ABHIVYAKTI: " Yes Minister " Days

ABHIVYAKTI: " Yes Minister " Days

" Yes Minister " Days

Yesterday Shri Shri Shri Rahul Gandhi faced the media for the first time in his decade long political career, and failed miserably. Loyal congressmen and congress supported media channels will certainly think otherwise, and they are entitled to do so.

In his 90 minute ordeal he spoke only about four - five  issues, Systemic changes, empowerment of women, opening up system which in his opinion is closed, decentralization of power centres, bringing in youth in the system. Well, here Arunav missed an opportunity of tearing him apart further, and shredding him to meshed meat like Khima. He should have further asked him who and which party was responsible for all this mess, if at all it was a mess. 

His claim that BJP is power centric and the party relies only on a single or couple of leaders only where as Congress gives its power to down the lane party members. I wonder then why the general perception is that all the decisions are thought to be taken by Sonia & or Rahul, Why Every Congress Governed state CM rushes to Delhi / High Command ? And for what ?

He differentiated between the two massacres - 1984 & 2002 by saying that the 2k2 riots were pushed and abetted by Modi where as the 1984 riots were not and that the congress tried to stop the riots. He banked on his memory. I must say he has an elephant's memory, how else he could have remembered what happened in '84 ?

His defence on corruption was laudable and laughable too. His erasons for supporting AAP and striking alliances with Lalu etc also fell in the same category.

He is certainly a visionary is what people like Manish Tiwari, Sibbal, Digvijay Singh etc may say. They have a tough job cut out for themselves in days to come. 

However I enjoyed the 90 minute entertainment show thoroughly. It took me back to The " Yes Minister " days T V Shows.

AAP's Daily SOP Drama

Media coverage of AAP on TV has just become like a Daily SOP Opera. The BJP Opposition  is mounting its pressure on them for Bharti's Blood. Congress is desperate. How can they remain a second string party in power? They are not at all used to following somebody else's diktats, except from their own masters from the special family. MMS's rule / no - rule in two stints under UPA umbrella is a proof in itself. We have two more parties in the big drama. Police and the AAP party ministers / members. So it is a full four course dinner, every day. Now a days TV news channels provide better entertainment and enjoy better TRP Ratings then the other entertainment channels.

So enjoy the drama till the next general elections - 24 x 7 and on any news channel. which episode of any SOP drama gives such endless entertainment ?

Rendezvous of long lost friends

last week was a bonanza. After I met Ankolekar at talegaon, we decided to bring the other two, Tendulkar & Haridas in the loop of live contacts. Ankolekar took up the responsibility of coordinating with them and fixing up a date. I had already briefed him that Haridas would be in Mumbai in the first week of Feb and probably till 10th. 

Things moved fast and favourably for us. Last Sunday was the Date. I reached Mumbai on Saturday. Initially I was to stay at Andheri but Ankolekar known for his persuasive capabilities, coaxed me to change my destination to Charkop. I was destined to be there and so finally I reached there. Eventually That proved to be a memorable night. Though I reached his home at about 10 in the night. His daughter, Poonam, Janabai - his maid servant and his grand daughter were all waiting. 

I met Poonam for the first time, but it did not appear so. We met as if we have known each other for ages. She is simply a great company. We had a great dinner and talked at length on very many issues. She is a well read, smart and intelligent lady. 

Next day Janabai prepared a sumptuous breakfast. We moved out for our next point on the agenda, the most important one, so to say. We reached Tendulkar's house at about 12 in the noon. He and his daughter - Anushri are no less of a host. Anushri had made Rangoli on both sides of the entrance to greet us, as told by Tendulkar. It was really touching. 

The door opened on pressing of the door bell. And here we were, together, in front of each other. Our faces had undergone metamorphosis over the years. But for that we were both the same old guys. 4 decades went back wards in a flash. We hugged each other, had tears of joy. Gradually it all sank in and we settled. Haridas too joined  soon. Again we went through the past. We all had changed physically, but our hearts and minds were the same. We were soon moving through the good old BEST days with camouflaged faces. Yes, because we had all changed physically over 4 decades. 

