Does It Matter?

“ As terrorism spread its footprint across India through the 1990s and first decade of the new century, reaching a horrific, televised climax in Mumbai when gunmen, armed and trained in Pakistani sanctuaries , a dilemma has ebbed and flowed through the tides of Indian public opinion. Can outlaws be contained through the binding laws of a liberal democracy ? Should right to life, a fundamental tenet of our Constitution, be extended to those who kill innocents , arbitrarily, bomb buildings, hijack aircraft, or target places of worship in order to inject poison into the demographic veins of India? Theory has the good fortune of living in a black-and-white textbook . Reality is grey. Terrorists thrive in shadow wars, protected by a paradox: since they are out of uniform, they can always claim innocence until the moment they pull a trigger. We forget the number of alibis that were floated even after something as self-evident as the 2008 Mumbai attack and some were repeated in Parliament by a Cabinet minister in the UPA government. Our security forces have to hunt in such treacherous fog. Their job is to succeed before the trigger is squeezed, to find Indira Gandhi’s and Rajiv Gandhi’s assassins before they have succeeded, and to stop a thousand attacks on civilians during a festival or any other day.””(M.J.Akbar)

 When 19-year-old Ishrat Jahan was killed by the police way back in 2003 (?),there was a whimper . There was  no standard response. Most people have probably chosen their sides over Ishrat Jahan. The CBI’s chargesheet is enough for those who believe she is guiltless. Others stress the IB version that David Headley, convicted of terrorism, mentioned her name; or wonder what she was doing in the company of three men recognized, even by the CBI, as terrorists.The storm has once again gathered as the elections beckon people who love power .First the Ministry of Home Affairs said that she was a terrorist and now they have backed off saying that they cant part with what they shared with the Americans about Headleys statement .The game is very simple –Ishrat was shot dead for whatever reasons .Now over her dead body others are  trying  to get a pot shot at one of Indias most dynamic men .(Please keep in mind what M J Akbar has written above ).The simple question that remains unanswered is –what actually  was she doing with 3 criminals ?The bodies of two of them were never claimed because the mouthpiece of the LeT had acknowleged that all 4 were on their rolls .It took them 2 years to say they had made a journalistic error !!Why would the police kill 4 of them ?From all accounts (if it was a planned encounter),it took a lot of logistics and planning to stage it .Were they not convinced that these 4 were out on a mission to kill the CM of Gujerat ?And if they were certain about the motive –should they have waited for them to pull the trigger ?These are some questions that need to be answered and not politicized .I saw first hand the anti Sikh riots of 1984 .I was a married man when my brilliant I.A.S brother in law was shot by terrorists in Patiala.I have very little sympathy for terrorists or suspected terrorists   

Only one thing is  very clear in this ding dong battle of the vultures as they try to feed off the remains of those who were killed .None of them is interested in the truth .To hell with it .It never mattered when Sikhs were massacred in the aftermath of the assassination of Mrs Gandhi .One had to hop over dead bodies to reach a particular house in Trilokpuri .Everyone saw who were leading the assassins as they shouted the same slogans as the mobs in Naroda Patiya .Grieving mothers clutched on to young lives before being sliced like butter  with a hot knife .Yes ,we very conveniently forget the past the moment the next horrendous riot takes place .We should set up museums in Godhra ,Naroda Patiya ,Trilokpuri -highlighting the cruel march of time on those fateful days .Like the Americans and the Western World have done to build museums to highlight the holocaust that was unleased on the Jews .But nothing happens here . The lawyers who are fighting the cases are interested in the big buck .The egoistic TV journalists are interested in the TRP ratings .The police are interested in getting medals or settle scores with people who think differently from the way they think .And the political parties are interested in making it a “secular” vs “communal “ issue .So sad that the mighty value of truth is buried in the greed and manipulations of the small human mind . A  simple  reality has been converted into a legal issue of FIRs and Chargesheets. A  complex reality has emerged turning the issue into a  campaign fodder in election season. Politics is the petrol that can turn such a fire into conflagration.

We sit and watch .Helplessly .At the moment it doesn’t concern us –does it ?I would rather watch “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag” tomorrow and go out to the Marriott for dinner tonite .

Pran , Movie Halls ,Dehradun -A Slice From The Past-Part 1

Whenever a great actor passes away ,I remember Dehradun .Funny?And what is the link ?!!

