival of telecom revolution in my locality came as a rude shock to me when repeated entreaties to the sabziwallah to stop his pull-cycle failed. While running towards his cycle I wondered what the reason could be for this sudden deafness, when he shouted, a bit annoyed "मैडम फ़ोन पर हूँ"। I stopped midway, open mouthed and embarrassed। Upon overhearing the conversation, my jaw was ready to hit the ground

"मैडम मैं अभी दूसरी गली में हूँ...और १५ मिनट लगेंगे शाम नाथ मार्ग आने में........"

The busy man was explaining some other madam from some other gali when he would be there to sell...

As if this was not enough, my bai (a recent temporary replacement for the regular one) gave me her set of directions in the evening...

"बीबीजी अपना मोबाइल नम्बर दो..."

...it was a 'not-to-be-ignored' command and I hastily obliged... Pulling out her NOKIA, she beep-booped in a style so professional, it would have put Bipasha Basu of the 'Corporate' to shame! Dazzled and speechless I waited...

"बीबीजी में आपको missed call दे रही हूँ...आगे से रात में कब आना है उस नम्बर पर फ़ोन कर देना। "...A tart reminder that her time was not to be wasted like last night...I could give her a mute nod...what else। :)