Of missing, being missed and a few melodies :)

An apology is due
That is if you guys dont kill me first
Sorry about that sudden and really long dissappearance
There was a lot to deal with in life all of a sudden. Both professionally and personally. (ofcourse if I mention comps and viruses at this point you guys will simply murder me wont you? )
Now things are back in control:)
All of you have been missed and how! Your mails and messages have made me smile and grin like a lunatic

And in the case of a very special friend who is now part of my life since what seems like forever, her calls pepped me up when I needed it the most.

My Gmail inbox is chockfull.I would like to apologize in advance if I am a little late in replying to your mails

Thank you also …infact a BIG thank you for all the awards bestowed on yours truly
Grinned on seeing all of em and am grinning still
Thank you Kanagu, DI, Amrit (Please do remind this amnesiac if she has missed anyone’s name here) Will pick up the tags too:)

And a question.
…err ummm how many posts have been written in the past 25 something days?
*sigh* I shouldnt even ask?
a LOT?

*Indy faints at the thought of wading through all the posts*
Fear not ! Indy will still manage to achieve this seemingly impossible feat !

A lot has been happening in the blogworld I can see
Dhiren has been interviewed! Yippiee!:) WAY TO GO DHIREN!
(for more, head over to Blogadda to read the interview and the comments )
CONGRATULATIONS!!
Better keep the treat ready Dhiren
And just the fact that you mentioned me there and more precisely the way you shared made me feel humbled. Thank you so much Dhiren!:)
(no I WONT kill you for the last bit )

And here is the venture of a dear ,dear friend Chirag. The reason I am sharing it here is because this is something I believe will become big and this has class and quality written all over it. After all Chirag is the brains behind it.Need I say more?
So do subscribe to Indiameme.

Indiameme requires a separate post . A post on my blog dedicated ONLY to Indiameme. Which will be coming up shortly But till then could not resist sharing a little info here:)

There is also another equally interesting venture of a friend whom I respect . Vinod Sir.

It is called india tweets

If you would like to contribute to this blog feel free to write in . This is what the ‘india tweets’ page says
here you will find interesting “tweets” of 140 words, not characters, or less that relate to india. got one to share? submit it. it will be published in your name only!
Vinod Sir has made it a group blog now and so you will find anything and everything related to India here. From different perspectives. What could be better?
But meanwhile DO subscribe to the blog. Trust me you wont be dissappointed.

————————————————————————————————————————————————-

What should I share here?:) Because I really want to. Share something. Anything. If only to mark my attendance back in this blogworld

A few songs that are running through my mind………….
Do pardon me if the post seems to be a slow starter as compared to what I usually write. It seems ages since I have written on these pages
These are songs in keeping with the mellow(?) (I think ) mood I am in these days:)

Even if you dont listen to any other song in this list, PLEASE do listen to this one above PURE UNADULTERATED BLISS!
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan doesn’t simply sing. He transports you to a different world altogether.

PS:- Will be replying to all the comments on the previous posts soon.

भारत ……

भारत ……

कभी कहता सा लगता है …कि बस अब और नहीं!
अब एक जीवन जी लिया…अब तो मुझे जाने दो…
बहुत से कर्ज उतार लिए , कुछ वायदे भी पूरे किए…
युगों से मूक साक्षी ही तो हूँ…
अब और क्या -क्या दिखाओगे?

तो कभी इठलाता सा ,एक अल्हड़ बच्चे सा कहता है
कि चलो अभी तो बहुत दूर जाना है ..
बस ? अभी थक गए ?
अभी तो कितनें सपनें बाकी हैं ,कितनें ख्वाब संजोनें हैं
कुछ आशाएँ जगानीं हैं ,कुछ बीज नए भी बोने हैं…

कभी पलटकर कहता है
यशस्वी होने का वरदान देकर स्वयं ही अयशस्वी बनाते हो?
यह कैसा वरदान? यह कैसी कामना?

भारतीय जन्में हो तो कुछ कर भी दिखाओगे?
या बस यूँ ही ॐघते ॐघते जीवन बिताओगे?

कहतें तो बहुत हैं ,कहने में क्या जाता है ?
शब्दों का मोल रद्दी के भाव बिक जाता है..

यदि सच में ज्वाला जागी है और कुछ करने की ठानी है
तो व्यर्थ शब्दों के बाण न छोड़ो ,यह तो बहता पानी हैं…

यूँ स्तंभित सा खड़ा भारत ,अपनी किस्मत को कोसता है
उस दिन जन्म क्यों दिया ?बस यही मन मे सोचता है

कहता है मुझसे पूछ कर तो देखो ,मैं सत्य ही बताॐगा
कभी किसी से भेद किया हो, तो अभी प्राण त्याग चला जाॐगा

मेरी बाँहें तो सदियों से खुलीं हैं ,
फिर तुम्हारी आँखें क्यों शक में धुलीं हैं..?

शत्रु ,बागी ,मित्र सभी को दामन में सँभाला है ,
तुमको भी तो ,यहीं ,इसी आँचल में पाला है…

मुझे माता ,पिता ,संत की व्यर्थ उपाधि न दो
मैं जो भी हूँ ,परन्तु तुम्हें जरा सी ग्लानि तो हो..

जिनके साथ कभी खाया था ,उन्हीं के घर जलाते हो ?
अब यूँ घूम घूम किस मानवता पर इठलाते हो ?

कर सको तो बस इतना करो कि मुझे चैन से जीने दो ..
जो घाव तुमने दिए ,उन्हें भी तो सीने दो …

नहीं चाहिए धन ,न चाहिए ‘शक्तिशाली’ की उपाधि
ऐसा करते करते ही तो न बना दोगे मेरी समाधि?

मुसलमान ,हिंदु ,सिख ,ईसाई तो मुझ से क्या काम?
जो बेनाम हो ,वही अधिकारी कि ले मेरा नाम….