I was not born in Dehradun ,but I grew up in it .And my father chose to settle down in the city after giving it a long thought .Like all refugees ,he and his brothers had moved out of Punjab after the Partition .My Chacha,and my Taujis had settled in that haven for refugees –Delhi .But my father being empowered with a medical degree from the King Edwards Medical College ,Lahore  ,went to Burma (modern day Myanmar)and became a successful doctor –specalizing in surgery .It was in Burma that all of us were born while  he moved from one district to another .I have very strong visuals of his last posting at Myingyan ,which was (and I am sure still is) a part  of the Mandalay Division .Incidentally ,from my mothers side ,her father and his brothers (also from Punjab before partition),had migrated to Burma and settled down in Mandalay .There my Nanaji and his brother ran a very successful sweet shop .It was this connection of my Dad going to Burma as a doctor and my mother being there already in Mandalay ,that probably settled the marriage issue .They were married in India in the district of Hoshairpur (Hajipur ,Talwara),from where my mothers family hailed .

A part of Guro Bhavan where i grew up .It faces the main road .

I have some memories of our stay and  my father in Burma –he seemed to be all the time in the hospital .And when he was at home ,he would always encourage us to travel with him in our Landrover to various districts .He has a penchant for wearing hats(not caps )  and smoking cigars .A desi “angrez” if ever there was one .!!My brother and two elder sisters went to the Mount Hermon School in Darjeeling (a residential school ),,and that left me and my other two sisters  with Mom and Dad .We had lots of cats and dogs and dad liked going to the golf course and enjoying his drink –whiskey at night and when he played on a Sunday afternoon –beer .He oozed charm and mixed freely with everyone –especially women .My mother developed hypertension and was soon confined to the bed most of the time .Those days ,hypertension was considered a killer disease because the medicines available now were absent then .She survived on “Serpasil” and “Adelphane”,which were considered life savers .I remember her popping “Equanil” every night to facilitate her sleep .I can imagine now what all she must have gone through in her fight against the disease .But we had ample amount of servants and she ran the house by giving verbal instructions .She was very pretty and had a robust commonsense .

The beautiful trees which dot the boundary wall .

Entertainment those days was limited .There was no television to start with .We depended largely on radios which were huge in size .The bigger the radio –the more affluent you were supposed to be !!We had a big Murphy and Phillips radio .We also had a huge Grundig Tape Player which worked when we put huge circular tapes on it !!The transistor made its appearance somewhere down the line .On Wednesday we would all crowd around the Radio and hear the racy and melodious voice of Ameen Sayani  entertain us and welcome us by saying "Bhaiyon aur Bhenoh,Ameen Sayani aapka phir se Binaca Geet Mala me swagat karta hai " .It was aired on “Radio Ceylon”!!Later on when the TV  made its appearance ,we would all crowd around it to hear the naughty looking Tabbassum entertain us with “Chitrahaar”.We would all make sure that our food was over and done with before 8 pm .And sometimes when there would be a electricity failure ,we would moan and curse the department .

The other form of entertainment were the weekly movies which we went for .And that is the reason that I remember Dehradun whenever a actor of that era passes  away .Movies were not made the way they are these days –by dozens and hundreds .And one did not see movies like you kids see it these days –partly eating food ,partly smsing ,partly talking ,partly talking over cell phone while watching it .In the sixties and seventies movies were not available on videos or computers or even cell phones .There was only one place where we could see the movie –in the movie hall .I now appreciate  the difference between theatre and movies in the modern age .There is only one place you can watch the theatre –its in the theatre !!You cant watch it on a video .Last year when I was in London ,we watched a musical in a theatre .It was cramped ,it was crowded and it reminded me of the movie halls of Dehradun .And thank God ,the Brits have a love for tradition .Though the physical size of the population has grown ,the distance between the rows in the theatre  is still the same .It doent matter if you have longer legs –they wont revamp the 150 year old  theatre near Oxford Street !!Sadly ,many movie halls have dissappered in Dehradun –Laxmi,Digvijay ,Capri ,Odeon ,Victory Cinema (in my beloved Clement Town).They have been replaced by the Malls. But in them we saw ,and fell in love or hated the great stars of our times .In them I saw Pran ,in movies like Gumnaam(Gumnaam hai koyi ,badnaam hai koyi!) Jab Jab Phool Khiley(ek thaa gul aur ek thee bulbul-oh la la!),Upkar (what a amazing song –“Kasme wade pyar wafa sab  ,batein hai batoh ka kya, Koyi kisi ka nahi ye jhoothhe, Naate hain naato ka kya),Johnny Mera Naam,(pal bhar ke liyeh koi mujse pyaar kar le -jhootah hi sahi- dear dear me so desperate !),Love In Tokyo (Sayonara ,Sayonara,kal phir miloongee Sayonara)  ,etc .I still remember every scene ,and not because I have a good memory .I remember the stars and the movies because going to a movie was as big a occasion as going to attend a relatives wedding !!One cant forget occasions like those .And you cant forget the place where such events took place .And  you cant forget the hero and heroine of the wedding –the bride and the bridegroom .For us the movie halls were like  the venue of the weddings, where the bride and the bridegroom were the Saira Banus , the Nandas,the Vijayantimalas ,the Sadhanas ,the Asha Parekhs ,the Mumtazs .And the bridegrooms were Rajesh Khanna ,Dev Anand ,Shammi Kapoor,Raj Kumar or Pran,Raj Kapoor ,Dilip Kumar  .They were a part of our living –and living with joy .It was a occasion that was not meant to be taken casually .Infact before the movie programme was made ,a lot of anticipation and preparation went into it .Thats why each movie left behind it not only memories of the story and the plot –but also very strong allied memories .Pran was not just a actor .He was a part of our essential being .Thats why when he (or for that matter some other actor passes away ),they  take  away with them  a bit of our childhood .

