Monday, April 13, 2009
Vignettes of Pushkar…
This place is riot of colors, humans (Indian-urban-rural, foreigners-dudes!!), animals, gods, noise, silence, beauty, dirt, expected, unexpected…
I saw this elderly women (probably with her grandson selling hola-its grain sapling used for ritual burning before holi). She demanded money for taking her photo, i said i didn't take, she asked me to show the camera, i sneaked away!!
Dogs taking afternoon siesta on the bank of sacred pond.
More at photo blogs…
Saturday, April 11, 2009
On communal politics in India…
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Aha what a lovely sight this is !!
In contrast to Rajasthan, indices in Kerala might look like favoring women and it is true. But the reality is the State is stinking. The consumerism initiated changes are hollow and degrading (the serious consolidation of obsession for Gold in recent times by aggressive marketing is disgusting to say the least; it is a society that has started to putrefy). In contrast States like Rajasthan and TN this blogger see lots of potential. Many years back when I was looking for employment someone suggested Civil Services; I tried my luck and got a call for Main exam. They asked to write an essay on something about “literacy and education”. I did a comparative study on Kerala and Rajasthan, and tried to prove that Kerala might have more literacy but is poor on education vis-à-vis Rajasthan. I couldn’t help recalling these.
Pic here is of women waiting for bus. As I took this picture a man came and start talking to me he saw the pictures and asked how much educated I was. He said that is the difference between him and me he couldn’t go to school and now he is suffering, he is making sure that his children go to school. his gazing eyes did make me uncomfortable though.
Post script: I regret using some foul language in the earlier blog, got bit emotional (I am not very professional I guess!!). But when many victims are taking very few names of politicians (Tytler’s name being prominent. Also note he was indicted by Nanavati Commission) there must some truth in it. Further you know the machinery is politicized and they have kept it hanging it for decades and evidence easily destroyed or manipulated.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
The bloody November of ‘84
Mr. Chidambaram may not have anything to do with what happened in
There has been lots of discussion in the blogs and other sites on this event. How should the journalist behave is focused by some. The "journalist" in recent times is nothing short of hilarious, frankly I like most Indians have started to sympathize with their compulsions, poor people trying to make some living. I guess by throwing shoe the journalist concerned has shown more responsibility than many of these so called journalists
The reaction of Sikh community seems to have gone mild in recent times, maybe like most of the common people in this country they have taken it as fate. Secondly the so called secularist get much concerned about issues of Muslims and some even go overboard (one politician even said he will run a roller over anyone who harms this community, it is ok to be a scoundrel when playing secular I guess). For small timers been seen as concerned-about-Muslim-only serves a lot to enhance their career, never mind if most Muslims are really not bothered or tired of this game.
The massacre of ’84 is quite vivid in my memory, we knew many Sikh communities in
It is amazing that the prosecution rate of communal riots is almost negligible in this country. And what is shocking they will still carry on with archaic laws and systems that are completely politicized. It helps the elite to keep the pain alive as it keeps the people divided, it helps them garner vote. Clearly it is a win-win situation so then who should be bothered. Keep the injury open, if the injury is healed who needs the doctor.
When societies are kept divided, when insignificant events/prejudices are bloated out of proportion it helps lots of powerful people to position as saviors undermining existential realities of common people. It helps power mongers and greedy people to fit into narration that is easy to understand, therefore easy to exploit. It is in this context a communal riot is the most welcome event. It is such a simple narration. It is gripping than any reality show. Infact aren’t we waiting for one?!!
Post script: quite insignificant to write this one here but when I was in secondary school in
Saturday, April 04, 2009
The story of a beautiful Prince who never became the King…
If there is one figure from medieval history who’s brutal and untimely death pained me deeply it was this prince. If he had become the king the history of northern part of this subcontinent (indeed the whole Indian subcontinent) would be significantly different. As Paz writes “the religious politics of Aurangzeb was, however, a more serious violation; it did not affect merely the individuals of one family, but rather the majority of people he governed. The execution of Dara Shikoh for the crime of heresy was a sign of the fatal direction events would take. The religious question, a strictly spiritual matter since the inauguration of the Sultanate in the eighth century, turned into matter of life and death” (emphasis added by the blogger). The fatal direction set by fanatic Aurangzeb engulfed generations to follow, sowed the seeds of communalizing in the society and weakened the dynasty, eventually these were exploited by colonial Britain. Rest as they say is history. And some tend to live a lot in history and not “understanding history to move forward” (former philosopher President S.Radhakrishnan).