Unfortunately Tendlya's wife had gone out for some family function. But Anushri quickly chipped in to fill up the vacuum. She greeted us with tea, followed by pakodas and then a great simple lunch. She is doing her MCA, but it appeared that cooking runs in her veins. She was simply superb. Every thing that was served had warmth, love and above all TASTE.

We all left at about 4 PM with a resolution - That of tracking Khadilkar, another member from our group. Tendulkar the CID, with his gang are on a new assignment now. I am sure that he will not fail this time too.

Thanks Tendlya once again. But I must say a big thank you to both the ladies - Poonam & Anushri. 

Well done both of you dear. Keep the smile on your faces. God bless you both.

Defining Moment

Today is certainly a historical day in Indian Politics. The common man was fooled for almost 6 decades since independence, as he was not given the education to make him aware of his rights. All major political parties have been fighting elections on casts / religion / minority vote bank appeasement etc. The common man was always wilfully kept poor and uneducated to keep them away from awareness. Leaders and governments in power adopted appeasement policies, brought cast and religion in the game and threw money at the common man to win elections. The common man was forgotten thereafter till next elections.

The scenario changed in last decade or so when no single party could get simple majority leave alone the absolute majority. Regional Parties / Leaders gained in strength and they started dictating terms. This gave birth to Mass Scale Corruption. Not that earlier there was no corruption, but now it became a routine and a way of life to fight elections and remain in power. Money Power coupled with Muscle Power became the order of the day for the politicians.

Anna Hazare started waged a war against corruption and wanted the Jan Lok Pal Bill. Kejriwal & his Team members were then with them. This bunch of people realised soon that the only way to fight this menace was through fighting elections and then trying to change the system. Yes, it is always difficult to bring about a change from outside the system. In fact the major political parties forced them to fight elections and seek power before thinking about bringing about systemic changes.

This team took a wise decision, that of choosing Delhi as the starting point. On December 8 the Aam Admi won 28 seats. All the three parties did not get simple majority. Again AAP came out with a Master Stroke & Clever move. After BJP decided to remain in opposition, AAP wrote to both the parties and sought their favour for its 18 point agenda. Congress did not want the BJP to come in Power, so it decided to support AAP. 

That was it. AAP came out with another clever move and sought the opinion of aam admi, before deciding to form the government. This was all a well thought out strategy. 

In fact initially I thought this approach of seeking public opinion for every single issue / bill on a state / national level would be idiotic and suicidal, but no, they had a plan. They first came out with their 18 point agenda and then when the time came they sought the opinion.

Now both BJP & the Congress will be in a fix. Today congress had to support the confidence vote to save its image and BJP had to oppose not on issues, but on the ground that how could AAP shake hands with Congress, a party who is considered to be the mother of all Ills?

Kejriwal spoke from his heart and talked common sense. Is it not that we all want a Roti - Kapda - Makan - Siksha - Swasthya & Suraksha. and who would say No to Sasti Bijli & Paani ? And perhaps if AAP is able to rein corruption and gradually win this battle against corruption, the day will not be far when we could win a war against rising prices and inflation too.

So I am thumbs up for AAP . A year back I too had joined a candle march in Pune, and wished Anna & his team a great success. For sure the seeds were sown by Anna but the formation of AAP was and probably will prove to be a landmark decision.

A defining moment in the history of Politics.

वेलकम २०१४

वेलकम २०१४ 

कल नये साल के सफर पर निकलना है ! ज्यादा बोझ ढोना नही है, यह तय है ! क्या साथ लें, क्या ना लें, इस पर हमेशा की तरह उलझन थी, बैचेनी थी ! कई चीजें ऐसी होती हैं जो आप साथ नहीं लेना चाहते पर वे आप का पीछा नहीं छोड़ती ! और कई ऐसी होती हैं जिन्हे आप साथ लेजाना चाहते हैं पर उनको भी बोझ होता है ! ऐसे में मैंने निर्णय लिया की बोझ हल्का करना है तो उन्हें पीछे छोड़ जाना ही बेहतर है !