More about that connect in my next blog .

Schools.Will We Need Them 5 years From Now ?

 We live in times which are like shifting sand .Nothing is static even for a day and are changing at a pheneomenal pace .If one brought back to life doctor who had lived in the 80s ,he would not be able to understand what was happening in the operating theatre .He would be watching a  patient all wired up to a computer  watching his operation on a screen ,a few members of his family would  be clutching at his hands and the doctors would be using computers and lasers for operating him .Ditto with a lawyer .He would not be conversant with the laws that have changed –cyber laws !!-and he would have to know how to use technology to find the listing of his case .Even a man who kept his money in a bank .If by chance he went to a bank ,he would be surprised to find hardly anyone there .Gone would have been the queues.!!Why ?Because all accounts are being managed online and money is no longer withdrawn by standing in a line and handing over a cheque !!Its with a swipe of of the credit card !!Same with ticket bookings –train ,airlines ,hotels ,movies,restaurants etc .He would also find rickshaw wallahs and small children with cell phones and IPads .And restaurants in which people hardly talked while eating –so busy were they on their iphones and blackberry’s texting messages and accessing yahoo,google or even watching live cricket or porn !!

But wait .!!If he were to make his way into a school (the normal school ),he would find himself completely at home .He would find crowded classrooms ,he would find chalk duster and blackboard ,and he would find  the teacher teaching with his/her  back facing the class because he/she is writing something on the board all the time  from a NCERT text  book which was published about 5 years ago . There might be a few changes in the History chapters ,but that would be because the government had changed and wanted History to be taught in the way its think tank interpreted it (communal vs non communal!!).

Its the only profession that hasn’t changed at the pace at which the world has changed .A Ambassador Car of the 60s on the track of Formula 1 Racing .!!

Why ?This is so because of many reasons .Briefly

1.We still  live in a era of “brick and mortar schools”.Schools such as ours are a  product of the age of the industrial revolution-where things were mass produced .So you put 50 students into a class ,assume all of them will grow at exactly the same pace ,and  have the same skills  .At the end of the 33 weeks ,the product will be ready ,will be stamped(in the form of a result),there will be some defective pieces,there will be some  “seconds”,and you have done the job .To hoodwink the masses ,you will introduce CCE which increases largely  meaningless  work and to manipulation . (Ask any teacher and many Principals ).

2.This kind of  system envisages more students than teachers .The teacher if dedicated tries his/her best to teach in a way that most children are able to comprehend bits and pieces of the “transferred” knowledge .However due to compulsions of the system it ignores children who march to a different beat .The net result is that advanced students are bored in school and want to move faster ,while struggling students fall further and further behind .Education is “customized” for mass production.

The above is the model that prevails in 99 percent of the schools. Schools were built on the presumption that teachers and knowledge were in short supply .Hence everyone had to go to a school to get "scarce" knowledge .They were also built on the presumption that everyone of a particular age had equal capabilities.But all that has changed .Knowledge is freely available on the Web and is in abundance .And we cant continue to see schools where children come to study from a narrow content list and knowledge through books published 4 years ago .Knowledge on the net is doubling every 10 hours (by the time some of you read it that figure of 10 may further reduce!!),and google.com gets 2.4 billion (yes billion!!)hits per day .

The great tragedy in our schooling system is that we  do not have a window open for “intrinsic”,needs .Very few students are allowed by the parents to pursue something like dance ,music ,fine art or rifle shooting .When I told my father once that I wanted to be a painter ,he laughed and said “Better to be cobbler .At least you are sure to get some work .Everyone wears shoes that may need repair .All your paintings will remain in the attic”.The attitude hasn’t changed amongst the schools and parents .Somehow a Physical Instructor is valued much less than a English or Physics teacher .Why?Becuase those are the subjects that get you the jobs .Hence our education system is “extrinsic”-it is catering to the external demand of the market.It is governed by laws of supply and demand .It is not linked to give boost to “intrinsic” needs –music ,dance,sports ,friendship .There is only one Principal I know who has the background of being a Physical Health Instructor .And one who is a theatre personality .And one who is painter .We don’t value intrinsic needs .We live in the age of the machine and technology .And machines and computers don’t have emotions .To use them you have to be tech savvy .And that is where the nature of schooling will move to in the next 5 years I feel .Laws will overtake values .Right and wrong (value),based on moral precepts will be overtaken by law .If you violate a law you will be punished .You wont be counseled .Counsellers will be replaced by lawyers !!

