Shattered Dreams & Hopes....

When thought that the winter has passed by, Jammu & Kashmir received biggest snow fall in years, due to the effect of which whole North India is again under harsh cold wave.
It has brought with it, very low temperatures & rains which have ruined the hopes of millions of farmers. Ripened crop on thousands of hectares of land in Punjab, Hariyana and many parts of Rajasthan has suffered severely.
I read in a newspaper last week that farmers had received bumper crop this year(wheat, mustered especially), & the report indicated that if all goes well for at least 10-15 more days, farmers will be able get good money this year but….
Agriculture is the biggest gamble in India…& when everything seems to be alright… even few hours of rain can ruin the efforts of months, and there seems to be no way to fight against this cruelty of nature. After all…nobody expects very low temperatures in February end…and God save Meteorological Department …..There is still no concrete mechanism to communicate latest information & weather forecasts to farmers in remote parts of country. They still have to depend on there own indigenous techniques and predictions & of course…God to get returns of their hard work….
Isn’t it unfair to them….who toil hard…. in scorching summers…in freezing winters with minimum resources…. ?
And what do they get in return….? Only shattered hopes & dreams……

Ground Reality

Another week has passed by but this time got only Sunday off. Had a field exercise on Saturday & that was an experience worth sharing.Here it is.....

we takeoff from college on 9 in morning (Saturday morning & I woke-up as early as 8:30!!!!) Destination…Village Samarda, arnd 35 Km from Bhopal. First we visit a Nursery near Barkatulla University…& then heads off towards Samarda. The village is in interior, 10 kilometer from main road…no other connectivity. We reached at arnd 12:30.
We have already made groups which had to concentrate on various issues & we scattered in the village.

My grp enters the village….my first encounter is with Narendra, He is arnd 8-9 years old, & he says, Namaste sir, when he looks us. I try to start conversation…. abt him, his family, his education. He is in 4th std, has two siblings & his father is a Nakedar (Forest watchmen) with forest department. He also have agricultural land, & when I asks him that who works over land, he proudly says that he joins his mother in fields. He says that there are total 96 students in his school from std.1 to 8th but only one Ma’ssaab (Teacher) we also come to know that there are several television sets in village & also four CD Players,& …which was the last movie u saw, he shyly tells..”Billa No.786”, A Mithun Dhamaka(proves that not Shahrukh, but Mithun rules Indian grassroots still :).

After talking several minutes (when I think that there is nothing more to ask) we move further inside the village. The scene is, that almost everywhere…I encounter my classmates in groups of 2 or 3, talking to villagers.

again I encounters a child, girl this time(arnd 7-8 yrs), but she is too shy, & I only get her smiles in answers to my queries, but I manage to know her name(Puja) ,that her father & mother are not at home, that she also goes to school but didn’t went today(holiday) & when I asked..what abt food, very proudly, she tells that “I prepared it & also fed by little brothers”….

Here, we meets, Vrindavan….he is arnd 30 years old..& after several minutes we also come to know that he is the father of Narendra(the child whom we met earlier). We talk abt the problems of villages & the first among many is connecting road…he did not had to say much because we reached by that road only…& that 10 Km patch (from main road) is pathetic. & this is the condition when this village comes under State Chief Minister’s constituency. He says that whenever elections come...they get huge promises that the road will be made this time…...but promise are promise only.

Regarding other probs…it is drinking water, drainage system, education, health…to name a few.There r only 4 hand pumps in village & only 2 are working. There is a well at forest rest house and once some pipes were also laid to village for water supply but the work halted in between and those pipes are stolen by now & there has been no progress since then.

Regarding health…in major cases they have to take patient to Bhopal & in most cases it takes too much time to reach Bhopal that the condition of patients worsens in middle.

Regarding education as we already heard from that child, there is only one teacher on 96 students & he is also not very regular. We can very well think what a person will teach to 96 students.

There is not much agricultural land with villagers…the other sources of income are..works provided by Forest department, Tendu Leaf & Mahua Collection..