क्यों ले चलें ईर्षा, नाराज़ी, मनमुटाव, झगडे, गलतफहमियां, दुर्भावनाएं, विश्वासघात इत्यादि का बोझ ,  ( क्योंकि इन सब का बोझ काफी होता ) ? क्यों न सिर्फ उनमे छुपी सीख को ले चलें ? मुझे लगा सीख सिर्फ एक ही सटीक रामबाण की तरह है, और वह है - भूलजाना ! और फिर नयी शुरुवात करना ! सच ही में क्षमा में , भूलजाने में छुपी शक्ति का अंदाज लगाना मुश्किल है, पर उस से कोई इंकार नहीं कर सकता ! क्षमा करने लायक मेरी क्षमता नहीं है, क्योंकि इन चोटों के जख्म मिटाये मिटते नहीं हैं ! मैं कोई राम का अवतार नहीं हूँ ! पर भूल कर आगे बढ़ना थोडा आसान है ! इस लिए मैंने उस  सीख को साथ ले चलना उचित समझा ! इस आते वर्ष में, साल भर भी यदि मैं उस  बोझ को मन और खंदों से परे रख पाया तो भी वह अपनेआप में एक उपलब्धी होगी ! अगले वर्ष फिर सोचेंगे यारों ! सीढ़ी - दर - सीढ़ी ही मंज़िल तय करनी चाहिए न भाई ?

और सीख लेनी ही है तो उनसे मिली शिक्षा, अनुभव और समझ को क्यों न लिया जाए ? इनको साथ लेना ही है क्योंकि ये उम्र भर काम आएँगी !

मैंने भी कई लोगों को इसी तरह कि चोट पहुंचायी होगी ! मैं सिर्फ प्रार्थना ही कर सकता हूँ कि भगवान् उन्हें भी ऐसी सद्बुद्धि दे !

दोस्ती, बड़ों - बूढ़ों के आशीर्वाद, प्रेम , श्रम - कष्ट करने की ताकत, स्वास्थ्य, जिद्द, वचनबद्धता इत्यादि तो साथ चलने को जैसे तत्पर ही रहते हैं. पर फिर वाही बोझ का ख़याल आता है ! इसलिए दृढ़ निस्चय, दोस्ती और आशीर्वाद साथ लेने का विचार किया है, बाकि तो दृढ़ निस्चय के सहारे पा लूंगा, यह विश्वास है !

दृढ़ निस्चय के सहारे मुझे अपनी उमीदों पर खरा उतरने का विश्वास है ! उसे भी सीढ़ी - दर - सीढ़ी साथ रखूँगा और देखूंगा कि मेरे मूल्यों में, आस्थाओं में कोई गिरावट तो नहीं आयी ! यदि नहीं तो इरादे और मजबूत होंगे और यदि गिरावट आयी तो इरादो को मजबूत करूँगा !

इन चीजो के सहारे ( सीख , आशीर्वाद , दोस्ती और दृढ़ निस्चय ) एक नयी उम्मीद ले कर अगला पड़ाव तय करूँगा ! नए सपनों को साकार करने का भी इरादा है! आप मुझे प्रोत्साहन देंगे ना ?

चलो फिर थोड़ी सी मौज मस्ती करने में हर्ज नहीं है ! इस उम्र में यारों ( दोनों लिंगों के ) के साथ , दू - चार चाकी पर बाहर तो नहीं जा सकता क्योंकि शोर शराबे से अब दूर रहने कि उम्र जो हो चली है ! इस लिए मैं - और मेरा जाम, पिछले वर्ष का गम भुलाने के लिए क्या कम है , साथ में जब बेगम अख्तर की आवाज़ का जादू कानों में गूंजा रही हो ?

है न धरम पा जी जैसा - मैं - मेरा जाम - और वो ( अख्तरी बाई कि आवाज़ ) ? और क्या चाहिए भाई ! गुड बाई २०१३ !! लव यु २०१४ !!