At the moment all the above looks very far fetched .It is not in our hands to stop change .When the time for a “idea” to be born has come –it will be born .The idea of technological change has already been born .The baby will soon grow up .

What would future  classes be like ?

1.Educational Innovations will take place LARGELY outside traditional classrooms

 2.Over a period of time education software will play a larger and larger role ,until the schools are no longer necessary .

3.Students will continue to gather with their local friends in a building called a “school”.(The word “school” wont go away).

4.Learning in these “schools” will be determined by learning style ,ability ,and personal interest rather than the syllabus set by the schools.

The above will happen or is bound to happen because of a depletion of oil .In 5 years time the prices of oil  and traffic on the roads ,will be so high that it would be impossible for children to be able to commute over long distances .The transportation charges  will be 3 times the cost of tuition fee .All that is not going to be sustainable .

We need to recognize the fact that we have gone beyond the age of the “INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION”.We live in a age of the “TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION”.The future has to belong to “INTERACTIVE ONLINE EDUCATION”,which has to be better than todays education software which is nothing better than “GLORIFIED FLASH CARDS “. ONLINE Education will allow for classes to be customized to a students particular style .

And  computerized systems will enable us to deliver continuous assessments to students.

I know many of you who are reading  will find it childish and queer when I write  all this .I also know that there will be questions that many of us who believe that change will take place wont be able to answer .Its impossible to be able to structure the future and in a debate the one who is predicting is always going to be on the losing side to the one who is arguing about the past and providing the facts .But technology has its own dynamics .The radios confined us to a room where we needed a plug point .The solid state transistor made it possible for us to move around the house or carry the transistor with us to parties and picnics .Remember Murphy Transistor?Then we got into the world of pocket transistors .Ditto with typewriters ,PCs ,laptops ,ipads ,notebooks etc .Same with phone .And the same will happen in the world of education.The technological changes will provide solutions to sustain it (the change).Remember

Karl Marxs concept of the substructure being sustained by a superstructure ?Infact it is already happening .Online schooling is very successful in some parts of the world .Salman Khan (no –not our Salman Khan )  who runs the highly successful  Khan Academy,in America , a free online education platform and non profit organization  has produced more than 4,000 video lessons teaching a wide spectrum of academic subjects, mainly focusing on mathematics and the sciences. As of May 2013, the Khan Academy channel on YouTube attracted 1,000,000 subscribers and the Khan Academy videos have been viewed over 268 million times.

I feel we all need to accept the realities .We may or may not like technology (I don’t ),but it is not a matter of choice .It has become a compulsion .

To answer the question as to whether there would be schools like the ones we have now in the future ,the answer is yes and no .Yes for those who have to be told what to do and no for those who will lead the world and tell us what to do .The children of today know more about everything than most of us .And I am suere you must be aware about it  whenever your computer or cell phone runs into trouble !!You always turn to your kid –because  by default he/she was born into technology .My grand nephew is already running his fingers over a Android phone !!He may never go to a brick and mortar school .And even if does –his kids wont .This much  I am sure about .

Because he does not want to go into the Formula I Race ,driving a Ambassador Car .!!

Kudos To The Supreme Court .!!Well Done .

The Supreme Court has done what all of us wanted so desperately –it  delivered  a path breaking judgement on disqualification of law makers who are convicted in various courts .For some of you who may not be conversant with law ,there are several layers before a person can be convicted by the courts .For example ,one can be convicted for a crime in a district court –but that may not be be the only place where he stands convicted .He can appeal to a higher court –like the High Court ,or even to the Supreme Court .The result is that conviction in the Indian judicial system can be painfully slow because people take recourse to appeals  .Sometimes justice does not take place for someone who has been affected .Sometimes people die before the first hearing comes up in Court .Sometimes people don’t even knock at the doors of the courts .Because they know it will be vain .And that is the reason why politicians who have a criminal background are seldom  convicted .There is a politician who has been convicted in a fodder scam that took place 20 years back and continues to politic –because his case is now pending in the Supreme Court !!There are criminals in jails and winning by huge margins because they have appealed in the higher courts .Thats why there are 1460 MLAS and MPS who are facing criminal charges and are yet making laws for you and me.Because they are protected by clause 8(4) of the Peoples Representation Act which says that if convicted ,a lawmaker can appeal within 3 months to a higher court and continue to be in the Legislature .What the Supreme Court has done is that it has struck down the above provision and said that if a politician is convicted (in any court) –then he/she  is instantly disqualified .!!Which means that the politician can appeal to a  higher court  only after  vacating their seat  ,for acquittal and they (the politicians) know best how long that will take !!Ha Ha Ha !!Now instead of them wanting the case to be delayed –they will push for it to be hurried because that’s the only chance for them to get back into politics !!

