कश्मीर त्रासदी: माँ के आंसू

न देखा कभी सैलाब ऐसा,
क्या ऐसी भूल मुझसे हुई,
चहुंओर नीर तांडव पसरा,
लगा रात रोई है माँ मेरी।

प्रकृति कहर था सुना बहुत,
दिखा तो मेरी रूह काँपी,
जल-थल आपस में समा गए,
लगा रात रोई है माँ मेरी।

धन-धान सबकुछ तबाह हुआ,
मुह मोड़ तूने न सुनी दुआ,
हिम्मत भी मेरी डगा गयी,
लगा रात रोई है माँ मेरी।

बन्दूक से दुश्मन करता वार,
सह जाता वो भी एक बार,
पन-हमले से ऐसा लाचार,
लगा रात रोई है माँ मेरी।

हूँ दाने-दाने को मोहताज,
अपनों से भी मैं बिछड़ गया,
है नदी जहाँ था भरा बाजार,
लगा रात रोई है माँ मेरी।

मानव, जंतु सब बहे निढाल,
मेरा घर क्यों तूने छीन लिया,
अमृत ही है विष बन बैठा ,
लगा रात रोई है माँ मेरी।

डर लगता मुझको सन्नाटा,
दुआ आज मैं बस यही करूँ,
हिम्मत मुझको देना दाता,
माँ के आंसू मैं पौंछ सकूँ।।

Necessities v/s Luxuries

Recently I received a forwarded email. Author put forward the popular view about Necessities v/s wasteful Luxuries. I didn’t agree with him. Below are the excerpts followed by my reply.

Original Post

1. Author was habitual buyer of wasteful luxuries items. He owned an iPod unused for 6 months; a Handy Cam unused for 2 years; a DVD player unused for last 1 month.
2. He said that people are not happy with what they have. They always strive for bigger car, house, TV, laptop etc. He questions if these things are actually required.
3. I have a LCD TV and a smart phone. “My old man was happier with just a BPL TV and a modest cell phone”, he said.
4. If we strive for things that make life easier rather than so called luxuries, we will be happier.
5. “Our predecessors treated Necessities as Luxuries; we are looking at Luxuries as Necessities”, he concluded.

My Reply

1. The reason of not using a lot of old things is that we get bored after certain time. Simple.
2. Need is a subjective term. Helicopter might be necessity for Narendra Modi but is a luxury for layman like me.
3. Lets stretch authors argument a little. Why even a modest phone when we can post a letter? Why even a BPL TV when we can have newspapers, magazines and kathputali shows?
4. Today I check email on my smart phone, do video conference, relish 3D TV. It’s called technological advancement.
5. Our predecessors had a set of Luxuries and so do we. Flight travel, a luxury earlier is a necessity today. My Dad avoids it still. Does it make me any wrong or him any right?

My God, Your God

It was waiting to snap any moment. Whether a prominent Fakir is God or not, has been debated for some time. However the level of discourse seems to have come down of late. With self-proclaimed representatives on either sides uttering choicest of expletives on prime-time, it has become an embarrassment for the followers.

My parents are practicing Hindus and heed to every temple under the sun. They also go to Baba’s shrine to pay respects. I am agnostic to idol worship and have never given too much thought into.

More than faith, the issue seems to be the struggle for power. With the rise of the followers of Baba, a new religious authority has come up with equally fat belly and equally fat purse. So who takes the cake?

Whether Baba can be considered a Hindu God and can be placed in Hindu temples is the contention here. The body that guides the temples says NO with the other side lobbying for it. There are allegations of power play, money changing hands and what not.

As if it was not bad enough that successive generations have become disillusioned with idol worships, these fights have made it worse.

Pro-Baba lobby says, “Our sentiments are hurt; when you say remove him from temples”. The other side says, “Our sentiments are hurt; when you force his idol in our temples”.

I say, my brain hurts. Help me God!

What has become of Media?

“Ma’am, any comments on the young actress nabbed for prostitution? Ma’am any comments?” “This was the star actress ladies and gentlemen, who is seen dodging our questions. Bollywood it seems does not want to speak.”

A leading English news channel that talks of one-upmanship aired this. Why in the hell should the actress have commented? Because her movie on this sensitive issue is running in theaters? Because media could connect these two and chalk out a 30 min segment? Kudos!

No one should have aired her identity in the first place. Media has crucified the young lady for the sake of a story. I agree it’s a grey area legally. But given that media regularly question people on propriety, they doing such things is a huge low. What if she was the family member of one of the media honchos? Would things have been the same?

