The Real World Then and The Cyber World Now!

I am not going to compare between the stone age and today’s world . ‘The Real World Then’ means to me are the years 70s to 90s or prior to it and ‘The Cyber World’ is the period since 2000 onwards – the advent of Cyber games and the social media.

Since I have referred Stone Age, I am pretty sure that humans then must have really enjoyed their time together; with no FB, Whatsapp and Twitter accounts to monitor, text and wait for the likes, smileys and reactions from the Cyber friends. They lived a simple life, ate frugally, didn’t aspire to own the limousines and loved the company of each other. Today, whether we are at airport whiling away our time or travelling by train, in hospital attending to someone or in a resort on a leisure trip; we keep staring at our mobile screens, keep updating and texting oblivious of our immediate environment and even ourselves! We spend hours together on it, aimlessly and at the same time we talk of paucity of time! While together on a particular occasion, one can see all sitting in a row or a group and tapping on their mobile touch screens ; rarely talking or laughing together. A common site these days, irrespective of age.

As a child, in the village, we loved to be out of our homes and parents didn’t bother much. Spending the hot summer days on mango trees or looking for ripe jamun was a common thing. Loitering in the ‘dalaaln’ or chewing the sugarcane for hours together was not objectionable. Mothers searched for us only if we missed our meals! Today, we don’t allow our kids to go out. Safety, security being their prime concern and shortage of open play area being the other. Kids too do not prefer the outdoor games, instead they prefer cosily sitting on sofa with  their tabs, internet games being much more engaging than simply running around  or playing ‘aais-baais’ with friends and sweating out just for fun. As an adult we fear for their injuries, bad company, or spoiling the well manicured society Lawns!

As a grown up, I saw relatives visiting us and they stayed with us for days together, on our own insistence. It is not that we or other villagers were very rich. Visitors were simply provided a  wooden ‘chowki’ placed in the ‘Daalaan’ having a thick cotton ‘dari’ with a bedsheet and a multipurpose ‘Lota’! What was ensured for the guests was – respect for them, timely food and lot of time! Alas, in villages too the environment has undergone a drastic change. You may agree that, today younger generation is conspicuous by their absence in the villages. Most of the homes are occupied by old denizens in their 70s or above! People don’t mingle, now  televisions and mobiles are there to kill their time. Today, in villages too you will feel as lonely as in the towns!

Earlier, while we were really concerned with the well being of near and dear ones; today, the likes, the emoticons and the comments have replaced them. Uploading the updates, photos of the events, programs on the cyberspace gives us the feeling of sharing and belongingness; which sometimes I feel is right and sometimes I think is a misplaced idea ! Many times I find people forwarding, liking and emoting on posts which were probably not understood by them. It is pathetic. Once I found many ‘Likes’ to a post which mentioned about sickness of a family member!

Today, social media has also created pseudo citizens and pseudo spiritualists! I call pseudo citizens and pseudo spiritualists to those people who actually are not that good in their personal dealings, but preach you by sharing posts about values of life! Open any Group in your Whatsapp account, you will find the same messages being circulated. But, the good thing about it is that it reflects that somewhere deep inside, they value the relation , they value the individuals, they value truthfulness, they value the country, they value the culture.  And that is good enough, if one is able to really add some value to even a small number of members!

I always wonder about - for what we all aspire today -  lot of time, real peace and happiness! For all these things, do we need anything? We need to learn a lot from the living forms – other than the human beings. So were we, in the stone age! Happy!

 The misnomer – development – robbed us of all!

I Have Ants in My Fridge

I am a great admirer of the nature and it's creations, big and small alike. And the untiring Ants are one of my favourites, but certainly not something to keep them in my fridge. But I have them, in hundreds! Though they are not a permanent resident of it, but surely they are treating it as a great source of delicious eatables! The continuous two way traffic of the Ants to and fro from the fridge carrying bits of their loot, but in a disciplined way like a soldier has truly impressed me and humbled me like never before!

It all started when I got commissioned an old fridge kept in the bachelor accommodation allotted to me recently at my new place of posting. After thorough cleaning with liquid detergent and sanitising it with antiseptic Dettol, I started using it. Initial two days were incident free as I was busy in stocking the fridge with ready-made namkin, biscuits and certainly some green vegetables. The next morning I opened a biscuit packet and had one or two with morning tea. The remaining packet was duly kept secured in the fridge. In the evening upon returning from office I opened the fridge to have something and I picked up the same biscuit packet. Suddenly I found a few Ants on the back of my palm and then I realised that the packet had many many more Ants,  little agitated as I disturbed them by moving the packet. Seeing them in the biscuit packet shocked me and I felt a bit frustrated too! My immediate mental response was like – Oh My God!  How come they are here? And the next moment I pulled open the fridge door to find if any more Ants are there? And to my surprise , they were there and in big numbers lined up in a queue and moving freely in and out of the fridge from the small gaps between the rubber seal on the door and the fridge!

