बयाँ करने को तुझसे ये जी चाहता है

ए राहगीर ना बदल बाट
बयाँ करने को आज तुझसे ये जी चाहता है

मासूम है तू कोमल है मन तेरा
बयाँ करने को तुझसे आज ये जी चाहता है

ठहर वक़्त को दे थोड़ा वक़्त
होगा एहसास तुझे भी

बाट बन जाती है मंज़िलें मिल जाती हैं
देखे जो सपने रख विश्वास उनपर
तुझसे ये बयाँ करने को आज जी चाहता है

मुकाम जो हासिल किया है आज
कदमों की तेरे वो दस्तक है मंज़िल को
आज तुझसे ये बयाँ करने को जी चाहता है

होगा जहाँ में इक दिन परचम तेरा
तुझसे आज ये बताने को जी चाहता है!

तब्दीली

कुछ फासलों का सफ़र था
ना पूछो कितने अफ़साने लिख दिए

मौसम को गवारा ना था
बहारे बसंत मिली पतझड़ में
हमको पता भी ना चला

ना होता साथ मह का
यादों से उनकी रुक्सत हो जाते सदियों के!

Basic educational qualifications for PRI representatives or Infusion of Information and Awareness with motivation to masses?

On going around a village and asking for the status quo of development work what I usually get to hear from 'associate colleagues' is – Elected Representatives do not have knowledge enough about schemes, their rights and functions. But actually on asking sometimes they do faff of their knowledge on popular schemes such as IAY, MGNREGA, Widow pension, Old age pension etcetera. To ascertain whether their knowledge is utile in implementation, usually my next question is - a) how many beneficiaries and; b) are the basic facilities of livelihood (employment), food (PDS), drinking, sanitation, health available to the people in the panchayat? With a wry smile answer would be, “we asked those in the annual development plan but didn't get it approved.” Same situation lies in every 'laggard village'. Is it the problem with institution or with the electorate which elects these morons, who for the sake of name and fame stand up for posts, they are ill-capable of. 

On one hand I don't want to blame the average Indian (common man now a days is a term for exploited, so I do not want to use that) as society still thrives on bhai-bandhi way of existence. Personal repo matters more than the values and ethics a person might hold or lack for the public office. People today are well informed compared to the past, only thing lacking today is judicious and righteous choice they should be making in public participation and voting. Otherwise there is no way for bunch of incapable and dishonest people, who now sit in the public offices disgracing the largest democracy of the world.

Younger generation which today burns itself of competition in all the fields from education to career, I wish could pass some heat to the morons, whom I want to turn honest and respectful to their duty, if in nearest of my capabilities. My little brain keeps pondering over the head on solution and i think of multiple solutions.

One way to screen actual social servants from fakes can be aptitude test along with minimum education eligibility. But the second thought to my mind comes is, they will get fake mark sheets and get tutored to pass aptitude test which is usual these days, thanks to booming education industry (coaching institutions, private tuitions) which somewhere is responsible for wrecking the society with depleting morality and ethics. Mind indeed sometimes gets crazy and adopts idiosyncrasy and I am no different.

Third thought is beautiful, to me atleast, and if practiced I believe can substantially change the development scenario especially at the grassroots, which is to educate, inform and aware people on these institutions and raison d'être of their existence. People in villages and even in towns still at large consider themselves separate from the government. They hardly think about how the revenue and funds are generated by the government and role of the 'people working under the hood of government'. If our 'average man' starts the process of 'demystification of system', which would happen only when he becomes aware with a motivation to act, lot of things which most of the educated lot cribs about can change!

HONESTY-BUG

What do you do when you find out people beside you turn dishonest. Normal reaction to any person smitten by 'honesty-bug' would be to dump dishonest for the larger good of life. Having been on both sides everyone once in a while dumps dishonest people and gets dumped by people when (s)/he acts treasonous.

It acts as a part of life to set a value system which later gets integrated after the pleasures and pains of either sides. In today's time when personal and professional life has crossed across the boundaries, life's larger lessons in personal life do appear in professional life too as difficult tests, where humanity and professional ethics and duties start contradicting each other. In a modern Indian value system it becomes difficult to be harsh with dishonest people, simply for the reason, profession is livelihood and may be the only source of support for the family.

Nonetheless learning to take harsh steps as a measure of keeping honesty and integrity in the profession, sometimes highly emotional side for fellow humans need to be kept aside. Fear does exist in both right and wrong actions irrespective of the purpose they serve. Still people under circumstances fall trap, sometimes in hapless condition and few other times due to their greed, to immoral and unethical behavior. In any case they have to face the consequences as every action will bring out some reaction is the philosophy governing right and wrongs in the society.