This blogger feels it to be very important to spend some time on this amazing prince who had such a tragic end. Dara Shikoh, whose name means “The possessor of Glory”, was born to Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal in 1615 at Sagartal near Ajmer (now of Rajasthan) It is said that his father, the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, visited the tomb of the great Chishti saint Khwaja Muinuddin Chishti and had prayed there with folded hands and down knees. It is for no reason that Dargah is considered special, I too have felt the vibration of this place (decades back I spoke my first sentences in English after visiting Dargah at Ajmer-also Pushkar…these two places are quite special to me. I should write about this one of these days). Dara was a unique and marvelous personality. He had combined in himself the qualities of his two great ancestors Humayun and Akbar. The habit of passing more and more time in the Library to acquire knowledge was inherited by him from Humayun who had lost his life while descending from the stairs of the royal Library, while the interest in comparative religions, universal brotherhood, humanism and peace came from the great emperor Akbar. These influences played a notable role in shaping his mind. He had no likings for luxuries and sensual pleasures but had developed refined tastes in his life. The credit should also go to one tutor named Mulla Abdul Latif Saharanpuri who inculcated in him the habit of reading and unquenchable thirst for knowledge. The Sufi leanings of his tutor had great influence over young Dara. Besides this, the influence of contemporary Sufi saints had played a significant role in shaping young Dara’s mind.
In 1640 he was introduced to Lahore’s famous Qadri Sufi saint, Hazrat Mian Mir who had urged both Jehangir and Shah Jahan to be kind to all their subjects (this Sufi saint was so respected by the people that he was invited to put the foundation stone of Golden temple-the most sacred place of Sikhs), also Mulla Badakhashi and other saints. This was a remarkable phase of his life when he spent his major time in the royal Library busy in intensive studies in mysticism, the philosophy and the principles of the Qadiri order. This resulted in the publication of his major works on Sufism namely, the Safinat-ul-Auliya (1640 A.D.), the Sakinat-ul-Auliya ( 1643A.D.) the Risala’i Haq Numa (1647 A.D.), the Tariqat-ul-Haqiqat and the Hasanat-ul-Arifin (1653 A.D.). The first two books are biographical dictionaries of the Sufi saints and the last three contain his exposition of some of the Sufi fundamental doctrines. This was in fact a period of intellectual pursuits for Dara.
His interests took a steep turn when he met Baba Lal Bairagi, a Hindu agnostic, conversations with whom he recorded in a little book entitled Mukalama Baba Lal wa Dara Shikoh.. Majma-‘ul-Bahrain (The Mingling of the Two Oceans). Like his great-grandfather Akbar (the pic here), Dara tried to bridge the gap between Hinduism and Islam was also devoted to a revelation of the mystical and pluralistic affinities between Sufic and Vedantic speculation. This book came to light in 1656, just three years prior to his execution. In fact it was a pioneering attempt to find out the commonalities between Sufism and Hindu monotheism. He describes this book as ‘a collection of truth and wisdom of two truth-knowing groups’. Contemporary Hindu pundits too acknowledged him (one Jaganath Mishra even wrote a book named “Jagatsimha in praise of Dara”).
The Emperor Akbar had strongly believed that his Mughal nobles needed to understand their Hindu subjects and had set up a translation bureau to render the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and the Bhagavata into Persian. Prince Dara Shikoh went much further his translation called the Sirr-e-Akbar (The Greatest Mystery) and in his Introduction he boldly states that the work referred to in the Holy Quran as the Kitab al-maknun or the “hidden book” is none other than the Upanishads. Dara Shikoh carried forward the enlightened tradition of Akbar to evolved understanding.