And then begins my struggle to keep them away from the fridge. That evening, I left them for the night to continue their feast, I also put back the biscuit packet in the fridge for them to gorge on. In the night itself I had my strategy chalked out in my mind, to seal the gap with tissue paper and cello tape. The next morning I woke up with one point agenda, to keep them away from my fridge. Like an sculptor, I felt the contour of the rubber seal on the inner side of the door and fashioned a shape from soft tissue paper of appropriate thickness just suitable to seal the entry of the Ants. Satisfied with my work, I wiped the fridge clean to remove every single ant and secured the tissue paper seal with cello tape. All done, I opened a namkin packet to have with tea and put the packet back in fridge, assured of my successful attempt. However, in the evening I again found a thin wavy line of the Ants entering and exiting the fridge as freely as they had been doing it!

What more could I do! I traced their path and found that they were climbing the fridge from one of the legs of the fridge stand. How can I stop them from climbing? I asked myself. And then the next thing I wanted to do was the technique adopted commonly in the roadside sweets shops, wherein the shopkeepers put the legs of the sweets display units in steel bowls which is then filled with water. You know, the Ants can’t jump the water to reach the sweets. Next day, while returning from office I went straight to buy the bowls and placed the legs of the fridge stand in the four bowls. Filled them up to the brim to avoid early evaporation of the water. Once done, I was confident that now the Ants won’t have their way. I slept well.

The next day I found the technique to be working well. After all, human beings have dominated the world with their mental acumen! I once again took a fresh packet of biscuit , tore open and took out a piece and kept back the packet. Went to office with a sense of accomplishment, by keeping the Ants away . During office hours, my thoughts often drifted to my fridge and I kept visualising the army of ants trying to cross the water barrier, upon climbing the bowl! Ants are not quitters, so I was just imagining about the efforts they must have been putting the whole day in around the water bowl. But I was wrong. They were not anywhere around the bowls. I felt triumphant!

I opened the fridge. My heart sank. There was movement inside the fridge, lot of movement of the Ants,  as energetic and enthusiastic as ever! But how come? From where? Again!

I try to trace their movement . After coming out of the fridge, they moved down - underside of the fridge and after travelling back they climbed over the power cable, to the power point, to the wall and to their place – and it never occurred to me that the power cable too might be one point of access! Ants outsmarted me, they demonstrated it. I felt humbled by their persistence, their team work, their spirit to overcome the challenges in such a simple fashion and to keep looking for alternate solutions.

I know that I can resolve my problem by simply changing the rubber seal. But I want to do without it, just to see whether I can outsmart the tiny creatures! I am yet looking for a workable  idea, to beat the tiny Ants in their game.

Do you have an idea! I have Ants in my fridge!

madhukarmohan@gmail.com

Kalaam – Tujhe Salaam!

 APJ Abdul Kalaam – the missile man – is no more! The man who had been inspiring the youth of India – has left like a true warrior – teaching and inspiring the youth till his last breath today at at IIM, Shilong (on 27^th July 2015).

I got the opportunity to see him in person and listen to him at Bengaluru (may see my earlier blog-post - In the company of Abdul kalaam and Narayan Murthy ). Prior to that, I knew him as Ex-President of India, a genuine scientist and a successful writer. Attending his lecture made me aware that he was also an excellent manager and an outstanding leader. But, what really impressed me was his humbleness and down to earth attitude, despite having proved his worth in so many fields.

What I could see on that day that, each and every individual present had genuine respect for him- and I could see it by spontaneous standing ovation he got upon his entry in the hall. I could feel the energy and warmth that his presence had generated! Each and every word that he said, every time he smiled, every gesture he made – were all so meaningful and apt for the audience- that like me entire audience was full of appreciation, and in awe of this gentleman!

I can’t claim to have met or even attended to the lectures of many of the luminaries; but, I know for sure that of all the leaders ( in any field ) that our generation has seen or heard, APJ Abdul Kalaam stands out – as the most simple leader! I know, many would agree to my view point.

Purpose of my this blog is to pay homage to the great man – who despite his advanced age – kept on visiting one educational institute to other – inspiring the kids and youth – with big dreams for India! He must have touched so many lives and ignited so many minds  – with his simple ideas and beatific smile! May his dream come true.