We again start moving & encounters some more villagers…but it is that old lady(arnd 50) years who gave us some bitter truth pills which I can never forget. I m writing her words in Hindi here as that generates more effect.,
“kya hai ye…tum log har mahine aa jaate ho.(I protest that its my first time)..to koi aura aa jata hai…yaha aate hai..ye sab likh le jaate hai..karta koi kuch nahi, mai 40 saalo se dekh rahi hoo, is gaon me kuch nahi badala, kuch nahi hua.(I says that I m a student)…to tum log yaha picnic manane aaye ho. Aaj shaniwar hai na…tumhari chutti hogi, tum ghumne aa gaye, nahi to yaha Samarda me kya milega jot um yaha aaye ho, Abhi 2 mahine pehle bhi ek camp laga tha yaha…log aaye the 8 din rahe, khele-kude, khaya-piya aur chale gaye…kiya to kuch nahi.yaha log aakar 50 baar road kaa naap leja chuke hai,aaj tak road nahi banaya.tum jaise log bhi aate hai, ulte-seedhe sawaal puchte hai..aur chale jaate hai.(an elder person (age arn 65 is sitting near her 7 he tries to cool her but in vain.)

I just listens the grnd reality with bewilderment, unable to answer anything, whatever she is saying, there is truth in her words, & though there is anger in her words there are also traces of pain. also it leaves some questions in my mind
Who gave us right to interfere in there lives? OK we have our studies and field work components but doesn’t asking question like this raise false hopes in their mind? They tell us our pain, with expectation that here is someone who has come to listen me & he will do something for me once he goes back…& what will we do…make a nice presentation…a nice looking report…talk some big words(sustainability. livelihood, capacity building, blah., blah, blah…) and then forget everything. Is it ethical?

Imagine the way we behave with the door to door salesman in cities…and here we are…44 students…attacked a village with just 50 houses with our absurd queries and question, asking the problems abt which we can do nothing (at least at present).

(some examples…how people were asking questions there…”Aapke yaha BPL families kitni hai?”, “Aapke yaha family planning hoti hai?” & the poor fellow is wondering over the words “BPL” & “family planning”).

How can India Feel Good when a village, just 35 kilometers from State Capital, constituency of State CM has not got proper road connection, have a school with only one teacher, have no employment and no water (whatever bloody interdepartmental & governmental conflicts are there)?

One question to myself…I m writing all this stuff, so big words…but once I get a job ..will I think abt them…will I prefer to go & work in a village like that? I don’t know….

The "Class" of 2004-06(Me- Last Row 4th From Left) 

DD Quiz & 2nd Term Grades

So Today was a good day finally. Though started on a bad note but….all well that ends well :)

First…woke up early (at 7:30 & that too when I was getting up at arnd 9-10 since last 9 days, full Kalpataru week) & then when was getting ready… came to know that 8:30 class will not be there (professor informed only early morning).

So disappointed on losing THAT precious 1 hour sleep… OK….no probs…went to class at 9:30 & again…no class …Prof on leave. @#~&@&$#..If all this would have been informed earlier…I could have enjoyed 2 hours of sleep. So bad.

Me & Bhaskar had to leave for Doordarshan Quiz, & so missed last 2 classes (with permission) & left for Doordarshan Kendra at 12.I was too anxious & excited for the quiz & a bit nervous also but nothing was ready there. All the three teams had arrived in time but those people were not ready. & so waited…& waited..& waited. Meanwhile got some makeup…but had not eaten anything since 8 & was feeling so hungry (Nothing available in canteen there).

Finally it started at arnd 3... & the good part starts now…The quiz was too simple (especially for Bhaskar) & we cracked it like anything. We managed to lead from the first round itself and finally the difference between us & first runner-up(MANIT) was 70 Points. Felt too happy but…. no incentives for winning…no prizes…no certificate…not even claps... Nothing & the telecast is also far away(25th March). OK… again no probs..

But one more surprises was remaining…when came back to collage… found that All second term grades r out (except UB). Heart Beats increased…& noted down grades somehow....OGPA 3.28 (compared to 3.03 first terms). At least a bit improvement.

QT was my Waterloo again (worst performance). If had managed well in QT…the OGPA would have been much better. This term has no such bad subject...let us see what happens ….

Now abt coming 2-3 days…The good thing is.. ..no 8:30 class for full week :)
But the workload will increase now with much more assignments + term projects and Mid Terms r also approaching. So shud start study by now…….

P.S. - Today was Valentine's Day. ...Feels so bad when someone asks..."what u did today.....something special":(.But not for me.Wait n wacth(others).Till then Lagey Raho India :).

Kalpataru Ends....