In the war of succession, Aurangzeb- his fanatic younger brother, defeated him. Despite the fact that Dara was favored as a successor by his father and his sister Jahanara Begum (Aurangzeb was also to place Shah Jahan too under arrest till he died a depressed man), Dara was brought to Delhi, placed on a filthy elephant and paraded through the streets of the capital in chains and murdered on the night of August 30, 1659. He was buried without ceremony, his headless body dumped in a hastily dug grave. And so died a beautiful prince. It is no surprise that after Aurangzeb the Mughal Empire collapsed.
The struggle between Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb has a reflection in contemporary world, the struggle between the fundamentalists (religious and market, as also self serving power mongers) and the people who understand religion and its goodness for humankind. There is an amazing play The Trial of Dara Shikoh by Dr. Akbar Ahmed he says this story serves as a powerful metaphor that explains the current struggle of Muslims to establish a true identity in a culture (Dr. Ahmed was also Pakistani Ambassador to UK) that has labeled the Islamic faith violent and extreme. He writes "Dara was an enlightened Sufi intellectual and a lover of the arts, music, and dancing. Anticipating the challenge of ruling a religiously diverse empire, Dara sought to build friendships with members of different religious traditions. This approach to governing dovetailed with his own deep adherence to Islam’s mystical and universal message. Aurangzeb, on the other hand, practiced a more orthodox and fundamental interpretation of Islam. As emperor, he enforced a strict interpretation of Shari’a law for the entire empire, forbade dancing and music in his presence, and reinstituted a jaziya tax on all non-Muslims in the empire". Through this play Akbar Ahmed tries to draw a picture of a larger struggle within Islam today, a struggle for meaning, identity, and perception. The prevailing and dominant perception of Islam in recent centuries has been an interpretation of orthodox adherence to the religion’s laws and teachings, with the implication that Islam requires violent practices and terror. This interpretation is vividly embodied in Aurangzeb’s diatribes and cruelty towards Dara and his family. In exposing the story and character of Dara Shikoh, there is an attempt upon Muslims and non-Muslims alike to rediscover a richer and more diverse expression of the religion of Islam. "The tragedy of Dara Shikoh is not only the loss of an extraordinary scholar, not only that his death pushed a large part of the world in dangerous directions, but the fact that he appears to have been erased from history. Dara has become the forgotten man of history. As the twenty-first century confronts a world locked in religious and cultural conflict Dara’s story becomes urgently relevant. Salvation in the future could lie in the message of Dara Shikoh". The transcript of the play is available on the Net…
Dara Shikoh a beautiful prince who could have been a great king, a king who could have carried forward the tradition of Ashoka and Akbar to greater heights.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Countdown to Copenhagen...
Friday, March 27, 2009
The legacy of UPA Government…
UPA Government came to power with lots of expectations. This blogger is not a political analyst nor has the competence to be an expert but yes I would say running a huge country like
This blogger is peeved by the fact that political leaders make allegations and counter allegation on events that has happened years back but has done nothing to create system for prosecution. That is what policy makers are expected to do, I guess. They could have easily taken steps on police reforms; atleast CBI could have been depoliticized. They did create Investigating agency after Mumbai attacks, but is it an independent agency and what is it power?. This blogger has become a cynic of executive orders, a strong agency has to be through legislative mandate. This blogger thinks this step is seriously overdue otherwise every crime gets politicized and therefore looses credibility. Thus becomes ambiguous and reduced to conjecturing, hence milked for gains by vested interests. Why are politicians involved in all the rioting and massive corruption around the country in last many decades not punished? Why does justice on these matters take years and years?. What has UPA government done on these matters that has serious implications on security and integrity of the nation?. Well if they haven’t done anything then it is a matter of shame. That surely is sign of weak union government whether UPA or NDA.
