Freedom??? - Some Random Thoughts

I was watching Comedy Circus this night, and a participant was rightly justifying the deeds of Englishmen. I too was forced to think in that direction.

Have you ever noticed that the road and rail network build by them are still in existence in its original form, and those build by us are full of potholes. When I roam around in Delhi, Kolkata or any metro cities; I could see the beautiful buildings of pre-independence era, and the buildings made by us are full of cracks in just few years.

An eminent personality said, “We no longer discuss the future of India, we say the future is India.” But is that true? Even after so much development one question still haunts every Indian -- Are we really independent? Are we independent from the shackles of the caste system? Are we free from the social evils like dowry?

Previously we were slaves of foreigners and now we are being ruled by selfish fellowmen.

Ghair satate hain to utna dukh nahi hota jitna apno ke satane se hota hai…..

Our patriotism awakens on republic day or Independence Day and we show it by posting patriotic status messages or changing our profile pics with anything tricolor. Does it all we need to do for our freedom? Hardly few percentages of today’s youth go for casting votes as they find it boring to stand in long queues. That queue is the true path of enjoying our freedom- the freedom that we have got after a long struggle. Actually we don’t feel ourselves Indians; we try to show it to world that we are Indians.

On this Independence Day, just remember this:

Freedom isn't free. Someone has paid.

We often don't appreciate things that are handed to us when

others have paid the price.

The bloodstains have dried and been washed clean.

The smell of the pain and smoke in the air has cleared.

The echoes of the throes of agony have been quieted.

We are left with the resulting freedom until we forget.

Freedom on neither the outside nor the inside isn't free.

It never was and never will be.

If we carefully observe the environment and mindset of the people at the time of Independence and in the present day scenario, there hasn’t been a lot of change. It is almost the same. It is we the youth who have to change it. It is the duty of the younger generation of the country to strive for a stronger, better and healthier India. This will not happen in a day, it will take a lot of perseverance, determination and hard work.

Happy Independence Day to all.

Mere Paas Kya Hai?

HE is my cousin who WAS considered a loser by all. His father was working in the Block Development Office in UP government and was very strict by nature. This cousin of mine was very dumb (could barely write his name properly). He passed intermediate exams after multiple attempts. He was an epitome of failure and we never thought he would make it beyond being a shopkeeper or a mechanic.

 

But Fate had something else in store for him. His father expired while on duty. And as per Government rules, he was offered a job in place of his father in a cadre that matched his qualification. He was pursuing a graduate course at that time which he left in order to join the job.

 

Incidentally, He and I joined almost at the same time. His basic pay then was less than 50% of mine.

 

Four years later...

 

He has purchased 3 plots in cities like Noida, Aligarh.

He has acquired two houses in his city.

He owns a licensed revolver.

He owns a car and maintains a permanent driver.

He runs many businesses parallelly.

He has enough cash to satisfy his needs, wants and desires.

 

Aur mere paas kya hai?

 

I cant even say- "mere paas maa hai", kyunki maa to uske paas bhi hai :)

 

Who then is more successful?

 

I, a Graduate Engineer, working in a subsidiary of the RBI in the officer cadre, making currency for all.

 

Or

 

He, the Graduate dropout, working in state government as a clerk, making currency for himself.

No One like HIM.......Love You Abbu :)

I come from a family that depends on agriculture. When the materialistic world is divided into cadres of Necessities-Comforts-Luxuries, we fell somewhere in between necessities n comforts. Luxury was not was a part of our life. In spite of having land worth crores of rupees, there were hard times when even the basic necessities seemed too demanding on the pocket. I have been blessed enough that all my needs were met on time. Good education was one of them.

Little did I understand the nitty-gritty’s of the world then. Or maybe I just didn’t want to. I was a self-centred young guy just out of school. I got admission in an engineering college in my first attempt. Like most of the sons, I was ready with my demand on achieving this feat. I wanted a motorcycle. With all the knowledge I had, amongst the options available, I narrowed down my choice to Bajaj Caliber Croma. It was the first bike in the mid range with disc brake attached to it so it caught my attention. It was available for around 45k at that time. That to me was a pretty reasonable amount considering am the “Only Son” and had just cleared a big hurdle of getting admission into a renowned engineering college. I simply “deserved” it.

My father tried to convince me to purchase a Bajaj Boxer that was available for around 32k.  I don’t know why I was so stubborn at that time. Actually there was no need for a bike at all as my college was just a kilometre and a half from home and I already had a scooter to get there.

That adamant attitude made me maverick for a few months. I was mature enough to understand the financial situation but I ignored it all and started living in my own oblivion. Arrangement of that much amount would take time, but it didn’t matter at all to me then.

Seeing no other option I went a step further and started blackmailing them emotionally.  I stopped using the scooter and started using a bicycle which I had borrowed from my friend. I stopped interacting with any member of the family, including my mother. I still remember that I hardly spoke 5 sentences in a day during those days. Others weren’t so concerned, but my father got the message.

One fine day, there he was with the bike of my choice. He didn’t tell either me or my family members about it earlier. It was a big surprise for me. Needless to say I was the happiest person on earth. And everything became normal after that.

Now, when I think of those days, I wonder whether I would be able to do all those things which my father has done for me. My father is a very tough person and it is a Herculean task to cajole him to do anything beyond his wishes. But, there he was, bowing to my demand without a word. And yes, he isn’t a person of modern thoughts who believes in surprises. Yet he did all this just to see me happy.

He has done so much for all of us and is still doing it. I can’t recall if I have ever expressed my love to him. Through this post I am making a small effort to thank him for all he has given me. He does not use the internet, so I know he will never read this post.

