Category: Society

भुलक्कड़ भारत

मैं:

विचलित मन, कुंठित जीवन,
दिशाहीन, घटनाओं से सहमा, घबराया हुआ।
हर क्षण है मरता मेरे अन्दर यह भारत,
और भारतीयता की भावना।

वो:

विनष्ट तन, निर्जीव जीवन,
मैं ही थी वो घटना जिसने तुम्हे था जगाया।
मेरी मृत्यु के साथ मरी वो कल्पना,
जिसे हमने भारत कहलाया।

भारत:

घटनाएं तो रोज़ होती है, मैं हो चूका उसका आदि,
हिम्मत है तो तुम संभालो इतनी बड़ी आबादी।
घटनाएं तो होती रहेंगी, इसका है एक ही उपाय,
देश को छोड़ देने के अलावा तुम्हारे पास क्या ही है पर्याय?
मैं तो नहीं बदलूँगा, रहना है तो रहो,
वरना नापो रास्ता।

मैं:

तो क्या मेरा संघर्ष व्यर्थ जाएगा?

वो:

तो क्या मेरी मृत्यु व्यर्थ जायेगी?

भारत:

संघर्ष? मृत्यु? किसकी?
मैं तुम्हे जानता तक नहीं।
इतने सालो से यहाँ रहते हो,
इतना भी नहीं समझे की मैं बहुत जल्दी चीज़े भूल जाता हु।

मैं:

अरे भाई, क्रिकेट का स्कोर क्या हुआ है?
गुजरात के चुनाव कौन जीत रहा है?

वो:

ओह, तो तुम मुझे भूल भी गए?
तुम वही हो ना जो मेरे नाम रख रहे थे।
इंडिया गेट पर नारे लगाने वाले तुम्ही थे ना?

भारत:

हा हा हा।

मैं:

यार आज फिर दिल्ली में एक घटना घटी,
बेचारी केवल 15 वर्ष की थी।

वो:

विनष्ट तन, निर्जीव जीवन,
मैं हूँ वो घटना जिसने तुम्हे फिर से है जगाया।

भारत

हा हा हा, फिर आ गए।

January 10, 2013
थम सा गया ये देश.

दिशाहीन, उलझा सा, असमंजस से जूझता हुआ,
मेरा देश ऐसा तो न था.

घोटालो से चरमराया विश्वास,
लोकतंत्र का बना मज़ाक.
अर्थव्यवस्था की चरमरायी सी हालत,
जाति-धर्म के अनसुलझे विवाद,
क्या मेरा देश ऐसा ही था?

पर इन सब के बीच कम से कम एक आशा थी,
की कुछ बदलेगा,
सामाजिक और आर्थिक विकास नहीं,
तो कम से कम होगा जनता का नैतिक विकास.

लेकिन किसे पता था थमेगी बढ़ने की चाह,
और उठेगा लोकतान्त्रिक संस्थानों में विश्वास,
मेरा देश ऐसा तो न था.

प्रतिदिन समाचारों से मिली निराशा,
और देश के नेताओं की मुह से निकली भाषा.
डर सा लगता है अब मुझे इस देश के बारे में सोच के,
थक से गए है हम,
और थम सा गया है यह देश.

-अभिषेक ‘देसी’ देशपांडे

September 9, 2012
विस्फोट, तुम फिर आ गए!

विस्फोट, तुम फिर आ गए!
जीवन की कीमत तो तुमने समझी नहीं
कम से कम
भय की परिभाषा तो समझ लेते.

मुंबई शहर में लोग हर क्षण है मरते
ज़िन्दगी की भागदौड़ में दबते कुचलते
इस भाग दौड़ थकान के बीच
किसे है समय भयभीत होने का.

भय है बढती महंगाई का, नौकरी का,
भय है घर बार का, सब्जी तरकारी का.
अरे विस्फोट तुमसे हम क्यों डरे
मुंबई की बारिश की तरह हो तुम, रोज आते जाते,
रोज की बारिश से
किसे है समय भयभीत होने का.