The case of Varun Gandhi is a classic example, the counter allegation here is CDs were doctored. Why is this not investigated and established beyond doubt within a day or two?. But then who places trust on the investigation. They will make the report also subjective saying this is politically motivated. There is nothing like fact it seems. So again this will go on, and everyone around will try to milk the issue (those who are communalizing and those who are positioning as non communalizing, both profitable venture but the latter looks sexier option!!). Varun Gandhi despite serious allegation of communalizing society comes out as a gainer-“smart move” (the boy is from London School of Economics is it not?. I am here assuming that tapes are true). It’s a win-win for both sides. The reason why they are not keen on reform of archaic law and order machinery, and depoliticizing the system. It’s a nudge and wink relation they share at the expense of lives of common people. The CM of Kerala puts it this way “the allegation against Madani cannot be denied or accepted”!!. Why?. What is the law and order machinery doing?. It is so politicized that they will keep it hanging for many years. In the meantime get some airtime making allegations and counter allegation, and try maximizing from the situation. Then not only the reality is lost but replaced. In the meantime lives and livelihood of common people are put at serious risk. The government that ruled the country for last five years will have to take the blame, the Parliament the highest law making body has failed the people. I don’t think it is business as usual. As far Madani is concerned this blogger feels Muslim League a powerful party could be very well working to bring Madani down, it is quite likely. There is a possibility of Madani being made scapegoat, now this too a matter of conjecture. But then what is law and order machinery doing?. They are politicised to have any credibility. What has UPA in last few years on these matters?.
Further there was also urgent need for huge policy rehaul on matter dealing with environment. I guess most people around the world are looking for international level actions, since national governments are too weak to make such strong policy decision as they face influential pressure group. I guess the non trade issues (read environment concerns here) should be an important element of WTO.
A day may not be too far when these leaders will have to take the responsibility, earlier the better. Like the discussions they had before adopting the Constitution in the Constituent assembly (this blogger had the opportunity to read most of it, it was an amazing experience). I am cynical about it though because those were the leaders who had sacrificed immensely for freedom, and understood values. What we have now is manipulators and backroom fixers. In the market driven world sacrifice doesn’t have any space (so why am I bothered about future, there is no profit) and values are increasingly made subjective -as they say “who am I too judge” or “live and let live”. But then there is something called right that may not be market friendly. Market spin can make it subjective (as they often say “I am not judging here”- that non committal talk. They did that during Bush administration to scuttle the climate issue), and confuse us but it doesn’t confuse earth/nature. If this system we live in is so very right then why is earth not into “live and let live”? That is because these are all posturing, manipulating, avoiding reality, self gain and short term benefits. Nature doesn’t understand these. Truth maybe uncomfortable but is rarely subjective. And yes earth has started to judge.
Few months from now UN climate meet will be held in
Post Script: this blogger has created a blog on birds few months back (plz go to link birds blog) dedicated to Salim Ali, amazing guy he was. I will be only including pics of birds I shoot (only those pics that has come out properly, you got to respect birds!!), and write as much on bird as is known. My intention in next few years is to take photographs and write about 100 different species of birds. Trying to hit a century!!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
So who is stronger?
The market rule is you get more attention if you are in confrontation, it is an easier narration this A Vs B nonsense, the market media actively do the spadework to accentuate these fissures. This spares the subtleties of national issue. The so called leaders are playing for the gallery; probably they know they cannot face the real issues. Or maybe it’s a ploy to make the issues superficial, as they are caricaturizing through party ads (when will they realize these things don’t work- they may work to sell few thousands products more, national elections are about billion people. They are playing a joke on common people).