He started his life as a poor child with no means and rose to be the First Citizen of India – his life is a great lesson for all of us – he has demonstrated the power that ‘an ordinary Inidan’ possesses! APJ – you were a true Indian – I salute you and your inspiring life!

In the honour of APJ Abdul Kalaam, I had written a poem titled ‘Kalaam, Tujhe Salaam’, way back on 14^th September, 2003! Today, I would like to share with you all  : 

कलाम तुझे सलाम

रामेश्वरम के तट पर

लहरों को गिनना,

सुनहरे रेत पर

नंगे पाँव उछलना,

मन की उमंगो को

सागर की लहरों सा रूप दे,

नभ को छूने को मचलना

ऐसे ही अनेक सपने संजाये,

दूर चमकते तारों को निहारना

यही तो हर बच्चे का बचपन होता है,

सब का एक सपना होता है।

पर सपने भी कभी सच होते हैं?

हाँ, सपने ही तो सच होते हैं.

पर तब,जब सपने अपने होते हैं

तब,जब हम सपनो को जीते हैं

तब,जब हम उनकी उपासना करते हैं।

रामेश्वरम के उस गाँव में

उस नन्हे बालक अब्दुल ने भी तो

सपने देखे थे-

नभ को छूने का!

उसने उस सपने को

देखा ही नहीं, जीया है

उसके एक सपने ने

हम सबको,

आत्मविश्वास दिया है

-‘अग्नि’ के रुप में।

‘अग्नि’ नभ को छूता हुआ

मात्र आग का गोला ही नहीं

‘अग्नि’ युध्द का

असाधरण अस्त्र ही नहीं

यह तो वह आग है

जिसे अब्दुल के ‘अग्नि’ ने

हर भारतीय के मन में

एक नई आशा का दीपक प्रज्ज्वलित किया है

जिसने हर भारतीय बच्चे को दिया है – अग्नि पंख

नए सपनों के साथ उड़ान भरने के लिए।

आज के इन जटिल हालात में भी

कितने सरल हो तुम, कितने सहज, कितने बुद्धिमान

तुझ एक के लगन से बढ़ा भारत का मान-सम्मान

कमाल के हो तुम, सचमुच हो माटी के लाल

तहे दिल से कलाम, हम सबका तुझे  सलाम।

The Super PM and the Super CM

While 2014 saw the rise of Narendra Modi as a super PM of India, 2015 saw the rise of Arvind Kejriwal as super CM of Delhi, the capital state of India. Now, both are in Delhi and the country has very high expectations from both of them.

With powerful leadership at the helm of affairs, the political scenario is going to be different than yesteryears – the age of coalition government – when every decision had to be considered carefully, considering the support of allies. Keeping them in good humour used to be priority of the government, rather than the real business. Those days are gone with stable government at the Centre and in Delhi.

It was good to hear from Kejriwal, when he cautioned his MLAs, their family members and the AAP volunteers – not to be arrogant! I think this one caution, if AAP keeps reminding itself throughout its term, would help the government to achieve the goals it set for itself – and on the basis of which it won confidence of Delhites and absolute majority in the House. Similarly, at the Centre, Modi government too would need to take every step to fulfil the dreams of the common man that gave its mandate for overall growth and development of the nation. For both the leaders, the days of showcasing their oratory skills are over. Both must now devote time and energy, their organizational skills in translating their visions into reality. People have given them their mandate, exhibited their confidence in them – now the PM and the CM need to work tirelessly to fulfil their promises.

While Arvind Kejriwal is new to politics, his bouncing back with 67 seats out of the possible 70 seats – after being tagged as ‘Bhagoda’, proves that he has the capability and will to perform as a leader. I sincerely hope and wish that his sincerity and anti-corruption stand is practiced by all his MLAs – these qualities alone would do wonders for the common man.

Everyone is aware of the performance of Narendra Modi as CM of Gujarat. But, managing a State is different than managing a country like India. Nevertheless, let’s hope and wish that he and his team would leave no stone unturned in bringing prosperity in the lives of ordinary Indians.

With onus of taking India and Delhi to a higher level, with commitment to work for the people, I wish that Narendra Modi and Arvind Kejriwal should work hand in hand at forums – that need constructive contribution from both of them. If it happens, both would set example for others to emulate, in the larger interest of the people.

All said, the greatest onus is on us – the ordinary Indians. While the two leaders are working upon their ideas to translate them into reality – they can’t be successful unless we support them. We need to be sincere to our work, to our organizations, to our families, to our society, to our state and to our nation.

We all want a corruption-free government, garbage free surroundings, crime free society, pollution free environment, and what not! But, let us ask ourselves – are we doing our duty? Onus is on us, let’s do what we must. Let's not shy away from our responsibilities.