One might not want to take away something from somebody but when (s)/he has to act as a pawn without any choice of his/her, one feels guilty. Guilty for the suffering which bearer has to go through as a result of loss. How many times does it happens with almost all of us that we didn't want to hurt somebody but our duties leave little choice for us.

Freedom is not all the times free. Every freedom found outside a human soul takes away something without acknowledging the looser. It becomes too late until one becomes captive in his/her own freedom to realise the loss.

The stress laid for strong value and ethic system in past served the purpose of freeing individuals from making choices individualistic rather in a group. With the increased autonomy and economic freedom values and ethics have taken a dent somewhere which has affected the society bottom to top. Indian system and society is smart enough to realise it at personal level, but laid back to take any action for improvement and strengthening of value and ethics.

Scams and corruption which people talk about is planted in their heads and when the learned and elite of the society which are so called powerful enough to rule are engrossed into it, impact trickles down affecting the bottom of pyramid (which if shakes will take down everything from top to bottom!!!).

LIVING BY HERSELF!!!

What happens if you start living the life your friend once told she has lived in the years gone by. It actually becomes like taking a scoop of her flavor. Living by herself, she was the most harmless being I have ever known. Was it the ancient tradition of yoga she lived by or the karma theory, there was peace in her which I have seen in every serious practitioner of the old tradition. And meeting her was a realisation of self union with superself.

Wandering to different places, by then, was not a habit rather places chose me under circumstances which I lived by. Meeting her was very circumstantial but now when I sit back and reflect I would say those circumstances hold special place in the unnoticeable but important saga of my life. Initially it was her bold nature which drew me closer. Smart and sweet as she was so I would call her sweet in my later life. As time passed I used to feel as an intruder in her life after understanding her as a person who loved to live by herself in the thicks and thins when we crossed our ways.

Don't believe me, try and reflect yourself, you will find that circumstantial relations do keep up for life. Bodies might move but the essence of it remains in one's soul. Now circumstances have given me an opportunity to relive her life. To be truthful, for once I had wanted to live like her. One the spiritual closeness I felt with her; second to experience the life lived in no dependence.

In a new city by myself with plans of exploring the land of Nizams, I am yet to see an expressionistic adventurer in me coming out. Adventurer in me has grown with traveling, daily, without acknowledging the fact over past some months. Traveling doesn't moulds the parti pris every person holds but it does shapes that for a person's favor. Exploring and imploring, I dig deep to take what a place has to offer. In an attempt to cover up for my parasitic attributes, once in a while I would exchange tid-bits of info which was somebody else' gift.

Living by myself I am trying to live along with thinking about how she was managing all this. At times I realise the difficulties and try to emulate her lifestyle. She had lived it for long and was good at it but trying to compare myself with her, I seem to be looser. I would say her expertise sheerly can be credited to her experience. And naivety I express every time is the best excuse for inefficiency I have always wanted to cite or hide. Most of the things in life just need little bit of common sense and confidence. Argument of which cites me lacking both :) But am still 'Living by herself' to overcome my naivety.

Andhra Chronicles- 1

Bonding with good old friends has always been a delighting experience. Friends from native place, school, college and profession, everyone holds a special place deep inside my heart. Of late I got involved in this project on voluntary basis, which has given me the fruit of spending life in serene village, Dokur of Andhra Pradesh. Beautiful village with some very nice people, what more a person would want for happy living. These days are actually a rest when I think of restless days I had spent in past! 

Quite for sometime my schooling, which was tough and sweet enough for me to reminisce, slipped from my mind. Time here has offered me to relive my past. I met Ramakrishna who had his schooling from Sainik School Korukunda and instantly became friends as both of us are from same family of the schools. Though 10 years senior to me still I call him by name and it is a common understanding between us that old age tradition of respecting senior by calling sir or bhaiya is absurd enough to be carried on. So we call each other by name. He is an agricultural researcher and spends most of his time in the village, fields and of course with the rural people.

In the evening we sit and chat about the culture and traditions of telangana region. People live here rustic life and social structure is similar to any other village of India where settlement of people is based on caste. Religion is a big thing along with the regionalism for 'telangana' and I can see the stir which has been caused due to the release of sri krishna committee report. Nonetheless Ramakrishna, me and one of my colleague enjoy chatting and discussion about the social structure and problems faced in the village.