The statement that Mr. L.K Advani has done only negative things may not be acceptable to millions of people in this country, so is the statement that Manmohan Singh is a weaker PM (incidentally I really don’t know what this weak and strong means). This attempt to create wedges is what market does best, confrontation as competition. Some insight is necessary here. The dichotomous reality is a western civilization world view. The hell and heaven. God and Satan. The split between bad and good is quite entrenched in these societies for centuries (as Mr. Bush said you with us or with them). Capitalism through its “competitive” nature tends to replicate this illusion. It is but obvious that market media will accentuate fissures wherever exists. In last few years they have become too crude. The fourth estate in
The Indian understanding is oneness, heaven and hell can be in same person. No one can be a Satan forever, there is always a space for goodness to exist in bad too. The attempt to portray BJP (a major national party) as Satan- agent of destruction, is a dangerous understanding. First it undermines intelligence of millions of people who vote them, second every political party has extreme elements. If BJP is destructive then Election Commission should debar it. They should also have stricter laws to debar disruptive elements (like for instance Varun or Thackery), I am for laws and facts. The allegations are always subjective and easily manipulated by vested. You don’t know whom to trust. If Mr. Advani was involved in destruction of Babri masjid why is he not in jail?. What prevents him to be arrested? Clearly there is something wrong with the law and order machinery which no government had made any serious attempts to reform (certainly Manmohan Singh is as weak leader, what has he done to reform the system?. Indeed the parliament is the weakest). Or else cases against Mr. Advani are creation of vested interest. Allegations of these natures are meant for communal polarization of society, whenever they are needed by leaders to work on their vote bank as much as media for TRP, somewhere the reality is lost. Political leaders at the centre are supposed to be policy makers, and if they haven’t placed any systems to prevent destructive elements or parties from contesting elections then it their fault. You cannot say they haven’t broken any law or we don’t have any laws but these people are bad. This blogger doesn’t understand that logic. Creating these ambiguous situations and prolonging the events that happened years back helps lots of people aiming at garnering power. Tragically the reality of people is lost in these competitions.
Here take some reality: Did you know that in capital city of
This data of
Small children going missing must be really tough on parents and people around, also to be aware that these children will be abused must be very painful. I cannot even imagine how they deal with these. As also that nobody cares, add to that already tough life in slums (they also become easy prey to attention seeking socialite activists). Children are kidnapped and abused from pedophile to organ traders.
I am still confused about what or who is a stronger or weaker leader, really intriguing this one!!.
Monday, March 23, 2009
On bus from Bangalore to Jodhpur…
One basic rule I follow while I travel is to relax, when you are relaxed your senses tends to be sharper and intuitions works better. Intuition is very important since one has to not only experience but anticipate. The latter is about survival instinct. Things can go terribly wrong so one has to be a step ahead to reduce the damage. Hundreds and thousands of tragic incidents of cheating, injury, murder…happening around the country is a testimony of things gone wrong. I too had my share but nothing serious.
My travel to Rajasthan recently started on a wrong note. I had managed to get tatkal ticket from
Two days at pune, found that my ticket to
An hour later I was fast asleep, and when I sleep I sleep. Period. So tied the end of my bag to my wrist. Ahmedabad was quite chilly, the auto charge from stand to station took 100rs, quite hefty. The auto fellow had lot to talk about forthcoming parliamentary elections, I though was not keen so just kept up with hanji-since I wanted him to keep speaking otherwise I would sleep (he was an admirer of Modi- he has done a lot for development he said, but added outside Gujarat he will not work, and if he persists he might fail in Gujarat too. He mentioned that Manmohan Singh was a good PM, Rahul Gandhi will take 4 to 5 years more. I vaguely recall him saying that that middle class prefer him married, his appeal will increase with family!!. I was quite drowsy and disoriented from travel so couldn’t catch much. I guess Gandhi family don’t really has much privacy!). Had cup of tea with delicious healthy dokhlas (I am a big fan of this dish). Train to
While traveling from
Saturday, March 21, 2009
A visit to Pushkar and Ajmer
Both these places are different in many ways. Pushkar holy site is about assertion of life while Ajmer Dargah is about the link to god through spiritualism. Pushkar is about giving space to all living forms while
In Pushkar you will find huge pond, with ghats and temples. I saw lots of fishes, as also birds (pigeons, sparrow, stilts, myna…so on). There are squirrels, cows, monkeys, dogs, donkeys so on, there is so much of vibrancy of life. People feed animals and birds, there seems to be god everywhere!!. And yes the place is strictly vegetarian; there is also high emphasis on taking care of animals. There are lots of foreigners, people from different part of the world stay here for months. It’s a terrific sight to see the sunset over the pond (the photo was taken at dusk, the place is usually crowded during festivals). Yet there are things that would make you cringe, it’s a place where you can get easily fleeced. Many people come here for ritualistic reasons; the wily Brahmins are ready to take them for a ride, capitalizing on superstitions. Somewhere in the mêlée the concept of God and goodness of scriptures and sacred thoughts are lost. It becomes crass commercial; exigencies and compulsions.