Golden Days

It was perhaps one of the most eventful weeks in this year. The best thing that happened was when I received a call from my close friend lost in Mela like circumstances ( like two brothers missing each other and the family and meeting after decades in Movies )  La Deewar Style. A shrill voice called and asked " Is it Mr. Ganu "? I said - YES. Again he said the BEST Ganu, I again said - YES. He then said " I am Tendulkar ". That was enough to take me back in a flash by almost 45 years. We talked and lived every incidence of those days. Then he said " Yaar Ankolkar is dying to meet you. He has even told me that whether I believed or not in Rebirth, He believed and would like to be born again, only to meet GANU". It was an emotional shock to me too, and it brought tears in my eyes. He then told me to wait for some time to get a call from Ankolkar, and then Haridas. 

That day both called me up and we talked as if all those years gap never ever existed. I promised both that we will again revive our association. 

Today I went to Talegaon, about 35 kms from Pune, by local train and met the Man - Ankolkar. The first thing I had realised was that I had preferred to take train journey even though my driver had not come, just to meet him. This was really a defining moment. Travelling by local transport with the common man keeps you rooted and makes you feel that you are part of the common man on streets. You are not different. I had missed out on that feeling for last 3 - 4  decades, since I stopped travelling by local transport ( Bus or Local Train ). Even in long distance trains the warmth had gone out since I stopped going by sleeper / unreserved coaches. In fact I had distanced myself from that pleasure and warmth unknowingly. I had become too materialistic and a slave of comforts, and in return lost the touch & smell of warmth found in a common man. Today I was back amongst them and was happy to be their part.

Warmth I saw when an elderly person offered his seat to a lady with two children, a site you would hardly see in upper class travels. 

And then the meeting with Ankolkar. OMG. We spent almost 4 - 5 hours together. In between, We brought lunch for ourselves and his grand daughter. He took out his harmonium and started playing tunes from old Hindi Films. We talked about classical music and family issues. We were our good old days' self. The strings were tuned again, so to say.

I had to catch a 4.45 PM train to return. I called him again before the train started. We spoke for a couple of minutes and then he concluded and said his trademark sentence " LOVE YOU ", spoken from heart.

Today will be an unforgettable day, after so many years.

Thank You Tendulkar for the efforts of finding my whereabouts.

Tendlya - We are all meeting in your house when Haridas would be in Mumbai during the first week of January 2014. I am sure that we will then celebrate our reunion and say " HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN "

Back to Panchaayti Type rule

Finally Aam Admi Party decides to form a government. Kejriwal and his team resorted to seeking public opinion by way of SMSs, Media & about 25 Lac letters sent to the people. It appears great on paper and for a beginning. Does it mean that for every little / big decision the party will seek people opinion ? Just to say that it is for the people, by the people and of the people. Then why leaders are needed? Governments can not be run this way. Probably you can take public opinion once on what issues they would like the government to address and their priorities, and this should be done before election and before making the party manifesto. Once it is done then the party should implement the agenda and accept accountability for its' failure or success. 

Just imagine this opinion seeking on a larger stage like a big state or on a national stage. It will be a real mess of sorts. Government will not function as lot of time will be wasted in seeking opinions. In what way this style of functioning would it be different then the present status, when Congress ruled government at centre had already been functional for last 5 years or say a decade? 

I remember this way of functioning when in good old days sarpanchs in gram panchayats used to have meetings under a tree and decide on some issue. there too it was never based on public opinion. it was left to a bunch of people from the panchayat. However these people sought public opinions earlier and privately, before sitting on a judgement.

Is the Aam Admi Party taking us to the stone age era  ?? 

Is it Change of Hearts for Congress ?

The drubbing congress has got in recent state elections have not changed them a bit even. They are with their dirty games yet again in Delhi. Now the local congress body has sent a letter to the Lt. Governor showing support to the Aam Admi Party. They do not want the BJP to come to power on one hand , and they want the AAP to fall pray to their well disguised trap and accept the offer on the other hand. This is killing two birds with one shot. They hope that AAP accepts their offer, form the government and fail to implement even one of their assurances, because they will not allow any such bill to pass where congress has been opposing all through out. Then they will claim that AAP offers only hollow promises, and try to mislead people and tell that BJP ran away from responsibility and AAP has failed to deliver, and show how only Congress is the party who knows governance.