Sainik school boys are trained to serve motherland and the only one way offered or practiced is gateway to defence forces. But looking at Ramakrishna and myself both of us are in rural development and somehow trying to empower bottom of the pyramid in our society. Both of us are doing it as a profession but Ramakrishna has done a lot more than me (which I think was one of the reason why I wanted to take up voluntary project after almost 2 years of job).

My colleague who often comes to this village tells me Ramakrishna provides free tuition and guidance to all school, college going kids in their education. I seriously bow down in front of this person who is helping village kids with education for free in today's time when education for education providers has become nothing but a commodity. I only wish and pray that someday people in India realise that money is not the sole thing and one has to come back to values, ethics, humanitarian concern and love for each other for harmonious existence.

I would just say, comparing to regular profession for which sainik schools are meant, Ramakrishna and I haven't done very bad!!!

E(yes) on the travel with Traveler's or Development Worker's hat

Traveling to new places and meeting new people has been the offer I got from job profile in the development sector. The reason to become a part of this sector was conscious and personal despite initial voluntary and involuntary resistance from many fronts. Not much of a fighter but trained to be a fighter, I am little sceptic of gentle and flaccid personality I hold for people knowing me.

Stuck to a place and spending my days over the desk like the regular school classes which I hardly enjoyed, was not my idea of work. Though unusual but such things can be expected from an eccentric. Sometimes I think there might be lot of kids or young people or people in their middle age who would like to be free like the river to choose its course, but under circumstances remain meek.

Travel is ecstatic and an expression of freedom which makes it a longing affair in many lives. I was lucky to be despised by many of my friends and folks on hearing my travel adventures which were a mix of individual and group. Though at times I would crib about unnecessary things out of concern so that they don't feel too much as a looser :)

On one hand individual travel offered me great amount of time in making new acquaintances, understanding new cultures and falling in love with what seemed appealing. Whereas group travel was mix of part of individual travel itinerary and learnings and perspectives of the group. Group travel is good provided people are not poles apart, and little respectful of other members choices and time. I liked both because it saved me from the monotony which each of these kinds offer. During the traveling sojourn to different parts I would meet people going to hill station/beach/island/religious places, who have planned every micro and mini aspect from days to mode of travel and what to do and what not to do list. It was funny for me and would make me wonder on the intentions of their travel. Idea behind the travel and visiting new places is to let loose everything but most of the people tie them up like their regular life. Guess these days profession has churned out everything in the 'professional life creativity', leaving people empty on 'personal life creativity'.

Socialism, consumerism and 'stingy-ism' and other bookish and invented terms showed their faces in small ways to me. This way life was wonderful and is wonderful for me. I hope same for everyone or atleast people who like to see the applicability of learning in the life more than accumulating heaps of bookish knowledge to sit in the AC rooms and debate in the conferences :).

I wont say 'I dream and we can' like Mr. Obama as he is too big and intelligent plus most powerful person in the world (reason being- fear that CIA  might frame me in fake case or contempt charges) so I won't even dare copy him. But from my heart I believe if I could cite the benefits of traveling in personal growth as a human being and of course professional growth (to avoid any confusion for future employer), many of the actions harmful to 'children of lesser god', which people do keeping their conscience aside may stop!

In their love and simplicity they call me 'Okhiles'

In this part of country, people call me 'Okhiles'. It is the love in their words that even a different vowel used hardly matters. Though I am used to hearing differently pronounced name of mine but the smiles of love and echt, disarms me here completely. My name and response it gets has become uniform similar to the diversity I have seen in India.

Difficult to withstand, interrogative interaction, hasn't been through my way here. People more or less share what they want to say, and hear what I offer (most of the times what I say is nonsense, which I have realised of late!). Indian hosting frills around good food being served to the guest. My hosts being generous and concerned, with the bulging eyes, sometimes are saddened of the fact that despite being hill-man (pahadi) I am a vegetarian. I do feel bad by making them sad but can't help it as there are only few principles, my life thrives on otherwise I am a sinner for the most part!

Back in rural Assam, worldly-wilderness finds no place. It is strangely silent place with so many things to hear from. From innocence to subtle beguilingness of people (which moves me in and out of interactions), genuine hosting and concern, everything seems to be a part of rich evolving cultural heritage of this hilly state. At large people here are simple and straight, which touches me deep inside.

Simplicity here is an expression and when something touches the soul – expression to it would be recognition and respect, in a parasitic culture I was brought up and still thrive in.

 

Silence which is a virtue and privilege of the rural and hilly regions can drive you for life!