Are Our MPs Talking and Acting Responsibly?

We, the ordinary Indians, many times wonder about the psyche of some of our politicians – whom we elect after a lot of thought – hoping that they would carry out their responsibilities with sincerity. However, their senseless bizarre acts and inexplicable utterances leave us clueless. Their deeds and utterances make headlines, they are discussed by expert panels on news channels, political parties thru their spokesperson give their version of interpretation, the concerned interest groups – divided on religious, geographical or cultural differences try to escalate or play down such deeds or utterances – depending on how they perceive them. However, an ordinary Indian, is normally unable to make any head or tail out of it. We, at the best either ignore it or forget them with time.

While, we may accept that sometimes the uttered words were misunderstood and were spoken in some different context with no wrong intentions – but most of the times – it is stated with a purpose. Only they know – why did they say and what good purpose it serves to the society.

May be not so intelligent and being an ordinary Indian, I would not like to dissect and analyse the incidences which were in bad taste and were rightly not taken in good humour by the media and the public. My only purpose to mention or quote a few of the incidences (taken from the internet sources) is to solely express my helplessness and amusement at what they do, what they speak vis-à-vis what their responsibilities are as an elected representative of ordinary Indians!

Some quotes for ready reference -

-    BJP MP from Unnao, Sri Sakshi Maharaj gave the statement, "I believe Nathuram Godse was also a nationalist and Mahatma Gandhiji also did a lot for the nation. Godse was an aggrieved person. He may have done something by mistake but was not an anti- national. He was a patriot."

-    Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti had earlier this month courted a controversy for allegedly making communal remarks and using unparliamentary language ( Raamzaadaa and Haraamzaadaa ) while addressing a rally in Delhi.

-    Addressing a rally in Moradabad, Mulayam Singh Yadav, MP and supremo of Samajwadi Party, “Ladkiyan pehle dosti karti hain. Ladke-ladki mein matbhed ho jata hai. Matbhed hone key baad usey rape ka naam dey deti hain. Ladko sey galti ho jati hai. Kya rape case mein phasi di jayegi? (First girls develop friendship with boys. They when differences occur, they level rape charges. Boys commit mistakes. Will they be hanged for rape).”

-    Jitan Ram Manjhi, Chief Minister of Bihar gave a statement – ‘Upper caste people are foreigners’.

May good sense prevail and such utterances are avoided in future by our elected representatives – in the best interest of the people they are supposed to serve and in the larger interest of the country.

BJP at the Centre has a good opportunity to prove its credentials – has enough voice to make and break rules in the Parliament. However, the irresponsible manner in which some of its politicians are giving statements and involving themselves in controversial issues - may prove to be too costly for the party.

I hope and wish that PM Modi – the man on mission with lot of commitments – is able to rein them.

I wish you all a very Happy and Prosperous New Year 2015. May we channelize all our energy in constructive thinking and productive deeds. Let’s all work together for a better India.

Titbits

End of Regional Politics!

With the recent Vidhan Sabha polls for Haryana and Maharashtra, politically speaking, while Congress has hit the nadir; it has also drawn curtains on the regional parties and dented irreparably the political career of the likes of MNS. It may be the beginning of the end of petty politics era. Voters seem to be looking at a bigger picture now; perhaps, with a strong leadership at the helm of affairs. A welcome sign for India, the emerging economic and political power house globally!

Swachchh Bharat Abhiyaan

What binds us together that we layman boast is the common thread of unity; despite having numerous dialects and languages, cultures and traditions, history and geography, caste and colour, et al. But, we never ever mentioned one unique binding quality of ours is – we least bother about cleanliness and remain immune to it despite the repeated cases of dengue, cholera, malaria killing us in all the nook and corners of our country. Imagine yourself travelling by train and approaching a city – stinking filth spread over acres, people defecating on the rail tracks, rag pickers busy picking the recyclable garbage are a common site and one can’t differentiate one city with the other – this is unique to us.

I wonder why 2^nd October is observed as a National Holiday. I know that it happens to be the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation – but so far all these years, the smiling portraits of Mahatma Gandhi remained locked inside the offices and no one of us bothered to even clean him. It is commendable that the new Government at the Centre took the initiative of Swachchh Bharat Abhiyaan as a tribute to the Mahatma who worked tirelessly for the freedom of the nation and cleanliness around us. For the first time Mahatma Gandhi got his due, his photos were dusted, children were made aware of his teachings, government officials sweated with brooms in their hands.

Not much will change, unless we ourselves understand our duty to keep our surrounding clean and pressurize those offices whose duty it is to dispose off the waste to a designated place for further processing and treatment.