I only hope and pray that none of this happens.

सौ चूहे खा कर बिल्ली हज को चली

हाल ही के चुनावी नतीजों के बाद  कॉँग्रेस  में उथल पुथल चालू हुई ! पर परिमाणों में कोई फर्क नज़र नहीं आता ! फिर वोही ढाक के तीन पात ! खुर्शीद भाई कहते हैं कि सोनिया भारत कि माँ है , भाईजान तुम्हारी होगी पर देश भर की क्यों बना डाला ? मणिशंकर जी ने भी अपनी चिर परिचित चिड़चिड़े अंदाज़ में प्रधान मंत्री पद के लिए सोनिया के नाम पर महर लगा दी ! सिब्बल जी भी  भला क्यों पीछे  रहते  ? उन्होंने भी सोनिया कि दावेदारी कि हिमायत की ! 

और हाँ ! दिग्गू भाई तो हमेशा से ही बड़बोले रहे हैं , वो क्यों भला अपनी इन आदतों से बाज आते ? उन्होंने कहा - मैं तो पहले ही से कहता आ रहा हूँ कि सोनिया का कोई विकल्प नहीं है, पर यदि है तो वह सिर्फ राहुल बाबा ही हैं ! 

अब सब कॉंग्रेसी बयानबाजी में लगे हैं - कहते हैं कि सोनिया को फिर से बागडौर संभालनी चाहिए ! अरे भाई छोड़ी कब थी कि फिर से सँभालने कि नौबत आन पड़ी ?

कितने भोलेपन से ये सब लोग इस तरह कहते हैं मानो जनता बेवकूफ है , सोई है , नादान है , कुछ जानती नहीं है !

यह सब सौ चूहे खा कर हज जाने जैसा ही है ! है ना ?

CAUSE, EFFECT & REMEDIAL ACTION

I get in to adventure mode very often. Unfortunately it turns out to be a misadventure most of the times. I can’t help and I cannot refrain from trying to be adventurous again in spite of my previous failures. This time I decided to paint my table which had serious termite problems. I have always believed in “ Do it Yourself ” philosophy. So I decided to do it myself. I bought wood guard and applied it to the problem areas.  I achieved 100 % success. I was buoyed up and excited by success. I was floating on cloud nine. I felt “ Well Begun is….. ”. So I took out the oil paint which was left over after the painting works of interiors and doors of my house. I added turpentine as an expert would have done. I checked up the viscosity and color shade. I was satisfied with my artistic skills and was happy within.

I took out the drawers and opened the front shutters of the shelves under the table, cleaned up and started painting from the back side and then the drawers. SO FAR SO GOOD. My excitement was increasing leaps and bounds, exponentially. The Master Painter was at work. I asked my wife to come and see the progress. I was motivated by her initial good words. I asked her to capture the moments in our camera. Those all moments were like best moments of my life, as if, and hence needed to be captured for sharing with all my relatives, son in laws, friends etc. After all, I am a recognition savvy person, I admit that. 

CAUSE : 

Now, the painting of shelves under the table started. Top shelve was done. No issues, no problems whatsoever. I felt that a Great job was done methodically & systematically. Then the bottom shelf was done. I exclaimed and shouted “ Wow!! ” . Archimedes’s words “ UREKA ” became a history, so would mine be too, I thought.

I started the second coat, after a gap of about couple of hours. I realized that the surface had not dried completely, but I decided to continue. I had to bend and shove my head inside to reach the inaccessible parts of the shelves. The painting was thus completed. There were some paint spots on my hands. I removed those by applying kerosene soaked swab.  I was then relaxing in the sofa, when my wife saw some thing on my face and screamed “ What is this ”. This was only a beginning. A barrage of questions followed in high pitch tone, like bullets from AK 47. “ What have you done? ”, “ Who had asked you to do painting ?”and so on. Still I did not know what was wrong. 