TV media were at least sensitive to blur out her face, but print and online media were the worst. No point naming individuals. Everyone at large was the culprit. Also Naming and Shaming don’t work nowadays as there is no longer any shame; only a race to an attention grabbing news segment.

It’s very sad. Even if she is pronounced guilty (which by the way she has not been yet), no one has the right to parade her story publicly. I know most media people would agree but are helpless given the deteriorating editorial freedom. Money has completely taken over.

Friends, Just so you know, what you have done is beyond repair.

iPhone 6, Apple Watch and us

iPhone 6, Apple Watch. These two names have been trending since morning.

A number of people remain lined up 24X7 outside Apple Stores since last week. Places in those lines are being traded for serious dough. What is it that makes us so crazy?

We can find analogy in the cinematic world. Salman’s movie releases in the North or Rajnikant’s movie releases in the South. People tend to go one over other. They rejoice, enjoy and try to outshine the ever opulent neighbor. Why?

There are two sides to it. One is the devotion to the brand and the personality. People believe in Apple. They want to celebrate it. They want to rejoice. It’s a festival as I have stated sometime before.

Next aspect is jealousy. With the ever expanding world and ever spreading wealth, there is a certain desire to better the other person. People like me follow the set trends and gloat in the possession of the marquee. Why people in a country like India would save money for months to get their hands on the Holy Grail, is not that difficult to understand.

I guess what lies underneath is the satisfaction it provides. I don’t agree that iPhone 6 will provide substantially better services than other market leaders. Then again it has never been about real performance. Why would we love to dine in a 5 star regardless of the taste? It’s about feeling special.

Splashing money is considered an age old reflection of social status. That’s why one goes beyond means to buy an Audi. That’s why one despises Nano. It’s about getting societal acknowledgment. I remember a colleague who looked crestfallen when no one acknowledged his new iPad that he so obviously was trying to flaunt.

For those who disagree, Have you ever seen someone spending beyond his/her means and not flashing the iPhone in front of his peers and not gloating in self glory?

वो रात

बहुत दिनों चली आंखों-२ में बात,
आज हो गयी सच में मुलाक़ात,
बहाने मिले, न ढूँढने पड़े,
तभी थे आमने सामने खड़े।

वो आई कपड़े पहनकर गुलाबी,
उसके कजरारे नैन लग रहे शराबी,
बड़ी मासूमियत से मुखवाणी निकाली,
है उसकी जुल्फें या घटा काली-काली।

आज लग रही वो सम्पूर्ण नारी,
पांडू के बाद हाय मेरी मती हारी,
कामदेव का बाण चल ही गया,
सारा संसार लगने लगा नया।

होने लगी पुष्प की वर्षा,
बजने लगी प्रेम की त्रिवेणी,
इतने दिनों का इंतज़ार,
कर रहा था हमें जार-जार।

लगा था जैसे बीती हों सदियाँ,
बहने दो आज स्नेह की नदियाँ
बंधे सारे तार, झुके सारे नैन,
दिल को करार औ हृदय को चैन।

दो जिस्म एक हो ही गए,
दोनों के नयन भी एक हुए,
उसके गाल पर काला तिल,
बन ही गया हमारा दिल।।

Best Hindi News Anchor

In this era of 24×7 media, the number of news channels is increasing day by day. Most look clones of each other though. For those who doubt, here are some names, India News, News India, India TV, News Nation, News 24 and News Express.

The fight is on for the prime-time with each channel lining up its own set of debate moderators. I claim to be one of the avid viewers of these debates. Even then if you ask me who the best Hindi debate anchor is, I will struggle.

Each one has his/her own style. There are likes of Gentle Shweta Singh Aajtak, Probing Neha Pant Abp News, On the money Saurav Sharma India TV, No nonsense Abhigyan Prakash NDTV, Luxuriously lazy Deepak Chaurasia India News among others.

But one Gentleman that stands out for me is Ravish Kumar NDTV. Hailing from the Hindi heartland, Mr. Kumar is one person who holds debates in the true sense. He eases the participants into such a comfort zone where there are no high pitch voices, no headaches. He passes such canny silent remarks which rattle even the toughest. He gives everyone so much time that the real nuances of the debate come to the fore.

He take no side, lose no temper and raise no voice; still is able to bring out the story. He laughs; he seems lazy; he jokes; he uses vintage proverbs and brings in a mystic touch. He proves that to make your voice heard, you need not be loud. He believes that all views need to be heard, however absurd they may be.

He speaks the least, still is able to steer the debate with his wit and wisdom. He shows that true value of a smile is not lost as yet.

Well done Mr. Ravish Kumar.