अब ये मन भयभीत नहीं
यह बस सुन्न हो चुका है, थक चुका है
एक प्रश्न पूछूँ तुमसे – उत्तर दोगे?
क्या तुम नहीं थके?

– अभिषेक देशपांडे ‘देसी’

July 18, 2011
Is it the end of the Chai-Biscuit era?

Today I received an article from a friend of mine, Where did conversation go? No where. It talks about the “about-to-die” habit of having conversations. It also debates whether forms of new media have eclipsed the intimacy of having a one-on-one, or sharing a happy moment together.

So is it the end of the Chai-Biscuit era? Chai represents much more than to us than a mere beverage, it is a conversation starter, our true friend during a conversation and the tastiest dip for a biscuit. From the addas which are still commonplace in Bengal, to housewives sipping that post-siesta tea, from office tea breaks to evening tea with families, chai has shaped the way Indians converse and share thoughts for a long time.

So what happened now? When did walking to someone’s home without telling them in advance become a crime, when did talking about things personal and private online become a habit, when did the happiness of connecting with a few and bonding with them transform into the ever increasing desire to have more Facebook friends and Twitter followers, when did the keeping things to oneself become more than a one-off thing, when did our life become private in front of our parents and elders, when was the real smile overshadowed by the fake smileys, when did chatting and messaging steal the look of the face and tinkle of those eyes, and when did we start getting detached from the world, lose our sense of being together to being more individualistic?

So is it the beginning of a new era, the Coffee-Cookie era? Coffee shops have replaced the meetups at home, 5 Rs. Parle-G has been replaced by 40 Rs. a piece Cookieman cookie, but more than that both of them represent a transition. A transition in habits, triggered by technology, economy and the society as such. It is not bad, its a transition, although its fun to live in nostalgia, these are changes which will shape the future. It is useless to trigger the age old debate of tradition vs. modernity, and it would be ruthless to declare a winner.

In my world, Coffee exists with Chai, with Parle-G in one pocket, and a Cookie in another.

June 29, 2011
What Having Fun was… What it is?

Comes from my conversations with few buddies… mix of their and my incidents 🙂

As a Kid having a cold drink was fun. I still remember the time when my dad used to take me to Indian Coffee House, ordered a Special Dosa for me (with one Kaju, costed 14 Rs. then). He would order a filter coffee and watch me munch on the dosa. And then came the cold drink. Ahaa, that straw and that first sip was awesome. From Gold Spot to rarity of having coke, it was all fun. And yes The Green Boxed Frooti (Rs. 6) was awesome too.

As a kid I loved having an ice cream. Didn’t we always dream of a chocobar or a vanilla cup. It was so awesome when I went out with my family to have that. Maybe once a month, maybe once in 2 months. But it was awesome. Arun Ice cream’s vanilla cups were the best 🙂

As a kid I loved ice cream. The best thing was Nirula’s. Chocolate was simply the best. They used to give me one after I showed them my report card, and I also got coupon for my birthday 🙂

Those were the days. Sipping Beer, or whisky at Banshankari’s famous hang-outs. Seshgiri or its not so far sister concern (codename: 3 gigolos :)). We got drunk, had chips from some HOT CHIPS, cold drinks from the same store, and then we talked…

and talked

and talked

a movie used to play, a guy used to enter kop-bhavan, 2 guys were always coding something on a red laptop which was hotter than a frying pan, and we ended up playing karaoke with Golmaal or discussing Nihilism, science fiction & indian cinema.

And there are moments which me, and a few others dont like that much, but it gives some sort of fun to others. Like, loud music, dark discos, late night drinking and talking sessions etc etc.

But then like today, there are awesome mornings to cover them all up, from disc-asur to Idli-esh. We had the best breakfast one can ever have to start the day, filter coffee, 5-6 types of idlis, 4 types of dosas, podi with oil, benne (white butter).

I know what kind of fun is best for me, and I will be back soon, as soon as this 2 year thing comes to an end.