भविष्य के सपने देखते ,अतीत की बातें करते हो
इतनी शर्म क्यों ? क्या सच्चाई से डरते हो?

भ्रष्टाचार,हिंसा,गरीबी क्या ये तुम्हारा हिस्सा नहीं ?
या घर से निकलते हुए सोचते हो ,”चलो कोई और सही”?

गरीबी मिटानी है तो पहले दलदल में उतरना सीखो…

परंपरा की चादर ओढ़े कभी चल न पाओगे
सब पीछे छोड़ जाएँगे और देखते रह जाओगे…

पर परंपरा को ऐसे मत फेकना कि कभी मिल न पाए
तुम जैसे कितने परंपरावादी आए और चले गये…

न बनो परंपरा के आलोचक ,न बनो परंपरा के पेहरेदार,
जी सकते हो तो जीओ ,जीवन और सदाचार…

देवियों की उपासना ..और बेटियों को तुच्छ समझते हो
इस बेटा बेटी की उहापोह में व्यर्थ क्यों उलझते हो?

बेटे तो बहुत देखे ‘किरन’ सा दिखाओ तो जानूँ ,
कोई बेटा हो उससे साहसी ,तो मै भी मानूँ…

बेटा बेटी दोनों ही है प्रकृति का वर्दान्
मारनेवाले तुम कौन ? क्या हो भगवान्?

बेटी को तुच्छ न समझो ,न समझो बेटे को राजकुमार…
दोनो के है समान हक दोनो पर न करो अत्याचार….

लूट ,खसोट ,तोड़ फोड़ ,हत्या ..क्या यही है स्वतन्त्रता की परिभाषा?
मै भारत हूँ ,क्या न होगी मुझे ज़ऱा भी हताशा?

गान्धी , नेहरु ,पटेल ने क्या यही सपने सन्जोए थे?
और इसीलिए सैंकड़ों ने प्राण दे, आज़ादी के बीज् बोए थे?

————————————————————————

62 years back, a man stood in the central hall of the Indian Parliament (the same parliament that has been made a mockery of ) and gave us words . Not just any words . But words that were to become immortal. Words that still have the power to move more than any other.
But only if you understand the significance of THAT day and THIS one .

Today.

One where you and I are able to ……. FREE to celebrate this day. Independence Day.
Have you seen animals in zoos? In captivity?
We were like that .And I can only say this based on the same accounts that all of us have read.
We didnt know what freedom was like.
What did it taste like? We must have surely wondered. Or rather our ancestors must have.

Many say that it is ironic that a nation’s leader spoke that independent nation’s first address in English . A language that was not even understood by her countrymen.
I beg to differ today . I say look at this nation’s state today! Just look at it! Look at the pathetic chauvinism running rampant in the veins of her children and then tell me if it was right or wrong.
No better decision could have been made by Jawaharlal Nehru I now think in hindsight.
At least no claims of superiority can be made by any of this nation’s chauvinistic language groups.

All the cribbing that we do today? All the criticism that comes from all sides? The very breath of a democracy? That was NOT possible THEN.
It is NOW.
We were a country where GENERATIONS had been born into the same mind-numbing slavery. Gulami they called it in Hindi.

THEY celebrated it for the first time 62 years back.
Can you even begin to imagine their joy? The sheer exhilaration they must have felt?

I know I cannot. Try as I might I fail. I can only wonder. In awe of all that they were. In awe of all that they have given us.
Thank you says this Indian standing 62 years in the future to her countrymen 62 years in the past. Thank you. And that’s a small word that doesn’t even begin to describe our gratitude.

Watch. Just watch the expressions on the faces of India’s LEADERS in this video.(men and women who could be called one in EVERY sense of the word)

Listen. Listen to the pin drop silence that exists as a new born nation takes a step into history.

EXCERPTS FROM THE SPEECH
”Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge, not wholly or in full measure, but very substantially. At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom.

A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance. It is fitting that at this solemn moment we take the pledge of dedication to the service of India and her people and to the still larger cause of humanity.

The future beckons to us. Whither do we go and what shall be our endeavour? To bring freedom and opportunity to the common man, to the peasants and workers of India; to fight and end poverty and ignorance and disease; to build up a prosperous, democratic and progressive nation, and to create social, economic and political institutions which will ensure justice and fullness of life to every man and woman.

We have hard work ahead. There is no resting for any one of us till we redeem our pledge in full, till we make all the people of India what destiny intended them to be. We are citizens of a great country on the verge of bold advance, and we have to live up to that high standard.

All of us, to whatever religion we may belong, are equally the children of India with equal rights, privileges and obligations. We cannot encourage communalism or narrow-mindedness, for no nation can be great whose people are narrow in thought or in action.

To the nations and peoples of the world we send greetings and pledge ourselves to cooperate with them in furthering peace, freedom and democracy.
And to India, our much-loved motherland, the ancient, the eternal and the ever-new, we pay our reverent homage and we bind ourselves afresh to her service.
LINK

And here.in the video below, this is the new India. Not always shining. Certainly not. Not even the India yet of Nehru’s dreams. But we are getting there. Step by step. We have a long way to go yet.
The chants of ‘कर्मण्ये वाधिकारस्ते म फलेषु कदाचना
कर्मफलेह्तुर भुरमा ते संगोस्त्वकर्मानी॥’ play in the background reminding us perhaps of the meaning. And the wheel of life featured in almost each frame? That says enough by itself.

मेरा भारत क्या है ?