So, Kalpataru comes to an end with yesterday’s final function & with this comes end of holidays & classes will start from Monday.
Anyway the good thing for me was winning second prize in OpenHouse Quiz contest (Intercollege) as I did not took part in any other cultural or sports activity.
The week saw a lot of GBMs by the class on the issue of conflict with staff (their attitude & behaviour). First it was decided that we will only organize & not participate in any of the event which continued for starting 2-3 days but later due to PEER PRESSURE the decision was taken back.
On Monday I (along with Bhaskar) have to take part in a Quiz at Doordarshan, Bhopal. The other teams participating are MANIT, Bhopal & SATI, Vidisha. The Quiz is based on Indian History & Culture. I have to prepare well for that & WIN this Quiz.

Thought On A Quote

Quote:
"You Learn more from Failure than you can from Success."

- From The Book "Brand Failures" By Matt Haig.

Thought:
I should have been a Genius by now!!!!

A Bad Day..A Book..& A Movie.

Kalpataru is just 3 days ahead & the campus is warming up. Also thanks to cool 'n' warm sunny days the climate is too good for sports.

But I m Feeling so bad! Today was really not my day.First, in early morning hours (around 2 A.M.) I lost my carom doubles match (against Virendra & Lokesh), played very bad & missed even simple chances.Then slept at arnd 3 and slept like anything. Missed first three lectures!!!. Though second one was free

.

Then in the evening, had Volleyball Matches. We managed to win the first game of three sets by 2-0(against faculty) but then the next match was with seniors & we lost it by 2-1. Performance was not too bad but I think there is some jinx working when we play against seniors. In the whole year we have lost three times(100%) in volleyball against seniors. Though they say that they also never managed to win against their seniors & that means that there IS some jinx.

Cultural Prelims will start from tomorrow & I m participating in every event except Dance & Singing(hope i can do some better there ).

I have started reading “Da Vinci Code”…& the thrill is really gripping from the first page. Have reached till 100th page now & cudos to Dan Brown , he has really done a lot of homework on novel. All those puzzles, anagrams & theories seems so realistic (on first page he claims that all this is true, should I believe him?) I will also try to get hold on his earlier works.

Also Watched Movie “Page-3” yesterday. Once again a good piece of work by Director Madhur Bhandarkar & and a true portrait of so called High Society. If this is what they call “Mumbai Life” or “Fast Life” is, then I m really sorry for those people.Konkana Sen Sharma is marvellous in her charm,eyes,looks, acting everything.(once again a "Sanwali Bangali Bala", after Rani Mukharjee, Bipasha Basu...). These Bengali girls r really good!!!.

Memories.......

I have been in hostels since I was in 6th standard. It has been around 14 years now outside the home & as far as I remember the longest duration for which I stayed at home continuously during this time was arnd 3 months.

Have stayed in various hostels, in rented rooms, single or twin shares basis, hostels with up to 20 guys in one single hall, rooms with very good neighbors & landlords, rooms with worst landlords, mosquitoes, with or without fan, Common or separate toilets & many more.

Ate food at different messes, tiffins, self made sometimes and sometime by cook also.Ate rubber like chappatis, tasteless curries, pani & kankad wali dal.

Tasted & seen so much in life, met with of many people, made many friends, guys who never studied & managed good grades, guys who only studied but were never able to get good grades, guys who were great painters, dancers, singers.
Many memories are associated with my hostel life (both in school as well as collage). Some were really joyous and pleasant at that time & now also, & some were dreadful at that time but seems funny now. What i felt to leave home for the first time , then how was it to go 2000 kilometers from homeland to study @ God’s Own Country for 2 years, whose language & culture was very much different from mine. Then there was Engineering Collage…the fear of ragging & The Ragging. :)

There is so much that I can write some thing on each event & moment. So I have decided that I will start writing all my past memories, memories which are deep inside my HARDDISK.

The problem is, I don’t know how and from where to start so I have thought that I will start randomly and write whatever comes to my mind. Also one more thing I m uncertain abt is should I publish it on blog or shd write on paper. Hope I can get an answer soon from inside.

Not Much Intresting

I have not written anything here since 2-3 days.Cudn't find anything intresting to write.Republic day went on as usual. Flag Hoisting, Director's Message(4-P Theory), some songs etc.....These holidays spoil whole schedule of life. Since last 10 days some day i wake up at 10 in morning,then on another , when class is there, i have to some how get up at 8-8:15. Even missed 2 classes on Monday.I really cant controll my sleep.Work load was not much this week...neither much assignments, but it will not be the same next week. & KALPTARU is also coming (just one week in between).
I m not getting any good book to read.Planning to read Da'Vinci Code.Let us see what constructive i can do in this weekend.(i m not very hopeful).