February 18, 2010
भेडचाल

बदलाव हमारे अन्दर होता है। बदलाव निरंतर है और उससे रोकने का शायद ही को कोई उपाय होगा। पर क्या मैं बदलना चाहूँगा?

कुछ वर्षो पहले तक मुझे कुछ पता नही था की मैं जीवन मैं क्या करना चाहता हूँ, और आज भी मेरे विचार कुछ स्पष्ट नही हुए है। काम करना क्या केवल एक मजबूरी है, या इसमे कोई आर्थिक लाभों के अलावा लाभ है, ऐसे प्रश्न मेरे दिमाग मैं कुछ दिनों से आ रहे है। काम काजी जीवन जैसे जैसे नज़दीक आ रहा है, वैसे ही मैं थोड़ा उससे घबरा भी रहा हूँ।

प्रबंधन का अध्यन भारत मैं कई छात्रों का सपना है, क्योंकि इसमे पैसे अच्छे है और यह आजकल की नई भेडचाल है। पर मेरा अनुभव कह रहा है की आप जिस अवस्था मैं प्रसन्न रहे, वही अच्छी नौकरी है। प्रबन्धन के पश्चात् आपको इतनी म्हणत करनी होगी की वैसे भी आप ४० की उम्र के बाद कुछ करने के योग्य नही रहेंगे।

तो क्या मुझे चाहिए,

अच्छी नौकरी, अच्छी तनख्वाह और एक बड़ा नाम
या फ़िर कुछ अच्छे लोग, कम चिंता वाला काम, और ठीक ठाक तनख्वाह

फिलहाल तो मैं हमेशा की तरग इस असमंजस मैं हूँ की मैं क्या करू, मेरे आजू बाजू हर कोई जरुरत से ज्यादा एकाग्रित है, सबको साबुन तेल बेचना, बेंको मैं जाना, और संगणक उद्योग मैं अपना जीवन बिताना है। मुझे इन सब से कोई लेना देना नही, मुझे कुछ भी चलेगा। पर मेरे लिए सबसे जरुरी चीज़े है,

मेरे आस पास के लोग, एक अच्छा वातावरण, और निश्चित आराम और अन्य रुचिया पूर्ण करना।

पर मुझे फ़िर लगता है कीजीवन मैंने आजतक उस चीज़ को नही चुना जिससे मैं चुनना चाहता था, बलकी उन बातो के पीछे ज्यादा रहा जो भेडचाल का हिस्सा थी।

यह सब बस कुछ विचार है जो चले जायेंगे, मैं फ़िर इन किताबो और अजीबो गरीब काम के चक्कर मैं डूब जाऊँगा, और रह जायेगी यह भेडचाल, जिसका मैं सदेव हिस्सा रहूँगा।

November 29, 2009
Of things Artificial, and those Natural

Love being Natural?

Yes you would say, but are we ever natural!

On an auto ride with my friend in Delhi we debated the artificial vs. natural thing like never before, especially in the context of Delhi, debate continued at an engg. college friend’s home party.

We have two sides (we is generalized by people coming from smaller towns & cities), one is natural, likes meeting people, sitting with family and friends, enjoying nice street food, being part of festivals, going to temple sometimes, roaming around and having a nice relaxing evening followed by a movie on TV and some nice sleep.

The other side, goes to Pubs, drinks the hell out of oneself; multiplexes: buys popcorn worth 70 bucks (within 44 Rs. I used to enjoy pop corn, a movie, cold drink and a two way bus ride to city during school days), watches a movie a week, walks into a mall: window shops, really shops and just keeps on spending through the clutter of restaurants, food courts and ice cream parlors.

And after moving to cities (and especially after we started earning), we sort of have started living more like the latter than former. Although the joy of living life this style is hardly long lasting.

For a city, you would consider Gurgaon the best in India, super awesome roads, beautiful buildings, so many malls. My first day here I wanted to buy some innerwear, and I told my friend, so my friend asked Levis or Nike store? A city where people think of malls even while buying chaddi baniyaan!!! Its not their fault, this place is the pinnacle of consumerist culture and show-baazi, a practice linked to most of North India. Although I am not accusing all of this, there have been strange exceptions right from UG to PG days and they are all dear friends. But mostly a region characterized by slight rudeness in the way people talk, slight aggression, and a fascination to show that one can splurge money.