एक खूबसूरत ख्वाब..
बोलने की आजादी..
भाषाऒ का मेल…
परंपराऒ का मिलन…
संघर्ष करने की प्रेरणा….
आजादी का बिगुल….
अनेकता में एकता….
मनुष्य की कल्पना..
बहुत से उसूल ….
ढेर सारे सिद्दांत….
अन्याय से मुक्ति…
धर्मो का संगम..
कई वतनों की खुशबू…
एक गीत सुरीला…
एक मनमोहक धुन…
युगों का मेल ….
अपनेआप में कई संसार समेटे हुए….
अनूठा भारत ,अलबेला भारत….
इठलाता भारत….
तिरंगा भारत….

भारत ,हिन्दुस्तान् ,India ……….
आजादी की शुभकामनाएँ….

Here’s to a never ending string of such beautiful days for this country of ours. Amen.

—————————————————————————-
The lines in Hindi are a re-post from my old blog. A post that had been written for the same occasion earlier.
Edited to add:- Regarding some confusion earlier… ALL the lines in Hindi are very much my own.

Khalish

Wanted to write about one poet here. But I have ended up sharing the words of quite a few.  But most of all..above any other..the words of Amrita Pritam. That most celebrated of  souls.

A friend shared this video and these lines  on a forum and after listening to it, I had to share it here too. This poem is such. The words are such. The rendition? By Gulzar. Mesmerising to say the least.

Take a deep breath and savour the rich baritone of Gulzar as he gives voice to her words. And then read the translation.

Mein tainu pher milan gi (I will meet you yet again)

I will meet you yet again

How and where? I know not.

Perhaps I will become a

figment of your imagination

and maybe, spreading myself

in a mysterious line

on your canvas,

I will keep gazing at you.

Perhaps I will become a ray

of sunshine, to be

embraced by your colours.

I will paint myself on your canvas

I know not how and where –

but I will meet you for sure.

Maybe I will turn into a spring,

and rub the foaming

drops of water on your body,

and rest my coolness on

your burning chest.

I know nothing else

but that this life

will walk along with me.

When the body perishes,

all perishes;

but the threads of memory

are woven with enduring specks.

I will pick these particles,

weave the threads,

and I will meet you yet again.

—-Amrita Pritam.

This poem was written in her sickbed for her partner, the painter Imroz

Translated by Nirupama Dutt and published in The Little Magazine

Give yourself a moment or two to take in this experience. Listen to the words again. This time with the translation and you will be blown away.

————————————————————————————————–

And now if you have been able to recover from that experience. One that moves you.Wrenches your heart with feelings that are beyond comprehension ……now , here’s the other poet whose words I originally wanted to share.

The Tree (Rukh)

Some trees look like sons to me.

Some like mothers.

Some are daughters, brides,

A few like brothers.

Some are like my grandfather,

Sparsely leafed.

Some like my grandmother

Who used to throw choori to the crows.

Some trees are like the friends

I used to kiss and embrace.

One is my beloved

Sweet. Painful.

There are trees I would like

To throw on my shoulder playfully,

There are trees I would like

To kiss and then die.

The trees sway together

When strong winds blow.

I wish I could render

Their verdant, leafy language.

I wish that I could

Return as a tree.

And if you wanted to listen to my song

I would sing it in the trees.

These trees are like my mother,

May their shade stay intact.

Rukh : Translated by Suman Kashyap

English Translation of Shiv Kumar Batalvi’s poem Rukh

I read the words of a commentor on a  forum who says ,  ”this is a poem that has stayed within me since I saw it perched on a beautiful tree outside the Department of Botany, Panjab University, Chandigarh. I have taken some very dear friends there to share it. Go read it there and it will melt you even more ”

So going by his/her words I assume that the Deptt of Botany in Punjab University, Chandigarh has these lines etched there. Do let me know please if you have indeeed read it there. Must be an experience in itself.

————————————————————————————————–

But this last one below  is the one I loved most of all. Not least of all because of the way Jagjit Singh has sung it. But  because Shiv Kumar Batlavi has written some of the most beautiful and melancholic lines I have ever read or heard.

Eh Mera Geet (Punjabi)

Eh mera geet

Kise na gaana.

Eh mera geet

MaeN aape ga ke

Bhalke hi mar jaana!

Eh mera geet dharat toN maela,

Sooraj jeD puraana.

KoT janm toN piya asaahnu

Is da bol haNDHaana.

Hor kise di jaah na koi

Is nu hoTHeeN laana,

Eh taaN mere naal janmeya

Naal bahishteeN jaana.

Eh mera geet

MaeN aape ga ke

Bhalke hi mar jaana!

Es geet da ajab jiha sur,

DaaDHa darad raNjhaanaaN.

Katak maah vich door pahaaReeN

KooNjaaN da kurlaana.

Noor-paak de vele rakh vich,

ChiReeyaaN da chichalaana

Kaali raate sarkaRiyaaN toN

PaunaaN da laNgh jaana!

Eh mera geet

MaeN aape ga ke

Bhalke hi mar jaana!

MaeN te mere geet ne dohaaN,

Jad bhalke mar jaana,

BirhoN de ghar jaaeeyaaN saahnu

KabareeN labhan auna.

Sabhna saaeeyaaN ik avaaze

MukhoN bol alaana:

Kise kise de lekheeN huNda

EDa darad kamaana.

Eh mera geet

Kise na gaana.

Eh mera geet

MaeN aape ga ke

Bhalke hi mar jaana!

——————————————-

Eh Mera Geet – My Song

Do not sing

My song.

I must sing this song

Myself,

And then die.

This song is more soiled than the earth,

As old as the sun,

For many births I have had to live

The weight of its words.

No one else has the ability

To bring voice to it.

This song was born with me,

And will die with me.

I must sing this song

Myself,

And then die.

This song has a rare melody,

It is filled with pain.

It is like the shriek of cranes

Heard from distant mountains in autumn.

Or the clamor of birds in a forest,

Heard in a chaste dawn.

Or the sound of the wind flowing through high grasses

Heard on a black night.

I must sing this song

Myself,

And then die.