However there are a couple of points that need to be understood

1.Lower courts are not always right in the judgement .So a politician can get a bad deal .

2.There can be cases “engineered”,against a politician to make sure he gets disqualified .

3.What will happen if 30 or 40 MPS get disqualified after getting into Parliament ,but befor getting convicted ?Re election ?What about the logistics?

4.The Supreme Court Judgement  however has made the law prospective –which means that all those who have been convicted and have already filed in their appeals will not fall under the purview of this decision .But anyone contesting elections in the future will be subject to the provisions of the act .

5.Political parties wont give tickets to people who can be convicted .With razor thin majorities in Parliament ,it would be disastrous for a political party to lose 5 MPS !!

I feel it’s a great judgement and will go a long way in cleaning up the system .Its time we as Indians don’t live life getting up everyday  ,subconsciously thinking that we are following laws which are made by 1/3 people who have  a criminal record .

"Kulbhushan-My Warm Good Wishes "-Ruskin Bond

As a Principal and now as a Director ,I have always been crowded by students .Its not very unusual to find them in my chamber .Sometimes they come with a complaint ,sometimes they come with a request (holidays on a rainy day !!),sometimes they come with sweets and toffees and sometimes they just come to give a compliment (Sir the speech today in the Asssembly was wow !!).So when Vaishnavi Aggarwal and Shubra Arora came to my office –it was nothing new for me .But it was the first time for them to enter my chamber (happens when there are more than 5000 kids in the school ).Vaishnavi cluctched on to a book in her hands and Shubra was accompanying her .

Vaishnavi

“Hello ,come in .Is it the first time you are coming to my office”,I asked them .

“Yes Sir”.they replied in chorus .

“What brings you here”,I asked .

“Sir ,I wanted to present you this book”,said Vaishnavi .

Ah !!another kid showing her gratitude for whatever little I did for her .There are some people like that .They are generous by nature and they want to do their bit incase they feel you have done something for them .They are the ones who go on to win hearts of people –they reflect magnanimity which is rare in a world full of selfish people .And sometimes children can be very selfish and cruel .

“No –I don’t accept presents from people and kids who don’t  earn”,I said .

“But Sir you do so much for us”,she said ,with a disappointed look on her face .

“No –I am not going to accept the book” I said .I did not even care to look at the name and author of the book .There is no limit if you start accepting gifts .As a Principal I have always avoided doing that –save accepting a toffee or a Cadbury bar on a childs birthday .

 “But sit down –lets talk .” I said 

Shubra

So Vaishnavi and Shubra sat down and talked .Vaishnavi hailed from Saharanpur which is the adjoining district to Dehra Dun .God knows how many times I must have gone to it with my father and on my own .It is famous for its furniture business as also for the ITC (Indian Tobbaco Company).It also used to have a famous movie hall called “DARPAN”-with a “ D”written backwards  . Saharanpur is also famous for its “Kalmi” mangoes .It also had a wonderful vegetarian dhaba called “Barkat”,and I must say it is the only chain of dhabhas I have seen in my life –there was one in Dehradun and one in Bijnor as well !!Run by the same peopl .Vaishnavi had had food there as well .Her parents are  hotel advisors and thus she hopped from city to city and stayed in good hotels .Shubra was from Jodhpur and very talkative .She said she wasn’t very fond of Mahatma Gandhi or Narender Modi .Probably too young to have a informed opinion .She also did not approve of beggars –“they are able bodied –they must work” she protested !!

Both girls are extremely intelligent .Both are interested in money . “Its nice to be rich .I like malls and shopping”,said one of them .They both loved coming to school –a sign that the school was child friendly.All good schools will have children wanting to come to it .

The conversation meandered from film stars to politicians and school .Both of them liked Amitabh Bacchan (their favourite Indian),and Shubras’ favourite actress was Madhuri Dixit –though Vaishnavis favourite was Kareena and after a thought –“Priyanka Chopra also!!”.

After sometime ,Vaishnavi looked at me and said again

“Sir please accept this book .I have got it signed specially for you from him.”

That caught my ears . “Whom  have you got it signed from?”,I asked

With a twinkle in her eyes she said

“Sir ,Ruskin Bond”.!!