Compare that to the long walks I had in Old Delhi near Redfort through Ramlilas. Regular people, enjoying with families, having fun and a great time, & contrast it too hardly-anything-wearing-girls in GK or South ex at night, have seen a bit of all in the past few days. From the aloo chaat & paani puris in Old Delhi to 70 Rs dosas in Gurgaon fort, a nice mix of Artificial and natural awaits us everywhere we go.

Its on us and only on us, that which path we choose.

Many here want to fake it to make it, but I think they would be just fine if they just try to make it…

Right now for me I am trying to balance the two, somehow unsuccessfully

October 3, 2009
Baap Ka Suroor

A Post which confusingly switches between Bollywood, issue of Female foeticide, killing of Girl Child, the practice of Dowry all packaged with a tribute to the legendary Satyen Kappu. Stays true to the name of Blog.

यह शादी नही हो सकती , ठाकुर साहेब मैं अपनी पगड़ी आपके कदमो मैं रखता हूँ , मेरी बेटी लक्ष्मी है उससे मत ठुकारिये, मैं आपकी पाई पाई चुका दूंगा,

यह शादी नही हो सकती, कहा उसका खानदान कहा हमारा !!!

मुझे अपनी बेटी की शादी के लीये करज़ा चाहीये लाला !!!

बेटी सेठजी से शादी कर ले, तुझे खूब सुखी रखेंगें !!!

Satyen Kappu is a legend by any standards, people remember Jagdish Raj for playing the inspector innumerable number of times, so much so that he has a Limca Record on his name. Satyen Kappu (originally named Satyendra Kapoor) has been devoid of such an honour but I bet him playing a worried Father of an unmarried daughter symbolises much more than these recognitions. He is part of a group of individuals whose contribution to Cinema is somewhat neglected in the glitz of stars. [Refer this post which pays a tribute all these characters.]

( A Middle Aged Kappu from movie Coolie, he played charecters from every facet of life, irreseopective of religion, caste or profession. Inset: Waheeda Rehaman)

In an India torn apart by the Gender divide Kappu represents the destiny of so many fathers who end up struggling for their daughter’s marriage, and brings to light the issue of dowry and female infanticide. In times when our Nation is struggling to keep up a healthy sex ratio, Kappu acts as an inspiration to Millions by giving the message of Beti being Ghar ki Lakshmi. The topic of Girl Child being killed is one of the most depressing things which comes up in our day-to-day discussions, people who practice killing of girl child should be hanged, movies like Matrubhumi have really shown what extremes this phenomenon can lead too. Also Dowry Deaths are still present in our country and is well spread, all these practices should have an end and Cinema can act as a vehicle for raising the concious of so many people related with this. Read through this poem by Sur on Dowry Deaths which was posted a few days back, The Ultimate Greed.

coming back to Mr. Kappu, be it the drunkard who is worried about his daughter’s marriage in Kaala Patthar to the recent tele series on Zee TV “Mehendi tere naam ki” directed by Aruna Irani where he plays the father of four daughters, he has given new heights to the role of a worried father. Even in films like Rajesh Khanna starrer Aap Ki Kasam where he plays the second-hand Husband of Mumtaaz, his defining scenes come when accepts Mumtaaz’s daughter and finally when he is marrying her off (in the last scene when Khanna dies). His efforts spread across decades are put forward by his presence in the movie Beti No.1, a movie which epitomises the importance of Girl Child (the concept was good, the movie’s execution pathetic), such a movie can be never conceptualized without Mr. Kappu. Maybe he suited the roles to perfection because in real life he had four daughters himself. No one played the role of a depressed Beti Ka Baap better than Kappu through the 70’s and 80’s.