While Ajmer (Dargah) is about unconditional love to almighty, there is so much spiritual energy inside the dargah that one feels a sense of ecstatic running over the body. Despite the chaos there is a sense of peace, it’s pure. I sat at one of the corner for a long time. Later I went out and had lunch (very much Non veg). There is so much emphasis on charity for poor that it is hard to miss. There is also a sense of communitarian feeling. Yet one knows life not about human beings only, it’s also about birds and animals and that is what one starts to miss. The Nature, the vibrancy of different life forms not isolated from understanding of almighty…I start to feel that absence. Also one tends to find similar type of people the foreign backpacker crowd is absent. There is also feeling of restriction as one gets circumspect, that relative carefree of Pushkar is absent.
So if you go to Pushkar don’t miss
Post Script: in recent times cameras are not allowed inside these places of worship. I took photos from outside that I will put in photo blog in few days (I have been too much into my computer-reading many downloads and so on…so kind of tired, bear with me).
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Two villages that play host to birds…
It is amazing that there are two villages in
So here is this blogger’s travel diary of these two villages.
Kokkare Bellur (Mandya District. Karnataka)
The translation of the village name means homes of Storks. This village is located about 80Kms from Bengaluru (
In 1996 ‘
I spent few hours roaming around the village and outskirts. It is an amazing sight to see huge birds sitting on branches nearby while people carry on with their daily chores. I saw some very active people. While some women were involved in packing tamarind, many household were into sericulture, most though were involved in agriculture related activities.
I found this old man who was mending his house roof with coconut palm leaves, I stopped to observe him. He saw my shadow and asked without looking up “from which place”, I said “kerala”, he said “that’s good” and enquired whether I had my lunch. All this without even looking at me!! Clearly he was used to intrusive tourists!
Keechan village (Jodhpur District. Rajasthan)
From
Demoiselle cranes are dainty birds that are very cautious of humans. They come in hundreds and are a sight to watch against the sand dunes. The villagers have provided a space for the birds to feed. Jowar (don’t know the English term. Millet?) is the basic diet that is fed. Tons of feed is spread everyday morning and evening. The expense is covered by donations. Marwaris are rich community that generously donates for welfare of animals and birds. Villagers had opened up their home terrace for tourists to watch these birds when they land for morning feeding (I found few Europeans, with sophisticated cameras), they also have placed chairs and few pages on these storks, and water to drink (all these as courtesy, no money charged. How unprofessional can people get!!). It is an amazing sight to watch hordes of graceful birds alighting and flying away followed by another bunch. In the afternoon these birds rest at the pond nearby, so I came back again in the afternoon to observe them.
Rattan lalji is an elderly man who is responsible for the feeding and taking care of injured birds. He stays in the richer part of the village. Three kids became my guide and took me to his house on the way they talked about the village and themselves. One kids father was a teacher in a school of “1st to 5th standard” and he was the only teacher there! While the other kid's father “carried the keys of jail” and he was really proud of it, he explained in detail how his father bashed up few thugs! They also took me around the village and showed me carved elephant of the local temple. I gifted them each a ballpen and some chocolates from a shop nearby.
On the way back I met the man who had told me about Ratan lalji. Now this elderly man was someone who loved talking. He said he had come to
By the time I came back to feeding area the foreigners had left. I saw few peacocks roaming around the village so positioned myself to take photo, the peacocks didn’t find it amusing and scampered away. In the meantime the news had spread among the kids circle that there is a fellow who is giving pen and chocolates. And so a small group of children waited for me, I somehow managed to convince them about later visit and walked towards the bus stop.
Plz visit photo blog for more ...