The Industrialists and the Government too need to take note of it. Mere symbolic brooming is not going to work. They need to become more sensitive to environment and in turn sensitize their people to adopt clean disposal methods and avoid polluting the water, land and air with industrial wastes. Government and the Industrialists must fix a time frame within which the environmental friendly waste disposal methods are put into operation.

And, do we not need to be sensitive during festivities? I saw clouds of thick smoke all around when I took a drive at night at around 11.00pm and the roads, colonies were littered with paper remains of the crackers!

To adopt and adapt Swachchh Bharat Abhiyaan we need to really work hard!

I see a humble man in ‘56” ka Seena’ !

While Narendra Modi boasted of his 56” chest, it sounded a bit arrogant to many. Seen as a strongman by his colleagues, opposition and even the media; he has emerged with a stronger image internationally too upon his recent visits to Japan and USA.

Whatever he meant by his 56" Chest remark, I see Narendra Modi as a humble man! Three news coverages have not gone unnoticed. Before leaving for Delhi he bowed to his mother, before his maiden entry to Lok Sabha – he bowed and prayed at the steps of the temple of democracy and on his birthday he visited his mother and took her blessings. She also gave him some money and he accepted it humbly. A strongman in power bowing to a frail aged woman in her nineties, seeking her blessings – is a picture in contrast! I hope this must have been noticed by all the youngsters, and it is infact a message to all of them. We owe our life and success in life, to our parents. Thus, we need to respect them, always. Our tradition and culture has always taught us – ‘Vande Mataram’. Modi is simply practicing it, demonstrating it. Any contradictions!

Indo-Pak Cross Border Firings

So far I have not been able to make head or tail out of the cross border firings. Why it happens in peace! Is it just to kill the boredom at the border? Or, as is reported, it is the tactics applied by Pak for infiltrating the terrorists into India? Or, it is just to keep alive the issue in the name of Kashmiris? Whatever. For years India has been reacting with lot of restrictions by retaliatory firings. It is learnt that now BSF and Military has been given ‘free-hand’ to react. But, is the situation going to improve? I doubt.

The floods in J&K

The floods devastated the entire valley. Going by the media coverage, government did make sincere efforts in rescuing the lives of those who got stuck in the valley. But, it is not over yet. It is an opportune time for the government to make right moves, take sincere efforts and provide the local populace all the assistance that is required to bring back life in them and accelerate the implementation of economic packages for the State. Sincere helping hand from the government at this moment would help in instilling the confidence among the people and would help them in filling the void that they have so far experienced due to one reason or the other.

Achchhe Din Aaaye!

This time the people in India voted decisively for Modi Sarkaar. Even the ardent of the followers of Modi might not have dreamt of it. But, it has happened and the 15^th Prime Minister of India – Mr. Narendra Modi would be shortly completing his first 100 days at the helm of affairs with the promise of Achchhe Din!

It is difficult to judge a government’s performance based on hundred days at Office. But, the sincerity shown by the government in understanding the issues of general interest and remaining rooted to the ground realities despite having absolute majority and no challenge from the Opposition speaks volumes about the commitment shown so far by the government. Speaking personally about Modi, while offering prayers on his maiden entry to the Lok Sabha signaled his high regard for the Constitution; his public acknowledgement on Republic Day about the good works of the past Prime Ministers made it clear that he won’t be belittling any past governments but would focus on his agenda of good governance.

It is well known that he is an excellent administrator, skilled orator, a dreamer with belief in his dreams and one who is passionate about work; it seems that people have taken right decision by opting for him and his governance.

With the mandate he got and subsequent to that his taking over control of everything that could have disturbed him here and there in the next five years, politically he has become one of the strongest Prime Ministers. So far, the signals emanating from the government has helped in further building of confidence among the masses and it is hoped that the policies and plans are put into action and are executed timely for their implementation within schedule.

India with its young population, who voted wholeheartedly for him, have got the right leader at right time. It would be important for the government to engage the youth in creative and productive pursuits by creating ample opportunities for them.

As far as foreign policies are concerned, Modi would be handling them sensibly. But, as far as Pakistan is concerned, it would keep posing challenges in the form of Kashmir and terrorism. It would be interesting to see that how Modi tackles Pakistan and the Kashmir issue. Certainly, it is not going to be that easy for the Modi Sarkaar.

I hope and wish that the Achchhe Din is now not far away for the common citizens. Let us all work with commitment and sincerity, else, one man can’t change the destiny of the nation. Hence, unless we make it happen, Achchhe Din will remain a mirage for the common people.