P.S. - Today there was a Case Discussion in Marketing Class on the growth of Motorcycle Market in last decade in India & how it cannablized the Scooter market share.My point was (i did not mentioned it to Prof. but to friends at Backbeches), Imagine "Dhoom" replacing Bikes by Scooters in it.(I believe John Abraham will be replaced by Farooq Shekh & Isha Deol by Deepti Naval).

Lucky OR Unlucky ?

I was just thinking of, how lucky & unlucky I m to be living in this era .....Some observations:
Lucky:

• I m always connected to world, be it my parents or brother or friends or anybody for that matter thru one or all of mobile, net, telephone etc.( my parents waited for 6 years to get a telephone connection)
• I have access to unlimited number of opportunities in various field which i could not have thought of if i had born 20 years earlier.
• Computer & Net r really blessings.they have improved a lot in services, produtcs, information and many other sectors.Net has given real freedom of expression & information sharing.I can write whatever i want & share it with others.
• There r 'n' number of entertainment options available to me.
• Transport facilities has improved a lot in last 2-3 deacdes.... but so has population & pollution.

Unlucky:

• No place is safe.I can be attacked anywhere by some terrorist, samshed in some roads or train or plane accident or just can be caught by any new diseases, cure of which has not been found yet.
  
• There is no privacy.Big Brother(or someone else) is always watching.(Ask Shahid - Kareena).
• With refernce to no.2 in 'Lucky' column...though there r 'n' number of opportunities..there is no security of job and livelihood.
• I m loaded with information which is of no use to me.
• The world has become more cruel.There is no roof for emotions but only selfishness prevails(in most of the cases).

& Some Future Predictions:

• It may be possible that i may have to leave my beloved earth & shift to some other planet after some years.Land rate on moon may increase.
  
• There may be a good business scope of Oxygen Bars & Fresh Water(or a substitute of it) pills(in condensed form).
• Main characters of Juarrasic Park Part 9,10,& 11 willl be Tiger, Lion & Elephents.

Suggestions for additions to these lists are welcome.

Secrets

Never Ask ,
A Woman.....Her Age,
A Man..........His Salary &

A Student.....His Grades!!!!!

Tum Aur Main

I got this Poem in my mailbox.It is too hilarious.But U must know Hindi to enjoy it.

***MUSHKIL HAI APNA MEL PRIYE***

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,
mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khelpriye,

tum MA 1st division ho, main hua matric fel priye,
mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khelpriye,

tum fauji afsar ki beti, main to kisaan ka beta hoon,
tum rabadi kheer malai ho, main to sattu sapreta hoon,
tum AC ghar mein rahti ho, main ped ke neeche letahoon,
tum nai maruti lagti ho, main scooter lamreta hoon,
is kadar agar hum chup-chup kar aapas me prem badhaenge,
to ek roz tere daddy amrish puri ban jaaenge,
sab haddi pasli tod mujhe bhijwaa denge vo jail priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khelpriye,

tum arab desh kee ghodi ho, main hoon gadahe ki naal priye,
tum deewali ka bonus ho, main bhookho ki hadtaal priye,
tum heere jadi tashtari ho, main almunium ka thaal priye,
tum chicken-soop biryani ho, main kankad waali daal priye,
tum hiran-chaokadi bharti ho, main hoon kachue kichaal priye,
tum chandan-wan ki lakdi ho, main hoon babool ki chaal priye,
main pake aam sa latka hoon, mat maaro mujhe gulel priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

main shani-dev jaisa kuroop, tum komal kanchan kayaho,
main tan-se man-se kanshi ram, tum maha chanchala mayaho,
tum nirmal paawan ganga ho, main jalta hua patanga hoon,
tum raaj ghaat ka shanti march, main hindu-muslim danga hoon,
tum ho poonam ka taajmahal, main kaali gufa ajanta ki,
tum ho vardaan vidhata ka, main galti hoon bhagvanta ki,
tum jet vimaan ki shobha ho, main bus ki thelam-thel priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

tum nai videshi mixi ho, main patthar ka silbatta hoon,
tum AK-saintalis jaisi, main to ik desi katta hoon,
tum chatur rabadi devi si, main bhola-bhala lalu hoon,
tum mukt sherni jangal ki, main chidiyaghar ka bhaalu hoon,
tum vyast sonia gandhi si, main v.p.singh sa khali hoon,
tum hansi madhuri dixit ki, main policeman ki gaali hoon,
kal jel agar ho jaaye to dilwa dena tum bel priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