When I and my songs

Both die,

They who inhabit separation-houses

Will seek out my grave.

With one voice,

They will declare,

“Only a very few are fated

To shoulder such pain.”

Do not sing

This song of mine.

I must sing this song

Myself,

And then die.

Why this poet you ask? Why Shiv Kumar Batalvi?

Does this song below remind you of any song that you have heard lately?

and then this one ..

Another version of this poem has been sung by Rabbi Shergill:)

——————————————————————————————————

More information about Batalvi here

I may end with a warning to anyone envisaging an overdose of Shiv: he can be terribly Wagnerian- effusively dark and deeply sombre.

Says another blogger and I would have to agree. So dont go overboard with his poetry.

Let the words sink in. Savour them. But draw a line. And I especially say this for young impressionable minds.

—————————————————————————————————————

Would love to hear from all of you about your favourite poets/poems/songs. And specially if they can be  shared with a translation:)

Though I know the magic and the beauty of the original gets lost in translation but for  many like me that would be better than nothing.

Do share.

Malayalam poetry, Bangla poetry, Gujarati…and so on…Would LOVE to hear from you:)

Oh! and I am not a Punjabi. Not even close

But living in Delhi since the past so many years has made me understand quite a lot of it. Though the translation was still needed because the Punjabi that Batalvi uses is very different.

Plus Punjabi somehow seems familiar . Closer to Hindi. (or maybe I am wrong)

Whatever be the reason, it is a treat to be able to listen to such poetry and read the translations.

——————————————————————————————————–

A few days back I was reading the translated poems of some poets. ANd here even though I know that the post as usual is in danger(?) of becoming as long as ever..yet I cannot resist sharing a few more poems.

Stammer

K. Satchidanandan (Malayalam)

Stammer is no handicap.

It is a mode of speech.

Stammer is the silence that falls

between the word and its meaning,

just as lameness is the

silence that falls between

the word and the deed.

Did stammer precede language

or succeed it ?

Is it only a dialect or a

language itself ? These questions

make linguists stammer.

Each time we stammer

we are offering a sacrifice

to the God of Meanings.

When a whole people stammer

stammer becomes their mother tongue:

as it is with us now.

God too must have stammered

when He created Man.

That is why all the words of man

carry different meanings.

That is why everything he utters

from his prayers to his commands

stammers,

like poetry.

Translated from Malayalam by the poet himself.

(This has to be my fav out of all the ones)

—————————————————————————————————-

A Single Shooting Star

Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh (Hindi)

A single shooting star

A distant star

shoots through the blue of space

Here, someone measures its speed,

records the rise and set.

But nothingness of space,

assumed to blue, must spell

an answer inaccessible.

To stretching scope

eye muscle’s strain.

Astronomers describe

its pace and spatial shift;

account for its time concealed

in tunnels of shade.

Yet it tracks only itself,

oblivious to sketch

and sketcher, eye and scope.

With equal speed

another lone star seems

to move across the space

So in moving out of shades

of evil , reining self,

riding the void,

each star

becomes the image

seeing

its own fearless offspring—

because of this

I shall put faith in every man,

in every man’s son.

Translated from Hindi by James Mauch

Vichu this reminded me of you:)

——————————————————————————————–

I Want To Be Killed By An Indian Bullet

Thangjam Ibopishak Singh (Manipuri)

I heard the news long ago that they were looking for me; in the morning in the afternoon

at night. My children told me; my wife told me.

One morning they entered my drawing room, the five of them. Fire, water, air,

earth, sky – are the names of these five. They can create men; also destroy men at whim.

They do whatever they fancy. The very avatar of might.

I ask them: “When will you kill me ?”

The leader replied: “Now. We’ll kill you right now. Today is very auspicious. Say

your prayers. Have you bathed ? Have you had your meal ?”

“Why will you kill me ? What is my crime ? What evil deed have I done ?” I asked

them again.

“Are you a poet who pens gobbledygook and drivel ? Or do you consider yourself

a seer with oracular powers? Or are you a madman ?” asked the leader.

“I know that I’m neither of the first two beings. I cannot tell you about the last

one. How can I myself tell whether I’m unhinged or not ?”

The leader said: “You can be whatever you would like to be. We are not

concerned about this or that. We will kill you now. Our mission is to kill men.”

I ask: “In what manner will you kill me? Will you cut me with a knife? Will you

shoot me? Will you club me to death?”

“We will shoot you.”

“With which gun will you shoot me then? Made in India, or made in another

country?”

“Foreign made. All of them made in Germany, made in Russia, or made in China.

We don’t use guns made in India. Let alone good guns, India cannot even make plastic

flowers. When asked to make plastic flowers India can only produce toothbrushes.”

I said: “That’s a good thing. Of what use are plastic flowers without any

fragrance?”

The leader said: “No one keeps toothbrushes in vases to do up a room. In life a

little embellishment has its part.”

“Whatever it may be, if you must shoot me please shoot me with a gun made in

India. I don’t want to die from a foreign bullet. You see, I love India very much.”

“That can never be. Your wish cannot be granted. Don’t ever mention Bharat to

us.”

Saying this, they left without killing me; as if they didn’t do anything at all. Being

fastidious about death I escaped with my life.

Translated by Robin S Ngangom

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

Edited to add:I was able to find a Hindi translation of the poem ‘I want to be killed by an Indian bullet’   Here it is

A nation forgets?

449 brave soldiers killed…..Five pages of just names…..The horror of it!

And India doesn’t even remember!

Martyrs who might just be names to some of us, but a lifetime of grief and heartache for those they have left behind…

Why is it that retired generals have to protest on the streets to get whats their due?

Did you ever think you would see such a sight?

I didnt.

Do you have any idea…………can you even begin to realize what the word honour….the word  Izzat means to a man in uniform?