EFFECT: 

I had already lost my zeal and enthusiasm and had almost lost all my energies. I asked meekly “ What happened ?”.  I had forgotten for a moment that she has " Simha - Leo Rashi / Zodiac Sign ". These people are aggressive by nature , you know.

She shouted “ Look at your hair…… they are all coated with paint ”. I touched my hair. These had become stiff. I went to the mirror, and said lightly this is “ SPIKE Style ”. That acted as fuel to the fire. She thundered “ What nonsense?”. Now I was speechless and defenseless, as always. I told her not to worry because I would remove that with kerosene like I did for my hands. She said “ Are you crazy? ”.    “ Don’t be stupid, You are allergic, don’t do anything like that ” , she said firmly and authoritatively.  I threw up my white towel in a mood to stop further assault.

In the mean time, her elder sister dropped in. when my wife told her the whole thing, she looked at me and laughed. Now the atmosphere eased out. Thanks to her, really. They both then advised me to go to the barber and get a size zero hair cut.

The barber saw my state, understood the problem and did the remedial action. Luckily, we still have almost two months for Anupama’s marriage on November 30, 2013. So I have sufficient time to regain normalcy.

 REMEDIAL ACTION:

So Once again it is proven that every action has a CAUSE & an EFFECT & a REMEDIAL ACTION . Q. E. D.

राख से फिर निर्माण

 हमारे दो नौजवान शहीद होते हैं,
           कुछ पाकिस्तानी सिरफिरे
एक जवान का सिर काटते हैं, और
         तोहफे की तरह ले जाते हैं,
हम कुछ नहीं करते, या फिर
       कुछ नहीं कर पाते हैं।

सरकार विरोध जता  कर शांत होती है,
          किसी का खून नहीं खोलता,
सहिष्णु जो हैं हम ! या हमारी सरकार ?

हमारे नेता कहते हैं " मेरा देश महान ! "
या फिर
कुछ  कहते हैं " वन्दे मातरम !! "

वे लोग भी क्या करें?

आये दिन जगह जगह बलात्कार होते हैं ,
        हम कुछ नहीं करते या फिर कर नहीं पाते ,
आये दिन जगह जगह माओवादी हमले कर
        हमारे अपने जवानों की हत्या करते हैं,
हम कुछ नहीं करते या फिर कर नहीं पाते ,
       कभी तो उनकी  लाशों में बम्ब पिरोते हैं,
हम कुछ नहीं करते या फिर कर नहीं पाते ,

पर, हमारे नेता कहते हैं " मेरा देश महान ! "
या फिर
कुछ  कहते हैं " वन्दे मातरम !! "

कहीं स्त्रीभूण हत्या होती है,
        कहीं दहेज़ जान ले बैठता है,
        कहीं दिन दहाड़े चोरी - डकैती होती है,
हम कुछ नहीं करते, या फिर कुछ नहीं कर पाते,

कहीं सड़कों पर दुर्घटनाओं से मौत,
        कहीं समय पर चिकित्सा के अभाव से मौत,
कभी बेकारी से खुदकशी, तो कभी
        भूक से आत्महत्या,

पर, हमारे नेता कहते हैं " मेरा देश महान ! "
या फिर
कुछ  कहते हैं " वन्दे मातरम !! "

कभी अति वृष्ठी से तो कभी अना  वृष्ठी से मौतें,
        तो कभी भूकंप से मौतें,
यह काफी नहीं जैसे , इस लिए
       कभी विदेशी हमलों में मौतें ,

पर, हमारे नेता कहते हैं " मेरा देश महान ! "
या फिर
कुछ  कहते हैं " वन्दे मातरम !! "

कभी आतंकी हमलों से सीमाओं पर पस्त हम,
         कभी देश के अन्दर आतंकियों से झून्जते हम,
हमारे देश में जीवन का कोई मूल्य नहीं है,
         किसी को दुसरे की जान की कोई कीमत नहीं,

यह सब हो गुजरने पर ,
      कुछ देर पटरी से उतरा लगता जीवन,
फिर सामान्य होता है, होने पर मजबूर  होता है,