main dhabe ke dhaanche jaisa, tum paanch sitara hotel ho,
main mahue ka desi tharra, tum red-label ki botel ho,
tum chitra-haar ka madhur geet, main krishi-darshan ki jhaadi hoon,
tum vishva-sundari si kamaal, main teliya chaap kabadi hoon,
tum sony ka mobile ho, main telephone waala chonga,
tum machli maansarovar ki, main saagar tat ka hoon ghongha,
dus manzil se gir jaaooga, mat aage mujhe dhakel priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

tum satta ki maharani ho, main vipaksha ki lachari hoon,
tum ho mamta-jailalita si, main kwara atal-bihari hoon,
tum tendulkar ka shatak priye, main follow on ki paari hoon,
tum getz, matiz, corolla ho main Leyland ki lorry hoon,
mujhko refree hi rehne do, mat khelo mujhse khel priye,

mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye,

main soch raha ki rahe hain kabse, shrota mujhko jhel priye,
mushkil hai apna mel priye, ye pyar nahin hai khel priye.

Wasted!!!!

It is holiday since Friday.Friday was for Id & Sat & Sun as usual weekend.In weekdays , i always dream of weekend, & this one brought one additional holiday but now i m bored.I m bored because i m not doing anything. it is not that i had nothing to do.I Could have done a lot of thing in last 48 hours, i could have started some of assignments, could have gone thru last week's classes, other then studies.., could have finished a book or two, could have washed my cloths & arranged my table, could have gone to meet Om Bhaiya n Bhabhi....& the list goes on.I can count many more things but that will not help.What i did all was, watched around 4-5 movies & read arnd 45 pages of "Life Of Pi".So Sad.
Why does it always happens that my all assignments r finished just minutes before deadlines ?(Japanese call it Just In Time Approach,& so I, Very proudly).Why i m so careless abt all these things?
This is not the first time i m thinking over this issue but i think if i m like this, i will be like this only. OR can i change? If i look over last 5-6 years i have changed a lot of my habits but those were minor issues.This one needs a complete change in presonality.

If anyone can suggest me something....u r welcome.

Is It Possible?

Can there be a time, when Robot will be as common & household a thing as personal computers are today? Can there be a time when human beings might have to face a revolt by machine due to unfair treatment & attitude of human being towards them.& above all , is there a possibility , that future machines(robots in perticular) might have emotions.
There are numerous sci-fi movies on all thses concepts & latest in this row is I-ROBOT.
I saw the movie today. Set in 2035, it really made me to think over all these points. After all , nobody had thought of so profound use of computers just 20 years ago & Internet even did not existed, except in some labs, but they r reality today.
Can a robot feel emotions like anger, fear or trust?What happens if some fine day,I wake up to know that the machine which used to serve me till yesterday without asking or questioning starts talking abt its rights?(or do machines have rights?)Will we be able to fight them or manage them if they go out of control?
Only time will answer all these questions but one thing is sure that whatever happens, MAN have the capability to go along the situation, survive under drastic circumstances or rather fight them & HE(we) will find one way or another to come out of the problem.

Old Friends

Today i got a call from Reman. We were talking after almost 8-9 years.We were classmates in 9th & 10th but after that lost touch & got in touch just few months ago, thanx to Internet.
Really how exciting does it feels to talk with someone from our old times, remebering old times.
But what i was thinking is, why dont i fail to keep in touch with frineds or anybody else , once we r separated.Is that the problem only with me or the world is like that only.
I remember, when i was leaving Kerala that time, everyone made promises to everyone else that they will keep contact(even signed a lot of slam books), but never wrote to anybody, neither got any letter from anybody.
Involved so much in daily life that never bother to think abt those ,with whom i share many happy times.

Though times r changing & being in touch is much more easier now then what it was just 5 years ago,thanx to Net & Mobile, but the inner voice & will is much more necessary then anything else.

& now abt the chat i had with Reman,we both just talked abt old, times, friends, teachers.I think i can never forget Kerala, & I learnt a lot abt life in those two years i spent over there.
I really want to visit that place again and reinvent those times. Lets see , when i get a chance for that.

My First Post

So i have created my blog finally.
i had thought(or say decided) to create it in September last year and kept on postponing for no reason & the D-day finally arrived today.
It simply shows how lazy i m(i know it since time immortal).
now i just hope and pray that i can continue it over a long period of time.