Ahaa ! Good old Ruskin was still doing what he loves most –being among children .Everyone in Dehradun and Mussoorie ,knows Ruskin personally .Infact ,my father also knew him  -and I am  talking of 60 years ago .Ruskin is a legendary figure of those parts .One would always see him walking up and down the Mall or sitting and having a cup of tea at Jamuna Dhaba ,just off Camels back Road .Infact he is a neighbor of my first cousin Billoo and many times we have sat and had tea on the parapet wall just outside his small cottage .Sangeeta and Pratique had also gone to meet him 2 summers back .He was struggling a bit with his health .I asked Vaishnavi  how he now was . “Did not look too well Sir .He was sitting and did not get up .We had gone to invite him for a programme ,but he refused .He said he was not well .And Sir before we left ,he asked someone to bring a big box of books and told me to choose any number of books from it .I chose three .I asked him to write something for “my Principal”,and he wrote this for you .” .I took the book and had a look at it .It was a book in which short stories written by Ruskin Bond had been compiled .And on the first page he had written very neatly "Kulbhushan,My warm and good wishes ".The book not only brought back memeories of Ruskin Bond ,but also of my life as a school and college student and also about Mussoorie ,the beautiful hill station just 21 miles away from Dehradun.Vaishnavi  looked at me .
 “Sir please accept it”.!!.

I promptly surrendered .I accepted the book with all humility .

Not because Ruskin Bond had signed it personally .

But because Vaishnavi  had thought about me in far off Mussoorie .As also the fact that it packed too many memories in it .!!It was more than just a book for me .

Uttarakhand Mountains Weep and Cry .!!The Gods Are Angry.

 Calamities and pilgrim spots seem to be inextricably woven into a heady mix of tragedy .We have seen it happen over and over again –be it at Kumbh Melas ,or religious festivals in some temple town .I have myself had one of the most frightening experiences of my life while I was trapped in a multitude of millions in a small space at the temple town of Tirupati.The three of us(Sangeeta ,Pratique and me ) felt we would be flattened  thin as pages, with the pressure of people being exerted on us –and we could not move a inch  .It still remains a nightmare .The unpredictability of a disaster in a pilgrim town is no less frightening than a bomb blast by the terrorists anywhere in India .

At Hemkund Sahab.1984.

However what has happened in Uttarakhand is perhaps the saddest ,for people like me .It happened in my home state and in areas where I have trekked extensively .The names are so familiar –Ram Bada ,Govindghat ,Gaurikund ,Hemkunt Sahab ,Kedarnath ,Yamnotri ,Chopta ,Chamoli …..I remember trekking all the way from Govindghat to Hemkunt Sahab ,via Govinddham and the beautiful Valley of Flowers ,I remember travelling from Rishikesh through the “Panch Pryag “-places where major tributaries join the Ganga –Nandprayg ,Karnaprayag,Devprayag ,Rudraprayag ,Visnuprayag.I even remember spending a night at the beautiful guest house at Nandprayag becoz it had got too dark to travel .We were served lovely mutton curry by a very amiable Garhwali and I had even spoken to him in my stuttering Garhwali .!! And I also remember stopping at a dhabha at Pipalkoti and having “kadi –chawal”.It was the most tasty kadi chawal I have had in my life (and mind you ,I come from a family which has kadi chawal once a week at least ).I also remember being served the same by a very beautiful lass with brownish hair and light eyes .She had the most beautiful smile –very innocent and very captivating .I have always wanted to go back to Pipalkoti –as much for the kadi chawal as for the beautiful smile –though it is  nearly 30 years down the line now .!!Today   as Uttarakhand  tries to lurch out of the worst-ever disaster to have hit the region, with hundreds already dead and thousands other missing, heated debates have erupted over the actual cause of what the Uttarakhand chief minister dubbed ‘the Himalayan Tsunami’.

Just Short of Rudraprayag -1984!!

The administration insists that it was a natural calamity, environmentalists hold that this was a man-made disaster waiting to happen.
Torrential and unrelenting downpour, landslides and floods saw the raging waters sweep away more than 180 people and hundreds of livestock to death. More than 70,000 pilgrims have been stranded even as the Army and Air Force try to rescue them in a hostile terrain.More than 70,000  are still untraceable .
Of all the affected areas, Kedarnath is  the worst hit.This beautiful and serene temple town has been flattened  because of the  crumbling of the Kedar Dome, a glacier-like body of  rock and ice. This breaking of this enormous ‘glacier’ following the cloudburst and the eventual landslides caused a major rupture in the Charbari Lake that is situated just over 5 km from the holy temple of Kedarnath, situated at an altitude of 3600 mt.

Devprayag -confluence of the Bhagirathi and the Alaknanda.