हमारे नेता लेकिन जीवन का मुल्यांकन करते हैं,
           जीवन की पैसों से बोली लागतें हैं,
आर्थिक मदत या दान की घोषणाएँ करतें हैं,

और कहते हैं " मेरा देश महान ! "
या फिर
कुछ  कहते हैं " वन्दे मातरम !! "

सच पूछा जाए तो यह जीवन का मूल्यांकन नहीं है,
        मौत का मूल्यांकन है,

मुझे इन नेताओं से कोई उम्मीद नहीं है,
        इन्हें तो उठा फैंकना होगा,
परिवर्तन लाना होगा,
        समाज में , व्यवस्था में !!

मुझे उस दिन का  इंतज़ार  है, जब
       अपना हर नागरिक इस देश के
मिट्टी की कीमत समझेगा,
        अपने स्वार्थ से परे, देश की सोचेगा,
तभी,

हम और हमारा देश,
        एक फिनिक्स - अमरपक्षी की तरह
जापान या जर्मनी की तरह
      राख से फिर निर्माण करेगा

यह जरूर होगा , यह जरूर हो कर रहेगा !!

फिर, हम सभी एक बुलंद आवाज में कहेंगे -

         " मेरा देश महान !! , वन्दे मातरम , वन्दे  मातरम !!
         



 

अनामिका

कुछ वहशी लोगों ने , समाज के कलंकों ने ,
                उस लाचार अबला को
अपनी हवस का शिकार बनाया ,
                 और कुछ ही क्षणों  में ,
वह अपनी पहचान खो बैठी !

कल तक,
उसकी अपनी एक दुनिया थी,
               मन में स्वप्नों के राजहंस
               चिल - बिल करते थे , चहकते थे ,
उज्वल भविष्य की आस थी , उसे भी ,
              अपने ढंग से जीने की लालसा थी , उसकी ,
और अब ,
              एक ही वार में मानो , वह
इन सब से कट सी गयी,
             अपना अस्तित्व ही खो बैठी मानो !

अभी वह अपनी मौत से झुंज़ रही है ,
             कहती है ,
             " मॉम , मैं जीना चाहती हूँ " !

शायद वह इस प्रयास में सफल हो भी जाए
            सब की प्राथनाएं भी यही हैं ,
उम्मीद भी है सभी को , उसे भी !
           उसकी जीवन रेखा शायद लम्बी भी हो ,
पर,
भविष्य की बाकी रेखाएं मानो
           अभी तो आकर सिमट सी गयी  हैं ,
धूमिल सी हो गयी हैं, मिट सी गयी हैं !

डर तो यह है कि , अब
           पल - पल जिंदगी भर शायद
वह इस हादसे को अपने
           दिलो - दिमाग से निकाल न पाएगी !

क्या होगा उसका उर्वरित जीवन?
क्या वह फिर मुस्कुराएगी ? खिलखिलाएगी ?
क्या होंगे उसके नए सामजिक समीकरण ?
कौन उसे इस पीड़ा से मुक्ति दिलाएगा ?
क्या कोई उसे निष्कलंकित मान अपनाएगा ?


या फिर,

वह रहेगी , जियेगी एक  - अनामिका  !!

Dev Gandharv

Sometimes, you are at a right place at a right time and things work in your favor without you planning for it initially. I was at kalyan a week back when Gopal Rao visited our house. The topic of music came up, and he mentioned about this program. Incidentally he is a working member of the kalyan gayan samaj, who organized the event. Tickets came easy, not like Pune’s Savai Gandharva Program. I did not have to stand in queue for hours, like I have to do in Pune. So I jumped for it. In a way, I was destined to attend this program at Kalyan. Icing on the cake was that I was in the second row from the stage. I had a VIP seat of sorts. A blind wishes only an eye, and here I got both, so to say.

Shri Ajay Chakravarti was simply superb on the opening day. His rendition of raga Kalyan followed by a thumari in Pilu, followed then by a Bhairavi was a treat to the ears. His control in lower and higher pitch ( saptak ) is amazing. He ended the program with a Kabir bhajan. They say  “ A job well begun is half done ”. In my case I had accomplished what I looked for, and that too on the very first day.