But Kappu’s defining moment came in two movies- both Kurosawa inspired Rural-Bandit sagas one of which went on to be come Sholay and another poor man’s Sholay- Khotey Sikkay. Although everyone remembers the Ramu Kaka ka kirdaar from Sholay less is known about the origins of an Advocate who fights for Truth and Justice against Jagga (Ajit as the Bandit), is gifted a Golden Watch (which hums a melodious tune) by Sarkar (government, maybe the judiciary) for his sacchai and imaandaari and gives his life for that. In Khotay Sikkay he plays the father of Feroz Khan(who just roams around in a Eastwood inspired robe from spaghetti western days) , Feroz Khan (the unnamed Horse Rider) then goes ahead and avenges his Father’s killing by killing Jagga by the end and hence the victory of Truth and Justice.

Kappu’s death scene in the movie is one of my favorite moments from Hindi Cinema, when Jagga puts the Khanjar ( a dagger) in his stomach, the tension, the carvings of his face, the widening of his eyes, some 8-9 drops of sweat on his face and the watch poignantly falling from his hand playing a melodious tune and in background of the ever strong Ajit laughter makes for a unparalleled moment in Cinema. I don’t think this death sequence will ever bettered by anyone.

RamLal from Sholay is somewhat popularised recently by the series of jokes remarking the relationships of Thakur-Ramlal, something which puts the great man in bad light.

Apart from these Kappu represents the true Indian middle class by donning almost all possible professions in his career- Inspector (on all possible designations from hawaldar to DIG to Commissioner), doctor(Aap ki Kasam), Judge (Khotay Sikkay etc.), Naukar( Sholay), Army Fellow (Dream Girl), Teacher(Khel Khel Main) cutting across religions- Panditji in Ganga Ki Saugandh, Aslam Bhai in coolie, to church Father (I don’t remember the movie name but remember seeing him once). Mr. Kappu is a true manifestation of Aam Aadmi, and we will always remember him as a great actor and a champion of Social Cause.

Technorati Tags: Bollywood, Satyen Kappu, Cinema, Dowry Deaths

April 23, 2008
If only the Reservations were…
a bit more flexible. I mean look at the transformation Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav has brought to Train Reservations. Although the IRCTC web site is slow, lacks a basic error page for JSP, and whatever, still it has made our job so much easier. Or look at Capt. Gopinath’s Airline revolution which has spurred a number of Airline Reservation websites. If only the reservation policies implemented by government were a bit easier to understand.

If only we have online portal by government where we get the latest Caste Score side by side our reservation status, that would be wonderful, will let me know when people form my caste fall in Reservation bracket :). Also one can book his reservation seat, cancel it, check status, check waiting list etc. One can even apply for caste certificates online and his/her application can be processed by government.

Even couple of years back this issue was quite happening and it has come back again to give us more to talk on.

I was thinking of something better when it came to reservations, maybe the Central institutes have to increase the seats this year why not have the concept of RAC being promoted with waiting lists and Confirmed seats. If seats are less lets go for RAC, a railway like concept where a single seat will be allocated to two people, given,
- Both of them belong to different caste.
- Both of them share the same set of books, same hostel bed (taking turns to sleep), same bathroom.
- Both of them share same laptop, same pens, pencils, eat from one thali, drink chai from ek pyali etc etc.
- Both share the same girlfriend/boyfriend 😉
- To avoid unnecessary hassles lets keep the RAC seat for the same sex, i mean both candidates should be either male or female.
I think this will be a new way to achieve National integration and bring different people close, issues won’t separate them anymore and the benefits will be equally shared.

On a serious note I think I am in for Affirmative Action, certain sections of Indian society have been neglected and treated in an unjust manner for years. I also believe the injustice has been caused independent of Economic levels, and even after getting good jobs and home people do suffer due to caste differences. But let some sanity prevail, let the process not be an indefinite one, I think more than anything else, we require quality institutes of higher learning, more number of seats will keep most happy. I think slowly such a system should be done away with, but it will never happen. So let us think of “innovative” ways in which we can twist this process and make it much more entertaining because slowly we would have to learn to live with it forever. Look at Vishy’s suggestion to do the same…

I am more in for a scheme suggested by Mr. Yogendra Yadav and co. named MIRAA which creates a social index factoring parameters like Caste, gender, economic levels and provides reservation on basis of that. But maybe for such a huge country, its a a difficult and confusing exercise altogether.