Naturally sons are closer to their mother, so am I. My parents do not live with me. But I make it a point to call my mother 2-3 times a day. As always, a father is somewhere forgotten between the love of mother & son. I know I can’t return even 1% of the love and care that my father has given me.

But deep within my heart, I do care- with all I can.  

Love you Abbu! For everything.

Aisa Bhi Hota Hai- Part 2

Ticket with Bribe or Only Bribe
 
I was in Kolkata and had to travel from there to my place. I had a general ticket, therefore I requested the TTE at Kolkata station for allotting me a berth in AC coach. He asked me to wait in a particular coach. The train starts moving. I asked him to make my ticket and gave me receipt for the same. He took me in one corner and explained that whether I pay for the ticket or not, I had to give him his share of Rs.100/-. I may be responsible citizen but I had to chose for the second option- I paid only Rs.100/- .
Sarkaari naukar hi sarkaar ko choona laga rahe hai.
 
10 Rupye me Bhagwaan

One of my friends went to Kolkata to Kaalighaat Temple. Kaalighaat temple is the biggest temple of Kaali Maa in Kolkata. There is always a long queue for darshan of Goddess. But there is one shortcut. While you are in queue just take Rs.10 note in your hand. A panda (so called pundits) is there who observes everyone's hand, and as soon as he will see that note, he will come to you and will guard you till the end. Your darshan will be over in just 10 rupees.
Bhagwaan itne saste mil sakte hain, humne kabhi socha hi nahi.

Part One

There are many persons who want to grab attention by doing various unnecessary activities. I too tried to grab the attention by suffixing the title as “Part 2”. So dont search for Part One as there is none.
I am not an attention seeker, but shayad meri post ko zarurat thi :)


It happens only in India.

Mere paas kya hai?

He is my cousin by relation and WAS considered loser by all. His father was working in Block Development Office in UP government and was very strict by nature. My cousin was very dumb (cant even write his name properly) and was able to pass intermediate exams in multiple attempts. He was epitome of failure and we all thought that he would end up as a shopkeeper or a mechanic.

 

But something else was written in his luck. His father got expired while on duty. And as per government rule, he could join in place of his father (cadre as per his qualification). He was in graduate course at that time that he left for joining the job.

 

Incidentally, He and I got the job almost at the same time, but his basic was less then 50% of my basic.

 

It is four years since then.

 

He has purchased 3 plots in cities like Noida, Aligarh.

He has acquired two houses in his city.

He has licensed revolver.

He has car, and maintains a permanent driver.

He has many businesses running parallel.

He has enough cash to satisfy his needs, wants and desires.

 

Mere paas kya hai?

 

I cant even say- 'mere paas maa hai', kyunki maa to uske paas bhi hai :)

 

The question arises- who is more successful?

 

I, the Engineer, working in RBI subsidiary in officer cadre, making currency for all.

 

Or

 

He, the Graduate dropout, working in state government in clerical cadre, making currency for himself.

 

Who is guilty- Baba Ramdev, Govt or the Agitation?

It all started with the great social worker, Anna Hazare. He had no follower base and a little known name among the youths. But when he stands for the good cause- CORRUPTION, everyone stand beside him. And he got successful, may be beacuse of his genuine cause or his selfless determination.

The same thing repeated again, by Yog-Guru Baba Ramdev. Luckily, he had a great fan following with money flowing into his Patanjali Yogpeeth from every nook and corner of the world. The basic cause was still corruption, but he was concentrating more on aftereffects of corruption like money laundering etc.

I am unable to understand one thing that when Lokpal Bill is on the way and that will eventually take care of corruption, then what is the need of an agitation after this short interval. Lokpal Bill would give rights to aam junta that will take care of these issues.

I had seen an interview of Baba Ramdev long time back , where he had talked of floating a party that will contest election in all the constituencies. So the question arises- is this the preperation for that?

Baba Ramdev is a respectable name in the Yogas and he is the person who is solely responsible for making Yoga so popular among the Gen-X generation. Its a basic fact that a person can not perform all the good things. He is already involved in a great thing so he should concentrate more on that- and should take it to a new height.

From the first day, I was not in favor of this agitation. I see Baba Ramdev as yog-guru who is preaching about the different aasans of yogas. Suddenly he is blemishing against the political leaders/parties and he seems like any other political leader. At that moment I was unable to differentiate between him and other political leaders.

What happened last night is really very sad and can't be expected in a democratic country like ours. I am totally against it and cant express it in words.

But I am left qith my query- whether the agitation was reuiqred, and if required, was Baba Ramdev the right person?

That ONE Confident Phrase

I seen her on Orkut and out of curiosity or friendship I sent friend request to her. She willingly accepted it. Till then there were very few interactions.

It was just 5-6 months since I had joined my job. I used to have lunch at officers' club during those days. After lunch I used to spend sometime over net- chatting, surfing etc. I noticed that she also remains online during that time. But no initiative was taken from either side. Many days passed like that.

One day I pinged her. She responded immediately. Our chat sessions start and go on for around 45 minutes. We had to stop only because of time constraint. Though it was our first chat session, but we were so comfortable with each other that it feels we were very close friends. 

When we were about to say good-bye to each other, I asked her mobile number. The way was different, unique and confident. I don't know how that phrase came in my mind and how I was so confident. Just wanted to share that phrase with you all:

tum apna number abhi dogi ya baad me………

Normally no one used to ask mobile number of girls in first chat session. I had faced 2-3 situations where I got the numbers after 2-3 years of close friendship (I have even discussed this issue in one of my DP). By nature I am very shy and rarely interacts with strangers. But I had never understood the reason why I was so confident that day. May be, some relations are made in heaven.

Four years had passed since then but that phrase is still alive in our hearts and always brings a smile to our faces..

ThnQ u vry mch u-nQ frnd.