Of how utterly bereft of hope the ones who should have been ‘  happily’ retired  must have felt before they sat down to protest on the streets  demanding that which  this nation should have given to  them without their having to ask?

And have we even now given it? Given whats their due?

Did the sixth Pay Commission do justice to all that they did and even now do???

Why is is it that as a nation we can shed tears at a particular moment and yet be as cruel and as apathetic  as  human beings  can possibly be.

Why is it that we still don’t have a memorial for our soldiers?

NOTHING.

Oh! but wait! We DO have a sea link named after a former PM!

Yes, that’s enough I think. Really! Its all that matters.

We could have named it after a martyr of 26/11 of course but we chose not to.

You see we are quite screwed up that way.

Our priorities define who we are.

And what we are isn’t the most pretty sight.

Read the letter below and tell me if this is the act of a normal human being.

Does it take   rare  courage to write such a letter I wonder. Does God make some people more special than others?

A letter written by Captain Vijayant Thapar to his parents  before he went into battle. (his nickname was Robin)

[LETTER LINK]

There was another letter this one by a mother  addressed to Musharraf demanding that he apologise to her grand daughter after her son, whom she still refers to as 2 RR (Rajputana Rifles), had sacrificed his life for the country. Also a  little girl who has never seen her father. She was born after her father died fighting a war that this nation doesn’t even remember.

There are many stories …..some poignant , some that make you smile…

Did you know about little Ruksana and her connection with Vijayant Thapar?

Did you know that these were not men but young boys ? On the cusp of discovering all that this world had to offer them?

The jawans , the officers…bound together by a camaraderie that is beyond our wildest imagination…

These men could lay down their lives for a friend. And they did.

Yeh dil maange more .. words made immortal by a young boy of 24.

A nation watched….enchanted by  the sight of this grinning I-dont-give-a-damn soldier  who seemed to challenge death itself.

One could feel his euphoria. He looked invincible and we felt invincible too when we heard those words in the comfort of our homes.

I remember I was preparing hard for my unit tests when we heard the news. That man, that soldier, that Indian who had sat there in a bunker smiling and  saying words which were to become a slogan for generations to come  was no more.

One felt hard pressed to believe it.

We all seemed to know him.

India watched in disbelief. Had we not seen him on TV just a few days earlier?

Then how was it possible ?

But a nation was to realize that these brave hearts  for all their courage were mortals.

Mortals who could put  many to shame. Men of steel but men nevertheless.

Of how with a horrified look one stares at the TV screen even now when  his face is  flashed on it saying those words over and over again until they are seared into your brain.

Would he have said it any differently had he known?

I dont think so.

He would have said the very same words with even more josh if it was possible.

Sher Shah even ‘they’ were forced to call him. And Sher Shah he was.

Kargil War Wikipedia

Then there were those bravehearts  who even in death, united a nation like never before.

No homage to the heroes of Kargil can be complete  without the examples of two martyrs from the northeast – Captain Keishing Clifford Nongrum of the 12 J&K Light Infantry and Captain Neikezhakuo Kenguruse of the 2 Rajputana Rifles.

Nongrum died on on July 1, 1999, while leading the charge on Point 4812.

Tales of his valour are now the stuff of legend in his native Meghalaya; Point 4812 has become a pilgrimage spot for many Khasis.

“And many more of his tribesmen are now signing up to wear stars and service stripes (local lingo for military service), as he used to exhort the youth in his native state to do when on leave,” said Peter Keishing, 62, his father.

Kenguruse’s story was even more inspiring. Belonging to a generation of Nagas that grew up hating or fighting the Indian army, few expected the wiry Neibu (his nickname) to don military colours.

“Neibu was aware of the churning back home when he was training hard to earn his stripes,” said Neiselie, 64, his father in Nagamese, a Hindi-Assamese hybrid that is very popular in Nagaland.

His native village Nerhema, 22 km north of Kohima, was burnt down twice during five decades of counter-insurgency operations.

But when he returned – in a coffin – a very different Nagaland welcomed him. The day his body arrived at Dimapur, thousands lined the road to Nerhema.

“Neibu did more than make us proud; he changed our perception of the Indian army,” said his father. And, arguably, triggered the mainstreaming – of sorts – of Naga society, inspiring, like Nongrum, an assembly line of youths to enlist for the army. [LINK]

Captain (Dr) Rajshree Gupta, Army Medical Corps (AMC), salutes the tricolour-draped coffin of her husband, Major Vivek Gupta of the 2nd Rajputana Rifles, who died fighting the enemies.

Tell me how to control my anguish and not feel murderous when I see, read and hear this below.

After listening to a third-rate political spat between Jayanthi Natarajan of the Congress and Rajiv Pratap Rudy of the BJP in which both tried to score cheap political points on Kargil, the General was compelled to say what the whole nation feels: ” It is a political debate which must be buried along with political parties…These nauseating, disgusting, shrill, vituperative debates have no meaning for the Indian Defence Services.“[LINK-India Retold]

One political party wants to celebrate the Kargil victory and ‘remember’ martyrs but ONLY to score a political point over its opponent.

The other asks…. Kargil? ? Which Kargil?

We fought a  war?

This party  prefers to celebrate ONLY the 1971 victory.

Tell me how to give up my murderous fantasy of killing each slimy politician of this country.

Do you think the slime that  are India’s politicians would have felt the least bit ashamed of themselves when they read  this below?

Asked if they are hurt by the UPA government’s decision not to celebrate Vijay Diwas, the Kargil anniversary, pat came Vimalacharya’s reply like an arrow: ‘‘We are apolitcal people. Sacrifice has been taught to us right from our childhood. Had my son and many others like him not died, Pakistanis would have captured half of India.’’

Read this article. (lines from which have been given below)

A country that refuses to respect its armed forces will eventually end up getting forces that will not respect the nations’ aspirations. A country makes a sacred contract with its soldiers that while he/she will lay down his/her life when called upon to do so, the nation will take good care of his/her and his/her family’s needs to the extent its resources would permit.