I believe its time for everyone to realise that percentages and number of seats and caste and religion and regional differences will be always there, and so will be reservation, atleast its much better than the country falling apart into separate pieces like so many European nations. Isn’t it?

Technorati Tags: Reservation, Quota Issue
April 15, 2008
Dreaded S-Word
1993

two kids from class 3 fighting as Abhishek watches on (still be christened with any of the present day nicknames).

bippu*- saale kutte kahi ke???
ritesh*- shocked and about to breakdown
Abhishek and rest of the audience- Haaaaauuuuuuuuu……
ritesh*- full-tu crying, I will complaint this to Ratnam Mam [My fav teacher in school, bestest teacher ever, will write about her sometime)

Pumped by anger, insult and what not ritesh decided to complaint and bippu got punished, junta was obviously shocked at bippu’s behavior and happy that bippu got punished.

1999

All of us on the playing, tiddu*-famous for not blurting out any bad word till date fires one on pattu, pattu laughs like hell and so do the others, tiddu rages and starts a bat-beating session on pattu, pattu and others still laugh and welcome another member to the gang.

[*Names have been changed to confuse identities]

Gone are those days, in primary school using the S-word (something similar to a Brother-in-law too, your wife’s brother, I don’t know why it became an abuse in the first place) meant that you were the full-time rowdy in class, other kids parents wanted their kids to stay away from you, and it was not at all good public behavior, you were the big time culprit of every wrong deed done in class. Slowly though, with secondary and higher education an Indian student gets graduated in profanities too.

Nowadays when I see kids using the F-word is much more than feeling, its mostly going away from our culture of using the S-Word to perfection. Although lots has been said about girls not using it but I know a few who use it nicely. But lets not get into gender aspects as of now.

Although the Hindi/desi equivalent of the F-word is considered quite crude in its usage but I don’t know why people consider the formers usage as much more decent (relatively). Both are the same, a conservative may say that they are bowing to western culture, but I think its much more to do with the popularity of such terms in Hollywood, its counter-part Bollywood has been not so liberal in usage of abusive language.

I picked up foul language sometime in mid-school, when we passed school there was only one or at most two boys still away from its active usage. In my college I found only one among 200+ boys (but he had his own versions of curses, which went quite above everyone’s head). The good things about using foul language are,
- Good way to throw out your anger and frustration, go and shout from a roof/hill top, or do it after getting drunk.
- Gives you a good time cursing your bosses, peers, any boy who roams around with good girls or mostly anyone.
- Comes for free and is quite relieving, much more than dhyana or yoga.
The only things about it which is not good and I don’t like is when its done in a seriously serious manner. People start fighting over it and makes matter stupid. When I and most of my friends do it, its mostly for fun, although we know making fun of other people is a serious crime, but everyone does it, and criminals are bound to use some foul language here and there. Some serious misapprehensions which are associated with this are,
- it slows down with age- I think this skill mellows with age, the usage becomes more or less perfect and less hurtful to others.
- you shouldn’t say it in front of girls- ???? pointless
Although in front of parents and relatives better don’t use it. I mean you can but better don’t. You might have noticed it, sometimes when you are at home, and things haven’t rubbed off from your tongue you feel like shouting sometimes, do it in a bathroom, safest place to do it.

By the way some unique ones which I have come across in my life are,

– Indi-Poi Indrapal- used by a schoolmate, he considered this to be the mother of all profanities
– Dusht Bijuke – Bijuke is Pure hindi for Scarecrow, my friend in college made it quite popular.

I am not mentioning lots of them which would like a bit indecent on my blog.

Whatever be it, never ever use it to hurt anyone, as long as its for fun, use it…

And for all those like the F-Word, try using the S-word!!!
December 4, 2007