Kedarnath temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva and situated near the Mandakini River in a valley of the Garhwal Himalayas, was constructed in the 8th century and folklore has it that Adi Shankaracharya oversaw the building of the shrine.I remember reaching it along with  with some boys with whom i was trekking  in the evening .It was “aarti”,time as we walked into the temple – and like soldiers who had fought a war on all fronts –we were exhausted ,we were limping and we wanted to sleep .But the “aarti’’ was uplifting .It completely washed away all the tiredness .For a young Marxist and a agnostic the question arose “Do Gods reside here?”.And for the first time –the answer was “Yes”.In the middle of the chiming of the bells and sounds of the “shanks”,I felt near God .

But today ,Kedarnath lies submerged under silt and mud .The God are angry .

Karnaprayag -confluence of Alaknanda and Pindar 

Heavy  rains have wreaked havoc and opened up its bosom to offload its fury  in the region, resulting in killer landslides.The  environmentalists,( like  Sunita Narain, and Pachauri) claim that man-made factors have added to the tragedy. The widespread and almost unregulated expansion of giant hyder-electric projects in the region, the incessant construction of roads to serve the burgeoning tourist population, and the adverse effect on the fragile ecosystem in the region due to growing human presence and pollution are the major causes for the devastation that Uttarakhand has been subjected to.It crude terms -it has been raped .

However, according to eyewitnesses huge rocks broke away from Kedar Dome after the flash floods caused by the cloudburst. These rocks, however, got stuck some distance away from the Kedarnath temple, possibly saving the holy shrine’s main structure from being demolished.

I watched with numbness on T.V ,entire stretches of motorable road just dissappear .Huge multistoried buildings collapsed like a pack of cards and unlike the ones in Mumbai –no one needs to do any cleaning up .The gushing  waters  carried away the debris leaving no signs that anything existed there .And along with the concrete ,it must have swept away the unsuspecting human beings 

Its time to spare a thought for the people of the hills who are caught in all this .Or even the pilgrims who went there from different parts of the country .I got two phone calls from friends in Jaipur who were crying because their relatives are untraceable now for a week .Dead?Swept away ?Alive ?Or living dead?The looters are also there –ripping of gold and ornaments from the dead bodies .The good people are also there –the armed forces as always are doing yeoman service .

What can we do ?At least create awareness on the social media .And though some of us may not be in physical shape to help extricate and transport the injured ,our time will come .In reconstruction .In sending financial and moral support to the people who as it is are living on the edge for most of their life .And I hope and pray that the man and his family who served us perhaps the best “kadi” –“chawal”, in Pipalkoti are safe .People with those smiles should never  frown or be in distress .Becuase those are the smiles one cant buy .At the moment –I am praying for them .And waiting to go back to my Uttarakhand which wept and cried so much -that we finally are looking at her .I am sure we will bring back the smiles .We owe it to the people there .

Remembering Gokul .!!

He was the first peon I had as a Principal .I really don’t know who selected him ,but he was there at the Railway  Guest House at Bhopal when I reached it on a hot May day in 1993 .He introduced himself as “Gokul”,and he bent and  touched my feet .I could see that he had a lot of grey in his hair and his face was terribly weather beaten .Dark furrows were evident on his cheeks and he had eyes that appeared sunk in for a man of his age .

“Kya umer hai aapkee”?(what is your age ),i asked of him .

“25 saal ka hun Sir .”

I did not ask him further questions –some people look years older than their age .The reverse is also true .Over the years ,I learnt that Gokul came from a place called Harda a District and Municipality town .It is relatively unknown but boasts of a good drainage system (developed by the British),and Lokmanya Tilak and Gandhiji had graced the town during the freedom struggle . ,It lies beyond Itarsi and  Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh .All trains on that line pass through Harda .I travelled through it a couple of times as well .
Gokul was orphaned at a very young age and managed to get into a orphanage school in Hoshangabad .He gradually moved up to become a daily wage earner and then hook onto a job in our newly opened school in the premises of the Coach Repair Workshop which was opened up by the  late Madhav Rao Scindia when he was the Railway Minister .He was married and had 2 daughters .His wife Maya Devi was a bit of a eccentric ,but tremendously hard working.

Our school did not pay the peons and the support staff well .I soon realized that the management expected us to manage from the finances that we generated ,which was really peanuts because since the  Railways  had provided us the building ,they expected us to subsidize the fees and the result was a very meager amount of revenue income .