This contract underpins the very survival of a nation as when its territorial integrity and political independence are under threat, the nation looks upon the only instrument that can protect it — its armed forces.

This is a nation that will cry with Lata Mangeshkar when she sings Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon but will not make any effort to understand the real problems and concerns of its soldiers. It is a sign of the highly skewed priorities of the Indian media that the rising turmoil and dissatisfaction within the ranks of nations’ armed forces is being given only perfunctory coverage.

It is an issue of nation’s very survival yet the media seems busy with its devotion of superficialities. Every rave and rant of Bollywood actors is religiously covered, detailed dissection of seemingly never-ending cricket matches are conducted, exorbitant pay rises in the corporate sector make it to the headlines but the one issue that can make or break the future of this country is consigned to the margins.

We continue to pray at the altar of our false heroes while our real heroes continue to face neglect and scorn.

A few questions for all of you . Actually anyone who is reading this…will be reading this.

Are you a parent?

If so, have you told your children about the wars that your nation fought?

That its bravehearts fought?

No, it doesn’t have to be a dining table formal conversation. It didnt for us. But we knew.

Our parents made sure we knew. We did not see or read about the 71 war but our parents made sure we knew.

They didn’t live through the 47 war and they cant remember the 71 one. But THEIR parents made sure they knew.

So have you made sure your children know?

Are you a teacher?

Are your students aware of all that India has been through?

No, it doesn’t have to be a part of the syllabus for you to tell them. It should be but it isn’t. So have you told them?

Are you willing to support your child if he/she decides to be  part of the defence forces?

One last question.

Answer it honestly but I don’t think you will.

Yes, the cynic in me rears its ugly head.

Are you in favour of conscription?

No, not to combat the shortage of officers in the defence forces.

But to see if YOU are willing to walk the talk.

Your eyes are moist ..were moist then too when you saw the bodies of the martyrs being carried home.

Would you be willing to send your son/daughter to enlist knowing fully well that exactly  such a homecoming could take place? One where a loved one comes home draped in a tricolour sleeping the sleep of the innocent?

No is the primary sentiment is it?  After all who gives a damn about this profession. Can it be even called  a profession?

They are paid peanuts. Dismal living standards. The dangers to one’s life.

Nah! not worth it you say.

And if indeed this is so, then please don’t ask any more questions as to why our politicians..our decision makers don’t listen to the demands of a soldier..demands that he has been forced to make after a long graceful silence because he has realised that YOU WONT  fight the battle for him .

That YOU are NOT WILLING to.

Because there is nothing in it for you eh?

We all love martyrs. We put them on pedestals and want to worship them forever(though in this nation not even that)

But we all want the  martys to be from a neighbour’s home. Not ours.

And that is what this nation’s problem is. This is what defines us.

————————————————

Were your eyes moist when you  read all the words here?

I bet you even shed a few tears when the war was happening.

And what did you do since then? In the last ten years? Did you talk about it with a few friends? Tut tutted about how pathetic the condition of the soldiers is?

If you did, I am extremely grateful.

You see….at least you talked about them. You remembered them…oh!not all of them! Come one!how can you remember so many names.Poor you!

But I am grateful for whatever crumbs I get.

Did you read all the names of the martyrs given in the first link and in the last video?

Or did you get tired? Or did you gasp in horror?

Which reaction was it?

Tell me too so I can take a sliver of hope that this nation does care for its soldiers. If only in name.

Tears are cheap aren’t they?

Shed a few at the appropriate time and be done with it.

You all had questions during and after 26/11 didn’t you?

How was this possible? You shouted!

You gasped in horror at the tragedy of it all.You wondered how the enemy could strike right at the heart of our nation. You wanted nothing more than to murder a terrorist or two. You wanted to know why India was bleeding.

THIS was why it was possible.

What lessons will  a nation take from history when it prefers to forget it?

Sandeep Unnikrishnan is now only  a name  among many others in the collective memory of this nation.Nothing more.

We will forget him a few months down the line.

10 years later?

Are you kidding me?

Sandeep who?… will be the question.

Go India. Prosper like never before. Celebrate life each day. Sleep comfortably in yur homes.

But know this.

One day all of this will be taken away in a flash.

And that will be the day you will regret so much.

What is it they say?

About words left unsaid and deeds left undone?…..

Words are cheap in this country of ours. Promises are even cheaper. But the cheapest of all is the life of a soldier.

Oh! and yes! I too have fulfilled my duty as an Indian citizen. The words of tokenism have been written. Lets all go and sleep today and every day with the thought that we really and  truly are  Indians.

”Our God and soldiers we alike adore ev’n at the brink of danger; not before: After deliverance, both alike requited, our Gods forgotten and our soldiers slighted”- Francis Quarles

—————————————————————————————————————-

You read many books do you?

Fiction..non-fiction and what have you..

Then read this one too. (excerpts given in the link)

A Soldier’s Diary by Harinder Baweja

Add this as one among many that you have. It is not dramatic. It certainly is not a romanticized version of the war. It just tells it as it was.

Laïcité

WARNING:- A VERY LONG POST

Many sources and individuals have been referred to in this post. Therefore I can take credit for the post only in part.

The thoughts and the stand taken herein are however solely mine. And I am responsible for any views expressed in the post.

————————————————————————————————————

If the post is too long for you to read then please just leave your opinion on the proposed ban in the comment section.Though a swift glance at the various links and quoted text would help make matters more clear.I know it was so for me.

photo courtesy superblinkymac flickr user

“What is freedom? Freedom is the right to choose: the right to create for oneself the alternatives of choice.” -Archibald MacLeish

“Freedom is not merely the opportunity to do as one pleases; neither is it merely the opportunity to choose between set alternatives. Freedom is, first of all, the chance to formulate the available choices, to argue over them — and then, the opportunity to choose.” -C.Wright Mills

What is freedom?
Choices. Above and any other.This one word is what freedom is all about. The word that is the foundation of freedom. Not just the freedom to choose A OR B. But the freedom to choose both or neither. OR the freedom to come up with a choice C.