Team of musicians of the celebrated movie - Balgandharv lead by Producer Shri Nitin Desai mesmerized the audience on day 2. Shri  Subodh Bhave, Anand Bhate ( Nicknamed Anand Gandharv by none other than Pu – L : P L Deshpande )Kaushal Inamdar, Aditya Jog and others kept the audience in splits of laughter and at times brought tears by narrating interesting anecdotes which were foundations of the whole process of movie making. I realized that though the end product appears very easy,  it takes hell lot of efforts , hard work dedication and commitment in any creation, and Balgandhav was no exception. 

The day 3 too was an eternal joy. Pandit Rahul Sharma played Rag - Bhoop and a pahadi dhun. Then Ustad Shabir khan & Dilshad khan played Rag Megh and then a couple of small pieces. Both the programs were equally good.

I missed Dada, my brother and my wife Meena.  My dad was a true music lover. I distinctly remember him going to my uncle’s house about 2 / 3 Kms away on weekends to listen to classical music. We did not have a Radio those days. I was a kid that time and used to wonder why he takes that trouble. Later when I was drawn to this genre / form of music, I knew why that madness was. Unfortunately, he left us early and we ( my brother included ) were not in a position to give him that heavenly joy of music in his last days. I always remember him on such occasions and that brings tears to my eyes even today when I attend a concert par excellence.

Thanks Gopal Bhau.

The Only Tiger " EKTA TIGER "

Ekta 

A couple of months back I saw this hoarding “ EKTA TIGER ” while traveling from Pune to Mumbai . This was immediately after the release of the movie EK THA TIGER. How very apt it was to describe the only tiger in the Political Field. All other contemporary leaders of any and all parties never ever could match his charisma and mass appeal.  

               

He was in all senses really a tiger amongst the goats in politics. He roared and minced no words to express his point of view on subjects ranging from literature to politics to cartoons to movies to Hinduism to cricket. When he criticized anyone he did it frankly and from heart and when he loved anyone he did that in same style. When someone was totally critical of his views or comments, he took it sportingly like a real cartoonist or a sportsman. Be it Ketkar, or Vaghle  or Sharad Pawar, they all were highly critical of his views on many issues, but they all loved him for his humane side and his keeping distance between friendship and politics. He never allowed these two to mix.

He had personal relations with people from all walks of fields. Sharad Pawar, Lata – Asha – Hrudaynath Mangeshkars, Dilip Kumar, Big B, Rajnikant, Miandad, M Jackson, Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Jethmalani, Atal Bihari Vajpeyi, Advani etc are a few from the long list of people who had a close relationship with him. 

It all started with Marmik after he left the Free Press Journal as a cartoonist, and ended up with formation of Shivsena. Initially he vehemently spoke against the south Indians, then against Muslims, and then strongly in favor of Hindutva, however it was Mumbaikar and the Marathi Manus at the core of his thought process. I would not hesitate to say that be it a South Indian or a Muslim or a Sikh or a Kashmiri, he or she was welcome and a loved one if he / she  strongly felt that they were first Mmbaikars / Maharashtrians.  I see no wrong in it as I see no wrong in the Australian P Ms saying  “ Accept the law of the land and behave like the son of the soil ".

He did not mince his words and accepted responsibility for demolition of the Babri Masjid, but he also said in the same breath “ Build a Hospital there for all classes and casts ”. He always said that there are only two casts - RICH & POOR. Shivsainiks comprised of people from all walks of life & casts. In a way he gave a distinct identity to a faceless Mumbaikar, mostly youngsters.

The media and the powers that be, only projected the negatives of his views, but the masses never left his side.

Many people might be surprised to know that three of his cartoons of Churchill featured in the compilation of few best cartoons ob him. That was his creativity.

Telang drew his cartoon paying homage to this great man of the soil “ Pug Marks Leaving the Drawing Board, and out of it upwards towards the sky ” , is a right tribute to this person called : BALA SAHEB THAKEREY, really the EKTA TIGER ( The Only Tiger )