Gokul was the hardest working man I have ever met in my life .And i have never seen a man laugh or smile so less .Whenever he smiled ,it seemed he was making a huge effort to do so .And he never ever lost his temper .He was what what Greek philosophers would term a "Stoic".The school was new ,we had lots of work to do ,there were no cars or scooters for our peons and support staff .Gokul would cycle all the way to the bank in Bazaria to deposit cheques or all the way to Lily Talkies to deliver our mail to the courier server .He would go to the market to get samosas or barfee ,as and when the staff and me demanded .He came in first and left after me when we shut the  school .Sometimes I would reach home at 8 pm and Gokul would cycle back to his home at that time .His salary in 1993 was about 700 rupees and he was hard pressed to make his two ends meet .I offered Maya Devi  a job in the school with the hope of  supplementing his income .However as I wrote –she was not very normal and one day she sat down on my chair and refused to budge insisting that she was the Principal of the school .She never returned back to work the next day .

Years passed .One day he told me he was buying a scooter rickshaw so that he could supplement his income .All he wanted was permission to leave school at 4 ,so that he could ply his scooter rickshaw  for 4 hours or so .Though my work would have suffered –I agreed .There was great fanfare as he brought his scooter rickshaw to my home and sought  my blessings .After a few months –I left Bhopal .

The new Principal ran into problems with Gokul .It is quite sad ,but this happens more often than not –the first casualities of a change  are the Principals peons ,Secretary or Driver .To that extent Principals are very small and insecure minds .Gokul was not allowed to leave school at 4 ,he was loaded with work deliberately till late hours ,and this hit his economic interests as it depended on him plying a scooter after school hours  .He was asked to leave and even accused of “politicking” with me .!!He started plying his scooter rickshaw .He phoned me up ,and even came to Jagdishpur and Jaipur to meet me .He said that he was making enough money and certainly more than what he was getting as a a meagre pay .Maya Devi had recovered and was doing a course to become a teacher .Things were looking up he told me .

He never forgot to wish me on any of  my birthdays .These days the Facebook reminds us of the birthday of our “Facebook Friends”.But how Gokul managed  to remember my birthday ,beats me .And whether i expect a call from other people or not -I expect a call from him on every birthday .I take it for granted that he will ring me up .!!

On 4^th of June ,at about 10 am my phone rang .The number blinked on it “Gokul Bhopal”.

“Sir Janmedin mubbarak”,he said .I thanked him profusely and also told him tha I expect a call from him every birthday .

“Sir aapko kaise bhool saktaah hun”.(how can I forget you).He spoke at length as to how he held me responsible for propelling him to buy a scooter rickshaw (I had given him a few thousand rupees as loan )and as to how he had reached where he had .I asked him how was he doing

“Bahut acchaa chal rahaa Sir .Ab doosra  scooter rickshaw lene ki shoach raha huh .Aur usko toh  maih “bhaadeih”,pe doonga ”.(he was thinking of buying another scooter rickshaw which he would sublet)he said with a tinge of confidence and happiness ."Aur Sir ,maineh ek chota sa ghar bhi banaa liyaa haih(he had also built a small house )Bhopal Hospital ke paas .Chola mandir se aagey "!!

“Aur Maya Devi Kaisee haih”,I enquired ,with a touch of apprehension .

“Sir who baalvadi school meih teacher  haih”!!Ha Ha !So finally Maya Devi did not have to forcibly sit on a Principals seat to become a Principal .Now she could  rightfully aspire to be one on her own! .I reminded him of the day and the incident many years back .Both of us had a hearty laugh .!!

He asked me as to when I was visiting Bhopal .I told him that whenever  I would do so ,I would get in touch with him.

“Mujhe scooter meih leneh aana Gokul”, I told him .(Come and pick me up in a scooter)

“Kahaan Sir aap to taxi  ya dostoh ki gadi meih ghoomeingeh.”(You will move around  in your friends car or a taxi ).

“Nahi –mujhe tere scooter meih bathnaah haih –taxi meih nahi. Bhopal ghomeingeh -Pir Gate ,Lal Ghati,Misrod ,TT Nagar ..........purani yaadeih .......”,I said .There was a pause from his side and then he answered

“Sir ,kab  aa raheh ho”.I could sense he was choking .I told him I would do so very soon .I also told him to try to buy a taxi next !! .I told him to move on to bigger things  .I told him that we live only once .And we should not be satisfied with our successes .He agreed ."Aaap aiyeh .Phir baat karengey"!!,he said 

Very soon ,I plan to visit Bhopal and meet Gokul who owns 2 scooter rickshaws, and his wife Maya Devi .They are no less successful than Narayan Murthy or Sacchin Tendulkar  in my eyes .Infact in many ways more successful because they have  risen from the pits .And will hopefully continue to rise .And i am looking forward to a ride in the vehicle of a man who was my first Jeeves .!! The sweaty , toiling orphan with a weather beaten face and now white hair .A man who epitomizes the spirit of "never say die".Someone who knows that surviving is the biggest challenge of living -because giving up is not a option .A bit like me !!