In the world of today, one that is getting increasingly democratic (or atleast one would hope so). In this world EVERYONE has the freedom to do whet they want. Do what they please as long as it does not break rules (rules laid down in a democratic society) OR impinge upon the freedom of others.

Here however, a new rule is being proposed. One that seeks to ban the burqa from public space. Indeed from any space at all save perhaps, the VERY private one(but then one wonders if a burqa was to be worn inside the home at all)

“In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity. The burqa is not a religious sign, it’s a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement — I want to say it solemnly. It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic.”

Sarkozy said a few words and it has led to a heated debate all over the world.
Are we ready for an all out ban on the burqa? Are burqas really a sign of subservience? Does Islam approve of the burqa?Does it sanction it? Are those who wear the burqa virtual prisoners in their home? Are they oppressed? Subjugated?

And whether they are oppressed or are not, JUST HOW will one ensure and know which woman has worn it out of choice and which one has worn it  against her will?

But lets leave the questions aside for a moment.

Lets look at  what secularism means in France and the steps taken to make its foundation even more solid.

In  French, laïcité (pronounced [la.i.siˈte]) is a French concept of a secular society connoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs as well as absence of government involvement in religious affairs.

Supporters argue that Laïcité by itself does not necessarily imply any hostility of the government with respect to religion.

Critics of laïcité argue that it is a disguised form of anti clericalism and individual right to religious expression, and that, instead of promoting freedom of thought and freedom of religion, it prevents the believer from observing his or her religion.

France’s strict secularism, entrenched by law since 1905, keeps religion firmly out of the state sphere. There are no religious studies (let alone nativity plays) in state schools, nor may public workers sport the headscarf. The government denies that such policies constrain religious freedom or are especially aimed at Islam. France welcomes private Muslim schools. Mosque-building is widespread. The 2004 headscarf ban outlawed “conspicuous” religious symbols of all faiths. Yet there are growing worries about the spread of hard-line Islamism in the heavily Muslim banlieues. [LINK]

Also let us not forget that paragon of ‘virtue’ the protector of not just our ’sabhyata’ but apparently (and this is news to me) of sabhyata the world over.

Describing Sarkozy as `tagdaa manoos’ (strong man), Saamna said the French president showed no consideration to the regressive Muslim clergy in his country. “He told the Muslim leaders in no uncertain terms that they will have to fully and completely adhere to the laws of France. India’s woes will end if we get someone like Sarkozy as our head.”[LINK]

Ughhhhhh! Why am I not surprised?

Moving on….

One is sorely tempted to question Sarkozy and his (in)famous credentials as a politician and a man. But that would lead to an ad hominem argument, something that one should avoid.
But it cannot be denied even by the most fierce supporter of Sarkozy that this stance is nothing but a ploy to score some political brownie points.

“Sarkozy’s whole thing has been to capture votes from the National Front, the far-right French party,” Scott says. “Anti-immigrant politics is a huge part of that. Sarkozy has taken this position all along that he is the champion of Frenchness. It plays well politically for him to find issues where he can declare himself the protector of French national identity.” [link]

So let me simply say this.
In a nation that has already banned religious symbols be they of any kind in government offices and in educational institutions..in that country taking this ban a step further by banning the burqa(or any other religious symbol) in the public space is going too far.

The public space be it a park or on the roads, in one’s own car, or the metro or simply walking on the sidewalk is one’s PUBLIC space and I cannot for the life of me see how the government has ANY right to interfere or DICTATE.

And have no doubts that this is high handedness and not secularism for it seeks to make choices for human beings who (contrary to Mr Sarkozy’s opinion and to that of others)  DO have a mind of their own.

The proposal for the  ban has been supported by various feminist groups. But that in itself does NOT give any greater legitimacy to the idea.

If anything it should make the feminist groups shudder in horror for, the choice is once again being taken away from women.

It is tempting to assert our privilege and play upon the understanding of those that wear the burqa as uniquely oppressed, however if we allow this sentiment to prevail we are devaluing the very bodies we claim to be concerned about. Agency can only be affirmed though the promotion of choice and a respect for the ways in which we differ. A monolithic construct of femininity is something we should uniformly fight against as it is the basis of all woman centered oppression. [LINK]

And so in the end, a ban putatively passed to further women’s rights could instead impinge on their freedom, and take from them something they value. Even worse, it could lead to those in the most fundamentalist of households being trapped inside their homes altogether. It would be cruel to limit these women’s options in the name of liberation, even if their clothes are a rebuke to the secularism that the French rightly hold sacred.

[LINK]

There are many topics that one thinks about but is unable to decide as to precisely which side one is on. And for me this was one of them.

As I told a friend,” I think I am going to sit this one out”…and I would have too, but writing this post has helped. And by the end of it I now know where I stand.

There are many who support the ban and there are many who oppose it. And with very rational reasons too. The Rector of the Paris Mosque for example supports the proposal to an extent.

This latest call for a potential ban of the burka has prompted the head of the French Council for the Muslim Religion to warn MPs they risk stigmatising Muslims again.

But the special inquiry does have the backing of Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Paris Mosque and a former head of the Muslim council, who insists that Islam in France should be an “open and convivial Islam that allows people to live side by side”.

But why do we always forget? Forget that freedom is not either ‘this’ or ‘that’. It is this, that, and many others. All of which we have the right to CHOOSE.

Freedom is all about choices.

A burqa might or might not be worn out of choice. It might or might not be a sign of subjugation. I personally do not like the ‘idea’ of this garment called the burqa. I don’t like the fact that women are reduced to being invisible beings who seem not human but almost like automatons. They seem dehumanized somehow.

Also the original rationale behind the burqa offends me immensely.

That women are nothing but sex objects and thus they have to be covered at all times so as not to tempt men is deeply insulting. Insulting for not just the women but the men too if they have any self respect .

I personally find the hijab better as far as emphasizing the humaneness of the wearer goes.

Hijab is an Arabic word meaning barrier or partition.

In Islam, however, it has a broader meaning. It is the principle of modesty and includes behaviour as well as dress for both males and females.

The most visible form of hijab is the head covering that many Muslim women wear. Hijab however goes beyond the head scarf. In one popular school of Islamic thought, hijab refers to the complete covering of everything except the hands, face and feet in long, loose and non see-through garments. A woman who wears hijab is called Muhaajaba.

Muslim women are required to observe the hijab in front of any man they could theoretically marry. This means that hijab is not obligatory in front of the father, brothers, grandfathers, uncles or young children.

Hijab does not need to be worn in front of other Muslim women, but there is debate about what can be revealed to non-Muslim women.

The Qur’an makes a few references to Muslim clothing, but prefers to point out more general principles of modest dress.

Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do.24:30

And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, [a list of relatives], [household servants], or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss.24:31

[MORE HERE]

The reason I have quoted some verses from the Quran is because  this is also a religious issue for the believers of that faith. So to say that it is merely a political issue and not a religious one is to fool oneself. For millions the very idea of the ban is an affront to their personal faith and all that they hold dear.

Meanwhile Christopher Hitchens has his own view on things.

Is this forcible French secularism run amok, or a prohibition that Americans, who often believe we have struck a better balance between church and state, might entertain? I would say the latter…

The whole point of the garment is that it weighs you down, restricts your movements and abolishes your peripheral vision. It’s like being condemned to view the world through the slit of a mailbox..o. It is quite plainly designed by men for the subjugation of women. One cannot be absolutely sure that no woman has ever donned it voluntarily, but one can certainly say that, in countries where women can choose not to wear it, then not wearing it is the choice they generally make.

This disposes right away of the phony argument that religious attire is worn as a matter of “right.” It is almost exactly the other way around: The imposition of burkas or even head scarfs on women – just like the compulsory growing of beards for men – is the symbol of a denial of rights and the inflicting of a tyrannical code that obliterates personal liberty.

I agree with Hitchens to an extent. But then again what of choice? What of the women who DO want to have that choice? He makes a generalization , one that says that generally women will choose NOT to wear the burqa.

How? How did he arrive at this conclusion all on his own? Is he peeking into their minds?

Is he a mind reader? For a man whose views give me food for thought usually,  this is something that I strongly disagree with. But then a polemicist is not expected to say anything otherwise.

This is a dicey issue. One where secularism clashes with the freedom of choice. With individual liberty.

The strongest argument (and a rational one in my opinion) comes from Norm Geras.

The public space in a secular democracy is not an atheist public space. Secularism means that no religion is favoured or specially catered for; but it leaves people free to wear the religious insignia they choose to or not to wear any. To insist on a notion of secularism that would forbid the wearing of these items is the equivalent of insisting that secularism prohibits religious belief and its expression, which it patently does not…

(I)f there are some or many women whose own choice it is to wear the burka, a legal ban on their doing so does not uphold their equal citizenship; it does the opposite, making them unique amongst citizens in not being allowed to express their religious or non-religious identity as they choose….

Does the law need to intervene in this matter at all? Why may it not be dealt with by the influence of education, social criticism and the like? Many in Western societies find it an obstruction to interacting with people if their faces are hidden. There is nothing to stop those who feel this way from expressing their preference as and when appropriate.

While one understands that laïcité is an essential component of French identity infact its very bedrock. Yet there  surely has to be a limit , a boundary if you will that has to be drawn around it.

French laïcité cannot be  understood without taking into account the struggle against clericalism.

Laïcité does NOT exclude religious expression from  the public sphere.

Moreover Laïcité has to be redefined in light of the new wave of cultural pluralism that not just France but most countries of the world are a witness to.

No religion or rather religious symbols  in educational institutions ?Yes, I can understand that. None in government offices? Yes, I can understand that too.

But a ban on a CHOICE of dress? That too outside these two places?

So what is the difference between the Taliban dictating what should be worn and the French government dictating what shouldn’t be?

This proposed ban seems anything BUT productive. If anything it seems to be counterproductive.

I have said it before and I will say it again.

The most correct point will NOT work  when it’s rammed down one’s throat .

In this respect I admire the concept of secularism enshrined in the Indian Constitution above any other. (even if our leaders have made a mockery out of it)

One that talks of धर्मनिरपेक्षता or indifference towards religion.

The philosophy that the Indian constitution upholds on to is a kind of   secular humanism made relevant through a historical development of the ideology within the context of religious pluralism in India.

And in that cultural and religious pluralism lies the key to the whole debate. Secularism in today’s world has to make room for multi-culturalism and religious pluralism.

Indian concept of secularism  does not talk of an almost radical secularism or a complete break between the state and religion.(though come to think of it that does sound like a good idea IF and ONLY IF practiced  in moderation)

But one that says that no bans are necessary for, it is each individual’s right to follow his/her religion or none at all.

——————————————————————————–

Meanwhile there has been atleast one sensible statement made by the Swedish Justice Minister.

The 27-nation EU must not dictate an Islamic dress code, Ask said, adding that “the European Union is a union of freedom.”

———————————————————————————————————–

PS:- For friends and others please feel absolutely free to disagree.

Trolls please be civil while writing your comment.

Oh what the hell! what am I saying?

That’s what you trolls are NOT known for right?

Well. hehe!hehe! But then that’s what I have comment moderation for